King & Country
Captain
- Joined
- May 23, 2005
- Messages
- 5,108
Hi Guys,
I just got back from the “Land of Oz” late on Tuesday night and would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who made it so enjoyable and our best visit “down under”…ever!
First and foremost, extra special thanks must and should go to our two top Aussie dealers… Brett Williams (of Brisbane’s “Military Workshop”) and Peter Nathan (of Sydney’s “Elite Military Miniatures”)
Both men run and operate two outstanding “bricks ‘n’ mortar” toy soldier stores and galleries in Brisbane and Sydney. In addition they provide an excellent mail order service to collectors all over Australia and elsewhere.
During our visits to both cities, Helen (K&C’s Managing Director) and yours truly had the opportunity to meet and talk (often one-to-one) with dozens of K&C collectors, old and young as well as new and existing.
The conversations we had with these collectors covered all aspects of the hobby and K&C… it’s great to know what people like (and sometimes don’t like) plus what they want to see in the future. I personally came away with some incredibly inventive and creative suggestions… some of which are definitely going to be introduced in to the K&C release schedule in the coming months.
Another thing I would like to say is just how much “fun” these collectors have with their collections. That important point came over time and time again in the conversations.
Apart from my time in both Peter and Brett’s stores we had our special evening dinners in Brisbane and Sydney. Brett’s took place in our favourite RSL (Returned Servicemen’s League) club and Peter’s in the Officer’ Mess of Sydney’s Victoria Barracks. Great meals were enjoyed by all followed by a short “briefing” from me and then good long “question ‘n’ answer” sessions in both locations.
Again what made both events so enjoyable were revisiting old friends and making lots of new ones.
After Brisbane and Sydney it was time for K&C’s first-ever visit to Melbourne and meeting up with our old mate (and Aussie veteran K&C enthusiast) Howard Woods.
Howard had been at the earlier Brisbane visit but lives just outside Melbourne and agreed to show Helen and myself around the city. At the same time he arranged a small dinner where we could meet Clive from “Wilson Edwards” and Robin (“Village Horse”) from Adelaide and talk all things toy soldiers.
Along with their wives and Helen all eight of us enjoyed a long delicious Italian dinner with plenty of vino to lubricate the conversation!
All too soon our nine-day sojourn to the “land down-under” came to an end… Howard dropped me off at Melbourne’s international airport and I boarded the Cathay Pacific 777 for the flight back to the “Pearl of the Orient”.
Helen stayed behind for a few extra days to visit with her late husband’s Aussie brothers and sisters.
And so back to work… but what a time we had! Australia is a fantastic country full of great friendly people and I love to visit it. I can’t wait to go back!
Thank you one and all…
Andy C.
P.S. I would also like to say special thanks to Gerelou (Brett’s wife) and Sven (Peter’s store manager) for their additional help and support on this last visit.
I just got back from the “Land of Oz” late on Tuesday night and would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who made it so enjoyable and our best visit “down under”…ever!
First and foremost, extra special thanks must and should go to our two top Aussie dealers… Brett Williams (of Brisbane’s “Military Workshop”) and Peter Nathan (of Sydney’s “Elite Military Miniatures”)
Both men run and operate two outstanding “bricks ‘n’ mortar” toy soldier stores and galleries in Brisbane and Sydney. In addition they provide an excellent mail order service to collectors all over Australia and elsewhere.
During our visits to both cities, Helen (K&C’s Managing Director) and yours truly had the opportunity to meet and talk (often one-to-one) with dozens of K&C collectors, old and young as well as new and existing.
The conversations we had with these collectors covered all aspects of the hobby and K&C… it’s great to know what people like (and sometimes don’t like) plus what they want to see in the future. I personally came away with some incredibly inventive and creative suggestions… some of which are definitely going to be introduced in to the K&C release schedule in the coming months.
Another thing I would like to say is just how much “fun” these collectors have with their collections. That important point came over time and time again in the conversations.
Apart from my time in both Peter and Brett’s stores we had our special evening dinners in Brisbane and Sydney. Brett’s took place in our favourite RSL (Returned Servicemen’s League) club and Peter’s in the Officer’ Mess of Sydney’s Victoria Barracks. Great meals were enjoyed by all followed by a short “briefing” from me and then good long “question ‘n’ answer” sessions in both locations.
Again what made both events so enjoyable were revisiting old friends and making lots of new ones.
After Brisbane and Sydney it was time for K&C’s first-ever visit to Melbourne and meeting up with our old mate (and Aussie veteran K&C enthusiast) Howard Woods.
Howard had been at the earlier Brisbane visit but lives just outside Melbourne and agreed to show Helen and myself around the city. At the same time he arranged a small dinner where we could meet Clive from “Wilson Edwards” and Robin (“Village Horse”) from Adelaide and talk all things toy soldiers.
Along with their wives and Helen all eight of us enjoyed a long delicious Italian dinner with plenty of vino to lubricate the conversation!
All too soon our nine-day sojourn to the “land down-under” came to an end… Howard dropped me off at Melbourne’s international airport and I boarded the Cathay Pacific 777 for the flight back to the “Pearl of the Orient”.
Helen stayed behind for a few extra days to visit with her late husband’s Aussie brothers and sisters.
And so back to work… but what a time we had! Australia is a fantastic country full of great friendly people and I love to visit it. I can’t wait to go back!
Thank you one and all…
Andy C.
P.S. I would also like to say special thanks to Gerelou (Brett’s wife) and Sven (Peter’s store manager) for their additional help and support on this last visit.
{sm2}
