Re: Locating minis

On Thu, 29 Apr 1999 22:21:25 -0700, Michael Llaneza <maserati@flash.net>
wrote:

>So what happened ? Sounds like you know some good industry gossip.
>C'mon, I musta missed it, dish already.

Actually... I happen to have some gossip. *S*

At the time DP9 announced a conversion to the new scale, I was in the
middle
of glueing together figures from the old scale. I got kind of peeved
that
suddenly the game scale that I was playing with was going to be orphaned
and I
said so. DP9 posted their side of the story.

A day later, I had a message in my in box from a RAFM employee telling
me
about THEIR side of the story. They eventually waited until some
products were
released and then posted their side (though I thought they should have
countered the allegations earlier).

Basically, as in most arguments, there are three sides to it.

The problem seems to stem from two main problems: quality control on the
figures produced by RAFM, and delayed releases of the figures.

The product control issue was a RAFM problem. Some of the small bits
that made
up the blister packs were missing from some of the production runs. I
know the
store I bought mine from (The Worldhouse, in Toronto) ended up sending a
whole
mess of them back because they were all missing bits. This did
essentially
kill the game in their store as it took RAFM forever to send
replacements.

Now, RAFM thoroughly admits that it made mistakes (kind of hard not to).
However, what DP9 didn't say (when it went around blaming RAFM for the
problem) was that RAFM warned them that this could happen. RAFM warned
DP9
that the models were too complex and that the logistics would make
things
difficult. DP9 pushed anyway. RAFM wanted sculpted figures without most
of the
add-ons. DP9 wanted people to be able to heavily modify the models. 

The delayed release of the figures, though, is the thornier issue. DP9
claimed
it was RAFM production problems. However, the RAFM rep claimed that a
lot of
it was slow-ups with DP9. DP9 had to approve the art work for the
packaging,
and this more than anything (according to RAFM) delayed the release of
critical models.

RAFM points to one of the figures (I don't know which) that was eagerly
anticipated it. RAFM was selling them at GenCon '97 (or was it '96) in a
pre-release state. This apparently bugged DP9. RAFM was trying to prove
a
point: the figures were ready, the boxes were not. 

DP9 blamed all of this on RAFM, and while RAFM did have a good chunk of
the
blame, so did DP9. Even still, RAFM still expected to get a renewal of
the
license... until, with very little warning, DP9 announced their new line
of
figures. RAFM would not be producing them. 

This is documented on Deja News. If you go back to last year, you'll see
DP9s
arguments, and you'll eventually see RAFM's public statement.

I do know that DP9 was using the Worldhouse's experience to explain how
RAFM
messed things up. What DP9 does NOT mention is that while the Worldhouse
almost gave up on Heavy Gear because of the RAFM mess, they COMPLETELY
gave up
on Heavy Gear when it was re-released in the new scale.

Also, the figures were far more "bang for the buck" from RAFM than from
DP9. 

The reason for the new scale, from what I hear, is that the Internet
mailing
list was asked what they wanted, and they called for a smaller scale. I
suspect this was too narrow a demographic: rabid players who had a
mature
collection in the larger scale. A lot of us who were just getting into
it, or
who were collecting slowly, felt abandoned. For instance, I gave up on
the
game entirely. I should probably sell what I've got, but I just didn't
bother
buying any more for it. Also, the scale (1/144) is weird for ground
combat. At
HO scale, there were plenty of sources for terrain (particularly
buildings)
and vehicles (kitbashing). The smaller scale is odd... too big for micro
armour stuff (like the GZG buildings) and too small for HO or 15mm...

In the end, I think the two companies had a falling out and instead of
working
together they divorced. I don't know how well Heavy Gear miniatures are
doing
now, except to say that I hardly see the small scale at all. I know a
lot of
the retailers around here don't like it as the figures are too small for
the
price. 

Just some observations...

Allan Goodall		       agoodall@interlog.com
Goodall's Grotto: http://www.interlog.com/~agoodall/

"Surprisingly, when you throw two naked women with sex
toys into a living room full of drunken men, things 
always go bad." - Kyle Baker, "You Are Here"