[+] KingTiger Cancelled *

[norman888]

the KT paint scheme 21C planned to release should have had zimmermet to be accurate

This is just the attitude that killed our hobby. Just look at all the engineering, material and labor put into pieces such as this...and you expect them to be sold for $50!!!

These are afterall glorified toys and if you want 100% accuracy don't expect it or modify it yourself. You can't even get that in the much more detailed plastic modeling world.

Sorry to vent Digger but it gets kinda tiring hearing all the complaining when my hobby is crashing down all around me. Glue smudges, broken pitot tubes, imperfect paint, no zimmerit, wrong 88 scheme

[MG-42]

This is just the attitude that killed our hobby.

it gets kinda tiring hearing all the complaining when my hobby is crashing down all around me. Glue smudges, broken pitot tubes, imperfect paint, no zimmerit, wrong 88 scheme

>>> The truth rears its ugly head.


Mitch v MG

[aferguson]

i understand your points norman, and agree with them for the most part; but it was precisely because the hobby was crashing down that i was complaining about the wrong paint scheme being chosen for the 88.

In my view, 21c needed a winner with the first release of the 88 and to choose the DAK scheme as S1 was not going to produce a winner. Dark grey would have clearly been the better choice. As expressed by the majority of the members on here; and as evidenced by the fact that both 21c and FOV released their 1/32 88's in dark grey first.

It may have been some lame attempt to encourage sales of DAK figures but what it did was produce a simple base hit, at a time they needed some home runs.

The 88 sold well; but it wasn't a hot ticket, as evidenced by hundreds of them being blown out at the recent MD sales.

I was afraid this was going to happen and it did. By being vocal about it beforehand, i was hoping to be able to influence the decision on the S1 scheme by 21c, because i know they read these forums.

Clearly it had no effect. I'm not saying that making a dark grey 88 first would have saved the company, but it wouldn't have hurt...

The other problem is that most people who were introduced into this hobby were so through cheap prices at WM, and/or ebay (those prices being influened directly by the WM prices).

So the expectation is that they will always be that cheap. When the WM deal was lost and prices doubled there was a large unacceptence of the higher price tag; which is not surprising especially since it came at a time when the economy was in trouble and money was tight.

These things are still a good deal at twice the price but a large number of people brought into this hobby on cheaper prices, arent' seeing it that way.

[ExC17load]

Let's not lose focus here. Whinning or griping didn't kill our hobby, the economy did. During the Wal-mart heydays when there were plenty to go around. That was several, I mean several years ago. Since then, everything has gone up. Oil has to be used to make plastics and when the price of oil nearly quadruples, well the ripple effects will be felt. Plastic and paint are now more expensive, shipping costs are more...and so on. The simple fact is that many, many companies are falling by the wayside. It happens and if a company cannot change or adapt, they will die. It is survival of the fittest. They tried and for a number of reasons, the company floundered. It is easy to blame others, but this end result was set in motion a long time ago and has little to do with fingerprints or authenticity.

Just my two cents and probably worth less.

[norman888]

I agree with all of you and can easily join in the griping...heck why was a FW-190D made instead of a FW-190A????

[aferguson]

it's funny because when i heard they were making the 190D i was delighted. It'a one of my favourite planes and i didn't think i had a snowball's chance of ever seeing it in 1/18. I figured a 190A was a no brainer obvious choice and would be made shortly thereafter.

I'm still waiting..

[digger]

Norman, you're preaching to the choir. I've been trying to level expectations for years around here, and have always argued that every piece was a virtual steal, right down to the .50 cal trailer. But I also know what people are generally prepared to pay - as one longtime member said when $90 was thrown around:

"That is a ridiculous price unless it comes with a full crew."

and that within moments of 21C announcing the KT scheme, at least one member was quick to point out how

"it needs zimmerit."

[aferguson]

there's nothing wrong with pushing for better accuracy and lower prices......if we didn't we still have the s1 mustang as the best. It in no way caused the demise of 21c.

That said; people really should appreciate what we have, or should i say had. For years i've been saying these things were a bargain at twice the price. Well, now they were twice the price, but quality and accuracy is better than ever. The root problem again is that most people were brought into this hobby on $40 airplanes and $30 tanks and that's what they expect to keep paying. When that became untenable, the end was in sight for 21c.

[norman888]

it's funny because when i heard they were making the 190D i was delighted. It'a one of my favourite planes and i didn't think i had a snowball's chance of ever seeing it in 1/18. I figured a 190A was a no brainer obvious choice and would be made shortly thereafter.

I'm still waiting..

It is one of my favorite aircraft also...and especially in the Papagei paint scheme!!

[MG-42]

* Well , I know that the low order # thing is just plain bull$h_t because I'm not the only one who had a pre-order in @ the same place @ 79.00 ea.

* "1958zelda" had pre-ordered 5 , yes FIVE Tiger II's for the same price. This was initially , a mistake made by M I ie , H S for pre-order , but they said they'd still honor it @ that low price according to the first publication of their catalogue at the time because it was initially a mistake made , like I said , on their part. After which , the next publication , the pre-order price was changed to $99.00 a unit.

* "1958zelda" must have gotten the same notification of cancellation via email.


.............. Ken , can you confirm this as well ?



Mitch v MG

[coreystinson]

well if they are just going by order numbers that's pretty dumb. I mean i want 3 but i haven't preordered any with all the uncertainty regarding when and if it will be released. I suspect my case is not unique.

Yeah, I agree, 21st Century never even contacted me to see how many I wanted to order.

I think after the 88 did not do that well (remember they were dumped as part of the Monkey Depot clearance) the writing was on the wall - people simply cannot afford to buy this stuff right now. The economies of scale no longer appear to be feasible.

[Gen.Gabeally]

NUTS!

I say as long as we dedicated 1/18 enthusiasts hold out ,there is hope.

Lets continue to make the best of what we have now and our limited sources.

And just like the Battling Bastards of Bastogne we will get resupplied when the "weather" gets better.

BTW I've been enjoying the History channels' Battle 360 and Patton 360 series

[ram04]

What I find surprising is the fact that the chinese companys that produce the 1/16 RC tanks are not jumping on the static model market, they have the molds and surely its would be easy to make a non-rc model.
There is already a full fledged aftermarket for making them correct to the smallest detail.

[1958Zelda]

Yes,like Mitch said,I was also notifided of my order of 5 kingtigers canceled.