What age groups collect 21st aircraft?

longrifle · Post by **longrifle** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 1:24 pm

I for one am convinced that grown adults from the ages of 20 up are collecting 21st aircraft, NOT CHILDREN.
Most of us Im sure at one point in our life or even now currently build models or have a keen interest in aviation history or both.
if my estimation is true, then I wonder if 21st will hear my plea, maybe its a bad one, maybe a good one, I dont know.
I think it would be an awesome idea for 21st to start not only making aircraft in different schemes, but aircraft for customizers as well. In other words, a plain NMF/Camoed(depending on what it is) aircraft then supply different decal markings in the box for the ones who want to customize there own scheme. Kinda like a model kit, except all the building is already done for you, all you have to do is put on the decals to your liking. At the same time, yes, it might hurt sales, but then again, it may increase them as well. I for one know that more and more people in the model building community are taking some interest in these 1:18 aircraft.
Well its just a thought, but I think one to think on 21st......

tmanthegreat · Post by **tmanthegreat** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 2:40 pm

Well, as is said in the name of the company itself, 21st Century Toys makes toys! Further, their products are marked ages 5 and up so kids must be the assumed target area for these products (though I wouldn't give an XD plane to most 10-year-olds!). XD items appeal to us due to their unusual level of detail and quality. Nonetheless, these planes and tanks are toys - albeit very nice ones at that!

I do agree that the majority of the collectors are over 20 as they have the transportation ability, financial capital and historical knowledge to appreciate a 1:18 scale Panzer IV, TBF Avenger, or "Battle of the Bulge" type soldier. I've even seen people in their 60s marvel at an XD plane, adn then order some from BCA. There is, however, a sizeable contingent of younger collectors as well. Afterall, we've all been amused by the antics of Catman and 7thva Hunter

I was interested in WWII aircraft and armor before the age of 9, so I know that if XD had been around when I was that age, I'd probably have saved my money and gotten a few of the pieces

AT and BBI have both made aircraft for customizers, so perhaps sometime 21c will follow suit. I would not want to see a Wal Mart shelf full of blank ME-109Gs or F-104s, however!

7thva_hunter · Post by **7thva_hunter** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 3:02 pm

Alot of my XD broke when I was playing with it a age 7 or 8 . I am 13 teen now. But there is one thing almost all of us wish is to back to 2000 today and stock up on XD.

billgiff · Post by **billgiff** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 4:50 pm

Hey longrifle, I wouldn't say "grown adults", maybe "grown kids" would be a better way of saying it.

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:15 pm

I don't know....all I can say is that only folks I've ever seen even looking at XD at WM have been guys in their late teens on up to middle age. My 75 year old Dad has a few pieces, but that's because they were gifts from yours truly. He's just not the type who'd buy a "toy" for himself.

Actually, come to think of it, back when the S1 M48s and Panthers were both on the shelves at TRU (2001?), I saw a boy of around 9 asking his dad if he could get the Panther. His father discouraged him from getting a "German" tank, and said he should get an "American" one. Being that they were both made in China, I figured he should get whichever one he preferred, but of course I kept my tongue in my head.

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:20 pm

Most of every one I have encountered, were grown male adults buying for their own collection with one buying for his kid.

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:24 pm

When I was a kid I used to blow up GI Joe vehicles and models with M-80s and set them on fire and stufF. I'd make elaborate battle sequences.

I hate to think what I might have done to realistic XD stuff!

Luckily at 31 that stage has more or less passed!

digger · Post by **digger** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 7:42 pm

Told this story before, here it is again:

When: A month ago
Where: TRU, Times Square (amusement park)
Me: Pick up and scan (did not have to move - scanner right next to the bbi) a checkernose Corsair (man that pilot is sweet!!) - $48.99! I almost choke but remember where I am and that these are usually $45 now, so with the NYC premium it is about 'right'

After I put it down two kids scramble over with mom in toe, and there is no way they are over 5. One kid says he wants "the Submarine" and grabs the Corsair. I realize it says "MARINE" on the side and we all know it is blue. Mom agrees it is a submarine but says "we're not buying a toy that big now" then "let's see how much it is" I wait for her heart attack but next thing I know the kid's changed his mind to "Old Crow" (I guess silver & green is cool) and mom's got it under her arm and away they go towards the register. Now I really appreciate how these things look in the box, what colors they are, what they say on the side or nose..etc...and I also realize that there are parents out there who will drop $50 on a dime!

7thva_hunter · Post by **7thva_hunter** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:00 pm

Rowsdower wrote:When I was a kid I used to blow up GI Joe vehicles and models with M-80s and set them on fire and stufF. I'd make elaborate battle sequences.

I hate to think what I might have done to realistic XD stuff!

Luckily at 31 that stage has more or less passed!

me and my friends blow up one of my BBI's .

Tinman · Post by **Tinman** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:19 pm

I can't resist going off on the tangent that Rowsdower started:

It's sickening to me now how many vintage GI Joes and vehicles, plus models of various types and scales my brother and I shot with bb guns, blew up with fire crackers, and/or burned back in the early to mid-1970s.
But we had one heck of a time doing it!

And where were my parents while we were doing these things? We were right in the back yard - it's not like we were off in the woods somewhere or something. I would never let my kids get away with stuff like that! OK, enough of me on this tangent.

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:19 pm

digger wrote:Told this story before, here it is again:

When: A month ago
Where: TRU, Times Square (amusement park)
Me: Pick up and scan (did not have to move - scanner right next to the bbi) a checkernose Corsair (man that pilot is sweet!!) - $48.99! I almost choke but remember where I am and that these are usually $45 now, so with the NYC premium it is about 'right'

After I put it down two kids scramble over with mom in toe, and there is no way they are over 5. One kid says he wants "the Submarine" and grabs the Corsair. I realize it says "MARINE" on the side and we all know it is blue. Mom agrees it is a submarine but says "we're not buying a toy that big now" then "let's see how much it is" I wait for her heart attack but next thing I know the kid's changed his mind to "Old Crow" (I guess silver & green is cool) and mom's got it under her arm and away they go towards the register. Now I really appreciate how these things look in the box, what colors they are, what they say on the side or nose..etc...and I also realize that there are parents out there who will drop $50 on a dime!

I guess it al comes to what part of the country you live in.

digger · Post by **digger** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 12:50 am

I guess it al comes to what part of the country you live in.

You think what kids like comes down to what part of the country you live in?

MiG29K · Post by **MiG29K** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 3:41 am

I couldn't pass up the $20.00 F-86 - A floor stocker had told me that it wasn't $39.00 as listed and scanned it for me. Upon leaving the door, the woman who checks receipts against the purchase noticed the ginormous box I had in tow and saw the plane, commented "Is that for some kid?" and I replied "No, it's for me" and she was like "I figured it was for you - that's a very nice plane" I used to work in LP for a retailer and would recognize the 'regulars at my store' and know what they were looking for or what they normally purchased. I can only imagine the jokes that the LP people at say Target or Wally World are placin their bets when they see me 'crip walkin' thru the aisles: "Ha haaaa..let's see, is it the War Toys?...the Star Wars Figs?...the the DVD aisle? or "uh ohh..its that guy again and all he shops for are kid's toys!" But in regards to LR's question, I see mostly Adults and on a couple occasions 5 year old kids finnagling their mommies into getting a plane or two.

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:35 am

Actually, I rarely see anyone who appears really interested in the XD at any of the WMs I frequent. Maybe some guy looking for a second or two or some bratty kid pointing his grubby little finger at an XD aircraft before his mother pushes him in the direction of the cheaper toys. But nobody standing there for a long time like trying to decide what to get.

Those guys are usually over by the Macthbox and Hotwheels section.

Quixote511 · Post by **Quixote511** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:40 am

Generally speaking, it is adult males I see purchasing. On a rare occassion, I am sure there are some females out there buying for their other halves.

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:47 am

I know from my Walmart and TRU trips ( the woman in charge of toys at our local Walmart will stop me in the aisle to warn me "nothing new" or "check over by RC for overflow--we got some new stuff" to save me time), that it seems like everyone looking at XD and 1:32 seems to be late 20's through their 50's, with most serious collectors in the 30's and 40's. I know they used to look at a little odd at my 30-something self scoping out the toy aisle, but you spend enough on the stuff and they stop looking odd. Like one of my coworkers (a 1:32 fanatic) and I have said on more than one occasion: why didn't they have this kind of stuff when we were growing up? The best I remember were the semi-realistic (at first at least) 3-3/4 GI Joes and a couple low-detail 1:72 die-cast tanks that I got somewhere...
It is a wonderful time to be collecting (and financially independent!!!)

catman · Post by **catman** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 3:06 pm

When I was hunting for the Avenger, I went to my now favourite WM and scanned the shelves/racks, seeing a bunch of old precious stuff, but no sign of the avenger. There was a guy there, about 32 years old probably. I picked up a 1:32 Panther and looked it over. The guy sees this, and says "Hey you know they got the Avenger over here" and I reply "Really? Sweet, where?" He leads me around to the Avengers way up high near the stuffed animals, and I say my thanks he leaves. Otherwise I would NEVER have found them until now and not have made my profits

He really did help me, and I appreciated it very much. What did he think of me, though?

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 7:28 pm

I'm 31 and look around 20 so I get weird looks some times. I think some people think your pulling a Michael Jackson or some crap.

Also when I start growling at people who get into my "XD zone" I tend to get some weird looks.

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:35 pm

digger wrote:
I guess it al comes to what part of the country you live in.
You think what kids like comes down to what part of the country you live in?

No, how much money parents drop at a dime on a new toy. Here in the upper Midwest wages are lower then in the rest of the country. People up here are penny pincers

pokeyjtc · Post by **pokeyjtc** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:53 pm

In all the times I have been to WM looking for XD, I have only ever seen one kid, about 7 or 8 years old interested in it. He was looking at the figures and bought one. Most of the time, when I look for XD, I don't see anybody else ever looking at it. I know somebody is buying it, but I just don't ever see them.

I am 31 and I buy this stuff mainly because it is what I always wanted when I was a kid. I am recognized by one of the toy stockers as a regular at one of the WMs I frequent, but otherwise nobody else at any of the other stores knows who I am or what I am shopping for.

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:58 pm

I hear ya, VMF. Around my area, it is amazing how quickly most of the 1:32 stuff disappears off the shelves, and often in the hands of kids--but some of the more common 1:18 stuff tends to linger--there is a pair of Humvees that has been around since June, and a Bf-109G6 that I may finally break down and liberate. Last winter, they got a huge shipment of the 1/9 RC Abrams in, and I think 1 or 2 sold by Christmas at $199. Then the clearanced them out for $79 in February and 12 were gone in two days. Still kicking myself on that one, although it did inspire me to pick up a 1/16 RC/Airsoft Pershing

But it definitely seems like there is a price break that literally separates the men from the boys, when it comes to military toys. I thought nothing of dropping $90 on my F/A-18 and F-16, but I have watched $50 Corsairs and Mustangs sit at TRU for months. I also think a big factor is proximity to military bases and such--a co-worker's son is in the Marines, and he said that the Walmart out by where he is stationed is perpetually picked clean by guys from the base.

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:06 pm

The Toy department folks at WM told me that 90% of the 21st goes to guys who collects the stuff. And that the other 10% go to kids in their teens that also collect them.

FieroDude · Post by **FieroDude** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:14 pm

The frustrating part from WM to WM, at least around here, is how they handle it. There is one WM around here where the person who manages the department apparently cares, because it is always well organized, even if new stock is a rarity (although that is where I got my Avenger in September). He even said he tries to get new 21st stuff in when he can out of his own interest, but it is luck of the draw. But at most, it is a treasure hunt at best--sometimes I find stuff in 4 or 5 different locations, with no rhyme or reason.

VMF115 · Post by **VMF115** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 11:24 pm

FieroDude wrote:The frustrating part from WM to WM, at least around here, is how they handle it. There is one WM around here where the person who manages the department apparently cares, because it is always well organized, even if new stock is a rarity (although that is where I got my Avenger in September). He even said he tries to get new 21st stuff in when he can out of his own interest, but it is luck of the draw. But at most, it is a treasure hunt at best--sometimes I find stuff in 4 or 5 different locations, with no rhyme or reason.

The folks at my super WM try t find the new shipments but they seem to never find them. Then they told me that they have some new toys on the pallets in the garden section, So I went looking and found them 5 minutes, it said 1:18 military aircraft assortment, something like that.

Crap I was doing thire jobs....my I have my Check please!!!!!!

Rowsdower · Post by **Rowsdower** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 9:11 am

The Toy Dept people at 5 out of 6 of my local WM try their hardest to pretend the customers don't exist and look like their head is going to explode if you ask them a question. There is one cool manager but the rest are useless drones.

Small Scale Military Headquarters

What age groups collect 21st aircraft?

What age groups collect 21st aircraft?

kidsq

Re: kidsq

?

F-86

Re: ?