Looking to get into the hobby (1 Viewer)

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mrbeankc

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Ok, looking for a bit of direction. I'm wanting to get into the hobby and I'm trying to decide which company I should start with. I'm a long time civil war buff having read over 500 books on the subject. I also collect to an extent Don Troiani artwork on the civil war which decorates my formal living room (just got his new piece on the 19th Indiana). Recently I got lucky to stumble upon a few Don Troiani figure collections (including the Iron Brigade) and I have them on display in the same room with the Troiani prints. As you now suspect I'm a civil war buff.

Doing a touch of research and from what I have known before I've sort of narrowed my choice down to King and Country and William Britain. Both seem to be very well known and respected in the hobby. I am leaning towards William Britain at the moment however. William Britain seems to have the higher variety in terms of civil war figures. For example they have available currently a Winfield Hancock figure where as KC does not. I also think their figures are of a better likeness of the commanders they represent. For example the WB George Meade figure is a good general likeness of Meade. The KC George Meade figure to me doesn't truly look like the man.

So I'm looking for a bit of advice. William Britain or King and Country for someone new to the hobby looking for figures representing the civil war?
 
Welcome!

I'm not a collector of the Civil War but I'm a fan and I've looked pretty closely at both lines you're nominated in my local shop. In short Britains is cheaper but I think the K & C range is better quality. Mind you if you only collect Britains they'll look pretty good all by themselves. I'm not sure what availability exists for older figures but they are probably cheaper on ebay than the older/retired K & C ones. Both makers would have plans to keep these ranges going, so you should have new releases on a reasonable basis. I collect four major makers - the danger is you'll start getting both! They all look great to me!
 
mrbeankc said:
Ok, looking for a bit of direction. I'm wanting to get into the hobby and I'm trying to decide which company I should start with. I'm a long time civil war buff having read over 500 books on the subject. I also collect to an extent Don Troiani artwork on the civil war which decorates my formal living room (just got his new piece on the 19th Indiana). Recently I got lucky to stumble upon a few Don Troiani figure collections (including the Iron Brigade) and I have them on display in the same room with the Troiani prints. As you now suspect I'm a civil war buff.

Doing a touch of research and from what I have known before I've sort of narrowed my choice down to King and Country and William Britain. Both seem to be very well known and respected in the hobby. I am leaning towards William Britain at the moment however. William Britain seems to have the higher variety in terms of civil war figures. For example they have available currently a Winfield Hancock figure where as KC does not. I also think their figures are of a better likeness of the commanders they represent. For example the WB George Meade figure is a good general likeness of Meade. The KC George Meade figure to me doesn't truly look like the man.

So I'm looking for a bit of advice. William Britain or King and Country for someone new to the hobby looking for figures representing the civil war?
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If you want a wide-ranging collection, with dio accessories like fences, houses, and stuff like artillery, then William Britains is the winner, hands down. If you like the Troiani tie-ins, then, once again, go with Britains. Britains is the much more expansive line with a much larger number of releases, and thus, a larger commitment to the ACW line. Take a look on E-bay and other secondary market sources for past releases with Troiani themes such as "Clear the Way" and "Lone Star", which have been done. They are excellent sets and are Britains compatible. Good luck with your collecting. -- Al
 
Britains has by far the best ACW range and they will fit better with Conte's figures.KC is larger.To see what you can do with Britains look up Mestell's ACW threads,they are superb.
Mark
 
One company that shouldn't be overlooked is First Legion. In my opinion, they make the best sculpted Civil War soldiers on the market. However, they do not have the variety of Britains, at least not yet anyway.

Brad
 
That is for sure. They also make many great diorama pieces, as does a company named Hudson & Allen, whose owners are affiliated with Britains.
 
For variety, economy and quality I would concentrate on Britains ACW.
First Legion figures are superior in quality but twice the price and more limited in variety.
K&C has a very limited line of ACW and different scale from above two makers.
There are plenty of opportunities to pick up older sets from WB on Ebay and through this forum.
You can also get older Conte sets which blend well with WB.
 
Britains is the way to go. They will go well with the Troiani figures. K&C figures are a larger scale. You can always expand into First Legion, similar in size. There is also Frontline, which you can find for reasonable prices. Britains probably has the largest variety of Civil War figures and diorama pieces.
 
It is William Britains for me for the American Civil War. As mentioned already, they will mix well with Civil War figures made by First Legion, Conte and Troiani.

I have some K&C Civil War figures as well but only in their own diorama as their scale does not match with the others. I like the confederate personality figures made by K&C as they are well-done. Britains ACW personality figures are all round very well-done in that scale.
 
Britain's all the way. Excellent quality and accuracy, vast variety , reasonable prices.Many retired sets are still not hard too find adding yet even more troops.
Original Conte sets too match very well, same sculpter, Ken Osen. Plus, if you wanted to paint some of your own there are hundreds of metal and plastics to swell the ranks that are 54mm scale.
Hands down, Britain's.
my 2 bit's , as a Veteran ACW collector.

FubAr
 
I decided to go with King and Country. I liked the variety of the William Britain pieces but I liked the quality and slightly larger size of the King and Country.

I am thinking I might also do a few from WWII. My grandfather drove a Sherman tank "with Patton" as he phrased it. He told the story of the day his tank took out a German tank in the Battle of the Bulge only to get taken out themselves about 20 minutes later. Amazing man. His tank crew after the German surrender forged travel passes and made their way to Berlin where they were arrested by Soviet troops who held them for two weeks.
 
mrbeankc said:
I decided to go with King and Country. I liked the variety of the William Britain pieces but I liked the quality and slightly larger size of the King and Country.

I am thinking I might also do a few from WWII. My grandfather drove a Sherman tank "with Patton" as he phrased it. He told the story of the day his tank took out a German tank in the Battle of the Bulge only to get taken out themselves about 20 minutes later. Amazing man. His tank crew after the German surrender forged travel passes and made their way to Berlin where they were arrested by Soviet troops who held them for two weeks.
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Glad to hear you are going to start collecting! I started out as a Britain's ACW collector and still have them, but have moved on to collect First Legion and K&C instead. I have all the older Confederate personalities by K&C and plan on picking up the more recent ones, as well as their just released 13th Alabama and 20th Maine. Britain's does a fantastic job, but nothing can beat First Legion's sculpt and paint job so don't overlook them at all. I also have a close connection to WWII and just picked up two of the 101st Para's by First Legion. They are top notch! ;)
 
Lo_1863 said:
Glad to hear you are going to start collecting! I started out as a Britain's ACW collector and still have them, but have moved on to collect First Legion and K&C instead. I have all the older Confederate personalities by K&C and plan on picking up the more recent ones, as well as their just released 13th Alabama and 20th Maine. Britain's does a fantastic job, but nothing can beat First Legion's sculpt and paint job so don't overlook them at all. I also have a close connection to WWII and just picked up two of the 101st Para's by First Legion. They are top notch! ;)
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I actually saw a picture of some of the King and Country civil war figures with it set up as a photo with Lincoln and a few generals in front of a tent and Matt Brady taking a photo of the group. I'm not going to be doing full dioramas but the idea of this little scene of a sort in the display cabinet next to the two Troiani sets kind of appealed to me. If I was going to do large scale dioramas the William England would likely be the better choice.
 
I know you have made your choice already. I collect Britains, Conte, K&C, Collectors Showcase, First Legion, and various other Civil War figures. I have most of the sets released by them since 1998. My favorites hands down are Britains with First Legion in a close second. Conte sets started out great in the beginning, but the quality started to decline as the years went by. K&C makes great figures, but they are large compared to the other manufacturers so they are hard to use together in a display.

I also collect art from Don Troiani, Dale Gallon, John Paul Strain, and Keith Rocco. I was excited to see the Britains will be working with Don Troiani on some future sets again.

Happy Collecting.
 
I'm a big collector of K & C and I don't know if you intend to buy a few figures or collect the range generally but if the latter you may have difficulty finding (although there is always ebay) a lot of the range because most of it is retired and new releases are an occasional thing. Unlike Britains, it's not their principal focus. What they do make tends to be good. They just don't make a lot of it.
 
mrbeankc said:
I decided to go with King and Country. I liked the variety of the William Britain pieces but I liked the quality and slightly larger size of the King and Country.

I am thinking I might also do a few from WWII. My grandfather drove a Sherman tank "with Patton" as he phrased it. He told the story of the day his tank took out a German tank in the Battle of the Bulge only to get taken out themselves about 20 minutes later. Amazing man. His tank crew after the German surrender forged travel passes and made their way to Berlin where they were arrested by Soviet troops who held them for two weeks.
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To throw my two pence in here, My own collection is easily 90% King&Country as this is my own preference. Each brand has their own personal style to their brand. It is just a matter of "YOUR" own personal likes.
Welcome to the Wonderfull World Of Toy Soldiers ! :salute::
 
Welcome to a fun hobby! I like Britains for 18th Century especially gloss. I also like Tradition for gloss. Tradition are also good if you want to assemble and paint. I also have a small K&C collection of WWII (which I think they excel in). I have slowed down a bit in the last couple of years as I should add it isn't a cheap hobby.
 
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