January seems to be whizzing past at an alarming speed, I thought this was a good time for an update on what I’ve got planned for 2022.

New releases

I’ve been working closely with Nino for a couple of months and we’ve made good progress on a new release. Scheduled for February this will be a set of four figures (two British soldiers and two German soldiers) with an MG08 machine gun. The figures and gun will be available as a set, but also all individually as the German’s aren’t sculpted/cast attached to the machine gun.

It’s a great release and I’m very excited. This set is designed to show all the soldiers in the late war, it’s described as being November 1918 and shows the advance of the Allies, however it could be adapted to model a scene on the Western Front from 1917 onwards.

Further new projects

The set of figures described above completes the focus on the Western Front for the period up to November 11th 1918. My aim is to now go back and “fill in the gaps” of subjects I think are missing or that interest me.

The project that follows will return to 1914 and we’ll focus on the French army of World War One. We’ve been working to digitally create rifles, side arms, equipment etc for the French army and it’s an area I want to explore.

However, that doesn’t mean a complete focus on France, I’ve got ideas for British and Empire and American subjects as well, so I see moving forward a more flexible approach and you may see figures from 1914 in a release, with figures from 1917 from the one after and returning to 1914.

There are still a lot of deserving and interesting subjects that I’d like to look at and I see the range for running for a time still!

What I won’t be doing

As you’ll know from my posts in 2021, I’m a bit challenged time-wise, so I have to put my focus into what interests me and where I think I can add value. I get emails every day asking for a variety of subjects, there are some great ideas, but some I simply can’t look at as they aren’t something I’m really aware of or would take too much time.

Essentially, I won’t be producing any more vehicles, motorcycles or artillery and concentrating on figures. I’ll be returning to two figure releases with the occasional cavalry release if I can persuade Nino. I’ll be staying with 1/32 scale World War One. I won’t be looking at any other historical periods.

Model shows

The last couple of years have been tough on shows as Covid restrictions have prevented most happening. There are shows planned in the UK and Europe now that things seem to be improving a little.

I was booked into World Model Expo in Eindhoven in July (and looking forward to that). Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you view it) we’ve booked a family holiday and I’ll be in Greece at that time. I’ve apologised to Robert and the WE team, but there is nothing to read into the situation, I just won’t be there, but I wish everyone the best and I’ll miss you all!

I’d also been invited to the White Rose model show in York. Again, I’m afraid I won’t be available for that as I’m competing in a triathlon that weekend (it was an event originally booked for 2020, then 2021).

Timing is everything, and I’m afraid these two shows coincide with other plans.

In terms of other shows, I couldn’t make Telford in 2021 so I don’t know where I stand in terms of whether I’ll get back in. I’ve heard nothing so far. Likewise Euro Miniature Expo (Folkestone), I’d love that show to be on, but there is still a level of uncertainty.

Other bits of information

A few other snippets of information. The British paint guide is back in print and available with every order at the moment. Alex and I have worked-up a German version which I hope to have ready for the February release.

I’ll aim to supply both with all orders from February onwards. Unfortunately, due to the large number of requests, I can’t mail copies to everyone who asks. I had literally thousands of requests for the British version and the postage costs alone would pretty much put me out of business if I mailed them all. The online version of the British one is available though and I’ll add the German one in the same way!

I’m constantly looking at improving the business and I’m aiming to refresh the website design and bring in some new photography. If I’m able to make any shows then I’ll look at a new catalogue (potentially later in the year).

And finally…

Tommy’s War continues to grow, and I’ll be pushing the range forward. My aim is to make it the most diverse range of World War One figures on the market, and with French subjects adding to the British and Empire, American, Turkish, German, Italian and Finnish subjects it’s well on it’s way.

Thank you for your support getting the range this far and I look forward to sharing more details with you soon.