Winter Series: All It Cracked Up to Be? (1 Viewer)

[jazzeum]

I know this may seem like heresy to you longtime collectors but I'm not sure the winter series from an aesthetic point of view is as good as the summer series. Case in point. I have WS 13, the Hanomag in summer colors and like it quite a bit. I just recently acquired the Hanomag in winter colors and it's nice and everything but to be perfectly honest I prefer the summer edition. Now, I know it's rare and only so much were produced and all that and if you're a nutty collector (like who isn't?) you want to get everything but I have to say that I'm not sure I would spend big bucks for sets that in my view are not as good as the summers series. What say you?

 

[Louis Badolato]

Well, Brad, I must respectfully disagree with you. The early polystone vehicles were works in progress, and they look rather primitive when compared to the extraordinarily detailed wood, metal and resin vehicles they replaced, or the incredibly detailed polystone vehicles made by the master sculptors at K&C today. Case in point: in the original catalogue where the polystone tiger is first depicted, take a close look. The number on the turret is 201, not the 205 of the first polystone Wittman tiger. Take a really close look and you'll see that is because its not the polystone tiger, its a wood tiger with the Wittman figure standing on the deck. I can't say for sure, but I'm willing to bet its because the first Wittman Tiger just didn't look good in the photos, the finish was just too rough and amaturish. I have always felt that the winter versions, in addition to being far rarer, also looked better, because the white washing hid alot of the rough spots, and the lack of detail and extra polystone around the wheels and tracks can be explained by a dusting of snow and snow and mud being picked up as the tank traveled. The Hanomag you describe is the one exception to the rule. It really didn't come out bad for an early polystone vehicle, but the Tiger, Stug III, Iwo Sherman, M3 Halftrack, Dodge Ambulance and expecially the first Deuce and a Half truck were really poorly executed. The Winter versions of the Tiger, Stug III, and Iwo Sherman really have a nicer feel.

 

[jazzeum]

Perhaps you're right and I'm looking at a very small sample as I only have the Hanomag and I just wasn't overly impressed with it. Sometimes, I think the hullabaloo about sets like these are because they are rarer and everbody wants them. I wasn't looking at these sets compared to what has succeeded them but compared to its summer version. However, I will take your word for it .

 

[Shannon Reuss]

Andy responds re: Winter Series: All It Cracked Up to Be?

Regarding early K&C polystone fighting vehicles “crudity”. Whilst I would admit that the earliest K&C polystone vehicles are certainly not the equal in detail or sophistication that today’s models are they do, for me, mark an important milestone in the K&C story. First of all, they were affordable to the vast majority of K&C collectors (approx. a quarter of the price of the wooden models.) Then, they were also a ‘first’ for any toy soldier company at that time.



Of the vehicles Louis mentioned the one major exception I would make is the Dodge Ambulance --- I personally have always loved that model I only wish we could have done “rolling wheels” on it. For the record we only produced 300 of them.