The reason why 'Christine' is "one of the coolest movie motors" and at the same time overlooked may be very simple - few people know about it. I don't think I've heard about it until today!
'Christine' was a 1983 supernatural film written by Stephen King and directed by John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog). It was about an American student who restores a '58 Plymouth only to find the car is possessed by an evil spirit capable of all sorts.
It probably means I watched it years ago on video and forgot all about it... sorry! )
The only memorable movie based on Stephen King's books was "Misery". Or was "Carrie" by King too?
Off topic sorry but yes these are great films but fo any car enthusiast this is a classic movie with a classic motor. I picked up a copy about 3 months ago .
Back to topic, the recent deliveries are all falling short as we know in diorama and figures, the cars without naming again the obvious have been of good standard. My point is as a subscriber I am not receiving what i signed up for
"All the cars, All the Gadgets, All the Action!, collect every scale model bond car , accurately crafted with gadgets, in a stunning 3D movie scene - exclusive to the James Bond Car Collection. " Inside figurine....hand sculpted ... exactly as seen in the film...." ?????????????
Maybe a call to GEFAbbri and possibly Trading Standards is needed. As yes we are getting the cars but not in the context as decribed in welcome letter............
Back to topic, the recent deliveries are all falling short as we know in diorama and figures, the cars without naming again the obvious have been of good standard. My point is as a subscriber I am not receiving what i signed up for
"All the cars, All the Gadgets, All the Action!, collect every scale model bond car , accurately crafted with gadgets, in a stunning 3D movie scene - exclusive to the James Bond Car Collection. " Inside figurine....hand sculpted ... exactly as seen in the film...." ?????????????
Maybe a call to GEFAbbri and possibly Trading Standards is needed. As yes we are getting the cars but not in the context as decribed in welcome letter............
Hmmmm
It would be very interesting to hear what they have to say if you make the call....
It probably means I watched it years ago on video and forgot all about it... sorry! )
The only memorable movie based on Stephen King's books was "Misery". Or was "Carrie" by King too?
Off topic sorry but yes these are great films but fo any car enthusiast this is a classic movie with a classic motor. I picked up a copy about 3 months ago .
Back to topic, the recent deliveries are all falling short as we know in diorama and figures, the cars without naming again the obvious have been of good standard. My point is as a subscriber I am not receiving what i signed up for
"All the cars, All the Gadgets, All the Action!, collect every scale model bond car , accurately crafted with gadgets, in a stunning 3D movie scene - exclusive to the James Bond Car Collection. " Inside figurine....hand sculpted ... exactly as seen in the film...." ?????????????
Maybe a call to GEFAbbri and possibly Trading Standards is needed. As yes we are getting the cars but not in the context as decribed in welcome letter............
Hmmmm
That's exactly why I cancelled my subscription - I was simply not getting what I signed for. I sincerely hope someone will contact Trading Standards or similar to complain. Although Fabbri will probably say that if you don't like it, you can cancel at any time.
It probably means I watched it years ago on video and forgot all about it... sorry! )
The only memorable movie based on Stephen King's books was "Misery". Or was "Carrie" by King too?
Off topic sorry but yes these are great films but fo any car enthusiast this is a classic movie with a classic motor. I picked up a copy about 3 months ago .
Back to topic, the recent deliveries are all falling short as we know in diorama and figures, the cars without naming again the obvious have been of good standard. My point is as a subscriber I am not receiving what i signed up for
"All the cars, All the Gadgets, All the Action!, collect every scale model bond car , accurately crafted with gadgets, in a stunning 3D movie scene - exclusive to the James Bond Car Collection. " Inside figurine....hand sculpted ... exactly as seen in the film...." ?????????????
Maybe a call to GEFAbbri and possibly Trading Standards is needed. As yes we are getting the cars but not in the context as decribed in welcome letter............
Hmmmm
That's exactly why I cancelled my subscription - I was simply not getting what I signed for. I sincerely hope someone will contact Trading Standards or similar to complain. Although Fabbri will probably say that if you don't like it, you can cancel at any time.
Have telephoned trading Standards and have been given advice on how to proceed. In the UK it would seem they could be in breach of ' Supply Goods of Service Act 1982' and Have been advised to write a letter in the first instance to the database factory. Trading Standards will in turn contact the local trading office and investigate from their end. I have been advised of three options to resolve
The first taken by many is to cancel subscription
2. Demand a partial refund
3. Demand the product is returned to standard as set out at the start of the agreement
Dalko - the Merc was discussed with Database Warehouse yesterday and has been despatched and is "still in the post" if their system is accurate. Will hopefully arrive soon! Looking forward to it!
Sounds great, hope you get it soon! Also, I have Econoline news for you: my dealer friend believes that the initial production runs (which I asked him about point blank) are pretty low, and he also says the dealers seem to be getting dibs over the actual subscribers. If that doesn't tell you their attitude toward subscribers, I don't know what does. When the defect (related to the side mirrors falling out) was exposed, the Econolines were to be remanufactured, possibly alongside the PremiumX Diecast variation...but Ixo isn't scheduled to do the PremiumX Diecast version until the middle of 2012! You may just want to buy this one off eBay.
Wasn't criticising on the Ford Ranch Wagon - just suggesting that the market is so starved of basic cars that I think it will be an EBay best seller. The Plymouth will go straight up to a very high premium on Ebay I suspect and unless they have ordered a lot of extra ones I think we will see Fabbri runing out of the first delivery pretty quickly and having to re-order several times to meet demand.
Speaking of reordering, I emailed my dealer last night and he believes that the Bissett Mags list is accurate, but will undergo substantial re-ordering in terms of the way the issues are put out. Ixo, as it stands, would release thirteen straight already-moulded cars, then one new mould, and then one previously-done mould before moulding five new cars...which frankly doesn't make much sense. His personal opinion about Skyfall cars? "If they have any subscribers left, which I doubt, they'll do them."
Finally US buyers who were so pleased with the IXO announcements of ex-Bond cars to come in their own premium ranges are getting restive waiting. It seems to me that IXO are running so hard they are simply not able to do all the work they hoped even for their own ranges. I think we will be in for a few more waits in between models yet.
Absolutely correct. Ixo had to slow down in its East Bloc partwork Avtomobili na Sluzhba to half-speed and also cancelled or postponed a prospective series along the same lines in Poland. Ist Models and VVM Models deliveries were also slowed down.
I never did understand why 60's toy car manufacturers put white tyres on their models - as far as I know, completely white tyres were only ever seen on vehicles in the 20's.
The Soviets actually had a few cars with (almost) totally white tires...the treads were still black, but that was it. As for white tires, I'm guessing they wanted to simulate whitewalls, but the technology to make two-tone tires just didn't exist.
As for Diecast007's complaint, I wish you well, but I have a feeling that you'll get blocked by two excuses if you manage to get past them saying "well, we're not forcing you to subscribe."
1) Eaglemoss took over Fabbri, officially. Since Eaglemoss made no promises as to figures or even dioramas, that's one loophole you'll have to get around. This would exempt them from at least part of a refund as well as returning the product to standards.
2) Fabbri will likely be forced to "fess up" that they have SOME kind of contract problem or prohibition regarding the depictions of actors and actresses from the films. At the very least, I believe they will. In other words, portion number three that you raised, "Demand the product is returned to standard as set out at the start of the agreement", may actually be literally impossible.
I wish you luck, as I said, but beyond a partial refund, I would imagine it would be insurmountable to have them return to issuing figures. They'd also point out to certain issues during the period figures were issued like the Mahindra Jeep and the Bentley where no complaints were filed for that and also likely to the Craig-era Bond cars.
well lets all hope that fabbri dont get cold feet and deny the rest of us bond fans the remaining cars........trading standards!!! what are you on???............just cancel, have a little moan and leave the rest of us to it.......just because you haven't got a figure in the car, it doesnt mean they are not bond cars........come on bond fans, lets rally round the collection.....granted they may not be so good without figures, but mostly they are still brilliant
well lets all hope that fabbri dont get cold feet and deny the rest of us bond fans the remaining cars........trading standards!!! what are you on???............just cancel, have a little moan and leave the rest of us to it.......just because you haven't got a figure in the car, it doesnt mean they are not bond cars........come on bond fans, lets rally round the collection.....granted they may not be so good without figures, but mostly they are still brilliant
Calm down, keep it light! {:)
Im an advocate for this collection even replaced imho the worst car in the collection the damaged aston. I have invested nearly five years into it so not going to unsubscribe now. The point im making is the cars are fine the dioramas and missing figures are not so therefore the product I bought into is now not getting supplied therefore this needs to be addressed.
Im an advocate for this collection even replaced imho the worst car in the collection the damaged aston. I have invested nearly five years into it so not going to unsubscribe now. The point im making is the cars are fine the dioramas and missing figures are not so therefore the product I bought into is now not getting supplied therefore this needs to be addressed.
Regarding the last sentence, I'm just wondering if you can actually do that...or, rather, if Fabbri/Eaglemoss actually can. As I said, I wish you luck, but what about this from my last post?
"2) Fabbri will likely be forced to "fess up" that they have SOME kind of contract problem or prohibition regarding the depictions of actors and actresses from the films. At the very least, I believe they will. In other words, portion number three that you raised, "Demand the product is returned to standard as set out at the start of the agreement", may actually be literally impossible."
It's a question I don't pretend to have the answer to but if there is indeed a contract issue/prohibition on likenesses, that would, I think, make it impossible to add figures and make your case null and void. Further, the new ownership didn't promise figures or really anything save cars. How do you tackle that? Again, I don't pretend to have the answer and wish you luck, but I just think that this will get tangled up.
Im an advocate for this collection even replaced imho the worst car in the collection the damaged aston. I have invested nearly five years into it so not going to unsubscribe now. The point im making is the cars are fine the dioramas and missing figures are not so therefore the product I bought into is now not getting supplied therefore this needs to be addressed.
Regarding the last sentence, I'm just wondering if you can actually do that...or, rather, if Fabbri/Eaglemoss actually can. As I said, I wish you luck, but what about this from my last post?
"2) Fabbri will likely be forced to "fess up" that they have SOME kind of contract problem or prohibition regarding the depictions of actors and actresses from the films. At the very least, I believe they will. In other words, portion number three that you raised, "Demand the product is returned to standard as set out at the start of the agreement", may actually be literally impossible."
It's a question I don't pretend to have the answer to but if there is indeed a contract issue/prohibition on likenesses, that would, I think, make it impossible to add figures and make your case null and void. Further, the new ownership didn't promise figures or really anything save cars. How do you tackle that? Again, I don't pretend to have the answer and wish you luck, but I just think that this will get tangled up.
I suppose it all depends whether the takeover happened under UK law, if so, I believe the new owners are obliged to maintain any promises made by the previous owners. It's common practice here to sell a failing company's stock to 'a friend' so you can default on financial obligations (liquidation in other words) and re-start the company afresh under a new name, but if you take over a running concern then it's a little different. You usually have to honour the company's contractual obligations and promises to committed customers unless you notify them of changes to which they agree.
Ixo produced a pretty much generic figure for the Ford Crown, issue 100, then stopped, so I reckon that number 100 has some meaning in Fabbri's licencing agreement. This might be two tier - actor and actress figures with performer's rights then 'any old figure' in a Bond licenced car, such as the 'Crown driver' who would have probably been one of the production crew.
As has been suggested before, I reckon the current shortcomings in figure and dioramas are entirely due to financial savings - basically it's the only way they can maintain the UK cover price of £7.99. So it's possible they can't legally show figures either in 3d or 2d and, apart from the infamous 'gravel road', have done away with sculpted bases, all to save money. I doubt Fabbri/EM would admit this and probably argue that the extension models are being provided as 'gap fillers' to the series up to 110 and no more than that. Therefore if you want the original style 'whistles and bells' models with great figures and dioramas they would have to re-negotiate the production set-up (new agreements with Eon (?) plus maybe go back to UH) which would result in the cover price probably rocketing. In that event EVEN MORE people would no doubt jump ship, because being asked for extra money hurts much more than getting less product.
Personally I'm accepting the state of affairs as presented, all I would say is that it would great if there was some sort of source of supply for us to go to for figures and base enhancements. It's all very well buying extra models to plunder for figures etc but it's very expensive doing it that way. If some enterprising soul were to make reasonably priced figures for these cars, they could have a nice little earner. How they do this would be their concern, but for instance, the two little guys in issue 66, the BMW Octopussy police car, repainted would probably look great in the current VAZ. I hope maybe someone like Steve Flowers (parts and supplies) may be reading this.
MCF beat me while I was still trying to compose a text and pretty much said everything I wanted to say. As the collection is continued in unbroken succession by the new owners, the promises made before are still valid. A Jaguar dealer can't say "Sorry, we can't help you with your rustbucket - the corrosion warranty was made when Ford owned Jaguar, and now we are owned by Tata and the warranty is no longer valid."
And GEF/EM simply cannot just put cheap small plastic cars in and sell these to subscribers when 1/43 die-cast was what we had signed for. And the same is true for the dioramas and "figurines de acteurs" (thanks MCF for the translation but I was pretty certain what this means before ).
The lack of figures and now even film still backgrounds is only because it is cheaper for them. Why shouldn't they have no licence anymore? - they still use Eon/Danjaq copyrighted images for the magazines. But they probably can save a few pennies, the contract probably was only for 100 issues. (Only exception may be the DC-era figures but if there was an exclusive contract with Corgi this could have expired by now after five years.)
Still, it will be difficult to prove that there has been any damage as one could always cancel the subscription and return the inferior product. I don't think it will be enough harm that your collection now won't be a complete one ...
Off-topic regarding Christine in 1/43: Christine is supposed to be a Plymouth Fury but the Fury was only available in beige. Western Models made a 58 Fury in beige, but they also made a Plymouth Belvedere 2-door in red & white which I think looks pretty much like Christine (on IMCDb Christine is even listed as a Belvedere and not a Fury).
Off-topic regarding Christine in 1/43: Christine is supposed to be a Plymouth Fury but the Fury was only available in beige. Western Models made a 58 Fury in beige, but they also made a Plymouth Belvedere 2-door in red & white which I think looks pretty much like Christine (on IMCDb Christine is even listed as a Belvedere and not a Fury).
You are absolutely correct - the movie makers apparently thought 'Fury' sounded a lot more scary than 'Belvedere' so changed the badges on the car. If Ixo were to make a 'stock' car like Christine it would need to have 'Belvedere' badges on the rear wings, but these could probably be removed in the same way as the VAZ's 'Lada Niva' badge. Thanks for the Western Models info, I'll look out for it
I suppose it all depends whether the takeover happened under UK law, if so, I believe the new owners are obliged to maintain any promises made by the previous owners. It's common practice here to sell a failing company's stock to 'a friend' so you can default on financial obligations (liquidation in other words) and re-start the company afresh under a new name, but if you take over a running concern then it's a little different. You usually have to honour the company's contractual obligations and promises to committed customers unless you notify them of changes to which they agree.
You and Rainier Wolfcastle, whom I'll also be reply to in this post, raise MANY interesting points in your responses in general. I'll naturally give my takes, but I agree with this here. Fabbri was bought out by Eaglemoss under UK law and they are continuing an existing partwork. Thing is, I'm wondering how they'll handle the Universal Hobbies Mahindra Jeep and Bentley with no figures as well as the Daniel Craig-era stuff. RW, I *think* the exclusive deal with whatever figurine company that EON did that with lasts through Craig's entire contract as James Bond. In other words, when he is officially no longer James Bond, the exclusive contract becomes null and void; anyone could seek a license with EON for a Craig figure.
Ixo produced a pretty much generic figure for the Ford Crown, issue 100, then stopped, so I reckon that number 100 has some meaning in Fabbri's licencing agreement. This might be two tier - actor and actress figures with performer's rights then 'any old figure' in a Bond licenced car, such as the 'Crown driver' who would have probably been one of the production crew.
I would agree with this and use further proof as the Bondola. You had plenty of extras in the background, but no figure of Roger Moore or the baddies in the boat. Also interesting in the Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville. Technically, Harold Sakata had no dialogue in GF (other than "Ah!", which isn't really dialogue). Gert Frobe had tons (yes, I know he was overdubbed). So Harold Sakata as Oddjob appeared and Gert Frobe as Auric Goldfinger did not. Perhaps this was a test case of sorts? The reactions to the lack of a Goldfinger figure were pretty negative at the time, despite the fact that it was, in my opinion, UH's best car, period. Playing devil's advocate, perhaps this led Fabbri, whose market was and is shifting, to leave out all figures because certain vehicles that could have a figure with no dialogue wouldn't make sense without them (i.e. having just Oddjob, one of the Koreans, and nobody else for the Country Squire)? Remember, the CR terrorist has no dialogue, either. The last person we see with dialogue was the actress who appears in Issue 99.
As has been suggested before, I reckon the current shortcomings in figure and dioramas are entirely due to financial savings - basically it's the only way they can maintain the UK cover price of £7.99. So it's possible they can't legally show figures either in 3d or 2d and, apart from the infamous 'gravel road', have done away with sculpted bases, all to save money.
This is certainly possible. I believe that figures and likenesses (i.e. on the diorama backgrounds) are linked. With Ixo producing more expensive car models, I do agree with you regarding the price. However, remember, after the Phantom III, none of the UH Rollers nor the Clunkerbird had figures, so I still think the problem would surface if you just kept on using Universal Hobbies. The lack of figure and new dioramas with them (and they'd been able to do figures previously) seems to signal that maybe the licensing costs are much more than we know.
Therefore if you want the original style 'whistles and bells' models with great figures and dioramas they would have to re-negotiate the production set-up (new agreements with Eon (?) plus maybe go back to UH) which would result in the cover price probably rocketing. In that event EVEN MORE people would no doubt jump ship, because being asked for extra money hurts much more than getting less product.
To say nothing of delays and the return to UH, the latter of which would likely turn off the current audience of Car-Centrics. But even ignoring the latter, the former would not only result in delays, it would result in HUGE delays. You would go months and months on end while a new contract was being negotiated. So, now factoring those delays in AND more money being paid (whether to Ixo or UH, you'd still have to pay extra), I couldn't see how the series would survive. Fabbri/Eaglemoss playing the secondary market for money via dealers would dry up and that's currently what they seem to want to subsist on.
Personally I'm accepting the state of affairs as presented, all I would say is that it would great if there was some sort of source of supply for us to go to for figures and base enhancements. It's all very well buying extra models to plunder for figures etc but it's very expensive doing it that way. If some enterprising soul were to make reasonably priced figures for these cars, they could have a nice little earner. How they do this would be their concern, but for instance, the two little guys in issue 66, the BMW Octopussy police car, repainted would probably look great in the current VAZ. I hope maybe someone like Steve Flowers (parts and supplies) may be reading this.
I would agree with this. By the way, your best bet for Russian Militsia is to use the guys from the "cut in half" Lada 1500. Yes, they're supposed to Czechoslovakian VB, but they look a heck of a lot more like 1970's-early 1980's Soviet Militsia GAI. Repaint them, though, and you could easily get regular, winter uniform types for early Russian Militsia GAI (and I think, when the one guy is being pulled out of the car that got crushed, he is wearing a winter uniform). If you need a painting guide, let me know. Anyway...
Why shouldn't they have no licence anymore? - they still use Eon/Danjaq copyrighted images for the magazines. But they probably can save a few pennies, the contract probably was only for 100 issues. (Only exception may be the DC-era figures but if there was an exclusive contract with Corgi this could have expired by now after five years.)
This is where it seems to be getting sticky, because we don't really have anyone on the inside familiar with the situation (the guy I wound up talking to a while ago seems utterly clueless and I very much doubt his veracity). Why shouldn't they have a license anymore? Well, in theory, the publisher could have a license to use images/likenesses in a magazine, but use of those likenesses may not be covered under the cars. I realize that sounds insane, but we've seen it happen on a lesser degree in the past, albeit in a much different venue. For the longest time, Kraft Foods denied famed toy train manufacturer Lionel the right to make any rolling stock or accessory(ies) that depicted a Kraft product. Bizarrely, however, they had absolutely no problem with Lionel including images of prototypical boxcars in their catalogues bearing the Kraft logo, during two rounds of failed negotiations, no less! Eventually, it was settled, although not for in excess of a decade, but that example comes immediately to find, no matter how silly or bizarre it was. Also, as mentioned above, I believe the exclusivity on the contract regarding Daniel Craig era films runs out when Craig's tenure as Bond officially ends (i.e. EON lets his contract lapse).
Still, it will be difficult to prove that there has been any damage as one could always cancel the subscription and return the inferior product. I don't think it will be enough harm that your collection now won't be a complete one ...
I agree here, and that's the first, single most difficult to pass hurdle. As I said in my initial response to Diecast007...
"I have a feeling that you'll get blocked by two excuses if you manage to get past them saying "well, we're not forcing you to subscribe.""
And they're not forcing anyone to subscribe; hence it would be the most difficult to hurdle to pass. A standards lawsuit, as I understand it, has to demonstrate that you're not getting your money's worth out of a product you pretty much find essential. If Diecast007 had maybe dropped everything at Issue 102 or Issue 103 when it became obvious that figures wouldn't be included, he may have had a case then. But since Diecast007 kept right on subscribing, however, that wouldn't look good in court. Unlike cancelling at 102 or 103 where you could make the case that there had been "one-off" issues without figures in the past, you make it very difficult by just going on with the subscription and saying "I think this could be better, but I'm still subscribing anyway."
We know and understand you here at the forum and your motivations. But a judge may think your motivations are irregular or maybe attempting a publicity grab, on the other hand, for repeatedly buying/subscribing to a partwork that you yourself are essentially claiming is subpar. PLEASE don't take that as an offense since it's not one; I just think a judge or arbiter of some kind who is unlikely to be a model car collector would have some difficulty understanding.
If Diecast007 had maybe dropped everything at Issue 102 or Issue 103 when it became obvious that figures wouldn't be included, he may have had a case then. But since Diecast007 kept right on subscribing, however, that wouldn't look good in court. Unlike cancelling at 102 or 103 where you could make the case that there had been "one-off" issues without figures in the past, you make it very difficult by just going on with the subscription and saying "I think this could be better, but I'm still subscribing anyway."
We know and understand you here at the forum and your motivations. But a judge may think your motivations are irregular or maybe attempting a publicity grab, on the other hand, for repeatedly buying/subscribing to a partwork that you yourself are essentially claiming is subpar. PLEASE don't take that as an offense since it's not one; I just think a judge or arbiter of some kind who is unlikely to be a model car collector would have some difficulty understanding.
Firstly I am not taking offence but Stop the train folks, you are all reading far too much into my intentions. I am not going to pursue a case , court or otherwise. I have better things to do with my time. I contacted Trading Standards out of my own interest and sheer devilment as there is definitely a difference in the product we are getting now to what we bought into at the start. I enjoy the collection and look forward to each issue the ups and indeed the downs. I enjoy this forum especially in recent months where it has been more light hearted and about the cars.
I subscribe because I am enjoying the collection and will continue to subscribe until it concludes but as somebody said earlier just because the product is being made or supplied by a new company does not mean we as subscribers should expect any less of a product. Delays , licenses blah blah is of no interest to me , that is GEfabbri's problem and if such a big problem , why did they not stop at 70, 90 or 110 instead of continuing with a lesser inferior product. Any change to supply or standard of supply we as subscribers should be informed and given the option to conclude our subscription. We have not been given this courtesy nor any explanation. We accept or cancel instigated by ourselves. I have continued maybe in hind sight I should have cancelled but then i would miss out on all these new editions including the ugly the blunderbird , the bad damaged aston and the good mercedes and goldeneye 'lada' police car. The car is the important bit to me , obviously its a car collection but what singled this collection for me from others that have come and gone is the sculpted diorama and the figures. Most of my diecast cars end up on display out of boxes but these cars need to be displayed in their boxes to make any sense.
I will write to the Database Factory and seek a reply , who knows what may come out of that if anything, probably nothing. One thing though is i will be happy that i have done something about it and got it off my chest . Should maybe have done this earlier like six seven issues ago that i do agree but like most a busy work schedule tends to get in the way. I will report anything back to the forum but for now please return to the cars , I am a subscriber and will stick with this until the end .
Now back to the collection, what is the issue after the austin taxi. Have we had an updated list ?
Firstly I am not taking offence but Stop the train folks, you are all reading far too much into my intentions. I am not going to pursue a case , court or otherwise. I have better things to do with my time. I contacted Trading Standards out of my own interest and sheer devilment as there is definitely a difference in the product we are getting now to what we bought into at the start. I enjoy the collection and look forward to each issue the ups and indeed the downs. I enjoy this forum especially in recent months where it has been more light hearted and about the cars.
My apologies, Diecast007. Thought you intended to pursue some kind of case via Trading Standards, but I will be the first to admit I am wrong.
Now back to the collection, what is the issue after the austin taxi. Have we had an updated list ?
Alas, no. If I had to guess, we'll get what we're promised, BUT it's not gonna be in the order that was promised. I believe they'd put out a car from a "genre" they've not yet done so as to mix it up for the next issue. You see, from Issues 112 to 130, each car falls into one or more different genres. I'll show you...
112. Could basically be seen as an extension of the Altaya Mercedes-Benz Partwork ("Ixo Merc" from here on out), but with better detail.
113. Could be seen as part of Avtomobili na Sluzhba with better detail, but for all the East Bloc cars, I'll just simplify it down to "East Bloc car".
114. The Austin FX4 could be seen as an extension or compliment to Altaya Taxis of the World (from here on out, "an Ixo taxi").
???. Mercedes-Benz 450SEL could again be see as an Ixo Merc extension.
???. Austin A55 Cambridge Jamaica Taxi again could be seen as an Ixo taxi.
???. Mercedes-Benz 220S Ponton. An Ixo Merc, albeit a Bond-Centric one.
???. 1965 Lincoln Continental Lehmann-Peterson Executive Limousine. A big, American car from the 1950's-1960's. The first departure from the thus-far genre-repetitive list.
???. Lada Niva. The second East Bloc car, but...
???. VAZ-2105 Zhiguli. An East Bloc car.
???. Mercedes-Benz 220D. An Ixo Merc and likely the poorest-selling of the bunch. They'd be wise to distance this one from the other Ixo Mercs, since it will likely be a good model anyway.
???. Scaldia-Volga M24. An East Bloc car, even though it was built in Belgium.
???. Dodge M43 Ambulance. Military vehicle, so we finally get a another departure from the thus-far rather genre-repetitive list.
???. 1959 Plymouth Savoy Istanbul Taxi. Could classify as either an Ixo taxi or another big, American car from the 1950's-1960's. I think this one is a special case that spans genres.
???. 1973 Chevy Bel Air. Another big, American car. Although from the early 1970's, the '50's-'60's crowd would still go for this one. Could also qualify for a "police car" genre, since I'm betting anything they do it as the LA State Police car. Still, it might be a bit early to do this one since we've had the '73 Impala Custom Coupe.
???. 1986 Dodge Ram Pickup. A classic and definitive American pickup truck. Although this has appeal to the same types collecting the '50's-'60's American cars, it is really a genre all its own that we don't see repeated in the extension.
???. The 1961 Chevrolet 1-Ton Pickup. Another big, American vehicle from the 1950's-1960's, though this one was VERY Bond-Centric considering the other cars, so I'd guess release order and genre don't matter here.
???. The Morris Minor 1000. Believe it or not, a genre departure that doesn't repeat itself. Of course, the problem here is that outside of this extension, it's been repeated an absurd amount of times.
???. The 1961 Ford Ranch Wagon. Another big, American car from the 1950's-1960's.
???. 1986 Wales & Edwards Rangemaster Milk Float. A unique and Bond-Centric item, though people interested in British public service vehicles will go for it.
Okay, let me simplify that down a step further (albeit with repeats for cars that fall into multiple genres)...
-Five Big, American Cars (Including the Continental, the Chevy 1-Ton, the Savoy, the Ford Ranch Wagon, and the Dodge Ram Pickup, even though the latter isn't this REALLY this genre, will likely appeal to its collectors, so it and the other genre crossover, the Savoy, are flexible there. The '61 Chevy 1-Ton can also be put anywhere due to its Bond-Centrism.)
-Four Ixo Mercs. (The 220 W115, 220S Ponton, 450SEL, and 220D...the Ponton is REALLY the only one Bond-Centric enough to stick anywhere.)
-Four East Bloc cars (Must be broken up, as none are Bond-Centric enough to stick together).
-Three Ixo Taxis (I'm counting the Savoy here, too, though, in addition to the Cambridge and FX4)
-One Military Vehicle (Dodge M43 Ambulance)
-One British car (Morris Minor 1000 Convertible)
-One British Public Service Vehicle (Wales & Edwards Rangemaster)
Of those, the Dodge M43 Ambulance, Wales & Edwards Rangemaster, Mercedes-Benz 220S Ponton, and Chevy 1-Ton Pickup are the only ones Bond-Centric enough to pretty much stick anywhere. So I'm guessing one of those, the dreaded Minor, the '73 Chevy Bel Air, or the Lincoln Continental Lehmann-Peterson Executive Limousine. Then we may see another Ixo Merc or East Bloc car.
Just an update from south of the equator on progress with the JBCC here in South Africa.
A fortnight ago we got the first Ixo model, the DAF Cadillac Hearse. I noticed at my local branch of CNA (the local equivalent of WH Smith) where I usually buy the JBCC that someone came in and bought up all the remaining stock one day - investment purchasing, possibly? I bought a spare copy of the hearse myself, just in case the value remains higher than retail over time :v
Today I picked up my copy of the DN Ford Anglia - only it's still the FRWL Anglia for us X-(
As I'm not a subscriber, it looks like I'm going to have to "phone a friend" in the UK to order the correct one from GEF/EM as a backorder.
Before I do that, can anyone confirm whether the backorder Anglia's have the correct DN base?
Just an update from south of the equator on progress with the JBCC here in South Africa.
A fortnight ago we got the first Ixo model, the DAF Cadillac Hearse. I noticed at my local branch of CNA (the local equivalent of WH Smith) where I usually buy the JBCC that someone came in and bought up all the remaining stock one day - investment purchasing, possibly? I bought a spare copy of the hearse myself, just in case the value remains higher than retail over time :v
Today I picked up my copy of the DN Ford Anglia - only it's still the FRWL Anglia for us X-(
As I'm not a subscriber, it looks like I'm going to have to "phone a friend" in the UK to order the correct one from GEF/EM as a backorder.
Before I do that, can anyone confirm whether the backorder Anglia's have the correct DN base?
Yes the replacement Anglia has the correct DN base
Today I picked up my copy of the DN Ford Anglia - only it's still the FRWL Anglia for us X-(
As I'm not a subscriber, it looks like I'm going to have to "phone a friend" in the UK to order the correct one from GEF/EM as a backorder.
Before I do that, can anyone confirm whether the backorder Anglia's have the correct DN base?
Yes the replacement Anglia has the correct DN base
On the subject of the replacement Anglia,am I correct in thinking the car was Identical in colour and appearance,apart from a new corrected base?Only I have never enquired about this new improved version?If this is the only difference over the incorrect issue,seems like a waste of £7.99p to me,thats if its even available to non-subscribers to buy.
Seem wrong to me FACT,that their still sending out these incorrect Anglias,when the mistake was highlighted ages ago.Just goes to show,what we mean to them.
Yes Winnie, apparently only the wording on the base is changed on the revised edition. They ought to have corrected the colour as well (as we established many pages back in this thread, Strangways' car was actually more of a pale green) but the revised edition is still the incorrect light blue. Maybe they were trying to appeal to Harry Potter fans (?)
Ordinarily I would agree on it being a waste to buy the replacement just for the changed wording, but the Anglia was one of my wishlist cars way back before it was announced, so I have no problem with having a duplicate or two
I collated my collection today. Have all 110, plus extra Anglia, plus 3 gifts. I have 2 huge 100L storage containers, plus I think I will need another! When I was going through them all, putting them in order etc. I found quite a few have minor cracks, one has a tyre fallen off (that I never saw before), and a few bumpers have also fallen off. I did check them all thoroughly upon arrival, but must have missed a few bits and pieces, or they just break in storage for some reason. Bit of a shame, but was good to see all 114 out and together for the first time. Hopefully the next 20 hurry up!
I collated my collection today. Have all 110, plus extra Anglia, plus 3 gifts. I have 2 huge 100L storage containers, plus I think I will need another! When I was going through them all, putting them in order etc. I found quite a few have minor cracks, one has a tyre fallen off (that I never saw before), and a few bumpers have also fallen off. I did check them all thoroughly upon arrival, but must have missed a few bits and pieces, or they just break in storage for some reason. Bit of a shame, but was good to see all 114 out and together for the first time. Hopefully the next 20 hurry up!
I'm planning to do exactly the same. I would like to select the ones I will keep and sell or swap the ones I don't like. Hope I'm not going to find any cracks and damages though - that would be a disappointment!
I collated my collection today. Have all 110, plus extra Anglia, plus 3 gifts. I have 2 huge 100L storage containers, plus I think I will need another! When I was going through them all, putting them in order etc. I found quite a few have minor cracks, one has a tyre fallen off (that I never saw before), and a few bumpers have also fallen off. I did check them all thoroughly upon arrival, but must have missed a few bits and pieces, or they just break in storage for some reason. Bit of a shame, but was good to see all 114 out and together for the first time. Hopefully the next 20 hurry up!
I'm planning to do exactly the same. I would like to select the ones I will keep and sell or swap the ones I don't like. Hope I'm not going to find any cracks and damages though - that would be a disappointment!
If you mean cracks in the plastic cases, it might be through the models being stacked one on top of the other awkwardly. They kind of 'lock', one on top of the other, which generally keeps them safe but if one is 'off centre', it can put pressure on the case underneath it, if there are many more on top. And, Jeez, are these cases delicate........
I store mine in office style 'archive boxes' which seem to be an ideal size to take 32 regular size model cases (4 layers of 8 models). I don't keep the transit blister packaging so each model is in a sandwich bag to prevent scratching and I put a sheet of card between each layer of 8 which avoids any weight pressures. They're not all put away, though, I sort out half a dozen or so to display at a time, changing them every so often. I've had a bits drop off too, usually bumpers, but have either just pressed them back into place or super-glued them. Obviously that is going to be a bit more of a problem if you keep them in unopened blister packs!
If you mean cracks in the plastic cases, it might be through the models being stacked one on top of the other awkwardly. They kind of 'lock', one on top of the other, which generally keeps them safe but if one is 'off centre', it can put pressure on the case underneath it, if there are many more on top. And, Jeez, are these cases delicate........
I store mine in office style 'archive boxes' which seem to be an ideal size to take 32 regular size model cases (4 layers of 8 models). I don't keep the transit blister packaging so each model is in a sandwich bag to prevent scratching and I put a sheet of card between each layer of 8 which avoids any weight pressures. They're not all put away, though, I sort out half a dozen or so to display at a time, changing them every so often. I've had a bits drop off too, usually bumpers, but have either just pressed them back into place or super-glued them. Obviously that is going to be a bit more of a problem if you keep them in unopened blister packs!
Yep I keep them in their blister packs. Have only opened the Checker Marathon, which had a cracked case, as Bissett Mags had run out, so sent me another car to just change cases over.
If Diecast007 had maybe dropped everything at Issue 102 or Issue 103 when it became obvious that figures wouldn't be included, he may have had a case then. But since Diecast007 kept right on subscribing, however, that wouldn't look good in court. Unlike cancelling at 102 or 103 where you could make the case that there had been "one-off" issues without figures in the past, you make it very difficult by just going on with the subscription and saying "I think this could be better, but I'm still subscribing anyway."
We know and understand you here at the forum and your motivations. But a judge may think your motivations are irregular or maybe attempting a publicity grab, on the other hand, for repeatedly buying/subscribing to a partwork that you yourself are essentially claiming is subpar. PLEASE don't take that as an offense since it's not one; I just think a judge or arbiter of some kind who is unlikely to be a model car collector would have some difficulty understanding.
Firstly I am not taking offence but Stop the train folks, you are all reading far too much into my intentions. I am not going to pursue a case , court or otherwise. I have better things to do with my time. I contacted Trading Standards out of my own interest and sheer devilment as there is definitely a difference in the product we are getting now to what we bought into at the start. I enjoy the collection and look forward to each issue the ups and indeed the downs. I enjoy this forum especially in recent months where it has been more light hearted and about the cars.
I subscribe because I am enjoying the collection and will continue to subscribe until it concludes but as somebody said earlier just because the product is being made or supplied by a new company does not mean we as subscribers should expect any less of a product. Delays , licenses blah blah is of no interest to me , that is GEfabbri's problem and if such a big problem , why did they not stop at 70, 90 or 110 instead of continuing with a lesser inferior product. Any change to supply or standard of supply we as subscribers should be informed and given the option to conclude our subscription. We have not been given this courtesy nor any explanation. We accept or cancel instigated by ourselves. I have continued maybe in hind sight I should have cancelled but then i would miss out on all these new editions including the ugly the blunderbird , the bad damaged aston and the good mercedes and goldeneye 'lada' police car. The car is the important bit to me , obviously its a car collection but what singled this collection for me from others that have come and gone is the sculpted diorama and the figures. Most of my diecast cars end up on display out of boxes but these cars need to be displayed in their boxes to make any sense.
I will write to the Database Factory and seek a reply , who knows what may come out of that if anything, probably nothing. One thing though is i will be happy that i have done something about it and got it off my chest . Should maybe have done this earlier like six seven issues ago that i do agree but like most a busy work schedule tends to get in the way. I will report anything back to the forum but for now please return to the cars , I am a subscriber and will stick with this until the end .
Now back to the collection, what is the issue after the austin taxi. Have we had an updated list ?
Cheers
I wouldn't concern yourself over the recent debate everybody got into. I don't think anybody here really thought you'd be pushing for a 'government inquiry' into this one, it is, after all, only a hobby and all we have here is a variety of opinions and speculation, with not a lot of hard fact to go on. But the opinions and speculation are interesting to read, especially because like hostages, we don't know a lot about our 'captors' or what their motives are. If you've ever written to a large corporation for information, you usually get a standardised 'PR speak' letter back saying something like "Here at WalFart we strive to offer our customers the best products we can source...blah, blah". Well I think the difference here is that via 'John Steed' we actually had communication from Fabbri that seemed to show that they were both interested in us and the product, which is HIGHLY unusual. For that reason, I'd personally be very interested to hear what reply you might have to any letter you send, assuming it's just asking generally about figures and dioramas. Hopefully it might throw up some clues as to whether the new guys (Eaglemoss) are still interested in their customers, and the product. If it's an annoyance to them, tough, as product providers they ought to be a little bit more inter-active with their customers, methinks.
Ok folks after speaking to Trading Standards I did email Database factory and i got this response.
"We are sorry you feel that there has been a difference in the quality of recent issues of the James Bond Car Collection. That’s certainly not the intention. It has always been the case that some but not all of the cars feature figurines, and the complexity of the replica scenes varies according to the scene that we are able to recreate. Recent models are extremely similar to say issues 16, 17, 22, 21, 32, 35 and so on.
There are also some licensing issues relating to the use of certain actor’s licenses in the collection. This is why there are no figurines in the cars from the most recent movies. I hope you will be reassured to hear that there are several more complicated movie scenes in development and that there will be more figurines in the forthcoming releases. "
Oh well , better than expected with complicated movie scenes in development and figurines to look forward too !!
Ok folks after speaking to Trading Standards I did email Database factory and i got this response.
"We are sorry you feel that there has been a difference in the quality of recent issues of the James Bond Car Collection. That’s certainly not the intention. It has always been the case that some but not all of the cars feature figurines, and the complexity of the replica scenes varies according to the scene that we are able to recreate. Recent models are extremely similar to say issues 16, 17, 22, 21, 32, 35 and so on.
There are also some licensing issues relating to the use of certain actor’s licenses in the collection. This is why there are no figurines in the cars from the most recent movies. I hope you will be reassured to hear that there are several more complicated movie scenes in development and that there will be more figurines in the forthcoming releases. "
Oh well , better than expected with complicated movie scenes in development and figurines to look forward too !!
Brilliant - well done that man! {[] Great news that the figure and diorama side of things clearly hasn't been forgotten or isn't 'off the menu' as feared. It's also good that they are prepared to talk about the series in reasonably informative terms rather than the more remote and disinterested 'PR speak' that I mentioned. I think we all know who the 'certain actor' is too - and you can't blame him, in the movie game he could be out of work in ten years time so has good reason to claim licence fees for likenesses.
Comments
'Christine' was a 1983 supernatural film written by Stephen King and directed by John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog). It was about an American student who restores a '58 Plymouth only to find the car is possessed by an evil spirit capable of all sorts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8sldovtxsM
If you love 50's American cars, this movie is a DVD 'must-have', rather like 'American Graffiti'. Sorry about the off topic posting, folks!
The only memorable movie based on Stephen King's books was "Misery". Or was "Carrie" by King too?
Off topic sorry but yes these are great films but fo any car enthusiast this is a classic movie with a classic motor. I picked up a copy about 3 months ago .
Back to topic, the recent deliveries are all falling short as we know in diorama and figures, the cars without naming again the obvious have been of good standard. My point is as a subscriber I am not receiving what i signed up for
"All the cars, All the Gadgets, All the Action!, collect every scale model bond car , accurately crafted with gadgets, in a stunning 3D movie scene - exclusive to the James Bond Car Collection. " Inside figurine....hand sculpted ... exactly as seen in the film...." ?????????????
Maybe a call to GEFAbbri and possibly Trading Standards is needed. As yes we are getting the cars but not in the context as decribed in welcome letter............
Hmmmm
It would be very interesting to hear what they have to say if you make the call....
That's exactly why I cancelled my subscription - I was simply not getting what I signed for. I sincerely hope someone will contact Trading Standards or similar to complain. Although Fabbri will probably say that if you don't like it, you can cancel at any time.
Have telephoned trading Standards and have been given advice on how to proceed. In the UK it would seem they could be in breach of ' Supply Goods of Service Act 1982' and Have been advised to write a letter in the first instance to the database factory. Trading Standards will in turn contact the local trading office and investigate from their end. I have been advised of three options to resolve
The first taken by many is to cancel subscription
2. Demand a partial refund
3. Demand the product is returned to standard as set out at the start of the agreement
I will write and let you know
http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/your-choices-for-the-next-bond-car-2011-11-30
Sounds great, hope you get it soon! Also, I have Econoline news for you: my dealer friend believes that the initial production runs (which I asked him about point blank) are pretty low, and he also says the dealers seem to be getting dibs over the actual subscribers. If that doesn't tell you their attitude toward subscribers, I don't know what does. When the defect (related to the side mirrors falling out) was exposed, the Econolines were to be remanufactured, possibly alongside the PremiumX Diecast variation...but Ixo isn't scheduled to do the PremiumX Diecast version until the middle of 2012! You may just want to buy this one off eBay.
Speaking of reordering, I emailed my dealer last night and he believes that the Bissett Mags list is accurate, but will undergo substantial re-ordering in terms of the way the issues are put out. Ixo, as it stands, would release thirteen straight already-moulded cars, then one new mould, and then one previously-done mould before moulding five new cars...which frankly doesn't make much sense. His personal opinion about Skyfall cars? "If they have any subscribers left, which I doubt, they'll do them."
Absolutely correct. Ixo had to slow down in its East Bloc partwork Avtomobili na Sluzhba to half-speed and also cancelled or postponed a prospective series along the same lines in Poland. Ist Models and VVM Models deliveries were also slowed down.
The Soviets actually had a few cars with (almost) totally white tires...the treads were still black, but that was it. As for white tires, I'm guessing they wanted to simulate whitewalls, but the technology to make two-tone tires just didn't exist.
As for Diecast007's complaint, I wish you well, but I have a feeling that you'll get blocked by two excuses if you manage to get past them saying "well, we're not forcing you to subscribe."
1) Eaglemoss took over Fabbri, officially. Since Eaglemoss made no promises as to figures or even dioramas, that's one loophole you'll have to get around. This would exempt them from at least part of a refund as well as returning the product to standards.
2) Fabbri will likely be forced to "fess up" that they have SOME kind of contract problem or prohibition regarding the depictions of actors and actresses from the films. At the very least, I believe they will. In other words, portion number three that you raised, "Demand the product is returned to standard as set out at the start of the agreement", may actually be literally impossible.
I wish you luck, as I said, but beyond a partial refund, I would imagine it would be insurmountable to have them return to issuing figures. They'd also point out to certain issues during the period figures were issued like the Mahindra Jeep and the Bentley where no complaints were filed for that and also likely to the Craig-era Bond cars.
Calm down, keep it light! {:)
Im an advocate for this collection even replaced imho the worst car in the collection the damaged aston. I have invested nearly five years into it so not going to unsubscribe now. The point im making is the cars are fine the dioramas and missing figures are not so therefore the product I bought into is now not getting supplied therefore this needs to be addressed.
Regarding the last sentence, I'm just wondering if you can actually do that...or, rather, if Fabbri/Eaglemoss actually can. As I said, I wish you luck, but what about this from my last post?
"2) Fabbri will likely be forced to "fess up" that they have SOME kind of contract problem or prohibition regarding the depictions of actors and actresses from the films. At the very least, I believe they will. In other words, portion number three that you raised, "Demand the product is returned to standard as set out at the start of the agreement", may actually be literally impossible."
It's a question I don't pretend to have the answer to but if there is indeed a contract issue/prohibition on likenesses, that would, I think, make it impossible to add figures and make your case null and void. Further, the new ownership didn't promise figures or really anything save cars. How do you tackle that? Again, I don't pretend to have the answer and wish you luck, but I just think that this will get tangled up.
I suppose it all depends whether the takeover happened under UK law, if so, I believe the new owners are obliged to maintain any promises made by the previous owners. It's common practice here to sell a failing company's stock to 'a friend' so you can default on financial obligations (liquidation in other words) and re-start the company afresh under a new name, but if you take over a running concern then it's a little different. You usually have to honour the company's contractual obligations and promises to committed customers unless you notify them of changes to which they agree.
Ixo produced a pretty much generic figure for the Ford Crown, issue 100, then stopped, so I reckon that number 100 has some meaning in Fabbri's licencing agreement. This might be two tier - actor and actress figures with performer's rights then 'any old figure' in a Bond licenced car, such as the 'Crown driver' who would have probably been one of the production crew.
As has been suggested before, I reckon the current shortcomings in figure and dioramas are entirely due to financial savings - basically it's the only way they can maintain the UK cover price of £7.99. So it's possible they can't legally show figures either in 3d or 2d and, apart from the infamous 'gravel road', have done away with sculpted bases, all to save money. I doubt Fabbri/EM would admit this and probably argue that the extension models are being provided as 'gap fillers' to the series up to 110 and no more than that. Therefore if you want the original style 'whistles and bells' models with great figures and dioramas they would have to re-negotiate the production set-up (new agreements with Eon (?) plus maybe go back to UH) which would result in the cover price probably rocketing. In that event EVEN MORE people would no doubt jump ship, because being asked for extra money hurts much more than getting less product.
Personally I'm accepting the state of affairs as presented, all I would say is that it would great if there was some sort of source of supply for us to go to for figures and base enhancements. It's all very well buying extra models to plunder for figures etc but it's very expensive doing it that way. If some enterprising soul were to make reasonably priced figures for these cars, they could have a nice little earner. How they do this would be their concern, but for instance, the two little guys in issue 66, the BMW Octopussy police car, repainted would probably look great in the current VAZ. I hope maybe someone like Steve Flowers (parts and supplies) may be reading this.
And GEF/EM simply cannot just put cheap small plastic cars in and sell these to subscribers when 1/43 die-cast was what we had signed for. And the same is true for the dioramas and "figurines de acteurs" (thanks MCF for the translation but I was pretty certain what this means before
The lack of figures and now even film still backgrounds is only because it is cheaper for them. Why shouldn't they have no licence anymore? - they still use Eon/Danjaq copyrighted images for the magazines. But they probably can save a few pennies, the contract probably was only for 100 issues. (Only exception may be the DC-era figures but if there was an exclusive contract with Corgi this could have expired by now after five years.)
Still, it will be difficult to prove that there has been any damage as one could always cancel the subscription and return the inferior product. I don't think it will be enough harm that your collection now won't be a complete one ...
Off-topic regarding Christine in 1/43: Christine is supposed to be a Plymouth Fury but the Fury was only available in beige. Western Models made a 58 Fury in beige, but they also made a Plymouth Belvedere 2-door in red & white which I think looks pretty much like Christine (on IMCDb Christine is even listed as a Belvedere and not a Fury).
I thought you probably did
You are absolutely correct - the movie makers apparently thought 'Fury' sounded a lot more scary than 'Belvedere' so changed the badges on the car. If Ixo were to make a 'stock' car like Christine it would need to have 'Belvedere' badges on the rear wings, but these could probably be removed in the same way as the VAZ's 'Lada Niva' badge. Thanks for the Western Models info, I'll look out for it
You and Rainier Wolfcastle, whom I'll also be reply to in this post, raise MANY interesting points in your responses in general. I'll naturally give my takes, but I agree with this here. Fabbri was bought out by Eaglemoss under UK law and they are continuing an existing partwork. Thing is, I'm wondering how they'll handle the Universal Hobbies Mahindra Jeep and Bentley with no figures as well as the Daniel Craig-era stuff. RW, I *think* the exclusive deal with whatever figurine company that EON did that with lasts through Craig's entire contract as James Bond. In other words, when he is officially no longer James Bond, the exclusive contract becomes null and void; anyone could seek a license with EON for a Craig figure.
I would agree with this and use further proof as the Bondola. You had plenty of extras in the background, but no figure of Roger Moore or the baddies in the boat. Also interesting in the Rolls-Royce Phantom III Sedanca de Ville. Technically, Harold Sakata had no dialogue in GF (other than "Ah!", which isn't really dialogue). Gert Frobe had tons (yes, I know he was overdubbed). So Harold Sakata as Oddjob appeared and Gert Frobe as Auric Goldfinger did not. Perhaps this was a test case of sorts? The reactions to the lack of a Goldfinger figure were pretty negative at the time, despite the fact that it was, in my opinion, UH's best car, period. Playing devil's advocate, perhaps this led Fabbri, whose market was and is shifting, to leave out all figures because certain vehicles that could have a figure with no dialogue wouldn't make sense without them (i.e. having just Oddjob, one of the Koreans, and nobody else for the Country Squire)? Remember, the CR terrorist has no dialogue, either. The last person we see with dialogue was the actress who appears in Issue 99.
This is certainly possible. I believe that figures and likenesses (i.e. on the diorama backgrounds) are linked. With Ixo producing more expensive car models, I do agree with you regarding the price. However, remember, after the Phantom III, none of the UH Rollers nor the Clunkerbird had figures, so I still think the problem would surface if you just kept on using Universal Hobbies. The lack of figure and new dioramas with them (and they'd been able to do figures previously) seems to signal that maybe the licensing costs are much more than we know.
To say nothing of delays and the return to UH, the latter of which would likely turn off the current audience of Car-Centrics. But even ignoring the latter, the former would not only result in delays, it would result in HUGE delays. You would go months and months on end while a new contract was being negotiated. So, now factoring those delays in AND more money being paid (whether to Ixo or UH, you'd still have to pay extra), I couldn't see how the series would survive. Fabbri/Eaglemoss playing the secondary market for money via dealers would dry up and that's currently what they seem to want to subsist on.
I would agree with this. By the way, your best bet for Russian Militsia is to use the guys from the "cut in half" Lada 1500. Yes, they're supposed to Czechoslovakian VB, but they look a heck of a lot more like 1970's-early 1980's Soviet Militsia GAI. Repaint them, though, and you could easily get regular, winter uniform types for early Russian Militsia GAI (and I think, when the one guy is being pulled out of the car that got crushed, he is wearing a winter uniform). If you need a painting guide, let me know. Anyway...
This is where it seems to be getting sticky, because we don't really have anyone on the inside familiar with the situation (the guy I wound up talking to a while ago seems utterly clueless and I very much doubt his veracity). Why shouldn't they have a license anymore? Well, in theory, the publisher could have a license to use images/likenesses in a magazine, but use of those likenesses may not be covered under the cars. I realize that sounds insane, but we've seen it happen on a lesser degree in the past, albeit in a much different venue. For the longest time, Kraft Foods denied famed toy train manufacturer Lionel the right to make any rolling stock or accessory(ies) that depicted a Kraft product. Bizarrely, however, they had absolutely no problem with Lionel including images of prototypical boxcars in their catalogues bearing the Kraft logo, during two rounds of failed negotiations, no less! Eventually, it was settled, although not for in excess of a decade, but that example comes immediately to find, no matter how silly or bizarre it was. Also, as mentioned above, I believe the exclusivity on the contract regarding Daniel Craig era films runs out when Craig's tenure as Bond officially ends (i.e. EON lets his contract lapse).
I agree here, and that's the first, single most difficult to pass hurdle. As I said in my initial response to Diecast007...
"I have a feeling that you'll get blocked by two excuses if you manage to get past them saying "well, we're not forcing you to subscribe.""
And they're not forcing anyone to subscribe; hence it would be the most difficult to hurdle to pass. A standards lawsuit, as I understand it, has to demonstrate that you're not getting your money's worth out of a product you pretty much find essential. If Diecast007 had maybe dropped everything at Issue 102 or Issue 103 when it became obvious that figures wouldn't be included, he may have had a case then. But since Diecast007 kept right on subscribing, however, that wouldn't look good in court. Unlike cancelling at 102 or 103 where you could make the case that there had been "one-off" issues without figures in the past, you make it very difficult by just going on with the subscription and saying "I think this could be better, but I'm still subscribing anyway."
We know and understand you here at the forum and your motivations. But a judge may think your motivations are irregular or maybe attempting a publicity grab, on the other hand, for repeatedly buying/subscribing to a partwork that you yourself are essentially claiming is subpar. PLEASE don't take that as an offense since it's not one; I just think a judge or arbiter of some kind who is unlikely to be a model car collector would have some difficulty understanding.
Firstly I am not taking offence but Stop the train folks, you are all reading far too much into my intentions. I am not going to pursue a case , court or otherwise. I have better things to do with my time. I contacted Trading Standards out of my own interest and sheer devilment as there is definitely a difference in the product we are getting now to what we bought into at the start. I enjoy the collection and look forward to each issue the ups and indeed the downs. I enjoy this forum especially in recent months where it has been more light hearted and about the cars.
I subscribe because I am enjoying the collection and will continue to subscribe until it concludes but as somebody said earlier just because the product is being made or supplied by a new company does not mean we as subscribers should expect any less of a product. Delays , licenses blah blah is of no interest to me , that is GEfabbri's problem and if such a big problem , why did they not stop at 70, 90 or 110 instead of continuing with a lesser inferior product. Any change to supply or standard of supply we as subscribers should be informed and given the option to conclude our subscription. We have not been given this courtesy nor any explanation. We accept or cancel instigated by ourselves. I have continued maybe in hind sight I should have cancelled but then i would miss out on all these new editions including the ugly the blunderbird , the bad damaged aston and the good mercedes and goldeneye 'lada' police car. The car is the important bit to me , obviously its a car collection but what singled this collection for me from others that have come and gone is the sculpted diorama and the figures. Most of my diecast cars end up on display out of boxes but these cars need to be displayed in their boxes to make any sense.
I will write to the Database Factory and seek a reply , who knows what may come out of that if anything, probably nothing. One thing though is i will be happy that i have done something about it and got it off my chest . Should maybe have done this earlier like six seven issues ago that i do agree but like most a busy work schedule tends to get in the way. I will report anything back to the forum but for now please return to the cars , I am a subscriber and will stick with this until the end .
Now back to the collection, what is the issue after the austin taxi. Have we had an updated list ?
Cheers
My apologies, Diecast007. Thought you intended to pursue some kind of case via Trading Standards, but I will be the first to admit I am wrong.
Alas, no. If I had to guess, we'll get what we're promised, BUT it's not gonna be in the order that was promised. I believe they'd put out a car from a "genre" they've not yet done so as to mix it up for the next issue. You see, from Issues 112 to 130, each car falls into one or more different genres. I'll show you...
112. Could basically be seen as an extension of the Altaya Mercedes-Benz Partwork ("Ixo Merc" from here on out), but with better detail.
113. Could be seen as part of Avtomobili na Sluzhba with better detail, but for all the East Bloc cars, I'll just simplify it down to "East Bloc car".
114. The Austin FX4 could be seen as an extension or compliment to Altaya Taxis of the World (from here on out, "an Ixo taxi").
???. Mercedes-Benz 450SEL could again be see as an Ixo Merc extension.
???. Austin A55 Cambridge Jamaica Taxi again could be seen as an Ixo taxi.
???. Mercedes-Benz 220S Ponton. An Ixo Merc, albeit a Bond-Centric one.
???. 1965 Lincoln Continental Lehmann-Peterson Executive Limousine. A big, American car from the 1950's-1960's. The first departure from the thus-far genre-repetitive list.
???. Lada Niva. The second East Bloc car, but...
???. VAZ-2105 Zhiguli. An East Bloc car.
???. Mercedes-Benz 220D. An Ixo Merc and likely the poorest-selling of the bunch. They'd be wise to distance this one from the other Ixo Mercs, since it will likely be a good model anyway.
???. Scaldia-Volga M24. An East Bloc car, even though it was built in Belgium.
???. Dodge M43 Ambulance. Military vehicle, so we finally get a another departure from the thus-far rather genre-repetitive list.
???. 1959 Plymouth Savoy Istanbul Taxi. Could classify as either an Ixo taxi or another big, American car from the 1950's-1960's. I think this one is a special case that spans genres.
???. 1973 Chevy Bel Air. Another big, American car. Although from the early 1970's, the '50's-'60's crowd would still go for this one. Could also qualify for a "police car" genre, since I'm betting anything they do it as the LA State Police car. Still, it might be a bit early to do this one since we've had the '73 Impala Custom Coupe.
???. 1986 Dodge Ram Pickup. A classic and definitive American pickup truck. Although this has appeal to the same types collecting the '50's-'60's American cars, it is really a genre all its own that we don't see repeated in the extension.
???. The 1961 Chevrolet 1-Ton Pickup. Another big, American vehicle from the 1950's-1960's, though this one was VERY Bond-Centric considering the other cars, so I'd guess release order and genre don't matter here.
???. The Morris Minor 1000. Believe it or not, a genre departure that doesn't repeat itself. Of course, the problem here is that outside of this extension, it's been repeated an absurd amount of times.
???. The 1961 Ford Ranch Wagon. Another big, American car from the 1950's-1960's.
???. 1986 Wales & Edwards Rangemaster Milk Float. A unique and Bond-Centric item, though people interested in British public service vehicles will go for it.
Okay, let me simplify that down a step further (albeit with repeats for cars that fall into multiple genres)...
-Five Big, American Cars (Including the Continental, the Chevy 1-Ton, the Savoy, the Ford Ranch Wagon, and the Dodge Ram Pickup, even though the latter isn't this REALLY this genre, will likely appeal to its collectors, so it and the other genre crossover, the Savoy, are flexible there. The '61 Chevy 1-Ton can also be put anywhere due to its Bond-Centrism.)
-Four Ixo Mercs. (The 220 W115, 220S Ponton, 450SEL, and 220D...the Ponton is REALLY the only one Bond-Centric enough to stick anywhere.)
-Four East Bloc cars (Must be broken up, as none are Bond-Centric enough to stick together).
-Three Ixo Taxis (I'm counting the Savoy here, too, though, in addition to the Cambridge and FX4)
-One Military Vehicle (Dodge M43 Ambulance)
-One British car (Morris Minor 1000 Convertible)
-One British Public Service Vehicle (Wales & Edwards Rangemaster)
Of those, the Dodge M43 Ambulance, Wales & Edwards Rangemaster, Mercedes-Benz 220S Ponton, and Chevy 1-Ton Pickup are the only ones Bond-Centric enough to pretty much stick anywhere. So I'm guessing one of those, the dreaded Minor, the '73 Chevy Bel Air, or the Lincoln Continental Lehmann-Peterson Executive Limousine. Then we may see another Ixo Merc or East Bloc car.
JUST GUESSING!
A fortnight ago we got the first Ixo model, the DAF Cadillac Hearse. I noticed at my local branch of CNA (the local equivalent of WH Smith) where I usually buy the JBCC that someone came in and bought up all the remaining stock one day - investment purchasing, possibly? I bought a spare copy of the hearse myself, just in case the value remains higher than retail over time :v
Today I picked up my copy of the DN Ford Anglia - only it's still the FRWL Anglia for us X-(
As I'm not a subscriber, it looks like I'm going to have to "phone a friend" in the UK to order the correct one from GEF/EM as a backorder.
Before I do that, can anyone confirm whether the backorder Anglia's have the correct DN base?
Yes the replacement Anglia has the correct DN base
Seem wrong to me FACT,that their still sending out these incorrect Anglias,when the mistake was highlighted ages ago.Just goes to show,what we mean to them.
Ordinarily I would agree on it being a waste to buy the replacement just for the changed wording, but the Anglia was one of my wishlist cars way back before it was announced, so I have no problem with having a duplicate or two
I'm planning to do exactly the same. I would like to select the ones I will keep and sell or swap the ones I don't like. Hope I'm not going to find any cracks and damages though - that would be a disappointment!
If you mean cracks in the plastic cases, it might be through the models being stacked one on top of the other awkwardly. They kind of 'lock', one on top of the other, which generally keeps them safe but if one is 'off centre', it can put pressure on the case underneath it, if there are many more on top. And, Jeez, are these cases delicate........
I store mine in office style 'archive boxes' which seem to be an ideal size to take 32 regular size model cases (4 layers of 8 models). I don't keep the transit blister packaging so each model is in a sandwich bag to prevent scratching and I put a sheet of card between each layer of 8 which avoids any weight pressures. They're not all put away, though, I sort out half a dozen or so to display at a time, changing them every so often. I've had a bits drop off too, usually bumpers, but have either just pressed them back into place or super-glued them. Obviously that is going to be a bit more of a problem if you keep them in unopened blister packs!
Yep I keep them in their blister packs. Have only opened the Checker Marathon, which had a cracked case, as Bissett Mags had run out, so sent me another car to just change cases over.
I wouldn't concern yourself over the recent debate everybody got into. I don't think anybody here really thought you'd be pushing for a 'government inquiry' into this one, it is, after all, only a hobby and all we have here is a variety of opinions and speculation, with not a lot of hard fact to go on. But the opinions and speculation are interesting to read, especially because like hostages, we don't know a lot about our 'captors' or what their motives are. If you've ever written to a large corporation for information, you usually get a standardised 'PR speak' letter back saying something like "Here at WalFart we strive to offer our customers the best products we can source...blah, blah". Well I think the difference here is that via 'John Steed' we actually had communication from Fabbri that seemed to show that they were both interested in us and the product, which is HIGHLY unusual. For that reason, I'd personally be very interested to hear what reply you might have to any letter you send, assuming it's just asking generally about figures and dioramas. Hopefully it might throw up some clues as to whether the new guys (Eaglemoss) are still interested in their customers, and the product. If it's an annoyance to them, tough, as product providers they ought to be a little bit more inter-active with their customers, methinks.
"We are sorry you feel that there has been a difference in the quality of recent issues of the James Bond Car Collection. That’s certainly not the intention. It has always been the case that some but not all of the cars feature figurines, and the complexity of the replica scenes varies according to the scene that we are able to recreate. Recent models are extremely similar to say issues 16, 17, 22, 21, 32, 35 and so on.
There are also some licensing issues relating to the use of certain actor’s licenses in the collection. This is why there are no figurines in the cars from the most recent movies. I hope you will be reassured to hear that there are several more complicated movie scenes in development and that there will be more figurines in the forthcoming releases. "
Oh well , better than expected with complicated movie scenes in development and figurines to look forward too !!
Brilliant - well done that man! {[] Great news that the figure and diorama side of things clearly hasn't been forgotten or isn't 'off the menu' as feared. It's also good that they are prepared to talk about the series in reasonably informative terms rather than the more remote and disinterested 'PR speak' that I mentioned. I think we all know who the 'certain actor' is too - and you can't blame him, in the movie game he could be out of work in ten years time so has good reason to claim licence fees for likenesses.