Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Countdown to Crossover Part 3: The Twist

Welcome, reader to out penultimate issue of Countdown to Crossover where our Hero is sent careening across alternate realities and meets eight different versions of himself!

So we've met the Guardian already, stalwart hero of the city and defender of the public good.
The question is though,is there more to our hero than meets the eye? Well of course there is or I'd hardly be asking the question now would I?

So last time I mentioned that Rusti and I had had an idea. It started as a way to get the most out of our goons but never being one to let a random thought just drift off into the ether I suggested that it might be worth trying out the idea on a few of the other figures in the range to give the punters a bit more variety. As ever I kind of went on auto pilot and disappeared for a few days only to next get back to Rusti with the news that now all of the heroes and goons (except for out Hulking Brute Ram Jam) had completely interchangeable heads and that I was doing three different one for each of them (Ram Jams gets three heads too but they would look ridiculous on anyone else, he is quite big). There was a bit of silence then, you could almost hear the nervous sweat beading on his forehead as he wondered just what kind of lunatic he was getting involved with...

...but everything was cool in the end. (Now there is a cop out ending if ever you've read one)

Anyway here for your delight and delectation I present to you our Guardian in eight new guises! Now Guardian was a bit of an experiment and I've tried out something else with him and am working on a separate cloak. This part is still WIP and we don't know if it will see final production but it does offer a few more options for the discerning hero about town. So, without further ado the Guardian becomes:

The Bug, wisecracking member of the Crisis battalion!

The N.S.Agent, government super operative

Mandroid, an artificial hero desperate to understand humanity

Knightline, former sidekick now forging his own heroic legacy

The Prowler, seeking redemption for his past life.

T'Chule, enemy of Atlantis.

Alpha Centurion, galactic defender.

and finally Super Stig! Just coz.

Shown then are a selection of other heads from the characters already created for the range. Some work better than other as they are clearly designed to work on a different style of model all together but they do show the versatility of the range with only a few models under way. Sadly that brings us to the end (almost) of this issue. Next time our story comes to a close as we find out what all of this has been leading up to and how you can get involved, see you next time.

LETTER COLUMN:
In Issue one Superherofigurehunter asked:
Any hints as to what Crossover may entail? A commercial venture by any chance? Or a fan=community venture?


Stay tuned to next issue to find out!


And in Issue two Superherofigurehunter asked:
Are these going to be commercially available?


That's the plan!

If so, if you are casting them up, would you guys consider tabbing instead of integral bases?


Now I know there are a lot of people out there who prefer tabbed bases and I am aware of the arguments for and against but here is were I stand on it (for this project at least). Integrated bases allow you to start playing with your miniature straight away it is, to some extent, table ready. If you are using modelled bases an integrated base is not much harder to remove than a tabbed one although granted it does require a little more care and attention and finally if you have a tabbed base then you are pretty much obliged to provide a slotted base to go with it which is yet another expense for a start up company to find, it also means you are beholden to yet another supplier providing you with their stock before you can even send out your product to gamers. There are also a couple of different styles of slotted base, not to mention sizes and shapes, so which one do you use? Will it put some people off? At least when you have an integrated base you can be sure that if people aren't buying your models it's because of the model itself and not because of the bit of plastic you've had to pay someone else for your customers not to like! :)


Thanks to all those who have offered encouragement and please if you have something to say or a question to ask then leave a comment and I will try to answer as many as I can in the next issue when the countdown to Crossover finally ends and our story moves into new an uncharted territory.


8 comments:

pulpcitizen said...

Looking good so far, just a fair warning on a couple of the names: Mandroid is a marvel battlesuit type and Alpha Centurion is a name I recall from somewhere, I am 90% certain.

Soapy said...

The names are really just me messing about so I don't have to say 'Guardian with a squd head' of something like that.

I'm sure I've heard Mandroid and Alpha Centurion before too, I must have got them from somewhere...

pulpcitizen said...

Sorry for a second comment, but this was an important post and so in the vein of healthy debate! You wrote:

"At least when you have an integrated base you can be sure that if people aren't buying your models it's because of the model itself and not because of the bit of plastic you've had to pay someone else for your customers not to like! :)"

Actually not quite true - as a consumer I have been put off buying some minis BECAUSE they have integral bases and since my aesthetics include a preference for slottas I find the hassle too much to bother buying some stuff. I very rarely buy integral based minis these days. Tengu was the only recent exception due to their very thin bases.

So the argument runs both ways. And ultimately in both cases of the argument is not to do with the sculpt, but its presentation as a gaming piece.

As for being ready to use - well once flash on the base is filed off on an integral base, is that any different to placing the mini's tab into a slot? Not really.

I totally see, understand and accept the cost and supply issues, but just thought that the other two arguments don't really stand up to too close scrutiny. :)

pulpcitizen said...

Best of luck BTW! :)

voltan said...

I hope you can get the cloak available, it really adds to the figure.

Integral bases don't bother me, I just stick them on top of the slottas, makes sod all difference when it's finished.

Soapy said...

"Actually not quite true - as a consumer I have been put off buying some minis BECAUSE they have integral bases"

That's what I meant about not buying something because it's the figure you don't like rather than the base (referring, in this instance, to the style of slotted base provided).

I prefer a lower profile look so if I liked a miniature with a tabbed base I'd remove the tab, in fact I have done with the Hasslefree minis that I used in my Justice League. No matter which camp you fall in if your presentation preference differs from the manufactures then you are going to have to work to get what you want of forego having the miniature.

There are figures out there that have a lot of scenic additions as part of the miniature and my preferred ascetic is for a model on a plain base so any model with a bit of rooftop attached to his feet is out for me, removing that is more work than I'm prepared to do to have the figure I want so I forego the pleasure of owning it. Everyone has there preferences and like the man said, you can't please all of the people all of the time.

Thanks for kind regards, I think we'll need all we can get!

Stay lucky,
Soaps.

The Haggis said...

Great post Soapy! I can't wait to find out how it ends! :)

WarRaptor said...

Awesome stuff Soapy