Metal minis vs. Plastic

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? 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. Could we get one of the mini manufacturers, or even Galoob to
make
a good looking line of plastic generic (not a specific backgound) line
of
ships?

Any thought on this?

Chan Faunce