43 replies to this topic

[cinemajay]

I've felt for the last 2 years or so that LE could have been an incredible line, but someone is really dropping the ball. In nearly 3 years they've put out less than 40 figures--and some of those spots are wasted on figs that can be purchased anywhere, like the recent dinosaur releases:
http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Legendary%20Encounters/latest/20036
http://www.reapermini.com/Miniatures/Legendary%20Encounters/latest/20037

With so many possibilities that they could be converting to the LE line, I'm actually disappointed that Reaper has chosen to give several spots to figs that can be easily obtained anywhere. You can get museum quality (Schleich, Safari, etc.) dinosaurs at discount stores like Target and Walmart--same with plastic insects/spiders. Why not focus on more player characters in basic races and classes, or NPCs. Or start releasing Chronoscope figs--there's practically NOTHING out there for sci-fi now that Wizards' Star Wars line is gone. Or other popular RPG monsters that people want (Eye Tyrant anyone?) instead of items that can be easily replaced on the gaming table.

There's clearly demand for many figs that you can't get pre-painted anywhere. I just don't understand.

[joshuaslater]

If Reaper's dropped the ball, pick it up and run with it. Find out how much it is to commission the sculpts, or sculpt them yourself, and then how much it costs to have them produced in plastic and painted. You may have to take out a considerable loan to do this, but if you have the cojones, and the drive, and the luck, then go for it!!

Reaper started out of a small space with a spin casting machine. Apple and Steve Jobs started off in a garage. Maybe you'll be the next mogul of pre-paints!

[Foxden Racing]

It's come up before, I know...and often enough that Bryan gets a little touchy. A shame...he's a good guy when somebody's not jumping up and down on his last nerve.

The LE line is caught in a perfect storm of crappy conditions. The economy's in the tank, and its effect on disposable income is fairly obvious. Indonesia deciding they're the next OPEC is driving metal prices through the roof, and striking that balance between us saying 'screw it, too expensive' and making a decent margin is cutting into the amount of cash they have available for research, development, licensing, and expansion. WoTC's line rapidly hit saturation, crashed, and was recently reintroduced, creating a lot of doubt about PPP minis. The line coming back hints that demand might be there, but the question is whether the demand is long-term sustainable.

Reaper's method, or so I'm told, is a little old-fashioned for today's get-rich-quick mentality: slow, sustainable, steady growth rather than gambling that the highs are bigger than the lows in a company-lifetime series of bubbles-and-busts. With PPP specifically, they're not expecting the models to subsidize one another, not risking the entire line (or the entire company) being tanked by the one model that's 'supposed to be popular' not being popular enough to make up for the 4 niche ones that'll never break even. Each one has to stand on its own, so they're taking the time to make sure those models can...not flooding the market with loss-leading junk and a few highly profitable items.

They're releasing what they can without taking on enormous debts, and not hanging the guillotine of enormous losses over their heads if what they do release tanks. It's a cautious (and annoying to dedicated, sometimes impatient fans) but ultimately smart thought process when you're looking at being in business 5, 10, or 25 years from now. It annoys the guys that want big returns next quarter and who cares if they go under tomorrow, but every signal I get from the Reaper crew is that the money is nice, but the main goal is that they want to be doing this until they retire.

[joshuaslater]

Somebody should just pin Foxden's post!!!

[Dr.Bedlam]

Somebody should just pin Foxden's post!!!

Yeah, what he said.

My experiences with Reaper have given me a pretty sharp picture of how it operates: namely, a bunch of people who, like, have a hell of a stake in what they're doing. As in, they love what they're doing, but this is a BUSINESS, man. As in, sure, they'd love to take a flyer on something cool, but Ed has bills to pay, Bryan and Shannon have a mortgage to cover, and let's not even get into the blackmail payments to the Bulgarian mafia... all jokes aside, this is a LIVING for these people. And hopefully, even a comfortable retirement at some point.

I once thought about opening a game store in New Braunfels. I studied the issue very thoroughly. I finally concluded that to make it work, I'd have to make compromises I didn't wanna make, sell things I wasn't much interested in selling, work like a galley slave instead of hiring people to do the actual WORK, and worst of all... by the time I made it all work, it wouldn't be any dratted FUN.

The people at Reaper have made their business work. They like what they do. They have fun doing it. But they can't lose sight of the dollar signs, because even if they are successful at this time, they ain't Goldman Sachs. All it would take is one serious screwup (or further tankings in the economy) to seriously damage these people's lives.

Given all the variables they juggle, I for one am very much disinclined to tell them how to do their jobs. Hell, I even feel a little guilty encouraging them to make stuff I WANT if I don't think enough other people would want it, too... if they can pay the bills selling dinosaurs, more power to them. And if that finances the making of stuff I DO want, then so be it.

[ReaperClark]

FYI: The spiders are one of our better sellers! We are working on the third color variant as we've almost sold through the second order of brown ones.

We shall see how the dinos do. If the dinos don't do, then no more dinos, but it the dinos do, do, then perhaps more dinos we'll do.

Do--dee do--dee dah dee-do <add your own music>

Regardless of what a few people may think, the sale number show otherwise--so far.

I would sure love to get more new stuff out, but we are moving as fast as practical / possible.

[Baphomet69]

Slow and steady wins the race.

Personally, pre-paints aren't my bag (but then, looking at the boxes of unpainted pewter I've accumulated, it appears painting isn't either... ), but I think it's awesome that there is that alternative for those who need a mini now and don't/won't/can't paint it. Kudos to Reaper (yet again) for giving us yet another option!

[Brother Jim]

Wait

The spiders are brown??

Not the silly fluorescent green??

Sold

[haldir]

Wait

The spiders are brown??

Not the silly fluorescent green??

Sold

Well they could be pink?? Thou that might be scarier.

I've gotten 1 LE fig & that was the purple worm that was in the RCon goody bag that year (Erin's all purple theme that year). Anyways the quality of the pre-paints was enough for me the next year to bring down my metal as part of my melt bag for the Boneyard. Keep up the great work Reaper!!

[Foxden Racing]

I love my metal, but plastic has its places of importance...players that don't want to paint/learn to paint, hordes (doing epic encounters with metal gets prohibitively expensive fast), and the obscene price of larger models nowadays.

I remember when minis were $2.50 for a normal figure and $10 or so for a large monster. I've got a few from back then still blistered, my #2760 is priced at $5, currently goes for $10. Beastmen of the Wood at $12, etc. While I buy plastic very, very rarely, I appreciate having the option.

Here's to hoping another country finds a huge tin deposit in the near future.

[Dr.Bedlam]

I like plastic just fine. Easier for conversions, for one thing. Prepainted plastic rocks. I'd likely buy more LE if I didn't own so much metal as it is; I have bought largely LE figures that I liked that were cheaper in plastic. Keep meaning to load up on LE kobolds...

And if I don't like the colors, I change 'em.

[haldir]

Keep meaning to load up on LE kobolds...

Speakin of kobolds, for about 5 years straight I'd always grab a handful of each sculpt from the byard during Rcon, ha ha.

One day I'll paint em all!!!

[Reaperbryan]

Yes.

[wildbill]

Yes.

Are you sure? That didn't sound definitive enough.

[Reaperbryan]

Yes.

Are you sure? That didn't sound definitive enough.

Yep.