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A new one

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  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Portsmouth, RI
Posted by searat12 on Thursday, March 5, 2009 5:08 PM

Well, I think all that remains to be seen..... People were willing to shell out big bucks LAST year, but my guess is there will be a lot fewer this year..... Repulse still hasn't hit the market yet (and still may not), and has a huge backlog of 'preorders' from happier economic times (I ordered mine February of LAST year!), which makes Repulse something of a 'guaranteed money-maker.'  I haven't seen any sales figures for the Illustrious yet (but I bet they ain't good, and ain't likely to get a lot better!). 

As a 'pretty good' Tamiya Missouri kit is already on the market, and has been for a long time, and given the costs of tooling, etc, I just don't see a new Missouri coming along any time soon, or any other large ships either that weren't already fairly advanced along the pipeline (and it takes more than a year to get one of these things from concept to production, sometimes as much as two years or even more).  In other words, just hope the models that have already been announced for this year actually make it to the shelves, as it is quite possible these may be the last ones out for some time to come (the model companies will have to make back their investments in very trying times, and my guess is there will be some bankruptcy notices coming out before too long)....... At the end of the day, the number of people THIS year (and probably next as well) who have big bucks to drop on an admittedly disposable and unnecessary item like a model ship are going to be few and far between... In other words, the 'Dark Ages' of model-building has come again!

In my case (and many others I am quite sure!), this will not be as bad as it sounds, as I have a huge backlog of kits to get through, probably about ten years worth, if I do them all proper justice, so it's not like we won't have anything to work on....... If you REALLY want to do a Missouri, then get the Tamiya kit and do a bunch of 'kitbashing,' as there are certainly plenty of aftermarket items available to upgrade the old kit significantly....

 

As a final note, there is a 1/350 New Jersey by Otaki on Ebay right now that is bid at about $40.....

  • Member since
    February 2004
  • From: Weymouth, Dorset, UK
Posted by chris hall on Thursday, March 5, 2009 11:36 AM

No, I don't get this. If the market will support a 1/350 Repulse, and, it seems, a 1/350 Illustrious, it's difficult to believe that there aren't enough people out there who'll shell out $US200 for a modern-standard Missouri, especially if it were to include etch.

Cheers,

Chris.

Cute and cuddly, boys, cute and cuddly!
  • Member since
    March 2007
  • From: Portsmouth, RI
Posted by searat12 on Thursday, March 5, 2009 10:13 AM
...and you could probably say the same for the Tamiya Yamato, Musashi, etc, since they all came out around the same time.  However, given the current economic climate, I will not be expecting any more new kits, other than those already announced (and maybe not even these!) for a couple years... Mostly, I will be hoping that the various model manufacturers don't go belly-up!
  • Member since
    July 2006
  • From: Philippines
A new one
Posted by constructor on Thursday, March 5, 2009 3:02 AM
I still think that a more detailed 1/350 USS Missouri will be most welcomed by ship modellers. The Tamiya model which was good during its time is wanting of an improved model. Molded-in ladders are hard to cut off and the photo etch has since improved a lot in details. What say you?
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