chuck540z3 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Over the past few years I've been amazed at how expensive "Out of Production" or "Discontinued" decals are sold on ebay. The Two Bobs 1/32 F-15E decals and the 1/32 ACMI/ CATM missile decals come to mind, along with many Zotz decals that are no longer made. I assume prices are high due to demand, so why don't these guys make more of them? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 My understanding is that there is a minimum print order of somethjing like 500 sheets, which all have to be paid for up front. If a decals mfgr doesn't feel he can sell 500 additional sheets then he's not gonna risk laying out that much $$$ up front and sitting on the unsold inventory. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
niart17 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) Over the past few years I've been amazed at how expensive "Out of Production" or "Discontinued" decals are sold on ebay. The Two Bobs 1/32 F-15E decals and the 1/32 ACMI/ CATM missile decals come to mind, along with many Zotz decals that are no longer made. I assume prices are high due to demand, so why don't these guys make more of them? In high demand means different things in the real world as compared to E-bay. The high price on E-bay is because they are limited availability and those that really want it will pay more to get it. That doesn't necessarily equate to high demand when it comes to retail. Like Habu said, 500 sheets is typically a minimum order for sheets. So you may see what, 50-60 sheets?, of rare decals sell on e-bay for big bucks and you think that means they are in demand. But that really doesn't guarantee that more than 50 or 60 people would buy them if they were available for retail again. If even twice that amount bought them re-issued they still have only sold 1/6 of their stock. Not good enough to justify a full run. At least that's my opinion on it. Bill Edited January 16, 2014 by niart17 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 Thanks guys, the 500 run makes sense. I would have thought that 100 or less sheets at a time was possible. Having said that, if you have 1/32 CATM and ACMI ordnance/pods on your jet, you are dead without the Two Bobs decals. I can't believe the demand for these decals doesn't justify another big 500 sheet run. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MoFo Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) Hmmmmmm...... Seriously, this gives me an idea. (also: what a hilariously terrible image ^) edit: also, you don't *have* to do 500+ print runs, but the set-up costs for the print screens are high and fixed, so the marginal cost for additional sheets is pretty low. In other words, Microscale would be happy to print you a single sheet, but it's only economically feasible once you get up into several hundreds. Edited January 16, 2014 by MoFo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted January 16, 2014 Author Share Posted January 16, 2014 edit: also, you don't *have* to do 500+ print runs, but the set-up costs for the print screens are high and fixed, so the marginal cost for additional sheets is pretty low. In other words, Microscale would be happy to print you a single sheet, but it's only economically feasible once you get up into several hundreds. Hi Mike! So let's say you buy the 1/32 Two Mikes ACMI pods (also out of production and mastered by a top notch modeler ). What the heck is out there to stick on them for decals without the Two Bobs sheet? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MoFo Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 e-mail inbound. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooby Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 It's not just 1/32 decals, I've made good money on oop 1/48 decals too. The only thing I have success with selling on ebay are decals. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
metroman Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I have ran decal stock on our digital and offset press at my company, though our production manager had to understand this was the 'check signers' pet project (me). Results were terrific - artwork was all Vector and colors spot-On (poor pun I know for process work). If it weren't for the die-cutting needed to make them individual (instead of all on one layer) the cost would be no problem when ganged w/ other bill-paying jobs. My custom artwork w. old Manfreds likeness came out stunning. btw- ANYONE out there w/ their own aftermarket company, whether decals or resin should give me a buzz: un-abashedley I say you haven't had such quality results when another modeler understands your project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RiderFan Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) I've just invested very heavily in my own printing business dedicated to the printing of decals. And I do mean very heavily. The best film based image setter, exposure unit, and digital registration automated screen press I could get my hands on. There will be more information in the next 4 to 5 weeks on this but I'll be sending out sample sheets to all kit an AM companies. My minimum run will be 100 sheets with no maximum run limit. So far my screen quality rivals any of the existing decal printers, and I do mean ANY of them. More to follow on that. Image of test screen done last week. Not printable artwork because it's not layer separated, but it was used to determine exposure times and film settings. Edited January 16, 2014 by RiderFan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jfmajor60 Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I've often wondered the same thing, I've been looking for the AirDoc 1/48 '72 norm for West German F-4G for ever but,I can't lay my hands on one. I found one on ebay a few months ago and made the purchase but it never showed up on my door step Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 Bob S. should be able to sell missile sheets from now to dooms day. All those Trumpeter and Hasegawa weapons sets... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gluefinger Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) I am one that has encountered a problem finding full color instrument decals. Standard dials no problem, but find me color 1/48 and 1/32 horizion and speed indicators. I have a collection of private aircraft in 1/48 that do not include instrument decals and could benefit from them. Revell has a small series of gliders in 1/32 scale which comes with excellent panel decals but it would be nice to have a small, aftermarket sheet to rely on in case of mistakes or for experimenting with. I don't usually build aircraft and never studied the market until recently and was disappointed there aren't any that I can find. Maybe someone can help. The pic is a mix of 1/48 Bandai instructions and 1/32 Revell glider decals. One pic has the instruments printed on clear film and also a placard from Profimodeller detail kit where it is used under the PE. Any tricks to that one? Through my searching I can really find only one common manufacture that has a generic sheet of instruments. None of them more than black and white or modern enough to include LCD displays. Something to think about if you are out to offer decals. Im sure I wouldn't mind having a sheet around. They are something most home printers can't handle, I don't care what kind. Edited January 17, 2014 by gluefinger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 (edited) I've asked the question before too. Another answer I got was the decal companies are extremely small (1 or 2 people often) and its not always about profits. If you print a set its an investment. The small margins and low capital of these companies often means choosing to print on or two sets of decals at a time and then waiting to recoop that investment as you wait for decals to sell. Most manufacturer have lots of artwork waiting to be printed and no capital to print it. It often is a choice between printing a new decal sheet or reprinting a sold out sheet. Most will take the latter all day. New is what excites the market, reprints are "boring". Can't say I disagree! Edited January 17, 2014 by graves_09 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Litvyak Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 I've often wondered the same thing, I've been looking for the AirDoc 1/48 '72 norm for West German F-4G for ever but,I can't lay my hands on one. I found one on ebay a few months ago and made the purchase but it never showed up on my door step :bandhead2:/> I spent ages hunting for the same sheet in 1/72, eventually found a sheet in Singapore of all places (F4Dable models)... but I've heard a rumour that they do plan on reissuing those... eventually. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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