Wizkids D&D Frameworks - Sprue Miniatures

[idmonfish]

So there is a comment in this article: https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/476 ... t-licenses

About Wizkids having expanded their D&D license to include a D&D branded paint line which also mentions they have expanded their product lines including into Sprue miniatures - so what do folks think? Good move?

[BaneOfHumanity]

Um...

i thought they already had a paint line?

Sprue miniatures, Im down for that...Wanting that for a awhile to get official D&D miniatures thaat I can assemble and paint myself. To further add I hope they decide to do clear spell and weapon sprues to mod with.

reaper bones tried to make mod pieces and they turned out to be a real disappointment. (Their metal ones are still good though)

[BBShockwave]

it's even more than that! Here is Wizkids" own article
https://wizkids.com/2021/02/24/wizkids- ... gathering/

They will also be producing D&D action figures and D&D/MtG accessories.

[Imbalance]

Slick. This feels like a NECA deal with WK branding so that Hasbro retains all the license control, which betcha makes everybody pretty happy. Now to see what they put out.

[Rygharz]

Maybe this will allow us access to non-wafer bases.

[Guyra]

Hmm. I'd be interested in seeing what they'll do with sprue minis.

[snaggle2th]

I wonder if this has anything to do with their clumsy attempt to cut ties with Gale Force 9, who currently produce D&D minis on sprues.

[Mattnuke]

We can hope. The GF9 resin is garbage at best. The sculpts are fine....but the material....junk.

[General Question]

Sprues imply polystyrene and I have done a lot with those from Warhammer to Flames of War. Should be able to have a horde of say orcs, all with different poses/ weapons which is cool.

[Guyra]

Sprues imply polystyrene and I have done a lot with those from Warhammer to Flames of War. Should be able to have a horde of say orcs, all with different poses/ weapons which is cool.

Yeah, polystyrene is the go to material for miniatures on sprues in general, so that's what I immediately assumed these would be made out of. Anything else would be weird.

[Granville7482]

Just curious what material is current 40K kits made out of?

And while I’m asking what material is current GF 9 kits made out of?

[Guyra]

Just curious what material is current 40K kits made out of?

And while I’m asking what material is current GF 9 kits made out of?

Warhammer(including 40k) are cast in polystyrene plastic. GF9 D&D minis are cast in resin.

[Clint]

I'm wondering if these will be similar to Galeforce Nine's D&D Collectors Series figures. I have a few of those, and have mixed feelings. The detail is really good, but they can be touchy to take off the sprues and assemble, and they feel brittle. They are also relatively expensive.

[breegull]

I'm wondering if these will be similar to Galeforce Nine's D&D Collectors Series figures. I have a few of those, and have mixed feelings. The detail is really good, but they can be touchy to take off the sprues and assemble, and they feel brittle. They are also relatively expensive.

GF9's minis are resin. These will be plastic, so they shouldn't be nearly as brittle or as hard to glue. They'll probably be closer to other plastic sprue minis like Games Workshop.

[firespitter]

Sprue minis, in my opinion will be a step backward from current unpainted miniatures on the market, assuming that the sprue minis are comparable to Oethmark, Frostgrave and Warhammer which is a styrene plastic.

If you've ever worked with 28/32 mm scale sprue miniatures you know that the term "assembly required" is sort of a mixed blessing. If you like like kit-bashing, well....EVERY single figure in the box is a kitbash. Also the styrene is not as brittle as resin, but it's still brittle and you need to be more careful with them than Wizkids and Reaper minis. Also the styrene itself is resistant to most glues and parts beak free with sometimes just moderate handling. Much sanding between joined surfaces is required. Also styrene does NOT like to be painted. If you've ever looked at the painted detail of sprue minis vs. painted minis from board-games like Cool-mini-or not or Wizkids lines, you'll notice that the paint appears to be a bit "thick" on styrene models. I won't delve to deeply into this except to say that styrene does require priming.
The overwhelming benefit of sprues is the affordability. Most minis average out to around $1 US ea. And you tend to wind-up with a few extra bits, bobs, weapons and accessories to use for future kit-bashing endeavors. But you also wind-up buying expensive glue, spray primers, special sanding sticks and a few other tools that will bump the real out of pocket cost over-all.

Wizkids, Reaper, boardgame minis, et al.
The current unpainted miniatures by Wizkids and Reaper have evolved to a "golden age" of miniatures. What some might argue is a perfect balance of durability/flexability. while at the same time not sacrificing detail. You can drop or even step on them and they may be able to be dunked in hot water and "resurrected". The plastic takes paint VERY well. Or; in the case of wizkids, PRE-PRIMED for you. And cyanoacralate (super glue) adheres VERY well to the plastics they both use. Kit bashing is purely optional as the majority of figures are cast as a single piece.

In summary:
If they somehow manage to make sprue minis out of something other than/better than styrene; they keep the same scale and detail, and a similar price point, I would probably invest in some. But there's an old adage that goes:
"You can have the thing you want; fast, cheap and good. BUT you only get to have TWO of those three things!" That is to say, you can have it cheap and fast, but it IS going to be crap. Or you can have it good and fast, but it's going to pain your wallet. Or lastly, you can have it good and cheap, but you won't have it in hand until you're blowing out the candles on your 80th birthday cake.
In the case of Sprue Minis my guess is you will only get 2 out of 3: cheap, good material/sculpt, or low time investment (pre-assmbled?). My guess though you will only get 1 of the 3.

If you're looking for nicely detailed sprue minis, the 14th-15th century line of Perry Miniatures are really nice if you need "medievalish" themed military folks. They aren't as squat and fat as the oethmark and frostgrave, IMO.

Here's some re-based Agincourt French infrantry with a couple of Wizkids pre-painted crossbowmen for scale comparison. The Perry Miniatures have an extra Wizkids "wafer" base beneath so they are on a similar eye-level to the PPMs, which obviously have a much thicker base.