Mithril's licence and wargaming

[Will the Fey]

Hammershield said:

Tolkien Enterprizes is the company which has the bought the rights to amrket the contents of the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. The Silmarillon, the History of Middle Earth and other texts by Tolkien is still owned by the estate of JRRT. It seems like the estate doesn'twant any secondary interpretation to spring from JRR Tolkien's work.

As I understand the terms of the license agreement Tolkien Enterprizes has signed with various miniature makers (Mithril, Games Workshop and previoulsy Icon and others), the collectors market and the Wargaming market are separate licenses. Games Workshop has according to my sources secured the rights to produce wargaming products based on the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. It is even more complex than that since I think they have signed an agreement with New Line that all miniatures etc. have to conform with the artwork and other background material from the movie. I am sure GW pay top dollars for their license and I ams sure they guard it ferociously from infringements.

Mithril, and our esteemed moderator might be able to correct me if I am wrong, has a license to produce collectors miniatures (RPG dito ?). I could keep ranting about why it sucks that GW is monopolizing on a market where others, like Mithril and Chris Tubb, have managed to make such a wonderful and 'original' interpretation of Middle Earth.

The good thing is that it can't be Mithril's fault if people starts wargaming with miniatures they have created for the collectors market, righ? ;-)

Michael is this correct ?

Does you have a license to make miniatures for the collectors market
ONLY and NOT for the Wargaming market ?

If it's true, I understand why you don't make those Warbands
anymore. I would like to see those Warbans at the market again!

I really like to know how this licese thing goes, because here in Finland
there are so many rumours going on about your "terminated" license.
Many collectors, modellers and wargamers think, that you DON'T have
the license to make Tolkien miniatures anymore. And some people even
think that you are "kicked out of the market" by GW!

[larsedman]

Just to let you know that Mithril still has a license to produce figures in any size aimed at the collectors market.
We have no control of what the collector is using the miniature for and neither is that part of our license agreement. Mithril has had a license since 1988 and produced over 600 different miniatures. Considering that most figures are very sparingly described in the books Mithril designer Chris Tubb has actually invented the looks of many of them. If one studies GW figures one will probably find that they have borrowed many features of Mithril.

Our license is up for renewal next year and anybody in favour of our license renewal should contact the licensor Tolkien Enterprises.
Krgds
Lars Edman md Mithril Miniatures

[aelfwine]

Well i shall certainly email them.

It might be worth trying to "spread" the pain of the investment and maybe approach Decipher (or, god forbid) GW with a view to having a "spread" licence, shared between you and whoever, where they sell your designed minis on a larger market. TE gets extra money, you hopefully get extra money, and everyone goes away happy.

Gavin

[Hammershield]

Thanks for the clarification, Lars. I have gotten to know quite a few die hard Mithril collectors out there over the years and I am sure they will be happy to know you are planning to continue producing the miniatures.

I am sure you are right about GW getting ideas from the Mithrill series. The game miniature sculpting society can't be very big. Chris Tubb must have been one of the first stars in the business and I am sure other sculptors have taken an interest in how he does things.

[Michael O'Brien]

We have renewed our license for the next two years.
;D ;D ;D

[lars edman]

What our customers use our miniatures for, is totally up to themselves. If they think our previous figures are suitable for wargaming feel free to do that.

[Hammershield]

I certainly hope so or I and a number of friends are in big trouble. This past weekend we ran three differnet Middle-Earth war games based on Mithril Miniatures. The Scouring of the Shire fielded over a hundred hobbits pitched against the ruffians of Sharkey. Myself, I ran "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" with about 50 Mithril Ranger's of Ithilen conversions, 20 Haradrim and a oliphaunt with crew (since Mithril doesn't make any, not even an absurdly ovesized one ;-) ). The third was Theodreds epic demise at the ford of Isen, with hundreds of Mithril wargriders, Riders of Rohan and more. I will make pictures available later.