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Can we demand it??


P Stoner

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Other than the wish list we have from time to time, but can we Large Scale Builders not really demand but express to the model gods that we really want certain kits? Is there a way by signatures or surveys get them to move on subjects? I'm sure that if they are smart they are looking at us to see how they're product does in the market and those that they target! Or is this just a figment of our imagination!!

 

I don't want to start a rant here but would like to understand how they think or target a market! Or is it a " hey let's make one of these" kind of meetings they have!

 

Any who!

Go Phantoms!

 

Paul

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You may be able to have some luck with a handful of the resin kit manufacturers (HPH for example stated if they knew they could sell 100 tigercats, they'd do that in 1/32 resin).

 

You may possibly get the attention of the short run plastic manufacturers as well but it'd be much more difficult to have any pull with a "standard" kit manufacturer unless you had a heck of a lot of commitments or guaranteed interest.

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People do what they want to do, regardless of other people's logic, demands and begging. At least that's what my belief in Free Will leads me to conclude.

 

Tnarg

 

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Well Paul,

 

The best way to get less-known topics is to wait for topics saturation... If you look at the 1/35th AFV market, this is what occured. For instance, people complained for years that most released kits were German ww2 topics but finally modern tanks, British or small axis countries tanks and softskins were released! This makes you wonder! Indeed if such topics are financially viable now, why was it impossible twenty or ten years ago?

 

So, we need more companies and more competition. This is the only way to force them to start releasing "new" topics to get a seat in the market arena. This is what Trumpeter did with many 1/32-1/24 kits or HK with the large bombers...

 

Personally, I love Tamiya kits but hate the company policy for large scale planes. Indeed, they have a zero risk policy that is so shortsighted that they do not even consider money-printing topics asking for a ridiculous investment such as the slat wings Phantoms, the Aggressor Vipers or the Japanese F-15D...

 

My 2 cents.

 

Thierry

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Totally agree Thierry. I think Trumpeter has come along way and I;ve built many of thier kit and must say from the time the A-10 came out the kits have got much better. But! I don't see them going after kits that have aleady been done by others, well at least in the jet world! I feel that if Trumpeter was to come out with late Phantoms including the S and RF, I think they would be shocked at the sales! My opinion! I would also love to see more twin engine type kits. Navy type rescue planes, the list could go on and on and we all know that we'll have to wait and see.

 

The big question I guess is, do these manufactures watch whats going on in the modelling world? Are there any interactions?

 

Paul

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Imagine this, supposing you have started a project and spent some considerable time researching the drawings and producing parts. There is inevitably a timescale factor sometimes the end time of the project is not set in stone.

What would you do if on forums people are jumping up and down for a particular plane that is your project? Satisfy them by telling them that you are producing it and let your competitors know what you are doing?

 

Graham.

Edited by GrahamF
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I still adhere to a gut feeling (and always will), that any competent decision makers will use whatever information is available to them to help enable a logical decision that benefits their company. To consciously ignore the tremendous wealth of ideas and wishes that are repeatedly expressed on modeling forums across the web, would be foolhardy at best, and negligent at worst.

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I will see if my Bulgarian "associate" is still around.

He has a way of making model companies an offer they can't refuse.

 

 

MBB

 

I forgot all about him Michel...Should I be worried? :unsure:

 

Derek

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HPH for example stated if they knew they could sell 100 tigercats, they'd do that in 1/32 resin

 

 

 

Oh My! If that is really the case we should lobby for a pre-order mechanism to get 100 in - I would have a couple as it is pretty much my all time favourite a/c

 

Peter

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Companies release whatever they think will make them money.  Few really look at all the boards (simply too many and in different languages).  Wish lists (in my opinion) are useless unless someone takes the time to make the manufacturers aware of their existence (as FSM magazine does/did).  Even then, a wish list without numbers is not worth pointing out.

 

As for new companies - they want a niche to get their foot in the door.  Dragon's niche when they started were Warsaw Pact vehicles no one touched.  Then it was WWII, then aircraft and so on.  Trumpeter began with plastic versions of popular subjects only available in resin... this became their niche and now they release others.  Amusing Hobby started with a real WWII tank but found Trumpeter and Dragon competing with them on the same subject so they moved on to 'Paper Tanks.'

 

Forgive the AFV slant to the above but for over a decade, it is what I dealt with in my correspondence with these companies.

 

If writing about aircraft releases, few seem to know (or care) that companies like Tamiya and Xuntong do not have static models as their primary income producer.  Even a successful kit won't make them funnel more resources away from their established money makers.  As someone stated, these are businesses who make decisions in manners we won't understand unless we sat in their boardrooms.

 

I won't waste anyone's time starting or participating in wish lists.  I gather references and approach these companies to pitch the subjects I am interested in.  So far, I have had some success but it can also be due to my decade's involvement with model companies where I have offered free advice, helped name companies, named products, and provided references (when asked as opposed to me pitching a new pet subject) while remaining in the woodwork.

 

Regards,

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Kickstarter projects might deliver your wishes if you could handle a resin or short run implementation.

 

There are a lot of people who are completely in fantasy land about what they believe that they can do on similar websites asking for money.... "Daddy buy me a fish tank" only works when your daddy has resources pushing billions of dollars, but when it does, you get the Monterrey Bay Aquarium or WNW, and thank you very much for those.

 

However, if you were to build in resin or vac or etc., you could get more options and the Kickstarter option might work. At least it doesn't go the route of "send me your money and a decade or two from now you might get a kit".

 

None of this works for the big companies, because they have stockholders to satisfy and quarterly numbers to meet. They are in business to make money, not to satisfy our cravings, sad as that is for us. Their attitude is just like the cool aliens from This Island Earth: "Your puny earth science is no match for us".  Even so, the last few years have turned into "every month is Christmas" for me. Too much great stuff being made versus how fast I can build or even have the resources to collect.

 

Tnarg

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You may be able to have some luck with a handful of the resin kit manufacturers (HPH for example stated if they knew they could sell 100 tigercats, they'd do that in 1/32 resin).

 

 

Oh My! If that is really the case we should lobby for a pre-order mechanism to get 100 in - I would have a couple as it is pretty much my all time favourite a/c

 

Peter

 

 

Brian would probably order the remaining 98 on his own! :whistle:  :lol:

 

Derek

 

 

 

 

Dern straight!!!    Hell if it took 100 HpH orders to make a 1/32nd F7F, Id be putting the fundage up ASAP if I had it to get ALL 100!   :lol:

 

1 or 2 for SURE from someone like HpH, and if from a Revell-esk type company with a possibly smaller price point, with maybe less details.....................maybe even more than 2..............    :hmmm:

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