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F.A.Q.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(version 1.2, March 16th 1999)
Here are some of the questions we are most frequently asked. If you do not find your answer here, please write to us!
What happened to Atlantic?
What happened to Atlantic moulds when the company bankrupted?
Where are the Atlantic re-issues coming from?
Which moulds are still available?
Are there any 1/32 figures or large model kits, such as the Coliseum or Sphinx, available?
What is the actual scale of the sets released by Nexus?
Which sets will be re-issued by Nexus?
Which sets are already available?
Which sets are going to be released in the next months?
Where can I buy/order Atlantic soldiers?
Can I order Atlantic soldiers through Internet?
I have heard that other companies have Atlantic re-issues in their catalog. Is this true?
I used to buy Nexus re-issues from Waterloo. Can I still buy from them?
How can I tell the difference between Nexus reissues and reissues from other companies?
Is there any other company who has released or will release all the existing Atlantic sets?
Is there a catalogue of the Nexus/Atlantic re-issues?
Does Nexus plan to print more toy soldiers after the Atlantic re-issues?
I have heard that a company has reprinted figures from moulds such as "Mussolini" and "Hitler". Where do they come from?
Does Nexus plans to release the "X" subject (substitute any name you want to "X"!)
What happened to Atlantic?
Atlantic went bankrupt in the early '80s, probably as toy soldiers ceased to be a plaything and became an interest of collectors and model-makers: this meant a much smaller market size than necessary to sustain a company like Atlantic was. Atlantic has been out of business since then.
What happened to Atlantic moulds when the company bankrupted?
The Atlantic moulds were sold to a toy company in Milano. Unfortunately, after a few years, this company decided that the moulds were of no use to them, and sold most of them to an Iraqi company. It was 1990. Soon after the Gulf War erupted. The moulds barely made it to destination through an adventurous travel, and are now still in Iraq. There is no evidence that they have been destroyed by the war, so we still hope to get them back in the future.
Where are the Atlantic re-issues coming from?
About 20 of the original moulds were not included in the sale to the Iraqi company, and remained in Italy. These moulds are the ones we are using now. A few other moulds (including subjects like the Pharaoh's Court and some of the S-F series) were sold separately to other companies around the world. We hope to recover these moulds in the future, as well as the Iraqi ones.
Which moulds are still available?
The available moulds include 18 sets: a lot of Far West subjects, a few of the Ancients, and some of the modern soldiers. The Far West range is almost complete; in the Ancients, we miss Pharaoh's Court (which should be in Mexico), the Trojans and the Romans. We only have Russian Revolution in the Revolution Series, and Red Army in the WW2 series.
Are there any 1/32 figures or large model kits, such as the Coliseum or Sphinx, available?
No. All the moulds currently in Italy are 1/72 toy soldiers. All the large kits and diorama moulds are in Iraq, as far as we know.
What is the actual scale of the sets released by Nexus? Some of them are marked as "HO", other ones as "1/72".
There is a "historical" problem here. Atlantic originally marked their figures sometimes as HO (1/87) and sometimes as 1/72. The difference between the two scales is actually quite small: HO figures can be 19-21 mm high, while 1/72 figures can be 23-25 mm high. Atlantic figures are not all exactly the same in height, so originally we decided to keep both the HO and the 1/72 scale markings. This created some confusion, however, so we are now using the 1/72 scale marking only, as the figures are usually from 22 to 24 mm in height. The "HO" mark appears only on the first print run of the first 4 sets, and will be dropped in the next print runs of these boxes (collectors, take notice!).
Which sets will be re-issued by Nexus?
We plan to reissue all of the subjects from the available moulds.
Which sets are already available?
Check our CATALOG page for a list of the sets currently on sale.
Which sets are going to be released in the next months?
Check our NEWS page for information on the next releases.
Where can I buy/order Atlantic soldiers?
Check our VENDORS page for information on wholesalers and distributors. You can contact these people to know about mail ordering in your country or retailers in your area. If there is no company listed in your country, please write to US.
Can I order Atlantic soldiers through Internet?
We prefer you to buy from a distributor in your country, if there is one: check our VENDORS page. Otherwise, you can write to US detailing where you live and what you want to order - we will do our best to supply you with what you want.
I have heard that other companies have Atlantic re-issues in their catalog. Is this true?
Yes. In the past, Nexus had no exclusive agreement for production from the Atlantic moulds, and the toy company owning the moulds made limited re-issues for other companies around the world, mostly for promotional use. Some of these re-issues also made their way to Italy and have been re-packaged (and also mixed with old castings) by our former Italian distributor, Waterloo.
I used to buy Nexus re-issues from Waterloo. Can I still buy from them?
While supplies last, you can order from Waterloo the first 4 releases (Egyptians Infantry, Egyptians Cavalry, 7th Cavalry, Geronimo's Apaches). The releases following these ones (including all sets coded ATL 005 and above) will not be available from Waterloo, as we do not supply any more that company. However, check with us for the price!
How can I tell the difference between Nexus reissues and reissues from other companies?
If you have the box, you can easily tell the difference, because all our boxes show the Nexus logo, the Atlantic logo, have on the back a reproduction of the original Atlantic box (and often, of the original Atlantic historical notes). If you have only the plastic inside, it is a bit more difficult, as Atlantic itself used a large range of different colours, even on the same set. You can compare your sprues with the photographs in our IMAGES section.
Is there any other company who has released or will release all the existing Atlantic sets?
No. Nexus has now an exclusivity deal to re-issue from the original Atlantic moulds.
Is there a catalogue of the Nexus/Atlantic re-issues?
We print a colour leaflet with the existing sets for use by our retailers and distributors. It does not contain more information than what you can find in the CATALOG page of this site, however.
Does Nexus plan to print more toy soldiers after the Atlantic re-issues?
We are currently focusing on the original Atlantic moulds, and still hope to get back all the moulds lost around the world in the years past. However, we also plan to add new and original subjects to our range! Please write to us and let us know which figure sets you'd most like to see in production.
I have heard that a company has reprinted figures from moulds "which do not exist any more", such as "Mussolini" and "Hitler". Where do they come from?
The copyright to produce the figures goes together with the property of the moulds, which are currently in Iraq. It has happened in the past and it is happening now that some company has produced new moulds to re-cast the Atlantic figures, probably believing that the original moulds were lost forever. We believe that any reprint which not comes from the original moulds is most likely a copyright violation.
Does Nexus plans to release the "X" Atlantic set (substitute any name you want to "X"!)
If the subject you would like to see is not including in the list of the 18 available moulds (including all those you can see on our Catalog page, plus Gold Rush, Apache Camp, Buffalo Hunt, Cowboys) the answer is "Yes! But first we need to get the moulds back from Iraq." We want to continue to give you maximum quality, so we will not do cheap pirated reprints like those other people did. If you see Atlantic products coming from us, they must be as good or better than the originals. We want to hear from you on the subjects you would like to see, anyway, so please write to us and let us know which original Atlantic set you would like to see first. When we get the moulds back, your suggestions will actually decide what will go into production first!
Back to the Atlantic Home Page.
27/05/99 - Copyright Nexus Editrice s.r.l. Please ask our permission to reproduce contents of this site. The Atlantic logo is a registered trademark of Nexus Editrice s.r.l.
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