Author Topic: Inside Wingnut Wings - what went wrong within the dream model company?  (Read 65400 times)

Offline Monty

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Thanks for that, Dave! It very much confirms what I suspected. No mention of the background tax woes of the empire and the influence that has (and has had) on decisions now, but as the decision making rests with the bean-counters it must play a role! I wonder if Sir Peter also didn't just loose interest in his hobby? And just decide to can it... I bet his stash will last a lifetime or two! I'm very concerned about the WNW team, they are in a tough place in tough times. I don't see them finding equivalent employment soon. The only bit of good news is the statement by said bean-counters that "..assets .. their disposal to realise best/fair value...". Those great big hunks of metal that are the moulds are a massive drain on resources, their storage must be paid for, it's better to let them go... They are housed by injection moulding companies that have many customers... it's obvious companies involved in the tooling had, at least done good kits before... therefore the chance these moulds may be used (in one form or another) by another entity is likely... I could happily believe that TrumpiBoss could be involved (and they wouldn't do a bad job of re-releases..). But Sir Peter may have little say at present what happens to his hobby, the money may be the final determinant... And we won't see a new NZ model company again in the next few years... Regards, Marc.

Offline macsporran

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Excellent article, Dave, thank you for explaining it all so clearly.
One thing unmentioned though is the allegation that they had mis-used government subsidies intended for the film industries on model and aircraft companies, causing much embarrassment to PJ's group.
Do you think this maybe helps explain the "why" as opposed to "what" happened re the sudden closure?
Thanks again.

Offline Dave W

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Sandy

I did not refer to the rumour regarding the alleged use of taxpayer subsidies in NZ because it is a rumour and I did not have any evidence to confirm if it was true. The article stuck to provable facts and comment from former staff. The NZ Herald has published an article claiming that Sir Peter Jackson's Weta group has received $41m a year in NZ government subsidies to support film production.

Issues around how that funding has allegedly been used and which parts of the Weta group might have benefited from it do not feature in the Wingnuts article.

cheers

Dave W
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Owner and Administrator of ww1aircraftmodels.com and forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Offline macsporran

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Thanks for the reply, Dave. It really is a good article and I'd have thought some of the mainstream press might be interested in publishing it if you were so minded.
I just wish they'd made a few more market-friendly single seat scouts and less of the huge vanity projects like the UWD. Might be in a happier financial place now.

Offline RLWP

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More praise for this excellent piece of journalism from me, Dave. Thank you

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline RLWP

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Another thing - am I right in thinking Des had a model/models in the WNW museum?

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline rhwinter

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Another thing - am I right in thinking Des had a model/models in the WNW museum?

Richard

Yes! I was wondering what might happen to them, too!

Dekenba1

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Thanks Dave, excellent article.

Perversely, this article suggests - to me at least - that the WNW kits will definitely see the light of day again.

Why?

Because the company is being shut down because it was a money pit. It was all about the money.

The WNW assets - moulds, IP, modelling, WIP, stock, etc - are worth some monetary amount. As it's a very, very small market, we don't really know the value. But Revells assets were purchased for $3.9m, and that encompases a pretty large & diverse portfolio. Ultimately, it will depend upon the business plan any purchaser will operate. Whilst the moulding & tooling costs are known pretty well, the sales figures are altogether another thing, although the fact that so many WNW kits are "sold out", allied to the strong prices shown on EBay (e.g. £300 for SE.5a), would suggest there is a market for at least some of the kits. The larger, twin engined kits may not see the light of day again as demand was low, but the single seaters & most 2 seaters sold well.

A valuable asset is not going to be destroyed or left to gather dust when it could contribute to the whole reason WNW was shut - produce money. A sale will reduce PJ's losses, which is the whole point of shutting WNW down.

Therefore, I fully expect the assets will be sold off, sooner rather than later.

However, the caveat here is that PJ is acting logically and is guided by market forces. If he throws his toys out of the pram, the moulds could remain in a warehouse for years.

Offline RLWP

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The WNW assets - moulds, IP, modelling, WIP, stock, etc - are worth some monetary amount. As it's a very, very small market, we don't really know the value

Reading Dave's article, I can't see a lot of financial or managerial logic in the company which leads to the question in what you say in the bit I quoted

How many more buyers are there for two-seater Axis planes? Or for large four engine bombers?

The kits with legs are going to be the single seaters, the expensive moulds are those big bombers. If you had to buy the lot in one go, I'd suggest the value of the moulds for the big kits would kill the deal

And that's assuming WNW own the moulds - if they are sitting in a factory in China that may not be guaranteed. It wouldn't be unusual to go into a joint venture with a moulding company over the costs of the moulds

As usual, more questions than answers

Richard
« Last Edit: May 16, 2020, 07:37:57 PM by Dave W »
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline Dave W

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Richard

I have made a small edit to your latest post. We must all be mindful that websites such as this are not immune to legal actions for defamation. As a precaution I have removed a sentence which could compromise us.

Folks, please be careful with any speculation in this thread. I would rather spend my meagre savings on more model kits than fund holidays for defamation lawyers.

Regarding the current home of Des' models. They were donated to the 1914-1918 Aviation Heritage Trust in NZ and Dave Johnson, then with  Wingnut Wings, flew to Australia to pack them and take them to NZ. I believe they are at present housed at the TVAL offices in Wellington.

Dave W
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Owner and Administrator of ww1aircraftmodels.com and forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Offline Jeff K

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this is speculation, but the poor box office showing of Mortal Engines can't have helped Sir PJ's financial state.

it does appear from the article that WNW has been handed over entirely to the bean counters. the response from the sales@wingnutwings was also from an assistant accountant.

that said i'ts not impossible that Sir PJ would do something irrational like hang on to the molds and hope for better times. i'm sure i'm not the only one with no intention to sell my hoard in spite of Gotha G.IVs going for US$600 on ebay... so the psychology of it would be easy to understand, at least.

Offline RLWP

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Richard

I have made a small edit to your latest post. We must all be mindful that websites such as this are not immune to legal actions for defamation. As a precaution I have removed a sentence which could compromise us.

No problem, Dave - I understand your point and I suspect you understand mine too

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline lone modeller

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You will all know that I am not a kit builder, but I have many friends and know of many others who are, and I am therefore very disappointed on their/your behalf that WNW is no more. I am even more disappointed for the very highly skilled and dedicated staff at WNW who have, to put it bluntly, been shafted by bean counters. However, any company has to be able to make money to survive, and if WNW did not make money then the future was bleak indeed. However the way in which the staff were treated reflects all too well modern management attitudes - "I'm all right Jack and the devil take the hindmost."

Thank you Dave for a first class piece of journalism - thoroughly researched, factual, precise and without bias - a rare event at any time in journalism, but seemingly even rarer these days.

Like others I sincerely hope and trust that some at least of the WNW assets could be bought and utilized by another company in future - but also thank the WNW team for the enormous positive impact that they have had on our hobby, and in particular, our highly specialised field within the hobby. I hope that they will all be able to find gainful employment as soon as possible.

Stephen.

Offline Bill_S

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Thanks for the info, Dave. While I am dismayed over the demise of WNW, I'm thankful to have purchased a few of their gems - they most certainly raised the bar.

I can't help thinking, though, of what might have happened if they had listened to their customers and brought out kits of the Dr.1, Spad, and Camel in the early days. How much mileage has Revell got out of those old 1/28 scale molds?

It is disheartening to hear of the treatment of a talented staff by management. Unfortunately, they are not alone in that sense. I hope for the best for them in the future.

Offline eclarson

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Thank you Dave for that very informative and well written article. 

Wingnut Wings was certainly a unique company, the likes of which we'll probably never see again.  Amazing it came into being at all but very sad how it ended.

Eric