WNW: how many kits do they have left?

[Pup7309]

Assuming here that WNW isn’t coming back in the same form I was thinking how many kits did they produce? How many are still warehoused? I know some kits sold out quicker than others. Was it popularity, production run or both? I imagine there are enough kits in existence to saturate the market until a new company starts up (though maybe less in the very short term.)

And should I still try to order from their website?

A few questions, anyone have any ideas?

[Dave W]

Wingnuts have never disclosed their total production run but it's thought there could be at least 100,000 individual kits in circulation now. That figure may be way too low. The only people who know the numbers are not talking. Former staff had to sign confidentiality agreements, and anyway kit production numbers would form part of the data at the heart of any company selloff.

Regarding their website, Wingnuts ( or whoever is running the place now) have officially suspended online ordering for the time being. We have requested comment from the new management on the status of pending orders. They have not responded to our questions.

So you can't order from their website and, as a customer, I would personally be wary of doing so if they reopen until I was reassured they have a proper dispatch system in place. At the moment I believe the doors are locked and the staff who know how to process orders have been made redundant.

Bricks and mortar and online hobby shops are your best bet for Wingnut kits now plus the online forum buy/sell groups.

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

[Dekenba1]

As Dave said, WNW never released any figures, so we don't know.

Retailers are your best bet, at least until WNW start up again - if they do.

Avoid EBay. Prices are crazy.

Forums are worth a look, as many modellers prefer to sell to other modellers.

If you are not desperate, I'd recommend just waiting if you can't find any. Personally, I think that WNW will reappear in another guise, at which point prices will return to normal. Ish. But it may take 2-3 years before this happens, as it's as unimportant an industry as one can imagine, so will be last to be fixed after the virus is beaten.

As always, these are just my opinions, I have no more info than anybody else.

[Robertkp111]

I have been looking for wnw kits here in the states and all of the places i know of are all sold out except for some of the less popular models.

[Pup7309]

Yes it’s funny how some are less popular- too much rigging/ expensive etc.

 If they were to close then the kits would be assets to be sold off surely? I wonder when that will happen?

[hiddeous1973]

I would not worry too much, there is money to be made from the moulds themselves.
I am sure that most if not all will be sold and re-made at some time. Might be a while offcourse, but I am sure we will see the plastic parts again.
Depending on strategy, we will either see the more popular ones first (Albatross, Pfalz, Fokker) or the ones that were sold out quickly and never re-issued like the H-B W.29 and the Hannover kits

[Ringleheim]

I would not worry too much, there is money to be made from the moulds themselves.
I am sure that most if not all will be sold and re-made at some time. Might be a while offcourse, but I am sure we will see the plastic parts again.
Depending on strategy, we will either see the more popular ones first (Albatross, Pfalz, Fokker) or the ones that were sold out quickly and never re-issued like the H-B W.29 and the Hannover kits

The only thing I would add is that in the future, any new successor in interest to WNW is likely to want to make money alone.  They aren't also going to be fueling their personal desire to see obscure aircraft model kits being built, as was the case the first time around.

So in that sense, we may never see some kits again--those with a really poor sales history.

By the same token, the "limited edition" nature of the more popular kits is also likely to be gone.

A new company would be foolish not to focus on the most popular kits and pound them out indefinitely for years, as Tamiya tends to do, for example.

I'm talking the Pfalz, Sopwith Camels, Albatros DVs, the Fokker DR.Is that are apparently close to finished, etc.

[Pup7309]

So I’ll guess we’ll see in the near future if they are going to reopen for sale?

[Monty]

     Interesting thread - and good to focus on the potential positives in the future. It's pretty safe to say we will never see kits from NZ again - sure, the company design and administration and some distribution was from there, but All the production was in Korea and China - so at least two companies were involved. Now, for sure, in this day and age, the moulds remain intact, stored, and ok to be used again at these companies. This is invariably the case with just about every company I can think of - except Eduard, ICM and a few others... So WNW mould manufacturers also own a share, or part of the mould production, whatever the defunct WNW company tries to say or do - they are too valuable. I take a very safe bet no mould went to NZ. ( They are enormous and very heavy for 1/32 subjects...) So will we see production from them in the future? You bet! We need the legal stuff to settle, the mould makers were caught by surprise, just like us, as they were undoubtedly working on moulds til very recently, and I'm pretty sure they won't be too happy with the sudden stop! I'm also not sure they will be remunerated in full, so will itch to get return on their own investment in future... interesting scenario! As with other companies that have disappeared (Think ESCI, Accurate Miniatures) we see their stuff often in numerous other colourful boxings, I'm sure the present owners of the moulds trot them out, punch out a few thousand and sell them on... We want to see this happen with the WNW moulds! Even if the new decals are less than ideal, aftermarket will sort us out! Don't panic or pay those Evilbay prices -  the re-releases are sure to cost less. There are enough kits going around at retailers to keep us out of mischief until the reboxings arrive! Enjoy what you have and please keep building and blogging them, let us at least keep the spirit of WNW alive!
Regards, Marc.

[RichieW]

Good post Marc, I hope and believe you're right that these amazing kits haven't disappeared forever. I am still hopeful of getting a WNW SE5a, I was too late to the party to get one.

Yes, don't pay ebay prices! I managed to get a Pfalz DIIIa from an ebay seller for the normal retail price the day before the news broke. Within a few days the price had more than doubled. The kits are great but not worth the kind of ridiculous prices being asked by some cultures.

[gbrivio]

    [...] Don't panic or pay those Evilbay prices -  the re-releases are sure to cost less. There are enough kits going around at retailers to keep us out of mischief until the reboxings arrive! Enjoy what you have and please keep building and blogging them, let us at least keep the spirit of WNW alive!
Regards, Marc.

110% agree! Great analysis of the actual situation and future expectations.
Ciao
Giuseppe

[aliluke]

Hi
With respect to Monty's great post. I know how those in the movie industry operate...there is sure to be an IP clause in any agreement with the those who made the WnW moulds. Jackson is very likely to recall those moulds and simply destroy them. Various sets, props and models in the industry are dealt with this way all the time. It is painful to hear about but the attitude is "I made it and if I can't have it, neither can you". Ruthless. Don't bet on Jackson's WnW letting their IP fall into anyone elses hands. Sorry...

A

[smperry]

In light of the fact that WnW represents a quantum leap in plastic kit quality; it is not the molds and their future that matters. What really matters is the knowledge to make molds of that quality. That hopefully can be applied to future kits from existing or new companies. It would be lovely to see the popular WnW molds re released at some future point, but even if they are destroyed, the knowledge to achieve such quality will ensure the hobby as we have recently come to know it will continue.
sp

[Dave W]

Just in case anyone thinks Alistair's preceding post may be a bit harsh as regards Sir Peter Jackson's decisions re the moulds for Wingnut Wings, I would not rule out the option of him storing them somewhere to deny others their use.

Since the shock decision to close Wingnuts was known ( but as yet still not officially stated) Sir Peter has made zero comment on the shutdown of his hobby business. He is not formally required to do so but given the worldwide shock at the closure, you'd think he - or one of his official WnW representatives - would make some comment on the matter.

Instead, the people now running Wingnuts have erected a wall of silence around the debris of the business. Our approaches for comment have been ignored.

This week we formally reached out to Sir Peter Jackson seeking a comment on the demise of Wingnut Wings. There has been zero response from him. Sir Peter has not offered a single word of comment or explanation and unconfirmed reports say former staff are as much in the dark as the rest of us.

Are they selling the moulds? We don't know. Wingnuts' assets would include the company name, intellectual property, CAD renders, tooling ( the moulds) and all stock in NZ and scattered across warehouses around the world.

Maybe they'll be sold off, maybe stored away for better times. Maybe not. Alistair's right that in the movie industry big sets and props are often destroyed after use so they can't be used by "cheaper" productions.

The Wingnuts saga is becoming as complex as a Wingnut Films movie!

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

[Monty]

There is a post on another site about how the moulds in China, particularly, are only produced after a joint agreement with the mouldmakers whereby the moulds are improved, maintained and stored Only by the manufacturer of the mould - as only they understand how to use it and produce from it. The moulds are enormous and complex - they need a forklift to move - and I sincerely doubt the Chinese will, under the circumstances, listen to any legal argument, let alone pay for the enormous shipping costs! I'm pretty sure Sir Peter's cash flow doesn't stretch to a protracted international wrangle and the associated costs! So be positive, there will be something good in the future! That's why I excluded Eduard, Academy et al from such a scenario, they do their own tooling in house and own all their own moulds. (And other peoples moulds too, sometimes!) Other companies that could go down the WNW route if they cannot arrange a favorable buy-out include Airfix, Revell and even Tamiya! I really, really think Sir Peter got caught out completely by whatever financial or political crisis hit him.

Regards,

Marc.