• Pardon the dust while the boys rebuild the site.

    The board will be in a state of disarray as I get things sorted out, for a little while at least.

    The new incarnation is using Xenforo as the system software. It is much like what we are used to, with a few differences. I will see about making a FAQ to help point out the differences for the members.

     

    One IMPORTANT difference for all of us old timers is that the 'mail' system is replaced with what are called 'conversations'/

    There is no 'Inbox' or 'Out box' or 'Sent' folders anymore.

    Think of Conversations as private 'threads' or topics that don't exist in a forum, that you start with another member. NOTE: Conversations can include more than one member if you or someone else in the conversaion, likes.
    Takes a little getting used to but I am sure you all can get a hang of it.

     

    Only a slightly modified default default Xenforo style is available for now. Once the new SAG style is ready it will be available.

    All existing users should be able to login with their usernames and passwords once the site goes up.

     

    If anyone has difficulties logging in please contact me at sixthvanguard@gmail.com.

     

    Thank you for your support and patience. I know it has been a loooong road.

WARNING: APOGEE TOYS

V

von tunzelmann

Rifleman
Over a month ago I placed an order for some Tony Barton heads with Apogee Toys.

They took my money (Paypal) and I've heard nothing from them despite emailing them several times.
I have been in touch with Tony Barton re: Apogee.
Here is a section of his reply to me:
Dear Richard :
"Thanks for letting me know about Apogee toys : over two years ago , I sold thirty heads to a man called Richard Lund in the US . He seems to have passed his stock on to this Apogee outfit , who have been claiming to have them for sale ever since : I'm really sorry to hear that you've been ripped off in this way , but given the free market there's absolutely nothing I can do to stop it .The simple fact is that they can't have any left ."
so with this information in mind STAY AWAY FROM APOGEE!!!!!
Richard
 
I'll just chip in to confirm what Richard says : apart from this one lapse very early on ( it was probably three years ago , come to think ), I've never supplied any retailers , because it isn't worth the hassle , despite many of them having entirely honourable intentions .
My heads are only available direct from me : I can't imagine how this outfit can be pretending to sell things they can't have stock of .
 
I will check into it but somebody told me some time ago that a retailer here in the states had purchased rights or formed an agreement to sell, at least some of the Barton sculpts. Tony, if this is not the case let me know and I will find out who this vendor supposedly is.
 
i wish i could carry Tony's heads , some mighty fine work and i can see why they would be in demand !
im sorry to hear so many complaints , it hurts all of us when this happens , best of luck , and file a complaint with paypal if you still can !!!!
 
As I said in my e-mail to Richard after he contacted me ( quoted above ) , I was seriously saddened that he had been ripped off in this way.
As I explained , when in the very first flush of producing my own heads , I did agree to supply a third party in the US with a trial batch , for him to sell on . At no time did I give him any kind of exclusive licence , nor to be fair did he seek it : it was just a simple sale .
I realised fairly soon after that selling wholesale was not really viable , and have politely refused all requests to supply stores or dealers since .
No-one has a licence to reproduce them , and as far as I know the only ones that could possibly be on the market must be from that first batch .

A little explanation and apology to those who might want to stock my heads is in order , since my refusal to sell wholesale to dealers might seem strange :-

I model the heads for nothing : each one generally takes about two days intermittent work .
I send them in batches of ten or so to a factory in Birmingham , who specialise in fine resin and plastic casting . The mould costs me about £150 ( call it $280 US ). I buy the heads from the factory at £3 each ( they cost more because they are coloured ), and I have to take all ten on the mould in equal numbers.

I'm paying British rates , not dealing with a Chinese factory , which obviously has a huge effect on my costs . I choose to do that , not out of any patriotic fervour , but because I can deal directly with people whom I now know and trust .: the whole process is entirely Hassle-free .

Say I buy ten of each : that's total cost so far £450 .
If I succeed in selling ALL of those hundred heads , I make £650 .
More often than not I'm left with the less popular ones !

Total pay for twenty days skilled work £200 ( $380 ).

If I order a second batch , the profit rises slightly because I've paid off the mould cost , and so on with each subsequent batch , until the mould needs replacing after about fifty casts : but I'm not going to retire on it .

If I offer them wholesale , any dealer is going to want a minimum of thirty percent discount ( and some want 50% ) , which rather eats up my margin , but more importantly I have to create a massive stock to keep them all supplied , and spend more time than I want to adminstering the whole process .

I'm a modelmaker , not a shopkeeper , and I want to keep my time free for making new things , which I won't be able to do if I spend my life endlessly packaging and sending out stuff : I find myself quite busy enough with the steady trickle of direct orders already .

At my age I have to decide what I do well , and get on with it : and that is modelling . I'm delighted to be able to share what I do directly with other people , but I do it for love , and a little money , and not as my main business .
I do hope that folks will understand : I would love to make everyone happy , but I can't do that at the expense of my sanity and my time .




*************************************************************
 

Hi Guys, I`ve never posted anything on any forum before in my life - more of a listener than a talker, but I too have been ripped off by these people. I ordered several items - not Tony Barton heads(sorry Tony!) back on the 11th October, paid through Paypal but received nothing.I`ve tried to contact them four or five times, even through ebay, but have`nt had a single response.Keep well away is my advice to anybody thinking of purchasing.As Roger Daltrey once sang "we won`t get fooled again".
 
Hi Robin
Don't dispair.
I hope you did the transaction with paypal. If so make a claim against apogee. If they don't respond paypal will most probably award you the costs
Richard
 
yeah I paid with Paypal so lets just hope I get my stuff because I really want it otherwise I'm protected with paypal since I used my debit card
 
I have sent them 3 emails through Ebay and still no pesponse I have looked at their feedback and it seems that they are god aweful slow at shipping their items so I'm going to give it just a little more time before I attempt to recover my money
 
I successfully ordered some TB heads - probably last winter - from Apogee , prior to the knowledge that Tony was becoming the sole distributor.

I just wanted to offer up my sincere thanks to all of the extraordinarily talented solks that share their talent with us for a pittance. I hope to someday return the favor.
 
I have claimed against Apogee with Paypal who have decided the claim in my favour. Not only did APOGEE not reply to my emails but they didn't respond to paypal either.

Re people who have sealt successfully with APOGEE. I bet it wasn't recently or else you were very lucky to get your stuff. Sometimes little outfits start out great then suddenly go belly up.

The next point. Tony Barton has never provided Apogee with his heads. I repeat never!!! He suspects someone (Who he has named to me) has supplied APOGEE with a few (One of each). I conclude APOGEE has been having them bootlegged somewhere.
I will only purchase from Tony.

So far as Apogee goes-strike them out, there are plenty of honest guys to deal with.These guys are the pits. If they had any honesty they would close their website. Anyone who continues to visit it and sends them money has only themselves to blame
 
Their phone # is out of service as of now so I'm thinking they've gone out of business I think I'm gonna go ahead a register a complaint against them on Ebay and Paypal
 
I have learned that feedback on eBay is not reliable, The people who are going to post negative don't for fear that the ebayer might do something to them, they have your name and address, and the people who want to post good(maybe a friend) do and make the person look good :: :(
 
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