The Cross and the Crescent (2 Viewers)

[mk26gmls]

Hello everyone,

OK. Where to begin?

The figures in my collection that I have posted all are painted at Niena Studios in St Petersburg. The manager of the studio is Anna. In all of the time I have talked with her through emails on my order, I don’t even know her last name. They have a relationship with several toy soldier manufacturers and they can buy the models themselves, have them shipped to St Petersburg, paint them, and ship them to you. They have standard shipping rates, which are pricey. For a 90mm standing figure, the price is $15 for shipping and for a mounted 90mm figure, the shipping is $50. I have never had any problem with Niena Studios at all. There are other studios of course in St Petersburg, but I find more bang for your buck there. Anna is extremely kind which goes a long way in my book. Niena Studios offers different levels of painting. They are Souvenir, Semi-Collector, Collector (K&C would fit this category), Top quality, and Top Maximum quality. All of the knights in my collection that I have posted are top quality. What distinguishes top quality from top maximum quality is the difficulty of the heraldry.

The kit companies I like the most are Andrea Miniatures and Pegaso Models. I also like Niena Studios kits. You can see those models here:
http://www.andrea-miniatures.com/market/AspsInicio/inicio.asp
http://www.pegasomodels.com/home_en.asp

I spoke with Anna this past week by email for a couple of Verlinden 120mm resin kits I want painted and she told me the painters are asking more money this year for their services. I can understand that. The painters take the models home to paint and assemble them.

Niena Studios website.
http://www.niena.ru/en/home

AFP-005 120mm Resin model painted as Balian of Ibelin in the Kingdom of Heaven movie costs $92 directly from the Andrea Miniatures. That doesn’t include shipping. I had the figure purchased by Niena Studios and painted as a Hospitaller. I am nervous on quoting numbers with their price increase and with the discount I usually get by placing orders for more than one figure at a time, but I would say the ballpark for this would run somewhere around $425 to 450. To get an exact price, you’d have to email Anna at Niena Studios, explain what you would like to do, tell her the level of painting you desire, and what type of heraldry you want and how it should be done. Like if you choose a Hospitaller like I did for this figure, you need to tell them the color of the habit, the color of the cross (they will know that), the type of cross (Latin, Formee, Maltese), etc…. Plus any other description like campaign weary with stained clothing, blood, etc… I love that stuff on my models.

90mm Templar – Pegaso model #90-038 – ballpark $380
90mm Teutonic Knight on horseback – Pegaso Model #90-908 – ballpark $1,000
90mm Hospitaller on horseback – Andrea Miniatures Model #S8-F40 - ballpark $950
90mm William de Bohun – Niena Studios model #11.15 – ballpark $800
90mm Knight with blue field with white lion model #11.29 – ballpark $650 (Actually my model is shown on their site)

Please don’t quote any prices I have given you to Anna. These are just ballpark figures guys. If you contact Anna to do any work for you, just tell her I highly recommended their company. Just mention Darrell Pace from Concord, NC. She knows who I am. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to them if I didn’t think they would treat you right and do a wonderful job. They have for me and I am very pleased with their work. In fact, I don’t consider buying from anyone else over there because of my own experience. I also want to make sure that none of you think I somehow get any compensation or a reduction in my price of the figures I buy off referrals. I don’t. I don’t benefit in any way from recommending them.

The lead time can be lengthy. If they don’t have the model from another manufacturer in stock, they have to order them. They had to wait almost 8 weeks one time for one of my models to arrive, but that isn’t the norm. It usually takes 3 to 4 weeks. Then, if you want a great paint job, don’t rush the artist. They should be given 3 to 4 weeks to paint a figure in top quality. After the figure is finished and mailed, expect it to arrive in about 14 days. Just remember to be patient. It is well worth the wait.

To get some ideas of heraldry, I really like two websites outside of my books. The first below is my favorite. It is just awesome!
http://translate.google.com/transla...lonet.fr/~earlyblazo/&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&sa=G

http://www.heraldique-europeenne.org/

Below are some close ups of their work.










Well, time for some lunch! I hope that helps all of you.

Later this afternoon, I will tell you what I was given today by a man who served in WWII that I have known as far as I can remember. He gave me a great, great gift that relates to the war. I still can't believe it myself!

Until then,

Darrell Pace

 

[mk26gmls]

Hey guys,

The item I received today at church from O.C. Towell, who was known as "Red" in his unit, the 165th Combat Engineers Battalion, was a car clock. This car clock he gave me is from one of Hermann Goring's staff cars that was taken when his unit captured an airfield outside of Paris in 1944. He said they couldn't keep the car, so several of them starting taking stuff off of it for a souvenir. Up until this morning, the clock has worked just fine since he got it. He says when he winds it up, it lasts 8 days. He did that last night and this morning when he got up, it wasn't working. Probably just debris or something inside. He also has given me a ratchet screw driver he brought home from a German aircraft plant in Germany. He got it in March of 1945. My grandfather has a cool toolbox that he brought home from the war that a German POW made for him while he was in Europe as well. Needless to say I am overwhelmed. The clock has been placed in a wood housing, like a clock in your house, and he has had it sitting on his shelf all of these years. He has children, but none of them has his same passion for history. He knew I would take care of it he told me. I still just can't believe it!

 

[Louis Badolato]

Hey guys,

The item I received today at church from O.C. Towell, who was known as "Red" in his unit, the 165th Combat Engineers Battalion, was a car clock. This car clock he gave me is from one of Hermann Goring's staff cars that was taken when his unit captured an airfield outside of Paris in 1944. He said they couldn't keep the car, so several of them starting taking stuff off of it for a souvenir. Up until this morning, the clock has worked just fine since he got it. He says when he winds it up, it lasts 8 days. He did that last night and this morning when he got up, it wasn't working. Probably just debris or something inside. He also has given me a ratchet screw driver he brought home from a German aircraft plant in Germany. He got it in March of 1945. My grandfather has a cool toolbox that he brought home from the war that a German POW made for him while he was in Europe as well. Needless to say I am overwhelmed. The clock has been placed in a wood housing, like a clock in your house, and he has had it sitting on his shelf all of these years. He has children, but none of them has his same passion for history. He knew I would take care of it he told me. I still just can't believe it!

What an amazing story. I have kind of a similar story about a bit older piece of history: the Spanish American War and WWI. One of my neighbors growing up was a very old Norweigian-American man, whose father had served in the U.S. Army from around 1895 through 1925. He first served out west, then served in the Spanish American War, Philippine Insurrection and eventually, WWI. The old gentleman had a whole bunch of great stuff from his dad, including a Spanish Infantry Officer's Sword with a Toledo blade engraved with crossed mauser rifles, a Crag Bayonet, the Spanish American War Medal, Dewey Medal, several bottons he took off the tunics of various Spainish Soldiers, and his 1903 issue U.S. Artillery Officer's sword. When the old gentleman passed away, his son was selling all of the stuff at a garage sale. I was maybe 8-9 years old. I told him I really wanted the stuff, but couldn't afford to pay much. He sold the lot to me for what I had (probably less than $20 in assorted coins). All of the above described items are honored display items in my little Toy Soldier Museum.

 

[CannonFodder1971]

Hello everyone,

OK. Where to begin?

The figures in my collection that I have posted all are painted at Niena Studios in St Petersburg. ... The kit companies I like the most are Andrea Miniatures and Pegaso Models. I also like Niena Studios kits. You can see those models here:
http://www.andrea-miniatures.com/market/AspsInicio/inicio.asp
http://www.pegasomodels.com/home_en.asp

I spoke with Anna this past week by email for a couple of Verlinden 120mm resin kits I want painted and she told me the painters are asking more money this year for their services. I can understand that. The painters take the models home to paint and assemble them.

Niena Studios website.
http://www.niena.ru/en/home


Until then,

Darrell Pace

Darrell,

I have bought from Niena Studios on occasion. In the attached pic there's a Niena-painted Andrea Miniature. (I also enclose a Teutonic knight on foot from the Argo Studio - Alexsanra Bespalova is good to deal with there - and a mounted Teutonic knight from Grenada Studios, and an Arsenyev arab just to show contrasting styles at 54mm). I have been reluctant to commit to too many Niena-painted pieces from Andrea, Pegaso, Shenandoah, Verlinden, Wolf and so forth, as there seems to be just too many variations in paint quality. Still though, I'd recommend the K&C Saracens as incredible value - $30 for a single figure is excellent in comparison to the $100-$225 paid for the above figures.

 

[CannonFodder1971]

Ok trimmed a bit in quality but 3 very contrasting painting styles and levels of quality at 54mm.

 

[Capitolron]

The Russian Stuff is great quality - but, a bit too pricey for me. Limited budgets keep me at the King and Country level for my Crusaders.

The Russian stuff is great though. Has anyone been to any of those factories in St. Petersburg??

 

[Combat]

The Russian Stuff is great quality - but, a bit too pricey for me. Limited budgets keep me at the King and Country level for my Crusaders.

The Russian stuff is great though. Has anyone been to any of those factories in St. Petersburg??

Its interesting that the KC line has no apparent effect on the prices the russians are charging.

 

[Capitolron]

They will keep charging big prices - as long as people keep paying them.

 

[The Templar]

My 3 crusaders fell of the ladder. A drop for 180 cm.

Result: One broken/loose arm and paint of 2 crusaders!

Am I happy or not??