Small Scale Military Headquarters

Something new!!! 21st has anounced a new contest, buy as many fw 190 D9's as you can to free up wm shelves for new 1:18 stuff.
buy 4 fw's to win a exlusive mustang, what do you say guys?

that's extremely interesting...

outstanding! believe it or not, but many wms in my area are very well equipped with at least 3 versions of fws. and, what's even harder to grasp, the longer these items remain out of reach and sight on the top shelf, the slower they seem to sell. unfathomable, imo.

Either this is incredibly desperate or incredibly brave.. Unfortunately, I already have 2 versions and I couldn't see buying another 4..
Now, if they made the contest for "ANY" 4 XD planes, I could consider doing that..

Do we send in the proof of purchase thingies?

I have EVERY one from EVERY 21st product I've ever bought. They said to save'em so I do.

I don't have any FWs though...

C2000

i just checked area 21 and this contest is for real!

originally, i thought mediump came up with this scheme as a joke, because that's what it sounded like! how wrong i was!

a creative plan no doubt, but whacky as...

Yes you need the PoP but the plane has to be bought today or later. You can't use your old purchases for the contest.

Sounds cool though - at least we know what we can do to help get new product on the shelf.

Good grief. I'm almost speechless. I'd love an exclusive P-51 paint scheme, but I'm sure as heck not going to pay almost $200 for it (no W-M in my area is going to mark these down any time soon).

Has W-M given the word to 21st that they will not take any shipment of future 1:18 planes until the 190's start selling? Scary. So what happens if the shelves don't clear of 190s (and there are a lot on the shelves, that's for sure)...W-M won't agree to distribute the new P51s?

I've supported 21st in the past, but this 'contest' is pushing the limits. Are we loyal collectors to be used as pawns for 21st? Wait, that sounds a bit harsh. I'm sure 21st is well-intended, but I think they need to work out their apparent distribution problem directly with W-M.

At any rate, can't wait to see the new P-51!

Maybe make the contest for "4" XD planes as long as "2" of them are Fw-190s..
Maybe TKO can shed a little more light on this??????

And, does the UPC code tell what plane it is???? theoretically, with the "assorted" UPC, you could but any 4 and say they were 190s.. I believe the reciept just says " xd airplane" also??????????????
I wonder if they have thought this all the way thru...

I'd consider any new plane but buy four to get one free? No thanks.

I understand GM is now going to have a contest, buy four Caddys, get one Chevy SUV free with special paint. Has to be bought today or later though. Just send in your first four parking tickets.

TTT

I don't know about you all, but maybe 21C could have avoided this if they weren't so darn intent on pushing out so many repaints? Just my opinion but this is the most crack rock idea I have seen from any company. Use your customers to buy extra inventory that won't move so you can save your A$$' w/ your largest distributor. Knowing full well that most of the people that visit the 21C website already have most of the repaints. Then when we do pull them out of the hole we have to pay for the shipping and handling on our new P-51... Oh and don't forget if you buy the most you become an "ACE" with 21C... or as they will call you secretly "SUCKER" Sorry I don't post much, just lurk but when I read this post I thought it was a pretty funny joke, then to find out it was real... well I'm off to buy my 4 planes, return them for store credit because I "Lost" my receipt and then send in my proofs of purchase on the planes I have already bought... I'll send you my proofs for my new Mustang soon, let me know what shipping and handling is.... oh wait let me guess $40 or $50?
Later,
David

I would not want to kid you guys

this is bizarre. Even if 150 people bought 4 new 190's each (which i think is pretty optimistic) that would only move 600 units, which has to be a drop in the bucket of the total number of units of all the versions of 190D produced (which i guesstimate to be around 14,000 or so).

One way of accomplishing this goal would be for people to combine their PoP's and receipts, one person submiits them and then they could have their own little internal lottery draw to see which person gets the exclusive P-51. Alternatively one person could pick up FW's for other board members and keep the receipts and PoP's and win the free Mustang as a reward for their efforts.

One thing to consider is that this exclusive will be produced in small numbers and if it is truly 'never produced again' could end up being worth hundreds of dollars in a few years.

However, this doesn't strike me as very positive news for our hobby though. Are sales generally sluggish or is it just that the 190D sales are sluggish? Did all the 5 versions of P-47 Razorbacks sell well then? Will 21c have to slow down production rates for future releases or even cancel some? And what are the chances of seeing a FW-190A version now?

This is some crazy a$$ $h!t. I thought it was a funny joke when i read the first post, but now I am high disappointed to find out that the real joke is on us. What kind of suckers does the company think we are? I am just a tad bit too worried and perturbed by this "contest." I am even slightly offended. I sure hope to hell that there is some genius explanation for this.
Aaron

I agree this sounds a bit crazy to me. I already have three P-51's and a FW. I don't need four more. I feel like we as collectors are being used as well. Plus I have the uneasy feeling this is why no new products are being released yet. Since no word has officially been anounced from 21st about the state of future products recently it makes you wonder.

My take on this:
Fw-190D9 sales are VERY sluggish.. Many Walmarts sell out of the other planes but still have gobs of D-9s sitting on the shelves.. I think the reason being is that the D-9 is (unfortunately) not a popular plane.. It doesn't seem to sell well in other scales either (Many Dragon retailers still have many D-9s for sale in 1/72 scale).. Which is surprising for me since the D-9 is one of my favorites..
But IMHO, it doesn't bode well for 21st to be going to such drastic means by begging people to buy these planes.. I would think they would do better to just let Walmart clearance these out and move on.. Many 190's have been sitting in the same spot on my local Walmarts shelves for almost a year now with NO sales in sight.. Now, a good clearance sale could probably get me to buy 1 or 2 more.. But certainly NOT 4...

Do I hear "Death Throes"???????? I hope not!!!!

I think I might shed some light on the nature of this promotion. Before I do though let me put minds at ease in regards to WM distribution, and future of the company concerns. Like many of you I raised the same questions to 21st when I was informed of the promotion. The aim of this promotion is purely and simply aimed at helping to move older product off the shelf. The success or failure of this promotion has no effect on the future of the company or it's planned future releases. Everying is going very well and sales are strong. 21st (like the rest of us) is just plain tired of seeing these products take up shelf space. The realization that this kind of promotion is a serious investment on behalf of the fans, they wanted to make the reward as appealing and as valuable as they could. For sure this kind of promotion isn't for everyone but for those fans who are missing FW-190s in thier collection perhaps this is appealing. I myself already all 4 and I think technically I cann't participate but if my situation was perhaps different. I would think this to be a fun promotion with some cool prizes in the mix?

By the way- I was just given the information and pictures for the "10 special prizes". Go check it out on AREA-21 I think its a cool looking piece! Looks like it is worth some bucks!

Be prepared for gobs of 190s on Ebay. I would feel a little better if 21st C provided (or sold) some decals and had some suggestions for customizing the 190s in the different paint schemes. Who wants an exact duplicate on display? In a way, I feel this contest penalizes the hardcore collectors who already have "the 4".

I have an "idea".. I can't buy all 4, but I might buy2..

Anyone want to buy my POP's and original receipts????
I'll sell them for $10.00 each....

Keep in mind guys that this appears to be the new retooled Mustang! That'ds be awesome to get the new Mustang in a brand new scheme befoer anyone else! And check out that FW-190 piece that comes with it! I'm very tempted to even do this! There's 3 FW-190 paint schemes I don't have yet, and all are at my local walmart.

half of the pictures aren't showing up...just little red x's.

From what i can see i gather it's a 190D with simulated bullet holes? Cool idea..

Thanks for the reassuring words TKO...you know how we worry.

It's a panel from the Red 3 FW-190. You can see some of the text about the Railway or whatever....and there is one bullet hole....the rest are rivet holes.

I don't think you guys should be bitter about the contest - if it doesn't interest you just don't participate.

21st may want to question releasing 4 schemes all at the same time. I thought the pre-P-47 method of one scheme for a A WHILE, then two more, and then #4 a year or so later. Stuka, Corsair, P-38...you get the idea.

And we should think twice before we ask for random planes or a Corsair with an extra blade on the prop. The 190 was one of the 'must-have' planes on the old board and is collecting dust.....makes you stop and think about some of the suggestions people make and the reality of the business....imagine if they had 2000 A-10s to move.....then we'd have a real problem (But I wouldn't let that happen )

I was quick to jump the gun on this one. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea after all. TKO's explanation helped. We shall see what will be.
Aaron

I like the line"while suplies last"I hope for the people that do this there"supply' is more than two P51's