SCUTTLE BUTT!

[aferguson]

it may be Target's doing more than FOV. When BBI was in Target, Target told them 'modern only, no WWII'. They may have told FOV the same thing but FOV snuck 'em in anyway. Perhaps Target got wise, so the WWII stuff had to be dropped.

Why Target would be so anti WWII is beyond me.

[margras77]

Man I wish I had come into this hobby a few years earlier
The modern stuff is what Im interested in and now its expensive as shit

[evilanimation]

$4.99 FOV figures, but most BBI vehicles from the past are costly. But you can get some FOV stuff at good prices.

[fightin]

I hope that JSI will recover from their Tomcat desaster and will still be able to produce new aircraft, but I'd be happy with rare 21C repaints, too. I don't care who makes them, either JSI or the new 21C company, but I'd really like to see affordable Hueys and Cobras out there.

[Shin Densetsu]

This new company has to start up with what they have. So this means that 21C tooling on some of the products is part of a bigger plan to move ahead onto all new molds. But everyone should know by now that repaints on any and all aircraft have to part of the picture.

I can confirm, that bad or good the first release is a repainted P-51D, with nude nose art and swastika kill marks. these will be painted on the airplane and come directly to you with no decals. The runs will be Limited in number and run in traditionally shorter runs. The number of prior P-51D offerings was discussed and it does concern them, but it's the first move apparently of a larger plan. The old 21C had some interesting subjects that were in various stages of development both finished and not finished and like I said, without the knowledge of the exact plans makes it hard to know for sure. But- the future is open and the landscape has changed in many ways. Could see all new products, might see the A-10 finally come out, might see conversions from old molds like FW-190A / P-51B? Who knows! Should be fun to see unfold.

As long as they agree to take back defective product and not expect us to purchase from retailers sight un-seen and with strict no return policy. That would at least be a step back into the right direction. JSI / Merrit think they can play these kinds of games because they believe they are the only game in town.

What bothered me most about 21st Century Toys was the quality control and durability/sturdiness. The F-86 and MIG-15 are GREAT releases and so long as the new stuff turns out just as good, if not better than those releases, we will be in for some treats.

Sure the 21st P-51D was more accurate than the BBI version, but the BBI won me over with the great quality, not only was it highly detailed(maybe even in the wrong areas), but it was sturdy and very durable.

Durability/sturdiness + accuracy makes for a winning combination.

[MCalamari]

Sure the 21st P-51D was more accurate than the BBI version, but the BBI won me over with the great quality, not only was it highly detailed(maybe even in the wrong areas), but it was sturdy and very durable.

Durability/sturdiness + accuracy makes for a winning combination.

At the risk of high jacking this thread, I've liked Admiral and 21c's planes over BBI. BBI had more detail, but once assembled are harder to take apart and replace in the box.

In the figure realm, the late 21c figures: DAK or Mike Harris, etc. were awesome. The Avenger pilots also = awesome.

[Ta-152]

Maybe this news will kick BBI in its fourth point of contact to start making some new stuff.

Competition is a good thing

Which I wager BBI's sitting around thinking just like me...

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Seriously though, it's cool news... I just have grown cautious in news like this, and so when I see a company actually doing something, or actually see something at retail, then I think that'll be cool... And at that point BBI may actually think it would behoove them to use the pot or get off of it.

Bbi, pardon my French, doesn't have to do jack shit. Bbi is a corporation like Hasbro, with lots of irons in lots of fires. They don't rely on 1:18, so if they don't like market conditions they don't have to produce 1:18 and it's no skin off their backs.

[margras77]

Which I wager BBI's sitting around thinking just like me...

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Seriously though, it's cool news... I just have grown cautious in news like this, and so when I see a company actually doing something, or actually see something at retail, then I think that'll be cool... And at that point BBI may actually think it would behoove them to use the pot or get off of it.

Bbi, pardon my French, doesn't have to do jack ----. Bbi is a corporation like Hasbro, with lots of irons in lots of fires. They don't rely on 1:18, so if they don't like market conditions they don't have to produce 1:18 and it's no skin off their backs.

Thats not fair, mate.
BBI does GREAT figures and vehicles that are sturdy and detailed. Can you blame a company for taking a small break from a product until the interest picks up again? Thats just business TBH.

[Ta-152]

I'm not following you. I didn't say anything about Bbi's quality (better than 21st's, deal with it.) What i said is that Bbi doesn't rely on 1:18 as it's bread and butter, therefore it can do (or not do) 1:18 whenever they choose.

Personally i'd take some news from Bbi about 1:18 goings-on as more interesting than 21st rehashing it's P-51D in an attmept to raise itself from the dead..

[coreystinson]

Maybe this news will kick BBI in its fourth point of contact to start making some new stuff.

Competition is a good thing

Which I wager BBI's sitting around thinking just like me...

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Also, they are probably waiting for a distributor or retailer to fund a production run of a product so that they don't have to take the financial risk, and in this economic climate I have some doubts about any parties interested in taking 3-4 thousand repaints of something only to have Uncle Sam or Wall Street bankers destroy what's left of the economy a few weeks after it arrives at the warehouse.

[Jesse James]

Which I wager BBI's sitting around thinking just like me...

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Seriously though, it's cool news... I just have grown cautious in news like this, and so when I see a company actually doing something, or actually see something at retail, then I think that'll be cool... And at that point BBI may actually think it would behoove them to use the pot or get off of it.

Bbi, pardon my French, doesn't have to do jack ----. Bbi is a corporation like Hasbro, with lots of irons in lots of fires. They don't rely on 1:18, so if they don't like market conditions they don't have to produce 1:18 and it's no skin off their backs.

I wouldn't exactly say they're "like Hasbro", the 2nd largest toy manufacturer in the world, but that's kind of the point I was making is that BBI is just sitting around not really caring what's going on... THey can or can't, at their leisure. If someone were to suddenly come on the scene and start gobbling up a specific market, I think they maybe would act because they see opportunity, but that's about it. Then it sort of fizzled for everybody, and BBI just sort of wandered off.

I liked their WW2 stuff though, and it's still my favorite Sherman and some of my favorite figures.

[mountian-man]

A reasonably priced F-18 repaint would definitely sell, especially in the wake of the F-14.

To get back on track especially since this thread has been entirely hijacked by BBi discussion,

I don't think the new 21st century toys could go wrong by releasing that kettenkrad + Me-163 combo they had on the drawing board. It's the right size and could be priced affordably. It would also fancy both the armor and aircraft enthusiasts.

[gouchy]

If 21C does rise from the dead and recover all their molds, what would the future of JSI be?

The F14 mold is possibly their only property and maybe the future F15 & J11, they wont be able to churn out repaints to generate funds and fill time between new releases.

Would be a real kicker if 21C are the real owners of the F14 mold too

[NWarty]

I don't think the new 21st century toys could go wrong by releasing that kettenkrad + Me-163 combo they had on the drawing board. It's the right size and could be priced affordably. It would also fancy both the armor and aircraft enthusiasts.

I think a Kettenkrad and Komet would be an incredible jump start! Small footprint, simple design, lots of paint possiblities. Treadheads and aircraft guys both would love it. You could have three figures included, i.e. kettenkrad driver, pilot and crew chief/staff officer with the Komet dolly, fire equipment, etc.

21stDeux (thanks K-Tiger for the new name ) could package the Kettenkrad separately for armor guys who don't want the Komet.

Just brainstorming here, but IMO a cool idea

[Ferrari250GTO]

Did anybody mention yet whether this new company will sell at major chain stores??? This could change things up a bit.

[Ta-152]

Did anybody mention yet whether this new company will sell at major chain stores??? This could change things up a bit.

I'm gonna go with "doubtful".

[Ferrari250GTO]

Did anybody mention yet whether this new company will sell at major chain stores??? This could change things up a bit.

I'm gonna go with "doubtful".

Yeh, that is what I was thinking.
I think it is better to not be in the stores, that way they won't have to make them low quality to keep down prices.

[bswearer]

Just wondering, if they are starting fresh with new company name,
does the rights/licences that they have secured when they were 21C still valid for the new company?

i was also wondering this as well. if it's essentially the same people, just under a new name, what is the deal with mods, liscencing, trademarks etc....? could they bring back all the former 21c items and still produce them i.e. the OMG figures, Tiger, Panther that JSI is now reproducing???

that would be awesome to see some of the good stuff back plus some great new stuff like unappreciated eras like WWII Russians/Brits, WWI anything, Civil War etc...(hint hint )

[Dauntless]

Did anybody mention yet whether this new company will sell at major chain stores??? This could change things up a bit.

If it's a viable entity able to compete with FOV, I don't see any reason why they couldn't release some 1/32 (if they have 1/32 molds anymore)
It doesn't take up as much shelf space.

They tried it at Target there at the last. I wish it would have taken off.

Airplanes and armor, some models sold well. Any plane 21C produced in later years was better than what FOV has on the shelves now at Target.

Though the Pearl Harbor P-40's didn't fair as well, with enhanced artwork on the boxes of the 1/18 line, some retail places might want to carry a few choice pieces.
I would think though that might be a tough nut to re-crack these days right away.

I think e-business is probably all we'll see for the most part. I have no problem with that.
TRU has done that even in the recent past with the re-issued Flying Tiger.
Walmart on the other hand should have offered all 21st models online just like all their other toys. I think it would have made a difference.

[tkjaer21]

Please do not forget to release these two beauts:



&

[Volksdeutsch]

that patrol boat is to kool!!!

[aferguson]

the pbr would be awesome..i've watied for that for about 8 years since the pic was first shown.

[Birddog]

Remember this golden 1/18 prototype 21st forgot about and missed the mark on...

This is what someone needs to release in 1/18 scale.......maybe this new "21st Reborn" entity found or will find the closet the old 21st left it in...or maybe another 1/18 scale manufacturer will......

[King O' Fools]

Please do not forget to release these two beauts:



&

That PBR looks pretty much like the 1:35 Tamiya model kit. Based on the pcitures of the 21C Phantom 'prototype,' I'd say that's what it is.

[Stug45]

Remember this golden 1/18 prototype 21st forgot about and missed the mark on...

This is what someone needs to release in 1/18 scale.......maybe this new "21st Reborn" entity found or will find the closet the old 21st left it in...or maybe another 1/18 scale manufacturer will......

I always drool when i see that pic