I went to the hobby trade show in Chicago last sunday. I stopped by to look at the Minicraft booth and saw a Republic Convair 580 and a Braniff Convair 340. I was told they are also going to produce a Convair 440. They should be available some time in 2011. This will be a welcome addition to their family of 1:144 scale airliners.
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I spent considerable time with my friends at Minicraft, the only thing keeping the Convairs and KC-135s from being released is the money required to purchase the toolings. While in Phoenix and again at iHobby I suggested and discussed possible ways to achieve the goals of bringing each to market. The decision is in the hands of the company owner and given the current economic climate, the hobby and its future it is hard to invest such amounts not knowing when, if and how much of a return one will see.
Not many banks will loan money on such a project. Typically they want to be paid in full in a shorter period of time that it takes to recoup the investment from the sale of the item. Loans typically are for months, not years even decades as it takes to recoup from sales.
The debt load this industry carried and continues to carry is detrimental to one being viable, so more are not in essence signing their lives away on anything but a sure thing. Those smaller companies who do spend money to develop new products typically don’t have both feet firmly planted in one market.
I think the Convairs will be a huge success, I’m looking forward to having several!
