If they’re going for the trophy for Most Expensive Space Miniature, I think SkunkWerks has it. Up until this point I NinjaMagic had the most expensive ship-minis, but SkunkWerks has usurped them.

Not that I’m bashing the quality of sculpts or anything. I feel NinjaMagic has some of the best looking ships out there, and judging by the quality of that mecha on SkunkWerks site I’m sure their ships will be top notch. But whew - that’s a lot of cash!

I think what is making the Assault vector figs so expensive are the highly details tail sections of each figure.

I think it really comes down to be being a cheap-bastard when it comes to miniatures lately…For example, I’m *really* looking forward to the Wormhole release from Worldworks Games - fielding several gigantic fleets of ships for the price of paper is awesome in my eyes.

So while I may covet the ships of NinjaMagic, SkunkWerks, etc - at this point in my “miniature game lifecycle” I’m all about bang-for-the-buck and the utility I get out of something for my dollar.

As the nut-job doing this, I’d like to a make a couple of comments.

First, any pricing info currently up isn’t exactly binding.

That said, comparing my efforts here to traditional pewter gaming figures is entirely inaccurate. These are multi-part resin model kits, suitable for display on your desk. The kits are currently slated to include photo-etched parts, brass foil and decals.

Yes, they’ll work fine as gaming models.

Other things to consider are all related to economics. This market is a niche within a niche within a niche (resin -> hard sci-fi -> starships). Volume is low enough that economy of scale doesn’t even begin to surface, yet the start-up costs are the same. They’re made by hand in the U.S., not overseas by the lowest bidder (and if I had the resources and sales potentials I would go that route as well). They’re also tactical level, not fleet level, which further decreases potential sales.

IIRC, the only kit that will feature multiple ships will be the DiGleria, which comes with a pair of Yorks. Yes, I anticipate the price of that kit coming down. The pre-orders page at Ad Astra is specifically and only for the smaller metal gaming miniatures.

The only thing that I will ask is that judgment is reserved until the finished product is ready. As for when that will be… I hope to grow the Wasp and Rafik prototypes within the next two weeks.

I’d hate to pigeon-hole it like that, though it was certainly a factor. Perhaps an analogy… One could play WH40K with the standard, off-the-shelf models and have a very enjoyable game with visually appealing models. Even so, a few people will decide to go and get the ForgeWorld equivalents. They’ll do it even though there is a significant price increase, simply because there’s something about the alternate version that tickles their fancy.

It’s a similar situation here. The game is designed for, and plays wonderfully, with the tilt blocks and box minis that come in the basic boxset. Some people may decide they just prefer pushing metal around the table and will get the gaming miniatures, even if that’s an after-market cost.

Then there’s me, and I know I’m not alone. I realize not everyone else does, but I really like the look of these ships. I also like the existing pewter minis, but it’s like asking if I prefer Fleet Action or Full Size for my Babylon 5 ships. FA is more portable, costs less, easier for large games, etc., but the larger FS ships just allow for a whole new level of detail to be added. Same thing here: I thought there were a lot of cool things I could do with a larger scale. And if I’m doing the classic one-on-one starship duel then I want some big, beautiful models on the table.

They’ll have enough detail to be display models, but they’ll also work fine for gaming. Hope my long-winded answer helps.

Of course. I like talking to future members of my fan club :D

I have about a dozen different mecha* that are ready to go into production. All of them are of the many-multi-part, fully pose-able variety. Six are currently with various mold-makers and resin-casters. As you noted, complex resin kits encounter certain difficulties when casting. I’m hoping to debut many of these at WonderFest (Kentucky, July 28-29) or sooner.

Back on the AV:T ships, the Wasp is just about ready for prototyping. I should be able to post new CAD renders on the SFSW blog in a day or three.

*Though not on the SFSW website, many of these are viewable at two of the bigger fan Battletech sites. Look for user Justicar. I’d rather not say more than that right now.

Thanks for the interest.