Small Scale "Big Bird" Models
Posted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 7:07 pmIn the "modern era", most of the bombers, float planes and transports rendered in diecast form have been in the 1:144th scale as a hedge against profit risks. Corgi has put out a number of British subjects in this scale plus a few U.S. "biggies" ( the B-52, C-130 and B-29 ) and Dragon made a B-17 and a B-29, but that's about it. In addition, the Chinese factories, who are seeking to produce models by the tens of thousands, have worked a number of deals with magazine and book publishers whereby the latter order toolings made for 30-50 different planes at a clip and buy thousands of each at a very low cost for use as subcription inducements; subscribe to the magazine and you get a different model with each issue. This way, the manufacturer's risk is minimized and, once the tooling costs are recouped, extra examples can be cranked out for sale via online vendors, eBay, etc.----- I assume in some sort of profit sharing pact with the publisher or the intermediary who orchestrated the deal. Recently, companies like IXO, Altaya, Atlas, etc. have been sending a virtual deluge of 1:144th scale models to the marketplace in this fashion, providing collectors with replicas of planes that "regular" diecast makers are afraid to touch. Also, the quality of these mass produced models has improved significantly, though silly lapses and design flaws are still evident.
I thought that some members might be interested in seeing representative examples of these models from my collection. So let's start with some U.S. birds:
I thought that some members might be interested in seeing representative examples of these models from my collection. So let's start with some U.S. birds:
