Dave
Thank you for the time and effort put into this article. I am the son and stepson of newspaper editors and I know a proper bit of journalism when i read it. You did a good job of reporting, something becoming vanishingly rare these days.
WnW was never out to make a profit like most manufacturers of plastic model kits. They chose models, too many of which were incredibly expensive to produce, based on reasons other than what the market wanted. Well, they didn't make a profit and most likely did the opposite. So it totally baffles me why people seem shocked that they went out of business. I'm shocked they hung around as long as they did. Hopefully they really ran up some expenses and will be forced to sell their existing molds and files as I would hate to see all that stuff destroyed.
WnW showed the world how to make a truly fine kit. Fortunately for us modelers there are several folks out there who learned the lesson and are producing high quality kits of their own design. Additionally WnW sparked a quantum leap in aftermarket parts and decal quality and we will benefit from that for years to come.
WnW has come and gone, but the hobby and the industry have been forever changed by them and mostly for the better.
sp