Custom Fw 190s at Military Toys

norman888 · Post by **norman888** » Tue May 06, 2008 9:58 pm

I think you are being a bit harsh GD. The conversion is quite good and making resin castings is not cheap and that's not even including the labor for assembly and painting. Anyone who does modeling can attest to the amount of time put into them. The prop blades were filed down but the spinner is the 190D one FYI.

These are all in effect toys and none of the 1/18th scale aircraft from BBI, 21C etc. is a true model work of art. $500 is a bit steep but we will see what the market will bear!!

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Tue May 06, 2008 10:37 pm

I am feeling the Me163B, that was my first "72" kit, the old HELLER one, then came my Ar 196A-3 which I still have on the shelf.

Panzer_M · Post by **Panzer_M** » Tue May 06, 2008 10:38 pm

how big is the 1:18 V-1? I might get that for 30$ it's a sweet model.

King O' Fools · Post by **King O' Fools** » Wed May 07, 2008 6:56 am

Don't know, maybe there'd be more people willing to pay those prices for these customs if they could choose the paint scheme of their choice, instead of choosing from a preset range of liveries

And, yes, they're awesome.

toyktdlgh · Post by **toyktdlgh** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:06 am

I think GooglyDoogly was spot in his interpretation of the situation. The 190 is not a from scratch resin model. It’s a custom repaint with minor alterations. In my humble opinion I think they are overpriced for what you get. Now the Komet may be a different story since it’s a scratch build. I have been building models for years and am aware of the time and effort that it takes to truly make a good custom model. That being said I think the repaints are a great idea but not worth that much money to me. It’s a sad time for 1:18 right now.

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:24 am

In this customizers defense there is more to this than just paint. The tail was cut off about 3/4 was cut off and reglued. The rudder was cut off of that. The front nose was totally cut off and his custom nose glued back. And of course you have the repaint. So there is at least a 1/2 to a full day of prep before the painting starts. What is the price for a full days worth of work? Most of us all work. How much do we make in a day? But as we all know the time we spend on these projects if we intend on selling them will never be worth the time spent.

norman888 · Post by **norman888** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:43 am

I see many of you just don't realize the amount of time put into a custom like this. This is not a repaint of a 190D but a customized 190A version. A pattern of the nose was made and with trial and error copies are cast. (I made copies of the 109E wheels in resin and that cost me $30.) The tail was also redone and cast.

The whole process would easily take me 2 days per aircraft, now add in a percentage to the online shop and there you have it. His work looks quite good, unlike some other squiggly repaints I have seen on Ebay going for >$300. I bought one of his noses and tails for $80 + $45 for the FW190D + $10 for decals + $20 for paint/supplies...now add in my labor. I think you can all see what these people in China are earning per hour to make these things.

If he could sell a 1000 of these we'd be paying $150 each but we all know that's not going to happen. You should all be a bit less harsh to this guy and take out your anger on 21C or BBI for not releasing a no-brainer 190A version that we all want for $50 that would sell very well.

Grilledcheese · Post by **Grilledcheese** » Wed May 07, 2008 8:09 am

take out your anger on 21C or BBI for not releasing a no-brainer 190A version that we all want for $50 that would sell very well.

No worries in that department, pal.
We got it covered.

Jeffrey

GooglyDoogly · Post by **GooglyDoogly** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:14 am

I don't think I was being harsh. Critical, yes. Harsh? Naaah.

MTS did ask for constructive input.

And I wasn't attacking the customizer's work. I just said that it's a "simple" custom job, meaning that there's no extra aside of making it look like a FW-190A.

No gun bays.
No added little details.
No nada.

There's no wow factor, other than the fact that you can finally have a 1/18th FW-190A. Well, that and the price.

If I was being harsh, I could say something about how come the ME-163 will be priced $100-$200 less than the FW-190A, when it's a completely 100% new plane that the customizer had to design, build from scratch, instead of merely making the nose and tail and putting it on a 21st plane. Maybe because they know that the Fockewulf would be a better seller?

*EDIT*
LOL, there's no anger involve, sir.

This is merely a discussion.

I stopped getting angry over the discussion of toys when I was five years old.

Killerf6 · Post by **Killerf6** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:22 am

Wow, I wonder how many of you ever built something from scratch.

The work that went into the 190A looks rather extensive to me. Like PH said the fuse has been shortened as well as modifing the nose, and tail, and from the looks of it the wings were modified to look correct for an A model 190.(Hard for me to tell from the pics). Then the prep for paint, and the actual paint work.

For those that figure $20 an hour for a labor rate, you are living in the 80's. I just had some paint work done on my car and their shop labor rate is $80/hour. Where I work our minimum labor charge is $90. Heck in CA minimum wage is $8/hour.

I can't afford $500, I wish I could the models look real nice. I can see the justification for the cost though.

Light.Inf.Scout · Post by **Light.Inf.Scout** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:26 am

I think they look fantastic...it may/may not be worth 500 bucks but that is way outta my price range either way. Then shipping....ouch. If that Komet is 300-350 tops, I am down for one. Oh Yeah!!!

norman888 · Post by **norman888** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:07 am

Maybe I'm the one who's angry since I have to scratch build my own 190A

Once the pattern of the Komet is made, it will take less time to paint and assemble than the 190A conversion for sure.

Quixote511 · Post by **Quixote511** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:50 am

So Norman, are you the customizer selling to MTS?

JohnLumley · Post by **JohnLumley** » Wed May 07, 2008 2:02 pm

I just placed an order with M.T.S.

Anyone else going to bite?

Isaiah... these had better be good... or I am coming to Beavercreek, Ohio to find you.

Stug45 · Post by **Stug45** » Wed May 07, 2008 2:25 pm

i'm going to order the KOMET.

pickelhaube · Post by **pickelhaube** » Wed May 07, 2008 3:14 pm

I baught a nose from this guy and if time allows I will make one for myself. His nose DID have a little more detail than the one I did.
I may be down with the Komet. Maybe I can work a trade with MT Hint ..Hint.

norman888 · Post by **norman888** » Wed May 07, 2008 4:59 pm

No, I am not Jack from SkyWorks. I just been a modeler and scratch builder for about 35 years and know what a labor of love these things are. After seeing what these things were getting on EBay I almost got into this customizing madness and at some point I just might.

toyktdlgh · Post by **toyktdlgh** » Thu May 08, 2008 5:04 am

Post some of your stuff Norman i would love to see it sometime.

mkxiv · Post by **mkxiv** » Thu May 08, 2008 8:19 am

Just FYI the prop has been modified to represent a Fw-190A prop and Hub.

JohnLumley · Post by **JohnLumley** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:44 am

Thanks for the update Isaiah.

Appreciate what you & MTS bring to the 1:18 world.

Keep it big
Keep it 1:18

JL

Quixote511 · Post by **Quixote511** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:27 am

I am sorely tempted to purchase one with the orange and yellow spinner. I have to think of a way to hide the cost from my wife. (looks over his back cautiously)

AirstrikeToys · Post by **AirstrikeToys** » Fri May 09, 2008 7:06 pm

GooglyDoogly wrote:
chunks wrote:Please explain to me why, in this case, this is OK with 21c and Admiral. Is it the price point? Is it a subject that they will not produce? Are both looking to see what they can demand in the future? What???
I think it's because they're not trying to trademark these as their "own" products.

It's been a while since I've posted here... Yes, we are alive and well. Busy too...

As for Skyworks, I truly wish him well on his endeavor. I think this is a promising niche to the existing market and from what I've seen he is a talented modeler.

I also applaud MTS for embracing an evolving market.

To comment on trademarks, we put our name on the model but we do not trademark repaints, its an aftermarket customization with full recognition to the original manufacturer.

When we first started, a couple of manufacturers took exception that we proposed using their models for customizations so we dropped them from our line up. Maybe now their views have changed, maybe they haven't, only time will tell.

As I mentioned above, this is an evolving market and 2008 will prove to be an interesting year for 1/18th scale.

scbvideoboy · Post by **scbvideoboy** » Sat May 10, 2008 6:41 pm

I would love to have a Komet...but how sure are we that the 1/18 guys (21,AT,BBi, Peg.etc..) will not release a me163?

Sometime?

Besides any model Komet HAS to have the tailplane come off to show the rocket motor.

DH