Dedalus5550
Sr Member
TEXAS??? Reminds of another questionable (at best) guy dealing out of the Lone Star state.
Bandai release schedule
- Thread starter TazMan2000
- Start date
Don't slander the entire Lone Star State, due to a couple of bottom feeders!
robn1
Master Member
There's an RC plane dealer claiming to have the same address.
www.rcgroups.com
To good to be true ! - RC Groups
Off Site To good to be true ! Aircraft - Fuel - Airplanes (FS/W)
Sadly, it would seem so. Which is a shame. I was really hoping for a 1/48 X-Wing without the electronic gimmicks, as well as a 1/48 Y-Wing. Man. Those things would sell like hot-cakes.
But alas.
SB
But alas.
SB
Jaitea
Master Member
Yes, those would be a dream project & things you could buy multiples of
Easy earner for them
J
Analyzer
Master Member
I see a bunch of Mando kits on clearance racks so Bandai probably does not have much incentive in their minds to produce new kits
The Gundam kits are like printing money for them so they get priority at this point while they occasionally do runs to restock what appears to be the "best sellers" list of kits in the Star Wars line
For some reason that always seems to be the current iteration of the 1/72 X-wing kit, AT-ST, 1/144 Falcon and smaller 1/144 X-Wings and more recently Boba Fett and 1/144 Slave-1 as well as the Tie X-1
At least those are the kits that always seem to pop up and subsequently sell out at places like Target and Hobby Lobby
The Gundam kits are like printing money for them so they get priority at this point while they occasionally do runs to restock what appears to be the "best sellers" list of kits in the Star Wars line
For some reason that always seems to be the current iteration of the 1/72 X-wing kit, AT-ST, 1/144 Falcon and smaller 1/144 X-Wings and more recently Boba Fett and 1/144 Slave-1 as well as the Tie X-1
At least those are the kits that always seem to pop up and subsequently sell out at places like Target and Hobby Lobby
What a bummer they didn’t decide to make a sandcrawler, imperial shuttle, rebel hospital ship, landspeeder, and a few other underrepresented cool vehicles before deciding that Star Wars simply isn’t a lucrative market anymore. Oh well. They’ve still produced some of the highest quality science fiction model kits ever, bar none, and I’m glad for that.
Or even a supplemental kit for the PG Falcon with ESB lower hull pieces.
Hunk a Junk
Sr Member
To be fair, we don't know if Bandai's actions are because they consider Star Wars unprofitable or if it is due to the convoluted alchemy of corporate licensing agreements. The fact that R2 was able to buy a license at the same time Bandai's offerings declined seem likely related, but who knows which preceded the other. Given the squabbling Bandai faced from Revell aggressively protecting its turf and other toy companies claiming Bandai putting figures in their kits amounted to them infringing on their licenses to sell "action figures," there has obviously been a lot of negative corporate turf jockeying. It could simply be that new model kits are considered promotional products to sell in synergy with a new movie or show. There are no new SW movies on the foreseeable horizon and Bandai may be simply underestimating the potential in offering kits from Disney+ shows. They're still in the game, kind of (a Grugu kit feels like a misread of the market), but we'll just have to see what happens.
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Don't forget that Bandai's market is, and has always been Japan. Availability outside of Japan (at least in North America, I'm not familiar with other regions) was entirely grey market until Bluefin came along. Cute things have always sold very well in Japan.
Analyzer
Master Member
based on what a friend in Japan says, Star Wars and it's merchandising, especially for the new stuff just doesn't hold much interest. Some of the "hard to find" kits here can often be found there on discount racks. Mandalorian I think has been the most popular of the new content
He did pick up a Battle Droid and STAP kit for me late last year as well as a few others and a below MSRP cost. THose kits here you would be lucky to find for less than $100
Apparently most of the stuff from the sequel trilogy like the TIe Fighters are the some of the least popular/most plentiful in the discount shelves
I'm not sure it anything nefarious with license drama
This is of course pure speculation, but It seems like Bandai has made the money they wanted to make, rather quickly over the year or two when they were heavily invested in developing new kits and now they are just enjoying the fruits of their labor instead of investing time and money into a commodity that is having fan issues and waning interest for Japanese audiences.
Sure they can do a few small kits to most likely satisfy the license requirements of putting out new stuff to keep it active, but they are going for only the most iconic stuff that they think will move quickly.
They are doing the same thing with the Yamato line. Tons of releases for 2199, market got a bit overwhelmed and some of the fringe kits did not sell as well as they expected, then they reigned it in for the 2202 kits as most of them wound up being recolored re-pops with very few new kits and still missing a few fan favorite kits. They also started focusing more on the mech collection sized stuff rather than 1/72 fighters and 1/1000 scale ships.
Looking to be the same way now with the 2205 series
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In the News from Revell Germany for 2023 the will release the Bandai 1:72 Tie Interceptor and the small Bandai Razor Crest (but it seems only the non-metallic version). Although they are doing a Platinum-Edition of there own Razor Crest with photo-etched parts... (see at the end of the following page):
Revell Neuheiten Januar bis Juni 2023 | Modellbau für alle mit Spaß am Hobby
Traditionsfirmen pflegen Traditionen – und eine liebgewonnene Tradition ist die jährliche Neuheiten-Pressekonferenz von Revell in Bünde. Und so können wir unseren Lesern hier die Neuheiten des ersten…
www.kitreviewsonline.de
monsterpartyhat
Sr Member
Let's not lose sight of the fact that it's been an *absolutely incredible* run for Bandai Star Wars kits. Fine Molds produced, what....seven SW kits in total? Bandai has had the license for eight years and produced....I can't count how many kits. You can view the entire list by release date here:
Dedalus5550
Sr Member
What the hey is up with that Revell Y-wing? It's, like, slightly better (possibly) than the original MPC Y-wing. How do you follow up the FM and Bandai kit with that? I don't care because I've got several from both of the "good" guys, but gosh. SMH.
Edit: And it's $99 on Amazon while the Bandai can be had for $72??????
Mike Todd
Edit: And it's $99 on Amazon while the Bandai can be had for $72??????
Mike Todd
Analyzer
Master Member
That sounds really cool. Now I wish I had held off picking one up
Analyzer
Master Member
Yeah that is a head scratcher
