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stu said:
I've been following this with some interest as to what people want etc.

From my part I seam to be ticking the relevant box's on a lot of subjects apart from those that are just not gonna happen.

The problem is this,,,,,,,if you folks dont buy them then they are going to be short lived and some ideas shelved before they even get off the ground.

I have been digging around a lot recently looking for different things etc,,,, take the afghan tribesman that was released from grenadier miniatures via my wife. Totally off the usual list, sculpted by one of the best and ok its doing ok but its not flying off the shelves. We got a feeling this was going to happen so have only one mould. The thing is more were planned,,,carl has the images/ideas but frankly they have been well and truley shelved.

I know we are in a recession and respect all that brings but if you want different to what you are already getting then you need to get behind those manufacturers that do try because if you dont they will stop.

I think WW1 is going to be popular, I personally will be looking into indian mutiny, AWI, Victorian british, Franco prussian and more. These will be spread through stormtroopers and grenadier miniatures especially.

Kits cost to keep in production and flops are very expensive. There are no longer margins available to absorb these ,,,,support those that are trying or all you will get is romans, knights , imperial guard and germans. Sorry but thats the cold hard truth.

Stuart

PS I got some mega German WW2 Ideas :)
Click to expand...

Maybe there is just too much on offer these days Stu!! and not enough Dosh to go around ,I know I now look very hard at what I'm going to buy at the moment "but you probably think that about me anyway:ROFLMAO: " Truth is I would love to buy them all.

Great input from you as usual.

Ron
 
Thats just it Ron , there is a lot of manufacturers and an awfull lot of kits.

The point is,,,,if your all bored of seeing the romans the germans et all,,,who is buying them,,,cos somebody must be or they wouldnt be produced ! and in the frequency that they are.

Stu
 
brian said:
I'd like to see 54mm character figures from Charles Dickens stories.
Brian
Click to expand...
100% with you on this one Brian. I'd also like to see classic fictional detectives, Maigret, Poirot, Chan, Sam Spade etc, the list goes on. Would be best in 75mm with a suitable point of reference as part of the base. I know it's been done for Holmes but for me the fireplace is a touch overkill + it adds a lot to the cost.
A Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed) with Bulls Eye would be brilliant.
Cheers
Derek
 
stu said:
Thats just it Ron , there is a lot of manufacturers and an awfull lot of kits.

The point is,,,,if your all bored of seeing the romans the germans et all,,,who is buying them,,,cos somebody must be or they wouldnt be produced ! and in the frequency that they are.

Stu
Click to expand...

Im not bored !! well not yet ,got a Sicilian pasta to make tonight and good bottle of vino to go with it(y)
It would be interesting to know all the ones that did bomb, Youngs Cossack might be a contender even though it is a fine bust ,I bought it so did Kaz and Martin .

I remember Julian Banassi saying to me he was doing a limited addition figure of 500 castings :eek: back in the seventies but also said he never sold that many of any figure ;)
 
As I am just about to bring out a new range of figures this is interesting. As Stu said any new release has to have a chance of making some money or the next one may not follow. If there are more Roman soldiers around now in model form than there were actual Roman soldiers around 2000 years ago then they must be popular!
I have some ideas for unusual figures but would it be worth the time, effort and expense of bringing them to market?
 
diamond cutter said:
As I am just about to bring out a new range of figures this is interesting. As Stu said any new release has to have a chance of making some money or the next one may not follow. If there are more Roman soldiers around now in model form than there were actual Roman soldiers around 2000 years ago then they must be popular!
I have some ideas for unusual figures but would it be worth the time, effort and expense of bringing them to market?
Click to expand...

In a nutshell pete thats it.....is it worth it. We may also bring out what people want but then theres the scale etc etc and resin or metal and that ever eternal argument. I like it but not in 120mm i prefer 75...and not in resin..great figure though....bombed.

Stu
 
Aahhhhh to Hell with it.... I'm gonna keep practicing my sculpting, maybe one day I'll be able to make the exact figures I want.

Liberty Independance FREEDOM!!!

What a dream it is!
 
Stu
Spoken like a vet !
I will give it a bash tho, as there is still some unexplored territory out there and, like you I have a few ideas (not all in 200mm!)
It's a case of just go for it I think!
 
My friend and I had this discussion again and again for months and months. Resin is cheaper, and requires less set up, but is expensive at the beginning. Cheaper freight, means lower MSRP. Go figure, our proposed first 3 releases were all WW2 1/35, but the plan was to craft something to appeal to both figure crowds and armour crowds (realistically, the largest share of the market in that scale)

Somewhere a while ago, I read that the most successful figure ever for Pegaso was the Frederick of Swabia, and it sold 1000 units or something like that - since whenever it was released. Sometimes a master costs you $700+, plus the box art, as the box art is the sizzle as much as the sculpting, but if you've spent $1500 getting it all said and done, and you sell 4? Not even close to break even...so then your other releases have to cover the shortfall. This ladies and gentlemen is why the market is saturated with the dreaded krauts, Roman signifers, and Crusaders. Pays the bills.

Edit: As an addendum, shops where the owner can sculpt, cast, and paint the box art to a high quality level have inherently lower overheard
 
DEL said:
100% with you on this one Brian. I'd also like to see classic fictional detectives, Maigret, Poirot, Chan, Sam Spade etc, the list goes on. Would be best in 75mm with a suitable point of reference as part of the base. I know it's been done for Holmes but for me the fireplace is a touch overkill + it adds a lot to the cost.
A Bill Sykes (Oliver Reed) with Bulls Eye would be brilliant.
Cheers
Derek
Click to expand...
A fagan and an artful dodger!!!!!
Brian
 
I have wanted to sculpt the characters from Oliver Twist for a long time (the old non musical version!)
except Oliver, who I think is just a bit too theatrical!
 
Hi Pete,

Firstly I would like to wish you all the best with your new venture, I think we can look forward to seeing some great pieces from you in the future. We have worked closely in the past and colluded in bringing out some "off vogue" subjects, and although beautiful sculpts they haven't done as well as other mainstream subjects. That damages the cash flow! So I have to echo the comments that the other manufacturers have made, but I think you know that already ;)

All best,

Rob
 

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