Do you think we should see the old 1/32 cars again?

[MG Writer]

There is an Airfix Austin Maxi on sale at present on fleabay for £500....

[Rogerbass]

There  is a nice haul of old car kits finishing on ebay today, Vauxhall Victor, Maxi, Marina, Capri, Jaguar420, MG 1100, Bond Bug, Mercedes 280, Sunbeam Rapier etc all making good money so dig out those toolings Airfix.

[Czartank]

I would love to see these out again,

[Captain Triggers]

There is an Airfix Austin Maxi on sale at present on fleabay for £500....

I would not spend £500 on a kit of any type and rarity, let alone an austin maxi of all cars!

[NWR-Gordon-4]

For £500.00?! Why so much? Is it rare? I shoild it's made of gold dust, for that price tag. 😮 😆

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[peebeep]

For £500.00?! Why so much? Is it rare? 

 

IIRC the tooling was lost/destroyed when Palitoy were running Airfix.

[NWR-Gordon-4]

So because tooling was lost and / or damaged, the kit had to be discontinued?

 

Did Hornby Hobbies buy the Airfix brand from Pailtoy?

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[DavidJC]

Thing is though GNR-Gordon-4, what company, already struggling, would re-invest tens of thousands in and resurrect what was, by then, a model that probably wasn't selling very well of a car that come to the end of its production life that wasn't selling very well?

[Ratch]

Airfix was an independant company until it went into receivership in 1981. General Mills (Palitoy) took them over until they sold the brand to Borden/Humbrol in 1986. Heller bought the company in 1993 and went into receivership in 2006, when the Hornby Group bought the Airfix and Humbrol brands.

[Ratch]

all making good money so dig out those toolings Airfix.

They make good money for the collectors. Once a kit is re-issued, the only ones that still demand that value are ones in rare packaging. Generally, the price drops. That probably wouldn't be the case with the Marina, but I doubt that there is a market for 20,000* or so for Airfix to sell and recoup the cost of a new tool. Even re-running an old tool incurs cost. An economical run might be in excess of 12,000*

* two figures I plucked out of the air, but maybe not far off the mark

[Rogerbass]

Well as mentioned in another thread perhaps we were hoping that cars would appear in the vintage classics range which has been launched

[NWR-Gordon-4]

Thing is though GNR-Gordon-4, what company, already struggling, would re-invest tens of thousands in and resurrect what was, by then, a model that probably wasn't selling very well of a car that come to the end of its production life that wasn't selling very well?

 

When wass it discontinued? So it was not selling well back then, so I is selling well now? It must be selling well now, it goes fora few hundreed quid on eBay.

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[NWR-Gordon-4]

went into receivership in 2006, when the Hornby Group bought the Airfix and Humbrol brands.

 

Hornby Hobbies only bought Airfix and Humbrol in 2006? I thought Hornby Hobbies owned Airfix and Humbrol brand's longer than that.  😮

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[Ratch]

Thing is though GNR-Gordon-4, what company, already struggling, would re-invest tens of thousands in and resurrect what was, by then, a model that probably wasn't selling very well of a car that come to the end of its production life that wasn't selling very well?

 

When wass it discontinued? So it was not selling well back then, so I is selling well now? It must be selling well now, it goes fora few hundreed quid on eBay.

 

GNR-Gordon-4

No. One kit sold for £500.00. The Marina was only produced for three years 1972 - 1974. If it had sold well it would have been in the range for longer. The Ford Escort was in the range 1970 - 1976 so some cars were selling at that time. One high price on e-bay doesn't equate to high demand.

[NWR-Gordon-4]

What was the Marina sold for in the 1970's? Actually, that's a silly question, as things were cheaper back then anyway. If this product was for sale today or reproduced, what do you think would be the new condition, on-the-shelf price, today?

 

Actually, high prices on eBay do equate to high demand, as somebody did pay that amount of money for one, so there must be high demand if they do sell for prices like that. The kit that did sell for £500.00, was it an auction or a 'Buy it Now' listing?

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[peebeep]

Actually, high prices on eBay do equate to high demand, as somebody did pay that amount of money for one, so there must be high demand if they do sell for prices like that.

Nope, it means that a handful of collectors got themselves into a bidding war over something that has become collectible. That is not high demand, it is somebody paying a lot of money for something that has become rare. 

[NWR-Gordon-4]

To me a few people in a bidding war to get a rare product, is high demand for that product. Is that what my understanding of high demand is.  😀

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[Ratch]

It only takes two determined people to drive an auction up. Airfix have to sell thousands of all kits before they start making money. Airfix are not a charity, there needs to be a substantial market - not just a few collectors.

[Kenneth ONeill]

As others, all one high price at auction proves is that there were 2 wealthy (or pathological, or possibly both) bidders, not that there is a demand for, say 5_000 units, of a new boxing.

[Captain Triggers]

Here is a radical thought, why not just scan a mint condition unbuilt kit like the marina or maxi and do a system like the sea king and the he111?

[DavidJC]

I can only echo what others have been saying about astronomical price bidding on any one kit. There are a few bidding on one kit, potentially as collectors or even speculators who will store the kit for a few more years then sell it on again for far more than they paid for it. It does not in any shape or form act as a barometer for the popularity of any one kit.

 

The Maxi and its stablemates has been out of production for 40 plus years; whatever its criticisms now it was a popular family car at the time and one Airfix felt would sell well due to that, similarly the Marina and Escort etc. Certainly there is no exotica feeling attached to any of them unlike a classic Jaguar, say.

 

I simply don't believe that Airfix reissuing what were poor kits (by today's standards) of equally poor cars (even by those days standards) would sell in any great numbers to justify producing another run of a model. As I've said elsewhere, I myself might buy one for nostalgia purposes, but Airfix cannot rely on people like us to maintain its business. And it is a business, not a benign charity.

[peebeep]

Here is a radical thought, why not just scan a mint condition unbuilt kit like the marina or maxi and do a system like the sea king and the he111?

 

It's a possibility, but the reality is much more complex. Then there is the consideration of commercial viability and the amount of investment required to cut a tool.

[NWR-Gordon-4]

It only takes two determined people to drive an auction up. Airfix have to sell thousands of all kits before they start making money. Airfix are not a charity, there needs to be a substantial market - not just a few collectors.

 

Of course! Thsi is the case with an product. It's collectors that raise the price of products, after they are discontinued and once all stock has sold.

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[NWR-Gordon-4]

@DavidJC

 

What do you mean the Marina is a poor kit? I don't know much about plastic kits, but it looks alright to me?

 

I think when I said reissuing it, I meant this as new tool.

 

GNR-Gordon-4

[Kenneth ONeill]

You can't judge how good (or bad) a kit is until you have the plastic in your hands and can see the outline shape, detail, how well (or otherwise) it fits type stuff.