Speaking of Reeves figures.... (1 Viewer)

[theBaron]

These auctions end tonight:

http://cgi.ebay.com/6-American-Revo...oryZ2634QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/17-American-Civ...oryZ2634QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/17-French-Napol...oryZ2634QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The Napoleonic auction is the real plum right now, with 4 mounted figures and 9 foot figures. All three ending in about an hour from now.

I do not know the seller and make no claim of any kind, I am only bringing the auction to the attention of my fellow forum members, who can review the auctions and bid or not bid as they see fit.

PS-if you scroll further down the search page (Home> Buy> Toys & Hobbies> Toy Soldiers> 1970-Now> Lead), there is a series of auctions for single figures from the series commissioned by the American Military Historical Society in 1983. Those may be of interest to some of you, too.

Prosit!
Brad

 

[tdubel]

Yup and I grabbed all 3!!!!!

Sorry to anyone who was bidding, but I keep an eagle eye on these as they remind me of being a kid, they were my first figures and I still avidly pursue them.

TD

 

[Gideon]

Congrats Tom! And to think, you could drop them in seamlessly into Frontline displays!

I always believed those figures were awesome bang for the buck. You got them really cheap!

 

[tdubel]

Ya,
they really don't hold their value that's for sure! Why, I really don't know, they were way ahead of their time in painting and detail. I also loved the removable weapons. I always think its neat to see them in gloss and matte (I can't for the life of me remember what came first).

First memory is the Napoleonic Band 15 piece set, still have it!

Tom

 

[Gideon]

I sold one of those sets a while back. That actually has some bit of value - as does anything as a large set with a theme that is halfway nicely done.

I think it is kind of sad that the Reexes figures are so unknown. If you think about what they accomplished it is pretty awesome.

They took the matte/detailed theme produced by the likes of Courtenay, Baldet, Ping and other high end producers and spun them out at like 5 bucks a figure. They really don't get enough credit.

 

[tdubel]

Gideon,

Could not agree more, they are neat little works of art that were well worth the money. I wish I had an old catalog so I could figure out just exactly how many I have and how many lines there were. They had a ton of different lines. Great bang for the buck, I enjoy them as much as any figures.

Do you remember which were the original, gloss or matte, I have both.

Tom

 

[Gideon]

The gloss ones are much rarer than the matte. I think they may have started out as matte finish, probably got some collector push back and probably tried to accomodate the gloss collectors.

You know what? I have to contact Reeves anyway. They carry some stuff I'd like to sell. I'll ask them if they have any old files on the soldiers. I am sure that they have extensive records going all the way back to the Corgi days of the 1960's. Maybe they have some info they can share with the toy soldier community.

I'll check back with you about it.

 

[theBaron]

Aha, that was you bidding! I was tempted, but decided not to (mortgage is due tomorrow )

I'm with you guys, I like these figures. And sure they can fit in with Frontline or even early K&C-it's possible, isn't it, that the actual producer, King/White, was the same facility that produced the original Frontline and K&C? I mean, could they be the facility that did the casting and painting?

In any case, to me, they are the first example of what came to be called the Chinese style.

I'd like to find a catalog, too, but I suspect that the only documentation might consist of the catalogs that the various dealers distributed. From my own research and collection, here's a list of historical periods, that I have seen:

Ancients (Greeks; haven't seen Romans)
Medieval (Battle of Crecy-English and French knights and men-at-arms)
Samurai (I have 2 generals, one seated, one standing)
American War for Independence (AWI), with a subgroup of US Marines
Napoleonic Wars
Mexican-American War
Ameircan Civil War (ACW)
West Point Cadets
Highland regiments
WWII

I have also seen larger-scale personality figures identified specifically as King/White figures, and not as any of the agents. There was a MacArthur and an Eisenhower, both 75mm, on pedestal bases.

I think there may also be a Zulu Wars series; I vaguely remember seeing some such figures, but I don't have any references at hand.

Congrats again on a successful auction!

Prosit!
Brad

 

[tdubel]

Hi Brad,
I have a larger George Washington that I have always sworn is Reeves! I also almost bought a Spirit of 76 that was the same. WOW, MacArthur, if you ever want to part with that one, you have a friend in need over here!

I keep my eyes out for these as they pop up more often now, b/c most folks don't know what they are and they are cheap!

Guess I now have some friendly competition , do you have any duplicates, I know I now do, just need to sort them, maybe we can trade.


Gideon, thanks any info you find would be fantastic!

Tom

 

[theBaron]

Hi, Tom, yes, we probably have crossed swords on eBay, without knowing it. And now, eBay-US has implemented as a "security measure" masking the userids of the bidders. You see your ID, but the others are all randomly-generated character strings. I suppose some knuckleheads out there were abusing the system, but I do miss being able to see who was bidding against me in an auction. I had gotten to recognize some buyers, over the years.

I think I've seen your Washington up on eBay in the past 6 months or so. I bought some figures from a gentleman in Lansdale PA, which is about halfway between me in Bethlehem and Philadelphia. He had the other large personality figures, too. For me, I bought US and German WWII infantry.

You're absolutely right about the demand for them, too. We've found ourselves a nice little niche, because almost no one collects them. I bet you that I will see some at the MFCA show, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them around $5 apiece for foot figures.

Isn't part of the fun trying to identify them, too? And tracking down more details, and trying to understand the history of the manufacturers.

I do have some duplicates, but right now, almost all of them are packed away, until I can come up with more space to display them. I picked up an old display cabinet the summer before last, with an eye to refinishing it, and then that's where the Reeves figures will go. Of course, the cabinet is still in my garage, awaiting the first touch of the sander.

Well, until we meet again on the field of auctions, prosit!
Brad