Small Scale Military Headquarters

I was speaking with a toy mgr. at Wallyworld yesterday and he had a list of sku #'s for 1/18th scale planes. He asked me which ones he should order. On his list was a ZERO! I told him to get a bunch of them along with other planes I have not seen in town. Can 21st Century's Zero be arriving at Christmas? Needless to say my jaw dropped to the floor. He told me as far as he knew, these planes could be ordered. This is truely a year for the record books. I did not however see the Avenger on the list.

Mark

Boy that would be something.....2 different Zeros in less than 4 months. It never rains but it pores..

Interesting. 21c has said this plane will not be avaliable until 2006 - but that was on the BCA website and may have to do with the small retailers.
21c may simply be wanting to jump up on BBI's sudden competition with the first release of a Zero and all. I wonder how much the two planes will differ...

Hey Kamikaze: What other XD planes were on the Wal-Mart manager's "to order" list? Huh? Huh?
Regarding the XD Avenger: sorry to be a wet blanket guys, but my suspicion is we'll still be sitting here waiting for it at this time next year! It's become like "Waiting for Godot" (Samuel Beckett's existentialist play in which this guy Godot never shows up).

i dont think the Avenger will be going to WM. They were unsuccessful getting it to fit in their beloved box, and that is the only box size (or the Biggest box size) that WM is willing to accept, so i don't think it will be sold there.

Probably only online and hobby shops etc. I may be wrong but i remember hearing something about that around Comic Con time..

Is the box holding the 1/6 Jeeps, Kubelwagon amd Stuarts that Wally can carry bigger than the Avenger box?

If so, WOW, what a plane that Avenger is.

TTT

that's a very good point. If they can use boxes that big, why can't they put planes in a bigger box than their standard, beloved box?

Why is the Avenger is so big? If it's in scale, then it should only be a little bit bigger than the P-47.

aferguson wrote:that's a very good point. If they can use boxes that big, why can't they put planes in a bigger box than their standard, beloved box?

The price point on those larger 1/6 items is more than $40...it's apples to oranges....WM also sells washing machines in very big boxes....

then it should only be a little bit bigger than the P-47.

Having seen a TBM and P-47 next to eachother often, I can tell you that the TBM is much much larger. Just the wingspan alone makes it bigger than any aircraft made to date... I believe even bigger than the P-38. She's massive guys. To show you the size... here's a few photos from comic con to show you guys the size:

Wow, that sucker is big! It looks to be as long a the BBI F-18! Thanks for posting the pics by the way.

Having never seen a real TBM or a P-47, I was just going by the dimensions I read in books.

The TBM is suppose to be only 2 feet taller at 16 feet, 5 inches, versus to a P-47 at 14 feet, 7 inches (I wonder if that measurement is for a fully loaded plane).

The TBM is longer by 5 feet or so at 40 feet, 11 inches, against P-47 at 36 feet, 1.75 inches.

The TBM's wingspan is considerably larger, 14 feet larger than the P-47's.

But the P-38's wingspan's closer to the TBM (54 feet, 2 inches TBM, 52 feet P-38).

In 1/18 scale, a difference of 2 or 5 feet is not that noticeable, (I did a very scientific calculations...by taking an XD pilot, estimate his foot to be 12 inches, then start measuring ) but I see that they could have a problem fitting the Avenger's wings inside one of those WalMart boxes.

Nonetheless, I want one now, despite being more of a Dauntless fan when it comes to Pacific war carrier-based bombers.

Please explain the whole theory behind the size of the packaging/price point ratio? If someone was told this, how does this explain the boxing of Walmarts house name "Motorworks" and the huge generic playsets boxed and priced for under $30.00 in the generic toy aisle? I'm quite certain that a TBM would fit in a smaller box than those I've seen some toys boxed in, under the $40.00 range. I don't buy that theory based on said toys, but rather adhere to the notion that 21st just can't get this thing made, and hope it doesn't go the way of the A-10.

Edit:
I sure hope I'm wrong, as that TBM is certainly at the top of my list of Wants, right next to the A-10

Flammenpanzer wrote:The Avenger could be packed in a normal box I believe. I got the Bbi Corsair and the box is a lot smaller than the 21st Corsair. Either way I will find room for it.

I talked with Roy about that and he showed me what the major problems with the box were. The Avenger is just a bit too long for the box. So, he made it so the fuselage comes in two parts, one part being the tail assembly. Ok, great, now it is short enough, BUT the fuselage is soooo deep, that it's large diameter takes up ALOT of real estate. Now that tail section can't fit in the box next to the fuselage and wings. It is a big plane, folks. And, it's not just the wingspan or fuselage length. I bet you could fit a Mossie in the box better than the Avenger due to the thin fuselage sections alone!

-Ski

Thanks for the photos of the Avenger. I'm going to enjoy it whenever it comes out!! And the Zero, both 21st and BBI.

(I'm looking forward to all the paint schemes mentioned for the Avenger: Pacific, Atlantic (ASW) and Flight 19!!

JimBob

yes, dimensions can be deceiving sometimes. It's not just the length, width, height that matter but the BULK as well. This makes a big difference (no pun intended) as to the size of a thing.

Is anybody going to tell me, that if they made the B-25, or a C-47 at some very serious money, that they couldn't use the same size box as a 1/6 CC or Stuart? I'm talking about a B-25 with a ton of variations as a limited production for very small population of the toy buying public, us and a few serious nut job toy collectors. Notice I put "us" first and not to be confused with "the nut job toy collectors" They would fly off the shelves.

I've just received (and ordered another) 1/6 CC. The shipping weight was 40 lbs and the factory box was tremendous, about 3' by 4'. The Stuart is even bigger. You can get three or four Avengers in that box.

TTT

But that was only at TRU when they had those boxes. Walmart wouldn't carry something that large (for a B-25 wise). And look at the shelf space given to 21st aircraft, it's perfectly done to fit the current size box. Not to mention everytime you make a new box with a new size you have to make another sku (very annoying I hear).

Teamski wrote: The Avenger is just a bit too long for the box. So, he made it so the fuselage comes in two parts, one part being the tail assembly. Ok, great, now it is short enough, BUT the fuselage is soooo deep, that it's large diameter takes up ALOT of real estate. Now that tail section can't fit in the box next to the fuselage and wings.
-Ski

So is the fuselage still going to be 2 pieces? In your 3rd picture the seam at the tail section is quite noticeable. Hopefully it won't be that bad in the production ones IF it is still 2 pieces.

Sorry if these were mentioned previously, but BCA has updates as of 9/11/05 on the Avenger and F-104.

tracer wrote:

Teamski wrote: The Avenger is just a bit too long for the box. So, he made it so the fuselage comes in two parts, one part being the tail assembly. Ok, great, now it is short enough, BUT the fuselage is soooo deep, that it's large diameter takes up ALOT of real estate. Now that tail section can't fit in the box next to the fuselage and wings.
-Ski

So is the fuselage still going to be 2 pieces? In your 3rd picture the seam at the tail section is quite noticeable. Hopefully it won't be that bad in the production ones IF it is still 2 pieces.

It's not as noticable in person. When the plane is painted, it will be even less so.....

-Ski

vulgarvulture wrote:Sorry if these were mentioned previously, but BCA has updates as of 9/11/05 on the Avenger and F-104.

The Avenger one was dated 9/09, so that was 10 days ago, but still, now BCA has seen the prototype and given a nice little description. Sounds like we may get that much-anticipated aircraft by the end of the year. That plane's going to be the coolest thing in 1:18!

I think the Avenger will have to be available at Wal-Mart. 21C has said the collector market is only a small part of their business. If the Avenger is only offered at BCA, the bulk of the toy market for 21C would be missed. Even the BBi P-51 sold by BCA did show up at TRU.

I wish we could find out for sure if the Avenger will be available at Wal-mart or not.Because with 21st QC problems i dont think I would buy it wth out seeing it in person..(heck i have already bought a special table just for it to site on )

KAMIKAZE wrote:I was speaking with a toy mgr. at Wallyworld yesterday and he had a list of sku #'s for 1/18th scale planes. He asked me which ones he should order. On his list was a ZERO! I told him to get a bunch of them along with other planes I have not seen in town. Can 21st Century's Zero be arriving at Christmas? Needless to say my jaw dropped to the floor. He told me as far as he knew, these planes could be ordered. This is truely a year for the record books. I did not however see the Avenger on the list.

Mark

I don't know where you live but you are lucky to have a Wal-Mart that gets current 21C stuff. I live in SC where ther are 6 Wal-Mart stores surronding me that only deal in other Wallyworld stores non sellable 21C stuff. These stores mgrs haven't a clue and could care less about 21C or the collection aspect of it.