37 replies to this topic

[kyaakone]

Are there plans to release metal versions of some of the new scupts from the kickstarter. It seems that it would be challenging for the very large models.

Just curious.

Thanks

[dwarvenranger]

My wallet shudders at the thought of the new Kaladrax in metal

[Dr.Bedlam]

Urrgh. What dwarvenranger said, and then some. The plastic Kaladrax is awesome, and I want one... at least partly because I know I can AFFORD one! That's been the factor keeping me from buying ALL the large Reaper dragons... PRICE!

[Adrift]

kyaakone, I haven't read anything about a proposed metal release date. This doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, or hasn't been discussed, I just haven't seen it.

[Qwyksilver]

Kalandrax Redux looks to be bigger, and with the base, would have more metal than something like Mauthwrangler...so I suspect a plus $100 tag if he were made in metal. I shudder to think what Nethermaul or Cthulu would cost.

I would like to see some of the human sized new for Bones minis in metal before I see the big uns. I just couldn't afford most of them (the big guys) in metal.

[Reaperbryan]

We continue to discuss the pros and cons of each of the larger new figures. At this time, no release dates have been set for any of them, and I can not guarantee that any of them will or will not exist in metal. Several of them have metal masters and could be done in metal, but might be well over $100.

[Qwyksilver]

I wonder how much melt I would need to trade in for a metal Kaladrax

[Last Knight]

How many would you have to sell to recoup the mold making costs for metal? Ball park, obviously. It might be worth it as a special edition type thing for the die hard metal monkeys like Buglips...

[Argentee]

How many would you have to sell to recoup the mold making costs for metal? Ball park, obviously. It might be worth it as a special edition type thing for the die hard metal monkeys like Buglips...

The math on something like that isn't simple. I've got small business experience in jewelry and casting jewelry, so let me make my best guess at how cost would be calculated....

Redesign will almost certainly be needed. That means paying the sculptor for their time. Then there is the cost of the new molds. Then overage for anything that goes wrong. Then they have to figure the weight of the final piece, and how much raw metal is in it. Then the power cost of producing each mini. Then the man-hours of producing each piece. And the cost of packaging. Oh, and the cost of the art for the packaging.

Then how many do you plan on producing a year? How many years will your accountant let you amortize the artist fees, sculptor's fees, and mold cost over?

Put all that together, and some things I probably can't even guess at, and then you have the production cost per mini. Add in what is considered minimum accepted profit per mini, and then you get the final cost per figure.

... This is why I got a day-job, instead of following in my step-grandfather's footsteps and becoming a self-employed jeweler.

[buglips*the*goblin]

I don't think it would need a redesign, since a metal master had to be produced in order to make the Bones mold - so we already know it can be cast as is.

But anyway, so long as metal masters exist then the theoretical possibility that it can be produced in metal also exists. Whether it would be practical to do so is another matter.

[Frankthedm]

How many years will your accountant let you amortize the artist fees, sculptor's fees, and mold cost over?

The head honcho is a CPA, so Reaper is pretty good about resource management.

[Reaperbryan]

Note that Cthulhu, Kaladrax, and Wyrmgear never got metal masters. We made resin masters because they were too big to fit in our mold boxes.

[ced1106]

+1 to Argentee.

From a retailer's standpoint, Bones are much better than metal. It's easier for a customer to drop $100 on four $25 Bones miniatures over a period of time, than save up $100 to buy a single metal miniature. Bones miniature purchases essentially cannibalize metal ones, so most retailers would carry the less expensive Bones versions of huge models to reduce SKUs. I'm not sure about shipping costs to retailers, but a huge metal miniature is heavy and someone has to pay for that shipment.

OTOH, With online purchases being much easier, who knows. I don't think it's cost-effective for Reaper to sell a huge metal version of a Bones miniature, but another company or sculptor might KickStart their own huge mini's. KS has certainly enabled individuals to sell products outside the traditional retailer chain. The Aliens KS is selling a resin garage-kit that's essentially a huge miniature.

Speaking of weight, I hope Reaper moves into more huge plastic injection goodies. I *think* Resin is the most common huge sculpture material, but, dang, it's heavy and expensive. Hope to see some lightweight *buildings* in Bone that are inexpensive.

[buglips*the*goblin]

Note that Cthulhu, Kaladrax, and Wyrmgear never got metal masters. We made resin masters because they were too big to fit in our mold boxes.

Interesting! (Also interesting that you have adopted the forum name for the Clockwork Dragon, and not his official one - truly you are a man of the people)

I didn't think you could make injection-molded tooling with resin masters. Neat.

[Tranquil Ape]

Note that Cthulhu, Kaladrax, and Wyrmgear never got metal masters. We made resin masters because they were too big to fit in our mold boxes.

Interesting! (Also interesting that you have adopted the forum name for the Clockwork Dragon, and not his official one - truly you are a man of the people)

I didn't think you could make injection-molded tooling with resin masters. Neat.

lol... was just gonna say something about that...

I may up and move my family to texas... just be closer to the awesome-ness that oozes from the reaper premises