How Many Collectors (1 Viewer)

[katana]

How many Toy Soldier Collectors are their in the World today; 1000, 10,000, 100,000? Small production runs of figures of 100 pieces sell out fast, larger production runs linger for a long time in the market. K&C and TCS seem to have the largest production runs of a single item; numbering from 300 to 600 pieces typically, yet they do not sell out very quickly. My best guess is Toy Soldier Collectors number between 5000 to 10,000. What is your estimate as to the number of Toy Soldier Collectors worlds wide?

 

[Larry Allen]

Hummmm .... :rolleyes2: ..... boy that is a tough question to answer.

If you include ALL toy soldiers then it would have to be (maybe) closer to your high mark of 10,000.

But there are so many variations in the term (Toy Soldiers) that it is hard to get a handle on that number. Do you include Plastic, or Vintage, or Dime store? How about Flats or Paper soldiers or those sets sold in the back of comic books?

When I did my little talk to the Waldoboro Historical Society a 4 months ago I was surprised by the number of people who brought some of the figures that they owned and displayed. True, most were a vintage type, yet there some more current sets among the collections.

It is hard to understand why one manufacturer would only make a very small number run of a figure (Thomas Gunn Romans for example) while others make a limited set (K&C JN Planes, 150 for another example) and still others seem to always being restocked.

Up until this year at Chicago, I would have bet anyone that the collecting community was shrinking. However, this year I witnessed an upturn in attendance and a younger group of collectors as well as more women who were ... YES .... buying for their own interests and collections not hubby's or dad's.

Maybe a fluke but still it was a good sign.

Like the number of grains of sand on a beach or the number of stars in the sky it is a number we can guess at but will most likely never truly know.

--- LaRRy

 

[Guest]

I have thought about this exact question, very hard to answer because of the wide amount of manufacturers and the even wider era and different sub-sections of toy soldiers. Plus what do you class as collector and how many figures does it take to make a collection? I know people, like me, that collect across a whole of range of eras and manufacturers, vastly in Matt, but I do like the ceremonial gloss ranges. Yet others that are very specific and can cross over with other collecting, such as a guy I know collects motorbikes and side cars, while another just collects Scots Guards. They can be toy soldiers, model kits, 1/6 sets etc.

I would put it somewhere between 20,000 to 25,000, working on the UK I would look at around 2,000, London Dec show gets around 250 people at it [I maybe wrong on this figure], plus dealers are also collectors in many cases so make it around 300 people and I would think that there are 7 to 8 time more people in the country that collect who do not attend.

Possibly a way could be to look at ebay in different countries to see what is for sale in those countries? There is not a business if there is not a market.......... I often look at the French, Italian, Spanish and German ebay sites and there are a lot of sellers in each of those countries.

 

[katana]

I think 10,000 collectors world wide of all catagories of Toy Soldiers including Plastic, Flats Castings and finished figures in all scales/sizes would be a reasonable approximation IMO.

I have collected Toy Soldiers sice the 1950's including Marx, Ideal, Elastolin, Britains, Papo, BBI and Schleich plastics. W.Britains metal glossy Knights, Flats and many unpainted Pewter castings from many manufacturers. I now collect 60mm +/- 10mm figures from K&C, TCS, TG, Figarti and W. Britains plus I still buy and paint castings. The figures are Romans, Knights, Vikings

My armor collection is extensive and ranges from 1/72 to 1/15 scale and includes CDC, Dragon, Solido, Corgi, Minichamps, FOV, 21st Century, Figarti, TCS, K&C and TG. Also many RC and plastic kits.

My biggest problem is I tend to keep everything; so I have figures that are 47 years old that I bought new and I still display.

 

[Fitzgibbon]

Hummmm .... :rolleyes2: ..... boy that is a tough question to answer.

Up until this year at Chicago, I would have bet anyone that the collecting community was shrinking. However, this year I witnessed an upturn in attendance and a younger group of collectors as well as more women who were ... YES .... buying for their own interests and collections not hubby's or dad's.

Maybe a fluke but still it was a good sign

--- LaRRy

An interesting observation- well said. I wonder what it is at this time that encourages young people and women to engage??? Particularly against the popular theory of a drastic downturn...

 

[Mirof]

Well I'm perhaps a bit confident bu I would say above the 100.000

Why do they produces today in such small quantities ? Because they are today more than 300 manufactures actives in "Toy Soldiers" and more than 900 actives in kitform, the production is huge in the choice of pieces, available ALL through internet, with pictures, details, delivery at home, catalog on line

In the past, you had to buy in shops, almost no import no internet, no forum tto learn about the different makers, you coud only buy what was in the shops even if the quantity of makers was great but poor distribution worlwide, even worst with the figurines in kits, they were perhaps 30 makers in the 60ies early 70ies, so they produced each new pieces by 1000 or more ( some pieces were event produced by 10.000

The number of buyers was the same but not the choice

Old Maker of Toy Soldiers list with date, pictures, logos, infos etc ... under he name Soldats Jouets, marques disparues, liste, liens, illustrations, etc ... Old Toy Soldiers, include autoamtic links to picture, logos, external specialists ...
you can download the XLS file FREE here https://www.mirofsoft.com/toy-soldier/

The same for actual makers including automatic links to each one under the name : Figurines , Wargame, Flat, Toys, uniform
https://www.mirofsoft.com/adresses/

Enjoy

 

[Oberstinhaber]

Well I'm perhaps a bit confident bu I would say above the 100.000

Well said, Mirof!

I agree, well over 1000,000; indeed I would stick my neck out and say, approaching 500,000 world wide.

I have followed this hobby for a very long time, not just in my homeland, but in America, Europe and Asia.

Glad to read LaRRy's comments about Chicago, but the same is happening across Europe and Asia. If you want to feel the pulse of the hobby, go to Kulmbach!

Every country in Europe has an indigenous Toy Soldier industry, where everything is done "in house", not a Chinese artizan in sight!! And a lot of this stuff is very good! Unfortunately, very little of it is seen on this forum.

Earlier this year we had Andy Neilson in town for our TS Dinner. His after dinner speech was all about numbers. The numbers of his production in the last 10 or so years. It would have required 10,000 "Multimillionaires" to have covered just KnC's production alone!!

Another example: the first figure for several of the "part works" of recent times, has seen 1,000,000 copies made!

Also, never forget that TS Collecting, unlike Model Trains, is full of "Closet Collectors" many of whom NEVER "come out" Just read the stats from this forum on "lookers" as opposed to Members who are online, for example.

What do you think??

Happy Collecting.

Oberstinhaber.

 

[Vicknor]

Well said, Mirof!

I agree, well over 1000,000; indeed I would stick my neck out and say, approaching 500,000 world wide.

I have followed this hobby for a very long time, not just in my homeland, but in America, Europe and Asia.

Glad to read LaRRy's comments about Chicago, but the same is happening across Europe and Asia. If you want to feel the pulse of the hobby, go to Kulmbach!

Every country in Europe has an indigenous Toy Soldier industry, where everything is done "in house", not a Chinese artizan in sight!! And a lot of this stuff is very good! Unfortunately, very little of it is seen on this forum.

Earlier this year we had Andy Neilson in town for our TS Dinner. His after dinner speech was all about numbers. The numbers of his production in the last 10 or so years. It would have required 10,000 "Multimillionaires" to have covered just KnC's production alone!!

Another example: the first figure for several of the "part works" of recent times, has seen 1,000,000 copies made!

Also, never forget that TS Collecting, unlike Model Trains, is full of "Closet Collectors" many of whom NEVER "come out" Just read the stats from this forum on "lookers" as opposed to Members who are online, for example.

What do you think??

Happy Collecting.

Oberstinhaber.

I think that a number like 1/2 million is way too high but of course it’s always impossible to substantiate.

I’d hazard a guess that the two big companies have less than 10,000 active buyers between them. An active buyer being someone who collects half a dozen figures a year each.

However I don’t particularly worry too much about numbers. The hobby seems in a healthier state output wise than at any time since the 50s-70s and I’m fine with that.

 

[Alexander the Great]

Perhaps there is an easy way to estimate. How many individual active customers does Treefrog have by country?...same question for other online resellers.
using the data as a base we can make an educated guess as to the total...of course this is proprietary information and we will never know

 

[RVM - Mignot]

Perhaps there is an easy way to estimate. How many individual active customers does Treefrog have by country?...same question for other online resellers.
using the data as a base we can make an educated guess as to the total...of course this is proprietary information and we will never know

I know of at least one in Kentucky.

 

[Vicknor]

Perhaps there is an easy way to estimate. How many individual active customers does Treefrog have by country?...same question for other online resellers.
using the data as a base we can make an educated guess as to the total...of course this is proprietary information and we will never know

Interesting.

As this is the only objective TS forum in the internet with less than 500 active posters, does that mean we are looking at a lower number or are we looking at thousand and thousands of people who lurk or never find it.

I have to admit, I didn’t find this place until quite by accident.

 

[jazzeum]

There are collectors who have never heard of this or other forums as well as those who don't buy online (not to mention some sellers who don't sell online).

 

[thebritfarmer]

How many Toy Soldier Collectors are their in the World today; 1000, 10,000, 100,000? Small production runs of figures of 100 pieces sell out fast, larger production runs linger for a long time in the market. K&C and TCS seem to have the largest production runs of a single item; numbering from 300 to 600 pieces typically, yet they do not sell out very quickly. My best guess is Toy Soldier Collectors number between 5000 to 10,000. What is your estimate as to the number of Toy Soldier Collectors worlds wide?

Many of the Wb pieces that are limited are between 350 to 400 pieces which would lead me to believe that normal runs are much higher.

 

[katana]

The manufacturers probably have the best numbers on the Toy Soldier collector population; as I am sure they do market surveys before investing in new products. WWII is well documented as the leader in figure demand. K&C has cited production runs as high as 750 pieces. TCS has cited production runs of 300 pieces for armor multiplied by 3X for Winter, Normandy and Desert paint schemes. Figarti and Honor Bound had small production runs of their armor, typically 100 pieces; which usually sold out quickly. First Legion seems to be following this pattern with their armor.

Pewter figure prices have gone up substantially in the last decade which tends to reduce the number of collectors. Plus new collectors are discouraged by the higher prices IMO. Plastic figures like Schleich, Papo and BBI have improved significantly in quality and accuracy and will attract new collectors with their lower cost. The Schleich designed Romans sold first by Revell and later by BBI are an excellent example of high quality historically accurate Roman figures that can compete with painted pewter figures. The Papo Egyptian Chariot is another example of the high quality achieved in 1/18 plastic figures.

 

[modelbaron]

How many Toy Soldier Collectors are their in the World today; 1000, 10,000, 100,000? Small production runs of figures of 100 pieces sell out fast, larger production runs linger for a long time in the market. K&C and TCS seem to have the largest production runs of a single item; numbering from 300 to 600 pieces typically, yet they do not sell out very quickly. My best guess is Toy Soldier Collectors number between 5000 to 10,000. What is your estimate as to the number of Toy Soldier Collectors worlds wide?

This is a very good question to which there is no definitive answer. You may be better served in saying how many collectors in Europe and how many collectors in the US. As there are many manufaturers in other areas such as Argentina, Far East, Australia and Russia to name but a few there must of course be significant number of collectors in these areas.

Perhaps if you examine how many collectors attend the major shows and then double it for those who do not attend shows due to logisticts and mobility then this may give you a guideline for the countries/regions/continents those shows are held in.

For the UK I would suggest that there may be no more than a few thousand collectors at most. And when I say collectors I include the very keen person with the budget for the hobby to the collectors who may only buy ten to twenty figures a year. You can always make your question even more difficult if you try to split numbers to those who collect more affordable plastic against those who collect metal only and even more complicated how many only buy second hand collectors pieces to those like myself who will only collect NEW figures.

 

[tryfon]

There are many collectors, bu the question and anwser is not simple, we all collect certain periods, certain brands, certain look,

not an easy one,

I collected all periods for a while but cost is a factor ad many brands are becoming too expensive for the every day collector,


Again its price, period in history. when I sold a ceratin zulu war club figure I had duplicate off, had 140 watchers,

anyway I don;t think current generations swarm to the hobby ashame, My son who is 24 enjoys looking and history, prefers ex box etc

 

[bromhead]

There are many collectors, bu the question and anwser is not simple, we all collect certain periods, certain brands, certain look,

not an easy one,

Hearing lately it seems ,,Hobbies etc are attracting younger types as staring at a phone etc becomes the actual bore it seems,,shows seem to be overflowing with visitors,,there seems to be a growing decrease in the number of local shops from trains,,to hobbies let alone soldiers,,I certainly prefer the actual thing over internet prices,,shipping and finance fees,,

 

[ivanmoe]

I believe that there was mention of “50,000 worldwide” during a program that appeared on Fox Business Network. The program is called “Strange Inheritance.” However, I can’t recall who said it!:redface2: The Hobby Bunker guy appeared on the program, BTW.

Hopefully, the appreciation that we’re seeing in equities, in the USA and elsewhere, will liven up the market for TS. Nothing like a little capital gain money to loosen up the purse strings.

The other positive that I see in TS demand is the growth in the middle-class of Asian and Latin American countries. The more buyers the better for all the TS makers.

-Moe

 

[Mirof]

Srange inheritance :

https://youtu.be/M39eTqcP-r0

https://youtu.be/zzzidxobCUw

 

[Oberstinhaber]

I believe that there was mention of “50,000 worldwide” during a program that appeared on Fox Business Network. The program is called “Strange Inheritance.” However, I can’t recall who said it!:redface2: The Hobby Bunker guy appeared on the program, BTW.

Hopefully, the appreciation that we’re seeing in equities, in the USA and elsewhere, will liven up the market for TS. Nothing like a little capital gain money to loosen up the purse strings.

The other positive that I see in TS demand is the growth in the middle-class of Asian and Latin American countries. The more buyers the better for all the TS makers.

-Moe

This subject has been ventilated on this forum before (maybe 18 months/2 years ago) at that time I suggested that the 'true" number world wide was more like 500,000.

Nobody believed me.

There would be 50,000 in each of: Germany, USA, UK, Italy, Russia, France, Spain, for starters

The people who could give us real information are the manufacturers --who are all remaining silent. Last year at our TS Dinner Andy waxed eleoquent about some of his production, absolutely staggering numbers. And that's just one

Start counting

Oberestinhaber