Tiny armies spearhead advance on world market

By PAULA OLIVER

Little soldiers, just 15mm high, are the unlikely heroes of a local company that is making its mark in the global market for military miniatures.

By sending armies of its tiny, $10 men, planes and tanks into battle around the world, Glen Innes-based Battlefront Miniatures has increased its business by more than a third this year, and will turn a good profit for the first time.

General manager Richard Foster said the company's miniatures were mostly sold to wargaming enthusiasts, who often engaged in battles lasting four hours.

After a few faltering years, said Mr Foster, Battlefront had made major changes and exports - mainly to the United States and Britain - now made up 90 per cent of its sales.

"Three years ago we decided to push for the Second World War figure market, which was growing rapidly," he said. "Now most of our business is Second World War stuff, and we're gaining a reputation around the world."

Because of technological advances during the war, there were more than 400 pieces in the range and potentially many more.

To have an effective army, a wargamer needed to spend around $400 before he could enter battle, Mr Foster said. And, yes, most of them are male.

"It's more common than many people think, and because most of the players are middle to upper class, they can end up with huge armies.

"But our customers are also very well-researched, and we have to pay huge attention to detail in the figures."

The worldwide network of wargamers was quick to spread the word if a company made a tank inaccurately, or if its pieces fell apart.

Mr Foster said that having a knowledgeable sculptor was the first step to making the business profitable. Battlefront now had such a man, based in Palmerston North.

The next step was to contract out the making of its moulds. Instead of being involved in everything himself, Mr Foster engaged a casting company to make the moulds, and Battlefront's four staff now manufactured the soldiers from the moulds in the company's small factory.

A wargamer himself, Mr Foster said that attending an international convention of like-minded people attracted business.

Many international buyers were drawn to Battlefront's pieces by the price, he said.

The $10 figures compared with more expensive $25 competitors in England and the US.

But the recipe for success does not end there, and Mr Foster is working on the company's next range - a group of slightly larger Maori figures.