Admiral Toys Information Q&A (Jason)

[CW4USARMY]

Hell, they wont even buy Mustang's and Corsairs at our Walmarts unless they are on clearance and they are probably the best known aircraft by non enthusiasts.

Best-known by who? The 'Top Gun' generation? Kids who have never known the purr of a Merlin at full chat as a Spitfire flashes past overhead? (We had 'em first, remember )

It's a sad fact of life that real "toys" you can hold and admire (and yes, even occasionally play with) are not as popular as the latest little electronic gizmo that needs you (or more usually your relatives) to spend a small fortune every few weeks for the latest "must-have" game... Why waste time putting the wings on a 1/18th scale model that'll just sit on the shelf when you can ruin your eyesight and enrich some faceless megacorporation ??


Sorry, rant over, but I'm pretty sure there won't be many of you can name a dozen people they know personally (other than on this, or similar) forums or through clubs that prefer models to Playstations, GameCubes/DS's or X-Box. In fact, I doubt you could go to your local large shopping mall and find a dozen people 'into' models. Especially those under, say twenty-five.
I know there are exceptions but they are, sadly, just that - exceptions.

My point exactly! How the hec are they going to sell some obscure German WWII aircraft when they cant sell what would be the most likely well known.

[thetatau87]

Spudkopf -

No offence taken by me either. My point is that in order for a model to get made it must have large sales potential. I think that future releases will move into other eras than primarily WWII. I think that there are still several WWII aircraft that will be made, but I bet we will see many more releases from the Vietnam and Modern eras. We are already seeing stuff from the Korean era and the Century Series of aircraft has just been scratched by the F-104.

[Jason of Admiral Toys]

I recently heard a similar comment from a cashier at, of all places, Best Buy--some girl who couldn't have been over 25 lamenting that these days, if it doesn't do 95% of the playing for them, kids don't want it. What ever happened to the days when kids like me would take over whole rooms in the house to set up massive battles with their GI Joes? No flashing lights or recorded voice chips--just the sounds your own imagination created. I think that is one of the reasons I was so excited to see the 21st stuff start showing up in WM a few years ago, and the on-going growth in this industry.

FieroDude, you and I have talked about this before, but here are my two cents for the rest to see:

I am nostalgic for the days when children of all ages “had” to use their own imaginations for the thrill of playing. However, we have entered an era where their imaginations… no their senses are on overload with the new technology that is available for their playtime.

Remember what was going through your head while you were playing in a room full of army men, with tanks hidden behind linking-longs and a makeshift airfield guarded by guns. You were imagining the sounds of battle and put yourself in a place where you could see the smoke raise and watch the tanks, men, aircraft and trucks move without you having to touch them. All of these things are what video games offer children today. Unfortunately kids today have been allowed to move on to a way of playing that is full of sensory overload and turnkey imaginations.

What is nice for the manufacturers is that there are still parents that look for forms of play for their children that make their children use their own mind and imagination. So if you have children buy them a model airplane, take them to an airshow. Get them interested in things that helped you to evolve and grown in your own mind, not what a microchip thinks your child should imagine.

Just my two cents,
Jason

[Spudkopf]

G'day Jason

You’ll be glad to know that there are still some kids with imaginations out there and for once I’m not talking about myself , I am glad to say that both my two children although the boy likes his Star Wars Battle front and the girl likes her The Sim's II spend thankfully little time in these pursuits.

They both also enjoy sports, reading and their animals and the boy can spend untold hours building wondrous Lego creations.

Thankfully neither have this 95% of the playing the game for them attitude.

[Jackson]

Here's a thot- how bout you guys make an airplane with a mini sub-woofer in it and then the kids can plug in their iPods and go dancin, rappin' and flying or flappin' down the street.... boomboomwopboomboomwop.... ratatatat.... mite sell a few...... sure glad I grew up in the sixties.... rock fights and don't come home till suppertime! says Mom.........

[FieroDude]

There's a thought, Jason! The A-10 docking station! With ordinance that flashes with the beat! The public gets the best of both worlds!

Oh wait... They probably already have one at Spencer's to match the Escalade with spinner rims... GAG!

[VMF115]

Here's a thot- how bout you guys make an airplane with a mini sub-woofer in it and then the kids can plug in their iPods and go dancin, rappin' and flying or flappin' down the street.... boomboomwopboomboomwop.... ratatatat.... mite sell a few...... sure glad I grew up in the sixties.... rock fights and don't come home till suppertime! says Mom.........

You know I tried something like that in High school, I had a 1:18 Lamborghini diablo that I hooked up with two sets of Sony heads sets that plugged in to a home stereo unit along with lights. Not a bad idea for some High School kid back in 1992.

Some day I bet we will see some cool stuff, like a microchip placed in the aircraft with a small radio transmitter that can transmit a audio and visual history on an F-86 or some other military collectable

[Juneau@1]

Jason,
Anymore hints or pictures regarding the 1/72 stuff? Any idea when will see the announced, but unreleased stuff hit the shelves? All the preproduction stuff you have shown looks really good so far!
Thanks,
Eric

[chunks]

Jason, you're almost into the lead for posts here, don't go easy!

[Plane Nuts]

Jason,

Several months ago, you hinted that two new planes were coming, one for mass market and one special for a patron/charity/foundation? Is that still true? (Especially the special!) And so, anything you would like to share?

[Jason of Admiral Toys]

Dear Fellow Members,

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on this board. This is for good cause. We have been preparing for a trip to China and the American International Toy Fair in New York. I leave for China on Tuesday at the crack of dawn. I will be in China until the work is completed.

I like all of your ideas for a new and exciting form of aircraft that would grab the attentions of the current video crazed youth. I am sure that you are aware that Admiral Toys likes the traditional approach to model building and will stay true to our fans that wish for detailed aircraft and tanks that capture the history of these great models. But your suggestions brought levity to the last couple of weeks.

For Plane Nuts, yes and no. I will explain latter. You will find out about the releases at toy fair. However, I will start a guessing game when I return from China, or you may just get an advanced glimpse into what is coming out this year while I am in China. It all depends on my schedule and time permitting.

We will also have information regarding our 1:72 scale line of tanks and artillery when I return from China.

Have a safe and fruitful remainder of January. I will not be back until February.

Regards,
Jason

[gary1930]

I leave for China on Tuesday at the crack of dawn. I will be in China until the work is completed.

Have a safe and productive trip, and beware of restaurants that advertise Fresh Dog Today.

I know - I made 30 trips over there.

[Jason of Admiral Toys]

Gary1930, thank you for the warning. I usually go with McDonalds while I am there!

I leave in 3 hours for China. But, before I leave, I wanted to let the retailers that visit this site know the booth number and location of our display. We are in booth 5813, Hobby Tech area of the show, Level 1.

Our booth is very small, but we have a lot to show and I know you will not be disappointed. So if you are a retailer planning on attending, please stop in and meet some of the people that bring you Admiral Toys.

Have a great day; I will try and talk to you from China.

Regards,
Jason

[Spudkopf]

G'day Jason

Shouldn't you be getting some shut eye before you go, or are you going to do that on the flight, I would have thouhgt most of the US based board members to be sound asleep at the moment.

In regards t the 32nd Corsair, have you considered a RNZAF scheme for the Kiwi fans.

Have a safe and productive trip and I look forward to your next set of clues.

[warhawker]

Is anyone planning to attend this toy fair and if so can some get photos?

[FieroDude]

Jason,

Have a safe trip and we look forward to many exciting revelations (NOT the biblical kind) in the coming weeks!

And I tend to agree: McDonalds does seem to provide some degree of continuity for international travelers--the mystery meats taste the same, no matter what country you are in

[Plane Nuts]

Jason: I have the F-86, CL-13, and ME-262. I really love your packaging concepts of putting the plane into the smallest box possible and not using window boxes. I think it serves its purpose well of being able to get the product to the consumer in good shape and conveniently allowing for long term storage, when necessary. That being said, I am not a big fan of the PET trays used for the ME-262. I think they are flimsy and difficult to get in and out of the box. Likewise, I can't see the cost of producing styrofoam inserts like for the F-86 series being worth it in the long run. Might I suggest die cutting foam insert trays? The tooling costs to do the die cutting can't be as expensive as making a mold for thermoforming the PET. Plus it would give the plane a nice comfy home, and you could plan it to use layers, and might actually be able to use a slightly smaller box. Just my two cents. Thanks for a great product!

[der Vogelfänger]

Best-known by who? The 'Top Gun' generation? Kids who have never known the purr of a Merlin at full chat as a Spitfire flashes past overhead? (We had 'em first, remember )

It's a sad fact of life that real "toys" you can hold and admire (and yes, even occasionally play with) are not as popular as the latest little electronic gizmo that needs you (or more usually your relatives) to spend a small fortune every few weeks for the latest "must-have" game... Why waste time putting the wings on a 1/18th scale model that'll just sit on the shelf when you can ruin your eyesight and enrich some faceless megacorporation ??


Sorry, rant over, but I'm pretty sure there won't be many of you can name a dozen people they know personally (other than on this, or similar) forums or through clubs that prefer models to Playstations, GameCubes/DS's or X-Box. In fact, I doubt you could go to your local large shopping mall and find a dozen people 'into' models. Especially those under, say twenty-five.
I know there are exceptions but they are, sadly, just that - exceptions.

My point exactly! How the hec are they going to sell some obscure German WWII aircraft when they cant sell what would be the most likely well known.

Perfect point, CW4USARMY...I was in my closest WalMart last evening and saw the Toy Dept Manager....she and I talked for roughly 35 minutes about their stock plans, etc. and a very sad picture emerged: she and others thought the camo schemes on the Luftwaffe airplanes, the one's in point were the Bf-109G Hackl and Schilling, were just "pretty" decorations and had no concept of the significance of the Staffel/Unit/Squadron, etc., emblems or markings. Hellfire, she thought that the "paintings" were all random and had no rhyme or reason!!! I almost keeled over, but managed to keep my composure and tell her a little about the markings and why they were there: The Schilling '109 was exhibiting the JG54 Grünherz, evidenced by the Green Heart, and the 9th Staffel with it's Devil's Head emblem on the cowling, etc.....the coolest one, to her, were the kill marking on Hackl's '109 rudder, complete with the Eisenkreuz with the number 100 in a circle above the 'kreuz...he had 126 victories.

Basically the education process was well received and I felt both sorry that the information that we, on the board, take for granted, is simply not known by a vast majority of the people we encounter daily, but very happy to have the opportunity to share some of this information. Pity, but we must NEVER let all this information die out!!

dV

[Jason of Admiral Toys]

1:18

Greetings from China,

I wanted to post some photos, but the internet is very slow at this time. I will try and post some photos latter.

Here is your first clue to an all new aircraft that will by at toy fair.

“It is not an SBD.”


























Just kidding, here is the real hint:

“Father”

Regards
Jason

[VMF115]

Father what kind of hint is that????????????

[p51]

Only thing that comes to mind is George Bush Sr's TBM Avenger...

[VMF115]

Only thing that comes to mind is George Bush Sr's TBM Avenger...

thats what I was thinking, but I hear 21st has that version comeing out.

[Moth]

I have 2 ideas,

It is a plane that is the father of... , well it's a plane that did something, and every other plane after it was based on it or compared to it, simply set the standard. Like the Ta-183, IL-2 B-17, B-25, early war Mustang, F-15, ect.? or if it is not a plane, then it is the T-34 for sure.

Or simply something German, "for the Fatherland"

Thats all I can think of, it's 4:25AM where I am, I am a bit drowsy.

[tmanthegreat]

I'm pretty sure its not this, but it would be hilarious if AT made an Avenger as well

It would be great if it were an F4F Wildcat to go along with the new SBD for the whole "Battle of Midway" theme. The Wildcat could be said to be the "father" of the Hellcat, and as the first all-metal monowing naval aircraft, the "father" of all that was to come in American naval aviation, from the F4F to the Superhornet and JSF

I know I'm going out on a limb with this absurd postulating, but please bear with me as I've spent the past 5 hours reading a history of American historiography. Not exactly the most entertaining of subjects...

[Spudkopf]

G'day All

Well you go out with the kids in the afternoon to play some cricket and Bam! when you come back there is a Dauntless sitting on the ramp.

Jason as far as your “Father” clue goes I’ve got zip.

I tried working on the Father = Pop, Papi, Da, Dad, Vatter etc approach and the only thing I could come up with is as follows.

This is a real real long shot (or should I say I’m drawing a long bow), The Dakota Indians word for father is ate so perhaps it is a cryptic for a Douglas DC3 Dakota, it is certainly bigger than a Dauntless after all, however the Dakota Indians are also know as the Sioux Indians so maybe we are looking at a Bell 47 or Sioux helicopter, but the Bell 47 would not be bigger than a Dauntless. I did say that these where long shots!