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A little gratitude please

Seems like every week Strelets offers a lot of new sets and all they get is complaints in return.
Sure a lack of bayonets and other things can be frustrating but stand several feet away from the little guys you would never notice whats missing.
And yes when you spend money you would like to get a quality product. I know all that.
Criticism can have different effects. A manufacturer can make changes needed to improve or become disheartened and wonder why bother do anything at all.
I appreciate what Strelets does and I know others do too.
With so few small scale manufacturers around anymore I would hate to see Strelets get discouraged.
You can agree or not. It don't matter to me.
I think a little gratitude can go a long way. Imho
Cappy

Re: A little gratitude please

Well said sir, all for constructive criticism , it helps improve the standard and we all win. But there are times when the noise just does not take in to account anything but the writers view, ie no effort to see things from the other persons perspective. But for Strelets our hobby would be in the doldrums , and plastic toy soldier collectors would all feel like English footy fans over the last few days.

Re: A little gratitude please

Said it before ... WE ... ARE ... SPOILED, well, maybe just a little bit, but nevertheless. And Strelets has contributed in spoiling us, so ...
But you're right. My Mom once said to me and my Dad in a tone of utter frustration: "When I'm cooking something and you like it you just eat it and never say a word, but God beware if you don't like it, then you start complaining! A little appreciation now and then would be nice!". Guess we're not THAT bad, but spoiled we are ...:smiling_imp:

Re: A little gratitude please

I agree I buy about 70% of my figures from strelets & most sets are great with only a few dodgy sets now & again.
I think strelets have been very patient with the people who posted the bad revues, If they had posted these on the Hat website for instance they would have been banned for six months from the site I know it happened to me.
Don't forget we are very very lucky to have strelets figures.:heart_eyes:

Re: A little gratitude please

Right. Here goes.....

When a really good set is released, where proper effort, quality sculpting & research has clearly taken place, you can bet I will be there to praise Strelets. Indeed I have done it a good few times. For example I was impressed with the LRDG sets, many of the Napoleonic Infantry & also sets like the Japanese in defence. The WW1 French kitchen is also very special. The WSS cavalry sets are amazing, especially the French Dragoons in reserve set. The WSS British firing line is far better compared to its later equivelent. I even liked some of their older sets before the brand became fashionable.
Maybe I havent been praising every single thing to appear of late but then thats because its as clear as day that something isnt quite right and standards have dropped. Which brings me onto my next point.

Nobody will force me to praise something I definitely am not impressed with just to be "part of the crowd". If I don't like something, I say so & why, in the hope the issue is not repeated, & can be learned from. What may not seem overly serious to you, might be a deal breaker to another.
At the end of the day, sometimes I see posts which make me want to tear my hair out, but I dont start a thread telling them to basically shut their trap because they are wrong. Its their viewpoint, its an open forum, they are entitled to their view as are the rest of us who "complain" as you say.

Reason for me personally offering a lot of criticism of recent Napoleonic sets is due to them simply not being as good as previous sets or ones another sculptor has been working on....to me at least. Strelets set the bar of quality.....not me. I cannot help being frustrated when a set I really looked forward to is messed up for absolutely no good reason. I have seen others also show their frustration when their favourite era has been affected. Wrong weapons, badly done weapons, not the best poses etc etc.

Gratitude? Well yes Strelets have done a tremendous job, but that is no reason to not point out flaws when they appear. Let me sum it up like this....if somebody brings me a bag of apples to eat, but when I look at them, they are mouldy with maggots crawling out of them, I sure as hell am not going to grab one say thank you and take a bite!!!

Being disheartened....how do you think some of us feel when we see sets we really wanted & have been waiting for someone to do, finally emerge only to be a poor effort?? If someone goes into business without expecting knock backs....thats on them. They have the chance to put things right with the next products. But those of us who have seen our sets released below the usual standard, are stuck with it. As you say not really anyone else out there....so no chance of it being done better elsewhere.

As for this business of looking at distance and then missing stuff dont matter....I dont want to be standing several feet away!!! Its great to see dioramas up close, see the little details. Somebody doesnt go to a museum with the idea of not getting a close look. I didnt go to the British museum to just lazily gaze at the Egyptian mummys from afar, I wanted to get a good look!!!
I will end by saying this.... using the same logic with this "at distance stuff", can we now expect people to start mentioning similar views on peoples contributions of their paintwork? Why paint all that detail someone can barely see from a few feet away eh?!!

Re: A little gratitude please

Roger W
Right. Here goes.....

When a really good set is released, where proper effort, quality sculpting & research has clearly taken place, you can bet I will be there to praise Strelets. Indeed I have done it a good few times. For example I was impressed with the LRDG sets, many of the Napoleonic Infantry & also sets like the Japanese in defence. The WW1 French kitchen is also very special. The WSS cavalry sets are amazing, especially the French Dragoons in reserve set. The WSS British firing line is far better compared to its later equivelent. I even liked some of their older sets before the brand became fashionable.
Maybe I havent been praising every single thing to appear of late but then thats because its as clear as day that something isnt quite right and standards have dropped. Which brings me onto my next point.

Nobody will force me to praise something I definitely am not impressed with just to be "part of the crowd". If I don't like something, I say so & why, in the hope the issue is not repeated, & can be learned from. What may not seem overly serious to you, might be a deal breaker to another.
At the end of the day, sometimes I see posts which make me want to tear my hair out, but I dont start a thread telling them to basically shut their trap because they are wrong. Its their viewpoint, its an open forum, they are entitled to their view as are the rest of us who "complain" as you say.

Reason for me personally offering a lot of criticism of recent Napoleonic sets is due to them simply not being as good as previous sets or ones another sculptor has been working on....to me at least. Strelets set the bar of quality.....not me. I cannot help being frustrated when a set I really looked forward to is messed up for absolutely no good reason. I have seen others also show their frustration when their favourite era has been affected. Wrong weapons, badly done weapons, not the best poses etc etc.

Gratitude? Well yes Strelets have done a tremendous job, but that is no reason to not point out flaws when they appear. Let me sum it up like this....if somebody brings me a bag of apples to eat, but when I look at them, they are mouldy with maggots crawling out of them, I sure as hell am not going to grab one say thank you and take a bite!!!

Being disheartened....how do you think some of us feel when we see sets we really wanted & have been waiting for someone to do, finally emerge only to be a poor effort?? If someone goes into business without expecting knock backs....thats on them. They have the chance to put things right with the next products. But those of us who have seen our sets released below the usual standard, are stuck with it. As you say not really anyone else out there....so no chance of it being done better elsewhere.

As for this business of looking at distance and then missing stuff dont matter....I dont want to be standing several feet away!!! Its great to see dioramas up close, see the little details. Somebody doesnt go to a museum with the idea of not getting a close look. I didnt go to the British museum to just lazily gaze at the Egyptian mummys from afar, I wanted to get a good look!!!
I will end by saying this.... using the same logic with this "at distance stuff", can we now expect people to start mentioning similar views on peoples contributions of their paintwork? Why paint all that detail someone can barely see from a few feet away eh?!!
Totally agree.

Re: A little gratitude please

Cappy

I appreciate what Strelets does and I know others do too.
With so few small scale manufacturers around anymore I would hate to see Strelets get discouraged.
You can agree or not. It don\'t matter to me.
I think a little gratitude can go a long way. Imho
Cappy
Well done Cappy, a reality check like this always helps.

Strelets, Redbox and Linear A are notable in keeping this hobby interesting and vibrant. The others, for the most part, are happy to live on the past glories of their back-catalogues.

A couple of years ago I thought I had purchased all the 1/72 plastic soldiers I'd ever need. Then Strelets introduced their War of Spanish Succession range....and I had to find budget and clear space for two new huge armies. And my painting table is now permanently thronged with small figures in tricorne hats and coats with large cuffs. Happy Days !!:smile:

Re: A little gratitude please

This is a timely message and Strelets deserve huge praise, partly because they are brilliant, and partly because everyone needs their morale lifting from time to time.

I think this is largely about balance and certainly suggestions about how to improve future releases are a healthy aspect of the hobby, but these can be framed in an encouraging rather than negative way.

I am also hugely impressed by Strelets's broadminded approach to some of the harsher criticism - I remember another well known manufacturer that a few years ago seemed to have a corporate hissy-fit whenever it was criticised - its forum has in consequence lost all the vibrancy that was once its hallmark.

The fact that I would like to see the end of forage caps, the presence of bayonets and a move away from ponies to horses in no way detracts from my enthusiasm for this fantastic company.

dead forum

General Picton
I remember another well known manufacturer that a few years ago seemed to have a corporate hissy-fit whenever it was criticised - its forum has in consequence lost all the vibrancy that was once its hallmark.



I'd disagree. Whilst the reason you offer is a factor, the said "manufacturer's" lack of releases is the chief reason for the noted lack of forum vibrancy. No figures released = no discussion.

This is not meant to take away from Strelets' broad-minded attitude to constructive criticism. But if their release of new sets dwindled to a trickle, I don't think there'd be much happening here, either.

donald

Re: dead forum

I'm not sure HaTs release of new sets can even be defined as a "trickle"! At least they finally got around to releasing their MAC Austrians in helmets. Although they are below the quality Hat used to churn out.

I do however think that the eliminating of free speech and people seeing their posts removed for the smallest little criticism made people get fed up too. Nobody wants to see their speech & beliefs curtailed as if part of some far left or far right dictatorship.
The fact that its HaT & only HaT & their sets must be the best thing since sliced bread doesnt really help!!
If that happens here, this forum will go the same way. If that is combined with lower standards creeping into what sets are released, it will only go one way.....regardless of how much goodwill is supplied.
Its happened before......it can happen again.

The whole reason why a few of us are so vocal is because we do care about the company & its future, in our own way. We can see warning signs that have appeared before in companies who have long fallen. Call it tough love if you want. But just offering blind praise, simply because a company is the last one standing, will help nobody in the end...the customer due to mistakes repeating & quality falling, or the business, due to mistakes not learned (if nobody mentions them...how could they?!), poorer quality of sets & thus drop in sales.
No money....no company.

Re: dead forum

Thank you Strelets for the hours of enjoyment you have brought us with the many new sets you continue to produce.

The lively discussion on this forum is good and keeps the hobby alive.

However, I am sorry that some of us have forgotten that you asked us not to discuss HaT products on this forum.

Sandy

Re: dead forum

That is true Sandy & for my part I am sorry for mentioning the "H" word.

Kind of forgot about it in the midst of the debate.
I suppose the other brand got brought up as being pertinent to the discussion. But either way, from here on, I will try to remember to refer to them as the "other" company.

Maybe there could be something added to the forums program that blocks the name? Like it does a swear word?

However I dont think there is a problem mentioning another brands sets, after all it does say at the top of the forum to "Please feel free to discuss any aspect of 1/72 scale plastic figures, not simply Strelets".

Re: dead forum

Paintdog
General Picton
I remember another well known manufacturer that a few years ago seemed to have a corporate hissy-fit whenever it was criticised - its forum has in consequence lost all the vibrancy that was once its hallmark.



I'd disagree. Whilst the reason you offer is a factor, the said "manufacturer's" lack of releases is the chief reason for the noted lack of forum vibrancy. No figures released = no discussion.

This is not meant to take away from Strelets' broad-minded attitude to constructive criticism. But if their release of new sets dwindled to a trickle, I don't think there'd be much happening here, either.

donald
Lack of new releases maybe donald, but the reason I no longer participate in the 'other Forum' that we are mentioning here is that it is closely censored, and anything approaching even constructive criticism of their figures or lack of new output is quickly cleansed from the record. The whole tone of that Forum is therefore sterile and passive.

I am thankful, therefore, not only for the prodigious output of Strelets, but also for the openness and vibrancy of this Forum.

Re: dead forum

Hat are unlikely to rise again like a Phoenix from the flames ,and that is for me at least very sad ,the financial crisis of 2007/8 has seen to that. But they still turn out a few new sets from time to time all be it usually from masters we have seen for many years. Donald has hit the nail on the head, what`s to talk about there ? well if nothing is happening, not a lot. Hat will be hurting about how things have turned out and as anyone who has been hurt knows the last thing you need is someone coming along and rubbing salt in an open wound. So if people are regularly negative, to the point it out ways any positive contributions, why would anyone want to listen to it?. What needs to be remembered is behind the brand is one human being ,who is even more passionate about toy soldiers than you or me, that is why that person started the company ,be that Strelets , Hat, or most of the others we find listed on PSR. Historically I was probably to most active poster on the old Hat forum, and like here a keen observer of what goes on, I don`t really understand the venom Hat have thrown at them, why not the other forty odd plastic 1/72 manufacturers who are dormant or vanished or low activity ? ,it is perhaps because they have a forum and do listen ,or maybe they crave more from Hat and think bad mouthing them is the way to get it ?, as I said it makes no sense and never has.

Re: dead forum

I would venture to say that Hat collapsed after being incorporated in Pacific Coast and production transferred to China. The best Hat sets, the French light infantry and the Britisch Peninsular sets have been the highlight of Hat. Few sets compare to them. Since then plastic soldier production seems to have been banned from the company's top activities to what appears to have become an afterthought. The output of Austrians and British Peninsular cavalry being the worst sets I have seen.
I appreciate Strelets all the more and some of their sets are top of the class. If the company heeds advice from their clients and take note of their comments, being positive or negative and acts upon it, it can only go from strength to strength. What's wrong with that? We can all benefit from it.

Re: dead forum

Thomas
I would venture to say that Hat collapsed after being incorporated in Pacific Coast and production transferred to China. The best Hat sets, the French light infantry and the Britisch Peninsular sets have been the highlight of Hat. Few sets compare to them. Since then plastic soldier production seems to have been banned from the company's top activities to what appears to have become an afterthought. The output of Austrians and British Peninsular cavalry being the worst sets I have seen.
I appreciate Strelets all the more and some of their sets are top of the class. If the company heeds advice from their clients and take note of their comments, being positive or negative and acts upon it, it can only go from strength to strength. What's wrong with that? We can all benefit from it.
THIS!!!!!! 👍👍

Re: dead forum

Chaps,

I was involved in a discussion like this a while ago, and Mr. Strelets was not happy. Whilst I agree with many of the sentiments shared, I do not wish to spoil the mood of the upcoming Friday teasers by Mr. Strelets because he is (again) reading this somewhat negative discussion of a competitor "Le Chapeau" on the Strelets forum.

Cheers,

Re: dead forum

Alan, lets think of some reasons why HaT may not get the praise it once did. These are not my own personal views, howeber I may share some of them, but some I have noticed here and there, including on Bennos.

1-As Thomas said, production is completely based in China. I dont know if the company itself is Chinese or manufacture was just outsourced to take advantage of cheap labour, fact is the quality of the product & abilty to carry out job specifications has dropped massively since it has been completely based there. The managers there dont seem to care about the end product.....which comes to point 2.

2- If you are responsible for outsourcing your manufacture, its on you to make sure they understand the job & do the job properly. Dont just accept whatever they churn out. Make them do it again. If thats not possible, take the contract away from them & find someone else. That could be somewhere closer to home, or another country. Or even simply a different factory.

3-Starting a crowdfunder, holding on to the money for years, to release the sets in the wrong scale, then trying again only to make people wait even longer, then finally release the sets, only with awful scaling and moulding, is not a particularly good bit of business!!

4- Operating a forum like its North Korea isnt a great move. Kind of alienates people that.

5-Admin never gives clear sensible answers. They also never seem to know what is going on at shop floor level.....who the hell is running the company?!!

I agree it is highly unlikely that HaT will rise from the ashes again...not under the current managment anyway. That is a huge shame as I too liked a good many of HaTs sets from a while back. They could of provided some healthy competition, which can only be a good thing...for customers & for motivating companys.

However, HaTs destiny is in their own hands. If they want to try & regain some of their former glory, then make changes. Get the products made better & within a sensible timescale. If that means shifting production elsewhere....do it, be proactive!
If its now in the ownership of someone new who couldnt care less about figures, well thats the end of the company basically & also if you were the passionate previous owner, handing it over was a silly thing to do. However, i'm sure money exchanged hands.

Baratheon is indeed correct, the mention of this company should be toned down now. Although it does perhaps offer an insight for Strelets as to an example to learn from & to certainly not follow.

Re: dead forum

Roger, in 2007/8 Hat nearly were gone forever, they exist today because the Chinese factory that made them on Hats behalf, bought Hat out rather than lose what was a good chunk of their business (they after all posses all/most of the moulds anyway) they are a injection moulded plastics business, not an enthusiastic hobbyist who has turned that hobby in to a business. They function at a basic level ,they are not toy soldier enthusiasts. The prolific Hat most of us loved pre 2007 has gone, and is not coming back, and no amount of moaning is going to change that. The crowdfunded projects were a disaster and being the biggest spender on the first unmarried Zulu`s had good reason to be more disappointed than most, but it was the only way unmarried Zulu`s were going to come to market, so despite all the many issues ,it was worth it, but it was the last such project from Hat I supported. If you think, getting sizing right etc is so easy ,try it, but here is a tip, check PSR first and see the height variation across all manufacturers for 1/72 ,they don`t just vary by brand, they vary a lot within brand, if it is as easy as you say why does everyone find it so hard ?. The forums are run at the hosts expense, if you go to someone's house and are rude/ungrateful/ destructive you would expect to be asked to leave by the host , so to with forums, if all you do is negative why would they or anyone want to pay to listen to it ? it is about balance, you are dealing with people not robots . Every manufacturer would like an easy process just like the fantasy one you suggest ,the real world is not like that, people change jobs, get ill, things get lost, meaning gets lost in translation, like how is your Mandarin ? and a thousand other unforeseen issues. Straight answers anyone who has worked in an international supply chain will tell you that is impossible , too many variables. We would all like Hat and others to be better and more prolific, it`s time most just accepted the reality of 2021. I will add that most of the moderators on the Hat forum, the ones that delete posts, well they are also your peers here, not some north Korean mini dictator but a group of fellow enthusiasts who operate with a specific remit, none of whom speak Mandarin or Chinese in any form.

Re: dead forum

At Alan
"The forums are run at the hosts expense, if you go to someone's house and are rude/ungrateful/ destructive you would expect to be asked to leave by the host , so to with forums, if all you do is negative why would they or anyone want to pay to listen to it. "

I hear what you say, however are fora not intended to exchange ideas, point out areas of improvement, exchange views? In short don't the fora have a function, if not to say offer the only way manufacturers and clients can exchange ideas views etcetera. If I were to be a manufacturer, I would rather see it as an asset, not a hindrance. Let's be fair, I have seen a lot of praise for Strelets as well on this site and rightly so. Most sets are fantastic, but some are flawed. This forum is one way to assist the manufacturer in pointing it out, assuming they want to continue to deliver top quality as they have been doing for the past years.

Re: dead forum

Alan dont shoot the messenger.
You wanted to know why there was this anti-HaT feeling, I gave you some examples that I have seen dotted around the forums. I may not of been the originator of those thoughts, but yes some I do share as many others do.
As for the forum itself, yes maybe there are some here that are moderators. But the feelings about how that forum is these days are widely known. I personally wouldnt want to be a moderator if that was what I had to do. I favour everybody being allowed to express their views, good or bad. Taking action against the abusive, insulting type individuals we have seen on here just recently picking on Donald & James.

I am not being negative on certain sets for the hell of it. I am not one of our trolling friends like Mr Kunz!!
Only when there is reason to, have I given a set a thumbs down. If that has happened a lot lately....well that tells its own story.
Maybe the process of producing a set of figures is a difficult one, but HaT managed well enough once before. Even the amount of sets flying out from Strelets suggest they must of got the hang of it!! Yes its 2021, there is more information for a manufacturer to access at their fingertips than ever before.
HaT used to make great sets with proper sizing. Strelets have been able to make nicely sculpted, well thought out and researched sets. That wasnt fantasy, that was the real world.
I have thoroughly enjoyed those sets & continue to purchase them today....cant get much better praise than that if you make figures. But some new sets have not been to the same standard for either company. HaT, its to be expected of these days unfortunately, but Strelets up until recent have been fine.
Thus now being vocal. Its alarming to see a sudden lack of even basic accuracy at times. Sculpting in the main has continued to be excellent. But the whole reason many of us buy the figures is for that accurate representation. If it dissappears, so does the reason for buying. If that happens, there will be a drop in sales. If that happens there will be less money to invest in more new sets.....and so on. Trying to nip it in the bud now, is in fact a way of trying to make sure Strelets are still making sets further down the line.
Its too late for HaT, but not for Strelets.

I want to be singing the praises of Strelets, not nagging them. I dont get some sort of kick out of being negative. I just want them back to making great sets. Recent ones have not been, hence some of us giving a negative feedback.

And Alan I am sure you have been negative about sets that have been more within your realms of interest.
What was it? "Grrrrr ,no ammo or number two for the vickers mmg , other than that very good, but this no number two for machine guns has to stop it`s exasperatingly frustrating and presents us the buyer with a problem, and I want is solutions for my money not a headache."

When it affects those eras of most interest to us, most of us have had something to say. Its then not right to attack someone who finds problems with sets for their own favourite era.

Re: dead forum

I think you chaps have missed the point, pacific coast company make for example, plastic plates today, plastic buckets tomorrow etc ,for a few days a year they put plastic toy soldier moulds in the mould machine, once that short run is done it may be plastic egg cups , they are not and never will be toy soldier enthusiasts, Hat is a very small bit of what they do, and it just another inanimate object to be moulded in plastic ,no different to kids plastic beach spade. If you want to work yourselves up to a froth being frustrated with them it`s your time, just remember what ever you write they don`t read, they don`t speak English.

Re: dead forum

Not worked up at all here Alan, certainly not frothy!! My main fear is watching Strelets repeat some of HaTs mistakes.
HaT are more or less gone, it wouldnt surprise me to see even the back catalogue of sets finally cease production within the next few years. As I said before, its actually a shame. HaT is unlikely to return, unless that arm of their business is bought out from them. Maybe one day that will happen, but I doubt it...unless one of us wins big on the lottery!!!

I have no idea how much their moulds and stuff would be worth. If Pacific company isnt that interested maybe they would sell for the right price?
Italeri obviously took over a good amount of Esci's old sets. So its happened before. HaT themselves also used to make some of Airfix's old sets too.
Perhaps Strelets could one day put a bid in?!!!!

Re: dead forum

Roger , I am told the moulds (steel) weigh a lot, each one, and there are 300 + the cost of moving them would be astronomical , and no doubt why the buyer of Hat was the factory where they were stored, had Hat gone under they would have probably ended up with them anyway.

Re: dead forum

Yeah thats true I suppose.
Chances of someone coming along & snapping that lot up are very slim indeed.

Re: A little gratitude please

Well said Cappy

Re: A little gratitude please

I never will forget the guy who complained and said he wasn't going to buy any of a WSS Cavalry set because the jacket only had three buttons instead of four.

Re: A little gratitude please

Yes that is a tad extreme!!

Re: A little gratitude please

Right - Firstly I think it is wise of a manufacturer to seek input from potential customers but a) There is little point doing that at a stage in the process where mistakes cannot be rectified and b) Comments need to be taken with a pinch of salt - critics may be wrong.
Secondly I think with Strelets there is a certain amount of frustration of late because people can see the potential in these sets and they WANT to buy them but they see flaws that prevent that set from being what they want - like a topping they dislike on teh perfect pizza.
With the other company I think they undermined their profitability by pandering to enthusiasts on their forum. The major cost in the plastic manufacturing process is tooling the moulds so putting that investment into sets that lack wide appeal or making three sets where before there would have been one is going to eat into profits, especially as someone that wanted a unit marching for example now only needs one set whereas before they would have needed three. MAC was great for the consumer; less so for the manufacturer I suspect.

Re: A little gratitude please

Good post Philip.

Thats the crux of the matter. We do indeed see the potential, plus what has come before, or in another range & when a set we really want appears, but not to the same standard, its a big letdown. If it happens frequently, it then makes someone wonder if the brand suits their needs now...for that particular era at least. Then you end up with people possibly taking their money elsewhere.....not great for a business. Hence why some of us are more vocal....we see the water breaking on rocks ahead & we hope to steer the ship clear of them.

Pizza analogy is a good one! Anchovies.....Pineapple....urgh 😝.
Darn it now I want a pizza!!

Re: A little gratitude please

I just think Strelets is the modern Airfix/Matchbox/Atlantic

Without their interest and original topics the hobby wouldn't be where it is today. It doesn't bother me when they make the odd mistake, practice makes perfect and if they stay around long enough, they'll only get better and better.

I appreciate what you've all said and take the points made in the spirit they were made in.

I don't think any other company really has a clue when it comes to offering enthusiasts a place to voice their opinions, otherwise they'd all have active forums.

I don't really buy anything other than Strelets anymore, sure the odd niche set from others but the bulk of my collecting and collection is Strelets - I've stuck with them from the very start and look at the quality and quantity we get now!

Awesome company

respects to all

Al

Re: A little gratitude please

Just my take on what has been said. For figures Strelets is now the Main (only) company that I buy from. As I have said before the quality of Strelets sets have improved 10 fold from what they were. The forum is great the fact they let you post other companies new releases is wonderful. Also I feel that Strelets use the views in the forum to help them to make figures the the customers want and will buy. I have not seen a bad set from Strelets for years. So I take my hat off for you Mr Strelets well done and keep up the fantasic work.

Re: A little gratitude please

Cappy, I know this won't matter to you {:-)) .....but I couldn't agree with you more. Watching the way in which Strelets have improved their miniatures has been such a wonderful experience, and they are always very responsive to comments, and considerate towards their customers and the participants of this forum. A long time ago now, I sent an email to them asking why a series of Sreltsy figures had not been produced....the masters of them that they had shared were very unique. I got a reply that the figures were not good enough. During our brief discussion, the writer said that their figures were not up to some of the other companies output, that they were too chunky looking. I told them that I loved that about them, that they had a special look of their own that I always recognized. I was struck by the candor of their own self evaluation. I have been a Strelets fan ever since. Of course I admit to having a soft spot for the Airfix figures that I first had as a boy. I read the criticism of the early sets, as well as of the present sets, and I often am surprised at the very negative tone in which it comes across. I too appreciate the efforts that these companies make. We are truly in a golden age for people who grew up with a passion for this scale of historics. Thank goodness that there are outfits like this one who share that passion.

Re: A little gratitude please (To Strelets)

Dear Strelets Team,

Why I buy your sets is because "I can enjoy them right out of the box", you care about Color Quality and they are historically appropriate. I also especially love the Casualty poses. Both horses and men. I use your Crimean falling horses for other uses also. Your figures have very accurate details. I love your FFL and Arabs Ranges.

Do please darken the Blue for the FFL like the original Camelry Patrol set. The most recent FFL are so light I can't see the fantastic details. Color quality of your figures right out of the box is so important! I really am a big fan of your Crimean Range for all of the reasons I mention. Even Airfix has re-run their US Cavalry in 3 colors, and also AWI, WWI, FFL, Waterloo and 8th Army in more realistic colors which I have bought all of these new colors over the decades. And I will continue to buy Strelets sets because of your fine attention to colors, casualty details and poses and realism for sets right out of the box!

Thank you for listening Strelets Team! :camel: :palm_tree: :earth_africa: :earth_asia:

Re: A little gratitude please

Well said, Cappy,

I'm a bit late to the conversation but I add my gratitude to Strelets AND its competitors for the sacrifices, labor, and risk they take to produce those little bits of plastic we love so much. Having had an "inside" look or two at what it takes for those little guys to be produced as well as the care and effort that goes in to producing a quality product - I've also been privy to the personal disappointment when something goes wrong and the product doesn't turn out right. Sometimes mistakes are discovered so far along in the process that to go back and start over might be economically devastating.

One of the big things I look for when I buy figures of either scale I collect is compatibility. Will the new figures fit with my other figures? I'm looking for accuracy, of course, but I am forgiving to a point. When we were kids and all we had were GIANT "Napoleonics" in French shakos in red and blue plastic we had to make do. Then Airfix came along... Now? We can be picky.

I won't buy a set that doesn't "fit" or has glaring deficiencies that can't be worked around. At 1/72 scale I think there's more flexibility than 1/32. Even then, I'm fairly tolerant of a great deal - to a point.

I've offered input before; oftentimes I'm outvoted. Oh well. It's up to me when the final product comes out if I want to buy it or not. After a point, what's the point?

I think there's a fine line between welcoming constructive input and pleasing the consumers and letting too many cooks spoil the broth; just as there's a fine line between offering constructive suggestions and fault-finding. If either shoe fits...

Finally, thank you Strelets for "upping" your game. I wish you and your competitors well as when you are all "cooking on all burners" we all benefit.



Re: A little gratitude please

Maybe this is because I am used to the brutality of other comment platforms in the internet age, but in my opinion I think the vast majority of you are decent at providing constructive criticism while at the same time encouraging Strelets in their future endeavors. I naturally hope this tradition continues into the future.

As an individual who grew up in a very historically interested household, I have grown up for years with debates about historical accuracy when it comes to figures, movies, PC games, and the like. For me, I would give an 8 or 9 out of 10 score on average for how Strelets rates compared to all of these medians, which is not bad (as a comparative I would say most post-1990 Hollywood movies with any sort of historical content usually score in the 1 to 5 range). There are a few scruples here and there that I personally think need adjusting, but at the end of the day my Vikings more or less look like Vikings, Romans look like Romans, and so on. They provide inspiration and joy for myself and (hopefully) most of the rest of us on here as well, which to me is the main point. Keeping the memories of these cultures and peoples alive. :grin: