Britains', Is This Kind of Letter Necessary? (1 Viewer)

We must have got JRSTEEL all pumped up, he created a new forum I.D. to post his real thoughts on the subject. I have very few Britains and the few I have are the NELSON'S series and I'm happy with them, I don't think they are quite the same quality as K&C but nice none the less. I guess I don't want to put down another fellows collection(Britains) beacause I know how I feel when someone puts down K&C, but I can tell you this...... I am seriously hoping the new Britains does make a real nice line of matte finish Napoleonics, I think it would add a little more variety to my collecting and make the hobby that much more interresting....who knows if we are really lucky maybe the envelope will be pushed even more than the present.

Cheers
WELLINGTON.....;)
Oh yes wasn't Napoleon or even the British Empire viewed by some as tyrants' or bullies in past history as much so as some other leaders that I prefer not to name..
 
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First of all, welcome to the forum, JRSTEEL. However, in response to your comments about the cult of K&C, my collection includes some 7000 glossy figures, including 1200 Imperial figures. I happen to prefer glossy figures for all subjects except WWII to the present, as these wars are far less amenable to the toyish glossy finish.

As to glossy figures, you might be suprised to know that K&C produced only glossy figures from 1984 until 1995, only switching to matt thereafter. It might also suprise you to know that while the original 1984-1987 glossy K&C figures were somewhat similar to Britains and early Trophy figures, by 1988 K&C had gone beyond anything Britains had ever done in gloss. How can you compare the boring, static glossy Britains figures to the much more interesting and well sculpted Imperial figures you enjoy? Indeed, the only knock I would have on Imperial's product is that the figures are "too clean". They are true toy soldiers, for display alongside other wonderful "toyish" glossy figures like William Hocker's excellent products, but they don't fit into a realistic diorama as well as Trophy's products, or the glossy Frontline Crimean War products from the mid-1990's. I certainly appreciate Imperial, Hocker, Frontline & Trophy glossy toy soldiers (and have invested quite a bit in obtaining them over the years), but for modern war, I appreciate the realism of matt K&C figures.

That being said, I completely agree with you about the Hitler sets, and have repeatedly stated on this forum that I wouldn't have any of that Nazi parade stuff in my house for all the tea in China. I went so far as to tell Andy in Boston this summer that if he want's to cover that sorry episode of history, why not cover it truthfully, and produce figures depicting how it all shook out: Hitler with his gun to his head on the couch with the dead Eva Braun, Mussolini on a meathook, Goering taking poison in his cell, and a few others on the gallows. Those are figures I would buy!
 
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How can one complain about 9-11 hijacker figures when one collects glossy British soldiers in their pompous uniforms???

Let's not forget the plague of colonialism they and their European brethren unleashed on this world.

Sheesh.

Boy is this thread getting darker or is it just me?
 
Hi All,

Well as is usual when I dont pay attention to a thread for a bit of time it gets out of hand real fast. I for one have said this over and over about King and Country. They are really great and look fine in Matte but again I dont collect them for one reason only... size.

As for Britains quality they had for a long time a certain appearence that everyone liked well enough and felt they didnt have to change well as we have seen the market has changed and they are trying to change with it. Lets face it if they dont change they will go the way of the Dodo or Imperial and that is not something I for one want to see. Now with some of you guys over in the King and Country corner you need to chill and look at it why you collect what you do and remember that we all have our reasons for collecting. If the matte reallistic looking WWII soldiers is your thing than great. If your thing is Glossy Parade type figures then great. To each his own right. I for one dont like seeing people bash on each other because they dont like or collect the same sort of figures. I'm not saying we need to hold hands and sing peace songs but lets try and get along.

Dave
 
Digger said:
One thing I have noticed since joining this forum is that the over-all feeling is that if it's not K&C, then it's not very good. I guess that all depends on what you collect.

Being new to the world of miniature soldiers collectibles, I haven't been around long enough to get to know the individuals behind the company. My collection is solely based on the products that are available and what I have seen. Currently I have 23 boxes sitting on my desk and none of them are K&C. Do I feel the others are better than K&C?? Yes. Is it because I collect them and so they are better than anyone else? No. It all boils down to what is available to me as a Civil War enthusiast. I see a lot of Britains, Conte and Forward March, but no K&C, so in my eyes I cannot agree that they are the best. I collect entirely Civil War and lets face it, K&C is pretty lacking in that category and what they do have is rather un-impressive. Fact is that if you are into the Civil War then K&C pretty much doesn't exist so as a collector you direct your attention to the other manufacturers.
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Hello Steve!
You will be happy to know that there will be a number of new ACW sets coming out from W.Britain this year. I have delivered over 35 new ACW sculpts already and the preproduction metal samples that have come back are painted better than anything else to date in this price point. You probably know my work from the first time around (1997-98) with, at that time Ertle/W.Britain. I also sculpted the first 4 years of ACW from Conte, Troiani and ONWTC's new Union Artillery. The new First Gear/W. Britain sets are Jackson in the Valley and the new ONWTC sets will be the Western Theatre so between the two they should fill in gaps in your collection. The Britain's Yankees are wearing frock coats and forage caps and the ONWTC Yankees are in shell jackets....both needed in collections.
I suppose I am a bit passionate about this period and have been involved with black powder shooting and living history since I was 16. I hope this 'hands on' experience will show in the products that I help bring to the market. Richard Walker and I have been lucky enough to work together on and off for 8 years now We are both working for a great company who should be able to respond to the market and the suggestions of the collectors. Thanks for your support in advance. Ken Osen
 
Thanks Ken. That is great news for us ACW buffs. I can't wait to see the new pieces, especially the new union, and the Western Theatre....WOW!!! I better start saving my money now. Looks like it's going to be a "buying" year.
 
Hi Ken,

Great news from you on the ACW of which I have a few but its not the sole focus of my collection. Will there be some interesting additions to the WWI line or any Colonial British Forces?

Dave
 
Great news, thank you Ken! Yankees in frock coats and also in shell jackets are missing and will be a great addition.I addedmany in plastic from Contes Iron Brigade and head swapping.Super news.125Th Anniversary of Gettysburg was my 1st reenactment .Bet you were there!
Heat and Humidity almost put an end to me!
Looking forward to seeing all the new items you have been working on.
:D FUBAR:D
 
I'm looking forward to seeing the new series, especially the Federals in frock coats. Those coats were very common, especially in the first half of the war. I get the impression that many think that only the Iron Brigade wore them. While the Iron Brigade is one of my favorite subjects to collect, I am eager to get some other Federal troops in frocks.

By the way, I was at the 125th Gettysburg too. Not my first event, but one of my first big ones. Yes, the heat was absolutely miserable; however, I wouldn't trade those days for anything.

Blackhat
 
Yes, I have the Troiani set of the 24th Michigan. It's one of my favorites.
 
BlackHat said:
I'm looking forward to seeing the new series, especially the Federals in frock coats. Those coats were very common, especially in the first half of the war. I get the impression that many think that only the Iron Brigade wore them. While the Iron Brigade is one of my favorite subjects to collect, I am eager to get some other Federal troops in frocks.

By the way, I was at the 125th Gettysburg too. Not my first event, but one of my first big ones. Yes, the heat was absolutely miserable; however, I wouldn't trade those days for anything.

Blackhat
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Hey I was there too... with theYankee artillery. I have been doing this since 1973...and a number of different periods!
 
Digger said:
One thing I have noticed since joining this forum is that the over-all feeling is that if it's not K&C, then it's not very good. I guess that all depends on what you collect.

Being new to the world of miniature soldiers collectibles, I haven't been around long enough to get to know the individuals behind the company. My collection is solely based on the products that are available and what I have seen. Currently I have 23 boxes sitting on my desk and none of them are K&C. Do I feel the others are better than K&C?? Yes. Is it because I collect them and so they are better than anyone else? No. It all boils down to what is available to me as a Civil War enthusiast. I see a lot of Britains, Conte and Forward March, but no K&C, so in my eyes I cannot agree that they are the best. I collect entirely Civil War and lets face it, K&C is pretty lacking in that category and what they do have is rather un-impressive. Fact is that if you are into the Civil War then K&C pretty much doesn't exist so as a collector you direct your attention to the other manufacturers.
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Hi Digger,

I am new to this forum, but saw your message and would like to comment. I also collect ACW. I had all the Imperial Productions sets and loved them. I also had some of Trophy's including their two special Gettysburg big box sets. When Frontline came out with their matte finish ACW sets I bought them all and sold my Imperial sets. I have a table top civil war battle set up with more than 150 of Frontlines figures. You might want to check them out.
 
jazzeum said:
I received my new issue of Toy Soldier yesterday and saw the letter from Richard Walker of Britains in which he talked about how they're going to improve, "make some of the best toy soldiers ever made" (I think Andy might have something to say about that), etc. In other words, the normal amount of puffery you see from many folks, regardless of profession.

But then I came on the following disturbing paragraph and I quote "Top-rate American and British sculptors, not Chinese as was done in the past, have been brought on board. These sculptors have nailed the character likenesses, equipment details, and the overall feel and drape of the uniforms." Not only is the statement rascist but the clear implication is that Chinese sculptors can't make likenesses, details and feel and drape. This is just a lot of garbage because King and Country proves otherwise.

Now, I understand that Britains had trouble with some sculptors who happened to be located in China but the fact that they were Chinese is completely irrelevant. You don't have to be good or bad at what you do to be of a particular nationality or race. Those factors are simply irrelevant.

There are better ways to express a sentiment and if I were Mr. Walker he might want to think about that before publishing a letter in a public forum.

As Mr. Walker correctly points out, the proof is in the pudding whether or not they make the best toy soldiers ever made. Frankly, that train has left the station and Andy is the engineer. What remains to be seen is whether Britains can catch up and entice the new collector to buy their product.
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I've never seen this post until a few mintues ago Brad. It's been over two years since you've posted it an I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the subject today. Realizing that you are a believer that no one has the ability of competing with King and Country in making toy soldiers but based on what I see today is that the only edge that K & C has is that he's been the leader in the 1/30th scale up until now because he's had little competion in the field in that scale until now. Based on what Richard Walker along with Ken Osen and others have accomplished since you've written this it seems that they have enticed and caught up with a much more deversived line of toy soldiers and along with Conte and others you've got more than one engineer on the tracks.......The Lt.
 
I agree, I doubt anyone heading a company nowdays would be a racist. Once when I was speaking with a gentleman doing business overseas he explained the cultural differences he experienced.
He had a piece done, and provided lots of information, but neglected to provide a photo of the piece showing the location of the gun barrel on the field piece.........heck everyone knows which end of the gun barrel goes where. Point is when he received the finished piece the gun barrel was in backwards. Simply a cultural difference, as Andy put it, junk in junk out.

I'm afraid we may be a little to quick nowdays to label everything racist.

Njja
 
Wow, this is an oldie. I certainly didn't get any racist hint from it, but rather an expectation of support for western industry together with a suggestion that Chinese workers may lack experience in certain aspects of the West.

Do they have horses in China :confused: :)
 
OzDigger and Njja when posting my comments it was based on the comments made by Brad on the subject of who makes the best toy soldiers and nothing about the racial issue. It's amazes me that instead of comments as to the progress of WBritain the racial issue is brought up. So hopefully any additional comments will stay away from the subject.........The Lt.
 
My comments were based on the original post by Jazzeum rather than your recent post. If you rake up old posts don't be surprised that other members may have a different opinion to what is the most relevant to them rather than yourself.
 
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