KiwiZac Posted February 23, 2021 Author Share Posted February 23, 2021 11 hours ago, Bomber Command nut said: I guess we will have to wait for our members down there to report back after the show . . . . I'll gather what info I can and post here when I get back kalashnikov-47, Pup7309, Paul in Napier and 5 others 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radub Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) 31 minutes ago, thierry laurent said: Indeed. The production itself is the lowest cost of the full process. A company selling highly valored models can rely on its existing catalogue for years. I was guessing such a possibility months ago when I saw the website staying active but wait and see. Not only is the website still active and saying "we are not gone, watch this space", but the company Wingnut Wings is still registered as an on-going concern with the New Zealand Companies Register. I just checked and they submitted their last filing on 15 November 2020, a good few months after the speculation of their alleged "death" started haunting the internet. All the hard evidence indicates that the company has not closed. Radu Edited February 23, 2021 by Radub Paul in Napier, europapete, ringleheim and 7 others 7 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pup7309 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) It all comes down to what the owner wants to do and that is the big unknown. Edited February 23, 2021 by Pup7309 MikeC, KiwiZac, esarmstrong and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pup7309 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) I’d just be happy to get a few at retail price. It will be interesting to see what transpires, too late to book a flight! Edited February 23, 2021 by Pup7309 mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotsman Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) If WNM do re-open and recommence production , that's going to make a LOT of ebay vendors Very unhappy ! Edited February 23, 2021 by Scotsman LSP_K2, mpk, esarmstrong and 6 others 4 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radub Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Now you see why some people want WNW to be "gone"? WNW kits are neither "rare" nor "hard to find". Thousands were made and they all sold out. Everyone here has at least one. In the scale model world, there are very few "rarities". The three "lost at sea" 1/32 Revell Hien, Raiden and George are "rare". Only so many were made and then production ceased, but even they are not "hard to find". In my own personal opinion, the only true "rarity" in the scale model world is a "first test shot". I will explain. When a model is designed and the mold is made, the first time plastic is pushed into the mold is called a "first test shot". Usually this is called TS1. Inevitably, TS1 contains errors, such as half-complete parts, missing detail, wrong detail, unpolished areas, etc. These issues are highlighted by the development team and the mold is corrected, then a new test shot is made, usually called TS2. Any eventual errors are corrected, a few times, leading to TS3, TS4 and so on. Some manufacturers go trough up to TS10, others manage to do it in three. TS1 usually goes only to the design team where the parts are put together to test fit. TS3 may sometimes make their way to the people who helped with data (these may be modellers or historians) and more of them are made, so they are not that unique. Reviewers who publish previews of models usually get a final TS, which is more or less the ready model. So, because the TS1 is made in very limited numbers (maybe just three or four sets) and they are usually assembled, it is highly unusual for TS1 runners (so-called "sprues") to survive intact. TS1 usually feature errors that would subsequently be corrected, thus making the TS1 an "Inverted Jenny". Furthermore, TS1 usually does not carry the "copyright" mark of the manufacturer and the year, because it is not intended for the "general public". If you have a TS1, of any kit, preferably complete on runners, you have a true rarity, a literal one-of-a-kind, possibly the only one in the world. So, in my own personal experience, the only WNW item that is rare is a TS1. Radu europapete, blackbetty, D.B. Andrus and 8 others 7 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Needham Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 4 hours ago, Radub said: WNW states very clearly on their official website that the disruptions are caused by Covid and that they plan to resume sales. I have no reason to disagree with the official statement from WNW. Radu You clearly know about the logistics and marketing side of the hobby Radu and will defer to that; but how do you explain the sudden and mass redundancies by PJ at WNW rather than simply furlough his staff if it was simply a temporary business issue caused by C19...? I mean, it's not like he couldn't afford to protect his investment in people is it? Not trying to start an argument here and I am simply interested in understanding the (presumed) logic behind what has happened if the closure is only temporary as you seem to suggest. Gary Paul in Napier, KiwiZac and Babelfish Steve 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Griewski Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 OK let us imagine that WNW starts selling all current portfolio of kits (no matter how the company restructures) which kit(s) would you buy? No comments about markets strategies, eBay or the world preferences for WWI kits or not please. The kits show up and we have our credit cards ready. Moi? Je voudrais... Fokker DVIi (fok) AMC DH.9 Bristol F.2b Fighter (Post War) Merci WNW monthebiff and mpk 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotsman Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Quote Everyone here has at least one. Eh No . never bought one , and probably never will , I admire the workmanship in these kits , and the skills needed to produce the finished models,. but WW1 doesn't interest me in the slightest , but each to his own , and it would be good to see WNM rise again if only to piss off the scalpers Out2gtcha, Greif8, KiwiZac and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europapete Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Rick, first off, I would pound down the head offices' door and DEMAND an 0/400!! lol. After that I would get a D7 so I can do an Aviattic Stripdown like Mike did ( that doesn't sound right especially in this cold weather) and then a Roland D6 as I missed that one earlier. Regarss, Pete in RI KiwiZac, esarmstrong, alanash1963 and 1 other 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanash1963 Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 me just wont the lancaster Bomber Command nut and nmayhew 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Im currently working on the only WnW kit they had left to produce that I personally wanted. That and a Spad, but Im hoping we may see a new tool Spad from Roden or Copper State. RLWP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radub Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 (edited) 1 hour ago, Gary Needham said: You clearly know about the logistics and marketing side of the hobby Radu and will defer to that; but how do you explain the sudden and mass redundancies by PJ at WNW rather than simply furlough his staff if it was simply a temporary business issue caused by C19...? I mean, it's not like he couldn't afford to protect his investment in people is it? Not trying to start an argument here and I am simply interested in understanding the (presumed) logic behind what has happened if the closure is only temporary as you seem to suggest. Gary "Design of models" and "production of models" are two separate and distinct aspects of model production. They must be understood as two distinct parts. Part 1: Design is software-based now. It can be done by any skilled designer from anywhere in the world. Design does not require a huge team. All it takes is information and skill. A skilled CAD designer with the right information can create the CAD artwork on his/her own. In fact, this is what I do and I have been doing that for the last six years. Many manufacturers prefer this instead of a "fixed in-house team" because it allows them to be flexible and choose and pick the best designers for their projects. When the CAD artwork is done, the artwork is sent to a tool shop where the moulds are made. Part 2: The tool shop cuts the steel using the CAD artwork. China seems to be the place where most molds are made these days due to their competitive prices. When the moulds are made, tested, adjusted and accepted, they can be hooked to an injection-mouding machine and then plastic models are made at a fast pace. This machine can be anywhere in the world, these days it tends to be in China again. That is what WNW did too. In as far as I know there are "brokers" in China who will look after the entire process, they will book a tool shop, book a factory where the plastic is injected, book a print shop where the boxes and instructions are printed, book a decal manufacturer (or receive decals made elsewhere, if that is the case) and put everything in boxes. After everything is in boxes, they can ship the boxes to wherever you want, to your own warehouse, or to a central distributor, or any numbers of distributors of your choice. I understand that WNW did the same: they received "ready-to-sell" kits from China, maybe they added the decals they had printed in Italy in every box, but nothing was actually fabricated in Miramar. This is all there is to it! The WNW design team (Part 1 above) was made redundant. WNW can continue to produce kits as described in Part 2. WNW can also commission "outside" designers in the future to create new models. My heart goes out to the WNW design team. I met them at shows, I had great chats with them and I can confirm to anyone that they are great people and among the best at what they do. But... they were dismissed when their work was done. It is unfair indeed, but WNW can continue without them. This seems to be what is happening now. Radu Edited February 23, 2021 by Radub esarmstrong, europapete, Gary Needham and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 5 minutes ago, Radub said: This is all there is to it! The WNW design team (Part 1 above) was made redundant. WNW can continue to produce kits as described in Part 2. WNW can also commission "outside" designers in the future to create new models. My heart goes out to the WNW design team. I met them at shows, I had great chats with them and I can confirm to anyone that they are great people and among the best at what they do. But... they were dismissed when their work was done. It is unfair indeed, but WNW can continue without them. This seems to be what is happening now. Radu Sounds plausible. Airfix does much the same thing with their Vintage Classics releases. Money for old rope/plastic. esarmstrong 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radub Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 2 minutes ago, Jennings Heilig said: "Could" "might" "possible" Literally *nothing* in this thread is anything but speculation, period. Literally *no* person here knows anything of substance about what has happened, is happening, or will happen with WnW, so agreeing or disagreeing about "could" "might" or "possible" is utterly irrelevant to anything that has happened, is happening, or might happen in NZ. We are talking about what is literally happening right now: WNW advertised that they will be present at a show where they will be selling kits. WNW is alive and kicking. Radu Pup7309, KUROK, esarmstrong and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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