Shite in Miniature II

[Junkman]

Minichamps 1:18

 

 

They also announced the following shite:

 

BMW 1800 TI 1965 silber

BMW 1800 TISA Winner 24h Spa

BMW 2000 Ti Winner 24h Spa 1965

BMW 316 1978

BMW 323i 1978

Rover Vitesse 3.5 1986 Moonraker Blue

Rover Vitesse Rennsportversionen

Ford Fiesta MK I grün

Maserati Bora

Maserti Khamsin

Maserati Merak

Opel Kadett E in 4 Versionen

Opel Commodore A Steinmetz weitere Version

Opel Rekord C hellblau

DKW Munga

Volkswagen 181 tarnfarben

VW 1200 Hebmüller

VW 1200 Cabriolet

VW 1200 1949 

Fiat X 1/9 gelb

Ford Capri RS grün

BMW 535i blaumetallic

BMW 730 i grünmetallic

Land Rover 1948 RAF

Land Rover 1948 blau offen

[Split_Pin]

I'll be buying that late 4 and Dyane for sure. Only thing I don't like about Solidos is the old fashioned door opening mechanism, but at 35 Euros I won't be put off. The Ami is sublime too.

[eddyramrod]

I would bet good money that there's not one model in the above pics that I will be able to afford, which is a shame as there are several I would like to buy, both for myself and my friend Costas. I'm positively salivating over those Transits!

[Junkman]

One of the "Ford" Ford Transits will be mine, for sure.

This is going to be an expensive year and Mr Lobster shall be able to lead a good life with what I'll pay him.

 

But you all can guess what has top priority for me.

[Junkman]

Only thing I don't like about Solidos is the old fashioned door opening mechanism...

 

That is indeed a tad naff even for cheap diecasts, but still better than not having them at all.

[Junkman]

Anyway, here are some pictures of the Tamiya 300SL plastic kit I mentioned earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

Interestingly, it comes with the speaker grilles, but obviously without a radio. Check out the instrument panel in the first picture.

 

 

Also be aware that all the photos I posted hitherto are from when the exhibitors were still busy decorating their stalls.

I bet we haven't seen the nitty gritty yet.

 

 

Eagerly awaiting Mr Lobster's report.

[Mr Lobster]

I haven't actually heard much different to that pictured tbh.  

 

Theres some more Welly 1:18s and 1:24s which they have announced (Lotus Elan, Kia Rio, Mini Paceman, Lamborghini Huracan) but nothing to get worked up over.

 

Premium Classixxs Transits will be incredibly good, all their 1:18 stuff is. It'd be nice if they actually manage to do them for 2015 though as theres still plenty already announced that we are waiting for.

 

Similarly, I wouldn't hold my breath for the Minichamps 1:18s either (unless you happen to be able to hold your breath for several years at a time that is) as Minichamps production rate is laughable.

[Split_Pin]

If anyone wants to save a few poorly plastic model kit cars, see shitecycle post.

[Junkman]

I haven't actually heard much different to that pictured tbh.  

 

Theres some more Welly 1:18s and 1:24s which they have announced (Lotus Elan, Kia Rio, Mini Paceman, Lamborghini Huracan) but nothing to get worked up over.

Has that 1:24 Renner 8 been released yet?

 

 

Premium Classixxs Transits will be incredibly good, all their 1:18 stuff is. It'd be nice if they actually manage to do them for 2015 though as theres still plenty already announced that we are waiting for.

 

Similarly, I wouldn't hold my breath for the Minichamps 1:18s either (unless you happen to be able to hold your breath for several years at a time that is) as Minichamps production rate is laughable.

How long have we been waiting for the Minichamps Escorts now? Five years?

Meanwhile people across the world have stocked their disply cabinets to the brim with the Sunstars.

 

 

On a different note, there seems to be a trend towards ever larger scale models in the ultra high price segment.

Is there really more profit in this than in the 1/24 - 1/18 middle market?

Note: Not talking cheap mass market here.

[Mr Lobster]

Has that 1:24 Renner 8 been released yet?

 
On a different note, there seems to be a trend towards ever larger scale models in the ultra high price segment.
Is there really more profit in this than in the 1/24 - 1/18 middle market?
Note: Not talking cheap mass market here.

 

Welly R8 Gordini still missing. Should have been released back in August IIRC but nothing as yet.

 

 

On the second point, I'm not sure from a manufacturers point of view if there is more profit or not.  The market for bigger (1:12 and 1:8 scale) stuff isn't massive but the people who can afford the premium ranges are still in general buying it. As the economy dipped, so did demand on mid range 1:18s. Some manufacturers (Norev, Minichamps) have really slowed production down whilst at the lower end in the 1:24 and 1:18 scale, manufacturers like Welly have done very well.  

Some of the premium 1:12 stuff sells very well - the Otto models being a good illustration of this. But you can't expect that most models with a £200+ RRP will sell that quickly or frequently, in most cases the market is literally tiny. Ottos do well do to being fairly specialised subjects. 

 

From a retailers perspective then there is more profit in the larger scale models but then you only sell relatively small numbers and the actual % margin is in general no better than the cheaper stuff..  The premium stuff is nice (by which I'm thinking Otto / CMC / Top Marques / Paudi etc) but they sell in smaller quantities so you couldn't survive by just selling Otto or Matrix or whatever and nothing else.  If I was going to sink £20k into some new stock tomorrow then I'd probably go for the cheaper, faster moving products rather than the premium ranges as that would get me a profit and return quicker.

 

Of the new stuff pictured from Nuremberg, the Premium ClassiXXs Transits should sell OK despite them having a likely RRP close to £200 but thats because they are Transits and Ford Scene Tax applies to models too. But they still won't sell in huge quantities and you'd expect that the Solido 1:18s will sell ten to twelve times more.

 

I suspect that whilst the margin ends up roughly the same on the 1:12 as the 1:18 its sometimes about bringing out something different to appeal to people rather than just endless variants of the same casting and making money that way.

[Partridge]

Interesting insight there, Dave.

[Junkman]

Of the new stuff pictured from Nuremberg, the Premium ClassiXXs Transits should sell OK despite them having a likely RRP close to £200 but thats because they are Transits and Ford Scene Tax applies to models too.

Pretty much all Schuco/Premium ClassiXXs 1:18s carry a price tag in this neighborhood, thus it has nothing to do with Ford scene tax,

which mainly applies only in the UK anyway.

 

I noticed that the Setra S6 they had shown last year didn't make it to the shops yet and is again on their stand at the show.

I wonder how much that'll cost. Valerian tonic at hand just in case I learn the price.

 

Minichamps releases ever more of those 300 Euro resin clumps. It's those I mean with high price, not Ottos that can be had for 40 Euros,

if you join the club.

What I mean with mid-range is Norev or Sunstar Platinum, i.e. the 60 - 100 quid range.

[Mr Lobster]

Pretty much all Schuco/Premium ClassiXXs 1:18s carry a price tag in this neighborhood, thus it has nothing to do with Ford scene tax,

which mainly applies only in the UK anyway.

 

 I might not have explained myself correctly there....

 

Yep all the Schuco / Premium ClassiXXs 1:18s are nudging £200 but only the Transit will sell in volume in the UK and thats largely because its a Ford. The 'scene' will push people into paying that sort of money whereas a lot won't bother with that sort of price for a 1:18 unless its very special.

 

Schuco is an interesting line though - the quality on all scales is in many cases better than the competition yet the prices are on the whole very sensible. The diecast 1:43s are cheaper than Minichamps and often better. Sadly the brand isn't as well recognised by collectors as it deserves to be which is a pity as they do some nice stuff.

[Mr Lobster]

Minichamps releases ever more of those 300 Euro resin clumps.

 

 

Fair enough, theres so few of the expensive Minichamps about that you tend to forget they exist.

 

Out of curiosity though I did a bit of a comparison...

 

Minichamps 1:18 Bentley R Type RRP £269.99

 

 

Right, so as a retailer I can buy this for stock.   If I bought this for stock it would most probably take a good while to sell but would sell eventually.  But alternatively I could buy a load of Welly 1:24 models to the same trade cost. The Welly 1:24s would bring in over £100 extra profit and would be turned around and back into cash in the bank or new stock a lot quicker.

 

Point is, the margins (as a percentage) on the expensive stuff are oddly smaller than on the cheap stuff. Thats not how it should be. If Minichamps (or whoever) want retailers to get behind the product they need to make stuff that retailers want to stock, that the public wants to buy, that is sensibly priced relative to what it is, the quality of the item and quantity produced and that isn't going to be made in vastly excessive numbers and hence put on a promotional clearance price for half its original trade price twelve months later.

 

 

I'm not convinced at all that Minichamps 1:18s with the  Ã‚£200 + price tags are worth the money or even anything like it. Some of the 1:18s priced at £130 or thereabouts had shocking quality issues (Focus RS series I'm looking at you) and I seem to recall that we returned 4 out of a box of 6 as bits had fallen off in transit. At that sort of price, the quality needs to be better and the subjects need to be very good too. 

 

Theres definitely a market for the premium stuff but it has to be very good indeed. Maybe I'm not the best judge of who buys the £300 stuff as its not something we do in any volume and don't really have a customer base particularly into that. With a lot of Otto releases we have a fair idea of people who will want them before they arrive in stock but then we sell more of the normal 'everyday' type of model than of diecast exotica.

[mercrocker]

It always amazes me that this high-end stuff can carry such unattractive features as age-related DVLA re-issue number plates too....Why not model that Bentley on Olga?   Nicer colour too, IMO.   As you were........

[RoadworkUK]

You can probably put every member of Autoshite down for an SD1 Vitesse...

[Mr Lobster]

You can probably put every member of Autoshite down for an Otto Matra Rancho...

EFA

[Junkman]

Maybe I'm not the best judge of who buys the £300 stuff

I would, if either I was richer than I'm now, or if the stuff would be cheaper, haha.

 

Seriously, I'd buy all that Minichamps Joe Bortz/Motorama show car stuff, if I had the money, despite I find them hilariously overpriced

for resins with no opening features whatsoever. I'll also pay what it takes for the Matrix P6.

 

I used to buy a lot more high end stuff back when times were still good and I'm sure I'm not the only one who stopped because crisis.

 

Norev seems to have understood where it is going. They can't be beaten for what you get for your money.

That Panhard and R16 you sold me the other year are just delightful and would cost 100 quid if Minichamps made them.

I hope they'll do some yanks in future.

[mercrocker]

Unfortunately I can only look and lust.....1:1 scale is taking all my monies.    I still buy old Dinky, Corgi and Matchbox though - if the price is right.

[stuboy]

friend showed me this too.... shame not a hatchback...

[laser wheels]

What do the Otto models feel like 'in hand'? Are they like pre-built plastic kits, or do they have a bit more heft to them? I'm a complete noob when it comes to resin models.

[Junkman]

Resin is heavy. Those OTTOs can be used to defend oneself in the pub if need be.

But they feel completely different to the touch than metal.

 

In fact, I have a future modelling project on the burner, involving the Lindberg Exterminator and replacing the Chevies with two early Hemis made from resin.

Their heft will never be supported by the plastic framework, so some serious lightening must be done by thinwalling the resin pieces from the inside.

This is trickier than it sounds, because resin is rather brittle when you make it too thinwalled.

[laser wheels]

Resin is heavy. Those OTTOs can be used to defend oneself in the pub if need be.

But they feel completely different to the touch than metal.

 

Nice to know, thank you. My head has certainly been turned by some of their offerings lately. If they were ever to do the MG Montego, Metro and Maestro I would be over the moon.

[Junkman]

Of all the 18 scalers that come to mind, they are the most likely ones to do them, especially in MG flavour.

[Mr Lobster]

There is a rumour that there may be an MG ZT by Otto at some point and the head man has said he is doing some British stuff. Make of that what you will.

 

As Junkman said, the Ottos are a pretty substantial thing. Pick up one of the Top Marques Fiat / Lancia models though. Its like they are made of lead such is the weightyness of them. Really do feel like a substantial object.

 

Bit more on the Otto / Solido arrangement. The Solido brand is still owned by Simba Dickie but Otto have agreed to 'manage' it for the nect ten years I think. They are planning two levels of 1/43 - one a cheaper more toy like product priced around €10 and the other a better detailed model for collectors at around €20. The 1/18s should have a price of around €35. Theres also going to be a range of 1/64 stuff which would be nice if we got it over here.

[Junkman]

OTTO doing Solido is good news indeed.
 
I finally have some more news regarding the plastic kit segment.
Other than in 1/18, where you merely have to tell the shite from the newfangled shit, when it comes to kits, you have to dig the pearls out of a sea
of tosh for people who love wars and regret they are over so quickly.
 
Anyway, here goes. All are 1:24 - 1:25 scale, unless noted otherwise.
 
The Belkit Escort MK1 I already showed:

 
 
Aoshima is doing a Rocket Bunny version of the AE86:

 
The Ebbro DS:
 

 

 

 

 
 
Ebbro also had these 2CV pick ups, the green one being the type they used in the Royal Navy (note OMGRHD):
 

 

 
 
And then comes Heller. Talk about some left field stuff here!
 

 

 

 

 
I hitherto assumed that their 4L was done in cooperation with the Ebbro effort, however, this is obviously not the case.
It's a completely different setup that has nothing in common.
 
 
Hasegawa is waking up to some JDM chod:
 

 

 

 

 
 
ICM from Ukraine is doing some Fords:
 

 

[Junkman]

The Americans had an entire pavillion where they represented pretty much all their brands under the International Hobbycraft banner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, kit-wise there is little new development, most are re-issues, although some of them weren't seen for almost

half a century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pocher/Italeri 1/12 scale:

 

 

 

 

 

Revell AG:

 

The Marmon is back!

 

Trabantery:

 

 

Some newfangled prepainted septic chod:

 

1:16 scale scene tax carrier:

 

They had a real one on their stand as well:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revell USA:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still the old Renwal moulds from the 50s:

 

 

 

 

That's it for now.

[quicksilver]

As an antidote to all this high-quality high-end stuff, which is stunning but I guess well out of many shiters' price range, you might enjoy my little piece on the half-eaten Caramac of the model kit world (all will become clear): http://rustyoldrubbish.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/worst-kit-ever.html

[Split_Pin]

Christ, what a hopeless kit that is - be amazing if you managed to build it though!!!

[Split_Pin]

I decided to document my Dinky and Corgi collection as I was clearing out other stuff to sell at the swapmeet tomorrow. These haven't seen the light of day since 2005 so it was nice to see them again.

Most of them belonged to my dad (the tatty ones) and my 2 Uncles (the more cared-for boxed ones).

Others were bought by me over the years at Swapmeets - WELL before Ebay!