[WOTC] Minis Spotlight

[pogre]

Pretty good for machine painted plastics. Certainly a good alternative for those who do not love to paint. If they looked awesome I would have been a little disheartened knowing that I spend hours painting some of my figs. But, they look like I expected - about a half-step above mage knight. Nice product - but I'll keep painting thanks.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Oh? And going home empty handed (or with hands full of minis you can't use) and several dollars poorer because you couldn't pull the mini you were looking for is SOOOO much better.

How often do you desperately need a certain miniature? I know I've never bought a mini based on upcoming games - I usually just pick up what looks nice or I think I might want to paint. If I happen to have a mini I need when I run a game, all the better, but if not, it's no big deal. Am I the only one who shops like that?

 

[TheAuldGrump]

How often do you desperately need a certain miniature? I know I've never bought a mini based on upcoming games - I usually just pick up what looks nice or I think I might want to paint. If I happen to have a mini I need when I run a game, all the better, but if not, it's no big deal. Am I the only one who shops like that?

80% of the miniatures I use I purchase to fit planned encounters, the exceptions being figures that are so cool I create the encounter to go with the figure. I end up special ordering about half of the figures that I want, planning out the game at least two weeks in advance if I need to order the figures.

Random figures just means that I will ignore them. (I also don't play CCGs, I don't buy a pig in a poke. Random purchases are just plain silly in my book...)

The Auld Grump

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I didn't think I'd ever say this but they look like they have potential. I don't think I'll ever be sold on the random blind packaging idea but for the money, those are miniatures that I can buy and plop down on the game table without being too embarrassed unlike the ones that sit on my painting table for months (but come out much better--heck, I like my half-finished paint jobs better than those but they're better than just primed or unpainted and might even look decent if I put some flock, sand, or static grass on the base (although snazzing up the bases would get me right back where I started)). I'm not sure but I think I just talked myself out of ever buying any.

Well, anyway, suffice it to say I'm pleasantly surprised.

 

[NiTessine]

The paintjobs look crappy, but are better than any I've seen on HeroClix or Mage Knight miniatures. They also look pretty smooth, so perhaps it might be possible to just touch up the paintjobs, highlighting and shading as needed, without stripping the whole fig.

The sculpts, however, look pretty good. I'm even identifying a couple from Chainmail...

I'll certainly be picking up the Entry Pack. I shall see what I do after that.

 

[satori01]

I'm still not sold on this product, some of the sculpts looked nice, and some were bleh. A lot of the paintjobs looked subpar, some looked alright.

Admitedly I am a minatures freak and not being able to assemble and paint is a huge turn off to me. That being said a cheap pack of 16 pre painted minatures for $20 would be very appealing to me if they were sold in theme packs.

I would easily buy 16 pre painted orcs or goblins or hobgoblins etc, 16 pre painted mooks would be very nice.
I am less inclined to buy 16 randomized figures some of which might duplicate monsters I already have in abundance, or add more character figures to my already bloated collection.

As a player only intrested in a model for my character I would think going the single minature route would be more satisfying and cost effective.

Of course a good secondary market might alleviate this some of my concerns and induce me to purchase some resale singles, but this potential is contigent on so many uncontrollable variables,(price, a FLGS willing to do it, etc etc), I wouldnt tout this as the sole good spot for this product.

 

[DWARF]

"Cost enters into the equation in other, less visible ways, too. For example, some figures are highly valued but no one needs very many of them. When individually packed, these rare figures are much more expensive to manufacture in limited quantities than the common figures. That additional cost has to be passed on to the customer, either by increasing figure prices across the board (nobody wants that) or by charging more (in some cases, a lot more) for those special figures, which in turn cuts down demand even more. By making those figures rare and packing them randomly, they become no more expensive to produce or buy than anything else in the set. It's easy to assume that Wizards wants everyone to buy 20 packs of figures just to get one mind flayer. While we certainly hope everyone will buy 20 packs (and once you see the figures, we think everyone will want 20 packs), if a mind flayer is the only thing you're after -- well, that's what trading is for."

So basically... I save money by buying miniatures I don't want?

Look, not many people are going to want a Krenshar (or whatever that face-removing abortion of a monster idea was called). There's no way that Wizards is going to convince me that them making 20 Krenshars for every 1 person that wants one, while everyone scrambles for the miniatures they want, is a good thing.

 

[Painfully]

Only one of their figs has eye pupils (the elf pyromancer).

No shading

No highlighting

They have no "individual" appeal whatsoever.

Before you know it, somebody might charge $40 for a super limited edition elite figure that tries ever so hard to look as good as a $4 Reaper metal figure--that's just sad.

--------------------

I was considering trying out one or two packs of these guys, but the paint jobs look worthless. Even my very first painted fig looked better than those figs.

I hope their large-sized monsters look better, but somehow I doubt it.

Oh well. Guess I'll stick to buying lead.

 

[diaglo]

it is the same tactic my wife uses.

shopaholic wife: look honey i just saved 50% on these shoes by buying them on sale.

meh: yeah, but when are you gonna grow the 6 extra feet it will require to use them in this lifetime.

wifeypoo: but now i have the perfect shoe when you take me out dancing.

me: so do you want to go tonight or this weekend?

wife: i don't have a thing to wear with them?

 

[Mark]

Before you know it, somebody might charge $40 for a super limited edition elite figure that tries ever so hard to look as good as a $4 Reaper metal figure--that's just sad.

...and for us non-collectors, that'd be the figure we trade to the collector at the local hobby shop for a big pile of goblins/orcs/ogres/etc...