The rumours are that they are switching to resin (though a different type from FW and a different production method), though how this will affect costs (its cheaper, so GW will probably put prices up?) isn't clear. There are also the concerns that resin has lots of problems with being fragile, not holding paint well and being toxic if you inhale the dust.
Its true that the rising costs of metal have probably played a big part in this.
This is from Heresy Minis in the UK.
My heart sank: I felt like I'd been just been told that I had an incurable disease of some sort. I had just been given the latest price for the tin alloy we use to cast the models in. remember whewn I did that last price rise in September because metal had risen so much I could no longer afford to absorb the increase? Well, since then, it's gone up another 37%. In fact, it's done 30% of that in the last three months alone. It's insane. The price of 50kgs of metal is now more than my Ford Focus and Craig's 125cc motorbike are worth if you add them together!
I am shocked and horrified at this latest price for metal. I just can't carry on with the prices as they are on the majority of the range. I need to put prices up to maintain profitability. It saddens me to do it, but it seems that there IS a reason why GW are charging £8.00+ for single figures these days. If only I had the vast fortunes it requires to make plastic kits...
To illustrate, when I started out the metal price was £4.65 a kg plus VAT, it is now £23.75/kg plus VAT, which means in order to get bare minimum profits - and that ignores additional costs such as packaging, labour, etc - on the heavier figures at trade discount (which is the bugger in all of the pricing problems), a figure like a Deathball Ogre needs to be price at £22.00 each. Currently they are £12.00, with an option to buy them at £8.00 each if you get 5 or more. Something has to give, the disparity is too great. I think they will have to come with less pieces from now on, ie only two random fists not 6, only two heads not 3, just so I can scrape some savings on the RRP. The NL2, it says on my Excel spreadsheet, should really be £154.00! That one's not gonna happen, I'll tell you that. Fortunately, I don't sell the NL2t to Trade so i can limit it to around £65.00 RRP Azaroth DOES sell to trade, so he needs to be £55.00 instead of £30.00. :whah?: Again, this just means people won't buy him any more. Have to seriously look into getting him resined up. it can't cost as much as the metal does now.
In summary - there will be major price increases coming to the site in the next couple of weeks, by the end of the month at the latest. Whilst the human sized figures like the skinny sc-ifi crowd (except for the big heavies with massive guns) won't be too badly affected, bulky figures like the Boris range (Berserk Boris 1 should be £9.00 rrp for example, not £5.00) , the monsters, and the multiple-figure troop packs, will be hit noticeably harder.
So, if you want to get those gang figures, or have been holding off on a purchase until Salute, probably best to stick that order in right away instead!
I am sorry about this, I'm sure you all know the reasons by now, it's becomes such a regular announcement. And you will see a lot more of them in the next month or two from all the other indie minis manufacturers as the cost works its way down the chain from casters.
I am told that the tin price is levelling by the alloy suppliers so there shouldn't be another massive hike in prices in the near future. "Fingers crossed," they added. Will it go down? I hope so. I really do. Meantime I'm concentrating on doing smaller figures rather than the big monsters I so adore.
