WesternOutlaw
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An Exclusive Treefrog Treasures Interview with Thomas Gunn Miniatures: Part 1
It is so awesome to have an opportunity to conduct a series of exclusive Treefrog Treasures interviews with Thomas Gunn Miniatures (TGM) or Thomas Gunn (TG) to many collectors, co-owner Blake Reade. I certainly appreciate you sharing your thoughts on the toy soldier hobby and future of TGM.
For those who do not know much about TGM that was founded in 2009, tell us how TGM got its name?
TG is a combination of my middle name, "Tom" and the last name of Simon Gunn who started the venture with me. Over the years various people have been shareholders; its only recently I managed to obtain a majority shareholding. Even now it's not owned outright by me even though popular myth on various forums seems to propagate this theory. Many people call me Tom; it was a name I was referred to in the army for 9 years, in fact its only my mother and a few other friends who call me Blake!
Well thank you, Tom, appreciate your willingness to conduct this exclusive interview and getting to know more about you and TG.
Many of us who collect toy soldiers have some sort of veteran connection. Are you a military veteran or do you have a veteran connection?
Yes I served for 9 years in the British Army, did some time with a commando unit, and ended up as a weapons instructor at the Army’s Winchester Recruit Depot before leaving. I would say around half the time in the army was good, namely serving in Hong Kong and Cyprus parts; no comment on time spent in Plymouth, Aldershot, or Germany! The military was a great foundation for civilian life; it imbues you with a sense of "get up and go". I would recommend it to anyone; it was never going to be a "forever thing" for me, but I am glad I did it. The fitness element has certainly stayed with me. I run regularly up and down the surrounding hills of Warminster. Last week I clocked up 15 miles on a single run, the target is 26 miles but that may take a few more months.
I certainly thank you for your service as an ally/friend to the USA. It is also interesting to know that the values and regiments that we learn in our younger years stay with us for life.
TG produces a wide-range of figures and vehicles from various eras, what is your favorite era and why do you like it?
I don’t have a favorite era. It just depends on what we are making at the time and how much it fires the imagination. There are times when some production pieces are so vivid in my head that I have trouble going to sleep at night. It is as if the tap to turn them off is not working. It's quite strange when that happens; it's been going on for years now. I have found you need to be in a positive frame of mind for figure design, a bit like trying to use a chain saw when you are angry. You never get the result you think you will! We also get lots of ideas emailed to us from collectors and dealers. We try to fit them in if we think they are a winner. We also get help from collectors who now carry out research for us; for that I am eternally grateful. We don’t always get it right but we are getting better at what we do.
I'm sure collectors will appreciate knowing that their input is valued and utilized by TG.
As I’m sure much works goes into the design phase of toy soldiers before production, where does TG draw its creative inspiration?
The internet is a great source of inspiration and of course traditional books are an even better source. Some series are more difficult to make simply because they do not fire the imagination straight away, these are more of a slow burn. Then one day I will see something that will fit into that series and it will reinvigorate it, and we will be off again. Sometimes its better to leave a series and then come back to it with fresh enthusiasm. Other series like WWII seem to have a life of its own and lead us from one set of figures to another. It was such a vast conflict that it's quite easy to come up with new ideas for it.
Many are aware of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted so many industries and our own day-to-day lives. TGM seems to have done particularly well in maintaining a steady flow of monthly releases. How has COVID adversely impacted your business?
We have had a lot of government support so cash flow has been fine. We have been quite badly affected by shipping but sales have actually increased. February 2021 was one of our best months ever for some unknown reason. However, our biggest problem is shipping and even now it looks like the May 2021 release will be delayed due to the Suez Canal blockage. Ideally, I would like to have a distribution center in Hong Kong for the figures or in the Philippines for our aircraft; that is something that may happen in the near future.
Congratulations to success during a challenging time. TG has truly been producing some unique and amazing pieces throughout the pandemic.
With other toy soldiers companies producing pieces from some of the same themes (like WWII and Vietnam in particular), has TG had to change any of its competitive strategies and if so, how?
Yes, we had to improve the quality but maintain a competitive price, harder than its sounds. Lockdown has actually helped us develop several money saving strategies we will maintain once we return to normality. We now try to avoid an area where we feel another manufacturer has a strong presence; however, if we feel we can add to that arena, we will take a chance and develop some figures for it. One example has been the Zulu War range; it's gone from strength to strength for us and we will continue so long as the demand is there.
It is good to know that quality and competitive pricing remain at the forefront of TG's business strategies.
There have been a few heated discussions here on the forum over producing “like-items”; what would you say to your competitors who may claim TG took an idea from them?
All manufacturers whatever they are making get ideas from the competition and from the outside world around them. I am sure others out there looked at what we are doing and have followed suit. We have also produced many original products in 1/30 scale not looked at by any manufacturer, like the recently produced Brummbar.
The new Brummbar looks great! It's also nice to see TG offer variants with different numbers and decal options, both winter and new tri-color camo scheme.
(continued)
It is so awesome to have an opportunity to conduct a series of exclusive Treefrog Treasures interviews with Thomas Gunn Miniatures (TGM) or Thomas Gunn (TG) to many collectors, co-owner Blake Reade. I certainly appreciate you sharing your thoughts on the toy soldier hobby and future of TGM.
For those who do not know much about TGM that was founded in 2009, tell us how TGM got its name?
TG is a combination of my middle name, "Tom" and the last name of Simon Gunn who started the venture with me. Over the years various people have been shareholders; its only recently I managed to obtain a majority shareholding. Even now it's not owned outright by me even though popular myth on various forums seems to propagate this theory. Many people call me Tom; it was a name I was referred to in the army for 9 years, in fact its only my mother and a few other friends who call me Blake!
Well thank you, Tom, appreciate your willingness to conduct this exclusive interview and getting to know more about you and TG.
Many of us who collect toy soldiers have some sort of veteran connection. Are you a military veteran or do you have a veteran connection?
Yes I served for 9 years in the British Army, did some time with a commando unit, and ended up as a weapons instructor at the Army’s Winchester Recruit Depot before leaving. I would say around half the time in the army was good, namely serving in Hong Kong and Cyprus parts; no comment on time spent in Plymouth, Aldershot, or Germany! The military was a great foundation for civilian life; it imbues you with a sense of "get up and go". I would recommend it to anyone; it was never going to be a "forever thing" for me, but I am glad I did it. The fitness element has certainly stayed with me. I run regularly up and down the surrounding hills of Warminster. Last week I clocked up 15 miles on a single run, the target is 26 miles but that may take a few more months.
I certainly thank you for your service as an ally/friend to the USA. It is also interesting to know that the values and regiments that we learn in our younger years stay with us for life.
TG produces a wide-range of figures and vehicles from various eras, what is your favorite era and why do you like it?
I don’t have a favorite era. It just depends on what we are making at the time and how much it fires the imagination. There are times when some production pieces are so vivid in my head that I have trouble going to sleep at night. It is as if the tap to turn them off is not working. It's quite strange when that happens; it's been going on for years now. I have found you need to be in a positive frame of mind for figure design, a bit like trying to use a chain saw when you are angry. You never get the result you think you will! We also get lots of ideas emailed to us from collectors and dealers. We try to fit them in if we think they are a winner. We also get help from collectors who now carry out research for us; for that I am eternally grateful. We don’t always get it right but we are getting better at what we do.
I'm sure collectors will appreciate knowing that their input is valued and utilized by TG.
As I’m sure much works goes into the design phase of toy soldiers before production, where does TG draw its creative inspiration?
The internet is a great source of inspiration and of course traditional books are an even better source. Some series are more difficult to make simply because they do not fire the imagination straight away, these are more of a slow burn. Then one day I will see something that will fit into that series and it will reinvigorate it, and we will be off again. Sometimes its better to leave a series and then come back to it with fresh enthusiasm. Other series like WWII seem to have a life of its own and lead us from one set of figures to another. It was such a vast conflict that it's quite easy to come up with new ideas for it.
Many are aware of how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted so many industries and our own day-to-day lives. TGM seems to have done particularly well in maintaining a steady flow of monthly releases. How has COVID adversely impacted your business?
We have had a lot of government support so cash flow has been fine. We have been quite badly affected by shipping but sales have actually increased. February 2021 was one of our best months ever for some unknown reason. However, our biggest problem is shipping and even now it looks like the May 2021 release will be delayed due to the Suez Canal blockage. Ideally, I would like to have a distribution center in Hong Kong for the figures or in the Philippines for our aircraft; that is something that may happen in the near future.
Congratulations to success during a challenging time. TG has truly been producing some unique and amazing pieces throughout the pandemic.
With other toy soldiers companies producing pieces from some of the same themes (like WWII and Vietnam in particular), has TG had to change any of its competitive strategies and if so, how?
Yes, we had to improve the quality but maintain a competitive price, harder than its sounds. Lockdown has actually helped us develop several money saving strategies we will maintain once we return to normality. We now try to avoid an area where we feel another manufacturer has a strong presence; however, if we feel we can add to that arena, we will take a chance and develop some figures for it. One example has been the Zulu War range; it's gone from strength to strength for us and we will continue so long as the demand is there.
It is good to know that quality and competitive pricing remain at the forefront of TG's business strategies.
There have been a few heated discussions here on the forum over producing “like-items”; what would you say to your competitors who may claim TG took an idea from them?
All manufacturers whatever they are making get ideas from the competition and from the outside world around them. I am sure others out there looked at what we are doing and have followed suit. We have also produced many original products in 1/30 scale not looked at by any manufacturer, like the recently produced Brummbar.
The new Brummbar looks great! It's also nice to see TG offer variants with different numbers and decal options, both winter and new tri-color camo scheme.
(continued)
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