Hi guys! (1 Viewer)

[Drum]

Hello Imperial lovers!

Missed you guys and our favorite little 54mm wonders.
Sorry for my protracted absence. It was both avoidable and unjustified, but everyone needs a break from time to time. Other things filled the void, but only temporarily. And now I am back.

Have been slowly and haphazardly collecting photos and information, as well as a catalog of all the Imperial Productions sets and so forth, but I really am not at all sure what to do with all this stuff. My Mom wants me to "write a book" of course, but the idea daunts me, as much because I have no idea if the costs would justify the effort as wondering who would want such a book.

I have also been toying with the idea of reducing all of this data to a website or an e-book or something. Just an informational sort of thing, a clearinghouse for all things related to Imperial Productions. My techno savvy is only slightly greater than the Cowes' so... I will need some help to make that a reality.

Hope springs eternal. Thoughts and ideas of what sort of Imperial data display would be most useful are gratefully accepted.


Anyway, I will be haunting these halls once again, so, drop me a line if you want to rap or discuss our favorite toy soldier maker.

Cheers,
Drum

 

[dkelly]

Drum, welcome back. I love the idea of a book and would do whatever I could to help. A nice catalog with photos of all the sets would be great. I think it would be rather inexpensive to self publish something like that. I bet David would love a copy of something like that.

 

[Drum]

The Cowes have copies of my comprehensive list. It was amusing to hear his surprise at seeing how many different sets he had created. Once I got to know him, I came to realize that it is a result of his amazing humility. It somehow never occurred to him that anyone would appreciate his beautiful figures enough to pay attention.

I have always wanted to have one of those great big coffee table type books, full of beautiful color pictures of every single Imperial set, along with interesting bits of information about when and possibly even how many of each set were made and when retired, etc. Even better if some commentary from the ever shy David Cowe could be sprinkled throughout. Alas... I am beginning to think that if it is up to me to assemble such a tome, it may never come to be. Perhaps when I retire from my "day job" :tongue:

Hope springs eternal.

I actually spent the weekend completing the organization of the thousands of pics I have taken of my Dad's Imperial collection.
Inspired by the efforts of Andy "Ace" Cripps, among others, perhaps there is life in this project yet.

I'll keep y'all posted.

D

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[boerboy]

Drum,
Sent you PM.
Al

 

[Yosmanos]

I have produced quite a few coffee table books of photos using a variety of online and local productions options. The Apple iphoto-generated hard cover book turned out to be by far one of the best quality productions for a reasonable price. Might have just hit it lucky but I can imagine how handsome a book on the soldiers would be.

Count me in to help on such a project. I used to be a photographer for a newspaper, so could travel up to Greytown (great excuse if you ever really need an excuse) and take some photos of the Cowes at work - I could imagine a section on their craft and their history in a book that showcased the catalogue. Hmm, a nice distraction that would be.

Mark

 

[Drum]

I really do love the idea of a collaborative effort. It is SO much easier to progress under a group motivation, buddy system type of thing. Also, the available resources here cannot be topped. Smart computer dudes, New Zealanders even... how could we go wrong?

I have always envisioned two basic purposes. One being to organize some big beautiful pictures of these figures into a tribute to their creators that would provide Imperial lovers with some enjoyable eye candy. The other being a more compact resource to provide a guide of sorts to those who want seek out Imperial sets to identify the figures and aid their collecting efforts, etc.

Initially, these ideas took the form of two books... one that I always referred to as the "coffee table book" and more aesthetically presented, and one more like a staple bound pocket-sized list that could be popped into a back pocket on the way to toy soldier shows and so on.

Nowadays, I suppose the latter concept would be better served by some sort of app or an online resource of some sort. A webpage dedicated to cataloging and identifying the Imperial Productions collection. Seems like everyone has, or will have, phones that can be used to surf webpages or download lists, etc. The wave of the future maybe.

Perhaps there is still room for a book of some sort, but once the data is organized for viewing online, the if's and how's of hammering it into a book will become easier to quantify and analyze. I am liking the idea of starting with a searcheable web site.

PM/email me or post any thoughts, comments or suggestions you might have here. Al and Yos, I will reply.

Cheers,
D