Wm Hocker | Dispatches

The Metal Toy Soldiers of

Wm. Hocker, Proprietor

Tied or untied?

Stephen Jury - 11May11 5:53PM

I am torn. Some of the sets are just too fabulous to leave in the box and beg to be displayed. But what does this do to their value? Does it really have a material impact? I don't think so, but yet I know many keep the sets tied in. Any opinions out there? I guess the answer is buy two of each set and untie one for display. That would make Bill happy for sure.

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1. Barry Hards - 12May11 11:39AM

You make a valid point Stephen but I couldn't bear to keep these great toy soldiers all tied-up in their boxes, when, as so many great collectors photos on here demonstrate, how fantastic they look when they're all lined-up to do valiant battle against their foes. They are to to be handled, played with and enjoyed, even if that means they occasionally get an odd wound (chip).

2. Alexander Jordan - 13May11 5:41AM

I agree with Barry. Even though its like Christmas Morning every time I receive a new Hocker set in the mail and open the box lid for the first time to see a new, beautiful, brighly-glossy-painted toy soldier set, its even more fun to set up a display or diorama of these toy soldiers. I was at a toy soldier show recently and saw a mint-tied-in-box old Britains French Foreign Legion marching set from circa 1939-1941. It was neat to look at, but had I purchased this set, it would've been taken out of the original box and placed on display with my "Fort Zinderhoff" Foreign Legion display etc.
Hope to see more Hocker collectors post pictures of their own sets/diplays!

3. Randy Bond - 14May11 1:43PM

I have untied all my Hocker sets but photograph them before doing so in case I ever want to re-tie them in their original positions.

The real fun for me of taking them out of their boxes is that it often leads to discovering new relationships among the disparate sets and figures. This leads to new ways for me to use them in creating my photo-diorama narratives.

4. Steve Mills - 30May11 7:21PM

I buy my toy soldiers for MY pleasure so they are immediatley untied and removed from the box.
I guess when it comes to re-sale you may get a higher price for "virginal" boxes but I don't think I'll be parting with my collection till I bite the dust.
Why I never thought of it I don't know but I like Randy Bond's idea of photographing them before removing from the box. I always take pics for insurance purposes but remove the pieces and stand them on the box.
Just recently bought my first "Hockers" but have a feeling there will be more....

Since 1983