"An appeal to dudes who make miniatures" Topic

Put a few poses in that are waving, pointing or similar.
They make good squad leader figures.

Please! I've gotten big piles of cold war figures from a couple of companies and they have a frustrating lack of such figures. (despite being fantastic miniatures otherwise)

Peter Pig has the good graces to put a leader type in each infantry pack so kudos to them.

Anyone got anything to add?

If you are very careful you can often bend an arm…

I've had bad experiences bending white metal but most of these are clutching rifles with both hands so not a lot of places to even start.
Appreciate the suggestion though

More un-natural, akward poses like the classics of old!
link

The guy in the middle top row. Try actually standing like that :-)

My appeal would be for them or whomever is selling them to take a picture of it. A decent one too that isn't blurry and dark. I'm so sick and tired of trying to buy product from a website that has no pictures of what they are selling. I mean really, are people that inept when it comes to running a business? As someone that is new to the hobby and trying to figure out what I want to build and buy, I can't think of anything worse to discourage people from giving you money.

I think I've got you both covered!

Crossoverminiatures.com

Fergal nice shop, good pictures.

Guess you're referring to 15mm minis?

It was in the context of 15mm but the problem probably exists in other scales as well.

daler240D wrote:

My appeal would be for them or whomever is selling them to take a picture of it. A decent one too that isn't blurry and dark. I'm so sick and tired of trying to buy product from a website that has no pictures of what they are selling. I mean really, are people that inept when it comes to running a business? As someone that is new to the hobby and trying to figure out what I want to build and buy, I can't think of anything worse to discourage people from giving you money.

Quite a bit of truth to this. If a supplier wants me to browse, make it enjoyable to do so. Good-sized, clear pictures help. Think about priming and/or washing the figures as well. Can't stand those overly shiny pictures that reveal no detail.

Think about having the price on the main page for the range, along with a thumbnail, and a nice big picture on the item page, maybe multiple angles, and hopefully slightly more information.

Also, meaningful pack names could really help.

If an item is out of stock, show that fact on the range page, not just the item page. Please.

Lastly, if you've discontinued an item, a special pack or a special discount, or it will never be restocked, take it down! Please. You'll save us both a lot of time.

One man's opinion. Everyone from the biggest guys in the game to the smallest mom-and-pops drives away business with these kind of oversights on premium shopping experience.

While the points made here are not invalid, perhaps we're getting a little too spoiled by the internet. Sometimes it does take time and other resources – that might be in short supply – for a company to provide what you ask for. Should they do this? Yes. Can they always do this? No, at least not right away. If we get too demanding on these matters we risk having fewer players in the product game. How about a more gentle request rather than a strident demand. Remember, the people providing for us are taking a risk with their money that we might – or might not – buy their products. And for daler240, have a little patience. Perhaps in your newness to this hobby you don't realize how many of those business out there are one man bands run in spare time while the proprietor holds down a full time real world job. Even some of the ones that are the Big names in the hobby.

While I generally applaud calls for tolerance, in this case I think folks here are correct in their expectations.

If you are going to sell something, do it right if you expect people to buy it. Taking pictures and prepping models is a pain in the but. I've got a couple of jobs, three kids and still want to find time to paint. BUT I don't release a model till I've done all the necessary work.

There are companies that could be earning 300-500 a year from me as I build forces that didn't get my money through lack of pictures. I used a competitor, once in a different scale because they had pictures of what I wanted to buy.

Technological advances now make it easier to create and maintain a new shiny 'cart' website than maintain the old school list and table websites.

As a hobby we can do better!

No pictures is generally a no-sale. In a hobby that is as visually oriented as wargaming, buying something without being able to see it is a problem.

I like shots that show the size of the figure but I can take that as a bonus. I've had 15mm figures be anywhere from 12 to 18

I think a lot of the companies with 'no photo' websites tend to be long-standing companies with large ranges that cover a wide range of periods and scales. They've probably had a loyal customer base since the '80s who know what they want and what they're getting. Newer companies with smaller and tighter ranges tend to be better on the photography front.

In many Old Glory 28mm packs, half the guys seem to be waving or turning their heads at a funny angle or both.
A few poses like that is OK, but lots of them is not.

Hazkal, I think you are right. It seems to be what I have seen. It's unfortunate because just relying on that loyal customer base since the 80s means they are not going to get new customers, BUT maybe they are old too and are just not that interested in growing that base with newbs.

To the issues of choices in figures posturing etc. I think it is an embarrassment of riches when you look at all the choices one has. I am always smiling the minute I see some new rules or figures posted and like clockwork within 2 posts someone will ask if such and such specific period rules can be modified to work in their specific favorite period(invariably +/-80 years difference) or if such and such figures can be supplemented with something else. My favorite though is when someone asks for some pretty specific advice about a specific scale or ruleset and people chime in and tell them why they should use a different scale or ruleset, regardless to the pertinence of the question. Sometimes it seems TMP should stand for The Malcontents Page. (and I say that with love.)

:)