How good is Airfix at following product suggestions?

[stevej60]

You know thinking about it Airfix have a golden goose in the amount of modeller's on board since the red box era started a few year's ago,new modeller's

who's dad's grew up with the company and many like me who are the dad's that grew up with the company my last two buy's were the Lightning and Swift

two aircraft i don't rank as favourite's but that damn red box reeled me in so despite the fact Revell and Eduard do superb version'  I think we'll

see the Hellcat and Hunter in 1/72 scale in the future early Vampire's and I'd put a tenner on the Chipmunk,Tempest,Sea Fury and Mosquito in the same scale.

and that's also my suggestion's in case Airfix are looking in as well as the Harvard,Hampden,Boston, Skyraider,Wessex,Whirlwind..........................................

[Ed Russell]

On 4/18/2019 at 6:28 AM, Julien said:

At the end of the day asking for suggestions is good but they will only make what they think the can sell.

Exactly.

And if they make something you like or have suggested you will think they are wonderful........... and if they don't you won't.................

[Graham Boak]

I entirely agree that the market for Me109s as opposed to  (Insert option here) is not 10:1.  More like 100 or 1000.  Or more, and quite clearly the market for them is not saturated, or the companies producing them would have gone out of business.

 

What must be borne in mind isn't the entire list of 109s ever produced vs (Insert option here), but those available at the moment in the shops.  Excluding those that can only be found in small numbers on specialist websites.  Many of the 109 options we see disappear from sale as rapidly as they appear, because they were only short run in the first place.   (Ditto Spitfires, of course.  And there does appear to be/have been a large number of F-16 kits.  And don't mention Tiger tanks...)   But these subjects are popular with the manufacturers because they are popular with the buyers.

 

As touched on above, there were an awful lot of Bf109s in a wide range of variants with an even wider range of users and camouflages and markings.  This isn't true about the Scimitar, to quote one example out of many suggestions.  Very importantly, the Scimitar is bigger and thus more expensive in time and effort to produce, hence a bigger financial risk.   There are few subjects with an equally wide range of options as the Bf109 - and we can probably all list them and remember complaints about "Why are the manufacturers always making..."  Except civil aircraft of course, but then they don't kill anyone do they?  Not deliberately.

 

I'm not sure about the six figures claimed by Jamie other than for a large subject - I gather CAD has brought down the cost of tooling even for the large companies.  I don't see many manufacturers making six figures on the first run of a single small model kit.  (And that is what Airfix have claimed is their business model.)  But if I really wanted (let us say) a Yak 9  I don't think it would take that much to prime (as opposed to fund completely) a smaller manufacturer to add it to their range.  Which is not to say I'd get all my money back...  I was told that something like this was done by Hasegawa's German distributor who wanted them to do an Fw190, except he wasn't offering money but promising to take a large enough run to justify Hasegawa's investment.  I can't think of anyone wanting a Yak 9 or Scimitar that much.  But if you do, the precedent is there.

Edited April 21, 2019 by Graham Boak

[John Thompson]

50 minutes ago, Graham Boak said:

  I can't think of anyone wanting a Yak 9 or Scimitar that much.

 

Heresy!!! But otherwise, a very sensible analysis...

 

John

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Re. CAD modelling. It's not my background personally but obviously at day-job I have a multi-disciplined team and that includes modellers.

 

Were I starting out myself here, I'd expect to be hiring a competent 3D modeller at not-less-than around £35/hr rate to man in the UK at least. Maybe that's why there aren't many British model companies. That's going to be more like £40/hr to me by the time I've paid mandatory insurances, office & IT etc etc etc. If they're a proper employee that cost to me goes up dramatically.

 

I'd be expecting a 300-500 manhours of 3D modelling roughly for a level of detail expected nowadays. Simpler aircraft or tanks would be less. Curvy things with blended shapes take much longer to model each surface needs far more manipulation by the modeller. Of course the total model needs to then be broken down in to mouldable parts, which themselves need to be arranged on trees etc etc.

 

Let's say therefore that I'm £20,000 in the hole before I even think about research time and expenses, commissioning box art, having boxes made, making instructions let alone even thinking about taking machine tool to steel. It would be nice to think we can get this hypothetical kit to market for a mid-high 2-figure sum in GBP, but we need a contingency budget or else the first problem leaves us skint with something we can't sell. If we started with £100k we could be reasonably confident we can deliver a decent product, hopefully with some change left over!

[HMSLion]

This is true.  The questions I'd be looking at would be:

1.  Can I crowdsource any of the research or CAD design?

2.  Can the capital be crowdsourced?

[Graham Boak]

Perhaps we could ask about the costs for one or more of the recent newstarts?   I don't suppose we'll get a good answer, but maybe?  Sword seems to work around the problem by selling on their older moulds, but someone must be buying them.

[PhoenixII]

1 hour ago, Graham Boak said:

.........I'm not sure about the six figures claimed by Jamie other than for a large subject - I gather CAD has brought down the cost of tooling even for the large companies.  I don't see many manufacturers making six figures on the first run of a single small model kit.  (And that is what Airfix have claimed is their business model.)  But if I really wanted (let us say) a Yak 9  I don't think it would take that much to prime (as opposed to fund completely) a smaller manufacturer to add it to their range.  Which is not to say I'd get all my money back...  I was told that something like this was done by Hasegawa's German distributor who wanted them to do an Fw190, except he wasn't offering money but promising to take a large enough run to justify Hasegawa's investment.  I can't think of anyone wanting a Yak 9 or Scimitar that much.  But if you do, the precedent is there.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but CAD has nothing to do with tooling costs, they are two completly different animals, you still have to cut metal (the tooling),

CAD is a design only function, now when you talk about CAD/CAM it's a little different, as they run concurrently rather than independently.

A small, simple aircraft model, with the moulds milled from steel billets will cost a minimum of £70,000 for moulds alone, this is without factoring in the

initial meetings, background research, photography, LIDAR (if used) CAD design and implementation, packaging, where and by whom? shipping, discount to trade

and on and on and on, remember everything is done by a person and they don't work for love or the greater good, so the six figure sum already spoken of is soon reached.

 

Large companies look at a project with very different 'eyes' than a small limited run company, OR the customer, aka US.

First to consider is how many on the first run? 500? 5000? 25000? Remember, these moulds, if steel, will be in production, on and off for decades, unlike

'short run' with RTV or 'soft' copper compound moulds. What is the break even figure on the investment? How many years before that figure is reached?

What will the initial cost of box design and printing be? Instruction production and printing, decal research, production and shipping cost?

How many variations in box art packaging will there be and how many different decal options are to be included with each boxing?

Who has cut the moulds and in which Country? Would it be more cost effective to produce in that Country or transport the moulds elsewhere, and what's the cost?

Shipping costs from the Country of manufacture? how long dock-side when they reach the UK? Will there be a reason for the containers to fumigated,

and at what cost? Import duty and all of this before one kit has been sold. Remember a promise to buy isn't backed by cash, it's just so much 'hot air'.

 

1 hour ago, HMSLion said:

This is true.  The questions I'd be looking at would be:

1.  Can I crowdsource any of the research or CAD design?

2.  Can the capital be crowdsourced?

 

Short answer.....NO.

 

1 hour ago, Graham Boak said:

Perhaps we could ask about the costs for one or more of the recent newstarts?   I don't suppose we'll get a good answer, but maybe?  Sword seems to work around the problem by selling on their older moulds, but someone must be buying them.

 

For some reason the phrase your 'whistling Dixie' comes to mind, unless your into industrial espionage!

Sale of old moulds? If this is happening it's either to another producer or for the scrap value, depending on what the mould is manufactured from.

[Ed Russell]

6 hours ago, HMSLion said:

1.  Can I crowdsource any of the research or CAD design?

2.  Can the capital be crowdsourced?

1. The jury is still out but it's looking a little less than hopeful at the moment................

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235038915-out-of-the-box-models-172-yak-9t-crowdfunding/&

2.  Isn't that what banks do?

[HMSLion]

I think that a reasonably strong case could be made for a prepaid subscription model.  You pay your money up front, get the kit (or a refund if it falls through) if there is enough interest.

[Andre B]

Wonder...

 

Does a company these days really have to do a decal research for an well knewn aircraft as for example an P-51B? Isn't that a thing thats already solved and available from many other company's who's profession is making research and produce decals?

 

And what other parts are already available in the market? We have props, spinners, wheels, cockpits, pilotseats, landinggears, engineparts etc.

 

Looking in a box from Special Hobby confirms that kit parts can be made in different materials and with that also by other company's.

 

And when it comes to Spitfire's, Mustang's, Hurricane's and Messerschmitt's how many times does one have to invent the wheel again?

 

And isn't this what eduard is good at... ...producing parts for several variants on one sprue such as wheels, canopy's etc... ...making the cost for every variant lower as most of the smaller parts are already made and available. It's just about producing a new fuselage and new wings (on different sprues)...

 

 

Take a look at the Airfix Spitfire Mk. Ia...

 

That kit is also made for making an MkI, IIa and Va. But what if Airfix had planned the sprue a bit more so that most of the common small parts where on the fuselage sprue (instead of both sprues)... ...making it cheaper to also make moulds for an type b, c or even an e wing and with that more variants for less money. And woldn't an type c or e wing sprue also go with an type IX fuselage sprue. Or... ?

 

Cheers / André

 

 

Edited April 22, 2019 by Andre B

[Ed Russell]

4 hours ago, Andre B said:

Does a company these days really have to do a decal research for an well knewn aircraft as for example an P-51B? Isn't that a thing thats already solved and available from many other company's who's profession is making research and produce decals?

1. It looks like you are advocating plagiarism or maybe you mean buy the data? For the record, no copies of our well-researched data and decals have ever been paid for and I am sure we are not alone there! 

2. Just copying other peoples' work means you copy their errors too. It's all too easy to trace back a succession of repeated mistakes!

Quote

 I think that a reasonably strong case could be made for a prepaid subscription model.  You pay your money up front, get the kit (or a refund if it falls through) if there is enough interest.

That's a description of crowdfunding! Maybe apart from the refund!

[Andre B]

2 hours ago, Ed Russell said:

1. It looks like you are advocating plagiarism or maybe you mean buy the data? For the record, no copies of our well-researched data and decals have ever been paid for and I am sure we are not alone there! 

2. Just copying other peoples' work means you copy their errors too. It's all too easy to trace back a succession of repeated mistakes!

That's a description of crowdfunding! Maybe apart from the refund!

 

Well,

I mean buy the data. Espacially concerning decals. Or when it comes to a well knewn kit like the P-51B Mustang maybe try selling it without decals (as overtrees like eduard and Arma Hobby).

 

Airfix did their own research for the 1/72 Swedish S-31 Spitfire and it had so many faults that it lost buyers not only in Sweden. Those faults was mentioned in lots of magazines and internet forums inside and outside of Sweden.  Airfix just had to reissue it with new and correct decals.

 

If they had paid for the research, knewledge and decals from well knewn company like RBD / MRD in Sweden the situation probably had been different. They had got a kit with really good decals that had been researched by one of the best producers concerning decals for Swedish aircrafts.

 

If I tried to sell an new and accurate 1/72 scale P-51B I would research the market looking on which decals, props, spinners, cockpit sets and canopy I could buy and focus my own research on producing those parts I can't buy from an other company - mainly the fuselage and wings.

 

I think that the demands from the buyers and builders these days are so high that one can't make it cheap anymore and produce and sell a kit that isn't accurate and well researched. The cost is to high. One have to listen to the buyers.

 

Volvo didn't produce racing cars on their own. They paid one of the best to build the cars for BTCC...

 

Cheers / André

Edited April 22, 2019 by Andre B

[PhoenixII]

7 hours ago, Andre B said:

........Or when it comes to a well known kit like the P-51B Mustang maybe try selling it without decals (as overtrees like eduard and Arma Hobby).

 

Airfix did their own research for the 1/72 Swedish S-31 Spitfire and it had so many faults that it lost buyers not only in Sweden. Those faults was mentioned in lots of magazines and internet forums inside and outside of Sweden.  Airfix just had to reissue it with new and correct decals.

 

If they had paid for the research, knowledge and decals from well knewn company like RBD / MRD in Sweden the situation probably had been different. They had got a kit with really good decals that had been researched by one of the best producers concerning decals for Swedish aircrafts.

 

If I tried to sell an new and accurate 1/72 scale P-51B I would research the market looking on which decals, props, spinners, cockpit sets and canopy I could buy and focus my own research on producing those parts I can't buy from an other company - mainly the fuselage and wings.

 

Volvo didn't produce racing cars on their own. They paid one of the best to build the cars for BTCC...

 

Cheers / André

 

Hi @Andre B taking Airfix as an example (or, insert large company of choice) in comparison with Eduard and Arma Hobby, there's your answer,

the two companies you refer to would sell their collective right arm for the size of production runs made by the large companies. Being small means

the ability to react to problems, even in production, and hopefully correct them, or not, wrongly scaled Me.Bf.109, which Eduard at first denied...so showing

we can all make a mistake.

 

I would doubt very much that Airfix "just had to reissue it (Swedish S.31) with new and correct decals" my thinking would be any 'correction' would have been implemented on a second and any further issues. Airfix DO pay for their research, as does every other company, sometimes things go wrong. One of the current supplier to Airfix and other large companies is Cartograph, best know for after market sheets, how many moans have there been with regard to the 'poor' quality decals in Airfix kits, since they went to a specialist?

My thoughts on the subject would be, the specialists are great when the production run is sub 1000 sheets, what would reaction be for say, three manufacturers, two new releases per company with an initial requirment of 5000 sheets per kit, meaning an initial print run of 30000 sheets? Does the supplier put money up front for more machines and the money for training new staff, OR, try to carry on with the 'tried and trusted' and quality suffers, but hey, just look at the money we're making.....in the short term.

 

Best of luck with your P-51, because, as far as I know, when you buy in plastic from a large manufacturer, you get the lot, or nothing. Which International manufacturer is going to break a sprue up to fit with one customer? It comes down to man hours versus profit, and we're talking steel moulds so not an option to 'blank' a section of the mould. Just look at what Eduard do when they buy in a model, it's 'as issued' by the mould owners with the brass and resin 'add on's' by Eduard. Don't think a 1/72nd Mustang will sell many units if the price is similar to a Tamiya 1/32nd.

 

On a completely different subject, of course Volvo didn't produce their own BTCC cars, they're too busy building the standard models,

because that's where the profit comes from to allow them to play in the BTCC, and that's the case for many others manufacturers who want the cudos

from rallying , without the headaches.

 

Paul

[Andre B]

1 hour ago, PhoenixII said:

 

Hi @Andre B taking Airfix as an example (or, insert large company of choice) in comparison with Eduard and Arma Hobby, there's your answer,

the two companies you refer to would sell their collective right arm for the size of production runs made by the large companies. Being small means

the ability to react to problems, even in production, and hopefully correct them, or not, wrongly scaled Me.Bf.109, which Eduard at first denied...so showing

we can all make a mistake.

 

I would doubt very much that Airfix "just had to reissue it (Swedish S.31) with new and correct decals" my thinking would be any 'correction' would have been implemented on a second and any further issues. Airfix DO pay for their research, as does every other company, sometimes things go wrong. One of the current supplier to Airfix and other large companies is Cartograph, best know for after market sheets, how many moans have there been with regard to the 'poor' quality decals in Airfix kits, since they went to a specialist?

My thoughts on the subject would be, the specialists are great when the production run is sub 1000 sheets, what would reaction be for say, three manufacturers, two new releases per company with an initial requirment of 5000 sheets per kit, meaning an initial print run of 30000 sheets? Does the supplier put money up front for more machines and the money for training new staff, OR, try to carry on with the 'tried and trusted' and quality suffers, but hey, just look at the money we're making.....in the short term.

 

Best of luck with your P-51, because, as far as I know, when you buy in plastic from a large manufacturer, you get the lot, or nothing. Which International manufacturer is going to break a sprue up to fit with one customer? It comes down to man hours versus profit, and we're talking steel moulds so not an option to 'blank' a section of the mould. Just look at what Eduard do when they buy in a model, it's 'as issued' by the mould owners with the brass and resin 'add on's' by Eduard. Don't think a 1/72nd Mustang will sell many units if the price is similar to a Tamiya 1/32nd.

 

On a completely different subject, of course Volvo didn't produce their own BTCC cars, they're too busy building the standard models,

because that's where the profit comes from to allow them to play in the BTCC, and that's the case for many others manufacturers who want the cudos

from rallying , without the headaches.

 

Paul

Hi,

Read #7...

 

A Joint Venture between two company's making one kit?

 

Cheers / André

[Denford]

16 hours ago, Andre B said:

Wonder...

 

Does a company these days really have to do a decal research for an well knewn aircraft as for example an P-51B? Isn't that a thing thats already solved and available from many other company's who's profession is making research and produce decals?

 

And what other parts are already available in the market? We have props, spinners, wheels, cockpits, pilotseats, landinggears, engineparts etc.

 

Looking in a box from Special Hobby confirms that kit parts can be made in different materials and with that also by other company's.

 

And when it comes to Spitfire's, Mustang's, Hurricane's and Messerschmitt's how many times does one have to invent the wheel again?

 

And isn't this what eduard is good at... ...producing parts for several variants on one sprue such as wheels, canopy's etc... ...making the cost for every variant lower as most of the smaller parts are already made and available. It's just about producing a new fuselage and new wings (on different sprues)...

 

 

Take a look at the Airfix Spitfire Mk. Ia...

 

That kit is also made for making an MkI, IIa and Va. But what if Airfix had planned the sprue a bit more so that most of the common small parts where on the fuselage sprue (instead of both sprues)... ...making it cheaper to also make moulds for an type b, c or even an e wing and with that more variants for less money. And woldn't an type c or e wing sprue also go with an type IX fuselage sprue. Or... ?

 

Cheers / André

The fact is they didn't for whatever reason, most likely that they then had no researcher.  One then just copied plans from whatever source.

But to make a 'universal' sprue takes time and money producing parts not needed for that particular kit. 

 

For their own good reasons Airfix do not produce 'Serieses' as do Eduard, KP and others.   Instead they invest their resources into totally new subjects with perhaps just one variant designed in 'ab initio'.  So there will surely be a 'follow on' MiG 17 (not my area so I can't be too specific) but maybe in ¹/₇₂ a Seafire 15/17, Tempest ll/Vl like Matchbox: who knows what else.  Much though I 'like' Spitfires, I wouldn't want to see to them excluding other untooled types.

[VMA131Marine]

On 4/19/2019 at 1:42 PM, HMSLion said:

 And the 109 market is pretty saturated.

It can't be that saturated; companies keep releasing new 109 kits! Sure there are a lot of kits of the different variants of Bf 109, but how many of them are any good. If you want a 1/72 G-6, I guess you'll go with the new Tamiya, but for the other G versions and the Fs, you're left with Fine Molds and AZ models/KP as the best available. You can take your pick between the Tamiya and Airfix kits for the E series in 1/72, and the Tamiya is getting on for 20 years old. 

[VMA131Marine]

17 hours ago, Andre B said:

That kit is also made for making an MkI, IIa and Va

Even though Airfix issued the kit as a Mk.Va, technically you can't build an accurate model out of the box. The Va had metal covered ailerons, but these are molded with the wing as the fabric covered type of the Mk.I and Mk.II. Airfix should have supplied the ailerons as separate parts so it would have been easier to get an accurate Mk.V out of it.

The newish Revell Spitfire has the opposite problem (well it actually has a lot of problems) in that they molded the wings with metal covered ailerons then sold it as a Mk.II.

[VMA131Marine]

On 4/21/2019 at 11:16 AM, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Were I starting out myself here, I'd expect to be hiring a competent 3D modeller at not-less-than around £35/hr rate to man in the UK at least.

That's about £70,000 ($91,000) per year. I'd guess you could halve that if you outsourced it to China or India, which is why a lot of companies have.

[PhoenixII]

1 hour ago, Andre B said:

Hi,

Read #7...

 

A Joint Venture between two company's making one kit?

 

Cheers / André

Hi André,

all power to them, two small companies combining resources and talents for the good of both. I hope it's a success and the start of something good, for both of them.

Can't see it happening with the likes of Tamigawa or Revfix unless there's a buy out. But as none of us has a clue what will happen tomorrow, who knows? We'll have to wait and see.

You might just get your P-51 though, I suggest begging letters!

 

1 hour ago, VMA131Marine said:

It can't be that saturated; companies keep releasing new 109 kits! Sure there are a lot of kits of the different variants of Bf 109, but how many of them are any good. If you want a 1/72 G-6, I guess you'll go with the new Tamiya, but for the other G versions and the Fs, you're left with Fine Molds and AZ models/KP as the best available. You can take your pick between the Tamiya and Airfix kits for the E series in 1/72, and the Tamiya is getting on for 20 years old. 

It can be saturated if the Bf.109 or Me.Bf.109 bore you to tears.

 

41 minutes ago, VMA131Marine said:

That's about £70,000 ($91,000) per year. I'd guess you could halve that if you outsourced it to China or India, which is why a lot of companies have.

And outsourcing to those Countries may halve specifically your CAD costs but with what % increase in problems and increase in £,$,€,¥ expenditure? Thinking specifically about Trumpeter, they may be great at 'home market' equipment but anything else, not so much.....

Cheaper isn't necessarily better. Best is 'in-house' you have control over every aspect from start to finish, if you have to subcontract, at least try to keep the distance as small as possible, preferably in the same Country.

Paul

[VMA131Marine]

2 hours ago, PhoenixII said:

can be saturated if the Bf.109 or Me.Bf.109 bore you to tears.

That's not the definition of market saturation. It just means you don't want to see another BF109/Spitfire/P-51/etc. If the market were saturated, Tamiya would not just have invested in new tool kits in 1/72 and 1/48.

Edited April 22, 2019 by VMA131Marine

[VMA131Marine]

2 hours ago, PhoenixII said:

Thinking specifically about Trumpeter, they may be great at 'home market' equipment but anything else, not so much.....

Cheaper isn't necessarily better. Best is 'in-house' you have control over every aspect from start to finish, if you have to subcontract, at least try to keep the distance as small as possible, preferably in the same Country.

Trumpeter's problem is poor/inadequate primary research. When they get good source materials they have proved capable of getting excellent results. Yes, outsourcing introduces cost and complexity to the design process, the important question is whether it saves money overall. 

[Asmodai]

3 hours ago, PhoenixII said:

It can be saturated if the Bf.109 or Me.Bf.109 bore you to tears.

That's  the first mistake armchair CEOs make - assuming their personal opinions are valid for the entire market. If the question is 'How good is Airfix at following product suggestions?', my answer is - "Hopefully not very, if they want to stay in business". 

[RussellE]

On 4/22/2019 at 1:16 AM, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Were I starting out myself here, I'd expect to be hiring a competent 3D modeller at not-less-than around £35/hr rate to man in the UK at least. Maybe that's why there aren't many British model companies. That's going to be more like £40/hr to me by the time I've paid mandatory insurances, office & IT etc etc etc. If they're a proper employee that cost to me goes up dramatically.

As a product designer with 23 years experience under my belt as lead designer at a tool room that manufactures injection molding tools for the plastics industry, I've been following this thread with some amusement. 

 

But no comment has amazed me more than this one!!!

 

Now, I wouldn't have thought inflation that bad in the UK, nor that Australia is such a backwards nation (BTW, we're not, FWIW 😉)  but a £35/hr rate works out at roughly $135AUD/hr!

 

This equates to more than 3 times what I'm paid with all my years of experience & qualifications!!

 

So, if there's a job opening you know of, sign me up! I'm off to buy my airline ticket, and pack my bags for the UK, because that figure of £35/$135AUD would undoubtedly be irresistible and put me in the income realm of specialist doctors, surgeons & lawyers!! $$$

 

Ok, scratch what I said above. £35 is more like $65AUD. Egg on my face, hey? LoL!!

Edited April 23, 2019 by RussellE

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

3 hours ago, RussellE said:

As a product designer with 23 years experience under my belt as lead designer at a tool room that manufactures injection molding tools for the plastics industry, I've been following this thread with some amusement. 

 

But no comment has amazed me more than this one!!!

 

Now, I wouldn't have thought inflation that bad in the UK, nor that Australia is such a backwards nation (BTW, we're not, FWIW 😉)  but a £35/hr rate works out at roughly $135AUD/hr!

 

This equates to more than 3 times what I'm paid with all my years of experience & qualifications!!

 

So, if there's a job opening you know of, sign me up! I'm off to buy my airline ticket, and pack my bags for the UK, because that figure of £35/$135AUD would undoubtedly be irresistible and put me in the income realm of specialist doctors, surgeons & lawyers!! $$$

 

You're maybe in the wrong industry Russell?

 

£35/hr would be relatively low for a moderately competent structural or piping designer in private sector industries conversant with products like Aveva PDMS or Bentley AutoPlant, and would be a healthy but not unrealistic freelancing rate for someone UK based and experienced in 3D modelling in the automotive industry. Indeed it was a friend working in JLR who suggested that might be a sensible budget figure to have in mind.

 

However if £12/hr is enough for someone with 22 years experience from Australia then that's great news!

 

 

As a slight aside, when we were struggling to find a new container supplier for our paints we explored lots of avenues. One option was to use 28ml glass jars with plastic screw-on lids. These would be supplied to us at mates-rates by the owner of Infini Model who also owns IPP paints who are in the Asian market, only the lids had IPP's logo on top. To get a lid either without that logo or with our own needed a new injection moulding tool designed and manufactured. Their tool cost them $10,000 US.