Rather than have this lost in the previous discussion thread, perhaps I could ask here just what might constitute a well designed Allied figure set. Perhaps some might be proposed to Dragon for consideration.

As is obvious, it is a hard sell. Even if they do generate a profit:, sales usually are not as good as the poorest selling "German" set...yet they do continue with Allied releases. Taken to a personal level, it's rarther like taking a substantial pay cut several times a year.

I'm the one usually responsible for proposing suggestions for the figure program and for developing the their content when the subject is chosen.
I apologize to those who seem to feel I've to have let them down. I certainly agree that some of the160 plus figures sets (600 plus figures), have been clunkers. but I I've never met anyone who was at the top of their game 100% of the time. On the other hand, maybe I've spent too long at this party.

Nonetheless, offer what you may and maybe there will be some positive results. I'm sorry to say that I just don't have the time to answer questions.

Cheers,
Ron Volstad

Hi Ron,

I will take the glove. Will try to make realistic proposals as far as commercial interest is concerned.

US Paratroopers 101st Division Normandy 1944 (the old set is way below todays's standards - G2 would be great!)

British Paratroopers "Red Devils" Arnhem 1944 (ditto)

US Rangers Normandy 1944 (ditto- and could be less specific as regards pose - the old ones were too "Pointe du Hoc-oriented, if you get my meaning)

US 1st Infantry Division "Big Red One" Germany 1944 (that is, generic infantry types, could have a mix of uniform styles)

US Paratroopers 82nd Division Nijmegen 1944 (probably it would be better to label them with some other name more linkable to "A bridge too far")

British Eight Army infantry El Alamein 1942 (frankly I believe this would be more risky, because there are not that many AFV kits related to them, but 8th Army types could be well received - there is no 1:35 plastic alternative, of quality that is).

British Commandos Normandy 1944 (well-known elite units always have an added plus - of course Commandos fought in a lot of places, but surely Normandy again is the most easily remembered engagement; BTW I'm sure this proposal would be considered depending on how well fared the SAS Europe types already released...)

I have tried to label the proposals as you use to do, relating the figures to specific units, and then to specific battles or campaigns (although of course they would be fairly generic set easily adaptable to other uses, US Paras Normandy being easily switched to Sicily settings, for instance). Some are popular enough, even backed by well known TV series or films. Everybody associates British Paratroopers with Arnhem, for instance, because of "A bridge too far" book and film. Same for US paratroopers/Band of Brothers, and Rangers/SPR.

My two cents!

Dani

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the reply and posting this. I'm primarily a figure modeler that does 120mm/1/16 scale subjects but I'm assuming your asking for 1/35th scale here. But just a shameless plug here I would pretty well buy anything 1/16 scale WWII Allied if you upscaled some of the SAS figures it would be nice

Ok back on topic for some 1/35th scale allied

- Some Desert allied both american and British, mixture of action/relaxed poses
- A new set of Desert SAS would be great (the tamiya drivers are getting pretty old)
- Italian Campaign i.e 1SSF, Italian campaing summer dress, British/Canadian
- I would like to see some Highlanders of some sort
- Early Pacific campaign Canadians/British

Again thanks for asking

Cheers

Ray

One thing I've always liked about Dragon is that some of their sets can truly turn into multi-pose sets. The Red Devils and U.S. Airborne at Normandy are two sets that come to mind with the endless possiblities of multipose sets. That being said I feel that having a few sets of American GIs, late war and 1942-44, that have poses that could be used in different ways would be great. As for specifics I'd love to see some 101st or 82nd paratroopers in Market Garden, some GIs in Italy or Sicily and even some 2nd Armored Division GIs in Souther France. My biggest desire, however, is having GIs in more "action" poses. Guys that are running for cover or are laying down cover fire.

Hi Ron,

Firstly, thank for opening this conduit and allowing us, the members of the Kitmaker Network, to put forward a few suggestions for figure sets.

I will confess that my primary WWII interest is the British campaign in the Middle East & Mediterranean, and thus my suggestions come from that theatre of the war.

- British infantry - Iraq, 1941. KD, shorts and sun-hats. relaxed poses
- Royal Artillery - Libya, late 1941. Winter desert dress.
- Mounted British figures - as you know much of the British army still operated by horse and mule...
- SAS, Western Desert - late 1942. Winter dress... or even anything except shorts...
- British Infantry - Tobruk, 1942. Action or Assault poses
- Highland regiments - any theatre really...

I also feel that famous Italian theatres like Sicily, Cassino, and Naples are poorly represented.

Once again, thank you for the opportunity to be heard.

Warmest regards from sunny Cape Town,

Rudi Richardson
---
Managing Editor
Historicus Forma

My first instinct is to ask for some liberation forces, like Polish or Canadian forces whom liberated much of my home country.

Also, some late war Free French commandos would be welcome ( Ouistraham comes to mind ).

Being a Canadian, I'd be particularly interested in Dieppe and Juno Beach invasion troops, Canadian airborne and Highland regiments as well as Canadian headquarters staff and support units ( like Service Battalion and Provost Corps). I realize that for the most part, British figures of the period could be used, but distinctly Canadian subjects are sadly lacking.

thanks eh;
Bob

My suggestion, FWIW, would be to capitalize on the recent release of the Academy M3 Lee and the not-so-recent reissue of the Dragon M4A1 by issuing a set of early war US soldiers from the North African campaign. This seems to be a popular time period for US builders.

Hi Ron,
First of all thanks for getting yourself involved in this topic.It's great that you have shown interest!Here's some food for thought!
My humble suggestions would be as follows:
1)Some figures from Australian/NewZeland soldiers with additional slouch hats from the Pacific region.Many important battles took place in the Pacific with these troops.People tend to forget that W.W.2 was also fought there.For that matter Japanese figures from these battles also!Alot of dio makers would be interested in these type of figures as there are alot of Tropical dio products out there but virtually no figures to use in depicting W.W.2 jungle warfare.

2)As some others have mentioned,more Allies from the Africa Campaign,foremost 8th Army.At rest or charging or on the move.Would be a great competitor to the lesser detailed Tamiya kits.

Now the following may be far fetched but here we go:
3)The French Resistence.A set of figures that could incorporate a scene from an act of sabotage or ambush,i.e blowing up railroad tracks/bridges,streetfighting.An important part of W.W.2 was played out by these brave people.
4)As i have seen no figures depicting the Falkland War,i think some commando types would be a great addition to add some variety to the Dragon list of a war almost forgotten.
I could go on but i'm sure you will hear more feedback from others.
I know that nothing can be promised at all.If any kit does manage to make it through the HUGE process people will be eternally grateful.
Thanks in advance,Shay

Hi Ron,

Many thanks for the opportunity to post and I hope you don't feel I'm just repeating the same stuff, as you will have gathered that I'm rather fond of the British.

In order to give as much flexability as possible can I suggest that for British Troops where possible I'd offer a mix of shirt sleeve order and battle dress with tunic tops open. With a change of hat, they can then be used across NWE, Italy, N Africa, SEA.

1. British/Commonwealth Vickers .303 MG Team. There has never been one and this is possibly the most famous and recognisable MG of that period.

2. British/Commonwealth 3" Mortar Team, again never has been one that I know off.

3. British/Commonwealth wounded or surrendering soldiers. Not necessarily with their hands up. Should be usable across the board. There is the same scope for US set.

4. British/Commonwealth Tankers Summer NWE, 3 crew for the tank and 3 crew getting on/off or being active in some way. A similar set for Winter would be great.

5.British/Commonwealth Bn/Pl HQ, Officer, Radio Operator, Medic, PIET or 2" Mtr Team

6. British 8th Army N Africa, not all in shorts but a mix with some in Greatcoats, wolly hats etc.

7(Edit) Sorry forgot the Engineers both US and British for NWE.

A mix of burgans, packs, early and late enfield rifles/bayonets should ensure that these figures could be used in almost any theatre of war, with only a change of head gear. Edit: Thompson SMGs two types, the standard with the straight mag for the Commandos and the old Tommy Gun style with the Drum Mag for N Africa, Italy and SEA.

To sex them up a bit, they could have berets and be Commandos/Paras, as Vinnie says elite units tend to sell better.

For Julian I have to add some early French Troops.

I haven't tried to link them to specific units as I'm thinking more generic and across all the theaters of operation.

Many thanks for the opportunity to post it's ver much appreciated.

Cheers

Al

Hi Ron, thanks for the new thread as the original one seems to be swallowing up suggestions.
I'd like to see the following...I've said British as they are generic for the Commonwealth

- A new set of British infantry for NWE in firing positions. Maybe with fixed bayonets or the option to fix bayonets? These can be used with the existing sets to produce even more poses.

- British tank riders for NWE.

-British tank crews. Battledress and pixie suits so there would be the option of modelling different campaigns

- 8th Army. While not a desert fan the figures could be used for the N.Africa, Italian, Greek campaigns

- Gurkhas. While some may think this a strange request they did fight pretty much everywhere except for NWE. Once again they could be multiposed from other suggestions.

-A new set of British Paras

-British wounded or POW's

-British support group for NWE. ie radio op, Vickers team either walking or firing

That pretty much covers the Commonwealth. Because of the nature of British uniforms they could be mixed and matched with seemingly endless possibilities.

Other figures I'd like to see are...

-New US paratroops for Normandy as the old ones were a bit limited posewise.

-A new set of Japs (which could go with the Gurkhas )

I realise that this is a monsterload but you did ask :-) . Keep up the good work...regards Karl

I would like to see some UK/Commonwealth tank crews.
Both Normandy and tropical type uniforms. I think these would be good sellers.

How about a mixed bag of 6 UK/Commonwealth soldiers.(Normandy) (pick the best 6)
1) Military police directing traffic
2) Soldier in kilt playing bagpipes (Great possiblity with slide molding)
3) Medic
4) Wounded soldier
5) soldier digging foxhole
6) Have a soldier engaged in hand to hand combat with the enemy. (include enemy)
7) soldier brewing tea
8) Truck/jeep crew sitting or loading
9) POW's

British 8th Army
Sicly or Italy type uniforms

More US paratroopers


And have them muli-pose


Keep up the good work Ron.

Ditto all of the above, but mainly British/Commonwealth Airborne, and some more animated poses throughout the Brit/Com range, rather than standing around drinking tea!

Again, many thanks for your time Ron, as you can see, we all greatly appreciate it.

Matt

US and Brit tank riders would be great along with more Allied airborne troops.

Ditto very muchly...


A great idea. These could be incorporated into great diorama scenes at any stage of the war....


Yep, especially for the Operation Cobra M4A1(76), not dissimilar to the Ardennes Panzergrenadiers sets already in production...

Thanks for the opportunity Ronald, and BTW your box art is the beezkneez
and makes the Dragon figure kits look quite tidy
Cheers
Brad

Hi Ron! Thanks for taking the time and effort to listen to suggestions from the "PEANUT GALLERY". I do not think you have let modellers down at all. We all realize that allied figures are a hard sell, and what does come out from Dragon just wets our whistles for more! The "remagen" US infantry and the normandy brit inf sets were both standouts. And the US support weapon set fills a large need.

To me a well designed figure set is something that breaks new ground. There is such a lack of allied figures almost any pose would be welcome. But subjects such as allied sappers/engineers with mine detectors, commonwealth tankers and a a brit vickers/mortar/piat support team are subjects you just can't find in reasonably priced plastic kits. Also I think that with alot of the newer dragon realeases having multiple arms and heads for different poses is an excellent addition. It makes the sets more useful and potentially better sellers. A set of 8th army in Italy with basic figures and kit, plus the addition of a few extra heads/headgear to represent kiwie, sikh, gurka, Indian etc troopers might appeal to a broad spectrum of people. As well as celebrating the diversity of troopers that fought in 8th army in Italy.

Any new set would be welcome, but something that breaks new ground as far as subject (brit support weapon set) and maybe a few extra arms/heads thrown in to help all the scratch builders make the figures fit into alot of different settings, to me that would consitute a well designed and hopefully profitable figure set.

Well Ron, lets keep the things nice and bloody simple.

Following into what is coming up in AFVs, British AFV crew set with PIXIE suit..

Heavy weapon set - 3" Mortar Crew and VIckers-303 MG (Water jacket and crew)

Use the DragonStyrene for heads and don't forget the mk. 3 helmet.

Meanwhile i'll be feeding in from the other side (things with wheels)

Just a few dreams of mine.

- Any Canadian subject serving in Italy. It's a damn shame how forgotten those "D-Day Dodgers" were.
In particular, I'd love to see a large scale figure of the Sergeant of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, 1st Inf Div, Italy, winter, 1943-1944 as seen in plate C of "Men-At-Arms 359, Candian Forces in World War II." Always been my favourite single piece of artwork from the entire Osprey catalogue!
- Canadian 10th Armd Bde, 4th Armd Div troops in the Liberation of Holland
- Canadians of the 1st Canadian Parachute Bn.
- 1st Special Service Force troops at Monte la Difensa, Italy, winter 1943.
- Italian Alipni troops in the Western Alps, 1940

As I said, these are just the dreams that I have.

Hi there

Alot of nice propsals in this thread. My proposals comes to this:

- Seated figures; Drivers for vehicles (jeep, truck, DUKW) and passengers that fit trucks, half-tracks, jeeps, DUKW etc

- Figures in any 'relaxed' pose (not specifically allied, could be universal); swimming, bathing, chess-players, card-players, sleeping etc.

Cheers

Simon

While I doubt it would be too popular, I'd also love to see some "Phony War" Brits in SD. And some French infantry (to go with that Char Bis sp? ) prior to the fall of France

Ron,

Thank you so much for this offer. I'm sure we all realise that it's a long and winding road from an idea like this to production. Is there a way we can help? (sculpting masters, research photos, whatever). I doubt any of us have the experience of injection moulding to actually design the sprues (but if I'm wrong and someone wants to volunteer then so much the better!!).

Jim B's list probably echos my own wishes the most: Pixie suited tank crews, Vickers MG team, a PIAT team and maybe a Bren gunner / NCO to round out the box to six figures. This set could then maybe be marketted to complement the existing Commonwealth set DML make if the poses are complementary? Wounded / surrendering Brits might be better in early war uniforms, then they could be used (& marketed) alongside the early war Panzer models Dragon make.

If this doesn't come off, then at least we'll know it's been given a go. If it does come off, then maybe we can buy enough to encourage to release one of these kits now and again among all the others.

Thanks again - it's great of you to try this.


Sean

G'day Ron.
Though what i ask may be a common request from people in my country, i dont think many people outside of Australia care to much for this subject matter, so i can understand if we never see figures of this but, to back up my mates, ww2 Asutralians and New Zealanders in the Pacific Theatre, and some more Japanese Infantry to compliment them, and what i would also love to see are some generic Australians in Vietnam, that would be a dream come true.
Cheers

Since most of my suggestions have been made by others, I'll just say thanks Ron, and also echo what Ray said:




I also think that anything modern in 1/16 will be a good seller, particularly from Iraq or Afghanistan, or anything to do with modern special forces: SAS, SBS, Delta, SeALs, etc. But even some generic European infantry figs in desert garb that can be modified for various uses.

Thanks again, Ron.

With the recent GEN2 innovation of alternative arms and heads,a figure set of Australian troops in New Guinea could have alternative poses of British troops in Burma.Australians with Owens, British with Thompsons etc and of course opposing Japanese.
Cheers.
Adam

A set of commowealth tank crew in short sleeve/BD for for in tank poses ie commander bent over looking through bino's should be able to pass for the most of the TOO from middle east to NWE.

Troops carrying out vechile maintance .............no brewing up done to death and sterotypical

few more but brains dead