Which came first.... (1 Viewer)

[Peter Reuss]

It's been interesting to see all the ACW buzz on the forum in the past week.

It got me thinking. Were there a bunch of ACW collectors hiding out, waiting for these releases to come out of the closet? Or....did the quality of the figures propel people to want to collect ACW?

A similar thing happened with the Sudan. There seemed to be little interest before the releases...after the releases there was quite a stir.

Does the time period/war drive the collector...or does the quality of the figures draw people into that time period/war?

Basically, how much sway do manufacturers have in setting the trends of excitement. Are they leading the way or following existing patterns?

One of those chicken and egg kinds of questions!

 

[marco55]

Peter for me the time period is the driver.Even though there are some beautiful figures and ranges out there if I'm not deeply interested in a period then I don't buy the figures.Take for example the ACW,10 years ago I collected The ACW and loved it but over time I lost interest.Recently I bought a CS Mosby figure and even though it was a very nice figure It just didn't interest me and I got rid of it.With all the new ACW figures coming out from different companies it should be exciting but for me it isn't.
Mark

 

[jazzeum]

A little bit of both I expect. Obviously, the interest in the period has to be there but it can be somnolent and it only takes a little spark to energize the interest. In this case, I think it was First Legion's announcement that they were doing an iconic battle that predominates in the public's imagination more than most other Civil War battles.

 

[maddadicus]

I have been collecting gloss ACW as well Sudan and Zulu forever. I have always been pretty much a 1 mfg. per era collector. I may swap mfg. over time but the new stuff does not interest me, because of the price points. Many of the new mfg. think that by more realistic detailing, that it is OK to charge me the price of a real repro uniform..When you think about it, what makes the paint on a figure worth so much today? Were the old glossy sculptors and painters of yesteryear any less talented or paid any less than todays' artists, that their price structure should be so much more affordable? If anything the current foreign mass produced stuff are done for pennies on the dollar, which goes back to my point of why $35 to $50 for a guy walking is not right or worth it to me...Michael

 

[Combat]

In the case of the Sudan or Jacobites, I knew little or nothing about the history until John Jenkins started producing his fantastic line of figures. In that case the figures drove interest in finding out more about the history. With the Civil War or WWII there are multiple lines and most know at least some of the history, but something popular like Gettysburg or Stalingrad that no one else is really doing can spark a lot of renewed interest in those topics.

 

[wds0855]

For me it is the period also.
There are a lot of gorgeous Napoleonic figures available, but since I have no interest in that period, from the point of figure collecting, I have no desire to purchase any figures related to that period or conflict.
Whereas I have always had an interest in certain other periods, Zulu War, Alamo, American Civil War, and to some extent American Revolution.

Walt

 

[Spitfrnd]

For me it is bit of both. I always had an interest in the ancients but was not tempted to collect them until I saw the Conte Spartain/Persian line. It was similar but different for Napoleonics, despite being a long time devotee of Sharp, I wasn't that interested in the history of that period. That all changed when I saw FL's magnificent figures and now I am truly hooked on at least the British/French part of the wars; less so the rest. Now as good as the FL ACW figures are, those wars have little collecting appeal to me so I expect to simply enjoy seeing how Bob puts those to most excellent use. The FL AWI figures are very tempting but if they ever do Romans, I will be there.

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

Yes, a First Legion Roman range would entice me, especially the Republic era. I've been tempted to start this range in the past with other companies, but none have produced what I thought to be good enough to hold my interest, except for Aeroart and we all know how expensive that can get!!!