CaptainOfTheWhiteTower wrote:
£12 for a single mini is scandalous frankly.
I would have thought that there would be a development cost to pay off, but we have gone from metal, which I would assume to be far more costly, to a refined plastic!
I do prefer using the fine cast plastic to white metal as it is malleable and easy to cut into for conversions and trimming, but I still feel that the bill for the miniature collection which only last year was £8.00 for two lower level heroes is now £10.00 each, and in what is essentially a cheaper material to produce!
My previous days of buying all the range and fielding every army released are definitely over.
I have a serious back log of Hobbit and about 400 Lord of the Rings miniatures to paint, and intend to concentrate on these and lay of fresh releases for a bit!
G.W. will never adjust the prices, but I do worry slightly about the range as I feel that the prices are beyond the reach of the school kids at the starter end of the Hobby. My immediate assessment upon the release of the Hobbit range last yeas was that the newbies would be likely to buy the Goblin town set with a few other bits due to the high cost (particularly compared taking into account inflation with the Fellowship of the Ring box set)! In relation to this I find it somewhat telling that all the stores that I have visited within the last month (Tunbridge Wells, Croydon and Plaza) have had the starter box set with limited edition Radagast, that I would have expected to have gone over Christmas.
I believe that the manufacturing is still done in the U.K. which I think is very admirable of G.W. and is something taht I wish to support, and that the range is less profitable due to the licensing contract but, feel that the benefit of the films popularity and related advertising must go some distance in making up for that and that the price for the miniatures (though excellent in terms of quality) is still extracting the Michael somewhat!