I seem to be 'fated' with some of my recent orders - 1st I place a Black Tree Design order, only to subsequently read on-line of a myriad of complaints, going back months, around no-communication and none delivery of orders (although fingers-crossed that may have all recently been resolved).
To add to this, I recently placed an order with Quick Reaction Force (QRF) - just a few of the old 15mm Frei Korps ancients to complete a very aged army - only to discover online, a flood of complaints, a lot of what appears to be business 'scull-duggery' and underhand dealings, and now their phoneline has been disconnected and their email bounces back, and there is no reply via their website.
So once again I am forced to resort to the PayPal Resolution center to attempt to get my money back. Thank goodness that PayPal has this facility - I now prefer to pay for orders via PayPal wherever possible.
Businesses will struggle and sometimes fail, but it seems that as the hobby transitions from its 'founders' phase into a 'new generation' of owners, or the 'old guard' retire, fall ill or age (or sadly pass-away), we seem to be suffering from a fair bit of either deliberate dishonesty or just plain incompetency.
Surely it is not beyond the wit of man to shut down an on-line website based ordering system if a business is struggling or is changing hands. Some manage it perfectly ok but for others it seems like either a challenge or a deliberate way to maintain their cash-flow (at their customers expense). (Rant over ... for now!)
And yes, I know, I should be more careful and scour the inter-web and forums for all signs of gossip relating to my next online purchase ... but life is short and I loath the inter-web at the best of times. But maybe I'll have to adopt this as standard business practice going forwards. Hey ho!
I await the decision of the PayPal Resolution Center staff to recover my £58.00 order value from QRF - fingers crossed.
"Be safe out there"
Mark
PS: I have adopted a 'no-news July' policy and so far 23 days in I am sticking with it. So I have not 'consumed' any no online, radio, TV or even physical news (in the form of newspapers - although I only usually read Private Eye anyway) since 30th July - and I am feeling so much saner for it. But if the world has ended and I just don't know it, please message me on the 1st August (although it is tempting to continue the 'no-news' approach going forward as standard ;D )
Cheers
Mark
There appears to be on-going issues with QRF following an anticipated change of ownership.
There is a thread on the TMP forum.
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=585965
BTD have had issues going back years - no idea how they continue as an enterprise.
QRF seems to be recent problems linked to retirement of the former owner, and the new owner failing to run the business - not clear if due to incompetence or fraud.
Threads over on LAF if you want to find them.
All in all shows that sticking with the nice Mr Leon is the right choice!
It looks like the QRF web-site is now disabled. So thankfully nobody else will be lured into parting wuth hard earned cash under false pretenses.
It's a shame to see so many old names disappearing - Fighting 15's, Chariot and now QRF.
But it looks like Blacktree are fully back in business. Communication is good & they are cracking through their order backlog. I received a notice sayibg mine was on its way. Fingers crossed :D
Regarding your "P.S"...
I adopted a "no news" policy* about 20 years ago and I maintain to this day it is one of the best decisions I ever made.
* I sometimes look at the BBC website... but never TV or video of any kind, or newspapers etc.
Quote from: petedavies on 24 July 2025, 01:20:57 AMRegarding your "P.S"...
I adopted a "no news" policy* about 20 years ago and I maintain to this day it is one of the best decisions I ever made.
* I sometimes look at the BBC website... but never TV or video of any kind, or newspapers etc.
Yes ... I am likely to maintain it going forwards.
My 'screen-time' has more than halved - much less 'addictive doom scrolling' going on.
Also, I am feeling a lot less like grabbing a meat cleaver and rushing into the street to kill everybody! Which is good to know ;D
I'm reading a very good sort of sci-fi book - The Future, by Naomi Alderman - that proposes the idea that the world we live in has a historical parallel with the pre-industrial revolution 'Enclosure Acts' - in that something we all took for granted as being free (in the historical case common land and in modern terms our personal information and data) has, in effect, been taken way from us (or actually we have given it away, without realizing we have done that) and that this is making a small group of individuals stupidly rich and very powerful (as happened in the mid-1700s to the mid-1800s). It also looks at the control of a countries media by external forces, which have the intention of deliberately keeping that population dissatisfied and agitated, as it suits their ends, commercially to do so.
All very dystopian ... or is it :-\
Except that's what they want you to think...
Be a pity if they have gone under, but QRF were never the best business peps. My last order was for M18's, they sent M10's instaed. Contacted I was told to keep the M10 and they would send the 18's. I did offto return. If that represents the stand then they would be trading at a loss. The other problem was that after the great web crash the site wasn't sufficently differentiated, so to find anything took an absolute age.
That said both new and old propretors were/are very nice people and it would be a great shame if they have gone under.
From what I've heard, the 15mm FreiKorps ranges will be comtinuing under a new owner but I don't think there's anything official yet.
FK15 and some of the QRF range are now available through the Little Corporal.
Some time ago I reviewed and compared all the 15mm 'ECW' ranges that were available. It is a little disconcerting how many ranges have had to have a postscript added - "not currently available"
The Little Corporal FK15s ranges dont include the Ancients.
Maybe it's you - From the way you talk, every time you do an order, the company fails...
Just saying. :-\
The failings of 15mm manufacturers in the last few years is one of the reasons I switched to 10mm.
Anyone interested in 15mm Napoleonics/colonials I have ~5000 for sale at 30p a figure.....
There is a web site, but very little shows on it and the ranges are not differentiated very much.
I sense the passing of an era, and a maturing of an industry.
Let's compare with footwear.
* Once there would be several shoe makers in almost every market town.
* Then shoes were produced in larger batches, most towns would have at least one shoe seller (and some towns in Northamptonshire would have a shoe workshop on every corner).
* Now it's a trip into the city (or the internet) for a show shop but the range is immense. And manufacture happens in a few overseas locations.
Wargame figures started (mostly) as independent manufacturers guided by army lists and a few conventional figure scales.
Some manufacturers expanded to full time production.
Others fired up the casting machine after work when orders required.
I sense we are approaching stage 2.
Age, health, business costs and changes in demand are seeing many of the beloved one man operations closed or nearing closure.
The biggest full-timers (Games Workshop, Warlord, Foundry, Old Glory) have gone full Henry Ford.
Smaller operations that have industried-up serve specific niches successfully (Baccus, Pendraken), good business practice contributing to success and survival.
I hope we don't ever progress entirely to stage three, as it risks a decline in genuine choice.
We have both types of armies: Romans Vs Orks and 40K Napoleonics, all in 28mm with thousands of variations.
Also the severance of that genuine feedback to the manufacturer that we grognards so love.
Last Hussar - it was some big boys, they went that way
FK15, think they have only recently moved house, maybe the ancients will be along soon? The Lurkio stuff has been on hiatus for ages too
The Feudal Castings 15mm range, previously part of the Fighting 15s (& Gladiator Miniatures) range, have resurfaced under the ScaleCreep Miniatures brand, in the USA - which is encouraging.
Likewise Outpost Miniatures has resurfaced, under new & very engaged ownership, in the UK.
So, sometimes, all is not lost.
:)
PS: my small Blacktree Design 28mm order has also (finally) appeared, 12 months (almost to the day!) since I placed the order. Beautiful figures. I wish Sam, who's picked up this particular very thorny problem well with her endeavours at clearing the backlog and getting things back on an even keel :) :) :)
Quote from: Big Insect on 08 October 2025, 08:35:14 PMLikewise Outpost Miniatures has resurfaced, under new & very engaged ownership, in the UK.
That's just their 15mm I take it? The 28mm Russo-Turkish war range went to Badger Games in the US, who don't respond to emails it seems. I did want to top up my Turks with an order, but have since spent the money on 10mm instead....
Quote from: sultanbev on Yesterday at 10:56:45 AMThat's just their 15mm I take it? The 28mm Russo-Turkish war range went to Badger Games in the US, who don't respond to emails it seems. I did want to top up my Turks with an order, but have since spent the money on 10mm instead....
As far as I know it's only the 15mm ranges that are in the UK
Looks like I've misled you on Feudal Castings
Scale Creep (in the US) are only distributors for Fighting 15's - and their stock is low and probably wont be replenished.
Not sure if Fighting 15s have yet found a buyer for the 15mm Feudal Castings range.
Ah well .... shame.