Dragon Snack Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 From Wizards of the Coast... http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/d...26a&pf=true That's the "printer friendly" version so you don't have to log in (let's ignore that irony for now). The first thing that struck me, Reaper barely gets a mention (it's near the end in Mearls piece, don't blink). Now, Reaper has never done "official" D&D minis, so I could see why they get a pass - except... The second thing, GW (40K specifically) gets more than a passing nod (2 separate mentions and over a paragraph of it's own). Sure, Citadel did some D&D minis, but 40K sure isn't D&D related (beyond ORCS IN SPAAACE!!!). It may mean nothing beyond those 2 authors liked 40K, but after nearly stiffing Reaper in the article, my conspiracy theorist gears are turning... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brushmaster Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Interesting little article and I actually have 2 of those early minis ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TaleSpinner Posted November 6, 2007 Moderator Share Posted November 6, 2007 The first thing that struck me, Reaper barely gets a mention (it's near the end in Mearls piece, don't blink). Now, Reaper has never done "official" D&D minis, so I could see why they get a pass - except... The second thing, GW (40K specifically) gets more than a passing nod (2 separate mentions and over a paragraph of it's own). Sure, Citadel did some D&D minis, but 40K sure isn't D&D related (beyond ORCS IN SPAAACE!!!). It may mean nothing beyond those 2 authors liked 40K, but after nearly stiffing Reaper in the article, my conspiracy theorist gears are turning... Reaper is a direct competitor with Chainmail/D&D Miniatures game; GW is not. A good rule of thumb in marketing: don't give your competitors free advertisement. TS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deguello Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 The first thing that struck me, Reaper barely gets a mention (it's near the end in Mearls piece, don't blink). Now, Reaper has never done "official" D&D minis, so I could see why they get a pass - except... The second thing, GW (40K specifically) gets more than a passing nod (2 separate mentions and over a paragraph of it's own). Sure, Citadel did some D&D minis, but 40K sure isn't D&D related (beyond ORCS IN SPAAACE!!!). It may mean nothing beyond those 2 authors liked 40K, but after nearly stiffing Reaper in the article, my conspiracy theorist gears are turning... Reaper is a direct competitor with Chainmail/D&D Miniatures game; GW is not. A good rule of thumb in marketing: don't give your competitors free advertisement. TS It is interesting though that he does say he goes to the "Reaper" Website Religiously to find new miniatures... I think that is a pretty good feather in Reapers cap.. Granted it is buried in the article but it is telling.. If you want miniatures come to Reaper... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I remember those days before there was a line of miniatures from Reaper. 'Didn't take it as a dis against them, but more like the reminiscing of old heads like me. Minis have come a looong way. Reaper is the company of this day and age putting out the largest line of fantasy figs for gamers. If you're old enough to have played the old D&D with the name "Gygax" on it, then you'll have fond memories of those days too. Ain't no thang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haldir Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 probably just anther webpage/log for Wizards to drum up how 4e minis are just gonna turn the world upside down, just like 4e will do for D&D gaming. ummm yah ok........... neat to read about some old stuff on there (which I have some of somewhere in my house) thou. RM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Jack Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 I dunno about conspiracies, but there was a definite corporate slant to some of that stuff... I still have a bunch of the older stuff, Grenadier and Ral Partha - the folks who came to the New England paint day awhile back got to see me showing off my incredibly crappy four-color Testors enamel paint job on the dwarf thief holding a chest and dagger from the old mid-80's official TSR Thieves set... I think my earliest mini might be from 1976. I love how far minis have come from where they were in terms of detail. Even back when I first started, I was unhappy with the lump-with-a-sword-looking things that some companies were putting out. My first conversions were actually carving things like facial details and squaring off corners on armor plates and edges on weapons. I really love finding the old stuff I used to have in online stores or on ebay, especially some of the old Julie Guthrie stuff - I've lost a lot of stuff over the years through my house eating them or my parents breaking them whenever they got a bug up their butts and decided to pack away my "useless" stuff in the attic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Snack Posted November 6, 2007 Author Share Posted November 6, 2007 Reaper is a direct competitor with Chainmail/D&D Miniatures game; GW is not. A good rule of thumb in marketing: don't give your competitors free advertisement. I did say I see why Reaper gets a pass, but I don't agree that GW isn't a competitor. As much as we may not want to admit it, 40K is more competition to them than Warlord. It's the positive vibes they get that makes me wonder... I remember those days before there was a line of miniatures from Reaper. 'Didn't take it as a dis against them... As I said, I can see them ignoring Reaper, but what I believe makes it relevant is the non-D&D GW talk... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Has Reaper been around as long as GW? I think these guys were reflecting more about the eighties, but I could be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Snack Posted November 7, 2007 Author Share Posted November 7, 2007 Reaper was founded on July 4th, 1992. Citadel started up in 1979 (GW in '75, they weren't miniatures in the beginning), but 40K didn't come out until '87. It may be focused on the 80's, but they certainly talk about other time periods... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 In the short time they leap ahead 17 years they're talking about minis specifically for D&D, the property as now handled by Hasbro/Wizards of the Cost. he he. As far as I know, Reaper hasn't done any "official" work for D&D, although everyone uses their stuff for it anyway. I still didn't see any offense towards Reaper from these old greybeards (hell, I'm one of'em) going over old times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Porsenna Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I really love finding the old stuff I used to have in online stores or on ebay, especially some of the old Julie Guthrie stuff - Were you aware that megaminis is re-releasing alot of Guthrie's Grenadier minis? I plan to pick them up when I get a chance for some "classic" collections... Damon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Snack Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 I still didn't see any offense towards Reaper from these old greybeards (hell, I'm one of'em) going over old times. You're ignoring my point that GW gets a lot of love for a non-D&D line. Therefor they are not only talking about minis specifically for D&D. I don't think there's any offense towards Reaper either, but juxtaposed with the face time 40K gets is what makes it interesting. I'm not trying to foster some sort of WotC hate, just noting that I find it odd the way GW is promoted in the piece... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anvil Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I think you'll find GW in almost any fantasy/sci-fi miniature gamers history. For a while they were the only choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thes Hunter Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Because playing with lead is fun..... I just moved, and this caused me to unpack some of my oooooooooollllllllllllldddddddd minis, like the Ral Partha and Grendiar like they are talking about in this article. Having kids around now, and the motherly instincts kicking in, I remembered, way way back, minitures used to be made of lead. Some of my old ones are, and I am sure some of ya all's are as well. So please be careful guys. We can't be losing brain cells to our miniature addictions...... cause we have to save them.... for beer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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