paulpratt wrote:That is simply my opinion though. I know many people love your full kits, i would love to have a 222, but i think personally, that those projects are simply to grand a scale for any long term success for you or the nature of this aspect of the hobby. But i don't have any information on your revenue and margin, I'm just assuming from the general impressions you've given us over the months/ years.
Full builds seem like an enormous waste of time and resources for you. Honestly, i think it's a waste of cash for the consumer. Not for your hardships to create such great works, but any company can roll in and destroy one of your large revenue streams if they chose too. I think due to the nature of creating a full resin kit you price yourself way out of the preferred market (understandably, but still a tough decision).
I think this is more of a detriment to the hobby and your business. The projects are too large for the boutique market you have now. I think more can be accomplished for the hobby with add-ons, modifications, and partial conversions and more time should be spent there. You should work like the companies that develop add-ons for 1:35 model kits and the like. Your recent Humvee turret was an incredible demonstration of how desperately the 1:18 market needs boutique add-on companies. Again, i don't have hard numbers, but it seems like that project was very successful for you.
If you did only one full build annually that may not be too bad, but build other modifications for it too, maybe? For instance the 222 could have the large tubular antenna that goes around the top, or instead of a 20mm canon we could get a machine gun there. Or maybe you could make an optional interior?
These additional add on projects would also promote further sales of existing products, while giving people who already own the piece a value added proposition to spend more money with you. The extended time available for us poor folk to get a premium kit like the 222 would be beneficial as well.
Just some random thoughts. Please don't perceive them as hostile. I love your work and I've given you several hundred dollars of my money, the ultimate compliment.
Hey Paul,
I do see were you are coming from .
The 4 best things about our beloved 1/18 XD are /were.
1. Size
2. Cheapness
3. Fully painted ready to play with.
4. Availability
1. Size.
Now the only thing the XD has going for it is the size. Now that may be a deterent as well. The larger size eats up space QUICKLY.
2. Cheapness.
I know you may not believe it ( as many people do )but I do try to keep my costs as cheap as possible. There are a few guys out there who charge more than what I do and they even make more money than I do making my kits.
The only way to keep cost down is to sell my stuff as kits.You do have to have some modeling skills to build a resin kit. More so than a standard injection moulded kit such as Tamiya. Which by the way charge twice as much as I do in their 1/16 scale.
3.Fully painted ready to play with.
This has never been a selling point with the stuff I have made in the past.My skills are in the build.That is the part of this hobby I enjoy. Even as a kid I would build a kit put the decals on it and as far as I was concered done !!!
Times they are a changing. My Humvee kit and sidecar were/ are HUGE successes. I have sold and am selling quite a few of them. Man I have bee busy making them. I am so busy making the kits that I really do not have the time to finish and paint any. But a lot of customers are wanting them finished. So much that they are going to others to them build and paint my kits.This is revenue that I am missing out on.
So for that reason things are going to change in the near future.I am going to address the painting and building of my kits ASAP so I can offer a turn key project for those who would want it.
Others are doing it I might as well.
4. Availability.
I enjoy building aircraft and armor alike. It seems as of late that I am favoring the armor. I am in a kind of a comfort zone by making them. In some ways it is a little easier to build a tank than an airplane.It is actually a trade off. Planes have bigger parts but there are less of them. Tanks MORE parts smaller sizes. Plane moulds are more expensive because they are BIGGER. The 2 moulds for my P-36 fusalages are as big as a loaf of bread
Getting back to armor the last 2 " new " p[ices are armor that have come out are the 2 Panthers. Old moulds new paint. That is it.
Yes All Go ?21st has been tempting us with the Jagdpanther and Tiger II for years. I still do not have one in my hands.
I have a set of guys who by hook or crook buy everything that I make.These handfull of guys can not wait for the full builds. Some of them have said that if were not for me they would have gotten out of the hobby a long time ago.
But a lot of guys do not have the money for my full builds so I do the short kits to try to make EVERYBODY happy.
I work almost 7 days a week trying to fill orders and make new products. I have the next few months planned out for my mods so I can make as much product available . So everybody , with deep AND shallow pockets have available to them our beloved XD .
Sorry for the long rant. You have been a very good customer and I hope to keep you on.But I feel that I need to do both full builds and short kits to try and keep EVERYBODY HAPPY.
BTW
Everything I have built in the past have been huge successes.
Except 2.
Sagami mounts
V-1 dolly
The biggest seller has been the Pavehawk kits. I have passed 100 sold kits. I am proud to say that is my biggest seller. BUT MAN THEY ARE A LOT OF WORK. SOMEDAY I WILL QUIT B1TCHING ABOUT MAKING THEM. Probably not
Those by the way are the only things that I have sold fully painted ready to play with. That speaks volumes.
Thanks for the time,
Matthew
LOL Without all of the great stuff you, GRUNT and the HUN come up with we would have nothing to look forward to in 1/18 - Thanks for all of your great kits. - A.J.
Oh boy this is gonna a good one!
