Bones 6 Enthusiasm and Commentary

[Roonfizzle]

7 hours ago, GoldenPiggy said:

Maybe they should try to have more sets that combine shiny dragons (or other flashy Kickstarter models that don't sell well in retail) with mundane creatures.  Put a dragon against a party of adventurers, call the dragon a Kickstarter exclusive, then just sell the adventurers that bring in retail dollars.  Have a dragon with kobold hirelings.  Make a Cthulhu mythos monster surrounded by zombies.  In each case, the flashy thing drives Kickstarter pledges that pay for molds for the future retail product, and by making at least some of the big things KS exclusive, it removes the expectation that they need to bring the big things to the store.  Just an idea; I have no particular expertise in marketing.

I particularly like this idea.  I hope that this drives discussion for a few pages, to bring out any nifty synergies that might lurk in the mind of Reaper's fanbase, and perhaps some downsides, with suggestions on how to avoid them.

Personally, I'm ambivalent about Kickstarter Exclusives, but I DO acknowledge the reality, that some things just won't do well in Retail, and having the label clearly marked ahead of time helps manage expectations, and budgeting.  

Like the Pirate Ship from 5.  At the time, there was absolutely NO WAY, Disserma and I could justify it, and even now, no way we could justify it.  In 5 years?  I don't .... expect... we could justify it, but it's not ... completely impossible.

[haldir]

8 hours ago, GoldenPiggy said:

Maybe they should try to have more sets that combine shiny dragons (or other flashy Kickstarter models that don't sell well in retail) with mundane creatures.  Put a dragon against a party of adventurers, call the dragon a Kickstarter exclusive, then just sell the adventurers that bring in retail dollars.  Have a dragon with kobold hirelings.  Make a Cthulhu mythos monster surrounded by zombies.  In each case, the flashy thing drives Kickstarter pledges that pay for molds for the future retail product, and by making at least some of the big things KS exclusive, it removes the expectation that they need to bring the big things to the store.  Just an idea; I have no particular expertise in marketing.

 

I for one can't stand exclusive items, on KS or otherwise. So this while sounds good, it something I'd probably avoid like the plague. Regarding the KS only items in B6, I'll most likely get them, cause I know down the road, I'll probably go "damn I had a chance at that & now I can't cause it's not available to me now."

 

Thou, nothing is limited edition when it comes to Reaper, at least miniature-wise, that they still have the rights to produce. (ReaperCon Sophies......) so who knows they might surprise people & release them to retail eventually. I think right now that is what's driving me forward with this Kickstarter, the question of "Do I want to wait till retail for these miniatures?" I mean there are some very cool stuff in there & previous Reaper KSes that are not out at retail yet. 

 

I went looking for my rune wights the other day as those are what I settled on for ReaperCon game wights. Going through the box, I came across some stuff, I forgot I had in there. I changed up a couple of miniature selections, so those would be the ones I use instead of what I thought I was going to use. Funny going through that box is almost like receiving a order for miniatures in the mail. 

[Lidless Eye]

I think one of the biggest factors that led to less "showstopper" items is the big stuff CANNOT be made in house at all, so the more of them there were in the current times, the more uncertainties could arise.

[Cyradis]

Exclusive items are not something I'm a fan of. I do get it for things that a group wants to produce but can't justify long term. Just as "get them in the door" items it is frustrating. I'd much rather have things like that on "seasonal" or "special occasion" periodic releases. Like a super cool Halloween themed item - okay, can't sell it all the time, but doing a limited run of a few hundred once per year and selling them at an elevated price.... yeah. That is okay. Would have no pressure to keep the item in-stock. Just go for the yearly fixed number batch. Could be combined with a KS with the item "KS-exclusive until Holiday" or something to that extent.

 

That sortof happens already with the holiday release figures, but they aren't limited, and the metal ones are in-house so they don't have to get them made elsewhere. They can keep up with surging demand if they have the metal.

15 hours ago, WhiteWulfe said:

Silly side of me is all "I dunno, I'd prefer paint to be shipped in June versus April" but that's just the silly side of me. ^_^;;;

 

Hah, fair!

 

4 hours ago, Adrift said:

By getting their KS to a certain level and having more in the tank for the pledge manager phase (which is usually quite long), they don’t have to shell out 10% of their haul to KS. Seems pretty saavy to me.

 

And (legally) they can always tell KS, “Look here, we are encouraging our backers to pledge on KS and to get more unlocks…”

 

As a veteran of the 5 prior Bones KSers, I get the frustration of others. I also get the mentality of being thankful for what is there.

 

I also think that Ron is going to get an earful at ReaperCon this year. 😅

 

 

10% is a big cut, but I suspect that's factored into their use of the platform already. I do get being frustrated by this one, but for the people who need their bread and butter figures, it was still awesome.

 

Ron is definitely going to get slammed though. I'm not particularly bugged, but there were a number of "double-eww tee eff" sort of choices on lining things up imo. Hey, not spending as much here meant that I am sending more to the Kimera, S75, and Ember Seasons Kickstarters soooooo..... I'm okay >.>

[Nunae]

Not sure if the order of things was meant to have more "big ticket items" in the middle to get through stretch goals after the initial run in the first few days had dried up. Having the expansion packs in five parts in the beginning definetly suggests they were going for that addictive "ding!" feeling more often (compared to just getting three or later two unlocks for the same amount of miniatures). I mean, noone of us thought they'd just not unlock a whole expansion, so that kinda felt meh.

Maybe they miscalculated and couldn't just throw out more and more stuff? We definetly got some funding goals lowered, but you can't do that indefinitely. 

It's a good theory, to not shoot all your powder in the first three days and then struggle for more, but ofc you need to accurately guess how much you're gonna make for this to work out, or else you'd be stuck with a bunch of cool left-over sculpts. 

Or maybe it wasn't strategy and it was for real more important to their business to fund a bunch of orcs, gnolls and the likes than a dragon diorama.

 

I kinda understand the disappointment. Reaper kickstarters are a big and very irregular event. You wait for them. You want "your" stuff. I felt kinda sad to not get fey creatures in Bones 5, since it funded so well and people in the thread liked the idea and I was hopeful based on that. Feeling like you'll have to wait two more years for "your" Bones to make an appearance isn't fun. Seeing stuff you would have loved while there was nothing for you in the kickstarter for you must be even less fun.

Idk, other companies that jumped on the "affordable plastic" bandwagon don't make me feel this way. I look at their offerings, buy what I like and skip what I don't. Maybe it's the memory of the first Bones kickstarter high that keeps me going, maybe it's the community aspect, but it surely has an entertainment factor of looking at the teasers and updates other companies don't.

[oldschoolfan]

On 5/22/2022 at 2:27 PM, Sirithiliel said:

 

then don't read my posts, i don't know what to tell you.

 

we are all allowed to say our opinion. And I'm not the only on here who has that opinion and even if you hate it, it HELPS to talk to people feeling the way I am too 

 

new pictures came up of things i would have liked. So i re-stated my opinion since the subject matter at hand was one that was relevant to what i was saying

 

i'm sorry i make you so so so very angry with my opinion but i'm allowed to have it and talk about it. Im glad you love the Kickstarter and think it's the bees knees but not everyone here is obligated to be happy for what we missed on and just because time has passed doesn't mean we cannot talk about it.

 

Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or make you upset or anything else. You're right, you are allowed to have your own opinion and state what it is, so is everyone else here. I don't hate your opinion, although I do disagree with it. That's not why I'm responding though. I'm also not saying that you need to be happy about how the KS turned out, either,

 

All I'm asking is for you to please try not to belittle/denigrate other people's opinions in the stating of your own. When you make statements like the one I've bolded below, you're kind of implying that the thing that got made is garbage and shouldn't have been made in favor of the thing that would have been your preference. Things like that tend to hurt people's feelings, and I'm just about positive that's not your intent. 

 

I understand the disappointment, believe me. There's some things I was hoping for, too. I sincerely hope that Reaper adds something extra in the pledge manager that you'll enjoy.

 

At any rate, I doubt we'll ever be super friendly, but how about we call a truce?

 

On 5/21/2022 at 11:39 AM, Sirithiliel said:

 

That doesn't mean we can't sit here and lament what could have been. Instead of that second chibi pack we could have had a dragon. Instead of the 20th set of orcs or bugbears in the reaper line,we could have had our second dragon bust

 

 

 

[Adrift]

I don’t get the chibis thing. I like anime and watch some. But how can chibis be a more popular inclusion in a miniatures KS that the entirety of a Chronoscope expansion?

[Blip]

I'd be interested to know how popular the chibis are. Games like Super Dungeon Explore and Funko Pop in general show there is a market for figures like this, even just as desk buddies. 

[msfnc]

1 hour ago, Adrift said:

I don’t get the chibis thing. I like anime and watch some. But how can chibis be a more popular inclusion in a miniatures KS that the entirety of a Chronoscope expansion?

I am also baffled by the popularity of chibis. The style is just not for me. That said, I also don’t go in for the grimdark/40k/gargantuan shoulderpads aesthetics, either. And it seems both are hugely popular. Strokes/folks. My venerable and sagely uncle has mocked the “heroic” minis I bring to the table for having giant hands. He makes fun of the eyes, too, but I’m pretty sure that’s a dig at my painting rather than the models. Googly gogglers, he calls them. 

“It’s like the lovechild of Marty Feldman and Johnny Bench”. 

[R2ED]

@msfncI'm not a fan of the chibi either.  However, I've found a very handy use for them.   Eyes are my nemesis and I'm challenged by doing them.  The chibi has huge eyes that let me test different styles.  I recently did this one with my daughter and would say if nothing, use them for practice on the eyes alone. 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by R2ED

[Cyradis]

I'm more a fan of the almost-chibi dragons (like the Rocky dragonlings). Not a huge fan of Reaper's chibi heroes - they're fine but not for me typically. But they are good for kiddos, comic fans, or practice painting on a seriously exaggerated face. I'd be very curious how chibis sell overall compared to others. Like I didn't mind them in the Core set for.... IV? Nice to have a few to give a whirl for the sake of trying new things. But I wouldn't have gotten them as an add-on (and didn't when they became an add-on).

[Blip]

I'm a fan of the Rocky dragons as well. They do a great job being either chibi or playing the role of a baby dragon. The kid heroes series are great for this as well.

[Brother Jim]

As someone who really wants more Reaper Bugbears I NEED to point out there's only been 3 sets of them.

1] The initial singular Bugbear.

2] The set of 3.

3] And the set from Bones 6.

 

And we still don't have any with missile weapons, not even slings or javelins.

 

But I understand that not everyone feels that way.

[Lidless Eye]

59 minutes ago, Brother Jim said:

As someone who really wants more Reaper Bugbears I NEED to point out there's only been 3 sets of them.

1] The initial singular Bugbear.

2] The set of 3.

3] And the set from Bones 6.

 

And we still don't have any with missile weapons, not even slings or javelins.

 

But I understand that not everyone feels that way.

And it gives us the first Bugbear Shaman in Bones and second female Bugbear for the entirety of Reaper.

[Cyradis]

I didn't need bugbears, but they're a classic D&D monster. I don't see a problem including them in a Bones run. I just wouldn't depend on them for a huge funding burst, just a moderate one for the folks who need bugbears.