DeAgostini 1:18 X-Wing

So can we get a clear answer from the get go? Is it going to be pre-painted?? Remember the first few issues of the MF were but then it changed.

Also I'm pretty sure I'm not in for the sole reason that us in Australia aren't treated well. We never got the upgrades that others got. For example issue 40 came and went and there was no additional cockpit. Deagostini is talking about providing the additional missing parts to customers soon as well and I bet we miss out again.Im happy to pay for them too if that's what they want. I told them on the phone I was happy to pay for the early issue upgrades and they said they didn't know what I was talking about and laughed at me. We are up to issue 51 now and I do love what I have, don't get me wrong but the Australian counterpart of Deagostini leaves a lot to be desired. The only people that have made an effort and made things pleasant are my local newsagent ladies who I know personally.

And to to say Deagostini is ready to stop making Star Wars models because of genuine criticism is just childish. That's not how you run a company. Just fix the issues and we will have the models we want and they will have the profits they want. It's a clear win win situation. Not a childish I'm taking my toys and going home. Lol.


Ben


Ben I already answered your question in post 14.If it is released it may be different from the test just like the Falcon.

its not really about being childish.If a company receives a lot of negative feedback on a product it is just good business to move on and develop something different.Everyone says they want Deagostini to listen and they are listening.They have made changes to the kit and are providing the parts that have been identified as being on the 32 inch model.
Partworks are very risky .They have a limited market and it is often hard to predict which products will sell and which wont. There have been some releases that have been very disappointing and this can be a very costly because of the high development costs. The falcon kit was new territory for everyone.Has anyone else ever released a studio scale kit of this complexity to a mass market before.No. Some people have made it a mission to criticize and spread as much negativity about the release as they could.That is their right to complain.It is also the companies right to decide there are better projects to invest in .It is a new market for the company and a new product for the modeling community.Modelers have a choice whether or not they want to buy the kits and the manufacturer also has a choice to decide if the return on the investment and problems associated with the release make other releases attractive or not.

My goal in asking for feedback was to give something to model space to help them with their market research. I hope they do release more Star Wars models, but if they dont I am sure it will be a strictly business decision not an emotional one.

To be clear I am not an employee of Model Space or Deagostini.I do forum support for USA subscribers.I have no say in what the company does or doesnt do.What I can do is pass on comments that USA modelers have about current releases.It is highly unlikely a test run would occur in USA so I figured this was a way for USA modelers to have a way to get their thoughts heard.
 
Darbyvet, I truly hope the MF sales solidify the 'want' for more SW 'Partworks'. We at the RPF only represent a portion of their target market. While taking into consideration the naysayers, I hope you convey that its obvious we are still buying the model. This model was the catalyst for starting a whole new subforum on the RPF. Lots of Deago builds going on here and a thriving aftermarket to upgrade stock parts.

If Deago makes a 1:18 X-Wing, I think it will sell well enough to Justify more SW models. The majority of the public will not care if its 1:24 or 1:18.
 
Darbyvet thanks for the reply. If the model is clearly marked in the after test run as painted or unpainted then fair enough. But the Deagostini website still states that the falcon is pre-painted even though now it is clear it is not pre-painted. Just tell people what they are buying. They can make the decision to buy or not and both parties will be happy.

I don't know why we are treated so bad in Australia when it comes to upgraded parts and support but we are and it had to be a decision that Deagostini headquarters made to not give us any upgraded parts or stuff like that.

Im not one of these minority's that wants the company to go down or whatever. I want more kits. I look forward to my weekly issues and are really enjoying them. I just think some of the criticisms are warranted. The X-Wing is the chance to fix this and make both camps happy. :)


Ben
 
I know this won't happen considering they've already started the initial test run with tooling etc. But why wouldn't they do an X-Wing in the same scale as the Falcon ? Pricing would be reduced, size would be more manageable and I'd imagine a large number of Falcon owners would certainly be in for something to fit in scale with their Falcon.....just my 2 cents.

However if the price is right, I would be definitely interested in getting this.

I'm in Germany. Please also consider the possibility to ship the English version to Germany or other countries at a non-inflated postage price.
 
Last edited:
But why wouldn't they do an X-Wing in the same scale as the Falcon ? Pricing would be reduced,
.

I think you answered your own question. As I said earlier, I consider "price-sized." They made it big enough to (somewhat) justify the price they already have in mind.
 
Last edited:
So can we get a clear answer from the get go? Is it going to be pre-painted??
Ben

Here's my clear answer. I think the problem that this subject might have is that you can't get away without the possibility of painting in the same way you might (but didn't) get away with it on the MF. The different panels and angles of the MF mean you don't have much of an issue with seams that show. Lots of people on this forum (including me) are doing cartwheels over Darkview's build. And as far as I know he didn't repaint the base color or do any filling. But consider, at the very least, the rear engines and cannon main bodies. I'm not sure there's a way to engineer them to not have a seam. And (even though I'm not interested in this new X-wing), if I fill those seams, I'm painting them. And if I paint those parts, I'd rather paint the whole thing than wrestle my mind to come up with a good paint match. Then, of course, there's the multitude of versions (Red 1, Red 2, etc.) which you also don't have with the 32-inch falcon. So people, if you're buying this X-wing, you have more of a reason to prepare for painting it.

Mike Todd
 
Darbyvet, I truly hope the MF sales solidify the 'want' for more SW 'Partworks'. We at the RPF only represent a portion of their target market. While taking into consideration the naysayers, I hope you convey that its obvious we are still buying the model. This model was the catalyst for starting a whole new subforum on the RPF. Lots of Deago builds going on here and a thriving aftermarket to upgrade stock parts.

If Deago makes a 1:18 X-Wing, I think it will sell well enough to Justify more SW models. The majority of the public will not care if its 1:24 or 1:18.


Me too.I have been building Star Wars models for 10 years and I really hope they will produce more kits.It is impossible to make everyone happy,but I think the renewed interest in Star Wars and the huge fan base will provide a big enough market for more kits.
 
I think you answered your own question. As I said earlier, I consider "price-sized." They made it big enough to (somewhat) justify the price they already have in mind.

I don't know if that line of thinking works. I can remember the headlines in online blogs of outraged parents and people who did the math on the monthly subscription and realised this was €1000 ! thereafter getting out of the subscription very quickly. €1000 is extremely expensive for a model if you're just a casual person perhaps interested when you see it in the newsagent. Price something at €500-600 on a monthly subscription and I think you'd have more than double the number of people biting. Once they have a mould, number of parts is not a problem.

But anyway, who am I to think a lower price would mean more buyers...
 
I believe that if they made the X-wing 1/43 in scale with the Falcon it would sell like hotcakes. Anybody that bought a Deago Falcon would want one simply to display next to it. And at a lower price point it would be far more affordable to the casual modeller/ SW fan. But the Deagostini market research team probably decided that the market for that scale is already far too saturated with the likes of Bandai and Revell's 1/48 offerings. And that it would be difficult to compete with those kits on pricing.
 
I don't know if that line of thinking works. I can remember the headlines in online blogs of outraged parents and people who did the math on the monthly subscription and realised this was €1000 ! thereafter getting out of the subscription very quickly. €1000 is extremely expensive for a model if you're just a casual person perhaps interested when you see it in the newsagent. Price something at €500-600 on a monthly subscription and I think you'd have more than double the number of people biting. Once they have a mould, number of parts is not a problem.

But anyway, who am I to think a lower price would mean more buyers...

What I mean is that, in my opinion, they have a price in mind first (sorta, I mean thinking purely in those terms doesn't work in business, but anywho), and then looked into what kind of (in this case) X-wing it would take to justify it. Clearly, most casual fans are not going to bite once they get to full price worked into their heads. Selling it in pieces over time helps, of course. Look at me. I am NOT SOMEONE WHO BUYS $1500 MODELS. I AM NOT. I AM NOT. It's too hard to justify, and buying the FM MF and the Ani SD at $200 was a big stretch. But then, I did buy the DeAgo MF. And then a second:confused Oh well. And there are not enough bells and whistles to put on a "SS" X to get most SS modelers to bite. (When I build the DeAgo MFs, I will close it all up and not even deal with the interior except for the cockpit.)

By the way, a friend at work is a HUGE Star Wars fan. Huge. Huge. She waited in line at Disneyland for whatever it took when they opened the SW exhibit and she has multiple authentic costumes for different female characters. Every single day at work she wears a SW t-shirt (we're teachers at a high school) except if she takes a break and wears a super hero t-shirt. Comic Con every year. Midnight to see the movie premiers. Several Bandai kits, which she just assembles as is. She's a lesbian, and I only point that out to say she has no real interest in a family that really starts to strain many of our wallets, and she makes decent money. She was onto the DeAgo the minute it was announced and followed it until it became available in the U.S. But she never considered buying the DeAgo MF because the of the price and size. If she (as a representative of the non-modeler, huge fanatic, financially comfortable sort) isn't buying this stuff, who is (besides actual modelers)?
 
I know this won't happen considering they've already started the initial test run with tooling etc. But why wouldn't they do an X-Wing in the same scale as the Falcon ? Pricing would be reduced, size would be more manageable and I'd imagine a large number of Falcon owners would certainly be in for something to fit in scale with their Falcon.....just my 2 cents.

However if the price is right, I would be definitely interested in getting this.

I'm in Germany. Please also consider the possibility to ship the English version to Germany or other countries at a non-inflated postage price.

you are aware of the size of the x-wing in 1/43?
there are x-wing kits availabe in 1/48 - revell master series (ex. finemolds), bandai (with movable wings and light).
IMVHO: it makes no sense to make an 1/43 x-wing as an part work series.
 
you are aware of the size of the x-wing in 1/43?
there are x-wing kits availabe in 1/48 - revell master series (ex. finemolds), bandai (with movable wings and light).
IMVHO: it makes no sense to make an 1/43 x-wing as an part work series.

Probably (and DeAgo doesn't want hear this, no manufacturer wants to hear this) makes no sense to an X-wing in any scale. Lots of them in so many scales. The original MPC, still relatively easy to find, is described as 1/43, I think. A Bandai/DeAgo at that scale would blow the MPC out of the water, sure. And if Bandai (for some reason) did it, all the better. But the price of a DeAgo kit? Nope. The thing about the MF is it's so big it's hard to do that in the garage kit industry. (Again, DeAgo doesn't want to hear this, but) something else like that, a SS Slave-1, for instance, would fit that mold.
 
Probably (and DeAgo doesn't want hear this, no manufacturer wants to hear this) makes no sense to an X-wing in any scale. Lots of them in so many scales. The original MPC, still relatively easy to find, is described as 1/43, I think. A Bandai/DeAgo at that scale would blow the MPC out of the water, sure. And if Bandai (for some reason) did it, all the better. But the price of a DeAgo kit? Nope. The thing about the MF is it's so big it's hard to do that in the garage kit industry. (Again, DeAgo doesn't want to hear this, but) something else like that, a SS Slave-1, for instance, would fit that mold.

it the same like on model kits, 10 thousend versions of ME-109 in all scales available - the sales is like for food...
or Tiger or Phanter exists from lots of modell makers...
An X-Wing makes more sense for deAgo instead an less known modell - they make it not only for the experts ;-)
 
Yeah OK I can understand your points. And after a bit more research I see they have packed a fair amount of extra stuff in this one. Moveable wings, undercarriage, cockpit canopy and R2. Plus lights for cockpit, R2 and engines. So it will be pretty epic. Plus the steel frame adds to the strength.

Still difficult to justify the price though compared to the Falcon. I guess that's the beauty of the monthly payment system. Doesn't hurt so much.
 
Looks like the X-wing will be only available in these countries:
IMG_4371.JPG


This is the list of countries on test issue #1 for R2-D2
IMG_4379.JPG
 
Torsten, do you know if this is available in Germany now as a test run ? Or is test run only in UK, and this info above is if it goes full subscription ?
 

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top