More British themes from Britains (1 Viewer)

[Buckomp]

G'Day all Britains collectors.

I know that Britains are now owned by a US Company (RC2); however, I have noticed that the themes/figure types are more US centric and moving away from the traditional British themes.

Whilst I understand and respect that the US is a bigger market and Britains is now a US Company, could Britains make either equal US/British themes or at least more that they are making now each year.

As an Australian, my direct military history is predominantly British and British themes fit in with my collecting; after all this is why I collect Britains in the first place. More British please.

What do all the Britains collectors think?

Thanks and happy collecting,

Antony Buckingham (Buckomp)
Australia

 

[Leadmen]

I agree with Antony that Britains should make some more British Regiments and gun teams. That is what first started me collecting. I like K&C and other sets but missed some of the Britains sets from earlier years. There Naval Landing party and Mountain gun set were popular- like to see them released again. Thanks. Leadmen

 

[DMNamiot]

Have to say I agree with you totally Antony! I am an American but my collection is mainly British Colonial units such as the Gurkhas and a ton of the British Raj units to include nearly all of the Durbar set. I also have some fantastic sets I picked up in Sydney and Wellington when I was there in '95 for my honeymoon. I have a great Imperial Australian Camel Corps figure and some Maori Warriors and Australian Infantry set from the Somme Offensive. Of course the majority of my collection is British. So I agree through and through! More British units will be greatly appreciated!

Dave

 

[Mzee]

Greetings all I am new to this forum so as an intro. let me say that I have been collecting Britains for over sixty years and that I agree Britains should do more with British and Empire themes. How about the West Indian Regiment running at the trail, a proper set of ghurkas with kukris (kookries) not the patched up version they produced a few years back, the South Australian Lancers dismounted with horses etc. They should also be very careful with their sculpting. Without a good, basic figure to start with all is lost. The slightly larger and more robust figures of the new matt finished items, however well done ,are really not appropriate to traditional, toy soldier design. Nor are the designs of five or so years ago which were no-neck ,clunky figures . The 16th lancers of that time look more like mounted orcs from the Lord of the Rings than humans. Britains is quite capable of doing better. Some groups produced for their Collectors Club recently have been excellent but these are not generally availabke and are quite expensive. Britains should take guidance from the Beau Geste line of soldiers which are not only meticulously painted but also extremely well sculpted.

 

[DMNamiot]

I couldnt agree with you more! I have the 16th Lancers and though I would not say they look like Orcs I will say they are not quite as good as the older Britains were. I think that Britains should continue its line of Matte finish WWII soldiers but they really should try to refine the sculpting a bit. As for the collectors club figures I have several and they are excellent the painting and sculpting on these are great. I joined mainly to get the Gurkha release of the Truncheon Jemadar of the 2d Gurkhas it is a very good looking model. I also enjoy their magazine The Standard. But I will say it again, I think the Britains folks need to split their focus and keep coming up with the lines that made them the best in the biz for so many years. King and Country has filled a niche for the WWII folks out there and Britians should think long and hard about trying to compete in this market. Personally I dont think they can and still have good prices. But I'm not in their marketing office.

 

[Peter Reuss]

I think Britains is trying to do a major balancing act.

On the one hand, they have a wonderful tradition of glossy figures. On the other hand, the matte figures are becoming much more popular. In our experience, the matte finish sells a lot better than the glossy.

On the one hand, Britains has a wonderful tradition of making British figures for a British market. On the other hand, 1/2 of their sales are now in the US, and one of the best selling lines is the American Civil War. The British ceremonial figures don't sell as well over here (though I assume they do much better in the UK).

Were Britains to focus only on glossy figures they would lose major market share. Were they to focus only on matte ones they would lose their history.

Were they to focus mainly on British figures they would alienate the significant US market. If they focused mainly on US ones they would do the same for the UK customers.

It's a tough spot to be in. I think they are doing their best to keep all sides happy. Would I love to see more US subjects in a matte finish? You bet. I think US collectors as a whole would respond positively. Some even call for Britains to dump the glossy finish altogether. I think that would move too far from their great traditions. With 1/2 the market share in the UK, those considerations must be taken into account.

I'm glad I'm just the husband of a dealer, not the people at Britains trying to sort this all out

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Peter,

This is an important issue!

I agree with much you have said and with the other folks out there. I will say I too would not want to be in Britains shoes with this sort of Market. I do however, think they need to shift their focus slightly or at least try and stay away from the area King and Country has done so well which is of course WWII.

I will tell you that there are a lot of older collectors around the states that just love the napoleonics and colonial forces done by Britains over the years. They just aren't as vocal as the K&C folks. I only hope the people over at Britains realize this.

Dave

 

[Buckomp]

G'Day Peter,

I agree, Britains are doing a balancing act; however, I beleive thier are enough customers on both sides of the world ie the British Commonwealth Britains collectors and the US Britains collectors for them to make both type sets/themes and those of us who cross over both will get the benefit of both.

Britains just focusing mainly on US because they are a bigger market slaps in the face of us UK die hard collectors who have no say in the business/marketing decisions but we will put money in thier pockets if they make the right decisions and support thier loyal collecting base. After all, Britains has over 100 years of customer base and can and will reclaim thier market dominance if they think about the selling history of Britsins. After all, didn't Britains specifically market both the US and UK with the pre 1966 figures tailored to those markets and they made great successes especially in the 1930 and again post WW2. They can do the same again and keep both sides happy.

Come on Britains - think back to your history and heritage; at least the spirit of it anyway.

Happy collecting.

Antony Buckingham
Australia

 

[Forward March]

As a Britains Alum I could not help reading this great exchange of emails with much interest. Britains in my opinion will always be synonymous with The Toy Soldier - in any and every form from all over the world - when folks find out what I collect they refer to my entire collection as Britains (even though I have over 100 manufacturers representated in it), when people come into a store looking for a toy soldier (those who are not die hard collectors) they often do not ask for a toy soldier but for a Britains - Britains is what Kleenex is to facial tissue and Xerox is to photocopies - it is a brand with such strong recognition that in most peoples eyes it is the only way to describe the entire category of products. While it is often unwise to try to be all things to all people - Britains has a certain obligation almost to be all things to all toy soldier collectors - because of its 100+ year history and amazing brand name. Have they done it well lately? - a very subjective question best left to every individual - and as Shannon and others have stated is is not an easy position to be in. Should they be making the very best figures - no matter what they are - matte, gloss, US subject matter, UK, Australian etc.- certainly. Can they - certainly. Will they - I sincerely hope so. This is too small and passionate a hobby for Britains to leave anyone out and I would think they would be looking at better quality and more variety of traditional toy soldiers for the H.G. Wells in all of us as well as the wonderful matte pieces that satisfy the realist in others. I am just pleased to see so much passion, interest and great ideas from folks - its what makes this a great hobby.

 

[VIRIATO]

I do believe Britains are able to do the trick: satisfy both more traditionalist collectors with glossy pieces and those that enjoy the matte, more realistic finish. I don't think they should leave WWII to K&C, although this is the WWII leader at the moment, and deservedly so, in my opinion. But I buy Britains, I'm interested in some of their WWII sets, I like their tanks. Britains is more compatible with other toy soldiers and accessories ( 1/32 ). Personally I'm building WWII D'day/Normandy scenes based on Britains and Conte, JG Miniatures scenery and thinking of that Frontline Normandy Village. But some of the upcoming K&C British/Canadian soldiers/vehicles just look too good... If possible I'll build a separate scene with them. On the other hand, K&C's Fall of Berlin sets are on the wish list. So I happen to enjoy both manufacturers. Am I the only one? Back to Britains, what their WWII sets need to become better, to me, is better soldier faces, I think they have good general detail. What they need is the quality you see from Forward March! I think they should also be more consistent about battle fronts, and not do two Stalingrad Sets or two North Africa sets left in the middle of nowhere, maybe for starters do battle fronts ( Burma? ) that K&C is not doing. If they did it with plastic ( B. Deetail being surely the best WWII plastic around ), I don't see why they can not do it with metal.


Best wishes,
Paulo

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Paulo,

The points you raise are good ones! I have already mentioned to the Britians Rep on this forum that they should do equipment and soldiers from the Burma Campaign maybe if they get the these sort of questions from more people they will take note and go ahead and do them. Please take the time to tell them.

Dave

 

[VIRIATO]

Hi Paulo,

The points you raise are good ones! I have already mentioned to the Britians Rep on this forum that they should do equipment and soldiers from the Burma Campaign maybe if they get the these sort of questions from more people they will take note and go ahead and do them. Please take the time to tell them.

Dave

Hi Dave,
Thanks! Where do I contact them more effectively on the net? I think this forum is being watched by Britains reps but I would certainly take the time to let them know my opinion, modest as it may be.

Best wishes,
Paulo

 

[DMNamiot]

Hi Paulo,

You can contact the North American Britains Rep at the following email address: tskubicek@rc2corp.com

His name is Tim Kubicek and he should respond to what you have to say. I think they were very valid points.

Dave

 

[Ken & Ericka Osen/H&A Studio]

I do believe Britains are able to do the trick: satisfy both more traditionalist collectors with glossy pieces and those that enjoy the matte, more realistic finish. I don't think they should leave WWII to K&C, although this is the WWII leader at the moment, and deservedly so, in my opinion. But I buy Britains, I'm interested in some of their WWII sets, I like their tanks. Britains is more compatible with other toy soldiers and accessories ( 1/32 ). Personally I'm building WWII D'day/Normandy scenes based on Britains and Conte, JG Miniatures scenery and thinking of that Frontline Normandy Village. But some of the upcoming K&C British/Canadian soldiers/vehicles just look too good... If possible I'll build a separate scene with them. On the other hand, K&C's Fall of Berlin sets are on the wish list. So I happen to enjoy both manufacturers. Am I the only one? Back to Britains, what their WWII sets need to become better, to me, is better soldier faces, I think they have good general detail. What they need is the quality you see from Forward March! I think they should also be more consistent about battle fronts, and not do two Stalingrad Sets or two North Africa sets left in the middle of nowhere, maybe for starters do battle fronts ( Burma? ) that K&C is not doing. If they did it with plastic ( B. Deetail being surely the best WWII plastic around ), I don't see why they can not do it with metal.


Best wishes,
Paulo

Hi There! It is interesting to look at this discussion over a year later. There have been plenty of changes for W. Britain, and I hope you agree that they have been good ones. I wonder if some of you have any additional thoughts now that we have a couple of catalogs under our belt?

 

[fishead19690]

Hi There! It is interesting to look at this discussion over a year later. There have been plenty of changes for W. Britain, and I hope you agree that they have been good ones. I wonder if some of you have any additional thoughts now that we have a couple of catalogs under our belt?

How about some napoleonics other than french and british???? Every one does british! How about some prussains, Russains, Austrains, ect. I know you guys are doing a waterloo thing right now but the british only made up a small amount of the allied troops. What about all the germans, dutch, belgains, brunswickers, nassuers??? Your doing a hougomont thing right? how about some nassu troops and brunswick avant guard?
I also love the way that conte does there metals in plastic also, is there any chance that we might see some of the metal poses done in an unpainted plastic??? The conte stuff is great he has a high class plastic line with his metal figures done in plastic and I think they are the best plastics available would britains consider doing something like this with the same moulds as the metal figures like conte has done?
The only down side to conte is he dosn,t do napoleonics and if he ever did by the time they ever came out I couldn,t afford them on my retirement money but maybe i could get a senoir citizen discount.