Louis Badolato
Lieutenant General
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2005
- Messages
- 18,188
As I prepare to attend the OTSN Chicago Show for the 7th straight year, I find myself reflecting on the state of the hobby, particularly in light of some of the rather gloomy predictions of its iminent demise. To paraphrase a wonderful quote, it is my humble belief that the reports of the hobby's demise are greatly exaggerated.
I have been a fairly avid toy soldier/military miniature collector since approximately 1990, and presently have somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000-7,000 toy soldiers in my collection. My collection still is 75% King & Country and 10% Heco Tinplate Models (my two favorite manufacturers), with the remaining 15% consisting of largely Figarti, Trophy, Honour Bound, Hudson & Allen, Imperial, Britains, Thomas Gunn, Frontline, Toy Army Workshop, Bengurion, Yeomanry Miniatures, First Legion and CJB models. My collection runs the gammit from tradional glossy to near-connossieur matt, and I am one of the odd people who loves both equally.
With this as a background, as I have said on many occasions, I truly believe we have the good fortune of experiencing the golden age of the hobby. Despite the demise of several excellent manufacturers (Trophy, Heco Tinplate Models, Toy Army Workshop and Honour Bound's vehicle production come immediately to mind) we are spoiled for quality choice in all areas of the hobby. On the matt side, while my long time friend Andy Neilson (whom, sadly, I have not had the opportunity to chat with since the last Chicago show) and the rest of the King & Country family continue their regular, voluminous, high-quality production, they have been joined by a long list or similarly high quality fellow manufacturers in pretty much all price ranges, from old friends (like Richard Walker and Ken Osen's resurrection of William Britains, or Gerrard Prime's Frontline offerings), through some relatively new kids on the block, like Figarti, John Jenkins Designs, Honour Bound, Thomas Gunn and First Legion. On the glossy side, the gap left by Trophy has been skillfully filled by Little Legion, Imperial has returned to production, and Britains has also risen from the dead, while wonderful cottage manufactuers like Great Britain's Yeomanry Miniatures and Argentina's Beau Geste also keep the home fires burning.
I know I don't post as often as I used to, or spend as much on collecting as I did 6 years ago (my children's demands on my time and money, and spacial limitations have seen to that) in my eyes the hobby might very well be even better than ever. I look forward to seeing all my old friends in Chicago, as well as the many wonderful dioramas Andy and Gordon have cooked up, Figarti's "Stun and Awe" surprise, John Jenkins remarkable WWI aircraft, Richard and Ken's new Britains releases, and the Ana Donzino's elegant new Beau Geste releases.:smile2: Hope to see you there . . .:wink2:
I have been a fairly avid toy soldier/military miniature collector since approximately 1990, and presently have somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000-7,000 toy soldiers in my collection. My collection still is 75% King & Country and 10% Heco Tinplate Models (my two favorite manufacturers), with the remaining 15% consisting of largely Figarti, Trophy, Honour Bound, Hudson & Allen, Imperial, Britains, Thomas Gunn, Frontline, Toy Army Workshop, Bengurion, Yeomanry Miniatures, First Legion and CJB models. My collection runs the gammit from tradional glossy to near-connossieur matt, and I am one of the odd people who loves both equally.
With this as a background, as I have said on many occasions, I truly believe we have the good fortune of experiencing the golden age of the hobby. Despite the demise of several excellent manufacturers (Trophy, Heco Tinplate Models, Toy Army Workshop and Honour Bound's vehicle production come immediately to mind) we are spoiled for quality choice in all areas of the hobby. On the matt side, while my long time friend Andy Neilson (whom, sadly, I have not had the opportunity to chat with since the last Chicago show) and the rest of the King & Country family continue their regular, voluminous, high-quality production, they have been joined by a long list or similarly high quality fellow manufacturers in pretty much all price ranges, from old friends (like Richard Walker and Ken Osen's resurrection of William Britains, or Gerrard Prime's Frontline offerings), through some relatively new kids on the block, like Figarti, John Jenkins Designs, Honour Bound, Thomas Gunn and First Legion. On the glossy side, the gap left by Trophy has been skillfully filled by Little Legion, Imperial has returned to production, and Britains has also risen from the dead, while wonderful cottage manufactuers like Great Britain's Yeomanry Miniatures and Argentina's Beau Geste also keep the home fires burning.
I know I don't post as often as I used to, or spend as much on collecting as I did 6 years ago (my children's demands on my time and money, and spacial limitations have seen to that) in my eyes the hobby might very well be even better than ever. I look forward to seeing all my old friends in Chicago, as well as the many wonderful dioramas Andy and Gordon have cooked up, Figarti's "Stun and Awe" surprise, John Jenkins remarkable WWI aircraft, Richard and Ken's new Britains releases, and the Ana Donzino's elegant new Beau Geste releases.:smile2: Hope to see you there . . .:wink2:
