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Chimpion

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Posts posted by Chimpion

  1. 15 minutes ago, Doggy said:

    I was reading that some airfix spitfires are the same kit as Eduard. So who actually makes them?

     

    I'm also told revell sometimes box Japanese aircraft, and the Japanese company rebox revell kits. Can you tell once opening the box where it originated from?

     

    I've recently bought some zvedza kits and I've not been overly impressed and going forward I would like to avoid them if possible. I wouldn't like any nasty surprises if I buy one manufacturer only to find the contents to be inferior to what I expected. 

     

    Many thanks

    You can find out before opening the box (better still, before buying) by searching for the kit on www.scalemates.com. Sometimes the plastic is marked with the original tool manufacturer, e.g. the 1:24 Revell Bentley Blower has a Heller copyright notice in the plastic.

    Don't rule out a manufacturer because of one bad kit, especially if it's a very old tooling. Most manufacturers sell good and bad kits, and they don't warn you on the box which one you're getting!

    You can always search for reviews or builds here or on Youtube or another forum to get an idea what the kit is kike to build before you buy.

    • Like 3
  2. 9 minutes ago, MR2Don said:

    FIA Appendix J regulations of the day. They were classed as sports GTs, so had to "pretend" to be road capable, such as "passenger seat" and the spare.

     Most road-going cars don't carry spares anymore. Back in the early days of track racing circuits were loooooong and punctures common. I'm surprised they still had to carry spares in the late 60s though.

    Lovely model by the way. The colour scheme really suits it.

     

  3. Who is going to want to be no.2 to LeClerc? If Ferrari are confident enough in LeClerc they may have to choose between an experienced also-ran who can help develop the car and will play second fiddle (think Barrichello to Schumacher, Raikkonen to Vettel - today that might be Hulkenburg or Bottas), or another young driver keen to develop (Giovinazzi is the obvious candidate in thus category). I don't think Sainz or Ricciardo will fit, given LeClerc's status and talent. Lewis won't want to leave for a worse car. Maybe Verstappen could be enticed by the money.

  4. One other point only tangentially mentioned here is that if the rights owner is a large company known to enforce their rights, it doesn't help much if you have a legitimate defence - they will be able to bankrupt you before the ruling. In many cases you will have little choice but to pay for the licence or drop the product. Best to sort it out at the start with their licensing department before any threats of litigation appear - at least then you know the costs up-front and can build them into the business case.

     

  5. I got in touch with them in October 2018, and I think they've changed ownership since then. I got a response from contact@hellerjoustra.com, but I suspect that's no longer a live address. It does seem any links on the website to customer service  have disappeared.

     

  6. Welcome back. I learnt quite quickly that enamel (and acrylic) paints are much easier to brush paint when thinned. Out of the pot most of them are way too thick. Also there are good and bad kits out there. This and other sites should help you to sort the wheat from the chaff.

     

  7. I can understand companies wanting to protect their brand image, but one reason successful 20+ year olds aspire to owning a Porsche or Ferrari is surely because they were exposed to them when younger - whether through kits, die cast, slot cars, computer games, top trumps or whatever. Surely a realistic and well produced model of a supercar is free advertising for the manufacturer.  It really should be a symbiotic relationship with no need for licensing or advertising fees in either direction. Same goes for sponsors decals - they pay a fortune to get on a racing car - why on earth would they then want to restrict the free extra advertising a kit would give them?

     

    • Like 1
  8. Reminds me of when Austria took delivery of its controversial Eurofighter order. A national radio station that makes spoof calls phoned a random farmer claiming to be from the defence ministry and needing to requisition his barn as they didn't have enough hangars. The call might have gone very differently if he'd been an aircraft modeller....

     

    • Haha 5
  9. 6 minutes ago, 3DStewart said:
    • Can I see a way to correct the fault?
    • Will my correction be good enough to rectify or hide the fault?
    • Will the time and cost of the correction justify the end result?

    I'd add a fourth.

    Will anyone ever notice?

    I've just realized I've very methodically misread the instructions and created right-hand drive running gear to match my left-hand drive interior on the Italeri Land Rover fire truck. When finished it'll sit in my cabinet and just possibly be seen by one or two people. If anyone notices the mistake I'll be amazed.

    Conclusion: move on and make sure I'm more careful next time (might be hard, as I spent ages studying and checking and still got it wrong!)

    • Like 1
  10. Investors aren't the issue in a case like this. The typical chain of events is

    1. Rumours of an imminent demise circulate.

    2. Customers stop ordering because of worries their orders won't be fulfilled and they won't get a refund.

    3. The fall in sales volume triggers a cash flow drop triggering a breach of bank loan conditions.

    4. Banks demand repayment of the loan

    5. Suppliers refuse to deliver on credit.

     

    4 and 5 can occur in either order or simultaneously.

     

    A new investor would look at the potential business if customers regain confidence, which a new investment should achieve by breaking the chain of events at step 2.

     

    I don't know whether this is playing out at WNW but I think it's a reasonable concern to raise, so we shouldn't be posting idle speculation. On the other hand, the true FACTS should be distributed to enable potential customers to make reasoned purchasing decisions aware of any risks that are present. A real problem.in such situations is that the real facts are usually only revealed after it's too late to react.

     

    • Like 1
  11. 53 minutes ago, Duncan B said:

    Anyone who thinks that it is a certainty he will allow the moulds to be sold on might not have taken into account how he  might feel about his 'pet projects'. Why would he give over all his hard work to another model company just because he won't be using the moulds?

    It might not be up to him. IF WnW folds, the mechanism might be important. If it were to go into some kind of administration, the administrators will be bound to repay any creditors with the proceeds of the assets of the company if they can't find a way for the company to be rescued. I have no idea what NZ law looks like, but I imagine there will be a similar kind of obligation imposed.

     

    • Like 1
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