Still In King & Country's Corner! (1 Viewer)

[rpk]

......................................................................................................

I agree, you no longer have to wait a year to find something you like and want to buy!

Now you have to decide which of the items you want today, and which can wait till next month!

Doing a quick check of my K&C wantlist I have 219 items listed!

My collection includes AWI, ACW, WW1, WW2 and the odd set from other eras as well. K&C have a certain artistic style that I'm drawn to, and the detail has constantly improved. I also like the gritty feel of the Figarti vehicles, the recent CS vehicles, with their multiple display options and am watching with interest the highly detailed FL stuff.

I tend to like variety and detail, so have a number of 1/72 and 1/35 vehicles also, which I replace with 1/30 scale when something similar comes along (similar to trading up to a newer version of an updated K&C vehicle, or a Figarti, etc.). I've always enjoyed AFVs, so having examples of a number of different vehicle types is a good thing.

One of my favorite pieces, oddly enough, is a 1/32 FOV M3 Grant tank. For some reason I was always drawn to the desert war, probably due to the way in which that conflict was carried out, and the Grant was something I remembered as a child liking (long ago now!). I would love to see a K&C version to go with the excellent figures. Would also love to see the Figarti version in person, but don't live near any resellers (at least 8 hours away). In the end I guess that is a good example of collecting what you like.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Spartan71,
You comparison between what was produced in the early years of both companies is probably a little unfair. I think K&C started about 26 years ago and Figarti perhaps 5 or 6. Considerable improvements in skill, workforce and factory capabilities etc would have been made over 20 those odd years. I would guess Figarti would have had the benefit of examining K&C items prior to starting its own business. Weren't the first K&C vehicles made of wood ?
At the time K&C started who was doing similar type items for them to use as a reference ? I think it fair to say several other companies created in the last several years have been able to benefit from the interest and customer base created by K&C. Good luck to them.
At the end of the day as many wise forum members have said, including Andy, buy what you like.
Just my thoughts.
Regards
Brett

 

[spartan71]

I agree with 99 percent of what you said Brett, I got into this Hobby because of King And Country, because of how phenomenal it was (Ea026), and again Have more k&C products than Figarti.
YES, There has been, far advances in the making of products and K&C has perfected it. But as all manufacturers when they start, there is that learning curve. I dont think any manufacturer gave all their secrets, to figarti. to make the products. It has been A learning experience every step of the way for them. But they are getting close to being perfect. And each item I buy from them, There has been great improvements, And they are doing it while still learning.
We can not compare the perfection of twenty years plus, with King and country. With a six year plus of Figarti. Again, its a full grown at 20 plus. against a six year old. And at the end of the day,I will buy the ones that I like to have, and been wishing for. And it does not matter on who makes it.

 

[Njja]

I guess the best way to compare the two, is how they fared in in the first few years that they existed??, are the miniatures comparable to each other. Does The first year or two, when King and Country were making the first tanks, in their product line. Compare with the first year or two of Figarti??
with the detailing, weathering, etc.
Simply,put. Does the first tank that KC made, look as great as Figarti's. or is the difference leaps and bounds??. Gentlemen and Ladies(covering my bases)
When you compare the two companies, It has to be the same age. how was k&C at two years versus Figarti at two years??
The two has/had growing pains, trying to perfect their products, So lets be fair. Of course I have to admit, The Quality Control. needs a little work.
As everyone that collects, in this hobby of ours. My K&C collection outnumbers my Figarti, 9 or 10 to 0ne. I love King and country, I buy them both.
Its apples and oranges. And I love them both.

......................................................................................................

Excellent points, but you also must consider the impact that King & Country has had on the market place. Now I haven't been really active in military miniatures as long as many of the collectors here.....I begain in the very late
1990's. However I must say the pickins were very slim at that time. Many times when I went to my favorite dealer "Classic Toys" in NYC on my yearly trips I would buy items I had passed on eariler visits because the selection was very limited.

King & Country pioneered the polystone vehicles and many other innovations so to be fair you probably need to simply compair todays offerings, price, availability, and quality.

To be fair Figarti certainly has accomplished more in a shorter time then anyone I have ever seen!

To even be compaired to King & Country at this point in time in the Matt figure field is really quite an accomplishment!

 

[Njja]

Doing a quick check of my K&C wantlist I have 219 items listed!

......................................................................................................

My goodness that is quite a collection! I'm not about to count items...
I'm afraid the wife might find the count! I did make a note that I have
65 items in boxes that I do not currently have room for.

My current excuse to the little lady usually involves me heading to my local Harley dealer for another test ride!

 

[Njja]

Spartan71,
You comparison between what was produced in the early years of both companies is probably a little unfair. I think K&C started about 26 years ago and Figarti perhaps 5 or 6. Considerable improvements in skill, workforce and factory capabilities etc would have been made over 20 those odd years. I would guess Figarti would have had the benefit of examining K&C items prior to starting its own business. Weren't the first K&C vehicles made of wood ?
At the time K&C started who was doing similar type items for them to use as a reference ? I think it fair to say several other companies created in the last several years have been able to benefit from the interest and customer base created by K&C. Good luck to them.
At the end of the day as many wise forum members have said, including Andy, buy what you like.
Just my thoughts.
Regards
Brett

.....................................................................................................

Right on the money!

 

[Go for Broke]

Figarti has recently released a slew of vehicles. Very beautiful & tempting. I bought the Firefly, my first Figarti vehicle. I have no real complaints. I received alot of damaged KC vehicles and soldiers in the past. That being said, I will buy and will continue to buy KC, because its the best product for the price. I just don't want to spend the extra $$ for Figarti, HB & FL. Recently KC reduced the prices on their Panzer III, Jadgpanzer IV and the radio truck. Smart move. I'll probably buy all three. TGM is putting out some really nice sets at good prices. I'll keep buying those also. To be honest, if I was rich, I would buy'um all. Figarti, HB, FL, KC, etc. They're all putting out excellent product.

 

[Njja]

I agree with 99 percent of what you said Brett, I got into this Hobby because of King And Country, because of how phenomenal it was (Ea026), and again Have more k&C products than Figarti.
YES, There has been, far advances in the making of products and K&C has perfected it. But as all manufacturers when they start, there is that learning curve. I dont think any manufacturer gave all their secrets, to figarti. to make the products. It has been A learning experience every step of the way for them. But they are getting close to being perfect. And each item I buy from them, There has been great improvements, And they are doing it while still learning.
We can not compare the perfection of twenty years plus, with King and country. With a six year plus of Figarti. Again, its a full grown at 20 plus. against a six year old. And at the end of the day,I will buy the ones that I like to have, and been wishing for. And it does not matter on who makes it.

...................................................................................................

You do have to consider the reverse engineering factor. I'm sure many of the manufacters buy each others products to examine them to possibly discover subtle differences they might incorporate into their items.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Spartan71,
I agree with you 98.99 % !!!
Regards
Brett

 

[spartan71]

I am glad!!, Brett. LOL

 

[The Military Workshop]

Go For Broke,
You mentioned you had a lot of damaged K&C in the past. That would seem unusual but noting where you are (sipping pina coladas no doubt !) you may have a lot more "handling" before you receive them.
From dealing in K&C for several years my experience of damage from items I have personally seen or had reported to me by customers has been extremely low. To be fair there were a couple of items that concerned me and I briefed customers to be very careful when unpacking. They were the Egyptian chariot which was a very delicate piece and the AK artillery set where I think the force from the plastic wire was sometimes snapping something off at the end of the legs (that was the first artillery set where they had used that kind of packing - sorry for my lack of technical descriptiion).
Anything I mentioned to K&C would be replaced in the next shipment.
Regards
Brett

 

[maddadicus]

Is this thread really about, " Oh boy, if everybody starts dumping their K/C ,what will that do to the resale value of mine and others' personal collections? " That was my first thought when this thread started. I happen to buy other mfg. only if they look K/C styled. Like other collectors, I prefer the brighter, fresher look of K/C armor and vehicles. CS comes closest in style, paint and scale which means I lean toward them as my second option...K/C was the only game in town and now they are not..Collectors who were content to live with the K/C way, when given a choice by other mfg., are now going for what they always preferred in the first place..If values of K/C drop, that is capitalism at work, and no rah, rah, K/C collectors unite, the other guys really are not that good, will change it..Michael

 

[Canadian Samurai]

I'm only posting in one of these prearranged arena battle threads because there's discussion about the topic of quality control. QC is the number one thing that turns me off this hobby, and I wish every manufacturer would pay more attention to it, especially the matte manufacturers who seem to have more issues than the glossy ones (maybe because the gloss helps to protect paint which was its original function after all).

I've had quality control issues with almost every manufacturer out there, and from my experience K&C QC is really no better than the others (granted maybe a hair better than Figarti). Bent parts, missed spots, paint overspray, misaligned or crooked parts (such as gun barrels), I've seen it all with K&C pieces too. For example, K&C WW1/WW2 Commonwealth figures always seem to arrive with bent helmet rims and/or an overspray of the black shadow under the helmet.

So yeah, QC is a problem that plagues the whole industry, not just any one manufacturer. I think it's partly symptomatic of an industry that relies almost entirely on hand labour and hand painting - you just don't seem to get the consistency of QC that machines deliver through mass production. And smaller production runs with smaller staff mean less testing of packaging before it's given the green light, introducing another potential source of damage. Finally, toss in retailers who don't always know how to pack properly and a postal system that enjoys punting packages for fun, and it's no wonder we end up with damaged good. But I agree with other sentiments here that packaging has improved so it seems like a lot of more recent problems are originating right on the factory floor due to insufficient attention by employees, managers and owners to assembly and painting quality control.

 

[Vezzolf]

K/C has long been the dominant player in this hobby....I also as many of you own quite a few of their products, most of which I am very satisfied with.....However.... That being said, there are now new players on the block...... K/C has been somewhat "SLOW" to produce WWII vehicles that some of us have been requesting for some time now...Popular WWII Items retired by K/C and not being reissued has left a void .....Figarti has taken the initiative and been producing some good products recently thus filling that void.....but I for one am being "careful" as to what I will purchase and will not get sucked in to "panic buying"..........First Legion is also now on the scene and is producing what I believe are the best WWII toy soldiers currently available and the Stugs look like they will be unmatched in realism........Collectors now have many options to buy products which are as good as K/C or better.....I am still a fan of K/C products their style is their own and have kept their prices reasonable .....But they no longer have a captive audience.....

 

[Jagdpanther]

I have had some damaged Figarti stuff. Some of the recent stuff not to much of a problem but you never no. K&C no problems that I can think of. Well I have dropped a few K&C figures but thats my fault.

 

[Blowtorch]

Yes but Figarti has it's role to play. Many of my key interests were abandoned by K&C, & with Figarti's limited production runs, at least there is a chance that I will be able to get an add-on piece. Abandoned: Berlin, Crete FJ, Early War SS, Classic Germans; Reluctant: equipment in PanzerGrey.

I like DAK & Bulge Germans, but if I want other stuff, I'm kind of stuck. If someone else makes it, I'll buy it.

 

[Blowtorch]

I've had quality control issues with almost every manufacturer out there,

Just in the last two years: Figarti DAK PzIV had a crewman bisected; the Firefly defects as noted elsewhere; K&C FOB Brit with chipped gun; PzIVF1 with broken track; WSS German with chipped gun.

Back in the day when the original K&C FJs were released, one of my FJs had a big chunk of his helmet missing, but this happened before painting. Original paint was on it which means that the dude in the factory saw the defect yet still painted it & sent it out for sale. That must be a true collectors item...like a double die penny or something

 

[tdubel]

K/C has long been the dominant player in this hobby....I also as many of you own quite a few of their products, most of which I am very satisfied with.....However.... That being said, there are now new players on the block...... K/C has been somewhat "SLOW" to produce WWII vehicles that some of us have been requesting for some time now...Popular WWII Items retired by K/C and not being reissued has left a void .....Figarti has taken the initiative and been producing some good products recently thus filling that void.....but I for one am being "careful" as to what I will purchase and will not get sucked in to "panic buying"..........First Legion is also now on the scene and is producing what I believe are the best WWII toy soldiers currently available and the Stugs look like they will be unmatched in realism........Collectors now have many options to buy products which are as good as K/C or better.....I am still a fan of K/C products their style is their own and have kept their prices reasonable .....But they no longer have a captive audience.....

Couple of points:

1. Have you had a First Legion Stug in your hands? I have, it is light (feather lite) and for $300 that's too hard to swallow. I also think the paint job is lacking.

2. The FL figures are small, they are definitely not compatible and are stand alone. To me, the thighs looked "stretched". Just My Opinion.

3. Figarti production issue has been explained, for now it is 100

4. Andy has said and restated again in Chicago that he will not reproduce the same piece twice, it will always be a new variation. Hence the reason for not rereleasing a Winter Tiger and a Mobile 88.

TD

 

[Deitz]

I am still in King & Country's corner, but I made some room for The Collectors Showcase.

 

[spartan71]

Then it is time for that new variation to be made, The 88 and the tiger would be a best seller everytime much like a Sherman( would love a Calliope Sherman). Or maybe release, A Panzer 4(any variation, that can fit into the scheme). I am new but did K&C ever release a Normandy, or a winter one??