why are these fucking things so expensive?
>>44448886
>that shit-scythe
http://www.reapermini.com/
Wait for the next Kickstarter, probably in a year or two, then wait for your delivery, probably a year or two after that.
Because they are niche as fuck, and it takes a lot of skill and resources to produce moulds.
Some stuff is better then others though- GW troops are okay, but never buy their characters, and the newer stuff is getting more and more expensive. Warmachine and Infinity are just as pricey, per model. Reaper, Wargames Factory and Perry Miniatures are all very reasonable.
>>44448886
play a smaller scale if you can't afford them, there's loads of 1/72 plastics for almost all periods
>>44448886
capitalism
they know most of you will fuck up painting ones like>>44449750
>>44449859
communism wouldnt even have these
>>44448886
Niche market, expensive production costs, low profit margin. An injection mold for a single sprue can cost 20-30k to get machined, and are fucked if not stored in a climate controlled environment.
>>44450324
Basically it's dumb as shit but somehow turns a profit maybe.
>>44450324
so why can I buy a gigantic bag of plastic army men for a couple bucks at the store, but a single mini costs the same?
is there not an incredibly cheap alternative to gaming-centric figures?
>>44448886
It's a hobby, and hobbies must be expensive because reasons.
>>44450412
quality of the plastic has a lot to do with it. also the army men only need very few molds to pump out the same thing over and over as opposed to more interesting fantasy models which have a huge variety and thus more variety of molds
>>44450412
They use cheaper, disposable molds for army men, and the plastic is a low melting point, waxy plastic.
I'm not saying they couldn't produce minis the same way as army men, in fact that's kinda what reaper did with the Bones minis, just a little higher quality.
Its just pretty standard how molds work. GW, Mantic, Dreamforge, etc. they all use similar plastics and have their molds machined. Old pewter minis were much simpler, just using soft rubber molds and spin casters, that's why some small mini producers still use pewter.
>>44450316
>if it's not capitalism, it has to be communism
You're a bright one, aren't you
Would 3d printing your own models be cheaper, but still worth it?
Because you aren't buying historical plastic miniatures.
>>44451318
The tech isn't really there yet- quality isn't high and it's still a bit expensive.
Soon, hopefully.
>>44450412
>why is X priced the way it is
>why aren't plastic army men as expensive as resin or multi-part plastic miniatures
Boy you're dumb aren't you. If you really want to know take a class on manufacturing management.
>>44451537
Not the guy you are replying to, but why did you even bother when these
>>44450527
>>44450633
helpful comments already exists?
>>44450412
I'd like my miniatures to be higher quality, more detailed and be more than 8 poses. Stop being a youngling poor fag. Gaming is dirt cheap compared to "grown up" hobbies like golf, boats, motorcycles.
>>44451318
>>44451482
The 3D printing machines that are within the price range of even the most affulent fa/tg/uy are pretty low resolution, and output a product that is gritty and can't hold detail.
There exist higher-end machines that can run their print resolutions down to a few microns, but they're mostly used for rapid prototyping. A lot of miniatures companies do 3D sculpts, print the high-res masters on a rapid prototyping machine, and then use those masters to cast molds for production in white metal, resin, or plastic. It's no where near cost-effective to use print out minis for actual use at that resolution.
And I think that even when units like that start to come down in price, to the point where a well-to-do fa/tg/uy might own one (or rent out time on one), the economies of scale on mold-making are still gonna kick the shit out of individually printing minis for the forseeable future, especially for army building.
I figure the niche will be in customization, skirmish-scale games, and hobbyist model makers.
One thing I've learned about the hobbyist scene is that they are willing to dump a LOT of unpaid man-hours in making sure that the portholes on their 1:48 flying boat are perfectly spaced in accurate scale to the original. People on the internet have been arguing about the precise dimensions of the Millennium Falcon for 30 years. At least a few of those people know 3D modeling. So the labor pool is already there. And the barrier to entry on uploading a file is a hell of a lot lower than managing the mold-making process for a short-run resin garage kit.
I think it'll be neat! I'm looking forward to it! Look forward to holdout grognards complaining about how kids today don't appreciate plasticard kitbashing anymore since they can print whatever they want, etc, etc.
>>44451850
golf isn't exactly expensive, I was playing as a 16 year old with a mcjob- dad's clubs, and a round at the local club was pretty reasonable.
>>44449796
Wut.
The entire purpose to get GW miniatures is for their HQ's, and many of them are fucking gorgeous. The new Dark Angel Interrogator Chaplain especially for example.
>>44452573
>golf isn't exactly expensive
>dad's clubs
Do you understand how retarded your statement is?
>>44452573
>>44453154
An 18 hole golf course has millions of dollars up keep anon. That's acres of land being dedicated to all the single sport. At least a track and field has multiple uses.
>>44452573
40k isn't exactly expensive, I was playing as a 12 year old with no job-mom's purchased army, and a game at the local club was free.
>>44454483
Unless you're currently still 12 it's probably more than doubled in price since then.
>>44448886
Cause molds are suuuuper expensive and the market isn't very large so they have to recoup their investment with high prices. In all likelihood, lowering the prices ought to increase demand enough to be more profitable, but I'm not in GW's employ and I don't know anywhere near all the facts
>>44451387
>Because you aren't buying historical
Correct answer.
It's the market. A number of companies*cough* Gamesworkshop *cough*inflated the shit out of prices.
Look at Perry miniatures. Better than GW quality at Mantic kickstarter prices.
>>44450324
>nd are fucked if not stored in a climate controlled environment.
As my job involves injection molding machines (and therefore the actual molding tools as well) please explain, because i never heard of something like this.
The molding tools are made from massive steel and they are simply stored in a shelf if not in use.
>>44454816
And its still cheap.
My hobby besides miniatures/wargames (not only 40k) is paintball. My gun alone is worth 2 40k armies (and its not even a high-end tournament gun). And then there are special barrels, protective gear (another army), the actual ammo (if i play 2 hours thats easily $50 simply blown trough my gun) etc..
>>44458055
To be fair, some of Mantic's stuff is better than GW's too - the ghouls and zombies, for instance. Though that probably has more to do with GW's design department.
>>44451387
"For fuck's sake, Francois, keep your fucking spear up. You're making us look uncoordinated. ...Jean, did you break yours?"
"Sorry."
"Rene is wearing a hat. I would have brought my hat if I'd know we could wear hats."
"Everybody shut up. Rene, take your hat off. Jean, just... I don't know, hold the broken end up. ...FRANCOIS FOR FUCK'S SAKE."
>>44449796
>niche
This
The better detailed and more pieces a model comes in, the more it's likely to cost.
>>44450633
I don't think Mantic uses the same plastic as GW. GW uses polystyrene while Mantic uses crappy restic.
>>44459757
the difference in the materials price is literally cents since they probably order the granulate in bulk.
Newer mantic stuff is in polystyrene too btw
>>44459775
I wasn't really concerned with material as far cost go, merely that restic as far as I've seen is irredeemable garbage.
Perhaps I'm wrong about Mantic, I don't really bother with them and what materials they use seemingly depends on what day it is, one day they're using polystyrene and the next day it's restic.
>>44448886
You're just poor.
>>44451537
>never ask questions to learn things
You'd be a great teacher, anon.
>>44459865
>Corporation, Veer-myn, Forgefather Stormrage Veterans and Jotunn, Marauder Raptor, Undead Revenant Cavalry and Wraiths, Orc Gore Riders
that is the stuff they make in resic (resin plastic),
Everything else is regular plastic (or metal)
Does anyone know where I can get death corp recasts?
>>44460264
/tg/ isn't a classroom and it's not our job to teach you, go use Google, you uneducated fuckwit.
>>44460440
Google.
>>44450412
They've been using the same army man molds for 60 years, with low quality plastic and no QC. Tabletop players bitch if there's a mold line on their new miniatures: plastic army men routinely have sprue residue and massive injection sites visible on their bodies.
>>44450412
>so why can I buy a gigantic bag of plastic army men for a couple bucks at the store, but a single mini costs the same?
The quality of £1 army men is shit though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injection_moulding
Check out the injection moulding defects table. The moulds that produce army men are generally worn out and were probably badly made in the first place. Also I think moulds are often copied from used moulds, so the quality of cheap army men is often on a downward spiral.
You can actually obtain older versions of the same mouldings from an original/or earlier mould and view how much better they are.
>tl:dr Plastic army men made for quantity not quality, little johnny will only burn them up with a magnifying glass or firecrackers anyway. Excessive Flash, Loss of Detail, Mould Slippage who gives a fuck right, no one ever asks for their pound back.
>>44449796
Wargames factory stuff is fucking ugly.
Perrys on the other hand absolutely top tier at everything
>>44458055
>>44459232
link toplaces that sell it, please.
>>44451932
>>44451482
>>44451318
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihR9SX7dgRo
SOON
>>44459232
To be fair, GW zombies are ancient
>>44458055
>Look at Perry miniatures. Better than GW quality
Haha, look another Perryfag. Perry miniatures are mediocre and boring as fuck. Anyone who actually bothers to Google them will instantly realize how overhyped Perry miniatures are.
>>44460843
Its out of place to compare them to GW. Since you cant really compare fantasy and historical minis. But Perrys are objectively great and very historically accurate.
Or do you think they are boring because they dont have power armour and skulls everywhere?
>>44460742
Dude, if you knew how many fucking Warhammer 40k models I have bought that had blow and shrink issues you would shit your pants.
I don't give a fuck how detailed GWs shit is, as someone who has worked with various modeling techniques, they are still fucking trash. Army men and just barely worse.
>>44460859
Nah, it's because their heads aren't blown up to 200% and their hands aren't as big as trash can lids.
Gotta have your HURROIC scale.
>>44460905
Sandy never had any blow and shrink issues, she always kept it firm and stiff.
>>44460843
>Perry miniatures are mediocre and boring as fuck
Considering Perry's Foot Knights are actually better designed and more detailed than the last batch of GW's Greatswords, you are wrong.
>>44461128
Not mention that 40 Perry knights costs as much as 10 Greatswords
>>44461143
>costs as much as 10 Greatswords
Isn't that 5 ?
>>44461174
okay..Just checked the greatswords are 25 pounds for 10 and the knights are 20 pounds for 40
>>44461199
Ah well you're right. Also the foot knights have aesthetics close to the 6th edition metal greatswords, while the 8th edition greatswords are a bit retarded on the design side.
>>44460116
Honestly, this.
If you have a job and your own place and a car the cost of minis really isn't shit compared to car insurance, gas, utilities bills, cable bill, going out to dinner, etc...
And if you have kids or nieces and nephews, you know that kid's toys are about the same price. Especially Lego.
Just get a job and minis really aren't that expensive. The only guys I hear moaning about the cost of minis is guys who don't work and live at home with their parents and are constantly planning what minis they are going to buy with their birthday/Christmas money when they should be focused on getting a job and being a fucking adult.
>>44461261
I like the 8th edition greatswords, they have mostly avoided the shift from historical-looking empire to more fantasy-looking empire
>OP probably spunks his entire welfare cheque every time a Steam sale comes around
Seriously, even in a low-end retail job I was earning more than £50 a day, so I could go out and buy a £25 kit every day if I had wanted to.
>>44461304
Heaven forbid that an army that takes place in a world which is fantastical has fantasy elements to it.
People who complain the Empire having such elements really give off the vibe that they'd rather be playing historicals but no one else around them could really give a damn and so they settled for the best option. It's even worse when some of the things they complain about are supposedly inspired by art in old rulebooks.
>>44450412
>is there not an incredibly cheap alternative to gaming-centric figures?
>Buy second hand
>Buy in bulk, you can still get armies for around £100 if you bide your time, and some gamers just dump their entire collection for beans once they lose interest, just ask around.
>Buy recast
>Recast stuff yourself
>Scratch build/papercraft
>proxy stuff from other games, use cardboard cutouts, pogs, pennies, plastic army men, or switch to 1/72 scale.
>>44449796
Wargames factory kits are utter shit.
>>44461597
Some of them are pretty decent. Like the armored vikings. But some of the kits literally have hands with the thumbs on the wrong end of the hand which is just inexcusable imo.
>>44461431
I just prefered when they looked more like landsknechts
>>44462166
The vikings still suffer from really bad poses and from what I have seen the heads dont really fit on their bodies
>>44458055
>A number of companies *cough* Gamesworkshop *cough* inflated the shit out of prices.
actually the other companies inflate their own prices.
This happens on other areas, shitty (actually NOT shitty but average quality product) ipod cost more than it should, and then companies that make good products make their prices higher
>"if ipod has a price of X, my product is better and so can have a higher price"
this is stupid, if some company that sell average bottled water start to ask 1000 dollars per liter, if you make a better bottled water you will not ask more than 1000 dollar per liter, just because this fucking company did it
Taking your girl out for lunch
30 dollars
Eat for 20 minutes
Crap it out 8 hours later
But some tacticals
30 dollars
Keep them. Forever.
>>44459350
>>44461271
>$8+ for a single, one inch piece of plastic.
>Trying to justify that.
>>44448886
Because something is worth what people are willing to pay for it.
>>44462728
The value is what you make of it. 8 euros is a pizza that I'll enjoy and shit out a few hours later. Momentary fleeting pleasure that is technically a detriment in the long term since it's just more work in the gym. On the other hand, miniatures can provide you with a good bit of pleasure in converting and painting. If you play, that's even more value as if you take care of the miniature, they will last you literally a lifetime. everytime you field them in a game, or use them in a diorama in an exhibition or even everytime you remember the fun of converting and painting them, you are getting some form of return in your spending.
Difference between wasting money and investing money.
>>44462491
>Friend says a Ghostkeel for 50 euros is too much
>He bought his girlfriend of 2 weeks a 100 euro christmas gift, paid 50 euros for dinner and is paying for new year's dinner as well all in the same week
>Hasn't even seen his dick yet, much less sucked it
Normie priorities are funny.
>>44462910
>8€
>a Pizza
i have to pay at least 12 (plain tomato sauce and cheese) for a decent sized pizza ;_;
>>44463375
Sucks man. That 8 euros is actually for something like a Mexican with pepperoni and jalapenos out the arse AND a bottle of water. I dread moving to England cause shit there is like what 11/12 GBP for a regular funghi? That's like 15 euros. For that price we get a one of those beastly 52cm one caked in toppings.
Fuck I want pizza now.
>>44461467
>Buy recast
If GW sold their stuff at chinaman prices I would be all over it. As it stands, chinaman is getting my money...
>>44464174
How much does chinaman charge? Half off gw shit?
>>44448886
OP
Why is this fucker so poor?
>>44464240
Generally much less, 5 bucks for most characters, 15 or so for troop packages like cadians or hormagaunts, 20-25 for tanks, and forgeworld stuff is universally much less
>>44452716
>HQ
>not even looking at the wammer-fantasy and -god-sigmar help my soul- age of skubmar models, some of which are FABULOUS
Dieplstnxkbai
>>44464240
For somethings, up to 2/3rds off.
Consider this a quest invitation to begin your search, because the journey is harrowing to get into the good graces of the Chinaman.
>>44464240
That's about right. With some models there are crazy discounsts. I got a Gaulrach for $8, when GW sells it for $80. Sure it took me a little bit of extra work to fit the thing together, but the amount of money that you save on these things makes it worth it. At this point I just buy all my minis from Chinaman, Ebay, and manufacturers like Perry, Mantic, and Reaper.
>>44448886
You just don't understand capitalism.
>>44464389
>>44464397
Wow,l that's pretty insane. Still, I just don't trust it y'know? I make purchases VERY rarely (and I mean my last purchase was 4 years ago and it was 1 box of troops). I prefer having the peace of mind of quality and customer service of an established company that is within the law (at least when it isn't resin/finecast).
But that said, I also do casting at home so anything I buy I'm able to more or less make more copies of. I usually don't make entire squads but I've copied a fair few things. Like how you sometimes get half of 3 more miniatures in a troop box but no torsos? Yeah, copy the torsos and make 3 more free dudes, for example. I don't spend enough to mind GW prices most of the time and casting backups saves me a lot more too.
>>44461597
Their skellies are awesome
>>44459350
super kek
>>44464470
The Talmud is actually read when studying business in Korea
>>44464475
It took some trial and error but after ordering around a bit I've figured out which of the 4 Chinamen I know of (I'm sure there are more) are the best for what, who uses good quality resin, who has sales at certain times of the year, etc.
Personally I'm still trying to find the guy (not Chinese) who recasts ancient and unavailable Epic miniatures.
>>44460843
Different guy here, not gonna argue about Perry, but several other companies can match GW quality wise and kick its ass in pice. Warlord's new plastic WWII kits for bolt action are excellent (the marines and LW Germans especially) and dreamforge's vehicles are fucking incredible with adjustable wheels, working hatches, fully detailed interior with crew, acrylic windows that don't look like shit, and match GW prices while being bigger than their equivalents (Dreamforge's eisenkarn apc is the size of a fucking land raider yet usually $50-60) not to mention their titan is a few inches taller, has poseability that puts action figures to shame, and is purpose designed to easily swap weapons.
GW is still ultimately the king of quality when their head is in the game, the skitarii kits are proof of that, but when the price disparity is so wide its really hard to justify when equivalents are available. For example, I can get 20 dreamforge stormtroopers for the price of 5 GW stormtroopers. I can buy pic related for $41 straight from warlord (all those guys are from a single box) when if I tried to buy guardsmen from gw I'd barely get 20 shitty looking cadians for that price, and that would require the store to give an intense discount.
The only thing saving gw is just how ridiculously huge their catalogue is, and how most armies are hard to justify making cheap knockoffs of. If they were in the historical market they would've been crushed years ago
>>44464939
You wouldn't be able to throw names out there hm? Or is that verboten?
>>44465128
just look up yoyhammer, and keep searching from there
>>44465142
I don't get the secrecy behind any of this stuff, not like china's gonna send assassins after you to blackbag your ass. But ok. I appreciate it, still.
>>44465271
GW would sure like to send assassins after chinamen, though.
>>44465271
switch the words "china" and "assassins" with "gw" and "lawyers" and you get the idea.
Besides that, people are simply sick of spoonfeeding noobs to lazy to use google. Its not like this is the first time someone asked "hurr how to order from china" "where do i get recasts".. its annoying.
>>44465318
>>44465302
Fair enough, all valid points. Wouldn't do to be the one to ruin it for everyone eh!
>>44465271
But googling yoyhammer brings you straight to a page where the contact info and catalogue for the most prominent recaster is stickied
You should also look out for CCON, arguably better quality when it comes to larger kits.
>>44450316
>communists never made toy soldier dollies
You're not familiar with the soviet love of the "Great Patriotic War" are you?
>>44460551
How dare someone ask a relevant question!
>>44468796
Ever heard the phrase: "Lurk more"
Fucking do it.
