pzcreations Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Im 'fixin' to make a few people angry, but I sincerely hope not. But heres the latest news on the P-61 shipment.. I was just informed by the Hobby Boss Importer, which is Squadron, that the current shipment of all P-61s originally allocated for dealers like myself and other hobby shops are now going to be held by Squadron and not shipped out. What does this mean? They are getting another shipment in late April/early May for more P-61s,which will be when we get ours in. I apologize for this delay, and up until today I was told by Squadron that I was going to receive my shipment on schedule as promised. But now they are pulling all orders back to keep for themselves. Again, I do apologize for the delay, but it is totally out of my control. anyone who has pre-ordered this from me will be receiving an email shortly about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eoyguy Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 (edited) Thats an interesting system they have there, being both the distributor and a retailer. Want to keep the competition from getting theirs? Just tell them the ain't getting 'em. Want to further beat down the competition? Sell them yourself and undercut the competitions price To me, thats just bad business. IMHO ya gotta separate the retail from the wholesale/distributions side, and if you tell a customer you have X amount for them, you send X amount to them and not keep them to sell yourself. If thats they way they are operating, I think they have gotten my last order. Whose to say that May won't roll around and they do the same thing? Thats why single source/lack of competition is no good for the consumer. I also notice that Sprue Bros. shipment was shorted as well. Edited April 16, 2013 by eoyguy Saber and Vandy 1 VX 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petrov27 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Yes - it is disappointing and does not make me inclined to send my business to Squadron. Saber 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Same here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikester Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 The He 219 retails for £49.99 here in UK and I've seen prices as low as £35 from shops. Some may have seen my build of it here - yes - it has a few issues to my eyes - but still represents remarkable value for money and I'll maintain that with a little work it can be improved hugely. Most of the from the box builds I've seen have been superb! Much as I do use aftermarket from time to time - it's not essential and there's great pleasure to be gained from making changes and additions myself. That said I have just ordered the Eduard wheels - but my total build price will be about £55. The ZM one does look excellent in the plastic - and I'm interested to see what changes they make to the canopy before launch. But it is likely to be around the £150+ mark by the time it reaches UK (maybe more + import taxes - Telford offers aside). It's another avenue to building a UHU that will please a lot of modellers - but it will be at least three times the price of the Revell kit. In effect I've got the Revell UHU and a Hobby Boss Widow for less than the cost of the ZM kit. You makes your choice - if the ZM kit had been released first I may have gone that route. But I really hope my build hasn't put people off the Revell kit - my build would have been soooo much quicker if I'd known what needed doing when I started! There were shape errors I found in the He 111P - but nobody seems to have picked up on those. I wouldn't for one minute suggest it's a poor kit. I'll maintain no kit *needs* aftermarket stuff - it can be nice - but sometimes a cheap basic canvas can be great fun to work with. As to pricing in general - there are so many factors involved I think many modellers go of half cocked without understanding the bigger picture - and some utter rubbish gets spouted at times. What I will re-iterate though is that, as large scale aviation enthusiasts, we've *never* had it so good. Amazing, for instance, that we now have a choice of UHUs. Prices from differing manufacturers may be difficult to square up in our heads as a value proposition - but to whine about prices when we have access to some of the jewels we have available now feels a little churlish to this happy fondler of plastic... And - yes - I'm sure we could all do with more money for our hobbies I know - I'm rambling again - I'll go take my meds Have fun everyone - isn't that what it's all about? Iain Iain, I certainly wasn't put off by your analysis (obviously because I ordered one last week), found it very informative and entertaining. I doubt that I'll delve as deeply you as you did, mostly because I'm just not that good! But it's good to know what can be done if you're so inclined, Maybe at some point in the future you could condense that whole thread down a tad into a basic step by step guide. I know that would probably be fairly time consuming but I think you'd have the undying grattitude of LS 219 builders everywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee White Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Thats an interesting system they have there, being both the distributor and a retailer. Want to keep the competition from getting theirs? Just tell them the ain't getting 'em. Want to further beat down the competition? Sell them yourself and undercut the competitions price To me, thats just bad business. IMHO ya gotta separate the retail from the wholesale/distributions side, and if you tell a customer you have X amount for them, you send X amount to them and not keep them to sell yourself. If thats they way they are operating, I think they have gotten my last order. Whose to say that May won't roll around and they do the same thing? Thats why single source/lack of competition is no good for the consumer. I also notice that Sprue Bros. shipment was shorted as well. Interesting..... I'm not a lawyer, but I think that Anti-Trust laws were enacted to curb exactly these kinds of abuses..... eoyguy and Saber 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee White Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Im 'fixin' to make a few people angry, but I sincerely hope not. But heres the latest news on the P-61 shipment.. I was just informed by the Hobby Boss Importer, which is Squadron, that the current shipment of all P-61s originally allocated for dealers like myself and other hobby shops are now going to be held by Squadron and not shipped out. What does this mean? They are getting another shipment in late April/early May for more P-61s,which will be when we get ours in. I apologize for this delay, and up until today I was told by Squadron that I was going to receive my shipment on schedule as promised. But now they are pulling all orders back to keep for themselves. Again, I do apologize for the delay, but it is totally out of my control. anyone who has pre-ordered this from me will be receiving an email shortly about this. I've just filed an antitrust complaint with the FTC on their website regarding this. Stay tuned- We'll see if Squadron changes their ways. Saber, eoyguy and Vandy 1 VX 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eoyguy Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 (edited) I think if I were Gordon over at Sprue Bros. I would be throwing some of my weight around with Squadron. No offense to any of the other shops that are effected by Squadrons policies, but Sprue, with their acquisition of Great Models, is probably second (?) only to Squadron as far as online retailers go. Having to go through your competition to get stocked with the merchandise you both sell would be very problematic IMHO. If I were Gordon, I think I would be talking to some of these companies to see if Sprue Bros. could become their own importer (perhaps "exclusive importer) and not rely on your primary competitor to keep you suppled. I plan on e-mailing Squadron to let them know how I feel about their business practice, hopefully others will as well. This hobby isn't large enough to have a 500lb gorilla doing as they please and not expect there to be some blowback from it. I know I won't be ordering from them unless Sprue Bros., TS and whoever else is getting the shaft from them reports that things have changed. Otherwise I can do without. Oh, and I hope there are enough guys from Hyperscale, ARC and other sites that see this and share it. I am fairly certain that anything posted on HS concerning Squadrons business practices would meet a quick demise (that Squadron banner ain't there for no reason) . Don't know about ARC. Edited April 17, 2013 by eoyguy Saber and Vandy 1 VX 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Speaking for myself, certainly not angry with you in any way at all Tim....this situation is completely beyond your control......but Squadron/MMD can kiss my a$$. You're 100% correct Lee...this is exactly why the anti-trust laws are on the books....and will be notifying Squadron that I also intend to file a complaint against them with the Federal Trade Commision concerning this business practice....for all practical purposes witholding a product to create a monoply that they control.... In the meantime, will continue to peck away on the items for the Widow that I do have.... Jim otis252, phantom, Lee White and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Just filed a complaint with the FTC on their website concerning this....took a bit of doing since there were many steps, but perhaps it might change their minds about treating consumers in such a manner..... NOW, I'll email Sqaudron & voice my displeasure.... Jim Vandy 1 VX 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Howie Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Very perceptive Kevin!! In Australia we get some Revell cheapie Hawk and some expensive ie HE219. We in general get better prices on Trump and HB however than the States sometimes by up to 35-40% less. Luckily i get to visit Tokyo frequently for model shopping so get cheap Japanese there. What staggers me is how cheap Hasegawa and Tamiya are in Hong Kong. 32nd scale F-4's for 60US F-16's for 80.. I could go on with ship kits almost half price from Japan. Anyway i think the ZM kit with everything in one box will be a killer. The P-61 is around the 115-120 mark in Honk Kong so pricey even for a Chinese kit. It seems the birth of the Chinese middle class and the drive or better pay and conditions is having an affect already. If they are getting pricey in China brace for some big prices over here if you choose to not buy direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Just my humble opinion, but have a strong gut feeling that Squadron might have shot themselves in the foot to some degree with this decision....perhaps guys that might not build 32nd, or not interested in the Widow will take notice of how Squadron treats consumers...., Back to the bench now...... Cheers, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eoyguy Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Perhaps they have been doing this for some time, but this time they did it with a very popular and sought after release, and someone had the chutzpah to tell us what was going on and why. It would be interesting to hear from some vendors if this has happened in the past with Squadron, if they don't feel threatened or worry about Squadron retaliation. Saber 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Just did a quick recon over at ARC...no mention of it.... Oh well....got the wash on the TD 'chutes....looks pretty good.....will let'em dry overnight & shoot flat coat tomorrow, followed by some faded olive drab dry-brushing....wheels are done....came out great! Happy modeling, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vandy 1 VX 4 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 (edited) My understanding is MMD (wholesale) end of SQUADRON (retail) is the sole distributor in the US for Hobby Boss. Why don't we all send Emails / Letters also to or local Hobby shops and Hobby Boss themselves to!!!! Maybe this is why Hobby Boss and Trumpeter are in one building. But two separate companies with two different US distributor's ( Trumpeter uses Stevens) ? I just sent copies of this post to some Local Hobby Shops to. Cheers Danny Edited April 17, 2013 by Vandy 1 VX 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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