Dragon gets Star Wars licence

a 1/35 AT-AT that was even reasonable would have been an epic build... and a monster to accurize... I could be this generations MPC Falcon :).. If it ever arrives.

Jedi Dade
 
Hahaha! Thanks for that - I needed a laugh today.

You're welcome, I did have my tongue firmly planted in my cheek when I wrote that. Although Disney is notorious about their copyright, it can't just look like Mickey Mouse it has to BE Mickey Mouse. If Disney had been in charge back when MPC was making the kits, I doubt they'd have been so inaccurate.
 
Dragon paid a lot for that license- I do hope they use it wisely...

The prototypes we have seen had a lot of issues, which is a bit absurd considering the vast amount of reference out there.

I'm still looking for evidence of this infamous crazy-expensive cost for a license. I know it's easy and popular to reason that since it's SW, it must be expensive. And the Disney factor suggests an infinite boost in the price. Sure. But all you have to do is compare the plastic and the cost of (almost) any FM or Bandai SW kit with a comparable subject that doesn't that the same license issue. About $25 retail for the X-wing. Check out a 72nd scale military aircraft, about the same size, high quality, very accurate. About $25 retail. It's so common that I shouldn't have to list all the comparable kits. Now, the PG MF is off the charts and might suggest this particular subject is in the license as a higher-priced add-on, but that's about it. Even the DeAgo kit is about twice what that amount in a regular plastic kit would be. But beyond that, I don't see a crazy cost being passed on to us. And the same could be said for the original MPC/Ertl/AMT kits.

On a side note, why can't wikileaks get us inside those licenses? If there wasn't so much ridiculousness in the world of politics (on all sides), surely someone associated with wikileaks must be a SW fan.

Mike Todd
 
There has also been a rumor for years that Star Wars licenses had multiple grades- the cheapest would OK inaccurate kits, such as the MPC Falcon with huge sidewalls, more expensive licensing would be for more accurate kits (such as the Fine Molds).

I too would really love to see the language of these contracts and what differences between the original ones and ones with Disney in control...
 
If Dragon still has the license, and they want my two cents (and they don't), I would encourage them to forget about making more X-Wing, Falcon, or TIE kits UNLESS they can offer something different. For example, what about a 1/12 MF cockpit kit or X-Wing cockpit? They could fill the void of more obscure subjects that Bandai and Revell wouldn't bother to do, but niche modelers (like us) would drool over -- Like a studio scale Skyhopper, or Luke's Jedi training remote, or an Escape Pod. They could specialize in weapon kits, like Han's blaster or Chewie's bowcaster. There are lots of possibilities if they'd just think creatively.
 
Question is, how many niche model makers are there out there? Would it be cost-effective for them to target such a small market? As popular as the Star Wars franchise is, I doubt that making models of, I dunno, Needa’s shuttle or a Treadwell or an Ubrikkian speeder would be sound business sense. Heck, you can post stuff like that on Shapeways and never break even!
 
You could make the same argument about the LIS Jupiter 2 or the Jonny Quest Firefly or the Space:1999 Hawk -- not to mention many other sci-fi kits. Those are all niche kits appealing a fairly small slice of modelers. My point is that Bandai got me to buy three more Falcon model kits after already having had multiple MPC kits over the years because they offered something new: highly accurate versions. I never bought a Revell OT Falcon because it was just another inaccurate kit only from a different company. Why bother? Would Dragon really be able to match Bandai's level of detail and accuracy for the price? Probably not. I'm not going to buy another X-wing if its not somehow better or cheaper than the Bandai. So what should Dragon do instead? Even for more obscure subjects, there has to be as many modelers willing to buy an escape pod or, say, a sandcrawler as there is a 1999 Hawk. Speaking for myself, I'd buy a skyhopper model WAAAAY before I'd buy R2's new Grissom kit. Sometimes the smarter thing to do is find a smaller pond and be the big fish in it rather than be just another little fish among a lot of similar fish in a big ocean. Just sayin'.
 
More X-Wings etc. is fine with me, but they have to do something unique with it. Make it accurate, high quality, and 1/32 scale. I would love to see all the Star Wars fighters in 1/32.
 
Or simply Studio scale would appeal more to me. A LOT of greebles were 1/35 tank kits and many studio scale kits come out to odd scales like 1/29 or 1/38.

More capital ships too!
More X-Wings etc. is fine with me, but they have to do something unique with it. Make it accurate, high quality, and 1/32 scale. I would love to see all the Star Wars fighters in 1/32.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Now I'm thinking I should make a Ubrikkian speeder!

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Bonus points: where was the Ubrikkian speeder seen for the second time in Star Wars? Hint: it was upside-down.
 
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