Figures from old companies

[TERRYSOMME1916]

Hi folks I recently went through my Grey Army a place that I had not been for about 20 years and it gave me great delight but I know that I will never have the time to paint the figures so I will have to start selling them, in order to get a price guide I set about searching for them on Google and found that although many of the companies no longer exist some of their figures are being reproduced by new companies etc, so I have a number of questions that hopefully can help me with the pricing.
1. Is an original figure more valueble than a newly produced figure, is there any difference in the quality of the castings from the old molds?
2. Is anyone producing Ceremonial Studios figures?
3. Is anyone producing Series 77 figures?
Although I have been on Ebay and had a look its difficult to get an idea of a fair price as there are companies selling old figures at colossal prices and I certainly dont want to rip off fellow figure painters so if anyone can offer some guidance it would be very helpful.
TERRY

 

[DaddyO]

Ah Nostalgia (It ain't what it used to be)

Nice to hear you've had some please trawling through the old figure ranks Terry.
Subjectively I'd say that the original is worth more than a 'modern' version especially if in the original packaging and unpainted. Certainly a lot of the old stuff is collected for nostalgia rather than to be painted so anything which adds to the real feel would add to the value IMO. Given the quality of the new stuff arriving daily any buyers are likely to be driven by a trip to the days of their youth rather than because they want a particular figure for painting, but you never know with eBay. I've seen balsa wood models in original boxes from the 70's and 80's reach astronomical sums where the plan is available for free, the balsa is of dubious quality and the model itself is not a particularly good flyer so obviously there are people who just like the buz of bidding and winning

Good luck with the sales
All the best
Paul

 

[Tecumsea]

Hi Terry, my experience of auctions is that things find their own level. Last week a mounted Indian 120mm resin fetched £215. I sold a seal mounted samurai for £320, the following week another one failed to sell. I suspect if you list everything you will be surprised by the highs and lows. No one to the best of my knowledge is reproducing series 77 or ceremonial studios. The masters for the latter exist in the family and there was talk of re releasing some of them a couple of years ago. If you want any other help send me a pm.

Keith

 

[Mirofsoft]

1 Yes and No, a. Yes if you bought the piece as soon as it came to the market, the mould is fresh, better casting
b. Yes in the eyes of a collector
c. No in the eye of a collector with a thin wallet
d. No in the eye of " newbies " who say it's better now than in the past
c. etc....

2 Ceremonial Studio was owned by sculptor R Almond who also sculpted for Seagull ( shop ) for Barton, for Almond Sculpture for Under Two Flags ( shop )
More : https://www.mirofsoft.com/quelques-modèles-finis/almond-ceremonial-studio-barton/
To my knowledge, only Barton range is still available : http://bartonminiatures.blogspot.be/

3 Serie 77 is it first production UK with the thin round base , os later US production with thich 3/4 moon base ?
see https://www.mirofsoft.com/serie-77/
production .... at least there is a a wish from the copyright owners .. since 2009 but nothing came : http://www.series77.com/

On ebay I often see peoples offering at prices as low as 1 to 5£ and let the buyers play and the price rise and rise and rise so I bought some 75 Hinchliffe between 5 and 10 but more often I stop because price goes up and up and up
Or offer at the lower limit price you wish and let the auction works is way, and give as much information as you can
If you go on ebay make it known on the forum

Best

 

[TERRYSOMME1916]

Guys thank you for this helpful advice I have been buying some kits on Ebay recently for a project that I have in mind but I have never sold online so I will need to set that up and then I will put a couple on sale to see how it goes, I will list them on PF also.
TERRY

 

[Paul Kernan]

Hi Terry:

As they say 'Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder'.....To echo, Paul, Roffler (Mirofsoft) and Keith) I think price will depend on a number of factors.

1. No matter what, some pieces are holy grails in the hobby and if out of production and rare, they become even more of a must have.
2. Quality of the original. In fairness, most old kits do not stack up against the better sculpted and casted offerings of today.
2. Nostalgia. A figure may not be valuable in itself but are a must have for an individual (Chota Sahib comes to mind)
4. We are a cheap bunch looking for a better price for second hand stuff

I've been to shows where dealers have boxes of the old companies stock but sell for a few dollars each with few but collectors interested in completing their collection. As already mentioned, the market will find its own level.

Good luck
Paul

 

[TERRYSOMME1916]

Hi Paul thank you for your advice, I have a much better idea now that you guys have replied to my thread and the follow up conversation I had with Keith was great so thanks to all and I will crack on and sell a few to see how it goes.
TERRY