Bent Brush
New member
If you want the Chain Mail stuff now would be the time.
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/?id=946758
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/?id=946758
Bye Bye Chain Mail
- Thread starter Bent Brush
- Start date
No Such Agency
New member
Jeez! These have barely been on the market for what, a year? Is the game just not popular at all? Does it suck or something? The figures all seem to be of the highest quality.
Bent Brush
New member
As far as I am concerned I like these models best for D&D.
But hey what can you expect this was rumpred back in Febuary when some of the development team got canned.
But hey what can you expect this was rumpred back in Febuary when some of the development team got canned.
nadinbrzezinski
New member
It came down to three things:
Mechanics that are not that strong
Lack of real promotion
In some ways the packaging did not help, since you could not see the model itself. Clear blisters are far better.
Now I have some for DnD mostly
Nadin
Mechanics that are not that strong
Lack of real promotion
In some ways the packaging did not help, since you could not see the model itself. Clear blisters are far better.
Now I have some for DnD mostly
Nadin
Temperance
New member
I\'m not too surprised; especially since (as bent brush said) the development team was canned. I personally had never even played the game, but I\'ve a ton of miniatures for it. I bought them all for D&D. But now inbetween Reaper and Chainmail, I\'ve got a helluva Gnoll army. 
Oh, well. I just hope they keep putting out miniatures. I\'m not too sad to see Chainmail go as a game per se, but I am sad to see the minis go.
Oh, well. I just hope they keep putting out miniatures. I\'m not too sad to see Chainmail go as a game per se, but I am sad to see the minis go.
T
Triumph
Guest
I have to disagree with nadin.
The game mechanics were actually quite good for what they were intended.
The packaging was decent. Typical gamers do not really care to see bare metal. Having the painted fig on the cover added color and drew the eye to that section.
As far as promotion. They have campaigns running every few months with special variant figure poses and WOTC constantly sending us posters and window decals and flyers plus every issue of Dragon magazine had an article on Chainmail
The ultimate downfall was that it was Fantasy and GW has that niche all locked up. Many have tried to topple them and all have failed. Confrontation and Chronopia to name a few.
The game mechanics were actually quite good for what they were intended.
The packaging was decent. Typical gamers do not really care to see bare metal. Having the painted fig on the cover added color and drew the eye to that section.
As far as promotion. They have campaigns running every few months with special variant figure poses and WOTC constantly sending us posters and window decals and flyers plus every issue of Dragon magazine had an article on Chainmail
The ultimate downfall was that it was Fantasy and GW has that niche all locked up. Many have tried to topple them and all have failed. Confrontation and Chronopia to name a few.
Chainmail... oh darn...
Honestly, I don\'t think that Chainmail will be missed. WOC saw it coming, and pulled out early, which was the smart thing to do. They didn\'t actively persue the niche market enough, and imho, they put too much into the Wizkids lines (I don\'t know about you, but I\'m sick of HeroClicks already).
But, the talent from Chainmail is over doing some Steampunk game (I forget the name) that looks reasonably decent. It\'s skirmish based too. Look for Mike McVey and Matt Parkes over there (both are former \'Eavy Metal painters).
Badaab
Honestly, I don\'t think that Chainmail will be missed. WOC saw it coming, and pulled out early, which was the smart thing to do. They didn\'t actively persue the niche market enough, and imho, they put too much into the Wizkids lines (I don\'t know about you, but I\'m sick of HeroClicks already).
But, the talent from Chainmail is over doing some Steampunk game (I forget the name) that looks reasonably decent. It\'s skirmish based too. Look for Mike McVey and Matt Parkes over there (both are former \'Eavy Metal painters).
Badaab
Yeah, the packaging was decent. If you collect cardboard boxes, that is.
The fact is that the miniatures were never intended for people without a modicum of modelling skill (i.e. using glue without attaching themselves permanently to a lump of pewter). Being that the case, clear blisters would have been a more honest approach to presentation.
I\'m sure that more than one starry-eyed kid got to a store, bought the box with the pic of a cool dog-man nocking an arrow to his bow, only to find later that it was a group of metal parts that, if assembled correctly, still had to be painted to match the pic.
Chainmail might have been WotC effort to a gateway miniature wargame, as shown by the simplicity of the game system, and the minis are really good, but in this case, two rights made a big one wrong, IMO.
Anyway, the minis aren´t going to evaporate overnight, the rules are going to be available online, and, as someone put it, there are going to be a lots of discounts on hobby shops around the world, so, life goes on.
nadinbrzezinski
New member
Now rumor has it, and take it with the big grain of salt that a rumor should be taken with, that there is a surprise coming in December. THey are not out of the minis market, and that is their statement.
Here is where they will have some problems, and one of them is serious, the second is not that serious.
1.- Retailers who have seen two lines from WoTC evaporate in oh two years. that must be some kind of a record. Now retailers will be weary of giving them shelf space, becuase of that.
2.- Disenchanted gamers, who are very angry because their game now is gone.... well I must say those same gamers will be buying into the next pretty thing in six months to a year.
Now as to teh comment about support, funny thing happened on teh way to the Forum, we never saw it... and the packaging comes from me, several other miniatueres enthusiasts and some folks in retail. Those boxes take way too much space to display and you cannot really see the model. Then again given the price of the Drow Archer and the size of the model I can certainly understand it... after all both my retailer and I said, who do they think they are GW?
Folks GW has the market locked for one simple reason they do a good job. No I do not like the fact that increasingly it seems there is only one minis game that some retailers want to carry, (GW) but other lines need to compete. In order to compete they need to do some things they have not been able to do, apart of price and qualty, promototion. GW does an extremely good job, just look at White Dwarf for an example of what I mean.
Anyway, I feel sad for the gamers who lost a friend, as it were. Others will come and fill that void, I am sure.
Nadin
Here is where they will have some problems, and one of them is serious, the second is not that serious.
1.- Retailers who have seen two lines from WoTC evaporate in oh two years. that must be some kind of a record. Now retailers will be weary of giving them shelf space, becuase of that.
2.- Disenchanted gamers, who are very angry because their game now is gone.... well I must say those same gamers will be buying into the next pretty thing in six months to a year.
Now as to teh comment about support, funny thing happened on teh way to the Forum, we never saw it... and the packaging comes from me, several other miniatueres enthusiasts and some folks in retail. Those boxes take way too much space to display and you cannot really see the model. Then again given the price of the Drow Archer and the size of the model I can certainly understand it... after all both my retailer and I said, who do they think they are GW?
Folks GW has the market locked for one simple reason they do a good job. No I do not like the fact that increasingly it seems there is only one minis game that some retailers want to carry, (GW) but other lines need to compete. In order to compete they need to do some things they have not been able to do, apart of price and qualty, promototion. GW does an extremely good job, just look at White Dwarf for an example of what I mean.
Anyway, I feel sad for the gamers who lost a friend, as it were. Others will come and fill that void, I am sure.
Nadin
Bent Brush
New member
More on that Chainmail thing.
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/?id=550055
http://theminiaturespage.com/news/?id=550055
T
Triumph
Guest
Rumor has in now that in 2003 they are going to try and compete with wizkids and their Mage Knight line. I do not think this world needs another click game.
TSR, before the WOTC acquisition, once tried to take on Magic the gathering with their own CCG( cant remember the name offhand...spell something) and it failed. Now WOTC is going to do the same with a click game.
WOTC has to answer to Hasbro and Hasbro looks at the bottom line period. They bought WOTC when Pokemon was the next coming and things were good but since the release of D&D 3rd they really haven\'t been burning up the sales with their products.Even MTG, their ace ,is but a pale shadow of it former self
It really is to bad. Many gamers found a game that introduced them to miniature gaming but was still relatively cheap, now they are stuck with an unfinished game but not totally useless figs.
TSR, before the WOTC acquisition, once tried to take on Magic the gathering with their own CCG( cant remember the name offhand...spell something) and it failed. Now WOTC is going to do the same with a click game.
WOTC has to answer to Hasbro and Hasbro looks at the bottom line period. They bought WOTC when Pokemon was the next coming and things were good but since the release of D&D 3rd they really haven\'t been burning up the sales with their products.Even MTG, their ace ,is but a pale shadow of it former self
It really is to bad. Many gamers found a game that introduced them to miniature gaming but was still relatively cheap, now they are stuck with an unfinished game but not totally useless figs.
nadinbrzezinski
New member
Now if that is teh case, and I have heard that rumor too, well two things...
I don\'t like what I am about to say but increasingly the CMGs and CCGs are the way to play. Why? Time, its all a function of time.
If that is the case, hey, if they can compete that might be good for the other line. As is, by 2003 the CMG might start to wane, just like M:tG did.
Now M:tG is a consistent seller, but not as good as it once was. Oh and yes, this is a business, nto a hobby to those running it.
Nadin
I don\'t like what I am about to say but increasingly the CMGs and CCGs are the way to play. Why? Time, its all a function of time.
If that is the case, hey, if they can compete that might be good for the other line. As is, by 2003 the CMG might start to wane, just like M:tG did.
Now M:tG is a consistent seller, but not as good as it once was. Oh and yes, this is a business, nto a hobby to those running it.
Nadin
T
Triumph
Guest
Hey, I do not fault WOTC for pulling the plug on chainmail. It just wasn\'t pulling in it\'s projected sales. Better to cut it now than drag it along .
I disagree with the way they handled it. The developers didn\'t know what happened. They read about it\'s cancellation on the internet. A memo was leeked out and posted on one of the chainmail fan sites. WOTC wanted to keep it quiet until set 4 came out to keep sales up. Since it has become public knowledge retailers are cancelling orders. I know I did.
I disagree with the way they handled it. The developers didn\'t know what happened. They read about it\'s cancellation on the internet. A memo was leeked out and posted on one of the chainmail fan sites. WOTC wanted to keep it quiet until set 4 came out to keep sales up. Since it has become public knowledge retailers are cancelling orders. I know I did.
Wolfsbane21
New member
well it is their own fault as they made it too expensive in comparison with the other games, the starting pack was more expensive if you look what you get for it Right?
R
RHerneson
Guest
More grist for the rumor mill
According to the drek going around my local hobby shop, there was a contract problem (money) with the head sculptor or someone like that and so WoC decided that the way to fix it was to kill the line thus ending the contract in question, but with intentions to re-release it in 6 mo. or so.
Lest, thats the juice on the grape vine around here.
RH
According to the drek going around my local hobby shop, there was a contract problem (money) with the head sculptor or someone like that and so WoC decided that the way to fix it was to kill the line thus ending the contract in question, but with intentions to re-release it in 6 mo. or so.
Lest, thats the juice on the grape vine around here.
RH
