Catching Up On Things September 2017 I have a number of items to cover that don’t fit into normal posts. First I have a couple of articles I want to link to. One is an interview with the new owner of BMC Jeff Imel and his plans. Another item is Playmobil licensed playset How to Train Your Dragon.
I also a new subject of comparing figures to enhance your settings.
Catching Up On Things September 2017 Links
The first link is an interview with Jeff Imel of BMC Toys and Victory Buy. This was done by Warhorse Miniatures and gives a nice over view of the company.Also we get some hints of his future plans.
Our second ink is to a Playmobil and a new playset they are doing. The playset is How to Train Your Dragon.
Here is what their press release said.
“Available from retailers now, fans will be able re-create scenes from the movie with Toothless, Stormfly and Thunderclaw all part of the new range.
Dragon riders will also be able to head to the Island of Berk and see Drago’s Ship, while Gobber and Eret have also been given their own play-set, complete with a catapult and shot firing ballista.”
As I said before playsets have not died, they are just licensed items. if you go into the toy aisles you will see the playsets. They superhero or movie tie-ins
Catching Up On Things September 2017 Comparsion Time
I am going to start a new post Comparsion Time. Sometimes it might be its own post or it might be part of Plastic Figure Showcase. It will show figures that you can intermix with your set ups. In the above photo we have Anita from 101 Dalmations next to Marx 54mm pioneer. The figure was made for Nestles. I am planning on using her for a western scene as a server in restuarant. She could also be used in a World War Two Scene.
Catching Up On Things September 2017 Grek Liska Lido Knight
Greg is looking for the following item.
I’m looking for one pose from the Lido 3″ mounted Knights. Color is not important. The pose has the shield angled to the left. I’d like 2 of this pose. If I need to buy a group of them, I will.
Thanks for looking, hoping to hear from someone soon.
Hi Paul, thanks for linking my article on your page. I like what Jeff is doing over there with his companies. If they make better quality figures, that would be such an huge improvement for any future projects.
As for the Playmobil, this is their third licensed series. The first was “NHL Hockey Players”, the second one was “Ghost Busters” it seems that they are trying to grow their market. Playmobil has seen the success that Lego has gotten with all their licensed products, so now they are trying to catch up. They also are making a movie, they should be out in a year or two. The Dragon series has some nice sets, that I will get and then customize to for my Viking themes.
I think Jeff is doing a great service for the hobby by just keeping Bill’s old accessories, buildings, and tanks available. Hopefully, he can build on that and improve the figures. But, as I’ve said elsewhere, low-cost figures might be the way to interest kids to the hobby and later on they can “advance” to the higher quality collectibles we oldsters desire.
Do you think if they do another run of the D-Day guys that the figures will not come out looking like Giraffes?
Head swaps maybe?
Agree the D-Day and Alamo Texians are really bad – the Mexicans paint up okay.
Jim Bowie was passable in the Alamo Defenders set. I would not be ashamed to put him next to Marx and CTS Alamo guys, but all the others looked like bizarre mutant freaks. The D-Day figures weren’t that hot either.
I really liked the Little Big Horn and the San Juan figures but the best of all were the Iwo Jima Marines and Japanese who were cloned from metal figures. I would like to see more of this. AIP also used clones of metal figures for some of their later and best sets; Rogers’ Rangers, French and Woodland Indians.
I liked the Stick on Flag Flag Bearers in BMC ACW set,you could even give a Union fig Confederate Flag and Confederate a Union flag to represent “Captured” flag(Audie’s Red Badge of Courage).I wish they had done that in all they’re sets especially the “San Juan Hill” set.
I agree with a low price but some quality in figures goes a way into wanting to play with them. I would not have become a plastic Toy Soldier collector if all of the figures in the 60’s looked like BMC Normandy or Alamo.
I Wonder if Jeff could panograph some 1/72 figures from one of the 1/72 companies and use them in his sets? I don’t know what the cost would be, but there are a lot of great 1/72 figures out there that have never been made in 1/32.
BOBBYGMOORE
I think the pantograph method works to shrink or enlarge a sculpture but it works better when scaling a larger figure down to a smaller one. Maybe Erwin can expand on this?
It would be nice if Jeff could make a deal with Conte to run some of his molds again. Looks like Conte is not going to be using them in the foreseeable future and it would be nice to get some Spartans and D-Day GIs, and finish off my Dark Ages collection without breaking the bank.
The problem would be that the Conte Alamo Mexicans and Texans and the Germans and US Infantry would make the BMC accessories suffer by comparison.
I agree with an above post that BMC’s Marines & Japs were the best. They were copies of King & Country figures. I also read that and this was in the origional BMC days that BMC was trying to work a deal with King & Country to use copies of their figures for a Battle of the Bulge set. Now that would have been spectacular as K&C’s Bulge figures are the best.
Interesting Jeff plan in future bring the first TM Gi’s soldiers poses set from old mold .But still i doubt they will be any good sale at all.They still around vintage x very cheap ,even the other cloned version as well.
Honestly….
I do not see any big long profit or success in redoing all BMC same way just in different boxes .If they will not go distributing to BIG retail brands as try before by former owner with not positive results; in our hobby they are burn out already and enough around sold and carry by many retailers in quantity as well hobby warehouse suppliers such Steven International that have thousand of all BMC old stock pile up ….
Wish good luck but with finger crossed.
my thoughts..
best..
The Timmee Army are actually copies that were done by DK Novelty. The real Timmee mold was sent to Mexico. I have sold both Timmee and Lido GI on Ebay. I have to sell them large lots and low prices. It willb4e interesting onhow they sell for him.
In my opinion. Will not move fast at all.Too abundant as vintage and x low price.At shows u find many in lot box cheaper too.
This same as how fast the TM pionners had been selling.
Same goes x LIDO Gi’s
Abundant all around anf I’m copies.
Now would it be LIDO japanese and Germans it may be more profit.
My thoughts. ..
I have a lot of original Lido GIs but I do want to get a bag of the new ones mainly because I never had any new Lido figures as a child, plus I want to have the experience of opening a brand new bag of decent quality toy army men at least one more time.
I do agree that the Lido Germans and Japanese would be much more popular, but I doubt the molds even exist anymore. Nobody has ever re-issued them except some China-made German copies.
The Timmee Russians would also be a huge seller. Whenever they go on EBay they go for very large sums of money.
I know the TM mold is out US .
The LIDO Gis are been sold reissue in amazon from VICTORY BUY .I saw all new paks at NYC TOY FAIR I’m 2014.
I had not check recently.
All over 90s many stores around me sold packs of them too.
But not the old poses set such wounded figure and bazzoka man .That mold set is another MIA.
Best
CTS had big stocks of reissue DK Toy & Novelty that they got when buying one of the ReMarx warehouses. I told Jim what he had as they were selling them as exTim-Mee GIs. Did Jeff get the mold?
Kent either he got hand in mold or is renting it /else!?
from above link extracted words from Jeff says this.
(The first product in this line is a recast of the Lido WW2 GI’s. The next product is a 1950’s mold from DK Toys and Novelty. It’s a set of WW2 Soldiers that are copies of the early Tim Mee figures.)
Nothing else is mentioned in above link interview .
Best
I’ll beat this horse again – it would be great if they did the Lido GIs with stands. Alas, I know the obstacles to it, but a guy can dream, can’t he?
I was looking through my Lido box and found two Lido or Lido clones with bases. They are different bases than the French clone Paul posted a few days ago. These bases are minimal with a hole in them as if to anchor the figures to a vehicle.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/8R1OubT.jpg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/YX2zMzu.jpg[/img]
https://i.imgur.com/YX2zMzu.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8R1OubT.jpg
Mark send me link in email to me ,is not opening please here igf can.I think i got those and are from Italy (RPA ) brand i think
I have several copies of LIDO in bases mounted as Britain style-not rectangular but plastic ,they copied the Japanese too .The Gi’s I got are smaller in 54 mm versus original made.
best
I sent the links to you, Erwin. I think I put the wrong IMGUR code in the first time.
I got those LIDO GIs with bases in a large lot of Lido and Lido clones on eBay a few years ago.
Here.
https://imgur.com/YX2zMzu
https://imgur.com/8R1OubT
Mark,not these are new to me and looks taller than original indeed.
Interesting but bases looks like made to hold figures to something rather to make then stand.
The one i have are different bases .
thank you x sharing rare figures ..
best
Nobody wanted these the first time around.
What makes anyone think they will do better now?
Jay Horowitz (American Plastics) had the mold at one time when his ReMarx went under several warehouses full of stuff remained. These GIs were in one of them. The mold was probably sold to a third part during all the turmoil.
Those bases with holes look similar to those found on the Irwin Popeye figures so perhaps Iwin made them.
I was looking at some pictures of the Stockade Miniatures figures that it looks like AIP uses the molds to make their figures. Their WW2 G.I.’s and Germans look nice. If AIP has access to the molds, I wonder if Jeff from Victory Buy could get togather with AIP and get AIP to run those figures and put them in his D-Day sets? It would seem to me, a “win win” for both AIP and Victory Buy. Also, what about the molds for the Frontline WW2 G.I.’s, Germans, and British? They are good figures.
BOBBYGMOORE
At one time Mike Rosso of Stockade Miniatures and Tony of AIP were partners on a metal line of figures. Tony used some of them for his plastic line. They dissolved the partnership amicable.
There are no moulds for plastic versions of the metal WW2 GIs and Germans, they were only made in metal. Same applies to Frontlines metal range.
The moulds for making metal figures are made of rubber compound so not suitable for making plastic injection figures.
O’Well, thought it couldn’t hurt to suggest it.
BOBBYGMOORE