The making of Japanese soldiers. (1 Viewer)

[Warrior]

I said it before and I'll say it again - his sales were disappointing because his Japanese in defensive poses were disappointing. try harder next time. There's people out there who seem to want to spend money on Pacific theater figures...Make them and the money will follow....

The Japanese were excellent and I sold raftloads of them; they came out around the same time a company called Classic Toy Soldiers released about a dozen bunkers, pillboxes, tank emplacements, machine guns nests, etc, etc in polyfoam and the two items sold like crazy.

Also, another company came out with an incredible series of Tarawa pieces to reconstruct the seawall and the pier, plus they also did two bunkers which also sold very, very well for me.

If a manufacturer shifted away from Marines and did Aussies, Chindits, Ghurkas, Indians, etc etc, they would sell really well.

There are enough Marines between K & C and Figarti.

More than enough.

One of my customers had numerous sets of the 8th Army desert figures, the Aussies, the Indian machine gun team, the early war FOB British, etc, etc, which he has converted via painting to Far East forces for the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth was involved too in the Far East just in case that fact escapes people and without their contributions, the war in the pacific could not have been a success and it's about time those servicemen and women were recognized..........

 

[Warrior]

As always George, You have set up a very impressive scene. Are those Airfix 1/72nd or some other figures? Nice scenic base.

Gary B.

Thanks Gary; the figures are metal 20mm scale and are mostly from a company in Australia called Eureka Miniatures, also some are from two other companies named Wargames Foundry and Britannia. Some of the tanks are model kits from Airfix and Fujimi as well.................

 

[Rob]

Superb George,really good scenes.I had lots of 1/72 as a kid and the enjoyment of them has stayed with me,am always tempted to have a go at a dio in that scale.

Rob

 

[marco55]

Seems like the last 3-4 years there has been great advances in sculpting and animation and interest changes in people.What might not have sold then might be a hot item now.One great movie or "mini series" could do the trick.Think Gladiator,Last of the Mohicans,Saving Private Ryan,or Band of Brothers.
Mark

 

[Warrior]

Superb George,really good scenes.I had lots of 1/72 as a kid and the enjoyment of them has stayed with me,am always tempted to have a go at a dio in that scale.

Rob

Thanks Rob, I appreciate it, love the smaller scale personally as I can do much larger dioramas..........

 

[forlornhoper]

Imperial Japanese figures are like Soviet figures,manufacturers believe they are unpopular with collectors.Personally i think its whats missing from the K&C range,like any K&C range ,depth is what is required to make the majority of collectors stay interested.The array of soviet armour alone could bring or add depth to a range,all soviet tanks had an array of different camo schemes ,they were not all allover black green or whitewashed. Iam sure the AFV fans amongst us would salivate at the prospect of some proper soviet armour can you imagine a KV VI in 1.30th scale ? that would be a real monster.We can only hope K&C decide to give IJF and the soviets a chance.

 

[gk5717]

First let me say if K&C did more Marines & Japs I would buy them in a heartbeat, but Andy has repeatadly stated they do not sell!
Hobby Bunker came out with the Wake Island series, I have no info on the sales of those, but there has been nothing new for the past 6 months which tends to show they were not an overwhelming success.
I don,t collect Napolianics, but if HBO came out with a series on the Napolianic Wars, that would not cause me to start buying them.
It is a cold hard fact, if it did not sell the first time out, no more will be made.
Gary

 

[desk11desk12]

Let's pile on George time.

LOL, just kidding man. I'm still your friend.

Gees saying there are too many Marines is like saying there are too many G.I.’s or Brits out there and yet people still seem to be selling well.

Figarti hasn’t produced any Marines in 2-3 years and King and Country even longer.

You think maybe some collector’s preferences have changed or many there are NEW collectors since the last USMC releases that want more?

BTW, nice diorama but you need some more USMC figure poses. LOL.

I say, bring on the Marines....PLEASE...LOL

Carlos

 

[lancer]

I would like to see some Marine figures from Guadalcanal, specifically the early days of the battle. Would love to see Basilone or Schmid with the Browning MG and buddies mowing down the Japanese assault across the Tenaru (I know it is mis-identified). Marine personalities from Tarawa are also welcomed. -- lancer

 

[Warrior]

Let's pile on George time.

LOL, just kidding man. I'm still your friend.

Gees saying there are too many Marines is like saying there are too many G.I.’s or Brits out there and yet people still seem to be selling well.

Figarti hasn’t produced any Marines in 2-3 years and King and Country even longer.

You think maybe some collector’s preferences have changed or many there are NEW collectors since the last USMC releases that want more?

BTW, nice diorama but you need some more USMC figure poses. LOL.

I say, bring on the Marines....PLEASE...LOL

Carlos

Pile on all you want; what I meant was if the scenario was the three Pacific releases K & C did and the three Pacific releases Figarti did were not big sellers (they were for me, but I guess I am not the rule here), perhaps if the Pacific were to be revisited, you'd be best served to do Chindits, Australians, Indians, other British forces in Far East kit, Ghurkas, etc, etc this time around, which would represent the Pacific theater but from a different area of action.

The Pacific does not always mean US Marines was my point, there were other nations and forces involved.

You have to give K & C and Figarti high marks for trying very hard to get the Pacific theater off the ground, it's not like between the two of them there were only a hanful of sets, there were numerous offerings from both.............................

 

[HAWKEYE]

i am for more pacific myself, i got duplicates of the first jap releases beacause i have 2 iwo jima bases set up. then the next wave of releases and wow, they were nice. some of the best kc has done. although i get george's point, being an old marine i say bring more on. the line might not be kc's biggest seller but it doesn't hurt to dabble in the line every so often. some aussies fighting the japs would be nice. the 8th army set of aussies was a great set to. hopefully andy revisits this line right after he does the jagdtiger and normandy fj's. i know i will stop obsessing with these. semper fi

 

[kingtoot]

I was hot on this subjest a while back but got disappointed after so many people said the same thing, they don't sell..obviously people want Pacific theater stuff, they keep bringing it up. I am sick of Nazi crap..I want blazing banzai charges with Marines fighting back, Aussies fighting back. I'm saving my money for when somebody breaks the mold and comes out with it all. A few important vehicles but mainly soldiers in combat poses..George - what company sold Tarawa walls and accessories? I converted my ONWTC GIs to Tarawa Marines and need a logwall for them..semper fi

 

[The Military Workshop]

George pretty much sums it up fpr me.

"perhaps if the Pacific were to be revisited, you'd be best served to do Chindits, Australians, Indians, other British forces in Far East kit, Ghurkas, etc, etc this time around, which would represent the Pacific theater but from a different area of action".


Regards
Brett
PS Field Marshall Slim was commander in the Burma campaign and ended up as Governor General of Australia in the 1950's.

 

[Go for Broke]

I'm just speaking for myself. The last batch of KC Japanese soldiers were excellent. I wanted to buy them, but I couldn't afford it because of all the money I was spending on the war in Europe. There are lots of different ranges I would like, but just collecting Europe WWII soldiers and AFVs is hard enough.

 

[King & Country]

“Kingtoot’s toot at K&C”

Hi Guys,

I’ve said it before… and I’ll say it again! Why our sales of Pacific War Marines and Japanese were disappointing is still a wee bit of a mystery to me and many others… Manufacturers are always told (by some collectors) that Americans love the Marines (and being a former Marine myself) so do I… I’m also fascinated by the Japanese Army of that period. However fascination and interest alone do not necessarily equate to great sales.

K&C tried twice to “kick-start” Iwo Jima (surely one of the most famous Pacific battles)… So did Figarti… Result… OK sales but not enough to justify further investment.

Anyway I’m glad we did it… and who knows maybe one day we’ll return to the war in the Far East.

Best wishes and happy collecting!
Andy C.

 

[King & Country]

“Sick of Nazi Crap!”

Hi Guys,

Our old pal Kingtoot, in his eagerness for Pacific War, is now telling us he’s “sick of Nazi Crap!”

Phew! Thank goodness that K&C does not just produce “NAZI Crap” but also… “Ancient Egyptians”… “Crusaders & Saracens”… “American Revolution”… “Napoleonics”… “First World War”… “Assorted Chinese Figures”… “US Navy & Marines” (pre war)… “Various British, American, French, Polish, Australian, New Zealanders, and Indians in WW2” plus other bits ‘n’ bobs!!!

Kingtoot wants “blazing banzai charges and Aussies and Marines fighting back!”

Well, that seems, simple enough… Now if I just get rid of that Nazi crap Jagdtiger I’ve been working on and piece of crap JU87 Stuka (and a few other pieces) I’ll get right on to it… pronto!

Best wishes and happy collecting!
Andy C.

 

[Eazy]

talking through a toot

For some reason i have the song "Don't mess with my Toot Toot" in my head.

Does anyone else remember that one?

 

[Rob]

Re: talking through a toot

For some reason i have the song "Don't mess with my Toot Toot" in my head.

Does anyone else remember that one?

Yes I remember that,was it Aretha Franklin?


Good to hear Andy is working on the Jagdtiger.

Rob

 

[Eazy]

Me too! I'm up for a Jagdtiger in Ambush.

 

[Phantom Warrior]

Re: “Sick of Nazi Crap!”

Hi Guys,

Our old pal Kingtoot, in his eagerness for Pacific War, is now telling us he’s “sick of Nazi Crap!”

Phew! Thank goodness that K&C does not just produce “NAZI Crap” but also… “Ancient Egyptians”… “Crusaders & Saracens”… “American Revolution”… “Napoleonics”… “First World War”… “Assorted Chinese Figures”… “US Navy & Marines” (pre war)… “Various British, American, French, Polish, Australian, New Zealanders, and Indians in WW2” plus other bits ‘n’ bobs!!!

Kingtoot wants “blazing banzai charges and Aussies and Marines fighting back!”

Well, that seems, simple enough… Now if I just get rid of that Nazi crap Jagdtiger I’ve been working on and piece of crap JU87 Stuka (and a few other pieces) I’ll get right on to it… pronto!

Best wishes and happy collecting!
Andy C.

I think there is a clue in this post about what's coming.

Terry