Recently the historical gaming community (including the author) were shocked and a little dismayed to learn that the people behind Gripping Beast were retiring and would soon be closing the business. Fair enough, I'm thinking about (and sometimes longing to) retire myself. Their announcement expressed the hope that someone would come along and buy GP and the various lines it's taken under its wing. In the meantime, they encouraged gamers to get in their orders soon and that they would be announcing a cut off date in the near future when "we will have to turn sales off so that we can finish everything outstanding and get the last parcels out the door befor we turn off the lights".
I have no idea if it would be profitable or even wise to take over such a business. The price of metal alloy continues to increase, postage rates, heating, and power costs increase constantly, tarrifs and regulations make shipping more complicated, moulds wear out, and there are so many more options for gamers now in 3D printing or from all plastic outfits like Victrix. God bless Foundry and the Perry Brothers, among those still committed to making metal figures, but I do wonder how long they'll be around.
I'm enough of a curmudgeon that I still have a soft spot for metal. The very first Napoleonic figures I painted (badly) were old metal Minifigs from the mid 1970s. I love the feel of them. My collections include metal and plastic units (which would drive some folks nuts) but I always prefer the metal guys. One of the reasons why the GP annoucement saddened me was that I'm especially fond of Front Rank, and wanted to ad some of their 28mm Napoleonic range to my collection while it's still available, so a purchase has been made.
Here are two figures from the FR Naps line. They have a pleasing amount of detail, but are on the small side for 28s and perhaps they show their age a bit.
And then there is the attractiveness of 6mm for mass gaming. I know Baccus is still going strong and I have a pile of their metal figures, but I'm just finishing the basing on these 3D print figures and it didn't take me long to get a brigade (or division depending on the scale of the game on the table.
Finally, next to the big lad are these wee voltiguers, also 6mm MC Miniatures, done on my Bambu filament printer, and surprisingly detailed.
So what do you think? Are metal figures an endangered species? Are they a relic of a bygone time, like rotary phones? Would you miss them? What do you see happening in the hobby?
Cheers and blessings to your brushes,
MP+
I
There have been a couple of "closing up shop" opportunities over the last several years. While I am solidly in the "metalhead" camp and primarily stick to projects in metal, taking on these businesses really did not make economic sense given the changes seen in both hobby and business. Now, would I enjoy owning one of these manufacturers? Of course, but that may pave the path to ruin and my consumption of figures is declining.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Jonathan, in the metalhead camp. I sometimes joke to my wife that when I retire, I'll open a toy soldier/wargames store in a little tourist town to cater to the husbands while their wives are in the quilt stores. That way I should burn through our retirement savings in a few years.
DeleteI am a big metal fan, their days may be numbered but I cannot see myself moving to plastics and I do not want to own a 3D printer. Grubby Tanks are also shutting up shop here in the UK very soon. Simon
ReplyDeleteThanks Simon, I didn't know that about Grubby Tanks. Not just historical minis, I know from social media that the fellow running Heresy Miniatures is almost done, and Ian at Fenris is hanging on just barely. Having a friend with a 3D printer is probably better than having one yourself. :)
DeleteI think that there is another aspect to it which is the closure rate may be higher with manufacturers offering scales other than 28mm. In 20mm Irregular and Frontline have closed this year and SHQ/ Kennington will go when Grubby retires. Grubby does have some 28mm ranges as did Irregular but their main business was the smaller scales. The display games at shows I have been to in the last couple of years are about 75% 28mm. My guess is that 28mm will survive but I’m less sure about other scales.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, i never thought of it as being scale dependent. The last I heard, Baccus was still doing well in the 6mm hobby space and Pendraken appears to be solid. I think a lot of folks in the industry age out rather than go broke, they want to retire and younger folks don't want to take on the challenge because they see the hobby market shifting. Same with men's clothes, I used to shop at a good men's wear store, when the owner retired, his young staff didn't want to take it on. They knew that fewer men buy ties and suits for work .
DeleteLeon and Pendraken have had their problems and have just announced a price hike. Pendraken have not been doing shows this year due to health concerns and other factors. Bacchus and Pete Berry seem to be doing well for the moment. I know both personally. Simon
DeleteI can see the economics ofchoosing plastic figures these days but I think in future people will regret not having the choice.
ReplyDeleteI forsee the price rising, as it is now slowly doing, and surpassing the cost of metal when the latter is no more.
Thanks for the comment! I suspect that metal figures will be around for a while, as niche or specialty lines, and as my generation passes, there will be truckloads of metal figures coming onto the second hand / estate market. But yes, I think we will lose some richness and heritage of the hobby.
DeleteRight on the money, Padre. Speaking as a metal manufacturer myself—my wife and I run East Front Miniatures, (20mm Platoon 20 range)—you’ve hit the nail on the head regarding the state of the industry.
ReplyDeleteBetween soaring material costs and the nightmare of EU postage rules/red tape (which saw us stop shipping to Europe altogether), sales have seen a steady decline. We'll be calling it a day and retiring in about 18 months, and I suspect a lot of other small casting operations are in the exact same boat.
Plastics and 3D files certainly have their place, but I’ll always have a soft spot for the feel of lead and tin. It’ll be a sad day if metal ever disappears completely, but the economics are proper brutal now.
All the best, Andy
Thanks Andrew, really appreciate your perspective on things. You've done a service to the hobby by keeping the Platoon 20 line going, but I can see you and your wife wanting to retire. There's a great Canadian sculptor, Bob Murch of Pulp Figures, and the last time I got an order from him, it was in a box that he'd made out of cut up cereal boxes taped together. I can see the effort not only of scultping and producing but also packing and shipping and keeping the books would wear one down after a while. We forget how most of the hobby is mom and pop self employed folks. Cheers, Michael
DeleteToo true, Michael! Recycling boxes is definitely a familiar trick in this business. It really is a labour of love for most small outfit owners, but the admin and packing do catch up with you eventually!
DeleteAll the best, Andy
In the UK, Brexit has been a hammer blow to small businesses. A seller of mail order kits told me that he lost 40% of sales.
ReplyDeleteGroan, blame Brexit for everything and not the EU for all the pointless rules and regulations made up by the unelected to keep and justify their jobs. Simon.
DeleteBrexit sure looks like an own goal from my perspective. Unfortunately there are some Canadian separatists who haven't taken note.
DeleteYou missed the point. It’s the EU with all the pointless rules and regulations. It’s why the UK left. The EU is doing no better than a separate UK. In fact it might be worse. Note the French school kids rioting for a start. Simon
DeleteI'm not a Brit so won't get into this any further.
DeleteAll my painted miniatures are metal as are the rather large number in my “to be painted” pile. I’ve never liked plastic and the thought of more miniatures being printed by a machine in the house leaves me nervous. I can’t paint what I already have. Only once have I seriously thought of printing something and that was some 1/3000th Vulcan bombers.
ReplyDeleteWhy, well are like the little lead or pewter chaps and they are remarkably resilient. The thought of spending hours painting them only to have a gun barrel, musket or spear break would be too much.
Well said! Simon
DeleteCouldn't agree more with TWR regarding the weight and durability of metal—nothing quite beats the heft of a solid metal figure, and they certainly take a knock much better than fragile resin!
DeleteI agree with TWR, the resilience of metal figures vice the fragility of plastic helps tip the scales for me. My first experience with printing 6mm figures in resin was sobering, muskets and bayonets would break if you looked at them sideways.
DeleteWe truly live in a Golden Age for wargaming. We're spoilt for choice in materials, quality sculpts, and ranges available. The rising cost of metal will sadly kill off one choice and those sculpts will go as well.
ReplyDeletePerhaps some youngster will get a 3d scanner and build a business selling 3d prints of old, out of production vintage metal figures? Or a forward thinking business will do that to keep quality well researched sculpts like Front Rank and Calpe ranges viable.
James raises a dead interesting point about scanning, though I suspect copyright and licensing will keep that side of things complicated for a good while yet. Enjoy those Front Rank figures while we have them!
DeleteYes, copyright will be a thing for sure.
DeleteBut if you've bought the range you have the rights to it
Scanning technologies are amazing. My dentist is making a partial denture for me, and she waved a little wand around in my mouth for a few minutes and suddenly I was looking at a very convincing 3D model of my teeth. Don't have any idea how much that scanning tech costs, but it has come a long way from the first digital scanners I saw in the late 1990s.
DeleteBeing another fan of metal over other materials, I guess I'm in the old man/grognard club too. I just like the heft of metal and feel they sit on the tabletop better than their plastic and resin counterparts.
ReplyDeleteSaying that, I do have plenty of plastic and resin minis in my collection, but it's sad that the price of doing business in metal figs is just not at all financially practical these days. But like the horse and cart being overtaken by the automobile and the cassette by the CD and now digital downloads, all of these changes in our hobby seem to fall under the banner or title of "Progress"? Sad, but inevitable.
Digital downloads are not progression, they are poor quality and you do not own them. Simon
DeleteI fear you're probably right. Most of my Napoleonic troops are Front Rank with a smattering of Perry to provide variety. FR are excellent castings that paint up so well. I can't be doing with the smaller scales; they have no character. I've also yet to find any 3D prints with the quality or detail of 28mm metal. They never look anything like the pictures that are used sell them. I've just received a final order from Gripping Beast. My current troops will last me out.
ReplyDelete"My current troops will last me out." LOL, i think a lot about this a lot every time I'm tempted to order more troops - what is my effective gaming lifespan remaining? If I'm lucky, 15 years. At the rate I paint, even after I retire and theoretically have more time (I know few retirees that are awash in free time), I don't think I really need more minis. :)
DeleteI prefer the heft of metal figures, but I accept that it will get harder and harder to acquire them in the future. I have no problems moving to 3D printed figures, although I will still be painting metal for the foreseeable future as I still have a significant Lead Mountain.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure about the longevity of your 3D printed figures. Resin and plastic degrade. I am not sure that your units will not turn to dust after a few years. Simon
DeleteCheers Simon. I reckon they only need to outlast me, and with a good coat of primer and paint, they should easily do so. Even if they don't, I can just reprint
ReplyDelete