Wiz kids to launch line of unpainted fantasy miniatures (pics pg2)

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**Polonius**

Kid_Kyoto wrote:
They are, they've had the licence for years.

It's possible the contract is written in a way there can be more than one mini maker, the way Knight Models makes 'unpainted Batman gaming models' while Wiz Kids makes 'painted collectable Batman gaming models' and someone else might make 'painted Batman statues and figurines'.

Possibly, but its hard to find more of a niche than unpainted, but ready for paint, soft PVC miniatures.

I remember reading the case in Contracts law about if a burrito place violated a deli's contract to be the only "sandwich" place, but these Wizkids models sound pretty explicitly like a direct competitor to bones.

**Kid_Kyoto**

I remember reading about a case, I think it was at DC comics where one company had the right for action figures taller than 2", another had the rights for figures less than 2" tall.

So...

they went out and sold the rights for figures EXACTLY 2" tall.

Short answer, who knows. One assumes that Wiz Kids and Reaper and Pathfinder all have lawyers and they're watching each other.

**mdauben**

Given the number and quality of competition in the fantasy RPG figure market, and the historical quality of WK minis, I really don't see any reason to even look at these.

**Kid_Kyoto**

More news

http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lilk?News-from-the-GAMA-Trade-Show

News from the GAMA Trade Show!
Friday, March 18, 2016
Greetings, everyone! I'm writing to you today from the floor of the GAMA Trade Show, the game industry's annual convocation of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers in lovely Las Vegas, Nevada. GAMA is not only a great chance to meet up with industry friends and business partners, but it's also a great place to pick up exciting news from the attending publishers. This year, Paizo and Pathfinder are no different! You've probably also seen the news about our new paperback Pathfinder RPG Pocket Editions of the Core Rulebook and Bestiary, as well as the exciting announcement of September's Curse of the Crimson Throne hardcover Adventure Path. You may not have seen the great news about Pathfinder miniatures, however, so I wanted to carve out some time from my busy convention schedule to bring you up to speed.

Our partners at WizKids, who have already produced nearly a dozen sets of prepainted plastic Pathfinder Battles releases, announced on Tuesday that they are launching a brand-new line of unpainted plastic miniatures based on their two popular fantasy miniatures licenses—Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons, along with some original unbranded dungeon scenery!

In all the new unpainted figure line will launch with more than 150 unique sculpts, and is scheduled for a fourth-quarter 2016 release. All of the figures will come fully assembled, and will be pre-primed with Acrylios Vallejo primer, some of the finest-quality hobby paint available. The figures will come in a few different configurations:

Hero Packs will contain both a low-level and a high-level sculpt of the same character, such as the Pathfinder iconic hero Valeros, pictured below.
Monster Packs will contain 1–3 miniatures with different versions of the same type of monster (for example, goblins, orcs, etc.).
Item Packs will contain scenery and items (treasure chests, traps, furniture and the like) for detailing adventures.
Each pack will be priced from $2.99-$3.99, depending on the size and number of figures included.

I had a chance to review early versions of these figures in hand at the show, and I think you will all be blown away by the enhanced sculpting process WizKids will be using, which highlights minute elements and includes deep cut surface details and scaled features for easier hand painting.

Take a look at the quick photos I took of Valeros on my iPhone to get a sense of how cool these will look. Much more detailed photos will appear here in the weeks to come.

The launch of WizKids new unpainted figure line will not impact either of Paizo's two existing miniatures lines, Pathfinder Battles from WizKids and Pathfinder Miniatures from Reaper. As the new figures will use completely new sculpts and poses, there should be very little overlap with existing figures, though it's safe to assume that some familiar faces are certain to appear in the new line.

Also at the show, I revealed two more digital sculpts from the forthcoming Pathfinder Battles set Deadly Foes, scheduled for an October release.

Look out! It's a Cockatrice! He nips you with that nasty beak of his and you're sure to be turned to stone. The Cockatrice is a Small, uncommon figure.

Look out! That friendly NPC you picked up a few dungeon rooms back isn't friendly at all—it's a Doppelganger! The Doppelganger is a Medium, uncommon figure.

Lots more to reveal in the weeks to come. Keep your eyes on this space for more exciting Pathfinder miniatures developments!

Until the stars are right, I remain...

Erik Mona
Publisher

Pics

Now bad, not revolutionary but not bad.

Though personally I think a sprue to make your own heroes would work a lot better.

**Ashitaka**

The use of 'uncommon' in the news above pretty much cements that these will be blind packed.

Oh well...

**Polonius**

Ashitaka wrote:
The use of 'uncommon' in the news above pretty much cements that these will be blind packed.

Oh well...

It would explain how to get around the licensing issues for Pathfinder and Reaper Bones. Wizkids is still selling "collectable" miniatures.

**Kid_Kyoto**

Polonius wrote:
Ashitaka wrote:
The use of 'uncommon' in the news above pretty much cements that these will be blind packed.

Oh well...

It would explain how to get around the licensing issues for Pathfinder and Reaper Bones. Wizkids is still selling "collectable" miniatures.

I wouldn't worry, they're talking about a different line there, prepainted Pathfinder stuff. Only the first half is about this new line.

Also at the show, I revealed two more digital sculpts from the forthcoming Pathfinder Battles set Deadly Foes, scheduled for an October release.

Look out! It's a Cockatrice! He nips you with that nasty beak of his and you're sure to be turned to stone. The Cockatrice is a Small, uncommon figure.

Look out! That friendly NPC you picked up a few dungeon rooms back isn't friendly at all—it's a Doppelganger! The Doppelganger is a Medium, uncommon figure.

Lots more to reveal in the weeks to come. Keep your eyes on this space for more exciting Pathfinder miniatures developments!

Until the stars are right, I remain...

**JNC**

When E.Mona stated 2.99 and 3.99, I'll take it the meduim sized 2-pack of PC/NPCs are going to be 2.99. (1.5$ apiece isn't bad for that quality); And 3.99 with be the terrain pieces and 3-pack s of monsterous humanoids/creatures/undead/baddies. And yes they will more than likely be blind.

Reaper doesn't have 'exclusive' rights to Pathfinder in any way. I say that because they've never claimed it and WizKids has already used a close approximation of a Reaper sculpt in the Wizkids' line, based off offical artwork(Feiya: iconic witch).

As a competition would go: Wizkids wins hands down, IMO
The weapons are fatter b/c they'd bend too easy otherwise. Pathfinder Miniatures from WizKids are also the correct scale for mediums. I can say at 20$-30$ a 6-pack box, I don't feel ripped off with the PPM Iconics at all. The poses on the new Valeros look great.

As somebody stated on another forum, you can make all the properly-scaled statues you want with these.

**Bossk_Hogg**

Those have to be 3D printed masters, and not production, right? If those are production, these will be amazing for RPGs at $1.50 a pop retail.

**kestral**

I like "two stage" stuff. I also like the idea of more cheap scenery and terrain. On the other hand, the current D&D aesthetic does little for me.

**ced1106**

Hmm. Publisher says they won't be in blind boosters? : "There is nothing "blind" about this line. What you see is what you get."

**ced1106**

More info: http://wizkids.com/blog/2016/03/28/see-what-you-missed-at-the-2016-gama-trade-show/

Mini's will be in visible boxes!

"Low level" and "Leveled Up" sculpt:

Spoiler:

**Tyr13**

What scale are these supposed to be? 28mm? Sorry if its been mentioned before.

**tgmoore**

Tyr13 wrote:
What scale are these supposed to be? 28mm? Sorry if its been mentioned before.

28mm yes.

**Vain**

I like the "levelled up" concept they are running with.

**Breotan**

I don't see the soft plastic they use being able to capture the detail in their CAD.

**Bossk_Hogg**

So has anyone heard anymore on this line? I thought maybe we'd see something at Gencon, but nada. Is it dead? I had hoped not. $3-4 for a few mins is a decent price, particularly if they are made in the Zombicide black plague type of PVC. They've made some really good strides, and are much better for man sized figs than Bones.