THE TEXAS TOY SOLDIER SHOW & THE FUTURE
After careful thought and consideration King & Country and Kings X have decided not to continue with ‘The Texas Toy Soldier Show’ in 2019.
Recently, our host venue transitioned to new management, resulting in substantially higher costs for our event which have proved unsustainable.
To this end and in discussion with others in the hobby, we intend to seek out alternative locations elsewhere… both in and outside of Texas.
Our aim is to create a new show that would be held sometime in the first half of 2020.
We will bring collectors, dealers and manufacturers more details and information as we progress.
At this time we would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to ALL those who worked with us and took part in all of the previous Texas Shows.
With best wishes,
Laura McAllister Johnson
Co-founder
King & Country
Andy C. Neilson
Co-founder & Creative Director
King & Country
I think it’s nice the owners provided everyone with an explanation.
Even though my wife and I scheduled a visit many years ago to San Antonio for the specific purpose of seeing the Alamo at least once in my life, I was never able to return to attend the toy soldier show.
But from the photos & reports of others, it always seemed like one of the premier shows in the country.
I hope everything works out for King & Country, as well as Kings X toy soldier show, right there in San Antonio.
I meant “Kings X toy soldier SHOP”, not “show”.
Well definitely not a good year for the hobby toy soldier this one .Hope next bring better.
this with Stengel passing ,Bill Lango (promotor for many years of NJS) passing too and Barzso retirement plus few more it looks very black to me.
The metal toy soldier line is the rich customers part of this hobby and if metal dealers don’t sale and they are the main promoter x a show ,the plastic are lost .
If not were for metal buyers and dealers the plastic toy soldier hobby will barely have any show
Sad but true .
Plastic toy soldier line of all scales have every year a less space field to maneuver even after sharing space with action figures ,antique dealers and train/kits hobby dealers at shows to survive .
my thoughts.
best
I think it’s nice the show promotors explained their reasons.
Although my wife and I visited San Antonio many years ago for the express purpose of seeing the Alamo at least once in my life, I was never able to visit San Antonio at a time when we could also attend the Texas Toy Soldier Show.
And I always enjoyed and appreciated the photos and reports of the show that some attendees provided. It always appeared to be one of the best shows in the country.
Nevertheless, I still think the future of this show has to be in doubt. Despite the little signs of hope and improvement that some purport to see every year at the conclusion of various shows, toy soldiers in general and toy soldier shows in particular are not exactly growth industries. But King & Country, along with the KingsX retail store in San Antonio, have both made major contributions to the hobby, and I hope, as I always do, that things may not be as bad as they seem.
” in all of San Antonio,,texas etc they cant find another venue” thanks for the greed menger hotel
That’s sort of what I was thinking — if the Menger Hotel show space has gotton too expensive, surely it’s not the one & only spot in all of San Antonio that has a suitable conference room. If having a toy soldier show close to the Alamo doesn’t work, I’m skeptical it will be more successful somewhere else.
But I’ve never tried to promote or operate toy soldier show myself, so I’m sure there’s all sorts of considerations to take into account.
Rick Eber, speaking of the Midwest Toy Soldier Show in Indiana, remarked that he knows toy soldier shows are not big, overly profitable enterprises, and that therefore these toy soldier show promoters do it primarily because they love and enjoy the hobby. But I don’t think any of us can reasonably expect them to take a financial loss on these events. I therefore assume if they can make it work, they will. And if they can’t, they won’t. But as someone who’s liked going to these shows since the 1980s when I made my first trip to Chicago, I find this slow demise to be sad, sad, sad.