[Juneau1]

Yeah, sure I love a Spitfire, P-51D, and Me-109 as much as the next guy but..............why is their so much duplication? Not just by the manufacturers, but even in the request by us for new planes. Think of all the planes we have yet to see:
Helldiver, Val's, Kate's, Mig-23's, Mig-25's, F-111's, US Navy Privateer.
On the plus side, we are seeing this change a little with Hobby Master and Altaya.
Eric

[djjeffhall]

Juneau1,
Those are the most popular planes, so those are usually the first made by manufacturers. We are the hardcore collectors, most companies aim at the "casual" buyer.

[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by djjeffhall

Juneau1,
Those are the most popular planes, so those are usually the first made by manufacturers. We are the hardcore collectors, most companies aim at the "casual" buyer.

And that's the problem. Catering to elusive "casual" buyer. Besides FoV and 21st Century, which company has decent on the shelf presence?

If I remember correctly, some of GA releases hit the bargain bin pretty soon after their release, and I'm keeping my mouth shut about Witty's P-51s, Spitfires and Zeroes.

On the other hand, a lot of people on this forum pay a pretty penny for sub-quality (in my opinion), but subject rich Altaya / IXO Jr.

Regards,

Sergey

[kabelace]

The Mustang, Spitfire, Messerschmitt are almost house hold names. Its the Die cast company's Bread and Butter. They make enough selling these to Mom and Dad for gifts and such that they can afford to make the other models. Even HM started out with a Stuka in its first line up, because it will move. Now they seem to have the F-104 mold working really well for them paying back on there investment so they do the A-4, and Harvard among others.Which will sell well among the collector crowd but for the first timer/gift buyer its going to be one of the standards. The die cast company's count on the gift buying parents for a good chunk of there capital so they have to cater to them.
I think I've babbled on long enough now, Cheers

[HotTrap429]

Originally Posted by Juneau1

Yeah, sure I love a Spitfire, P-51D, and Me-109 as much as the next guy but..............why is their so much duplication?

Great question Eric. The answer is simple - because these planes sell! I'd love to see some more deversified offerings. A Skyraider is coming, FoV is turning out a B-26 and B-25, HobbyMaster did the TBM Avenger and hopefully a P-61. And IXO's Japanese planes are well made even though most of their more common planes are pure junk. Corgi (God I hate to admit this! ) still seems to lead the pack with newer releases each year. But as long as we collectors continue to suppliment the mom & dad gift buyers and buy Mustangs, Spitfires and Bf-109s, there is no logical reason for manufacturers to aggressively expand their ranges and drop these old-time favorite planes. They still sell and they still bring in money.

[Andrew]

I think its not only the fact that they are the most popular planes, but they have yet to be perfected. Each company is trying to better the other in terms of accuracy/variety to gain the upper hand in the market share. And I guess once they have their basic moulds, its harder/more costly to tweak and perfect them.

[mikeb1958]

Originally Posted by kabelace

The Mustang, Spitfire, Messerschmitt are almost house hold names. Its the Die cast company's Bread and Butter. They make enough selling these to Mom and Dad for gifts and such that they can afford to make the other models.

Probably true actually! Names like "Frank", "Val", "George", "Oscar", "Betty" (all for Japanese planes of course) etc, are not household names unless your kid is named that. Just like the name ME-110, ME-410, Arado 234, He-177, Doriner Do-335, HE-162, YAK-3, Hudson, etc are not either. Though we love them, us die-hard diecasters...the companies are out to make the moulds that will sell the most of. Some will probably never be seen in die-cast, just plastic kits.

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by mikeb1958

Probably true actually! Names like "Frank", "Val", "George", "Oscar", "Betty" (all for Japanese planes of course) etc, are not household names unless your kid is named that. Just like the name ME-110, ME-410, Arado 234, He-177, Doriner Do-335, HE-162, YAK-3, Hudson, etc are not either. Though we love them, us die-hard diecasters...the companies are out to make the moulds that will sell the most of. Some will probably never be seen in die-cast, just plastic kits.

Yup, nothing could be further for the truth. Agreed.

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by mikeb1958

Names like "Frank", "Val", "George", "Oscar", "Betty" are not household names unless your kid is named that. .

..and if you named your kid "Oscar" I'd definitely be sleeping with the bedroom door dead-bolted and a 9 millimeter tucked under the pillow.

[Epapazian]

I think that too many of us are overly rigid in our demands . We seem to expect almost perfect models in a particular scale we happen to favor, in a certain configuration, etc. Moreover, many are unwilling to learn how to make relatively basic "corrections"when obvious flaws are evident. I started teaching myself such skills about eight years ago and quickly progressed from rank amateur to "pro" status. It has been a very rewarding experience. As for variety, if one reviews the diecast "explosion" that has taken plane in only ten years, the picture is truly amazing. A mere decade ago, we had one or two diecast players, with CDC Armour and Corgi leading the pack. Now we have something like a dozen brands and infinitely more planes to choose from while the list of options seems to be growing exponentially. As for simulating more interest in the hobby, I totally agree. What might work is a diecast industry promotional organization with a solid mandate and sense of purpose. Funded largely by the manufacturers, but possibly by vendors as well , such an association would have a fulltime staff and an office. Its mandate would include setting up industry standards concerning issues like new product announcements, phony delivery dates, pre-orders, etc. It would also start pressuring those kit-fixated magazines into giving the diecast market a fair shake. Last, but not least, the association would issue newsletters about diecast happenings, sponsor contests and exhibitions featuring diecast models, give out free samples as appropriate-especially to the Internet generation- and do anything else that encourages interest in the hobby. All of which would go a long way towards encouraging profit-conscious manufacturers to further expand their lines.