D&D 5E (2014) WizKids Announce Frameworks Custom Sprue-Based Minis

[Azzy]

I wonder if a seconds market for the bits would be worth while?

There used to be a secondary market for GW bits (until GW decided to squash it), so it could be profitable assuming the Frameworks line does well.

 

[MGibster]

There used to be a secondary market for GW bits (until GW decided to squash it), so it could be profitable assuming the Frameworks line does well.

There's still a secondary market. There are a few websites you can go to, fully legal I might add, and order all sorts of bitz from the various kits GW produces. But GW has many, many years of producing miniatures and hobbyist have had a long time to build up their hordes. It's going to take a while for a bitz market to develop for WizKids I think.

 

[pogre]

Well, these things are coming out in late March. Price point is too high, in some cases way, way too high:
7 kobolds for $50! 7 orcs for $50!
That's for 5 different kinds of sprues with 2 repeats. They have managed to outprice GW with these kits.

The solo monsters are $25 and the individual PCs are $15. A little high, but not a deal breaker.

I am going to buy some of the solo monsters to paint, but sadly I will pass on the rest of this line.

 

[TerraDave]

You pay more money because you get to spend more time assembling and painting?

 

[Azzy]

Yeah, they're smoking crack with those prices.

 

[MGibster]

You pay more money because you get to spend more time assembling and painting?

You pay more because they're highly detailed and come with a fair amount of customization. Depending on the kit, they come with multiple heads, weapons, and even some accessories.

Well, these things are coming out in late March. Price point is too high, in some cases way, way too high:
7 kobolds for $50! 7 orcs for $50!

At $50, that's only $7.15 a unit which is fairly decent for a well made miniature. With miniatures in RPGs, I find it's generally easier to stick to purchasing and painting models for PCs and special monsters/NPCs such as beholders, orc bosses, dragons, etc., etc. but it does become cost prohibitive for many people when you start purchasing minis for rank & file enemies like orcs, kobolds, goblins, etc., etc. Honestly, at $50 for seven miniatures, I'd rather go to Games Workshop and purchase a $42 box of 20 grots (goblins) which comes out to $2.10 each. I could get 20 savage orruks (orks) for $60 which is only $3 each.

I really like the WizKids monsters they produce. This is a very large Magic the Gathering Wolf they make and it's a good value at $16.00. I have not been a big fan of the humans, dwarves, elves, or other PC type miniatures they make. The sculpts are okay, I guess, but I don't find them aesthetically pleasing. I think WizKids is trying to directly compete with the likes of Games Workshop with their sprue miniatures. A significant percentage of gamers will continue to purchase the cheaper non-customizable miniatures that are currently being sold. (And are a good value in my estimation.)

 

[HammerMan]

They could just re-release 4E with a few fixes and a fresh coat of paint.

update the skill challanges, round out some math (maybe replace some of the math with Advantage/Disadvantage) and I would buy it and run that as my D&D

 

[DEFCON 1]

Color me as someone who would only care about randomized sprue-based miniatures purely to use for PCs. THAT'S what I'd want lots of options and bits for-- to be able to make my elf druid mini look and be holding what I wanted them to. I don't care about making all my orcs look different, but I'd like to be able to have my human barbarian be female and wield a maul for once. But I guess they've ceded those options completely over to HeroForge.

 

[Ibrandul]

For me at least, the appeal of these is to get high-quality miniatures of WotC IP stuff—but that's a strong enough appeal that I'll be buying at least a few of them. For example I won't be getting any Frameworks orcs because as others have pointed out, there are much cheaper, comparable options available elsewhere, and I don't need my orcs to precisely match the 5e Monster Manual art the way these do.

But I'll definitely be picking up the beholder, the mind flayer, the drider, and probably a couple of copies each of the dwarf cleric and human cleric (shields with bas-relief holy symbols of Moradin, Ilmater, and Kelemvor are too cool to pass up). If I like them well enough, I could see springing for a few other monsters where the 5e WotC version is more visually distinct from the various non-WotC options, such as ghouls, trolls, and stone giants.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Assembly is my least favorite part of mini painting. Just looking at those unassembled models makes me feel like I'm on the border of some terrible hell made just for me.

I love using and painting minis. Gluing them together? Not so much.