warmaster blisters no longer available?

[empireaddict]

Thanks.  Very helpful.  Their range certainly gives some options for WMF armies. 

[toadie]

Never going to happen (part 1), but if only an independent could purchase the discontinued WM master moulds and start recasting.  Same goes for the OOP forgeworld WM scenery items.  Pity no mould recasting possibility like at BA's Wargames Foundry (e.g. the 80s Citadel Perrys' Viking sculpts).  Sad that the bottom line and IP would prevent this.  Just what are GW going to do with the moulds anyway?!

Never going to happen (part 2),  GW/FW could do a kickstarter campaign to recast the OOP models.  I said this to a GW troll once who said they would pass my message on the GW Design Studio.  Never heard anything back of course.  Don't care about stretch goals really, just want to get my hands on a whole army including the now increasing OOP models at a reasonable price!

Never going to happen (part 3), combine parts 1 and 2...

[jchaos79]

The problem of all of this, as I see it, is not the will to stop specialist. It is a physical problem. They are selling alll the gear to cast metal (to obtain space, or whatever), so if they do not have machines to cast, even if they have the moulds...  there is no possiblity of figures. So kickstarter will not work. But.... I wish your troll in GW do a good work and found an alternative way to make it true.

I have to say that the will to stop specialist started 5 years ago when they removed the support to the games, and the men behind specialist eventually escape from the firma.

We have all the material (that is a lot), rules, figures bought and a great bunch of alternatives, so it depends on us to make the games survive or not.

The major problem, as empireaddicted said, is bringing new players.

This is how I see the horizont.

[wellspring]

We have most of the pieces in place already: the minis are widely available, third parties produce a dizzying variety of fantasy and historicals in this scale, and the rules are freely available as PDFs.

To me, the big challenge now is that the IP of the game and its rules are tied to a company that no longer supports the game but is unlikely to release the rules to the public. That is, the licensing and ownership of the IP remains an issue to future development: fan lists, errata, hard copies useable at the game table, etc. If that can be cleared up, then we could wish GW well in its future endeavors, and they can go their way and we can go ours.

I don't see that as likely.

[David Wasilewski]

As long as we keep a low profile, don't directly challenge and GW IP and as long as no one tries to make a new game or start mass selling of figures outside our little band I think we're o.k. After all, if GW no longer sell any metal figures and none at 10mm scale it's not hurting them any if sculptors make new units for us warmaster fans!

3D printers could help the game to roar back, as long as people are printing for their own personal use and not trying to make money out of it.

Dave

[CyberShadow]

As long as we keep a low profile, don't directly challenge and GW IP and as long as no one tries to make a new game or start mass selling of figures outside our little band I think we're o.k. After all, if GW no longer sell any metal figures and none at 10mm scale it's not hurting them any if sculptors make new units for us warmaster fans!

To qualify this statement.... Anyone can make 10mm fantasy figures. Only GW can make 10mm fantasy figures based on their IP. Luckily, fantasy is such a pervasive concept that elves and orcs and dwarves are generic enough, and elves on horses are no different.

Its not about hurting GW or not, and it is not affected by how, or even if, GW utilise the IP that they own. I would certainly support more 10mm fantasy miniatures on the market, as long as they are not specifically based on GW IP.

[dry_erase]

Only GW can make 10mm fantasy figures based on their IP. Luckily, fantasy is such a pervasive concept that elves and orcs and dwarves are generic enough, and elves on horses are no different.

This is the key point for me. At 10mm there's less risk of infringing on the IP inherent in GW designs, particularly with forces like the Empire, Bretonnians, Chaos etc.  It shouldn't be difficult to produce something less derivative than Gamezone's 28mm range, for example. (http://gamezoneminiatures.de/)

If Specialist Games aren't sufficiently profitable for GW that's understandable, but there's nothing to stop smaller operators from producing a full range of 10mm fantasy miniatures suitable for use with Warmaster. evil_and_chaos is demonstrating that already - now we have scope to create ranges for other forces. Anyone up for making a nice Norse-specific Chaos range?

[wellspring]

I don't think the minis will be an issue-- 10mm existed before Warmaster, and it will exist after. The problem is the rules. Those are copyrighted by GW, and you can't create a generic version that retains the mechanics but strips out the IP, because the mechanics are part of the IP. That's the core game, and so as a group of friends carrying the torch for a defunct game system, it's not a big deal, but it puts paid on any notion of growing the community significantly.

[toadie]

As long as others can still freely distribute the rules as pdf, without getting any cease and desist threats, all will be fine no?

I think the problem will be the IP regarding the 10mm WM models specific to the Warhammer world.  WM Ancients and Medieval will be fine, but WM Fantasy will deteriorate by either having a profusion of proxies (e.g. lizardmen fat toads, skaven doomwheels, etc), or the full myriad of fantasy lists will just not be played as players cannot collect complete armies.

Not everyone is willing, able, or capable of customising models to match army list contents.  What would be good is for each fantasy army list, identifying which manufacturers/models people like using in their stead (something that could be done in this site's catalogue index perhaps?)

Why another manufacturer could produce GW specialist models under license I do not know.  Would make additional revenue to GW without any additional expense (except maybe for the lawyers!)

[jchaos79]

Not everyone is willing, able, or capable of customising models to match army list contents.  What would be good is for each fantasy army list, identifying which manufacturers/models people like using in their stead (something that could be done in this site's catalogue index perhaps?)

Of course, catalogue is for seeing the figure but also whatever related with the particular reference in terms of warmaster and also to see conversion and how different people have painted the same unit.