Hmmm, now is getting ready to release prepainted plastic....

Odds are good that they will be better than WotC's.

The Auld Grump

Clearly Reaper has been listening to their potential customers. They are making a big deal about it not being collectable or random, and stressing that you will be able to select them just like their unpainted minis in similar packaging. I can't wait to see some of the pre-paints they release.

Arabin

From what I've heard, they're going to each sell for an equivalent price to a metal mini.

What justifies the price is that each mini will be master quality painted.

I don't think they'll compete on price on the mass troop-type pieces - Orcs, Goblins, Skeletons, and generic elf archers, dwarf axewielders, human soldiers, etc. Those are available on the secondary market for el cheapo, usually less than $.50 each, and if you know who to buy from, often as little as $.25 each (even with shipping).

My personal opinion is that if they want to capture a decent share of the WotC market, they'd be smart to release a lot of the types of figures that are usually rares, mostly the monster types. Dragons, demons & devils, giants, beholders (with a different name, of course - an eye tyrant or whatnot), manticores, unicorns, griffons, etc. Nail them on the pieces that cost $15+ on the secondary market with figures that cost $8-$10, and I think they could score big. Obviously, a good selection of PC-types will also help, since WotC is weak on those, but I think the monster market is where they could make serious sales.

Personally I think the whole pre-paint market is a great move foward for the industry in general. Although many old-schoolers might not like it, what it does is open up the RPG gaming market to a segment that is too impatient and or time challenged to get into painting. This lets everyone focus instead on playing the amazing game systems out there rather than wasting time painting. The same thing is true for plaster or homebrew terrain. It might be enjoyable to build but painting and detailing takes a ton of time away from actual gaming.

Hopefully that means they'll have more time to build WWG terrain

And that is precisely why I see pre-paints as a win-win situation Bruenor.

#1 - Those that cannot or will not paint can play with painted minis rather than bare metal (can't tell you how many games I've played of Warhammer Fantasy with both armies bare metal, or at best, some primered)

#2 - Those that like to paint, but don't have time to paint everything, may end up buying lots of rank and file troopers pre-painted, and then can focus on just their characters (or tanks, or big monsters, or whatever) so that again, the bulk of the minis on the table are pre-painted, the rest painted by the gamer.

#3 - Those that like to paint EVERYTHING can either paint over the factory job, OR they can simply augment the factory job with their own touches to make them unique.

I intend to add "something" to the AT-43 minis to "make them my own" so to speak. I'm waiting to get the main rules, so I can read the fluff, and get more background info. Perhaps I'll add a yellow stripe on their caps or an armband. Perhaps one of the flat panels on the weapons can get a contrasting color. The Mechs might get a new decal - tons of decal possibilities , , and Not to mention and maybe even . Same for the Therians of course, although I suspect being machine-driven their symbols might be more splashes of color or funky symbols rather than actual numbers.

That way, my figures will have a subtle difference from my opponents. I don't figure it will take me more than 1 minute per mini to do something like that. But it would take me at least an hour per mini if I were trying to paint from scratch.

Steve

Well I've been keeping my nose outa this thread so far but dose anyone know when some previwes will be otu and about? I've been taking some interest in the subject (its not like I've hidden my pov on painting) but atm both my wallet and wife hate me and are threatining to cut me off . Unless the price per mini is real close I will most likly still buy the D&D minis for the bulk of my forces but suplement the Reaper prepaints for all/most special characters and pcs.

If you have a link for a preview a link would be appreciated

Well stick me down for #2.

Good idea to personalise the prepaints, but I was talking about , those who cannot/will not paint turning up with the same minis.
Akward sods.
Ha!

For me it will help in the war against the mountains of 'lead', which I have due to the 'OOOOooo, I know I'll need that in a game, sometime' syndrome.
Still won't completely sway me from all my characters being handpainted by me!!!
Typical stubborn me, folks trying to help, but I still butt me head against the proverbial wall.

I've seen the galery of the unhallowed D&D (last expansion) and as much as I said in another post that I was waiting for it because I liked what I had seen at the moment...but now... I belive it's a step back from the last ones...and in a very bad moment because of the Reapers anouncement...

I would love to have time again to take the brushes to paint... indeed it was something gratificant... but I prefer to spend time playing...

I fit the #2 profile as well Bruenor.

For battles with mass armies, pre-paints will be a Godsend. And if two guys want to show up and fight Orcs versus Orcs and they both have the same prepainted minis, then it's up to them to figure out which minis belong to which mobs

While I like the idea that as a painter I can paint them any color scheme I want, my two-fold problem with painting is usually FIRST no idea what colors might look good, and then SECOND finding the time.

As for dates Drac ... I've not seen anything. I know Mongoose was playing up their "upcoming" pre-painted Battlefield Evolution a good six months before the release date. First month or two was announcements and details about the game, then they started showing a few sample paint jobs, then more, then actual factory paint jobs, and then finally the production samples and the game was released (a week or so ago).

So if Reaper is talking about it now, we are probably 2-3 months away from seeing anything, even the first glimpses of the first minis. Just a guess.

Steve

As for the DnD pre-paints, I picked up a bunch of those when they first came out because I felt it was time to teach my kids role-playing. Bought the latest core books, got some minis, and we had fun.

I liked having actual skeletons and orcs and whatnot when the action started. It was also nice to have a wide variety of "hero" types, so once they rolled up a character and decided it was a Ranger, I could pull out maybe half a dozen figures and say "Pick one".

But I don't like the common-uncommon-rare bit at all. After getting a lot of the first three sets released, I decided I had enough. I would "like" to still buy a bunch of the common horde type critters (more skellies, orcs, kobolds, typical low-level monsters) just to have a variety of poses and weapons, but have held off. I don't tend to play fantasy any more, so my limited hobby budget goes elsewhere now.

Steve

Very cool find. I'll definitely be picking up some of these. Skeletons are a pain to paint, but for that price, you can't go wrong.

Arabin

You know, reading the Reaper forums, where there are a whole lot of people asking 'what's next?' and 'When can we see pictures?' Reminded me of some other forum, but I can't quite put my finger on it....

The Auld Grump, though they did give a 'when'.....

Whoops, still no pics, misread the name of the series.

The Auld Grump