OSTN Chicago Show - Figarti EVEN More Pictures (1 Viewer)

[Russell]

I don't collect Figarti but I did take these photos in Chicago. I think they're Figarti. That landing craft must cost a touch more than $20
Thought some of you would like to see them.

 

[lancer]

I don't collect Figarti but I did take these photos in Chicago. I think they're Figarti. That landing craft must cost a touch more than $20
Thought some of you would like to see them.

Russell, you are correct in that the top two photos are Figarti. The third photo is Collector's Showcase and the last photo is King & Country. -- lancer

 

[jazzeum]

That landing craft must cost a touch more than $20

Actually $20 is about right, multiplied by a factor of ............................

 

[Russell]

Thanks for the correction Lancer. I don't collect/follow WWII matte and so I'm a bit lost here. Cheers

 

[Hadrian]

Thank you very much for your brilliant pics - for us, who could not be at the show, it is fantastic to see at least your fine photos. Thanks and regards from Germany Marcus

 

[old tank]

RUSSELL. Nice looking photos everything nice and clear. THANKS.

 

[HAWKEYE]

great memories of a great show and shock and awe

 

[Panzer ace]

I miss toy soldier shows.....

 

[spartan71]

Rick surely did "Shocked and Awed" us. I miss him and his creations...

 

[jazzeum]

I miss toy soldier shows.....

After the pandemic some shows may return but they won’t be the same. Attending Chicago this year is a risky proposition as so much of it is room trading and who wants to breathe in that air for several days straight?

I’m sure 2022 will be better but will a show like Chicago be around then. The pandemic, in all phases of life, has hastened the transition to on line buying. Toy soldiers aren’t immune to these trends.

 

[Warrior]

After the pandemic some shows may return but they won’t be the same. Attending Chicago this year is a risky proposition as so much of it is room trading and who wants to breathe in that air for several days straight?

I’m sure 2022 will be better but will a show like Chicago be around then. The pandemic, in all phases of life, has hastened the transition to on line buying. Toy soldiers aren’t immune to these trends.

That hotel was a bacteria trap before COVID; now, forget it. I've attended that show for about 24 years, have gotten sick out there no less than 4 times, my Dad got the flu out there one year, pneumonia once and my show helper Larry got the flu once out there as well.

The air just circulates around and around; in the hallways they have HVAC returns that suck in the air and blow it back out through the HVAC system, round and round it goes. Then throw in the airline personnel flying in and out there from God knows where.

At one point in time, I was doing about 25 toy soldier shows a year, they were vital to me in order to continue to do the business full time, this past year was the first year I did not attend a single toy soldier show.


And my NET sales were off the charts; shows cost me a small fortune to attend, in 2019 I spent north of 20 large attending shows; in 2020, I spend a grand total of nothing in regards to show expenses, my online sales exploded in around April of 2020 and have been going like mad ever since.

In addition to my website (you know, the one with no shopping cart feature that some refuse to buy off of as a result), I have found several other selling platforms that have paid off handsomely.

I am not sure if I will attend any shows this coming Fall, we'll see; frankly, my show days may in fact be over.

The aspect of shows most people miss is the social interaction; for me, that is what I miss the most...........the packing, loading, driving, unloading, setting up, selling, breaking down, loading out, driving home, unloading..........not so much.

Mike Miller always laughs when we talk and I mention the year he came to the Hackensack show; one of my customers went out to Boston Chicken and got me something to eat, I was literally kneeling on the floor wolfing down the sandwich and I looked up and Mike was looking at me as if to say "Look at this poor SOB, can't even take five minutes to have a meal"........................the truth for sure.

It's sad, but I think shows of all kinds, whether they be toy, toy soldier, stamps, coins, model kit, militaria shows, what have you are going to be casualties of COVID. Anyone who has a business selling collectibles and shows are their main platform to sell from are dinosaurs.

Much like when I was a kid, every store had a toy department, there were toy stores everywhere, hobby shops everywhere, several dedicated toy soldier stores too; in 2021, sadly they are basically all gone.

Quick; name all the toy soldier shops out there..........................

And I'm sure someone will chime in about a gun show they attended that was wall to wall people...............yeah, sure, when you're stocking up on 6,000 rounds of ammo and buying your 19th hand gun for the coming zombie horde, I'm sure gun shows will always be popular.

I'm not talking about gun shows.......................

When toy soldier shows do come back full force, initially there will be a surge in demand as people have been deprived of them for a long time; once that initial demand is met, then what? Many of the shows I attended in 2019 were trending downward and that was a year and a half ago.

The Figarti shock and awe presentation was always a highlight of the Chicago Show; I never attended it, I could not afford to shut my room down and lose sales as selling is what I attend the show for, but other dealers would go with note pad in hand and when the shock and awe was over, they'd be assaulted by show attendees wanting to preorder the items..............then my regular customers like Louis, Greg, John, Hans, Steve, Harry and Ron would come to my room and preorder the items...........others would see the shock and awe items that Carlos or some other attendee who was a member of the toy soldier press corps would post on the forum and the orders would come rolling in....................see; that's called a win/win, my Dad didn't raise a moron.

I can recall one Chicago around midnight I literally had to throw people out of my rooms, it was Friday night and Saturday is a brutal day, the hallways were crowded with people roaming around buying toy soldiers...............in 2019, I shut the room down almost every night around 9:00pm and joined the rest of the dealers..........at the bar.

And Sunday; holy smokes...........basically impossible to keep up with the flow of people, I could not wait on everyone, people would walk away......gee, sorry, I'll clone myself and there will be 10 of me at the next show to wait on customers..........................when the show "ended" at 3:30, the room was still crowded with people. I remember one year I was talking to Bill Sager and his wife at my tables and the two of them almost got swept away by the mob stampeding down the aisles.

My real estate at Chicago was prime; center stage, lower ballroom............they used to direct everyone downstairs FIRST, the sea of humanity that came down those stairs was something to see, sales would be off the charts from 10:00am right through until noon, then a small lull, then more sales from 1:00 right up until closing time, that show was always a license to print money.

I remember this one guy, I called him five o'clock Charlie, he'd meander up to my tables at 3:29 and ask me 4,000 questions, picking up figures left, right and center, my Dad caught him stealing from me, that was his game, keep talking, talking, talking, get me distracted and steal from me.

Nice fella that one......................and people bust my balls about my "please do not touch" signs; hey, I said please................:rolleyes2:

 

[Louis Badolato]

Well, maybe the shows are dinosaurs that will soon all be dead and gone due to the combination of Covid and the internet, but have the fun of this hobby for my is getting together with friends to hang around and talk history and hobbies. I am thinking that once we afre all innoculated, perhaps in March or April of 2022, I will set up a full weekend NY Symposium. For the weekend, I will take the portable parts of my collection (some of the smaller dioramas, the Uniforms on mannequins and the Steiff and other Soldier dolls) and spread them around my entire house (so we are not all bunched up together in one big room). I will set up field trips to the American Armor Museum and the American Airpower Museum and possibly the Intrepid Museum (all huge well venitlated spaces). I will still arrange luncheons and dinners, but more spread out or in outdoor dining spaces. We can all still enjoy each other's company in relative safety. We won't be able to buy anything, but it might still be special, like the early symposia were, when many of the manufacturers used to attend. I will start a thread about the idea, and if I get enough interest (including from manufacturers- like at least 25 collectors and 2-3 manufacturers committing to coming), I will start making the arrangements.

 

[jazzeum]

That hotel was a bacteria trap before COVID; now, forget it. I've attended that show for about 24 years, have gotten sick out there no less than 4 times, my Dad got the flu out there one year, pneumonia once and my show helper Larry got the flu once out there as well.

The air just circulates around and around; in the hallways they have HVAC returns that suck in the air and blow it back out through the HVAC system, round and round it goes. Then throw in the airline personnel flying in and out there from God knows where.

At one point in time, I was doing about 25 toy soldier shows a year, they were vital to me in order to continue to do the business full time, this past year was the first year I did not attend a single toy soldier show.


And my NET sales were off the charts; shows cost me a small fortune to attend, in 2019 I spent north of 20 large attending shows; in 2020, I spend a grand total of nothing in regards to show expenses, my online sales exploded in around April of 2020 and have been going like mad ever since.

In addition to my website (you know, the one with no shopping cart feature that some refuse to buy off of as a result), I have found several other selling platforms that have paid off handsomely.

I am not sure if I will attend any shows this coming Fall, we'll see; frankly, my show days may in fact be over.

The aspect of shows most people miss is the social interaction; for me, that is what I miss the most...........the packing, loading, driving, unloading, setting up, selling, breaking down, loading out, driving home, unloading..........not so much.

Mike Miller always laughs when we talk and I mention the year he came to the Hackensack show; one of my customers went out to Boston Chicken and got me something to eat, I was literally kneeling on the floor wolfing down the sandwich and I looked up and Mike was looking at me as if to say "Look at this poor SOB, can't even take five minutes to have a meal"........................the truth for sure.

It's sad, but I think shows of all kinds, whether they be toy, toy soldier, stamps, coins, model kit, militaria shows, what have you are going to be casualties of COVID. Anyone who has a business selling collectibles and shows are their main platform to sell from are dinosaurs.

Much like when I was a kid, every store had a toy department, there were toy stores everywhere, hobby shops everywhere, several dedicated toy soldier stores too; in 2021, sadly they are basically all gone.

Quick; name all the toy soldier shops out there..........................

And I'm sure someone will chime in about a gun show they attended that was wall to wall people...............yeah, sure, when you're stocking up on 6,000 rounds of ammo and buying your 19th hand gun for the coming zombie horde, I'm sure gun shows will always be popular.

I'm not talking about gun shows.......................

When toy soldier shows do come back full force, initially there will be a surge in demand as people have been deprived of them for a long time; once that initial demand is met, then what? Many of the shows I attended in 2019 were trending downward and that was a year and a half ago.

The Figarti shock and awe presentation was always a highlight of the Chicago Show; I never attended it, I could not afford to shut my room down and lose sales as selling is what I attend the show for, but other dealers would go with note pad in hand and when the shock and awe was over, they'd be assaulted by show attendees wanting to preorder the items..............then my regular customers like Louis, Greg, John, Hans, Steve, Harry and Ron would come to my room and preorder the items...........others would see the shock and awe items that Carlos or some other attendee who was a member of the toy soldier press corps would post on the forum and the orders would come rolling in....................see; that's called a win/win, my Dad didn't raise a moron.

I can recall one Chicago around midnight I literally had to throw people out of my rooms, it was Friday night and Saturday is a brutal day, the hallways were crowded with people roaming around buying toy soldiers...............in 2019, I shut the room down almost every night around 9:00pm and joined the rest of the dealers..........at the bar.

And Sunday; holy smokes...........basically impossible to keep up with the flow of people, I could not wait on everyone, people would walk away......gee, sorry, I'll clone myself and there will be 10 of me at the next show to wait on customers..........................when the show "ended" at 3:30, the room was still crowded with people. I remember one year I was talking to Bill Sager and his wife at my tables and the two of them almost got swept away by the mob stampeding down the aisles.

My real estate at Chicago was prime; center stage, lower ballroom............they used to direct everyone downstairs FIRST, the sea of humanity that came down those stairs was something to see, sales would be off the charts from 10:00am right through until noon, then a small lull, then more sales from 1:00 right up until closing time, that show was always a license to print money.

I remember this one guy, I called him five o'clock Charlie, he'd meander up to my tables at 3:29 and ask me 4,000 questions, picking up figures left, right and center, my Dad caught him stealing from me, that was his game, keep talking, talking, talking, get me distracted and steal from me.

Nice fella that one......................and people bust my balls about my "please do not touch" signs; hey, I said please................:rolleyes2:

Those were the days but probably gone for sure. Nothing stays the same. When I was working my boss said to me “embrace change because if you don’t it will knock you on your you know what.” We may not like but that’s the reality. The businesses that are surviving now are the ones that have adapted.

I fully agree about the hotel, poorly ventilated. It needs to be fixed. School systems all over the country are trying to modernize their ventilation systems (which cost big money) because they realize they can’t have successful re-openings without fresh air. The Hyatt Regency is a cesspool of bad air.

 

[HAWKEYE]

just been to a sports collectors show and it was packed sunday. but then again i am out in iowa where we have not had it so bad. i hope we can have a couple more chicago shows.
i think after this covid thing that people will apreciate them alot more. and i am with louis on the point that it is great to get together and see everyone. there are a lot of good guys
and gals that attend and the camaraderie is a big part of the show. and i still drop alot of dough there. so lets not be so pessimistic . things will be fine.

 

[Warrior]

just been to a sports collectors show and it was packed sunday. but then again i am out in iowa where we have not had it so bad. i hope we can have a couple more chicago shows.
i think after this covid thing that people will apreciate them alot more. and i am with louis on the point that it is great to get together and see everyone. there are a lot of good guys
and gals that attend and the camaraderie is a big part of the show. and i still drop alot of dough there. so lets not be so pessimistic . things will be fine.

A sports collectors show............what's the average age, 10 to 40, vs a toy soldier show, 50 to 75...........big difference.

Where did they hold it, in a cornfield?

It's apples to hand grenades.

 

[HAWKEYE]

a sports collectors show............what's the average age, 10 to 40, vs a toy soldier show, 50 to 75...........big difference.

Where did they hold it, in a cornfield?

It's apples to hand grenades.

in an elks club, but really george you need more positive vibes and less negative waves, what would oddball say?

 

[Warrior]

in an elks club, but really george you need more positive vibes and less negative waves, what would oddball say?

"You zee American Army"............."No we ain't Baby, we're a private enterprise"...........

 

[HAWKEYE]

"You zee American Army"............."No we ain't Baby, we're a private enterprise"...........

nice comeback

 

[DMNamiot]

Decorum gents! Decorum is something more folks should practice. Guys there were many reasons that this thread has had some editing done. Personal slander being number 1. I sincerely hope that the slander doesn’t continue.

The moderators are watching .

Dave

 

[tdubel]

Shows have always ebbed and flowed. Has the attendance declined over time, surely it has, as it has across all hobby shows. Was the last Chicago the best sales ever for me, Yes, it was. So go figure. The shows I have done during COVID have had the same issue - some have been great, some ok and some poor. The hobby is what you make of it. If you want to shop on the internet, that is fine too. I personally like doing the shows and attending them, as for me, the hunt is all over - online, shows, private purchase, sales, etc. I like the hunt and there is still a lot of big game out there! SO, for me, rather than lament them, I just carry on.

As for COVID - the shows I have done and been to have had Zero Issue. People wear masks, they distance, it has been no issue at all. Things are definitely opening up, I can easily see Chicago happening, but it may be more of a show day than a full scale room trading one. Room trading may take another year, but with all of the vaccines ramping up, I think we will see people getting out and about.

For me personally, I am looking forward to Rock Concerts starting in May. From what I have read, the tours are pushing and with Pro Sports opening up, I think Concerts have a good chance too. We are moving forward.

TD