strictly limited (1 Viewer)

[vandilay]

I,m sure i,m risking the wrath of a few forum members here,But it seems odd to me that some of the new paint schemes are being relised in much smaller numbers than the strictly limited tiger [going by numbers i have seen posted ].ie the new king tiger and french tank 500 and 250 respectively,I would have thought relising numbers also makes them limited.'[minus the strictly].

 

[Louis Badolato]

If you read some of Andy's recent posts, you will see that many of these very limited production repaints (particularly the present Napoleonics) are extremely well done master painted experiments that would ordinarily not be offered for sale or only offered from K&C's shop in Hong Kong. In all honesty, many of my favorite pieces in my collection are extremely limited (less than five ever made, only one or two sold) prototypes of vehicles Andy chose not to put into production. Although these very scarce experimental pieces are not (and really cannot be) officially limited editions, they are of a quality beyond even K&C's normally high standards of production, and if you are interested in the subject matter, you should grab them up. Those coming to the symposium will see a Bedford QL Radio Command Vehicle, a Bedford Troop Transport Lorry and a small Austin RAF Pickup Truck that are from these special prototype releases. I have never passed on the opportunity to buy one whe it became available.

 

[Eazy]

From a collecting point of view these new limited variations are quite interesting.
Now i don't have the current French CharB1 bis so what do i do? get the first edition that's almost sold out or the limited version of 250?

Similarly there's the King Tiger. I already have the first one. Should i get the limited one too? Cause let's face it, if i hesitate it's gonna be gone.

These are both kind of rhetorical questions. I have to admit as a collector i put high priority on getting the limited editions. However i have to do that at the expense of getting a completly new piece. It's a toughie isn't it?

Although i like the limited editions i hope the repaint types don't become too frequent and instead remain more along the lines of the Winter Tiger, Greif and the British Sherman.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[Njja]

Well it probably has to do with sales. Perhaps an item is done in a run of 1000 with 500 or 750 painted one way. Depending on sales and of course warehouse space the rest of the run may be done in another paint pattern to expose it to a larger customer base and eliminate back stock.
Personally I would rather see items sell out then linger on for years as some occasional pieces do. The collector should always buy what he likes. I only buy pieces that interest me, reguardless of the limited factor.
I think Andy C is on a roll now, the pieces just keep getting better and better.

Njja

 

[nmrocks]

Unfortunately for us it's just great marketing, my guess is we will see alot of this, look at the hestaria it's caused? I also think in the end it's best for us as well. This is going to ensure the value of our collections remain high. We all will simply have to deal with the mental part of "not having them all". There always has been and always will be holes in my collections, it's part of what keeps collecting interesting. Andy's really doing a great job of setting up the Pavlov's dog scenario, you know, ring the bell and the rat comes running!

 

[King & Country]

Hi Guys,

Re the discussion on “limited production” as opposed to “strictly limited”. Let me give you some background on one particular instance… the “revised” King Tiger.

Every week at K&C we look at our stock situation for all of our items. Some time before Christmas we saw that our first batch of King Tigers, which we had released for “Fall of Berlin”, was running perilously low.

What to do? Well, we could put in a replacement order for more of the same (i.e. same paint style) or we could do a different paint job which might offer something new to existing collectors (if they wish to have another KT) and/or newer K&C collectors who want a King Tiger but might have missed the first “Berlin” version.

As I always like to try something new I went for the different paint style option.

Originally I also thought to produce a relatively modest number however the immediate response of dealers was they wanted a lot more. So this is what K&C is trying to do now… keep as many dealers and collectors as happy as possible.

“Strictly Limited” as most of you know is a very specific number of models complete with certificates… special packaging… original figures. A pre decided number of models will be announced and no matter how great the response that original production number will not be increased or added to. The recent “Winter Tiger” is a good example of that.

So, my apologies if I confused anyone. I hope this explanation goes some way to defining what we do and how we do it.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.


Best wishes and … happy collecting!

Andy C.

 

[Fullyautomatic]

Thanks again for the update Andy. Does this mean that the originally posted modest number of repainted KT's will be greater than the said 500? I'm a little unclear on this but that could be just me

 

[Louis Badolato]

You know, one of Andy's repaints, the WS15(W) Winter Tiger, sold on Ebay last night for more than $1,000. I think these different versions really add spice to collecting.

 

[Njja]

I agree 100%, thanks Andy C. for the insight.
Fullyautomatic, King & Country has stated they will make 500 King Tigers in the new paint style, so thats the production, it is a beautiful model so certainly another King Tiger may be done later with different figures or modifications.
So get your order in early because the new King Tiger won't last long.

Njja

 

[bsager]

Hey Guys,
K&C asked the dealer group to resubmit their orders for the Repainted KT and the French Char bis. I think the response was so great you might see an increase in the amount of items produced. I don't think it was originally planned to be a short run and they did not expect the response they got.

The same thing happened to WS41 as did the FoB009. It was retired without an official announcement to let dealers purchase some surplus. A lot of dealers were caught offguard, me being one of them, and were not able to restock. I think the same has happened with the FoB009.

Bill Sager

 

[Louis Badolato]

Hey Bill, if you have one of each of these vehicles, I'll take them. You can bring them up to me at the Symposium, and I will square up with you then. Let me know if this is okay.

 

[Fullyautomatic]

I understood that to be the case in the beginning but this quote from Andy has me wondering
"Originally I also thought to produce a relatively modest number however the immediate response of dealers was they wanted a lot more."
It sounds like the demand has warranted an increase in production from the original 500. Don't worry Njja I have one on order already along with the Char. I hate playing catch-up with those e-bay prices.

 

[Njja]

Good for you, it is a great paint job! I ordered it also. The only concern I have is, once a production number is released it should not be affected by orders.

Njja

 

[bsager]

We have not heard back yet on what the final production will be but it will be interesting to see what happens.

I for one like the limited stuff. It really helps to keep the value of the collection up. Even if it's not in the Strictly Limited series. The WS57 was a good example. Retired for a year and the last one I saw went for $350 on ebay.

Bill Sager

 

[vandilay]

Hi Andy

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I,m sure the effort you go to is part of the reason your company has such a loyal following.

cheers Rob

 

[Eazy]

Thanks to Andy for the interesting insight into the production. Very informative.

I'll be getting the King Tiger for certain but i'm confused as to the French tank. I only want one version and so naturally i'd go for the one with the lowest production run. Will this still be the second issue or now are both the same?

I do understand that originally the repaints were intended as a way of fulfilling demand for the original as well as giving the customer something new. But it's still a bit confusing.

 

[jazzeum]

I'd also like to keep the revised King Tiger at 500 but since this is not a limited edition, that may not happen. Also, I wonder if this is the same thing that happened with the two non-winter versions of the Panther. Did Andy run out of one version and just decide to have another one but with different markings?

As an aside, I wonder which Panther had the greatest production run. I'm assuming the Normandy one since you seldom see it.

 

[Njja]

I'm hoping the book Louis is coming out with will clear up the production number questions. It would be great if Andy C. provided some of the mock up, and never produced item photos also. That would really be something to see. I wonder if Louis has talked to Andy C. about a limited number of autographed copys of the book?
That would be a really nice item to add to your collection.

Njja