There is another miniatures IP dispute out there, but this one isn’t from Games Workshop- it’s regarding the Secret Weapon Miniatures shutdown.
In August 2021 Secret Weapon Miniatures posted on Facebook that they were going to call it quits after 12 years, however, this new dispute sheds some light on what may have happened to facilitate their closure.
Now, it looks like Trolltrader/TT Combat (TTC) had actually claimed IP on their HD Bases Kickstarter Campaign, making it impossible for them to get the project sent out. They say the claims are false and even tried in good faith to make an offer to give a portion of the profits of the project, however, that was refused.
Let’s look at their previous announcement and their latest remarks regarding this ongoing Intellectual Property dispute.
Secret Weapon Miniatures Closing
Of course, this is sad news as Secret Weapons was a great hobby company that made some good products including some of the paints that even Long War’s own Kenny from Next Level Painting often used. They also had some fantastic sculpts that were awesome for anyone who wanted a large range of premade bases.
It’s always sad to see large companies in the hobby scene go under, hopefully, everyone at Secret Weapon Miniatures can find success doing what they love even after this hard decision to close.
Secret Weapon Miniatures Intellectual Property dispute
Let’s first look at their statement:
This really sucks to see and highlights some major issues with miniatures IP. This project was all about bases and it seems quite hard honestly to say that something that every company makes, and plenty of people create on their own, is your IP. However, when a bigger company disputes with a smaller company, there isn’t much the smaller company can do claims Secret Weapon.
As you need so many resources to go through the legal process, and if you don’t have the money and might have already been dealing with some money issues, you don’t have the resources you need. We’ve seen it with GW, that the majority of the time, it’s just easier to shut the project down. It just really sucks when it’s a Kickstarter, as the companies usually wait until it’s totally complete, then make the strike. Plus, this has actually made them default on loans which is just something we never want to see in the hobby space.
This is just a sample of the bases, and as you can see, they have a fairly specific style, but again, it’s a flight deck and a desert. This is just something almost all companies make, we couldn’t find the exact examples from TTC they are claiming the bases would be from, but sometimes all it takes is just the strike itself…
It appears from their statement that they tried to settle this out of court, but if both companies don’t agree, there isn’t much more recourse if you can’t afford the legal fees.
Overall it’s sad to see as this seems to have hit Secret Weapon really, really hard.
This is sad news for the hobby space, what were your favorite Secret Weapon Miniatures products?
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
