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Ok 1/72 Figures (Sort Of) Rant

Please Strelets continue as you are because after reading PSR latest posting and after Martin Macalka posting it seem that some companies have caught the Airfix disease (the mugs will buy anything we make what ever the quality or price) Price, back to the retailers yes, you have your costs and overheads but if I joe soap can buy a box for six dollars on the Web I am not going to buy from you for 15 dollars and the people selling for 6 dollars are doing it for the money not to be kind. Another of the few remaining toy stores near to me closed last month. The last time I was in it 1/72 Airfix WW2 German infantry 15.00 dollars 1/72 Tanks 26.00 dollars So I bought nothing. Another shop in the city centre had Airfix sets on sale for 4.00 to 6.00 dollars a while ago I bought over 150.00 dollars worth. Last time I looked 9.00 to 15.00 dollars. End of Rant

Re: Ok 1/72 Figures (Sort Of) Rant

Everyone needs a rant occasionally, glad it's off your chest.

If I might add "accuracy" to the expected "quality" and "value for money".

You might be right about the attitude to "mugs" after seeing the Prussian Staff from Waterloo 1815.

Re: Ok 1/72 Figures (Sort Of) Rant

The logic behind the pricing of these sets is simple.

The manufacturers know that they aren't going to sell lots of them - how many mounted of Prussian officers does anyone need? However they are still perceived as adesirable set - ok you need some but not lots.

So they made them.

And knowing they are never going to sell loads they recoup their costs by pricing them accordingly.

It's all a matter of how much you want something.

Metal figure manufacturers used to do something with line/ordinary soldiers/warriors and command/specialty/hero figures. The ordinary soldiers, because customers were going to want loads were cheap(er) than the hero/command figures.

Re: Ok 1/72 Figures (Sort Of) Rant

+1 Steve.

I am pleased they have made Prussian command at all, and some of teh poses are useful in repeat. Not sure I need another Blucher but I can live with that - head swap and he is general in cloak.

Pricing makes sense to me. Having spoken with Waterloo1815, there is an investment to be realised, and they are not going to sell that many boxes.

But the reverse of that also holds true. How many boxes does one person need of command figures? Me, I will pick up two packs, to cover all my Prussian needs. SO at the price, I am not spending much really am I, compared to how many Prussian infantry boxes I have bought.

So swings and roundabouts.

Re: Ok 1/72 Figures (Sort Of) Rant

Ok but how many boxes of mounted troops that do not fit on the horses supplied. And of a size you could consider using them with your Warhammer figures. ME none. Waterloo could of put another spruce of Prussian infantry, cavalry, artillery wagons in place of the repeats.

Re: Ok 1/72 Figures (Sort Of) Rant

I seem to recall not so long ago some rare (short run) command sets going for about 40 quid...
Anyway personally I think speciality figures are best done in another medium, they wouldn't be cheaper but the producer would likely get a better return, as the big cost for plastic injection is the tooling... that is unless you go for short run... see above...

:wink:

Re: Ok 1/72 Figures (Sort Of) Rant

Prsonally I think speciality figures are best done by Strelets (see my sugestions in the similar thread below Mr. Strelets:wink: )

I'm with Steve and Marc here. As far as I know the only alternative in plastic to this Waterloo 1815 set only gives you one mounted Prussian staff officer per box. This set gives you six plus two regimental officers in shakos and two in schirmutz caps. I don't need two more Bluchers but remove his pipe and mustache, if he has one, and you have two Prussian generals in schirmutz cap and cloak and two spare pipes. Or, as Marc says, do a head swap. I'm not sure the face on this figure looks much like Blucher anyway.

Steve has a very good point regarding pricing, making twelve individual poses would double the cost of cutting the mould and a high staff set will sell in fewer numbers than regular infantry or cavalry sets. Putting only one sprue in the box would halve the number of generic officers we get and filling the box with other figures that perhaps the customer doesn't need or want was one of the big mistakes the other company made.

I have no problem with the repeated poses because these look like generic figures. But if one of them happens to look like someone in particular I,ll be happy to use him and try to make his twin look different. Strelets has a nice figure of Clauswitz who was Thielmanns chief of staff, so if I put one of these figures on a base with the Clauswitz fig I'll have another clearly identifiable mounted figure for a Prussian Corps commander and the twin figure will look totally different without Clauswitz, that's great.

As far as pricing goes, I live in Brisbane so I pay the "lets mug the Queenslanders" levy on everything. Waterloo 1815 sets are not cheap here, I baulked at the $27.50 price tag on their Prussian Hussars (I waited for another set with a more correct uniform for the Hundred Days), but I was happy to pay for the excellent Napoleonic Mounted Officers set. And I'll be happy to pay a reasonably high price for this one because I think it's a whole lot better than buying another six mediocre figures of Scots Greys that I really don't need just to get one Prussian staff officer.

Haven't heard anything about the size of these figures or how well they fit the horses, what's the issue there?

I definately agree with Johnny on one thing. Yes Strelets, keep doing what you're doing because you're doing alright:slightly_smiling_face: