Discontinued Metal Models

[PolyhedralOraculum]

Hi everyone!

 

I'm a big fan of the older sculpts in the catalog - mainly Sandra Garrity and Julie Guthrie's work - but when looking through the catalog today, I noticed that some of those seem to be missing.  Does that mean they're gone for good?

 

With that said, is there a source for figuring out which figures are slated for retirement?  I have a few I want to get before they're gone.

[Inarah]

Which ones can't you find? Have you tried searching by model number? That generally works better than key words or the Figure Finder. 

 

 

[ttuckerman]

Basically, they have said that for metal minis of normal size that are not licensed they will spin up a copy as needed.  If it is not on the site, it could be it was licensed.  Try [email protected]

[PolyhedralOraculum]

1 hour ago, Inarah said:

Which ones can't you find? Have you tried searching by model number? That generally works better than key words or the Figure Finder. 

 

 

Yeah, I searched by the model number after I couldn't find them through the figure finder.  I was able to find these three on a 3rd party site, but it just sort of set off the f.o.m.o alarm in my head when they were gone from the Reaper store. 😅

 

03006 Jana Blackfire

02341 Stefan Von Kruger

02194 Lorien Dawnlighter

Edited November 20, 2022 by PolyhedralOraculum
Typing on a phone is hard lol

[Inarah]

Very curious. I have no clue.  But a LOT of figures seem to be missing from the online store.  Just looking at a few pages: 

 

2713  Ilmarin Duskwander

2726 : Gragg - Orc Fighter

2729 Mephisto Arch Devil

2730 : Cavern Crawler 

2790 : Undead Skeletal Centurion

2812 Kallista, Female Warrior

2814 Pillar of Evil

2879 Vidor the Northman

 2881: Dara, Psionic Warrior

2883 Sir Kimball, Crusader

2947 Ambrose, Young Mage

2949 Lazarus Ashwinter, Cleric

2960 : Vardus - Undead Fighter

2995 Arrodis Baletide - Blackguard

2997: female fighter-thief

3012 female musketeer 

[PolyhedralOraculum]

14 hours ago, Inarah said:

Very curious. I have no clue.  But a LOT of figures seem to be missing from the online store.  Just looking at a few pages: 

 

2713  Ilmarin Duskwander

2726 : Gragg - Orc Fighter

2729 Mephisto Arch Devil

2730 : Cavern Crawler 

2790 : Undead Skeletal Centurion

2812 Kallista, Female Warrior

2814 Pillar of Evil

2879 Vidor the Northman

 2881: Dara, Psionic Warrior

2883 Sir Kimball, Crusader

2947 Ambrose, Young Mage

2949 Lazarus Ashwinter, Cleric

2960 : Vardus - Undead Fighter

2995 Arrodis Baletide - Blackguard

2997: female fighter-thief

3012 female musketeer 

Yeah, I found more as I looked.  I got an email back from Reaper this afternoon explaining that a lot of models with poor sales numbers were pulled from the catalog recently.

 

They said there's no way to tell what's going away next.

[buglips*the*goblin]

I have no information on Reaper's future plans for metal, but speaking strictly as an end-user it is clear to me that metal is not competitive going forward.  There are simply too many cheaper options (not least the proliferation of 3D printing), and most people are perfectly happy with them.  So as to which ones are going away next?  I don't think anyone can say.  But I expect eventually it will be all of them.  If there's anything you have your eye on, this is your chance to get it the cheapest and most convenient way.  They will probably be in circulation in the secondary market for some time, but hunting them down piece by piece is a pain in the butt.  When the big dragons got pruned some time back, I made a list of my DHL must-haves and knocked them all off in 2017 during the 25th anniversary so I expected the DHL pruning to happen well before now.  It's a line that came about and existed in a market where most every company used the same material and sold items for the same prices.  The market is wildly different now, metal has simply been overtaken by events.  

[Auberon]

This weekend I'll have to see what is gone from the store and pick up what I want elsewhere, while it is still easy to get.

 

While Reaper has to do what makes sense for them financially, I personally have no interest in Bones.  I'll give Dark Sword $10 for a metal figure or back a Patreon instead.

[Poilu_1914]

I definitely need to go through the catalog if metal is being phased out. It's my preferred medium, although I have bout the occasional bones mini.

[Heisler]

On 11/23/2022 at 10:17 AM, buglips*the*goblin said:

I have no information on Reaper's future plans for metal, but speaking strictly as an end-user it is clear to me that metal is not competitive going forward.  There are simply too many cheaper options (not least the proliferation of 3D printing), and most people are perfectly happy with them.  So as to which ones are going away next?  I don't think anyone can say.  But I expect eventually it will be all of them.  If there's anything you have your eye on, this is your chance to get it the cheapest and most convenient way.  They will probably be in circulation in the secondary market for some time, but hunting them down piece by piece is a pain in the butt.  When the big dragons got pruned some time back, I made a list of my DHL must-haves and knocked them all off in 2017 during the 25th anniversary so I expected the DHL pruning to happen well before now.  It's a line that came about and existed in a market where most every company used the same material and sold items for the same prices.  The market is wildly different now, metal has simply been overtaken by events.  

I’m actually going to disagreed with this statement with … it depends. With Reaper it maybe true but with smaller manufacturers metal is likely to always be more cost effective than plastic. Molds and volume are going to determine which way a company starts to lean to. While 3D printer at home is definitely a thing now, it’s not for everyone. It’s a little early to start calling the death of metal is nigh especially for companies that focus on producing miniatures for armies rather than characters.

[WhiteWulfe]

Not to mention that for small batch manufacturing metal is a lot easier to do, especially regarding upfront costs.  Yes, the raw material is getting more expensive, but miscasts can be melted down and reused - the same cannot be said for resin. 

[ejala]

They seem to be trimming some of the warlord models too.  The koborlas shadow tracker I'm working on for rcl disappeared, and the brood dragon and rider are gone.  Couldn't find the metal dragon turtles either.  It'd be nice if reaper had a dead mini list.  Or have I just not found that? 

[Auberon]

By my count 1/3 of the warlord SKUs are missing in the store.  Some are the big ones you would expect due their price, some were unattractive so I could see why they wouldn't sell well (like the darkspawn archers), and others I recognized as already being in Bones. 

 

 

[Inarah]

8 hours ago, Auberon said:

By my count 1/3 of the warlord SKUs are missing in the store.  Some are the big ones you would expect due their price, some were unattractive so I could see why they wouldn't sell well (like the darkspawn archers), and others I recognized as already being in Bones. 

 

 

 

I can see that a good number of the ones that are missing are not big sellers. However, when your business model is "cast to order" why remove them?  And after Reaper got reamed last year for discontinuing paints without announcing it, why would they not offer a "last chance" option on the older stuff. 

 

 

 

[Dr.Bedlam]

I know that a number of the older metal minis are in fact licensed from their sculptors, and when that license is no longer valid, Reaper quits selling the minis. This is why their ancient and beloved line of DOOM video game minis is no longer available; they aren't licensed to sell them. 

Buglips also makes a strong point: metal ain't competitive in the main market for Reaper figures these days. Nowadays, metal is considerably more expensive than the plastic derivatives used for most gaming minis, and when I see Reaper in the wild these days, it is almost inevitably in Bones; that's what's competitive with the licensed D&D stuff these days. Try to produce that stuff in metal, it's going to cost far more per blister than what you'll pay for the Nolzur's and Deep Cuts stuff. And don't even get me started on what metal dragons cost these days.

And if Reaper is going to be competitive, they're going to have to pare down their line. I hate to see that... but if it's what they have to do, it's what they have to do.