Toy Soldier Trends (2 Viewers)

[eborris]

I think kids today have too many distractions to be into toy soldiers, video games, computers, cable TV.

When I was a kid we had four TV channels, no video games and no computers. When winter came and the ballgames ended the toy soldiers and games came out at least until 14 or 15 when girls became the main activity. Then the toy soldiers were boxed up and put away, let's face it girls wouldn't think playing with toy soldiers was cool.

I think we put away the soldiers more by necessity then by choice and that desire never really left us which is why we become interested again later in life. If todays kids never had that interest the odds aren't as great that they will become interested in toy soldiers later in life.

 

[Capitolron]

I personally think - "looks can be deceiving" - time and time again I hear from Collectors who say the numbers are down at Shows and People are not interested in the hobby anymore. I personally disagree with that.

With the wide use of the internet - the number of actual collectors can be deceiving. How many of us here buy Toy Soldiers over the internet ??

Ask Treefrog, Hobby Bunker, Troops of Time and Sierra what there monthly sales are from the internet?? The numbers would probally impress you. Then go ask George (Warrior) what he does in business over the internet and what he does at Shows ?? Also ask him - are those the same people who buy from him on the internet??

My point is that Collectors now have many avenues to find their Toy Soldier collectables. In the 70's and the 80's - you could eithjer go to a Shop / Brick & Motar or go to a Show to find your wants and desires. Then came the internet marketplace in 90's. I remember starting to find dealers all over the Country by search engines and Toy Soldiers Mags to start my collection in the late 90's and early 2000.

Another indictator is the the number of Mags that still exist in the Hobby - somebody got to be reading them for some reason - right ?

Also if there is a decline - how are new companies like New Model Army and Figarti being able to survive and grow??

So, I think it is a little premature to start digging the grave of the Toy Soldier Collector - I think our hobby is doing very fine and coming along great.

IMHO

Ron

 

[ucla1967]

Same here. I've ended up throwing most of them away, which seems a shame.

Cheers
H

The solution I have found for the empty boxes problem is to store them in a public storage unit. They are reasonably priced---I think I pay $125 per month for a 10 X 12 foot unit. I believe you reduce the value of most sets by half, if you don't have the original boxes. Besides, most boxes are in-and-of themselves interesting and worth keeping.

 

[Louis A. Cortez]

I'm 50 and I remember when I was a young man that I played with the Marx cowboys and Indians. I could get a large bag of plastics for 99 cents. I bought a bag every chance I could. My parents thought I was nuts but that is what I liked. My older brother did not enjoy them and my younger brother didn't either. I was the only one. Then, when GI Joe came out, I played with that. As I grew up, married, and had children, I tried to get my son and daughter to enjoy GI Joes and plastic soldiers. Neither one of them did. Back in the 1990's, a neighbor was a collector and he accidently let me know. I was curious and asked him to let me see his stuff. It was great, after all these years, to see and enjoy seeing the plastic soldiers again. Barzso has just made the Roger's Rangers set and my neighbor had just received his. Although he was a civil war collector, he bought the Roger Rangers set too. I went to a show with him in Pennsylvania, King of Prussia, (I think), and I was hooked. I moved away about two years later and I had to rely on Auction books and mags. Then I started to serch the internet and the rest is history. I saw the ALAMO playsets from CONTE and I really went overboard. Now, I work so that I can collect more. I just recently, 3 years ago, jumped into the metal market. I like both types (metal and plastic). I do not see my children getting involved in my hobby and that is okay. There are plenty of people out there that do enjoy it and I believe that we are growing in numbers. Mostly, because of the internet, the shows and the magazines that let people know that it is okay. My wife understands my hobby and no longer gripes when I buy more. As long as we pay the bills first, everything is okay. Someday, I want to go to Chicago or to the West Coaster. I attended the Texas Show in San Antonio this year and it was great but too crowded. I could have stayed longer but I felt guilty hogging up the little moving room between dealers. Look forward to many more years of painting, converting, setting up dioramas and just being a kid again.