Introduction
I just started collecting miniatures last August or so and got hard into Rackham Confrontation this January, snatching up whatever I could find on the internet. I unfortunately missed the near-legendary clearance sales of last year (although found little remnants here and there), but eventually was able to find almost everything I was looking for. But it took time! And diligence.
Anyhow, when I first started searching for stuff I didn\'t know where to look. I found a few figures here and there in online retailers, and of course Ebay still has the largest selection online, but it took some time before I got the lay of the land.
What I am offering here is what I would have loved to read three or four months ago: A guide to finding the now out-of-print Rackham Confrontation miniatures. One of the frustrations that I continually ran into was online stores saying that they had something and then actually not having it; one store, IconUSA.com, for example had a large list of Rackham figures--many of which I was having trouble finding--and then about a week after I placed an order, they emailed me saying that they sold the last of their Confrontation stuff the week prior! This list is meant to help you avoid that sort of thing...For anyone looking I hope this helps!
A Note about the Rackham Store website: They\'ve been done for a few weeks now, after having a 50% off clearance sale. Evidently Rackham is selling the rest of their metal stock to an unknown distributor and will no longer sell metals at all.
REFERENCE
Seeing as the Rackham Store has been down for weeks I\'ve had a difficult time referencing Confrontation figures, but thanks to a kind member of CMON I discovered Zinndex.de, which has everything listed as far as I can tell. Unless you speak German you have to click on the figure to find out what its name is.
PRIMARY SOURCES
By far the two most useful sources have been Ebay and Bartertown--everything else pales in comparison. Update 6/20: Add Ludik Bazar to the list; the recently bought the Rackham Store\'s remaining metal stock (see below).
EBAY
Easily the largest selection currently online, Ebay has anywhere from about 60 to 200+ active auctions at any one time, as well as 2,000+ Buy It Now items (The Neutral Zone is probably the largest single store). The downside with Ebay is that you generally won\'t get great deals, especially with the Buy It Now auctions, which tend to run 70-100% of retail. Occasionally you\'ll find good deals in the auctions, though, sometimes for less than 50% retail--especially if the figures are out of blisters and/or primed.
The key with Ebay is checking it regularly. There might be no new items for a few days and then someone puts up dozens of auctions. You can find great deals if you just check often enough; for example, I recently bought a Falconers of Alahan blister for $6 including shipping...it just so happens that no one was really looking for those figures (including myself), but why not grab it for a few bucks?
BARTERTOWN
This is where you\'ll find real jewels. The trick with Bartertown is to be diligent, check it often and, most of all: post a list of what you want. I haven\'t seen a ton of variation of what is listed in the last few months, but when I\'ve posted my own list of wants I\'ve gotten some PMs and some very helpful and friendly sellers. Expect to pay 60-70% of retail. And make sure you leave a good reference!
Ludik Bazar
A great source if you\'re in Europe and not terribly expensive shipping-wise if you\'re in teh US: they have a flat rate fee of 10 Euros (which is about $13.40 right now). I just picked up a few hard-to-find figures for relatively cheap: Cerberus, Kaeliss, and the Watcher--all for just over $30 including shipping, which was very fast for crossing the Atlantic (about a week). Update 6/20: Ludik Bazar gets the upgrade to Primary Sources as it now has about 500 items in stock, including some relatively rare ones. The prices are generally good--anywhere from 70% off to around retail--and the shipping to the US isn\'t too bad, 10 Euro ($14) for a package less than 1 lb.
SECONDARY SOURCES
Noble Knight Games
Noble Knight still has a pretty good selection and ships very fast--if you order on Sunday night you\'ll get your package by the end of the week (or at least I have). The downside is the price: Their Rackham figures are discounted about 10-15%, which is decent but not as good as Ebay or Bartertown. The nice thing is that they are new and the service is reliable (and fast). They still have a few items that are relatively hard to find, like the Dragon of Lanever.
Miniature Market
If I had written this a couple weeks ago I wouldn\'t even have mentioned Miniature Market, but they recently added a bunch of stuff, which are selling fast. Most of them are the ones that are usually easily available: Goblins, Kelt Sessairs, Dwarves of Tir-Na-Bor, and some of the other more common figures. But the nice thing is that they are on clearance prices--usually around 50% of retail, sometimes cheaper. If you buy more than $75 worth you get free shipping--and it is pretty quick. Update 6/20: Currently MM\'s Rackham Closeout stock has dwindled quite a bit to the \"dregs.\" But if you\'re looking to buy stuff cheap, especially Goblins, Dwarves, Sessairs, and a bit of everything else, take a look...they\'ve got some really cheap stuff (e.g. Sasia Samaris for $9, various blisters for $2-$3).
WORTH MENTIONING
Brookhurst Hobbies
Brookhurst was one of the big clearance sites and still has a few items left. Not much, but worth checking as some of them are 50% off and there are one or two rare finds for cheap.
Fantization
I\'ve never actually ordered from Fantization as both times I\'ve tried they didn\'t have what I wanted (and said they had). I question the accuracy of their online stock, but it seems they have updated it--and it looks like they still have a lot of Rackham stuff (and a great selection otherwise)--at least if you search for it; Confrontation is not mentioned on their miniature page. I would recommend using a credit card, however, as when I placed an order with PayPal they charged me and then put my order on hold; I had to call a few times just to get them to cancel the order and refund me (they couldn\'t get the items anyway).
FRP Games
A scattered and small selection, but worth checking out.
Wargames Supply
Great selection, with over 400 different items available but unless you\'re in New Zealand you\'ll have to pay a flat rate of about $28 US.
Bargain Bin Gamer
Only a few items but they\'re cheap and good service.
Dakka Dakka Forums
Mainly a Warhammer trade site, they will occasionally have Rackham stuff. Worth browsing.
Chimera Hobby Shop
A FLGS that has agood selection online and has a cheap flat rate $4 shipping.
There are other online stores that still have a few Rackham Confrontation figures, but those are the ones I know of and can vouch for on some level.
A NOTE ON RARE FIGURES
Tanath - As rare as Tanath is supposed to be, he comes up on Ebay every week or so. The last auction I saw ended at about $38, so expect to play a nice chunk of change. Update 6/20: $30-35 seems to be the going rate for Tanath on Ebay, and he seems to come up every couple weeks or so.
Molochs - Although these are relatively recent figures they are very rare and quite expensive. I think the retail was $50; the last Molochs I saw on Ebay sold for twice that on a Buy It Now auction. There was a regular auction a few weeks ago that went for over $100.
Royal Guard of Doriman - This box set isn\'t as rare as I originally thought but I was desperately searching for it and even offered someone $70 (twice retail); I eventually found and bought two sets for $40 total and have since seen it sell on Ebay for $36, so keep your eyes open. But it doesn\'t come up often. Update 6/20: A new box just went for about $80 on Ebay, so the price can vary wildly.
Black Paladins - Possibly the Holy Grail of Rackham miniatures in terms of demand, in my three+ months of scouring Ebay I\'ve only seen them come up once, recently selling for $36--almost three times retail. I was lucky enough to buy a half dozen pre-assembled on Bartertown for $25; the point being, post your want list on Bartertown! You might be surprised at what people have and want to sell.
Dragon Titan of Aarklash - This most expensive of figures shows up every once in awhile; the last one on Ebay sold for almost $200, still less than its original list price of $250+. I haven\'t seen any shops that have it in stock.Update 6/20: An auction just ended at $385 (!) on Ebay, the second Dragon Titan I\'ve seen in the last couple months. It will be interesting to see if the next goes that high or if that was an outlier; I\'m guessing somewhere in-between, in the $275-$325 range.
Belial - I\'ve never seen anyone with this resin kit--I think it was originally only mail order. I wouldn\'t be surprised if Rackham sells it again considering they have gone to all resin.
Other - There are many other figures that are rare or relatively rare, but most pop up every so often on Ebay, or can be found through asking on Bartertown. Update 6/20: One that I\'ve never seen and been looking for is the Daikinee, Irul. Worg 1 is also pretty rare, as is the Orc Clan Trackers box, which jus went for about $125 on Ebay.
I hope this helps for anyone in the same boat I was a few months ago!
I just started collecting miniatures last August or so and got hard into Rackham Confrontation this January, snatching up whatever I could find on the internet. I unfortunately missed the near-legendary clearance sales of last year (although found little remnants here and there), but eventually was able to find almost everything I was looking for. But it took time! And diligence.
Anyhow, when I first started searching for stuff I didn\'t know where to look. I found a few figures here and there in online retailers, and of course Ebay still has the largest selection online, but it took some time before I got the lay of the land.
What I am offering here is what I would have loved to read three or four months ago: A guide to finding the now out-of-print Rackham Confrontation miniatures. One of the frustrations that I continually ran into was online stores saying that they had something and then actually not having it; one store, IconUSA.com, for example had a large list of Rackham figures--many of which I was having trouble finding--and then about a week after I placed an order, they emailed me saying that they sold the last of their Confrontation stuff the week prior! This list is meant to help you avoid that sort of thing...For anyone looking I hope this helps!
A Note about the Rackham Store website: They\'ve been done for a few weeks now, after having a 50% off clearance sale. Evidently Rackham is selling the rest of their metal stock to an unknown distributor and will no longer sell metals at all.
REFERENCE
Seeing as the Rackham Store has been down for weeks I\'ve had a difficult time referencing Confrontation figures, but thanks to a kind member of CMON I discovered Zinndex.de, which has everything listed as far as I can tell. Unless you speak German you have to click on the figure to find out what its name is.
PRIMARY SOURCES
By far the two most useful sources have been Ebay and Bartertown--everything else pales in comparison. Update 6/20: Add Ludik Bazar to the list; the recently bought the Rackham Store\'s remaining metal stock (see below).
EBAY
Easily the largest selection currently online, Ebay has anywhere from about 60 to 200+ active auctions at any one time, as well as 2,000+ Buy It Now items (The Neutral Zone is probably the largest single store). The downside with Ebay is that you generally won\'t get great deals, especially with the Buy It Now auctions, which tend to run 70-100% of retail. Occasionally you\'ll find good deals in the auctions, though, sometimes for less than 50% retail--especially if the figures are out of blisters and/or primed.
The key with Ebay is checking it regularly. There might be no new items for a few days and then someone puts up dozens of auctions. You can find great deals if you just check often enough; for example, I recently bought a Falconers of Alahan blister for $6 including shipping...it just so happens that no one was really looking for those figures (including myself), but why not grab it for a few bucks?
BARTERTOWN
This is where you\'ll find real jewels. The trick with Bartertown is to be diligent, check it often and, most of all: post a list of what you want. I haven\'t seen a ton of variation of what is listed in the last few months, but when I\'ve posted my own list of wants I\'ve gotten some PMs and some very helpful and friendly sellers. Expect to pay 60-70% of retail. And make sure you leave a good reference!
Ludik Bazar
A great source if you\'re in Europe and not terribly expensive shipping-wise if you\'re in teh US: they have a flat rate fee of 10 Euros (which is about $13.40 right now). I just picked up a few hard-to-find figures for relatively cheap: Cerberus, Kaeliss, and the Watcher--all for just over $30 including shipping, which was very fast for crossing the Atlantic (about a week). Update 6/20: Ludik Bazar gets the upgrade to Primary Sources as it now has about 500 items in stock, including some relatively rare ones. The prices are generally good--anywhere from 70% off to around retail--and the shipping to the US isn\'t too bad, 10 Euro ($14) for a package less than 1 lb.
SECONDARY SOURCES
Noble Knight Games
Noble Knight still has a pretty good selection and ships very fast--if you order on Sunday night you\'ll get your package by the end of the week (or at least I have). The downside is the price: Their Rackham figures are discounted about 10-15%, which is decent but not as good as Ebay or Bartertown. The nice thing is that they are new and the service is reliable (and fast). They still have a few items that are relatively hard to find, like the Dragon of Lanever.
Miniature Market
If I had written this a couple weeks ago I wouldn\'t even have mentioned Miniature Market, but they recently added a bunch of stuff, which are selling fast. Most of them are the ones that are usually easily available: Goblins, Kelt Sessairs, Dwarves of Tir-Na-Bor, and some of the other more common figures. But the nice thing is that they are on clearance prices--usually around 50% of retail, sometimes cheaper. If you buy more than $75 worth you get free shipping--and it is pretty quick. Update 6/20: Currently MM\'s Rackham Closeout stock has dwindled quite a bit to the \"dregs.\" But if you\'re looking to buy stuff cheap, especially Goblins, Dwarves, Sessairs, and a bit of everything else, take a look...they\'ve got some really cheap stuff (e.g. Sasia Samaris for $9, various blisters for $2-$3).
WORTH MENTIONING
Brookhurst Hobbies
Brookhurst was one of the big clearance sites and still has a few items left. Not much, but worth checking as some of them are 50% off and there are one or two rare finds for cheap.
Fantization
I\'ve never actually ordered from Fantization as both times I\'ve tried they didn\'t have what I wanted (and said they had). I question the accuracy of their online stock, but it seems they have updated it--and it looks like they still have a lot of Rackham stuff (and a great selection otherwise)--at least if you search for it; Confrontation is not mentioned on their miniature page. I would recommend using a credit card, however, as when I placed an order with PayPal they charged me and then put my order on hold; I had to call a few times just to get them to cancel the order and refund me (they couldn\'t get the items anyway).
FRP Games
A scattered and small selection, but worth checking out.
Wargames Supply
Great selection, with over 400 different items available but unless you\'re in New Zealand you\'ll have to pay a flat rate of about $28 US.
Bargain Bin Gamer
Only a few items but they\'re cheap and good service.
Dakka Dakka Forums
Mainly a Warhammer trade site, they will occasionally have Rackham stuff. Worth browsing.
Chimera Hobby Shop
A FLGS that has agood selection online and has a cheap flat rate $4 shipping.
There are other online stores that still have a few Rackham Confrontation figures, but those are the ones I know of and can vouch for on some level.
A NOTE ON RARE FIGURES
Tanath - As rare as Tanath is supposed to be, he comes up on Ebay every week or so. The last auction I saw ended at about $38, so expect to play a nice chunk of change. Update 6/20: $30-35 seems to be the going rate for Tanath on Ebay, and he seems to come up every couple weeks or so.
Molochs - Although these are relatively recent figures they are very rare and quite expensive. I think the retail was $50; the last Molochs I saw on Ebay sold for twice that on a Buy It Now auction. There was a regular auction a few weeks ago that went for over $100.
Royal Guard of Doriman - This box set isn\'t as rare as I originally thought but I was desperately searching for it and even offered someone $70 (twice retail); I eventually found and bought two sets for $40 total and have since seen it sell on Ebay for $36, so keep your eyes open. But it doesn\'t come up often. Update 6/20: A new box just went for about $80 on Ebay, so the price can vary wildly.
Black Paladins - Possibly the Holy Grail of Rackham miniatures in terms of demand, in my three+ months of scouring Ebay I\'ve only seen them come up once, recently selling for $36--almost three times retail. I was lucky enough to buy a half dozen pre-assembled on Bartertown for $25; the point being, post your want list on Bartertown! You might be surprised at what people have and want to sell.
Dragon Titan of Aarklash - This most expensive of figures shows up every once in awhile; the last one on Ebay sold for almost $200, still less than its original list price of $250+. I haven\'t seen any shops that have it in stock.Update 6/20: An auction just ended at $385 (!) on Ebay, the second Dragon Titan I\'ve seen in the last couple months. It will be interesting to see if the next goes that high or if that was an outlier; I\'m guessing somewhere in-between, in the $275-$325 range.
Belial - I\'ve never seen anyone with this resin kit--I think it was originally only mail order. I wouldn\'t be surprised if Rackham sells it again considering they have gone to all resin.
Other - There are many other figures that are rare or relatively rare, but most pop up every so often on Ebay, or can be found through asking on Bartertown. Update 6/20: One that I\'ve never seen and been looking for is the Daikinee, Irul. Worg 1 is also pretty rare, as is the Orc Clan Trackers box, which jus went for about $125 on Ebay.
I hope this helps for anyone in the same boat I was a few months ago!
