Fancy a Knight out in Agincourt? (3 Viewers)

[johnnybach]

Do you have any more information on the "All The Queen's Men" knights ?

Looking online, I found their olde website (most recent date 2012).

Thank you.

If you look up our membership details - you will find "Imperial Miniatures" - or Mike. (I think I incorrectly called the company Empire before - which is an altogether different brand - sorry). Mike is the new owner of the old "All the Queens men" (AQM) company.

He intends to bring back most ( and hopefully ALL) of the old ranges, over time - including the Agincourt series of figures that you can still see on the old web-site that you have found. Better still - he has agreed to not only sell them as painted - but also unpainted castings to folks who want them. This all depends on him being able to do so - as the moulds haven't been used in a while - and some MAY be in need of repair or refurbishment.

Mike and I have been corresponding - and he advises me that the Agincourt moulds are in pretty good condition - so he will be trying out a few casts in the near future - to see if they can still produce decent figures. Assuming he is succesful, I have ordered the first four mounted knights (K1,2,3,4) as a trial - to see if they work for me. They cost £14.50 each - which is just under $21(US) per figure. {I think the foot figures - including archers will be £5.50 each - or about $8(US).}

If succesful - I'll be off on a new round of knights - using some of these different castings, for a change.

So..............still use the web-site you found - now under new ownership - to see what may be available - and if you're interested in any - contact Mike by PM and have a chat.

How's that! jb

 

[johnnybach]

I know you paint for your own enjoyment, John, but if I may, I'll say that your knights are excellent and would do very well, if you were a commercial producer. I think of some of the other newer-makers who offered or even specialized in knights, like Bob Hornung, or Jacques Cuypers, and I think yours are better than theirs. Well done!

Prost!
Brad

Well, thank you Brad - that's quite a compliment - as I just love Bob Hornung's and Jacques' work. Another painter I like VERY much - is Tye Roberts (robertsheraldicknights) - who lives and works part-time painting knights in Minessotta. If you don't know his work - look him up - he's great.

I'm afraid though, if Iwere to venture into commercial production, I wouldn't make a lot of money - as I lavish a good deal of time over every one I produce just for my own pleasure. Commercial dealers have to charge for time - whilst I don't. I also think that working to deadlines would take all of the fun and challenge out of it for me.

I can also remember "work" from the old days - and at my time of life - don't really want to go back there and re-visit it!!{eek3}

But - thanks again buddy - I'm more than pleased especially, that you like them. jb

 

[nmrocks]

It gets better Ray - I have recently found out that the new owner of "All the Queens Men" ( Mike - of 'Empire Miniatures') is resurrecting the AQM "Agincourt Range" - which means more knights in different poses - than the Selwyn-Smith recasts that I've been mostly using up until now. Better yet - Mike will sell them as castings, as well as ready-painted - so I forsee many more possibilities for some more new knights on the horizon!!

I've put in an initial order for four of the poses - so will see how they paint up in due course. I also still have a few of the old castings left in my "stash" - along with bits and pieces of weaponary etc, - so plenty more of my favourite subject to come yet.

On the "flat front" - I've just ordered a set entitled "Ambush of a Pioneer Family" from Erika Ochel at Kieler Zinnfiguren, which is an attack by Sioux Indians on a Wagon with a Pioneer family aboard. I'll take it with me on my next visit to NZ - so that I can paint them up whilst I'm there. (Two sets actually - as it comes in the two parts shown below).

By the way - you can mark Erika up as another "Paypal friendly" seller of Flats - and you can also order in English which makes things easier to order - which is all good news!

Here's a version of it by a professional painter "Marie-Claire Piccolier" - which I think is superb. I'll be doing well if I can get anywhere close to this quality. Best - jb

More Knights, More Knights! always the best of news! be sure to fortify the shelves!
As to the flat side of life, It' s always a plesent suprise to find we're of the same mind, I actually perchased a couple of items very similar from Europe in the beginning of Feb. and they are Really on the slow boat, did'nt know the Post was still using ships from the Age of Sail! Naturally, I'll post when they arrive. Those are some nicely done sets for sure.
Ray

 

[johnnybach]

More Knights, More Knights! always the best of news! be sure to fortify the shelves!
As to the flat side of life, It' s always a plesent suprise to find we're of the same mind, I actually perchased a couple of items very similar from Europe in the beginning of Feb. and they are Really on the slow boat, did'nt know the Post was still using ships from the Age of Sail! Naturally, I'll post when they arrive. Those are some nicely done sets for sure.
Ray

Well, we each have our first love Ray - and I'm afraid mine wear tin suits. Sounds like your boatload of flatties may be on a galley of a similar vintage? Pity they don't have cellphones - or maybe you could give the lads in charge a call - for a whip round!{eek3}

When my Pioneer family and their visitors arrive - they will go in my case, for a long journey ( along with another couple of stock-piled sets of items) - and get painted up - down under. Ill be sure to show you how I get on some time later.

Cheers buddy - jb

 

[nmrocks]

It gets better Ray - I have recently found out that the new owner of "All the Queens Men" ( Mike - of 'Empire Miniatures') is resurrecting the AQM "Agincourt Range" - which means more knights in different poses - than the Selwyn-Smith recasts that I've been mostly using up until now. Better yet - Mike will sell them as castings, as well as ready-painted - so I forsee many more possibilities for some more new knights on the horizon!!

I've put in an initial order for four of the poses - so will see how they paint up in due course. I also still have a few of the old castings left in my "stash" - along with bits and pieces of weaponary etc, - so plenty more of my favourite subject to come yet.

On the "flat front" - I've just ordered a set entitled "Ambush of a Pioneer Family" from Erika Ochel at Kieler Zinnfiguren, which is an attack by Sioux Indians on a Wagon with a Pioneer family aboard. I'll take it with me on my next visit to NZ - so that I can paint them up whilst I'm there. (Two sets actually - as it comes in the two parts shown below).

By the way - you can mark Erika up as another "Paypal friendly" seller of Flats - and you can also order in English which makes things easier to order - which is all good news!

Here's a version of it by a professional painter "Marie-Claire Piccolier" - which I think is superb. I'll be doing well if I can get anywhere close to this quality. Best - jb

Hi Jb,
I wanted to show you the Wild West pieces that finally arrived, covered wagon and Stagecoach.
Ray

 

[johnnybach]

Hi Jb,
I wanted to show you the Wild West pieces that finally arrived, covered wagon and Stagecoach.
Ray

Very nice Ray - I will have the wagon - but no Stagecoach. That one's a beauty - and six horses too. Mmmmm. Who makes it - perchance????? jb

 

[nmrocks]

Very nice Ray - I will have the wagon - but no Stagecoach. That one's a beauty - and six horses too. Mmmmm. Who makes it - perchance????? jb

Hi JB,
Well it's your typical cottage flat industry, no internet communication, everything done by mail so here's the response:
Ray


Hello
the stagecoach is from Romund Hannover, but it is difficult to order because there is no internet presence, so you have to write , it is very old school.
Romund Zinnfiguren c/o Gerhard Marscheider Husarenstr.23 D-30163 Hannover

 

[johnnybach]

Hi JB,
Well it's your typical cottage flat industry, no internet communication, everything done by mail so here's the response:
Ray


Hello
the stagecoach is from Romund Hannover, but it is difficult to order because there is no internet presence, so you have to write , it is very old school.
Romund Zinnfiguren c/o Gerhard Marscheider Husarenstr.23 D-30163 Hannover

Thanks Ray - I did a bit of rooting around the Internet after receiving - and found this one!! I think I will check it out............jb


http://www.zinnfigur-strassburg.de/Apachen.htm#Westernkutsche

 

[johnnybach]

Whilst pottering about in a local indoor market, a few weeks ago, I spotted a guy with a 'bric-a-brac' stall that I'd done business with before. I asked if he had any more old Toy Soldiers - and - delving under a pile of boxes - he unearthed a battered cardboard box.

Amongst a load of tat - I was delighted to find another couple of solid re-casts of two guys fighting one another with sword and axe. The one piece castings bearing strangely curved shields and small size (45mm) made them immediately indentifiable as two Courtney & Doran pieces, originally from the 1930's - but these two are recasts from more recent times - maker unknown. As they weren't wearing any helmets - and there was no old paint to remove - I did a simple straight paint job on them as two young squires practicing with weapons - and can now add them into my medieval collection. The decoration on both is merely fanciful - and not intended as heraldic. jb

 

[Ivanhoe]

You definitely capture the 'spirit' of the originals.

Good find and great painting.

Thank you.

 

[nmrocks]

Whilst pottering about in a local indoor market, a few weeks ago, I spotted a guy with a 'bric-a-brac' stall that I'd done business with before. I asked if he had any more old Toy Soldiers - and - delving under a pile of boxes - he unearthed a battered cardboard box.

Amongst a load of tat - I was delighted to find another couple of solid re-casts of two guys fighting one another with sword and axe. The one piece castings bearing strangely curved shields and small size (45mm) made them immediately indentifiable as two Courtney & Doran pieces, originally from the 1930's - but these two are recasts from more recent times - maker unknown. As they weren't wearing any helmets - and there was no old paint to remove - I did a simple straight paint job on them as two young squires practicing with weapons - and can now add them into my medieval collection. The decoration on both is merely fanciful - and not intended as heraldic. jb

More fun JB! must be nice to wonder the local markets and antique stores to find older items you collect, never see much of this kind in the "New World" and if I ever see any it's usually beat up old Britians that they don't have a clue about so they price them like Holy Grail....
Ray

 

[johnnybach]

More fun JB! must be nice to wonder the local markets and antique stores to find older items you collect, never see much of this kind in the "New World" and if I ever see any it's usually beat up old Britians that they don't have a clue about so they price them like Holy Grail....
Ray

Yes Ray - it's a funny thing - but I've experienced that kind of thing in other countries too. I remember going to a "Granierre" (Attic clear out sale) in a local village in France, when I lived there for a spell. I spotted a couple of Starlux figures on offer at one such event. They were modern, and quite common figures with a bit of paint loss - so I made a polite enquiry as to the price.

Well...............after a high speed sales pitch - I eventually deduced that I would need to visit my Bank for a loan to afford them - so I politely declined to continue with any negotiation and turned away. I was persued down the street by a very irate Frenchman - who (I think) was giving me a piece of his mind about wasting his time - and some other derogatory remarks about "Les Anglais", in high speed French ( which made me smile - as I'm Welsh). etc.

You also see it on e-bay, sometimes - when some drongo tries to sell his "Very Rare Britains" ( which actually isn't Britains at all) for an asking price that would mean the sale of several vital organs!

Put simply - some people have no idea what they are trying to sell - and how much they are worth.

I guess that in a country like the UK - which was almost in at the start of Hollowcast TS production - there are simply far more of these things still about - and on offer from a variety of places and people. I have come to know some of the places to go - and people to see - that know what I'm usually looking for - so always stop for a chat whenever I see them again. In fact, one guy at my local market knows me well enough now - to becon me over when I pass by - if he has anything that he thinks I might like. Then - perhaps - the art of negotiation can begin!

Then, of course, I still have the Dorset Soldiers shop within a two-hour car drive. Giles Brown has become a very good friend of mine - and he buys and sells some of the older figures that I like so much to restore/repair and repaint - and HE KNOWS the market value of most items - so I'm always sure of NOT getting ripped off there.

And............like them or not............ e-bay IS at least available Worldwide - and - thank goodness for the Internet and Paypal - without which, our hobbies would be so much more difficult, these days.

But yes Ray - I agree, I'm fortunate to have plenty of items around here in the UK, to make my hobby relatively easy to follow. jb

 

[kilted vampire]

My latest figure for my Medieval Shelf - is Sir Thomas Bernardiston, an English Knight. I first saw a version of him by Richard Courtney, several years ago - and then another by Peter Greenhill, when I bought his marvellous book ( see in Greenhil,P.1991, Heraldic Miniature Knights, page 74).

Not having the several hundred pounds readily available for either of these two figures^&grin, I decided to invest a MUCH smaller sum in a suitable casting - and try to paint one up for myself, using the Greenhill version as a painting guide (thanks Peter).

My figure is shown below - galloping into a melee with axe held high - and wearing a Tournament Great Helm - at least, somewhat in the style of a Courtney.







Lastly, here are my latest four knights - recently finished this time - and shown altogether. From L to R, I now have:

Sir Rhys ap Grufydd: Sir Thomas Bernardiston: Sir William Douglas - and Sir John Codrington. jb

These have really come out well'' KV bite of approval

 

[johnnybach]

These have really come out well'' KV bite of approval

Ouch!! Hey KV - long time..... Man, you have been digging back a bit - I think I did those a couple of years ago - but pleased you approve

These Medieval figures have become just about my favourites to make up and paint now. jb

 

[kilted vampire]

Got a lot of catching up to do. Working on a ton of projects. Large scale figures and vignettes, Sheet rocking a garage. Working on, maintaining and riding 4 motorcycles. Just life I guess. When things get a little more situated I will do some more toy figures.

 

[johnnybach]

Got a lot of catching up to do. Working on a ton of projects. Large scale figures and vignettes, Sheet rocking a garage. Working on, maintaining and riding 4 motorcycles. Just life I guess. When things get a little more situated I will do some more toy figures.

Whatever buddy - nice to see you're still around, from time to time. Would love to get my hands dirty on a bike again - but The Commandant reckons I'm too old for another one - and I'd probably end up wrapped around a tree if I had one!{eek3} Enjoy 'em for as long as you can. . This was my last ................ jb

 

[Ivanhoe]

Whatever buddy - nice to see you're still around, from time to time. Would love to get my hands dirty on a bike again - but The Commandant reckons I'm too old for another one - and I'd probably end up wrapped around a tree if I had one!{eek3} Enjoy 'em for as long as you can. . This was my last ................ jb

Nice bike JB !

What CC was that Norton ?

Tried to climb a tree with one of mine...many years ago.

 

[kilted vampire]

When I get to old for my bikes I will convert them to trikes.

 

[johnnybach]

Nice bike JB !

What CC was that Norton ?

Tried to climb a tree with one of mine...many years ago.

That was the 650cc (Sports Special). Had tio get rid of it - as had too many points on my licence. Always regretted not keeping it!

 

[kilted vampire]

Whatever buddy - nice to see you're still around, from time to time. Would love to get my hands dirty on a bike again - but The Commandant reckons I'm too old for another one - and I'd probably end up wrapped around a tree if I had one!{eek3} Enjoy 'em for as long as you can. . This was my last ................ jb

Well if you ever get out to the west coast.....{sm3}