New Crimean War Series - Good & Bad (1 Viewer)

skeeterbuck

skeeterbuck

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I just recievied today my first order of the new Britains Crimean War figures.

The first figure that I opened was 43127 British 11th Hussar. What a great figure! Nicely painted and well animated. The second was 43064 Russian Command set. Also beautiful with a great looking flag. The third set was 43072 Lt. Connolly attacking a Russian soldier with his telescope. As nice as the first two sets.

Lastly....the Russian Artillery set. This set comes with four figures which again are beautifully painted and posed, The disapointment for me was the cannon. It is on the light side and feels to be made of resin instead of metal. Also the assembly and painting on this piece was not up to the standards of the figures.:(

All things considered, I'm glad that Britains has revisited the Crimean War, but please stick with all metal castings!

Chuck
 
skeeterbuck said:
I just recievied today my first order of the new Britains Crimean War figures.

The first figure that I opened was 43127 British 11th Hussar. What a great figure! Nicely painted and well animated. The second was 43064 Russian Command set. Also beautiful with a great looking flag. The third set was 43072 Lt. Connolly attacking a Russian soldier with his telescope. As nice as the first two sets.

Lastly....the Russian Artillery set. This set comes with four figures which again are beautifully painted and posed, The disapointment for me was the cannon. It is on the light side and feels to be made of resin instead of metal. Also the assembly and painting on this piece was not up to the standards of the figures.:(

All things considered, I'm glad that Britains has revisited the Crimean War, but please stick with all metal castings!

Chuck
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Well said, and I agree 100 percent. I have the Russian command set and the artillery set, and I think your comments are very fair.

Dick
 
I would like to see metal vs resin but I recall Richard explaining the cost to do the tooling for metal is not affordable.
 
hhenry said:
I would like to see metal vs resin but I recall Richard explaining the cost to do the tooling for metal is not affordable.
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I would like to get a more info on this subject. If they make the soldiers and horses out of metal why can't they also do the cannons?

Would it make the cost of the set too expensive? Maybe include two figures with the set and then have an add on set to complete the crew. Just some ideas.

Chuck
 
In the absence of more info, I believe its to do with the major tooling required for die-cast, moving parts etc. Apparently, it's not cost-productive - at least that's the case for the plastic range I'm told.
 
You also have to figure in the weight of the item as it needs to be shipped from overseas.

For example (sorry for going back to this)

I bought the Irish State Coach a couple of years back.

It has 6 metal horses & 9 metal figures. The coach itself is resin and the under carriage is metal. The total weight is 2.5 kg. I had this shipped from the UK to Canada and it cost me £25.00.
 
The Charge of the Light Brigade set that was released in 1997 contained a metal cannon.

Don't they still have the molds?

Couldn't they have used the same mold?

I hope that someone from Britains will respond to explain for us all.

Chuck
 
I think when Britains was last sold, the new owners weren't able to get the old molds? Maybe Ken or Richard know for sure. If they did obtain them in the sale, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be mass producing those figures collectors have asked about?

Dick
 
So Dick,
you think that Britains only got the name to use and that's it....what a bummer. :(

I still think that the cannons should be made of metal. I can unberstand the tanks in the WWII series and other large items like the elephant in the India set being resin, but not the smaller pieces.

Chuck
 
Dickbuttons said:
I think when Britains was last sold, the new owners weren't able to get the old molds? Maybe Ken or Richard know for sure. If they did obtain them in the sale, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be mass producing those figures collectors have asked about?

Dick
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The new series we are waiting for are old figures but solid cast surely the didn't remake new moulds? Having said that though I guess a mould surely has a lifespan ?
 
My thoughts about the molds are purely speculative and not based on any inside knowledge. I just assumed that they didn't get the molds, for if they did, I would assume they could still produce older sets that are still in demand, and they could do so at a relatively cheaper in-house cost. If they had the molds there would be no design or start-up costs. But who knows?
 
I hope that the limited number of responses to this thread does not accurately reflect the number of collectors?

I would like to see Britains expand upon this range.

Dick
 
Hi Dick,

I think the limited responses is merely due to good weather and folks being out side more. I am a big fan of the Crimean Ranges and have a good chunk of the older ones and I have a nice beginning on the new range but it being retired has forced me to try and cherry pick the sets I want most then get some of the others as I can find them. Dont want to break the bank and make my wife angry with big purchases. Plus I have the added fun of trying to finish the Mutiny line so there are as usual too many choices and not enough time or money. I am sure that we will see some more of the great Cavalry sets the folks at Britains did so well I would guess its merely a matter of being patient.

All the best

Dave
 
Yo Trooper, sorry to disagree on this, but dont think you will ever see the cavalry sets done again. The trend has gone to lifelike model soldiers in singles, with todays production cost cannot ever see them doing sets of five Cavalry again, can you imagine what a set would cost today. Its like everything in life its called progress, nothing ever stays the same. I think if you asked Britains to be honest they would tell you the same.
Bernard
 
Let's ask Britains then. Isn't the customer always right? ARe any more 4 or 5 piece cavlary sets planned in the future?

Dick
 
In a way I would have to agree with Bernard. A set of 5 figures is going to run you about $180 plus shipping (well for me anyway, no Toy Soldier stores anywhere near here) The singles are much easier on the wallet and I can therefor build up a collection over a few months if need be.
 
Hi Guys,

I asked the question to WBritians and as much as I hate to say it Bernard is right and we will never see the 4 - 5 figure sets again due to sales of the singles. Me I dont care for this trend since you end up spending 4 - 5 times as much for shipping if you want to build sets unless of course you get your figures locally or from places like TF who dont charge for shipping. Still you will end up spending an average of 35 dollars a figure for them and thats a significant increase in cost to build a set of 5. Oh well thats progress.

All the best

Dave
 
I suppose you're right -- we'll never see the 5 piece cavalry sets again -- but what about the old style (toy soldier) 5 piece sets? Those couldn't have jumped from $75.00 a box to about $200, could they? (I guess if the price of gasoline has gone up so fast, why not soldiers?

Dick
 
I have to say that when you stand behind the table at a location that is not a traditional toy soldier venue and tell someone what these products cost there is a moment of silence. There are certain price points that are good to target...thus single figure offerings.
We are considering, and will most likley pursue small boxed sets of Infantry soon. This is based on requests and the logical need for more that one parade posed soldier. Mounted figures have not had the same level of requests to date, but that could change too.
Ken
 
The currently discontinued Britains Crimean War mounted figures are about $35 each. I wonder if the price point of under $100 for a set of 3 would be possible?

With the Crimean War, you have to figure that the collectors that are interested in this area are also interested in a fair amount of calvary figures.

With WWII for example, not much calvary to consider, which also makes them more easier (less expensive) to collect. Just some thoughts.

Chuck
 
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