21st Century Toys "Bunker Hill" Corsair

[tko211]

Guys-

The rumors of the "Bunker Hill" Corsair have been confirmed by 21st Century Toys. The first images taken of this fine specimen were provided to me this afternoon. I am getting them ready for the AREA-21 web site now! Be sure to check them out tomorrow on AREA-21.
I think you guys will like this one!

[CW4USARMY]

Oh Goody! Another Corsair.
Give us something new already!
Thank Goodness for BBi and Admiral to give us hope.

[eddie372]

Amen!

[tderespino]

yes, please give us something new,,

how about a huey HU1d to go with the platoon line??

Not a repaint of the hoghead/air america/sharktooth/slick/same old huey that I have 6 of.

If you need the specs check this out

http://www.rosenheim.org/landeplatz/uh1d.gif

[tderespino]

and make sure it has the door mounted m60 like this...

http://www.army-technology.com/contract ... hanced.jpg

[tderespino]

Sorry TKO

we really appreciate your intel

tomd


I guess I will have to make my own,

http://community.webshots.com/photo/192 ... 4079OVUkbr

again!!!

But I would rather Buy them from 21st, it was a lot of work!!

[JohnLumley]

If another corsair will make 21C a stronger company financially... then good, let's keep them in business so they can keep us supplied.

As long as they put out a few new mold types per year then repaints are ok with me.

I'll take another F4U. That's my favorite WWII ship.

[CW4USARMY]

I agree about trying to keep them financially sound and buying some repaints. In fact, I have even said that in many posts. Hec, I have every vehicle, fig and aircraft they made plus the repaints so I've been supporting them faithfully for years, but with lack of info from them (even with a fan web site) it is getting frustrating. At least Admiral and BBi come to the forum and try to give us a little info to discuss.

There comes a point when a company starts to abuse the repaint marketing, i.e. Hasbro. I used to collect star wars (was a huge fan as a kid) but they started putting different colors on a figure and calling it "new" as well as putting same figures in new packaging and calling it "new" so i stopped and started on military figs, vehicles and planes exclusively. Now I see 21st doing the same as Hasbro.
It would be OK for 21st to continue their bombardament of repaints if it actually led to their producing new aircraft but this year alone I think we only saw two new aircraft and about 15 re-paints and lets not even start on the dismal armor showing

This year has been the year of repaints and no real light at the end of the tunnel. OK, so we hear about the Avenger (for 3 years) and it may be here soon, but is there any word on anything else? (Im talking real info here, not some posts in this forum months ago about "21st will be" and "zero, F86 and Mig and no real info beyond that.)
I imagine those will be same as the Avenger.

We recently heard from Admiral about the production flow chart and what it takes to make an aircraft. Paint and paint masking required a great deal of work. With as many re-paints as has come out, you'd think they could put just as much effort working new molds instead of just new paint.
However, I am no expert in the toy making business, just a consumer anxious to consume and support a good company. I just hope 21st isn't getting too big for their britches and taking advantage of this fact.

OK, off my soap box......what do you guys think? Am I out here on a limb
or are some of you guys feeling about the same?

Thanks for letting me vent.....I feel better now

[tko211]

I think 21st does a pretty good job of coming onto the boards... well at least I think they see my communication and participation on the boards as such on thier behalf? 21st Century Toys has chosen to use AREA-21 as the primary means of communication to the fans.
Not just the fans on this board. The Fan Club membership (thus fan base) is quite large. Much larger as a whole than us here on the boards.

I honestly don't recall seeing any company participation in the forms of contests, show coverage, interviews with staff by any other company other than 21st! So I would have to say I disagree with anyone on the fine points of weather or not 21st does a good job of engaging the fan base -nuf said!

As for the issue of repaints... That is all that they are! An opportunity for folks to purchase a plane in markings that perhaps are better suited to thier likes or specific interests. The mass market is really SO much larger than just us few fans on this site (we are the tip of the sword and the most vocal sometimes in a negative way) but hey it is what it is! Bottom line is people besides some of us still want to walk into a store or go online and purchase a Corsair, or Lightining both of which have not been offered in new paint in over a year or more... That is the real truth of the matter. Re-paints are just part of the nessessary means of doing business. And for the most part don't have any bearing on new developments.

I agree that I am as eager to finally see Avenger as the rest. I remember thinking wow thats going to be cool! It is overdue, but that is the nature of production sometimes. And it is difficult to know every little detail of the future when things are announced as to how wnd when it will always happen. (Don't be too suprised to learn that 21st's crystal ball is just as cloudy as anyones elses) I sure wish I knew what the details of my next year in advance.

Truth is 2005 was a pretty big building year for 21st. There were many new developments. Less than a year ago there was't even a shred of the fan club!
We also used to have to wait till the once a year troyfair to even SEE anything that MIGHT be offered in the year / years to come with no explainations. I frankly think they have done a good job. I am very much a fan and very much the same as everyone else. I want more sure... who wouldn't? I think things are looking better than EVER! Many cool new things are just around the corner. It's going to be a fun year!


Hold the line guys!

[CW4USARMY]

Hey TKO211, Dont take it personal. I realize you must defend that of which you are a fan club president. It would be silly to do otherwise. You can only provide us with what they tell you, so I dont point at you.

Can you identify the last time we had good solid info received on these boards about upcoming products? I cant.....been too long.
Big building year? No problem with your statements, just show or give info as to what you are talking about. I havent seen much new in the past year so you must know somehting we dont. (which leads back to my point)

Contests and history lessons isnt exactly the info I beleive many of us are craving. Just a serious nod from 21st as to what they may have in the hopper and a good time frame or at least info as to delays in advance of having to read about from an on-line store. Lets face it, the fan club web site isnt exactly updated regularly with good info the way we hear from BBi (and now Admiral) in this forum. Hec, Badcat gives us info months before 21st does and it is usually about 21st items. Again, no hit on you but info is not there if you take away all the fluff on the website.

[MightyMustang]

I just saw the pics of the Bunker Hill Corsair and I am impressed. This Corsair was flown by former VF-17 Ace Lt Roger Hedrick who comanded a group of Corsairs from Bunker Hill after VF-17 disbanded and was sent home. Thats just for those who wanted to know a little history about this "new" Corsair from 21st.

Although I'm impressed I will pass on it due to I have two Corsairs already, Ike Kepfords #29 and the BBI Corsair. I will wait for the Avenger and wait for a Hellcat which I doubt will ever get done. But nice job 21st on the paint scheme.

[Aviatornut.com]

I welcome a new paint scheme and I think 21st is doing a great job. I find that some times the members on here can be a little negative. Keep up the good work. (just don't come out with a new paint scheme for the P-47 )

[MightyMustang]

Aviatornut.com,

I'm not being negative I just already have enough Corsairs hanging in my room along with 2 Spritfires, 2 Thunderbolts and 2 Mustangs. And more then likely I will buy ANOTHER Mustang even though I said I wouldnt when 21st comes out with theirs. Plus the Avenger. 21st can keep the re-paints coming as long as it makes others happy who cares?

[CW4USARMY]

Not being negative over here. Just a realist.

IN fact, I am being positive! I am positive that there are entirely too many repaints!

This is a great hobby and I love 1:18 scale, and have supported BBi and 21st in all of their endeavors by putting money in their coffers, but that doesnt mean that I have to pretend to like the never ending re-paints.
Isnt this a "forum" to discuss these topics? If what I said was negative, then what is positive? To say "I love repaints, bring them on!"

I'm sure there are others who feel the same as I do but dont really want to take a chance of somehow offending the Forum masters!

Ive never been known to follow (or collect) blindly/quietly, which is why I went Warrant

[Quixote511]

TKO, don't worry about it man. I like new stuff, a ton. But, I do appreciate repaints for the reasons you mentioned. I can get a variety. And, by no means am I talented enough to repaint them the way I want on my own. Thanks for the info, it's always appreciated.
Aaron

[JohnLumley]

The paint markings on the "Bunker Hill" corsair.


Question: WTF is with the big white arrows?

Answer: The right wing arrow reminds the pilot which way is forward and the vertical fin arrow tells the pilot to land "This Side Up"

What's the real story

[tko211]

I am not 100% sure and some one can correct me on this. The up ward arrows I believe were identifing marks to indicate that this airplane if from the Carrier "Bunker Hill". I think all or most planes that flew from that carrier did have the large arrows.??? I do know it is a classic marking for a Corsair. I have seen it many times before on other models / toys.

[tko211]

CW4USARMY

No worries my friend, I really don't take any of it personal. I would be silly to do so. I was just putting in my opinion.
and please trust me when I say I direct my next comments to nobody directly, I think it is just good for everyone to know who may be curious.

I do feel pretty srongly that 21st has done a good job for us. I do have to wait for them to send stuff to me and they give a good direction for the light in which they like to have things presented. But I must say though there was more than one occassion that 21st provided good info to AREA-21 with news / images before anyone else...

a few examples
2/7/05 -first public pics of F-104 Starfighter
4/20/05 -first announcement and pics of Japanese Figures
6/17/05 -AREA-21 first to report and explain the introduction of "special edition lines"
10/24/05 -first public pictures and announcement of macchi 202.
11/24/05 -first pictures of Pudgy V box art shown
12/13/05 -first pictures of corsair "Bunker Hill" shown.

there were many others, these are just a few examples of how 21st has communicated new information to its Fan Base via AREA-21. I don't wanna hit below the belt here but I have never published an article titled "wait and see"... personally I think some of the communication from other companies is "much ado about nothing"... IMO. Aside from these F-86 pics from Admiral, EVERY BBi plane is first shown on BCA Not here on our boards.

So really, I honestly think that it is just a matter of how companies choose to engage the Fan Base... AREA-21 was created by 21st for this very reason. The only thing ALL of the compaines are guilty of is the need to push off deadlines for the sake of accuracy, detail, shifts in market, call from Mass retail, desires of e-tailers, outside forces of nature, and so on!

BBi postponed the Black Jet, Admiral is off on the estimted Dec delivery of the F-86! the Red-Devil F-18 is... where? IT just happens to all of them. I don't think anyone does it to punish us or anything like that, I can tell you absolute centantity that 21st wants the avenger finished as badly as we do! I will be the first to agree that 21st has the appearance to have more delays simply because they put out 80% more varied product in a year than the closest competitor and
99% more than the next.

A building year? yeah it really has been... there are more projects that are in the works and have been for over 8 months now. You just don't hear about them simply because 21st is trying hard not to give too much promise to delivery dates as they find it upsets people when they move. So then the exact details have to held up untill they are close to delivery. Then people get upset because of a "lack of information". It is a double edged sword you know? So we are tring a new approach of feeding info and showing pics of upcoming projects without promising dates untill they truly are close to shipping.

I think this plan is excellent. It allows us as fans to see stuff early and more often but doesn't set false expectations on delivery dates. The Merrill's set at TRU went pretty textbook. Pics were shown but no promise of ETA. More pics were shown and a historic background story was provided. Then the message came that Merrills set was going to be on shelves in late Oct. Just like 21st promised the set was on sale in Late Oct.

I think you guys can plan to see more of this type of launch in the future. I am hoping it is more agreeable to everyone doing it this way. I personally think it is the best solution.

-On the very seldom occasion I am informed of the readiness of new products so I can help to deliver the news and know what to look for... and while I understnad that many of you might find it hard to believe, 21st has made a ton of background progress with new products in 2005. I can assure you new molds are so very very close now. It will be a great time to be a 21st Fan in 06!

I hope nobody takes any offence by my remarks. I am just trying to shed some light and hopefully provide some answers to some very good and valid questions.
And thanks to everyone for making this board a fun place to kill some time!

[vulgarvulture]

Thanks for the steady-handed response. We really appreciate your efforts and that of 21st, which I will always have loyalty to because they made the 1:18 plane market happen in the first place and just keep churning out more and more good stuff.

Thanks again.

[flayrah]

I agree about trying to keep them financially sound and buying some repaints. In fact, I have even said that in many posts. Hec, I have every vehicle, fig and aircraft they made plus the repaints so I've been supporting them faithfully for years, but with lack of info from them (even with a fan web site) it is getting frustrating. At least Admiral and BBi come to the forum and try to give us a little info to discuss.

My main concern is that 21st is, and always has been, one of the most secretive, closed, and un-communicative companies I have ever encountered. I completely understand having to keep information from competitors, but there is so little reliable information from 21st I sometimes wonder if they are even trying to encourage sales and create new customers. For example, the recent anniversary of the loss of Flight 19 - the perfect time for 21st to make announcement about what appears to be their "alien" Avenger - and nothing from the company. When the "Patton" license was announced, we were told to expect all types of Patton related products, and some protoypes were shown, yet all that were produced in 1:18 were three figures and a command car with generals' flags , then no further word on the 'Patton' series. I have never even SEEN the Japanese figures or BoB vehicles here, and while I understand that is "a WalMart problem", certainly there must be something that could be done to get these products to the customers who want them. That's money lost to 21st that in many cases is going to other manufacturers and 21st will never see. With no product on the shelves, I would think this would quickly change from a WalMart, to a "21st problem". Yes, there is now a fan club, and I appreciate the website and updates from tko211 - but shouldn't a "fan club" have some benefits to the fans? Special items, packaging, discounts, anything that makes it worth the customer's time and interest to GO to the website, or follow the "product updates". If we are just the 'tip of the sword', and we often feel out of the loop - then what about all the other potential buyers, who have even less information and knowledge of products then we do? Future customers and money lost. I appreciate what 21st has done to "create" the 1:18 realistic military product, but I sometimes feel 21st thinks their customer is the retailer, and not the end-user.

[CW4USARMY]

Thanks TKO211. Very good comments. I just had to vent a little

Thanks for your time and effort with the web site and indulging my questions/comments. (Just tell 21st to throw us a bone now and then)

VR,

Andy

[spect_spidey]

My 2 cents:

Personally, I don't really care much for repaints. I think maybe 2 or 3 repaints after an initial release of a product should be the limit. I do however understand the need for a company to make repaints. What I don't understand is why a company takes the time to make repaints of various pilots planes only to release them with a standard pilot. I maybe entirely ignorant on this, but personally if I am gonna buy a Boyington, Kepford, etc. I want my pilot to look like the legend himself.

On to my next issue with 21st Century. Where is the new armor? Were are the new figures? Airplanes in 1:18 are readily available, but vehicles and armor are hard to come by. If you are gonna do repaints, why not do armor repaints as well? Where is the Rommell tank or other armor legends special paint jobs? Figures, where are they? We have 3 series of USMC. Supposedly 2 series of Japanese, which can't seem to be found anywhere. Why no releases of any of the prototype figures we have seen? Why have they not produced any new Germans or U.S. with better articulation or at least re-released the old ones with different paint schemes or accessories?

Lastly, the 21st Century website is sub-par. Not all their products are listed, no news for when it was last updated, and the fan club section is horrible. Sure there is a bit of news every now and then, but there are a few key components of a fan club site lacking. First of all, no online store is rather unusual. Whether there are member discounts, exclusives, etc. There should at least be a store so people can purchase the product. Secondly, there is a fan gallery, but it is empty and I have never found any way to upload anything into the gallery. Why have the gallery page if there is nothing in it and no way to put anything in it. And lastly, promote the products. Create a fan site kit with banners, logos, etc. Update the links to reflect fan sites, stores, product reviews; anything. Give people a reason to visit the site and a reason to join the club.

[eddie372]

Thank you TKO for your work on behalf of 21C and for participating actively in this forum.

I also appreciate 21C for what they do, and wish them well. Yes, I've also done my part to help them stay in business and my desire is that they continue to prosper.

One possible way to go about re-paints and increase sales would be for all three companies to sell unpainted models, so that we could do the customizing painting ourselves. In fact, I've also suggested that they sell some disassembled airplanes (as an option), so that we can add lights, electrical motors to props, and what have you. They could turn around and sell us decals, pilots, etc.

It seems to me that we can be too politically correct sometimes. This is a forum intended for discussion, which of course means the presentation of contrasting opinions and ideas. I don't think it's necessary to apologize for one's opinions, so long as they're presented in a respectful and sensitive manner.

Eddie372