Why are plastic soldiers not collectable (1 Viewer)

[TomB]

I have just had a look at some of Conte's plastic soldiers...and to me,they look great as do some other plastic soldiers I have seen on other site's....Painted ..the plastic's would look ..to my.inexperienced eye...the same as the standard metal figures......What have collectors got against plastic soldiers ?...pardon my ignorance ........TomB

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

I wouldn't say that plastic figures are not collectible. I think they are collectible but to a lesser degree. A couple of reasons that I can think of are that traditionally "toy soldiers" were made using a metal/lead substance. Plastic figures are relatively recent if you look at how long toy soldiers have been around, possibly going back as far as ancient Egypt!!! Also, I think that plastic figures are made in greater numbers which lessen their collectibility. I read somewhere that Britains manufactured about a million swoppet figures back in the 1960's however, these figures are still collectible today as a lot of them ended up in garbage dumps when the owners started attending high school in the 70's and both interests and attitudes changed...!!!

 

[Ragnar]

Plastics sets can sell out {over time}..so can be sought after by plastic collectors!
This might seem odd to a Metal Collector but there are Plastic Collectors who would not touch metal with a 40 foot barge-poll and vice versa for the Metal Heads.
I like to collect both however.

 

[Poppo]

I have just had a look at some of Conte's plastic soldiers...and to me,they look great as do some other plastic soldiers I have seen on other site's....Painted ..the plastic's would look ..to my.inexperienced eye...the same as the standard metal figures......What have collectors got against plastic soldiers ?...pardon my ignorance ........TomB

I agree with you TOM Some plastic toysoldiers are really well done!

For instance I love my old " BRITAINS DETAIL" half painted, bought in early 80ies when I was a child ( and actually my passion for toysoldiers started at that time!). I finished painting them, and mixed them in my diorama on crusades with KC, DELPRADO, ALTAYA. They are very lively, very dynamic, and great sculpts. Even the scale is not a problem to me as they can be soldiers in far distance!

 

[Poppo]

More plastic....

 

[TomB]

I agree with you TOM Some plastic toysoldiers are really well done!

For instance I love my old " BRITAINS DETAIL" half painted, bought in early 80ies when I was a child ( and actually my passion for toysoldiers started at that time!). I finished painting them, and mixed them in my diorama on crusades with KC, DELPRADO, ALTAYA. They are very lively, very dynamic, and great sculpts. Even the scale is not a problem to me as they can be soldiers in far distance!
View attachment 103897View attachment 103898

Right....I guess there are a lot of plastics that could be mixed with the metal figs......If you wanted to build up number for a dio,,I am sure if the right type of plastic was available it would be a lot cheaper...Tom

 

[Poppo]

Right....I guess there are a lot of plastics that could be mixed with the metal figs......If you wanted to build up number for a dio,,I am sure if the right type of plastic was available it would be a lot cheaper...Tom

I agree .....1. if you make a scene with many items it is the general view that counts, more than a single figure details...And 2. I am also sure that very nice plastic figures could be realized for much, much, much cheaper price......But don' t say this to actual toysoldiers manufacturers!!! {sm4} They want to increase prices more and more..{sm2}

 

[Poppo]

I agree .....1. if you make a scene with many items it is the general view that counts, more than a single figure details...And 2. I am also sure that very nice plastic figures could be realized for much, much, much cheaper price......But don' t say this to actual toysoldiers manufacturers!!! {sm4} They want to increase prices more and more..{sm2}

And I would add that many companies like Delprado and other press companies make often very nice figures for 5 , 10 euros ( 15, 18 on horse) in metal and nice sculpt, nice painting...So, it is not only a matter of materials..The problems is that these companies( like delprado) make one item per uniform, so you can use those soldiers only to complete an army...

 

[Fort-Stamford]

Here is a perfect example as to why plastic figures can be collectable and add numbers to a diorama without taking you to the financial cleaners:
Painting plastic Spartans to create a Shield Wall formation; adding to a Barbarian Horde attacking Romans,or adding troops (e.g. rifleman at the left) to WWII dioramas.

 

[Ragnar]

I mix prepainted metals in with my own painted plastics cant even tell them apart half the time!.....ok there is only one metal in that shot can you spot it?

 

[TomB]

Here is a perfect example as to why plastic figures can be collectable and add numbers to a diorama without taking you to the financial cleaners:
View attachment 103907Painting plastic Spartans to create a Shield Wall formation; View attachment 103908 adding to a Barbarian Horde attacking Romans,View attachment 103909or adding troops (e.g. rifleman at the left) to WWII dioramas.

Great dio's.....I would'nt have a clue on which was which..they all look good to me ...Tom

 

[TomB]

I mix prepainted metals in with my own painted plastics cant even tell them apart half the time!.....ok there is only one metal in that shot can you spot it?

all look great to me....Tom

 

[Fort-Stamford]

all look great to me....Tom

Fantastic paint job on the plastics. As to which is the metal one; it is either the reb that got shot, or more likely the one (in the middle) reaching back to his cartridge box.

 

[Fubar]

It's the Britains figure, center with green blanket roll and grey hat.
I've placed my painted plastics alongside metals for WW2,ACW,Napoleonic, Dark ages , Ancients and ZULU. They blend right in. Cannot tell the difference .
Ace paint work Rob Ragnar!
FubaR

 

[Ragnar]

Fubaaarrr wins a cookie!.............Stampford the one reaching for cartridge is a converted figure i did Union body with a Reb head and back pack!

 

[marco55]

I think if there were more pre-painted plastics more would buy them.I know if Barzo's was I would as I collect 18th cen. and that is what he specializes in.Also the rifles and swords droop a lot(I don't mean Barzo but plastic figures in general).
Mark

 

[Poppo]

I think if there were more pre-painted plastics more would buy them.I know if Barzo's was I would as I collect 18th cen. and that is what he specializes in.Also the rifles and swords droop a lot(I don't mean Barzo but plastic figures in general).
Mark

Britains made pre painted plastics: " britains detail" in the 70ies, they were both for collecting, and for children to play..I still like those sculpts...Just the painting was no sufficient...

 

[marco55]

I think your saying the painting was not good,am I correct?Conte made some pre-painted civil war sets and if I collected that era I would have bought them.Most painting on metal is to a higher standard then plastic.There are guys on this forum who paint their plastics to this higher level and alot of times better.But for the mass produced the painting really isn't that good.
Mark

 

[HistoryfortheAges]

The type of hard plastic used by AIP in their figures prevents warping of weapons. I like this type of plastic and when painted to a high standard mixes well with metal figures. The only complaint I have is that the sculpting on the AIP figures could be somewhat better than it is currently. In massed formations, the viewer's focus is on the whole rather than in the detail and therefore, you can have an impressive display at an affordable price!

 

[fishead19690]

I think one of the big reasons why plastic figures are not as collectable as metal is you can,t really do a limited edition set or piece like in metal. With mold costs being so high, you have to make and sell tons of the figures to make any money and if there are tons of the figures the market is flooded and the figures are not rare or collectable.
I love plastics, they are cheap and you can convert them into many other poses with a bit of imagination. The bendy weapons and the fact that its hard to get paint to stick to them at times can be a bit of a turn off but there a great way to build up a nice little army for cheap!^&cool
Some of the older and more rare sets can fetch a good price. Some of the old play sets if intact can fetch good money also.
I wonder what my plastic painted conversions would sell for? After being converted they are rare one of a kinds.
The future of plastic 1/32 scale figures dose not look good right now. The costs of molds has gotten so high no one wants to even venture into any sets at all right now and those that do are looking at sets that will sell well, so I don,t see future sets being produced now ever really getting collectable.
Maybe some smaller run resin sets done in cheaper resin molds might get collectable in the future??? But resin figures are not that great in my opinion and break easy and don,t cast that great.

Collectable or not I don,t care I like them! I kinda like the fact that they are not collectable! That way when I do find a set I like I don,t have to pay an arm and a leg for them like rare and retired limited metal sets.:rolleyes2:^&cool