What is it that " Makes " a miniatures line

[tremanor]

Hey guys,

I was just reading a bit int eh COnfrontation returns thread and I find myself wondering what it is to each of us that " makes" a miniatures line? I knwo that each of us have their own idea of what is most important in a line and certainyl the use has a lot to do with it. Gamers, painters, collectors, we all have different interests first and foremost btu there are certain underlying reasons WHUY we liek what we like.

Flamboyance?

Subject? ( i.e. females, muscley barbarians, undead, giant bobble headed dwarfs and goblins? )

scale?

paintability?

marketing?

utility? ( for games that woudl be. )

So what does it for you?

[mahon]

To me it's a mix of subject and style. Scale may mean it's not for me, but I still can it's a great miniature line. Just like many large scale ranges - I most likely will never paint such minis, but can admit they're fantastic.

Marketing doesn't matter much to me, but without it it's way too easy to miss valuable miniatures. But there will always be somebody to tell you about them...

Good presentation surely helps, but doesn't make a great line by itself.

To me interesting miniatures must have 'personality'. I don't care much about their usability in any gaming. It can be important for others (gamers) but not much for me. If I want to play with a particular mini, I will find a game for it ^^

There are some miniatures that you just see and say 'wow, this one is excellent'.
And you can forgive it some technical shortcomings, some flaws, because you know it's something cool.

And that's where tastes differ. And I am sure mine is not the same as most others.

I think that it's a bit of a mix of the subject (I totally don't care for some subjects), good sculpting (wow! this sculpt is so good I'd love to have it) and personality of the sculpt (some miniatures manage to capture some kind of character and make you want to paint it, because the concept you have in your head is almost irresistible).

And why good presentation is very useful? Because it helps people notice how good the sculpt is and to spawn some ideas in their heads. Sometimes seeing a good studio/official paintjob makes you realize how much can be done with the particular model.

Does it make any sense?

[mahon]

nobody else? no other takes on the subject?

I expected such a discussion here when I saw the topic...

[Skrit]

I have been thinking about it but cannot come up with a clear answer. I guess that if you do know what makes a miniature line you have gold in hands.
A lot has to do with personal preferences but it seems there is always a style which attracts a larger crowd making it a succes. I do however think that this is similar to clothing fashion and that it surfaces and re-surfaces in periods of time. Hope you get what I mean here?

For example, Confrontation was a huge hit 10 years ago 'till it more or less died a few years ago. Sure there is buzz but that is mostly due to the diehards stating teir voice. Will it become the same succes story (miniature wise I mean as we all know it wasn't a succes story financially due to mismanagement) or will it do just alright. Sure they'll make their sales but I am not thinking it will be as big as it used to be.
I do know I've moved on and I only like parts from the old range, same goes for GW to be said. Only some will endure the sands of time and be gems years later.

Now Infinity creates a lot of buzz and will continue to do so for a long time I hope. As long as they keep re-inventing themselves they should be a big player in the years to come. Will they stay this big? Only time will tell. And that oes for some other younger companies as well. Cliches I know, but that's how I see it!

[mahon]

cliches = simplified common knowledge. good to start any research from...

[Corvus]

Interesting thread, and very hard to answer your question Tre.

Actually I can't answer it at all. Sometimes a line has a certain magic to it, hard to describe. And don't forget, Confrontation also had a lot of haters. They despised the slender proportions, the tiny ankles and wrists which broke off so easily.

Confrontation is also my favorite line. I think for me the most important thing was the fantastic quality of the studio paintjobs. It was really unseen at that time. What also attracted me was the universe, with its wide array of races. And of course the sculpts were vastly superior, offering a huge amount of detail and variation in poses. I also liked their release scheme, with a handful of news every month. Their publication, Cry Havoc, was also of very high quality.

I hope this adds a bit to the discussion?

[mahon]

IMHO Rackham has (as ironic as it may sound) a good combination of fresh concepts, good quality and good marketing.

I don't mean successful marketing, but the way they presented their products - they didn't show them in the "don't scare you away with too good paintjobs" way but gave them cool paintjobs to show their models at their best.

but then they failed.
for totally different reasons though.

[sea.man]

I have been thinking many days what should I write here and finally I have come up with something constructive
I'm relatively new to miniatures world, when not counting GW. So at the moment I am really amazed with what great companies are out there! Especially with those 'dead' miniatures line for Rackham's Confrontation and Asmodee's Hell Dorado which for me are new and now is my 'euphoria' phase
Why?
Because they have lots of character, good game system and great art that they are based on. Images in Cadawallon rulebook just make your imagination go wild! Another reason is...
I think I also divide miniature lines into 2 groups:
- gaming miniature lines
- shelve miniature lines
Two previously mentioned companies are so great that even though I find then in gaming group their range easily fit the second group.
That is also why I am very pleased with latest GW releases (Dark Eldars, Storm of Magic, VC, Ogres). They fit their game system and fluff very well, i.e. new VC dragon/wyvern/bat - in rulebook and Black Library "Curse of the Necrarch" book it says how are they summoned with everything that lies dead near by (giant bat?), new Ogres also they come from cold mountains, so they bring animals that look like yaks or other furry things.
Gaming miniatures have to be a bit solid, so they won't break in army cases on each travel, core units shouldn't be too detailed 'cuz it would take ages to paint them... many factors that make a gaming miniature less attractive as a shelve one.

Oh... and one day I would like give small scale a try!

[mahon]

Because they have lots of character, good game system and great art that they are based on.

- gaming miniature lines
- shelve miniature lines

is a good gaming system a must?

what about gaming miniatures released without a dedicated system?
what about games released without dedicated miniatures?

remember that it's VERY COMMON that rules and miniatures (official ones) are produced by one manufacturer. in the world of historical gaming it's the most typical situation.
and the examples of games with official miniatures are relatively few when you compare them to those without their own minature lines.

not that I disagree with what you said, but the mention of good gaming system made me think...

[sea.man]

Gaming system in terms of fluff sorry, I made too big thinking shortcut.