Small Scale Military Headquarters

With Admiral's announcement of their 1:18 Mosquito and JSI's acquisition of 21C's 1:18 molds, I am surprised there hasn't been any mention of upcoming 1/32 Aircraft from other manufacturers.
Does anyone know what's going on with BBI? I guess their F-104 never got off the ground...
The whereabouts 21C's 1:32 molds are still a mystery, but I hope we'll hear something soon... hopefully.

Maybe some of the 1:18 manufacturers will start making 1:32 A/C.
I could go for a 1:32 Mosquito or F-86.

RAD 2112 wrote:With Admiral's announcement of their 1:18 Mosquito and JSI's acquisition of 21C's 1:18 molds, I am surprised there hasn't been any mention of upcoming 1/32 Aircraft from other manufacturers.
Does anyone know what's going on with BBI? I guess their F-104 never got off the ground...
The whereabouts 21C's 1:32 molds are still a mystery, but I hope we'll hear something soon... hopefully.

Maybe some of the 1:18 manufacturers will start making 1:32 A/C.
I could go for a 1:32 Mosquito or F-86.

I hear that BBI's Phantom was a failure saleswise, that could be a determining factor on making any more jets in 1/32 scale and you can have a Corgi mossie in 1/32 if you are willing to pay for it.

I've seen those things go upwards of $150 on ebay

-Kevin

The only thing daunting about BBI's 1/32 aircraft is the sticker shock, which is probably the reason for poor sales of the F-4.
Other than that, they're exceptional pieces.

As for a Corgi Mossie... I'll stick with plastic.

BBi 1/32 scale planes offer no real moving parts, its one of the main reason why their sales have flopped....

Hard to believe the BBI F-4 wasn't a success.Very nice model,with good detail,and paint.Jolly rogers too.
Very reasonable price for what you got.If this one did not meet sales expectations,I don't know what would.
I have a 1:32 Corgi Aviation Archive Mosquito,and it is fantastic.Bomber version,with a great looking RAF brown and green camo.Almost all metal,with very clear acrylic canopy,and nose.
Expensive,but a really nicely detailed,metal model.Limited numbers also.
As a matter of fact,all of the1:32 Corgi Aviation Archive are really nice.Expensive,but worth it.
I have the Mosquito,Spitfire,Hurricane,Me109,and P-51[Old Crowe]
Highly recommended.

I would even settle for the repaint scheme of the Spitfire that was annouced by 21st C about a year ago

Who gets sticker shock paying $60 for a very nice 1:32 F-4 Jolly Rogers?
Or the Wildcat,or Dauntless for about $40?
If people are not going to crack open their wallets even at these prices,then I fear that the manufacturers will make less detailed "toys",or not make them at all

Greetings:

I've lost interest in the 1/32 stuff and have begun to liquidate my collection off in the traders forum.

For me it was just too much of a rehash of all the 1/18 stuff. I didn't need 50 Mustangs for example. The 21st stuff was always so touchy with quality and in the end I never found the stuff in my area. The 1/32 market is also just saturated with model kits, whereas in 1/18 there has only been so much stuff made and you can have a nice collection.

I thought the BBI 1/32 stuff was really nice. Didn't seem they made too good of a go of it though. They have released nothing recently actually. The fact that dealers and people still have Wildcats, F-4's and Dauntlesses tell me it did not go well for them. I doubt we see an F-104 now.

Corey

snake wrote:Who gets sticker shock paying $60 for a very nice 1:32 F-4 Jolly Rogers?
Or the Wildcat,or Dauntless for about $40?
If people are not going to crack open their wallets even at these prices,then I fear that the manufacturers will make less detailed "toys",or not make them at all

Snake,
the problem is that 21st spoiled us with cheap models, now no one wants to pay $50 when they used to pay no more than $20.

Fair enough.I understand that.
But these three models are all BBI,which make a superior product to 21C,IMO.
Also,these are planes that have not been released in 1:32,as far as I know.I would have thought that all three of these planes would have been big sellers,particularly the F-4.
No wonder the manufacturers are wary of new releases.We all ask for these new releases,and then people don't buy because they are more than $20?
I don't get it.

snake wrote:Fair enough.I understand that.
But these three models are all BBI,which make a superior product to 21C,IMO.
Also,these are planes that have not been released in 1:32,as far as I know.I would have thought that all three of these planes would have been big sellers,particularly the F-4.
No wonder the manufacturers are wary of new releases.We all ask for these new releases,and then people don't buy because they are more than $20?
I don't get it.

I'll add to my previous comment... Honestly, I don't just think it is the price point, but also the options. Neither the Dauntless or the Wildcat have more options than any of 21st's planes, and in many cases, 21st's stuff outdoes BBI's stuff by leaps and bounds and all that for $20. When BBI first announced the Dauntless, I was excited! especially on the pre-pro which had working flaps and many options. Unfortunately, the actual production plane didn't come with thos options and it turned me off, especially for what you got for the price. Now if BBi offered the Dauntless and Wildcat at a more resonable price, say $24.99, I would probably buy them.

hworth18 wrote: I'll add to my previous comment... Honestly, I don't just think it is the price point, but also the options. Neither the Dauntless or the Wildcat have more options than any of 21st's planes, and in many cases, 21st's stuff outdoes BBI's stuff by leaps and bounds and all that for $20. When BBI first announced the Dauntless, I was excited! especially on the pre-pro which had working flaps and many options. Unfortunately, the actual production plane didn't come with thos options and it turned me off, especially for what you got for the price. Now if BBi offered the Dauntless and Wildcat at a more reasonable price, say $24.99, I would probably buy them.

Hworth18 you've hit the nail on the head... even 21C's Corsairs had folding wings and intricate landing gear @ $20.
If BBI's planes were at a lower price and had more options, I would buy more of them.
Out if the three BBI Planes, the F-4 has the most options, plus it's wings fold up.

The only reasons why I purchased a Wildcat were because:
1. James Swett had recently passed
2. I purchased it from a fellow board member for ~$30.

One of the main reasons I like the BBI F4F Wildcat so much is they did not add those darn folding wings! Look at the 21st Century Corsair in both 18 and 32nd scale. Look at how bad those hinges look, just terrible on the 32nd scale version. When you get models down to the size of 32nd scale, it is hard to add features like folding wings without oversized, goofy looking hinges. I would much rather the sleek look of the prototype, that the toy look of a model with oversized parts.

Greetings

The price point does bother people though. I was not disappointed with what I got in the BBI models but honestly, I did think they were a little too much money. But then, some of these models have gotten extremely expensive. I think Corgi, Franklin Mint and to some degree Hobby Master have gotten really expensive. Collecting has become more watch your wallet than fun and enjoyment.

I'm really taking my collection down because of that. I realize the money is just not worth putting into the hobby anymore. Sadly, I think demand for these models will go down continually as long as the prices keep going up. Even some 1/144 models are going for $30, that's a lot of money for a relatively small piece.

BBI did have superior paint on their products. 21st could match it, but it was inconsistent at best. Harry is right the working features of 21st's models blew BBI out of the park though. So they both had pros and cons, which is the way companies are, each has good and bad.

Now be into photography like I am, that's a whole different animal there.

Corey

Well everyone has their own opinion here.
I understand both sides of the argument.,As I have more than a dozen 1;32 by both BBI and 21C,I have reference to both brands.
My main point is that people are not willing to pay more than "bargain basement"prices,for a model that no one else is producing.
I would also like to get the best price possible,but at the same time,will buy a first release of any plane that I KNOW I want.
In an offhand way,I an just trying to suggest the "Walmart clearance " days are over.Might have to pay more than $20 for future releases.

Perhaps if the economy would have been better more BBI planes would have been sold. Personally, the F4 cost me $50, the Dauntless, $48. and the Wildcat, $31. The price was heading in the right direction. I like all the BBI 1/32 planes because they were different and not just another P51......

I bought all 3 of the BBI's. I don't mind the prices too much as long as I don't have to build them and they are well detailed.
The fact that they were 1:32 planes that no other pre-built company had done had a lot to do with it.
I agree we got spoiled with the $15 21st Walmart prices. I scooped up every different model I could find.
I think if a company could find a happy medium in pricepoint of say $25 a piece it would probably strike a balance. More for bigger planes.
Really the days of 1:18 coming back to Walmart are slim, but 1:32 still has a chance.

It's too bad 1:32 is not getting more attention, because it's the perfect size for display for collectors that don't have room for 1:18.

I have come back to a totally different world...

I plan to keep all of my 1/32 planes and tanks. I love looking at them everyday, the little things about them. Now that I have money, I can buy the Wildcat and Dauntless.

I look at the F-4 as my favorite piece, mainly because it's my only post-WWII jet in 1/32... I was looking forward to eventually having MiGs and an F-104, hopefully one day an F-105 and an A-7...

But I've moved back into my hobby of collecting random military uniforms and then patching them up to spec.

It pains me.

It's funny that it's not till these pieces start disappearing that people pay rediculous prices for them.

21st Century 1:32 planes are already getting way above and beyond what we paid for them on ebay. People will only pay these prices if they panic that they can't get them anymore.

We didn't know we had it so good. I for one am thankful I bought everything 1:32 there was, except for a few early tooling "battleship rivets" P-51D's.

I picked up the Bravo Team 109 awhile back and I must say I like it way more than their Mustang.

pics of the 109?

well right now AFV kits are going for 45ish a pop..the new Tamiya Pz II ausf.Cs are cheap at 25..the new aircraft from Trump and Others are all above 70.00, with Revell's Ju88A at 65ish being a complete win price-wise IMO.

for a good pre-built I'd pay 45-60 for it, esp if it was at Dragon's quality..for say like a pre-built 1/32 Ju87D-5, CR42 or IL-2..as long as the quality is there, and it's something that has my interest