ucla1967
Major
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2006
- Messages
- 6,752
I remember King & Country back when it was not the 800 pound gorilla in the toy soldier world that it is today. Before you take umbrage, that is meant as a compliment. Back in 1991, when I started collecting toy soldiers, the universe was quite different from what it is in 2006. Most figures were gloss painted, 54mm, and in a more traditional "toy soldier" style. There was no eBay, we did not have the two first-rate toy soldier magazines (Toy Soldier & Model Figure and Toy Soldier Collector), and there were not as many shows. Back then, Trophy of Wales was probably the 800 pound gorilla. In addition, other first tier manufacturers would have included W. Britains, Tradition, and Imperial. The second tier might have included Marolbough (the reincarnation of Blenheim), All the Queens Men, Alymer, Ducal, and Steadfast. The third tier included a number of campanies that were smaller, with limited product offerings, were dying off, or were new to the business. To this latter group I would include the the British ex-pats in Hong Kong, Gerard Prime and Howard Swales of Frontline and Andy Neilson of King & Country.
Len Taylor's Trophy Minatures was head and shoulders above the rest in my opinion. His sculpting and painting was much better than Britains, for example. His figures were 54mm, but more robust than the previous standard. But he also had a wide and deep product offering that included Indian Army, Boxer Rebellion, Napoleonic, Zulu War, and Sudan. In addition to having the standard sets of six men firing or marching or charging, he had hand-to-hand and Battle Dioramas. For example, you could (and I did) make a great Battle of Isandalwana display from the Zulu War by including, in addition to the standard 24th Foot and Zulus sets, about 10 hand-to-hand sets, plus Battle Dioramas of Durnford's Last Stand (Col. Durnford fighting from a wagon beside a Natal Native Horse (NNH) figure, a dead Lt. Roberts of the NNH, and a Zulu), Savage Fury (an overturned wagon defended by two 24th Foot, a dead NNH figure, and an attacking Zulu), the Lost Gun (an Artillery piece being overrun by the Zulus), The Quartermaster Says No (a QM turning down a NNH figure asking for ammo while another QM figure hands it out to a 24th Foot soldier). So, in a way, Trophy pioneered the diorama look.
Dave Cowe's Imperial Products of New Zealand, which sadly closed for business in June, produced a traditional style soldier with a superior attention to detail and painting standards. I bought my first 10 or so sets at a gun show, took them home, took a good look at them, called the seller up and bought all the other sets he had for sale. By the time I had discovered this product line, sets one through 28 were no longer in production, set 29 started his Zulu War series (I have all of these sets), set 46 started his Sudan series (I also have all of them), he also had two Heirloom sets of 40 figures each in wooden boxes of the Cameron Highlanders (yes, I have them), plus a Crimean War series, ACW series and a Napoleonic series. You can still find the first 28 sets at the shows or on eBay, but they are becoming harder to find. I noticed a dealer at the Chicago show selling sets 1 thru 4 for $250 each.
Britains was producing more basic, traditional figures that were throw backs to their earlier glory days. The figures were fairly basic without much detail (e.g., no painted eyes). Some were packaged in Whisstock like boxes. In addition, they had a Limited Edition series which started in 1983 with set 5183(the Seaforth Highlanders) with a run of 3,000 sets. It originally sold for about $50, but collectors were paying $500 for it in 1995. I have the first 22 sets in this series. In about 1994, they came out with Charles Biggs Priemer 8900 series of WW I artillery sets which were high-end and priced accordingly. After the Britains family sold the company to Racing Champions, it lost its focus and was dumped by many dealers and collectors alike. A lot of their stuff was sold a fire sale prices at the Toy Soldier shows. I hope the new team can bring this historic company back to life.
What about King & Country you might ask. Well, they were producing the Highland Brigade, Seaforths, Royal Marines, RHA, Indian Army, Grenadier Guards, WW II aircrew, and others. Now I had several of the Highland Brigade sets (e.g., colour party, marching, and pipe band) in my collection. But in all honesty, I really believe the Imperial Productions Black Watch sets from the Boer War, 23 thru 26, were superior in sculpting and painting. When I bought my K & C RHA six horse team with gun & limber, I did a double take because they looked so much like (in style and paint) my Fronline Figures Charge of the Light Brigade cavalry. But K & C has come a long, long way since those early days. In my estimation, his product offerings are awesome! They really are not toy soldiers at all, but more like military minatures that could be shown in museum dioramas. The World War II figures are without a doubt the finest in the industry, bar none. And this is from a collector who has all the Frontline Figures WW II Americans and Germans. I am always eagerly await the newest offerings. Andy's innovations, creativity, and marketing acumen are the "Best of Breed" in the toy soldier industry.
Now that is not to say that there is not room for a lot of players in this industry. I hope you would all agree that this is good for all of us whether we be collectors, dealers, or competitors. For example, I think K & C's Napoleonic line is top notch, but I prefer the breadth of Frontline Figures line. I have a Waterloo battle set up with 187 of their figures. I have five different British Regiments, one Prussian Regt., a Brunswick Regt., a Nasua Regt. with both center and grenadier companies, and numerous French units. I also have a battle of Austerlitz set up with 99 Russian, Austrian, and French pieces from Frontline Figures. Separately displayed, I have Saxons, Bavarians, Westphalians, Irish, Neapolitans, Swiss, Poles, and Dutch. The quality of the sculpting, painting. and detailing are outstanding. They are "robust" 54mm, matte finished. Would I mix them with K & C? No, but each company has its place in our little fantasy world.
I was going to cover more, but this is even putting me to sleep. Best regards to all.
Len Taylor's Trophy Minatures was head and shoulders above the rest in my opinion. His sculpting and painting was much better than Britains, for example. His figures were 54mm, but more robust than the previous standard. But he also had a wide and deep product offering that included Indian Army, Boxer Rebellion, Napoleonic, Zulu War, and Sudan. In addition to having the standard sets of six men firing or marching or charging, he had hand-to-hand and Battle Dioramas. For example, you could (and I did) make a great Battle of Isandalwana display from the Zulu War by including, in addition to the standard 24th Foot and Zulus sets, about 10 hand-to-hand sets, plus Battle Dioramas of Durnford's Last Stand (Col. Durnford fighting from a wagon beside a Natal Native Horse (NNH) figure, a dead Lt. Roberts of the NNH, and a Zulu), Savage Fury (an overturned wagon defended by two 24th Foot, a dead NNH figure, and an attacking Zulu), the Lost Gun (an Artillery piece being overrun by the Zulus), The Quartermaster Says No (a QM turning down a NNH figure asking for ammo while another QM figure hands it out to a 24th Foot soldier). So, in a way, Trophy pioneered the diorama look.
Dave Cowe's Imperial Products of New Zealand, which sadly closed for business in June, produced a traditional style soldier with a superior attention to detail and painting standards. I bought my first 10 or so sets at a gun show, took them home, took a good look at them, called the seller up and bought all the other sets he had for sale. By the time I had discovered this product line, sets one through 28 were no longer in production, set 29 started his Zulu War series (I have all of these sets), set 46 started his Sudan series (I also have all of them), he also had two Heirloom sets of 40 figures each in wooden boxes of the Cameron Highlanders (yes, I have them), plus a Crimean War series, ACW series and a Napoleonic series. You can still find the first 28 sets at the shows or on eBay, but they are becoming harder to find. I noticed a dealer at the Chicago show selling sets 1 thru 4 for $250 each.
Britains was producing more basic, traditional figures that were throw backs to their earlier glory days. The figures were fairly basic without much detail (e.g., no painted eyes). Some were packaged in Whisstock like boxes. In addition, they had a Limited Edition series which started in 1983 with set 5183(the Seaforth Highlanders) with a run of 3,000 sets. It originally sold for about $50, but collectors were paying $500 for it in 1995. I have the first 22 sets in this series. In about 1994, they came out with Charles Biggs Priemer 8900 series of WW I artillery sets which were high-end and priced accordingly. After the Britains family sold the company to Racing Champions, it lost its focus and was dumped by many dealers and collectors alike. A lot of their stuff was sold a fire sale prices at the Toy Soldier shows. I hope the new team can bring this historic company back to life.
What about King & Country you might ask. Well, they were producing the Highland Brigade, Seaforths, Royal Marines, RHA, Indian Army, Grenadier Guards, WW II aircrew, and others. Now I had several of the Highland Brigade sets (e.g., colour party, marching, and pipe band) in my collection. But in all honesty, I really believe the Imperial Productions Black Watch sets from the Boer War, 23 thru 26, were superior in sculpting and painting. When I bought my K & C RHA six horse team with gun & limber, I did a double take because they looked so much like (in style and paint) my Fronline Figures Charge of the Light Brigade cavalry. But K & C has come a long, long way since those early days. In my estimation, his product offerings are awesome! They really are not toy soldiers at all, but more like military minatures that could be shown in museum dioramas. The World War II figures are without a doubt the finest in the industry, bar none. And this is from a collector who has all the Frontline Figures WW II Americans and Germans. I am always eagerly await the newest offerings. Andy's innovations, creativity, and marketing acumen are the "Best of Breed" in the toy soldier industry.
Now that is not to say that there is not room for a lot of players in this industry. I hope you would all agree that this is good for all of us whether we be collectors, dealers, or competitors. For example, I think K & C's Napoleonic line is top notch, but I prefer the breadth of Frontline Figures line. I have a Waterloo battle set up with 187 of their figures. I have five different British Regiments, one Prussian Regt., a Brunswick Regt., a Nasua Regt. with both center and grenadier companies, and numerous French units. I also have a battle of Austerlitz set up with 99 Russian, Austrian, and French pieces from Frontline Figures. Separately displayed, I have Saxons, Bavarians, Westphalians, Irish, Neapolitans, Swiss, Poles, and Dutch. The quality of the sculpting, painting. and detailing are outstanding. They are "robust" 54mm, matte finished. Would I mix them with K & C? No, but each company has its place in our little fantasy world.
I was going to cover more, but this is even putting me to sleep. Best regards to all.
Michael
