Rom048 elephant crew (2 Viewers)

That is a very generous gesture to Zach, Tdubel. I am sure he will appreciate it, as it is a very nice sculpt of an African Forest Elephant. Despite your negative observations the fact you would order the Andrea casting indicates you consider that the sculpt is good. I would really enjoy seeing a repaint to your taste of the Black Hawk/Andrea War Elephant.

I found several nice War Elephant castings from Russia on eBay you may wish to look at them . The castings are far less expensive than a painted figure and I am sure some of these same castings will end up as an Aero Art product when painted.
 
I just got this really great elephant from a guy outside the station. Only ten bucks! Fur covered and anatomically correct - four legs, two ears and a trunk. I went back the next day but he said they had sold out. They had 10,000 of them and I thought to myself, wow that is a great turnover. $100,000.00. So I guess the buyers must have thought they were good value. I got the alternative bear because I figured they would also sell out - being the same purple colour and all. I asked him about historical accuracy and he referred me to the cave paintings executed by eye witnesses. The crossed eyes? Surely not accurate? Well, said he, they are obviously correct or the artists for Ice Age would have not produced them like that. And anyway, says he, it's a matter between the artist and the purchaser, and this is the 21st Century after all - who is alive to say what happened way back then? There are no measured drawings. Well he had me there. Who was I to argue with a man who just helped raise a quarter million dollars for charity?

I was happy to have contributed my bit for medical research. And I had an answer of sorts: Aero Art is a good manufacturer of....Art! And Art is not History. The focus of the artist is aesthetic form and colour, not historical accuracy. Where there are no records, the artist has a comprehensive licence to produce what will sell.

And then of course, there is the marketing. It is a truism that there is no bad advertising; there is only advertising. I am sure the barrage of fruitless arguments about what might be accurate (if only we could know) has produced a lot of interest in the product and ensured that sales will be solid. Whether that was the intent of the "goad" is debatable but, if that intent was to discourage sales, it failed miserably. And I see it occurring more frequently on the forum as it does on my TV. The so-called reality shows blur what could reasonably be taken as "real". But I like my purple elephant; it will sit beside my TGM elephants as a reminder of "the real". It's great to collect toy soldiers but medical research should not be overlooked.
 
katana said:
That is a very generous gesture to Zach, Tdubel. I am sure he will appreciate it, as it is a very nice sculpt of an African Forest Elephant. Despite your negative observations the fact you would order the Andrea casting indicates you consider that the sculpt is good. I would really enjoy seeing a repaint to your taste of the Black Hawk/Andrea War Elephant.

I found several nice War Elephant castings from Russia on eBay you may wish to look at them . The castings are far less expensive than a painted figure and I am sure some of these same castings will end up as an Aero Art product when painted.
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Couple of points here - the Andrea Kits are NOT the Black Hawk elephant that I am talking about. One is an Indian Durbar Wedding elephant the other is a diorama. This Black Hawk version is crap, pure and simple, maybe the sculpt is ok, but the finish is garbage IMO. So please get your facts straight on which sculpts we are talking about.

Your second statement, I am sure the true makers of these sculpts are just thrilled when they are knocked off in Russia, Andrea is just thrilled, hence the reason they have increased the cost on their kits. So, your second statement, so happy you are supporting knock offs, of course they are less expensive and NO they absolutely do not end up as Aeroart Elephants, Aeroart's elephants are done by one artist and one only who originally was with Arsenyev.

Thanks, but please keep your expert elephant advice to yourself, I am well versed on what my wants, my haves and what I am seeking.
 
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mikemiller1955 said:
also please...

another question for TG...

just weighed my Collector's Showcase Roman elephant with single figure of driver straddling his neck...

it's about 1 pound 10 ounces...made of resin...

your elephant is over 3 kilos...all metal construction...

that's about 7 pounds...

I gotta ask...

why solid metal construction and not resin please?
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Hello Mike
Its a quality piece and we felt the only way to go was to have it in metal. The body is hollow by the way, but I never would have guessed it had I not seen a model kit sample the factory sent us images of recently.
The box is not that large so shipping is not too bad actually, if you buy 4 elephants from us then the cost is very reasonable on a pro rata basis!
Best wishes Vicki
 
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I did not realize the Niena Studios War Wephant casting was an Andrea knock off! I have always thought Niena Studios was a reputable manufacturer, considering they are carried by reputable distributors like Treefrog Treasures.

Should you change your mind and wish to look at the model the item number is: 267607695743 and the price is $295.00 including 3 figures. What do you think it would cost to paint this set in collector quality?


tdubel said:
Couple of points here - the Andrea Kits are NOT the Black Hawk elephant that I am talking about. One is an Indian Durbar Wedding elephant the other is a diorama. This Black Hawk version is crap, pure and simple, maybe the sculpt is ok, but the finish is garbage IMO. So please get your facts straight on which sculpts we are talking about.

Your second statement, I am sure the true makers of these sculpts are just thrilled when they are knocked off in Russia, Andrea is just thrilled, hence the reason they have increased the cost on their kits. So, your second statement, so happy you are supporting knock offs, of course they are less expensive and NO they absolutely do not end up as Aeroart Elephants, Aeroart's elephants are done by one artist and one only who originally was with Arsenyev.

Thanks, but please keep your expert elephant advice to yourself, I am well versed on what my wants, my haves and what I am seeking.
Click to expand...
 
Gunn Miniatures said:
Yes Mike it does, the price is a guide only at the moment please note.
Click to expand...

Gunn Miniatures said:
also please...

another question for TG...

just weighed my Collector's Showcase Roman elephant with single figure of driver straddling his neck...

it's about 1 pound 10 ounces...made of resin...

your elephant is over 3 kilos...all metal construction...

that's about 7 pounds...

I gotta ask...

why solid metal construction and not resin please?

Hello Mike
Its a quality piece and we felt the only way to go was to have it in metal. The body is hollow by the way, but I never would have guessed it had I not seen a model kit sample the factory sent us images of recently.
The box is not that large so shipping is not too bad actually, if you buy 4 elephants from us then the cost is very reasonable on a pro rata basis!
Best wishes Vicki
Click to expand...

Vicki...thanks for the quick reply...I think it looks great and have already told my dealer to get me one...
 
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katana said:
I did not realize the Niena Studios War Wephant casting was an Andrea knock off! I have always thought Niena Studios was a reputable manufacturer, considering they are carried by reputable distributors like Treefrog Treasures.

Should you change your mind and wish to look at the model the item number is: 267607695743 and the price is $295.00 including 3 figures. What do you think it would cost to paint this set in collector quality?
Click to expand...

I don't know that the Niena one is and I am not sure how you are connecting your dots, but quite unbelievable. There are a lot of different ones on ebay right now and I would say that if you look closely and actually know your subject, then you would be able to id which ones are knock offs. Since when did anyone mention Niena's elephant???? Unbelievable, I believe Niena's to be there own elephant, but since they sell castings, I am sure there elephant has been painted by many. Again, you are really not up on your subject that you post as if an expert. Niena is not the only Russian elephant listed on ebay. There are a host of them.

I guess you are just passing over your shot you took earlier at Aeroart?

Ridiculous.
 
Back to what the thread is really about.

Hi Vicki, how many versions of the Elephant are going to be available? I saw 3 releases of 50, are they different?

Thanks
Tom
 
I have not claimed any expertise on Elephants or anything else. You state most Russian castings are knockoffs/copies of Andrea and others. Niena Studio is a Russian manufacturer of a nice War Elephant thus the question; is it a copy or an original?

I have noted that several Russian houses paint the same Niena Studio Elephant in different iterations; War, Wedding, Durbar etc. The painting is to a high level of quality and the prices reflect that; so I would assume the quality of the casting justifies the investment of time and ability to paint it to these levels. You may wish to refrain from casting aspersions upon an entire country and industry based upon a few suspected copies.
 
tdubel said:
Back to what the thread is really about.

Hi Vicki, how many versions of the Elephant are going to be available? I saw 3 releases of 50, are they different?

Thanks
Tom
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Hi Tom
There will only be 1 version in this initial batch of 150 elephants, it will take 3 months to produce them assuming we can manufacture 50 per month. We only use a small factory for this particular range and its all they can cope with. There will hopefully be a parade version later on as well as an armoured elephant possibly to kick off an offshoot range of our Romans. The first batch of 50 elephants should be ready in May sometime followed by our Testudo.
The Onager and Scorpion are also in the works and will be ready later this year.
The Celt chariot is not too far off now so plenty for everybody I hope!
Best Vicki
 
We need to draw line under this whole back and forthing with the elephant. Keep it to Thomas Gunn otherwise I will have to start tossing people from the thread.


Thanks
 
katana said:
I have not claimed any expertise on Elephants or anything else. You state most Russian castings are knockoffs/copies of Andrea and others. Niena Studio is a Russian manufacturer of a nice War Elephant thus the question; is it a copy or an original?

I have noted that several Russian houses paint the same Niena Studio Elephant in different iterations; War, Wedding, Durbar etc. The painting is to a high level of quality and the prices reflect that; so I would assume the quality of the casting justifies the investment of time and ability to paint it to these levels. You may wish to refrain from casting aspersions upon an entire country and industry based upon a few suspected copies.
Click to expand...

First off, your logic is out the window, but that is to be expected from your previous responses. Not sure if you can read, but my responses were very clear and they were not accusatory toward any Company or Country. You seem to be able to read into whatever you want to and come to your own conclusions - I think that is called an alternate reality.

Please leave me out of your conclusions, accusations as well as your "expert" declarations. I am no longer part of your conversation.
 
Gunn Miniatures said:
Hi Tom
There will only be 1 version in this initial batch of 150 elephants, it will take 3 months to produce them assuming we can manufacture 50 per month. We only use a small factory for this particular range and its all they can cope with. There will hopefully be a parade version later on as well as an armoured elephant possibly to kick off an offshoot range of our Romans. The first batch of 50 elephants should be ready in May sometime followed by our Testudo.
The Onager and Scorpion are also in the works and will be ready later this year.
The Celt chariot is not too far off now so plenty for everybody I hope!
Best Vicki
Click to expand...

Thanks Vicki! Fantastic news and I am the first to apologize for the meandering wreck this thread has become. Looking forward to the elephant as I know one is reserved!

The other items sound neat too!

Tom
 
The beat just keeps going, so I am just going to ignore him unless he attacks me or piggy backs on my responses, I Just wish there is a delete function, where I do not have to see any responses from him...... I am looking forward to getting this, plain and simple. And pre-ordering it as soon as it is available.
 
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Have been following the thread for sometime now, (be it at a safe distance). Who would have thought an Elephant would have caused some much controversy. I look forward to seeing the wee chap in person sometime soon.
 
Don't mention the Elephant in the room, we don't want to give him a "Big Head" :wink2:
 
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