Wingnut Wings going live on Wetaworkshop

[Beardie]

I see the Gotha has now been listed as Low Stock on the Weta site. Soon be more sold-out kits than available ones.

[Beardie]

Well I have made my first purchases via the Wetaworkshop website and I must say it is worthwhile creating an account with them and utilising the Weta dollars they offer which softens the financial blow a little. You get one Weta dollar for every twenty dollars spent and each Weta dollar equals a US dollar so, with the current prices for Wingnut kits it will take a few quid off your next kit and, if you spend over $500 within 12 months (easily done with Wingnuts) you get promoted to 'Silver' Status and get one Weta dollar for every $10 spent so a nice 10% off your next kit of the same price.

Now I just have to wait to see how long it takes for my lovely new kits (Wartime Snipe and Roland D.VIa) to turn up

[colin]

Trouble is wnw kits will just maybe become collectables, and never built, due to the increase in price once it go's oop.

It's going to put a lot of people off building theirs.

[Howlindawg]

I've ordered the Albatross D.Va

If I'm suitably impressed when it arrives I may also order the Roland C.IIa

Maybe I should buy two of each - one to build and one as an investment.

[Beardie]

I have every intention of building all of mine. As long as I live long enough and don't go blind. The prices and the fact that they appear to be truly limited edition does indeed put them at risk of becoming 'collectables' but there is always the possibility that, at some point, the company will suddenly start producing more and any rarity value will disappear. I do find it significant that they aren't actually described anywhere, as far as I can see, as Limited Editions and, therefore the company are well within their rights to suddenly start producing more copies of the kits exactly as they are now whenever they choose.

The only way we will really know is to wait and see when the kits have largely sold out.

For myself I am grabbing all I can while I can.

I must admit that the price put me off for a long time but I have now come to a new conclusion and that is that I might as well spend considerably more money and time on one beautifully made kit of something I really want to build and learn about than buy six or more 'OK' kits of aircraft that I admire but are not at the core of my interest and which are going to end in stalled builds or that are going to not really get all my attention in their assembly.

[Beardie]

Bounced a couple of emails back and forth with Weta last night. I was trying to be cheeky and see if they could give me any idea of stock levels so that I could better know which kits to acquire first and received some, possibly positive, hints about the 'sold out' kits. The chaps at Weta reiterated that there would be 'De-Luxe' kits at some point in the future with loads of extras (resin figures, diorama accessories and extensive PE) but they also hinted that, while the Sold-Out kits won't be re-released in the same form there might well be some more 'Special boxings' in the vein of the duellists featuring the sold-out kits.

[redcap]

Bounced a couple of emails back and forth with Weta last night. I was trying to be cheeky and see if they could give me any idea of stock levels so that I could better know which kits to acquire first and received some, possibly positive, hints about the 'sold out' kits. The chaps at Weta reiterated that there would be 'De-Luxe' kits at some point in the future with loads of extras (resin figures, diorama accessories and extensive PE) but they also hinted that, while the Sold-Out kits won't be re-released in the same form there might well be some more 'Special boxings' in the vein of the duellists featuring the sold-out kits.

Marty,

They have been going on about these 'De-Luxe' boxings since they first started and their initial kit release subjects were declared, what, 7 years ago now and since then - zilch. Having done so, personally (IMHO) they have missed the boat on that one given the plethora of aftermarket in the interim from the likes of Eduard, Radu B and HGW models etc and figures from a host of companies such as MDC, Model Cellar, Kellerkind, Elan, Aviattic etc. This way, people can personalise what they want for their specific kit rather than having to buy a a box full of sheets and sheets of etch AND resin figures - not many people paint figures with their model a/c - and of course with a commensurate and hefty price increase to match. Given that Weta are now adding to that overall cost along with no more free shipping, Netherlands VAT at 21% added at source and thus, zero chance of sneaking a box in under the HMRC radar and a poor £ / $ US conversion etc, I do wonder how many people would want these 'De Luxe' packages with a price tag to match?

Like anything this company do however, it's pure guesswork and if nothing else they certainly only seem to do what (they) want to do or what interests them as subjects.

Time will tell I guess.

Gary

Edited August 30, 2016 by redcap

[Beardie]

Hi Gary,

A heck of a lot of people seem to think that the addition of tonnes of PE is pointless and unneccessary and I tend to agree. The kits really don't need it. Duallist kits containing the sold-out kits on the other hand I would happily grab with both hands. To be honest that hint from the chap at Weta made me sit up and take notice much more than the promise of 'De-luxe' kits. Prices are a bit of a pain but I guess that, in the grand scheme of things it probably is realistic when you take into account the cost of the mold, design time, research, box and instruction printing. When you think that you can pay £50 for a Roden 1/32 kit plus £12 for Eduard photoetch and £15 for aftermarket decals so a total of £77 or more and you still don't get as much quality as is contained in a Wingnuts box. I did look into buying from a model shop in New Zealand but the prices really aren't low enough to make it worth trying to sneak them past the revenoo man.

[Beardie]

Just a wee note to say that, according to a message on the WnW Fanclub facebook page from Dave Johnson of Weta/Wingnut Wings, it is now possible to combine shipping of Wingnut items bought from Wetaworkshop so hopefully it might save us all a couple more bucks.

[Sean1968]

Hi Gary,

A heck of a lot of people seem to think that the addition of tonnes of PE is pointless and unneccessary and I tend to agree. The kits really don't need it. Duallist kits containing the sold-out kits on the other hand I would happily grab with both hands. To be honest that hint from the chap at Weta made me sit up and take notice much more than the promise of 'De-luxe' kits. Prices are a bit of a pain but I guess that, in the grand scheme of things it probably is realistic when you take into account the cost of the mold, design time, research, box and instruction printing. When you think that you can pay £50 for a Roden 1/32 kit plus £12 for Eduard photoetch and £15 for aftermarket decals so a total of £77 or more and you still don't get as much quality as is contained in a Wingnuts box. I did look into buying from a model shop in New Zealand but the prices really aren't low enough to make it worth trying to sneak them past the revenoo man.

Marty, when you look at it like that, you have a valid point. I work in and around the design industry (have done for years), and I know how quickly production costs can rise. A certain ink or printing technique can had hundreds if not thousands to a big print run, and WNW do not skimp on their packaging.

[Beardie]

It is one of those odd situations that we look at the price of a WnW kits and think it is waayyy too much but if you look around on BM you will see that a lot of folks will buy a £20 kit of something and then spend a large fortune on resin, PE and various other aftermarket things. Often it seems that the kit itself was the cheapest part of the package.

You definitely get what you pay for with the Wingnut kits. It just takes getting through a mental adjustment to come to the simple realisation that, when comparing to Revell, Airfix, Roden and yes even Eduard you aren't comparing like for like.

I think we are used to kits which form a starting point for a model where Wingnut Wings are producing kits which are all you need (Except for paint and model construction/painting skills) including plenty of research having been done for you and provided in the booklet (Although I think it would be better referred to as a magazine)

[k5054nz]

I know they're worth the money, I just can't afford them! At one of the TVAL shows I was having a good look at a Pup kit while the lady tried her best to sell it to me.

"Go on! I can tell you want it."

"I do...but, it's either buy this or eat for the next week."

"You don't need to eat!"

Edited September 2, 2016 by k5054nz

[Beardie]

I think a lot of people are in the same boat. I sold off my entire stash of 1/48 kits collected over a couple of years in order to generate the neccessary bucks to buy eleven Wingnuts and just recently I sold some of my Zippo lighters to buy another two kits (I suddenly realised that Zippos are great lighters but make a bit of a pointless collection). I won't be buying anything other than 1/32 WWI aircraft kits from now on. I'll just keep putting the pennies in the bank until there are enough and then I'll pick up another Wingnut.

[Beardie]

Hmmmm so far I have had mixed results on ordering from Weta.

One kit received Thursday after ordering Sunday. Received an email from DpD couriers on Tuesday to say it was on it's way although they didn't say what was on it's way. Whe it arrived the outer box was slightly crushed and one corner of the carboard box had been ripped completely away. The Kit box had slight crushing on the corner wher the outer packing box was damaged but the kit inside was undamaged.

The other kit I ordered last Wednesday (Sopwith Snipe) and no email of shipping received, no kit has arrived and I contacted Weta yesterday (twice) and received an automated message back saying that they were 'out of the office' but that my request would be treated as 'priority' on their return.

So basically I could say that, so far, my experience with dealing with Weta has been slightly below 50% successful.

Has anyone else dealt with them yet and, if so, how has your experience been?

[FZ6]

I've charted the Wingnut Wings Released/Sold out schedule and have included copies of them here as I think it will make for an interesting discussion.

The first chart compares kit releases with sold out kits by year.

As you can See Wingnut Wings tested the water with their first four releases back in 2009 followed by a substantial release schedule in 2010 with ten kits being released. After this point releases have been steady until last year when releases dropped off significantly. We have yet to see a release this year but that may be down to Wingnut Wings changing their distribution to Weta Workshop.

The first couple of kits sold out in 2012 and the number has been steadily increasing since 2014 and last year (2015) more kits were sold out than were released. I also wonder if the release schedule has slowed down due to range being quite comprehensive now. They have released 51 boxings of their various kits by my count to date. I know some of these are of the same aircraft type of course but not many other manufacturers could boast having a similar number of 1:32 aircraft kits in their range.

The second chart compares kit releases with sold out kits by month

This chart tells a similar story to the first one but you can see the distribution of the releases throughout the year. The most that have been released in one month is six and this happened for the first Christmas release.

2010 and 2014 saw the highest number or releases in a year (10) the releases in 2010 were done in a couple of batches whereas the releases in 2014 were spread throughout the year.

Once the kits started to sell out you can see a pattern emerge where a new release is usually followed by another kit selling out. I think this was down to the influx of orders following a new release where people including myself would take advantage of the free shipping and bulk buy to minimise the cost of the £8 Handling charge that Parcel Force added to the VAT bill for paying it on your behalf.

Currently 27% of the range is now sold out which is coming up to a third of them. My prediction / hope is for a release in the run up to Christmas. Maybe it will be the Camel (In one or several boxings) and or some secret surprise release......... After all there is a trend for kits being released around Christmas and it would be a shame to break tradition.

Anyway these are some of my thoughts regarding the charts I created. I'm sure they will be food for further discussion.........

I've yet to order from Weta Workshop. If they are coming from within Europe then shipping times to the UK will be quicker. I must admit I will miss the excitement of buying direct from Wingnut Wings. Working out how much the kits were with the PayPal exchange rate then calculating how much VAT you expected to pay against what you ended up paying. I could never work out how they came to the figures they did and although a parcel never sneaked under the radar I don't think I ended up paying what I expected to. It was always in my favour fortunately.

I've noticed the Gotha is now showing low stock on the Weta Website I wonder if that is all they have left or if there are still some in the warehouse back at WNW HQ?

think I'll test the water soon and order a snipe and a Pfalz D.III before they sell out. I think the Pfalz must be close to selling out now as I've seen more of those built up than most other kits..........

Regards,

Mark

[FZ6]

Hmmmm so far I have had mixed results on ordering from Weta.

One kit received Thursday after ordering Sunday. Received an email from DpD couriers on Tuesday to say it was on it's way although they didn't say what was on it's way. Whe it arrived the outer box was slightly crushed and one corner of the carboard box had been ripped completely away. The Kit box had slight crushing on the corner wher the outer packing box was damaged but the kit inside was undamaged.

The other kit I ordered last Wednesday (Sopwith Snipe) and no email of shipping received, no kit has arrived and I contacted Weta yesterday (twice) and received an automated message back saying that they were 'out of the office' but that my request would be treated as 'priority' on their return.

So basically I could say that, so far, my experience with dealing with Weta has been slightly below 50% successful.

Has anyone else dealt with them yet and, if so, how has your experience been?

Thanks for sharing your experiences Beardie,

I've had a similar success rate dealing with Wingnut Wings directly. I've had a kit not included in an order (this was rectified quickly though) The corner of my Gotha box was damaged due to poor packing and I had a complete order go missing with about four kits which took a couple of months for Wingnut Wings to resolve before they shipped out replacements. I risk or ordering at Christmas I suppose.

A friend of mine had a couple of kits arrive with the boxes water damaged.

At least Wingnut Wings were helpful in the resolution of my issues.

I hope Weta Workshop are equally of help for you.

Regards,

Mark

[Beardie]

Hi Mark,

They certainly are a mysterious organisation. Having a look into Mr Jackson and the other ventures he is involved in he seems to have a penchant for trying to be the 'international man of mystery' ahead of making money. Wingnut Wings certainly don't seem to go out of their way to sell their products with no dealer system/importers etc. I guess this may be a plan to ensure that all money goes to the company but one would have thought that it actually makes it much harder to get a hold on the kits, misses out on impulse buys and keeps people who haven't dipped a toe actually getting to 'feel the schmutter' and make their own choice.Sales must suffer for it.

It is interesting to note that you have had similar experiences with receiving shipments from then. Yet another deterrent from buying.

[colin]

I purchased one direct from wnw a few years back and that box was also crushed, seems their not very good at packing, perhaps they ought to have a look at how HLJ do it, very strong boxes with the kit box wrapped in plastic wrap fixed to the base with a gap all around to allow for the not so delicate postal services attempts at crushing whatever is inside

[Howlindawg]

Well my order is still showing as not shipped on the Weta website.

However I've a docket here from DPD to say they attempted delivery today.

Had I known it was on it's way I could have arranged to be home to accept the package.

Considering the premium prices the service is certainly lacklustre.

[Beardie]

Howlindawg that is exactly the same as the one I received. It still shows as 'processing' on the website yet it is sitting on my shelf. I found that, if you go into the DpD message and press the 'Change my delivery now' button it takes you to the DpD website and you can see the tracking. Mine was actually due to arrive today but turned up yesterday. DpD need to look at their messages as well as, although you can track the package on their site (after a fashion) it doesn't tell you anywhere who it is coming from which is a swine when you are waiting for several things to arrive.

[Howlindawg]

You got a DPD message?

Blatant favoritism I tells ya!

I didn't even get that much.

Weta could use some decent order fulfillment software.

[Beardie]

As I said earlier they don't seem to be very good at the business side of things. They have been dealing with Wingnuts for a month and a half or so now and according to the Facebook Wingnut fan page they have only just got a combined purchase service on the site and I contacted them on Sunday (when I bought the Roland) as there was no facility to cash in Weta dollars (I had ten from my first purchase) when using Paypal. The option to use them only came up if you payed by credit/debit card. These things should have all been up and running prior to going live if you were on top of your business.

I also came across a forum for fans of other Weta products where people were complaining about VAT wrangles, damaged/missing goods etc.

[Howlindawg]

Well whatever about the ordering experience there's nothing wrong with the kits themselves.

The Albatross kit is absolutely beautiful.

As has been mentioned previously the outer box was flimsy but the kit itself was well bubble wrapped inside so all was safe and sound.

[Howlindawg]

Reassured by the quality of the kit I've ordered the Roland D.VIa and Postwar Bristol F.2B to add to the collection.

That should be me sorted for 6 to 9 months so.

[Beardie]

I think you will like those two. The Roland D.VIa looks awesome! I built the 1/48 Fly models kit and it was good but the Wingnut looks terrific. The bristol looks terrific as well although I have the wartime version.