Multi Piece Miniature

[twjolson]

MULTIPLES!!! Why not have more then one sculpt of some of the more important characters, especially in warlord? A further way to customize your army, plus as a non-warlord player, I like some of the characters, but hate the sculpt. This would make me more likely to buy warlord figures. Even some of the cooler characters from DHL could be given additional sculpts.

[Mourningcloud]

on the subject of multiples, and more, of everything that everyone seems to want more of (hobgoblins, kobolds, orcses, elves, dwarves, etc...)

why not multipart minis?

 

hear me out before you poo-poo this, you haters of anything involving sprue cutting and superglue out there...

 

you want different poses? so pose them! you want different weapons? so swap them! you want a dead kobold lying in the swamp with half his arm in the mouth of an otyugh and his legs sunken into the muck? so... um, anyanyway you get the point-all these are possible with multipart minis!!

 

Not to invoke the devil, but GW hit on something when they reissued multipart spacemarines at the begining of the last version of warhammer 40k, and realized its success when sales shot through the roof, so the folowed suit with virtually every new line of minis/army they introduced.

 

now i know as much as the next guy what a pain in the buttocks it is to assemble metal minis (more than most on fact-i do alot of converting), but take for example how they did some of the warlord greens, like the bull orcs and the elves. you can tell that the orcs are done on the same lower body arrangement, cause those parts are cast in metal even on the green and then the upper body stuff is added after. why not do multi part minis with the lower bodies precast-maybe two or three different poses, and then have the arms and upper bodies seperate, if the sockets are well shaped and properly cast, for most minis it wont take much more than a bit of superglue to attach them well enough for game play.

 

so give me some feedback-how many of you would buy multipart minis where all you had to assemble was the arms (in any pose you like!) and the weapons and maybe the head. would you people be willing to go the extrs step? heres the benefits:

1.lower cost for reaper, because instead of having to make multiple minis and hope they all sell they can just make one or two sets of multiparters and let people make their own.

2. lower cost for us, because minis always sell cheaper packaged in multiples.

3. need an elf barbarian with a dwarven waraxe in one hand and a trident in the other? well there you go!

4 make your own poses!

[Lars Porsenna]

I would love to see multiparts, or at the very least, have one or both arms end in a stump and have an "accessory" sprue. The latter would have a shield, sword, axe, dagger, bag o' loot, etc. Saves on the clip n' pin to get the perfect weapon in one hand for a specific character.

 

As an aside, I'd also like to restate my desire for all future shield-users to have seperate shields to glue on. I hate, hate, HATE, figures that look like they're using their shield as a counterbalance, rather than what its for...

 

Damon.

[Chairman Aeon]

I don't want multipart models. I'm about ready to kill Privateer. And I'm guessing most DHA buyer probably don't want to see them either.

 

Iain.

[twjolson]

In addition to the multiple sculpts for the same characters, I would love to see more options in terms of weapons and arms and heads. You guys did it for the Mountain troll. This is the only thing I like about GW, they provide the parts to customize your mini more with no sawing or GS.

[spiritual_exorcist]

I don't want multipart models. I'm about ready to kill Privateer. And I'm guessing most DHA buyer probably don't want to see them either.

 

I'll be the first to say this is exactly the opposite of what I want. I want dynamic and vivid sculpts, and if that requires multiple pieces then so be it.

 

I'll never understand how people can have a problem with a two or three part piece that might take an extra 10 minutes to put together.

[Morgan Devalis]

Oooh, I love multipart minis, because if it is a choice of 10 minutes of frustration and a really dynamic, well customized mini, or a non frustration, but static, give me ten minutes of frustration!

What I love about WK's Warlord dwarf warriors is that you have three different bodies, three different shields, and three different weapons, giving me 27 different combos even before I paint them. I really hope that we see this with his Shield Maidens, and with the halberdiers, I will accept the 9 different poses from three different bodies and three different halberds (ala swiftaxes).

Also, different sculpts for the same Warlord character? WOW! I cna just see King Thorgram swinging his axe with both hands on it, sending reven heads atopplin'. I have to admit, that would be a great idea for putting some variety on the board.

[JoeGKushner]

I don't want multipart models. I'm about ready to kill Privateer. And I'm guessing most DHA buyer probably don't want to see them either.

 

I'll be the first to say this is exactly the opposite of what I want. I want dynamic and vivid sculpts, and if that requires multiple pieces then so be it.

 

I'll never understand how people can have a problem with a two or three part piece that might take an extra 10 minutes to put together.

Well, for me, I'm in the middle of the road. Freebooter, I think, makes some great figures but they're all like five or six pieces.

 

Assuming you go with for display only, that's some glueing involved there. Of course most should go with pinning. Extra supplies and far more than 10 minutes for anything beyond a small piece. Also greater chance of needing green stuff for gaps and holes when assembling such figures no?

 

I can see both sides of it but prefer single piece figures.

[Mourningcloud]

I don't want multipart models. I'm about ready to kill Privateer. And I'm guessing most DHA buyer probably don't want to see them either.

 

I'll be the first to say this is exactly the opposite of what I want. I want dynamic and vivid sculpts, and if that requires multiple pieces then so be it.

 

I'll never understand how people can have a problem with a two or three part piece that might take an extra 10 minutes to put together.

Well, for me, I'm in the middle of the road. Freebooter, I think, makes some great figures but they're all like five or six pieces.

 

Assuming you go with for display only, that's some glueing involved there. Of course most should go with pinning. Extra supplies and far more than 10 minutes for anything beyond a small piece. Also greater chance of needing green stuff for gaps and holes when assembling such figures no?

 

I can see both sides of it but prefer single piece figures.

well the idea would be for fairly easy to assemble minis- maybe 3-8 parts per mini. i know it sounds like alot, but consider what they are:

1. base

2. legs

note-possibly legs and base as one precast unit, for even less assembly required.

3. torso

note-possibly the legs and torso cast as one unit, so only the arms and head are poseable.

4-5. arms

6-7. hands/weapons.

note also possible to do arms with weapons pre-attached.

8. head

 

as far as arms, a well cast ball/shoulder socket arrangement makes for virtually limitless poses with only gluing needed for game-worthy strength. same for torso/legs attachment-ball/socket cast for decent range of variation in positioning.

 

And the most important point that you naysayers might be missing:

they idea isnt for reaper to begin making oodles and oodles of multipart miniatures, making them the standard a la freebooter or privateer. that niche in the market is happily filled by those smaller companies. But most of their multipart peices are for specific character miniatures (especially if you look at freebooter) with a specific pose in mind. thats why you often need green stuff to pose them the way you want.

Were not looking to start a new trend in casting at reaper, what were touting here is a few multipart minis for generic monsters/character types that can be easily set in a number of different poses; i.e. no green stuff needed to repose.

 

May your orc armies never all look the same again!!

[Chairman Aeon]

I'll never understand how people can have a problem with a two or three part piece that might take an extra 10 minutes to put together.

Because many DHA buyers use the figure right out of the blister and don't even paint them. This forum isn't representative of most Reaper buyers.

 

From my own perspective as a wargamer, any step I can skip that gets me closer to playing is a good thing. (Except the painting step.) Very dynamic figures not only have me gluing lots of stuff, but re-gluing it when it breaks again and again in transport. Hence why I'm going to assault some Privateer employees when I see them.

 

Iain.

 

PS: I'm long over worring that my army is composed of the same three figures. The multipart Marines mentioned earlier only have a certain amount of give and so still only really have three poses ...

[FirstLevelFighter]

Because many DHA buyers use the figure right out of the blister and don't even paint them. This forum isn't representative of most Reaper buyers.

 

"Many", doesn't necesarily mean "most." I doubt very much that the largest division of Reaper customers use Reaper figures for wargames. It's possible, but seems unlikely.

 

I don't mind multi-part figures. I paint single figures to tabletop gaming standard for a weekly D&D game. I don't field large-scale wargaming armies, so I don't have much of a problem with multiple minatures all looking the same. However, I still enjoy those dynamically-posed, highly-detailed miniatures that often require multi-part casting and assembly before or during painting.

 

Actually, I often convert single-part minis with additional bits or a weapon swap. It's personal preference, but I don't mind the extra work involved if end result is a sharp-looking figure.

[spiritual_exorcist]

Let me clarify, I believe anything over 3 pieces would be excessive. I care less about multiple poses, as opposed to cool looking minis that can't be acheived with 1 piece. That being said I sdon't want all of the Dark Heaven line to be multi-piece, they don't need to be in many cases.

[Chairman Aeon]

I doubt very much that the largest division of Reaper customers use Reaper figures for wargames.

Where did I every say that? I said many people use DHA figs right out of the package. Those people are using them for D&D. They aren't into figures as a hobby as many people on this board are. Besides sales speak louder than anything we a vocal minority say.

 

I support a preimum line of figs for hobbiest that can have as many pieces as it needs. DHA should stick with KISS.

 

Iain.

[Mourningcloud]

at this point also let me clarify-

you all are referring to the necessity of multipart castings for dynamic miniature poses. that's all well and good, and reaper does this very thing when necessary (usually within 2-3 peices).

 

what im talking about is miniatures with seperate arms, heads, and maybe weapons and torsos so you can make them the way you want. or even choose weapons/weapon arms. do you want orc with spear, orc with sword, orc with axe & shield?

 

for example, take the curent green-the lesser orc spearman. you can see how his legs were precast (standard for warlord orcs), now imagine the arms cast seperate, with maybe one holding another weapon, and a left arm holding a shield. and the head seperate so you can decide how to position that too.

 

im not referring to poses so dynamic they need multipart minis,

i mean minis with more options due to their poseable nature.

 

The multipart Marines mentioned earlier only have a certain amount of give and so still only really have three poses ...

 

P.S. my first squad of marines had no two alike, with no major conversion on any and only minor cut-and-reposition and glue on four.

 

dont get me wrong-im not trying to reinvent the wheel-im not looking to change the dha line, i just want maybe 1 set of multipart orcs, one set of hobgoblins (yes, i said hobgoblins!) 1 set of dwarves, etc.

 

reaper wouldnt have to worry about sales if they just produced 1 set of each, as even if those do not like multipart minis didnt buy a single set, enough would sell (and indeed this kind of miniature people buy multiple sets of-GW has proven that time and again) to make an appreciable profit.

[Heisler]

Actually this has been done by at least two other companies in the past; Dragontooth Miniatures and RAFM. RAFM provided a single body casting and then extra heads and armor for you to attach. Neat concept but poorly executed.

 

Mulit-part miniatures are more expensive for the company to produce. They require more space in the mold and are more labor intensive to package.