Wingnut Wings - The End?

[thierry laurent]

When tooling exists, a kit is finally released. Look at the Eduard Bf-108. This is just a matter of time. It looks like the Lancaster and Dr. 1 molds exist. So... The risk I see is the fact all companies are not reworking them when errors are spotted. But this stays a minor point. 

[GrahamF]

I'm not personally surprised by this, when a couple of years ago they announced their Lancaster project at the same time as HKM at Telford, It crossed my mind that this could be a kit too far for them and finish them off. Subsequent announcements have not changed my mind [ this is a personal view of course ] first it was they were going to do 'oil canning' which would extend the release date, then there was perhaps going to be only detail in the cockpit area, then to cap it all they were only going to sell the front fuselage as a kit.

I think they got too deep with this and were struggling to make any money ordinarily and this was a mill stone in the way.

The big problem is that it's just not only about having a kit for sale on the website as that involves a lot of work to organise and send off and the numbers are not big enough, [ remember the early difficulties? ] you have to have a string of retailers to crash out the kits and send off in bulk, which they did have but of course cuts into profits which hurts if your costs are not low enough.

It's a shame but PJ has realised a dream and done it so hats off for him for trying it, too many very rich people have no hobbies or interests and just spunk their money on consumables.

I doubt the moulds will get sold on as there is no real incentive for them to do that unless they can create some royalty scheme but I can't see how that would work.

A lot of people here in the UK that I speak to are of the opinion that we are going to get blasted back to the 1950's in the types of businesses that will be around, more essential ones, I pray they are wrong.

 

Graham

[DeanKB]

33 minutes ago, GrahamF said:

I'm not personally surprised by this, when a couple of years ago they announced their Lancaster project at the same time as HKM at Telford, It crossed my mind that this could be a kit too far for them and finish them off. Subsequent announcements have not changed my mind [ this is a personal view of course ] first it was they were going to do 'oil canning' which would extend the release date, then there was perhaps going to be only detail in the cockpit area, then to cap it all they were only going to sell the front fuselage as a kit.

I think they got too deep with this and were struggling to make any money ordinarily and this was a mill stone in the way.

The big problem is that it's just not only about having a kit for sale on the website as that involves a lot of work to organise and send off and the numbers are not big enough, [ remember the early difficulties? ] you have to have a string of retailers to crash out the kits and send off in bulk, which they did have but of course cuts into profits which hurts if your costs are not low enough.

It's a shame but PJ has realised a dream and done it so hats off for him for trying it, too many very rich people have no hobbies or interests and just spunk their money on consumables.

I doubt the moulds will get sold on as there is no real incentive for them to do that unless they can create some royalty scheme but I can't see how that would work.

A lot of people here in the UK that I speak to are of the opinion that we are going to get blasted back to the 1950's in the types of businesses that will be around, more essential ones, I pray they are wrong.

 

Graham

The Lanc did 'em in!

[nmayhew]

having had the kits in my first mega stash, sold them off, then bought some back, then sold them off again I am once again tempted

 

i even have a few in my ebay cart right now

 

and then i remember that i haven't even come close to starting one, but my purchasing devil says 'they may not be around much longer...'

 

and then I remember the rigging...

 

I have horror flashbacks of watching Uschi van der R holding his breath threading rigging in one of his youtube vids...

 

and I go back to the warm bosom of WWII and my Spitfires and 109s

 

 

[Pup7309]

54 minutes ago, nmayhew said:

having had the kits in my first mega stash, sold them off, then bought some back, then sold them off again I am once again tempted

 

i even have a few in my ebay cart right now

 

and then i remember that i haven't even come close to starting one, but my purchasing devil says 'they may not be around much longer...'

 

and then I remember the rigging...

 

I have horror flashbacks of watching Uschi van der R holding his breath threading rigging in one of his youtube vids...

 

and I go back to the warm bosom of WWII and my Spitfires and 109s

 

 

The night is long and full of terrors, with rigging how to’s on utube...

We all might be driven back to that warm bosom if it weren’t for stockpiling our stashes.
 

Winter is coming.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Pup7309

[Pup7309]

57 minutes ago, DeanKB said:

The Lanc did 'em in!

A bridge too far...

[Jan_G]

I hope that WNW will stay in business somehow. Maybe they will change name, ownership or focus on more commercial subjects.

But I'm still waiting for their Lanc. And reading this thread I realised that I have 0 of WNW kits in my small stash

So just to be safe I have ordered Dh.9a postwar and duellist with halberstadt and Harry Tate 

and still need to get Felixstowe late and Gotha UWD

 

btw Ammo of Mig Jimenez eshop has 15% discount on WNW and shipping free within EU for orders above 95€ 

https://www.migjimenez.com/en/99-wingnut-wings

 

jan

 

[DeanKB]

On a purely practical note, I have decided not to add any further WNW kits to the stash.

 

 Firstly, I already have too many WNW kits as things stand, especially with some of the prices being asked. And non WNW kits as well, for that matter.

 

Secondly, there is a very good used market for WNW kits, so if I decided I did need something, and with a little patience, that should be possible in the future. 

 

Thirdly - and most importantly - I cannot believe that the moulds of existing subjects will not see the light of day in the fairly near future. I can see no logical reason to not sell the moulds, or the entire WNW company, to anybody who puts in a reasonable bid. It would be akin to having found £100k in your back pocket, but then deciding to leave it there.

[Tony T]

Actually, I have been hoping WnW would fold and be replaced by PhoenixNutWings which made 1/16th scale model kitsets with "yes you can" rigging, turnbuckles and so forth for those of us who lack watchmaker skills.

 

And with some 3D printed alloy framing and wheels, some wood veneer and so on, allowing ordinary modellers to make things of beauty rather than just stash the barely buildable.

 

Tony 

[DeanKB]

12 minutes ago, Jennings Heilig said:

I'm not aware of a single case in recent living memory where a model kit manufacturer went out of business where most or all of their molds were not purchased, leased, or otherwise put back to use by some company somewhere.  In the case of WnW, their tooling represents probably several million dollars worth of investment, and the subject matter has proven very popular, so I can't see them sitting idle for very long, especially if the company is put into receivership.  Those are very valuable assets.

And a professional, profit seeking company can do far, far more with them than WNW did  - things like making & selling popular subjects, having enough product that you don't sell out, not ignoring entire niches like French, Italian & Austro-Hungarian subjects, having a release schedule, doing some marketing, getting the mythical "special edition" to market, etc.

 

Right, I've talked myself into that.

 

Thanks, Jennings.

[BiggTim]

I wish it was possible to hide a thread...

[nmayhew]

7 hours ago, Jan_G said:

I hope that WNW will stay in business somehow. Maybe they will change name, ownership or focus on more commercial subjects.

But I'm still waiting for their Lanc. And reading this thread I realised that I have 0 of WNW kits in my small stash

So just to be safe I have ordered Dh.9a postwar and duellist with halberstadt and Harry Tate 

and still need to get Felixstowe late and Gotha UWD

 

btw Ammo of Mig Jimenez eshop has 15% discount on WNW and shipping free within EU for orders above 95€ 

https://www.migjimenez.com/en/99-wingnut-wings

 

jan

 

great, you just cost me a couple hundred euros

 

[Archimedes]

59 minutes ago, Jennings Heilig said:

I'm not aware of a single case in recent living memory where a model kit manufacturer went out of business where most or all of their molds were not purchased, leased, or otherwise put back to use by some company somewhere.  In the case of WnW, their tooling represents probably several million dollars worth of investment, and the subject matter has proven very popular, so I can't see them sitting idle for very long, especially if the company is put into receivership.  Those are very valuable assets.

Hi Jennings - I think you have called it right. This may be the end in its current form. 

 

Best regards,

Paul

[tucohoward]

52 minutes ago, DeanKB said:

And a professional, profit seeking company can do far, far more with them than WNW did  - things like making & selling popular subjects, having enough product that you don't sell out, not ignoring entire niches like French, Italian & Austro-Hungarian subjects, having a release schedule, doing some marketing, getting the mythical "special edition" to market, etc.

If this was such a lucrative segment of the scale model world why hasn't it already been done?

 

[mozart]

1 hour ago, BiggTim said:

I wish it was possible to hide a thread...

Thanks to this thread and my one tiny posting in it, a very generous member of this lovely forum has come up trumps with a WnW SE5a for me, that's what makes this place SOOOO special. Thank you, you know who you are!!