The Continuing Story of a Dying Hobby (3 Viewers)

Angel (Oniria) has had some very nice figures produced and he tries to go for the most realism.The only problem I see is they come out with different size figures.28mm,36mm,1/48.He needs to standardize a little but I know he likes to make individual vignettes so maybe that's why the size difference is not as important.
Mark
 
For me the hobby has always been more than dollars and cents and being able to afford the latest releases. Sure price increases limit what I can afford, but that has never stopped me from appreciating my collection, or looking at new ways to display it and create dioramas. I

I understand folks getting upset by price increases and no one likes them, including myself, but I hardly see it as the death of the hobby and get a little tied of all the doom and gloom that some members like to spread about at every opportunity when prices get bumped.
 
I have been collecting for almost 60 years and I agree that there is less interest among young people in our hobby. We are competing with "electronics", organized sports and TV/Cable movies and of course video games. My son had little interest but my grandson shows some interest but at 5 its hard to tell.

The makers will just have to better understand their markets and be creative. For example, I have a friend in his 40's who never collected and has a small business and is an avid boater. He saw my collection and got excited about creating a few dioramas for his office. He purchased some JJD WWI planes, some Native Americans in canoes and playing Lacrosse and recently some WWII tanks. Another friend decided to collect some personality figures that represented his political and historical interests....Winston Churchill, Eisenhower, Patton, Lincoln, Grant and Robert E. Lee.
Some of my Japanese business associates asked me to make them small Samurai dioramas.
I have given as gifts to some of my customers figures that represent their states, countries, culture and histories. They loved them and some asked me where they can buy more.

In my business (semiconductors) will call this "demand creation". We look at a customer's design and recommend components that can make their products smaller, faster, lower power, more multi-functional and less expensive. This is what makers will have to do in order to expand their business. Just like K&C did with their LOJ series, Christmas figures, World of Dickens and other "civilian" series. Get women into the hobby as well as non-military history enthusiasts.
The hobby won't die but it will evolve over time.
 
cnq said:
Sherman tank and crew in Kelly's Heroes looks very very nice. Imo it looks much better than the 1/30 scale model out there in terms of detail and weathering.
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I think the Kelly's Heroes looks good too , but I would not trade 1/30 scale version for anything. I like it large and the 1/30 looks great IMO.

TD
 
tdubel said:
I think the Kelly's Heroes looks good too , but I would not trade 1/30 scale version for anything. I like it large and the 1/30 looks great IMO.

TD
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Right, those two things are apples and oranges. Well, maybe they're different varieties of oranges. One is a kit, expertly assembled and painted to high connoisseur standard, while the other is a toy soldier, also produced to a high standard, but they are two different areas within the larger hobby of military/historical miniatures. This example does illustrate how modern makers, eg, the newer makers, from K&C to First Legion and beyond, have raised the standard of quality in ready-made miniature figures, but they're still different areas.

Prost!
Brad
 
Just like PC gaming death has been predicted god know show many times but it's still going strong. Things do go through ups and downs but 99% of the time they keep on going. People will always collect and men will always be interested in military things. W Britains has been going for over 100 years and I imagine it will do another hundred if not mismanaged.

I've started reviewing Toy Soldiers on my blog alongside Wargames (PC\Board), books and Military MiniFigs (Getting very popular). I'm hoping that I get some cross pollination going so Toy Soldier collectors might end up becoming wargamers to and vice versa. I think military books is something both sets have an interest in:)

Thomas Gunn seems to be doing well which when a new business opens up during the big financial crash and is still doing well it seems healthy enough market to me:)

The internet esp pics of amazing dioramas will do a lot to I'm sure in bringing in new blood.

As for our age..well those younger than us will get to our age and I bet money there will be plenty who start to collect to keep things ticking along. Just like I'm not out raving on a Friday\Sat night like I did over twenty years ago, but happy to play the odd wargame or look at Toy Soldiers instead.
 
From what I can gather currently the "Main" but not all inclusive Toy Soldier collecting community are Caucasian males aged 40 - 70 + years old.
That being said WWII appears to be the most popular subject to collect. To buy $45.00 + Metal soldiers attracts individuals who have or had
healthy careers with disposable income to feed their adult passion. Hard to say now whether or not the current Pokemon crazed 14 year old
will fill our shoes 30 or 40 years from now but, I see several of the larger, well structured companies continue to produce their products many
years from now.

Wayne
 
I have given toy soldiers/historical miniatures as gifts to business associates and customers for over 40 years. There is almost always an historical figure of interest to somebody and if not then it works as an artistic piece.
Many years ago I gifted some Japanese suppliers Samurai figures and they loved them so much that they offered to buy more. At the time they were from AeroArt and I must have ordered 25 figures from them.
For my customers in the South (USA) Confederate personality figures went over very well. I always tried to be culturally sensitive with the figures and sometimes sports, literary and political figures met my requirements.

I believe that quite a few of the recipients went on to collect some figures on their own. One of my customers loved gladiators and Greeks from the movie "300". He searched Ebay
for Conte figures from Spartacus and "300".

The Hobby will survive on some level as will a love of history by some portion of the population.
 
The Brisbane Collectors supported the Military Workshop at the Queensland Modeller's Hobby Expo over the last weekend. I did my stint on Sunday and enjoyed the day immensely. We had a number of the A4 dioramas along, and it was a pleasure discussing that competition with like-minded enthusiasts. I said like-minded not same-minded. Some war game and others paint figures or scratch build vehicles. The array of vehicles is mind-blowing and craftsmanship covers the whole spectrum from poor to absolutely outstanding. Our dioramas stood up well in that display fest though we had not entered into Amy of the competition categories. The real buzz though was the discussions that were generated by those compact dios. I had a lengthy chat with a bio-chemist whose preference in dios runs to formula one racing. Now there's some great history in that field. I was also delighted to pick up a set of four Chasseurs-a-Cheval K&C MIB. Even the tissue was untouched. The price? $76USD...why wouldn't I be thrilled? Some great dio accessories also fell into my bag. But not one coffin anywhere to indicate a passing of any hobbies. I caught up on an old passion for gaming (with some recent innovation) and looked at some new 90mm castings that are now cheaper than when I painted that scale. And the Perry Bros have revolutionised the 28mm range. Dying? Really? Ever changing? Definitely! But a demise? I wouldn't put a bent farthing on that notion. I just wish it would slow down to the pace of my pocket{sm4}
 
"I was also delighted to pick up a set of four Chasseurs-a-Cheval K&C MIB. Even the tissue was untouched. The price? $76USD."

Was that each - or for the lot?
 
larso said:
"I was also delighted to pick up a set of four Chasseurs-a-Cheval K&C MIB. Even the tissue was untouched. The price? $76USD."

Was that each - or for the lot?
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I said 'thrilled' not 'off the planet' :wink2:
 
Nothing is really fore ordained about it. I have seen decline cycles before (ie 70's and 80's). Do you remember the drought then? I was surprised (shocked) at the rebound. It really doesn't depend on any particular generation. As interest in history will never die out so too will representations of it never die out . And if the collector Miniatures grows cold perhaps toys will resurge. Between the two I think there will always be something out there to persue.
 
I've collected for about 15 years and not once have I ever been canvassed by one of the major manufacturers to ask what it is I want out of the hobby and whether my wishes and needs are being catered for as a customer and I have purchased figures from all of the major firms. That's quite telling.
 
That said I do think the manufacturers try wherever possible to cater for the majority and that is entirely understandable from an economic perspective.

Perhaps down the line a more bespoke service will enter the fray, whereby those who's interests lay away from the big selling WW2 or ACW ranges, can have their requirements met albeit at a slightly higher cost.
 
Isandlwana said:
I've collected for about 15 years and not once have I ever been canvassed by one of the major manufacturers to ask what it is I want out of the hobby and whether my wishes and needs are being catered for as a customer and I have purchased figures from all of the major firms. That's quite telling.
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I don't think that I have been "canvassed" either but I do contact several manufacturers every so often and give them my inputs.
K&C, First Legion, John Jenkins and WBritains have all been very responsive to my inquiries. I'm sure that many others contact these
makers from time to time and they are certainly engaged when at trade shows.
I believe that some of my suggestions have been acted on but that may be in line with other requests.
John and Matt have responded to me in detail and are quite up front with their own opinions and experiences with other collectors.
 
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