Bones IV pre-launch & news

[pinkymadigan]

 

 

 

Personally I would like to see Bones 4 be almost all new scuplts.  After three KSs that were mostly about bringing old sculpts to PVC I would love to see the reverse done.

 

It would be much more exciting to have a starter set that was all new and then have a few old sculpts added in by vote of popular demand.

I sometimes wish there was a way we could vote.  But it would have to be designs for the same thing.  I wouldn't want say a dragon competing against a dwarven siege tank.  That would be unfair because I want both...

 

 

Siege engines/war machines seem like a good thing for bones, but then you remember all the straight lines. I'd be willing to bet that Reaper tries to stick with the PVC style plastic which means more organic stuff and less straight line stuff.

 

 

Not necessarily. The Sledgehammer and the mausoleum seem to have turned out great, so I'd be expecting more of the "hard" plastic stuff.

 

 

Right, but I'm willing to bet those were the exceptions. My guess was they wanted to do those in the standard bones material, it wasn't turning out right, and they decided to switch materials at a loss (for backers anyway). Could be wrong, but experience seems to indicate that those materials are just more costly.

[Reaperbryan]

 

A serious question:

 

In Bones 1-2-3, we've had several types of Bones sculpts:

 

- Metal to Bones conversions

- Re-sculpts of existing minis. Either older models that have been retired or that will take advantage of the Bones material properties.

- Totally new sculpts. Some that are part of a theme, others by popular demand from posters.

 

Is Bones IV expected to have the same pattern? Are you leaning towards more new sculpts or conversions? Too soon to tell?

 

 

I'm really curious about how much of the existing (metal) catalog is still considered viable for conversion to Bones (whether due to limited appeal, incompatibility with the change in material, or other reasons).

 

How does converting a figure from metal to Bones compare to simply having a new figure sculpted?

 

Honestly, A little behind the curtain here is that we don't have every single model of the over 4,000 we make sorted into whether they're a good candidate for Bones or not. We sit down every now and then and look at what kinds of models we want in (like, we might say, we don't have enough dwarves) and then we see which [dwarves] we want to convert to Bones, or we decide maybe to have new ones made, or a mix. There's lots of little planning meetings that are focused on specifics because going thorough 4000 figures to find a few hundred, and pick new ones for part of that several hundred is overwhelming all at one lump. I suppose if i was guessing there's maybe another 500 models or so that would be good candidates for transition, with 200-300 already transited. Maybe, then, 20% of the whole? That's just a guess though.

 

As for ratios? That's hard to say. I think we're very likely to have more new models this time around, and certainly among the larger pieces. There's plenty of fantastic heroes and villains still to convert, though, so I'm confident it won't be devoid of them. But with the freedom this material offers, we'd be fools not to explore that wherever it's feasible. 

 

There's also the question of exploring new themes. I've been caught before saying things like "mouselings are so cheap in metal they don't make sense in Bones" only to later be overruled, so while I know there were entire vistas of themes we've left alone (or barely delved into due to lack of popularity for those themes in the current market) I suspect that we may start rounding out our offerings by delving into those themes. After all, only by having some of everything can the line truly have something for everyone - and being well rounded and broad is an important point for us. And for a LOT of those new themes, DHL, Warlord, and Chronoscope don't explore them either, so new sculpts would be required. 

 

 

 

Ok, the final question - when talking transition versus simply making a new sculpt, how do they compare? Well, for the mold makers, it's the same. We have to give them a physical object either way, so they don't really even know what's new vs what's pre-existing. For us, an existing model is maybe a little cheaper, (one of the reasons Bones 1 was a better value was it relied so heavily on existing sculpts and saved us tens of thousands of dollars in sculpting costs), but if an existing model is known in advance to be a poor seller, poor quality, or problematic pose/sculpt, then it's better to pay the money and have a good model in the line than cheap out and "waste" a mold pocket on a figure we'll never sell.

[Ludo]

Got my holiday Pikachu

[Dr_Automaton]

We sit down every now and then and look at what kinds of models we want in (like, we might say, we don't have enough dwarves) and then we see which [dwarves] we want to convert to Bones, or we decide maybe to have new ones made, or a mix.

 

*cough*the line needs a Chronoscope robot*cough*

 

After all, only by having some of everything can the line truly have something for everyone - and being well rounded and broad is an important point for us.

 

*cough*seriously, robot*cough*

 

 

Seriously, though, thanks for sharing with us, as always!

[Beagle]

 

 

A serious question:

 

In Bones 1-2-3, we've had several types of Bones sculpts:

 

- Metal to Bones conversions

- Re-sculpts of existing minis. Either older models that have been retired or that will take advantage of the Bones material properties.

- Totally new sculpts. Some that are part of a theme, others by popular demand from posters.

 

Is Bones IV expected to have the same pattern? Are you leaning towards more new sculpts or conversions? Too soon to tell?

 

 

I'm really curious about how much of the existing (metal) catalog is still considered viable for conversion to Bones (whether due to limited appeal, incompatibility with the change in material, or other reasons).

 

How does converting a figure from metal to Bones compare to simply having a new figure sculpted?

 

Honestly, A little behind the curtain here is that we don't have every single model of the over 4,000 we make sorted into whether they're a good candidate for Bones or not. We sit down every now and then and look at what kinds of models we want in (like, we might say, we don't have enough dwarves)

 

 

 

 

Can I just interject. You certainly DO have enough dwarves. And so does everyone else.

 

Wood Elves

[etherial]

Right, but I'm willing to bet those were the exceptions. My guess was they wanted to do those in the standard bones material, it wasn't turning out right, and they decided to switch materials at a loss (for backers anyway). Could be wrong, but experience seems to indicate that those materials are just more costly.

Um, what? I thought they were planned from the beginning to be harder plastic. Part of the awesomeness of Bones is that Reaper can dial the bendiness up and down for specific applications. Edited December 16, 2016 by etherial

[Bane Of Humanity]

Honestly, A little behind the curtain here is that we don't have every single model of the over 4,000 we make sorted into whether they're a good candidate for Bones or not. We sit down every now and then and look at what kinds of models we want in (like, we might say, we don't have enough dwarves Tieflings and dragonborn) and then we see which [dwarves] Tieflings and Dragonborn

Why Yes I agree

Edited December 16, 2016 by Bane Of Humanity

[kodiakbear]

 

 

 

A serious question:

 

In Bones 1-2-3, we've had several types of Bones sculpts:

 

- Metal to Bones conversions

- Re-sculpts of existing minis. Either older models that have been retired or that will take advantage of the Bones material properties.

- Totally new sculpts. Some that are part of a theme, others by popular demand from posters.

 

Is Bones IV expected to have the same pattern? Are you leaning towards more new sculpts or conversions? Too soon to tell?

 

 

I'm really curious about how much of the existing (metal) catalog is still considered viable for conversion to Bones (whether due to limited appeal, incompatibility with the change in material, or other reasons).

 

How does converting a figure from metal to Bones compare to simply having a new figure sculpted?

 

Honestly, A little behind the curtain here is that we don't have every single model of the over 4,000 we make sorted into whether they're a good candidate for Bones or not. We sit down every now and then and look at what kinds of models we want in (like, we might say, we don't have enough dwarves)

 

 

 

 

Can I just interject. You certainly DO have enough dwarves. And so does everyone else.

 

Wood Elves

 

 

 

I agree we need more elves, shorter than humans but taller that dwarves so we do not get x-mass elves.

Edited December 16, 2016 by kodiakbear

[Chaoswolf]

Kickstarter 1 = Hmm, I think the core set holds lots of value. Buys 2

- These are all separated and organized

 

Kickstarter 2 = Okay, I'm going to buy one core set. Buys 2

- I just threw everything into one shoe box and have no clue what was offered in this kickstarter. 

 

Kickstarter 3 = Okay, no core set, just add-ons and expansions. Buys a core set.

Kickstarter 4 = Reaper wins. I have squirreled away enough money for 1-2 core sets and 2-4 expansions. 

That's the spirit!!

[NomadZeke]

Many more gigantic figures and my storage is in real trouble...

[pinkymadigan]

 

Right, but I'm willing to bet those were the exceptions. My guess was they wanted to do those in the standard bones material, it wasn't turning out right, and they decided to switch materials at a loss (for backers anyway). Could be wrong, but experience seems to indicate that those materials are just more costly.

Um, what? I thought they were planned from the beginning to be harder plastic. Part of the awesomeness of Bones is that Reaper can dial the bendiness up and down for specific applications.

If they did, they didn't tell us. Both were independent updates after funding.

[Egg of Coot]

Many more gigantic figures and my storage is in real trouble...

 

I'm facing a similar dilemma . . .

 

The Egg

[Ravendas]

 

 

Right, but I'm willing to bet those were the exceptions. My guess was they wanted to do those in the standard bones material, it wasn't turning out right, and they decided to switch materials at a loss (for backers anyway). Could be wrong, but experience seems to indicate that those materials are just more costly.

Um, what? I thought they were planned from the beginning to be harder plastic. Part of the awesomeness of Bones is that Reaper can dial the bendiness up and down for specific applications.

If they did, they didn't tell us. Both were independent updates after funding.

 

 

What are you talking about? In Update 24 where they introduce the big cannon, they say this:

"Produced in Bones (with hard and soft Bonesium components) under license from Victoria Miniatures, we’re proud to be able to offer the M22bfg 'Sledgehammer' Heavy Howitzer, sculpted by Victoria Lamb and Jake Schneider!"

 

In the first mentioning of it in Update22...

"And at $1,310,000 something with a little more bang, produced in Bones (with hard and soft Bonesium components)"

 

So yes, hard bonesium was in there from the beginning, and it was told to us.

[Talae]

 

 

Right, but I'm willing to bet those were the exceptions. My guess was they wanted to do those in the standard bones material, it wasn't turning out right, and they decided to switch materials at a loss (for backers anyway). Could be wrong, but experience seems to indicate that those materials are just more costly.

Um, what? I thought they were planned from the beginning to be harder plastic. Part of the awesomeness of Bones is that Reaper can dial the bendiness up and down for specific applications.

If they did, they didn't tell us. Both were independent updates after funding.

Edit due to being ninja-ed and my browser being left open on this page. Edited December 17, 2016 by Talae

[Mattnuke]

My short list for this Bones campaign...

 

Bloodstone Gnomes.

 

Female common monsters (orcs, gnolls, bugbears, etc.)

 

Another set (or two) of hobgoblins, sculpted to match the last set.

 

Another cloud giant and storm giant of the opposite gender.

 

A new set of stone giants, which match the size of the new fire and frost giants.