Wingnuts Albatros B.II sold out ?

[bobs_buckles]

I told my wife there was a box coming from New Zealand... just stick it under the tree when it arrives. "I know what comes from New Zealand" was the reply... 

Live sheep?

LOL



vB

[boggie]

I told my wife there was a box coming from New Zealand... just stick it under the tree when it arrives. "I know what comes from New Zealand" was the reply... 

Live sheep?

LOL



vB

and gumboots 

[lcarroll]

Quote from Dave Wilson:
"Lance - if the NZ deal does not come off, please PM me. You are closer to getting that elusive RE.8 than you may imagine !  "

Dave,
    Thank you , and if Justin is unsuccessful in his quest I will do so! It's looking very much like a done deal today so I'm keeping my fingers crossed; in the end there really is a Christmas! Will let you know either way......
Michael,
    Totally agree with your last comments, the Wingnut Kits, when all is said and done, are a heck of a good deal from the manufacturer. Once OOP, like your antique furniture analogy, the cost is a reflection of availability and how much the buyer wants the product. It's a free market out there.........
Cheers,
Lance

[RAGIII]

Just to be clear, I wasn't referring to any of you scum-sucking, mouth-breathing, low-life, cottin' pickin', low-life (oops used that one already), bottom-feeding whiners when I posted earlier.

Seriously, though....Warren is correct; if you want to know the history of all this eBay business, type in the name of the kit...when it comes up, click on advanced search, then click on sold listings. And here's a really perfect example of just how "all over the map" the prices can be: on Sept. 14th, one Re8 sold for $110 and another sold for $250. Same kit, same day, but a huge difference in price.

As far as what a "fair" price for this kit would be at this time, IMHO, there is nothing such. It's like the antique furniture market or anything else that is in demand and also in limited supply. It's worth as much as you want to pay for it. As everyone has said, it's a free market.

But consider this: I believe the consensus of opinion has been that for most of their existence, Wingnuts kits have been underpriced and sent without postage costs. I'm just finishing up the W.12 and starting on the DFW and, I will say again, that the level of engineering and quality in these models is SECOND TO NONE, at least as far as WWI 1/32 aircraft go. (Even the new kits at $119 are cheap when you consider the quality compared to what you pay for resin kits like those from HPH.) So, at these eBay prices, the Harry Tate is coming in at about the same price as a Tamiya Mosquito. Yes, there's more styrene in the Mossie box but I have the kit and, IMHO, it is no better researched, engineered or manufactured than the Harry Tate. (Which I had but sent to Oz for $175., BTW)

With all due respect to my colleagues, I think there is a sense of unreality about this whole topic of pricing for both OOP WnW kits and new WnW kits. When you compare the price of the Wingnuts kits, the free shipping, and bear in mind their quality, which is superior to all competitors, frankly, I think Sir Peter was being amazingly generous when he decided on how these kits would be priced. Sadly, a lot of people seem to now feel that we are somehow entitled to always have it that way, regardless of the increase in quality, size and complexity of the kits, not to mention what the world financial markets have done since the first kits came out.

Just my 2 cents.

Interesting Michael. I know we have discussed the "Who pays these outrageous prices" thing before and I now have the answer. My friend who once owned a Hobby Shop and is now retired is the one. I have been going over his WW1 kits and his purchase price with him. He did well on some but on others was totally Hosed. I wish he would have contacted me reference what they were really worth. He actually paid in excess of $117.00 for a Roland CIIa ! He said he wanted it and that was the deciding factor. Actually didn't know he could purchase the same kit for $99.00 with no shipping direct from WNW. Thought they were Out of Business. His purchase price for the RE8 was $217.00 which is near what he will want to sell it for. I am negotiating with him to list the kits that he did OK on purchase price vs value here. We shall see how things go.
RAGIII

PS: I totally agree also that the WNW pricing vs quality has been very generous when compared to Tamiya et al. That being said out of my budget is out of my budget no matter what. I have 3 WNW kits left in my stash after the 2 I am working on are finished. I don't see a major increase to 5,10 or 15 unless I hit the lottery 

[FarEast]

I have a question for those of us who purchased the Alb. B.II since they sold out so fast. Did you buy one or two? I only bought one since I'm trying to stay on budget for Christmas.

I'm also wondering if the majority of sales went to members of our forum since WnW's method of finding this kit was so hidden. We seemed to inform each other as to how to find it on their site. Or is there another large audience that I'm unaware of.


George

I only bought 1 off the kits as I'm a builder not a collector (I only actually own one duplicate and thats the Roland C.IIa as I intend to build the C.II, the C.IIa Early and the C.IIa Late.

As for the C.II, D.VII etc - its Roman numerals as I was taught in school in the UK, no idea why other Brits use B.11 instead of B.II??