Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => General Wargames and Hobby Discussion => Topic started by: Jemima Fawr on April 15, 2025, 08:35:50 PM
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Speaking of Old Stalwart companies...
Geoff, who owns the rights to some of the ranges produced by QRF Models recently posted this on Facebook:
Unfortunately I am currently uncertain as to the status of QRF.
Since I stepped back and Harry has taken over I have had very little involvement. I was initially responding to email queries to help him get set up but he has removed that access from me. I no longer have access to the emails, and Harry has stopped replying to mine. I have tried all email addresses, including via the website, with no response.
I gave him some initial leeway to get set up (due to some complications with him leaving the RAF) but he has not signed the production licence for the ranges I own nor made any commission payments. The recorded delivery contract was returned “addressee gone away”.
Therefore with effect 5 April 2025 Harry Dowden T/A QRF Models no longer holds a licence to produce the following ranges, which are owned by me:
QRF (all modern ranges including aircraft)
Arab Israeli
Seven Years War (all nations)
American Revolution (all nations)
US Mexican War
Maximilian War
Great Paraguayan War
Spanish American War
Seminole War
30 Years War
English Civil War
History of India
Samurai
AirWulf 1/1200 air range
(Please be aware that other ranges 'may' still be in production, I just have no further information. However the above ranges may no longer be produced unless he wants to contact me and sort this)
Should anyone be interested in taking over these ranges, please contact me at Geoff.titchener@gmail.com
However at this time I have no information on the state or whereabouts of the masters, but any production from this point is piracy in breach of copyright.
Geoff
QRF
The original FB post and subsequent discussion is here: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1202356471899954&id=100063768362241
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I'm sorry to read this.
I've been buying QRF stuff for ever. if those ranges disappear it will leave a big hole for 15mm gamers.
Not good for Geoff either. I wonder if Chas owned the other 19th Century ranges, Carlist wars etc?
I hope it gets resolved with minimum grief.
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Yikes! That sounds dire. Missing masters is a poor state of affairs, indeed.
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Oh dear, that's not good.
A while ago (late last year) I ordered some bits from QRF.
They took a sodding age to come through, but did arrive eventually.
The castings were in a pretty ropey condition, but salvageable.
I made a note then not to bother re-ordering from them.
It seems like this Harry chap is a wrong 'un and not doing the brand any favours. For which I truly feel sorry to Geoff because it's subverted all he worked to create (I had, many years ago, ordered from QRF with no issues at all).
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Barrow-boys and girls etc, etc, wherever you turn these days :( >:(
Good luck Geoff
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Not sure which way around any more but either Chas or Harry was uncle/nephew and whoever was the nephew took over from the uncle and then moved production - and then last year the whole website went ass-over-tea-kettle but was getting rebuilt.
Before the sale, Geoff was the primary contact point and always provided exemplary customer service. Did not know he owned some of the ranges. The nephew was never as communicative and, apparently, had some sort of health issues - may be part of the challenge. Uncle more communicative but not as good as Geoff.
Bad situation all around. Was never sure the nephew had it in him to keep the line going. Also, most of the line has been around for a LONG time which meant sales were going to be a challenge. If QRF/Freikorps goes away that is a very extensive range of figures to be lost.
Thankfully, I got what I needed for my German East Africa setup before it got so bad - though compromising on the Belgians and Portuguese.
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That’s the sad part of the ranges like this being lost - they fulfill more “obscure” periods so nicely. Everyone does WW2 blah blah blah.
But like you say, German East Africa? Exciting campaigns, but not well known. Surprisingly a lot of good resources.
Shame if everything went to blah blah blah.
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So many companies that are closing.
We always talk about the "aging of the hobby" referring
to people who play wargaming. Should be using the term in relation
to the people producing the miniatures.
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I do hope QRF get things sorted, they always seemed to have that obscure model you needed for a project.
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I just received an email today, confirming my order has been processed
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Do let us know how you get on Scotty.
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They arrived safe and sound
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Thanks for the update.
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They arrived safe and sound
Good to hear from your point of view, but I hope that Geoff gets his royalties.
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Hello gentlemen
Thank you for the support. I am hoping to have some good news for you shortly.
Geoff QRF
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Hello gentlemen
Thank you for the support. I am hoping to have some good news for you shortly.
Geoff QRF
Firstly, woo-hoo! lol
Secondly - like your photo, kinda reminds me of someone! lol
It'll be great to have some news on the QRF front, Geoff.
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Let’s just say… I’ve dug out the new 15mm Chinese Warlord masters…
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Hello gentlemen
Thank you for the support. I am hoping to have some good news for you shortly.
Geoff QRF
Brilliant to hear, mate! :D
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Yeah, great news. I have a list!
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Just tried visiting the QRF website and got this response: "THIS SITE IS DISABLED". There was also a note in the browser box(?)
"This site is under maintenance" so maybe there is hope.
Possible that is the old site and their may be a newer site?
Last time I successfully visited the site it was, indeed, a mess but I think that was part of the problem that hit so many hobby websites last year.
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I've found the QRF website to be unuseable for a few years; having a notice up is progress (of a sort) so fingers crossed!
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Just tried visiting the QRF website and got this response: "THIS SITE IS DISABLED". There was also a note in the browser box(?)
"This site is under maintenance" so maybe there is hope.
Just to highlight, that part of QRF is nothing to do with me so no idea what’s going on.
Geoff
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Tried a couple more times recently to get to QRF website and now nothing at all (some sites with merchandise but not the actual site). Anyone know more than that? Or have they folded up?
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It was showing as disablwed, but seems to be active now. No idea whats going on. I have someone due to collect my moulds and masters. I'm just waiting for confirmation.
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It was showing as disablwed, but seems to be active now. No idea whats going on. I have someone due to collect my moulds and masters. I'm just waiting for confirmation.
That would be fantastic news. Real progress on that front and clearing up a bit of confusion. Fingers crossed it all goes well for you.
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Thanks for the update, Geoff, just tried the site and it seems to be working. And, in your communications with QRF, please let them know they still need - desperately - to better organize the website. The Freikorps listing is all over the place - at least in my viewing; only filter I got to work was 19th century but that was still 29 pages at 20 items per page to search through.
Hope it all gets sorted favorably for all parties concerned.
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I’m afraid I have no communications with them save extracting the QRF moderns and have the FK ranges to a new producer.
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Hmm, just reviewed your starting list with first post. That is going to leave them with a dramatically smaller range of product to offer. Please let us all know who the new FK producer will be once you are able to do so. Same with the QRF ranges.
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At 01:30 this morning I received confirmation that the moulds and masters had been collected by courier and delivered to their new home…
Watch this space.
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Wow, that's huge progress. Someone new taking the reins?
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Indeed
In fact… while I have you all here :-)
There’s a lot of stuff. It’s going to take a little while to get it all back into production. The question is where to start?
American Independence
English Civil War
US Mexican
Spanish American
Great Paraguayan War
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Rank them by what has been most popular in the past and do them in that order?
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Ah that’s the problem, I don’t have that data and it’s more on gut feeling
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Let me be selfish Geoff, Maximillian Adventure!
I'm very pleased you are getting this sorted. Well done.
I always bought a lot of stuff from you and Chas. Thinking about what I bought the most of this would be my list.
ACW
Tudor Wars (new range)
Anglo-Sikh Wars
Carlist War
Good luck with it all.
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American Independence is very timely with the 250th anniversaries pending so I'd suggest starting there - and moving as fast as possible.
Alas, I think I have what I need - literally over 200 foot units, 20 cavalry units (mostly from Freikorps SYW and AWI figures) and a generous supply of artillery, generals, and civilians for AWI. But I still think it is the best to be 'first'. ECW also is perennially popular, at least in England. The other three are all more specialized in interest so I'd push those to the back of the line.
Now, if you happen to be able to lay your hands on the Thompson's gazelle mold that was made - I got a sample of them so I know it existed in some way at some point, adult male and female, young - I'd be SUPER interested and order several score (literally, probably at least 72 and a bit more to convert to dead animals - and more if it would help get them into production. Quite serious.)
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Thanks for that. Useful to know!
Please do check the list - I don’t have the ACW, but do have SYW and AWI and Maximilian. I don’t have the East African animals…
…but I do have the Chinese Warlord range
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I'll buy Maximilian figures immediately they are available. In reasonable numbers too. Somewhere I think I have a list of QRF Maximilian Codes-Does that help?
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Thank you. We do have the codes. We are just checking moulds at this time
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American Independence is very timely with the 250th anniversaries pending so I'd suggest starting there - and moving as fast as possible.
A very good suggestion that. We had a fair number of Rev War games at Huzzah this past May, and there's seven more years of anniversary battles coming.
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A question for Geoff: do you know a correct email address for QRF? I tried the one on the website and it bounced back saying that email does not exist.
Thanks!
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I have no idea for Harry TA QRF Models. I’ve tried every email I have, info@, orders@, harry@… he hasn’t responded to me on any of them.
He’s also told me I can’t use the name QRF. I have bad news for him there ;-)
I’m distancing myself from QRF Models (who retain the WW1 and WW2). I’ve taken the postwar/modern and half of Freikorps to a new home and will be rebranding slightly very soon under GeoffQRF
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Welcome news GeoffQRF!
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Thanks, Geoff.
So, here is my suggestion: keep a door open to potentially receive the balance of QRF and Freikorps at some point since, given how it is 'not' being run, I think the 'remainder' will show itself to have very little to zero value under current 'mismanagement' and maybe you can pick it all up on the 'rebound', perhaps for only the whisper of a song.
Best of luck with your new venture.
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Although the AWI is very timely...
The English Civil War seems to be rather popular in these parts.
The tariff thing should also be considered in your choice.
Just saying.
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Although the AWI is very timely...
The English Civil War seems to be rather popular in these parts.
The tariff thing should also be considered in your choice.
Just saying.
ECW for my choice. Avoid the US market.
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Thank you gentlemen. All comments are noted.
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Afraid avoiding the US market, for now, might make some sense (and I'm in the US). But isn't AWI pretty popular in the UK as well? Even if on the 'losing' side? Lots and lots of AWI games seen stemming from the UK - as are lots of ranges of figures for the conflict. Of course, ECW is the ACW of the UK. And ACW can be very popular - though maybe less so now than it was a decade ago now that the whole 'lost cause' silliness is seen in its proper historical light as a distortion of what really happened and not history at all. I'm still waiting to see the new histories get written of the war without that 'lost cause' filter being applied. Maybe they are already out but I've missed them because I got tired of the ACW gaming after doing it for so long! :o
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Nobody won the AWI! lol
Nominally it was the French that won but the US welched on the payment plan so it doesn't really count. If the US had actually kept paying the French what they owed then we could argue that they bought the win. lol
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I see the Little Corporal have picked up the ranges Geoff listed. Not yet shoppable but certainly progress.
I'm looking forward to buying armies for The Great Paraguayan War and more for Maximillian.