Hi There again,
We are seeing some very good suggestions here. Some are on our list, and in some cases have been on there for some time and we still haven't gotten to them yet. There are several reasons for this that might be useful to think about, just so collectors don't think that they are being ignored.
1. Since 1st Gear acquired W. Britain all of the Matt and Classic gloss were revised into a new standard between sculptors. This was very different than the previous owner used so none of the previous work developed could really be used. This means that it has taken us some time to build the new ranges.
2. We changed the approach to developing our ranges in many areas. From the number and type of figures in a range, to the packaging. I personnally think we are at a better place today that a few years ago. We have also launched several new periods with some success. This means that resources in time, money and manufacturing capacity must be spread around a bit more.
3. A few ranges have performed poorly in the market place and we had to rethink additional investment in development. It doesn't always mean that a subject will never have additions... it might just mean that they are within a new range. The downside of this is that some collectors don't like the inconsistency in labeling or packaging. My observation here would be that many of the releases withing the Redcoat & Bluecoats in the French & Indian War are Redcoats... some collectors found it troubling that the box or clam shell was different. It never crossed our mind that the box would be as important as the content. It seemed obvious to us that any numbered regiment on the regular establishment would be a Redcoat even if we were to market with a slightly different title or package.
4. Manufacturing... As mentioned by other brands from time to time, there have been a few complications working with China meeting deadlines. We can never predict these and although we have all of our development done in Europe or the US, we still have unexpected delays. Our catalog format makes this more obvious than it might for others operating today too.
5. Our line lists for development get harder and harder to edit. With all of the requests and the success of some of our ranges the lists grow and grow. We would love to make everything... but we just can't. With that said, the brand is pretty old... older than most of the fine brands now doing business. From that standpoint I think that we will probably get to many of the request sooner or later. We will do our best to make it sooner for many of you.
I think some of you will be pleased with the 2011 catalog and a few more will be pleased with the catalogs that follow...
We love to hear from collectors here, at the shows, from the Collectors Club and from week to week in the office. Please feel free to shout out!
All the Best,
Ken
