Idea for a minatures game

[Xuincherguixe]

I get a lot of ideas. This is probably going to be another one that goes nowhere.

But you know I love the idea of Warhammer 40,000. Get a bunch of little mean looking things and paint them, making them meaner. So much about the game is just plain cool. But it just costs way too much.

So I got to thinking, how about a miniatures game where you bought molds instead. Thus the doors are opened up for insanity. That way it's perfectly reasonable to have an army of thousands of mean looking things.


There could be a book with the main rules. Maybe a boxed set that comes with a few molds and dice.


People feeling particularly badass could attempt to make models with moving parts. Or all manner of insanity. I'm thinking set up forums and see what kind of stuff people come up with. Maybe someone makes some remote control units for their game ^_^.

[Korias]

Theres a problem that lies within your technique. The way Citadel Miniatures produces the models is by heating up the plastic to a point where it is liquid. No viable commerical product can do that. Clay molds and miniatures are too heavy and break easily. Pre-Made miniatures are the only way to proceed with this type of gaming.

[Jacob_Gallagher]

Are you kidding me?

I cast my own models. I use resin. Just mix Part A and Part B and pour it in the mold- in minutes (literally) you have a new model.

This isn't something requiring a whole new game system. You could do it with any number of systems already out there. The issue is cost. The materials involved are expensive unless bought in bulk- for each mold you need the RTV rubber itself for the mold, rubber-to-rubber mold release, mold release for the sculpt and any castings, and resin for actually casting. The molds often form bubbles and miscasts in the models, which are a pain to remove/throw out the ruined model. And the molds degrade- after 20 or so castings, you're done, and the last ten were of noticeably inferior quality.

Check out Prince August Molds. They sell molds for Napoleonics, among other things.

Really, it's much cheaper to buy 1/72 scale. It's a little bit smaller than 40k, but much, MUCH cheaper- you can reliably find a box of forty or so infantry for around $8. Be aware, however, that almost all 1/72 are historicals.

Casting is a messy, expensive, difficult, downright dangerous process. If cheap is what you're after, just go with 1/72.

Or, if you want 40k scale, go with Rackham's Confrontation system or Privateer Press's Warmachine. Both use far fewer figures than 40k, and are quite reasonably priced.

[Xuincherguixe]

Fair enough. Well there goes that idea :P


I also know that one wouldn't need a totally new system, but it could potentially cause problems sometimes if the whole business model was based on selling miniatures. (Could be compared to software piracy)

[Jacob_Gallagher]

There's loads of free systems on the internet.