Latest Accurate Miniatures News
RC Boater
from Nostalgic PLastic. I don't think I'm breaking any confidences here, as
the information I'm drawing from was sent to everyone on the N-P mailing
list......
(And remember, I'm only the messenger here, so don't shoot!)
Excerpt from Nostalgic Plastigram 040203:
GENERAL NEWS:
An old friend of mine, John Havovick from when I lived in Charlotte North
Carolina called my yesterday. John, his wife, and another friend of his Ed
Collins purchased ACCURATE MINIATURES!! You know, the B-25 people!!
We had about a 30-minute conversation followed up by some e-mail that I am
authorized to share with you. This is really interesting stuff and will
affect the modelers hobby for years to come.
There have been rumors for some time that Italeri has purchased or
indefinitely leased the molds from Accurate Miniatures. This has now been
officially confirmed that there were negotiations with the two companies but
the
molds did not go to Italeri. This was due to legal reasons from the
previous owners of Accurate Miniatures, and not affiliated with the current
owners.
The current owners are officially noted as, Collins-Habovick, LLC. They
have acquired all of the tooling and all related materials. (Yes, Carl, we
may see the Yak-1 come back out again someday) Linda Habovick the
President of the company, informs me that many of the old Accurate
Miniatures
employees have come back to work there, which includes Bob Johnson, one of
the
designers, as well as 4 others who will be contracted to do work in the near
future. Major Joe Myers (retired) is the General Manager of the company.
He does much of the research of the materials for the new kits and works
in close conjunction with Bob Johnson.
Y.S.Ko in South Korea is the company that is pressing the plastic for the
kits. By the way, this is the same company that pressed the plastic for
the F-8 from Hasegawa. They are currently working on the B-25G (gun nose)
for Accurate Miniatures and it is expected to be in the stores about
May/June. I hear from the rumor mill that this is a full kit ?? not a
conversion
kit like before. As many of you know, the B-25 is an outstanding kit and
with this new addition to the line you B-25 fans will be happily sniffing
glue
very soon.
Now some really great news for you B-25 Fans: Bob Collins is working on
new cowlings and a NEW FUSELAGE with ??Fairfax?? windows. (I??m not sure
what
that is as I have not looked it up). But as with all the other B-25s, this
will be another fine addition.
They have a graphic illustrator on board full time who is drawing masks
for the kits, as well as drawing (new?) decals for the B-25s currently. I
don??t have his name ?? which is a good thing because if I let you know who
he
is, you will all be calling him to design a decal for your favorite B-25,
and never get any work done!!! :) However, Microscale produces the decals,
so you know they have to be good. Microscale has gone through a lot of
changes in the past couple of years and is a story for the future
Plastigrams. Just the same, these are currently the best decals produced
today.
Most have not heard of what they are working on for the future. Can you
imagine an Accurate Miniatures quality of an SB2U Vindicator? Yup. This is
expected at the end of the year. In my conversation with John, there are
going to be at least 4 versions. Specifically, I don??t know which ones.
Give them time and let them announce which ones. This is not the HiPM
version of the kit. We all know the problems with that kit ?? but I won??t
go
into that. Currently, that is the only SB2U kit available (How bad do you
want it? REAL BAD!!) I??ll give more information as I get it on the
kit(s).
Additionally, they will be reissuing some old favorites and some new cars
as well. The F3F is due soon as is the TBF Avengers.
And finally from Accurate Miniatures: ?? Chris, please ask the guys to
support the company and we will continue to bring out kits for them. We
will
be in Dallas/Ft. Worth at Squadron's Open House (May the 23rd- 25th.) We
will also be at the IPMS Show 2003 (July 2nd- 5th) and at the RCHTA Show
(Sept. 10th- 13th).??
One of the problems the old Accurate Miniatures had was the problem of web
discounters lowering the intrinsic value of the kits. At one point in
time you could buy a B-25B/C for about $20. Yes, we all want to get the
best/lowest priced deal for our dollar. But when good products are used as
a
??loss leader??, the kit is lowered in the eyes of the modeling community.
Accurate Miniatures is a quality company, and needs to be purchased from
quality locations - not the junk discounters. If you support the real
hobby
stores you will support Accurate Miniatures.
They mean business folks. Keep an eye on them. It might start slow, but
I??ll bet we see things really take off for them.
Kurt Laughlin
> The following is an excerpt from the latest Plastic-gram- the newsletter
> from Nostalgic PLastic.
. . .
> One of the problems the old Accurate Miniatures had was the problem of web
discounters lowering the intrinsic value of the kits. > At one point in
time you could buy a B-25B/C for about $20. Yes, we all want to get the
best/lowest priced deal for our dollar.
> But when good products are used as a "loss leader", the kit is lowered in
the eyes of the modeling community. Accurate
> Miniatures is a quality company, and needs to be purchased from quality
locations - not the junk discounters. If you support the > real hobby
stores you will support Accurate Miniatures.
I will agree that a low selling price does alter the value of a kit - A
thing is only "worth" what people are willing to pay for it. However,
hectoring people to pay more for a kit simply to maintain its _reputation_
is utterly ridiculous. Although internet selling may hurt shops like NP, I
question how it affects AM. Did AM get less for the kits it sold to the
"junk discounter" than it did from kits sold to a full price distributor?
If it did, I can only imagine it was because a) AM _gave_ them a quantity
discount, or b) The kits weren't selling at all and they lowered the price
to keep from having to eat them. In either case, AM got what the market
would bear for their product. The fact is, if B-25s were flying off the
shelves at $50 per, the internet guy wouldn't sell them at $20 because he'd
know he could still get a larger market share by selling them at $40. If AM
thinks its kits are worth a certain wholesale price, then sell them at that
price and not a penny less. If the retailers think that they can sell them,
they will buy them. If they don't, AM will have plenty of feedstock for the
recycler, or a great draw for a sheriff's sale. But at least their
reputation as a quality company will be intact, and isn't that what business
is all about?
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that this hobby is some
sort of socialist experiment, wherein prices would be set based on what some
overlord thinks is a fair return for the "artists", while the consumer is
cajoled into paying inflated prices "for the good of the state" . . . err. .
. hobby.
Sheesh.
KL
C Knowles
> new cowlings and a NEW FUSELAGE with ??Fairfax?? windows.
Great. I buy the original B-25 with its mishapen parts. Now they fix it and
re-release it.
Ask them if they will replace the cowlings and fuselage of the original kit
I bought.
Art Murray
"Kurt Laughlin" <fle...@sgi.net> wrote in message
news:v8n1oc2...@corp.supernews.com...
>
Amen, Brother!
Art
Scorpian
are some of these guys that just should be out of business.
Speaking of which, is Marco Polo still the importer for AFV Club? The tracks from my
Wiesel were missing from the kit. 2 months after a certified letter was sent, nothing...
Nice to hear about the Vindicator though! With four versions, there should definitely be
a French version.
Keith Walker
"Kurt Laughlin" <fle...@sgi.net> wrote in message
news:v8n1oc2...@corp.supernews.com...
:
: It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that this hobby is some
:
:
Al Superczynski
wrote:
>It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that this hobby is some
>sort of socialist experiment, wherein prices would be set based on what some
>overlord thinks is a fair return for the "artists", while the consumer is
>cajoled into paying inflated prices "for the good of the state" . . . err. .
>. hobby.
Well said!
--
Al Superczynski, MFE, IPMS/USA #3795, continuous since 1968
My "From" address is munged - click "Reply To" to respond via email.
Check out my want and disposal lists at "Al's Place":
http://www.network54.com/realm/modeleral/
"Build what YOU like, the way YOU want to,
and the critics will flame you every time."
Al Superczynski
>...they will be reissuing some old favorites and some new cars...
I hope they choose some more marketable car models this time.
The Grand Sport and McLaren, while great kits, weren't exactly
mainstream subjects.
Ron
AlbertCherer
and flop house warehouses will keep this hobby alive. The originator of the
news about Accurate Minatures is one of the most pro-customer service oriented
shops in ANY business I have ever dealt with. Fifteen years of experience show
me this.
I happen to deal with musical instruments too and have had big off site
discount warehouse places play games with my credit cards and other subtelties
in the name of lower prices. In this case of musical instruments too I have
switched to a quality place with real service.
In both cases the so called rise of the internet makes it hard for me to
get specialized items. In music or models. I see fly by night clowns that want
to sell the same overstock. Frequently charging high shipping so that the so
called discount prices are nonsense. The diffeneces can be as little as a
dollar or two. All this to sell out my loyal hobby store. (yes I have seen bad
hobby store guys too). By the way I am a long time shopper of Squadron mail
order over the years in spite of the fact I lived by one for decades, so I am
not anti-mailorder. I am finding out, however, that the service matters more
and more. Service to me means place: place costs money in rent taxes, and the
maintenance of inventory. Finally as an aside aside from Squadron who fixed a
small problem, and Saratoga Soldier shop who sell some figures no one else
does, almost all my other dealing with mail order in the last two years have
ranged from: fraud, to no inventory, to nothing but substitutes. I'll take my
local shops any day!
Big Al
AMPS, Baltimore IPMS
Tom Hiett
> The following is an excerpt from the latest Plastic-gram- the newsletter
> from Nostalgic PLastic. I don't think I'm breaking any confidences here, as
> the information I'm drawing from was sent to everyone on the N-P mailing
> list......
Much of this was covered a couple months ago.
Tom
cwcrofoot
> discounters lowering the intrinsic value of the kits. At one point in
> time you could buy a B-25B/C for about $20. Yes, we all want to get the
> best/lowest priced deal for our dollar. But when good products are used as
> a
> ??loss leader??, the kit is lowered in the eyes of the modeling community.
> Accurate Miniatures is a quality company, and needs to be purchased from
> quality locations - not the junk discounters. If you support the real
> hobby
> stores you will support Accurate Miniatures.
Do you buy a car from the place charging you the most? Do you stop
for gas where the price is $.05 higher than across the street? Do you
get a mortgage from the bank with the highest interest rate? Do you
hope your 401K takes a loss? THEN WHY THE F@#$!% WOULD YOU BUY THE
KIT FOR $50 WHEN YOU CAN BUY IT FOR $20?!
I personally bought a B-25 for $20, the Avenger double for $25 and an
F3F-2 for $12. That's what they're worth to me. I wouldn't have
bought the B-25 at $50. Period. It's a hobby, and if the new AM can't
make it because they can't sell in volume to cover their costs,
perhaps they should rethink their product. Supply and demand and all
that 'stuff'... Did EVERYBODY miss econ101?!
John Hairell
Thank you (cwcrofoot) for injecting some reality into this discussion.
AM never lost a dollar to the discounters - they bought from AM at
wholesale and AM made its profit. If the discounters sold below
wholesale that was their loss. AM still made its profits regardless
of what their kits retailed for, unless AM itself sold kits to
retailers at lower than its wholesale prices.
If "good" (i.e. expensive) products are used as loss leaders by deep
discounters then that's good for the public - competition should
result in lower prices. I never see this as a kit or manufacturer
being "lowered in the eyes of the modeling community" - what a strange
concept.
As for buying from my local hobby store, I almost never do. My local
hobby store charges the max it can for everything.
John Hairell (guar...@erols.com)
Al Superczynski
>...the so called rise of the internet makes it hard for me to
>get specialized items.
That's odd. It's made it a lot *easier* for me, especially for
overseas orders from Japan, Australia, and eastern Europe.
William H. Shuey
Scorpian wrote:
>
> I agree wholeheartedly, and this goes for the retailers as well as distributors. There
> are some of these guys that just should be out of business.
>
> Speaking of which, is Marco Polo still the importer for AFV Club? The tracks from my
> Wiesel were missing from the kit. 2 months after a certified letter was sent, nothing...
>
> Nice to hear about the Vindicator though! With four versions, there should > definitely be a French version.
I Dunno! With the current mood vis-a-vis the French in this country,
that might be one version they skip.
Bill Shuey
Ron
with internet stores and show discounters. It was something he'd whine
about at IPMS meetings, in the store, at shows and now via e-mail. He
apparently can't grasp the concept of competition, can't handle
competition and doesn't realize that the deep discounters paid the same
as he did. A two year old throwing a temper tantrum could take lessons
from him.
John Hairell wrote:
> >> best/lowest priced deal for our dollar. But when good products are used as
> >> a
> >> ??loss leader??, the kit is lowered in the eyes of the modeling community.
> >> Accurate Miniatures is a quality company, and needs to be purchased from
> >> quality locations - not the junk discounters. If you support the real
> >> hobby
> >> stores you will support Accurate Miniatures.
> Thank you (cwcrofoot) for injecting some reality into this discussion.
James Woody
Woody
Kurt Laughlin
> There is no way a series of absolute discounters operating out of
tents
> and flop house warehouses will keep this hobby alive.
Nor will a series of brick and mortar shops with the standard inventories at
20% over MSRP.
> I happen to deal with musical instruments too and have had big off
site
> discount warehouse places play games with my credit cards and other
subtelties
> in the name of lower prices.
You don't explain the immutable linkage between a disounted seller and
credit card fraud, and frankly I don't think there is one. I also believe
your bad experiences are coloring your opinion somewhat, the way that my 99%
good experiences color mine.
> In both cases the so called rise of the internet makes it hard for me
to
> get specialized items.
Whaa?? I have bought things from France, Spain, Australia, Poland, Russia,
Ukraine, Taiwan, South Korea, Hungary, and the Czech Republic that I have
NEVER seen in stores or even large shows like AMPS or the IPMS Nationals. I
have also bought US products that are nearly as rare.
> I see fly by night clowns that want
> to sell the same overstock. Frequently charging high shipping so that the
so
> called discount prices are nonsense. The diffeneces can be as little as a
> dollar or two.
That's just dumb on the part of the buyer. Besides, that's not what NP was
talking about in their letter. They were complaining that we should be
willing to pay high prices simply to maintain an illusion that a kit was
worth more than it truly is. Have you asked yourself WHY there are so many
AM B-25s, Yaks, and Stormoviks available as overstock to sell? The discount
houses don't drive down the prices of a new kit. They can't. On the other
hand, if there weren't thousands of kits one stop away from the landfill
BECAUSE NO ONE THOUGHT THEY WERE WORTH MSRP, there wouldn't be overstock for
the discount houses to sell, and they would go away. Perhaps if AM had only
charged $20 for their B-25 initially they would have had a problem.
Now, many have made the argument that AM et al HAVE to charge the prices
they do to cover their costs, and we should be willing to pay it because
it's such a great kit. I can agree with that first part - they have to
charge enough to cover their costs - but the second part is pure crap. Just
because it COSTS $60 to produce a kit doesn't mean it's WORTH $60, no matter
how good it is. People (the Market) are quite capable on their own of
determining what they are willing to pay for a model, or for anything else.
If the asking price is above that number, it will sit on the shelf until the
bankruptcy sale. If AM couldn't handle the marketing aspect of the business
well enough to live under the quantity vs. price curve, tough. This is a
hobby for me. The items are luxury goods. If I don't like the price, I
don't buy it. I don't complain about rip-offs, I don't wheedle the sellers
for breaks, I just move on.
> almost all my other dealing with mail order in the last two years have
> ranged from: fraud, to no inventory, to nothing but substitutes. I'll take
my
> local shops any day!
Again, your mileage may differ. I have bought things literally 12,000 miles
away that I could never find here, for less money, and gotten them delivered
40% quicker than buying things from domestic companies. The best example
was Armybook.com. I ordered a tank model from them, and when it arrived, it
had the wrong turret. Apparently the box lids got mixed when they were
"compacting" my order for shipping. I emailed them and they replied that
some guy in Malaysia had also reported getting the wrong turret - mine.
They arranged contact between us and we swapped turrets. Armybook credited
me the postage (only $5) plus some extra for my trouble.
KL
AlbertCherer
double charge on my credit card. I prefer to keep it were the USA Feds can move
against the crooks. Sure there are some overseas companies that work just fine.
I just don't trust this overseas buying a lot. I also don't want the wait.
This is part of what I mean by service: either having things in stock or the
ability to get a kit within a week. The only shipping handling policy I,like
for mailorder is Squadron's for large purchases.
Maybe I have just been unlucky with orders. Among these horror stories all
different: A) Orders taking over half a year with my money in the bank none of
my first choices in stock when it did arrive,B) Having not one of twelve items
I called about in a well known discount color brochure almost immediately after
I received it,C ) Outright cashing of a postal money order and no shipment of
merchandise until I filed a legal case with postal inspectors. (The second time
this has happened from former advertisers in the major USA model magazine). D)
The "misplacement" of the fact of my use of a commercial money order in a
third instance which only shook loose after repeated phone calls at my expense
only to have all substitute kits come in in the end. E ) Twice with two
different firms I have placed mail order by phone to get one specific kit
throwing in others just to pad the order out, only to find out when the
shipment arrived the original kit I wanted was not in stock after I had
specifically paid my own phone call money to recieve innaccurate inventory
information. F ) Then there was a crushed package due to poor packaging ruining
a birthday present for a friend. G) I have been sent two of the exact same book
when reading one is enough. I thought I would elaborate about my recent
internet "service". Squadron has been okay; fixing a problem or two. Saratoga
Soldier shop has been straight up with me. Locally Hobbyworks, Lads Hobby's ,
and Nostalgic Plastic have been especially good to me. There are other local
places that I believe do not take the plastic modeler seriously so I do not use
them.
I feel for those of you who really don't receive service from your local
stores. Frankly in that case I don't blame you for using mailorder. When I do
use Squadron I either get things no one else has in the way of figures or buy
if the discount is more than 20%. Finally one of the stores I go to Lad's is
also very experienced with trains. He goes throught the same thing about people
getting a limited selection of train sets from deep discount places. In this
case there is a more obvious need for his service as these discounters don't
provide the repairs and operational support. I believe the corralary to the
train hobby service to plastic modelers is one of decals, paints, brushes,
books, resin, brass. Having these items right there so that one can look at in
person is a good indication of good service in the case of my original post.
The original store refered in my first post will let you open a kit and
look it over. Imagine getting your gem fro Japan or Britiain only to find out
its a goat! I'm glad others have avoided my bad luck with about seven other
mail order firms. Then again my twenty dollar parking permit was stolen this
week and in turn I got a ticket for not having the permit. So maybe I am just
on a run of bad luck. I do have interest in having a low limit credit card to
use for say British and Japanese orders. I wouldn't mind hearing about the good
suppliers in these countries as there are some unique or cheap purchases. But I
won't use a high limit card just in case the bad luck continues. I certainly
won't use my check card that endangers my entire checking account. I still
beleive new kits of high quality cannot be sustained by wholesalers buying up
clearance inventory.
Big Al,
AMPS, Baltimore IPMS
Ron
them.
Al Superczynski
>...maybe I am just on a run of bad luck.
Indeed.
>I do have interest in having a low limit credit card to
>use for say British and Japanese orders. I wouldn't mind hearing about the good
>suppliers in these countries as there are some unique or cheap purchases.
http://www.rainbowten.co.jp/english/index.html
Ron
Karaya-Poland.
Tom Hiett
> Hasegawa and Dragon are no longer imported by them, pretty much kills
> them.
It kills them only if they don't find a replacement. This is a set-back,
an inconvienience. They don't have to die due to this.
Tom