Hi Guys,
Apologies for slowness in replying. Thursdays down under are late trading and I close shop at 8pm.
Will respond in sequence.
The production numbers are important when talking about diecast. Neil indicates 900 being made of this version. Obviously Corgi will have the mould so knowing if they have done a previous Mustang or plan future ones is an important point. As I have mentioned before I have produced a diecast item and the set up / mould cost was huge relative to the unit cost. I would be most surprised if Corgi have not already done a Mustang or plan to do another. Anybody familiar with Accurate Armour / Franklin Mint will know they produced multiple versions of their aircraft.
When I mentioned the US$ price that was just a conversion of 110 pounds which is the actual RRP (I used
www.xe.com ). You will note I did ask what the actual US$ price was and WWiibuff answered this with $125 which is cheaper than the UK pounds price.
K&C did 750 Brit and 250 US versions, so 1,000.
I was not aware Mitch gets accused of trawling to stir up the pot.
Neil, regarding bringing K&C into the conversation your post was "Corgi are making a new die-cast Mustang P51-D RAF for only £92.00 it can be done {eek3}". If you had missed out the "it can be done{eek3}" bit you would have just been saying Corgi doing a nice plane at a good price. By adding it can be done you are suggesting somebody else can do it. Since there are only two TS companies that have produced a WWII fighter so far (K&C and TG) and only one that has done a Mustang (K&C) then the obvious inference from your post was that K&C can do it (ie the price). Warlord did specifically mention K&C.
I do disagree with Mitch's comment "Is it that important what medium is used??? I am not so sure. Even the most hardened K&C collector must realise that A. you don't go by weight when buying military collectables"
Whilst it may not be a factor to Mitch ,who is a good modeller of plastic kits, I do think weight is an important factor. My reasons for this view are based on the following :
a) In 1998 before I started a shop I produced a diecast Titanic. The two top people in the company that made it for me were ex Matchbox (the guy who set up their Chinese production) and Corgi. As per their advice my Titanic was
"weighted" when in reality it did not need to be as heavy.
b) In same year I also produced some 120mm and 200mm resin figure kits. Made by a different place and again deliberately weighted as per the advice from the guy I was dealing with who said "weight equals value".
Same goes for the completed painted Queensland Fireman figure and bronzed resin soldier we made. I now sell other 300mm figures and these are much heavier than they need to be.
c) I used to sell Dragon 1/72 tanks and I had comments from people who did not like the plasticy feel and lack of weight in the later ones.
c) Some may recall the reaction to the first vehicle produced by FL 2 years ago where some commented upon its lack of weight. That was a decision made by FL and I am not knocking the quality of the item.
John Jenkins subsequently brought out his first tank and it was also very light. Those currently posting in this thread may not have bought Jenkins vehicles but I can tell you he has since made his vehicles heavier.
It is simple. If you had two identical tanks in every aspect except one was twice as heavy I would bet the majority would buy the heavier version as they would believe it has more value. The ones who bought the lighter
version would probably have some modelling background and would not be so bothered.
When people come into my shop and I am introducing TS's to them I will put a K&C figure in their hands. All have the same surprised reaction and that is that the weight of the figure adds to any good impression they have. When Andy of K&C brought down his prototype unpainted Lighhorse figures recently they were very light compared to finished items. I asked if they could painted as they were and he said no reason why could not be. However as we know they are made heavier.
Having said all that I do agree Corgi items represent good value. This subject got me thinking about my customers who bought K&C aircraft. I have not done a survey but I would guess most do not have any Corgi planes.
I have a fairly big hobby shop not far from me and they have a great range of diecast aircraft. I only know of one K&C collector who has bought Corgi. Would be interesting to know if collectors like Louis, Brad and Wayne have any
Corgi or Franlkin Mint aircraft. I think they regard themselves as Toy Soldier collectors rather than aircraft collectors. Then there are some in this thread who obviously buy Corgi but have also bought the more expensive K&C planes.
Hopefully some food for thought.
Regards
Brett