Ken Ciak’s Future Figures

19 Responses to Ken Ciak’s Future Figures

1. Brian Johnson says:

   April 8, 2015 at 6:19 PM

   So who is “Ken Ciak”?Is he US or Europe based?Has he done other figures?I don’t find anything on Google about him or his company.The figures look good, hope he does or will do other time periods.

   Reply
2. Greg Liska says:

   April 8, 2015 at 8:39 PM

   Ditto. Need more info! Too bad it’s only 4 poses. You really need at least 6. I’m hoping they’ll be affordable and convertible (as in conversion friendly).

   Reply
   • admin says:

     April 8, 2015 at 10:02 PM

     Greg
     I would like more information too on these figures. I agree we need more poses.

     Reply
     • Don Perkins says:

       April 9, 2015 at 9:16 AM

       Per the TSSD website, there are 4 Greek poses in one color, and 4 separate Trojan poses in a different color, for a total of 16 figures in 8 different poses, all sold in a single bag.

       Reply
3. Tom Black says:

   April 8, 2015 at 10:09 PM

   They are nicely sculpted figures. Hope he makes some character figures like Achilles, Ulysses, Hector, Agamemnon, Paris…there are also good playset possibilities Trojan Horse and a Troy like fortification. Some of the Conte and Ex Force Greeks should blend in in this Trojan War era.

   Reply
4. Don Perkins says:

   April 9, 2015 at 8:28 AM

   I wonder if, size-wise, these new Greeks and Trojans will fit in with the great Atlantic 60mm Greeks and Trojans? No scale is mentioned on the TSSD website.

   And I second Tom Black’s idea that a new, plastic Trojan Horse would be nice. There are currently no reasonably affordable ones available. The last time I bid on ebay on an Atlantic HO scale Trojan Horse set (just because I wanted the Horse itself), I dropped out of bidding at around $165.00, and saw a final selling price of something like $300.00+.

   And I agree with Brian Johnson’s original question: Who the heck is Ken Ciak? Where is he based? Does he show up at OTSN, or any other show? Is anyone able to contact him? Why the lack of information as to his identity? Does he have the means, like Richard Conte who seemingly came out of nowhere many years back, to carry his ideas to fruition?

   Hopefully this result will be different than the much lamented Black Cat Miniatures, who came out with bags of outstanding Napoleonics (green Russians in 8 different poses), with promises of new cavalry and artillery sets, only to drop out of sight forever when the initial infantry didn’t sell as well as expected.

   It all points up to what Rusty Kern said in the last PM issue: If you want toy soldier manufacturers to expand their lines, for God’s sake purchase what they are currently offering, rather than start in with interminable criticisms and demands for some narrowly-focused obscure time period that only a tiny small minority even thinks of, which no producer could possibly make a profit on.

   Reply
   • Don Perkins says:

     April 9, 2015 at 8:34 AM

     Example: Why doesn’t TSSD produce some late-war (1944-45) Bulgarian Royal Navy Marines, in camp scenes, carrying the modified Russian-made 7.65 cal. Mauser?

     Reply
5. Don Perkins says:

   April 9, 2015 at 9:06 AM

   And here’s an even better example of the carping criticism that toy soldier producers get subjected to:
   “Why doesn’t someone produce some late-war (1944-45) Bulgarian Royal navy Marines, in camp scenes, carrying the modified russian-made 7.65 cal. Mauser? And make them in a 54mm scale which bridges the gap between Conte’s D-Day Germans and the Marx 1/32 scale Battleground G.I.s, or I won’t be buying them.”

   Reply
   • admin says:

     April 9, 2015 at 11:20 AM

     Don
     Any you wonder why makers drink soda pop with hard stuff LOL. People have to realize that makers are limited budgets one mistake could be the end of the company. Even large companies have to be careful.

     Reply
6. ed borris says:

   April 9, 2015 at 9:16 AM

   Sort of makes you wonder if people really want those obscure sets from obscure battles or they are just trying to impress us with their vast knowledge of history and how much they read. I mean some of requests seem too ridiculous to be real wants. I personally think that in many cases they are just trying to sound impressive.

   Reply
7. ed borris says:

   April 9, 2015 at 11:56 AM

   The one that troubles me the most is why did Beau Cunnyngham fail? You would think that Civil War being #1, #2 or #1A in popularity, depending who you ask would be successful no matter what. I can see why Napoleonic Russians would fail, but Civil War Rebs? Rebs have to be even more popular than Yanks by a wide margin. I don’t know for sure he actually failed, but he dropped off the radar for sure, so it seems like he failed. One and done always seems like a failure, at least to me. In any case I don’t think Black Cat failed entirely he just switched to metal where he can produce his own and he doesn’t have to sell his soul to China.

   Reply
8. Pjr says:

   April 9, 2015 at 5:17 PM

   Beau failed due to lack of funds. Black Cat simply went back to metal

   Reply
9. Greg Liska says:

   April 9, 2015 at 7:40 PM

   Agreed on the over-specificity. They are TOYS. A little imagination will add more play-value to your stuff. Some things that are similar are just good enough. I use my French as Romanians, for example. MPC Germans are used a Hungarians. I went through that stage of seeking perfect representation when I first go back into toy soldiers, but after a while, I saw that things were piling up and they would get used once every 2 or 3 years for the scenario that required it. Same with the armor and the scale business. There were so many variants of tanks and SPGs made during the war, some seeing production runs of just a few months and having appeared in limited theaters. Then seeking perfect scale and matching it with other vehicles required for the scenario, it just got to be too much. I have my limits with this of course. I’m not going to take cowboys and use them as Saracens, but something ‘close looking from 2 feet away’ is my rule. If it’s something that needs tweaking, I love converting now, so I’ve got that going for me to keep the itch scratched.
   About the new ancients – We have enough Greeks out there. We need 4 more poses of Trojans for this set and I’ll likely buy 100 of them.

   Reply
10. Wayne W says:

    April 9, 2015 at 7:53 PM

    I was saddened when Beau wasn’t able to make his second set; I think part of his problem with his rebs (besides distribution) was he made them TOO good. Each one had a unique personality (similar to TSSD) that made a scenario come to life when put in with other more “generic” figures such as Conte’s (who were good, but fairly standard). The problem is, how many of each did a collector need who wasn’t in to mass conversions?

    Personally, I’ve been hounding one maker in particular to produce Pommeranian Piccolo Players for years – to no avail.

    Reply
11. bill nevins says:

    April 9, 2015 at 9:46 PM

    I think that Beau failed because he was under capitalized. It takes a lot of money, and a willingness to wait to recover your investment over a long period of time, to continue to produce a toy soldier line.
    Nick has the advantage of being a retailer as well as a distributor. Beau had to rely on TSSD, MarxMan, Hobby Bunker, etc to sell his product for him. So, that means he had to cut his price by 40 to 50 % to the retailers. He’s not set up to retail, which is really where the profit is.
    Beau is a young guy with a young family to support. I don’t know him, but I got the impression that he expected to make enough money off the first run, to be able to afford to produce a second set. It doesn’t really work like that. More likely he will see a profit 4 to 5 years down the road as his inventory decreases. Maybe not. Maybe he will never break even.

    Without new product to couple with your old product, you are dead in the water.

    Reply
12. Ken Ciak says:

    April 9, 2015 at 11:38 PM

    Good evening and thank you for your interest in my first set of figures. I am based in the United States and the primary reason there is not much information online about the company is it is brand new (LOD Enterprises). The website is in the construction stage though there is a Twitter account (@lodtoysoldiers). My e-mail is lodtoysoldiers@gmail.com and I welcome any comments or questions.

    The War at Troy set will debut at the OTSN in late September. There are eight unique poses (4 Greek and 4 Trojan) in this set and the second set will contain two Bronze Age
    chariots, charioteers, and four horses along with two additional Greek and Trojan poses.

    As for the scale, the figures are closer to 60mm and match up well, size wise, with the recent releases from TSSD, Austin Miniatures, and Expeditionary Forces. In regards to specialty figures, the heroes of the Iliad such Achilles, Hector, Diomesdes, Paris, Ajax, and others are in the strategic plan to be developed as well.

    I look forward to continued discussions …..

    Ken Ciak

    Reply
    • admin says:

      April 11, 2015 at 11:01 PM

      Ken
      Welcome to Stadsstuff. I know the collectors are very interested in your project and wish you all the success. Please keep us informed .

      Reply
13. Wayne W says:

    April 10, 2015 at 11:15 AM

    Bill, totally agree; I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Beau and his lovely wife a couple times. Great guy, felt sad not only because they are great people, but also his ideas and potential contributions to the hobby are lost -at least for now.

    He tried “Go-Fund-Me” (I think that’s the name) to raise the capital for his second set but didn’t make the goal. I was looking forward to them as they would have been perfect for Sherman’s Western troops.

    But you are right, funding was a problem and last I heard he still had cartons of unsold sets in his garage (but don’t know that he hasn’t been able to unload them by now as I see them selling in various places – often at lower prices than I originally paid).

    I just hope his enthusiasm hasn’t dimmed, just been tempered by experience. I hope perhaps one day down the road to hear from him again on the production side. We need young people like him to keep the torch going.

    Reply
14. carlos e. collazo says:

    June 13, 2015 at 4:43 PM

    i really see somone figure for tv.series combat vic morrow play sgt. chip saunder standing shooting thomson submachine gun.many thanks, carlos e. collazo. questions is !it is possible?

    Reply

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