Sad News - Frontline Figures has Ceased Operations (1 Viewer)

[ucla1967]

It was looking more and more like Frontline Figures was no longer in business. Their website hadn't been updated in years, the two email addresses for Gerard and the company are not valid anymore, and they didn't attend the 2017 West Coaster for the first time in more than 20 years. I called Hobby Bunker today who confirmed that, in fact, that they have ceased operations. Over the past 20 years, I have managed to acquire a large Frontline collection including their glossy 1914 Parade Dress, their glossy Egypt & the Sudan, their glossy Charge of the Light Brigade, their matte Zulu War, their matte Napoleonic, their matte American Civil War, their matte French & Indian War, their matte Ancient Warriors, their matte World War I, and their matte World War II. Sadly, another important toy soldier company is gone.

I wanted to contact Gerard regarding what specific paint they used on their 1914 Parade Dress Austrians of which I have about 60 figures. The 2015 La Habra earthquake damage quite a few of mine---mainly chipped paint on their tunics, trousers, rifles, and bases. I still remember the late Howard Swales siting at a desk in their hotel room at the Chicago Show during room trading with all kinds of bottles of paint, touching up their figures.

Good-bye Frontline, thanks for the memories.

 

[lancer]

Too bad. I have several of their gloss 11th Hussars and a few odds and ends. I always have liked their gloss figures. -- Al

 

[Evzone]

Indeed sad news, I collected the FIW collection, had ambitions on the 1914 Parade Ground range ...alsas no more. Thank you for your work!

 

[Al Fisher]

Gee, Mike, that's a bummer! I, too, collect the 1914 Parade series and am still looking for a couple of sets. In fact, my first purchase at the West Coaster may years ago was the Meckinburg command set!

I occasionally retouch mine and use cheap craft art acrylics covered with Modelmaster gloss.

Bosun Al

 

[Partner]

I have the Frontline Thin Red Line Crimea sets.
I asked Gerard what paint to use to touch up the Queen's Colour.
He said to use Tamiya.
So that may be the brand used on all sets

Great figures and a loss to the hobby
Kirk

 

[farmertony]

Their FWI French and British troops were the first matte figures I collected.Many of these still compare well with more recent figures from other companies.It is a sad day for some of us older collectors.Vale,Frontline.

 

[jazzeum]

It's always sad news when a well known maker leaves the scene but what are the reasons they found themselves in this position. Frontline was started around the same time as K & C. As a matter of fact, the Primes used to work for Andy and their Light Brigade presentation at the Chicago Show in 1993 or 1994 made Andy rethink his whole approach to being a toy soldier manufacturer. In other words, they were contemporaries of each other. K & C found ways to adapt to the times, moving from a gloss manufacturer to a matte manufacturer, and thrive in the process but in my opinion Frontline with its matte offerings did not; they couldn't make themselves into a competitor of K & C. Their style never really changed, in my opinion. The seeds of their demise was established early on.

 

[theBaron]

I'm not surprised by the news. Frontline's been on life support for a number of years. Go back through the forum and look at all of the posts asking, "Are they still in business?", "I emailed but got no reply", "They weren't at this show", etc, etc.

Brad, I think you make an excellent point with your comparison. Two toy soldier companies, contemporaries; one made decisions that panned out, the other did not. And yes, Frontline never did develop too far beyond the original Chinese style. I like their style, though, closer to the original toy roots. I've got a small number of the 1914 parade series, since those figures fit relatively well with my other gloss Imperial Germans. I've got some of the Colonial Classics, too (many of which show a marked similarity to Phoenix' Georgian figures) and a couple of the Seven Years War Prussians.

Oh well, it is the way of the world. Nothing lasts forever, as much as we would like it to.

Prost!
Brad

 

[jazzeum]

I was probably a little harsh and over generalized some but that's the way it seems to me, which is not to say that their gloss figures weren't nice; they are, particularly some of the figures from the Indian range.

However, as Brad noted, nothing is permanent, and it's a very competitive world out there for collectors' money.

 

[katana]

Companies come and go; its the business cycle, like the cycle of life. The list of the lamented departed is long; Conte, Honor Bound, Figarti, just to name a few.

Tamiya Acrylic paints are some of the best paints available; they come in both matte and gloss and they are very durable. The range of colors is quite large and they are available through Amazon.

 

[theBaron]

...Tamiya Acrylic paints are some of the best paints available; they come in both matte and gloss and they are very durable. The range of colors is quite large and they are available through Amazon.

We're jacking the thread now, but I have to add that Tamiya paints are formulated for airbrushing, so they're meant to be thinned. And if you apply them by hand, it's best to thin them with Tamiya's proprietary thinner. Once I figured that out, I got consistently good results with them, no more clumping, or lifting off as I applied additional coats. If you apply them with an airbrush, use Tamiya's thinner, or lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner will produce an absolute dead-flat matte finish.

Prost!
Brad

 

[ivanmoe]

We're jacking the thread now, but I have to add that Tamiya paints are formulated for airbrushing, so they're meant to be thinned. And if you apply them by hand, it's best to thin them with Tamiya's proprietary thinner. Once I figured that out, I got consistently good results with them, no more clumping, or lifting off as I applied additional coats. If you apply them with an airbrush, use Tamiya's thinner, or lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner will produce an absolute dead-flat matte finish.

Prost!
Brad

I thin Tamiya flat acrylics with windex before brushing them on a part. If I don't, the stuff clumps and tears any paint already applied. I believe this is because the carrier is alcohol based and dries so quickly. The rattle-cans can produce nice results, but are lacquer. I only use them outside because the vapor is so potent/toxic, brain-damage in a can!

-Moe

 

[Julie]

I have just been emailing with Gerard in the past few weeks....I'll let him know about this thread but I don't want to post the email I correspond with him at!

 

[kilted vampire]

I for one am going to miss those zany guys at the show. Favorite Gerard quote, " I like babies but I don't think I could finish a whole one."

 

[kilted vampire]

We're jacking the thread now, but I have to add that Tamiya paints are formulated for airbrushing, so they're meant to be thinned. And if you apply them by hand, it's best to thin them with Tamiya's proprietary thinner. Once I figured that out, I got consistently good results with them, no more clumping, or lifting off as I applied additional coats. If you apply them with an airbrush, use Tamiya's thinner, or lacquer thinner. Lacquer thinner will produce an absolute dead-flat matte finish.

Prost!
Brad

I have been using Tamiya with great results on vehicles. Goes great with my airbrushes.

 

[theBaron]

I thin Tamiya flat acrylics with windex before brushing them on a part. If I don't, the stuff clumps and tears any paint already applied. I believe this is because the carrier is alcohol based and dries so quickly. The rattle-cans can produce nice results, but are lacquer. I only use them outside because the vapor is so potent/toxic, brain-damage in a can!

-Moe

It's an alcohol, but it's not isopropyl. I know some modelers have written that they use isopropyl to thin Tamiya acrylics, but I found that it was no better than water. The paint still clumped on the brush, or in the airbrush, and a second coat could lift a previous coat off the surface. That's when it hit me, to bite the bullet and buy their thinner. I've had great results ever since. I can apply a coat of the acrylic by hand, and it's as thin as if I had airbrushed it.

I use Windex to clean up Future, but since the active ingredient is ammonia, it's not good to run it through an airbrush. It can attack plating, and it can attack the seals and O-rings in any given brush. If I run it through the airbrush, I follow it up with several passes of water, and then I strip the brush, dry it with paper toweling and then let it air-dry.

Prost!
Brad

 

[theBaron]

Favorite Gerard quote, " I like babies but I don't think I could finish a whole one."

I didn't know he's a Scotsman? "Get in ma belly!"

Prost!
Brad

 

[Julie]

And back to the heart of the thread, I emailed Gerard yesterday -- his response:

Hi,
It has come to my attention that it is being reporting publicly that Frontline Figures has stopped trading.
I am very much still in toy soldier business, all be it not releasing new sets.
Please tell all people who may be interested in this news.
Regards

Gerard
Very much alive Frontline Figures.

Hope that clears up any confusion?

Julie

 

[theBaron]

And back to the heart of the thread, I emailed Gerard yesterday -- his response:

Hi,
It has come to my attention that it is being reporting publicly that Frontline Figures has stopped trading.
I am very much still in toy soldier business, all be it not releasing new sets.
Please tell all people who may be interested in this news.
Regards

Gerard
Very much alive Frontline Figures.

Hope that clears up any confusion?

Julie

Well, it leads to a followup question: Not releasing new sets, but does that mean, still producing existing sets and re-stocking them with retailers?

Prost!
Brad

 

[jazzeum]

That email seems to engender more confusion than not since producing new sets are the lifeblood of the hobby. If you're not bringing out new sets, collectors go elsewhere.