Open Day at Grey Goose Collectables

A couple of weeks ago I spent a very enjoyable weekend at Grey Goose Collectibles- the European distributor for Figarti collectible toy soldiers. Clive (Mr Grey Goose) also has a substantial collection from other manufacturers so there were figures everywhere all weekend. It was great.

The weekend saw the official opening of Clives new display area for the Figarti range and so many of his customers came to see what was on offer. I knew some faces but met many new people so it was loverly to spend time chatting about various aspects of the hobby.

a small area of display.

The whole collection and displays of Figarti figures are all 1/30th ish scale so you can guess from the photos the size of the displays and how impressive they look.
I had another interest as a model maker. I have made a number of displays for Clive over the last few years and all of them were being fully utilised in the display area. It was quite a kick seeing all that hard work being used to its full potential.
Here are a few photos of Clives displays biased towards my own work! All of these dioramas have been scratch built by me for Clive over the last 3 or 4 years:

Hartstein Hotel, Arnhem 1944. The model is 4feet wide and 2 feet high.

Hotel from another angle

German railway station- 6ft x 3ft. Trains etc by Figarti

the station from another view. Just look at the railway kit that Figarti have made!

V2 rocket site. The rocket and vehicles again by Figarti (the railtrack and tunnel is not my work)

The bocage is my work but otherwise all Figarti- impressive allied armoured column or what!

ruined factory -2ft x 2ft diorama. Too much light reflecting off the display cover.

a slightly better shot of the factory. We are looking to expand this dio to double its size.

 

 

nothing to do with me this time but just an impressive model- about 4feet long with enough room for 5 or 6 AFV's!

 The fun didn't stop there with all these figures. Some of the guys then decided to try to recreate the look of 30 Corp advancing down the road towards Arnhem. The 'official' results of the shoot are planning to appear in a new book sooner or later but these are my efforts-
The first few are showing the overall working environment that was created to try to achieve the effects:

These next series are close ups of individual models. Most, I think are Figarti but some are from King and Country

Finally some longer shots trying to get the look of the column

That is it. This post is a little different to normal but I thought it would be good show what can be done with some superb models and a camera.
Next post is back to normal.

Romans!

The Romans are here in force. First Legion and Collectors Showcase have both announced Roman releases this month
First Legion are about to release eight Roman legionnaires in their new Glory of Rome range. 
The range will concentrate on the Imperial Romans and their Ancient German adversaries doing battle in the 1st and 2nd century AD.   Of course, the figures can be used for a much wider variety of military conflicts against various enemies such as the Dacians, Parthians, Gauls, Celts, etc. from the 1st Century AD up to the period of the Late Roman Empire.

 

First Legion Romans

 This is the initial release and they are expecting to have regular releases, every couple of months for the foreseeable future. Expect them in the UK around the end of June (maybe for the London Show- lets hope) Here is a peak of what is coming:

First Legion German Tribesmen

First Legion Romans

If these are as good as the Crusaders then we are in for a treat.
Go to our web site for full details on prices etc:
www.tmterrain.co.uk/catalogue/0074-glory-of-rome.html

Collectors Showcase have also announced their new range of Romans which should be in the UK,again by the end of June.

There are seven figures in the photograph and that is all I know for now. Once I get more details then they will go straight up on the web site but for now we will have to manage with this.
Roll on the end of June that is all I can say!