A few thoughts on the top 10's.

The "ranges" top 10 looks OK especially around the modern ranges and seems to reflect well the popularity of some of the posts.

I don't look at the board every day and rarely at fantasy threads so I probably miss quite a lot. I must say I am a little confused as to how some of the requested "items" never appear although they get votes.

E.G.
Napoleonic Austrians with shako
Napoleonic casualties
French Guard Lancers

Italian wars mounted arquebusiers

WW2 British casualties

All of the above I am certain would be rock solid commercial successes.


I just wonder if a better way would be use the request board to initially register a request to get a it into a table of sorts and then whenever the top 10 list is to be updated everyone gets a chance to vote.

Cheers, Rob 

Those of Herakleitos, Epicuros, Marcus Aurelius, Ibn al-Rawandi, Komensky, Pascal, Descartes, Russel, Wittgenstein, Me.

(OK, OK, I was a bit stretched to come up with ten producers of thoughts that really qualified as top ten. I grant Wittgenstein is out of his league there.)

   

I too was fooled by the title. I thought it would be

1. Love your fellow man (or woman)
2. The customer is not always right, but he is always the customer
3. Never agree to a custard fight with Westmarcher
4. etc

It's a difficult thing to manage, I would guess. There's a certain lead time (that's "lead" as in dog-walkies, not "lead" as in plumbum) in the production of "tiny men", and there are always the whims and vagaries of the hobbying public.

So, if 400 people voted for "Darkest Africa" 5 years ago, that could be that it was because Darkest Africa was popular then. Now, Cobblestone Castings and the Grayson Perry Brothers have produced inumerable Darkest Africa ranges and everyone has bought what they want and no-one gives a flying monkey if Pendraken do it as well.

There is also the question of completeness. It would behoove the Dark Lord not to dangle one dainty tid-bit of a range in front of us without the other half. For example if Techno beavered away at Korean War British to finally go alongside the blessed Centurions that have been waiting patiently for absolutely ages, but failed to putty his wy to some North Koreans and/or Chinese (in summer uniform, not winter) then we (the strange "Uncles" who avidly watch the Pendraken under 16 girls netball final) may legitimately raise some complaint.

Are we (the soft drinks in the Pendraken wine cellar) the right mechanism influence the Dark Lord's choices? Yes, we probably buy quite a lot of tin between us, but there are other factors to consider - what's popular at the moment, who else is producing what, the gaps in the Pendraken ranges, what is selling well for Pendraken at the moment.

From a personal point of view, I would like to see a more dynamic Top 10. It will change constantly, but it should better reflect what we (the olives in the Pendraken martini) desire.

For me: modern infantry, chariots, Byzantines and a widening of the Napoleonic range. I know they are not big sellers but I would like to see gangsters, superheroes and wild west figures - even at a premium price. I mean, how man Wellingtons are you going to sell?

Frankly, I don't envy Leon and Dave (or any other figure manufacturer come to that) the task of deciding what to produce.

My limited experience of asking people what they want and then attempting to provide it is that it regularly turns out they didn't actually want it they just felt they ought to want it!

With the possible exception of the Guard Lancers there's nothing in Rob's little list I'm remotely interested in. I'm sure that for others they are "must have" items.  

Still want those Italian Wars mounted arquebusiers and genitors though.

I agree with Rob.

I sometimes think that some of the Top 10 requests nullify the opportunity to complete/fill out other ranges. Personally I was confused why the Napoleonic range concentrated on 1809. then appeared to stop until Waterloo came over the horizon, which even now is incomplete.

With regard to WW2, it would be interesting to see how many of the more common/numerous vehicles/weapons are missing, against requests for the more esoteric vehicles.

I sometimes wonder how many votes qualify a request to enter the top 10?

Since the requests went downloadable, not as many as it used to.

Top ten thoughts:

1. Totty
2. Beer
3. Lead mountain
4. Footie
5. Beer
6. More lead
7. Spag Bol
8. Curry
9. du Vin
10. Beer.

Hehe, getting all the requests and the sculpting schedule to engage in happy liaison can be likened to convincing pandas to spend time happy time together...

Quote from: Rob on 22 June 2016, 11:05:34 AM
Napoleonic Austrians with shako

No plans for those at the moment, they've not had that many votes so I'm assuming folks have found a proxy for them, or bought them elsewhere.

Quote from: Rob on 22 June 2016, 11:05:34 AM
Napoleonic casualties

These will be getting done, not sure on timescales.

Quote from: Rob on 22 June 2016, 11:05:34 AM
French Guard Lancers

These are already done, they're just awaiting release along with the other new cavalry already previewed.

Quote from: Rob on 22 June 2016, 11:05:34 AM
Italian wars mounted arquebusiers

Only a handful of votes for these, but we might look at doing a small expansion of these ranges to cover some of the requests.

Quote from: Rob on 22 June 2016, 11:05:34 AM
WW2 British casualties

We'll be doing these at some point, makes sense when we've got them for the other nations.

Quote from: fsn on 22 June 2016, 12:00:21 PM
For example if Techno beavered away at Korean War British to finally go alongside the blessed Centurions that have been waiting patiently for absolutely ages...

For me: modern infantry...

Modern infantry is already on the schedule, after the Warband ranges have been completed.

Quote from: Chad on 22 June 2016, 06:07:54 PM
I sometimes think that some of the Top 10 requests nullify the opportunity to complete/fill out other ranges. Personally I was confused why the Napoleonic range concentrated on 1809. then appeared to stop until Waterloo came over the horizon, which even now is incomplete.

That was a bit of a nuisance, the 1809 range was originally started to fulfill a customers wishlist (and resulting purchases) but things went a bit awry on that front.  By that point Waterloo was impending so we wanted to get some Brits done and out there, leaving us with an odd mismatch.  We've got the Prussians just about ready to go, which fills in a bit more for Waterloo though.

Quote from: Chad on 22 June 2016, 06:07:54 PM
I sometimes wonder how many votes qualify a request to enter the top 10?

Not as many as you'd think really.  I think a lot of people chat and discuss things in other threads, but they don't go and make a 'formal' vote in the requests area, so those might not appear on my radar to add a vote.  I include everything properly suggested and voted for though, plus email requests and things we get asked for at the shows.

Firstly, I will echo Friend Ithoriel in his sympathy for your plight. Whatever you do will garner excitement in some quarters and raise huge quantities of apathy in others. I, for a humble example, have no interest at all in Fantasy (but loves me some SF) and can't wait until Techno can stops lollygagging around with faeries and pixies (or whatever he's up to at the moment when he should be sculpting) and get onto some decent modern stuff.   

Secondly, I have a solution. Outsource the decision making to a member of the forum. I'm not suggesting one of the crusty older member who have become hidebound and probably had their say in far too much anyway, nor indeed some of these whippersnappers whose application form still has the ink on it. You want a compromise of maturity and dynamism, say about Lt-General? Someone who contributes regularly and enthusisatically to the forum. Someone who has purchased extensively form the breadth of ranges available (though having them all painted should not be a criterion for selection.) Someone of wit and poise, of discernnment. 

Oh by the Dark Lord's Oddly Shaped Second Toe! I've just realised that that descriprion could be applied to me. Of course, I wasn't putting myself forward, but if asked to serve ...

I have no ambitions to hold office myself; greatly prefer a quiet, retired life....

My mistake   I thought the Guard Lancers were missing. Can any kind soul point me to the pictures please?  

No idea what Techno is about to Post 

The first fish, or shoe joke, will earn the poster a good slap ! 

Cheers - Phil. 

Quote from: Techno on 23 June 2016, 10:14:29 AM
The first fish, or shoe joke, will earn the poster a good slap ! 

You an oo else sunbeam.

IanS

Oooh! Fish puns in defiance of Techno!

You'll have had your chips!