If you read the post you will see i buy for 3 others [not for profit, as they are friends of the family] who do not have access too or do not use the internet, as there are no shows to attend and very few shops stocking Britains figures. i am getting asked from them what is happening and my posts are theirs as well as my questions/thoughts. They come from a time when Britains was the the only large scale toy soldier company and get frustrated when Ken and others constantly highlight and send out information on definite release dates, not just for the 88mm but for many other figures/sets, and do not deliver.
I also grew up less than 3 miles from one of the main William Britains factories and had relatives who worked there and were involved in 'home painting of figures' as in the 60s William Britains used to use people to paint their figures at home, not plastics as they moved out to Hong Kong in 1966, i had an aunt and uncle who used to get unpainted figures and paint them at home, I can remember as a child being at their house and not understanding why i could not play with all the Redcoat toy soldiers. What i am trying to say is Britains is/was more than a TS company, for us Brit collectors it was an institution and part of our childhood. It is being ruined by people who, and this is my opinion, just bought it for the name/brand and are using that to sell other things. Prints, board games, etc.
Finally, i do not buy, but that does not mean i will not buy again if they actually released something i liked. I got rid of my Zulus, WofN, Clash of Empires ranges due to lack of releases and what was being released was poor, my Napoleonic's because i collected K & C, which i think are better, but kept al my bands/ceremonial plus His of Brit [and US] Army, but have them all and the other follow on gloss sets. When/if Britains do look to release some new sets i may buy, but the price is creeping up on gloss. I also left the collector club in 2018 after 23 years because of the poor service, i got my 2016 club figures in May 2017 and my Britains December 2016 Show figure in March 2017, but what put the nail in the coffin was it was not just financially worth it, as you could buy the exclusives from the then Britains stand at the London Show for the same price as club members and there were loads of Standard magazines at the show on their stand for free.
I really miss the Britains annual Ceremonial Band release, they were excellent and for many of us the toy soldier highlight release of the year............
Nice to have this discussion, that is what the forum is all about.
Be safe and keep the kids, the cat/dog and the dust away from your toy soldier collections.
just had a look, good to see accessories being released, hopefully some additional crew to follow.
