Do You Try to Collect It All? (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

I think this is sort of an intriguing question, especially as a relative novice compared to some of you. Do you try to collect everything that King and Country has ever put out. For example, in WW 2, are you trying to collect every German he ever put out. For me, the answer would be no. Some of the earlier sets are quite rough, detail wise, and frankly I like the later ones. The detail is so much better. I don't think I'm that kind of collector who has to have everything. The exception would be tanks. I would like to get my mitts on every one of those although that's probably impossible, which leads me to my next point. Money has to be a factor in what we can buy. I've had to let things go by that I'd like to get because we can't get everything all at once. Gotta save some for a rainy day and IMHO things always show up again. It may take time but I feel that they eventually do.

What's the feeling here from the other members?

 

[Louis Badolato]

Well Brad, as you well know, I do try to collect it all (within my interests, which exclude the LAH Nazi stuff (as a matter of principal), the old west stuff, and the new Egyptian, Napoleonic and Revolutionary war matt stuff (because even I have to draw the line somewhere). Why do I want everything Andy made in my areas of interest? Its simple really, because Andy revisits the same themes, over and over again, improving on them each time, and by having every incarnation of a particular concept, I can trace the development of King & Country. A good example is the many German Tank crewmen andy has made over the years. His first crack at it, the glossy version of WSS4 was pretty weak. I mean lest face, it the glossy camo resembles nothing so much as pajamas. The (slightly) redesigned matt WS04, however, begins to have the feel of modern King & Country as we know it, and is, actually completely at home alongside his later stuff. WS16 is one of the first truly fluid and lifelike examples of King & Country sculpting, while the figures released with some of the later armored vehicles, like the standing commander for the 8 wheeled armored car, or the half figure of the crewman coming out the side hatch of the turret of the Afrika Corps Panzer III are completely realistic. Bing able to see the progression is for me the reason to go after everything. Additionally, with regard to the pre-WWII glossy stuff, I love the old victorian era feel of the "traditional" toy soldiers Andy originally made. They are quaint and nostalgic in a way that the superior "connisuer" (can anybody help me with the spelling of this word) figures he presently makes cannot be. Plus, once you own one of his wooden vehicles or warbirds, you have to get them all. They are, quitely simply, works of art, as are his diorama pieces. Plus when you have it all, you can get Andy to fly to New York and attend one of your lunatic symposiums (just kidding guys!). Regards, Louis

 

[Flammenpanzer]

I am really onto the WWII items myself. I started to get only the WS Germans, but bought the German Afrika Korp and U.S. figures and vehicles after seeing the quality. I have tried to get only a few early sets and now concentrate on the newer Berlin and Buldge sets since I can complete them fairly easily. I will probably get the new U.S. DDay sets when they are released.

 

[jazzeum]

I probably meant to exclude you Louis from this question but am surprised that you don't have the series you mentioned. You bring a good perspective to the question I posed which is why I posed it so I may rethink my initial statement. It's funny you mentioned WS 16 because that is one of my favorite sets. The guy sitting on the drum is one of Andy's best figures. He seems so lifelike just taking a break. More later. Work calls.

 

[Louis Badolato]

I know, as hard core as I am, that my refusal to collect certain series might come as a surprise. With regard to the new Napoleonics, Revolutionary War and Egyptians, which are all extremely nice figures, it is a combination of (1) lack of personal historical interest in these periods and (2) pure lack of display space that keep me from getting into them at present. With regard to the LAH stuff, its principal. To me, collecting and displaying toy soldiers is a means of honoring the men who gave all of us our freedom and way of life. I am willing to display fighting soldiers from the bad guys, because, giving them the benefit of the doubt, they were fighting for their country, not for its evil leader. The LAH figures, however, and the related Axis Leaders, SA and Hitler Youth figures, represent the evil fanaticism and perverted ideals that would have killed or enslaved us all. I will never, ever display images of these horrible creatures in my home. Its that simple.

 

[jazzeum]

I have the same feeling about the LAH series. There's just something about it that bothers me although I understand it's a huge seller. I'm not sure I would make the same distinction that Louis does about fighting man v. fanatics since some of the Waffen SS or the Hitlerjugend were pretty fanatical. But the LAH series doesn't appeal to me. I don't want something in my collection glorifying Enrst Rohm.

I was to Nuremberg recently and saw the parade grounds and that's quite an interesting experience, just to imagine what it must have been like at one of those rallies.

 

[Warbuff26]

I agree with you both on the LAH series. I have no interest in them either. I've always wondered though why there are so many Axis leaders produced and all we have of the allies is Patton, Ike, Monty and Winston? Where is Marshall, FDR, Bradley etc etc etc?? I'd love to see a "Headquarters" series for the allied forces. Oops..I guess we have McAuliffe now too. How about a Gavin for our Airbourne troopers??

 

[jazzeum]

I agree with you both on the LAH series. I have no interest in them either. I've always wondered though why there are so many Axis leaders produced and all we have of the allies is Patton, Ike, Monty and Winston? Where is Marshall, FDR, Bradley etc etc etc?? I'd love to see a "Headquarters" series for the allied forces. Oops..I guess we have McAuliffe now too. How about a Gavin for our Airbourne troopers??

I would love to see FDR, Marshall, etc. also. Except for the LAH series, there aren't that many Axis leaders out there. Hitler comes to mind but that's about it as far as I can remember although Andy did say here that Sepp Dietrich may be coming out for the Bulge series. As far as the LAH series, I believe it's one of K & C's top sellers so there's probably the answer: satisfying the demand.

 

[Louis Badolato]

I agree with you both about the desireability of allied leaders being produced. However, as you may be aware, when Andy produced Patton, his estate sued King & Country. I think that Andy is a little gun shy about producing American public figures' images. As far as the axis personalities Andy has produced to date, the first glossy Axis leaders released included a Goebbels (with a microphone), a Himmler, a Hitler, a Goering and a Mussolini. He has since produced both a seated and standing Rommel, a Von Runsted, and several of the unspeakable famous SS characters. I also remember Andy mentioning that there would be a Sepp Dietrich in the future. As far as the fighting troops being fanatics, there were certainly many instances of fanatical nazis in the Waffen SS, but, by the last two years of the war, many of the Waffen SS were conscripts. I chose to think of my "badguys" as being more of this ilk than the fanatical Nazis. Besides, it is difficult to realistically depict the heroism of our "greatest generation" without showing the extrmely tough opposition our heroic forebears faced. However, in light of the Malmeady massacre, you can rest assured that that son of a *!$%* murderous Sepp Dietrich will never be displayed in my collection.

 

[jazzeum]

I don't mean to quarrel with you but there were some fanatical nazis in the Waffen SS towards the end. When the 2nd Panzer SS Div made its way up to Normandy, they pepetrated some acts like a public hanging of around 100 people in a town whose name escapes me right now that earned them a war crimes trial after the war.

While there's no excusing what happened in Malmedy or to Canadian prisoners during D Day by the Hitler Youth, I think every side was guilty of shootings of prisoners (although the Americans not as obviously as bad as the Russians).

 

[Alexdakar]

So who here collects the Xmas sets?

 

[Shannon Reuss]

Re: Xmas Sets

I have the 2002 and 2004 releases. I didn't care for the children in the 2003 set so I passed on that one but I enjoy showing these Santa sets to visitors at Christmas time as an example of civilian miniatures (plus they are some of my all-time favorite Christmas decorations!) The detail on the 2002 Christmas tree is phenomenal.
I realize this thread is for King & Country Christmas sets but I have to throw my two cents in regarding the William Britains Christmas stockingholders too. My difficult-to-buy-for dad really enjoyed receiving the stockingholders but they stopped producing them after only 2 years. I think they chose their subject matter poorly on the second one "Farewell Rose" in having it be non-military and then they threw the baby out with the bathwater and decided the interest wasn't there and quit making them altogether. "Winter Offerings," the first one, is a great Christmas vignette with soldiers from the North and South coming together on Christmas Eve and exchanging tobacco for coffee as they find a little peace in the Christmas cease-fire. If Britains had continued doing stockingholders like that the line would still be going strong.

 

[gk5717]

I first noticed K&C at the 2001 OTSN show, prior to that I was strickly a plastic collector, Conte playsets, Barzo playsets, old Marx figures, etc.
I would occasionaly check K&C,s website telling myself I don,t need to get involved with painted metal.
But then K&C came out with the mounted Germans and I thought how unique, I think I,ll take the plunge.
However I told myself I,ll just buy a few IwoJima sets to see what they were like.
Upon opening the first box I was hooked.
I too was going to just collect WW2, but that to went by the wayside.
I now have the complete West, Rough Riders, VietNam, minus the vehicles, Civil War, later Romans, Modern, most of the Rev. War and about 95% of the WW2.
I do not have any of the early stuff Louis has, to be honest I don,t like that glossy style.
Never in my wildest dreams when I first started collecting that I thought I would be able to aquire the above.
As I told some of you I was able to finance my collection by selling off a huge baseball and hockey card collection I had. By no means is my last name Rockefeller, and I got into K&C just at the right time as most sets were still available at retail prices.
Gary

 

[VIRIATO]

I respect and understand Louis' feelings about LAH. But I must say I had never thought of it that way. For me collecting WWII is not about displaying or honouring the bad guys or the good guys but about reproducing moments in history the best possible way. The LAH sets reproduce a part of those moments ( WWII ), whether one likes it or not. Collecting them, for me, is not glorifying what they represent. WWII was possibly the last great war clearly fought between good and evil, mostly at least, hence my interest in that period. Also, collecting WWII, for me, doesn't mean I glorify war, always a tragedy, again it's just a matter of historical interest. Well, different people, different thoughts, I honestly believe that's good. Mmmm...perhaps I'm getting too serious...
That said, I am not really setting my sights on LAH for now, I prefer Iwo Jima, Fall of Berlin and the North African Front. Bulge is looking very good, I guess it needs more material. Historical figures look interesting too ( Monty, Churchill, Rommel, H....r ): K&C just reproduce them fantastically. About D-Day, for now, I see mostly Britains ahead ( please, please, K&C fans, don't chop off my head, at least right now... ) .

Regards,
Paulo

 

[binder001]

while it would be fun to get "one of everything" I have to limit myself to the WW2 US figures and vehicles. I still don't have all the DD series and only have a couple of the YA figures (which of course I sold to another collector just before the announcement of the new BB series). There's just not enough money or display space.

 

[victory]

Without getting deep into this, I do collect LAH. Simply put, I see it as a historical representation. I also collect (and am still in the process of collecting) most of the WWII figures. Not much of the early stuff since I didn't get into K&C until late. In addition to WW2, I collect the American Rev. sets along with the Egyptians. I up to four curios now. I hate the thought of ever moving and trying to return all those figures back into their boxes.

 

[Shannon Reuss]

Message from Andy Neilson re: LAH series & more

I'm not sure you know what you've started with the K&C Forum. I personally have become addicted to it - it's great. I love the passion and enthusiasm of the collectors because it mirrors my own. As I am sure you know King & Country is more than just a business for me - it is my life - I love it body and soul. Part of the pleasure I get is reading how deeply other people feel about us and what we're trying to do in this hobby / business.

When I look around at our competitors, I wonder just how many feel the way I do. To be honest, I don't think all that many. I genuinely want to build up a rapport with the collectors because it's the way I would like to be treated myself.

Now, I can't promise to do everything every collector wants but I'll at least give them a fair hearing and this is just one of the many reasons why this Forum is so important.

One point of interest though is the "controversy" surrounding the LAH. Many people including a few good friends and collectors have a drastically different point of view to me. Why do I produce them? Because I am fascinated by that era of history and because I believe that today in our MTV world knowledge of the darker parts of history should not be "airbrushed out" or swept under the carpet of time.

At the same time, I realize that evil fascinates, to a greater or lesser degree, most normal people. How else do you explain the continuing stream of books, documentaries, films etc that deal with virtually every aspect of the Nazi era. And, it only lasted 12 years. So, while I understand and respect the views of some K&C collectors and friends in regards to this series, I will continue to produce them.

Finally, on a more cheerful note, I just returned from China this afternoon after visiting our sculpting studio. I was up there inspecting the new sculpts on our upcoming "Battle of the Bulge" Germans. Awesome! Wait till you see them in their winter camo. I also saw our brand-new HETZER self Propelled Gun. In addition, I gave our sculptors more "Winter" Germans to work on. That's something to look forward to.

Best wishes and... happy collecting to one and all,
Andy

 

[Louis Badolato]

Here's a heads up everyone. At the King of Prussia/Valley Forge show last weekend, Matt Murphy told me that Andy is coming to the show in Boston the first week in July. He had mentioned he hoped to do this at the Symposium in March. I e-mailed him this morning to confirm he's coming. If he is (I'll post it when I get a response) I will certainly go up to see him, with Hans Hedrich, Larry Lo, and hopefully Brad Lewin. Everyone else who can go should, meeting Andy is quite a trip. He is funny, passionate about the hobby, and very interesting.

Just for the record, I don't condemn Andy for making the LAH stuff, and I don't have a beef with anyone who chooses to collect them for historical reasons. My philosophy of collecting, however, does not allow me to do so. I collect to honor the hero's of the past, not to accurately reflect every aspect of history. For those who collect to ensure the atrocities of the Nazi state are not swept under history's rug, more power to you. I just can't stand the sight of the black hearted and black uniformed blackguards.

 

[jazzeum]

Here's a heads up everyone. At the King of Prussia/Valley Forge show last weekend, Matt Murphy told me that Andy is coming to the show in Boston the first week in July. He had mentioned he hoped to do this at the Symposium in March. I e-mailed him this morning to confirm he's coming. If he is (I'll post it when I get a response) I will certainly go up to see him, with Hans Hedrich, Larry Lo, and hopefully Brad Lewin. Everyone else who can go should, meeting Andy is quite a trip. He is funny, passionate about the hobby, and very interesting.

Just for the record, I don't condemn Andy for making the LAH stuff, and I don't have a beef with anyone who chooses to collect them for historical reasons. My philosophy of collecting, however, does not allow me to do so. I collect to honor the hero's of the past, not to accurately reflect every aspect of history. For those who collect to ensure the atrocities of the Nazi state are not swept under history's rug, more power to you. I just can't stand the sight of the black hearted and black uniformed blackguards.

When do we leave?

 

[Louis Badolato]

As soon as I hear back from Andy, I'll let you know. I am hoping that Andy will accept my invitation to stay a couple of days in New York before he has to go up to Boston, and if so, maybe we can all drive up together. Road Trip!