Poll: Will the Present Economic Situation Affect Your Toy Soldier Purchases? (2 Viewers)

[Njja]

Yeah Vandilay is right when he says New Zealand won't be buying anything. We prefer to stay quietly tucked away and out of the Limelight. Owning real estate, let alone a whole state, in the U.S. is a risky business at the moment I hear
Last thing NZ will want to do is draw attention to all those bungy-jumping sheep in "Shebangabang"

Besides we don't even know what the hell a turnpike actually is??

Kiwi

You don't know what a turnpike is?

Originally set up by two guys from Jersey in colonial times....they put a large

pike across the main road leading from Delaware thru Jersey to New York.

Whenever someone wanted to pass they were charged a toll.....you know to

pay for the road.

Now fast forward 232 years of collecting tolls.....and we only have another

say 550 years before its finally paid off.

Of course it is a magnificent roadway that is the envy of the civilized world.

He are a couple of shots of it in action!

(The above history is based soly on my distorted point of view. and has no
basis in fact whatsoever.)

ps. Large wall sections noted in accident scene are designed to hide any views of scenary....you know grass, trees, a meadow.....which might alter the normal aggressive disposition of a typical "Jersey Driver"

 

[theBaron]

Well, njja, I think you're being a little too harsh on yourself, your story does have a kernel of historical truth, though I didn't know that the very first turnpike in the colonies was in Jersey.

Ours (the PA Turnpike) is even better than yours, because it's magic-the costs magically increase faster than the tolls, and any taxes raised to help pay for the road also vanish.

Or maybe our kleptocracy is better than yours. After all, your governor might be a racketeer, but ours is a Philadelphia lawyer.

I don't worry, though, because as we all know, gambling is tax reform, and all the windfall from casino gambling will pay for everything.

Time for another civil war....

 

[theBaron]

This poll seems to have stabilized at a 2:1 ratio that past couple of days.

 

[jazzeum]

I'm actually surprise that it isn't 3 to 1 or 4 to 1. However, even at 2 to 1, that should be of concern to manufacturers and dealers. I know it's not scientific, but it gives you ideas of trends.

 

[Njja]

Wait a minute Brad, I'm warming up the buss, and I'm going to go pick up some homeless folks and get them registered on Treefrog so they can each vote 70 or 80 times in this poll.......

Give me a half hour, Santa Claus, Mrs Santa Claus, Elio chachon, Gil Hodges,
Jerry Grote, (all for Brad) Yogi.......how did Yogi get in there???

 

[Njja]

Well, njja, I think you're being a little too harsh on yourself, your story does have a kernel of historical truth, though I didn't know that the very first turnpike in the colonies was in Jersey.

Ours (the PA Turnpike) is even better than yours, because it's magic-the costs magically increase faster than the tolls, and any taxes raised to help pay for the road also vanish.

Or maybe our kleptocracy is better than yours. After all, your governor might be a racketeer, but ours is a Philadelphia lawyer.

I don't worry, though, because as we all know, gambling is tax reform, and all the windfall from casino gambling will pay for everything.

Time for another civil war....

I'm with you!

On another note, I used to drive on occassion on the PA turnpike

It makes the Jersey Turnpike look like the Autobahn!

In Jersey if you go through the toll you get a ticket!

In Pennsylvania you get this!

 

[theBaron]

Ouch!

Seriously, a couple of years ago, I was driving from PA into Jersey on the turnpike, and just after clearing the tollbooths, I saw an elderly man in the lane to my left, which was the last lane into Jersey, drive headfirst into the concrete divider. I don't know what happened, if he didn't see it, or if he had a heart attack or some other problem. He should have been able to drive straight in his lane and keep the divider to his left. But bam! right into it. Nerve-wracking.

 

[Njja]

Yes lets hope he was ok. These pictures are funny to look at, as long as no

one was hurt hopefully.

On a more serious note, I have receintly been engaged as a Senior Instructor

For Forklift Safety by a local Home Improvement Chain.....I suppose a man of

my reputation can't every really retire.

Here's a shot of Fridays Clinic! Thats me just behind the boxes.....about to run for cover......I mean Supervising.

Later we stepped outside and I gave the boys a few pointers on ladder safety!

 

[Col. Hesler]

I have to say that the economy may damage my toy soldier purchases in the long run, but currently not so much.

 

[Davout71]

I am no economist but in the short time I have been collecting (since April) the exchange rate has changed dramatically making the purchase 20% more expensive from when I started and I thought they were pricey when I first bought some. My purchases are going to be very limited.

 

[Saber]

Yes lets hope he was ok. These pictures are funny to look at, as long as no

one was hurt hopefully.

On a more serious note, I have receintly been engaged as a Senior Instructor

For Forklift Safety by a local Home Improvement Chain.....I suppose a man of

my reputation can't every really retire.

Here's a shot of Fridays Clinic! Thats me just behind the boxes.....about to run for cover......I mean Supervising.

Later we stepped outside and I gave the boys a few pointers on ladder safety!

LOL! There's a fine line between ingenuity and stupidity and my gut tells me these folks may have crossed it...

 

[bromhead]

On the high end, no way to tell on the future as a blurb in the media today regarding chinese "toy" makers shutting factories and laying off workers,my feelings about it in another forum.

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

No doubt, the current economic situation will be affecting my purchasing habits. I may consider changing the way I approach this hobby by starting to paint my own figures from castings or plastics. I haven't done this before but I found some figure painting demos on youtube on the weekend and it looks like it might be fun to try out. Of course, I will continue collecting some of the current Britains, K&C, Jenkins lines that I have a current interest in, but will be more selective in choosing particular figures/sets instead of getting everything available. Also, I have an interest in the new EOI Romans. Connoisseur figures will be on hold for sometime now.

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

No doubt, the current economic situation will be affecting my purchasing habits. I may consider changing the way I approach this hobby by starting to paint my own figures from castings or plastics. I haven't done this before but I found some figure painting demos on youtube on the weekend and it looks like it might be fun to try out. Of course, I will continue collecting some of the current Britains, K&C, Jenkins lines that I have a current interest in, but will be more selective in choosing particular figures/sets instead of getting everything available. Also, I have an interest in the new EOI Romans. Connoisseur figures will be on hold for sometime now.

 

[aujj65]

No doubt, the current economic situation will be affecting my purchasing habits. I may consider changing the way I approach this hobby by starting to paint my own figures from castings or plastics. I haven't done this before but I found some figure painting demos on youtube on the weekend and it looks like it might be fun to try out. Of course, I will continue collecting some of the current Britains, K&C, Jenkins lines that I have a current interest in, but will be more selective in choosing particular figures/sets instead of getting everything available. Also, I have an interest in the new EOI Romans. Connoisseur figures will be on hold for sometime now.

Painting your own figures is fun, have a look at the painting threads here on TF.

Jeff

 

[theBaron]

I'll chime in on that one, too! Jeff is right, it's very satisfying to paint your own, and cast your own. Who knows, maybe down the road, you may move on to sculpting and making your own molds, too. At the very least, you can often produce a figure that is not available commercially, to fill a hole in your collection.

I estimate that less than 10% of my collection consists of factory-painted figures, most of what I have is commercial kits or castings, or home-cast.

There are a lot of good sources out there, too. Tradition has an excellent range of well-detailed figures (see Jeff's threads, for example). Imrie-Risley is another maker, long-established. And some toy soldier makers also sell their figures as castings, too.

For molds, Prins August makes decent molds, of many different historical periods, too.

You might even get into using old molds from the classic German or American makers (Rappaport Bros./Home Foundry, eg).

It's a whole new branch of the hobby waiting for you!

Prost!
Brad

 

[trooper]

On this side of the Pond there are several toy companies that sell castings, in addition to Tradition. Alexander's Toy Soldiers, Asset, Yeomanry, Scale Link, and Rank and File to name but a few. All are available mail order.

 

[theBaron]

Thanks, Trooper, I couldn't remember the names of one's I've bookmarked. Tommy Atkins sells castings, too, don't they? John Eden does, too, from the old Rose line (Russell Gammage, not Andrew Rose, that is) and some Phoenix.

I think Tommy Atkins sells the Hussar line of figures, too. They have three Prussian hussars from the Seven Years War that are very nice.

Indeed, there is a veritable cornucopia of offerings out there, for anyone interested in painting his own.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

The numbers are still pretty consistent, at about 2 to 1.

 

[the 999th]

Not really affecting them at the moment. But who knows. Might mean there will be some bargains on ebay but I haven't seen them yet.