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GW put out both horse mounted and foot versions of various leader and wizard types for Warhammer and sold them in the same blister. My question is why can't they do the same for monster mounted characters? It would seem to make more sense, since, if the monster dies, the character would have to be represented afoot.
Silly question, but it's late and I'm thinking random things before going to bed.

I think that's a solid idea.

Yeah, from a logical point of view, it should be the other way round - riders and horses are taken from the field simultaneously and riders can´t dismount, so there´s no way a character will leave without his horse. Thus, an unmounted version isn´t really needed.

However, I think if they sell for example a blister with two necromancers, one mounted and one on foot, they don´t represent the same character mounted and dismounted, but just two differently equipped necromancers.

In case of monsters, the character riding the monster normally is a lord choice or unique character, thus being modelled in a hyper-detailed way. Putting another version of a special character in a box would not only increase the effort it takes for the designers and production, but would also make the (quite expensive) monster-boxes "un-buyable".

bigfood wrote:In case of monsters, the character riding the monster normally is a lord choice or unique character, thus being modelled in a hyper-detailed way. Putting another version of a special character in a box would not only increase the effort it takes for the designers and production, but would also make the (quite expensive) monster-boxes "un-buyable".

Nah it wouldn't, not unless the special character was particularly large. Most would be human sized and the character has already been designed, they just need a second sculpt. GW could stretch to it easily if they wanted to without a significant price rise.

bigfood wrote:However, I think if they sell for example a blister with two necromancers, one mounted and one on foot, they don´t represent the same character mounted and dismounted, but just two differently equipped necromancers.

In most case it's two separate models that used to be sold individually, but are now packaged together as an incentive to keep people buying them, often because the models are showing their age. Like the Dark Elf Sorceress Foot & Mounted pack is not the same model on foot and mounted, it's the old Sorceress on Cold One and old Sorceress on Foot, both of which have been updated with the new Sorceress on Cold One (an awesome model) and the new Supreme Sorceress (who looks like a chinzy rip off of Privateer Presses epic warcasters).


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Howard A Treesong wrote:Nah it wouldn't, not unless the special character was particularly large. Most would be human sized and the character has already been designed, they just need a second sculpt. GW could stretch to it easily if they wanted to without a significant price rise.

Having hired artists to do character designs, and sculptors to sculpt them, I promise you: GW could package an alternate foot model with every single mounted character and lower their price and still make a profit. GW's metal models are sold for two to three times what any other company would sell them for, but their costs aren't significantly higher (though most sculptors I've talked to claim everyone gouges GW on sculpting rates out of sheer spite and hatred of the company).

Gailbraithe wrote:......... GW's metal models are sold for two to three times what any other company would sell them for, but their costs aren't significantly higher

I would suggest that this is not true. Certainly economies of scale would suggest that their production cost should be lower but no other games company [and very few other companies in other industries] primarily sell and advertise/promote via their own retail outlets.

Whether you like GW's business model or not you do ultimately have to pay for it.

Back on topic, is this not always the way that characters have been packaged? Been buying this stuff for over 20 years and I am struggling to think of any exceptions. Now I'm no font of all knowledge but does anyone else package characters on monsters with a foot alternative?

I don't remember ever seeing a monster mounted character with an alternative version afoot.
On the GW website, however, a Bretonnian Damsel afoot and mounted is available as well as a few different Blood Dragons and a Necrarch from the Vampire Count army.

notprop wrote:Back on topic, is this not always the way that characters have been packaged? Been buying this stuff for over 20 years and I am struggling to think of any exceptions. Now I'm no font of all knowledge but does anyone else package characters on monsters with a foot alternative?

No. As far as I know they only started doing this (packaging cavalry and infantry characters together) during WHFB 6th edition. Not that long ago at all.

The best example of a foot/mounted special character option much desired is Archaon, ironically the foot version being a GD exclusive probably costs more on eBay than his much larger mounted brother does RRP!!

Howard A Treesong wrote:

bigfood wrote:In case of monsters, the character riding the monster normally is a lord choice or unique character, thus being modelled in a hyper-detailed way. Putting another version of a special character in a box would not only increase the effort it takes for the designers and production, but would also make the (quite expensive) monster-boxes "un-buyable".

Nah it wouldn't, not unless the special character was particularly large. Most would be human sized and the character has already been designed, they just need a second sculpt. GW could stretch to it easily if they wanted to without a significant price rise.

I don´t know much about the relation of production cost/price in shop. If you´re right that really shouldn´t be a problem for GW

But as a sculptor, I think I would be a bit annoyed if i had just sculpted a (for example) "Azhag on Wyvern" and would then have to make an "Azhag on foot" with different pose and legs.

bigfood wrote:But as a sculptor, I think I would be a bit annoyed if i had just sculpted a (for example) "Azhag on Wyvern" and would then have to make an "Azhag on foot" with different pose and legs.

Why would you? The whole LOTR range is full of foot/mounted figures and no one complains about them.

Howard A Treesong wrote:

bigfood wrote:But as a sculptor, I think I would be a bit annoyed if i had just sculpted a (for example) "Azhag on Wyvern" and would then have to make an "Azhag on foot" with different pose and legs.

Why would you? The whole LOTR range is full of foot/mounted figures and no one complains about them.

You´ right there with LOTR. But I think in LOTR it´s more important to have different options, because you can actually shoot the horses.

However, it´s just my personal feeling towards it. Special characters are really unique and quite an effort to sculpt, and having to make another version of it would feel like"Oh no, not again! That was a special thing!"

bigfood wrote:However, it´s just my personal feeling towards it. Special characters are really unique and quite an effort to sculpt, and having to make another version of it would feel like"Oh no, not again! That was a special thing!"

I'm sure that getting paid twice to do the same thing twice would help ease your pain.

AlexHolker wrote:

bigfood wrote:However, it´s just my personal feeling towards it. Special characters are really unique and quite an effort to sculpt, and having to make another version of it would feel like"Oh no, not again! That was a special thing!"

I'm sure that getting paid twice to do the same thing twice would help ease your pain.

good point there

bigfood wrote:

Howard A Treesong wrote:

bigfood wrote:But as a sculptor, I think I would be a bit annoyed if i had just sculpted a (for example) "Azhag on Wyvern" and would then have to make an "Azhag on foot" with different pose and legs.

Why would you? The whole LOTR range is full of foot/mounted figures and no one complains about them.

You´ right there with LOTR. But I think in LOTR it´s more important to have different options, because you can actually shoot the horses.

And in WHFB it's important to have different options because you can actually shoot the monster.