Small Scale Military Headquarters

Here's Badcat's "report card" based on sales of various models from their blog:

http://www.talesofthecat.com/

Interesting that the title of the article has the word collectables in it and then right under that they call them all toys. :)Makes them collectable toys, right!

some of the 'F's' are pretty surprising. Ju-88, B-29, Lancaster....those are A list to me.

aferguson wrote:some of the 'F's' are pretty surprising. Ju-88, B-29, Lancaster....those are A list to me.

I was especially surprised by the lengthy C ist, many of which I would have thought would be the bread and butter of scale models/toys. But I guess maybe C rating is just that - the average middle of the road mainstays where you might make a little money or might lose a little money. And it's probably these that the manufacturers spend a lot of time trying to determine which one will be more of a C+ vs. C-.

However, I was VERY encouraged to see the F-14, F-4, Mosquito, and Stuart Tank on the B list. Bodes well for finally seeing them in 1:18 some day.

Very discouraging to see great aircraft like the Il-2, A-4, Mig-21, Me-110, Harrier, and Hurricane receiving such low scores - does not bode well at all for getting them in 1:18!

And what's up with Pegasus!?! They make the V-1 and Gee Bee Racer, getting A & B ratings respectively, beating out such "obvious" choices as ended up on the C thru F ratings? I love Pegasus and wish them only the best, but it's crazy to think of a V-1 being A and the B-29 being F. They must have a top of the line crystal ball...

hotrodrock wrote:Interesting that the title of the article has the word collectables in it and then right under that they call them all toys. :)Makes them collectable toys, right!

It's even funnier when you consider the reasoning behind their blog-posting strategy... Boosting their search-engine visibility!

I guess that's why they have taken now to re-posting the same contents again and again. It's beyond laughable. Hey BadCat, why don't you go the tried-and-tested route and use some metatags in your pages, instead of bending over backwards to accommodate every conceivable search term in any given blog post?

BTW, they've got this massive super-duper blowout moving sale, but they insist on shipping their merchandise through USPS Global Express, instead of Priority International (which is the option pretty much everyone else in the 1:18 business uses), which means considerably more expensive shipping charges for overseas customers (in excess of $100.00), even though they expressly disclaim any and all responsibilities for packages lost or damaged in transit.

Yep, that SURE MAKES SENSE. If the worst comes to pass, you'll still have no items to show for your money, but, hey, you'll have spent a lot more of it in the process. Capitalism 101.

It's like saying "I don't give a rat's ass about your shipment, but I insist that you pay the highest shipping fee available for it." Seems like a sound business strategy, doesn't it? Worst part is they do ACKNOWLEDGE this: "We cannot control nor do we have any recourse for package loss in foreign countries, foreign shipments are made at the purchaser's own risk."

Well, guess what? It won't work. Because you offer the exact same products as your competitors at double the price. Maybe the genius behind your let's-start-a-blog-to-position-our-products-on-the-internet concept could enlighten you in this regard. Then again, maybe not.

BTW Priority Mail Interantional works fine, and can be tracked (through USPS Track & Confirm just like Global Express, so their claims in this regard are patently false: "Global Express provides the best value considering speed, trackability, and insurability to destinations outside the USA . . . We do not offer USPS Airmail or Surface Parcel Post outside the USA because of the lack of trackability and long delivery times." Yeah, and I've got this bridge you may be interested in...

It's kind of a joke...a Marder finally shows up in 1:32 and sells like hot cakes so it gets an A...meanwhile Tigers are on the C-list. Come on. Also, I think a lot of small scale collectors use other retailers, especially for armor. There is a reason Dragon has 30 Tigers out..

The Mig-3 was on the F list? Oh my I think it was in 1/72 scale . I think that says it all about tiny scale.