Deagostini Falcon. Anyone seen this?

I'm sorry but doing a "Test Run" of four issues, then canceling and maybe starting all over again is a really bad business model! And doesn't go very far in creating a happy subscriber base. I guess at least those of us in the U.S. aren't offered the a product until its the real thing. And if the quality on the first four issues was poor then DeAg isn't learning from the Falcon how picky and demanding Star Wars collecting fans are.


OK a few points.

Firstly as I said although I am involved with Model Space USA as forum support and do have some inside information I cannot for obvious reasons divulge that.My reason for recommending watching the Facebook page is simply because that is where they announce new kits so you will hear it first from there.If I am given permission to announce a new release before it goes public I will post it on this forum.

Secondly the R2 D2 test was not a "flop"Anyone spreading this information is purely speculating. If it was successful enough as a test DeAgostini will inform everyone that it will go into production.It will likely go into production in UK first and then other countries as the Falcon did.

Thirdly whether you think it is bad for business or not test runs are always part of the business plan for partworks.You may or may not be aware, but these kits are offered in newsagents in Europe as weekly magazines.The purpose of a test run is to see if enough people will see the magazine on the newsagent shelf and be tempted to try it. The subscription model is what we get in USa because newsagents are not as ubiquitous as in UK and Europe.The partwork companies have been around since the turn of the century so they are mature businesses. The entry into the US market is relatively recent so it is understandable that it is not as well understood as in Europe.

The Star Wars models are an even newer venture for them and I think they have learned a lot with the Falcon release. They did listen to the test market and improved the Falcon between the test run and release.Is it perfect.No.Is any Falcon kit perfect? No.They have made an effort to respond to some of the criticism, but remember this is not a bunch of guys spending 20 years tracking down every greeblie they see on 40 year old photos. I doubt anyone who has purchased a garage Star Wars resin kit expects the maker to keep on resupplying parts if some feel they are not accurate.If they do make more Star Wars kits I doubt we will see the same issues because most of the other ships were not as variable as the Falcon.

I hope that clarifies things a bit.
Carl
 
Carl,
Thanks for stepping up... Looking at the comments on the Falcon as a whole - I think that the criticism it has had has been VERY mild... as for re-making accurate parts... how many criticisms would they get if they messed up the hood of a $1500 Astin Martin DB5, and how fast would that5 part be remade?

The communication on the Falcon has been 99% positive, and yes a few of us obsessives find some really small stuff that we usually just fix... IF by your "variable comment you are referring to the paint.. that I can agree with. the paint on that beast is such an odd look that if they continued there likely would be a lot of dissatisfied people... as a clean model there's the option to paint yourself without having to remove, or pay a professional to do it. I do admit that when the initially made the change to not-prepaint I was a bit disappointed but I've come totally around and see the "wisdom" of it. I was likely going to repaint anyway and tis actually saves me work :).

For the record I speculated that R2 might be a flop... I kinda hope it is since I don't want one and would rather them build something I want :) Not wishing that the company lose money - just pick another topic... or make it 1:1: size... but there probably are not enough "small" parts on R2 to do that.

Also - I'm not a hater. I'm building 2 of these at full price :)

Jedi Dade
 
Carl,
Thanks for stepping up... Looking at the comments on the Falcon as a whole - I think that the criticism it has had has been VERY mild... as for re-making accurate parts... how many criticisms would they get if they messed up the hood of a $1500 Astin Martin DB5, and how fast would that5 part be remade?

The communication on the Falcon has been 99% positive, and yes a few of us obsessives find some really small stuff that we usually just fix... IF by your "variable comment you are referring to the paint.. that I can agree with. the paint on that beast is such an odd look that if they continued there likely would be a lot of dissatisfied people... as a clean model there's the option to paint yourself without having to remove, or pay a professional to do it. I do admit that when the initially made the change to not-prepaint I was a bit disappointed but I've come totally around and see the "wisdom" of it. I was likely going to repaint anyway and tis actually saves me work :).

For the record I speculated that R2 might be a flop... I kinda hope it is since I don't want one and would rather them build something I want :) Not wishing that the company lose money - just pick another topic... or make it 1:1: size... but there probably are not enough "small" parts on R2 to do that.

Also - I'm not a hater. I'm building 2 of these at full price :)

Jedi Dade


I hear you Jedi,
you are right with R2 it has to be manageable size in order to be included with the magazines.I think the features on this are the selling point-The camera etc....
i would expect to hear in the next few months whether it will make it to a full run.

These kits are always a compromise between ease of build, working features and accuracy.there are just not enough "true modelers" to make 100% accurate modesl that require advanced building skills a viable option financially so they have to be simplified a bit.Of course a talented modeler can add details or repaint to correct any problems and those that dont have those skills can still build a reasonable model.BY lowering the level of skills required to build you increase the market significantly and voila we have a studio scale Falcon that out of the box will impress most Star Wars fans and will provide most of the heavy lifting work for those looking to go all out.I have seen some jaw dropping builds of the Falcon on the Model space forum and here.
 
Not a hater here either. I get mine from my newsagents every Thursday and it gives me a little something to look forward to from the usual stress of the working week. I'm loving it so far. My only criticism was that the other markets have been getting the updated parts and we here in Australia have been givin the old stock from 2014 that weren't updated. It's a small niggle and I've gotten over it and just moved on to enjoying the build and how I'll modify it myself. Still haven't made up my mind how far I will go either. Lol. Anyway I see your points Carl and thanks for stepping in.You shouldn't take our criticism too hard we are just overly passionate and maybe a little crazy. ;)


Ben
 
I can't believe people criticize...i mean, who'd have thought we would have lived to see a mostly accurate, lit up studio scale Falcon kit with amazing interiors? We are living in an age of dreams!

Rich
 
Not a hater either by any means! But it is okay to criticize (as long as it's done nicely) that's how things get better! I am looking forward to future DeAg SW releases.
 
I don't think any of us are "hating" on anything. Most of us on here are building the kit and like it. We just over analyze all the details because we have OCD or Aspergers or something. We are uber Star Wars/Modeling nerds. My wife makes fun of me every day and probably wishes that I would invest the same time, money, and energy into something more constructive, like making money. Constructive criticism is always healthy when done correctly. That's how things get better (as was said). A problem in our society here in the US now a days is that political correctness often gets in the way of blatant truth.
 
Last edited:
I am not upset at all by the comments.I think criticism is important too.I always pass along comment to the company that I read on the forums and they do often listen.My goal is to try to keep the information posted as accurate as possible.I think there is a very good chance that they will release more Star Wars kits and hopefully as they gain experience there will be fewer problems.it is a great time to be a Star Wars modeler.I will never have the skills to scratchbuild, but now I can make a pretty good studio scale Falcon.

Carl
 
I am not upset at all by the comments.I think criticism is important too.I always pass along comment to the company that I read on the forums and they do often listen.My goal is to try to keep the information posted as accurate as possible.I think there is a very good chance that they will release more Star Wars kits and hopefully as they gain experience there will be fewer problems.it is a great time to be a Star Wars modeler.I will never have the skills to scratchbuild, but now I can make a pretty good studio scale Falcon.

Carl

One of the best/worst parts of the RPF culture is the never ending search for perfection. If the Deago MF is slightly off here, or a part is missing there, we will find it. But more importantly, we will share the info with anyone and next thing ya know the missing part is on shapeways. Nobody expects the Deago MF to perfect in every way. If it was, heads would explode, dogs and cats would be dancing together and the world would be ruined. The Deago MF is the most accurate kit for the money by far. This kit was needed back in May 1977 and I trust that sales validate this. All in all, 99% of the builders are happy with what is being produced. The other 1% will make changes to the model. In reality, its a phenomenal kit right out of of the box......er wrapper. The fact that a piece here, or there, isnt 100% is not a slight on Deago, its just something to tweak by the builder. And if a builder cant massage a $2000 model to their liking, they need to take up needle point. Deago has done a fine job tackling a tremendous task and the end result is shaping up to be a cornerstone of any builders collection.

I also think offering a studio scale X-Wing and a TIE fighter would also be met with the same enthusiasm. The only thing we have now are garage kits of varying accuracy and toy conversions. So keep them coming, its nice to see these kits in the USA.
 
Yes DeAgo more ships... Slave 1... did I just write that???

there's a couple of guys right here that can help with that one :)

Jedi Dade

Oh Hell Yea a SS Slave 1 would be fantastic. Right now Im modding a Hasbro toy conversion from 2010. Its sad to see the bad blood between the Slave 1 guys. If Deago made one it would all be pointless.
 
Yes DeAgo more ships... Slave 1... did I just write that???

there's a couple of guys right here that can help with that one :)

Jedi Dade

They did send out a survey last year about new kits and the x-wing,star destroyer and Tie fighter we all listed as possibilities.I dont know how many people voted that they wanted Star Wars kits, but the success of the Falcon must have made some impact on their decision for new kits.I did pass on the Slave 1 suggestion to the USA management team.

Carl
 
Oh Hell Yea a SS Slave 1 would be fantastic. Right now Im modding a Hasbro toy conversion from 2010. Its sad to see the bad blood between the Slave 1 guys. If Deago made one it would all be pointless.

It would not be pointless... I have no doubt that all of the projects being done here will result in Slave 1's that are superior to anything DeAgo puts out... even if it enlists the help of those guys. You just can't beat building it the way the original was... That being said I have no doubt that they could make an AWESOME Slave 1... If its to the same standards as the Falcon Its a no-brainer buy for me...

The Act of building a SS model from original parts is a reward unto itself... personally I've only built a couple of smallish SS models and props from scratch... Its an awesome thing to see come together and the satisfaction is very hard to measure... no slight to kits... the majority of my collection is a kit of some form or another... and a good Kit build takes no small amount of skill as well... but scratching something - is really at another level.

Back to the Slave 1 - That particular model has a lot of odd shapes and construction... some have claimed it could never be kitted... I think it could... I've heard the same thing said about the Falcon and its been kitted :D.

Jedi Dade
 
I would be an instant subscriber if they did slave one!!!! Mainly because there isn't any studio scale slave one kits available anywhere!! You can find just about all the others in studio scale if you dig deep and hard enough online. Except for the slave one!!

And not not everyone has the skills and or the Resources to scratch build one.
 
It would not be pointless... I have no doubt that all of the projects being done here will result in Slave 1's that are superior to anything DeAgo puts out... even if it enlists the help of those guys. You just can't beat building it the way the original was... That being said I have no doubt that they could make an AWESOME Slave 1... If its to the same standards as the Falcon Its a no-brainer buy for me...

The Act of building a SS model from original parts is a reward unto itself... personally I've only built a couple of smallish SS models and props from scratch... Its an awesome thing to see come together and the satisfaction is very hard to measure... no slight to kits... the majority of my collection is a kit of some form or another... and a good Kit build takes no small amount of skill as well... but scratching something - is really at another level.

Back to the Slave 1 - That particular model has a lot of odd shapes and construction... some have claimed it could never be kitted... I think it could... I've heard the same thing said about the Falcon and its been kitted :D.

Jedi Dade

Fair enough. I would say this though.....there is a huge demand for a SS Slave 1.
 
The biggest problem with that I think would be how to stretch it over 100 issues. That's the magic number but I don't have much knowledge on slave1,so would 100 be possible. It would be the same with an xwing or tie fighter too. The falcon has a fairly big surface area to split up. I would love to see a ANH star destroyer myself.


Ben
 
Another question is, how long it will take to set up this kind of kit build... I guess this will take years. So I don´t expect s.th. new soon.
 
So I heard that in issue 70 we will start seeing one of the mandibles, or at least part of one. Does anyone have any photos? Even if someone has some photos of the rear deck it would be great!
 

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