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TL: DR: Avatars of War is phasing out physical models and will offer only digital sculpts in the future.
From yesterdays newsletter from Avatars of War
Commanders, Strategists, and Master Painters,
With pride in our past victories and excitement for the future, we announce the glorious retirement of all our physical miniatures, today begins:
THE EPIC RETREAT
From its beginnings, the Legendary Heroes of Avatars of War have left an indelible mark on the wargaming world. Who could forget our first miniature, the Dwarf Berserker, which showed the world that dwarves do have knees? Eighteen years later, it remains a BESTSELLER, with its last units testifying to its Eternal legacy.
As we close this iconic chapter, we invite you to secure your piece of history with legendary discounts on metal and resin miniatures, available only while stocks last. Don’t miss the last chance to add these legendary pieces to your collection before they retire forever.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE GLORIOUS EPIC RETREAT:
Legendary Discounts: Great deals on all Avatars of War heroes.
Limited Availability: Once sold out, these figures will be permanently retired to the warrior's rest.
Worldwide Shipping: No matter where you are, the legendary heroes of Avatars of War will arrive directly at your battlefield.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE LENGEND:
The metal and resin miniatures that have forged their legends on countless battlefields now retire with the honor they deserve. But our mission is far from over. Avatars of War moves forward with strength in the digital world, revolutionizing wargaming again by integrating tradition with new technologies, ensuring that the Old School not only maintains its Honor and Glory but becomes newer than ever.
It's probably a good move for them. I have printed a few of their digital minis and they are great. No barriers for shipping costs and massively reduces the impact of rising costs by cutting out a lot of material and machine expenses. I would have thought that they'll make physical models available for those without printers through services like mmf. All the best to them.
Excellent news, maybe now they won't be weighed down by the last dregs of their physical stock they'll be prepared to remake their Dwarf range as STLs.
Honestly I don't get the dejection I see here & elsewhere about this, there's literally no downside for anybody - AoW no longer have to produce and hold stock, people with printers at home will continue to be able to access their cool style at a reduced price, and those who can't or won't countenance printing themselves can order kits from print services. It's not like their digital offerings have deviated wildly in style from their physical ones, nor has the quality of the sculpts declined.
That's sad, I'll see if I can get hold of all their pestilence minis I had an eye on for a while. I always hoped their Pestilence Chaos Warriors in plastic would return, in fact I would have made them the core of a project I have in mind.
Yea this is overall good, surely. The point of AoW are the sculpts of Felix Paniagua, specifically, not their casting operation. Whatever gets the sculpts into people's hands more efficiently is an improvement.
The old meta is dead and the new meta struggles to be born. Now is the time of munchkins.
Oh. Well, I just hope that a) there will be no slayer only army in TOW, so I can rest in peace, or b) GW will make new slayer models. The old metal ones..*pukes*
Sgt. Cortez wrote: That's sad, I'll see if I can get hold of all their pestilence minis I had an eye on for a while. I always hoped their Pestilence Chaos Warriors in plastic would return, in fact I would have made them the core of a project I have in mind.
I had those ages ago, what I pity I dind't keep them... do you remember from what year?
YodhrinsForge wrote: Excellent news, maybe now they won't be weighed down by the last dregs of their physical stock they'll be prepared to remake their Dwarf range as STLs.
Honestly I don't get the dejection I see here & elsewhere about this, there's literally no downside for anybody - AoW no longer have to produce and hold stock, people with printers at home will continue to be able to access their cool style at a reduced price, and those who can't or won't countenance printing themselves can order kits from print services. It's not like their digital offerings have deviated wildly in style from their physical ones, nor has the quality of the sculpts declined.
Some people don't like the material compared to hard plastic, I'd say is at least part of the reason. I'm definitely less interested in anything 3D printed, it's just a big chunk of the market that isn't for me. But I think it's fine because really, 3D printing grew the market enormously and I still have a large amount of traditional miniatures to choose from, much larger than in the past. So everyone is a winner. But if you liked the older material more to work with, surely you can understand being disappointed by a change in material.
Sgt. Cortez wrote: That's sad, I'll see if I can get hold of all their pestilence minis I had an eye on for a while. I always hoped their Pestilence Chaos Warriors in plastic would return, in fact I would have made them the core of a project I have in mind.
I had those ages ago, what I pity I dind't keep them... do you remember from what year?
I think they've been released in 2013, that's the year from which I'm finding the first reviews and release articles.
I find it odd a company is giving up on plastics that are already tooled and in production. Unless the company that did them was in China and is playing silly buggers with the moulds, the main cost for them has been sorted. You'll think there would be the market for the moulds even if the company that had them wasn't interested in production / warehousing etc.
Dawnbringer wrote: I find it odd a company is giving up on plastics that are already tooled and in production. Unless the company that did them was in China and is playing silly buggers with the moulds, the main cost for them has been sorted. You'll think there would be the market for the moulds even if the company that had them wasn't interested in production / warehousing etc.
Maybe it's just a matter of (lack of) exposure and infrastructure. AoW is not hugely popular and shipping from Spain means that international customers are facing a much tougher decision considering shipping time, cost and taxes. STLs have none of these issues and I'd imagine people are much more likely to drop 10 bucks on a single STL and print it the same day. I can totally see how this business model is more lucrative for smaller companies.
It might also depend on how the company is setup right now - ergo do they have staff, production, facilities, rent and so forth. It might be that the company is a side business for them and they can't scale up enough to make physical work for them or don't have enough regular income to buy to expand so they've decided instead of limping along half way they'll downsize and focus on the part that is easier to work with.
I don't think there's any denial that the physical model market is way larger than the STL; however physical is more time and resource intensive to support
I don't know if I remember this correctly but didn't Avatars of War have some fulfilment issues when they shifted to plastic production years ago? I remember something about a kickstarter that had to delay sending out miniatures for quite a while (or something like that).
Maybe they, as a company, are still in this middle ground where traditional metal/resin production is getting a bit cumbersome (needing significant investment in production and warehousing to become usefully more profitable but not having the financial power to make it a quick and efficient transition) while not yet being comfortable (on the cost/profit side of things) with plastic production for everything (and the cost it brings with it)? They are not GW sized and might not be comfortable with having to guess sales just so they do not end up with hundreds or thousands of boxes of one product sitting in their warehouse.
Going digital only could mean that they can reduce costs (production, warehousing, office/production/warehousing space) while also making the product more profitable for the company even if it means that they lose out on people who don't like 3D prints (or can't print minis themselves). It could be a local optimum that's more comfortable for them.
I've seen a few others pull out of metal and go into 3D printing or other materials.
I think with the prices of metal its going to be left to really tiny firms likely in the 6-20mm market and spaceships and such. Ergo quite tiny models to start with and very small operations that serve super-nice markets for the most part.
Middleweight firms and those trying to move up higher are steadily abandoning metal (though I notice CB with Infinity are holding on for now) for other materials or 3D printing and such. Resin still appears to have a hold too for casting.
There certainly are issues in this market with growth and you can very easily end up with an inability to step up to the "next level" of machine operation unless you've a side income that you can invest into the business. The other issue is a lot of small firms that are side businesses and have to run alongside a regular business and family life and so forth.
Mario wrote: I don't know if I remember this correctly but didn't Avatars of War have some fulfilment issues when they shifted to plastic production years ago? I remember something about a kickstarter that had to delay sending out miniatures for quite a while (or something like that).
Maybe they, as a company, are still in this middle ground where traditional metal/resin production is getting a bit cumbersome (needing significant investment in production and warehousing to become usefully more profitable but not having the financial power to make it a quick and efficient transition) while not yet being comfortable (on the cost/profit side of things) with plastic production for everything (and the cost it brings with it)? They are not GW sized and might not be comfortable with having to guess sales just so they do not end up with hundreds or thousands of boxes of one product sitting in their warehouse.
Going digital only could mean that they can reduce costs (production, warehousing, office/production/warehousing space) while also making the product more profitable for the company even if it means that they lose out on people who don't like 3D prints (or can't print minis themselves). It could be a local optimum that's more comfortable for them.
I think it's been quite a while since they released new plastics or resin miniatures and most of their plastics haven't been available for a while or only for short periods like the dwarfs. So in their new releases they've moved to digital about two years ago. Good running Sets were also supported with kickstarters to make them wider known, especially several Orc kits.
My guess is they tried out how it works for them with digital releases and probably reached a Level were their patreons generated enough Profits to do away with the remaining resins.
That being said they're one of the cheapest patreons out there so it seems to work out well for them.
Another thought: the height of their plastic releases was still during warhammer fantasy times, it's possible that with AoS the demand for these plastics declined over times.
YodhrinsForge wrote: Excellent news, maybe now they won't be weighed down by the last dregs of their physical stock they'll be prepared to remake their Dwarf range as STLs.
Honestly I don't get the dejection I see here & elsewhere about this, there's literally no downside for anybody - AoW no longer have to produce and hold stock, people with printers at home will continue to be able to access their cool style at a reduced price, and those who can't or won't countenance printing themselves can order kits from print services. It's not like their digital offerings have deviated wildly in style from their physical ones, nor has the quality of the sculpts declined.
If you struggle to understand how this can and is a downside to people who prefer different type of products and that now they have been effectively discontinued then I dont know what else to say to you. Call it dejection, nice.
I will try though, but be sure to take off your eye patch and claim that this is the best thing for everyone.
Some of us prefer to buy classic miniatures done and produced traditionally, why? Because for some collectors that have been doing this for many decades, there is an experience associated to the materials used and also most importantly the QUALITY control these companies had to go through to ensure the materials used follow health and safety international rules and the casts are not errrr a free for all cowboys in a shed.
What 3d printing introduced massively on the market was...you DONT know what you will get and what material its done with and how bad its casted or how bad the material used is for your health... its mostly not regulated...Thats great hey? Even potentially reliable printing services will have that black cloud over their heads, even if unfair.
Also theres an overall experience, searching for a mini and getting the physical object nicely packaged either on a nice box art or cool blister with artwork, instructions in your hands, this is a tactile hobby as opposed to a bloody ridiculous downloaded file that will go on a folder to be forgotten forever.
Yes you can print if you want but I try not to intoxicate my household and family with cancer inducing raw materials just because I want to print some toys! Also printing is time consuming and a hobby in itself many just don't want to or have the time to invest.
Not going to even mention my main reason and objection to digital sculpting and 3d printing only because this is not the place. The industry changed in just a few years and most traditional is dying fast, thats never good, even if your a fan of 3D print surely you cannot be so blind not to understand that removing bespoke production as an option is good for everyone. Unless your personally invested in killing traditional for whatever reasons.
One thing is to have both production models going another is going full digital and bin traditional.
Lets just say AOW are put of my radar from now.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2024/06/15 21:50:05
As someone who can't print myself I'd also add to Navarro's points that multipart printed models seem to be quite the hassle for printing services, so they're either very expensive or not available. One of the few printing Services with AoW here only has their "battle-ready regiments" and not their full multipart regiments. So, for stuff like that a plastic Box seems to me to be the superior option.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2024/06/15 22:34:22
YodhrinsForge wrote: Excellent news, maybe now they won't be weighed down by the last dregs of their physical stock they'll be prepared to remake their Dwarf range as STLs.
Honestly I don't get the dejection I see here & elsewhere about this, there's literally no downside for anybody - AoW no longer have to produce and hold stock, people with printers at home will continue to be able to access their cool style at a reduced price, and those who can't or won't countenance printing themselves can order kits from print services. It's not like their digital offerings have deviated wildly in style from their physical ones, nor has the quality of the sculpts declined.
If you struggle to understand how this can and is a downside to people who prefer different type of products and that now they have been effectively discontinued then I dont know what else to say to you. Call it dejection, nice.
What's wrong with calling it dejection; that's the emotion people are expressing, "a sad and depressed state; low spirits".
I will try though, but be sure to take off your eye patch and claim that this is the best thing for everyone.
If you're going to have a pop at someone, do be specific, I legitimately can't tell what negative thing you're attempting to imply here.
Some of us prefer to buy classic miniatures done and produced traditionally, why? Because for some collectors that have been doing this for many decades, there is an experience associated to the materials used and also most importantly the QUALITY control these companies had to go through to ensure the materials used follow health and safety international rules and the casts are not errrr a free for all cowboys in a shed. What 3d printing introduced massively on the market was...you DONT know what you will get and what material its done with and how bad its casted or how bad the material used is for your health... its mostly not regulated...Thats great hey? Even potentially reliable printing services will have that black cloud over their heads, even if unfair.
Sheer comedy. Firstly, lots of people producing physical minis was just "a free for all of cowbows in a shed"(great band name), they could have been "cutting" their artisinal hand-casted PU resin with any load of old chemical rubbish and you'd never have had a clue. You took it on faith they were trustworthy or you simply never considered they might not be. As for your health - you do grasp that UV resin is chemically inert once cured, right? So even if print farms were - in all defiance of reason, given the time and direct fiscal cost that would come from using cheap crappy materials that will cause frequent print fails when your whole business depends on reliable repeatable printing - using the gnarliest most bargain-basement resin made in sweatshop bathtubs in Shenzhen, it wouldn't matter a jot to you because if it's capable of being cured which is a given if it can be used to print with, then once cured it's no more dangerous than any other lump of plastic. And this last remark, to the extent it can be said to be true at all(anti-printer types always overestimate how widespread their view is), it's largely down to people like yourself spreading misinformation such as this post is riddled with, for what reason I cannot speculate.
Also theres an overall experience, searching for a mini and getting the physical object nicely packaged either on a nice box art or cool blister with artwork, instructions in your hands, this is a tactile hobby as opposed to a bloody ridiculous downloaded file that will go on a folder to be forgotten forever.
Literal Old Man Yells At Cloud-tier mate. For a start, plenty of small makers never used packaging more sophisticated than plastic baggies and provided no more instructions than a couple of pictures on a website, people still bought their stuff because most people are about the models not this Wine Snob-style "experience" nonsense.
Yes you can print if you want but I try not to intoxicate my household and family with cancer inducing raw materials just because I want to print some toys!
Removed - rule #1
Also printing is time consuming and a hobby in itself many just don't want to or have the time to invest.
Snooooooooooooorrre. This line was tired three years ago, it's deceased buried and rotted to dust by now. It's a hobby tool, people who can figure out how to paint, use an airbrush, build terrain out of kitchen rubbish, and spend their free time learning rulebooks thicker than a doorstop are perfectly capable of picking it up in very little time and once you have the basic knowledge it's barely more complicated than putting a ready meal in the oven. It may be technically true that there are some people out there who don't want to invest their time in it, but there are people out there who don't want to invest their time in painting models at all and we don't use that as evidence for the idea that painting models is *inherently* a chore and a great palaver best avoided.
The industry changed in just a few years and most traditional is dying fast, thats never good, even if your a fan of 3D print surely you cannot be so blind not to understand that removing bespoke production as an option is good for everyone.
It's *absolutely* a good thing. How many amazing models could we have had over the years but never got to because the sculptor didn't have the expertise to run their own casting operation? How many niche but awesome minis never got into the hands of those who'd have liked them because traditional production would never have been profitable? How many small creators have had to wrap up their business because circumstances occurred that made holding a bunch of stock unviable, or because they lost the space they used for their casting operation and couldn't find another that was financially viable, or simply because they burned out dealing with picking and packing and posting orders? Digital distribution of printable files doesn't just lower the barrier of entry, it *removes* it entirely. Creators can focus on creating, they can make use of platforms that give them discoverability and tools to handle distributing the files, and with the right revenue model be that patreon-type subscriptions or KS-style bigger "drops" of content even the most niche and weird creations are viable.
Anti-printing types are like those people who rail against power tools and insist "real" woodworking can only be done with antiquated hand tools or else it has no SOVL or whatever. Sheer Ludditry.
Sgt. Cortez wrote: As someone who can't print myself I'd also add to Navarro's points that multipart printed models seem to be quite the hassle for printing services, so they're either very expensive or not available. One of the few printing Services with AoW here only has their "battle-ready regiments" and not their full multipart regiments. So, for stuff like that a plastic Box seems to me to be the superior option.
At last, a genuine issue based in reality. I would suggest that in those kind of situations, if someone really doesn't want to get into printing themselves, the best solution is your local community; odds are good *someone* you know, or someone they know, has a printer and could be convinced to print what you want for costs plus a few beers, that's how I got printed stuff for over a year before I got my own resin machine. And I'll also note that while the plastic might seem like a superior option, that relies on them being available, which in AoW's case they frequently weren't for extended periods.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2024/06/16 15:01:10
YodhrinsForge wrote: Excellent news, maybe now they won't be weighed down by the last dregs of their physical stock they'll be prepared to remake their Dwarf range as STLs.
Honestly I don't get the dejection I see here & elsewhere about this, there's literally no downside for anybody - AoW no longer have to produce and hold stock, people with printers at home will continue to be able to access their cool style at a reduced price, and those who can't or won't countenance printing themselves can order kits from print services. It's not like their digital offerings have deviated wildly in style from their physical ones, nor has the quality of the sculpts declined.
If you struggle to understand how this can and is a downside to people who prefer different type of products and that now they have been effectively discontinued then I dont know what else to say to you. Call it dejection, nice.
What's wrong with calling it dejection; that's the emotion people are expressing, "a sad and depressed state; low spirits".
Also the act or process of defecating. Classy choice of words.
I will try though, but be sure to take off your eye patch and claim that this is the best thing for everyone.
If you're going to have a pop at someone, do be specific, I legitimately can't tell what negative thing you're attempting to imply here.
Not a jab at you or negative just highlighting your lack of vision of other peoples different preferences.
Some of us prefer to buy classic miniatures done and produced traditionally, why? Because for some collectors that have been doing this for many decades, there is an experience associated to the materials used and also most importantly the QUALITY control these companies had to go through to ensure the materials used follow health and safety international rules and the casts are not errrr a free for all cowboys in a shed. What 3d printing introduced massively on the market was...you DONT know what you will get and what material its done with and how bad its casted or how bad the material used is for your health... its mostly not regulated...Thats great hey? Even potentially reliable printing services will have that black cloud over their heads, even if unfair.
Sheer comedy. Firstly, lots of people producing physical minis was just "a free for all of cowbows in a shed"(great band name), they could have been "cutting" their artisinal hand-casted PU resin with any load of old chemical rubbish and you'd never have had a clue. You took it on faith they were trustworthy or you simply never considered they might not be. As for your health - you do grasp that UV resin is chemically inert once cured, right? So even if print farms were - in all defiance of reason, given the time and direct fiscal cost that would come from using cheap crappy materials that will cause frequent print fails when your whole business depends on reliable repeatable printing - using the gnarliest most bargain-basement resin made in sweatshop bathtubs in Shenzhen, it wouldn't matter a jot to you because if it's capable of being cured which is a given if it can be used to print with, then once cured it's no more dangerous than any other lump of plastic. And this last remark, to the extent it can be said to be true at all(anti-printer types always overestimate how widespread their view is), it's largely down to people like yourself spreading misinformation such as this post is riddled with, for what reason I cannot speculate.
See your problem is assuming we all want resin. I keep it to an absolute minimum from all suppliers Im mainly Hips and metal and those are far more clean than any resins from any supplier. I can tell you that 90% of my vast collection is not resins. Its not misinformation its you willingly accept the higher risk and assume others are ok to bring that to their homes.
Also theres an overall experience, searching for a mini and getting the physical object nicely packaged either on a nice box art or cool blister with artwork, instructions in your hands, this is a tactile hobby as opposed to a bloody ridiculous downloaded file that will go on a folder to be forgotten forever.
Literal Old Man Yells At Cloud-tier mate. For a start, plenty of small makers never used packaging more sophisticated than plastic baggies and provided no more instructions than a couple of pictures on a website, people still bought their stuff because most people are about the models not this Wine Snob-style "experience" nonsense.
Ah classy again then, nothing wrong, nothing wrong, it's just you again using some innocent words too. I never called your experience/preferences anything but yeah kind of a waste of time now.
Yes you can print if you want but I try not to intoxicate my household and family with cancer inducing raw materials just because I want to print some toys!
Removed - rule #1
Oh resin love again. Good for you mate. I don't care what you use but I understand that you like it... weird you cant grasp the concept of someone not liking it. Are you ok mate? why the screaming?
Also printing is time consuming and a hobby in itself many just don't want to or have the time to invest.
Snooooooooooooorrre. This line was tired three years ago, it's deceased buried and rotted to dust by now. It's a hobby tool, people who can figure out how to paint, use an airbrush, build terrain out of kitchen rubbish, and spend their free time learning rulebooks thicker than a doorstop are perfectly capable of picking it up in very little time and once you have the basic knowledge it's barely more complicated than putting a ready meal in the oven. It may be technically true that there are some people out there who don't want to invest their time in it, but there are people out there who don't want to invest their time in painting models at all and we don't use that as evidence for the idea that painting models is *inherently* a chore and a great palaver best avoided.
Lol You are really a blind bat. I did not know there as a due date on my preference of something. I don't want to spend hours and money printing something now or tree years ago, specially when it has so many drawbacks and material issues. I rather just buy a mini to paint, Its that simple. You want something else fine... why belittle me and my choices? Feeling a bit unsure about the fortune and time you spent on it? XD XD The only thing boring here is your mindset.
The industry changed in just a few years and most traditional is dying fast, thats never good, even if your a fan of 3D print surely you cannot be so blind not to understand that removing bespoke production as an option is good for everyone.
It's *absolutely* a good thing. How many amazing models could we have had over the years but never got to because the sculptor didn't have the expertise to run their own casting operation? How many niche but awesome minis never got into the hands of those who'd have liked them because traditional production would never have been profitable? How many small creators have had to wrap up their business because circumstances occurred that made holding a bunch of stock unviable, or because they lost the space they used for their casting operation and couldn't find another that was financially viable, or simply because they burned out dealing with picking and packing and posting orders? Digital distribution of printable files doesn't just lower the barrier of entry, it *removes* it entirely. Creators can focus on creating, they can make use of platforms that give them discoverability and tools to handle distributing the files, and with the right revenue model be that patreon-type subscriptions or KS-style bigger "drops" of content even the most niche and weird creations are viable.
Anti-printing types are like those people who rail against power tools and insist "real" woodworking can only be done with antiquated hand tools or else it has no SOVL or whatever. Sheer Ludditry.
Mate you looking from a skewed perspective... this topic is about - No more traditional its been canceled discontinued in favour of something else you enjoy. It's the opposite of anti print. it's more of it and just it. Im not anti print because I can see people that like it and it's great as an option on the table. More is better. Problem is when it's the only option. The traditional dying is pretty bad reduces your choices... When and if you grow out of resins/print and want other options guess what, probably theres not much else.
Sgt. Cortez wrote: As someone who can't print myself I'd also add to Navarro's points that multipart printed models seem to be quite the hassle for printing services, so they're either very expensive or not available. One of the few printing Services with AoW here only has their "battle-ready regiments" and not their full multipart regiments. So, for stuff like that a plastic Box seems to me to be the superior option.
At last, a genuine issue based in reality. I would suggest that in those kind of situations, if someone really doesn't want to get into printing themselves, the best solution is your local community; odds are good *someone* you know, or someone they know, has a printer and could be convinced to print what you want for costs plus a few beers, that's how I got printed stuff for over a year before I got my own resin machine. And I'll also note that while the plastic might seem like a superior option, that relies on them being available, which in AoW's case they frequently weren't for extended periods.
Reality is very simple here, some of us dont like Resin or 3D sculpt/print and some specially dont like companies discontinuing decade long workflows and traditional products... You live in a fragile* bubble if you think it's good for everyone when in this such small hobby options are reduced to this level.
I say fragile because Ai is here and you know what that means to all digital only products
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2024/06/16 15:03:25
Personally like metal, resin, plastic hips (not a fan of PVC at all), and 3D print resin.
Each one has their upsides and their downsides. Heck 3D printed resin can be a BIG nightmare to clean up on some models - just because you can print something as a single part doesn't mean that its a good idea and some poses and styles that are done result in insanely hard to clean areas. Not to mention its a lot harder to clean because the support marks are not as "logical" as a mould line and gate points.
No single material has it all, each one done right can produce outstanding fun models to paint and play with.
Overread wrote: Personally like metal, resin, plastic hips (not a fan of PVC at all), and 3D print resin.
Each one has their upsides and their downsides. Heck 3D printed resin can be a BIG nightmare to clean up on some models - just because you can print something as a single part doesn't mean that its a good idea and some poses and styles that are done result in insanely hard to clean areas. Not to mention its a lot harder to clean because the support marks are not as "logical" as a mould line and gate points.
No single material has it all, each one done right can produce outstanding fun models to paint and play with.
This is the logical response.
A lot of people need reminding that it's OK to like/not like something and it doesn't always need it's virtues defending either way.
I will say that, from my personal perspective, a lot of vocal 3d printer owners tend to be quite egotistical and abrasive about it.
For a long time 3d printing has been touted as the "doom" of GWs business model etc and this is exactly where it would lead. People relegated to the haves/have nots of owning a printer, the mercy of any man and his dog producing stuff on etsy/ebay etc and any who don't want to work with resin being effectively locked out.
I still don't consider that "good" or particularly forward facing for any company to undergo.
You can still buy physical minis on a legit print on demand service. I really don't understand the issue beyond preference of medium. No one is being prevented from accessing their products based on this decision.
A range of their models predate the 3D printing arm of their releases. So there's selection that, once gone, might never return. Or might only return with a new design.
One thing that bugs me is the digital slayer resting his foot on a troll head. I'm pretty sure the metal variant was different. Kinda miffed to have sold it years ago.
