4th Annual Spring Collector Open House (2 Viewers)

[mestell]

Hi all. Tomorrow I will be attending the 4th Annual W. Britain & Toy Soldier Shoppe Spring Collector Open House (one day event). It is sponsored by W. Britain and Toy Soldier Shoppe (www.toysoldiershoppe.net) of Greenfiled, WI (Milwaukee bedroom community). Richard Walker of Wm. Britains will be there. Osprey Publishing will be represented by John White who is a Commercial Illustrator. I am looking forward to meeting Mr. Walker and I will be asking him questions concerning future Britains offerings. If any forum members have a question you would like me to ask either Mr. Walker or Mr. White please let me know by 8:00 a.m. CST tomorrow morning - I will be leaving shortly there after for the Milwaukee area. Although not a big event, I am still looking forward to being there. Of course I wil be reporting back tomorrow evening or Sunday morning about this event - so stay tuned.

Mike

 

[DMNamiot]

Have fun and if they have anything new on the table get some photos.

Thanks

Dave

 

[Leadmen]

Sounds like a good day. I would like to visit Paul's shop sometime. I talked with Paul last week. Maybe some new information will become known. John

 

[Mister Dave]

Hi Mike, I guess it is that time of year again already. I really enjoyed this little event the last couple of years, but being 6 hours away now it is not in the cards for me I'm afraid. Shame, it would have been nice to chat in person. Please say hello to Paul and Carl for me, and also to Richard of course. Please take some photos if you feel up to it and have a good time.

Regards,
David Gray

 

[Mister Dave]

I found this photo from last years show on an old thread. L to R: Carl (Paul's Rt hand man), Richard Walker, Paul Hermann, Mister Dave having a swell day out.

 

[mestell]

Hi Mike, I guess it is that time of year again already. I really enjoyed this little event the last couple of years, but being 6 hours away now it is not in the cards for me I'm afraid. Shame, it would have been nice to chat in person. Please say hello to Paul and Carl for me, and also to Richard of course. Please take some photos if you feel up to it and have a good time.

Regards,
David Gray

That's too bad you won't be there David. Like you, I would have enjoyed conversing together. Its only about a 1.5 hour drive for me from the Madison, WI area where I live - easy trip for a one day event.

Mike

 

[Mister Dave]

That's too bad you won't be there David. Like you, I would have enjoyed conversing together. Its only about a 1.5 hour drive for me from the Madison, WI area where I live - easy trip for a one day event.

Mike

We used to live 1 hour and 12 minutes away in Ripon (how could I know that time so precisely I wonder ), and so I used to frequent the joint. Needless to say I miss hanging out there on a regular basis. Being so close to the zoo as it is, I used to have an easy bribe for the kids to "take a drive down to Milwaukee and I just have to make 1 quick stop on the way."

Again, have a nice time, and we'll be looking forward to some highlights from the event.

MD

 

[1879fanatic]

Mike,
Could you keep an eye out for any new LL that Paul might have on display?I'm told he's the only US dealer.
And also see if WB has any new Zulu stuff on display?

And if there is some cool stuff, could you have someone cause a diversion while you casually place them in your bag and sneak them out for posting to my address on Monday?
Mike

Oh, and Enjoy and Have a Ball!!!

 

[mestell]

I don't often get a chance to visit a toy soldier shop, so today when I had the opportunity I went to the Toy Soldier Shop in Greenfield, Wi to enjoy their 4th annual Spring Collectors event sponsored by W. Britains and Osprey Books. I had a great time, chatted with store owner Paul Herrmann and also with Richard Walker of W. Britains. It was just amazing to see all of the figures first hand instead seeing them as internet web site pictures. I now wish I could afford it all. Great selection of items from W. Britains, K&C, Little Legion, Del Prado, Frontline, John Jenkins, Collectors Showcase, and others.

Richard Walker brought some figures out of the 2009 Britains catalog for display only from the Delhi Durbar, Waterloo, and Collectors Club ranges. Fellas, I am here to say that they were nothing short but spectacular.

Here are some pics.

Mike

 

[mestell]

Mike,
Could you keep an eye out for any new LL that Paul might have on display?I'm told he's the only US dealer.
And also see if WB has any new Zulu stuff on display?

And if there is some cool stuff, could you have someone cause a diversion while you casually place them in your bag and sneak them out for posting to my address on Monday?
Mike

Oh, and Enjoy and Have a Ball!!!

hello 1879fanatic - I Had a great time there and yes does Paul Herrmann have Little Legion figures - literally shelves full. Here are some pics:

Mike

 

[1879fanatic]

Hey Mike,
Man of your word! They look fab...Any more?
Mike

 

[1879fanatic]

Posted at the same time Bring it On!

 

[mestell]

Some more Little Legion pics:

Mike

 

[mestell]

The Britains WWI sets were fabulous - I could almost collect these if I had the room:

Mike

 

[mestell]

And as I said before, I had an absolutely wonderful time chatting with Richard Walker. Richard said that the Waterloo series was going to continue not only with the defense of Hougoumont (a few new figures to appear soon) but also withthe Battle of Quatre Bras with the 42nd Highlanders and the 4th French Lancers. Richard said that a Lancer bugler will soon be added to the fray along with a piper, wounded/dead, and sgt for the 42nd. Also, Britains will be offering a special grassy base made especially for the 42nd.

The cart shed and the north wall cow barn for Hougoumont is being seriously considered but will probably be made out of dense foam - resin would be too heavy and too expensive.

Here's a pic of Richard and me (i am the jolly one on the left )

That's all for now folks -

Mike

 

[Deitz]

Mestell,

I wish I knew you were there, I would have introduced myself. I was up at the shoppe around 1pm. I picked up some LL and a MK IV King & Country tank. Thanks for the pictues. Next time I will were my Treefrog pin.

Brian

 

[mestell]

Mestell,

I wish I knew you were there, I would have introduced myself. I was up at the shoppe around 1pm. I picked up some LL and a MK IV King & Country tank. Thanks for the pictues. Next time I will were my Treefrog pin.

Brian

Sorry I missed you Brian. I got there at 10:00 a.m. and stayed until noon. Ended up buying a K&C NA125 Coldstream Guards Mounted Officer for my Hougoumont diorama in progress. K&C mounted figures are made smaller than their foot troops. The mounted size is almost an exact match to Britain figures. I'll post a pic - need to take it first.

Mike

 

[wadepat]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures with us. Like yourself, I rarely have the opportunity to visit a brick and mortar toy soldier shop. Seeing some of the contents of Paul's shop is especially exciting for me. I wish I could have been there to enjoy the event.

Did you happen to notice if Paul had any Marlborough Delhi Durbar figures on display and/or for sale?

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

 

[mestell]

This is the figure I bought today, K&C NA125 Coldstream Guards Mounted Officer. As you can see it "scales" very well with the Britain figures. I had intended on buying another Britain Hougoumont set but saw this K&C set and had to have it -

Mike

 

[mestell]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures with us. Like yourself, I rarely have the opportunity to visit a brick and mortar toy soldier shop. Seeing some of the contents of Paul's shop is especially exciting for me. I wish I could have been there to enjoy the event.

Did you happen to notice if Paul had any Marlborough Delhi Durbar figures on display and/or for sale?

Warmest personal regards,

Pat

Hi Pat, the only Delhi Durbar set I saw was the new elephant piece from the 2009 catalog. I was so busy drueling over the Waterloo, ACW, WWI and Zulu sets to have noticed any Marlborough sets, however that doesn't mean Paul didn't have them - he seemd to have a good stock of everything.

Mike