WNW........what's happening here???????????

[Jeff]

Some stuff just never changes............. that's why you guys are stuck with me over here......... I like it here, and yes Gaz, you hit the nail on the head....

[GazzaS]

An interesting quote from Farcebook:

"A lot of our compadres are mistakenly assuming the rumours of trouble at WNW are due to the coronavirus and lockdown, which undoubtedly are not helping the situation. However there are apparently more important factors contributing to the gloom regarding the future of Wingnuts.

There is currently much controversy in New Zealand over a substantial amount of public money spent on promoting film companies and production facilities there. Peter Jackson’s WETA Group is said to have benefited greatly, including a substantial annual subsidy from the taxpayer. Many questions have been asked as to how this public money has been spent, with little apparent benefit to the public at large.

For example, it has been asked if some of the money was used on non-film activities within the Group, such as TVAL and Wingnut Wings. Perhaps there might be expensive legal battles ahead if WNW were to continue trading. Who knows, but please let’s stop endlessly posting the statement about Covid – this has little to do with the fears many of us have for the company’s survival."

 

True or not....  It's not the first time I've heard bits and pieces of it from others.

[Wumm]

13 hours ago, GazzaS said:

There's no point in ordering direct from WNW as they ain't shipping anything.  And I'm not certain what's allowed into AUS at the moment anyway.  I know I have some figures trapped in Korea.

 

Freight is definitely moving into Au Gaz...

BNA got a Zoukei Mura restock in late March, around the time Volks USA did as well, so kits from Japan are shipping. South Korea may be more problematic though.

FWIW, locally the Last Stand at Corinda newsagents has some WNW kits in stock. The Albatros DV re-pop kit 32905 is Au $144.99 walk out the door, whereas the kit on WNW site is $79 US plus postage... Converted to Au dollars that's around $124. Add international postage and we're just about at evens.

This is possibly another factor being overlooked. WNW sell in US dollars, but are based in New Zealand, where the currency has taken a substantial hit in the last month or so when compared to the Greenback. All their stock, whatever they have of it, is now worth 20% less than it was in February.

[GazzaS]

4 minutes ago, Wumm said:

Freight is definitely moving into Au Gaz...

BNA got a Zoukei Mura restock in late March, around the time Volks USA did as well, so kits from Japan are shipping. South Korea may be more problematic though.

FWIW, locally the Last Stand at Corinda newsagents has some WNW kits in stock. The Albatros DV re-pop kit 32905 is Au $144.99 walk out the door, whereas the kit on WNW site is $79 US plus postage... Converted to Au dollars that's around $124. Add international postage and we're just about at evens.

This is possibly another factor being overlooked. WNW sell in US dollars, but are based in New Zealand, where the currency has taken a substantial hit in the last month or so when compared to the Greenback. All their stock, whatever they have of it, is now worth 20% less than it was in February.

Thanks for the info, Mate.  I actually hit up Last Stand for Goering's Fokker.  BNA for Roland C.II and Halberstadt CI.II, and Metro Hobbies for Hansa Brandenburg W.12.  I've still got a couple of Albatros D.V's left over in the Albatros Trilogy.  Nice kits, but I don't need a Jasta of each.   I just hope they got set-aside and didn;t walk out the door over the weekend.

[Clunkmeister]

I actually went out to find a couple Albie B.ll’s and will need to go right to NZ for them.  Same with AEG late. Funny how that works. 

Ill grab a few Junkers D.l’s, a couple DFW and Halberstadts, and a Dolphin or two locally.  The stuff is selling quickly, so people are buying them up, probably speculating.

I never did buy Goering’s D.Vll, and probably never will.

[krow113]

Are you dissin' Der Fatty!!!???

[Clunkmeister]

44 minutes ago, krow113 said:

Are you dissin' Der Fatty!!!???

Yep, I sure am.  I don’t have a whole many hangups, but I’m no fan of that POS.

[GazzaS]

1 hour ago, Clunkmeister said:

 

I never did buy Goering’s D.Vll, and probably never will.

 

50 minutes ago, krow113 said:

Are you dissin' Der Fatty!!!???

 

I was more interested in the VIIF than I was in it being Goering's plane.   It was the only D.VII available, actually.

[DocRob]

8 hours ago, GazzaS said:

I was more interested in the VIIF than I was in it being Goering's plane.   It was the only D.VII available, actually.

Exactly my thought, I have one VIIF in stash and it will be completely Lozenge covered. I want to build another one and have the kit decals and another set of Aviatic Lozenge for the wings to build a little bit more colourful bird. Fat (by that times not so fat) Hermann though will be a painting technique dummy.

Cheers

[GazzaS]

17 hours ago, DocRob said:

Exactly my thought, I have one VIIF in stash and it will be completely Lozenge covered. I want to build another one and have the kit decals and another set of Aviatic Lozenge for the wings to build a little bit more colourful bird. Fat (by that times not so fat) Hermann though will be a painting technique dummy.

Cheers

The kit just arrived today.  I was surprised by the small decal sheet.  I had never studied his plane that much and believed that the wings would be covered in Lozenge.  But looking at the instruction booklet I can see it was all white.  How does one weather an all-white machine?  I'm gonna see if I can find some aviattic lozenge for less than an arm and a leg.   As far as the figure...  it probably doesn't even look like him.  I remember that the Richthofen (who was quite a skinny fella) looked more like Square-jawed Robert Shaw:

 

[Clunkmeister]

I’m not sure it looks much like the guy.  It looks pretty generic European. 

[BlrwestSiR]

On 4/13/2020 at 9:52 PM, Clunkmeister said:

Same with AEG late. Funny how that works. 

Wheels  & Wings had the AEG in stock. A bit closer than NZ too.

https://www.wheelswingsestore.com/wnw32042-wingnut-wings-1-32-aeg-g-iv-late.html

 

[GazzaS]

3 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

I’m not sure it looks much like the guy.  It looks pretty generic European. 

Yeah, we all look the same.

[DocRob]

On 4/14/2020 at 2:52 AM, Clunkmeister said:

Same with AEG late

There is one left in Spain if you are interested. I bought from Robotines several times and was always completely satisfied.

http://www.robotines.com/en/wingnut-wings/8660-1-32-aeg-giv-late-.html

Cheers Rob

[HubertB]

On 4/14/2020 at 2:52 AM, Clunkmeister said:

I never did buy Goering’s D.Vll, and probably never will.

I’m 200 % with you there, Ernie. I thought it was a VERY strange choice to have Goering as a figure ( but there were many strange choices from WnW, like the UWD, just to name one). It’s good I am not interested in a Fokker D-VII, because that would have put me off from buying it. I did get the DH-2 with Lanoe Hawker, though, and the Fokker E-1 with the Immelmann figure ( history ignorance confession here: I don’t even know whether Immelmann ever survived the war, and if yes, whether he was a supporter of the monstrous Austrian corporal - I’d better check that)

Hubert

PS: I just checked. Immelmann died in aerial combat in 1916. I’ll go to sleep tonight less stupid than I got up this morning  

[Guest Dekenba]

The decision to release a model of Goering was just absolutely bizarre. Sickening, actually. I'd much rather WNW stuck to aeroplane kits, not murderous scumbags.

[Lothar]

7 minutes ago, HubertB said:

I’m 200 % with you there, Ernie. I thought it was a VERY strange choice to have Goering as a figure ( but there were many strange choices from WnW, like the UWD, just to name one). It’s good I am not interested in a Fokker D-VII, because that would have put me off from buying it. I did get the DH-2 with Lanoe Hawker, though, and the Fokker E-1 with the Immelman figure ( history ignorance confession here: I don’t even know whether Immelmann ever survived the war, and if yes, whether he was a supporter of the monstrous Austrian corporal - I’d better check that)

Hubert

 

Immelmann crashed on June 18, 1916 and didn't survive. There are various speculations about the reasons. 

But I share your sentiments about Goering, He was nothing but a criminal of the lowest nature crawling around and in the a.. of the "biggest leader of all times".

Lothar

[Kais]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:29 PM, GazzaS said:

Yeah, we all look the same.

GazzaS,
You have seen your avatar, right?
Frontline Hobbies in Newcastle NSW had a goodly stock of WNW until recently(haven't checked since COVid), not sure on their prices but for you Aussies it might be an other option.
Be well folk.

[HubertB]

1 hour ago, Dekenba said:

The decision to release a model of Goering was just absolutely bizarre. Sickening, actually. I'd much rather WNW stuck to aeroplane kits, not murderous scumbags.

It’s too easy to be smart when you have insight of what happened after the decisions were made, and to shoot on ambulances, but one can list many strange choices, like (it’s not a complete list) :

1) At the same time as they decided to stop the free shipping policy, transfer order and shipping management to Weta, who made a disaster of the move, and were not organised to ship small parcels worldwide.

2) Not only did they include shipping charges, but they also added VAT on many transactions. I am sure that triggered a massive drop of sales as prices skyrocketed and service plummeted ...

3) Sticking to a policy of weird releases and ignoring « obvious » demands like the Dr-1 or French - or italian - fighters

I was personally never a believer that because it was created on the whim of a passionate and very rich man, WnW did not have to answer the basics of business management, as I read many times... And it now seems that, not only did he not have the deep pockets a lot of modellers were dreaming about, but these pockets may rather have been the Kiwi taxpayers’ pockets...

I am grateful that WnW was created. It triggered an extra interest in 1/32 scale, as did Trumpeter beforehand. It enabled many modellers to produce great looking kits without the need to be a superhuman master modeller, and they released projects I could only dream of. Just the Felixstowe will make it a mythical brand in my agenda.

And I wish that the unique talents assembled in the WnW team will find sooner rather than later jobs to continue make us dream.

Hubert

[DocRob]

On 4/14/2020 at 2:52 AM, Clunkmeister said:

I never did buy Goering’s D.Vll, and probably never will.

I actually did, yesterday, along with some streaking decal, but wait, streaking on Görings white plane? No, I will just build the D.VII in the livery of the fierce antagonist of Göring, Willi Gabriel, who was fighting fat Hermann Göring his whole career long. The Fatster himself will be a painting technique dummy, I will never build or paint a figure of a Nazi war criminal for display.
And yes, to bring out this kit among the many possible D.VII, was at least a little astonishing by WNW.

Cheers Rob

[Clunkmeister]

1 hour ago, HubertB said:

I’m 200 % with you there, Ernie. I thought it was a VERY strange choice to have Goering as a figure ( but there were many strange choices from WnW, like the UWD, just to name one). 

A wiser man than me just recently said; 

“Who needs a SPAD family when we can have a Gotha UWD”?

 

[krow113]

...and when the inevitable start up begins ; a GV to round out the Gothas.

I buy 'exotic' wood of all kinds , maple , cedar , all kinds of burls.

What is happening these days , I put out a blast on fbook etc asking about burls. 

I get a lot of response' - being in the middle of the forest industry in B. C.

One thing that became apparent, a lot of garages were filled with burls by guys who have passed on.

Their kids have NO IDEA what to do with these things. I generally get truckloads for a few hundred dollars.

Will this be the fate of WNW kits in the future?

Will the well over 45 age group that dominates modelling cling to their kits and have them end up like this?

Lets face it , there are VERY FEW kids interested in modelling , so when the current dominant dynamic starts to die off and their kids get the models as inheritance what will they do?

In my experience we'll start to hear ;  "I have no idea what to do with that crap" and " I'll be so glad when all of this is gone" or "Just give me what you think its worth"

This is real life experience and it along with a lot of other experiences tell me that this will blow over ,and the world wont be the same ,

We heard that after 9/11 , a world shaking event ,  not the temporary closing of a model company ,so I dont buy into the hyperbole and guesstimating going on.

There are tons of models to build without factoring in WNW , they set a sorely needed standard and may have proved that is too expensive to maintain and WE got some great models.

Like I said think of the company as being run as a 'loser' , the most likely truth , and you will begin to see the business decision they had to make.

 

[GazzaS]

18 hours ago, Kais said:

GazzaS,
You have seen your avatar, right?
Frontline Hobbies in Newcastle NSW had a goodly stock of WNW until recently(haven't checked since COVid), not sure on their prices but for you Aussies it might be an other option.
Be well folk.

Thanks for the info, but I already hit Frontline for the ones I wanted. 

[Guest DannyVM]

19 hours ago, HubertB said:

It’s too easy to be smart when you have insight of what happened after the decisions were made, and to shoot on ambulances, but one can list many strange choices, like (it’s not a complete list) :

1) At the same time as they decided to stop the free shipping policy, transfer order and shipping management to Weta, who made a disaster of the move, and were not organised to ship small parcels worldwide.

2) Not only did they include shipping charges, but they also added VAT on many transactions. I am sure that triggered a massive drop of sales as prices skyrocketed and service plummeted ...

3) Sticking to a policy of weird releases and ignoring « obvious » demands like the Dr-1 or French - or italian - fighters

I was personally never a believer that because it was created on the whim of a passionate and very rich man, WnW did not have to answer the basics of business management, as I read many times... And it now seems that, not only did he not have the deep pockets a lot of modellers were dreaming about, but these pockets may rather have been the Kiwi taxpayers’ pockets...

I am grateful that WnW was created. It triggered an extra interest in 1/32 scale, as did Trumpeter beforehand. It enabled many modellers to produce great looking kits without the need to be a superhuman master modeller, and they released projects I could only dream of. Just the Felixstowe will make it a mythical brand in my agenda.

And I wish that the unique talents assembled in the WnW team will find sooner rather than later jobs to continue make us dream.

Hubert

i think everyone has his or her own thought's about the fact WNW made strange decisions during their lifespan. I, never understood their way of choosing a certain subject. Some where very well known and famous W.W.1 scout's or bombers and some i didn't even know. You can say....well peter had the money and he produced what ever he liked.........yes i agree, but in my eyes that was the wrong policy. Iff you start a model company, you start with a certain knowledge about the demands on the market. In the beginning of WNW, there was no sign they would go strange way's,just because the modeler was just stunned by the fact 1). a model company released superb W.W.1 subjects and 2). these kit's where just high in quality which raised the bar on a very high level. Who wouldn't be glad with that.

In my opinion, it was in a later stage of their existence those interests changed to more exotic little famous subjects which in my opinion would have reached to a smaller modelers interest. Models like the Salmson, Dolphin and Ghota G.1 and UWD are not the most well known and interesting subjects in my eyes. But i agree that's personal favor which, still in a time that modelers from around the world where asking for a decent Sopwith Camel, Fokker Dr.I, Nieuport or Spad. The Fokker Dr.I almost made it, sadly, not anymore, the Sopwith Camel luckily appeared on the shelves.

The most strange decision they made was the news that they planned for a ..............Lancaster..........that just stunned me. HK had already one, so a second company like WNW would also released one. In my eyes, with the respect for those who where exited to see this hit the shelves, this was the most stupid decision they made. yes it would be a top notch model, very impressive but at the same time, very big and very expensive. Again, not the type of model that lot's of modelers would be able to buy, build and display.. But ok, for those who where happy, the future looked bright. Sadly it turned another way out.

Then there's The Vintage Aviator, also a company owned by Peter jackson, also a company that had it's troubles due to Gene Demarco's fraud against the company. The closure of ten months, leaving the company with financial losses,  reputation and staff was not very healthy for Peter in a financial way. Maybe not connected to WNW, still it's a company that Peter owned and maintained with his money. Maybe all little thing's would get together in a 1000 pieces puzzle to know what triggered the closure of WNW, still we maybe never know what's the real reason, but we sure all know that these company's sucked enormous amounts of financial sources to keep their existence.

 

 

[Guest Dekenba]

19 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

A wiser man than me just recently said; 

“Who needs a SPAD family when we can have a Gotha UWD”?

 

I actually emailed Richard Alexander to say that I hoped WNW weren't going to start releasing specific pilot boxings, as there were rumours beforehand.

I felt it would end up as pretty divisive & inevitably political.

Richard said "you can't please everyone", or words to that effect - fair enough (and good on Richard for replying to customers emails) but I'm not sure who WNW were pleasing by releasing Goring?