Conte's Rome at War (2 Viewers)

[6th Wisconsin]

Michael mate,
Will do cobber. It will be in a few weeks time as "she who must be obeyed", being the good lady wife, has decreeded that all TS and showcases have to be removed from her Lounge and Dining Rooms. Have you ever tried to move eighteen showcases packed with K&C, JJD and Britians. It takes about two hours plus to gently remove six shelves of TS and carry them in a padded boxes to their new location and then with a hand trolley move the showcase and another two hours plus to place them back on their orginal shelves in their new home. The job is only half way completed at this stage.
The only positive to come out of this is that I now have three rooms of K&C and one room for JJD, Britians, Figarti and Conte, instead of all being mixed in together.
Will post or send those photos soon. Hope to catch up in Chicago.
Cheers Howard

Wow!! That must be some display.

 

[mikemiller1955]

Michael mate,
Will do cobber. It will be in a few weeks time as "she who must be obeyed", being the good lady wife, has decreeded that all TS and showcases have to be removed from her Lounge and Dining Rooms. Have you ever tried to move eighteen showcases packed with K&C, JJD and Britians. It takes about two hours plus to gently remove six shelves of TS and carry them in a padded boxes to their new location and then with a hand trolley move the showcase and another two hours plus to place them back on their orginal shelves in their new home. The job is only half way completed at this stage.
The only positive to come out of this is that I now have three rooms of K&C and one room for JJD, Britians, Figarti and Conte, instead of all being mixed in together.
Will post or send those photos soon. Hope to catch up in Chicago.
Cheers Howard

Howard...that's okay...I don't wanna get you in the dog house...I found quite a few online doing a google search...

 

[The Lt.]

Conte does use the same sculpts.They have a pirate carrying a woman.an indian carrying a woman.I had a 3 piece set of ACW figures that I see done in another era.what I'm saying is that's ok to reuse an excellent sculpt for different ranges and that they all do it.
Mark

Mark Conte may use the same or similar poses but there's a major differance in the sculpting of the figures as you'll see. The sets are similar in poses but far from similar in their sculpting.....Joe

I'm sure you'll notice the same as above applies to these two photos.

Vezzolf I agree with you on the body positions but faces are unlimited with limited facial expressions......The Lt.

 

[Vezzolf]

Vezzolf I agree with you on the body positions but faces are unlimited with limited facial expressions......The Lt.

Yes, Human faces are unlimited in the "real world" as per DNA....but not unlimited for toy soldier manufacturers......to exspect that is not feasible for any manufacturer and also not necessary for a product to excell IMO.....Howver I will agree that a manufacturer will need to alter faces somewhat to avoid too much similarity between figures. Best Frank

 

[The Lt.]

Kicking off teh month with this months Conte Calendar and hope it's a good one for all.............The Lt.

 

[GICOP]

Kicking off teh month with this months Conte Calendar and hope it's a good one for all.............The Lt.

Excellent calendar and I hope you have a great month Joe:salute::

Cheers mate

Martyn

 

[mikemiller1955]

animation of pose is their strong suit...no doubt about that...that along with creating scenes and stories with their hand to hand sets...so many of the "base vignettes" really do tell small stories...I think the "base vignettes" that he does are so novel for displaying on shelves as stand alone pieces...it's really cool that the figures are detatchable from the base and can be versatile to use in dioramas too...I really feel with the Zulus...and both the upcoming North West Frontier and Winter Games...that Conte will garner a whole new clientel...they are both going to be very nice offerings...

 

[The Lt.]

Robert Ortiz sculpted many of Conte's most explosive pieces including the amazing AG series. His sculpting prowess really shines in that series and others as well. I don't know if he's still w/ Conte.


joesgis rest assured that Robert is still the master sculptor for Conte ie ZW, ACW Zouaves, NWF and RWG series all from his talented hands and others in the works.

 

[mikemiller1955]

I think the Conte and the CS figures are going to match up in scale pretty close to perfect...I can't comment on the FL pieces...the CS pieces have yet to be released...but I think they will be in the next few days...I don't own any of the FL pieces as their cost is a past my scope in spending...

one small tidbit of a fact...I saw Brian at the San Antonio show and we spoke about his Romans briefly...he told me they were scaled to match the Contes...so this is a big bonus...as the Contes and the CS sculpts should be really close on scale size...Brian did confirm using the Conte Romans as a scale size for his sculpts on either his website or a thread on here...which I was elated to hear...this has to be good news to collectors...

I honestly think the Conte's might more match the "unstiff action" poses that CS is offering...plus the scale of each should be spot on...

again I don't know how FL will match up in scale as I don't own any...

I also asked Brian about the price of his CS Romans (on a CS thread on here) and he said he was trying to keep the cost in the low $30's...true to his word...they are coming in at $32-$33 per figure...that's pretty attractive pricing for the quality of the sculpts...

Richard is really offering some pretty AMAZING prices on his Romans...the figures...I honestly believe...are every bit as good as FL or CS's...that's just my opinion...agree or not...it's just my opinion...I'm not looking for a debate...

Richard has a pricing guide on his website...

and it is oooooooh soooooooo attractive for guys that want multiples...

he is offering:

3 figure terrain base sets at $35.00 per figure...
2 figure non terrain base sets at $29.99 per figure...
3 figure terrain base sets of "shield wall" sets at $28.33 per figure...great for a multiple sets...
buy all 6 sets at once for a special price of $25.00 per figure...AMAZING!!!!...{eek3}...
and some incentive deals on multiple sets at only $21.25 per figure...

that is unheard of...to buy quality sculpts like these at $21.25 per figure at a time when all manufacturers are raising prices...this is an amazing offer...

plus $0.00 shipping on orders of 3 sets...

these should move like hotcakes!!!

I'm ordering multiples upon multiples...so you better get your order in early as I'm all over this...

 

[mikemiller1955]

from his website...

http://conteco.com/

WHAT IT WILL COST YOU EMPERORS TO AMASS YOUR LEGIONS ?
Why It Pays To Pre-Order...( you save loads of denarii )
What Are Pre-Order Specials Likely To Be??

QUITE A FEW QUESTIONS IN THE PAST 3 WEEKS WITH REGARD TO WHAT IT WILL COST FOR EACH OF YOU EMPERORS TO PUT YOUR LEGION INTO THE FIELD AGAINST ROME'S ENEMIES.

WHILE EXACT PRICES ARE STILL SUBJECT TO FINAL CALCULATION WITH THE FACTORY & ARE ALWAYS DEPENDENT UPON THE COMPLEXITY OF THE FIGURE(S) AND THE DIFFICULTY OF THE PAINTING, I BELIEVE PRICES WILL BE AS FOLLOWS:

Pricing & Pre-Order Pricing

---A COMPLEX SET SUCH AS ROME-001 PICTURED ABOVE ORIGINALLY RETAILED FOR $119.95 AND INCLUDED 3 FIGURES AND A TERRAIN BASE & A WHOLE LOT OF SCULPTING & ENGINEERING. PRE-ORDER PRICE ON THIS WAS ONLY $105.00 OR $35.00 PER FIGURE AND INCLUDED THE TERRAIN BASE...

--- A MORE STANDARD SET WITHOUT TERRAIN BASE SUCH AS THE 2 FIGURE ROME-012 "ROMANS ATTACKING" OR ROME-013 OR ROME-014 WILL RETAIL FOR $69.95 WITH A PRE-ORDER PRICE OF $59.99 OR $29.99 PER FIGURE.

-- A 3 FIGURE SET SUCH AS ROME-009, ROME-01O OR ROME- 011 --THESE ARE THE SHIELD WALL SETS -- SHOULD RETAIL FOR 94.95 EACH AND INCLUDE A TERRAIN BASE. PRE-ORDER PRICE ON THESE WILL BE $84.99 OR AN AMAZING $28.33 PER FIGURE !!!

What Will Pre-Order Specials Be?

---AS USUAL THERE WILL BE FREE SHIPPING IN THE USA ON PRE-ORDERS OF 3 SETS OR MORE ORDERED AT 1 TIME.

$0.00 FOR SHIPPING

---AS WE DID WITH THE ZULU RANGE, WE WILL PROBABLY HAVE THESE ROMAN SETS ARRIVING IN 'WAVES' OF 6 SETS AT A TIME. WE WILL BE DOING SPECIALS SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID WITH ZULUS-- BUY ALL 6 NEW SETS AND RECEIVE ONE OF THE SETS FREE.
AS AN EXAMPLE ONLY --IF ALL SETS 'IN A WAVE' WERE LIKE ROME 012 WITH 2 FIGURES , THEIR PRE-ORDER PRICE WOULD BE A DISCOUNTED $59.99 PER SET OR $359.94 FOR 6 SETS

OUR SPECIAL THANK YOU PRICE FOR BUYING ALL 6 WOULD BE TO RECEIVE ONE OF THE 6 SETS FOR FREE, MAKING THE SPECIAL $300.00 OR $50.00 PER SET OR AN ASTOUNDING

$ 25.00 PER FIGURE!!!!!

---WHEN IT COMES TO THE 'SHIELD WALL' OR TO THE MARCHING LEGIONNAIRES SETS, WE REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ABLE TO BUY A BUNCH OF THESE IF YOU ARE TO MAKE THE SET-UP WHICH YOU NEED TO CONQUER AN EMPIRE.
A SHIELD WALL & MARCHING SPECIAL WILL BE IN PLACE WHERE YOU CAN BUY 2ND , 3RD, 4TH -AS MANY AS YOU WANT --DUPLICATE SETS AT 25% OFF OF PRE-ORDER PRICES.
ASSUMING A SHIELD WALL SET WILL HAVE A PRE-ORDER PRICE OF $84.99 , THIS MEANS THAT IF YOU WANT A 2ND , 3RD, 4TH, ..R\ETC... SET OF THE SAME ITEM/SKU, EACH WILL COST YOU ONLY $63.75 PER SET
OR

$21.25 PER FIGURE!!!!!!!!!!

WE VALUE OUR FELLOW COLLECTORS AND ARE CONTINUALLY SHOCKED AT WHAT WE SEE OTHER COMPANIES CHARGING FOR FIGURES.
WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO RECONNAISSANCE ON OTHER ROMAN RANGES BEFORE BUYING OURS AND COMPARE SCULPTING, PAINTING , ANIMATION, ACTION AND PRICES.

COLLECTORS ARE TELLING US THAT SOME COMPANIES ARE CHARGING $55 OR MORE PER BASIC FIGURE!!!! OTHERS ARE TELLING US THAT OUR ENTIRE ROME-001 WINTER GAMES SET WITH 3 FIGS & TERRAIN BASE COST THEM LESS THAN ONE "RUSSIAN' FIGURE......

 

[joesgis]

Robert Ortiz sculpted many of Conte's most explosive pieces including the amazing AG series. His sculpting prowess really shines in that series and others as well. I don't know if he's still w/ Conte.


joesgis rest assured that Robert is still the master sculptor for Conte ie ZW, ACW Zouaves, NWF and RWG series all from his talented hands and others in the works.

That is great news Lt! I thought I recognized his style in various other ranges, especially the more recent Vikings, which I bought a bunch of. I didn't know for sure if he was still working his magic w/ Conte because it seems that a pre-requisite for anyone to be a Conte sculptor is to be able to represent intense action. Thanks for the info Lt. Mr. Ortiz is a great talent to have on your team.

 

[mikemiller1955]

That is great news Lt! I thought I recognized his style in various other ranges, especially the more recent Vikings, which I bought a bunch of. I didn't know for sure if he was still working his magic w/ Conte because it seems that a pre-requisite for anyone to be a Conte sculptor is to be able to represent intense action. Thanks for the info Lt. Mr. Ortiz is a great talent to have on your team.

Joe...Mr. Ortiz is making some really nice stuff...I'm not sure...but I'm guessing this Viking is one of his...it's a big step up from the earlier Vikings...I think he did this one...but I'm not sure...the style of sculpting is much more detailed than the earlier Vikings...I bought a few sets of them hoping they might blend in with the barbarians...this guy might work...the territory of the Goths ranged as far as Scandanavia or Sweden...it might be a stretch to get him on a diorama on the side of the Teutonics though...

this guy is a fierce looking bastard...to get sculpts this good for the low price Mr. Conte is offering is a bargain in my book...

I don't know if you have the Flying Barbarian...but it's a very sculpt...very, very, very nice...great detail...

 

[The Lt.]

I more than agree with you Michael he's a master at his trade an betting the Viking is one of his and we've got a lot more to look forward to from him. I don't own the Flying Barbarian Michael but have seen him up close and it along with by flying Zulu are sets to behold. Stay tune to see what else is headed our way..........Joe

 

[mikemiller1955]

I more than agree with you Michael he's a master at his trade an betting the Viking is one of his and we've got a lot more to look forward to from him. I don't own the Flying Barbarian Michael but have seen him up close and it along with by flying Zulu are sets to behold. Stay tune to see what else is headed our way..........Joe

Joe...do you know when Mr. Ortiz stepped in and what figures or series he created...

 

[The Lt.]

Joe...do you know when Mr. Ortiz stepped in and what figures or series he created...

Michael I know he's been with RC for a number of years sculpting figures for him but I'm sure the next time your touch base with RC he'll give you a better answer than I can provide you with my friend.

 

[playsetaddict]

Joe...do you know when Mr. Ortiz stepped in and what figures or series he created...

Early on, Conte used a sculpting company where Robert was employed. The earliest piece I know he worked on was First at Manassas. Conte hired him away from the other company and Robert was responsible for the great ACW casualty sets and hand to hand sets. He also did the best of the Rangers and Indians sets, though he did not sculpt the whole range. For a season both Ken Osen and Robert were doing work for Conte. Ken did part of the Irish Brigade series and Robert did part. If you look at the figures, it's pretty easy to discern Robert's work, both because it tends to be a little bigger and more rounded with more intense facial expressions than Ken's work. Robert did some of the WW2 GIs, the Alamo hand to hand sets, the House Cleaning Airborne series, the Spartans and Persians, the Alamo Mexicans, a bunch of Collector's Club figures including the She Wolf of the SS. He did the SOS series and he did the Valhalla Awaits series and the new Zulu and 24th foot series. He also did the Zouaves and the forthcoming Highlanders, though some of those were based almost entirely on earlier sculpts. He's also done quite a bit of stuff that hasn't been produced yet, but which is in the pipeline. (Tombstone, Colonial Explorers, some hand to hand Northwest Frontier, the Romans and Barbarians, and lots of Collectors club figures like the incredible Robin Hood/Sherrif of Nottingham duel.)
I think he's getting better and better and is doing a fantastic job of getting figures the right size lately. Conte loves working with Robert because Robert, better than anyone else he has worked with, is able to capture the implied action and story that Richard imagines when designing his figures.
And I think the best is yet to come.

Joe

 

[LordAnhausen]

Early on, Conte used a sculpting company where Robert was employed. The earliest piece I know he worked on was First at Manassas. Conte hired him away from the other company and Robert was responsible for the great ACW casualty sets and hand to hand sets. He also did the best of the Rangers and Indians sets, though he did not sculpt the whole range. For a season both Ken Osen and Robert were doing work for Conte. Ken did part of the Irish Brigade series and Robert did part. If you look at the figures, it's pretty easy to discern Robert's work, both because it tends to be a little bigger and more rounded with more intense facial expressions than Ken's work. Robert did some of the WW2 GIs, the Alamo hand to hand sets, the House Cleaning Airborne series, the Spartans and Persians, the Alamo Mexicans, a bunch of Collector's Club figures including the She Wolf of the SS. He did the SOS series and he did the Valhalla Awaits series and the new Zulu and 24th foot series. He also did the Zouaves and the forthcoming Highlanders, though some of those were based almost entirely on earlier sculpts. He's also done quite a bit of stuff that hasn't been produced yet, but which is in the pipeline. (Tombstone, Colonial Explorers, some hand to hand Northwest Frontier, the Romans and Barbarians, and lots of Collectors club figures like the incredible Robin Hood/Sherrif of Nottingham duel.)
I think he's getting better and better and is doing a fantastic job of getting figures the right size lately. Conte loves working with Robert because Robert, better than anyone else he has worked with, is able to capture the implied action and story that Richard imagines when designing his figures.
And I think the best is yet to come.

Joe

I have all of the Pirates by Conte and know for a fact Robert also did most of these. He also did all of the Mel Gibson figures for the Patriot series and it is my understanding that he also did the best Troiani sets .I don't buy much Civil War but I think he did most of the personalities like Lee, Chamberlain, Custer and others?

 

[mikemiller1955]

Early on, Conte used a sculpting company where Robert was employed. The earliest piece I know he worked on was First at Manassas. Conte hired him away from the other company and Robert was responsible for the great ACW casualty sets and hand to hand sets. He also did the best of the Rangers and Indians sets, though he did not sculpt the whole range. For a season both Ken Osen and Robert were doing work for Conte. Ken did part of the Irish Brigade series and Robert did part. If you look at the figures, it's pretty easy to discern Robert's work, both because it tends to be a little bigger and more rounded with more intense facial expressions than Ken's work. Robert did some of the WW2 GIs, the Alamo hand to hand sets, the House Cleaning Airborne series, the Spartans and Persians, the Alamo Mexicans, a bunch of Collector's Club figures including the She Wolf of the SS. He did the SOS series and he did the Valhalla Awaits series and the new Zulu and 24th foot series. He also did the Zouaves and the forthcoming Highlanders, though some of those were based almost entirely on earlier sculpts. He's also done quite a bit of stuff that hasn't been produced yet, but which is in the pipeline. (Tombstone, Colonial Explorers, some hand to hand Northwest Frontier, the Romans and Barbarians, and lots of Collectors club figures like the incredible Robin Hood/Sherrif of Nottingham duel.)
I think he's getting better and better and is doing a fantastic job of getting figures the right size lately. Conte loves working with Robert because Robert, better than anyone else he has worked with, is able to capture the implied action and story that Richard imagines when designing his figures.
And I think the best is yet to come.

Joe

Joe ...thank you very much for that extremely detailed answer...I think Mr. Ortiz is quite an asset to Conte corporation...Richard had expressed the same sentiments to me once before...that Robert really seems to understand his conception of what he wants sculpted...and executes it like they share the same brain...lol...thanks again for the reply...

 

[joesgis]

Joe...Mr. Ortiz is making some really nice stuff...I'm not sure...but I'm guessing this Viking is one of his...it's a big step up from the earlier Vikings...I think he did this one...but I'm not sure...the style of sculpting is much more detailed than the earlier Vikings...I bought a few sets of them hoping they might blend in with the barbarians...this guy might work...the territory of the Goths ranged as far as Scandanavia or Sweden...it might be a stretch to get him on a diorama on the side of the Teutonics though...

this guy is a fierce looking bastard...to get sculpts this good for the low price Mr. Conte is offering is a bargain in my book...

I don't know if you have the Flying Barbarian...but it's a very sculpt...very, very, very nice...great detail...

This Viking has Mr. Ortiz written all over it, and it's one of my absolute favorite Conte figures. I remember when I first saw an unpainted preview pic of this pose on Conte's website long ago, and I thought I just maybe saw the perfect Viking figure. I agree Mike, this is one fierce looking bastard! I too love the detail on the Valhalla Awaits Viking range when compared to Conte's earlier Vikings, which were also very nice. There's some real fine detailed sculpting to the axe itself. There was another figure that Conte previewed around the same time, and it has yet to be released. Maybe you saw the pic too......it was a Viking w/ one foot on the ground and the other foot on the first rung of a ladder. He was holding his sword or axe high above his head and doing and shouting back to his cohorts, I imagine summoning them to advance, as he prepares to be the first over the wall. I think the ladder was leaned up against the Saxon church actually, a foam piece I would have loved to have. Anyways, maybe there's a pic of this figure in Conte's archives. But back to the fierce bastard :tongue:...I think you most certainly could use him as a barbarian. He would fit right in, and I bet the barbarians would be glad to have him!

 

[joesgis]

Early on, Conte used a sculpting company where Robert was employed. The earliest piece I know he worked on was First at Manassas. Conte hired him away from the other company and Robert was responsible for the great ACW casualty sets and hand to hand sets. He also did the best of the Rangers and Indians sets, though he did not sculpt the whole range. For a season both Ken Osen and Robert were doing work for Conte. Ken did part of the Irish Brigade series and Robert did part. If you look at the figures, it's pretty easy to discern Robert's work, both because it tends to be a little bigger and more rounded with more intense facial expressions than Ken's work. Robert did some of the WW2 GIs, the Alamo hand to hand sets, the House Cleaning Airborne series, the Spartans and Persians, the Alamo Mexicans, a bunch of Collector's Club figures including the She Wolf of the SS. He did the SOS series and he did the Valhalla Awaits series and the new Zulu and 24th foot series. He also did the Zouaves and the forthcoming Highlanders, though some of those were based almost entirely on earlier sculpts. He's also done quite a bit of stuff that hasn't been produced yet, but which is in the pipeline. (Tombstone, Colonial Explorers, some hand to hand Northwest Frontier, the Romans and Barbarians, and lots of Collectors club figures like the incredible Robin Hood/Sherrif of Nottingham duel.)
I think he's getting better and better and is doing a fantastic job of getting figures the right size lately. Conte loves working with Robert because Robert, better than anyone else he has worked with, is able to capture the implied action and story that Richard imagines when designing his figures.
And I think the best is yet to come.

Joe

Thank you for such a thorough response to Mike's question. This is some great info! I didn't realize Mr Ortiz went that far back w/ RC. You mentioned that he sculpted some of the WW2 figures. It's neat to see how although Mr. Ortiz and Mr Osen have distinctly different and equally magnificent sculpting styles, how the WW2 figures that they each sculpted mesh together perfectly. Also of note, Mr. Ortiz sculpted the whole Bloody Omaha Signature Series. I must say that was a perfect assignment for him!