Jump to content

AOS 2nd on ICv2's Non-Collectible Miniature Line Sales List For Fall 2018


Recommended Posts

15 minutes ago, TheWilddog said:

Agreed. Like this model for example. I wanted to love it but when I got it in my hands all I got was sadness. 

mantic.jpeg

What was bad about it?  Did they just dress up the model with a fantastic paint job, or is this an example of a detailed resin master painted for display purposes and a less than stellar quality plastic model?  I know that Privateer Press historically used high quality resin casts for their painted advertisement models.

For a horrifically weird giant tentacle monster that model looks pretty cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Skabnoze said:

What was bad about it?  Did they just dress up the model with a fantastic paint job, or is this an example of a detailed resin master painted for display purposes and a less than stellar quality plastic model?  I know that Privateer Press historically used high quality resin casts for their painted advertisement models.

For a horrifically weird giant tentacle monster that model looks pretty cool.

First the mold lines were epic, some of the worst I have seem.  Secondly the scale is pretty misrepresenting.  I was expecting a much larger sculpt and it is quite small, the tentacles are really tiny and flimsy. Also the detail is pretty dull on the actual model, whoever painted that one in the picture should get a medal of honor. Overall, I wanted to be a fan but in the end I just gave it away. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, TheWilddog said:

First the mold lines were epic, some of the worst I have seem.  Secondly the scale is pretty misrepresenting.  I was expecting a much larger sculpt and it is quite small, the tentacles are really tiny and flimsy. Also the detail is pretty dull on the actual model, whoever painted that one in the picture should get a medal of honor. Overall, I wanted to be a fan but in the end I just gave it away. 

6

IIRC it was Giraldez. They also hired him for their giant, and that definitely panned out. Then again, the giant is a much better model.

And now that we're talking about KoW, I wanted to point out that is much more accepted -if not the norm- to play it with miniatures from other companies, so you can't tell the popularity of the game just looking at the sales. (Something Mantic regrets and is trying to correct with Vanguard, but can't back away with KoW).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thing is the only way mantic can resolve it is with better models - though if they allow a culture to build where anyone uses any old models then they are against a very hard fight as a model making company. I guess it worked for them in growing their brand name when AoS first came out and there were Old-World refugees floating around in abundance; but long term its not healthy if their primary market is miniatures. 

 

I think GW actually gets a good paint job for their advertising models - by and large they are very well painted but not into the realms of extreme skill for most of their product photos. I've seen companies like Hawk Wargames and Infinity who have some really outstanding paintwork on very tiny and thin details and its really impressive, but rather hard to emulate as a gamer with standard paint skills. Of course in both those examples the models do stand up to the quality as well (Hawk details are really really impressive on their space ships in Dropfleet Commander) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Overread said:

Thing is the only way mantic can resolve it is with better models - though if they allow a culture to build where anyone uses any old models then they are against a very hard fight as a model making company. I guess it worked for them in growing their brand name when AoS first came out and there were Old-World refugees floating around in abundance; but long term its not healthy if their primary market is miniatures. 

I actually think they intentionally lean in the other way.  Their big catch word is "affordable," it's in the tagline of their website.  I am not saying that it is a good strategy, but they are definitely targeting an audience not as focused on the best quality models.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Overread said:

Thing is the only way mantic can resolve it is with better models - though if they allow a culture to build where anyone uses any old models then they are against a very hard fight as a model making company. I guess it worked for them in growing their brand name when AoS first came out and there were Old-World refugees floating around in abundance; but long term its not healthy if their primary market is miniatures.

5

 

1 minute ago, TheWilddog said:

I actually think they intentionally lean in the other way.  Their big catch word is "affordable," it's in the tagline of their website.  I am not saying that it is a good strategy, but they are definitely targeting an audience not as focused on the best quality models.  

Actually, I think they're trying to move away from been seen as the "cheap" alternative., And the quality is certainly improving. That is actually a problem because the price has increased too, and the price-quality relationship has suffered from this. They're not always noticeably cheaper than GW anymore, just "worst".
The strategy now is creating their own IP's, like nightstalkers and Northern Alliance so players have fewer alternatives in other companies. That's a better strategy, but Mantic is still a small company, moves slowly,  and the competition is fierce.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Jator said:

Actually, I think they're trying to move away from been seen as the "cheap" alternative., And the quality is certainly improving. That is actually a problem because the price has increased too, and the price-quality relationship has suffered from this. They're not always noticeably cheaper than GW anymore, just "worst".
The strategy now is creating their own IP's, like nightstalkers and Northern Alliance so players have fewer alternatives in other companies. That's a better strategy, but Mantic is still a small company, moves slowly,  and the competition is fierce.

That does sounds like a better move and I honestly hope that it pays off for them. Like I said I really like some of their conceptual designs.  The more crowded the miniwargaming market gets, the more the originality and pull of unique IP factors in.  I think that is part of why AOS is taking off. It is finally fleshing out its own character.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

38 minutes ago, Chikout said:

An important point to make about this data is that it doesn't include sales from GW direct stores or GW online so the performance of 40k and Aos is even more impressive. 

 

This is quite true, because you have to believe that they move an unseemly amount of plastic crack themselves. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...