Getting harder to get old lead?

Chico

Member
Right,

It seems to me that in the last few years that the prices of alot of the OOP figures have gone though the roof, when i first started retro-collecting in '06 that you could pick up alot more for alot less (Even cheaper if you didn't mind stripping.. hehe that sounded wrong).

I'm guessing its because its become more popular to collect old lead because the price of GW has been going up and plastic and failcast taking over.

What's your take on this?

Cheers
Chico
 

RogueWally

Member
I bought my Marauder Ogres from GWUK in 2003 at a cost of about 8USD a model. Most of my Man O War and "rare" Blood Bowl minis where also bought as bits.

I think what you are seeing is roughly the same demand from collectors but supplies are drying up. Perhaps combined with a "bubble market" like collectable guitars in the 1980's or comics in the 90's.

The lead is worth nothing, and retro stile miniatures are still available... sometimes from the original molds or the same sculptors. (Bob Olleys Scrunts for instance.)

The result is whatever is happening on e-bay. People "copying" miniatures and inflated prices.

(So a bits service ogre vs. a fake from china... how are they different quality?)

Sorry for a pessimistic reply.
 

Zhu Bajie

Member
I think there is a 'nostalgia bubble' - there are people of a certain age, with a certain amount of expendable income (or very forgiving wife) who can go and buy all the old toys they used to want. I think it's more similar to the Star Wars collectables a decade and a half ago, but on a much much smaller scale. The fact that there is a hardcore group of collectors blogging, posting on forums, etc. makes it seem a bit bigger than it really is.

But... there might be something going on longer-term. unlike a property like Star Wars, that Lucasfilm has to keep producing new narratives to be relevant, Games Workshop just have to keep maintaining their core product range and a retail presence. So perhaps little Timmy whose first Citadel was Finecast, and whose first ruleset was 8th, might one day think, ooh, you know, I really like how punk it used to be, and how characterful those old lead miniatures were, and sod it I'm going to spend £600 on a Citadel Townsfolk Sheep.

I really don't think there are a load of recasters in China of wherever knocking off early Citadel stuff. Evidence to the contrary is welcome of course. I do think that there were quite a few wargamers in the early 80s, who regularly cast multiples for large blocks of troops, and were used to doing so for historicals, whose collections have now entered the secondary market,

The things I look at most - 80s LoTR and Talisman figures, similar prices now to 5 years ago really, not much difference.
 

Orlygg

Member
On the subject of recasting, I recall an article in the early 80s in White Dwarf that actually discussed how to best recast miniatures for the purpose of block units. Amazing to think now that GW once condoned such a practice!
 

Ti Pouchon

Member
What is a recast, anyway?
I have picked up quite a few "white metal" versions of minis first produced in the 80ies, when the old lead alloy was still used. Bougfht them from GW directly, that is. GW did "recast" a lot of old favourites using the new metal. The JG familiars they are selling right now are a fine example of this. So, would these familiars be "recasts", even though I buy them from the company which holds the rights to these minis? They certainly aren't "old lead".
Now, if a recaster were to produce top quality copies of some rare oop minis and sell them on e-bay, that would certainly be a fishy thing when it comes to legal matters. As a consumer, I don't care about the law, I'm looking for a bargain. I have no qualms downloading docs or videos from the net either.
But then, the recaster is a lot less shady than the movie pirate - the movie pirate offers the exact same product that, say, amazon has to offer, at a much reduced price. The recaster selling original Heinrich Kemmlers offers a product that GW does not offer anymore, he's not taking away revenue from GW, he's not undercutting GW prices. All he does, arguably, is offer a service to the nostalgia community.
 

Chico

Member
A recast in my eyes at the very least is a company's figure copied and cast in home made moulds built and sold as the OG figure.

Part of why i liked collecting OOP figures is because there old and OOP, if i bought a recast i'd be cheating myself out of part of the hobby i choose to enjoy and love, i'm only doing this hobby for my own enjoyment so it would be stupid to cheat myself.
 

Chico

Member
For a start there not recasts there the same cast just done with new metals (Above i've already said what a recast is too me. Homemade and sold so Illegal), so I'd have no problem with others having them but i wouldn't myself buy them because as i know there ''new'' they don't give me a nostalgia like feeling, after all i do this hobby for nostalgia which for me they don't invoke.

Cheers
 

Chico

Member
Ti Pouchon":rkpbkeli said:
Not trying to start an argument here, I was just curious.

Heh don't worry, if i've come across a bit strong im sorry. Not trying to start one either :)
 

Thehermit

Member
Chico":jykjvd2c said:
Ti Pouchon":jykjvd2c said:
Not trying to start an argument here, I was just curious.

Heh don't worry, if i've come across a bit strong im sorry. Not trying to start one either :)


Fight! Fight! Fight!

Sorry just having a nostalgic trip back to school...

I must admit some of these old figures go for crazy money. I sold a chaos warrior a few weeks bacOrono eBay for £27. I expected to get £2-3 for it. When I want to start a new project I sell stuff I feel I can live without to pay for the hobby. so my hobby kinda pays for itself! But the mrs doesn't see it that way...
 

Ti Pouchon

Member
I used to bid on bundles or "job lots" of BB figs, take the 2 or 3 minis I wanted for my collection, strip the rest and re-sell them as singles. That way, I even used to make a profit! Not crazy money, mind you, just enough to treat the Mrs. to a night out every month or so. That way, both of us were happy.

Sadly, the days of the bundle deals are all but over. Most auctions today are for single minis; the number of auctions overall has gone down (and so have the prices, ever since the die-hard collectors have everything they need and the rest convert BB teams out of Warhammer plastics.
 

bug16

Member
The best tip to getting cheap OOP figures is to use ebay, bid often, lose often, but with a bit of patience you'll get things for an absolute pittance. Avoid the chancers with stupidly high "buy it nows" wanting £30 for a figure worth around £4 second hand, etc etc.

Another ebay top tip I swear by is bid on items around the third week of the month because that's when most people have spent their payday money and can no longer afford big bids or they'll think twice before bidding on items. I've seen items worth £10 go for £20+ on the first week of the month when people are more free with their money then I've picked the same items up for under a fiver near the end of the month.

As for recasting. Don't like it. Don't support it. Will happily kick recasters in the nuts if I meet them. These OOP models are small pieces of history and I love finding them and owning them the same way that people enjoy hunting around antique stores for old/collectable furniture/items.
 

Chico

Member
I tend to get my Ebay bargins when they end midweek rather then on a Sunday/Saturday, also have searchs which look for Typos or really generic terms.

Also i always have a set amount and walk away after it goes above that, im willing to wait to get my stuff.
 

bug16

Member
Chico":1yvm98re said:
I tend to get my Ebay bargins when they end midweek rather then on a Sunday/Saturday, also have searchs which look for Typos or really generic terms.

Same here.

Also i always have a set amount and walk away after it goes above that, im willing to wait to get my stuff.

Again, likewise. I won't get into bidding wars. It took me two years to get a very rare WHFB Liche model in my collection for sensible money but it was worth the wait. I doubt I'll get the second variant of the model as that only crops up about once a year but you never know!
 
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