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Title says it all really. There was a post in my display case tutorial thread about the money GW is losing out on by not providing a display case a a ridiculously inflated price. There would be some difficulties in that, but why not resin (or plastic) bases? Small requirements in terms of shelf space. I just don't get it. They already discourage the creative part of modelling they celebrated in bygone years. Genaric plastic bases like urban, desert, jungle, etc., would certainly sell...so why?

Going by how expensive the basing kits are I'm glad I can get all this stuff from 3rd parties.

I assume it's partly because plastic bases with resin add-ons is more versatile and something they already cover, and as they sell game pieces having standard sized bases makes sense (not that that'd stop them selling odd sized stuff)

Because GW hates money. Seriously, the best way to figure out what GW will do is to think of the most sensible thing to do in a given situation and then expect the exact opposite.

I am not privy to their internal business planning. I would think that the effort involved in making bases is not justified given the amount of competition from third parties, and the diversion of resources from production of codexes and new models

I would not want to buy Resin bases for 35$ the piece.

I think they're still a fairly niche market, I would bet a large percentage of the customer base wouldn't both. As such it's probably not in their interest to diversify quite so much.

@ Sigvatr: To be sure, neither would I! However, there are people who buy GW's overpriced glue, pebbles, collectors edition codex, and other miscellany. I know lots of people who don't think before handing GW their money and seemingly cannot resist an impulse buy. I think many, many people would kit their army out in finebases™

Well, I agree. I really like scenic resin bases as well! I bought 3 from Micro Art studio and then..uhm...used some modelling silicone and cast

I am pretty sure that they would sell well if GW offered them to their customers given the price wouldn't be extremely over the top...but even then, some people might get it and the production costs would be rather low.

 Peregrine wrote:
Because GW hates money. Seriously, the best way to figure out what GW will do is to think of the most sensible thing to do in a given situation and then expect the exact opposite.

Like expanding the e-codexes to android? That "gw hates money" line is old, dude.

I don't know how much demand there is for resin bases...I suspsect the average collector is happy to simply lay some paint down and glue a few rocks.

Probably true.

If GW did variant theme bases in polystyrene it would make more sense commercially, because the production costs would be low.

@Killkrazy

Do you think GW having the advantage of point of sale would largely mitigate the clout of 3rd party competition?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
RE: your first comment

It's hard to tell.

I think most people who buy stuff in GW shops are "junior" wargamers who may not be interested in special bases. To put it differently, veteran wargames who are interested in special bases either make their own or buy them online from the 3rd party resin ranges already.

The disadvantage to GW of resin is the high production cost due to hand-working methods. This could be avoided by making the bases in polystyrene, but they would have to be a more limited range of designs due to the costs of mould-making and packaging, and to accommodate the existing models without customisation. A limited range would be less likely to appeal to veterans.

If I wanted to try it I would make a couple of sets of bases for Ultramarines and Space Wolves, to test the market.

I disagree. I'd say that especially youngsters would be prone to buying those since vets could easily make cool-looking bases themselves.

We've already seen that GW can pull off plastic injected base if you look at the single sprue character models. It honestly wouldn't be bad if they sold those, 5 for 20 dollars might not be too bad of a price and would take up probably just as much space in a blister as the character models.

Glueing some rocks/sand onto a base is pretty much the easiest "modelling" you can do, and it's easy to look awesome too.

 Sigvatr wrote:
I disagree. I'd say that especially youngsters would be prone to buying those since vets could easily make cool-looking bases themselves.

Do you disagree to resin or polystyrene? Or both, maybe...

Resin bases are easily available online where vets buy, which seems to argue that vets are buying them.

They do have the plastic dreadnought bases.

When I worked in retail, it was for a corporate music company. One of the things that was always being pushed from management was the cash wrap upscale. In the fast food industry, this is the ubiquitous "Do you want fries with that?" For us it was pushing CD cleaners or magazines. Cool bases would be the perfect thing to push at the register when finalizing a sale. If they could get the price point low enough for impulse buys they could generate a lot of sales.

Alfndrate raises a good point. There are quite a few characters that are sold with a scenic plastic base.

I wouldn't argue lack of demand, as I think many people do buy bases from 3rd party suppliers. As redshirts love the upsell, I think scenic bases at the right price point could be moved more easily than flock. They could add bases as a standard sprue add-on for characters and then use the angle of having matching bases for rank and file sold separately.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Wow, nevelon...my thoughts exactly!

I certainly think whoever gets scenic plastic bases onto the market first will claim a lot of dominance here. GW already has some sculpted (they come with hero's) but have no dedicated sprue yet.

Benefits of plastic: lower cost, faster production and better adhesion to plastic figs.

I've looked at resin bases before and they are pretty cool, but they start to get expensive if you're looking at kitting out squads or armies in the same way.

I can't say why they don't do them currently, but there are plenty of manufacturers out there. I'm fond of Secret Weapon Miniatures resin bases and Back-to-Basix's as well. I've started getting them in batches so that my squads are on uniform bases.

Herzlos wrote:
I certainly think whoever gets scenic plastic bases onto the market first will claim a lot of dominance here. GW already has some sculpted (they come with hero's) but have no dedicated sprue yet.

Benefits of plastic: lower cost, faster production and better adhesion to plastic figs.

They were already done for the game "Rezolution" and they never really took off. You can still get them from the company that produced them "Champ Industries". I bought a batch recently and they're really quite nice. I mod them a bit for variation, but even that isn't really necessary for smaller units.

Really great bases for 30 cents each, even if there are only 4 different sculpts each of two different themes.

http://www.champindustries.net/orders_b.html

Also, Wargames Factory and Proxie Models both make plastic bases with subtle texturing.

Forgeworld had a line of bases. I have a bunch. They were reasonably affordable too (outside the insane shipping fee they charge)

I guess they didn't sell well to be worth their time. They were also doing it before a lot of the alternatives existed so maybe they were too early for their time. I remember a time when people thought Resin bases were 'cheating' in regards to appearance scores at events and real modelers made their own cinematic bases.

GW doesn't make a range of bases probably because there is already a "glut" of bases you can find online.

A friend of mine was making his own range of bases, then realized they probably wouldn't sell well enough since there are already so many other companies selling pretty much the same thing, even though IMHO his sculpts were much better than most.

 Peregrine wrote:
Because GW hates money. Seriously, the best way to figure out what GW will do is to think of the most sensible thing to do in a given situation and then expect the exact opposite.

Yes, that has to be it.

Thank you for your always insightful commentary.

Anyway.

The new Farseer plastic base is quite nice. I'd love to see a few things like that on s sprue, and they could probably sell them cheaply. If they can, I agree with Nevelon that they'd be a fantastic cash wrap impulse buy.

 Eilif wrote:

Herzlos wrote:
I certainly think whoever gets scenic plastic bases onto the market first will claim a lot of dominance here. GW already has some sculpted (they come with hero's) but have no dedicated sprue yet.

Benefits of plastic: lower cost, faster production and better adhesion to plastic figs.

They were already done for the game "Rezolution" and they never really took off. You can still get them from the company that produced them "Champ Industries". I bought a batch recently and they're really quite nice. I mod them a bit for variation, but even that isn't really necessary for smaller units.

Really great bases for 30 cents each, even if there are only 4 different sculpts each of two different themes.

http://www.champindustries.net/orders_b.html

Also, Wargames Factory and Proxie Models both make plastic bases with subtle texturing.

Those bases are nice looking and cost peanuts, but I'm not going to pay shipping and go through the effort of ordering online for them. But if they were at the register, packaged at something like 5 for $2 or 10 for $3, my whole army would be on them. But if I'm going to drag out my wallet at home and fill out an order form online, it's not going to be for a $5 impulse buy. By the time I get the card out, the impulse would be gone. Plus, the card is for major purchases, pocket change and loose bills are impulse money.

" I see you are buying a tactical squad today. For just $3 more you could have them on these awesome scenic bases. No messing around with flock or glue, just a quick basecoat and dry-brush is all you need to bring them to life"

Too bad that the plain Jane bases are already 4.50 for ten bases... so resin or even fancy plastic injection could be solid for 7.50 before anyone would think of batting an eye lash. Other companies like Battle road Games and hobbies sells 10 resin bases for ten bucks.

If they could do 10 25mm for around $10 it would work. $1 per 25mm seems to be the 'standard' right now, and it's one that's a touch high for me on a regular basis. I love me some resin bases, but I can't justify the cost for them sometimes. For my tiny Eldar Ally list I'm working on, resin bases would run me close to 50.

 Kilkrazy wrote:

 Sigvatr wrote:
I disagree. I'd say that especially youngsters would be prone to buying those since vets could easily make cool-looking bases themselves.

Do you disagree to resin or polystyrene? Or both, maybe...

Resin bases are easily available online where vets buy, which seems to argue that vets are buying them.

I disagree with youngsters not being interested in structured bases

 Nevelon wrote:

 Eilif wrote:

http://www.champindustries.net/orders_b.html

Those bases are nice looking and cost peanuts, but I'm not going to pay shipping and go through the effort of ordering online for them. But if they were at the register, packaged at something like 5 for $2 or 10 for $3, my whole army would be on them. But if I'm going to drag out my wallet at home and fill out an order form online, it's not going to be for a $5 impulse buy. By the time I get the card out, the impulse would be gone. Plus, the card is for major purchases, pocket change and loose bills are impulse money.

Are you sure you don't want some? Shipping is only 3 bucks...

Seriously though, I definitely take your point about impulse buys. There are some cheap'ish hobby supplies likepaint, but GW doesn't really have many good impulse buys in the $5 range, certainly nothing as appealing as a miniature. This is actually a problem for many game stores where the only cheap impulse buys available are CCG's or dice.

I think this is one of the reasons that Reaper Bones have been so successful. Not only are they great sculpts at a price point that is usually only met by online indie manufacturers, but almost the entire line is at the "impulse buy" level. You're going to think twice about grabbling a finecast mini unless it's something you really need (used very loosely here) On the other hand, if a $2.50 bones Paladin catches your eye, there's very little preventing it from going in your shopping basket.

GW does sell scenic bases in their basing kit. They are resin and covered in skulls, but that is what you would expect from GW.