# Pegasus Models



## RogueJ (Oct 29, 2000)

Just wondering, anything new mentioned on the horizon from Pegasus? Been kinda quiet.


----------



## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Pegasus wasn't at iHobby this year, but very few model companies attended.

I'm sure they'll make an announcement soon.


Rob
Iwata Padawan


----------



## SteveR (Aug 7, 2005)

Expecting an "out of business" announcement or the like, given the date.


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

So howcum Pegasus has never made model kit of, ya know, Pegasus?


----------



## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

Give 'em some time. They just spent a metric crapton getting the Randy Cooper MLEV kit out. 
Pegasus is a hobby shop here in SoCal (a very big one, too) that happens to produce the odd occasional IP kit. Kits aren't their livelihood.


----------



## RB (Jul 29, 1998)

A friend of mine talked with a Pegasus rep at a show recently, and he mentioned that they were working on a Dracula kit.

And no, this is not an April Fool's Day prank...


----------



## Krel (Jun 7, 2000)

I am hoping that they will continue to make the rocketship models. I have both Lunas, and the Cosmostrator, and I am hoping that they will do the Flight to Mars rocket, and the Rocky Jones rocket.

David.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

I want to see more rocketships too. Especially the 1930s serials Flash Gordon ships such as Zharkovs and Mings ship.


----------



## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

I bought this from Fantastic Plastic. Nice kit http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/FlashGordonRocketFPPage.htm


----------



## Buc (Jan 20, 1999)

ooooo.....kay


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

jheilman said:


> I bought this from Fantastic Plastic. Nice kit http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/FlashGordonRocketFPPage.htm




I've seen that before, It looks well made...............but unfortunately it's not a plastic kit. From what I remember there was 3 versions of that rocketship. One with the straight fins, another with curved fins and another with all metal landing gear and no tyres. So if Pegasus ever did one they could get at least 3 different versions by adding a few new parts.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Buc said:


> ooooo.....kay


???


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

SUNGOD said:


> ???


I believe the gentleman may have clicked the link, viewed the the model (and, by inference, the spaceship itself, possibly including the movies themselves) with disdain and made a statement calling the posting person's interest into question. 

Me, I'd love a plastic kit of that classic Flash Gordon kind of spaceship. It would be fun.


----------



## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Not sure why some people are so adverse to resin...


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

veedubb67 said:


> Not sure why some people are so adverse to resin...


Aside from the potential health issues of resin dust created by sanding/filing (and yes, model building has a LOT of potential health issues what with glue, paint and all that), Resin has really fussy bits to it. You can't 'weld' parts together like stryene plastic so it's usually a fragile build. Resin can sag, or become brittle. It can be unforgiving when you're trying to work a mold seam out. 

The best use of resin to my eyes is usually figure kits. And maybe movie/TV props. Solid objects. 

For those with the skills, such things aren't a problem. I've seen really impressive builds of all manner of things in resin. It rather reminds me of the old days of building wood models. The kit is a 'rough outline' of the subject that you as craftsman must work and slave at to force it into the final finished object. I take too long as it is finishing a plain ol' plastic kit, thankyouverymuch. 

Oh, and of course, cost. I'm not keen on paying hundreds of Dollars for...any kit actually. Let alone $100 for $3 of resin and $5 of color inkjet printing on a box. (and yes, I know, paying for the labor and RTV and time and so on and so on)


----------



## WOI (Jun 28, 2012)

Is Pegasus Models really going out of business?


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Steve H said:


> I believe the gentleman may have clicked the link, viewed the the model (and, by inference, the spaceship itself, possibly including the movies themselves) with disdain and made a statement calling the posting person's interest into question.
> 
> Me, I'd love a plastic kit of that classic Flash Gordon kind of spaceship. It would be fun.





Agree it would be fun.:thumbsup: 

As for Buc................I think he's got to go for re-education at the Federal Flash Gordon Camp where he will learn to like said Flash Gordon rocketships!


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

WOI said:


> Is Pegasus Models really going out of business?





I sincerely hope not.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

veedubb67 said:


> Not sure why some people are so adverse to resin...




As Steve H said. There's some great sculpts in resin out there but it always surprises me when people automatically think that resin will always be a substitute for a plastic kit. I've just got no interest in resin kits even if I can appreciate the work that's gone into some of them. Believe it or not I actually like my spaceships/vehicles etc to be factory mass produced in styrene, ABS and diecast. All hard wearing materials and professionally produced.

I also like the immortality of plastic kits. If I trash or lose one then all I have to do is go out and buy another. There's just no comparison to me to having a mass produced plastic kit and I suspect many other people too.


----------



## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

WOI said:


> Is Pegasus Models really going out of business?


This is how rumors get started. Somebody makes an offhand remark and somebody else takes it seriously, and the tale grows taller on down the line. Finally, it'll get to the point where hundreds of modelers are losing their minds and tearing (what's left of) their hair out. Then their wives call the guys in the white coats, and, well, Nurse Rachid is feeding them Xanax.
Pegasus just released Randy Cooper's MLEV kit and they have other smaller projects in the pipeline, they just haven't announced them yet. The MLEV was a helluva kit to tool up, and at $300, a helluva investment. Besides, the store generates a boatload of cash (especially with the largest carpeted outdoor R/C track in SoCal), and the income they generate from sales of hobby products and the fees collected to race on their track can more than hold up the small plastic kit sideline.


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Steve H said:


> For those with the skills, such things aren't a problem. I've seen really impressive builds of all manner of things in resin. It rather reminds me of the old days of building wood models. The kit is a 'rough outline' of the subject that you as craftsman must work and slave at to force it into the final finished object. I take too long as it is finishing a plain ol' plastic kit, thankyouverymuch.


Not sure where you're getting this idea. modern resin kits are as detailed, and sometimes _more _detailed than plastic kits. The very nature of the rubber molds allows for undercuts and complex shapes. As for time, resin kits usually have far fewer parts than plastic kits, since shapes can be molded whole rather than in halves.

Example: Polar Lights new king Kong kit. 5 parts. Great detail. Finsihed in a few days:
http://www.inpayne.com/models/figures/plkong.html

Example: 1/48 Luft '46 Subject. One piece wings, otherwise broken down just like a plastic kit:
http://www.inpayne.com/models/luft46/bv208a.html

Example: Fantasy ornithopter. Solid resin and photoetch. Extremely sharp detail:
http://www.inpayne.com/models/scifi/hornethopter.html

Example: Stsrship conversion kit. resin secondary hull and engines on Plastic Ertl kit. Nice sharp detail:
http://www.inpayne.com/models/trek/uss-raan.html

Example: Resin figure and dinosaur model. Solid bodies with separate solid arms and/or legs. One piece base. Less time building, more time painting:
http://www.inpayne.com/models/figures/stuck1.html

Wear a mask while sanding, use superglue. *shrug*
Some sag, some don't. I have starships with saggy _saucers_, and I have figure models with outstretched arms that haven't budged in 20 years. Pot luck. It's most noticeable on resin airplane models - the landing gear almost always sags under the weight of the larger ones. Heat 'em up and bend 'em back every few years.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

I'm with John on this. I have built many resin kits, they require little "new" knowledge and build up just fine. 
The ability to get unusual subjects that will NEVER be made in injection molding is a big plus for me. I have 25 year old resin kits that are in perfect condition.

If you don't like resin, cool. That is your preference, I understand.


----------



## phicks (Nov 5, 2002)

I love Pegasus' dinosaur kits, and hope they keep making them.


----------



## veedubb67 (Jul 11, 2003)

Agree. Can't wait on the next Dino release!

Rob
Iwata Padawan


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

mach7 said:


> I'm with John on this. I have built many resin kits, they require little "new" knowledge and build up just fine.
> The ability to get unusual subjects that will NEVER be made in injection molding is a big plus for me. I have 25 year old resin kits that are in perfect condition.
> 
> If you don't like resin, cool. That is your preference, I understand.


I'm sure there's people that make excellent G-kits and use the best resin. There is likely a builder community that speaks on this.

But there's also people that make utter pigs of kits that just ugh, using some kind of junk that claims to be resin.  (and I'm not even mentioning evil re-casters!)

Myself, I'd love to get a few cans of some of those amazing exotic Japanese casting resins and see how they work out.


----------



## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

I had a Darkman figure kit that was a total pig. There were these little balls of resin all over the figure that were a PITA to remove. That kit never got finished.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

mach7 said:


> I'm with John on this. I have built many resin kits, they require little "new" knowledge and build up just fine.
> The ability to get unusual subjects that will NEVER be made in injection molding is a big plus for me. I have 25 year old resin kits that are in perfect condition.
> 
> If you don't like resin, cool. That is your preference, I understand.






That's the the thing. Many people just don't like resin kits but again that's not to say they can't appreciate the sculpts and the work that's gone into them. I've got zero interest in vehicles/robots etc in resin. I remember Comet Miniatures saying to me years ago an all new injection Eagle kit would never sell so I bought one of their resin and white metal Eagles. It was sodding awful and was not only hard to stick together but it fell apart. 

If Pegasus can do the Cosmostrator etc I can't see why something from the much more famous Flash Gordon wouldn't sell. Mind you Atlantis has got the FG licence by the looks of it. If they can do these neat new saucer plastic kits then maybe they could do a rocketship line in plastic too.


----------



## mach7 (Mar 25, 2002)

Interesting. Who owns the FG license? Is it in the public domain?

I think a line of FG spaceships would be sweet!

And I agree about the Eagle in resin. It does not lend itself to a good resin kit. it's too heavy and the spine is too thin.


----------



## jheilman (Aug 30, 2001)

Buc said:


> ooooo.....kay


Poster wanted a FG kit, just thought I'd let him know about this. Not sure if the response is because it's a resin kit and not styrene? Whatever.


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

mach7 said:


> Interesting. Who owns the FG license? Is it in the public domain?
> 
> I think a line of FG spaceships would be sweet!
> 
> And I agree about the Eagle in resin. It does not lend itself to a good resin kit. it's too heavy and the spine is too thin.


I think Flash Gordon is still held by whatever conglomerate owns King Features Syndication. The '80s movie is its own license of course and wouldn't we all love a nice plastic kit of War Rocket Ajax?


----------



## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

I'd prefer War Rocket Scrubbing Bubbles.


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Oh, of course there are terrible resin kits. There are terrible _plastic _kits. PL's John Byrne Superman was pathetic. Moebius' 2001 Orion was depressingly inaccurate. Conversely, Stargazer's larger resin Orion is brilliant and accurate _and _comes in original and cargo versions!
http://www.inpayne.com/models/scifi/stargazer-orion2a.html


----------



## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

I love resin models!

Glued and screwed!!


























The bigger the better!!


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

awww, it's always cute seeing a momma and baby snuggle.... 

I get it. I honestly do. I come from the time where some kits, some subjects were considered completely impossible and thus Garage Kit makers were the ONLY choice. One subject that comes readily to mind is the German WW II heavy tank 'Maus'. NOBODY was going to kit that thing. Way too obscure, way too specialized. The kit I recall was a vac-form kit that called for you to use Tiger or Panther parts for the running gear and making modifications on even that... and yet, now? 

http://www.hlj.com/product/PLZGP-24/Mil

Maus under the colors of Girls Und Panzer, an anime series about schoolgirls that use tanks as sports equipment (!! Oh, Japan, how you love to co-mingle your fetishes!  )

And http://www.hlj.com/product/TKO3001/Mil

A truly AWESOME 'Europe war 1946' land battleship that uses Maus as *escorts*. 

Not to mention all the hundreds of super obscure aircraft that have been releases in plastic. I think every single iteration of the F-4 Phantom II or the Japanese Zero have been made at this point. 

So what used to be vac-form plastic and lots of kitbashing is now resin. It's a good time. I still want a Flash Gordon Rocketship in plastic.


----------



## electric indigo (Dec 21, 2011)

I think we reached a point where you can do things with injection plastic that you could only do in resin in the past (including making profit). And 3D printing is the new resin. 

Good times.


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

electric indigo said:


> I think we reached a point where you can do things with injection plastic that you could only do in resin in the past (including making profit). And 3D printing is the new resin.
> 
> Good times.


3D Printing excites me a great deal. I tend to think we're at a stage where the commercially affordable home printer is somewhat akin to the mid-90's inkjet printer for home desktop publishing. It works but it's not as good as a laser printer and we're talking B&W. I'd like to see 3D printers able to do really fine, tiny details at cheap prices, or more akin to color inkjet printers that can do photo printing. 

Or another way (because I expose my total ignorance to 3D printing  ), we can do (the 3D equiv. of) 600 dpi B&W, I want to see 10,000 dpi in full color.

*sigh* I know, there's better ways to explain it. How about I want to be able to scan and duplicate ANY plastic kit part PERFECTLY for pennies. THAT would be a real game changer. How long would it be before 'garage kit' people could do something like take a kit part that has soft, inaccurate detail and scan it, tweak it to be more accurate and print it and have it available for those that would want it? Would new copyright laws have to come into existence?


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> Oh, of course there are terrible resin kits. There are terrible _plastic _kits. PL's John Byrne Superman was pathetic. Moebius' 2001 Orion was depressingly inaccurate. Conversely, Stargazer's larger resin Orion is brilliant and accurate _and _comes in original and cargo versions!
> http://www.inpayne.com/models/scifi/stargazer-orion2a.html




True but it's the material itself I don't like and also that I like my vehicles/spaceships mass produced in plastic (or diecast) in a factory. I like that with figures and monsters too (though I can appreciate that Orion looks very good unlike the Moebius one). But it's still resin and I just don't have any interest in owning a resin Orion or any other resin spacehips.


----------



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

SUNGOD said:


> I've seen that before, It looks well made...............but unfortunately it's not a plastic kit. From what I remember there was 3 versions of that rocketship. One with the straight fins, another with curved fins and another with all metal landing gear and no tyres. So if Pegasus ever did one they could get at least 3 different versions by adding a few new parts.


You are quite wrong. It _IS_ most assuredly a plastic kit. Polyurethane is a plastic by any reasonable definition of the word. Sure, it's not a styrene kit, but not all plastics are styrene. This is one of the knee-jerk statements commonly made that just bug me for their sheer wrongness.


----------



## Richard Baker (Aug 8, 2006)

I have resin kits and that weird stuff (ABS) that Pegasus uses but I still prefer styrene whenever possible. Other media have advantages (resin for detail and undercut castings, ABS for strength) but I grew up using styrene and know how to make it dance.

3D printing is great for mastering and detail parts, but we are years away from having it replacing current media. Resolution is the biggest issue I think- squared surfaces are great but when you have curved or angled features you get a contour map style stepping which has to be filled or sanded. As technology advances and prices drop a 3D printer will be on most workbenches just like Dremel tools are today.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Owen E Oulton said:


> You are quite wrong. It _IS_ most assuredly a plastic kit. Polyurethane is a plastic by any reasonable definition of the word. Sure, it's not a styrene kit, but not all plastics are styrene. This is one of the knee-jerk statements commonly made that just bug me for their sheer wrongness.




Ok it's a form of plastic but it's not styrene or ABS. Like it or not resin kits aren't the same thing as styrene or ABS kits that come on sprues and are mass produced in a factory from steel moulds. They're hand made in a garage.


----------



## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

SUNGOD said:


> Ok it's a form of plastic but it's not styrene or ABS. Like it or not resin kits aren't the same thing as styrene or ABS kits that come on sprues and are mass produced in a factory from steel moulds. They're hand made in a garage.


"A rock is a rock, a tree is a tree, go shoot it in Griffith Park." ~ old Hollywood adage

A model is a model. A lot of garage kits are more accurate than injection molded kits. Just because a kit isn't mass-produced in a factory doesn't make it any less legitimate. Are you actually trying to say that you want factory-produced kits because they are more in line with your skill set and don't require drilling, pinning, the use of epoxy adhesives, and require more work than an IP kit? If so, just cop to it, man. 

Do you refrain from using resin accurizing kits and photoetch brass detailing as well? Do you sacrifice accuracy for out-of-the-box mediocrity? Do you avoid lighting your kits? It's okay if that's not your thing, but to think a factory kit is more legitimate than a garage kit is kind of narrow-minded, IMHO.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

seaQuest said:


> "A rock is a rock, a tree is a tree, go shoot it in Griffith Park." ~ old Hollywood adage
> 
> A model is a model. A lot of garage kits are more accurate than injection molded kits. Just because a kit isn't mass-produced in a factory doesn't make it any less legitimate. Are you actually trying to say that you want factory-produced kits because they are more in line with your skill set and don't require drilling, pinning, the use of epoxy adhesives, and require more work than an IP kit? If so, just cop to it, man.
> 
> Do you refrain from using resin accurizing kits and photoetch brass detailing as well? Do you sacrifice accuracy for out-of-the-box mediocrity? Do you avoid lighting your kits? It's okay if that's not your thing, but to think a factory kit is more legitimate than a garage kit is kind of narrow-minded, IMHO.





And this is the problem seaquest. People like yourself think a model is a model and what it's made of doesn't matter. Maybe to some it doesn't but to others it does. 

Don't you think if this was the case then injection kits would no longer be made? Making resin kits is much cheaper than making injection kits (yes I know the moulds don't last like steel moulds and they can't be mass produced but it's still infinitely cheaper.....it all depends on whether people will pay more for resin kits or not)..........so if the material they were made from doesn't matter then manufacturers would just make resin kits. Like it or not if there's a choice of an accurate aircraft like a Mustang in styrene and an accurate Mustang in resin then I can guarantee you at least 95% of people will go for the styrene kit. A lot of garage kits might well be more accurate than injection ones but I always try and go for the most up to date, state of the art injection ones anyway so I don't need to buy garage replacements. And if something isn't available in styrene or ABS I'll just wait and see if one comes out. I've got a lot of what I've wanted in plastic anyway.


I've built a few resin kits over the years even tried making my own so it's got nothing to do with skills. I can make either but I just vastly prefer factory produced plastic kits to resin ones. I'm not saying they're more legitimate to everyone (that's personal choice of course) but they are more legitimate to me.

It really bugs me when I talk to some modellers and they're really shocked if you don't like resin as if everybody has to like it for some strange reason. As if there's some written modelling law that everyone has to like resin. Some of you resin guys must really accept that not everyone likes resin and that's all there is to it. If people want to buy resin kits then good luck to them but if they don't then they certainly don't have to justify that.


----------



## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

In all fairness, yes, I understand when someone has a preference for something or a dislike for something else. I'm not trying to convince you to build resin, but the statement earlier that resin kits are not as accurate as styrene set me off. There was a time, 20 or 30 years ago, when that may have been mostly true, but it's the opposite now.


----------



## robiwon (Oct 20, 2006)

Everyone has their own bag of tea. 

I do not try to sway anyone into what I like, build, collect, etc. Plastic and resin kits have huge markets and fan bases. Some do both, some do one or the other. I've seen some really great plastic kits and some really crappy ones too. Same with resin. 

Years ago when resin kits got their start quality was all over the place as well as accuracy of the subject matter. Things have vastly improved in the years since.

One only has to look at the MPC/R2 Deluxe Eagle kit. This is a reissue of the old MPC/Airfix Eagle Transporter from Space 1999. It has both the old plastic kit plus new parts to build the boosted version of the ship seen in Dragons Domain. The extra bits are resin, and are superior to the plastic parts in the kit. 

Resin will never replace styrene, and vice versa. Build what you like, build what you want, it's a hobby. If it doesn't exist in plastic, it might exist in resin. That's the main benefit of resin I believe, the ability to make more obscure kits that mainstream plastic manufactures would never touch.

Which brings us back to this threads topic, Kudos to Pegasus for releasing kits that other manufacturers have shied away from!!!!


----------



## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

*Alpha Centari short range suacers*

Hey,
I "Think" this double kit is a Pegasus (??)

anyways, here's a project I've been working on for about a year now..
If "NOT",.. My apologies on this post... 

I "Customized" the saucers, to look like Calvin & Hobbes; "Spaceman Spiff"..

I've just had the luck, of acquiring 2 "Spiff" head castings by; Jimmy Flintstone...

now all I need to do is get some somewhat scaled action figures for the torsos & arms/hands... 




























Bubba 123 :wave:


----------



## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

Both Moebius and Round 2 have made kits in resin, the Wicked Witch and Kane from Alien, respectively. In the 90s, Revell made Batman Forever kits and AMT made Star Wars kits in vinyl.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

John P said:


> In all fairness, yes, I understand when someone has a preference for something or a dislike for something else. I'm not trying to convince you to build resin, but the statement earlier that resin kits are not as accurate as styrene set me off. There was a time, 20 or 30 years ago, when that may have been mostly true, but it's the opposite now.





Of course. There's many resin kits that are more accurate than styrene kits but I'm not sure it's the opposite now as styrene kits have been getting better and better for years. Look at the Eagle for a start. Just as accurate as any resin kit that's come out over the years and possibly even more so. Ok some resin guys can do a more accurate cockpit etc but the actual exterior is pretty spot on. Plus before Monarch went bust styrene figure kits had come on in leaps and bounds (hopefully some other company like Moebius can carry on seeing as they're doing the Fly).


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

seaQuest said:


> Both Moebius and Round 2 have made kits in resin, the Wicked Witch and Kane from Alien, respectively. In the 90s, Revell made Batman Forever kits and AMT made Star Wars kits in vinyl.




Yes but they're still something that can be made in a garage whilst an ABS or styrene kit can't. Again I'm not saying that there hasn't been some great resin sculpts etc but it's all down to whether someone likes or dislikes something made of a certain material.


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

SUNGOD said:


> Yes but they're still something that can be made in a garage whilst an ABS or styrene kit can't. Again I'm not saying that there hasn't been some great resin sculpts etc but it's all down to whether someone likes or dislikes something made of a certain material.


And this is the odd problem I have, one that I'm not alone in: The 'Majors' crowding into the garage kit market. 

It was a thing often spoken by the General Products gang in Japan during the '80s. Bandai jumped into the G-kit market with both feet, their B-Club brand being a huge profit center. I mean, when they discovered they could get 8000 Yen for new hands and a head for one of their 1/144 scale robot kits, and people lined up for them, what's not to love, right?

(it was a new head and hands for the main robot from Metal Armor Dragonar, more in keeping with the opening credit design and looking much better than what was in the injection plastic kit)

The problem, the mental hangup, is the thought of a major company, with their talent and resources, hiring a company in China to pour resin for pennies, literally pennies, then charging the kind of prices that one guy, working and sweating in his garage, carving, shaping, tooling up and pouring RTV and resin, resin, resin day and night (supplies all bought at retail prices, mind, from the local hobby shop) seems unfair somehow. The ability to get bulk wholesale prices on resin (in China) and RTV (in Japan) alone gave Bandai a huge margin. 

Of course nowadays some of the G-kit makers have become 'Majors' in their own right, so it probably doesn't mean anything anymore.


----------



## SUNGOD (Jan 20, 2006)

Steve H said:


> And this is the odd problem I have, one that I'm not alone in: The 'Majors' crowding into the garage kit market.
> 
> It was a thing often spoken by the General Products gang in Japan during the '80s. Bandai jumped into the G-kit market with both feet, their B-Club brand being a huge profit center. I mean, when they discovered they could get 8000 Yen for new hands and a head for one of their 1/144 scale robot kits, and people lined up for them, what's not to love, right?
> 
> ...







I suppose it depends on how much the larger companies delve into the resin market. Ideally I'd prefer they stayed away from resin altogether but if they think they can make some bucks out of it then obviously they'll go for it. If it's an occasional resin kit like Kane then it's not so bad...........but if they start producing more and more then it'll become really annoying and it will also alienate us styrene freaks. As long as these companies realise that not everyone thinks resin is a substitute for a styrene kit.


----------



## Steve H (Feb 8, 2009)

Well, here's my 'back of the envelope' faking numbers rationalization. If, say, R2 makes a licensed kit, that's got to be somewhere in the neighborhood of, say $250,000 right off the bat, for licensing, research, and turning it over to the Chinese turnkey 'design, prototype, tool and make' factory. Could be even more for some licenses. This to sell a kit that may be as few as 1000 units, hopefully at least 5000 units. 

With those costs, a company NEEDS to sell, actually sell and not have sitting in the warehouse, between 5000 to 10,000 units to break even.

Now, if you think you're only going to sell maybe, MAYBE 1000 kits, if you go garage kit you might be able to bring the production cost down to $100,000 or so, most of that being the licensing fees. Plus you're able to charge a higher MSRP because people EXPECT a resin kit to cost more so that actually increases your profit margin. The more you sell, the more R.O.I. 

Of course these numbers are completely and totally out of my a** but are based on various formulae I've been privy to see in the past. If one happens to know actual numbers (but can't talk about it due to NDAs and such) I'm fairly confident this concept holds true.


----------



## seaQuest (Jan 12, 2003)

What Steve said may apply to the Round 2 Kane figure. It was supposed to be IP styrene.


----------

