77- 78 Thunderbird in 1/25th scale. first copy

[gtx6970]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Let's check back with Paul in a year and see how many unsold '77 T-birds he has sitting around.

There is no doubt in my mind that he will sell all that he cares to produce, regardless of where he sells them.

He will miss out on nothing.

 

 

 

Steve

I tend to dis-agree. for example. Just to put a number on it There are 25 produced / sold , all listed in the auction format.  He's done well. And sure enough interest dies off. Add in the mold deteriorates and owner decided not to recast it due to slow  down in sales 

But IMO more can/would be sold if its listed at a far market price . One hit, boom done. My gut tells me quite a few more would get sold. ,,,again IMO only

[Ron Hamilton]

On ‎7‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 2:28 PM, Paul Hettick said:

Gosh, sorry I posted the pix.

I'm glad you posted the pictures of your latest masterwork, and I know you will get paid handsomely for it. In November 1977, my sister told me that she was ready to trade in her 75 Cougar XR7. To make a long story short, I went with her as her counselor, and she bought a 78 Thunderbird Town Landau. It was Dark Brown with a matching Velour interior. It was a gorgeous car, which she kept for eleven years, and gave to my Dad.

Unfortunately, I am bucks down, or else I would buy one of these kits, do the modifications, and gift it to my sister. I love your creativity Paul, and thank you for making these kits available. One of these days.

[StevenGuthmiller]

1 hour ago, gtx6970 said:

I tend to dis-agree. for example. Just to put a number on it There are 25 produced / sold , all listed in the auction format.  He's done well. And sure enough interest dies off. Add in the mold deteriorates and owner decided not to recast it due to slow  down in sales 

But IMO more can/would be sold if its listed at a far market price . One hit, boom done. My gut tells me quite a few more would get sold. ,,,again IMO only

I suppose that could be said Bill, but is volume the ultimate goal for Paul?

"More" means more work for him.

Maybe I'm just a capitalist pig, but my thought is why sell more for less, when you can sell less for more?

I could be wrong but something makes me think that Paul is doing this more for the love of "creating" than a business opportunity.

Maximize your profit on one piece with the minimum amount of fuss and then move on to the next.

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[bisc63]

It was fun and informative watching this car come together "on the workbench", and I will do my best to score one when available. That casting looks sooooo nice! Well done, and good luck with sales!

[CapSat 6]

13 hours ago, MrObsessive said:

I know of who you're speaking about and not long ago, he had something on eBay that I wanted BADLY! I put in a set bid and sure enough, right at the last minute someone jumped in and sniped it. I was a little depressed, but I figured that's how it goes. A day or so later, the seller had dropped me a line to let me know that he had another one to offer and if I was interested, he would sell it to me at the auction price.......no bidding!

Of course, I jumped at the chance and I agree that this is the way he likes to do business. He didn't have to do that and I was VERY appreciative as this is something that no one else is offering at the moment.

And yes, he is offering things that would be considered very esoteric by most, but for those of us that are into those oddball cars that will never see the light of day from the major model manufacturers, we at least have this avenue (eBay) to get what we want. Not suitable for everyone..........I get that, but like you said with a lot of caster's time at a premium with full time jobs and whatnot, this is what works for them.

Exactly. It's nice to be getting any of these subjects at all! 

I have found that keeping my eyes open for them, and having some patience when these come up seems to work out.  

[dino246gt]

Too bad there's more complaining on how Paul wants to sell his project than complimenting him on the awesome work he did!

I love looking at all the progress pics of projects online, and watching Paul create the T-Bird was a pleasure, GREAT WORK PAUL!

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, dino246gt said:

Too bad there's more complaining on how Paul wants to sell his project than complimenting him on the awesome work he did!

I love looking at all the progress pics of projects online, and watching Paul create the T-Bird was a pleasure, GREAT WORK PAUL!

Absolutely!

His creations are works of art!

I hope he makes plenty of profit on each one he sells so that he can keep doing what he does.

 

 

Steve

[American 185 Heavy]

I am sure that as time marches on, someone else in the world will do the same thing and will keep it affordable for the masses who would like to have it. The model is stunning, well executed and brilliant work. But everything has a limit, and no one will tip me over to empty my pockets for anything. Least of all anything on ebay. Unless there is a buy it now price listed I avoid just about everything on ebay. Not falling in to the 'greed' trap with anything, least of all a model car. I comb garage sales regularly as well as flea markets, and have gotten very lucky with finds that are priced fairly and often even very low. Ebay is good for a lot of things, just not model cars. Greed tends to take over with market fairness on ebay. My international travels have also yielded some great finds as far as hard to find kits or promos, so they are out there and not all are insanely priced.

Edited August 4, 2019 by American 185 Heavy
spelling

[Repstock]

As long as we're asking questions, why would someone open a clearly titled thread about a car they had no interest in, just to post they have no interest in the subject?

[CapSat 6]

4 hours ago, Repstock said:

As long as we're asking questions, why would someone open a clearly titled thread about a car they had no interest in, just to post they have no interest in the subject?

Curiosity - we still want to see it (and can admire the workmanship), even if we don't want to buy one.

[Repstock]

27 minutes ago, CapSat 6 said:

Curiosity - we still want to see it (and can admire the workmanship), even if we don't want to buy one.

Fair enough...

[StevenGuthmiller]

9 hours ago, CapSat 6 said:

Curiosity - we still want to see it (and can admire the workmanship), even if we don't want to buy one.

Couldn't have said it any better.

 

 

Steve

[Maindrian Pace]

Another observation: There is no buying or selling allowed on this forum, so it may well be... that Paul read the rules and isn't selling on this forum.

[Dale Gribble]

2 hours ago, Maindrian Pace said:

Another observation: There is no buying or selling allowed on this forum, so it may well be... that Paul read the rules and isn't selling on this forum.

That doesn’t change the fact all of these thunderbird castings in question are auction only without a buy it now option .... ?

Edited August 6, 2019 by Dale Gribble

[StevenGuthmiller]

5 hours ago, Dale Gribble said:

That doesn’t change the fact all of these thunderbird castings in question are auction only without a buy it now option .... ?

Maybe you should PM Paul and see what you can work out.

 

 

Steve

[randyc]

I am always amazed at Paul Hettick's workmanship on the resins and the finished cars.   It amazes me that one person can go to the effort to produce this body yet the manufacturers are hesitant to produce more than one or two new kits per year.  And they have full staff and everything needed at their disposal.  

I have little interest in this particular kit and car.  However, I can see the workmanship that went into getting it just right.   I am familiar enough with this body to see the nuances and subtleties that Paul captured.   And it is close enough that if there are errors, I can't see them and refuse to look for them.   I hope he sells every kit he makes at whatever price and method he chooses.  I am quite jealous and inspired by Pauls workmanship and ability to sell at a premium price.   That he can do that gives hope to the rest of us that build and sell occasionally.  

AS for lack of BIN, set yourself a max price and stick to what you feel you are willing to pay.   If someone else gets it, then live with that if it doesn't work out.  

Thanks Paul for bringing this kit to fruition.  It is beautiful.

[American 185 Heavy]

Funny, there is a resin model currently for sale on ebay 1/32 scale with the nose of a 79 and tail of the 78. Easy enough to correct. Appears to be nice and pretty accurate. However buy it now is $10.00. Not that I am buying it as I located the Lindbergh 77 last year in Europe for a fantastic price, but says what a lot of others have said already. Greed is not always good. Excellent work and detail yes, worth hundreds possibly, no. As I already stated everything has a limit. And I am sure someone else in the world in time will do the same thing as well. Or maybe the kit companies will wake up and smell the coffee too. Either way, patience is a virtue and I have plenty of it....

[Tom Geiger]

53 minutes ago, randyc said:

I am always amazed at Paul Hettick's workmanship on the resins and the finished cars.   It amazes me that one person can go to the effort to produce this body  

I have little interest in this particular kit and car.  However, I can see the workmanship that went into getting it just right.   I am familiar enough with this body to see the nuances and subtleties that Paul captured.   And it is close enough that if there are errors, I can't see them and refuse to look for them.   I hope he sells every kit he makes at whatever price and method he chooses. 

Absolutely agree.  Paul and Dwayne (90 Crown Vic) are true sculptors who get these shapes just right. It doesn't happen the first time, but they keep at it until it's perfect.  I wish I had their eye and talent myself!   

This is the very example of why we need to stop those casters who choose to bootleg and offer original work.  Guys like Paul and Dwayne deserve to able to sell and profit from their work without fear that someone is going to be popping out copies for a quick buck.  There is at least one caster who is shamelessly copying Modelhaus models, some of which is Paul's work.  We need to put them out of business by refusing to purchase these copies.

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 hours ago, American 185 Heavy said:

Funny, there is a resin model currently for sale on ebay 1/32 scale with the nose of a 79 and tail of the 78. Easy enough to correct. Appears to be nice and pretty accurate. However buy it now is $10.00. Not that I am buying it as I located the Lindbergh 77 last year in Europe for a fantastic price, but says what a lot of others have said already. Greed is not always good. Excellent work and detail yes, worth hundreds possibly, no. As I already stated everything has a limit. And I am sure someone else in the world in time will do the same thing as well. Or maybe the kit companies will wake up and smell the coffee too. Either way, patience is a virtue and I have plenty of it....

For $10.00 a copy, I can't see any self respecting resin artist like Paul wasting his time going through this lengthy process to produce a premium product.

I would never do it.

There are a lot of resin casters out there, but there are few great ones.

I doubt that you're going to convince many people that greed is even a small part of Paul's motivation.

Paul let's the buyer decide what his wares are worth, whether that be $10.00 or $1,000.00, the consumer will decide.

I can't understand why people think that is such a terrible thing.

 

 

 

Steve

[Tom Geiger]

32 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

Paul let's the buyer decide what his wares are worth, whether that be $10.00 or $1,000.00, the consumer will decide.

I can't understand why people think that is such a terrible thing.

Jealous people who can't afford it?   

There was a vendor who used to come to NNL East.  He had an amazing wall of old annuals and  models we'd all love to own.  He had enormous prices on them all. Like $250-350. But after every show I'd see people who had bought kits from him.  I asked one guy and he said, "I've been looking for this kit forever. So I finally broke down and paid the $300."  That's the market he catered to.  So each show he may have sold 10 kits at $100 each profit. (I'd also been told he paid fairly when he bought stuff for resale).   Figure that's better than having to sell 100 kits at $10 profit each from a business standpoint.  

And at every show there were whiners who would yell at me (as the show chairman) that I needed to make this guy sell the kits reasonably.  I'd ask what they thought was reasonable. They'd say like $75-100 because that's what they wanted to pay.  Then they'd brag to everyone what a screaming deal they got.

If indeed this vendor offered those kits for $75-100 half those whiners would be buying them to resell!   And if indeed he sold all those kits at one show, at $10 profit each, that inventory would be impossible to replace!   As he worked, he only needed to refill 10 or so slots in his display every show.

Can't find fault with the high price guy.  He had a business plan.  And people were paying the price.  Which means that was the right price.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Tom Geiger

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 minutes ago, Tom Geiger said:

He had a business plan.  And people were paying the price.  Which means that was the right price.

Exactly.

As we keep saying, the price should be whatever the market will bear, and what better way to find out what price the market will bear than to let the consumer decide on that price.

That's how capitalism works.

 

 

Steve

[Tom Geiger]

Just now, StevenGuthmiller said:

That's how capitalism works.

I saw something on Facebook yesterday that made me laugh out loud.

Pay your kid $10 to clean the bathroom.

Give him $3 and give $7 to his sibling who did nothing.

Then see how long he likes socialism! 

[American 185 Heavy]

 

Quote

For $10.00 a copy, I can't see any self respecting resin artist like Paul wasting his time going through this lengthy process to produce a premium product.

Self respect is not an issue here. As you put it or someone else did,  No one is questioning the mans work, craftsmanship or integrity. But everything has a WORTH. The beauty of Capitalism is the consumer can easily say NO. And I agree with several others, NO is my answer. Everything has a net worth. And although beautiful, and surely a would like to have item, nothing is worth that kind of money to me. Sorry. Can spend that and get more combing a garage sale, flea markets, or hobby stores in Europe. Some of the best models I have ever acquired have been found that way. Rare and hard to find items too. And no, I didn't have to take out a loan to acquire any of them. Most people don't realize what they have for sale at garage sales or flea markets so finding bargains is easy. And fun for me and the family as well. The model I saw on eBay was a 1/32 scale remember. Not a 1/25th. And in time, I am sure that someone else in the world will cast this model as well. No one unless they file for it, has a copyright on a model. At least not to my knowledge. You also mention or someone else did Modelhaus. True masters of the art, from a to z. The 1970 Colony Park kit was worth every penny. One of the rarest of models ever produced, perfect in every detail, and had a set price. As I love Colony Parks, yes I have one. One of the crown jewels of my collection.

[StevenGuthmiller]

23 minutes ago, American 185 Heavy said:

 

 But everything has a WORTH. The beauty of Capitalism is the consumer can easily say NO. And I agree with several others, NO is my answer.

And we understand that you are saying no Bruce, but that's not the issue either.

The controversy that has come up with this thread is not the fact that some of us will not purchase one of these models.

I am also saying no for different reasons.

The issue is that some people have chosen to berate Paul for how he chooses to sell HIS creations.

You are correct, everything has worth, but who gets to decide that worth is perfectly reflected by auctioning them off to the highest bidder.

Can you think of a more democratic way to determine worth?

 

 

Steve

[American 185 Heavy]

1 hour ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

And we understand that you are saying no Bruce, but that's not the issue either.

The controversy that has come up with this thread is not the fact that some of us will not purchase one of these models.

I am also saying no for different reasons.

The issue is that some people have chosen to berate Paul for how he chooses to sell HIS creations.

You are correct, everything has worth, but who gets to decide that worth is perfectly reflected by auctioning them off to the highest bidder.

Can you think of a more democratic way to determine worth?

 

 

Steve

To each his own, the beauty of living in America is that we each can decide how to do something without being told by anyone that you can't do it. I have never berated him, his work is outstanding. I find it amazing though that some here choose to. A craftsman who can do what he wants with his creation. Beautiful yes, fun to watch the progress of as well. I find it amazing that because a few don't like the model of T-Bird or Ford in general they go off on tangents that have nothing to do with the issue at all. I didn't bring the issue of eBay and auctions up, merely pointed out my opinion of. One thing that might set this whole board on fire is we are not talking Sotheby's and a Gough Gan. Again Steve, not taking away from the mans creation, but we are talking a model car here. And as I said earlier everything has a worth. I admire him for doing it and the work put into it. My hat is off for that. And how he determines the value of is entirely up to him, no one else. But he won't be getting me as a customer or a bidder. I choose not to get involved with that type of thing. eBay bidding wars that is. Not my thing, never has been or will be.