Opinions on Chicago Show 2013 (2 Viewers)

[Warbuff26]

Gee i dont know George........the amount of stuff "given" to him amazed me. The dealers loved seeing a young guy like Bryce walking around and EVERYONE was great buy letting him explore their goods. Why dont we see more his age there? Why not bring your grandsons/kids/nephews etc? I waited til Bryce was 5 so he knew some "rules" but it sure would be nice seeing more his age show up.

Thanks George for all you did......

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

True, but ask anyone in the 50 to 75 year old demographic and it's pretty much "I had toy soldiers as a kid, grew out of them in my teenage years, revisited them later in life through a newspaper story, a phone call, a tv show, etc, etc, my interest was resparked and for nostalgic reasons and a few others, I started collecting again."

This is the way it happened with me. I was in another state working a contract back in 1999 and was sometimes bored in the evenings until I got to know some new people, so often in the evenings I would browse eBay in it's early days and eventually came across some Britains swoppets (Knights, ACW, AWI). I was surprised that they were going for incredible prices at that time! I then remembered that I still had several swoppets left in a shoebox somewhere at my parent's house and therefore, I planned to put them up for auction. Well, the more I looked at the ones on eBay, the more I became intrigued again and I found myself bidding on them! I accumulated a good size collection of swoppets initially before getting into metals at the OTSN around 2003. The rest is history... ^&grin ... and here I am... HAHAHA...!!!

These days, I have limited space to collect and with prices as they are, I am only going to be concentrating on selected medieval figures which are lacking in my diverse collection.

:salute::

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

I believe the future of this hobby is with those who love history, people who want to find ways of honoring and respecting (and recreating) the past in miniature form.

Not every collector had toy soldiers as a kid. It's one route into the hobby, but not the only one!

I have 2 brothers and neither of them were interested in toy soldiers when we were growing up together. Today when they see my collection, they admire it but neither one of them have any inclination to start one of their own...

I agree, that it is not mandatory to have had toy soldiers as a kid to be in this hobby today but I believe that we are talking about a very small percentage of collectors, very small...

 

[Warrior]

Gee i dont know George........the amount of stuff "given" to him amazed me. The dealers loved seeing a young guy like Bryce walking around and EVERYONE was great buy letting him explore their goods. Why dont we see more his age there? Why not bring your grandsons/kids/nephews etc? I waited til Bryce was 5 so he knew some "rules" but it sure would be nice seeing more his age show up.

Thanks George for all you did......

My pleasure, great to see you at the show as always, before you know it, he'll be at the shows with you and will be taller than you, so enjoy this time as they grow up fast....................

 

[Warrior]

This is the way it happened with me. I was in another state working a contract back in 1999 and was sometimes bored in the evenings until I got to know some new people, so often in the evenings I would browse eBay in it's early days and eventually came across some Britains swoppets (Knights, ACW, AWI). I was surprised that they were going for incredible prices at that time! I then remembered that I still had several swoppets left in a shoebox somewhere at my parent's house and therefore, I planned to put them up for auction. Well, the more I looked at the ones on eBay, the more I became intrigued again and I found myself bidding on them! I accumulated a good size collection of swoppets initially before getting into metals at the OTSN around 2003. The rest is history... ^&grin ... and here I am... HAHAHA...!!!

These days, I have limited space to collect and with prices as they are, I am only going to be concentrating on selected medieval figures which are lacking in my diverse collection.

:salute::

Great story and it sounds just like mine.

My initial thought was to sell all my soldiers when I found out what they were worth, but the more I looked at them, the more I liked them, so I started collecting again, buying all the stuff I had missed out on while I was out of the hobby and all the newer sets too.

I am a ho/oo collector, but as I kid I ended up with Marx playsets, Britains deetail and Swoppets, Airfix, Timpo and other assorted 1/32nd scale figures, all of which I kept and still have.

Even though they are not my scale of choice, they mean a lot to me as I've got a lot of great childhood memories tied up in them, so I'll never sell them. I sold my Heritage Sons of Liberty and wish I hadn't, bought one several years ago at OTSN to replace it.

Also, one of the things I never had as a kid was the Deetail FFL and Arabs, bought a beautiful set in a mint box a few years back as well. I also buy Swoppets whenever I find them, have about 200 ECW, ACW, AWI and Knights..............

 

[Raider]

That's so cool seeing that little guy sitting on the floor playing with those soldiers!Brought my daughter a few times to the show when she was 7 and 8 ,just couldn't get her to bite!!!lol,must not have been enough American girl dolls there for her taste!!

 

[PanzerAce1944]

True, but ask anyone in the 50 to 75 year old demographic and it's pretty much "I had toy soldiers as a kid, grew out of them in my teenage years, revisited them later in life through a newspaper story, a phone call, a tv show, etc, etc, my interest was resparked and for nostalgic reasons and a few others, I started collecting again."

I am a firm believer in the expression everything happens for a reason; it's crazy to think where my life would be or what path it took had my cousin not picked up the phone and called me, asking me about my old toy soldiers and me digging them out.

Probably wouldn't be in the hobby, or in the business, would be working somewhere at a job I could barely tolerate, married with 2.5 children and a dog, barely getting by and miserable.

Instead, I collect toy soldiers and have a ball with them, sell toy soldiers and have a ball with that, have Miss Tiffany in my life and if something happened to me at this point, it would take the funeral home director a week to get the smile off of my face.

What a difference a phone call can make.

Awesome post George {bravo}}

 

[Warrior]

It's scary to think where I'd be had he not made that call, my life would have taken a completely different path I am sure.................

 

[Currahee Chris]

... The prospect of bringing youth into the hobby is so far fetched that its just funny to suggest anymore.

Thanks for that nugget of wisdom, I'd be lost without it.

All three of my kids- ages 7- 17 (2 boys and 1 girl) have collections that they enjoy for their own reasons. My eldest loves Sparta and anything dealing with the Russian army, my daughter loves anything cavalry related- George Washington and of course Eisenhower, my youngest loves WW2 German armor. They all attend shows with me and we have a great time with it. We also go to the TS shops in Gettysburg and then cap off the weekend with a visit to the battlefield and then dinner at one of the local restaurants. Just because it didn't take once or twice for your son, doesn't mean it doesn't work, just may mean he has different interests.

Personally, Id rather see kids out there playing sports, leggos, etc as ultimately, these toy soldiers do have a tendency to glorify/sanitize war which is absolutely not what I want my kids to ever believe. My kids do get that. The same reason why under no circumstances are my kids allowed to play call of duty and the other dozen or so first person war video games.

Plastics is the first stage for progression. My one nephew is into the ACW and teaches me stuff he learns about. He has a solid Britains Deetail ACW collection and loves playing out Gettysburg. Once they get some coin/first job then they may branch off into the more "upscale" mainstream glossy/matte producers.

Ive been reading these threads on two different forums. I went to London this past summer and all the reports post show were how much fun it was. Truthfully, reading the post op on this show just firmly supports my position that it's just a waste of time. Shame because I love Chicago so much.

 

[jazzeum]

Chris,

Please don't let what has been said here dissuade you from going to Chicago. I've been going every year since 2005 (except for two times when business got in the way). It's a heck of a lot of fun, especially getting together with the likes of Louis, Andy, Hans, Tom, Tim, Steven Chong and Rick. I know for dealers they need to sell but for us it's just fun getting together. As has been said, you're eating, breathing and talking toy soldiers. It's great fun.

Brad

 

[Warrior]

Chris,

Please don't let what has been said here dissuade you from going to Chicago. I've been going every year since 2005 (except for two times when business got in the way). It's a heck of a lot of fun, especially getting together with the likes of Louis, Andy, Hans, Tom, Tim, Steven Chong, Rick AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST GEORGE GUERRIERO. I know for dealers they need to sell but for us it's just fun getting together. As has been said, you're eating, breathing and talking toy soldiers. It's great fun.

Brad

Fixed it for you..............:wink2:

London is on my list of shows to get to.

As a kid, the toy soldier world revolved around the Uk, would be great to get to that show as I am sure there are a lot of hidden treasures there that you just don't see on this side of the pond at shows.............

 

[jazzeum]

George who? ^&confuse ^&grin

Sorry about that but I see you at least three other times a year :wink2: However, George, Shannon, Andy and tons of others is what makes the Show worth going to. It is the international show, the must go to show.

Brad

 

[Sahara]

Thanks for that nugget of wisdom, I'd be lost without it.
.

Chris, I think you took my statement a little out of context. Don't get me wrong my son loves military history and probably enjoys going to battlefields, museums, toy soldier show etc.... as much as your children do. But the suggestion to think that bringing kids into the hobby is some how going to fix the problem isn't realistic. When is the last time you saw a 10yr old buying a K&C figure marked at $40 or a FL figure marked at $60. Last I checked my kid wasn't holding down a full time job and the allowance that he is given for chores around the house just ain't gonna cut it. I totally agree with you about keeping them interested in military history. I have no gripes about buying the 1/72 scale plastics or bags of green army men for my son, but that's not the issue. The issue is how can our hobby the FLs, K&Cs, Figartis etc.... survive with a declining interest in the hobby and higher prices. Yes, those kids that we get interested in the hobby may or may not collect down the road but do you really think the manufacturers are gearing their marketing tactics towards children. Do you think Andy, Matt etc... is sitting back saying we need to put some plastic army men out there for kids to get involved in the hobby because that $12 pack of plastics is gonna turn things around for us. Simply said kids will have a influence on the hobby when they become adults and the easiest way to keep them interested is to do those things like you said but the question is what can help the current hobby now??? Like it has been said before this hobby is geared to mostly those over 30yrs of age. How can we attract more individuals over the age of 30 into this hobby? Maybe shows on military bases, have figures at airshows, re-enactments etc.... All those people there are there because they have somewhat of an interest in the military. And one last thing the introduction of my son into military history was a success not a failure. If you look at the photos I posted those are just some of my sons thousands upon thousands of 1/72 scale military figures that he plays with all the time. At the show 2yrs ago George kindly gave my son a couple free boxes of 1/72 scale WWII German paras and WWI doughboys. He played with them and his other 1/72 scale figures in the hotel all weekend while the K&C figures just sat there in a box. So to say it was a failure to introduce him into our hobby, meaning the adult figures and collectibles would be correct but do I think he will get into it one day, absolutely. Does my son playing with his 1/72nd scale figures help our hobby out now, No. Down the road when he is 30 or so I would be willing to bet on it that he will collect high end figures. By no means am I trying to dissuade anyone from peaking kids interest in this hobby but lets be realistic kids can't afford them and they can't play with them so the manufacturers don't count on them to save the day.

 

[PanzerAce1944]

Best wishes for the Chicago show and best wishes for our hobby ! May they both remain strong, positive, and growing !!! No doubt about it meeting fellow friends and collectors in person at these events
and having the ability to see things first hand in person is what it is all about !

 

[chillywill]

Gentlemen if I may....our hobby is expensive and probably will continue to stay this way. I used to collect sports cards and saw this hobbies downfall for the same reason. Times have changed we all know it.....economics technology politics and changes in attitude have all contributed. I agree in sparking our children's interest but going to the local drugstore or K-Mart is gone. We have to hold on to now and continue to throw out suggestions to various dealers. Really we have to almost blame ourselves...they sell we buy bottom line. This industry has gone from selling to those who enjoy the hobby to putting the term collectible in front of everything. Look at sports cards hot wheels GI Joe Barbie( I have daughters ) you will surely see the pattern. Thank you for bearing with me and hobby on...

 

[semperrandyfi]

{sm0}

This was my 22nd consecutive Chicago Show. Had a great time as usual meeting and talking with fellow TF members and other collectors I met thru out the years.
Let me qualify this by saying I did not attend the actual Sunday Show, have not done that for the last 10 years, but it seems to me the room trading days were way down.
After 6PM Thursday and Friday just about nothing going on. During the day, Thur., Fri, & Sat. a little better but nothing like in the past.
I know we are all getting older, one veteren attendee even joked that there were way more "walkers", "wheelchairs" in the hall ways than in other years.
It just seemed to me there was no "wow" factor this year.
I know one major dealer as of late saturday was crying the blues in regards to sales and questioning if it was worth all that was involved to attend this show.
I don,t want this to be a downer, but could this show be on the slide so to speak as being the worlds best toy soldier show or is it the hobby itself loosing something.
I still plan to attend next year and many years after that, but I would like the true opinion of other people who have attended.
Having said all of the above, OTSN is still my favorite days of the year.
Gary

{sm0}The prices of all(save DelPrado)metal figs won't bring the "kids" to the tables.And ,doubtless,many/most Milleniums were not taught history in class ergo ...no interest.I'm afraid the"Walkers and Wheelchairs' are and or is the future of the hobby.In any event...Merry Christmas1