You probably noticed we added a Dinged and Dented section to our website.  Items in this section include model airplanes and tanks that are not of sufficient quality to sell as new but seemingly too good just to throw away.  Over the years we've accumulated quite a pile.  When we had our publicly accessible warehouse people would often buy and cart away most of our seconds.  Now we simply seem to accumulate diecast airplanes and plastic model tanks.

Some of these toy airplanes listed have been damaged in shipping and need minor to moderate repair.  Others are returns with slight and not-so-slight production deviations or out-right defects.  Whatever the reason, we'll try to note it in the product description. 

ALL SALES ARE FINAL for the products in this category.  We'll price each so it is an outstanding bargain.  But some bargains may be better than others.  NO RETURN, REFUNDS OR EXCHANGES WILL BE ACCEPTED.  We'll update this section several times per week as time allows so check back often, it should be fun!!

After more than a year since we dropped the line, Franklin Mint diecast airplanes are back at the 'Cat.  This line, formerly Armour, brings on some mixed feelings.  Franklin Mint is considered a premiere provider of collectibles whether you're talking coins, plates, cars, or diecast airplanes.  The brand name carries considerable weight--sometimes too much weight, in my opinion.  The quality of their model aircraft varies widely depending on what factory is used for production. 

I've opened FM boxes and exclaimed, "Wow, this piece is gorgeous."  Some of FM diecast aircraft are simply that good and all have a wonderfully heavy feel to the hand.  Conversely, I feel other toolings in the line are overpriced for what you get.  FM instituted MAP pricing in 2006 which prevented us from discounting products that deserved to be discounted.  In addition, telephone communication to our company representative was spotty, returns seemed to always be a battle, and their distant, east coast location made for long delivery times.  So in early 2007, we discontined FM due to slumping sales and apparent lack of interest.

We've reconsidered FM now that there are fewer new releases available due to the overall gearing-down of the economy.  I've chosen the pieces I feel are their strongest entries or are the most popular (the F6F and Rufe are my two favorites).  Some of these model airplanes are new to the market, others have been available for years.  Free shipping is included to locations in the Continental USA.

It's no secret that the most popular 1:18 model airplane of 2007 was the Vraciu Hellcat.  This three-toned F6F is universally liked for its historical significance, as well as, the fact that it simply "looks" the way the old Grumman should.  We've been sold out ever since December but were able to find a batch still lingering at one of BBI's factories in China.  So we paid the freight bill and expect them to be delivered just in time to take on the new Kounoike Zero.  We have Reorders up for those who missed-out the first time around or simply need another Zeke killer.  Order a case of two, or combining with the Kounoike Zero means the shipping's on us to the lower 48 states.

The August release of the Carousel' P-36 will be here next month.  The diecast airplane will be a breath of fresh air for 1:48 scale airplanes collectors.  The P-36 Hawk was essentially a P-40 airframe powered by a P&W R-1830 radial instead of the in-line Allison.  While obsolete at the beginning of WWII, the Hawk fought it out at Pearl Harbor as a few birds got airborn and entered the fray.

Speaking as someone who has seen more than his share of Mustangs, I find the P-36 particularly interesting because is has not been cast in metal before.  We have the Hawk up for Preorder for the August delivery date.  If you have not seen Carousel's work before, you're in for a treat as they do very nice stuff.

To collectors, the model airplane business may seem to defy logic at times.  Collectors may request one type of model but be disappointed when nothing is forthcoming despite the seemingly obvious amount of existing demand. Even more frustrating is when a line seems to take a step backwards in quality, i.e. good plane, good plane, good plane, awful plane--How does a company "unlearn" how to do something they seemingly mastered?  And the delays . . . most of us would lose our jobs at work if our assignments were delivered so tardily.

The answer to these questions is due in part to the fact that most of the manufacturers do not own their factories.  The "manufacturers" more accurately described as "idea people" and "production coordinators" facilitate production but do not actually produce.  The name you see on the box either thought of the idea for a particular plastic model airplane or solicited it from customers or retailers.  Then they more than likely, outsourced the engineering and tooling.  Finally, and more importantly, the "manufacturer" gathers production bids and LEASE time at a Chinese factory that does the actual assembly and painting of the model planes.  This is of course an oversimplification of the process, but most our toys are produced in this fashion.

The factories that produce our toys have various levels of competence when it comes to making diecast aircraft and plastic scale models.  Most produce many different things depending on who rents their facility and personnel at any given time.  The same crew that makes that new 1:18 fighter, may have been sticking heads on Barbies the week before, and assembling lawn sprinklers the week before that.  Some factories really know military toys while others are newbies.  And of course, the low bidder often gets the job--afterall, the majority of 1:18 collectors have proven that they won't pay an extra $5 for anything!!

The factories charge the manufacturing toy companies for each item produced.  There are minimum order quantities which have to be met, otherwise the cost per plane or tank skyrockets.  Lately, the minimum order quantities required by the factories routinely exceed customer demand in the diecast and plastic collectible airplane market in the USA.  The retailer may request 1000 planes in response to numerous requests by customers for a fighter with the feeling that is the maximum that can be sold in a reasonable amount of time.  The toy manufacturer would love to sell 1000 aircraft to the retailer, no problem.  But when the toy maker approaches the factory, it discovers that the minimum run possbile is, say, 5000.  That's the rut we find ourselves into today.  There is still decent customer demand, retailers want to sell, toy companies are hurting and want to produce, but the minimum order imposed by the Chinese factories is too large for anybody except Wal Mart et. al. to accept.

Many cultural land mines come into play when outsourcing to China but one issue continues to be a recurring thorn:  The majority of managers at Chinese factories have the attitude, "That's good enough, it's just a toy", when referring to accurate detailing, paint overspray and finger prints, and assembly gaps, etc..  They simply have trouble relating to what the manufacturer/retailer/collector is trying to achieve.  The average Chinese laborer has no room in their personal budget for discretionary items such as our models.  In their eyes, toy airplanes should be made only for children, adults should spend their money buying food, shelter, and clothing.  This pervasive attitude has been a challenge to each and every manufacturer to which I've ever spoken.  Getting a China-based factory to take a diecast airplane project extremely seriously, a necessity when producing pieces for adult collectors, is unbelievably tough.  But it's easily to understand why, imagine if management at your place of employment forced you to carefully and precisely apply lipstick to a dog--you'd have trouble relating to this set of orders, too, as it would appear to be frivolous nonsense.  This is why executives of US-based manufacturers have to spend so much time in China--every step must be carefully monitored, otherwise crap happens.

The widely varied amount of individual competence and expertise of the various Chinese production facilities really took me by surprise a few years ago.  We had received an extremely large truckload of Franklin Mint items.  I noticed during the unloading that each pallet had a factory tag on it.  In all, some five different Chinese factories were represented--the actual places that made these diecast collectibles for FM.  It quickly became obvious to me that the stronger, higher quality entries seemed to be made at one or two different facilities.  On the other hand, the weaker pieces all seemed to come from another source.  So the next time you wonder why your F6F is soooo good and your F-14 sooooo bad, just remember the quality of the aircraft is often determined by the quality of the factory leased for its production.