Updated May 9, 2012
919-957-3700:
ZULU WAR UPDATE
Recruits for the 24th Foot continue to flood in...
A few more for you Zulu collectors
This week we are showing a wounded officer flag bearer with the Queen's Colors
who is a variation on our Gordon Highlander Colour Bearer (yes the British
spelling eh what !). He might become a Conte Collector Club pose; and yes
we have a different color bearer coming with the Regimental Colours His hair-do
still needs a bit of work so expect a minor change.
Also a mortally wounded pose; his helmet and rifle are loose so you can place as
you see fit....A couple more dead/wounded will be shown shortly.
And a very new & we think exciting 24th Foot Lt. leading a charge with pistol and
saber He should look very nice in front of our bayonet charge--which reminds me we
need to finish Sgt. Bourne thrusting with bayonet.......
ZULU FANS UPDATE
Obviously we are getting a bit carried away as we strive to meet your requests
MORE TO COME.....a bunch more
In that famous charge it was a most beautiful sight
To see the regimental pipers playing with all their might;
But, alas! one of them was shot through both ankles, and fell to the ground,
But still he played away while bullets fell on every side around...
Reinforcements Being Announced soon for our North West Frontier Gordon Highlander
range. 2 poses from 'wave 2" featured above along with a wonderful antique card
which shows the action on Dargai Heights on the front and a description of the
action on the reverse.
(The gallant thoughts excerpted from the famous poem by William Topaz McGonagal )
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ZULU WAR UPDATE
BRITISH REINFORCEMENTS ON THE HORIZON
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This is one of my favorite sculpts -EVER-- The Officer is removable from the larger bottom terrain base. I'm considering making an alternate base with mealie bags in lieu of rocks. I like the image of this stalwart fellow at the center of a last stand up in the rocks at Isandhlwhana. (I also see a modified version painted up in khaki for use with our 66th Foot at Maiwand on the NWF !!! )
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Collectors Have Demanded Additions To Our Wonderful Range of British 24th Foot & Zulu
Warriors & We are Heeding The Call. Fifteen new sets are being readied for production.
The next 'wave' will have loads of 24th Foot in action as well as wounded and dead and
a couple of super hand to hand vignettes. I don't want to ruin the fun by saying too much
about the other sets--I think it best for them to be unveiled here on the site little by little.
Pics are of rough sculpts and minor changes may be made before the factory starts producing
these. The different colors evidence different colors of wax and or resin used in the sculpting
process.Please don't write and ask why the colors are different on certain parts....
The finished versions of these are intended for our painted metal collectors but we are
considering making a small run of these in 'single color' red for the Brits and brown for
the Zulus so that plastic collectors can add these poses to their extensive Conte Zulu collection.
(please let us know if you would like to see these in 'single color' as we will only do them if
plastic collectors show enough support to justify the expense of the run))
This fellow is part of a 2 figure set of casualties.
Many of the sculpts were designed to fit in with any number of close hand-to-hand combat scenarios.
The Colour Sarge here is a good example as the Zulu knobkerrie in his hand would seem to indicate
that he's under intense attack and that he has just removed the club from an attacking Zulu.
We might add another cartridge box to help support the lanyard to the pistol. I like this fellow
a bunch and think he'll reappear attacking with a bayonet quite soon. Also look for a 'flying squad"
of men who are good with a bayonet being led by a 24th Ft Lieutenant.
As usual, ALL figures which are shown on larger terrain bases are removable so you can use
them as you see fit in commanding your troops. Another set with interlocking terrain base
is on the way to expand the action seen here.
BARBARIAN PRINCESS
An advance look at the first of our Barbarian women warriors ( in raw sculpted form )
from our new Rome At War series. She will be in set Rome-018.
We should have photos of the painted version up in the next week or two along with
a color brochure showing the first 16 or 17 sets from this exciting new range.
TOMBSTONE UPDATE SNEAK PREVIEW
IN ADDITION TO THE TOMBSTONE CHARACTERS WE HAVE A PASSEL OF
COWPOKES, BANDIDOS, PISTOLEROS & DANCEHALL QUEENS ON THE WAY.
Unlike toy soldier versions of Billy produced by other manufacturers over the years,
we have elected to show him firing his pistol with his left hand as his wounded right
arm hangs at his side. Contemporary accounts (backed up by reports of the wounds he suffered)
describe him being shot in the right wrist at the opening of the gunfight & then switching
his gun to his left hand so he could keep the fight going. While it is always difficult to
decide 'what moment' should be depicted in sculptures of a gunfight, this seems to be
the right moment to us...
Frank McLaury will be appearing next...and i haven't decided whether he should have a
bullet hole in his head or not....decisions, decisions....
Conte Collectibles SHOWS webpage has been updated.
Click Here To See the Schedule
NEW RANGE UNVEILED
TOMBSTONE
Click here for additional information on Tombstone
The NON Vikings
The rumors are true. We will at long last be releasing a few figures from a new range
which I am calling "the NON Vikings".
Crazy you say? I agree....but read on.
Our corporate logo is directly based upon the design of the sail on Ernie Borgnine's
flagship known as The Great Snake. Since the beginning , we have routinely ended
collector correspondence with the salutations "Hail Einar", "Hail Ragnar" or "Hail
Ragnar's Beard". Longterm Conte collectors know what I'm talking about.
The Vikings remains my all-time favorite movie and Spartacus remains the most
important 'message' film in my book.
Years ago, we had the licenses to make product based upon both " The Vikings"
and "Spartacus". My childhood hero , Mr. Kirk Douglas had produced and starred
in both epics and to this day still owns both movies. He had approved the projects
and with the help of his people we acquired the rights to make figures and play
sets based upon these labors of love. Licensing for Spartacus was via Universal
Studios and went along swimmingly and we ultimately released some memorable toy
soldiers. Licensing for The Vikings was with MGM and turned out to be one of
the most frustrating and disappointing experiences in my life. That is an understatement...
Watch for more details of the NON-Vikings....
Hail Ragnar's Beard
MERRY CHRISTMAS & SEASON'S GREETING TO ALL
WE HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON
WITH FAMILY & FRIENDS
This beautiful figure of Christ is the first figure from our new range of religious sculptures.
We thought this was the perfect time for his debut.
Thank you all for your kind support for another year!
HAIL ROMAN & BARBARIAN BUFFS
A Few More Peeks At This Amazing Range
MANY OF YOU HAVE BEEN WONDERING WHAT IT
TAKES TO JOIN CONTE'S FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION,
HAVEN'T YOU?
The rest of the bullets you stop won't hurt as much as that first one.
Keep shooting, you scum! You'll get a chance yet to die with your boots on!
Everybody does his duty at Zinderneuf, dead or alive! We'll make those Arabs think we've got a thousand men.
I am Sergeant Markoff. I make soldiers out of scum like you, and I don't do it gently.
You're the sloppiest looking lot I've ever seen. It's up to me to prevent you from becoming a disgrace to the Regiment.
And I will prevent that if I have to kill half of you with work.
But the half that lives will be soldiers. I promise you!
(Pictured --the great Mr. Brian Donlevy--one of our favorite actors.
Doing our best to keep his memory alive . Check him out in Beau Geste,
Wake Island, Jesse James, Union Pacific and countless other films!!)
ENLIST BELOW
OK OK OK.......
YOU GUYS HAVE TALKED ME INTO IT....
THE ROMAN WAR FLEET RETURNS !!!
BACK IN 07 WE RELEASED OUR FIRST ROMAN WAR GALLEY (LET'S CALL IT GALLEY #1) RETAIL PRICED AT $750.00 EACH. WE MADE 500 OF THESE BEAUTIES WITH OVER 50 FIGURES INCLUDED IN EACH & SOLD OUT QUICKER THAN CAESAR COULD SUBDUE GAUL. BY 09 THEY HAD ALL SET SAIL FROM THE WAREHOUSE....
WE GET REQUESTS SEVERAL TIMES PER WEEK FOR A RE-RELEASE OF THIS BEAUTY, WHICH WAS SIMPLY ONE OF THE BEST THANGS WE EVER DESIGNED OR PRODUCED.
"Been (Bin) Had"
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VIVE LA FRANCE !!!!
ATTENTION FRENCH COLLECTORS...FREE SHIPPING
We are seeking a new Conte dealer in France; please contact us if you are interested or know of a high quality and professional dealer.
Until a new dealer is found, we are offering free shipping on figure set orders of $150 or greater going to France
This Amazing Masterpiece Battle Diorama Set Up & Photographed by Joseph
Quintini and then enhanced by Alan Critchley. Thanks to both gentlemen
for such awe inspiring use of our figures!!!
Click Here To Shop Our Zulu Range
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Private Winkie would like to announce that a bunch of additional never before seen Highlander poses will be posted very soon on the NW Frontier Page--including Gunga Din , mounted officer, regimental colour bearer, an all new wounded set, charging highlanders and more.... (in case you are wondering, The Wee Willie Winkie figure is an old one by Danbury Mint)
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We've added music to our site--please adjust your volume up or down depending upon your feelings regarding the skirl of the pipes. The pipe major is playing "Cock O' The North" today". This amazing sculpt will be available in our Collector Club later in 2010.The piper sculpt & photo pictured here is of Piper Findlater who won the V.C. for continuing to play & remaining unprotected and 'in the open' despite having been shot in both legs.
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EMAIL BLASTS/ Are You On The Email List?
We have now sent out our first full email blast to all on our mailing list detailing information/prices /specials regarding the 9 new sets which are arriving here this week. Unfortunately, several hundred addresses on our list did NOT receive the blast because (a) your address had errrors or needs updating, (b)your system rejected us as a sender or (c) your computer or server treated our email as 'spam"!!! We apologize if you didn't receive the 'blast' but there's nothing we can do--YOU need to clear us and/or supply a new email address.
Our blasts will come from either viceroyz@aol.com or einar1eye@aol.com so please approve/clear both of these addresses so we can communicate with you!!
We Are Under Construction
We are making some major changes to the Conteco web site and ask for your patience and understanding whilst we make a few(actually, a bunch of) improvements.
Warning
ALL photos, images & text featuring toy soldiers are the copyrighted property of Conte Collectibles and/or Legends of the Silver Screen Ltd., and may NOT be used in any form without our express approval.
Use of our photos and/or images and logos on ebay or other internet sites for the purpose of internet sales is expressly prohibited.
Requests for usage of photos will be considered on a case by case basis.
About Our Site
We are deleting all sorts of items which have made the site cumbersome & at the same time adding a number of features which hopefully will make your visit more enjoyable.
New "tabs' are being added for such things as (a) toy soldier shows, (b) News (c) specials, (d)the Collector's Club, (e) Links we like and so forth. We also will be gradually updating & editing all existing sections to eliminate old news & make it easier for you to find what you are looking for. We also are looking into the addition of sound & video.
We've already updated the Q & A section and are working on several others as you will see.
This revamping will be a gradual process which will take months.
Presently, the site has this informational section and a second site which is the Conte 'online shopping" site. We will probably combine everything into one site rather than the 2 which currently exist as I've never understood why we have both.
At the top of this page we've added a 'last updated' heading which will show you when we've made any changes. Thanks for your understanding & patience.
Hail Einar
Thanks to these gentlemen for getting this started for us. Be on the lookout for some terrific Zulu metal set-ups by Joe Quintini of Maine....really awesome stuff!
Diorama, photo and sentiment courtesy Mr. Quintini--we couldn't agree more!!
Reaction to
these two sets has been so overwhelming.
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Click on the Arab Chief to
see RC's 2010 forecast |
Oh My
Beloved
You Men of the Desert
You Brave Collectors of Toy Soldiers
You Leaders of Miniature Warriors
It Is Time To Arise From Your Couch or Lazy Boy
And To Prove Your Worth & Devotion To Our Hobby
Join With Me At The Conte Collectibles Tables
At The Hackensack , New Jersey Toy Soldier Show
THIS SUNDAY, November 1st !!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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Mon Petite
Legionnaires... You Sweet Hommes sans nom
We know you are
working so hard on the dig to locate Iskander
such hard work--tres difficile, n'est ce pas? Nine years the search has gone
on but you have found nothing.....nothing
You must be tres fatigue? All the digging...the sand..always more
sand...and all of this especially after your disappointment in being unable
to find what you are hoping to collect at the various toy soldier souks.....
must be very disappointing?
Why don't you brave & courageous monsieurs come to the Casbah where we poor
villagers of Conteville might amuse you with our humble offerings-- perhaps
I can dance for you and tell you tales of the Lost Tomb----- if that is
what you seek ,,,,,, we know you've been waiting for some excitement and a
return to the joi de la collecte......
Je pourrais vous amener a ce que vous cherchez !!! But do not tell the
Capitaine...s'il te vous plait......
He must not know that you are speaking to me or my friends.......
