Has Bbi gone belly-up?

[NWarty]

Saw this on the 1/6 forums, see the first post in the link:

http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/s ... iness.html

Anyone confirm this or heard rumblings?

[normandy]

Wow, if true that would be a shame........man, I wished they did a 1:18 line of German figures. Their US WWII
figures were the best out there.

[Axis Nightmare]

We'll probably see all the stuff get recycled by another company......at a much higher price of course.

Seems to be the trend.

[tmanthegreat]

Perhaps Jim from Merit can chime in here? Merit distributed their products stateside.

If they are out of the game, it would really be unfortunate... I praised them for weathering the storm around 2008 and then not going the way of 21c by re-branding and catering to collectors. Their latest swathe of releases, while all repaints and priced higher, were still very well done.

I have a ton of their items from the original figures with the wonky articulation up to the latest releases. They were the first company to make truly "big ticket" items in 1:18 scale. They generally always had better quality control than 21c or JSI and the detail on their planes, figures, armor was fantastic.

If BBI is gone, then that is truly a loss to our hobby and a dark day indeed

[rohirrimknight]

I hope it is not true. Their 1/16 F-15C cockpit and 1/18 military aircrafts are my favorite collector item. I still waiting when they will release 1/18 F-16 Thunderbird.

[NSA]

Has anyone heard anything definitive from BBI?

[[CAT]CplSlade]

There have been no updates to Blue Box's BBI site since September 3, 2012. Even their other lines (Hello Kitty, Gadget Gourmet, etc) show no updates in a LONG time.

Not a good sign by any means.

[Hematoma2]

According to the pertaining literature, the average age of an international company has now decreased to 15 yrs. The competition out there is truly humongous.


And, unfortunately, sometimes, the companies that make the best products are the ones that do not make the cut. In this respect, arguably, BBI makes the best 1/18 aircraft. Each and every one of its aircraft models is top notch.



The other side of the coin is that, sometimes, it is the companies that make the worst products the ones that do survive. Most people buy crap --they do not really care about details or historical accuracy.

It is a sad reality.

[Razor17019]

All,
I did a quick experiment on this to see if ANYONE would answer an email.
Here is what I sent:
Hello,

I am interested to know what current 1/18 scale planes that will be available this year?
Where can I buy your products?
Thanks,
Mark

Here is what I got back:
Hi Mark,

Currently, R&D is planning for potential 1/18 scale planes this year. It's a bit of a secret until they finalize everything.

If you are shopping online, a great place to shop would be The Flying Mule (www.flyingmule.com)

Regards,
Warren Hom

At least someone is still there manning the email system. Not sure about the production lines in the factory.
Make what you will of this.
Razor

[snake]

Would be a great shame if BBI was out of business. Their products were always the best in 1/18, and reasonably priced.

Quality control was good as well, and they always seemed to get it right, other than the overscaled F-16.

Only repaints recently, but quality repaints.

Hope this is not the case, as would be another blow to getting quality 1/18 products.

[Berkut]

so sad to read this. First 21st CT and now BBI. I want to say 2 words: Fucky Duck!

[mountian-man]

The flying mule has most of the newer BBI products listed as 'April restocks'......a good sign.

Also, the response Razor received seems to contradict the rumor.