The Alamo diorama - huge, custom collection. need advice. (1 Viewer)

[ahutter]

Hey guys,

I need your help. I'm helping my in-laws settle their estate - including (probably) over 5,000 toy soldiers. Various collections, dioramas, custom pieces, etc.

I must confess I know very little about this world - I found this forum and created this account specifically to humbly ask for help.

My father-in-law has been suffering from alzheimer's in recent years, but before his decline he was absolutely obsessed. His attention to detail, and to very thoroughly documenting all his purchases is remarkable. I'm still working through most of it.

The diorama he is most proud of is his Alamo. A 248 figure collection including a custom chapel created by Gordon Neilson of King & Country (Andy's brother). Toy Soldier & Model Figure Magazine did a cover feature on it in their May 2009 issue. I'm trying to secure a digital version of the article from the publisher, now.

Here's a link to a video documenting and describing the diorama.
Here's a link to some more pictures.

I'm searching for the digital version of a spreadsheet and personal notes documenting the entire collection in detail.

-------------------
Here's my request: I need help finding someone who is willing to purchase this entire collection as a single unit. They could be a fellow enthusiast, a broker, a re-seller. I don't care.

What do you guys suggest? Be gentle (and honest) - I'm a total n00b to this world.


Thanks!!


edit: I posted this here (and not the "for sale/trade" section) because everything in this collection is King & Country and wanted to start in the best place for knowledge.

 

[ahutter]

And I guess my ask is more broad than just the Alamo.

Tom (my father-in-law) has soooo many figures and collections that my mother-in-law doesn't even know where to start. It would be awesome if I found a broker or re-seller to come out and purchase their entire collection at a discount, with the intent to catalog and resell. Just to relieve my mother-in-law of the burden.

 

[maddadicus]

You may have to be patient over such a request. We have an international membership with different time zones. Also, most of the big buck collectors as well as major dealers are at the Chicago Toy Soldier show this weekend. It will be days before they even see the forum posts, never mind respond. The sponsor of this site is a big time retailer in Minnesota and when the show is done, might be able to provide direction as to the sale of the collection..Hope this helps, but you need to give this a few days yet..Michael

 

[jazzeum]

The Show is not until the end of September. C'mon Michael.

 

[ahutter]

You may have to be patient over such a request. We have an international membership with different time zones. Also, most of the big buck collectors as well as major dealers are at the Chicago Toy Soldier show this weekend. It will be days before they even see the forum posts, never mind respond. The sponsor of this site is a big time retailer in Minnesota and when the show is done, might be able to provide direction as to the sale of the collection..Hope this helps, but you need to give this a few days yet..Michael

Thanks Michael. Appreciate your insight.

 

[ahutter]

The Show is not until the end of September. C'mon Michael.

Well, in that case. Do you guys think it's worth it to take this diorama and any of the rest of his massive collection to the show in person? I might not be able to swing that.

I found a program on his laptop called "Digital Barracks" - essentially a UI for an MS Access Database. I'm not sure how up-to-date it is, but he has over 3,000 figures documented with a retail value over $90k.

I don't even know where to start....

 

[ahutter]

OK I'm going crazy here. I'm trying to reply to PMs but I'm not seeing anything in my "Sent" folder. What am I missing?

 

[mikemiller1955]

are you pressing "submit" or "reply" after you compose your message...I forget the terminology...but you must press the appropriate button to deliver your reply...

 

[em_linney]

Others may have already suggested this, but you could check out: http://www.oldtoysoldierauctions.com/default.htm

It looks like they buy collections and then auction them off. Might be worth a contact.

Good luck with your quest. I'm sure it is not an easy time with everything that is going on.

Best wishes,
Emerson Linney

And I guess my ask is more broad than just the Alamo.

Tom (my father-in-law) has soooo many figures and collections that my mother-in-law doesn't even know where to start. It would be awesome if I found a broker or re-seller to come out and purchase their entire collection at a discount, with the intent to catalog and resell. Just to relieve my mother-in-law of the burden.

 

[Iron Brigade]

As prior posting noted there is an Online auction seller called "Old Toy Soldier Auctions USA". It was started a few years back now. It is primarily run by a Mr. Norman Joplin who came from England some years back now and is a noted toy soldier expert and has written several toy soldier books in the past. They sell via Online auctions for several days each May and November. This is a good place to handle large estate sale type auctions. Most small dealers would not be able to handle collectors that run into the thousands of items.

Norman Joplin lives in Waubeka, Wisconsin which is in the southern part of Sheboygan County, Wisconsin and a little west of Interstate I-43. His telephone number: 262-692-3913 & his E-mail: otsauctionsusa@yahoo.com His office hours were 9 AM to 5 PM Central time zone.

As I recall talking to Norman a couple of years back the commissions normally run at 30% and they take care of all the photos and listings for the live Online auctions. Check out prior auctions at www.oldtoysoldierauctionsusa.com to get an idea of their services. I knew of a local area big time collector who died in September 2009 who had some 7,000 figures and they were all sold over two auctions one in May and again in the following November in It think it was 2010 or 2011. This saved his widow the problem of selling off items a few at a time which could take a lot of time and effort. Per my review of these auctions the widow got a big pay out on these auctions.

Best of luck, Gary / "Iron Brigade"

 

[hotel3alpha]

Gents,

Spoke with the man this summer and he was very cordial and very professional. I would highly recommend him for any and all toy soldier services.

John from Texas

 

[ahutter]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Very much appreciated.

My father-in-law's total collection is impressive. And overwhelming

I plan to pull together lists of the several diorama's he has, with details on all the figures, and pictures. I hope to sell those groupings to fellow enthusiasts who want to actually collect them.

I'm just starting this journey, and hope that some of you will enjoy keeping up with it. It will be a firehouse-education for me, and sort of like a treasure hunt as I uncover and post the various dioramas we find.

To be continued...

 

[theBaron]

I'll second contacting Norman Joplin (http://www.normanjoplin.com/home.htm), to auction your father-in-law's collection. And I'll recommend another dealer/auctioneer, and that's Ray Haradin, whose website is http://raytoys.com/. Ray is a long-time toy soldier collector and dealer, as well as a collector and seller of antique toys. He is also the current publisher of Old Toy Soldier, which he took over when Steve Sommers retired from the role of publisher. In fact, Ray and Norman have collaborated on the magazine. Both gentlemen are experts on toy soldiers and toy soldier auctions.

Hope that helps, prosit!
Brad

 

[marco55]

That would be the best way to go.Can you imagine packing up and shipping out all those sets.Then you have to deal with possible damaged or lost packages.Could be a real nightmare.
Mark

 

[jazzeum]

The only trouble with Old Toy Soldier Auctions is that they normally hold auctions only two or three times a year so if you're looking for a quick resolution, they are probably not the desired alternative.