| Capt John Miller | 02 May 2011 6:03 a.m. PST |
The times are changing. Sorry to see you guys go… |
| Belisarius | 02 May 2011 6:10 a.m. PST |
Sorry to see them go as well |
DontFearDareaper  | 02 May 2011 6:13 a.m. PST |
Not unexpected, but sorry to see them go nonetheless. Dave |
| Who asked this joker | 02 May 2011 6:25 a.m. PST |
Bah. Sorry to see the end of Minifigs in the USA…for now. |
| Buckeye AKA Darryl | 02 May 2011 6:36 a.m. PST |
Sad to see that the poor economy was mostly created by GFI's poor service of late. Have great customer service and people will spend money regardless of the economy. I know this for a fact because my company has grown the last three years because of service. |
| DestoFante | 02 May 2011 7:00 a.m. PST |
It is a sad news, indeed. Unfortunately, I would also agree that this is the result of their own inability to service their clients as much as the poor economy's fault. These are great miniatures, and I cannot believe that they will be gone for long. It makes most sense to me that somebody would pick up the range, and give Minifigs USA a fresh start, with better communication, better customer service, and better delivery times. Let's see who, among the many excellent 15mm producers in the US, will snatch a deal. |
| pavelft | 02 May 2011 7:07 a.m. PST |
The additional question is whether Attacktix is going to close its doors too, since they are intertwined. From what I've seen everytime I go in, the shelves are getting barer and barer, with very little, if anything (other that RPG stuff), coming in. |
| sukhoi | 02 May 2011 7:25 a.m. PST |
The previous owner Tom Dye had mentioned that someone had made up masters for a bunch of SYW figures not covered by the original range. I always hoped these would see the light of day. With any luck the new owners (whoever that may be) can get these figures going! |
| Garand | 02 May 2011 7:28 a.m. PST |
One of the local stores mentioned they were trying to get the molds and rights for Minifigs USA as they are an "official" distributor. We'll see what happens… Damon. |
| WKeyser | 02 May 2011 8:00 a.m. PST |
Any one know about the 10mm Samurai range?
William |
| Myrmidons | 02 May 2011 8:16 a.m. PST |
I think a lot of us saw this one coming… |
| DestoFante | 02 May 2011 8:31 a.m. PST |
@sukhoi – SYW figures not included in the original UK Miniature Figurines range were indeed already in production. They were mostly "march attack" poses of figures previously available as "advancing" only. I was lucky enough to buy a few before GFI collapse. I am crossing my fingers that the transition will be brief, and that Minifigs will be back soon. |
YogiBearMinis  | 02 May 2011 8:48 a.m. PST |
Someone refresh--was Minifigs UK sold recently as well? What is the relationship between the two--it seemed like Minifigs USA was just a licensee/US distributor, but then they also seemed to be independently producing figures to supplement the UK ranges, which never seemed to make sense to me. |
| Who asked this joker | 02 May 2011 9:48 a.m. PST |
Someone refresh--was Minifigs UK sold recently as well? Owned by Caliver Books in the UK I believe. |
| khurasanminiatures | 02 May 2011 12:06 p.m. PST |
I definitely feel for the proprietors. Whenever I release a new vehicle in particular my first thought is, "can I actually price this thing so that I even earn back my investment?" Currently more than half of the price of the kits goes back to my casters, so I'm basically their agent! The result is that I see the point at which the model will earn out and start to make even a penny's profit pushed way out into the future. |
 McKinstry | 02 May 2011 12:19 p.m. PST |
I'm sorry to see any firm in the hobby struggle and GFI was a real contributor for years. I wish them well and I hope to see a US minifigs manufacturer emerge shortly. |
| randy novotny | 02 May 2011 1:56 p.m. PST |
I will miss GFI. Enjoyed doing business with Mr.Dye. |
| sukhoi | 02 May 2011 9:40 p.m. PST |
@DestoFante – I'm glad to hear some of those figures made it. Maybe my dream of some proper French line cavalry isn't so far off after all! |
| DestoFante | 03 May 2011 11:45 a.m. PST |
@sukhoi – Alas, I am fairly sure that in the "new' masters at GFI there wasn't any SYW French. Nor cavalry, IIRC. It was mostly Austrian and Prussian infantry, with the hope to expand at a later time. I use the current online catalog by Minifigs UK to refresh my memory, and I clearly recall Prussian Grenadiers in march attack pose, and Austro-Hungarian Musketeers in march attack pose as well. Minifigs UK offers both of them in advancing pose only. If you search on these boards, I am sure Tom Dye made an announcement about the new offering a few years ago. The good news is that fairly new casts should be part of the lot that, hopefully, former GFI will transfer over to a new buyer. |
| Tumbleweed | 03 May 2011 1:39 p.m. PST |
Although they had their share of problems recently, let's remember them for the enjoyment they gave us over the years. They will be missed. |
| Light Horseman | 04 May 2011 4:26 a.m. PST |
Since Tom Dye left, Minifigs GFI went down hill rapidly. No response to communication, slow to non-existant service. Tom ran a first rate ship; his successor ran the ship aground. I shifted my business to Minifigs UK which gives top notch service. |
| sukhoi | 04 May 2011 8:40 p.m. PST |
@DestoFante – thanks for the info! |
 Dye4minis | 12 Aug 2011 2:01 p.m. PST |
Thank you guys for all your support over the years. I finally have a working computer at home (here in Germany) and would like to address some issues. Indeed, I have lost both GFI and our retail store "Attactix" within a month apart. Yes, i am bummbed because I could not do anything to save either from Germany. regarding the assets of GFI: most are for sale, but will need to see a written agreement with Mr. Higgs in the UK authorizing a new licensee in the USA (or Canada). What is for sale is equipment, Fantascenes, Dungeon Dwellers, Bushido lines. i am holding on to the AIM, N scale Moderns and N scale WWI (which really remains in posession of the designer while I am away.) 15mm SYW: We had over 50 additional figures for the line. ALL nationalities and troop types have masters for march-Attack and advancing poses. There were new officer on foot and mounted, drummers, fifers, and even Russians in waistcoats for the summer compaigns. We only got about 15-20 new sculpts into production molds when I left. My partner that took over for me had a breakdown and we were unable to find anyone else to take on the massive challenge to keep it going in today's market. The cost to keep the operation going was being financed by the store. It broke it too as the prospective buyers took too long to act seriously. If anyone would like to make a serious offer on any of the above, please add @aol.com to my TMP handle. In the meantime, please contact Cavalier Books for their Minifigs and AIM needs. BTW, the AIM range is NOT a Minifigs product-it is owned by my wife and I. Unfortunately, they,too, will not be seeing the light of day for a while, either but Caliver can supply a few ranges. Again, thanks to all for your support. I truly miss each and every one of you! v/r
Tom Dye |
