1:18 Birds On the Horizon (and not)

[VMF115]

yes, i think BCT's should pay us each $5 per month.

No I think they should pay us in 1:18th planes

[chunks]

Hmmm, isn't the SBD exclusive to MTS?

[VMF115]

Hmmm, isn't the SBD exclusive to MTS?

Just the first offerings

[grunt1]

Grunt do you think we should get some sort of discount from Badcat, I mean they do make money from us and this site. After all We do help drive traffic to their website.

We already do to some extent.. BCA has a mailing list to which they announce special deals and sales. Matt has also posted sneak previews of sales on this site to give us an advance shot at some products from time to time.

I also know they and other retailers read these pages and what we say sometimes changes the way they operate.

Though I can never get Matt to respond to any of my PMs requesting photos for the database (Hi Matt, ), he has been very responsive on the board in general.

The discussions on this site already do generate revenue. See the banner ads up above, click on the link underneath it called "Ads by Google".

[Plane Nuts]

Corey: The problem with what you said is one of the grand dichotomies of business... The customer doesn't necessarily know what he/she wants, and then he/she may still not buy what he/she claims he/she may want...

Me, I want a Ferrari... But I am not going to be in a position to buy one in my forseeable future. Or to bring it down to a much more manageable size want, I want to buy a TiVo Series 3. But today, I will not be buying one, because the TiVo HD is coming out for much cheaper, and my cable is not even reliable enough to give me 10 good channels.

[thetatau87]

Corey: Another thing to remember is that members of this site are NOT the majority of these manufacture's customers. Individually we may buy a lot of planes and have large collections, but in the grand scheme of overall sales serious collectors like us make up a very small percentage of total sales.

It's similar with car manufacturers. Enthusiasts want sports cars and high performance sedans, but most of the sales for car makers come from the large volume of mundane sedans and trucks they sell to people who are not enthusiasts.

[aferguson]

i note that bad cat rob's post has been edited......trimmed down a lot now. No mention of many of the planes that were in it yesterday (a-10, b-17, b-24 etc )

[VMF115]

i note that bad cat rob's post has been edited......trimmed down a lot now. No mention of many of the planes that were in it yesterday (a-10, b-17, b-24 etc )

They are still there,,check out page two.

[aferguson]

ooh.....it was all on one page yesterday...dummy me.

[olifant]

Please remember nobody cares what the customer wants, it is what the customer buys that really matters.

That being said, this forum is a great place for the manufacturers to check on the state of their marketplace. The average WM buyer cannot be reached easily but our opinions are here everyday. I think we should all be more thankful and humble with how we express our opinions.

If I were BBI I would be very upset to read my F6F ripped apart over some extremely minor canopy issue before the first one even ships. Why must we all be so finicky and expect so much for $50-60? I am glad to have each new model that comes available.

BBI/21C/Admiral, keep 'em coming and never mind the naysayers!

[Coreyeagle48]

Perhaps you are right that the members of the forum are a limited amount of the collector base. But the market for these models is limited in the sense that most of the people are buying them are collectors or history nuts who like the models. Despite the fact that these toys are available for kids and kids buy them.

I feel this is different than other lines, take for example Star Wars. Star Wars appealed to such a mass audience both collectors and the average adults. Most everyone in the world has heard and seen Star Wars and the results of the success of the franchise. With the prequels, the Star Wars franchise will keep going for a long period time. Kids like Star Wars as well. They like the characters, the lightsabers and the ships. The Star Wars lines could be expanded and expanded and people would buy it simply because it is Star Wars. Can't think of how many Star Wars backpacks were around last year when in reality, the only thing Star Wars on the backpack is the drawing. Take off the drawing and it is a same old backpack.

I agree that if I were a company and I saw people tearing apart a model over small details I wouldn't be happy either. But it is the nature of the business I suppose. People aren't going to be happy with everything. I for one just care that the models look decent and work like they are supposed. I'd rather see a minor canopy adjustment that makes the canopy work better than see it 100 percent accurate and have it break two seconds after buying it. Today, functionality is a major part of the toy market. It has to do something and work and survive in order to be marketable. The variations in these airplanes make them work better I suppose, but there is always room for improvement. I believe these models will continue to advance and improve over time and one of the companies will tackle a super airplane one day, meaning a big model.

I think if the continued interest in the "Greatest Generation" continues, we will see these models continue to be built. More people know what a P-51 and a Corsair are now thanks to recent movies and television series. There has also been a large influx of warbirds onto the airshow scene, people see these planes and like them and like the color schemes. That helps our hobby tremendously.

It is all about customer wants, right now customers anc collectors want World War II airplane models. I do believe people want these models, as
I see plenty of them sold at the airshows. There is an interest in it. 20 years from now if due to carbon emissions standards, lack of parts or accidents, the vintage warbirds now flying are placed into museums and never flown at airshows or the Greatest Generation dies off, will people still "want" these items.

That would be my gravest concern I suppose, but I never thought I'd see a series of WWII fighters in a large scale but not so large at the same time (RC birds are too big). It is a great time to be living and seeing these wonderful models made to collect and enjoy.

[aktiger]

I'm not a retailer but here are some of the problems with 1/18 that I have been able to glean from talking to a few of our friends in the biz:
1. Carrying inventory of this scale is consumes a large amount of space (and for those of us with a large collection we know all about this, usually from our wives).
2. Combine this with a fairly high price point and a lower inventory turn, and the dollar per cubic foot earned is lower than smaller products (ie., any scale smaller and cheaper).
3. Add in discount retailers such as Wallmarts and you further erode the profit margin on the average retailer (making the profit per cubic foot even worse).
4. The size of the boxes makes them very expensive to ship and prone to breakage. The result is a returned product that the retailer has to pay the shipping for and time submitting an insurance claim with carrier.
5. Quality control seems to have become more of an issue of late and the same result occurs in #4 but with no insurance claim. Instead they have to submit a claim with the manufacturer.

I hope it is not the case, but, there may be fewer retailers offering 1/18th in the future and smaller inventories or narrower lines (Wally's in our area hasn't had 1/18 in 6 months).
The end result may be fewer offerings and/or fewer manufacturers (Admiral Toys?).

[coreystinson]

with all due respect to Batcat Rob......i think he is WAY off in some of his predictions/comments/opinions. And i have good reasons why i feel that way.

Time will tell...

I agree, this essentially amounts to the overhearing of comments/gripes from the manufacturer on a visit then exaggerating it out of proportion resulting in rumor mongering. It's probably actually somewhat harmful especially if the information disseminated ultimately turns out to be quite false. But, anyway, it gets the responsible party some attention and which is the whole point.

The word on the street is that these guys get "corralled" on their visits to certain manufacturer, and this is no doubt the reason why.

[Studly]

Hey Guys i think we are lucky to have 1:18 scale stuff full stop You Chaps over there are very fortunate to be able to have these readily avaliable and at good prices,here in Oz iam looking at a 1:18 aircraft if i can find one here costing between $160-$190 AUS and postage on top of that.I think it all boils down to the waiting game for the new stuff and appreciate the stuff you have allready

[catman]

Is this meaning that our beloved 1/18th scale is in danger? I'm starting to wonder. Admiral has been silent about the SBD which means I may cancel my pre-order at Military Toy shop. Besides the F6F by BBI is there anything new gonna hit the shelves this year? Ya we have seen re-paints but nothing new as of yet or nothing even mentioned besides the Hellcat. 2007 was supposed to be a big year, I thought anyway, but its looked like it fizzeled out.

This aint good news.

I also preordered the SBD from MTT. What are we supposed to do? I think I read that it was expected in late Spring, and now its Late Summer?

[Coreyeagle48]

Greetings:

I think another problem facing our companies may be China. I heard several times over the past week that due to the embarassing Fisher Price problems China is attempting to clamp down on their factories and the items they export. The Chinese obiviously don't want to be the embarassment of the toy world producing faulty toys and they do not want to lose their factory business either. The recent events have probably slowed development and manufacturing of all products in the country as now you have Chinese inspectors running around and checking practices.

Hope we see lots more 1/18 aircraft though!

[immeww2]

I am thinking that due to the massive recall of toys, anything that is made in China probably will have to be inspected in some form or manner, so this could effect the distribution timeline of forthcoming XD items.

[Studly]

Hey Guys what part of China are these planes made BBI 21st adm and so on are they a small compony or a large outfit