About - Fantasy (Metal Magic)
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Summary
Hobby Products produced a large range of figures under the Metal Magic Fantasy banner from 1984 to 1996. There were two distinct phases to the series with the early figures having irregular, unmarked bases and product codes that started with the letter 'M', and then the later figures (which started appearing from 1987 onwards) having circular, disc-like bases that were stamped or inscribed on the base and used product codes starting with the letter 'C' - see Base Markings (Hobby Products). The first Metal Magic figures ever produced seem to have been from the Fantasy 'M' series and appear in the undated Black Catalog. The range expanded to around 450 figures and remained in production until 1996 when it was retired in favour of Hobby Products' other product lines. The entire range was sold to Mega Miniatures in 2001. Mega Miniatures expanded the range adding an additional 200 figures to the series but in 2010 they stopped production and sold off the moulds to various other manufacturers. At this point the Metal Magic Fantasy series ceased to exist although most figures still remain in production somewhere.
Production & Distribution
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In the UK during the 1980s, Hobby Products seems to have used licensed distributors (and possibly manufacturers) to supply figures to the UK market. Tabletop Games did this initially and then Hobbygames of London took over by 1989.
Sculptors
- Bob Olley
- Dave Sparrow
- Josef Ochmann
- Michael Immig
- Mike French
- Paul Henni
- Stefan Niehues
- Werner Klocke
Trivia
- As with all Hobby Products' series, the Fantasy series figure codes avoided the use of the letter "j".
- M1034 and M1035 are suspicious gaps in the set codes. Something was probably here...
- The first figure seen in advertising to use the new base was the Punk Orc from the Freaky Fantasy C1202 'Orc of the Month' series.
Fantasy 'M' Series
Hobby Products' original Fantasy range of figures were given product codes starting with 'M10' for the Standard Sets and 'M16' for the Big Box Sets. They were in production from as early as November 1984 1 but by January 1989 2 Hobby Products had begun to introduce new figures into all their product lines with flat, circular disc-like bases. Those with the disc bases are part of the Fantasy 'C' Series. Figures from the Fantasy 'M' Series had irregular, textured bases and they are all documented in the Black Catalog and the 1987 Catalog. Neither catalog lists the names of individual figures, nor do they give the set code-letters for the figures (the a,b,c,d etc). On the evidence of a handful of blister packs, it is probable that the order of pictures in the 1987 Catalog (but not the Black Catalog) corresponds to the ABC ordering. From those same blister packs it is known that Hobby Products, at least for a while, sold figures only found in the 'M' Series using the product codes from the 'C' series. In all cases unless noted otherwise figure names and code-letters for the 'M' Series are arbitrary and for the convenience of this site. As information comes to light, names and figure code letters will be noted as confirmed.
Standard Sets
The standard sets were usually made up of 5 figures.
Big Box Sets
The M16xx series were 'Big Box Sets' (großboxen). When they were first introduced each box set had a special puzzle-piece and if you collected 4 to make a set you could trade them in for one of two free figures that were unavailable anywhere else. Box sets M1601 to M1604 contained the 4 pieces for one free figure and boxes M1605 to M1608 contained another 4 pieces for a different free figure. Considering that you had to buy four of the large box sets to get enough puzzle-pieces for these 'free' figures, these two miniatures must be candidates for the rarest Metal Magic figures ever produced.
'M' Series References
- [1] - Tabletop Games advert in White Dwarf #59
- [2] - Hobbygames of London advert in G.M.v1.5
- [3] - 'Fantasy Wargaming' by Martin Hacket, PSL ©1990 - various pictures of Metal Magic figures labelled as from 'Hobbygames'.
Fantasy 'C' Series
Starting in 1988, Josef Ochmann began producing figures with the new circular, disc-like bases. At about the same time Hobby Products revised the product coding of their miniatures changing from a leading 'M' to a leading 'C'. Despite this, the actual code number and the name of each series was kept (in most cases). Thus 'M1001 Fighters' became 'C1001 Fighters'. By the time of the 1990 Catalog, all the smaller figures from the Fantasy 'M' Series that had the older style bases had been replaced or retired. The Fantasy 'C' (Metal Magic) series is documented in the 1990, 1992 and the (as yet unseen) 1994 Catalogs.
Boxed Sets
Just like the Standard Sets from the Early Series, the 'Big Box' sets were part of the new, revised Fantasy series - but only two of the original 'M' series box sets made the transition: the M1601 Tavern and M1602 Alchemist's Lab box sets. The other older box sets - all 9 of them - didn't, and were replaced with two new sets - the C1603 Dwarf Bombard and the C1604 The Dragon Isfhandir sets.
Plastic Bases
At some point in the 1990s, Hobby Games introduced a square, black plastic base that had a recess in it to fit the circular bases of the metal miniatures. This made the figures appear similar to the suddenly popular "slotta" bases prevalent elsewhere. Blister packs of figures exist with and without this plastic base.
Other Fantasy Series
Hobby Products produced other Metal Magic ranges that could be classified as Fantasy but a Metal Magic miniature is only part of this series if they were listed in a catalog under the Fantasy heading and/or were sold in a blister pack using the yellow Fantasy backing card. Other sets like Midgard Fantasy, Arabian Nights and Freaky Fantasy (which used a generic backing card) had their own blister-pack backing card designs. In addition the C15xx sub-range has been seen listed in magazines under the Fantasy Classics name but they were still sold in the yellow blister packs. Finally, Hobby Products had Citadel Miniatures produce two box sets of fantasy figures under the Citadel brand name for the Midgard RPG - these were probably only sold in Germany and possibly only contained figures already available.
Packaging
Hobby Products sold the miniatures in either blister packs or boxed sets. The blister packs existed either without a plastic base (earlier) or with a plastic base (later). The black, plastic base fits the regular metal-disc bases of the actual figures. The blister pack backing-cards exist in two variants with the difference only on the back: some have only German text with a space for the pack contents sticker to go on the back, and some have English text without a space for the sticker on the back. With the latter type the pack details were either printed on the card just below the Metal Magic logo or a pack sticker with the details on it was placed in the same place. Stickers have been seen in German, French and English and they gave the range code, code-letter, the figure name and, sometimes, a barcode (although the barcode ones are likely retailer specific stickers on top of / replacing the original ones). The English backs also gave the following flavour text:
The barbarian ducked the blow and hit back. The two-handed sword cut through flesh and bones, and another of the attackers stumbled back, hissing angrily. Now that the wizard was gone, it was all up to him, and more of the orcs were advancing...
The Late 1990s
The range grew in size until 1996 when it was retired to allow Hobby Products to focus on its other miniature lines. This led to a period of 5 years when the range was not being made. In 2001 Mega Miniatures acquired the range and started bringing it back into production.
Mega Miniatures
It appears that only the later Fantasy sets that were still in production in 1995/1996 were sold to Mega Miniatures. Older sets, such as the C1021 Insectoids (they vanished prior to 1992) or the earlier versions of completely resculpted sets like C1001 Fighters were never re-released by Mega Minis. It also seems that the Dragon Isfhandir was never acquired by Mega Miniatures, and perhaps only parts of the other boxed sets changed hands as well (the bar from the Tavern set never resurfaced but the barkeeper and other figures did). However, this did not apply to other sets such as the Arabian Nights series which had been retired by 1990 but which were sold to and re-released by Mega Minis.
Disposal of Range
In 2010 Mega Miniatures closed its doors and sold off the set to various manufacturers finally breaking up the series. Most pieces are still in production somewhere. The individual figure image-pages should indicate the current or last known manufacturer of each model.
Collector's Guide
Collectors should note that figures from the older 'M' series seem to be rare (in the UK at least) but figures from the 'C' series (worldwide) are not as most are still in production. Notable exceptions to this are C1012e (Angel) and C1012k (Gargoyle), where the moulds have either been sold on privately or have been lost, and the C1021 Insectoids series, which appears to have had a very short shelf-life. The larger box sets are also rare.
See also Mega Miniatures for range additions which were sculpted to fit in alongside the original Metal Magic miniatures.
References
