Does anyone have this mini ... ???

[Buggrit]

Pick on you? I can't even look down that low!

Good, then you won't see what we've done in your shoes!!

[Slinky]

viewtopic.php?t=25108

And unlikely - if there is one for sale, then there's going to be a lot of people after it.

Looks like one has gone up for sale.

http://cgi.ebay.com/230513130056

From reading the auction, I don't think it is one of the original metal castings. Sounds like the seller was able to get one of the original metal masters and has made some castings from it for sale.

So probably not a super rare collectible auction*, but its a good way to add a well done figure to your team. I am not normally a fan of GW models but this one was well done. Too bad they never did anything at all with it.

* - However it would still be less rare than Zara the Slayer which was going for around $80 before it was finally re-released by GW within the last month.

[Cracol]

I will put money on that seller being bogus! Ask for more pictures and I bet you don't get any

[evenflow123]

And the seller has no feedback so it doesn't look promising.
As the saying goes "if it looks too good to be true....."

[Spiky]

He's also asking buyers to wait 2-3 weeks before he ships...

I've asked for a picture of the actual item

[nazgob]

as have i.

also asked straight out whether it was a recast.

[Patchwork]

I took the "This is a casting from a master copy of this figure" from the auction description to be saying it was a recast.

[Norse]

I know the seller, it's not bogus, and it's not a "re-cast" - it's a cast made from a production mould just like any other model you could buy from a store. So while the seller may have zero feedback, I hope my 9 years of membership here and almost 7000 posts count for something.

In the words of the great Forrest Gump - that's all I have to say about that..

[Patchwork]

I know the seller, it's not bogus, and it's not a "re-cast" - it's a cast made from a production mould just like any other model you could buy from a store. So while the seller may have zero feedback, I hope my 9 years of membership here and almost 7000 posts count for something.

Your 9 years of membership and almost 7000 posts is likely to count for the miniature getting lots more bids... is that something?

[Norse]

I resent the implication - if you want the mini, bid, if you don't, don't. Though anyone here will have to have deep pockets if they want to outbid Traveller, so I advise against trying..

[Patchwork]

I'm sorry Norse, no implication meant at all except that your vouching for him would make people trust the seller more. It certainly moved my opinion from 'at best a recast' to 'cool, real deal', although I'm not bidding either way.

[GalakStarscraper]

As a mini collector with a large collection (but still jealous of Traveler's).

Here is my read from all I can deduce.

1) I think this was a trial sculpt from someone trying to get to work for GW. My understanding is that they don't pay for those sculpts ... they become GW's as a matter of your application for employment. Not sure that counts as "consideration" legally or not.

2) I don't think from what I've read that the figure was ever done more than master moulded. You can create a couple hundred copies of a figure from a master mould ... its just that most companies don't do it because production moulds are cheaper and last longer (read produce 1000 or more copies of the figure before needing replaced). A master mould is more expensive and made to capture as much detail as possible but the rubber is more unforgiving to repeated castings. So my read so far is ... the only figures ever produced by this would have probably been all masters.

3) The auction reads to me like he got his hands on one of this master copies and made his own production mould for it. So odds are there would be more auctions than this one in the future. But if he doesn't do them that often you run into what Slinky mentioned above with his wise-crack about Zara going for $80 in terms of how many are out in gamer's hands and available. So its reads to me that its a production copy from an original master (but then as Norse said ... so is virtually every figure out on the market). A re-cast has a bad reputation because you take someone's figure that they were selling and take a production copy of it and then master it and production mould it. So a normal figure you purchase is a copy of a copy (this is normal for the business) ... but a recast is normally a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy. So that's where the bad comes in normally is that the quality is so crappy compared to the original.

If the above 3 items are right ... not sure if I agree or not with what is being done. If the figure was a 2nd edition figure from Blood Bowl for example than I'd say it was a recast since it was commercially produced at some point. For a figure that I'm guessing was never even production cast ... I'm not sure I would call it a recast. I guess for me the point is that I don't bid on recasts on principal and I'll probably bid on this item .... so I guess that tells me which side I'm leaning towards more for now unless I find out more information to contradict my above thoughts.

Galak

[Ithilkir]

Would be great to have the model in the community but if the original is GW's property isn't this then an illegal auction since the seller likely doesn't have the rights to be using either a GW mould to produce his own figures for sale or selling a GW product which was never purchased?

Don't know the legal implications of course, can't see it being an issue but the seller might want to watch out for the GW ebay lawyer

[evenflow123]

Now that it has been established that it's the real deal it's a shame anyone not named Galak and/or Traveller won't be able to get it probably.

but good luck to those that will bid and congratulations in advance for the winner, it's a beautiful miniature.

[Grumbledook]

be nice if the seller came on here and explained more, or posted more in the auction for that matter

wouldn't mind one myself tbh if the price is right