"A New Age for Miniature Wargaming??" Topic

Seems like so much of the tried and true is going away or having problems.

Examples:

Brigae Models- Casting has been out for some time. Dont know if a small company can survive the cost of a new machine.
TMP, TGN, SCN – all my favorite gamesites are having server/code problems
15mm SF is on the rise – woe to use 6 and 28mm gamers
Wessex – rules and miniatures going out of print. There seems to be little enthusiasm for replacing their products.
FLGS and online sellers closing.
Flagship games, London War Room and several other online manufacturers closing due to health or family issues.
Hard plastics replacing metal figs.

Are we entering a new age of gaming and is the golden age coming to an end?

The more things change the more they stay the same .

Every community experiences change. Babies are born, folk pass away.

As an old-timer, I think of every one of your examples as "new guys"--with the exception of 15mm SF (I still have some Martian Metals, and they had just gone out of business when we moved to Copperas Cove in 1981!).

Meanwhile, for every company struggling or folding, teo or more new ones arise. FLGS may close and not be replaced, but that just demonstartes a change in the retail model.

I don't think the Golde Age is comong to an end, it's simply expanding in new directions.

Allen

Wessex is going out of print? They are on WargameVault right now in PDF format.

New machines are not that expensive, it is a question of how much people are willing to risk and if they want to make money or if it is just a hobby.

I think that, as Allen said, there are a lot of things that seem to be changing but if you look at the overall delta it is probably close to zero over any five year period.

Somethings alter the balance, like the plastics, but there are other balancing factors like more obscure periods coming into the limelight.

Submit to the 15mm Sci Fi!!! SUBMIT!!!!

Seriously though, there are still a buch of 28mm Sci Fi out there. I don't think it's in danger of going away. I just have decided after 25 years of 28mm sci fi I rather like 15mm better.

"Brigae Models- Casting has been out for some time. Dont know if a small company can survive the cost of a new machine."

Not sure if this is a reference to my company (Brigade Games) or Brigade Models in the UK.

I can assure you that we (Brigade Games) at least are more than healthy and well capitalized. If you were talking about a small company, I guess that is relative. I would estimate based on sales figures I am aware of, that we are the third or fourth largest historical miniature vendors in the USA. As far as casting, no it hasn't been out for some time. Slow and inconsistent production yes and the following has been detailed in my newsletters and forum. In a nutshell: TLWR decided to call it quits at the end of 2008 and we picked up my molds and purchased the machinery in late January/Early Feb. We had a caster, who was a relative, casting from Feb 2009 until Sept 2009. Unfortunately it wasn't working out as well as I had hoped and I was not getting everything I needed on a consistent schedule. He quit in early September. Re-setting the equipment back up and working with it for several weeks made me decide to purchase new equipment to maximize the productivity during the time spent. Of course during the process, things most often take longer than expected. My biggest main problem was releases of new product being binned until the issues were worked out and couple that with Fall In and I was working 20 hour days for over 2 weeks. We are now on top of the situation and making fantastic progress and are almost caught up on casting which is done several times a week as needed. We are close to being caught up from being away at Fall In.

In regards to some of the other points you make –

Server issues – you can't group TMP and TGN together. Different animals and TMP is a FT job for the Editor. The software issues have reared their head for quite some time over the years and he is now working toward migrating the system. It has nothing to do with financial stability.

Wessex – the owner has a FT job that requires a lot of travel and had major health problems the last few years. All are well known. Most of the older print titles are in PDF format now.

FLGS and online sellers closing – it is a tough business and requires personal knowledge of your product and market and a business plan that makes sense, especially in a bad economy.

London War Room situation was a personal decision by one of the owners to quit the business altogether. It was that owners passion for the hobby that got them involved in the first place.

Flagship Games – the partners have decided that family responsibilities are the precedence.

Hard plastic – there is room in the marketplace for both plastic and metal miniatures. There are many that are very happy with one or the other and many that will use both. Most of the market is niche and it will be tough for plastics to be everywhere until the costs for molding and casting come down to a level where it is competitive with metal (this will take quite a while.) Even then I think there will be a significant niche for metal.

While there seem to be companies popping up everyday, this is a tough business. Some can survive but long term most will not just like any other new business. Maybe there might be a longer time before they "throw in the towel" but this is due to most not being full time. Most of the part time business people do not handle the business as a true business nor have the required business skills and that is the road to ruin.

2012 is just around the corner so what difference does it make.

WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!

tabletop – that's right; always look on the bright side….

It's another age, whether it's more or less golden, we won't be sure until years afterwards. A few of your examples…

-Site issues. Sites have problems. They fix or they don't. If they don't something else steps in. Not a big deal in the end.

-Shops closing. It's a bad economy. Some will close and some will survive. This is really nothing new. It is true that there may be less brick'n'mortars out there, but that's true in every hobby arena.

-Manufacturers going under. It happens and if the old product was good enough, someone will come along to pick up the line. Otherwise a new product will come to fill the void.

15mm SciFi- Yeah, it's on the increase, but I don't think 28mm has suffered for it.

Plastic- Plastic is the future for massed armies. Metal fans will be sad, folks who want each soldier to be a bit different, or who love converting will tend to be fine with the change. Metal isn't going anywhere for a long time though, so don't fret yet.

It is a golden age

1) Plastics are becoming mainstream (good thing – though you don't have to buy them !)

2) High Street wargame mags are going strong, more pages, full colour and looking good

3) more choice than ever before for gamers for figures, terrain, books etc

4) TMP – great service, we can all sit in front of the screen and get our daily fix.

5) Boardgame community is getting some really great products, graphically beautiful and increasingly pitched at the lower complexity level – so more accessible and more likely to get played and enjoyed.

6) a vibrant show scene (in the UK anyway)

7) GW has managed to stay on the high street, despite pressure on local game stores. (not looking for an arguement here – I only buy accessories but a high street presence is good – as an alternative to no presence !!!! – plus all my friends and colleagues have some understanding of what a wargame is because of GW)

8) If you include people who play computer wargames – but don't even think of themselves as wargamers – then the wargame community is truly massive, bigger that it has ever been.

9) Wargame tables are looking better than ever

10) There are tons of people blogging and making an effort to share their hobby with the rest of us.

The glass is certainly half full.

Interests in gaming in eras and scales runs in cycles. I saw a rise in 15mm SciFi in the 1980s but then it waned. Examples for other scales and eras can be sited as well.

Just a cycle get used to it. I have seen so many over the past 30+ years.

I suggest you check out these Wikipedia pages to see what new things are around for micro armor/mini armor wargaming:

link
link

New Age in the miniature world, that would be magnetic figures to help with your health, and ofcourse paints that smell good for aroma therapy.