Preview of the new Rackham Griffin Templar boxed set

[Malebolgia]

http://www.rackham.fr/newsletter/cry_online/img68/Templar-unit-box-1.jpg
http://www.rackham.fr/newsletter/cry_online/img68/Templar-unit-box-2.jpg

Jup, looks similar to what they are doing with AT-43. Don't have a pricing yet though.

[DrEvilmonki]

You would really need to see them close up as their other prepaint stuff looked like crap. And whats with the box being so huge? What a waste of space. If I were a retailer I would be spewing to get a line like that.

[thewartoad]

Didn't you guys know that's where Rackham is headed? They want to be a toy store like WizardsoftheCoast & Wizkids. And seriously...do you really think any other company that does pre-painted miniatures is any better than Rackham. I would put their stuff up against the others any day of the week! And as far as their packaging...It's really nice but true, it would take up alot of room on a retailer's self. Again...all IMO. Cheers!

[Wren]

The size of the packaging is in line with the starter sets for the latest WizKids prepainted lines. Looks pretty much exactly like the boxes for their sets, actually, but with a much cleaner and more sophisticated looking graphical presentation.

Having worked in a very small game shop with a huge inventory for a couple of years, you just learn to suck it up. At least they'd stack one atop another, and stuff people can see does often get browser interest. That's not to say that some of the manufacturer packaging tricks for getting better shelf attention aren't annoying! Odd-shaped items can be a huge pain. There's one board game manufacturer that has boxes over 3 inches deep, so even if you shelve them like books they're still taking up a ton of space and being more eye catching than their competitors. Actually, I hate them as a consumer more than I did as a clerk as I've got plenty of space problems on my board game shelves at home, too!

Rackham bombed locally even when they were back in metal and at the height of their popularity, so I don't think I'll get to see the quality of the prepainting up close and personal until Gen Con or something.

[DrEvilmonki]

My complaint isn't the prepainting it's the shit sculpting. At least if the sculpt was good you could repaint it.

[matty1001]

They have the Confrontation box set at the comic shop in Newcastle so I had a peek earlier. And yes, like DEM said, the sculpts are utter rubbish. Nothing like the metals were, even though I think I can remember them stating they would be as equally good in the plastics.
Apparently though not one has sold, and they have been out for 3 or so weeks. And the shop may look at stop supplying it. (Although AT-43 is doing alot better)
(Anima Tactics is another where they have sold nothing, and that has been out alot longer, although thats a different kettle of fish.)

[Ritual]

Rackham has managed to basically kill the existing Confrontation game and now try to get people into the "new" game despite there hardly being anything out except for two starter sets... :dontknow: What are they thinking? Are they thinking?

[R kid]

Cant say that i like the prepainted stuff from rackham to be honest it killed my pig when i found out this was happening id just got into painting there stuff then bam its now painted for ya .

[Larkin Vain]

I just picked up a starter. For those interested how these prepaints come out straight from the box, here are some pictures.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0071-1.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0094.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0074.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0076.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0078.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0080.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0082.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0084.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0085.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0086.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0088.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c184/joeldelacruz/DSC_0092.jpg

[supervike]

It's decent quality for 'gaming pieces' or plastic toys...but even I (who has no real love of Rackham) am saddened to see those once gorgeously painted minis turn into this.

But, if it helps revitalize their company...they have to do what they have to do.

[DrEvilmonki]

I just don't understand with the quality that modern plastics can obtain that they have ended up with this crap. Of course it could be because of their financial position

[Duende]

Gah! They look like something your could get from a quarter machine at a supermarket, like those "Homies" figures. Blah!

:thumpdown

[Larkin Vain]

I wouldn't call them crap. You have to put them into proper perspective. There's no way to compare these pre-paints with what is out for metals or other plastics. Confrontation no longer falls into that category of miniatures. To compare them unassembled plastic/metal miniatures is like comparing apples and oranges.

First of all the price would be very different. If I paid for metal versions of these miniatures the wolves alone would have cost me at least $10 each for the amount of metal required and the Spearmen at last $5.00 each for their weight in metal. Miniatures alone would come out to $90.00 if they were made in metal. Through in the book, dice terrain and tape measure and that would be an additional $25.00.

Comparing them to quarter machine "hommies' figures is not a fair assessment of these figures also. Being a father of little girl I have bought my fair share of quarter machine toys so let's be realistic about it, they are way above par in comparison to that.

What I do compare these to are the current pre-painted miniatures on the Market. The price is on the higher end of other pre-painted miniatures but they are the best painted prepaints I've ever seen. I'm comparing the quality of Heroscape, Starwars, D&D and Heroscape. The quality of the plastic used is also better than any of the major prepaints on the market.

In my opinion they are the best pre-painted miniatures on the market. They are also the best made in terms of plastic quality. Heroscape and Wizards prepaints all suffer from rubbery plastic, Wizards and Wizkids suffer from the random method of distribution.

Now the $70.00 price tag. Is it worth it? To some not, most likely because it is a prepaint. I thought it was. The wolves come out to about $5.00 a piece and the the Spearmen comes out to about $2.23 a piece. The book and the other stuff makes up about another $25.00

The starter is priced pretty competitively priced considering it's not blind packaged as the Wizkids which comes in a pack of 5 for $10.00 ($2.00 each) and Wizards 8 for $15.00 ($1.87 each). Hasbro's Heroscape which is not blindly packaged comes out to $13.00 for up 5-6 miniatures ($2.16 each) by no means can compare to the quality of the Rackham pre-paints.

As for me, I'd decided that Warmachine/Hordes is the only mass battle game I will paint. I enjoy painting unique miniatures more than armies, that is why I love Wyrd, Anima Tactics, Pulp City and AE-WW2. They don't require me to paint an army of nameless miniatures.

[Sculpta the squig]

Good points Larkin, but these make me retch. Honestly:banghead:

Squig