Re: Metal minis vs. Plastic

Missed the initial post here...

> > From:	   ChanFaunce@aol.com
> 
> > Just went to the mall with my son and bought some Matchbox(tm) cars.
Now,
> > these are metal, fully painted and cost a buck each. This got me to
> > wondering: Why are gaming minis so expensive when they come
unpainted and
> > some even need to be assembled? 

Because they are made in small production runs instead of huge ones, and

the companies have to pay US or UK wages instead of (South-)East Asian, 
basically.

> > Also, was looking at MicroMachines(tm) and
> > was wondering: Is it cheaper to produce a mini in metal or plastic
(I have
> > bought the Wings of Death(tm) set of 48 plastic minis for Silent
Death(tm),
> > which cost $30 for 48 ships [$.63/ship])? I would be perfectly happy
with
> > plastic minis, even if I had to paint them myself, if they were less
> > expensive.

Wellll... I use most of the Wings of Death models as destroyers and
light
cruisers in Full Thrust, so $.63/ship isn't that bad a deal for me
(since
most similarly sized ships otherwise cost some $2-3 or more each when
cast
in metal!). The Wings of Death plastic material is fairly easy to
convert,
too - much easier to work with than the new lead-free white-metal far
too
many figure manufacturers use, but not as easy as lead. 

Later,

Oerjan Ohlson

"Life is like a sewer.
 What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
 -Hen3ry