Kits need a staic dispaly package

Ask other modelers for a little help / knowledge ?

Kits need a staic dispaly package

Postby NcGunny » Tue May 19, 2015 10:50 am

Hope this doesnt start a flame war but...this has been driving me bonkers. So,I originally posted this in another thread but decided to get it off my chest. So these kits were originally marketed at youths and they were made to fly..somewhat. Times change folks..todays youth is more interested in PS 4 and Xbox's. My very first model ever built was the DR triplane from Guillows. Back then the kits were horrid with bad wood, die crunch if ya got.a die cut kit. I ended up into styrene kits for the next 30 years,then rediscovered Guillows. I have enjoyed my builds so far but am disappointed in the lack of detailing in the kits.I spend the same money on a Guillow kit as I do a Tamiya or Revell kit, and get none of the detail. I dont want a plastic prop,vacu formed canopies and gun pods,out of scale tires..etc..etc...I have the ability to bash up parts but realize not everyone does, and the average builder doesnt want to order from 10 companies just to detail out a plane.
I had posted before I would love to see the comparison in Guillow kits sold to Tamiya or Revell of the same plane. And it doesnt come down to the plastic vs wood debate, it comes down to years of marketting. So... I think a guy that buys a Guillow kit that is a styrene builder will only ever buy that 1kit due to the lack of detail and probably never even finish it. It wouldnt be so hard to offer a detail package that offered better wheels,props,canopies,interior drop in. Hell the Chinese will make anything for cheap,my buddy just had 100 PS4 cases made for 12.00 US each incl shipping. So you sell a kit for 40.00 bucks plus you sell a addon package for 15.00 and you get a repeat new customer or old customer that rebuilds previous planes now decked out in details. All you fliers buy as/is and ruck up and spin ur props,and us static builders get to gloat over our details....
NcGunny
 
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 5:48 pm
Location: New York

Re: Kits need a staic dispaly package

Postby Mitch » Tue May 19, 2015 12:11 pm

NcGunny,

I agree with you, but do not expect anything in this regard. I was looking for Spoke Wheels and kits are available, but they will cost more than the Dr1 kit itself. A while ago a guy posted his pictures of the 200 series SE5a, it was fantastic. Museum quality! He spent many hours making the cockpit details, etc. There are Pilot kits from Tamiya and MiniArt in 1/16 scale and they will cost you about $20.00.

I do not have solutions for you other than to say these are Multi-Purpose kits and compromises need to be made.

The 1000 series has cardstock 'drop-in' cockpits etc. I know you want more but that is a start. I build the 1/16 scale models and plan copy those cockpits and adjust them for the 400 series when my planes retire from flight duty if they survive. The 1000 series pilot with some work looks good in the cockpit of these planes. The Stearman Pilot is the same scale and is also 1/16 scale.

After all this is a hobby and I enjoy building my planes and I hope you do also. Making detail parts is just another aspect.

Mitch
Mitch
 
Posts: 1347
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:16 pm
Location: Kent, WA

Re: Kits need a staic dispaly package

Postby David Lewis » Tue May 19, 2015 8:57 pm

Traditionally, flying models are less detailed than display models to keep the cost and build time down and performance up. Flying model kits employ low tech manufacturing techniques and the consumer supplies large amounts of basic hand labor. The highest tech parts are vacuformed plastic and the decals. Other than that, most flying models could be built from scratch with little more than a razor blade, sheets of wood and sandpaper. Any super detailing will usually be made from scratch out of raw materials.

The parts for an injection molded styrene kit could not be hand made. They are made for you in a factory. Not to discount the skill and labor hours to assemble a plastic kit, but it's a different branch of the model airplane hobby, with more prefabrication, appealing to a different subset of hobbyists, with (for the most part) different goals, and requiring (with some overlap) different skills and forms of craftsmanship.
Last edited by David Lewis on Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
David Lewis
 
Posts: 289
Joined: Thu Jun 13, 2013 11:47 am
Location: Orlando FL

Re: Kits need a staic dispaly package

Postby NcGunny » Wed May 20, 2015 7:55 am

David...
You are correct between the difference in skill sets. The guy building the BF-109 in styrene is after a direct copy of a original,so fully finished out and painted,weathered,panel lines washed he/she will probably have 10 hours into the kit.
Wooden kit you might have 15 hours average, it may be more or less. (Times given just for comparison) Now the model car guydepending on his build,he/she may have 100 hours. I personally have just finished a '57 Chevy 2 door with 50 hrs in the build. Just because the kits dont come with opening doors and.trunks. The point I was making was that you average twice as much money on a Guillow kit as you do a styrene for half the contents and detail. I have read posts where people whine about kits being discontinued for whatever reason usually due to sluggish sales though. The new LC kits is only beneficial to the comoany to lessen waste and not have to pay machinists to fix and.sharpen dies.I say that they could possibly make 4 to 5 generic cabin inserts,(not a shoddy cardboard deal) a few selections of rims and tires,props, and they would hook the styrene builder. Most of us plastic builders budget for a few 100.00 builds a year, 25.00 for kit and 75.00 for aftermarket parts. So like Mitch had said about his wheels. Another company got his money instead of Guillows. My two cents...
NcGunny
 
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 5:48 pm
Location: New York

Re: Kits need a staic dispaly package

Postby David Lewis » Thu May 21, 2015 8:58 am

You might be on to something. In the early 1950s, Monogram, a plastic kit manufacturer, came out with the Speedee Bilt series of scale flying balsa and tissue models featuring injection molded scale styrene props, landing gear, machine guns, rockets, radial engines, air intakes and pilot figures. The balsa wings were hollowed out and airfoil shaped on a milling machine. The scale fidelity and amount of detail was excellent and build time relatively fast. This was an attempt to bridge the gap between flying models and display models.
David Lewis
 
Posts: 289
Joined: Thu Jun 13, 2013 11:47 am
Location: Orlando FL

Re: Kits need a staic dispaly package

Postby NcGunny » Thu May 21, 2015 2:53 pm

I read your post and knew I had seen that name Speedee somewhere. I have two original in box '56 Monogram Model A and Sorint Car models that have a brochure for them in the box. Thats exactly what I am talking about..lol!! Keep the kits as they are now,but offer a upgrade package for sale. I had one of the Thunderchiefs for years that was NIB that had a working ejection seat,but I was offered a price I couldnt turn down.... :cry:
NcGunny
 
Posts: 203
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2015 5:48 pm
Location: New York


Return to General Building Questions

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests

cron