[AJCarrington]

Billion dollar... ...likely not. Though I'm sure the lads at CGL would LOVE that kind of a problem

[Black]

million dollar question then.

But Mara has it the question itself right.  Which market?

Are we after existing shadowrunner players who may or may not pick it up, or are we targeting the larger wargamer market, a market which likes skirmish games like necromunda (though perhaps not enough for the game to still exist...)  I think the market of existing non-wargamer shadowrun players who may pick up a pre-painted mini game... is limited.  But the market for existing wargammers looking  to pick up something new... well, its larger at least.

But its a wait and see for now. 

One thing is for sure, the answer won't please everyone.  But we should groan and moan if it doesn't (at least not too much). The world doesn't revolve around our personal prefences.  Catalyst and CMON needs to make the decision based on their strategic direction and the financial bottom line.  And I for one, do not begrudge them that decision.

PS:  I think I fit it your Common Hobyist category Mara.  Which may explain why I have a partially painted army of Imperial Guards and a collection of Pathfinder painted minis sitting together on a shelf in the cupboard...

[Wakshaani]

I'd put the income closer to $100,000 myself, judging on the responses to assorted miniatures from Kickstarter. A million is rarified air. 

[Wildcard]

Hahaha, that's awesome. Like the elite hardcore prick market is somehow equal in size to the casual player.

Nooooo, no no no.

The split is this.

The people who won't buy a product that won't look nice

vs.

The pricks who refuse to alter pre-painted and pre-assembled miniatures because they're "above" that.

[Wildcard]

Of course, all of this is irrelevant, as the main factor will always be what they think will make the most money, as filtered through business arrangements, agreements, and best intentions.

[Bull]

Ok, I think we're done here.  Drop the Elitism and the insulting tones and attitudes.

Bull

[Mara]

Ok, I think we're done here.  Drop the Elitism and the insulting tones and attitudes.

Bull

I am sorry. I have tried to avoid it.
I will say that my biggest opposition to "pre-painted" has nothing to do with "too good for that."
I have no problem repainting a previously painted mini. The problem is: stripping past the paint.
If it is too thick, repainting the mini is horrible, as you lose so much detail(you can't strip plastic
without ruining the mini). If the paint is too thin, however, the minis look horrible as the paint chips
from the usual wear and tear on minis from packing and unpacking them. Leviathans can get away
with the pre-painting much more then BattleTech or Sprawl Gangers can, as BattleTech's minis, and,
since they are being made by CMON, I will assume Sprawl Ganger's minis, are things where the details
matter. Getting something like faces painted thinly enough that it does not ruin detail is very tricky for
an automated system(CMON is an American based company, to my knowledge, so they can't use masses of
cheaply paid people like in china, so likely would, if they were making pre-painted minis, be using good, old
American Automation).

Honestly, though, I think everyone is in the "I do not want to buy something that won't look nice." The
problem is that not everyone agree on what looks nice. If CMON could make pre-painted minis at a quality
where they do not lose any detail for people like me who like to paint? I would be happy. If they only make
stuff like you can find on the Cool Mini or Not website? Cool, too. If it could be economically done where they
have inexpensive pre-paints of Mage Knight or Hero Clix Quality and high quality, multi-part minis on a par
with the REST of the stuff CMON makes, so there are options for people who don't want to paint verses people
who want to paint? that would be ideal, however I just do not think it can be done.

[Black]

It's now a wait and see, Mara.

On topic, but a different subset of discussion..

Which gangs would you like I see in sprawl Gangers?

I want to have a spiked wheel gang...

[Mara]

On topic, but a different subset of discussion..

Which gangs would you like I see in sprawl Gangers?

I want to have a spiked wheel gang...

Frankly? I want to be able to make my own gang. But, shoot..there are just so many canon gangs. The Spikes
and The Desolation Angels, though, would have to be my top two.

[Crunch]

Cutters, Halloweeners and Ancients have to be in their right? First Nation would also be visually pretty interesting.

As for minis I'm game for some amount of assembly and painting as long as they don't go the "25 Pieces that don't quite fit together and require a drill press and arc welder to assemble" route that BT minis are increasingly heading towards.

[Companero]

I second the First Nations thing, partly because it would look pretty unique and partly because i'd really like some hi-tech Amerindian models for just about every Shadowrun game I've ever envisaged...

Frankly? I want to be able to make my own gang. But, shoot..there are just so many canon gangs.

If they are going with plastic assembly models my dream is that they'll release some kind of conversion pack with lots of different heads and guns to make it easy to make custom gangs (and also, even better, Shadowrunners for the RPG!)

Certainly any plastic assembly miniatures plan should follow the Mordheim model and fill the sprue with all sorts of weird custom parts. Hairy heads FTW.

(Also: as much as I love my old crappily painted metal gangers, coolest gangs in Necromunda were always the ones lovingly hacked together out of Imperial Guard and Bretonnian plastic figures)

[Cherno]

Rusty Stilettos are another infamous gang, I hope they'll make an appearance.

So is the Troll Gang of Lord Torgo... He would make a great nemesis for the Ancients 

[AJCarrington]

But Mara has it the question itself right.  Which market?

Agreed. One thing I find strange/interesting, is that we've seen no shots of minis...concepts or otherwise. If launch is Q4, I'm guessing they need to be well underway, if not done, give production and shipping times.

[Mara]

But Mara has it the question itself right.  Which market?

Agreed. One thing I find strange/interesting, is that we've seen no shots of minis...concepts or otherwise. If launch is Q4, I'm guessing they need to be well underway, if not done, give production and shipping times.

Well, they are going through CMON. They are a bit more efficient with the modeling, casting, etc then IWM, mainly because they
are a bit bigger of a company. Since these are also humaniform minis, they have a different sculpting process then 'Mechs, and
they can have one sculptor working on multiple miniatures at once, simply because, as he/she works around the armatures, time
has to be allowed for things to cure while they work.  They can get a lot modeled and cast and shipped in a close time frame. Just look at the Bombshell Babes kickstarter production where they were doing their modeling and casting while doing work for other companies.
Yeah, it has not all shipped yet, but that is pretty much a start up company. I imagine CMON will have a lot faster turn around. 

[FastJack]

Ok, I think we're done here.  Drop the Elitism and the insulting tones and attitudes.

Bull

Agreed. Watch yourselves on this