Small Scale Military Headquarters

Hey guys,

There are a few rare, retired things on ebay right now that I just saw got posted, including

Panzer II
Puma car
a few figure sets

They are all up there in price (200+) but I figured it was something to point out

Good luck to anyone bidding
Bill

Oh darn, I was going to bid and you just drove up the price 10 fold. Just kidding. Thanks for the heads up. I hesitate purchasing K&C on ebay since most retired pieces go at ridiculous prices. I must say though seeing such high auction prices encourages my K&C collecting.

Same here victory. Its nice to see that they are pretty much guaranteed to go up in value. I just hope i can scratch together enough discretionary income to get a few sets

Bill

I'm pretty sure some dealers still have the Panzer II set.It is a great set but if you hunt around a little I'm pretty sure you can still find it for its original price.Now WS 32 SDKFZ 231 might be a little tougher to find.As you can see by e-bay prices the Arnhem stuff is through the roof.I thought I paid alot for those sets two years ago but nothing to what they are selling for now.I know gK probably got his for the original price way back when.
The Ambush Panther is one set you don't see very often and is one of three versions that I know of.With the Wittman craze I would suggest picking up WS43 if you can.It is an awesome piece which is starting to climb in price even at the dealers who have any of them left.
Sniper PM me if you want a list of some of the WWII K&C and there set numbers with a short description.

Sniper, if you are interested in some retired sets, a year ago myself and Fully Auto had luck with these dealers at retail prices.
Go to the K&C website to get their email address
Roy Easton, Ca.
Toy Troops, Ca.
Stan Clark , Pa.
Picacho Peak, Pa.
As I told you before we hit the motherload, maybe by chance they have some stuff left.
I guess I,ll brag a little here but I got 2 of those Arniem sets on ebay not only at retail but with 20% off, but that was 2 and a half years ago.

Hey gk,

Thanks for the info. I will contact them as soon as I scrounge up the money for a couple sets. So far I'm doing pretty well, a lot of people are interested in taking my FOV's off my hands.

Its disheartening though, 3 or 4 FOV vehicles gets me 4 infantrymen. Hmm, you know if this was real life, I question that trade. lol

Thanks again, I'll let you guys know how the collection expands

Bill

I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble, but I have seen "retired" K&C WWII figure sets sell on Ebay for simply the original retail price (i.e. $85 for 4 American GIs). So in terms of the appreciation of K&C figures and vehicles, it really depends upon the specific items involved, right?
On another note, with all the WWII model and minature vendors on the market, doesn't anyone think that buying such expensive K&C figure sets makes more sense if from another era (i.e. American Revolutionary War).
Finally, do any of you WWII K&C people miss having airplanes in your collection? $80 will get you a Corgi limited edition 1:32 Diecast P-51D.

Yes, I think to a certain extent it depends on the item. It also depends on how long a set is retired though. A recently retired set wont go for much more because its still around, once suppliers liquidate their inventory, the prices go up substantially.

Personally speaking, I like the detail of the infantry of KC. While armor is important and I enjoy collecting those as well, I have always been attracted to the detail and uniqueness of the individual KC figures as opposed to the generic faces of many of the plastic figures. WW2 is simply a preference, I think many people collect the other era's. While there are a plethora of WW2 producers out there, K&C detail is unmatched and I've become a stickler for that moving from 21st to FOV and now finally K&C

Airplanes is another preference. I'm not a big airplane guy. However, I do have my XD Stuka and will probably get the ME-110 and Avenger. I like the size of the planes, but as my interest in the area is limited, its not something that I think about all that much when I choose a line to collect.

All valid questions. I'd actually be curious to hear what other K&C guys, especially those who have been in the line for a long time, as I'm a newbie, have to say about it.

-Bill

In response to Sgt Stryker's post I would just like to say that it is true you can still get the odd K&C retired set for $85 or so on e-bay but I would say that it was either a mixed set or a set that does not come mint in the box or comes without the box.I have recently seen some of the Arnhem sets sold on e-bay that were not complete sets or the original figures that came in the set when it was originally sold.They still went for triple the original price and more.If your a collector that doesn't mind fig's without the box or a few chips then you might still pick up some deals.Beware though because K&C fig's and vehicles are very delecate objects and must be treated with respect when removing them from the box or just handling them period.It doesn't take much to snap a tank barrel off or a rifle barrel that needs straightening.Personnel experience that was costly.
I would also agree with the comment that there are already many cheaper WWII lines to collect.Why wouldn't it be better to collect some other historical time period?Not my interest to do so.I'm strictly WWII and as I have said before my first purchase of K&C got me hooked.I started and still have all the original 21st Century stuff MIB.It has never been removed except for the 1/18 Panther and a few 1/32 pieces.Someday soon I will sell it all maybe to purchase more K&C but I still look at it everyday in the boxes piled to the ceiling.Its so cool.I also collect the 1/72 Dragon Armor line and the History Channel planes.Then to throw a complete wrench in things I collect some John Deere Precision stuff and other Ertyl farm pieces.It just never ends.I still have my original Fort Apache, Johnny West and GI Joe action fig's.
Gotta run South Park's on.......

AS you all know I,m a huge K&C collecter. I collect all eras of their military line from the Romans to the modern.
I will say this, if I was strickly a plane or vehicle collecter my choice would not be K&C. Figures are K&C,s bread and butter. The vehicles are excellent, but are made to accompany the figures.
As stated above, newly retired sets will not fetch big dollars, but I guarantee if I put a K&C retired set from 2 years ago on ebay it would get at least three times what I paid for it.
As I look at it when one starts collecting K&C he has graduated to the very top of the figure line.

Thank you for the intelligent and polite responses.
About 20 months ago, I discovered, via the internet, all the amazing selection of quality military vehicles and airplanes that have appeared since the beginning of the 21st Century. Plastic, resin, and diecast "toys" that didn't exist when I was a kid in the 1970's.
I decided to do what most casual enthusiasts probally do, which is to collect the less expensive lines of products - 21C, FOV, Dragon, Corgi, Solido, Matchbox, Minichamps.
I decided not to invest the significant additional funds into the top-of-the-line King & Country 60mm painted metal figure line.
Now, 20 months later, I'm $6000+ in debt, but I have an excellent variety of WWII "battlefield" sets of Armor, Transports, Airplanes, and painted plastic figures in 1:144, 1:72, 1:50, 1:35, 1:32, & 1:18.
Time will tell if I made the error of not investing into K&C, eventhough I might now be $12000+ in debt because I have read in this forum that the product line in HIGHLY addictive!
BTW, is there a K&C collector web site that has photos of the ENTIRE WWII line of figures & vehicles? What specific year did K&C introduce this military era?
STRYKER

Sgt Stryker,
Bill Sager's website has photographs of pretty much 70% of all K&C items.
See:
http://www.toysoldiersusa.com/
However, in some cases you'll need to look at the 'Brochures' by year to see some of the pictures rather than the 'King & Country' pages: he hasn't associated them all with the individual AN, WS item. The 'Collector' pages are also nice if you haven't seen the earlier ones before.
Still though, the website overall is well worth a look if you're unsure whether a figure without a base is part of a particular set (eg WS09 or WS10).
Regards,
Joe
(CannonFodder1971)

I haven't seen the Arnhem figures in real life. How do they compare with the more recent lines in terms of quality?

Hopefully this will be a line they revisit.

Being the Arniem figures were the first matte figures K&C did they are not as good as the recent releases, but they are still excellent figures.
As you know K&C seems to get better with every new release. The early German figures were not as good as his current Germans, so the Arniem figures fall into that line. Also as is all Andy,s early figures they are a bit smaller also.
The British sherman tank and ambulance jeep in that set, in 2 and a half years of collecting I have never seen one for sale nor have I ever flat out seen one.

I was at a toy soldier show organised by King & Country UK in central London yesterday. They had all their ranges on display and most impressive they all looked too! Cornwalis's redcoats plus indians advancing on the Continental army. Pharoah riding out in his chariot. The latter is not my period at all but, by gosh it looked b***dy impressive and the model was selling like the proverbial hotcakes. The centre piece of the WWII model dispaly was a display of the figures, vehicles and buildings in the Fall of Berlin range. Absolutely fantastic, the King Tiger in particular. The Puma and T-34 were equally impressive. As all the range were on a special 10% preorder discount for the show I ordered the King Tiger on the spot! The figures are also very good. The detail on the Soviet Maxim gun is amazing. Andy Nielsen, the founder of the firm, was over from Hong Kong. He told me that in September they would be releasing figures for the sixty-fifth anniversary of Dunkirk. In fact there were some preprodction masters of both British and French soldiers on display and the detail on them was amazing. Those of us who have got some of the Blitzkrieg range of Germans will now have someone they can fight! Andy said theat there would be armor to go with the figures but he would n't be drawn on the types. On the subject of armour I asked him if there was a chance of a new Panther. He said they were doing some preliminary design work on one and it might be released fitted with Vampyr infra red equipment which would make it suitable for the Battle of the Bulge or the Fall of Berlin.

For information, the latest price list available at the show detailed the following as deleted:

8th Army:
EA 07 Matilda tank

Afrika Korps:
AK 11 Standing patrol
AK 13 MG 42 set
AK 20 Demag 1 ton halftrack

Hope this is of interest to you fellow K & C addicts out there!

Thanks Graycap for the intel report from the UK.Dunkirk is a big surprise and a new Panther would be nice.I'm still waiting for a Hummel or Nashorn.That pre-order discount is nice to.Andy usually is anti- discount.Especially in retaliation to some of the US dealers that we have heard about that got caught advertising discounts and lost their dealer priviliges.

A lot has been said about K&C being anti-discount and I hate to add to it but don't forget that on the European side of the pond a standard K&C set can cost around £75 (about $140) or about $60 more than in the USA. Of course VAT and other factors (such as the current exchange rate) play their part but at the end of the day any discount in the UK would only bring the price near US levels!
On the one hand I can understand Andy's position: he wants to protect the brand. Also it's clear that prices have remained static over the past few years (falling in real terms) whilst the quality has improved. I've got a feeling that he's probably in the mindset of those who stood by the Net Book Agreement of old: here in Ireland we didn't abandon it until a few years after the UK but the arguments regarding its retention were the same ie the publishers set a fixed price, thus allowing small bookstores stock a full range of titles - you could get Theodor Adorno or Jeffrey Archer - and the supermarkets couldn't just sell a stack of popular titles on a massive discount. Of course the drawback with such a protectionist system was the sclerosis: it stigmatised the "popular" and in effect became a massive subsidy to the middle classes, who could buy titles ranging from Antropology to Zoology because they were being stocked (and cross-subsidized) by the buyers of 'airport' novels. Of course the advent of Amazon and other online retailers were to blow it apart.
Still though, if Andy is following a similar mindset it would appear that you will not be allowed to just pick a few WWII popular sets and sell them cheap: you need to stock a broad range and maintain a similar price structure for all the (4-piece) sets, regardless of which sell the best. I can sympathise to an extent with the King & Country position in that regard. But at the end of the day I was disturbed at the way people like Rick Berry were horse-whipped for offering innovative pricing structures.
I wish they'd allow a range of values, thus allowing for retailers to tailor to their own customer demand levels the respective prices of Napoleonics, Ancient Egypt, World War II and so forth.
Regards,
CannonFodder1971 (Joe)

I forgot about that thing they call exchange rate.Sorry and meant no disrespect to Graycap or CannonFodder.I can't imagine paying that much difference in the UK.Would it not be cheaper to purchase it here in the US and have it shipped?After my first couple of K&C purchases on-line I dealt with a dealer in Canada.When the exchange rate was good(3 years ago)it was cheaper for me with shipping to go that route.I was saving roughly $15 US a set.Unfortunately times have changed and its not worth it anymore.Although I will say some of the Corgi planes this dealer sells is worth the conversion.
Nobody likes to see a price increase but the justification of a better quality product is worth what Andy has done this time around.Hopefully the price won't increase again for another 5 years though.Thats my wishful thinking.What ever I save just goes back into the K&C fund anyways....

"Kinda like that Colonel Sanders with those beatty little eyes.His chicken is so addictive!"

I've ordered some figures from the US recently and yes it did work out cheaper. I paid $79 each for 3 retired FJ sets from Treefrog Treasures. That works out at around £42 each. Postage was $26 so around £13 and customs duty was, i think, £26.
So a grand total of £165!

Now a four figure set from K&C here in the UK costs £75 and £6 for postage any size order. You also get a 5% discount if you are a member of their club. This would have come to around £220.

Thats quite a big saving really for ordering from the US. Why the UK is so expensive really is beyond me.

I must confess I've thought about ordering K & C models direct from the US because of the price difference. I would also like to know why there is such a difference as the K & C models sold in both in the US and UK all come from the same place, ie Hong Kong.

The only snag is Her Majesty's Customs & Excise. Import duties (thanks to membership of the European Union) cut in at quite a low level of value. If your package is opened by Customs not only is there the danger of damage to its contents but the imposition of a wacking duty.