How About a Pirate series (1 Viewer)

[Horus]

Gangsters,Thieves,Rapists,Murderers, What's to like and admire other than the Disney version !?

Steve

 

[King & Country]

I dont think so mate hstbwasnt a very popular war.

Scott

Not a popular war eh..?

Well, that’s news to me Scott...and to a lot of my old mates in the 3rd. Commando Brigade who sailed south with the TaskForce in ‘82.

The send-off when they sailed out was simply amazing...and the welcome when they came back victorious was even more spectacular!

The general support of the great British public was from left, right and centre and helped propel Maggie Thatcher to a stunning election win in 1983.

And although I was in Hong Kong at the time the popularity and support in Britain to take decisive military action was overwhelming.
All the best,
Andy.

 

[Obee]

I'd love to see this series take off, as well as late 18th century British Marines/Navy as an opponent.

That would also make Howard very happy, he's been on the lookout for British figures from that period to use in the colonisation of 'The Great South Land' or 'New Holland' as it was known then. My only suggestion for him has been a repaint of K&C 1776 British infantry for Marines ...... ???

Pirates could also be made to look like the 'tars' and the addition of RN officers could compliment the series.

Even a gun crew, like this set I painted by Hinchliffe:

John

 

[mk26gmls]

I like the idea of 18th century figures that would represent the British, French and Spanish navies. Maybe start with Queen Anne's War and work up thru the century.

 

[wayne556517]

Agree be brilliant

 

[tryfon]

Hi Andy

Perhaps a test one day, make a couple of great pirate poses action ones see how it goes, I believe will do very well

all the best
Trevor

 

[cantinetozzo]

Not a popular war eh..?

Well, that’s news to me Scott...and to a lot of my old mates in the 3rd. Commando Brigade who sailed south with the TaskForce in ‘82.

The send-off when they sailed out was simply amazing...and the welcome when they came back victorious was even more spectacular!

The general support of the great British public was from left, right and centre and helped propel Maggie Thatcher to a stunning election win in 1983.

And although I was in Hong Kong at the time the popularity and support in Britain to take decisive military action was overwhelming.
All the best,
Andy.

It is indeed popular and really many of us (me too) would like to see it reproduced in TS. I have many Argie friends (being Italian it's easy to have many acquaintances if not relatives in Argentina, the great majority of them are of Italian descent) and they too are fixed with the "Guerra por las Malvinas" (sometimes in an annoying nationalistic way). But will be a great series, starting with the capture of the Government House in Stanley and then all the battles , Goose Green, Mount Thumbledown etc. I add the fact that the A4 Skyhawk of the Argentines could be reproduced, being one of the smallest jet ever produced...i have great admiration for their pilots, and their sacrifice...even if it was a wrong war.

 

[Panzer ace]

I’d buy a Falkland Islands series.

The weapons, uniforms and history all make for compelling toy soldiers.

 

[King & Country]

Hi Guys,
Many thanks as always for your thoughts and comments on a potential ‘PYRATES’ series...
For the record I’m also a fan and enthusiast...BUT...Here’s the lowdown, at least from my point of view...
Back in the day my good friend Ron Barzow designed and produced a superb range of plastic resin Pirates and accessories that I saw at one of the ‘Chicago’ Shows...I loved it and bought one set.

I also discussed with Ron the possibility of producing an all-metal, fully painted K&C version utilising Ron’s basic ideas but totally resculpted by our own sculptors in our style...We agreed on financial terms and began initial work.

At the same time I knew the centre piece of any K&C ‘PYRATES’ collection had to be ... a Pirate Ship!

Fortunately for me I had the exact model in mind...a 1:48 scale, all wood and fully rigged model of Sir Francis Drake’s ‘Golden Hind’, which I had acquired at a trade fair in China a few months before.

Now although the scale was wrong the general look of the model was just what I wanted and so...
I got the 1:48 plans and traced over them my changes...guard rails for instance had to be taller...the 1:48 scale main Gun Deck was reduced from 7x small cannon to 5x 1:30 size guns...Hatches, ladders and cabin doors also were all drawn to the larger scale. We even reduced the 2x small ‘Poop’ decks to just 1x larger one.
However, the basic hull, masts and bowsprit remained the original size and scale.

Then, I sent the whole ‘kit’n’kaboodle’ off to the factory and waited to see the result.

About six weeks later the sample came back and it was amazing...better than I could have hoped for!
A complete hull, fully rigged with real cloth, partially furled sails and beautiful wood and metal work throughout scale model ship.

But then here was the ‘Fly in the Ointment’ moment...My Number 2 in Hong Kong at the time, informed me of the shipping and packaging costs of sending a model of this size and detail around the world...Horrendous!!! The shipping and packing was going to cost twice as much as the cost of the model itself...And that was before any even modest markup by K&C and/or one of our dealers!

So my friends what seemed like a terrific idea suddenly hit the very hard brick wall of commercial reality.

Although it killed my ‘PYRATES’ project it did provide me with a superb, one-off Pirate Ship that sits, to this day, in a prominent place in my office in Hong Kong.
Ah well...such is life in the ‘Wonderful World of Toy Soldiers’...
Adios for now,
Andy.

 

[Obee]

I’d buy a Falkland Islands series.

The weapons, uniforms and history all make for compelling toy soldiers.

Andy,

you could then make an L5 105mm Pack Howitzer as used by the Argentine 3rd and 4th Artillery Groups against UK airborne forces during the Falklands conflict, AND it could also be used for the Aussie and Kiwi gunners in Vietnam.

You already have made those gunners, so all we need is the gun

John

 

[WesternOutlaw]

For the record I’m also a fan and enthusiast...BUT...Here’s the lowdown, at least from my point of view...

Hi Andy,
Appreciate you sharing this info with us. Many of us (I for one) do not always understand all the work that goes into production and the challenges like shipping costs. That 1:48 ship sounds like it would have made one hell of a set.
But keep turning out first-class pieces. I certainly value and appreciate you and the K&C team for what you continue to produce, and for listening to your customers.
-RobJ

 

[WeekendWarrior]

I've thought about doing a repaint of some figures as well but all of the 1776 series are wearing full kit, far too heavy for a naval landing party. Del Prado did a decent 18th century Marine but other than that I think this era has been entirely overlooked in terms of naval figures.

That would also make Howard very happy, he's been on the lookout for British figures from that period to use in the colonisation of 'The Great South Land' or 'New Holland' as it was known then. My only suggestion for him has been a repaint of K&C 1776 British infantry for Marines ...... ???

Pirates could also be made to look like the 'tars' and the addition of RN officers could compliment the series.

Even a gun crew, like this set I painted by Hinchliffe:

John

 

[jazzeum]

As I remarked earlier, if it was viable, we would have seen it already. Many a time collectors come up with ideas without taking the economic costs of production, shipping and profit margin into account. Several years ago at one of our Chicago dinners I asked Andy about an Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination set and he quickly reeled off for me the reasons why it was not economically viable. I was disappointed but agreed with his reasoning.

 

[cantinetozzo]

As I remarked earlier, if it was viable, we would have seen it already. Many a time collectors come up with ideas without taking the economic costs of production, shipping and profit margin into account. Several years ago at one of our Chicago dinners I asked Andy about an Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination set and he quickly reeled off for me the reasons why it was not economically viable. I was disappointed but agreed with his reasoning.

About this (in a certain way) one of the thing i never quite understood is why Andy (that is fantastic ...fantastic! with italian customers , collectors and ...i'd say "fans") never produced Italian troops of WWI (and so Austro Hungarian also) ! You must know that WWII is a theme very divisive in Italy , many collectors maybe don't like the "War of Mussolini" but WWI is seen as a really "People's War" , some deem it "the last of the Risorgimento wars" to add italian speaking territories dominated by a foreign power to Italy. Everyone in Italy has at least one, two, or more relatives (i had one grandfather who lived and a greatuncle dead) who fought in it. Italian toops of WWI would be immensely successful in my opinion in Italy. By the way i understand collectors from others part of the world who could be puzzled by the choice of portraying Italian , Austro-Hungarian and some German troops in another WWI thater of war.

 

[WeekendWarrior]

The fact is 18th century themed series do have quite a bit of success. King & Country, Conte, Jenkins and Britains all have a strong American Revolution series and Conte has had a fairly popular pirate line (not to mention the plastic companies). This era- pirates included- is certainly viable from a business standpoint, and bleeds over to other eras and ranges due to the potential inclusion of various Royal Navies. And if WWII collectors are indulged with every type of Soldier and vehicle under the sun, why not throw a bone to the 18th century collectors every once in a while?

As I remarked earlier, if it was viable, we would have seen it already. Many a time collectors come up with ideas without taking the economic costs of production, shipping and profit margin into account. Several years ago at one of our Chicago dinners I asked Andy about an Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassination set and he quickly reeled off for me the reasons why it was not economically viable. I was disappointed but agreed with his reasoning.

 

[Go for Broke]

Everything is timing, for example Vietnam. Also I don't think you need a whole pirate ship to do pirates. For the most part, it has do with the sculpts, dynamic poses and lifelike to entice collectors. For me, I would like to see Iraq/Afghanistan wars. You got Humvees, Abram tanks, etc. An A-10 Warthog would be neat.

 

[Poppo]

The fact is 18th century themed series do have quite a bit of success. King & Country, Conte, Jenkins and Britains all have a strong American Revolution series and Conte has had a fairly popular pirate line (not to mention the plastic companies). This era- pirates included- is certainly viable from a business standpoint, and bleeds over to other eras and ranges due to the potential inclusion of various Royal Navies. And if WWII collectors are indulged with every type of Soldier and vehicle under the sun, why not throw a bone to the 18th century collectors every once in a while?

The 18th century is not only the end of the century(ACW). Early 18th century is also the zar Peter the great, the Great Northern war between Russia and Sweden. It is also the french, the russian courts, elegant clothes. I will make a small dio about Peter the Great and his generals with painting kits.:tongue:

 

[Obee]

I've thought about doing a repaint of some figures as well but all of the 1776 series are wearing full kit, far too heavy for a naval landing party. Del Prado did a decent 18th century Marine but other than that I think this era has been entirely overlooked in terms of naval figures.

Yes, that was what I told Howard when he asked about the landing party. Only a group of the Del Prado would suits, and they come up quite cheaply on EBay.

John

 

[Obee]

The fact is 18th century themed series do have quite a bit of success why not throw a bone to the 18th century collectors every once in a while?

Yes, I agree with this .... more from that era.

John