About Us
Where did QRF come from?QRF started with Mick Bliss way back in the early 1990s. At that time QRF was operated out of a small shed, and had a reciprocal production deal with Yucca Miniatures of New Mexico. The current owners had been stocking QRF in a small shop in Southampton, the Longshot, and finally acquired QRF from Mick in 1996. QRF continued to expand, acquiring production rights to the Denzil Skinner and Miltra ranges of recognition models. Part of the business has been, and remains, the provision of recognition models to the armed forces. In 2003 QRF merged with LKM Direct, who specialised in scenic items and books. These two companies had been around independently for several years previously. The merger also incorporated the purchase of the long-established Freikorps range of figures, and resulted in a much larger company, LKM Direct Limited. It involved a little reshuffling, as brand identities were established and a HUGE amount of work to revamp the Freikorp range back up to its original superb standard. As an aside, we receive many comments from people who remember the Freikorp figures from old. The overwhelming comment is, "love the figures, super poses, great detail, but the metal was a little brittle from what I remember"... well no worries, the metal was changed about 6 years before we bought it! We use a softer, less brittle metal, and it is amusing to watch the faces of customers when we drop figures on the floor. They expect to see lots of broken figures, but this VERY rarely happens. So buy with confidence! In 2004 the previous owner of Feudal Castings, Steve Shaw, decided to sell the range. We have now incorporated the range under the Freikorp15 brand We finally decided not to overly confuse our customers with all these names any more and in 2010 the company name was changed from LKM Direct Limited back to the more familiar QRF Models Limited. Contrary to what some may think, or how it may appear, we remain a small company of wargamers who have taken the next step (for our sins!) and started to produce our own figures. Most of the work is done in our spare time, evenings and weekends, as most of us have full time day jobs. Almost all of the profit (profit? we made a profit?) we make is put back into making more masters and renewing worn moulds... |
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So, just who is QRF Models now?QRF Models is officially 4 people - Chas, Paul, Geoff and Jan. Working in the factory we also have Sarah and Martin. However we also rely on a small army of friendly helpers, some of whom you may see behind the trade stand at shows from time to time.
In memory of Blackie To sum it up, the directors can best be described as: |
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Chas - Secret mastermind and General Dogsbody, Chas is a trained infantryman with lead in his veins... under his fingernails and often in his hair... He is also into rubber, but that's another story. Chas is the man behind the day-to-day running of the company. If you phone, you will almost certainly get hold of him. Once you've got hold of him, it is very difficult to know what to suggest you do next. Chas is ably assisted by Sarah in the factory and responsible for casting and shipping out your mail order. If Chas's not around, it is invariably his fault that it has gone wrong... Chas's interests are as wide ranging as his abilities. Chas is possibly capable of answering any questions you may have about where your order is currently now residing. |
| To follow | Paul - Known as the man who knows, Paul is the quiet organised one in charge of payments and paperwork. If disorganisation appears, we blame it on Paul. If we don't know, we blame that on Paul too, because he is the man who knows... If Paul's not around, it is invariably his fault that it has gone wrong... Paul's interests may be dubious (particularly as he seems to like to take very ordinary vehicles and do very extra-ordinary things with them), but we would never question his abilities. |
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Geoff - Toxophilist, pilot, scuba diver, designer, LL.M graduate and legal trainee, resident Russian language trainee, model maker and figure sculptor, Geoff has the ability to produce just what we didn't even know we were looking for, and get it assembled and on the table in a surprise attack before Chas manages to get it into mould... (unless Chas can spot it first, in which case Geoff's attack is usually foiled) Geoff is the man behind the electronic side of the company. If you email, you are probably talking to Geoff. He is also responsible for the website so if you have any questions relating to this site, email him! If Geoff's not around, it is invariably his fault that it has gone wrong... Geoff's abilities are as wide ranging as his interests. Geoff is fully capable of answering any questions you may have about what he intends to build next (but don't tell Chas). |
| ...possibly to follow (that's just to make Jan nervous!) | Jan - Possibly the real secret behind all the thrones, Jan is a mystery to most of us and rarely seen. However she is very nice, so if you see Jan do say hello. Mysteriously, Jan always seems to escape the blame... It wouldn't seem proper to go into Jan's interests or abilities here without asking Paul first. |
