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Re: Roman Market

Medievals would be phenominal!!

Re: Roman Market

He is actually holding a Roman bread.... the shape is perfect except for the little tip at the top that makes it look like a pumpkin... ;-)

Re: Roman Market

This appears to be a good lookin and very usefull set. You folks have some very sharp eyes if you can distinguish between a Greek and Roman market. I would use the figures all over the ancient Med myself. My only complaints: Some of the faces do not look very realistic and I missed the section where they were selling the nude slave girls ;)

Re: Roman Market

Britsfan
The new masters for the Roman market are great. I like
this new trend towards some civilian sets like the
market and the Roman Transport sets.
I agree. Another charming and useful set, that plays to Strelets' strengths. I hope they have great success with it.

Re: Roman Market

well i like these sets. it is complimenting and conversion wise they will be awesome to have on shelf o ideas i hope for an ottoman market set which could go with many sets eg crusade onwards to modern.

i get behind strelets with what they are doing with linea-b if it meands more figures that is a good thing.but a non euripean dealer arrangement would help

Re: Roman Market

I am strongly dissapointed by current commercial policy of Strelets. I'm interested in ancient civilians, such as Roman Transports or Market, and I find that I cannot buy them as usual with other items.

I cannot learn German at this point (not a problem at all with german-speaking people, but I'm sure that an ukranian-russian company with its web in English understands the real fact). The price is necessarily higher than usual when buying other sets, due to P&P. In fact the high resulting price makes the language problem almost irrelevant.

If Strelets has not seen the business opportunity that other (linear-b) has seen, and in addition makes things difficult for its current customers, I don't bet a penny for its future.

Linar-B is also in English...

Well actually the site is also in English and it's nice to see that they have made an effort in that direction. My only gripe is that what I would call mainstream retailers don't stock their models. That in turn means less sales, which is a great pity... The Roman transports are great and I cannot wait to get my hands on the market!!

Re: Linar-B is also in English...

Linear-b comissioned the set so how and who they allow to sell it is thier perogative..one that I entirely agree with, it is after all a business and if anyone knows how much cost goes into the production of a set then a slightly higher price for the risk that Linear-b has taken is understandable. They could just have gone for another set of WWII german infantry, which is not such a niche market as say a roman transport set. I applaud the attempt, both from linear-b and strelets, and if it brings more variety into our hobby then it can only be a good thing.
Cheers
paul

Re: Linar-B is also in English...

Actually their price, on the website, is perfectly OK by European standards, it is the shipment costs from Germany that hit you hard in the pocket, to the tune of a box and half just for postage... The gap is even bigger in another country I won't mention, where the seller has added a whopping 2.5 Euro to the original price.... add postage and you pay 15 Euro for 1 set.... that is the real pity... and probably a bit of rip-off...
I'd rather pay a little more for the box, to encourage the makers and further production while at the same time sourcing the sets from my own country where postage isn't going to kill me....
I am hugely supportive of this Roman initiative!

Re: No, not in English

Please try to place an order from linear-b and you'll tell me about. Sure I'm not an expert, but it doesn't seem English to me. I propose Strelets to change its own web and forum to Russian language, and then we'll can discuss how many of us remain.

Of course Strelets can enter the exclusive club of good (very good, sometimes) manufacturers who doesn't sell due to a bad commercial policy, but I regret that after having been an increasingly good company it has chosen its own decline. I don't know how many new customers Strelets expects to obtain, but I know more than a dozen current customers that it has lost (for these sets) only counting on a simple local shop.

Re: No, not in English

I don't speak German either, but there is a button marked "Kontact" on their site which even I managed to work out was "Contact" in English. I emailed them and told them what I wanted, and they replied quickly giving me the price including postage, and gave me the details needed to pay them by Paypal. The goods (Roman Transports sets 1 and 2) came within days. So, actually very easy to deal with. The only gripe I have is that I prefer to pay by personal cheque rather than Paypal, and there is a certain amount of trepidation about sending money to somebody you have never dealt with before, especially somebody in another country. However, the transaction went smoothly and I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

Re: Thanks, Michael

Thanks, Michael. Not the solution but a good help.

I insist to Strelets not to do things so complicated. Bye.

Fast shipment

Yes, I can also vouch for this. The transaction was very smooth and the items were shipped very quickly.

As for the language it is really not that complicated to make out the bits that are still in German... I think we can all live with "Kontakt" instead of "Contact" and get that far...

Re: Roman Market

Dear Enric,

we appreciate your possible frustration but we have to draw your attention to the fact that our very first set of the French Army Camp was a similar exclusive arrangement with PB Toys, whereby they bought the whole production run and took all sales risks on themselves giving us time and cash to start another set. Now, about 10 years later, we are still here on the market, so this strategy works in the long run. It's perfectly all right, from our point of view, when we make a sertain set for a third company as it doesn't affect our ability to make those sets that we planned for. In fact, we can come up with twice of what we are doing now in terms of number of sets per year if we had similar arrangements where somebody undertook to take sales on themselves letting us concentrate on making sets only.

Best regards,

Strelets

Re: Roman Market

I got both Roman Transport sets from Linear-B without much trouble as soon as they appeared. Also took the opportunity to pick up another set of 'Romans on the March' from them, and the Zvezda Spartans, which seemed to be a bit cheaper than here in the UK, so the whole package with postage worked out not so bad, though still a bit extravagant for me...!
Perhaps Linear-B might consider posting just the sprues in a padded envelope, if that would make the postage cheaper? Anyone desperate for the box art could simply access it online.

Re: Roman Market

All went smoothly with my order with Linear-B as well. Like mike b, and I suppose most buyers who accessed the site only because it had the exclusive Transport 1, I also bought 4 items from them, to maximize the number of 1/72 people I owe and minimize shipping costs. Because up to 4 items, P&P is about the same. I quickly found two other sets to complement my transports. Many of us would never have bought anything from Linear-B, if it was not for the exclusive set. Probably they are getting their reward for their courage now, and I wish them prosperity.

When will I place my next order with Linear-B, Strelets? That is: when will Linear-B have the Market for sale? I might go for the even better P&P deal, with a big,big parcel.

Will Spartacus show up at the same time with the Market?

Thank you

Re: Roman Market

"Because up to 4 items, P&P is about the same."

One of those strange conditions which will always deter me from buying with linear-b as postal prices depend on distance and the weight and size of the parcels and not on the number of items the parcels contain. Second, European non-EU countries and their postal services have concluded agreements of cooperation with the Deutsche Post/DHL which ensure that P & P for countries such as Switzerland or Norway are essentially the same as for EU-countries and there is absolutely no reason to ask for charges that would be normal for the US or other non-European countries. Serious German sellers do know this and act accordingly without making a fuss. On the other hand, customers from non-EU-countries have a right to reclaim VAT about which some sellers don't say one word. Serious sellers deduct VAT for these customers without being asked.

Re: Roman Market

Dear Radu,

both sets will be released prior to 2012.
Please be guidded accordingly.

Best reegards,

Strelets

Re: Roman Market

Frankly I am not interested in these sets. I chose not to collect Ancients a while back as producers seemed to offer the same old things and not develop ranges. The Nikolai sets look very nice but limited distribution always meant that I could source some things quicker and without postage (which is like a surcharge as we all pay it don't we? like tax, retailer's profit etc) so not this time, this life. I am very lazy with certain aspects of my hobby. If a company wants to make it hard for me to buy their products then OK by me I can do without as there are plenty more very fine fish in the sea.

Having sets or items commissioned by retailers or groups etc is not new it has been with die cast model vehicles for a long time and more or less led from runs of 12000 to runs of 200-300 and the price premium that goes with it. Linear B seem to be offering a very good deal to customers in Germany as they seem not to ask for an exorbitant premium (as is often the case with die cast models). Back to the die cast models world and the positive side has been that many brands have survived and collectors awash with money can still buy their collectors gems. Those wishing to start collecting think again and choose something else. Oxford Diecast for example have reasonably priced 1/76th scale vehicles and many new collectors have moved in that direction.

Coincidence or not every time I go into my local model shop there is always somebody buying a bundle of Zvezda Art of Tactic sets of both 1/72nd and 1/100th scales. This Zvezda range to me is a far more dynamic marketing mix than retailer commissions but not one that suits all. Those who have got the habit want more figures so whatever happens there will always be a residue of die-hards who will collect a period or a type of figure regardless of any impositions.

If it works for Strelets - good for it may mean diversification with less speculation. I have just ordered the Crimean artillery sets so I am glad these haven't gone to Linear B (Forgotten Scripts read it 30+years ago).


David

nice touch

Hey is nice strelets ask paul to paint test sprues for them. i look foresrd to see thst. Very encouraging of strelets to say that to Paul,he must be excited

Re: nice touch

Head for the guns hank
Hey is nice strelets ask paul to paint test sprues for them. i look foresrd to see thst. Very encouraging of strelets to say that to Paul,he must be excited


I am [
Cheers
Paul