The Australian Market (1 Viewer)

[Isandlwana]

You must forgive me if I am talking rot but I believe the Australian Dollar is relatively strong at the moment, and as a consequence the Aussie market, purely from a TS perspective, may just be at its most bouyant.

With this in mind, do the many Aussie's that frequent these boards feel that their wants and wishes are being catered for a lot more than when things were less financially favourable or would you say your voices are being heard just the same as they ever were?

Is the Aussie market share larger than it has ever been? If this is the case, I think you are in a very strong position when requesting what you would like to see next. With that in mind, what does the Aussie market crave?

I only bring this up for discussion, and I would like to make it clear that there are no cancerous motives behind this question whatsoever.

 

[waynepoo]

I wouldn't have a clue about the market share here or any of the that stuff but I don't think there is enough collectors here to influence the manufactures one way or another and remember there are only two bricks and mortar dealers in OZ (who would be better placed to answer) from my point of view I want much more great war related figures which none of the matte manufactures are doing to any great degree ( K&C ALH / Camel corp the exception and maybe TG every now and then) which I ask for at very opportunity, so no I don't think we have any more say than anybody else. Good thread by the way.
Wayne.

 

[Isandlwana]

there are only two bricks and mortar dealers in OZ.

Really? That is an incredibly small number, especially if they cater for every Aussie's needs on here. There are a lot of you.

 

[TomNT]

Yes, this is a good thread so thanks for posting. I have to agree with Wayne and say i don't think there are enough Aussie's to influence the manufacturers that much although we may have some influence on some of the ranges such as the light horse series etc. As Wayne said, there are only two significant bricks and mortar stores in Oz and even though you think there are a lot of us Aussie collectors, i don't think there are that many of us around. I may be wrong and Brett from the Military Workshop in Brisbane or Peter from Peter Nathan Toy Soldiers in Sydney would be the best people to answer this question.

From my personal perspective, i would like to see more WW2 Desert and Europe figures and vehicles produced but i am unsure if that's what the Aussie market craves as other Aussie collectors such as Wayne, Jack, Howard, Robin etc are also big WW1 collectors.

Tom

 

[larso]

There might only be two main dealers but they seem to be doing pretty well. Andy's recent visit attracted over 70 to the Brisbane dinner (though this included some partners and youngsters). The high Australian dollar has certainly helped us boost our collections. I'm a good example of that. As to how many in Australia overall - well, I'm thinking a few hundred consistent collectors. But not enough to justify an Australian centric line - especially since we'd all have different wishes for said line!

 

[jules118]

Interesting topic. I assume that what is being implied is that Aussie collectors crave more Australian figure ranges or releases? I'm not a very 'serious' collector so I don't know much about the Australian market, nor how many collectors may be in Australia. The strong Aussie dollar has had some influence on my decisions to buy figures and models but I have not gone down the path of collecting any specifically Australian ranges although this could change if a WW1 Rolls Royce or similar armoured car is released. I don't know if I am unusual in being an Aussie and not being a collector of Australian figures or whether this is relatively common, with many collectors focusing on areas that did not have Australian involvement, Russian Front, D-Day, Arnhem etc? I'd be really interested to hear Brett's take on this topic.

jules

http://juleswings.wordpress.com/
A collectors and travel blog for those interested in military history.

 

[Jack]

I'd be really interested to hear Brett's take on this topic.

Not something you hear everyday!{sm3}{sm3}

 

[waynepoo]

Not something you hear everyday!{sm3}{sm3}

Cheeky but true.....{sm3}^&grin
Wayne.

 

[larso]

"collecting any specifically Australian ranges although this could change if a WW1 Rolls Royce or similar armoured car is released"

And this is the trick - finding something that enough of us would agree on! Beersheba was a pretty good bet (as it's proved to be) but given a lot of it's cavalry, it's an expensive one. I'd be keen on the Kokoda Track but we've heard that generally the Pacific (Japanese) hasn't sold well, so it's unlikely to have a broad enough appeal even if Australians got into it.

Other options - Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan would have only modest interest I suspect. Western FRont maybe more so but it's hard to make them stand out as Australians. Even Gallipoli, based on my own experience with such a range, is no sure winner.

Perhaps Australian crewed aircraft????

 

[TomNT]

Not something you hear everyday!{sm3}{sm3}

Or likely to hear again...:rolleyes2:^&grin

Tom

 

[jules118]

Perhaps Australian crewed aircraft????

My decades old collecting interest has been military insignia and within that field, the badges of the Australian Flying Corps is one of my primary areas. So any manufacturer who released AFC marked aircraft would definitely find a customer in me.

jules

http://juleswings.wordpress.com/
A collectors and travel blog for those interested in military history.

 

[TomB]

My decades old collecting interest has been military insignia and within that field, the badges of the Australian Flying Corps is one of my primary areas. So any manufacturer who released AFC marked aircraft would definitely find a customer in me.

jules

http://juleswings.wordpress.com/
A collectors and travel blog for those interested in military history.

Thank you for a very interesting site to visit....when I have time I will spend time going through it...is your interest amongst other things...para wings ...do you have summer issue Aust SAS wings...to be worn on Khaki shirts...or any wings made up by the Sqns for their own use ?...TomB

 

[zulucollector]

Re: The Canadian Market

I find this an interesting thread as similar to the Australian market; the Cdn market is experiencing many of the same issues. We are benefiting from the high Cdn dollar similar to the Aussie experience due to commodity boom. Simiarly we don't have enough mass for cdn openly themes so at least Aussies have the light horse lol The biggest difference is while TS dealers are very scarce in Canada we benefit from close proximity to the big US dealers and ebay is not as costly for shipping from either the UK or USA. If you look at the WBritians experience they know their primary markets hence they produce Anglo Zula war and American CW. Now saying all that I think you will be see a Gallipoli line from a major player soon due to many key campaign product lines have run their course and the strength of a certain Mel Gibson movie as most of the big TS winners have a mass appeal related to movies ie Zulu, A Bridge to Far, Waterloo etc

 

[Isandlwana]

Re: The Canadian Market

Now saying all that I think you will be see a Gallipoli line from a major player soon due to many key campaign product lines have run their course and the strength of a certain Mel Gibson movie as most of the big TS winners have a mass appeal related to movies ie Zulu, A Bridge to Far, Waterloo etc

Have you heard something??? Not just speaking with my wallet but I do hope it's WB.

You are right though. Movies do play a significant role, not only in bringing fresh blood to TS but moreso into history in general.

 

[lancer]

Re: The Canadian Market

I find this an interesting thread as similar to the Australian market; the Cdn market is experiencing many of the same issues. We are benefiting from the high Cdn dollar similar to the Aussie experience due to commodity boom. Simiarly we don't have enough mass for cdn openly themes so at least Aussies have the light horse lol The biggest difference is while TS dealers are very scarce in Canada we benefit from close proximity to the big US dealers and ebay is not as costly for shipping from either the UK or USA. If you look at the WBritians experience they know their primary markets hence they produce Anglo Zula war and American CW. Now saying all that I think you will be see a Gallipoli line from a major player soon due to many key campaign product lines have run their course and the strength of a certain Mel Gibson movie as most of the big TS winners have a mass appeal related to movies ie Zulu, A Bridge to Far, Waterloo etc

One dealer is very much working on a Canadian theme. John Jenkins has been producing his very fine WW1 aircraft with a Canadian flavor. So far he has done Roy Brown's Camel, Donald Maclaren's Camel, Billy Bishop's Nieuport, and has just announced William Barker's Camel. A pretty impressive assortment of Canada's flying heroes. -- Al

 

[jules118]

Thank you for a very interesting site to visit....when I have time I will spend time going through it...is your interest amongst other things...para wings ...do you have summer issue Aust SAS wings...to be worn on Khaki shirts...or any wings made up by the Sqns for their own use ?...TomB

Thanks for taking the time to check out my site TomB. It's still quite new and there is a lot of content that I need to organise and upload, battlefields and military museum visits etc. Time is the big factor. Yes parachutist/SF insignia form the bulk of my collection and I have most of the wings issued to the Australian SAS since the formation of the unit in 1957. Still missing quite a few of the troop patches though.

jules

http://juleswings.wordpress.com/
A collectors and travel blog for those interested in military history.

 

[TomB]

Thanks for taking the time to check out my site TomB. It's still quite new and there is a lot of content that I need to organise and upload, battlefields and military museum visits etc. Time is the big factor. Yes parachutist/SF insignia form the bulk of my collection and I have most of the wings issued to the Australian SAS since the formation of the unit in 1957. Still missing quite a few of the troop patches though.

jules

http://juleswings.wordpress.com/
A collectors and travel blog for those interested in military history.

Cannot help you on the troop patches....the early 1950's formation patches worn on the old khaki uniform before the JG's were introduced are long lost...shame...they looked good under the RAR flash's....TomB

 

[Jack]

Really? That is an incredibly small number, especially if they cater for every Aussie's needs on here. There are a lot of you.

To quote Shakespeare, much of our discussion is 'sound and fury, Signifying nothing'. There aren't as many as you probably think - between us, Wayne, Tom and I have made 8000 posts in 12 months.