DavicusPrime

I've looked at those, but I'm cheap. :-P If I can't come up with a way to do it cheap, then the Zuzzy mat looks more and more desirable. Making a flagstone/cobble stone negative pattern on a paint roller would be perfect. Perhaps I'll have to see if I can make one. Lining things up would still be tricky. -DavicusPrime

If you don't have any of the models, I'd wait for the new box. The cost vs. spiffiness of the new models favors the plastics. And as it's been said, more options is always good in this game. I have all of the old metals including the Brass Arachnid which looks like a wind up toy compared to the new one that puts the old Large Arachnid to shame. I'll be converting my Joss's Right arm with some greenstuff and guitar wire to fit the current fluff. But then I've gotten pretty good sculpting with GS. I kind of wish I hadn't gotten into the game until now so I didn't have this hesitation to get the new plastic sets. I'm guessing that it's just plain not cost effective for Wyrd to release individual models of those available with the master boxes for anything but the minions. -DavicusPrime

I was saying the same thing on another thread. The Brass Arachnid looks like it's trying to out do the old LSA sculpt. -DavicusPrime

Every Ramos sculpt they've done has been pretty much the same. There's just not much you can do with an old dude in a long coat. I'm marginally positive toward the new Howard, but I like the beefiness of the old metal steamborg over the new. I have the same problem with the Miss Step model I acquired through a friend who went to Gencon. The newer legs are too spindly for my taste. I love the new Joss. I was just about to paint up my metal version, but now I have the strong urge to convert his Right arm to look like the new one. Time to break out the hacksaw and green stuff!

I hope so... But the artwork implies it's not. It's up on it's rear legs so it can still fit on the base. It certainly looks scarier than I would expect based on the stats. Now I'm really interested in the look of the new LSA's when that wave hits. Is it weird that Malifaux has remedied power creep in it's new edition, but now we have miniature impressiveness creep? *grin* -DavicusPrime

Holy cheese! The brass arachnid is looking to be LSA scale?! I don't have my book handy, but what size base is it supposed to be on? -DavicusPrime

Not that I've seen. But that her primary weapon is a wooden spoon... That is just plain awesome. Gremlin discipline in action! -DavicusPrime

My brain storming is pretty much in line with you... I've got some ideas as to how to deal with all of the above, but I don't have a way to imprint the pattern to begin with. If I can find a practical way of doing that, only then with there be a point to trying to answer the issues raised above. -DavicusPrime

Problem is that it would need to be a negative image. And I would rather not have to make a negative impression off something like that myself, but that's the only thing I've come up with myself. -DavicusPrime

I have three sets of magnetized Spiders (1 still in work) I've not had a huge problem with these, but making the bases has lead to a lot of time spent, made worse by my compulsive need to make each set of bases more complex. So far I haven't had any problems outside of one spider popping off the base and needing a little super glue action. I need to play Ramos a bit more before I determine how many is enough. If I decide I need another batch, I'll give the new plastics a try. As for the rest of the crew, I really don't need another Howard L. nor a Brass Arachnid. I might look into another Electrical Creation though. -DavicusPrime

I had Arcanists (Ramos and Kaeris) but was getting frustrated with them. Then a buddy handed me the contents of the Ophelia box he got as part of a combined deal off ebay and I was hooked on the greenies. Now that M2E has hit, I've found myself back on board with Ramos. The new edition rules for him and his gang have made them fun again. I was waiting on the FAQ/Errata to come out before I pulled Ophelia back off the shelf. Now that that's happened, they'll be getting a turn on the table this month. I only have the old box set with a blister worth of youngins and slop haulers. So my selection is a little thin, but that should be enough to get a feel for them. Right now I'm just planning on adding to my exisiting factions. As soon as Wave 2 hits, my Arcanists will double in size (though with the beta test rules, they're already playable). And I am very intent on adding at least one of the other Gremlin Masters and Lenny to my Gremlin collection as soon as the new plastic sets hit the shelves. The new edition hasn't made me want to branch out to other factions beyond what I already was pondering... Hoffman for Guild and Mei Feng for the Ten Thunders since both can use some of my existing collection. They're just so darn cost effective that way. *grin* -DavicusPrime

Last edition, I luved me some Rami. He lost some'o his mobility but the focused shootin his boomstick can do is nice. Also, he's got his own built-in healin. I used ta keep a hauler right close, last edition. No need anymore. -DavicusPrime

I'm also disappointed at the lack of gremliny goodness on the horizon. I've already got my Kin in metals, but as of right now, all of the other masters and secondary add-ons have peaked my curiosity. I'm gonna have to get on the ball with my planned moonshiner's camp terrain project!*drink* I have too much cash and time sunk into my Ramos and Kaeris crews to think about replacing the models with the newer kits. But I'm really looking forward to seeing what the new sculpts look like. The switch to plastics has me very happy. I refuse to buy any more models with 4+ spider legs in metal. LSA, I'm looking at you. -DavicusPrime

1) I second Dracomax... The only book you need is the M2E rulebook. The old edition books are just sources of fluff now. 2) Of my old edition crews, 2 out of 3 made it into the first wave and almost as soon as I got my copy of the rulebook, the remaining models' rules/cards/etc. became available via the open beta test. They aren't set in stone until they get officially published, but it makes everything playable. To get set up, rules wise, for M2E you just need the M2E rulebook and an arsenal deck for your chosen faction(s) to replace the old stat cards. Alternatively, you can photocopy the cards out of the rulebook as needed. For models, you can easily grab the older metals, or pick up the current new starter boxes. They're releasing 2 new boxed sets every month so hopefully you won't have to wait long if you were wanting to wait for a specific crew in plastic. For the most part they've been good about not invalidating anyone's existing miniature collections so grabbing the metals isn't a bad move either. -DavicusPrime

Found that video last week and have been looking at options to put a cobblestone pattern into the calking in a practical and cost effective way. The sponge technique shown in the video isn't going to cut it for me. But I'll probably make a swamp themed mat as demonstrated to go with my new gremlin themed terrain. Anyone got any tricks to make cobblestone/flagstone textures that might work with the canvas/latex caulk style mats? -DavicusPrime

That's exactly what makes the show so amusing to listen to. Any increase in knowledge is purely accidental. :-P -DavicusPrime

Been use'n an Ophelia box + Young Lacroix + Slop Haulers in 1.5v and found em a right good gang. That Ophelia chic can't call in piggies or gremlins like Somer can, so ya gots to have some way of gettin yer greenies patched up. That's why I always bring both o'them haulers. Plus, until I get more greenies to add to my gang, I need somethin to spend the stones on. *grin* I just got me a M2E book and arsenal box and from the looks of things the Haulers remain a good addition. Them Kin-folk still seem to work in a similar fashion... Just a bit diffirnt. Ophelia is still fer shootin up folk and getting the boys where they be need'n to be. The brothers all still fill the same roles an the youngins are always shootin things with Ophelia's boomsticks. So my advice, add Slop Haulers! -DavicusPrime

I think finally I understand GW being stingy with their release info... Things didn't go silly in this thread until the new release and related prices got published. Then everything went sideways with all the pricing and business/econ 101 weirdness. *shock* The horror... The horror... -DavicusPrime

Why do they have to argue the rationality of their pricing? The cost of models is based on more than the size/complexity/usefulness of the model. If Wyrd believes the price listed covers their cost (and all the factors that go into that cost), provides a desirable amount of profit and results in a reasonable MSRP for the middlemen and the retailers to work with, then so be it. If, in your opinion, the price is too high, then it will sell one less unit. Your money does the talking far more effectively than a forum post. -DavicusPrime

I love it when business-folk pull back the curtain and let us take a peek. What Nathan has revealed pretty much confirms what I was expecting. I worked for a wholesaler for 7 years and now at an aerospace manufacturer for 16 years. Anything that needs to go through a distribution network has to go through a series of mark-ups before it hits those shelves. The producer usually only gets 50% of that MSRP and the wholesaler/distributor usually only gets 5-10%. Then the FLGS has to survive on the 40% balance (less shipping and whatever discount they are willing to give). For the producer, there's all the upfront cost Nathan talked about. Tooling, design, etc. There's all the overhead of paying staff and everything that staff needs to do their jobs and the marketing required to get your products exposed to your customers (all those trade shows add up fast). The you've got to build your inventory and pay for the facilities to house your inventory and the bodies required to manage it. The actual direct labor and material cost for the model is a pretty small part of the deal. Then those wholesalers get their 5-10% sliver of the pie to pay for their inventory, facilities to hold it and bodies to manage it. And then the FLGS has to pay for their staff, facilities and inventory out of what's left. That $35 gets spread pretty thin. As for material costs, Nathan cleared up my last misconception regarding the metal to plastic cost issues. Going from an unstable material cost to one that's more predictable is a big deal. The business I'm in right now has some serious economies of scale working for it that little guys like Wyrd don't have access to. But we still feel it when the market price for our materials and/or component costs spike. You can't usually just jack up the price on the fly and keep your customers, so you end up eating it and that hurts, even more so for smaller businesses who don't have the resources we do. Thanks for all you guys do! And thanks for letting us see the release schedule more than a couple weeks out... Unlike some other company I know. -DavicusPrime

And, I suspect, finding the prices no better, if not worse. :-P I'm playing Malifaux because of being priced out of a different company's games and for the merits of the game itself. Compared to the rest of the industry, the pricing is fair and the relatively low model counts this game requires means a very reasonable cost of entry. For the cost of just keeping my rulebooks up to date with a certain company's game I used to play, I got into Malifaux with three different masters and a variety of add on models. -DavicusPrime

Favoring Plastics vs. Metal based on cost of the models is a weird argument. The up front cost of going to plastics is pretty steep, depending on the complexity of the mold. Once you've got the mold made the cost of pumping out each individual unit is cheap, but unless you're going to be producing LOTS of them does the up front cost spread out to make the models actually cheaper to produce. A skirmish game like Malifaux is not going to be selling huge quantities of any particular model. So If they're breaking even with the change over in material/process, I'd call that a pretty good deal (especially if you prefer plastic to metal). The prices on the metals are likely to decrease further as the plastic replacements start hitting the shelves and shops start trying to offload the "obsolete" models. So if you really like the older sculpts, it's going to be a great time to pick them up. -DavicusPrime

I just got my arsenal boxes and M2E rulebook last week from Miniature Market. All the reputable sellers will be selling the M2E stuff as of the beginning of October. If you don't want to commit to a Master/faction and want to try things out by proxy, all you need is in the M2E rulebook and a deck of poker cards each. Once you decide on which masters you want to start with, then grab the arsenal deck and models for the appropriate faction. The longer you wait, the more likely it'll be that you'll be able to get the plastics for the models you're wanting, if that's important to you. -DavicusPrime

As my model collection is a little thin (made worse by the fact that half my Arcanists are in wave 2) I make due with the box sets plus totems. We've been playing 50ss games which lets me bring my Ramos Crew (Ramos, Howard L. and some Spiders) + Joss, a Brass Arachnid and Electrical Creation (Summoned). That gives me plenty of soulstones to upgrade all three slots on Ramos and give Joss an upgrade or two and have close to a full cashe of stones for the game. With the Wave 2 Beta, I've been able to drop some "hired" spiders to bring in some of my other models (Gunsmiths and Large Arachnids in particular). My next planned purchase is Mei Feng and a Rail Golem, which should greatly expand my Arcanist options. So I guess I take a Master, Henchman and Enforcer as my core then fill out the rest of my available stones with minions and upgrades. -DavicusPrime

Having some RPG experience will help, especially if it was a game that used maps for it's combat mechanic. The main difference between Most skirmish games and RPG's is the lack of a grid. Ranges and movement are all measured from the model's base edge (which is why base size is spelled out for each model). Popularity will really depend on who you're playing with. All the factions have good representation and support game wise, so it's going to depend on who's playing what in your circle of players. I only have one regular opponent right now but he's got a lot of masters between five factions (Arcanist, Outcast, Ressurectionist, Ten Thunders and Guild) and I have Arcanist and Gremlin faction masters. So for us, Neverborn is the "unpopular" faction. -DavicusPrime