Fallen Flags (1 Viewer)

[katana]

In Memorium New Model Army, Honor Bound, Figarti; you will be remembered by your models! The past 10 years has seen the rise and fall of three Toy Soldier companies producing WWII vehicles and figures; New Model Army, Honor Bound and Figarti. The period 2006 to 2016 has seen remarkable developments in the quality of Toy Soldiers. Honor Bound produced the first realistic 1/30 scale polystone armor starting with the well respected Panther A. Figarti started with 1/32 scale and moved to 1/30 scale producing some of the best Russian armor ever done in polystone, the JS-II, the ISM-152 and the T34-85. Figarti Panzer IVs and Tiger Is were exceptionally well detailed and their Panther G has yet to be equaled. What caused the demise of these three innovative companies in the space of 10 years? Poor worldwide ecconomic conditions were a factor. Yet three other companies that started business during the same period remain sucessful, The Collectors Showcase, Thomas Gunn and First Legion. What is the difference between the three failed companies and the three sucessful ones? The answer I believe is the quality of their figures. Toy Soldier collecting is figure collecting. Armor and vehicles are props in support of the actors. NMA, HB and Figarti all produced very good Armor; excellent in some cases. The problem as I see it is their figures were not as good as their Armor. New competitors produced both very good figures and very good armor that were compatable in size and quality.Very sad to see the demise of these companies; as they each advanced the quality of Toy Soldiers greatly in the last decade!

 

[Desertkiwi]

I didn't realise Figarti had closed shop?!

 

[jazzeum]

There he goes again!

Please stop with this nonsense about Figarti. To declare someone dead you need a death certificate. We don't have that. They are at the West Coaster this weekend so reports of their death have been exaggerated.

 

[uksubs]

There he goes again!

Please stop with this nonsense about Figarti. To declare someone dead you need a death certificate. We don't have that. They are at the West Coaster this weekend so reports of their death have been exaggerated.

Well said Brad

 

[jazzeum]

A further point. HB did not fail for any artistic or any other similar reasons but because of the business conditions in Argentina which, based on my experiences and on having lived and visited the Southern Cone, are difficult. The line was too expensive too make and they were not about to move the manufacture to China.

NMA, from what I understand, had other issues. By the way, NMA is TG so they learned from their mistakes.

 

[katana]

Brad; I was unaware that NMA had morphed into TG; that explains why the Lynx looks so much alike. The Figures have gotten much better; which proves my point. You do not change your name if you are sucessful! I wonder if Figarti will morph into Shanghai Armor. I recall from business 101; that these are called Zombie companies, they never die.

 

[jazzeum]

I'm not sure morphed is the right word. They have the same owner, Blake Reade.

Not sure what will happen with Figarti if the new management can't make it work. I'd imagine Rick would shut it down.

 

[katana]

Brad; the attached photo shows Panzerwaffe figures from NMA, HB, Figarti, TCS and K&C. I believe the disparity in quality of the figures between the failed companies and the viable ones is obvious. The other obvious problem evident in the photo is the oversize figures relative to the 1/30 scale Figart Panther G. The Figarti figure that came with the Panther is too large and its quality is inferior to the quality of the Panther.

 

[katana]

Top photo WWII Panzerwaffe with Panther. Lower photo King Tiger Bovington Armor Museum. Figure/Armor size references full size. Compare with the 1/30 scale figures and the Figarti Panther G. Realism rules, thus the rapid success of First Legion WWII figures and Armor!

 

[uksubs]

View attachment 187595

Top photo WWII Panzerwaffe with Panther. Lower photo King Tiger Bovington Armor Museum. Figure/Armor size references full size. Compare with the 1/30 scale figures and the Figarti Panther G. Realism rules, thus the rapid success of First Legion WWII figures and Armor!

first legion don't make a Panther tank ^&confuse

 

[katana]

I agree that First Legion does not as yet make a Panther Tank. The Sherman, Panzer IV, Panzer III, Stug III and T34 from First Legion are in the correct size relationship with their figures. First legion figures are also the correct size when displayed with Figarti and Honor Bound Armor as many excellent photos on the Forum show. I think a growing segment of the WWII figure collecting community is interested in more realistic figures and vehicles and reward companies that meet that requirement.

 

[uksubs]

I think a growing segment of the WWII figure collecting community is interested in more realistic figures and vehicles and reward companies that meet that requirement.

Your right but it been that way for a good couple of years now

 

[katana]

I agree but K&C has responded with larger 1/28 Sherman tanks and crews that are sized correctly; as First Legion has done since it began; but in a 1/30 scale. TCS has done the same, its Sherman tanks are 1/28 scale and are also sized correctly with their figures; which are 68mm by actual measurement!
I believe these developments are really good for the Toy Soldier business and collectors.

 

[Desertkiwi]

Speaking of companies having problems, most hit a few speed bumps along the way and I recall W.Britains going through a bad patch when they were brought out a number of years ago now. There were quite a few collectors who thought they would go belly up, but instead they bounced back with a vengeance. I'm sure Figarti will do something similar, but these things take time.

 

[katana]

I agree many companies have their ups and downs. Dinky is a good example it has been up, down and sideways so many times I have stopped counting. Figarti is a bit differnt as Toy Soldiers is a small but competitive envionment. Low volume products, fast product cycles and capital intensive. Tooling and labor cost in China has risen quickly over the last few years. Many companies manufacturing in China have moved to the Philipines, Thailand et.al. Time will tell; but I am not sure that Figarti can recover after a two year hiatus.

 

[Desertkiwi]

I agree many companies have their ups and downs. Dinky is a good example it has been up, down and sideways so many times I have stopped counting. Figarti is a bit differnt as Toy Soldiers is a small but competitive envionment. Low volume products, fast product cycles and capital intensive. Tooling and labor cost in China has risen quickly over the last few years. Many companies manufacturing in China have moved to the Philipines, Thailand et.al. Time will tell; but I am not sure that Figarti can recover after a two year hiatus.

It takes time to come up with a workable business plan and research products that will not only sell, but return a reasonable profit. Then there's all the manufacturing and marketing issues which we as collectors often over look.

It's very easy via social media to critisize a company for scale issues, poor reserach, crap poses, rubbish paint etc etc, but we also need to remember that an incredable amount of time and effort goes into getting these things from the concept stage to your hobby store and often for very little gain.

There would be a tiny few who actually make a desent living from this niche hobby, for many it's a labour of love and a passion for all things TS.

It's good to give feedback, negetive or otherwise, but lets also remember to offer some encouragement, because without these few manufactures we'd all be back to painting figures and gluing together plastic kits.

 

[Mirof]

A further point. HB did not fail for any artistic or any other similar reasons but because of the business conditions in Argentina which, based on my experiences and on having lived and visited the Southern Cone, are difficult. The line was too expensive too make and they were not about to move the manufacture to China.

NMA, from what I understand, had other issues. By the way, NMA is TG so they learned from their mistakes.

What has he Nigerian Medical association ( NMA ) to do wih the Communist Party of China ( TuGong TG )
Remember more than 1500 makers

 

[katana]

The thread was intended to analyze and discuss why some Toy Soldier companies fail and others succeed. Two main reasons were put forward; Poor worldwide ecconomic conditions and a product line that had great armor ; but poor figures. NMA has transformed into TG; having learned from experience. Hopefully Figarti will transform into Nuvofigarti after learning from their experience. Experience is the ultimate teacher in business as in life. Constructive criticism is benificial in providing feedback from customers to companies as a stimulus to improve their products. I have worked in engineering management in an executive position; where I felt it very important to be in contact with customers to hear their problems with our products and impliment solutions. I understand and appreciate the problems of small companies in a competitive environment; good communications with customers and dealers is essential to long term success.

 

[Mirof]

[/U]

What has the Nigerian Medical association ( NMA ) to do wih the Communist Party of China ( TuGong TG )
Remember more than 1500 makers

Well after some research I think TG is for Gunn Miniatures whose logo is T*G fot Thomas Gunn
http://www.tomgunn.co.uk

But I found no trace on their webb about New Metal Army becoming T*G

 

[jazzeum]

There would be nothing on their web site about it. However, the owner of NMA is also the owner of TG.