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We are starting to see an odd trend with games workshop and their limited edition miniatures. More of the miniatures are injected mold plastic,like the LE chaplain in the main 40k box set and the two LE captain figures that was released for the new GW web site. Plastic framed miniatures means that steel plates were made. This process is usually expensive to make due to the steel and the engraving process is long but tend to last a long time. So why make it limited edition? I honestly think the mold will just be shelved for a year then they will release it as a normal model, killing any collector pricing.

On the bright side that does mean that everyone will be able to buy the model, in time.

I'd be glad to see more 'rare' miniatures for sale!

I believe GW has all plastic manufacturing in-house so a Limited Edition sprue isn't going to be any more effort than any other kit.

As to why LE plastic minis? GW has always made LE models And has stated a move to all plastic production so it makes sense from a continuity PoV. Also you can't just spam out LE models as nauseum or they would be limited; their purpose is usually to mark a special release or occasion for those that want to pay the price of the model.

Once the mold has spat out its x number of sprues it will just be melted down for a new one.

You're wrong about them just releasing LE models afterward.

That would kill their credibility and no one would fall for buying them initially anymore, hurting the strategy of selling stuff to collectors who are willing to pay unreasonable amounts.

Actually you can get cheap steel moulds that do wear out far quicker than normal injection frames.

Just the job for LE figures...

GW also owns all their own tooling, so while tooling time is still money in terms of employee wages and equipment capital costs and maintenance costs, it's not like they are out sourcing it and paying per mould.

That said though, injection moulded plastic is the perfect approach for a product that has a high up front cost but can be sold at such quantities that the end cost per sprue ends up super low.

So combining limited edition with a process that works better and better the more you make and sell is well... stupid.

 frozenwastes wrote:


So combining limited edition with a process that works better and better the more you make and sell is well... stupid.

That is the point I was going for.. Why go thru the expense of the molds only to under utilize them.

Let's say the total design and tooling cost for a given small sprue is $5000. Then each sprue they pump out costs them a fifty cents. if they make 1000, then their cost per sprue is $5.50. if they make two thousand it's $3.00. If they make three thousand, it's $2.17.

As you can see, their margins improve dramatically when they mass produce. It's like injection moulding is a mass production technology or something

Big P wrote:
Actually you can get cheap steel moulds that do wear out far quicker than normal injection frames.

Just the job for LE figures...

Exactly. Basically, an aluminum instead of a steel mold.

Not really for the number if units you would imagine GW are going to produce.

The limited run if Space Hulk was what 70,000 copies?

With the machinery, designers capacity and salaries all bought and paid for anyway in overheads it will only cost GW the opportunity of making another mold, no real expense. The cash boost of a Limited Edition sprue far from being stupid will actually be very attractive.

The card boxes from China will probably represent a bigger "real" cost.

Finally there is the one very important peice of logic that always gets forgotten/ignored: GW are a commercial outfit, if isn't going to make money then they won't do it.

 Genoside07 wrote:

 frozenwastes wrote:


So combining limited edition with a process that works better and better the more you make and sell is well... stupid.

That is the point I was going for.. Why go thru the expense of the molds only to under utilize them.

It depends on how much the LE models make through other means. $30 a pop isn't cheap, for one thing, and bundling it in a $100 or $300 boxed set as the only way to get them also helps sell through a lot of those boxed sets, no doubt... They may well be the GW version of loss leaders...

As said, you can get cheaper moulds that don't last as long, and the number of LE items will decide how to produce them.

When it's a limited run of 10,000 mini's it'll be cheaper to do it in plastic rather than resin/pewter, especially if you use a mould that'll only last 10,000 stamps.

Last year, Salute managed to produce a plastic figure for their freebie, with a production run of something like 2-3000, so the quantity required for it to make sense is dropping all the time, especially if you can do it in house (and the LE is just another Marine Captain with a head/weapon swap).

If I recall, there's molds now that only have a steel jacket, and use some other composite material instead. It can't stand up to a lot of casting at those temperatures and pressure, but it's more than enough for small runs.

Sadly, I can't remember the name, or if it even exists since my research only went into solid steel molds.

There are definitely points at which the tooling and quantity come together to make sense at lower volumes. if you can get the flat cost down enough, the product becomes more and more viable at lower production runs.

Another thing to remember about GW is that during the CHS lawsuit, they had to provide some sales numbers and they showed that the majority of their releases sell really well when they are first released and then drop off to a trickle. So in a way, you could argue that everything they do has basically become limited edition because they make the volume they know they'll need and then chuck the molds onto a shelf for any surprise demand that pops up in the future.

The only real difference between a regular GW plastic kit and a limited edition plastic kit is that they're calling it limited edition and committing themselves to not making more (when they likely would never anyway barring some sort of relaunch that would justify it).

Basically, its a GW money grab.

Interesting to know about the cheaper quality molds. I think also that aluminum is another material that can be done cheaply. The guy at Proxie Models makes his own molds for casting plastic terrain on a 2nd hand cnc machine in his garage.

The biggest point is that a huge cost of the making plastic miniatures is the outsourcing the creation of the molds and production of the product,That kind of design work is extremely expensive and a plastic kit can contain several sprues of considerable complexity. This is something GW doesn't' have to do. Further, s single-piece miniature is a much smaller sprue and a much, much cheaper investment, so if GW already has the staff and equipment in-house, and they're using a material that cuts easier (faster to make and less wear on the CNC) then there's no reason they can't easily release Ltd Edition models whenever they feel like it and at great profit to themselves.

Also, recall that plastic pellets are drastically cheaper than pewter, so that's a whole other cost savings.

 PrehistoricUFO wrote:
You're wrong about them just releasing LE models afterward.

That would kill their credibility and no one would fall for buying them initially anymore, hurting the strategy of selling stuff to collectors who are willing to pay unreasonable amounts.

And yet, GW have done exactly that numerous times in the past.

Limited Edition doesn't actually mean a whole hell of a lot where GW are concerned.

Which ones, out of interest?

I'd also like to know which LE models had re-releases, shouldn't be hard to list especially since it's happened 'numerous' times.

http://solegends.com/citle2000/armyboxes/index.htm
I know a lot of the limited edition army box figures became available a few years later

 PrehistoricUFO wrote:
I'd also like to know which LE models had re-releases, shouldn't be hard to list especially since it's happened 'numerous' times.

You haven't been playing long enough.

The highlight of the Troll Wagon rolling into town was the selection of Previously Limited Edition Models that were now limited to buying them on the Troll Wagon.

LImited Edition SM Captain was repacked into anniversary box set.

Limited Edition Black Templars champion was repacked into anniversary box set.

GW considers it still limited edition as long as they are the only ones selling it.

Anything in recent years?