Andy The Messiah (1 Viewer)

[HAWKEYE]

I Have Been Reading Alot Of Recent Threads Lately And All I Can Say Is You All Should Be Thankful And Came Along. I Met Him In Chicago In 96' When I Bought My First Arnhem Sets. I Found Him To Open To What I Had To Say . I Mentioned That His Vehicles Were Nice But To Expensive And That People Were Selling Painted Tamiya Vehicles At The Show For 50-60 Dollars. You Know He Listened And Did Not Take Offense. I Was Very Impressed And Thru The Years He Has Rekindled My Childhood And I Now Have A Great Hobby, So Lets Not Tear Him Down Because I Believe He Has Brought A Lot Of Enjoyment To A Lot Of People

 

[OzDigger]

He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy

 

[sceic2]

I personally would not want to think of Andy as any kind of Messiah. That would be too much of a burden to place on any one individual.

However, I do agree with the context of your statement and I too am thankful that K&C does the great job that it does do in providing us with toys. I always have to remind myself when I am on this fourm that we are dealing with toys after all.

 

[Eazy]

He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy

I'm glad there's some people with a good sense of humour and perspective on this forum.
I find this whole "Andy can do no wrong" thing a bit tiresome and i'm sure it must put others off too.

Anyways i'm off on my hols today! yay. While i'm gone try not to petition the Vatican to canonise King and Country.

 

[erniesstudio]

Bless you my son...

 

[Peter Reuss]

He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy

As a pastor, this is a line I especially enjoy quoting ....

Blessed are the cheesemakers ...

(you have to be a Monty Python fan to have ANY clue about what we are talking about)

 

[Rob]

I do love the moement when the hermit exclaims"i was blind and now i see" and promptly falls into hole in front of him.Childish i suppose but you have to laugh.

I don't think Andy is a messiah.I think he is a chap who started a company that now produces the best ww2 figures on the market(IMHO).I think he has a real passion for his work and is very skilled.I also think there cannot be many companies who would indulge in such correspondence of ideas that KC do.(apart perhaps from NMA/HB) As i said before i also think that sometimes he must get sooooo fed up with the constant moaning and slagging off that goes on.Of course we are all entitled to our opinions,but i do think that sometimes we forget that its HIS company and he can make what the hell he likes!.Perhaps we may have been spoiled by the access to Andy we have and forget this.

There are lots of things i would like KC to make and i hope one day they will.But part of the enjoyment for me is seeing just what is coming next.I have recently bought the set "winter patrol" and i can honestly say i have not seen any other company that can rival the detail and realism that kc do time after time.I guess i am trying to say i would like to see a tiny bit less moaning and a bit more celebration.But hey,its a free world(unless you want to drive into London!!)


Rob

 

[Louis Badolato]

Messiah? Not unless the messiah sits up with you to 3:00 a.m. drinking beer and scotch while telling off color stories! What is Andy? Smart enough and to have recognized that a childhood passion could be translated into a highly successful business, courageous and hard working enough to have made it happen, and lucky enough to get to make toy soldiers for a living. And for me, most of all, a good friend who sits up with you to 3:00 a.m. drinking beer and scotch while telling off color stories! See you in Chicago Andy, and I'm buying (both Scoth and Soldiers)!

 

[maddadicus]

I truly believe there would be less moaning ,if Andy would have remained above the fray and not ever responded to the forum types. Many owners never break bread with their customers and no one thinks the less of them. That aloofness would have kept some from thinking they now have some divine right to an immediate answer to whatever is bugging them at this moment in time. It is Andy's accessibility that is his downfall. Messiah no, but sometimes being a King does cut you some slack with the naysayers...As far as I am concerned, I will continue to buy what I like, and what I do not, I will wait for a better version, either from K/C or someone else. And it is nice now ,to have someone else...Michael

 

[OzDigger]

I suspect there would be MORE critical comments about K & C if Andy C didn't drop in, or on, know and again. I frequent a number of diecast aircraft forums where Corgi is top dog (so to speak). Corgi's reps rarely, if ever, take part in forum discussions. However people moan about the company frequently, and on occassion are VERY harsh.

I also suspect that Andy's reactions on occassion have caused people to be more reserved with their critical comments of K & C. In truth I doubt if my, or others, comments of a negative or positive nature make ANY difference to people's buying descisions. The fact is that there is so much variation in collectors tastes, resources and personalities that folk will buy what they like, whatever other members say - which is how it should be.

 

[kilted vampire]

I met Andy at the West Coaster March of this year. He seems to be ok. He latched onto some thing that works for him. I don't know how responsive he is . "What Andy doesn't like Andy doesn't make." end quote. With the exception of the Del Prado Debacle One can not argue with the quality of his product

 

[vandilay]

I think King and country makes a great product,I think on a toy soldier forum
it is fair enough that some pieces come in for some criticism.I collect more
than one manufacturer and my observation on this forum is that king and country does cop more than its fair share of flak.
Britains under the previous owners where woefull,In king and countrys
WW2 scale their are 2 new companys which is great, but if K and C didnt exist
this scale wouldnt.Honour bound looks to have made a superb panther
again and again ,the pricing has also gone up again and again.
I think if K and C had done this they would have copped an absolute flogging,
Its a bit of good old fashioned tall poppy syndrome.
As collectors where lucky enough to be collecting with so much excellent
choice around.

 

[OzDigger]

With the exception of the Del Prado Debacle One can not argue with the quality of his product

I'm not sure what you mean, but as far as I know the Del prado figures were similar in quality to the King and Country figures issued at the time. It's just that the King and Country figures have improved so much since then, as will their tanks I hope

That said, some of the Del prado figures are amongst my favourite pieces, I especially liked the observer balloon guy with the parachute harness.

 

[jazzeum]

He might be referring to Del Prado responding or satisfying customers. I know it was a big issue over in the UK, with lots of angry letter to Toy Soldier magazine. I'm not exactly sure what the controversy was; I just knew there was one. Maybe someone in England can help out.

 

[OzDigger]

The only fuss that I'm aware of was them being marketed as lead soldiers in Australia. Which is not allowed where they may be available to children because of possible lead poisoning. They had to withdraw them from the market in Australia for a while. Then they reissued them as 'pewter' with black painted bases in lieu of the earlier brown bases. The figures do vary a fair bit as far as detail and scale goes. For example my 'Paratrooper - Germany 1944' figure is rather short being closer to 1/32 or even 1/35 scale. But he doesn't look to out of place, short guys with guns are just as dangerous they say, maybe even more so

 

[Firebat]

I'll tell you, after receiving all of the new D-Day stuff, and catching up on the DUKW I am ecstatic. The DUKW is flawless, no more raised insignias, and it doesn't have treads. The Airborne stuff sort of addresses the casual soldier positions that we had discussed. Diorama visions abound in my feeble brain. As a matter of fact, I am going to the basement to crank one out now. Andy for Messiah, Ana for the Blessed Mother and Blake for one of the Wise Men (LOW PRODUCTION NUMBERS).
Firebat