Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello chaps, hope you're all sitting comfortably.
Right, well, my Business A-Level has come around, and for my Unit 3 work, I need to get a general idea for how my product is to be received. My product is, as I'm sure you've guessed by now, model soldiers! Designed to be pewter 54mm 1750's soldiers to be used in old fashioned games such as HG Wells Little Wars (yes, that old fashioned), its a fairly basic product, that will not actually be produced, but needs to be 'marketed' for purposes of my coursework.

So, let yourself imagine that you are not a 40k/Warmahordes player or whatever. Imagine for a moment that you instead collect 54mm pewter soldiers like Black Hat Miniatures 'Little Wars Revisited' line. Then , you happen across a thread on Dakkadakka or Bols, similar to this one, perhaps. It shamelessly advertises the following:

The Immortal Game: prepainted pewter toy soldiers and miniatures for the Gamer and the Collector.
Selling 10 model infantry for £15, froma reliable manufacturer.
The picture shows ten fairly well painted, relatively well modelled soldiers wearing tricornes and jackets, all with muskets. Three are standing at attention, three are aiming their rifles, two are reloading their muskets, and two are rushing with bayonet lugs on.

Beneath that is a link to a 'Have your say!' section, where you can leave your input for the above product.

Now, the long way to a short question, what would you write? How should I expand this range? What can you suggest to help me (as a sole trading business) sell said products?

Note: While I know that many of you are wise to the workings of businesses, that really is not necessary. All I need are tips for marketing and so on.
Note #2: I'm not trying to use you guys to get my grades. This is compulsory. Sorry about that

Thanks for your time,
LooT

I would be interested in them. However i would probably ask to know how many was in the box-just the 10 i see here are there more and this image is just to show the array of different poses in the box.
I would also ask if it is possible to get them unpainted(persnal preference ) but i would be of if i couldnt. I would also be interested in expansions(I.E. cavalry, artillery, draggoons, machineguns, gatlings, Nordenfeldt, etc) and also i would be interested in rules for them(a link maybe )

Apart from that provided they are reasonably priced and i have the funds i would be interested in them yes.

Ta laddy. This is the sort of thing I'm looking for.

I think that a good description of the game, with screenshots of a game in progress would be key. 54mm skirmish is a pretty small niche, so as a potential gamer, I'd be wondering, if 10 figs is all I need? Is this the start of a potentially larger investment? Who quickly can i get other players up to speed, etc.

I'd wonder if there were any quickstart rules or packages including Little Wars, and if there was any indication of what I'd need to play ("just add a ruler and dice!" etc) and how long it'd take.

 Lord of Timbraxia wrote:
Ta laddy. This is the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Always happy to help a fellow Brit (or scot/welshy)

Oh and BTW whats this about no finished armys? We are looking at you, all of us stareing, Look at all those accusing eyes!!!

Does the game play with just infantry, or is there "cannons" or something that makes a little more tactical thinking involved, or personal physical dexterity?

A definite question, mentioned above.. prepainted or bare metal straight from the box? If I see pictures and am not familiar with the hobby .. I may be mightly disappointed if they are not painted for me and I have to do it.

-P

Right, looks like le wargaming audience may require soem edumacating with the 'ole Little Wars game.

Its still a mass battle game, the first, in fact! Armies are made of 54mm pewter (back in the old days they were tin) PREPAINTED soldiers (although it must be said that from feedback, unpainted variants would be available), and spring loaded toy cannon.

Because HG Wells thought that rolling dice wasn't realistic enough, he used spring loaded guns to simulate cannon and rifle fire. Knocking down soldiers = killing them, and combat was resolved by removing both soldiers (as he assumed that, equally skilled as they were, they would both kill each other).

There is actually a link to HG Wells Little Wars in Dakkadakka's 'what is wargaming?' section on the main page. Its a nice bit of reading.

As far as adding extra units, there could be scope for cannon, cavalry and officers, but not much else, as the game doesn't distinguish much unless it was to be rewritten.

Perhaps the finished product would come with a compact, reworked version of HG Wells Little Wars for gaming 'out of the box' , even though that'd be tiny (perhaps the addition of some Little Wars Skirmish rules too?).

This is brilliant guys, this should be all actually

And @master of ordinance, yup I'm English. AND DON'T LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEEEE

Just in cast you haven't encountered them, take a look here for something similar that is actually on the market, though these are not prepainted, they do provide rules as well.

http://www.allthekingsmentoysoldiers.com/

@Kyrolon, no worries chap. I know that there is competition (that said, I didn't know about this one ). 'Tis a good thing this is only coursework and not the real thing, eh? Thanks for the tip-off though. The only ones I was fully aware of was the Black hat Miniatures range.

 Lord of Timbraxia wrote:
Right, looks like le wargaming audience may require soem edumacating with the 'ole Little Wars game.

Its still a mass battle game, the first, in fact! Armies are made of 54mm pewter (back in the old days they were tin) PREPAINTED soldiers (although it must be said that from feedback, unpainted variants would be available), and spring loaded toy cannon.

Because HG Wells thought that rolling dice wasn't realistic enough, he used spring loaded guns to simulate cannon and rifle fire. Knocking down soldiers = killing them, and combat was resolved by removing both soldiers (as he assumed that, equally skilled as they were, they would both kill each other).

There is actually a link to HG Wells Little Wars in Dakkadakka's 'what is wargaming?' section on the main page. Its a nice bit of reading.

As far as adding extra units, there could be scope for cannon, cavalry and officers, but not much else, as the game doesn't distinguish much unless it was to be rewritten.

I am aware of the rules for Little Wars.. played it many a time with Playmobil figs and a large rubber band..

That is why my comments were addressed the way they were.. so that you could think specifically of ways to emphasize the WAY to use these figures in your project.

So, the game is more like "crossbows and catapults" toy playset than a wargame?

Scarlet, yes it is, closer to HG Wells creation of wargaming than the modern version we are associated with nowadays.

To be frank, however, I'm losing the will to live with my current Unit, as, having just received my other Coursework Unit back from the teacher - with amendments I made at her suggestion - and it is still not out of a level 1 (level 1 being lowest, and 3 highest). Ruddy coursework.. who do it, eh?