Summer 2012 Vol. 46, Issue 3 The Bulletin 45

Words Hirefor

by William C. Dietz

© 2012 William C Dietz

MiniaturesThe Brave Tin Soldier by Hans Christian Andersen begins like this: “There were once five-and-twenty tin soldiers, who were all brothers, for they had been made out of the same old tin spoon. They shouldered arms and looked straight before them, and wore a splendid uniform, red and blue. The first thing in the world they ever heard were the words, “Tin soldiers!” uttered by a little boy, who clapped his hands with delight when the lid of the box, in which they lay, was taken off. They were given him for a birthday present, and he stood at the table to set them up.”

Spoiler alert: This story doesn’t end happily. But the point is that toy soldiers, “miniatures” in today’s jargon, have been around for ages. Since the time of the Pharaohs, according to the website maintained by the Toy Soldiers Company. Although rather than the Napoleonic style soldiers of yore, today’s miniatures are more likely to take the form of wizards, warriors, and spaceships. Think about it… Characters from your universe cast in pewter—and ready to weave spells, do battle, and make some money! Well, some money. But like so many ancillary markets, this one is complicated. That means we need an expert guide.

John Bear Ross is a father, hus-band, former Marine, millwright, writer, and digital sculptor, all in no particular order. He writes and cre-ates from the small town of Pahrump,

46 The Bulletin

Nevada, about an hour’s drive from Las Vegas. A beautiful Cajun woman named Rachel was foolish enough to marry him, and they are the parents of two wonderful children, John Bear II and Olivia. Swing by johnbearross.com for his main writing and sculpting website, or go to johnbearross.blogspot.com to view his various creative works-in-progress.

WCD: What is a miniature?

JBR: ‘Miniature’ in the parlance of tabletop war-gaming is an umbrella term for figurines and scale models. A miniature can be a tank, a starship, a robot walker, an infantryman, a sorcerer, a zombie, or a swarm of bats . . . whatever a sculp-tor or mold-maker can imagine and produce in the third dimension.

Miniatures are usually purchased unpainted, then assem-bled and painted by the end user. Most accompany statistics in a role-playing or tabletop strategy game, and are usually tailored for historical, fantasy, science fiction, or numerous other genres. Fancy toy soldiers and model kits, essentially, are geared toward a specific intellectual property or histori-cal period.

Now, are miniatures toys? Most aren’t intended for use by little ones, and contain any number of choking hazards, mature themes, and sharp, pointy bits.

WCD: What are science fiction and fantasy miniatures made out of?

JBR: Most of what you’ll find today is made with a tin-based pewter, usually produced on spincasting machines. Two-part resins are used in larger models, some gravity-cast, some pressure-cast. Some of the larger miniatures companies have invested substantial money in injection-mold tooling, and use polystyrene plastics identical to regular model kits.

WCD: What attracted you to miniatures?

JBR: Like lots of kids growing up, I used to put model kits together, mostly airplanes. We lived in Japan for a few years (my dad was Navy), where I found Zoids, robotic animal toys that you as-sembled like model kits. I also discovered giant robots, and fell in love. We came back stateside, I found tabletop ’mech games like Robotech and Battletech appealing, and started buying and painting the accompanying miniature lines those product brands offered. From there, it was a lifelong addiction.

Tabletop war-games that use miniatures are like an amalgamation of the plastic army men you played with as a kid with the strategic and tactical machinations of a grid-less chess game. There’s a lot of room to express your creative talents though modeling, be captivated by the historical or fictional background that the miniatures represent, as well as whoop up on your buddy by crushing his army. What’s

not to love?There are innumerable sizes, or scales, all appealing to

different niches in the market. War-gaming scales run in three main categories: “fractional” scales, train scales, and “height-to-the-eyes” in millimeters scales.

Fractional scales usually run in parallel to your traditional model kits: 1/48th scale, 1/72nd scale, 1/100th scale, 1/144th scale, etc. A 1/100th scale figure or model is proportionally one-hundredth of the size of the actual thing it is supposed to represent. Thus, a seven-foot-tall assault cyborg that is 84 inches tall would be .84 inches tall in 1/100th scale. A shade under 7/8th inches on the tabletop.

Train scales are pretty self-explanatory. These scales complement or utilize pieces in existing, commercial train scales, like HO scale, N scale, or others found in hobby and train shops all across the country. Their naming and fractional conventions come mainly from the U.K., though many nations have their own variations on the scales.

“Height to the Eyes” millimeter scales are where most folks run into confusion, and which I personally avoid if I can. The height in mm is from the bottom of the sole of a figure’s feet to its eyes, not to the top of the head. Why? Dif-ferent figures wear different headgear, so there are too many variances to quantify. Unfortunately, this “scale” is more of a cloudy size reference, and figures from different companies that claim to be in the same scale can be painfully out of sorts with each other when compared side by side. The most com-mon scale these days is “28mm,” which results in a standard human (with bare head) measuring about 28mm to the eyes, and 30 to 32 mm to the top of his head.

Complicated, I know, which is why I prefer fractional scales. Easier math.

WCD: How large in dollar terms is the part of the miniatures industry that has to do with science fiction and fantasy?

Unrelated Trivia: Duddley DoRight’s horse’s name was “Horse.”

Summer 2012 Vol. 46, Issue 3 The Bulletin 47

esque fantasy) and Warhammer 40,000 (Tolkein-esque fantasy in the far-flung future). They have branched into numerous other entertainment outlets, and even managed to land the license for miniatures based on Peter Jackson’s Lord of The Rings.

Wizkids Games is another large name in the industry, and has licensed such properties as Battletech, Marvel Comics, D.C. Comics, and Halo. Wizkids offers pre-painted miniatures, for the most part, so most hobbyists avoid them, but they’re a great gateway introduction to the world of miniatures.

Behind those two major players, here in the U.S., I would say Reaper Miniatures and Privateer Press hold the remaining market share of fantasy and science fiction.

GHQ seems to be the big player when it comes to his-torical armor games, followed closely by Flames of War, a New Zealand-based game company that made their mark in 1/100th scale World War II figures and vehicles.

WCD: Where are miniatures sold?

JBR: Through every means possible, short of door-to-door salesmen. Brick and mortar stores were once the main outlet, but the Internet has made hard-to-find and niche manufactur-ers more accessible, especially to a worldwide market. Most small companies have their own websites and sell direct, since the margins aren’t there to support distributor and retailer discounts. I even know of folks who offer already-painted armies through eBay, to appeal to folks who have money, but not time, to field ready-to-go armies.

WCD: What are the top five miniature brands?

Digital entertainment is more accessible, more instant, and most folks are too busy to collect, assemble,

and paint armies of figures.

JBR: Actual dollars and cents, I couldn’t begin to tell you. Most folks do it out of love for the hobby, and don’t make a lot of money. Most money that is made goes right back into the business to pay for new master models or molding and casting supplies. The industry, overall, is large enough to support a half-dozen larger companies, hundreds of garage/cottage-industry companies, and garner a few trade shows and fan conventions per year.

WCD: Is the industry growing or shrinking?

JBR: Shrinking, in the US, anyway. Video games, in my opin-ion, have whittled away the market’s once-prime purchasing demographic (teen boys and young men with disposable in-come) to a handful of what it once was—much like they have done with comics, and even books and movies.

Digital entertainment is more accessible, more instant, and most folks are too busy to collect, assemble, and paint armies of figures.

Pre-painted miniatures were mildly popular for a while, but faded as well. The quality of material wasn’t there, and again, it’s hard to compete with the ever-advancing rate of technologi-cal attractions offered by the video game industry.

WCD: Who are the big players in the industry?

JBR: Games Workshop is a large, publicly-traded company based in the U.K., and I would say they’re the big fish in the little pond that is war-gaming. They’re the largest visible com-pany when it comes to tabletop miniatures, with their own decades-old intellectual properties of Warhammer (Tolkien-

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JBR: Warhammer 40,000, by the aforementioned Games Workshop. Games Workshop also has Warhammer Fantasy Battles and the Lord of the Rings license. Wizkids has the superhero minis market wrapped up with their licensed properties from both Marvel and D.C. Reaper’s Dark Heaven line is a favorite of fantasy role players, due to its vast selec-tion of models. Privateer Press has a line called Warmachine, which is a blending of fantasy and steampunk. Flames Of War has a growing presence among historical gamers. That’s just anecdotal, from what I’ve seen.

WCD: Can you name three to five brands that are not widely known but still considered to be successful?

JBR: There’s a small but dedicated company up in Quebec called Dream Pod Nine that has been chugging away for years with a number of properties. Their Heavy Gear line was licensed into a video game and cartoon series for a while. I enjoy seeing the work they churn out.

Jon Tuffley in the U.K. produces a line called Ground Zero Games. People here in the US believe he has a secret wormhole in his basement, since he’s able to ship product across the pond so quickly.

I do freelance work for a few small, one-or-two-man operations who are trying their best to get their IPs off the ground and into the public eye. Critical Mass Games. Rebel Minis. Khurasan Minis. They’re all guys with a dream, hoping to make the big time. I enjoy working with them, and hope they make it.

WCD: I notice that both Star Wars and HALO miniatures are available. These are properties that went from games, to books, to miniatures and other stuff. Are you aware of any miniatures that came straight out of a universe created by a science fiction or fantasy author?

JBR: One of the more recognizable names and properties to make the jump to miniatures probably would be David Drake’s “Hammer’s Slammers.” Jez Plumridge in the U.K. managed to land the brass ring of far-future armor licenses when his company, Old Crow Miniatures, got permission from Drake to produce blower tanks and command cars.

Amarillo Design Bureau down in Texas has had the license for the original series-era Star Trek properties for decades, and still makes great product.

There are dozens of others. Most big science fiction properties have had some miniatures component in their past, though license fees usually keep them from being long-term engagements.

WCD: Based on your experience who buys miniatures?

JBR: These days? Males in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, who still like playing with toy soldiers. That’s not a demeaning statement, just fact. Some folks do it for the nostalgia factor, or for the painting and hobby and craftwork aspect, or because they enjoy the concepts and ideas from which the miniatures are licensed or historically based.

WCD: If an author had a brand that might be worthy of the market who would they approach?

JBR: An established company. One which has a verifiable history of working with licensed properties and delivering product. One of those larger companies I mentioned earlier. Going with a fly-by-night operation is probably an invitation for disaster, or at the very least, disappointment.

WCD: How would a miniature deal work from the authorial perspective? Would they sell the rights to make miniatures to a manufacturer?

Unrelated Trivia: Ingrown toenails are hereditary.

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JBR: It’s a case by case basis, but no way should an author give up any rights to their properties. Lease, don’t sell, your dreams. Keep in the loop of everything, and retain creative control and approval over everything. Nothing megalomania-cal, but stay involved.

Find a company that produces work you like, evaluate their existing products, and choose from there. Results and an established track record are what count, not promises.

If you do decide to give one of the smaller companies a chance, make sure the terms of the deal are clear, including how unsold models and molds are dis-posed of at the end of the license term.

WCD: What kind of money could an au-thor expect to make on a miniature deal? I’m sure every deal is different—but would it typically be a royalty of some sort?

JBR: Unless there is a large advertising machine behind you, don’t expect to retire off the money generated by a miniatures deal. Just like most people in the minia-tures business aren’t doing it to retire, an author who wants his work in 3D should approach it from the aspect of simply having his creative children given shape. If you’re after big money, you should be looking more toward merchandising deals with large toy companies.

Too large of a license fee will keep the majority of com-panies away, since the margins aren’t really there to cover the payments.

WCD: Is there a market for miniatures without an associated board game? Meaning collectibles.

JBR: Absolutely. If your property is strong enough, people will want it, if only to collect and paint. Never underestimate what miniatures folks call, “the rule of cool.” Often, if something looks appealing enough, folks will buy it, whether they have a use for it. Some hobbyists will incorporate an independent or orphan figure into their fictional game setting, using home-brew statistics and rules of their own making.

WCD: Does a board game add value?

JBR: An attached rule system does help. It adds utility and functionality, making a cool sculpture or model, not just something that sits on a shelf, but a vital unit in a game that can be played with.

WCD: Does an existing electronic game add value?

JBR: Definitely. However, it swims up-stream from the overall sales trend of video games taking market share from miniatures and other “analog” hobbies, so don’t expect it to tilt the world on its side. Having a video game attached to a property broadens your audience, and gives them a real-world object to play with that they’ve spent numerous hours simulating on the screen.

WCD: What are the potential pit-falls for authors should they cut a deal?

JBR: Like any business deal, there are startup costs, and the risk that the mar-ket won’t provide your venture with a warm welcome. Good sculptors cost money. Tooling and molding, whether it is steel injection tooling or rubber molds, costs money. Advertising and distribution, along with the myriad of other costs incurred by small and me-dium businesses, all add up to sap your bottom line. Going with a professional company that has done a deal before is the best possible way to make sure your property’s miniatures arrive and thrive on the market.

WCD: Are some miniatures higher quality than others? And by what are they judged?

JBR: Well, just like publishing, you can’t always judge quality by the size of a company. There are hidden gems amongst all the boutique and garage-level companies. There are some real stinkers put out by large companies. I would advise authors to have a critical eye when looking at a company’s existing products, and ask themselves, “is this the level of quality I want representing me and my work?” Pick a scale in which you want to see your work produced, look at the best models that scale has to offer, and see if the company you’ve selected matches that leading brand in quality of product.

WCD: What sort of control, if any, would an author have over the look of the miniatures based on their work?

JBR: They should have the same degree as they would with any other licensing venue. If the sculpt is not up to par, sug-gestions should be made to change things. At least 90% of the battle is picking the right company and artist before the ball gets rolling. I’m sure the experience is akin to picking the right artist to do cover work for a novel. Looking through an artist’s past work gives you a good idea if their technique and style works with your material.

If you do decide to give one of

the smaller companies a

chance, make sure the terms of the deal are

clear, including how unsold models and molds are

disposed of at the end of the license term.

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WCD: How are miniatures made?

JBR: There are two main methods. Man-ual sculpting, which is the traditional method hailing from time immemorial, and more recently, digital sculpting.

Most manual sculptors in the min-iatures industry utilize clays, waxes, or two-part epoxies as their medium. They usually use carving tools that look like various forms of dental picks, shapers, files, or blades. Different details and textures are worked into the models or figures, depending on the properties of the material being used. Some putties are best used on flowing, organic shapes, while others are machined or carved to show harder, “straight-line” details like sword edges or mechanical panels. Tom Meier is a man whom I would consider one of the most talented sculptors on the planet. Folks who search out his work are in for a treat.

I, myself, have been fortunate to have carved (pun intended) my own niche in digital sculpting, which uses computers and 3D programs to create a digital version of the intended parts.

the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, the Blackhorse, in Vietnam and Cambodia. He has used his legal and particularly his military experiences extensively in his fiction also.

Dave practiced law for eight years; drove a city bus for one year; and has been a full-time freelance writer since 1981. He reads and travels extensively. His website, david-drake.com, will tell you a great deal more as well as permit you to contact him.

WCD: When did your miniature deal take place?

DD: About 10 years ago a total stranger, John Lambshead (a professor at the Brit-ish Museum), called to discuss turning the Hammer series into a miniature game. He would do the rules and another war-gamer, John Treadaway (a graphic artist) would do the art. I’d gotten into miniature gaming very slightly when I was an undergraduate. It sounded like fun, and because it was small-scale, I thought I could do it without freaking out my agent.

WCD: What exactly did you sell? Mean-ing what rights, and for how long?

DD: I never viewed this as a business proposition. I gave all concerned per-mission to do this. All monies were split equally among the two Johns and myself.

The money came from the game booklets, by the way. The modelers—Old Crow for vehicles and Ground Zero Games (GZG)—went to the expense of creating the molds on their own. The hardware was a prerequisite for the game booklets, so I figured there was a quid pro quo.

I emphasize: the total monies in-volved were not significant to my lifestyle, and I’ve never been interested in nickel-and-diming my way through life.

These digital files are then fed into a rapid prototyping machine, or a CNC mill, and the part emerges. It’s not quite up to the standard of a Star Trek ‘replicator,’ but the technology is constantly evolving and getting better. It’s very cutting edge stuff, and I’m constantly amazed at the leaps in just the 12 years I have been involved with it.

* * *

Because John mentioned the fact that a company is selling miniatures based on Dave Drake’s Hammer’s Slam-mers series I thought it would be fun to follow up for an author’s view of the miniatures process. Dave Drake sold his first story, a fantasy, at age 20. His undergraduate majors at the University of Iowa were history (with honors) and Latin (BA, 1967). He uses his training in both subjects extensively in his fiction.

Dave entered Duke Law School in 1967 and graduated five years later (JD, 1972). The delay was caused by his be-ing drafted into the US Army. He served in 1970 as an enlisted interrogator with

There are two main methods. Manual sculpting, which is the traditional method hailing from time immemorial,

and more recently, digital sculpting.

Unrelated Trivia: The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.

Summer 2012 Vol. 46, Issue 3 The Bulletin 51

WCD: Are Hammer Slammers miniatures still available?

DD: Yes. (They are available at oldcrowmodels.co.uk/25hamm.htm)

WCD: How profitable was this arrangement?

DD: There were three publications. I went to England to launch the first one at SALUTE 2004. While there, the publisher gave me a wad of cash—I think 500 pounds but it may have been $500 in pounds (about 300 pounds, in other words)—which was darned useful for knocking about and doing stuff in England.

I don’t think I got paid on the second publication. For the third, I asked the publisher to pay my share to John Lambs-head, who gave me cash again—300 pounds, I think—when we visited him and his wife (who have become close friends) a couple years ago.

WCD: To what extent were you involved in the process of creating the figures? And if you were involved did you enjoy the creative process?

DD: John Treadaway is a very meticulous artist and is far more familiar with the minutiae of the Hammer series than I am. I told him roughly what I wanted, he did three-view drawings, and we refined it from there over a couple iterations.

I recall him asking what color the tanks should be. I told him—remember, I’m a Nam vet—that they should be whatever color the local mud/dust is.

I learned a great deal about my own creations this way. I realized that tanks and ACAVs (Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles) were things I looked from, not at. I had vivid recol-lections of the sight pictures of pintle-mounted M60 machine guns, but not so much of the vehicles they were mounted on. That’s an interesting insight—30 years later.

WCD: And what pitfalls, if any, should authors look out for?

DD: Don’t take it seriously. This is fun. The gamers are very enthusiastic and from all walks of life.

Your agent will probably tell you to avoid this because “it may hurt your Hollywood chances.” Well, maybe it will—but the Hollywood attorneys I’ve dealt with were universally pet-tifogging windbags. Gamers are real, and I like being around them.

I make a comfortable living as a writer. That allows me to pick my friends. I cannot think of a more valuable use of money.

* * *

I would like to thank John and Dave for taking time out of their busy schedules to be interviewed. If you would like to provide feedback regarding my column, or make sugges-tions regarding future columns, please send them to: bill@williamcdietz.com.

Unusual Suspects Tie the KnotSandra Morrese (aka Cat Lundgren), advertising director of the SFWA Bulletin,married her band mate, Bari Greenberg, March 31st in a Renaissance-themed ceremony at Corondolet Park in St. Louis, Missouri. Sandra’s daughter, Val-erie Ritchie, was her Matron of Hon-or, and Bari’s brother, David, was his Best Man. The couple resides in Bridgeton, Missouri, and are one half of the new filk band “The Unusual Suspects.”

Photo by Dane Harris Photography.