Pirated Castings (1 Viewer)

[theBaron]

Brad,

The ebay selling name is as follows:

faircloverland

Mong Hok Hong Kong

I was searching for "King and Country Fokker" in the ebay search bar and saw a bunch of Fokkers that had an origin of "China". So, I clicked on the item and went to their ebay store and thats when I found the figures with description of who they are. They had the whole statement about being the same company who make soldiers for other companies and so on.

Sent a email to K&C Hong Kong to make them aware and that's all I can do. But I'll be ****ed if I buy anything from them including the Fokkers because something just does not smell right. I just find it pretty ballsy to put it out there that they have produced figures for big manufacturers and now please buy ours. Your just asking for a Toy Soldier Company (in HONG KONG of all places) to come to your plant and say...***...over? I mean talk about cutting your own throat!

John from Texas

That's FairTech, Inc. Those US Cavalry are Guard Corps figures. Before Alan Silk passed away, he was contracting with them to do his casting, and I think they now hold the copyright. They're also producing some of the figures from the Kaiser's Birthday Parade/Alexander Grenadier series. I've corresponded with the owner in the past. Their website is at http://www.fairtechhk.com/index.htm

Prost!
Brad

 

[Alex]

When you pay kolobob for example through ebay you actually send money using paypal to a brokeragecompany which is based in part in the US and in part Russia. They will then pay the russian customer.
I don't think paypal is implanted in Russia like it is here.
Alex

I can perhaps understand the exchange rate changes taking a while to filter through a company like AeroArt (I emphasize perhaps), but for shops in Russia dealing directly with customers in the US and elsewhere, I have trouble seeing an excuse for not adjusting prices given the huge currency shift.

Add to that, the US dollar is strengthening against many other currencies so when I pay for something in US dollars I'm actually paying 20% more than I was just a year ago.
It's getting to the point where it may be cheaper for me to fly to St Petersburg myself! :-D

No PayPal in Russia? But they seem to be willing to take PayPal payments on EBay.....

 

[Igor]

Over the last month I ordered pieces from Art Girona, Metal Modeles , Beneito, Romeo Models ... Have made order from SK Miniatures.... Delivery time is usually a month. Sometimes it happens that the parcel is lost.
At the same time very often, and one can easily to find the right pieces on the Internet market in Russia. In addition, they are much cheaper
I ask the customer if he needed original figures or not.
Very often customers do send me the figures from their warehouse
And it's better because he can find the figure with a discount at flea markets

In Russia we use the US payment systems including Paypal. No problem for me to buy anything in the world. But there are many limitations to get money on this system in Russia
In the early time, I traveled a lot on different shows in Europe, England and the USA.
Then it was not profitable because of the high rate of the ruble and a huge number of cheap figures from China
Now my pieces are competitive again:rolleyes2:
but ....
* I became old and lazy to go back to exhibitions
Therefore, I invite you to St. Petersburg. You can see the city and buy figurines

За последний месяц я заказал фигуры Art Girona, Metal Modeles , Beneito, Romeo models. Время доставки обычно месяц. Иногда Бывает что посылка теряется.
В то же время очень часто и без проблем можно найти нужные фигуры на интернет рынке в России. К тому же они гораздо дешевле.
Я спрашиваю заказчика нужны ли ему оригинальные фигуры или нет.
Очень часто заказчики сами высылают мне фигуры из своих складов
И это лучше потому что он может найти нужные фигуры с скидкой на блошиных рынках.



Мы в России используем американские платежные системы в том числе пейпал. Нет проблем для меня купить что нибудь в мире. Но существует много ограничений для получения денег по этой системе в России.
В раннее время я очень много ездил на различные шоу в Европе. Англии и США.
Потом это стало не выгодно из за высокого курса рубля и огромного количества дешевых фигур из Китая.
Сейчас мои фигуры снова конкурентноспособны
но....
я стал старый и ленивый снова ездить на выставки.
Поэтому приглашаю в Петербург . Можно город посмотреть и купить фигурки

 

[theBaron]

...I ask the customer if he needed original figures or not...

That's an interesting comment, Igor. Do you mean to imply that you also deal in pirated copies, knowingly, or am I making an incorrect inference?

Prost!
Brad

 

[Igor]

That's an interesting comment, Igor. Do you mean to imply that you also deal in pirated copies, knowingly, or am I making an incorrect inference?

Prost!
Brad

When I buy a figure in a factory or SK Miniatures, I know that it is the original
At a flea market (I attended such in London, Milan and Moscow) I can not give guarantees

Better to order original figures from the real studios

 

[Igor]

Small addition. One my customer from Australia said, he visited a factory in China and saw how there makes soldiers very similar to well known. I think you know where is possible to find these figure for "brilliant price"

 

[theBaron]

When I buy a figure in a factory or SK Miniatures, I know that it is the original
At a flea market (I attended such in London, Milan and Moscow) I can not give guarantees

Better to order original figures from the real studios

Thanks for clarifying! I didn't want to misunderstand what you were saying.

As a side note, regarding flea markets--I remember shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, as it became easier for Russians to travel abroad--Yeltsin was still President, I recall--I started seeing Russians at the flea markets that I visited at that time, here in PA. They would show up with car trunks full of Russian goods, from textiles to lacquerware and toy soldiers of all grades, from gloss toy style to connoisseur. They could be had for a song (or a pair of jeans). I didn't collect them, but I wish now I had bought some of them at that time. I do remember thinking that the style of painting on the connoisseur figures reminded me of the style used to paint icons and other religious images, of that quality and subtlety of shadows and highlights. I could have picked them up for $10 to $20 from the guys who were selling them. I almost wish I had bought some.

Prost!
Brad

 

[VIRIATO]

There's also another thing that bothers me with those russian sellers : of legit kits, counterfeit ones and painted figures..
They all list their stuff in US dollars because they all use the same company for getting paid (no paypal in Russia) (except Igot who post here).
But they don't adjust their price accordingly.
Against the canadian dollar, as of today, the russian rubble has lost 50% of it's value in the last 4 months...
So when I was paying them for example 100$ during last summer, they were receiving at that time around 3000 rubles... but the same 100$ today is worth 4500 rubles !!!
Kolobob and the like must be very happy

Cheers
Alex

Yes, I have noticed that too. Great deals...^&grin Would love to see what they'll do when the ruble value against the dollar goes up. Oh and they also like wire transfers...^&grin

Paulo

 

[VIRIATO]

Pegaso are higher with the newer figures in 54mm in the $40-$50 range.They have been going more and more to 75mm which is in the $60-$70 range.That's why I don't get too many kits painted in a year because your looking at $170-$200 per figure.Oh How I wish I could paint!{eek3}^&grin
Mark

Also do they arrive in one piece?^&grin

Paulo

 

[johnnybach]

Small addition. One my customer from Australia said, he visited a factory in China and saw how there makes soldiers very similar to well known. I think you know where is possible to find these figure for "brilliant price"

Surely, this is the nub of the matter. When a customer just orders a painted figure, probably from an online picture - and it eventually arrives through the post, if all goes well - fully painted in the meticulous style of this genre - how are you to know what lies under the skin of the paint? If there are much cheaper "originals" - how are customers to know what type of "original" he now has?

Without wishing to flog this issue to death - this has been a perennial problem for TS sculptors and manufactures since Toy Soldiers began - and I can never see that it will be fully resolved. jb

 

[Alex]

By looking at the fine details in the casting. Now, I'm talking about recent figures with intricate sculpted details, not the old glossy toy soldier or the mainstream recent toy soldier.

Surely, this is the nub of the matter. When a customer just orders a painted figure, probably from an online picture - and it eventually arrives through the post, if all goes well - fully painted in the meticulous style of this genre - how are you to know what lies under the skin of the paint? If there are much cheaper "originals" - how are customers to know what type of "original" he now has?

Without wishing to flog this issue to death - this has been a perennial problem for TS sculptors and manufactures since Toy Soldiers began - and I can never see that it will be fully resolved. jb

 

[theBaron]

Surely, this is the nub of the matter. When a customer just orders a painted figure, probably from an online picture - and it eventually arrives through the post, if all goes well - fully painted in the meticulous style of this genre - how are you to know what lies under the skin of the paint? If there are much cheaper "originals" - how are customers to know what type of "original" he now has?

Without wishing to flog this issue to death - this has been a perennial problem for TS sculptors and manufactures since Toy Soldiers began - and I can never see that it will be fully resolved. jb

Very true, all your points, John. In the heyday of hollowcasts, Britains had to sue its share of pirates.

There are a couple of things I see as being objectively true on this topic, that is, they are constant and unchanging, whatever our individual opinions or feelings may be. First, only the copyright-holder will have standing to pursue any action against a pirate. Second, as consumers, we can educate ourselves as best we can, to be able to identify a pirated copy. Third, as consumers, we much each decide whether or not to purchase a figure that we know to be a pirate copy. These things are true, I've observed, in the world of toy soldiers as in the world of resin fantasy and sci-fi figure kits, as well as in the world of antiques.

Prost!
Brad

 

[Igor]

As a side note, regarding flea markets--I remember shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, as it became easier for Russians to travel abroad--Yeltsin was still President, I recall--I started seeing Russians at the flea markets that I visited at that time, here in PA. They would show up with car trunks full of Russian goods, from textiles to lacquerware and toy soldiers of all grades, from gloss toy style to connoisseur. They could be had for a song (or a pair of jeans). I didn't collect them, but I wish now I had bought some of them at that time. I do remember thinking that the style of painting on the connoisseur figures reminded me of the style used to paint icons and other religious images, of that quality and subtlety of shadows and highlights. I could have picked them up for $10 to $20 from the guys who were selling them. I almost wish I had bought some.

Prost!
Brad

Since the flea market under the open sky turned into electronic market. But the essence remains the same
The only difference is that you can not look into the eyes of the seller

 

[theBaron]

Since the flea market under the open sky turned into electronic market. But the essence remains the same
The only difference is that you can not look into the eyes of the seller

Very true. I haven't been to a real flea market in over 10 years, since it's just easier to go online. Plus, what I collect, I can't really find at flea markets. Same with going to live auctions. And I agree, it is better to be able to talk face to face with a seller. There's an art to haggling, and an art to bidding in a live auction, that you don't get to see with online auctions.

Prost!
Brad