W Britains Update (1 Viewer)

S

Smendy

Private 2
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Mar 22, 2013
Messages
60
Hi Everyone,

Good news for the UK Bachmann have just sent out the first instalment of the W Britains new newsletter and it looks like we will be receiving some new figures in the next couple of weeks. Mainly the balance of War Along the Nile due some time back and the last Zulu Hand to hand set and one mounted ACW figure.

Happy collecting
 
[Been vey odd with WB lately all the figures upcoming 6 mths or more later and still not arrive are there problems with WB shipping from China etc
 
tryfon said:
[Been vey odd with WB lately all the figures upcoming 6 mths or more later and still not arrive are there problems with WB shipping from China etc
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Maybe its more like a cash flow problem. There I said it; wonder how many of you have been thinking about that and haven't said it.

Carlos
 
we in the UK have received very little in 2018 and I think the UK has become a backwater, we heard at the last London show there was a container on the water from China! Did it sink? Now we are hearing next week.......

I think the issue is basically poor management, Ken can management to get Hudson and Allen stuff out on a regular basis, together with filling the WB site with secondary sellers such as prints, board games and The British Toy Soldier Company. The management of William Britains has been poor and that is why many of us have not bothered renewing our membership, e.g. few exclusives, over 11 months in 2017 before we got our club figures, no event figure at the actual event, membership figures being sold [cheaper] from the stand at London shows, lots and lots of promises and no delivery, the saga of the 88mm gun deliver has been going on almost as long as the conflict it served in! and finally lack of communication/information, Ken where are you............................. Andy from K & C is on the forum, as are JJD and T Gunn.

There are now better options in the market for my money, T Gunn, great range, release new figures every month and in close to a 100% of the time they deliver, as do JJD and K & C. Plus there are the new companies direct from China, which I have bought from, Eagle Design and War Park. I noticed on eagle design website they have an 88mm in there future, I bet it will not be over 3 years until they release it!

I do not think the current management have the drive and ability to bring this company's reputation back, they might as well start producing The Walking Dead figures, as the company is a zombie company just walking along with no direction. it is the dealers and the WB team in the UK I feel sorry for, they have nothing to sell, at the last London Show one of the WB staff has started his own separate company and has some nice dead Mahdist figures for sale.
 
jazzeum said:
It has to be deeper than that.
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God knows what's happened ! In the meantime my money is going elsewhere, brand loyalty has disappeared and I buy what I like from manufacturers who deliver. It's a real shame with all that history, but I've moved on.

Steve
 
Steve’s post is a good example of what can happen to a company. Customers will be patient but eventually their patience will wear out and they will buy other competitors’ products and they may never return. Time will tell.
 
Smendy said:
Hi Everyone,

Good news for the UK Bachmann have just sent out the first instalment of the W Britains new newsletter and it looks like we will be receiving some new figures in the next couple of weeks. Mainly the balance of War Along the Nile due some time back and the last Zulu Hand to hand set and one mounted ACW figure.

Happy collecting
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This is good news for me as I have invested in a few hundred of these figures over the years and I am pleased these are soon going to be in my collection at last.

But!...what really gets on my wick with WB's current situation is they can't be bothered to update their own website when they do have a delivery of figures! Treefrog has the new Napoleonic Nassau Grenadiers for sale whilst WB has them still as a pre-order upcoming release! Get a grip!!!!

Sorry, but how long can this go on for?

Jeff
 
aujj65 said:
This is good news for me as I have invested in a few hundred of these figures over the years and I am pleased these are soon going to be in my collection at last.

But!...what really gets on my wick with WB's current situation is they can't be bothered to update their own website when they do have a delivery of figures! Treefrog has the new Napoleonic Nassau Grenadiers for sale whilst WB has them still as a pre-order upcoming release! Get a grip!!!!

Sorry, but how long can this go on for?

Jeff
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Can't speak to past issues, but the W. Britains team was at the OMSS show in Toronto yesterday. There was a family medical emergency last week that delayed their arrival at the show, but they came nevertheless. They gave a pretty frank talk on the reasons that items have been delayed and steps that have bene taking to solve the problems. Likely, they haven't yet had the chance to update their website. Personally, I'm very excited about some of their forthcoming releases.

Brendan
 
Hunter Rose said:
Care to summarize for those of us who weren’t there?
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would be interested to know, interested if their poor management is highlighted as a reason and they basically cannot be bothered to tell us all what is happening!
 
Hunter Rose said:
Care to summarize for those of us who weren’t there?
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Sure. The big three issues I recall are delays due to changes of ownership, issues with packaging (items continually failing to pass stress tests and hence being further delayed), and comparatively larger production runs that take longer to complete before the new products can be completed.

Brendan
 
BHogan said:
Sure. The big three issues I recall are delays due to changes of ownership, issues with packaging (items continually failing to pass stress tests and hence being further delayed), and comparatively larger production runs that take longer to complete before the new products can be completed.

Brendan
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Thanks Brendan,

Your post is a reminder of the fact that most TS outfits don’t manufacture their own product. I suppose that the HK-based companies have something of an edge in that they’re closer to their suppliers. Presumably, this helps them stay on top of problems that might arise in the course of bringing a set to market.

I’m aware of a couple of significant failures involving companies other than WB, ones that took place “under the radar,” because the concerns don’t announce their releases until they’ve successfully procured the product. If Britain’s has erred, perhaps its simply owed to their practice of announcing sets that they don’t yet have in hand.

From the standpoint of business models, I find it interesting how truly different these companies are in all sorts of meaningful ways. In this thread, some pretty clear distinctions can be gleaned in that regard, everything from preorders, to public-relations, to geography. These factors will no doubt influence a lot of outcomes, the winners and the losers, and who survives in the long run.

-Moe
 
ivanmoe said:
Thanks Brendan,

Your post is a reminder of the fact that most TS outfits don’t manufacture their own product. I suppose that the HK-based companies have something of an edge in that they’re closer to their suppliers. Presumably, this helps them stay on top of problems that might arise in the course of bringing a set to market.

I’m aware of a couple of significant failures involving companies other than WB, ones that took place “under the radar,” because the concerns don’t announce their releases until they’ve successfully procured the product. If Britain’s has erred, perhaps its simply owed to their practice of announcing sets that they don’t yet have in hand.

From the standpoint of business models, I find it interesting how truly different these companies are in all sorts of meaningful ways. In this thread, some pretty clear distinctions can be gleaned in that regard, everything from preorders, to public-relations, to geography. These factors will no doubt influence a lot of outcomes, the winners and the losers, and who survives in the long run.

-Moe
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You're welcome! And I agree. I think that's why they will not be previewing forthcoming figures until they are much further along in the production cycle.

Brendan
 
I am pleased that this thread is becoming more positive rather than the negative start. Its not a surprise that Ken has refrained from posting here as he would be on a hiding to nothing!
Having collected W Britain's product for over 10 years now, and like many others toyed with other suppliers, I still feel that Britain's product is unique in both quality and price (despite sterling's poor show at the moment) and the type of poses that their figures take.
It would be a shame if they are struggle to continue due to the lack of pre-orders once they have sorted out their supply chain.
 
BHogan said:
Sure. The big three issues I recall are delays due to changes of ownership, issues with packaging (items continually failing to pass stress tests and hence being further delayed), and comparatively larger production runs that take longer to complete before the new products can be completed.

Brendan
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Brendan, can you share any info regarding the future releases you mentioned earlier? Thanks, CHris
 
larso said:
I'm keen to see some more Vikings and Saxons.
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Terp152 said:
Brendan, can you share any info regarding the future releases you mentioned earlier? Thanks, CHris
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Larso,

You're sure to be pleased. A number of photos were shown during the seminar of forthcoming Vikings, Normans, and Saxons.

Chris,

A few previews were shown, including glossy figures for the "Regiments" series, famous Americans like Harriet Tubman, Martha Washington, Emily Beecher Stowe, American Civil War Zouaves, a figure of Arthur Currie, and some Canadians / British troops from the campaigns in Northwest Europe during the Second World War.

Hope this helps!

Brendan
 
The idea of a Harriet Tubman figure sounds like a great idea.
 
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