Reply To: 3D resin sourcing ~ 6 months time

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Interesting question. Given the sterling reputation of the BOW/OTT forum I will seek to set aside all political discussion and will reestrict myself to an economic analysis and respond to your question with the facts as I see them #NotAnExpert #JustMy0.02

Relevant facts:

– Russia is presently under heavy trade embargos, effectively reducing global supply of oil by 7m barrels per day. Global capacity cannot be stood up in the short term to meet this level of shortfall, so the price of oil has therefore increased substantatively.

– Oil derivative products (ie plastics) will likely also increase in costs if they have not already (might take longer to flow through the supply chain). Most/all of these costs will need to be passed on to end consumers.

– Metal prices have already increased. Again, costs will be passed on.

– Transportation costs will increase due to higher fuel prices, these will again be passed on via higher prices down the supply chain to end consumers.

– Given no-fly zones etc travel routes around eastern europe will be distorted, requiring longer travel routes to be used to transport cargo ibn some instances. This will mean more fuel used, more pay for crew/employees, more depreciation/wear and tear on trucks,/planes/possibly ships (sorry not across how maritime law & transport routes in the Black Sea are being impacted if at all?). Again, costs will be passed down through the supply chain.

– General inflation. This will vary on a country by country basis depending on relevant factors but broadly speaking prices will tend to increase across the board on most/all goods due to higher transport costs.

– Printer resin that i’ve seen has all been manufactured in China, so I wouldn’t imagine manufacturing would be impacted, but note higher shipping costs and perhaps inputs?

 

On the topic of 3d printer resin, I’ll hand you over to Goobertown Hobbies as he’s a chemist in real life…

 

So where does this leave us?

– Metal figures will be more expensive

– Plastic figures will be more expensive

– Resin manufactured figures will becoe more expensive.

– Hobby supplies will become more expensive

– 3d printers and print resin/plastic filament will also increase in cost.

I’d say on a ‘per mini’ basis, 3D prints will tend to get cheaper comparatively given the above.

So what should we do?

– If anyone has been holding off on diving in on a large purchase of minis, it might be cheaper now than it will be later on. Keep in mind also that the money you have stashed might come in handy for other purposes in the near future – everybody will know their own situation best.

– Second hand minis – people may dump unwanted stuff for the extra cash or because they are moving ‘back home’ until things calm down, so there might be a higher supply of pre-loved minis about. Conversely, there might be increased demand for these as people seek to save a few dollars on their hobby budget.

– Be understanding when mini manufacturers are forced to increase their prices – Most manufacturers are small companies run by gamers/hobbyists. They won’t get any joy from passing on the higher costs knowing it will cut some people off from the hobby, but they have bills to pay and their own responsibilities too. Show them some support if you can.

– Maybe consider working on your pile of shame/pride rather than going for the new shiny thing?

– Instead of focusing on spamming out large volumes of tabletop-quality horde armies (has a moment of quiet self-reflection…) try to spend longer on each mini and get them done to a higher standard. This way you are effectively ‘saving’ hobby money as there will be less minis/paint etc required to fill the same number of hobby hours.

– actually spend some time gaming rather than just painting if you don’t want to spend money. I know, actually gaming? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Or is it just me 😉

Hope everybody’s doing OK! If you aren’t then please bear in mind that’s fine and understandable, we’re all here for you if you want to chat. Cheers!