Small Scale Military Headquarters

The Dauntless looks great and is selling like the old days (FAST). Having a hard time keeping them in stock.
Maybe things have changed in the 1/18 scale world?
what do you think?

A starving Man will eat like a glutton,
A well fed Man will be more finicky.

1:18 certainly is not dead...

The rebirth of BBI and the re-release over the past few months of the F-16, Bf-109, retooled Blackhawk, soon-to-be F-18, and the extra figures confirm that. The Merit Dauntless builds on that trend and goes the extra mile to get us the first new 1:18 tooling since the F-14 in 2009 - and really sets the bar for future releases.

At mass retail, Unimax is still giving life to their Bravo Team line, having just released a new Humvee and earlier, that Danger & Duty figure repaint line.

Things are certainly more limited and pricey than in the "Golden Age" but I think where the hobby is at now is really a more sustainable position. It is clearly catering to the collector market and those people that will actually buy the items.

21c's example demonstrated that 1:18 didn't sell well at mass retail at TRU the first time; didn't really sell well at Wal Mart overall, and didn't sell like it could have at TRU the second time - all while they neglected the small retailers and their collector base. That largely does not seem to be the case anymore.

The hobby has also gotten more democratic in terms of who can buy the items. Anyone from around the world can get them online from a small retailer. When these were at mass retail in the US (particularly at Wal Mart), the distribution was spotty and the same areas kept on getting the new items while others never got anything.

I'm very glad someone in the midwest, east coast, or south has the same shot as I do at getting new releases from the small retailers. Much better than the old days when it seemed only certain areas of the country (usually not my area) repeatedly got new releases at Wal Mart, etc. I'm still waiting for the 21c Avengers to show up

it's great to hear the Merit Dauntless is selling well. I was wondering how it would do at the relatively stiff pricepoint it's at. But it seems that it's well made (still eagerly waiting to get mine, so i can only go by what others have stated) and wel received, so that's great. And Merit Jim's comment about being able to proceed with other projects (plural) is certainly encouraging.

Merit, via Jim, also seems to be very interested in listening to our feedback.....something that was lacking from other manufacturers in the glory days.

So, it's certainly been a ray of hope. Now if Pegasus (or somebody) will just release the long rumoured Komet.....hoo hah.

Three questions about 1/18:

1. Are JSI 1/18 repaints (P-38, F4U, Tiger I, etc.) dead because of possible legal action from Allgo?
2. Is JSI going to release any all-new models like the F-15E?
3. What is Allgo's status on new 1/18 models?

dragon53 wrote:Three questions about 1/18:

1. Are JSI 1/18 repaints (P-38, F4U, Tiger I, etc.) dead because of possible legal action from Allgo?
2. Is JSI going to release any all-new models like the F-15E?
3. What is Allgo's status on new 1/18 models?

i hope so...please there be life...

I'd be interested in the status of All-Go as well and their King Tiger.
Who has it ?, Who owns it ? and will it ever be sold to collectors ?
Hopefully the success of the Dauntless will reawaken the some of the "big guys" in the 1:18 world.
They have to have noticed the work of Pickelhaube, Grunt, Plasticboy and the other guys who are
producing 1:18 and keeping the interest in the scale alive.

i think Allgo is Longgone, i'm afraid. The only hope for the KT is if the molds were actually ever produced.....then it could get made some day, perhaps, by somebody. If not...then it would be up to a company like Unimax's Bravo Team line, and given that they've cancelled making even 1/18 wwii figures, it doesn't look promising there either.

1/18 has been on for decades. Since i have memory,there has been 1/18. On the late 70's Star Wars,than on the 80's GI Joe. On the 90's there was X Men and now 25th anniversary GI Joe. Every single movie line produce today is mainly 1/18.
What happen is that when we look at the perspective of 21st century toys best days,
We make the comparisons based on that.

Also we can see that 1/16 is growing within the last few years,and they are making many of the vehicles we have been waiting so long to be produce in 1/18.

To me 1/18 is the most practical scale because it is the smallest scale a figure can get and still have good articulation and removable accessories.Anything smaller will not have the same detail or articulation,anything bigger and the vehicles will be to large to collect a decent amount to make a army.