D&D General Why does WotC/Wizkids wait 6 months for tie in minis?

[DarkCrisis]

For example, the Planescape tie in minis are just now coming out and the adventure came out like 6 months ago. Talk about striking while the iron is cold.

Wouldn’t it be better to have the minis ready at about the same time so if you need a modron or some other special monster mini you could IDK go buy the official minis?

If someone bought the adventure and ran it using other models I would think they would be less inclined to go buy the official once they are out “I’m already done with that book.”

I assume they must have a reason. Any idea what it is?

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I honestly do not have a clue but I do wonder if Wizards does not micromanage books from beginning to end anymore. I think they have a pipeline and a set of publication windows and when some possible book on the pipeline hits critical mass it gets the go ahead to process to full publication within that window. That is why we are still not sure on when exactly the new PHB is coming out. This is probably good for their resource management and they do seem to use a lot of free lancers but makes it impossible to coordinate with third parties who need greater lead times that WoTC can commit to. So, it is easier to do it afterwards.
On the other hand perhaps, the whole thing could be on Whizkids side. May be experience tells them that if a book hits a certain sales target, it is a good bet for a mini line.

 

[bedir than]

Two valid marketing reasons

• to prevent leaks from a partner
• to amplify interest in a product that is already out

There are other, better ways, to do this. But I expect it's those two

 

[tomBitonti]

I'm imagining that the production cycle takes a lot longer for miniatures than it does for books.

Maybe, miniatures are approved (and their cycle starts) only after the corresponding book has reached late into the book's cycle.

Or, as hinted previously, miniatures aren't approved until a book proves that there is enough interest to justify the miniatures.

It does seem odd, in that miniatures are closer to toys than RPG books, and Hasbro should be very good at having toys produced.

TomB

 

[Stormonu]

Back when WotC itself was doing the minis in-house I suspect they were being done simultaneously and the approval process had less red tape. However, with them being separate entities they probably have to wait until they at least have the art finalized (which is likely late in production - by that time most of the book I suspect has been laid out so WotC knows what's in and what's not) before they turned over to Wizkids, who then have to digitally transform the art into a 3D mini, run their tests and then start production after they get the initial prototypes corrected and approved by WotC. Most likely by the time WotC gives the thumbs up on the mini, the book is ready to hit the shelves.

I do wish the whole process was faster, and I think pre-pandemic I seem to recall it being so. I may be misremembering but I seem to recall when Tomb came out both the board game and the mini set came out at the same time.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

For once, I'm inclined to think that it's just plain incompetence among the project managers.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

For once, I'm inclined to think that it's just plain incompetence among the project managers.

If the time frames are reasonably consistent (across products) then it is likely policy

 

[MonsterEnvy]

According to Wizkids, it’s just because production for miniatures is not a fast process.

The Bigby’s Glory of the Giants one released fairly close to the book release, but that was because the book itself was delayed.

The Wizkids minis are based on art, so they have to wait for WotC to send them a books art to begin modeling for example.

 

[el-remmen]

while my own personal experience does not invalidate the reasonable question of why minis themed for a book or adventure are not timed to release close to one another, I will say that I don’t think I have actually used an adventure book within 6 months of getting it.

 

[Staffan]

Making minis takes a lot of time. As an example, Reaper's Bones VI Kickstarter funded in May 2022. They are now getting the actual minis delivered. Sure, a Bones kickstarter is a bit bigger than a wave of Wizkids minis, but it still gives some idea of the time scales involved.