Ogre Miniatures?

[philreed]

Originally Posted by Tim Kauffman

Just a thought...maybe their is a lower quality plastic that could be used which would get us to a economically viable possibility than the ones you posted on the KS updates?
In that case, I would be fine with paying less and getting lower quality plastic as long as it meant the castings looked good.

We have no interest in manufacturing poor-quality items. If the plastic minis cannot look as good as the current metal minis -- and if the plastic cannot be durable -- then we will not proceed with plastics.

At this time there is no news at all. No decisions have been made about converting the minis to plastic.

[dwalend]

Originally Posted by GranitePenguin

I think 3D printer files from w23 would be a pretty interesting item, too. Sure, not everyone has access to it (yet), and it's not a particularly fast medium (yet), but it would be a really cool offering.

The public library I'm sitting in has a MakerBot. 3D Printing Policy. I've been looking for an excuse to play with it.

[GranitePenguin]

Originally Posted by dwalend

The public library I'm sitting in has a MakerBot. 3D Printing Policy. I've been looking for an excuse to play with it.

That doesn't meet the "fast" criteria, though. I've been talking at length with the Middle School's tech teacher that got a MakerBot 2 for their lab last year. The current 3D technology takes a lot of handholding, and something on the scale of a Mark V would take many, many hours to complete. Just printing a single flat object about the size of a dogtag takes hours.

On the plus side, I think a lot of libraries have them, and they aren't actually being used much, so monopolizing one probably isn't a big deal.

[Donovan]

Originally Posted by philreed

We have no interest in manufacturing poor-quality items. If the plastic minis cannot look as good as the current metal minis -- and if the plastic cannot be durable -- then we will not proceed with plastics.

At this time there is no news at all. No decisions have been made about converting the minis to plastic.

Just saw some output from protolabs at one of my clients, it was a printed version of an injected molded part. He sent them the cad model as one piece and it came back with printed threads that worked.

Mind you I don't know if they'd suit your needs, I just remember the quality of the printed parts was close to the quality of the injection molded part.

[Donovan]

Originally Posted by GranitePenguin

That doesn't meet the "fast" criteria, though. I've been talking at length with the Middle School's tech teacher that got a MakerBot 2 for their lab last year. The current 3D technology takes a lot of handholding, and something on the scale of a Mark V would take many, many hours to complete. Just printing a single flat object about the size of a dogtag takes hours.

On the plus side, I think a lot of libraries have them, and they aren't actually being used much, so monopolizing one probably isn't a big deal.

A good 3D(Statysys/Object, 3DSystems/Zcorp) printer could do the detail, but the times they have screwy results would be entertaining at least.

What might work better for manufacturing purposes is to print a mold either for injection molding or for casting the metal.

[Frost Giant]

Originally Posted by KevinR

Do you have any idea what ODE would weigh in metal? Even plastic would be bad...

I remember what mine weighed when I carried it from the store to the car. I was in the hospital the next day getting heart stents! No connection, of course:)

[ColBosch]

Originally Posted by Frost Giant

I remember what mine weighed when I carried it from the store to the car. I was in the hospital the next day getting heart stents! No connection, of course:)

And you're a frost giant! People, please, think of the giants!

(And glad you're okay.)

[ldj00]

Hello,

I prefer the boardgame to mini's, but had thought about minis for the Ogres.

I thought new minis would be worked on, so held off on any purchasing of older models.

I really liked what Winchell Chung did with the 3D files he showed off and the size comparison graphic he created from them. I thought they would make a great start for making 3D printed prototypes to clean up and turn into masters for molds to be made for plastic/resin minis.

It hasn't come to past. :(

Businesses that focus on the only item / line / type that is most profitable are the hardest hit when the market adjusts and shifts.

I enjoy Munchkin, but not more than I enjoy OGRE, GURPS, Car Wars, and non-SJGames games...

I would understand SJGames making sure to keep Munchkin fed, as it is the locomotive keeping all the cars moving, but when it wears out what will be the new engine?

Secret dream: Someone makes a giant Ogre game for GenCon, with RC hovercraft done up as GEV, RC tanks, and a giant RC tank done up as a OGRE... Talk about your attention getting game!

[gev]

Originally Posted by ldj00

I would understand SJGames making sure to keep Munchkin fed, as it is the locomotive keeping all the cars moving, but when it wears out what will be the new engine?

Clearly you are unfamiliar with the SJGames line of products. While Munchkin is by far the sales leader, they have several other products available. GURPS and OGRE come to mind, plus a new game Castellan...
Oh, and zombie dice, and... well, you get the idea.

Juuuust sayin'.

[philreed]

Steve's recent report (covering 2013) discusses the business side of our operations:

http://www.sjgames.com/general/stakeholders/