The 2006 New York Symposium (March 10-12) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Louis Badolato
- Start date
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sceic2
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Very nice Louis. Thank you for posting the pictures Brad. I have a looonnnnggg way to go in catching up with you Louis. I don't believe that I ever will (what an obvious conclusion ah). Your passion is a wonder to see. Michael
Fullyautomatic
Sergeant
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Great collection Louis and thanks for posting some of the pic's Brad. Good luck this weekend to everyone thats attending the Symposium. Lucky dogs!!!
I believe we all want a full report on Monday and who finds the rarest K&C piece at Sundays show. The hunt is on!
I believe we all want a full report on Monday and who finds the rarest K&C piece at Sundays show. The hunt is on!
Simple words cannot do justice in describing my reaction to seeing such a wonderful collection. Congratulations, Louis, for gathering such a great collection and, thanks for sharing it.
Brad, thanks for taking the pictures and posting them. Now I have some small idea of what I am missing.
Warm regards to all,
Pat
Brad, thanks for taking the pictures and posting them. Now I have some small idea of what I am missing.
Warm regards to all,
Pat
Hoot-n-Toot
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Great collection and photos guys. Thanks for shearing it is iunfortinate we all live so far and can not see each others collections .. Thanks for the internet and thanks for the posts Brad.. Boy I would hate to dust all that.
Toot
Toot
Toot,
I think I could make myself dust all day long if I had a collection as nice and as massive as does Louis. Well,...I might mind the dusting, but I think I could find a way to put up with the task. The larger problem I would have is where to store all the magnificent items!
Smiles,
Pat
I think I could make myself dust all day long if I had a collection as nice and as massive as does Louis. Well,...I might mind the dusting, but I think I could find a way to put up with the task. The larger problem I would have is where to store all the magnificent items!
Smiles,
Pat
jazzeum
Four Star General
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The planes are actually dusty and I kept bugging Louis about that but I'm a neatnix so we're all different. I don't envy Louis having to put that away. He's got a hell of a lot of work to do.
The award for finding the rarest piece goes to Fred from King and Country France and Louis. Louis found a Spitfire for the American volunteers (serves me right for being late) but Fred found a glossy MP that not even Louis had and when he found that the seller had another, we had to peel Louis off the roof. To make two great finds like that obviously made his weekend.
The award for finding the rarest piece goes to Fred from King and Country France and Louis. Louis found a Spitfire for the American volunteers (serves me right for being late) but Fred found a glossy MP that not even Louis had and when he found that the seller had another, we had to peel Louis off the roof. To make two great finds like that obviously made his weekend.
Louis Badolato
Lieutenant General
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Hello all! Wow, what a weekend! I cannot thank Andy, Mike Neville, Shannon, Bill Sager, Kevin Elliot, Tim Tyler, Thierry Dez, Fred, Ed, Brad Lewin, Harvey Hammer, Bruce Whitman, Amanda, Regina Stork, Tony, Joe Biasco, Mike, Charles & Meep Zucker, Mark Hoffman, and especially Hans Hedrich and Larry Lo for making this Symposium such an incredibly fun experience!! I cannot get over all of the events, the information from Andy, the gifts we exchanged among those attending, and the acquisitions we all made at the show. It is all too much.
First of all, Andy indicated that he would like to arrange for publication of the book once Hans, Larry and I get finished with it. Fred from King & Country Paris told me he wanted at least 50 copies for his store. I had originally intended to have a draft ready for the Symposium, but, alas, I am only about 50% done with the first draft (about 120 pages of text so far). I will do everything in my power to have a draft ready for the Chicago Show. Andy read the chapters we have completed so far, and really liked what we are doing.
More photos taken by Bill Sager and Brad at the various events should be posted soon, and will prove invaluable for the book.
Andy brought some wonderful little 12 inch by 12 inch diorama squares (two desert, two with grass and bushes) to display his new Afrika Corps, American Revolution and Barbarian figures (which are all exceptional!). Andy indicated that he was going to produce squares of this type (some with roads, some with trees, some with grass and bushes, and assorted desert scenes) to use to build inexpensive modular dioramas (as had been discussed on this forum on another thread previously).
At the Scheutzen Park show today, I obtained a very early K&C Hawker Hurricane in the markings of the Eagle Squadron, Kevin obtained the first two Arnhem sets, Thierry got a landing craft, and Fred got the first of two incredibly rare 1993 issue glossy United States MP's which I had never scene in person before (if you could see the grin on my face, you would know who got the other) as well as some modern Hong Kong Police and matt Rough Riders from the mid-1990's.
The generosity of those attending (not the least of which was Andy himself)exemplified why Toy Soldier collecting is such a rewarding hobby. The list of duplicate K&C products which were exchanged among the attendees is too long to repeat, but I would especially like to thank Ed for the incredible Green Beret Afghanistan coin, a gift I will treasure.
But the best aspect of the show was the good fellowship. I can honestly say that I had the time of my life. Meeting Kevin, Bill Sager, Harvey Hammer, Mike and Ed for the first time, cementing friendships with them, and seeing friends like Shannon, Tim Tyler, Mike Neville, Joe Biasco, Theirry, Fred, Bruce, Amanda, Charles, Mark and Andy (all of whom came so far) again was the highlight of the weekend for me. To all these friends, Hans, Larry and I again sincerely thank you for joining us!
First of all, Andy indicated that he would like to arrange for publication of the book once Hans, Larry and I get finished with it. Fred from King & Country Paris told me he wanted at least 50 copies for his store. I had originally intended to have a draft ready for the Symposium, but, alas, I am only about 50% done with the first draft (about 120 pages of text so far). I will do everything in my power to have a draft ready for the Chicago Show. Andy read the chapters we have completed so far, and really liked what we are doing.
More photos taken by Bill Sager and Brad at the various events should be posted soon, and will prove invaluable for the book.
Andy brought some wonderful little 12 inch by 12 inch diorama squares (two desert, two with grass and bushes) to display his new Afrika Corps, American Revolution and Barbarian figures (which are all exceptional!). Andy indicated that he was going to produce squares of this type (some with roads, some with trees, some with grass and bushes, and assorted desert scenes) to use to build inexpensive modular dioramas (as had been discussed on this forum on another thread previously).
At the Scheutzen Park show today, I obtained a very early K&C Hawker Hurricane in the markings of the Eagle Squadron, Kevin obtained the first two Arnhem sets, Thierry got a landing craft, and Fred got the first of two incredibly rare 1993 issue glossy United States MP's which I had never scene in person before (if you could see the grin on my face, you would know who got the other) as well as some modern Hong Kong Police and matt Rough Riders from the mid-1990's.
The generosity of those attending (not the least of which was Andy himself)exemplified why Toy Soldier collecting is such a rewarding hobby. The list of duplicate K&C products which were exchanged among the attendees is too long to repeat, but I would especially like to thank Ed for the incredible Green Beret Afghanistan coin, a gift I will treasure.
But the best aspect of the show was the good fellowship. I can honestly say that I had the time of my life. Meeting Kevin, Bill Sager, Harvey Hammer, Mike and Ed for the first time, cementing friendships with them, and seeing friends like Shannon, Tim Tyler, Mike Neville, Joe Biasco, Theirry, Fred, Bruce, Amanda, Charles, Mark and Andy (all of whom came so far) again was the highlight of the weekend for me. To all these friends, Hans, Larry and I again sincerely thank you for joining us!
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Re: Notes from Andy's New York Talk
Okay folks, this weekend I plan to get Andy's talk posted as well as people pictures from the gala event.
Here are some excerpts from Andy Neilson’s talk and question & answer session at the New York Symposium this past weekend:
· King & Country is looking to bring new people into toy soldier collecting by increasing their advertising budget by 500%. They are considering television ads on the History Channel as well as taking out ads in history magazines.
· Although it has been promised for several years now the Custer’s Last Stand line will not be coming out in 2006 after all. Instead an Alamo line, plus two new lines that are being kept under wraps will be making their debuts this year.
· There has been huge growth in the last year of people wanting accessories pieces for their figures so K&C plans to add some smaller accessories this year (the Napoleonic Farmhouse table, chairs and ladders etc. are an example of this).
· K&C estimates there are currently 2,000 to 4,000 King & Country collectors in the US. The more collectors that come into the hobby, the more likely K&C can make items that they couldn’t currently sell 500 of now, such as more obscure vehicles. Andy feels they would be able to handle a large increase in production
· A suggestion was made on the forum to have people choose from a list of ideas and put a deposit down on those they would like to see produced and then based on these results K&C would pick which ones to make. Forum members seemed to like this plan, however Andy does not support this idea because he feels it would disappoint more people than it would make happy. He reminded us that King & Country is not a custom tailored business and that orders have to be put into the factory at least 2 months in advance. He feels this voting idea would be too time-consuming and would be like running a business by committee.
· On the Greif: Originally the idea to have K&C produce a Greif was Fred Genard’s of ToysoldiersParis and Andy originally planned to make 500. Fred talked him into 650, they finally decided on 750 and they ended up getting orders for 1500!
· Suggestions from dealers and other attendees:
§ One dealer suggested that strictly limited allocations be based on percentage of sales and Andy seemed open to the idea.
§ Another dealer suggested authorized dealers not be allowed to sell strictly limited pieces on eBay
§ Another dealer suggested that strictly limited pieces be restricted to production of 1000 pieces or less.
§ A suggestion was made to bring back the numbering system on the bottoms of the figures to more easily tell which figures went together if they were all mixed together in a diorama. Andy thought they might be able to do that. He admitted there are so many figures now that sometimes he forgets which goes with what.
· About the King & Country Studio:
§ They have 6 sculptors (2 of which are master sculptors) and approximately 6 master painters (this fluctuates) that work together in a studio apartment.
§ They use special clay from North China that is flexible and allows them to pose the bodies more naturally. In the early days of K&C they sculpted in resin which made the figures appear stiff and they had to depend on the painting to sell the figures.
§ Once a clay master is approved, a polyurethane master is made and then a silicon mold is produced. The cost of polystone and silicone is very cheap compared to die cast. For example if the Jimmy truck had been die cast it would have cost $70,000 to make metal molds. Forces of Valor can do die cast mold because they will make 50,000 of a vehicle instead of 1,000 like K&C which is why FOV is sold everywhere, so K&C plans to stick to how they do it now.
· What is coming out in WWII this year:
§ 8th Army
§ In June, for the DD range: US Ambulance Jeep, Stuart Tank, 2 American personality figures, 1 or 2 paratrooper sets
§ Winter Americans for Battle of the Bulge
§ Winter Germans but hasn’t decided for which front with at least 2 vehicles
§ In July German D-Day Panther, Self-Propelled Gun, Atlantic Wall Bunker with German Infantry
§ German motorcycle combo in metal, not polystone. The wheels won’t move because the cycle has come to a halt so its not necessary, plus it makes for a stronger figure
§ More famous personalities
§ Fields of Battle—In July French infantry and cavalry in action, a British tank and a German Kubelwagon. They are considering other ideas as well such as Bataan or Wake Island
§ Andy is keeping mum about any releases past July
· On tank tracks: Although K&C sees new companies making their tracks of metal, or cut out, they are not convinced they will be strong enough. They will be watching the new companies closely and if their tracks do hold up they will consider changing their methods. For now they feel their polystone tracks give an integral strength to their vehicles.
Okay folks, this weekend I plan to get Andy's talk posted as well as people pictures from the gala event.
Here are some excerpts from Andy Neilson’s talk and question & answer session at the New York Symposium this past weekend:
· King & Country is looking to bring new people into toy soldier collecting by increasing their advertising budget by 500%. They are considering television ads on the History Channel as well as taking out ads in history magazines.
· Although it has been promised for several years now the Custer’s Last Stand line will not be coming out in 2006 after all. Instead an Alamo line, plus two new lines that are being kept under wraps will be making their debuts this year.
· There has been huge growth in the last year of people wanting accessories pieces for their figures so K&C plans to add some smaller accessories this year (the Napoleonic Farmhouse table, chairs and ladders etc. are an example of this).
· K&C estimates there are currently 2,000 to 4,000 King & Country collectors in the US. The more collectors that come into the hobby, the more likely K&C can make items that they couldn’t currently sell 500 of now, such as more obscure vehicles. Andy feels they would be able to handle a large increase in production
· A suggestion was made on the forum to have people choose from a list of ideas and put a deposit down on those they would like to see produced and then based on these results K&C would pick which ones to make. Forum members seemed to like this plan, however Andy does not support this idea because he feels it would disappoint more people than it would make happy. He reminded us that King & Country is not a custom tailored business and that orders have to be put into the factory at least 2 months in advance. He feels this voting idea would be too time-consuming and would be like running a business by committee.
· On the Greif: Originally the idea to have K&C produce a Greif was Fred Genard’s of ToysoldiersParis and Andy originally planned to make 500. Fred talked him into 650, they finally decided on 750 and they ended up getting orders for 1500!
· Suggestions from dealers and other attendees:
§ One dealer suggested that strictly limited allocations be based on percentage of sales and Andy seemed open to the idea.
§ Another dealer suggested authorized dealers not be allowed to sell strictly limited pieces on eBay
§ Another dealer suggested that strictly limited pieces be restricted to production of 1000 pieces or less.
§ A suggestion was made to bring back the numbering system on the bottoms of the figures to more easily tell which figures went together if they were all mixed together in a diorama. Andy thought they might be able to do that. He admitted there are so many figures now that sometimes he forgets which goes with what.
· About the King & Country Studio:
§ They have 6 sculptors (2 of which are master sculptors) and approximately 6 master painters (this fluctuates) that work together in a studio apartment.
§ They use special clay from North China that is flexible and allows them to pose the bodies more naturally. In the early days of K&C they sculpted in resin which made the figures appear stiff and they had to depend on the painting to sell the figures.
§ Once a clay master is approved, a polyurethane master is made and then a silicon mold is produced. The cost of polystone and silicone is very cheap compared to die cast. For example if the Jimmy truck had been die cast it would have cost $70,000 to make metal molds. Forces of Valor can do die cast mold because they will make 50,000 of a vehicle instead of 1,000 like K&C which is why FOV is sold everywhere, so K&C plans to stick to how they do it now.
· What is coming out in WWII this year:
§ 8th Army
§ In June, for the DD range: US Ambulance Jeep, Stuart Tank, 2 American personality figures, 1 or 2 paratrooper sets
§ Winter Americans for Battle of the Bulge
§ Winter Germans but hasn’t decided for which front with at least 2 vehicles
§ In July German D-Day Panther, Self-Propelled Gun, Atlantic Wall Bunker with German Infantry
§ German motorcycle combo in metal, not polystone. The wheels won’t move because the cycle has come to a halt so its not necessary, plus it makes for a stronger figure
§ More famous personalities
§ Fields of Battle—In July French infantry and cavalry in action, a British tank and a German Kubelwagon. They are considering other ideas as well such as Bataan or Wake Island
§ Andy is keeping mum about any releases past July
· On tank tracks: Although K&C sees new companies making their tracks of metal, or cut out, they are not convinced they will be strong enough. They will be watching the new companies closely and if their tracks do hold up they will consider changing their methods. For now they feel their polystone tracks give an integral strength to their vehicles.
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- Apr 22, 2005
- Messages
- 1,585
Q&A Portion of Andy's Symposium talk
· Some questions for Andy from the attendees:
Q What is your contingency plan for K&C if something should happen to you?
A Andy stated although many others are involved in running K&C he is the heart and soul of the company, but it would continue on without him.
Q How long can you continue at this level?
A He’s having fun and wants to do it as long as he is physically and mentally able. He’s only 57 years old so he figures he can do it for the next ten years for sure.
Q Could you make more dioramas like the ones in ads and brochures so they aren’t just expensive one of a kinds that only a few collectors can obtain?
A Andy felt that modular squares were the new way to go because they could make a diorama as large or as small as the collector would like. He displayed the upcoming Afrika Korps sets on some sample modular terrain squares as an example.
Q Why did you change the packaging of figures to add hard plastic protective “bubbles” around the figures? The consensus of the crowd was that it did a better job of protecting the figures but looked cheap.
A His response was that you’re supposed to take it out of the box anyway so who cares?
This new packaging is especially helpful for keeping bayonets and swords from bending. The problem with die cut foam is that you need to make enormous orders to acquire it. He also said the outsides of the boxes are improving as well, that hard boxes are best and eventually he wants to change completely over to them with each series having its own unique design. Concerns were raised by dealers that fancier boxes make customers overly concerned about the inevitable crushed corners and another dealer felt that the hard plastic was a problem because sometimes it rubbed against the paint.
Q What happened to the Pegasus paratroopers?
A We had hoped to do Pegasus bridge figures in June or a Britan (sp-can’t read my own writing) to Arnhem line in September but ran out of time so maybe in ’07. There are no plans for a Pegasus bridge because it would need to be 6 ft long in order to be to scale.
Q How about making horse-drawn German artillery?
A Some of the winter German may be horse drawn, they actually had more horse-drawn artillery in WWII than WWI, but either way he won’t be making any dead horses
Q Where do you get your inspiration?
A Books, movies, plastic kits, other figures, talking to customers, everywhere really.
Q Could you repaint in jungle green for Pacific 14th Army?
A Pacific Theatre doesn’t sell in the US. We used to repaint when we were smaller but not now. Andy would personally love to do historical Hong Kong, Fall of Singapore etc. but “you have to make what sells."
· Some questions for Andy from the attendees:
Q What is your contingency plan for K&C if something should happen to you?
A Andy stated although many others are involved in running K&C he is the heart and soul of the company, but it would continue on without him.
Q How long can you continue at this level?
A He’s having fun and wants to do it as long as he is physically and mentally able. He’s only 57 years old so he figures he can do it for the next ten years for sure.
Q Could you make more dioramas like the ones in ads and brochures so they aren’t just expensive one of a kinds that only a few collectors can obtain?
A Andy felt that modular squares were the new way to go because they could make a diorama as large or as small as the collector would like. He displayed the upcoming Afrika Korps sets on some sample modular terrain squares as an example.
Q Why did you change the packaging of figures to add hard plastic protective “bubbles” around the figures? The consensus of the crowd was that it did a better job of protecting the figures but looked cheap.
A His response was that you’re supposed to take it out of the box anyway so who cares?
This new packaging is especially helpful for keeping bayonets and swords from bending. The problem with die cut foam is that you need to make enormous orders to acquire it. He also said the outsides of the boxes are improving as well, that hard boxes are best and eventually he wants to change completely over to them with each series having its own unique design. Concerns were raised by dealers that fancier boxes make customers overly concerned about the inevitable crushed corners and another dealer felt that the hard plastic was a problem because sometimes it rubbed against the paint.
Q What happened to the Pegasus paratroopers?
A We had hoped to do Pegasus bridge figures in June or a Britan (sp-can’t read my own writing) to Arnhem line in September but ran out of time so maybe in ’07. There are no plans for a Pegasus bridge because it would need to be 6 ft long in order to be to scale.
Q How about making horse-drawn German artillery?
A Some of the winter German may be horse drawn, they actually had more horse-drawn artillery in WWII than WWI, but either way he won’t be making any dead horses
Q Where do you get your inspiration?
A Books, movies, plastic kits, other figures, talking to customers, everywhere really.
Q Could you repaint in jungle green for Pacific 14th Army?
A Pacific Theatre doesn’t sell in the US. We used to repaint when we were smaller but not now. Andy would personally love to do historical Hong Kong, Fall of Singapore etc. but “you have to make what sells."