Small Scale Military Headquarters

Earlier in this thread I made the comment that on-again-off-again business is a hazard of the "hobby builder" kind of company. But seeing the reports here, I can't help but think we see better examples in our community of how to do a part-time business than what's being reported for Skyworks. Looking at Pickelhaube, we can see what the right way to do things is: Don't take on too much, and keep people informed. I've got a deposit down on the Horten and I don't have the SLIGHTEST doubt that I will get value for my money and that I will be treated fairly. All it takes is common sense about managing the workload and honesty.

Exactly what is a "large industrial project" anyway? Sounds like maybe doing work for some other company.

HOTRODROCK:

Could it be the AllGo A-10 Thunderbolt....or am I thinking of another customizing company?

So again where is ALLGO in this process ??????????
just when i thought we'd see my dream plane come alive !!!
It's just sad ,real sad !!!! i wanted to do business with skyworks too. guess not with this feedback!!!!! dcway!!!!

Military Toys used to have Skyworks plastered all over their site.

Now, no mention of them.

Believe me I am not trying to keep this thread alive.

Now I have made a comment, they may just come out of the dark.

We have had a long history of a feud. Still waiting to receive my goods lost in the mail.

Yeah right

tom@skyworkstoys wrote:
In order to help clear out some of our stock, we have some deep discounted prices on a number of out kits, which include the Tony, Hurricane, Kommit, P-40, and Spitfire. These special prices are for unbuilt kits only. Please contact us for these special prices.

We are still filling orders for our F-14 pilots, landing gear, and nozzles, but due to the project we are working on, we may be a little slower in shipping these. We have some 2nd, and 3rd generation pilots if anyone is interested in them. Contact us for some deep discount prices!

Many attempts to inquire about products went unanswered for me. Just added Skyworks to the list of folks I will absolutely not do business with and moved on. Talented craftsmanship but no customer service did not win me over. Whatever their situation is I wish them well, but they as a company, have become personally irrelevant.

I'd been interested in the 1:18 Me-163 Komet........can't get a price on it.....can't get a Komet.
Still hoping Pegasus might pull one out of their hat.

After my experience with the P-51 custom he sent me (great rep + great photos = POC) he'd been off my list for some time now. It didn't help that MTS learned from his success and followed with their own PWP line that I also bought into *once*.

Obviously the A-10 and whatever else skyworks had in the works like the Typhoon is all gone. As PH mentioned all products off the MTS website. Not a good sign and more 1/18 disappointments.

pickelhaube wrote:Military Toys used to have Skyworks plastered all over their site.

Now, no mention of them.

Believe me I am not trying to keep this thread alive.

Now I have made a comment, they may just come out of the dark.

We have had a long history of a feud. Still waiting to receive my goods lost in the mail.

Yeah right

I would be fkin pissed if that happened to me.

gliderdwm wrote:Obviously the A-10 and whatever else skyworks had in the works like the Typhoon is all gone. As PH mentioned all products off the MTS website. Not a good sign and more 1/18 disappointments.

I suppose this means that AllGo/21c has lost their prototype for the A-10. I'm not sure how much would be left by now anyway. Unless, of course, getting this produced is the big industrial project they'd mentioned.

I have not heard anything about the A-10 from the allgo camp in quite sometime. That can mean anything really. But my money is on not getting an allgo A-10 and at the moment it looks more and more like no A-10 sold through skyworks. Where the prototype is and it's current condition is anyone's guess! Originally the plan was to have the re-worked A-10 prototype ready by Aug-Sept of 2010.

Wow that doesn't sound good for the A-10.
If thats the case I guess we won't be seeing a 1:18 king Tiger........

Guys, it's pretty much down to BBI at this point...Between the F16 and the Hartman 109, assuming they actually happen, that looks like it for this year, at least, for 1/18 scale.
Skyworks has followed that all too familiar pattern of lots of "hoopla" and fanfare, then they disappear, same as Algo, Admiral, etc...
Zach, I don't know how you have the patience to deal with those guys (Allgo)...I know from first hand experience that you are a class act...Too bad they can't take a "que" from you!

The AllGo A-10 prototype will appear on ebay and be sold for the price of a real A-10.

yes BBI is the best bet for an A-10. They had and probably still have one ready to go. The fact that they are doing repaints this year (on their own i presume?), may bode well for a 2012+ A-10. I really doubted the AllGo/Skyworks A-10 would ever see the light of day.

As far as more 1/18 this year, i wouldn't giive up yet. We stil have the rumoured Komet and i have a feeling one other surprise for this year.

The KT being made depends soley on whether the tooling was ever done for it. If so, then it will probably be released at some point, with or without AllGo's blessing. If no tooling then much less likely to happen.

I really wish Bravo Team would get off their butts and make some more 1/18 tanks. The Tiger they did is one of my fav's.

What is the latest word on the street about the Komet?

Greetings:

There was also an insane fiasco with a missing tail to a Thunderbirds F-16 on my end that Jack was repainting but got lost in the mail. The post office searched for it and never found it. My F-16 sat without a tail for a long time as Skyworks didn't make a replacement. It took PH (thanks so much!) to make one and then Skyworks to repaint it. I was hoping by the time I wanted the Hurricane they had learned from their mistakes but I guess not.

They had one of their Komets at the Reading World War II Weekend years back and I laughed because the decals were falling off of it as it sat on display for sale. Seems like they may be out of business.

Corey

I only ever bought one item from Skyworks - a Komet kit when they were on sale at MTS. I wouldn't call my experience a fiasco, but the product was interesting... I would rate the sculpting quite good and it came without any flash, but it was covered in this silvery powder... Still, the way it came to me was just odd and it lacked the care and attention to detail that characterize Pickelhaube's kits. Pikel's plastic (when not full of bubbles) is sturdier and less prone to cracking.

Here are my thoughts on the Skyworks kit:
1) First, the fuselage came to me as all one piece, or at least appeared to have been two pieces, but were attached. This made it very dificult to insert and attach the cockpit, which was left outside the model. I cracked the cocpit tub and part of the rear seat trying to get the piece in...
2) Second, the canopy was a vacuform shell with no real way to attach it to the model and one would have to make their own rear windows.
3) Third, one needed to dremmel out the rocket exhaust nacelle.
4) Fourth, the wings (nicely sculpted) were seperate pieces and would have to be secured to the fuselage using a dowel or something of that nature. You had to drill out the gun ports...
5) Fifth, the wheels, and landing skid are seperate pieces, as is the rudder, which was designed to move. These are sculpted well, however, depending on how you want to display the model, have to be fixed either in the extended or retracted position.
6) Sixth, there was a decal sheet, which I guess are real decals, but they look to be of inferior quality compared to those made by Jackson.

I started work on the kit, but then halted (partly due to the aforementioned cockpit incident) and it still sitting in the box in my attic. I have half a mind to sell it to Pikelhaube so he can make his own kit from it for the rest of us

I'll stick with Pikelhaube for any custom needs better service and better product. He is probably the surest way to get an affordable 1:18 Komet any time soon

Coreyeagle48 wrote:Greetings:

There was also an insane fiasco with a missing tail to a Thunderbirds F-16 on my end that Jack was repainting but got lost in the mail. The post office searched for it and never found it. My F-16 sat without a tail for a long time as Skyworks didn't make a replacement. It took PH (thanks so much!) to make one and then Skyworks to repaint it. I was hoping by the time I wanted the Hurricane they had learned from their mistakes but I guess not.

They had one of their Komets at the Reading World War II Weekend years back and I laughed because the decals were falling off of it as it sat on display for sale. Seems like they may be out of business.

Corey

Not to dump on Skyworks, but I remember Corey's issue with the Thunderbirds tail, and PH's P-36 fiasco. Not good business practices to be sure, but I was hoping that Skyworks had gotten past these. There landing gear looks great, and was a big help for the JSI F-14 crowd.

I have a couple of the F-16 nozzles, and bought a used BBI F-16 done by Skyworks in the Aggressors scheme. Tail code WA. And it was very well done.

Shame if they are indeed out of business, but not answering emails, and keeping deposits, is not the way to run a business.

Greetings:

Need to correct one thing I did say. Skyworks was not selling their Komet at the World War II Weekend but MTS had a booth there and was, that was where I saw it. Just wanted to correct that it was MTS doing the selling of the Komet at the show and not Skyworks.

I just wonder what happened more than anything else. It just seemed that all of a sudden they were gone...nothing.

Corey

I wonder if anyone is going to be able to copy any of those kits he made in the future without having to do them all over, If I was BBi I would be trying to get the molds from that tony kit and that hurricane, did they ever finish the typhoon? What else? I hope they wont just sit in Jacks garage.

I called Badcat the other day and was told what another poster said---Skyworks had a death or illness in the family. Since there's only 2-3 people in the company, they haven't been able to keep up with much of their business. Badcat said to call back in a couple of weeks, and, hopefully the Skyworks situation will be improved.

My JSI F-14 "Black Knights" looks "nekkid" without any pilots.

dragon53 wrote:I called Badcat the other day and was told what another poster said---Skyworks had a death or illness in the family. Since there's only 2-3 people in the company, they haven't been able to keep up with much of their business. Badcat said to call back in a couple of weeks, and, hopefully the Skyworks situation will be improved.

My JSI F-14 "Black Knights" looks "nekkid" without any pilots.

if there was a death in the family my pray with them..