New line of minis???

[Nomis]

Why not just accept them for what they are - playing pieces - or more accurately - TOYS!

Hero clix for example provide an easily set up and quickly played game with figures that can be chucked in a box once finished.

How many of you would contemplate doing that with your carefully prepared and painted figures? - even if you actually game with them.

Having said that here are examples of what can be done with these (as Lurch puts it) \"pieces of crap\" courtesy of Errex.


Scarlet Witch
Daredevil
Elektra

 

[kittykat23uk]

I\'m not saying that things like Mage Knight and Heroclix don\'t have a place in the gaming hobby. In fact I\'ve played a few games of heroclix and I quite enjoyed it.

However, the reason why I am disappointed that this will be the sort of \"miniatures\" put out for the new D&D range is that I really liked the artwork from the 3rd ed monster manual and when the black dragon came out I thought he was very true to that artwork and as such was a joy to paint. I was really hoping that:

a) the artwork in the 3.5 version would be of the same calibre to 3rd ed (having not seen this book yet I do not know) and

b) they\'d bring out a proper range of miniatures that were base on this artwork.

I bought the 3rd ed monster manual purely for the artwork. I was hoping that WOTC would produce some more of the chromatic /metallic dragons, based on this art, but alas this is not the case.

Thankfully Reaper do seem to be producing a lot of great dragons that are similar to the 3rd ed D&D artwork along with a lot of other monsters. But they could do with some more intermediately sized dragons ala, Deathsleet, IMHO.

It would make sense for them to brand a lot of their stuff under the D&D label with it being so similar- but then they\'d have to pay royalties and things of that nature so they probably don\'t want to!

Regards

Kat

 

[beej]

I can definetly see the appeal of this product. I used to work in a game shop and was the resident painter. I can\'t count how many times i would be running a painting seminar for all the kids and some of the kids would get frustrated because they couldn\'t paint what they saw on the box. Now for those kids, this product is a god send. But there were also other kids who would spend alot of time painting just the hair, or the sword. thankfully those kids will (hopefully) grace this site with thier own work someday.

I agree fully with Lurch and Sturmhalo on how crappy this new product will be, however i also agree with Temperence that it could eventually bring in new hobbyists.

Now when it comes to gaming usefulness, i think it\'s a crapshoot. I havn\'t gamed in years but i KNOW that no self respecting GM is going to create his campaign and adventures based on his figure resources. so the randomness i feel is a definite downfall if it\'s being marketed towards GM\'s. However, a product like this can seriously hurt commission painters like myself. I\'ve been making a name for myself with the mid-west organized gaming community for painting peoples d&d characters. If people start using these for their characters it\'s gonna suck! :flame:

But i dont know what the sculpt range is going to be. is it only going to be monsters? or are they also going to be having adventurer packs or something like that?

anyone have any more 411 on this? ???

beej

 

[supervike]

some merit.

Well, I agree the miniatures are crappy.

BUT, I also agree with the sentiments of some of the other posters about the merit of \'lower\' end mini\'s.

It is really no different in alot of hobbies/activities.

Golf. You can buy cheap clubs but serious players would complain about the quality.

Computers: Compare the Gateway 2000 entry level to a fully configures \'alienware\' gamer computer.

Bowling, darts, fishing, stereo equipment. All have a cheap \'entry level\' products, and then a higher priced product for folks with \'discriminating tastes\'.

I myself would probably never buy them, but also the reason I have never been a \'serious gamer\' is because I have always wanted to wait until I had \'enough painted up to play properly\'.

It seems to be a good cheap product for folks that just want to play the game.

 

[Jenova]

Hmmm, those sure are ugly. I quite liked WOTC\'s D&D and Chainmail figures and was sad to see them go.

Like Kat, I bought the Monster Manual for the pics and it would have been great to see some really nice minis to go with it....

Oh well, hopefully you are right and this will introduce a few people to the miniature hobby

(I still can\'t get over how bad they look......!)

 

[abstracity]

What the heck are you people talking about?

I honestly cannot see where some of you are coming from...

from what I can see there is absolutlely nothing wrong with the sculpting or detail on these miniatures....

In fact, at least one is a Mage Knight figure that has been slightly changed (the ranger). I wouldn\'t be surprised to see a lot of this...

Some very talented sculpters worked on the mage knight line (superb minis in there, some blah ones too but that is seen in every range from every manufacturer). And I\'d bet money that many of the same people worked on this crop of stuff.

The problem isn\'t the mini, its the splashed on paint...and you guys talk about stripping mini\'s enough that I can\'t imagine you don\'t know how to deal with that problem...

Sturmahalo, you\'ve painted miniatures who\'s sculpting is on par with these...so wha\'ts the problem?...Finn has too...I\'ve seen them! I have too!! We all have!! and we do so regularly.

Let Wizkidz do their thing...it can\'t hurt...only help....people see these pieces of trash (the painting - not the sculpt) and it makes the stuff we paint look all the better. And with good reason...I can honestly state that the stuff I paint is several orders of magnitude removed from these sloppy things...same goes for hundreds of posters on CMON.

Peace.

 

[ZaPhOd]

Putrid

My standpoint in a nutshell:
As a old school 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D DM, I find the thought of random minis useless. I will go into random mini packaging in section C, subsection 2.04. If the packages are very cheap, I would understand buying TONS of them, but they may as well sell singles for cheap and let you buy tons of them.

Painting and Sculpting
I go with Joe... The Paintwork is IMO a 2 at best on CMON as they are not even staying within the lines... It would be adequate for a group of average gamers who do not have any painters in there group however... WOTC being the mighty and brainy marketing giant they are realise that probably 8 out of 10 groups fall into this category...

The sculpting is okay as well. Look s pretty good actually. It is a shame they are plastic though, as stripping the globs of paint of may be more difficult.

WOTC (or Section C, Subsection 2.04)
They blow more goats than any other company in existence. My gaming heart was proverbially ripped from my chest when I found out TSR sold out to them. After being involved in the Magic debacle (I say debacle cause it was nothing but money for them) for numerous years, I saw them go with the \"random packaging\" forever. This is to maintain the \"collectable\" side of the card game? RUBBISH. It is to ensur ethat you must spend $5 a pack on lots of packs to build the strategy you desire, or trade or pay through the arse to do so. I KNOW! Suddenly, they put out prebuilt decks! Imagine.. now you can just go and buy a full blown piece of crap deck that you probably can\'t even mix any of your older thousands of cards in ecasue the rules say you can\'t!!! Please tell me there is any other reason WOTC would package up random minis to sell OTHER than raping gamers money? It is absolutely retarded IMO!

End of rant! Thanks for reading folks.. I am going to hide from them now

 

[Stripwalker]

well actually

As I found with MageKnight Painters Edition the sculpts for these things can be amazing- as good as lead. Then they take these great sculpts and dip them in thick gooey boring crap- er I mean paint. Stripping the paint would be fine but it is nearly impossible to do with the type of paint they use combined with the plastic of the mini- the stripper has a tendency to attack the actual figure.

On the Hirst arts board someone posted that Badger Airbrush cleaner sprayed on a figure let you easily wash the yucky painbt off of a mageknight piece. The active ingrediant is Xylene- also found in things like \'Goof Off\'. So I tried goof off- and STILL had to scrub, with most of the paint stuck in the cracks. Worse the figures become SUPER soft if exposed to the Xylene for even a small length of time.

Personally I like some of the MageKnight sculpts and upcoming D&D sculpts. It is a shame I will never get to paint any of them due to bad marketing.

Oh- the random packaging. Yes, most die-hard mini players/painters hate this format. But it is true that the actual cost per figure drops for these for the consumer (~$2 for a Painters Ed MageKnight fig) BUT the reason is this: for every great figure or piece you get you also get 2-3 crappy ones or at best a double (or seven ) of a mediocre one you already have.

 

[No Such Agency]

It\'s funny, the quality of pre-painted figures can vary so widely even within a single range. I have 3 HeroClix, the Hulk (got it free on Free Comic Book Day!), Boom-Boom and Harley Quinn (bought 2nd hand). Hulk and HQ are pretty decent, I\'d be willing to field them as-is without feeling ashamed. But Boom-Boom is *awful*! Top half dipped in beige paint, legs dipped in blue, top of head dipped in yellow is what it looks like. And brake fluid doesn\'t make a dent in this damn paint. Xylene huh ???

 

[kittykat23uk]

Another good point though- why bother buying D&D minis like these when theres alreadyMageknight out there, which I agree has some rather nice models in it anyway? That way you get to use the minis in both games.???

Kat

 

[darthfoley]

Personally, I\'m quite happy with the fact that Reaper is making all the old monster manual style monsters. Just bought the Fire Giant today....nummy....

 

[Stripwalker]

thats another point

By releasing these craptacular painted figs, it really harms no one- there is a multitude of other options out there and a smart company is sure to fill the void.

Sure, there is obviously a market for shoddy painted playing pieces- hard as it is to beleive I know groups that prefer paper counters over minis due to storage! But if Hasbro wants to waste their efforts covering Wizkid\'s well traveled ground it won\'t hurt my wallet any- my money will just go other places.

 

[Aschul]

actually....

Hmmm, it looks pretty bad in that photo, true, but it could be the starting point for a decent paint job. Just splash some ink on the armour, drybrush it a bit...same goes for the skin...I think you could make it fairly good, and it would actually be less work than starting the paint job \"from scratch\".

 

[Coyote]

Wait
huh
what?
duh
uhhh

Reaper is making the old D&D monsters? Is this fairly new, or did I just miss it while looking through their catalogue for D&D monsters?

As for the WOTC stuff. I can\'t visit their website, can someone post a pic. The one earlier in the thread was a red X.

Personally, I hate the random element more then the pre-painted element.

However, business wise it is a very good idea to increase sales and profit. WOTC being a business, likes doing things that increase it\'s sales and profits.

You may have noticed that many companies that don\'t use these technique have gone out of business.

 

[darthfoley]

Originally posted by Coyote
Reaper is making the old D&D monsters? Is this fairly new, or did I just miss it while looking through their catalogue for D&D monsters?

Well, that\'s what I\'d call them. Owl Bear, Hook Horror (though they call it Hooked Terror), Kobolds, orcs...demons, giants, etc...take your pick.

 

[Coyote]

I was just at their site, I can\'t find them. Where are they?

 

[Lurch]

The new miniature section can be found at
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ms/20030606a
Just make sure to have your sickness bag ready before you look at them.


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Ohh and Reaper is not affiliated with the DnD line. They merely make minis which can be used in many different RPg fantasy games. Reaper would NEVER conciously make monsters similar to the monster Manual put out by WOTC That would be copyright infringement...

**Wink Wink** :innocent:

 

[darthfoley]

Originally posted by Lurch
Ohh and Reaper is not affiliated with the DnD line. They merely make minis which can be used in many different RPg fantasy games. Reaper would NEVER conciously make monsters similar to the monster Manual put out by WOTC...

**Wink Wink** :innocent:

Yeah, what Lurch said.

 

[Coyote]

no no, where is the Reaper D&D stuff?
I\'ve found Orcs and wierd Gnolls, but no kobolds or owlbears

I can\'t find it on their website.

 

[darthfoley]

Well, again, it\'s not \'official\' DnD...but the kobold pack I was talking about is Reaper # 2470 IIRC. Also, if you missed my earlier post about the Boneyard (Reaper\'s bits service), check there.