Badcat's "If I were a manufacturer"

[Airacobra]

Here is a quick video from the History Channel's Dogfights show featuring the Helldiver. This should get a few more people in the Beast's corner.

http://www.history.com/shows/dogfights/ ... -the-beast

[Mad Sam]

'I agree with Snake. The F4 is probably the number one contender.
In addition to 'tons of USN and USAF schemes' - there are about a dozen other Air Forces across the world who've had the type in service. (and that includes the R.A.F.)'

The above is my comment from a post on a similar subject made in October last year,
and I think it's fair to say we both still hold the same opinion on which jet would be the most financially viable.

Also as regards WW2 aircraft my opinion for what would be a profit maker is the FW190A
With several different variants and a multitude of colour schemes the manufacturer could give the moulds one hell of a thrashing...

[VMF115]

Makeing an SBD, F-100, F-8, A-7, A-4 mig 21, mig 17 and the P-39 or the FW190A is a non brainer I would bet they would all sell well, and they don't take up much space on the retail level.

The big birds that would sell are the F-4 USAF and USN, the A-6, F-14B & D, F-15, Mig-29 and the Su-27, P-61, B-25, JU-88, HE-111, Mosquito, A-26, F-18E, and the A-10.

I think the F-105 would sell well too.

lets not forget the mnarket for Veitnam vets are getting old too and would be in the market for them.


Now why in the hell would I buy a Hell Diver????????? its not even on my list....

[MCalamari]

Of course that's BS on the A-10 and F-4. There's no way an A-10 or an F-4 couldn't be produced for a retail price that is at or below the $300 retail price of a 1/18 scale F-14. The A-10 especially since it is way simpler to recreate in design features compared to an F-14......

I agree.

An A-10 would sell really well! Yesterday while my nephews were battling each other with a R/C Panzer IV and R/C Hailfire Droid, I took a Rattler to the air to steer them towards each other. I would have preferred an A-10.

My point: the A-10 has incredible play value for skirting along our backyards, it would satisfy multiple markets -- display collectors and people who actually take their armor and birds out for a brief walk / fly.

[Coreyeagle48]

Greetings:

There are a couple of things that need to be considered here for both manufactuers and collectors.

1/18 is a very limited market. 21st and Walmart found that out when the big planes did not fly off the shelves at Walmart as expected. TRU found that out as well when the stuff did not move as quickly as they wanted. At one of the Reading World War II Weekends awhile back, a vendor told me he too had problems moving the stuff. 1/18 may sell well to us collectors, but in the general public I have no idea, and that is what it is all about. I highly doubt a bigger airplane like the A-10 would sell well in a retail market. Online hobby shops and speciality markets, yes, but in a retail store like TRU and Walmart, probably not. And honestly, I think for this stuff to be hot it needs to be in a store. We all know Badcat, Small Joes, Flying Mule, etc because we are collectors. How many people during holiday shopping season are going to be hunting for these stores for these things on Google. These are all valid questions to have a viable 1/18 market place. Just because everyone here might buy an F-4 or an A-10 doesn't mean the rest of the world will be lined up at the Badcat warehouse waiting to get one. BBI has to sell a certain amount, and if they can't, they don't make money.

A person mentioned on this forum how BBI should make the F-16 and F-18 in the colors of the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds and sell them at airshows and someone mentioned how the airshow stands could stay open so people leaving could buy them. As a frequent airshow attendee who has seen 1/18 at some of the shows I've been to, I noticed many people were NOT buying them at airshows. As someone well put, who wants to carry it around. I've also noticed many of the airshow stands close as soon as the Blue Angels for example are done performing. Military bases want people off the bases when the show ends, an experience I've had all too often while staying to take pictures and being ordered to leave.

BBI is treading cautiously here. They produced two airplanes they already had the mold for hence it was less of a risk. I'm willing to bet these planes are testing the waters to see if new molds are viable options going forward or repaints are their best bet. BBI is not a stupid company by any means, they have heard that people still want these, but want to see if the market can support it or it is just a few crazy collectors begging.

1/32 is a very viable option. It has been proven they sell and it is a growing scale in the model world as well. I'd like to see BBI repaint their SBD and release it or a new F-4 and see how that would do. There are many cool choices that could be done in this scale too. I think all these companies are just afraid to take a risk in the tight economic conditions we are now in.

Corey