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Academy Warrior 1/35th


4scourge7

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Kits don't generally remain in production. Manufacturers produce a 'run' of so many kits in one go and then distribute them. They calculate their batch volume based in part on what their distributors pre-order/buy. Thus, the manufacturer is more interested in what the distributors ask for, rather than the individual customer (any self-respecting distributor will know their local market better than the manufacturer and should be able to estimate how many units they can shift).

 

When Airfix first produced their TSR-2 kit, their initial plan for a production was exceeded by pre-orders from their (especially Asian) distributors. Therefore they upped the production run by 50%, but that's rare.

 If the kit sells well the manufacturer will do a second (or a third) production batch. If it doesn't sell well, they may never touch the moulds again. The fact that the Academy Warrior is difficult to get hold of suggests that existing stocks in the supply chain have been depleted and there is insufficient demand (from the distributors) for Academy to feel it's worth doing another run.

 

John

 

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Apart from the price, what's wrong with the new Meng kit?  Too late for the period you want?  Not sure how easy backdating will be.  We may yet see an earlier version from Meng, but they're not one of the companies renowned for multiple version kits.

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1 hour ago, Das Abteilung said:

Apart from the price, what's wrong with the new Meng kit?  Too late for the period you want?  Not sure how easy backdating will be.  We may yet see an earlier version from Meng, but they're not one of the companies renowned for multiple version kits.

You`re spot-on; I`m wanting a basic Warrior from late eighties/nineties and that seems a whole lot easier/economical with the Academy kit. Academy still list the kit on their website which is why I asked the question. I shall wait and see....got plenty time on my hands and a long build queue.

Thanks for the assists.

Ian  

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Yes.  IIRC the Academy kit can be built as a Balkans-era vehicle.  Keep an eye on eBay.  They do pop up from time to time.

 

You can currently get one on eBay from Korea for about £33 with free surface shipping, up to 6 week wait.  Problem there is that HMRC might want another £6.60 in VAT and Royal Mail will sting you about £9 in processing fee.  So that's potentially about £49. 

 

With Hobbyeasy you're also looking at a potential minimum £13 in import costs at that price, plus the shipping and 20% VAT on the shipping.

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I have been informed that Academy still catalogues the Warrior as available and delivery is expected at some point in the future, out of model shop`s control. Which is fair enough in the current climate.

When they turn-up-they turn-up; I can wait, got plenty to be going on with. :)

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On 1/5/2021 at 3:23 PM, Das Abteilung said:

Yes.  IIRC the Academy kit can be built as a Balkans-era vehicle.  Keep an eye on eBay.  They do pop up from time to time.

 

You can currently get one on eBay from Korea for about £33 with free surface shipping, up to 6 week wait.  Problem there is that HMRC might want another £6.60 in VAT and Royal Mail will sting you about £9 in processing fee.  So that's potentially about £49. 

 

With Hobbyeasy you're also looking at a potential minimum £13 in import costs at that price, plus the shipping and 20% VAT on the shipping.

 

From what i can tell on the images i have seen of the Meng kit, backdateing it would be a really tough job. The model companies sem to be fixd on all things Afghan related recently when it comes to modern British subjects, but i hope they do back date it.

 

While the Academy kit does have some accuracy issues, it is nothing that can't be covered with some mud and it is a nice kit. If Meng don't back date theirs i would get another academy kit to build a 510.

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