Verlinden masters get dumped

[Sixth Vanguard]

I just saw this post that Verlinden is out of business and tried to sell the masters but couldn't so they went into a dumpster

I cannot vouch that the story is true but there are pictures in the thread

http://www.track-link.com/forums/news_general/52374/flat

When I was young I could never afford the Verlinden stuff and now that I am older and can I have a few pieces but they are rather 'dated'. Still, I enjoyed ogling the dios and things other did with is stuff over the years. A sad end if it is true

 

[pzrwest]

I used to collect their 1/16th figures, I bought a preproduction a 1/16th StugIII resin kit. Sad to hear VP is now out of the buisness

 

[panzerwerk]

yup sad .......

 

[Sourdoh]

I agree. When I was young, the Verlinden products were just eye candy. I couldn't afford them. I enjoyed looking at what others did with them, but I never owned one. It is sad when any big player in the hobby world is forced out of the business, by the economy.

 

[Sixth Vanguard]

I agree. When I was young, the Verlinden products were just eye candy. I couldn't afford them. I enjoyed looking at what others did with them, but I never owned one. It is sad when any big player in the hobby world is forced out of the business, by the economy.

The post says he wanted to retire, not that the economy forced him out of business, but who knows for sure.

I Verlinden moved from Belgium to Missouri in the 90's. When I saw the pictures of the dumpster and the dumping I thought "Belgium looks just like an industrial park in the U.S."

 

[Squidley]

Wow.....Seems pretty depressing to me....Didnt ever buy anything, but always looked at it as the finest there was. Guess we're all just getting old, the the hobby continues to shrink....

 

[pzrwest]

My first VP was a German soldier holding up a French helmet. He was from the Grossdeutschland regiment, my second one was an SS officer wearing an SS camo smock with his left hand in the pocket and holding an mp40 in his right hand. I'll dig them out and take a photo of them, when I get a chance

 

[egonzinc]

I still have many of the Verlinden images in my mind. My painting style on 1/6 vehicles is heavily influenced by those images. For me their 1/35 stuff was much better than the 1/16 items, but at the time the 1/16 items came out, they were a break through in material and construction. I had many and put together only some of them. Many years ago I sood or gave away many of tge unbuikt obes.
I still have the larger 200m pieces in my collection, remember a Galland, a Roman ang a German Landser, might be some others...
But my favorite of all VP products I put together is a PzII that I put together about 20 years ago. I bashed a commander figure from another manufacturer and still is one if my favorite pieces. Preparing every single link was a labor of love. Mihgt take it out to the yard and give it the 1/6 treatment.
Verlinden and Tamiya dominate about 80% of my model memories... Sad to see Verlinden go. It is amazing how Tamiya kits, about 50 years old, still turn out a more than respectable model. The Flak 88mm cones to mind...
Que suga la fiesta!

 

[Heeresbergführer]

Guess it all has to come to an end at some point. I first met Mr. Verlinden in the 1980's. I have been an avid model builder since the mid-1960's and was following his work when he first got his business going.

I was working in Germany at the time for the US Army as a video producer. While out covering one of the annual REFORGER (REturn of FORces to GERmany) exercises, we were in Belgium filming the troops arriving at the port of Antwerp. We were documenting everything and producing news stories for the Armed Forces Network (AFN).



As we traveled about the country, I thought it would be cool to do a news story about Verlinden. We stopped in his village of Lier and found his modest little shop.

François was a very kind and warm host. We filmed an interview with him, then shot b-roll of him working and painting some kits, as well as building a diorama. We also filmed some of his little cottage industry of poring plaster into molds of his buildings, bunkers and diorama accessories. Then we moved on to cover the REFORGER exercise as it made it way into Germany.

After the First Gulf War - Desert Shield/Storm, I was transferred to Dallas, TX during the summer of 1991. Sometime in the early 90's, I was on a production in the Saint Louis area, so I had to stop at the Model Builder's Mecca....VLS - Verlinden-Letterman-Stock. François had hit the big time! I also knew Bob Letterman from back in the late 70's when we were members of the St. Louis IPMS. Such a small world.

So I still have a drawer full of Verlinden figures, some boxes in the basement of plaster bunkers, and his books on my bookshelves. It's sad to see the business come to an end, but François inspired a generation of model builders.

Godspeed and happy trails Françios Verlinden!

 

[Reef12]

Boy that sucks I have quite a bit of his stuff from way back when I did 1/35 scale nice stuff, will be missed, and enjoy yourself Mr Verlinden.
Bummer he did some serious good stuff in 1/35 scale.
Plus have a bunch of his mags.
Kind of wished could do what he did.





Jeff