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WNW is nowhere near the end of its run...!


Pup7309

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6 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

 

But are all limited runs the same ?  Is a WNW run the same size as a Tamiya run ?

I doubt WNW's D.VII run was the same size as their Gotha.

I suppose run sizes are secret info  :whistle:

 

Would be interesting to know.

 

 

 

How long is a piece of string? :-)

Radu

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18 hours ago, cbk57 said:

WNW have literally created a market that either did not exist or no one knew existed.  Before WNW there was zero chance that anyone would do a new tooling kit of most of the kits WNW have released.  Take WNW first release the Junkers J1.  No manufacturer would have released that in 1/32 as no one would have thought that anyone would buy it.  

 

Agree 100%. They have created a market, but is there a staturation point? 

 

Also the price point will become a factor with fluctuations.

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2 hours ago, Pup7309 said:

Inside info?

Not really - they’ve been very public on their outlook and goals since day one. There’s an article on Hyperscale with Peter Jackson and Richard Alexander where they explain the origins of WNW. Essentially, we modellers are reaping the benefits of one modeller who happens to have a lot of money and a passion for WWI aircraft.

 

That’s why all this talk of market size, pricing and saturation points are irrelevant. WNW will carry on making kits of WWI aircraft for as long as Peter Jackson wants them too.

Edited by vince14
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55 minutes ago, vince14 said:

Not really - they’ve been very public on their outlook and goals since day one. There’s an article on Hyperscale with Peter Jackson and Richard Alexander where they explain the origins of WNW. Essentially, we modellers are reaping the benefits of one modeller who happens to have a lot of money and a passion for WWI aircraft.

 

That’s why all this talk of market size, pricing and saturation points are irrelevant. WNW will carry on making kits of WWI aircraft for as long as Peter Jackson wants them too.

Yes that’s obvious but the article is from 2010:

 

In it they say:

“...modellers hoping for Wingnut kits of WW2 subjects such as a 1/32 Lancaster will be disappointed”

and

“One surprise is the decision not to do a 1/32 Sopwith Camel..”

 

Guess what, times change. Richard  Alexander was quite open about the release schedule for 2010. It would be good to hear from him again.

 

I started this thread to have an interesting conversation, and enjoy reading the comments. All of them are relevant in their own way. 

 

Edited by Pup7309
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The 2010 interview, it is interesting to note, mentions 33 types of aircraft in production for the future. I did a rough count on their site and yep I got 33 different types, including the Lancaster which they weren’t going to make. So if they stuck with that, the Lanc will be the last kit!

 

But only if the zombie apocalypse happens tomorrow...

 

Also from the article from 2010 they say:

 

“We are modellers too so the decision process goes something like this;

  1. Do we want to see a model of it ?

  2. Do we have enough reference material to make an honest attempt at it?

  3. Do we think other modellers will want to make a model of it?

PJ decides of course, but it is still a collaborative enterprise, including what ‘other modellers will want to make...’

Edited by Pup7309
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4 hours ago, Pup7309 said:

Agree 100%. They have created a market, but is there a staturation point? 

 

Also the price point will become a factor with fluctuations.

You would think there would be a saturation point, but I don’t believe that anymore in scale modeling.  The market is not a supply and demand market and it certainly is not rational.  Many hobbyists  hoard more than build.  When you look at the big picture of what is being released now, it has reachead a point where there seems to be a market for everything that can be dreamed up.  We are seeing kits issued that we used to say that will never be done.  We are seeing cartoon kits being issue now and adults are buying them.  In every scale and every subject from cars, to ships to tanks to planes and sci-fi big and small everything imaginable and some things not Imaginable are being released. This seems to have a ways to run.  WWI is one of the less taped corners of the modeling world and I think there is a lot of room still left there for high end kit development.  The market is also global so American or European perspective is not the be all and end all.  Asia is a very big player in all of this.

 

Some examples of who would have imagined:  1/20 Ebbro Brabham Honda F2, 1/48 Trumpeter Type VIIC, 1/35 Amusing Hobby paper panzer series, the uprising of Meng, Takom and Rye Field, Trumpeter 1/200 Warships, Deagostini subscription models, and on and on.

 

Hasegawa is now tooling Japanese industrial equipment, including farm tractors, tarmac rollers and more in 1/24 scale instead of military models.  If you look at the Hasegawa stand it is normally now mostly sci-fi or some sort of Japanese market oddities like school desks or other industrial equipment models.  They did a modern Japanese airport fire truck recently also in 1/72.  

 

Our one 1/32 airplane site is one little subset and WNW is a subset within a subset.  But there is so much room for so many things and so many buyers willing to pay around $100 for a model globally that the market is not a big worry.

Edited by cbk57
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...and kits are essentially a consumable. OK, they don't all get built, but as far as the manufacturers are concerned, buying one doesn't prevent the customer buying another, in the same way buying a car or a house does. Otherwise, there would only be one P51 kit on the market, and one Bf 109, and one Tiger tank. 'New, Improved, different from the last' are the driving forces behind the sales, coupled with a desire of the customer to collect the whole series. Whatever the customer sees as a series!!  What Hasegawa and WNW are doing is broadening the range of subjects, and generating new niches, by which they get 100% of their new niche, for a while.  More power to their elbow...

 

 

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Yeh interesting. 

But I was thinking about the Handley Page 0/400. I’m now a WW1 convert. But put the Lanc next to the HP on display. The Lanc for me wins hands down. 

I realise that a few people will really want it (the HP) but how many? Enough to justify the cost of making it? They have to sell a lot of fighters to make up for the shortfall. The Felixstowe for me is a more aesthetic option. But eye of the beholder and all that. What it does say to me is technically and financially they can do what they want. But if a kit is a total flop they might have a re-think, or just bring out a batch of popular subjects, and sell a bunch of those.

 

There is a niche within the WW1 niche who like early kits. 1914/15. So far we have seen the Stahltaube which is visually very interesting. But will we see Farmans, Voisins,  Caudron or even a Be2c ?  I think these are important types but I’d probably pass on the rigging alone or have to justify the cost of stashing it.

 

At a guess they do what we all want, and other stuff because they can. WNW are a business but do it for the love of it. Their research and quality is just awesome. But in some countries it’s becoming a stretch to afford their kits with US exchange rate, taxes and other fees. 

Edited by Pup7309
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27 minutes ago, rigor said:

Well if they did go under. They well make a small fortune selling the molds 

I don’t know, PJ might just put them in the museum they are building over there...Save ‘em for a rainy day :)

Edited by Pup7309
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15 hours ago, Radub said:

 

How long is a piece of string? :-)

Radu

 

'Somebody' knows :rolleyes:

 

11 hours ago, vince14 said:

That’s why all this talk of market size, pricing and saturation points are irrelevant. WNW will carry on making kits of WWI aircraft for as long as Peter Jackson wants them too.

 

I'll bet he doesn't like flushing money down the toilet .  :shrug:

 

 

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