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That's Right Mini-Crate is finally coming to Kick-Starter on 1st April and I couldn't be more excited!

So in preparation we have put together a fun competition, all you have to do is leave us a comment on what you think of the Mini-Crate kickstarter and you could be in with a chance to bag yourself an awesome copy of DREADBALL made by Mantic!! - Simply follow the link below for more information

http://mini-crate.blogspot.co.uk/p/compet.html



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If you could help spread the word That would also be a massive help and much appreciated

Would be good to tell us what Mini Crate is and what your KS is for.

What are some of the "Epic Brands" who's products will be in the crate?

 Nostromodamus wrote:
Would be good to tell us what Mini Crate is and what your KS is for.

I believe it's a miniatures-specific version of the Loot Crate concept - a box of random miniatures-related stuff.

If I'm right, I think it's an awful idea. There would have to be a hell of a discount to make a box of random stuff a better deal than just buying stuff you like.

Question: why April 1st? That's April Fools Day. Doesn't seem like the best day for a KS launch.

Your right Alex it is a miniatures-specific version of a Loot Crate or surprise crate.

I love the idea of ‘Loot Crate’, ‘Zbox’, ‘My Geek Box’ and all these Geek and Gamer subscription boxes but nothing in this category exists yet for the Table-Top gamer and I think it’s about time!! The idea of receiving a subscription box that is guaranteed to save me a few pounds and contain at least one awesome miniature and lots of other table-top goodies is exciting. And with so many new Miniature and Table-Top games on the market, it would be a hard task to give each of these the fair chance they deserve, but with the ‘Mini-Crate’ this will allow us as a community to sample a large variety of these and insure your brush never gets bored with painting Space Marines, Orks, Hordes or War machines.

With your help I hope that ‘Mini-Crate’ becomes the great platform for the Table –Top community I know it can be.

You can check out the kick-starter here;

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1625281219/1095842773?token=5b8283dc

While its a good idea (and was inevitable with Loot-Crate being out), this is pretty sub par.

The "epic" brands located on the KS page are meh.

The price is also pretty nuts 50$ plus an additional 5 or so for shipping.

Lootcrate is:
"Recurring one month subscription for $19.37 per month (includes shipping and handling).
Recurring three month plan for a total of $55.11 up front (includes shipping and handling).
Recurrently six month plan for a total of $105.99 up front (includes shipping and handling).

Huge price difference.

Loot Crate advertises that the products in each box have a total retail value of $40 or more. From my calculations, this crate had at least $70 worth of items (based on current Amazon.com prices). Subscribers are also entered into a monthly drawing for a “Mega Crate” valued at over $750."

Not sponsoring as I don't even sub to loot crate

@ Afrozombie - "sample a large variety of these and insure your brush never gets bored with painting Space Marines, Orks, Hordes or War machines" This is where the value is though. Its much better to get a taste of the bigger companies then some no names. Guy gets a ork or hordes figure and if they play the game, bonus. If they don't, they can see the quality first hand and could be a easy way to get them to buy into the game.

Are you sure this doesn't violate KS guidelines?
I wish you all the best and maybe I've understood badly but the way you describe it it's essentially a pre-sale without creating anything new.
(please disregard if I didn't get this right, just adding an opinion)

 Afrozombie wrote:
The idea of receiving a subscription box that is guaranteed to save me a few pounds and contain at least one awesome miniature and lots of other table-top goodies is exciting.

Right up until it's £35 plus shipping for a mystery miniature and a bunch of random accessories...

There are very few miniatures I would be prepared to pay £35 for, even if I got to see them before handing over the cash.

£43.50 ($60) per crate to the US is too expensive for random product, sorry.

I have used Loot Crate and Geekfuel, and while the content meets a bit of a mixed reception, there's usually something in there that is worth the money to me. The $18-$20 price tag (I got the year subscription) is usually justified by the shirt, figurine, downloadable game code or some such.

However, Mini Crate is priced at 3-4 times what those other services are priced at. It is a fact that due to the random nature, a customer is unlikely to have a use for (or even like) some of the content. Asking $60 for a box of random stuff, some of which won't see use, is a tough pill to swallow. If I only like 1 or 2 items in a Loot Crate or Geekfuel box, I feel like I haven't "lost". If I only like 1 or 2 things in a Mini Crate, that's unlikely to justify the $60 price tag in my mind.

The concept is fine, imho, but I think it would be more of a success if any miniature content was things along the lines of Bones or pre-paints, along with dice, tokens and such, to keep costs low. People might not miss $20 a month to get a box of gaming stuff, but $60 is a new video game, or a couple of units of miniatures for a wargame.

Hi Guys, I assure you I have already received pre-approval from KS to launch my project, this was something I was unsure of also when first putting this project togther.

And maybe I should have another look at the price I was planning to make this a bi-monthly box, so I have stuffed this first box full of goodies- a 28mm Sci-fi Miniature, a 54mm Fantasy Miniature, some custom dice, paint brushes, paints, art cards, scenic's, discount codes...etc. But I could always work out a way to drop some of the extras and lower the price.

Ah, I hadn't noticed you are planning for it to be bi-monthly.

But still, if that content could be spread out over several boxes to keep the cost down, I think it would be more successful.

Thanks Guys for your advice and comments its been an eye opener, I will look into repricing the crates and make sure I am able to keep the level of content to the highest quality possible at the best price.

Done well, this could be an interesting concept - I quite like the idea of random stuff turning up every now and then, especially partnered with a good number of small companies that could draw me into buying more of their stuff in future once introduced to it (note to creator - allow subscribers to buy more stuff from the company that they received stuff from in Box A to go with their delivery of Box B - Item Company gets a new and efficient Route to Market, Box Company gets a margin on the extra sales, customer gets a single delivery with cool stuff).

BUT - right now I don't see the value in the current offering. I don't like Scibor stuff particularly - I haven't touched the free models I got at Salute one year, so wouldn't be drawn into paying for them. I don't have any interest in 54mm stuff, and I bet very few of your target market have either.

Currently it looks like my £35 (actually £38.30 with postage) buys me a 28mm Scibor figure and a 54mm Scibor figure plus maybe some other unspecified (other than stretch goal) stuff. A 28mm Scibor Figure and a 54mm Scibor Figure looks to be about €28 - 30 (about £25). That doesn't strike me as good value as it stands - you might need to be a lot more specific about what stuff is in there from Vallejo, Army Painter etc. that makes it more of a value proposition.

You might also want to consider themeing the boxes more, initially on a pure Fantasy or Sci-Fi basis might be a good starting point.

All that said, I'd watch with interest, as I think the concept holds water, but have questions about this execution.

And if you are planning on shipping paints and such, I hope there is quality packing. I could see disastrous things happening otherwise...

I like the concept but

1) I don't want accessories - I already have those and buy more when I need them, and I certainly don't want a random selection of them (aside from dice maybe... dice are fine). Why would I want a random pot of paint or an unspecified brush? I would want miniatures only. For £35 I would expect at least 6-7 28mm metal minis, preferably more since they are completely random. Less if they're resin or 54mm obviously.

2) The companies aren't very exciting... Scibor is fine and do good stuff. Never heard of Wamp, Meeple Source or Tiny Box. Army Painter and Vallejo do accessories, again not interested in random accessories. .

3) The price would be fine if you had more miniatures and more interesting companies. If you had companies on the level of Hasslefree, Gamezone, Heresy, Otherworld, Macrocosm, Copplestone, Foundry, Ramshackle, Black Scorpion, Kensei, Westwind, and many others, I would be VERY interested. Basically companies who do tons and tons of cool random minis, but none that I particularly need or want badly enough to place an order with them.

Ok guys,

so if I drop the 54mm miniature and swap with an other 25mm along with dropping some of the vallejo paints and instead of three Army painter brushes I bring it down to just 1. I think I could bring the crates down too about £20.

so thats two 25mm miniatures, a paint, a brush, a dice, meeple, discount codes and an art card for - £20

 Afrozombie wrote:
Ok guys,

so if I drop the 54mm miniature and swap with an other 25mm along with dropping some of the vallejo paints and instead of three Army painter brushes I bring it down to just 1. I think I could bring the crates down too about £20.

so thats two 25mm miniatures, a paint, a brush, a dice, meeple, discount codes and an art card for - £20

Unlikely to be for me - rough estimates:

2 Minis = £10 retail
1 Paint = £2 retail
1 Brush = £2 retail
1 Die = £0.50 retail
1 Art Card = £0.50 retail
1 Meeple = £no idea
Discount Codes = £0.00 retail

So maybe £15 of retail but random for £20 (plus postage?). I'm better off just picking a random company to put a small order in with once every now and then.

Random minis have a perceived value to me of maybe £2-3 quid. Paintbrush maybe £1-2, paints £1-2, Dice £0, Art Card £0, Meeple £0, Discount Code £0.

You have to overcome one of 2 barriers - either make the price so good that I'll take a punt on pure randomness, or show me that you can introduce me to some really interesting stuff I wouldn't get to see otherwise. So far it doesn't. Sorry if it's harsh, but I figure it's better to spell out what would get cash from me than sit back quietly, especially when the idea is nearly there.

Terrible idea. That much for two miniatures, and I have no idea what they'll be? And only one miniatures company is represented?

More Miniature companies will be included in future Mini-Crates, I am already in talks with Figone, artik toys and other interesting miniature producers.

28mm miniatures from Scibor are about 20euro each and the psycho brush from Army painter is 4euro so for those 3items alone you’re talking 44euro. So a £20 crate is about 25euro = 19euro saving and when you add in the cost of dice, paint, art cards...etc the saving gets even larger.

I really am trying to get the best deal I can for the crate and pass on the savings, but it is hard to illustrate the level of content when the idea of a loot crate is the element of surprise.

 Afrozombie wrote:

28mm miniatures from Scibor are about 20euro each

Wait, what? A single man sized model from Scibor is about 6-9 bucks. If you mean that boar, its considerably more than 20. Just curious where your calculations are coming from.

Well, here's my two cents:

Try and stick with a theme, and give a hint about what theme the next box will be, so people will know if they will like the contents. For instance, Napoleontic figures don't interest me as much as a Sci-Fi miniature.

The price point of 15 to 20 pounds sounds good too, makes it a bit more of a 'fun' buy.

Oh, and to be honest, I would enjoy a few gaming accessoires, like special dice or custom templates. It's a tabletop box after all, not just a miniature-painting box.


Anyway, good luck with the Kickstarter, I really like the initiative!

See link Scibor miniature for retail prices - http://sciborminiatures.com/en_,shop.php?group=171

Hi Kingjayko, I agree a theme box just seems more fun and nicely tied together, but I thought the first crate would benefit from a little slice of the two main themes Fantasy and Sci-Fi for a bigger appeal.

And I am now thinking due to the poor response to the Scibor Miniatures of changing over to the company I had lined up for the next crate - Figone http://www.figone.fr/en/ they do some beautiful sculpts with lots of character and detail. let me know what you guys think sure.

 Afrozombie wrote:
More Miniature companies will be included in future Mini-Crates, I am already in talks with Figone, artik toys and other interesting miniature producers.

28mm miniatures from Scibor are about 20euro each and the psycho brush from Army painter is 4euro so for those 3items alone you’re talking 44euro. So a £20 crate is about 25euro = 19euro saving and when you add in the cost of dice, paint, art cards...etc the saving gets even larger.

I really am trying to get the best deal I can for the crate and pass on the savings, but it is hard to illustrate the level of content when the idea of a loot crate is the element of surprise.

Scibor Fantasy Humans usually €7.52 (about £5-6 depending on exchange):

http://sciborminiatures.com/en_,shop.php?group=144

Psycho Army Painter Brush £2.76 (about €4)

http://elementgames.co.uk/paints-hobby-and-scenery/brushes/wargamer-brush-the-psycho?d=22&gclid=CJOl4bXDxcsCFQoW0wodgaAHkg

So unless you are talking about Scibor's monsters in 28mm, you are well out on cost there. The brush is there or thereabouts.

As a start-up project, I think you have to be quite clear at the beginning about what type of thing you will get and be clear about the level of savings - if people buy in, they will be more likely to trust you down the line without needing their hand held, but on day one, an unknown person asking for KS backing is going to have to go the extra mile to prove their personal credibility as well as the value in the offer. If things grow well, I think that down the line you'd be able to get very good deals from figure producers wanting to get their product in keen gamers hands as samples, and this might be when you make your margin, at the start I think you'd be pushed hard to make much of a margin.

Seems like an interesting idea, but I've personally never been a fan of the random crates(I hate funko pops too which a few popular crates like to include occasionally).

I'm curious how this scales though- if you end up with several thousand subscribers, and let's say you want to include a resin miniature. After putting your order in with the company for several thousand of that miniature, will they have enough time to meet that demand? What happens if they need to replace the mold several times(obviously not your problem, but could add a considerable delay)? Will you have a subscriber cap to keep demand reasonable to meet?

 Afrozombie wrote:
I love the idea of ‘Loot Crate’, ‘Zbox’, ‘My Geek Box’ and all these Geek and Gamer subscription boxes but nothing in this category exists yet for the Table-Top gamer and I think it’s about time!!

Not technically true. Battle Bin has included minis and other table top stuff in boxes in the past and it doesn't look like they're going to suddenly stop having months where the theme includes them.

Hi Sinful Hero

All the suppliers I have choosen for this first crate have been choose on the basis that they will be able to supply me with Qty up 1000 within 2-3 weeks of the KS close date. If I am lucky enough to recieve more than 1000 this might be stretched to 4 weeks for some suppliers.

Hi Richred - I'm talking about likes of the 28mm SF egyptian warriors and Lion Warriors. And I agree showing what will be in the first crate would increase confidence in this KS, I think I will have to try and find a better balance between the hints of what to expect and the surprise elements.

 Afrozombie wrote:
See link Scibor miniature for retail prices - http://sciborminiatures.com/en_,shop.php?group=171

Gotcha. I was more familiar with their fantasy stuff, which is significantly less than their sci-fi power armor dudes. I'm guessing those are bigger than 28mm.

And I am now thinking due to the poor response to the Scibor Miniatures of changing over to the company I had lined up for the next crate - Figone http://www.figone.fr/en/ they do some beautiful sculpts with lots of character and detail. let me know what you guys think sure.

Honestly it should be with whoever gives you a good deal. The problem is you are going with small boutique print run lines, whereas Lootcrate goes off mass produced market stuff, and poaches whatever distributors have lying around. Diamond has a ton of Pop Vinyl Dancing Groot bobbleheads sitting in the warehouse? Guess what's headed to lootcrate next month. Scibor and its kin likely doesnt HAVE a lot of product sitting around that they are willing to offload cheap in order to let you sell the random boxes cheap enough to offset the random nature.

Also bear in mind, this is a wargaming forum. Minis are likely to be purchased for a specific use, as opposed to a pure painting forum, where a random one off mini might find more appreciation even if it doesnt have a purpose beyond display. Now, they are less likely to care about dice, tape measures, etc, so its a niche within a niche.

 Afrozombie wrote:

I really am trying to get the best deal I can for the crate and pass on the savings, but it is hard to illustrate the level of content when the idea of a loot crate is the element of surprise.

Putting together a 'sample' crate (or even better, a couple of different ones) that you could show off would have been better than just lists of potential things. Actually seeing stuff has a much bigger impact than just reading it.


Leading with Scibor as the 'big brand' was definitely a mistake. A lot of people love his stuff... and a lot of people really don't. Picking a more widely accepted supplier would have been a much better option.

I think the big thing you're going to struggle with here is that most people are going to see everything in the box that's not a miniature as essentially worthless. It's nice to get a bunch of stuff, but a random pot of paint is not worth anywhere near as much as a pot of paint that I actually need. Many painters are quite picky about the brushes they use... so having a random brush show up in the box is also not a drawcard, unless there's something particularly special or unusual about it. Counters and dice are things that most gamers have as many of as they need, or again, have specific requirements for, so these things are essentially worthless unless they're particularly awesome.


So what it comes down to is that your box has to be either really cheap, or really fantastic and filled with unusual and exciting things that people wouldn't necessarily encounter anywhere else.

For paints, look at specialty ranges - receiving a pot of, say, crackle medium or weathering pigment is going to be much more interesting than receiving a bottle of Vallejo Unexpected Majenta.

For the other stuff, find unusual or quirky things that people will want to put into their gaming boxes despite them not fitting in with their current stuff.

And post pictures. I had to go look up what a 'meeple' even is.

I gotta go negative on this one. Painting takes forever, storage is a thing - you need to love your miniatures. Random stuff needs to be really cheap to be attractive. Having the stretch goal being a meeple is hilarious but not in a good way. I like Carcasson, and my wife loves it, but a random tiny wooden gingerbread man isn't much of an incentive on a $50 purchase.

On the upside, Figone is awesome, and your kickstarter art and layout is outstanding.