1:18 Future

[ram04]

Everybody that thinks All-go or anyone else is suddenly going to start producing models is kidding themselves, I really believe that you are going to depend on the custom guys from now to whenever it seems there will a larger market for this hobby, if there ever will be.

Myself, I hate it, I got in this a little late, so I have to depend on the generosity of the members here and I hate to say E-bay to get the things I desire, I would love to see someone mass produce 1:18 scale again, but I don't see it happening.

Just my opinion, feel free to voice what you may think where this scale is going.

[CENT-ONE]

Serious question. Did All-Go piss in your cheerios or what?

[ram04]

No, but what have they done for the hobby?, really have you seen anything from them?

I'm not beating up or picking on All-go, there are other manufactors that have promised things that have'nt happened, All-go just seems to keep coming up and then doing nothing.

I don't remember in my post that All-go did anything to me, just stating my opinion as far as what they had put on the market.

[tmanthegreat]

I agree that any thought the manufacturers like All Go are just going to suddenly start making cheap figures, tanks, and aircraft like its 2005 all over again are being a little short-sighted. Any idea that 1:18 items have some sort of mass collector appeal is also a bit erroneous. A re-appearance of the "happy times" like what we saw between 2004 and 2008 is not likely to happen again... I see the current economic situation combined with a limited collector appeal of 1:18 militaria as being the primary culprits for the current state of affairs.

However, 1:18 is not completely dead and the market has really assumed a more realistic configuration - going from a mass-market to a specialty collector market. This is really where it should have been all along. 1:18 scale military items only ever had limited appeal. Recall that even in good times, they sold dismally at mass retail. 1:18 militaria appealed to collectors like ourselves, but not so much to the wider public. I think that 21c did themselves in by trying to produce and sell more items than what there was a market for and that situation was only worsened by the start of the recession in 2008.

Had 21c produced fewer items, catered to the collector market, and sold through smaller retailers they likely could still be around. Notice that companies such as Corgi, Hobby Master, Dragon, etc. are still producing new items, even in the current economic climate. These companies have always catered to the specialty market and not so much mass retail. They have never produced more than they could sell and consequently are still in business. This is the direction that JSI is certainly going and which I think All Go will follow as well. It will mean fewer products at significantly higher prices, but will also ensure survival. All Go just needs the capital to get on their feet...

I'm just postulating now and going more and more off topic, but hopefully my points make a little bit of sense

[ram04]

I agree, If All-go could produce at least one item on their own, then I believe the market would follow them, but as it is they seem to be a website only and with no updates.

I'm not against All-go, I would like to see them succeed, but to do that you have to have a product.

[AMERICAN_GRENADIER]

the days of several releases a year from one company are long gone. in 21c hayday it was releasing new xd almost monthly. man i miss those days. but with the present economic climate and big box stores becoming more pc and moving away from all things military. for example walmart which wont even carry military models. im surprised they even carried GiJoe. BBI wants someone to sponsor releases,Admiral is in a holding pattern and who knows about JSI. we will need to depend on online sales for any possible future releases. and with those guys less willing to take the risk we maybe luck to see 1 or 2 new 1/18 releases in a year or more. im going to Ihobby in Chicago i have meetings set up with only one possible 1/18 distributor. im hopeful but not expecting much

[popeye357]

In the 1/18th future, the toys will make themselves...very cheaply I might add.

[holensock]

Power Team's still holding it's own. A couple new things this year. Not alot, but they seem to be still alive.

[tmanthegreat]

I'm also still seeing 1:18 at Target in the form of the Bravo Team US Army, USMC, and Special Ops figures as well as the occasional 1:18 M1 Abrams. There's also the new Our War figures. Again 1:18 is not dead, just its contracted and, outside of the items at Target, gone to a more realistic price point.

[Airacobra]

I think there is a large untapped market for releasing 1/18 aircraft and other vehicles in kit form. I know we have gone over this numerous times, but I still feel the market is waiting for this.

[Grognard]

I like the idea of 1/18 kits. They need to be like the Testor's ez-build stuff, not trumpeter. Figure 80 for a completed panther, a simple kit like the 21st century 1/32 line minus the paint maybe could run around 30-40. Easier to custom, and lighter on the wallet.

Maybe even some dumb-down stuff closet to PTE to flesh out the range.

[snake]

Not sure about future releases in 1/18. If they do happen, I agree that they will be more expensive, done in smaller production runs, and sold through online hobby stores/die cast dealers.

I was always amazed that you could get a big model like a P-38 or an Avenger for such a cheap price. And I never even got to see the "Walmart Clearance" prices.

I think the 1/18 collectors have been "spoiled" by these really cheap prices, and unless people are willing to spend more for these models, how is a company supposed to make a profit, and stay in business. Not advocating higher prices, but a company does have to make a profit on these models.

On a positive note, there are still lots of 1/18 available on Ebay, so collectors can still pick up gaps in their collection. But these will only get more and more expensive IMO.

Most of the large collectors of 1/18 are in North America, as for the most part, houses are bigger than is the norm in most of the rest of the world. And until the US comes out of this major recession, the market is even more limited than it used to be.

With all these factors, it is going to be tough for a company to have success with a new 1/18 release.

In the meantime, I have about 50 1/18 aircraft that I can enjoy.

Just my 2 cents.

[tko211]

The 1:18 market is pretty dicey right now. There is a lot of rumors coming from China, and here in the states about all kinds of things concerning who is working on what and when. It's not easy to know exactly what is going on and nobody can afford to be wrong about any judgement calls when it comes to the cost of producing anything in plastic these days. For now, I agree that the customizers really have the run of the hobby today. That's one of the reasons why I for one am grateful that guys like Skyworks, Pickle, Pizza Guy and others have stuff going on for us to talk about and to work on. I can tell you that All-Go wants to get back in the saddle for us, it's largely a timing and strategy thing from what intel have gathered as recently as a couple weeks ago.

As a fan myself I share in the agitation of not seeing the beautiful products that we are all hoping to someday get. Feels like it's been a real long time and our hobby feels somewhat stuck. I have passed the time by diving into customs and modification projects. I will continue to keep an open door policy and be as helpful as I can to the management staff at All-Go in hopes that something can shake loose soon. I'll let you guys know if I hear anything concrete as time progresses.

[gouchy]

I was wondering, how well did 1/18 do in Europe and rest of the world?

US is definitely the main consumers but I'm guessing Europe market has quite a big chunk of collectors too?

I know that my own country has its small base of collectors but not quite enough for stores to carry them for their bread and butter. A small number of JSI Tomcats was brought in and it did not exactly fly off the shelves, definitetly a niche market here.

[ram04]

tko211, maybe if All-go would at least update their website it would encourage people that they are still trying to get a product to market, I realize that times are tough right now, China has become a serious competitor in the manufactoring sector,wages have went up, questionable materials from overseas have put a spotlight on what comes into this country ( Lead paint and such ).

It just would be nice to see them offer something, I really am not beating them up, I hope they can succeed, that means I can still look forward to collecting new models.

[SubaruFTW]

I do know that All-go did produce a prototype of the P-51 "Passion Wagon". From my understanding, the manufacturer reported that they were unable to produce satisfactory paint results. Blah, blah, blah. I just know that I am really disappointed... If this has already been discussed, im sorry. I tend to repost things ( not purposely)

[thehun]

the days of several releases a year from one company are long gone. in 21c hayday it was releasing new xd almost monthly. man i miss those days. but with the present economic climate and big box stores becoming more pc and moving away from all things military. for example walmart which wont even carry military models. im surprised they even carried GiJoe. BBI wants someone to sponsor releases,Admiral is in a holding pattern and who knows about JSI. we will need to depend on online sales for any possible future releases. and with those guys less willing to take the risk we maybe luck to see 1 or 2 new 1/18 releases in a year or more. im going to Ihobby in Chicago i have meetings set up with only one possible 1/18 distributor. im hopeful but not expecting much

Hey Grenadier,
Good luck on your meeting

[Tinman]

It's probably already been said, but my guess is that we'll see one or two (at most) releases a year for some time to come.