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

[Rabulias]

That is why we are still not sure on when exactly the new PHB is coming out.

We do have a release date for the new PHB (September 17, 2024), and I feel confident that Wizards will meet that, barring massive unseen circumstances.

 

[LordEntrails]

Ever worked for a big company? Ever partnered with a big IP? All of the above are very possible, and probably. But there is also red tape. Lawyers, licensing, art reviews, approvals, meetings, availability of key people...

But all together, I think the big thing is that a lot of that doesn't get started until the artwork is approved. Which is late in the game relative to when the books are released. Then as said, you have to model it. And get approvals. Then test print is and get approvals. Then have the molds constructed (because printing quantities are cost prohibitive). Then test mold, validate and get approval. Then manufacture a bunch of them. Then you can start to market them and start to distribute and sell them.

 

[Jahydin]

Like others have said, I think it's just a matter of getting different teams with different time frames.

I remember Paizo being less than thrilled about their Adventure Path material being released just after the last book was being published (6 of 6). They've since fixed that, but goes to show how hard lining things up in your own company can be, let alone working with another one.

 

[Clint_L]

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?

Wizkids licenses the rights from WotC, but that means that before they can even start designing their miniatures, they need to see the official art for the adventure. Normally, the art comes in fairly far into the process (in fact, WotC just told us the upcoming PHB is their first project where the art hasn't been a later addition). At that point, Wizkids has to select the creatures/art that they want to use, design the miniatures, get molds made, miniatures produced, and miniatures painted, all in China, have packaging designed and made, get the miniatures packed, shipped back to America, and get the miniatures distributed.

There's a lot of time consuming steps. And that's barring a shipping issue, etc.

 

[pukunui]

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?

Yeah, that is a bit annoying. What’s also annoying is how WizKids has only recently been putting out non-randomized box sets for specific adventures (like CoS and ToA) that would have been nice to have when those adventures were new.

The most annoying thing, though, was in the early days when they would randomly put minis from one adventure into a different adventure’s mini set. Like how the elemental myrmidons were in the Rage of Demons set rather than the Elemental Evil set.

They also got some of their sizing wrong in the early sets (some elementals were Medium, while others were Large; the giants were all on Large bases instead of Huge ones; the dragons were all too small for their supposed size categories; etc.). I’m glad they’ve sorted that out.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

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

There it is. Just insult people. What is this "gimme what I want sooner than you can deliver it, or I'll drag you and call you incompetent" subculture? That tells a lot more about the person than the company. You're better than that.

Maybe it's working as intended? Maybe the book planning and design timeline is different than minis design timeline, and one has to happen before the other. Designers needs a bit of time to finalize what is going to be in the book, including the art that will inspire the minis, before that gets passed along to 3rd parties for tie-ins and marketing. WizKids still has to 3D model and design the minis and then forge them.

If they are able to finalize the book stuff 6 months earlier, the books will be printed, sitting, not being sold, waiting for the minis to catch up, so they can be released at the same time. Letting product sit for months is terrible business. Storage space costs money.

* I'm just using the 6-month timeline because someone else used it. I don't know if it is, or even what is, the real normal time difference between books/minis releases these days.

 

[mamba]

That is why we are still not sure on when exactly the new PHB is coming out.

I thought we had release dates for all new core books…

I would expect that both sides would want the minis to be available at the same time as the books, maybe the problem is that it is only clear rather late in the process which minis will actually be needed (due to possible last minute changes to the cast or looks rather than not having any idea) and it takes more time to then create models and minis than is available to release them at the same time

 

[Clint_L]

Six months from concept to store shelves would be VERY fast in the miniatures world - hard to imagine anyone getting that done. It's usually at least a year. I'm assuming that WotC gets the art to Wizkids as soon as possible, but I don't think folks have a good understanding of the many steps that are involved in having miniatures designed, made, packaged (in a foreign country), delivered, and distributed. It's not like a Hollywood action film where the art is ready years in advance, allowing plenty of lead time for product tie-ins.

 

[Clint_L]

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

Based on your extensive knowledge of the process?

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I thought we had release dates for all new core books…

I would expect that both sides would want the minis to be available at the same time as the books, maybe the problem is that it is only clear rather late in the process which minis will actually be needed (due to possible last minute changes to the cast or looks rather than not having any idea) and it takes more time to then create models and minis than is available to release them at the same time

Apparently we do I was wrong