Del Prado 'Men At War' series question (2 Viewers)

[gage marshall]

Hello all,

I've just joined this forum, and I'm enjoying reading very much so.

I have a question about the Del Prado 'Men At War' Figurine Series. I searched the forum first to make sure I'm not duplicating a previous thread, so I apologise if I have duplicated.

I am in Australia and some years ago I collected the complete series of the Del Prado 'Men At War' figurines. I was even lucky enough to get the first few figurines that were made out of lead rather than pewter, before they were re-called. Each and every figure is still in their packaging, including the clear plastic that kept the figure and booklet together.

What I am wondering, and please tell me if I'm posting in the incorrect thread, is this complete set worth anything? I have found individual figures on ebay here and there, fetching a couple of dollars, but my complete set, as detailed above, can anyone tell me if it would be worth much?

Cheers,
Gage.

 

[theBaron]

Welcome to the forum, Gage!

Not sure if this helps, my observation is that the figures are more popular in Europe than anywhere else, at present. Judging from eBay auctions, it seems that they sell really well in France, Germany, and Italy.

There is a US agent for Del Prado, and I think he may also participate in the forum. He'd be better able to talk about sales numbers here.

Don't know about sales in the UK.

As far as value goes, well, that's a broader question in our hobby, and in the wider field of collecting and collectibles. There's always the question of looking at your collection as an investment or not. For me, I collect things that I enjoy, and worry about value only for insurance purposes. But it's a personal choice, there may be as many opinions as there are collectors.

Prost!
Brad

 

[gage marshall]

Hiya Baron,

Thankyou for the warm welcome.

You hit the nail right on the head. I have just recently move house, and during the move I actually found my collection hidden away, and so figured I better get a value for insurance purposes because it had been so long since I had purchased them. I to am a collector for the 'interest' side of things, and all my other collections of figurines are on my policy except these guys.

Thanks for your reply.

Gage.

 

[theBaron]

Let's see some pictures, when you get settled in!

Prosit!
Brad

 

[Wraith]

Gage, Welcome to the forum,

With regards to your DP query, from a resale point of view, they don't add up to a huge amount I'm afraid, at least not in the UK. I occasioanlly see full series up for sale on ebay and from memory, the 100 figure(I think?) MAW set will perhaps see £150 - £200. On an individual figue bases you could get anything from £1 - £4 on average, dependant on the scarcity / desirability of the figure. If you have an occasional look at ebay UK, you can sometimes see the complete series for sale, so that might prove your best bet for testing their current market worth.

Cheers
Simon

 

[Njja]

Great advice from Wraith!

I bought a bunch of the figures the figures to use on dioramas, and had to
go through Ebay UK as they are were not readily available here in US. I found
the prices varied from $5 to $10 per figure + shipping.

Now several dealers are carrying them here but they do not have the following of for example retired King & Country.

I would agree on the above price estimates.

Njja

 

[OzDigger]

HI Gage, and welcome to the forum. In Australia you will find that these figures are worth more individually than they are as a collection because most people expect a discount with bulk buys. I have found that the demand and prices vary a bit depending upon how popular the figure is and how scarce it is.

At swapmeets and fairs downunder these figures usually achieve $10 to $15 and $5 for each magazine when sold separately. German and American figures sell best with British figs close behind, then Italians etc. The figures based on more obscure countries are sort after by guys wanting to complete their collection but are not very popular with the occasional figure collector.

 

[kilted vampire]

Hi Gage and welcome. Some of the figures have been nice. Not worth a whole lot, but nice . Can you insure for replacement cost?

 

[OzDigger]

I have never insured any of my collection. When you look at the logic, what is the chances of your house burning down these days. And the average burglar is a drug induced rat bag more interested in what cash or electrical gear you have, I really don't think he's likely to pack a heap of toy soldiers into his swag.

 

[UKReb]

Hi Gage

Welcome to the mad-house re:- DP figures -which I dont collect- at many of the TS shows I attend in the UK they dont fetch a great deal of money and Simon is correct you can pick up whole bagfuls of them on ebay for mere pocket money.

I maybe wrong but their size/scale (for the ones I've looked at) appear to be slightly unique to add to whatever you are collecting-they are definitely to big for the 1/32-54mm collector- not sure how they stack up against 1/30 scale, but they appear somewhat chunky! (I will be corrected by someone on here if I'm wrong-that's a guarantee)

However, their major failing-as far as I'm concerned- is a lack of conformity to any particular era, now some will say on here "Dont be so stupid Reb that's the whole idea of the Men at War series manufactured and issued monthly for the public at large and in particular fathers and their young sons" Quite Correct! but that idea has not rung the serious TS collector's bell whose interest/demand drives the price of figures and that is why I believe their re-sale price is so poor-well here in the UK that is no idea for the rest of the world.

Reb

 

[Njja]

Reb:

I picked up a few figures which I thought fit into dioramas I was fooling

around with, such as the free french fighter. When you blend them in with

other figures they seem to work out ok.

Last figure in the street is Del Prado free french figure.

Njja

 

[Njja]

Here is the Del Prado Military Policeman, he blends in nicely with these

King & Country items.

Njja

 

[Wraith]

I agree with you're thoughts Reb. It would be nice if these series could use a few figures from the same unit, so they can be used together, rather than one offs. Also the poses usually tend to be static standing around types. I guess that goes with what Del Prado are about - creating a collection covering a multitude of areas and eras.

That said, some of them are really nicely done and as Njja shows, can fit in well with other dios / manufacturer's figures, the French Resistance fighter being an excellent example.

It's a shame that the quality is all over the place in terms of sculpt and paint finish. There are some which rank up with K&C, for instance the K&C produced desert FJ, US Airborne (from DD031 set) and the US BAR gunner, although the paint is not quite to the same standard, and some of the figures are just lousy. But for the money, you can't argue too much.....

 

[Njja]

Great points! And as long as you pick and choose.....its hard to lose


I must be getting tired if I'm rhyming!

Njja

 

[UKReb]

njja/Simon

Thanks guys; As I said if I'm wrong I'll be corrected-and rightly so

However as a 1/32/54mm collector they are too large for my troops-bought a couple of their civil war cavalry guys way back when which I picked up for a buck-placed them on the battlefield and they were massive! horses looked like brewery drays in comparison-quickly sold them on.

I'm glad you mentioned the hit and miss paint finish- the two Rebs and horses I bought were pretty dreadful and would have needed a definite repaint if I had kept them. I was going to mention that in my first post-but one thing I have learned on this forum is prudence-one members criticism is sometimes taken by other members as a personal insult. It wasn't me who mentioned the paint finish on some of them first guys

njja your shots do indeed show a good match with 1/30 scale figures thanks for the info.
Reb

 

[Njja]

Reb:

Always a pleasure, and I can't wait for your next Civil War story

They are just wonderful!

Njja

 

[redhugh]

Great points! And as long as you pick and choose.....its hard to lose


I must be getting tired if I'm rhyming!

Njja

I'm a big fan of Del Prado for filling out scenes, the fact that they are only a couple of dollars each on ebay, means you don't break a sweat when you want to fool around with them, by repainting or reposing (breaking off bits from one figure and sticking to another the mounted ranges are also great for that). But also there are some great figures in their own right that aren't covered by the K&C range.

 

[Njja]

Great point, thats exactly what interested me. I liked the

German Submariner, Japanese Officer, Free French, Vietnam Series (which are

every bit as nice as regular K&C series) and about a dozen others.

I got mine from Ebay U.K. which was a trip in itself. I had more packages

coming across the pond then I could count!

 

[redhugh]

Great point, thats exactly what interested me. I liked the

German Submariner, Japanese Officer, Free French, Vietnam Series (which are

every bit as nice as regular K&C series) and about a dozen others.

I got mine from Ebay U.K. which was a trip in itself. I had more packages

coming across the pond then I could count!

I think there are more good than poor figures, these are among my favourite ones , the last ones are from other del prado ranges , their fireman range , alpini and wild west range
p.s the bases are usually tan colour but i chaged them to grey

 

[kilted vampire]

Hi Gage

Welcome to the mad-house re:- DP figures -which I dont collect- at many of the TS shows I attend in the UK they dont fetch a great deal of money and Simon is correct you can pick up whole bagfuls of them on ebay for mere pocket money.

I maybe wrong but their size/scale (for the ones I've looked at) appear to be slightly unique to add to whatever you are collecting-they are definitely to big for the 1/32-54mm collector- not sure how they stack up against 1/30 scale, but they appear somewhat chunky! (I will be corrected by someone on here if I'm wrong-that's a guarantee)

However, their major failing-as far as I'm concerned- is a lack of conformity to any particular era, now some will say on here "Dont be so stupid Reb that's the whole idea of the Men at War series manufactured and issued monthly for the public at large and in particular fathers and their young sons" Quite Correct! but that idea has not rung the serious TS collector's bell whose interest/demand drives the price of figures and that is why I believe their re-sale price is so poor-well here in the UK that is no idea for the rest of the world.

Reb

They usually conform to 1/30. But the egyptians are really small 1/40? Some of the cavalry are 1/32.

You said it all in regards the rest of your observations. But some of the figures are great for repainting and filling in a void.

RED: That one MP looks like Andy! What number is the traffic controller?