[Merritec]

Originally Posted by PH-LKK

Not sure what this means precisely, but it certainly sounds like the list is less than reliable on-the-whole, and the US models shouldn't be there at all. But does that mean the US models are "safe"? I guess only time will tell.

They way I took it was that Corgi UK is cutting thier lines, but the US has not decided what they will do yet. So they may decide to keep some lines at reduced numbers or cancel like the UK did.
Time to wait and see what happens.

[VMF 214]

Not sure how accurate the list is as I just purchased a model on the cancellation list.

US36604 P-38J-10 42-67916 of 1Lt Richard Loehnert, 55th FS/20th FG, Kings Cliffe, Northamptonshire

I think it is best not to get our shorts in a bunch and just roll with the releases as they come out.

[PH-LKK]

This thread ain't dead yet! For those who haven't seen it, Corgi has provided us with a semi-official representative on our UK sister forum, and he has confirmed which "lines" are currently being "dropped" (which may mean they will re-appear at a future date, or may mean that they're gone forever). Here is a LINK to the relevant post. The entire text of his statement on this subject is as follows:

Corgi Letter to customers

Dear Customer,

It has been eight weeks since the formation of the new Corgi International business and as communicated in February, the new management team has used this time to undertake a strategic review, particularly with regard to lines for 2007. Changes have been made to ensure that going forward we give you and the consumer, a more focused, collectable and above all, desirable die-cast range.

As you can see from the attached list, the decision has been made to defer approximately 35 per cent of the SKUs originally intended for this year. With regard to the remaining SKU count, we will trim production to a level which is sustainable for the marketplace meaning that some runs have been reduced by around 50 per cent. When placing their revised order, customers should therefore be aware that this will lead to the sell out of many forthcoming lines before release. That said, we have increased quotas on certain popular models to help meet demand.

Also, our revised production levels mean that we will no longer have need of de-certification. In the past, this policy has meant that collectors have waited for product rather than purchasing it on release. However, we hope that in the future improved sell through of models will mean that residual stock will no longer be available.

Alongside the Collector rationalisation we are also ceasing the Toy Early Buy Scheme. This scheme has been a complicated programme and this change compliments our desire to create a more simplified selling process for the whole business.

Once these policies have taken place, we are sure that you will start to see some real growth, resulting in increased sales. The measures will start to take effect immediately and will mean the re-emergence of the Corgi brand to all consumers.

I would like to take this opportunity to re-affirm that the new management team is very excited to be a part of the new Corgi, and we look forward to bringing a whole new generation of collectors to the fun world of collecting Corgi die-cast.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Epstein
Director
EVP Corgi

Dropped Lines

AA30511 Vickers V.701 Viscount, BOAC, Scottish Division, Edinburgh 1972
AA31003 Boeing B.377 Stratocruiser, G-AKGH, BOAC London Airport-Heathrow1953
AA36999 Junkers First Shots
AA37699 Wessex First Shots
AA37799 SE5A First Shots
US31929 Spitfire F IX EN172, flown by Capt Francis ‘Gabby’ Gabreski, assigned temporarily to No 315 ‘City of Deblin’ Squadron, Northolt, Middlesex, January 1943
US32511 Junkers Ju 87B-2 ‘J9+IH’ of 7./StG 1, Ostende, Belgium, January 1941
US33710 Heinkel He 111H-1 wk-nr 5449 of Geschwader Stab Kampfgeschwader 26, Gabbert, Germany, October 1939
US33822 P-47D-5 (serial unknown) of the Maj Gerald Johnson, 9th FS/49th FG, Gusap, New Guinea, January 1944
US34311 Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-4 Wk-Nr 0601 of 1./JG 1, Schiphol, Holland, June 1943
US35814 F-86E-10 51-2746, flown by Col Francis ‘Gabby’ Gabreski, commanding officer of the 51st FIW, Suwon, South Korea, 1952
US36605 P-38L-5 44-26407 of Maj Jim Watkins, 9th FS/49th FG, Lingayen (Luzon), July 1945
US38003 A-10A 78-0582 of the 47th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 917th Tactical Fighter Wing, US Air Force Reserve, Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, November 1990 - MILITARY AIR POWER

The lines below have yet to be decided by corgi if they will be released or dropped,

US35213 P-40E-1 41-25164 of 1Lt John D Landers, 9th FS/49th FG, Port Moresby, New Guinea, December 1942
US33313 B-17G-40 42-97061 of the 401st Bombardment Squadron/91st Bombardment Group, Bassingbourn, April 1944 with 5 figures 1 pilot 4 crew
US33823 P-47D-11 42-75510 of Maj Francis ‘Gabby’ Gabreski, commanding officer of the 61st FS/56th FG, Halesworth, January 1944
US32228 P-51D-5 44-13303 of Maj James Goodson, 336th FS/4th FG, Debden, Essex, June 1944
AA32613 Avro Lancaster MR.3 - School of Maritime Reconnaissance, RAF St.Mawgan, Cornwall, 1956
AA35905 UH-60A Desert Hawk - US Army, Saudia Arabia 1992

The Following models will be in short supply in the UK,

AA33312 Boeing B-17E - 41-2488, 19th BG, Malang, Java, February 1942
AA35310 B-25C Mitchell - 'Legal Eagle', 1Lt. George Bauer, 489th BS/340th BG, Landing Ground 99 (El Kabrit), Egypt, 15th December 1942
AA35815 F-86F Sabre - USAFE 48th FW SKYBLAZERS, Chaumont AB 24 March 1956
AA36106 Consolidated Catalina MkIB - Z2144, FV-R, 205 Squadron, RAF, Seletar, Singapore, Sept. 1941
AA31508 Bristol Britannia SRS.313, El Al, Israel Airlines, Tel Aviv, Israel 1958
AA36607 Lockheed P-38J Lightning - 'Pat III', Col. Oliver B. Taylor, CO of the 14th FG, Triolo, Italy, July 1944
AA37604 Sikorsky CH-34C Choctaw - 7th Transport Group, US Army, Fort Eustis, Virginia USA, 1966 NEW!
AA39910 DOGFIGHT SET Albatross DV-Eduard Von Schleich German Airforce, Jasta 21, Chassogne Ferme, France, August 1917 & RAF SE5a A8941 -Capt James Mackay RFC, 39 Squadron. NEW!
US37102 P-51B-5 43-6913 "Shangri-La" of Capt Don Gentile, 336th FS/4th FG, Debden, Essex, March 1944

The UK forum is also collecting questions for a Q&A to be held with Mr. Epstein next week. The deadline for submissions is this Saturday.

[djjeffhall]

Granted, I don't know the full story, but it certainly seems like a good move by Corgi. Makes their bords MUCH more appealing to their hardcore corrector base. Fewer birds means greater demand adn interest. No one talks about the planes that they can find everywhere. Everyone talks about the birds that are hard to get.

[Spinnaker]

Couldn't agree more! I was feeling swamped by the volume of releases from Corgi, along with the other new-entrants. This move hopefully restores some sanity to the diecast market.

Originally Posted by djjeffhall

...but it certainly seems like a good move by Corgi.

[admin]

Heck No!
That list has a lot of my pre-orders on it. I thought that Corgi USA had responded that this was not going to affect the US market. Is that still true. Canceled items continue to show up on my door step so I'm inclined to think this has more scare value than real bite.

[STARMAN 352ND]

I really don't like Gentile P-51B Mustang being on that short supply list.
I hope my pre-order still stands.
JP

[Gambit]

I had the US33710 Flight Line Heinkel on pre-order.

Surprised that the US38003 A-10 would have been dropped as its a new mold.

Glad to see the Skyblazer is still being released

[chiefs70]

Personally, I thought it was rather bush league to put the Gentile P-51B under the "normal" Corgi run rather than let Martin (Flying Mule) release it as the third in his Gentile series. Now it is one of the ones they are likely to cut further? I understand the run may be greater than what the Mule may have offered but still it seems like a rather lame move.

As to the others, I guess they'll save me a bit of money but I always thought it was better to plan well and make fewer adjustments than shoot for the moon right off the bat. I guess the 2007 catalog can now serve as a true wishbook that includes a number of models we'll never see.

[parsig9]

Dear Corgi,

You're NUTS for dropping the checker nose Focke Wulf 190