So I finally got over my GW-phobia!

[Amazon warrior]

Originally posted by Aliengod3
I think that GW prices are comparable to other companies. Personally I thought that when rackham produced their metal minis they were more expensive than GW. Some, not all. But precious metals have been going up in price as of late.

I\'m always horrified by how expensive Privateer Press minis are. So much so that it\'s really put me off collecting any more Circle models because I can\'t justify paying over 50 Euros for three chicks on wolves (even though they\'re some of the coolest models Circle have, IMO). That\'s not even a full unit! For a game that I\'m not even playing right now, that\'s a bit rich for my wallet.

 

[Minicreatures]

I like Reaper minis, they were my first introduction to the mini-world. I agree I\'m not crazy about all of them, but I like the variety and personality they have, particularly in the newer figures in Warlord series. They do come in handy for a variety of gaming figures, classes, monsters etc. Also the game stores near me have a large amount of them.

I like GW as well, especially some of their newer sculpts, although in gaming terms I tend to think of GW as mass armies and warbands as opposed to single individuals/heroes. I\'m always impressed when I see a single hero painted to stand out unique, with his/her own story.

I\'m still exploring other smaller companies as well, (fairly new to seeing what other companies have to offer). I like Hasslefree figures, alot of great character there, and I picked up some Helldorado figures that I am excited to paint too. I love the Rackham minis as well, however I\'m not sure why (maybe its the metal?) I\'ve had a few figures from the Hybrid game box and also some blisters of Confrontation elves\' ankles snap off unexpectedly... which is making me trepidatious about painting them & buying more. And in my browsing around here at CMON I\'ve seen other really great figures from a plethora of companies as well.

I guess I\'m not that discerning yet I suppose and need to branch out more, so I\'m curious, what are people\'s favorite companies?

I haven\'t really thought about minis in terms of this before, usually I just impulse buy stupidly when I think something looks cool... Price is also somewhat of a factor as well (still waiting on that winning lottery ticket to come through) but within relative reason/rationalization. Speaking of which I find the CMON store especially dangerous!

Edit: ahhh I spy another cool reaper fig I want that\'s coming soon...

http://www.reapermini.com/graphics/gallery/4/03431_w_1.jpg

 

[Eryops]

Originally posted by Minicreatures
I\'m still exploring other smaller companies as well, (fairly new to seeing what other companies have to offer). I like Hasslefree figures, alot of great character there, and I picked up some Helldorado figures that I am excited to paint too. I love the Rackham minis as well, however I\'m not sure why (maybe its the metal?) I\'ve had a few figures from the Hybrid game box and also some blisters of Confrontation elves\' ankles snap off unexpectedly... which is making me trepidatious about painting them & buying more. And in my browsing around here at CMON I\'ve seen other really great figures from a plethora of companies as well.

Yes, this is the kind of response I was hoping for. I\'m not married to Reaper in any way, but as I said in my OP, Reaper and GW (I don\'t think it\'s even worth mentioning MegaMiniatures in the same breath) are all I have to work with in the local stores.

And yes, the stupid brocolli bases add 20-30 minutes of needless work to any given figure. I think it\'s all a conspiracy to sell more Green Stuff.

Perhaps once I\'m exposed to more sculpts from more companies I\'ll have a better perspective, but there is something to be said about seeing a mini in the flesh before buying. Online may start to become an option for me, but it isn\'t yet...

 

[Amazon warrior]

Originally posted by Eryops

Originally posted by Minicreatures
I\'m still exploring other smaller companies as well, (fairly new to seeing what other companies have to offer). I like Hasslefree figures, alot of great character there, and I picked up some Helldorado figures that I am excited to paint too. I love the Rackham minis as well, however I\'m not sure why (maybe its the metal?) I\'ve had a few figures from the Hybrid game box and also some blisters of Confrontation elves\' ankles snap off unexpectedly... which is making me trepidatious about painting them & buying more. And in my browsing around here at CMON I\'ve seen other really great figures from a plethora of companies as well.

Yes, this is the kind of response I was hoping for. I\'m not married to Reaper in any way, but as I said in my OP, Reaper and GW (I don\'t think it\'s even worth mentioning MegaMiniatures in the same breath) are all I have to work with in the local stores.

And yes, the stupid brocolli bases add 20-30 minutes of needless work to any given figure. I think it\'s all a conspiracy to sell more Green Stuff.

Perhaps once I\'m exposed to more sculpts from more companies I\'ll have a better perspective, but there is something to be said about seeing a mini in the flesh before buying. Online may start to become an option for me, but it isn\'t yet...

Check out Dark Sword, perhaps? They often come with bases, but they\'re separate to the minis, so you can use them or not as you wish. Their sculpts are exceptionally nice and well proportioned, too. You might find them a bit taller than you\'re used to tho, and the metal they use can be rather soft and bendy.

 

[Eryops]

Originally posted by Amazon warriorCheck out Dark Sword, perhaps? They often come with bases, but they\'re separate to the minis, so you can use them or not as you wish. Their sculpts are exceptionally nice and well proportioned, too. You might find them a bit taller than you\'re used to tho, and the metal they use can be rather soft and bendy.

Looks like an interesting site. The Larry Elmore art is very evocative for me, since that was my D&D \'impression\' period, even though I\'ve never liked Dragonlance. I might start buying minis purely for the painting and display rather than gaming purposes!

 

[shakes]

some companies cast with lead which makes small pieces more liable to break. lead however holds fine detail better than pewter or whatever the majority of companies use. personally my 3 favorite mini companies are enigma, rackham, and GW. this is speaking purely from a hobbyists perspective. i believe enigma and rackham both cast in lead. i personally feel enigma has the nicest models i have ever seen. rackham has unfortunately turned to plastic which i hate, there metal mini\'s are pretty much the only ones im really fond of. on the reaper side most of there stuff i dislike but there are a couple such as 54mm monique denoir which i absolutely love.

shakes

 

[Chrome]

One thing I think is good to remember as well is the fact that GW at least tries to balance out their prices regarding armies and not individual models. Not to mention that metal casting is more expensive than plastic(but that isn\'t of any significance in this discussion). No matter what army you are collecting you will pay roughly the same amount of money for it. Of course, the balance is a tad bit off comparing old and new stuff but the thought is still there.

So, in armies where you have loads and loads of models you pay less per model than in an army where you have fewer models. A nice (and somewhat irritating) example of this is the new Imperial Guard. Once upon a time you got 20 guardsmen for (using local prices here since I cant remember the pound) 270 SEK. Nowadays you get 10 for 170 SEK. that is a lot more per model than it used to be and you very often hear people cry about how bad and evil GW are for doing something so wicked. But taking the new codex into account you quite soon realize that IG is ever so slightly moving away from the hording type of army and they have gotten a shitload of tanks instead. So, with the GW \"standard\" army list, you still pay about the same price as you used to for the entire army even though the individual models are more expensive.

This is what makes GW prices seem so unfair to the non-gamer. But GW has always been leaning more towards the gamer than the artist and I don\'t expect them to do otherwise anytime soon either.

And with their ever increasing bulk of plastic even the metal models are getting cheaper. Not in the way of them getting reduced in price but in them not getting a price increase as often as the rest, I believe this is what has leveled out the prices compared to the other companies.

Oh, and I still hate GW pricing, I just thought I\'d put some logic behind it. lol

 

[Minicreatures]

Thanks for the info on Dark Sword and Enigma miniatures! Very interesting stuff. I really liked alot of Enigma\'s concept artwork too.
I\'m curious though with the companies that cast in lead, are there any products that one could use to strengthen the mini after completion? I wasn\'t handling the figures very roughly at all, and the poor fella just fell over..
I\'ve also seen some advertisements for resin figures. (I\'m assuming that resin is a slightly different than plastic? but not sure). If I was creating a fig from scratch I\'d probably give resin or plastic a try 1st since I\'m not as familiar with casting in metals.
I\'ve also picked up a few of the Anima Tactics figures and I like them even though they have alot of parts to attach.

 

[freakinacage]

Originally posted by Chrome
One thing I think is good to remember as well is the fact that GW at least tries to balance out their prices regarding armies and not individual models. Not to mention that metal casting is more expensive than plastic(but that isn\'t of any significance in this discussion).

i was under the impression that the machines for plastic cost a considerable whack more

 

[Necroghast]

I like really detailed and realistic looking minis such as Pegaso, Andrea, Rackham....But they\'re too expensive! So I mostly work with GW which is fine because they definitely have a lot of high quality sculpts, especially newer stuff.

 

[Chrome]

The machines for casting plastics do cost one heck of a lot more, but in return plastic molding does not wear out the molds anywhere near as fast as metal casting does and therefore you get quite the amount of plastic out of that machine compared to if it was metal being cast.

 

[freakinacage]

ahhhhhhhhh

 

[Eryops]

Originally posted by Chrome
The machines for casting plastics do cost one heck of a lot more, but in return plastic molding does not wear out the molds anywhere near as fast as metal casting does and therefore you get quite the amount of plastic out of that machine compared to if it was metal being cast.

I\'ve learned like six new things in this thread. Thanks!