King & Country buildings-more, less? What do you want to see? (1 Viewer)

Shannon Reuss

Shannon Reuss

Forum Administrator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 22, 2005
Messages
1,585
With the German buildings out last year and the new Napoleonic farmhouse and courtyard out currently, I was wondering what people thought of buildings in general. With more companies (such as Build-a-Rama and JG Miniatures for example) expanding into buildings would you prefer that K&C keep making buildings or leave it to diorama companies and focus more on vehicles and figures?
Do you even want buildings? As a dealer distributor for the German K&C buildings I am especially interested to find out peoples' views.
 
I bought the French farmhouse and am glad that I did. I think it will make a fine backdrop. Do I think Andy should keep doing buildings and scenics - yes, but I hope he doesn't go nuts over it. I like that the buildings are scaled for K&Cs figures, but as far as buildings go, I don't care whose name is on the box.
 
I would hope he continues with buildings, my only concern is displaying them. Loved his Fall of Berlin line.
Gary
 
Dear Shannon,
I only have a few of the WWII buildings (paper mache and recent) and plan on getting the Napoleonic farmhouse, but I have every building ever made for the Streets of Old Hong Kong ("SOHK") series. I intermingle the older paper mache buildings with the more recent facades to create busy street scenes. There are only a few buildings and diorama accessories that fit this theme, so I would want K&C to continue making buildings (at least for SOHK).:)
 
Yes, please keep making them. I have all the facades from the Normandy series and I have the French farmhouse (just the house so far) and I'd like to see more of them. The NV sets will become harder to find I think or at least more expensive to get. I had the old paper mache or styrofoam Normandy Village, not sure what it was, which were nice but they were unpainted and from a room point of view I just didn't have the room so I sold them. Anyway, I love the facades and may buy a couple of more. So yes, keep them coming. I hope Andy does more.
 
I believe that the K&C building facades are very well done and worth the money to purchase. I do have many and would purchase more. Other than the older Styrofoam sets and the Berlin Tenement, they all are really not much more than the façade of a building and I don’t believe that is really much of a building.

However, I always have a “however”, I would prefer to have fully dimensional buildings and not just facades. I know they would be more expensive, but I would be willing to spend more if they were more realistic and had depth to them and not just be a façade. JG Miniatures makes some wonderful fully dimensional buildings (not their most recent series). I have one of each of their older series and find that the buildings work extremely well with K&C on my diorama. I have several of them on my kitchen table, along with the K&C farm and wall set and the Britains North Gate Diorama set. I am attempting to discover (while playing with them and a few men) the best layout using all of them in a combined set-up.

K&C is not alone in this façade trend. While I have many accessories from Build-A-Rama, I have not, and will not, purchased any of their buildings for the same reason; too much façade and not enough dimension. JG Miniatures now has somewhat fully dimensional buildings if you combine several of the facades you can come up with a very decent two story, battle damaged row house. But these are very expensive when you have to buy at least five to make a sort-of full sized building. They seem to be very skinny when combined to make one structure in the three dimensions.

My wish list would have three-dimensional buildings, regardless of the manufacturer. Take a look at what the war gamers have offered to them in the smaller scales (25mm and smaller). Expand these and man, what a building series. Just follow this link and you will see what I mean. http://www.hovelsltd.co.uk/

Remember, I am a diorama guy, not a static display guy. Static displays really do look good with facades.
 
Last edited:
I love just about every 3-D building King & Country has ever made, but a hate the flat facades. They are not really useful for dioramas, although I guess with limited space on a shelf they are useful as a backdrop. The wonderful 3-D Napoleonic farmyard to me is ruined by the flat house facade behind it. If it came with a 3-D farmhouse, it could be the center piece of a terrific diorama for any era, but with the flat facade, it can only be the very edge of one.

Another great idea incorporated in Andy's earlier 3-D buildings was the "backlot building" concept. For those unfamiliar with these buildings, Andy made them so the backside of each building was a different building (like the buildings on the back lots of Hollywood studios), for example a train station on one side would be a movie theater on the other, or a Dutch warehouse on one side would be a French Hotel on the other. Thus, in effect, you got twice the diorama bang for your buck. When you got bored with one scene, you turned the buildings around and had a whole different street scene. I hope Andy produces more buildings along these lines.

I also think K&C needs to rethink the material it uses for the buildings. The amazing 3-D ruined Berlin tenement weighed so much that dealer friends of mine complained bitterly about the cost of shipping the items to customers. A lighter material, or even a return to wood and papier mache, would be welcome.

That being said, Andy's decision to make vehicles, scenery and buildings to complement his soldiers has always been a successful one, so I hope he never stops making scenery and buildings.
 
I happen to agree with much of Louis and Michael have said but for many people (including me), the words "limited space" are the operative words. I keep most of my soldiers in shelves that go against a wall and the facades look very nice there. I'm sure I'll buy full buildings and fit them in somewhere. I told my son he may have to move out :D
 
Speaking of your son, Brad, you are bringing him to my house for Andy's talk the Saturday afternoon of the Symposium, right? As I recall you brought him to Andy's talk last year didn't you? Or did I meet him at a show? In any event, he is certainly welcome.
 
I would rather see Andy make the buildings rather than me buy from another company....and yes room is a problem but it he made buildings such as the farmhouse without the wall, I think that would be much better. I really hope Andy does the backdrop for the North Wall, perhaps both sides showing detail

Cheers
Wellington
 
Really like what build-a-rama's doing, space is an issue with me as well, but I sure would like to see Andy add to the Berlin buildings, I love it and would be great to look down the street with the wreckage of war on both sides.
Ray
 
Hi,
I'd like more buildings from K&C, especially because they are good and designed for 1/30th scale. I would also like to get much more terrain pieces to put the buildings or simply figures on, not enough seem to be around, from K&C or anyone else. How many snow, desert or street terrain pieces can we find right now?

Regards,
Paulo
 
Dear Guys

I recently purchased some buildings from JG Miniatures at the London show - have sent some photos through on the photo gallery - I think the buildings look superb :cool:- but you have to put some depth behind them - or they look as flat as they are - and I think that this is the big problem with everthing on the market at present including KK. I try to put some other tatty old buildings behind them in layers to make it look like a town instead of half a building.

I also am not keen on the flat kk buildings - the Berlin tenament - although a good peice - is not 'complete'. Perhaps the answer is the 'Conte Church' type building.

Kevin
 
Andy did do a 3-D foamtech Normandy village reminicent of the conte church back when the first polystone vehicles came out circa 1997-1998. However, it wasn't painted and came just a basic dark gray. It just didn't make an effective display for those of us without the time and talent to decorate it.

If you look on the treefrog photo gallery you will see one of my dioramas where K&C made a wonderful base with two dark gray cobblestone plazas connected by a small stone bridge (custom made at my request on the model of a Streets of Hong Kong diorama base K&C produced back then), on which I displayed many of the old 3-D wood and papier mache "back lot" buildings, along with a K&C Silk Road "Great Wall Gateway" as a medieval village wall and gate as well as a K&C Streets of Hong Kong Three Tiered Shop House building, which also seemed to fit in. This diorama is the sort of thing I would like to see K&C make today in both buildings and scenery bases. Its three dimensional, changeable, and useful in virtually any european scene you chose to depict. In fact, if Andy produced back lot buildings of European townhouses without the WWII era features (like the miniature Nazi propaganda posters), they would work as well with Napoleonic Era figures as they do with WWII figures.

In addition to cobblestone town bases, K&C could make square countryside bases, with hedgerows, fields, streams, trenches, fences, footbridges and country roads. Four or five different 18 or 24 inch square bases could be alternated to make huge dioramas that would work with any european battle from Napoleon's time to the present. Three dimensional farm houses, towers or other european country style buildings could be placed where ever the collector building the diorama chooses.

Andy could even do winter versions by merely spraying a coat of white fake snow over the bases and gluing some fake snow and ice to the various houses, making the dioramas work for the battle of the bulge or the eastern front. I think these bases and buildings would be affordable, portable and attractive to the two biggest groups of K&C collectors: WWII and Napoleonic Era. Perhaps I will discuss the idea with Andy at the Symposium.
 
Dear Louis

I agree that that diorama is excellent.

I have used the pathetically painted (by me) normandy village but it is very poor.

Something with some depth to it, of the same quality as the sp sets - stug/kubel/hanomag/berlin tennament would be ideal.

Kevin
 
Louis Badolato said:
Andy did do a 3-D foamtech Normandy village reminicent of the conte church back when the first polystone vehicles came out circa 1997-1998. However, it wasn't painted and came just a basic dark gray. It just didn't make an effective display for those of us without the time and talent to decorate it.

If you look on the treefrog photo gallery you will see one of my dioramas where K&C made a wonderful base with two dark gray cobblestone plazas connected by a small stone bridge (custom made at my request on the model of a Streets of Hong Kong diorama base K&C produced back then), on which I displayed many of the old 3-D wood and papier mache "back lot" buildings, along with a K&C Silk Road "Great Wall Gateway" as a medieval village wall and gate as well as a K&C Streets of Hong Kong Three Tiered Shop House building, which also seemed to fit in. This diorama is the sort of thing I would like to see K&C make today in both buildings and scenery bases. Its three dimensional, changeable, and useful in virtually any european scene you chose to depict. In fact, if Andy produced back lot buildings of European townhouses without the WWII era features (like the miniature Nazi propaganda posters), they would work as well with Napoleonic Era figures as they do with WWII figures.

In addition to cobblestone town bases, K&C could make square countryside bases, with hedgerows, fields, streams, trenches, fences, footbridges and country roads. Four or five different 18 or 24 inch square bases could be alternated to make huge dioramas that would work with any european battle from Napoleon's time to the present. Three dimensional farm houses, towers or other european country style buildings could be placed where ever the collector building the diorama chooses.

Andy could even do winter versions by merely spraying a coat of white fake snow over the bases and gluing some fake snow and ice to the various houses, making the dioramas work for the battle of the bulge or the eastern front. I think these bases and buildings would be affordable, portable and attractive to the two biggest groups of K&C collectors: WWII and Napoleonic Era. Perhaps I will discuss the idea with Andy at the Symposium.
Click to expand...

Hi Louis,
Very good points. Please do discuss your ideas on diorama bases with Andy. I couldn't agree with you more, I think the market lacks diorama bases and buildings compatible with K&C's 1/30 scale.

Regards,
Paulo
 
Thank goodness that somebody else is clammering for more stuff than combat soldiers to help out this hobby. I don't know how many hours I have spent searching the web in fruitless fustration for 1/30 scale buildings that are fully dimensional. I have seven of the older series JG Miniatures (both barns, both farm houses, the stable, the shed, and the hen house) that are in desperate need of company. Let us continue this clammer to bring about a suppliers response to this market demand. Everybody sing along with me, "Andy, can you hear me." ;) Michael
 
All right then guys, everybody who is either (1) coming to the NY Symposium or (2) friends with folks who are coming, can get your two cents in with Andy in person or by proxy. 10 of my K&C dioramas, and every single one of Andy's 3-D buildings ever made will be on display at the Symposium Saturday afternoon, so you can tell Andy exactly what you would like to see.

On display will be a Normandy Bocage Hedgerow Diorama Andy designed, which is made of two square pieces which fit together (an excellent model for the modular country pieces I suggested above) as well as both the original Streets of Hong Kong diorama base and the custom northwest European version of the diorama base Andy made at my request, which would be excellent models for the town diorama bases. The back lot buildings will all be there, so you can let Andy know if you like this concept as well. If enough collectors let him know there is a demand, I am fairly sure Andy's Scottish business sense will see to the supply.
 
If I were a company that was making buildings for dioramas I would go with a new aproach. How about 57mm??? It would fit in with 54mm and 60mm. Call it the 57mm solution!!! I don,t think you would notice it as to big or to small but just right in between the both of them and it would keep everyone happy. Just some food for thought. And I also like full sized 3D buldings. God I wish I had more room in the house.:D
 
fishead19690 said:
If I were a company that was making buildings for dioramas I would go with a new aproach. How about 57mm??? It would fit in with 54mm and 60mm. Call it the 57mm solution!!! I don,t think you would notice it as to big or to small but just right in between the both of them and it would keep everyone happy. Just some food for thought. And I also like full sized 3D buldings. God I wish I had more room in the house.:D
Click to expand...

Due to lack of space, I use European scenes from old calendars as background and combo with Build-A-Rama, JG Miniatures accessories or Conte play sets (French farm, pill-boxes etc.). The earlier K&C buildings (Hotel Balzac, Gare Central, Pharmacie, etc.) tend to be more artsy so I use paintings (instead of photos) of European country sides to get that artsy look.

I have no pictures to share since I just moved to AZ fromNJ and all my stuff are still in boxes.

Over-all, the Conte, JG and build-a-rama are perfect together.
N-P
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Community platform by XenForo® © 2010-2024 XenForo Ltd.
Back
Top