"PIMP" my toy soldier figure (2 Viewers)

Aleš

Sergeant
Joined
Nov 25, 2007
Messages
772
I know you all are familiar with the tv show Pimp my car.
So i am thinking we can here have a topic of pimp my figure where you can post your "pimp up" figures.
Like i know Lt have this special figure

http://www.wbritain.com/products_detail.cfm?productID=44490

but his had a revolver (gun) in hi sright hand.
Well i was thinking if anyone can pimp my figure.I will also like that this figure,this Lt Chard

http://www.wbritain.com/products_detail.cfm?productID=44490

than some one replace his right fingers with this fingers from

http://www.wbritain.com/products_detail.cfm?productID=45267

it will be easy just replace hands,fingers and my figure will also have a revolver but thi sis not all.
I also will like that this the same figure Lt Chard someone replace his rifle ih his left arm and put an Great Brittain flag instead of the rifle.

So at the end we will get a figure from Lt.Chard firiing with the pistol and protecting the Great Brittain flag which will be more atractive figure than it is now with the rifle.
But wrom which figure we can take the british flag?
Maybe from Napoleon range or from First Leggion or where?
 
Nice Idea but it wouldn't be "Chard" anymore. The 24ths Colors were up at Isandlwana with most of the column. If you make him Coghill, the uniform has to be changed to the 24th's, not Chard's Royal Engineer uniform.

You would be risking the collectible value of a nice figure to make a "fun" figure with little historical truth to it.

Sorry.
 
well it is not immportant about historical truth,at least not for me.
To an ordinary collector it is not immportant if this is Chard or anyon eelse.It is a soldier with the beard and if you change a right hand(fingers only) and replace with this other toy soldier hand where the man hold a pistol and put it on the Chard it will look like he is firiing with the pistol,but if you also change him left hand rifle for an British flag than we get a soldier who is saving the colour or the flag and you can put this soldier in your own diorama battle,it i snot immportant that it is Rourkes drift.
It is just a soldier with the gun and flag which is ONLY one piece ever made by you or by me,....and i am sure this piece will not lost a value because it is something diferent than other who are ordinary Chard....
I just ask if some on ecan replace this hands and rifle in this forum?
 
Most important of all is that the Colours where not flown at Isandlawana or at the Mission Station..............The Lt.
 
it is say the artiocle that there were Queens Colours.
How do Queens Colours look like?

I sthis great Brittain Union flag or England cross flag or what?
 
I'm going to have to agree with Scott about value, especially if you're talking about taking a new Britains figure and modifying it. I would take some other figure as the basis for the conversion, like a del Prado or an old Stadden, or even a new Tradition kit, and start with a low purchase price. Then if something goes wrong, you haven't lost much.

Prost!
Brad
 
Last edited:
I THINK this explains it. (I'm from the US)

"A stand of colours normally comprises

* a Queen's Colour, usually with the design of the Union Flag with a gold circle in the centre, within which the regiment's name (and sometimes initials or number) are inscribed; and

* a Regimental Colour, usually a plain flag in the colour of the regiment's "facings" (traditionally the colour of the lining of the redcoat jacket) or the Cross of St George or The Saltire, with the regiment's insignia in the centre."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regimental_colours
 
I'm going to have to agree with Scott about value, especially if you're talking about taking a new Britains figure and modifying it. I would take some other figure as the basis for the conversion, like a del Prado or an old Stadden, or even a new Tradition kit, and start with a low purchase price. Then if something goes wrong, you haven't lost much.

Prost!
Brad

well if you think that Wbritain make an auction where they put a first set that was not aprove yet and they made only 3 sets,something like that and they put on the black box,...you can read all that in the standard magazine.
But i personaly think this is the rip-off because thi ssets are almost th esame,they are sculped the same and coloured,...i do not see no diference and they sale it for the 225 pounds or something but the normal set is 90 pounds or something or even lower i think.
So that mean that people lik eto buy something special,and this set they sale is nothing special onl ythat it is in this black box and have a certifikat,but if you ask me it is the same as for 90 pounds or what ever th eprice is normaly.So you pay for the black box and a piece of paper called certifikat.

But here what i am mention is something completely diferent.Here is a toy soldier figure that is diferent than others,this Chard have a pistol and a Flag,so there is no one like that,because lt have only with the pistol,this one i am talking about can have also a flag,which is pretty cool i think because it is look like he is saving a flag.
But this is all talking so i think what we should do is that first find a person who can repair this(change this hands,and rifle with the flag) which anyone can do with the proper tool,maybe a goldsmith or something,than we put this special one of a kind figure on auction and see what price will this figure get.
I am sure it will get more than 350 usd! which is ten time bigger price than ordinary figure.
 
Right, I think you're missing the point that we're making. It's a simple enough conversion. The point we're making is that you'd be better off buying a cheaper casting to use as the basis for the conversion, rather than a new Britains figure.

Of course, de gustibus non disputandem est, you may choose to do as like, that's the great thing about this hobby. But some people do consider the value of any given figure, when they decide what to collect, and for those of us who do convert existing figures, we tend to look for something that is relatively cheap as a starting point. What you're asking to do is like buying a Rolls Royce and then painting flame details on it. Sure, you can do it, but the typical Rolls Royce owner isn't going to do that. By the same token, I don't think you'll find too many collectors of today's Britains figures who'd be willing to shell out a lot of money for a kitbashed Britains figure.

Now, you might find collectors who focus on the Zulu Wars, who might be interested in the specific subject you want to model. But again, to make it worth the trouble, you're better off buying a cheap casting and converting it. Remember, you'll need to factor in your up-front costs, against any money realized from the sale of the figure.

Fertig.
 
I have to disagree with you re the cost of the figure Brad, they aren't that much more than other makers really (I paid $22.40 US retail for mine) and the Chard figure is not a special edition.

To me the problem would be historical accuracy more than anything else. I like the idea of him holding a gun as the LT figure depicts but a flag no.

I think there was a collector called Freddy (from an article in TSC) that would take hollowcast Britains and tart them up. These are now in high demand and worth sometimes much more than the original figure ever was so I see no harm who knows in twenty or thirty years time :D :D

I say go for it Ales but try to create figures that would be historically accurate.
 
I have to disagree with you re the cost of the figure Brad, they aren't that much more than other makers really (I paid $22.40 US retail for mine) and the Chard figure is not a special edition.

To me the problem would be historical accuracy more than anything else. I like the idea of him holding a gun as the LT figure depicts but a flag no.

I think there was a collector called Freddy (from an article in TSC) that would take hollowcast Britains and tart them up. These are now in high demand and worth sometimes much more than the original figure ever was so I see no harm who knows in twenty or thirty years time :D :D

I say go for it Ales but try to create figures that would be historically accurate.

Scott, I think you mean Freddy Green and tarting up is posssibly not the best description of his painting skills! :rolleyes::D

Jeff
 
Scott, I think you mean Freddy Green and tarting up is posssibly not the best description of his painting skills! :rolleyes::D

Jeff

Yes that is the fellow, tongue in cheek of course Jeff. His figures are of course works of art and worth every penny they command.
 
Oh, I agree that you can update the figure, and as far as the hollowcast figures go, I've got some for conversion, too. But they're already so worn out that they didn't cost much to begin with, and fixing them up will make a much nicer figure in the end. My point is that it is unlikely that there will be many Britains collectors who will pay a lot for such a conversion, so don't do it as some sort of Kramdenesque get-rich-quick scheme, do it because you like the subject. And in that case, it might be better to find a cheaper casting, say at $5, than one that is $20.
 
I think some valuable things have been said here, and I suppose now I have to sift through the posts to see who said what, but essentially (if I can stop laughing over Brad's analogy of the Rolls Royce with flames), lots of folk can do reasonable or excellent conversions and they usually aren't worth much even though you may love them (and let's face it, that is what this hobby is about). I've done lots of conversions, and the figures suit my purposes well, but I know no one will ever pay even what the original (in my case Del Prado) figures cost.

I guess I have two thoughts about using a Britains figure for the conversion. At $22-23 for a foot figure, that isn't an unreasonable amount to pay for a figure you plan to convert (as long as you know what you are doing and aren't going to bugger the job). I would not; however use a limited edition. Keep in mind that a Del Prado figure is almost half the price. While a Britians figure may cost a bit more than a Del Prado or such, you are starting with a good sculpt, well painted, and pretty easy to convert. I still wouldn't anticipate recouping your investment though.

One last thing, conversions are great fun, and in many respects it gives you some of the creative opportunity of a sculptor without all the required skill, but when you look at really great sculpts, you have to ask yourself what makes it great. I find it is usually a combination of two things 1) is it imaginative? 2) Is it credible? In this particular case, I don't see Chard ever picking up the colours...do you? So now what have you got? A conversion of a figure that is probably historically inaccurate and has most certainly lost its value almost completely as an original issue of Britains or whomever you chose.
 
I think some valuable things have been said here, and I suppose now I have to sift through the posts to see who said what, but essentially (if I can stop laughing over Brad's analogy of the Rolls Royce with flames), lots of folk can do reasonable or excellent conversions and they usually aren't worth much even though you may love them (and let's face it, that is what this hobby is about). I've done lots of conversions, and the figures suit my purposes well, but I know no one will ever pay even what the original (in my case Del Prado) figures cost.

I guess I have two thoughts about using a Britains figure for the conversion. At $22-23 for a foot figure, that isn't an unreasonable amount to pay for a figure you plan to convert (as long as you know what you are doing and aren't going to bugger the job). I would not; however use a limited edition. Keep in mind that a Del Prado figure is almost half the price. While a Britians figure may cost a bit more than a Del Prado or such, you are starting with a good sculpt, well painted, and pretty easy to convert. I still wouldn't anticipate recouping your investment though.

One last thing, conversions are great fun, and in many respects it gives you some of the creative opportunity of a sculptor without all the required skill, but when you look at really great sculpts, you have to ask yourself what makes it great. I find it is usually a combination of two things 1) is it imaginative? 2) Is it credible? In this particular case, I don't see Chard ever picking up the colours...do you? So now what have you got? A conversion of a figure that is probably historically inaccurate and has most certainly lost its value almost completely as an original issue of Britains or whomever you chose.


all of you who already done some conversions why you do not post the photos so that we can admire your job?

About historical inaccurate,we can talk about this all night,....for example when i watch movie ZULU i see Chard didnt wear a beard while my Chard from WBritains wear a beard,so what is now historical accurate,did he have a beard or not?
If he didnt have a beard in reality than thsi figure can be some one else not Chard and like i say the Zulu war happened in 5 major battles and many more little battles so who knows maybe some other Lt have a opurtunity to save the flag.
But even that,a lot of people who collect toy soldiers do know very little about history and they do not care much,maybe they just collect because they like toy soldiers as a hobi.
Like me for example,i like to drive a car but i do not know much about repairing or making cars,but even that i like the car,and i know what kind of a car i like but i do not care if this car company make the excatly car their arhitect draw,that is why a lot of cars change from the Prototipe to the finish car.
You understand me?
 
I know it was Scott ;)......btw good surname for a painter! :D

Jeff

Ouch! :D

I'd say go for it. Worst that happens is you muck a single figure up. You can learn from this and apply that learning if you have another go. On the other hand if it works, you've got a unique figure that you have created.

And on the matter of historical accuracy, well, you now have the knowledge, it's up to you to choose if that accuracy is important. Main thing for me would be to do the figure how you like. Afterall, that's the reason you're modifying it.

Simon
 
I would love Britains to produce a figure holding the flag, afterall the flags were at the Zulu battles, that's a given, so who is to say in reality at some brief moment before the battle, the soldier responsible for the flag unfurlled it to air it and in order to re-pack it properly again, after their long trip.
 
Hi there!
I like the idea of simple conversions or repaints done by the collectors themselves. I think this would really personalize the collection and give it more worth to the owner. Sort of like repainting a house you just bought.
As far as value, these figures are fairly priced and a good candidate for reworking. Unless you are a very particular collector of goods as produced by the manufacturer it shouldn't impact the resale price too much if the job is well done.

We have had interesting conversations here about what impact there would be to a figure that was modified by me if I was the original sculptor. Would it be worth less, or possibly even more? I have several ACW figures lined up on the bench that are multiples in my collection and I plan on lopping off the heads and switching them around and then doing some repaints. I thought it might be fun to do some larger set ups to photograph, and with some figures I don't like to see multiples in the image.

Anyway I would love to see some conversions that collectors have made to their figures posted here on the forum... although I think I might re title it as something other than Pimping My Figure!

All the Best!
Ken Osen
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top