"Mantic - just another GW now??" Topic

Was perusing the Mantic site, looking for a few things.

The most astonishing thing was the price of the plastics.

Is it me, or has Mantic just become another GW??

The box sets are only OK – around $2 USD a figure, which seems high for mass-produced plastic. But the regiments are way more expensive than previously.

Seems like Mantic is following closely on the coat-tails of those whom they once rivaled.

I'm open to correction, of course.

If you know better, fill me in…

Was perusing the Mantic site, looking for a few things.

The most astonishing thing was the price of the plastics.

Is it me, or has Mantic just become another GW??

The box sets are only OK – around $2 USD a figure, which seems high for mass-produced plastic. But the regiments are way more expensive than previously.

Seems like Mantic is following closely on the coat-tails of those whom they once rivaled.

I'm open to correction, of course.

If you know better, fill me in…

Mantic have always been another GW the guys literally left working for GW and set up a company that was just like GW. The same could be said for Warlord games they all got their training in business 101 from the same place the most successful wargames company in history.

Mantic is basically a GW copy of the early 2000's. They both had rank and flank games with Mantic being the cheap knockoff for proxies. Mantic went on to make their copies of a Naval Game, Dungeon Crawler, Sci Fi game (army and skirmish size) plus a sports game.

The big problem with GW is the second tier companies price "just a little less" but the rising tide lifts all prices.

Not a company I'd done business with, but when I looked at their site, I noticed franchised copyrighted lines. Those cost more.

If you want production cost to drive figure cost, buy historical miniatures or generic fantasy and SF. If you have to have Star Wars, Star Trek, Judge Dredd, Hellboy or any of GW's invented universes, you're going to pay a monopoly premium. It's why we issue copyrights and patents--and why they have time limits, or used to.

Mr. Elmo, I suspect you've got it backward, especially for GW. Their products are so close to generic SF/fantasy that they must live in terror that people will pick up their rules and never bother with their figures--hence the "GW figures only" tournaments. Their concern is how much higher than the price of a generic goblin or space marine they can go without triggering mass defections. I bet rather than the generic manufacturers looking at GW's price sheet, someone at GW keeps a close eye on the price of generic figures.

someone at GW keeps a close eye on the price of generic figures.

I don't believe that for a minute. I think GW views their models as a luxe product that is diminished by cheap copycats (fake Rolex and all that).

Sadly, Mantic stuff is poorly sculpted and made of a plastic that makes it harder to clean and modify. Plus weird scaling issues means you can hardly use parts for kitbashing.

The vehicles are nice.

I've been playing Mantic games for a couple of years, and, actually, I think they are generally pretty good, and either they are not following the GW model or they are really bad at it.

Their naval game, Armada, is a fantasy game based on Warlord Games "Black Seas," and it's a lot of fun and pretty popular. The ships are resin, which is admittedly not ideal, but they are well done fun sculpts. Kings of War is their R&F fantasy game, and it's nice because you can play with any of your old 25/28mm minis, no problem. It's a good way to get my 50 year old Duke Seifried LOTR figures on to the table, if nothing else. And their own minis are getting better but remain reasonably priced: the new "Empire of Dust" Egyptian undead are vastly better than their earlier, justly reviled, plastic and metal guys.

For me, the only purpose Mantic serves in a reminder of how good GW miniatures actually are, prices notwithstanding. In their Annual Report GW describe themselves as a "miniatures company", I don't think they care about their rules. @robert, I think people will buy their miniatures but not their rules. Like me, I have zero interest in playing 40K or Sigmar, but I have a few small armies. GW have survived recessions and cost of living crises. The fanboys will pay any price.

The fanboys will pay any price.

Here is how I know miniatures are too cheap: most players have a pile of shame.

If everyone can buy more than they need, the price has room to grow.

From the pictures I prefer the old Empire of dust. The New ones look like astronauts or something, unless that's the fluff??

I think any rise on Mantics, WL prices is just suggestive of a GW Price rise.

GW figures are overly complex and fiddly for wargames. A miniatures company, yes. But not a games company. Even their production techniques can not keep up to their higher levels of unneeded detail, with flat hair and fur and ultra thin bits that break to the touch due to plastic knit lines being formed in the mould.

I dread to see what the old World will.look like. A bunch of over designed plastic on ludicrously large bases, perhaps.

It's good mantic are refining their atimis though, in preparation. I just wish they would sort out the stupid unit basing nonsense, it the only thing keeping me away.

I think Mantic is trying to be GW from 20 – 30 years ago. Still corporate but still aware of the fun side of things. Some of their minis are good and many are not but they still have some enthusiasm and joy in their work and GW does not.