Andy’s Response (4 Viewers)

[Vezzolf]

Vezzolf -

I also agree with you.

In a free society anyone can and should express their opinion. Tim has every right to voice his opinion and we have every right to let it be heard or not heard.

We also have a free market system and it works well too.

Ron

The free-market system works very well......But even better when it is not used by some at the expense of others

 

[jazzeum]

The system is not perfect but it is in the nature of things that people will purchase multiples of what they think may sell or will jack up the price on an item or commodity that is desired. That is part and parcel of the system.

 

[CannonFodder1971]

I'm a little late to join this fray but I think I'll only be saying what I've said as far back as April 2005 when I joined the Forum. Basically, I'd prefer that people remember that they're a community of collectors and not just buyers and sellers. I'd prefer if people used the dealer network to source items they need: face it you know that WWII North Africa sells less well in certain countries than SOHK, and elsewhere (eg USA) the Napoleonics are less popular than in many European countries. I prefer to see collectors share info rather than buy multiples and eBay them and if others reciprocate then there's no reason why regional (or global) variations in sales patterns should produce an eBay-related solution to any bottleneck. We have probably 15 or 20 languages represented on this Forum, in every time-zone.

However, having said all that I don't mind people buying duplicates and re-selling them, as I won't be buying them but I know people who probably will. My gripe with 'Strictly Limited' has been the manner in which many of these were distributed and disposed of. (However, I wouldn't exactly call my own purchase patterns a boycott either!) I think people should remember that if we roll up the drawbridge behind ourselves and barter items at telephone number prices rather than trying to grow our hobby then we'll look a little BeanyBabyish when our collective grounding in reality is lost.

 

[fishead19690]

I think If I explain the veiw of my origanal post better I might get cut a bit of slack here.
Number one it was not an attack on andy or K&C and I didn,t even notice that the thread name was Andy which looking back now kind of makes it look like an attack on andy.

The post was meant to be about about limited editions and retirements by all manafactures. I don,t consider my self a K&C or Britains,frontline,ect.ect. collector, but a napoleonic collector. And as a napoleonic collector I will buy plastic, metal, kit, painted unpainted ect. ect. Whatever catches my eye and the less the cost the better thats that munch more I can collect and in napoleonics the more the better.

Now my satement was that the more that are produced, the cheaper the cost to the costmer, look at del prado the markets flooded and you can get them real cheap and find tons of them!!!

Yes I know you guys hate Del prado and it cheapens your collections values ect, ect, i,m not into that and I don,t care about resale values and thats not what I,m into the hobby for.

My post was about keep prices down and being able to expand onto my troop collections and be able to build upto a british square, a french column,a lagre line of cavalry ect. by adding figures here and there as the wallet permits.

Napoleonics are not like WWII to build a diorama and have it look convincing. You WWII guys don,t deal with big lines, colums, and squares and massed cavalry and just one of each figure will do just fine with WWII. And a lot of you guys are not into the diorama thing at all.

I guess the bottom line is we all collect for different reasons, have different tastes and opions and meet at some points in our intrests and at times offend each other without even realizing it.

I have found there are many different groups here! You,ve got your K&C guys,matte guys,gloss guys,diorama guys,britains,WWII, napoleonic, and i,m sure there are to many others to list without giving myself a head ache!!!

So Sorry again if I affended anyone, I was just voicing one of many different opions that live here.

 

[jazzeum]

Tim,

This place is one big tent, so to speak. You're entitled to speak your opinion. That's what this place is for. Now, I may not agree with you but who cares? You come here to have fun and vent your feelings. No opinion is wrong or right so no need to apologize at all. The only place where we have to worry about that is work

Keep your thoughts and dioramas coming!

 

[Combat]

I think If I explain the veiw of my origanal post better I might get cut a bit of slack here.
Number one it was not an attack on andy or K&C and I didn,t even notice that the thread name was Andy which looking back now kind of makes it look like an attack on andy.

The post was meant to be about about limited editions and retirements by all manafactures. I don,t consider my self a K&C or Britains,frontline,ect.ect. collector, but a napoleonic collector. And as a napoleonic collector I will buy plastic, metal, kit, painted unpainted ect. ect. Whatever catches my eye and the less the cost the better thats that munch more I can collect and in napoleonics the more the better.

Now my satement was that the more that are produced, the cheaper the cost to the costmer, look at del prado the markets flooded and you can get them real cheap and find tons of them!!!

Yes I know you guys hate Del prado and it cheapens your collections values ect, ect, i,m not into that and I don,t care about resale values and thats not what I,m into the hobby for.

My post was about keep prices down and being able to expand onto my troop collections and be able to build upto a british square, a french column,a lagre line of cavalry ect. by adding figures here and there as the wallet permits.

Napoleonics are not like WWII to build a diorama and have it look convincing. You WWII guys don,t deal with big lines, colums, and squares and massed cavalry and just one of each figure will do just fine with WWII. And a lot of you guys are not into the diorama thing at all.

I guess the bottom line is we all collect for different reasons, have different tastes and opions and meet at some points in our intrests and at times offend each other without even realizing it.

I have found there are many different groups here! You,ve got your K&C guys,matte guys,gloss guys,diorama guys,britains,WWII, napoleonic, and i,m sure there are to many others to list without giving myself a head ache!!!

So Sorry again if I affended anyone, I was just voicing one of many different opions that live here.

None of your excuses Fishman. Admit that you are a price fixing commie infiltrator.

 

[Alexdakar]

Tim, I think we are all in agreement that you don't need to apologize. Now the other stuff is a different story.

 

[OzDigger]

Another side to this discussion is the fact that the individual that has the

most to say about King & Country......the marketplace......retired items.....

ect has repeatly expressed his displeasure with the product.......so why does

anyone care what his opinion is?

Since I am not a diecast nascar fan I do not seek out their Forums to point

out my lack of interest in their products.

Just something to ponder.

Njja

I wonder who njja is venting his spleen at this time.

Oz?
I know it can't be me because I have over one hundred LAH, 8th Army/Afrika Korps, and Waffen SS pieces made by King & Country. And I think they are terrific figures and have often said so.

However, when I see examples that I don't like in the K & C range such as poor tank tracks and camel headed horses - I say so. And I am pleased to see that these matters have been fixed.

I'm also in favour of Retirement and Limited Edition pieces of limited popularity.

Sgt Rock/Firebat?
It also can't be aimed at Sarge/Firebat because he now has several K & C pieces. I believe he did collect Nazcar models for a while but no longer does.

Fishead?
If not fishead, it must be a new mystery objective. Lookout 'whoever', because njja has nukes and he's not afraid to use them

 

[OzDigger]

As for Andy - Yes, I am proud to say that I worship the man, myth and legend. Once in a while in human history people come along and change the world for the better - in the TOY SOLDIER WORLD - Andy has done it. His product is trhe best bar none and it has forced everyone else in the industry to reach higher in their own quality - which good for us all.

So, Thank you Andy and happy collecting,

Ron

Of course there are plenty of collectors that would say Honour Bound and Figarti have raised a few bars themselves tank wise, and Patriot have pushed the bar way up with their new Napoleonic range etc.

And that's even better for all of us collectors.

Perhaps it's not so good for people that are into reselling K & C

 

[Capitolron]

Tim:

You have no reason to retreat from your position or apologize to anyone - we have a right to express our views here and I for one would like to see them all - the good , the bad and the ugly.

We all have our favorites and mine is King and Country - thus reason I dont spend too much time on other sights. But, I do love all Toy Soldiers and support all efforts to expand productions wiht other companies.

Now for Mr. Oz:

I consider myself a collector. Just because someone wants to sell apart of their collection to use the money to buy other newer items to add to their collection - doesnt make them less of a collector in our hobby.

Lets not be to judgemental of each other and how they manage their collections.

I dont know about trees in the land down under - but, in North America money doesnt grow on trees.

Your Brother in Collecting,

Ron

 

[OzDigger]

However, having said all that I don't mind people buying duplicates and re-selling them, as I won't be buying them but I know people who probably will. My gripe with 'Strictly Limited' has been the manner in which many of these were distributed and disposed of.

(However, I wouldn't exactly call my own purchase patterns a boycott either!) I think people should remember that if we roll up the drawbridge behind ourselves and barter items at telephone number prices rather than trying to grow our hobby then we'll look a little BeanyBabyish when our collective grounding in reality is lost.

I agree and I have said in the past that I don't have a problem with collectors buying duplicates to swap or sell, that's the usual thing with collectables.

My main concern was a continuation of POPULAR items being produced in Limited Editions as was evident with 'Rommels Greif'. That edition and perceived sales method really made be angry because it only worked in favour of the people that resell items on eBay. It did NOT maximise the potential return from this set for K & C and its dealers, and it did NOT help collectors. Most of us want a healthy manufacturer and dealers, and happy collectors. And from Andy's response I can see he prefers that arrangement to lining the pockets of resellers.

 

[nmrocks]

I agree and I have said in the past that I don't have a problem with collectors buying duplicates to swap or sell, that's the usual thing with collectables.

My main concern was a continuation of POPULAR items being produced in Limited Editions as was evident with 'Rommels Greif'. That edition and perceived sales method really made be angry because it only worked in favour of the people that resell items on eBay. It did NOT maximise the potential return from this set for K & C and its dealers, and it did NOT help collectors. Most of us want a healthy manufacturer and dealers, and happy collectors. And from Andy's response I can see he prefers that arrangement to lining the pockets of resellers.

I haven't had much problem with the distribution of the limited items so far, but I have got to say I am rather concerned about the Storch model coming out. If the difficulty in manufacturing and quality lends itself to Limited production in any form, Especially if it is labeled such. Then the higher cost of the set, could make for some very angry people if Dealers spouses like Majories hords large numbers for resale later. I would hope distribution could be controlled thru Andy/Dealers to avoid single buyers from purchasing large numbers or hiding these purchases thru there own dealerships as Majorie does.
Ray

 

[jazzeum]

I wonder who njja is venting his spleen at this time.

Oz?
I know it can't be me because I have over one hundred LAH, 8th Army/Afrika Korps, and Waffen SS pieces made by King & Country. And I think they are terrific figures and have often said so.

However, when I see examples that I don't like in the K & C range such as poor tank tracks and camel headed horses - I say so. And I am pleased to see that these matters have been fixed.

I'm also in favour of Retirement and Limited Edition pieces of limited popularity.

Sgt Rock/Firebat?
It also can't be aimed at Sarge/Firebat because he now has several K & C pieces. I believe he did collect Nazcar models for a while but no longer does.

Fishead?
If not fishead, it must be a new mystery objective. Lookout 'whoever', because njja has nukes and he's not afraid to use them

Now, that you've each had your say, I'd like you both to keep it to the issues and please no comments.

 

[OzDigger]

Now for Mr. Oz:

I consider myself a collector. Just because someone wants to sell apart of their collection to use the money to buy other newer items to add to their collection - doesnt make them less of a collector in our hobby.

Lets not be to judgemental of each other and how they manage their collections.

I dont know about trees in the land down under - but, in North America money doesnt grow on trees.

Your Brother in Collecting,

Ron

Hi Capitalistron,

I wasn't judging, just teasing - you'll see a lot of that around here

 

[Capitolron]

Oz:

CAPITALISTRON ?? Hahahaha I actually like that - has a ring to it.

No offense taken - its just selling parts of your collection unfortunately happens to pick up on the ever increasing better stuff coming out of K&C.

I dont believe anyone is taken advantage on Ebay - its a free market with fredom of the buyer and the seller. Something I think even you Aussies even fought two World Wars for??

Ron

 

[OzDigger]

I haven't had much problem with the distribution of the limited items so far, but I have got to say I am rather concerned about the Storch model coming out. If the difficulty in manufacturing and quality lends itself to Limited production in any form, Especially if it is labeled such. Then the higher cost of the set, could make for some very angry people if Dealers spouses like Majories hords large numbers for resale later. I would hope distribution could be controlled thru Andy/Dealers to avoid single buyers from purchasing large numbers or hiding these purchases thru there own dealerships as Majorie does.
Ray

I agree that there have been few problems with most of the Limited Editions. Andy said that in hindsight they should have produced more of the Rommel Greifs, so I suspect that was a one off situation.

As for the aircraft. I don't believe they were issued in high numbers originally and new issues of aircraft would still have less appeal than their figure and vehicle range.

I guess the best way would be to issue the Rommel Storch edition in relatively high numbers with more limited edition variants later on. I have only seen one pic of the new Storch and it looked good but appeared to lack the full on detail of the Corgi 1/32 scale stuff.

However most K & C collectors will be happy to have a clear(ish) canopy with not to much interior detail and perhaps lacking the detailed engines etc of the Corgi products. Corgi haven't made a Storch and I feel it would be a popular model and likely to attract attention from aviation collectors, and there are thousands of them.

As for the actual number to be produced intially. I really have no idea, and I suspect it will be a suck it and see situation. Perhaps producing say 250 Rommel Storchs, and if they sell, make some more. Of course Rommel had at least three personal Storchs with different color scheme and markings, so that's another option

 

[OzDigger]

Oz:

CAPITALISTRON ?? Hahahaha I actually like that - has a ring to it.

No offense taken - its just selling parts of your collection unfortunately happens to pick up on the ever increasing better stuff coming out of K&C.

I dont believe anyone is taken advantage on Ebay - its a free market with fredom of the buyer and the seller. Something I think even you Aussies even fought two World Wars for??

Ron

I sell K & C on occassions myself, so make sure you don't listen to any nasty rumours about me being a commie

Btw, we were one of the first to fight in both of those wars. I also heard a rumour that there were a few Aussies fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan etc. But don't tell anyone in the states, I think it's a secret

 

[Capitolron]

Oz:

You know, if they socialize Toy Soldiers they will socialize the World. We have to stop them on the beaches.

Capitalistron

 

[nmrocks]

OZ,
I've been looking but, I haven't seen any new Corgi 1/32 releases planned for '07, you got any info?
Ray

 

[OzDigger]

OZ,
I've been looking but, I haven't seen any new Corgi 1/32 releases planned for '07, you got any info?
Ray

Ray, the info I have is that Corgi aren't making any more 1/32 models. As you can see from the attached calatogue their main range is in 1/72: http://www.corgi.biz/pdfs/2007catalogue/aviationarchive-corgiwebcat07.pdf

You can still get 1/32 Corgis via ebay, and the following site provides some nice pics of what was made: http://www.tricatus.co.uk/Scale132prop.htm

The 1/32 market is rather saturated now with 21st Century and Forces of Valor etc making inexpensive versions and Corgi just couldn't compete because their aviation prices are sky high 'so to speak' .

A similar thing still happens with their 1/72 range with most of the more savey collectors waiting twelve months or more for the new items to hit eBay at lower prices or sales by the online stores. Speaking of which I recently received my order from 'The Flying Mule' in California containing several aircraft I had bought that were on sale. I can recommend them as being a good dealer for diecast aircraft etc http://www.flyingmule.com/