Warlord packaging

[Shadowdragon]

Since there is no suggestions forum I thought I'd post this here. Companies such as Urban Mammoth and Privateer Press put their miniatures into plastic packs that are re-sealable. You can pop them open and then pop them closed again. As the owner of a gaming store I occasionally get packs with missing cards, the wrong cards, broken miniatures, or the wrong barcode sticker. It would make it so much easier if I could just pop the pack open, make the necessary replacements, then pop the pack closed again and sell it. As it is now if I want to fix a pack I either have to cut it open and staple it shut again, or send it back for a complete replacement. Would it be possible, some time in the future, to use such packs for Warlord?

[Heisler]

As a consumer I prefer the standard blister packaging over the clamshells. Although on occassion you must deal with missing parts at least I know they were missing at the factory. Clamshells are far to easy to break into and have parts go "missing". They are a wonderful exepdient for small companies since they don't require special equipment.

[CaptC]

As it is now if I want to fix a pack I either have to cut it open and staple it shut again, or send it back for a complete replacement.

 

Superglue does wonders. Packing tape is only necessary for the big boys like the Giants or Giant Eagles.

 

[Reaperbryan]

<snip> As the owner of a gaming store I occasionally get packs with missing cards, the wrong cards, broken miniatures, or the wrong barcode sticker <snip> As it is now if I want to fix a pack I either have to cut it open and staple it shut again, or send it back for a complete replacement.

It is not 100% necessary to do any of this. Your customer may e-mial [email protected] and we will ship them a replacement free of charge. Likewise, you may also do so. We are more than happy to ship missing bits, since doing so is cheaper on us than shipping entire new blisters just to replace a card that can be mailed with an envelope and a stamp.

 

We do apologize for the inconvenience our present packaging causes in this regard, but feel that the advantage of sealed blisters over clamshells, as Heisler states, is that at least we know parts went missing at the factory, and not at the hands of devious criminals with a fetish for pewter. Also note that we are working on a new kind of blister that will support the weight of parts such as the Hill Giant and the Giant Eagle much better with less damage to the blister.

 

Feel free to ask any questions you may have, or drop me a line at [email protected] if there is anything else I can help with!

[Arbiter10]

New blisters that can take the weight of giants of both the Eagle and Hill variety sounds like a good idea, but why not just put these big boys into boxes instead?

 

(Side note: I'm sure that the Reaper Peeps are way ahead of me on this one and have already considered this possibility and then decided to go the route of new blisters. I'm bringing up the idea of the box not so much as a suggestion as much as I'm asking out of curiosity regarding how the business side of things works.)

[Evilbob]

My guess is that new blister packaging is cheaper than boxing the same mini.

Plus its nice to be able to have most things in the same type of packaging for display purposes. I know our FLGS had a cunundrum with the box sets because they wern't set up for that, they were set up for hang'y things.

[shakhak]

I agree about the larger models. A miniature in a box says alot and so far Reapers Larger models deserve be screaming at the top of their lungs. Minis like the Giant Eagle, Hill Giant, Moss Beard, and Krung Beast deserve to stand out from the rest.

It would say to players, "Hey these guys are tough, so tought simple plastic could not hold them." and box sets always draw peoples attention. And holding a $16-$22 Warlord box set up to some other gaming co. $35-50 box set, would just be sweet.

 

PS: I would love to see Cavalry box sets on top of the Musician Box sets coming out

[vutpakdi]

One disadvantage of the current blisters is that, with some frequency, the data card ends up getting glued onto the blister or the blister backing. Not a big deal, but sometimes takes a bit of care to remove without too much damage.

 

But, from a shop and sales perspective, I can see why the blister would be preferred over clamshell unless Reaper went to the all plastic "there's no way in hell you're getting in this without scissors" packaging that most hanging stuff seems to come in now (which I detest).

 

Ron

[haldir]

then again, broken blisters means or least it did mean decent discounts at my former FLGS. Went in to check on something & to put a order in for the giant eagle, & lo & behold he had it, just the bubble had seperated from the back & he was gettin ready to ship it back, I looked at to make sure everything was there for him (which it was) & then he said "how about 15 for it??" I was like "You've got a sale!!!?

 

but I know this only happened because I knew the guy for so long, so I can see why some upgrading for the bigguns might help in the long run. Clamshells for the heavy pewter stuff might help. I can't see having a clamshell for a single mini, no matter how many various bits you have to glue on are with it.

 

RM

[Dane]

Yeah, I think maybe a tapered clamshell (think a trapezoid, or a triangle with the top chopped off) with cardboard sealing the top and sides would hold the heavy stuff quite well, and be standable should the store want to do that.

[Tranari]

I agree about the larger models. A miniature in a box says alot and so far Reapers Larger models deserve be screaming at the top of their lungs. Minis like the Giant Eagle, Hill Giant, Moss Beard, and Krung Beast deserve to stand out from the rest.

It would say to players, "Hey these guys are tough, so tought simple plastic could not hold them." and box sets always draw peoples attention. And holding a $16-$22 Warlord box set up to some other gaming co. $35-50 box set, would just be sweet.

 

PS: I would love to see Cavalry box sets on top of the Musician Box sets coming out

 

At the Whiz (the local store), the blisters actaulyl end up giving that more-badass look in a way all their own. A battered, bursting Hill Giant blister just looks like it really wants to leap out there and do-unto-others until others stop doing.

 

But to actaully add to the conversation, I'm in favor of the clamshells. Really, they're no more or less secure than the usual blisters, and from my cluttered, mess-filled desk's point of veiw, they help manage clutter by holding small pieces together in a coherent way. In this package, we have So-and-So's sword arm, in this one we have a regiment's guns. I think that may matter more for a game like Warmachine, though, where a single 'jack can have upwards of 11 pieces. They also reduce the need for boxes, which I don't really like anyhow (I like being able to look at the pieces of a model, drool over craftsmanship, that kind of thing), by being a bit heavier-duty. Another mention to Privateer Press. Many of their big, angry models come in clamshells. Now, before someone screams "Behemoth!" or something like that, those are massive models and would make a blister into mangled plastic. And i don't liek those boxes either. Better, in my opinion, would be the clamshells used for the Munchkin expansions from Steve Jackson Games. They're big, they're sturdy (and could be made sturdier with a heat-seal or the like), and I can look at the model!

[ReaperClark]

Here's the thing, clam shells are way more expensive and scratch up easily. We have actually designed a fold over blister that will double the thickness of the blister card and are increasing the thickness of our large blister plastic. We've tested this combination and it works very well. It will hold in all of the models and also handle the stress of going on and off of the pegs better too.

 

Any time we make changes to a card or a blister it takes about 6 weeks to get the new ones from the manufacturer. We should have the new blister cards within the next week or two and so should be shipping large blisters with the new packaging by the end of this month. We are always striving to improve, not only our models but packaging and everything else too.

 

As was guessed earlier, putting minis in a box set is the most expensive method. That is why we have tried to stuff as much in a blister as we can to save you as much money as possible. We have been reviewing the box sets too and have come up with some new ideas for them as well. Hopefully the changes we make to our packaging this year everyone will like.