The cost of it all
A news item on TMP prompted me to check the Empress Miniatures website and there I found that a pack of 4 figures now cost £8.00, meaning a single metal 28mm historical miniature has now broken the £2.00 mark. I can remember when 28mm metals first went above £1.00 each and there was a lot of grumbling. But now £2.00 - Ye Gads! Looking at the cost of the "best" 28mm metals (Perry's, Empress, Foundry as a sample) they currently average out at £1.69 for a metal figure. Perry's are the cheapest at £1.33 each, Foundry next at £1.75 and as mentioned Empress at £2.00. Whether a Paul Hicks sculpt is "better" and "worth more" than one of the Perry twins is a matter of personal taste. I have some of all three and many more sculptors' work besides in my Old West collection and they are all lovely figures and have their own merits. The cost of everything is going up so it was inevitable that miniatures did. It would seem a lot of hobby companies...