"Metal over Resin - Making a Comeback?" Topic

Now that commodities prices have plummeted, are any resin manufacturers reconsidering going back to metals?

Tin has fallen in price by more than 50% from the 2011 peak, and lead has fallen by about 40% during the same period.

Well the metal I buy doesn't seem to have got any cheaper yet…

Chips.

What? you say?

Ancient culinary British History: in 1976 there was a drought in the UK and the costs of potatoes increased a lot, meaning that the price of a bag of chips ('french fries' for those in other locations…) doubled almost overnight.

By the following summer, it couldn't stop raining and the price of spuds came back down to previous levels. Did the cost of a bag of chips return to their pre-summer '76 cost?

Of course not.

It had been found that folks were prepared to pay the higher price so that's where they stayed.

Is it "right"? Well, we still have chip shops and people (judging by waistlines – including mine) still eat a lot of them. Perhaps they were too cheap in the first place?

Perhaps metal figures were too cheap in the first place and – possibly – the retail not coming back down when metal prices fall – is the price we pay for such a vibrant, healthy gaming industry?

With a couple of obvious – and un-named – exceptions, I don't think the cost of metal miniatures is too high at the moment: I think they are generally good value for money.

John T

The cost of metal is a very small part of the overall retail price of a figure (about 5% in my case). The major costs are labour….

Mike

my metal costs have not gone down in the last 2 years!

Prices come down all the time.Its called having a "sale".;)

My Fatwa on resin miniatures regulates then to the category of Despised but they are still shy the category of Not Permitted. Metal miniatures are commendable. In all cases painting is Obligatory.

Your logic only applies in the US, where a 'pile them high, sell 'em cheap' mentality, based on market forces, prevails. In the UK and Australia, prices are set as high as people will pay…In my industry, planning next year's prices, the starting position is to look at what our competitors with a similar quality product charge today, then add 3-5%…Actual production costs don't even feature in the planning process…

Probably won't get a price reduction, or discount from the metals sellers, unless you ask, and make them aware you know commodities costs have fallen by roughly 50%.

Cost of other inputs to cost to manufacture haven't though. When you look at your minis what is the most expensive part of getting it to your hands?

I wish it would. I hate Resin and plastic.

Yea, I won't buy the Black Scorpion resin stuff, though I'd love some of their pirate minis.

It'd melt in the car, since it gets to 110 – 120 degrees here, which means internal temps can exceed 200 degrees.

@McWong

…Shipping!

When I started in The Hobby, 25mm figures were $.25 USD each. Beat that, resin!

I have always preferred to stock metal items rather than resin which are special order only. Not much demand. So metal has never been out of style.

We have held the line on metal, and never really considered going resin. My labor is much higher when producing resin vehicle hulls, but some large items distort too much in the cooling process to be cast in pewter. Our all-metal tanks are either small or made in two hollow parts. When lead-free pewter went from $8 USD to $15 USD, we had had to bump prices a bit. It has fallen back to about $12 USD, so not much relief.