Jeffshiu's Miniatures 120mm 'Fallschirmjager w/Anti Tank Rifle'
- Thread starter pinkfloyd
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Grod
A Fixture
Great set Jeff.
Gordon
Gordon
bigtodd
PlanetFigure Supporter
Oh wow! I put my order in, fingers crossed I'm in under the 50 mark.
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Great release, original concept but questionable marketing in my opinion.
Hypothetical concept: One or more “trusted customers” buy it then at some point down the line decide they’re not going to paint it after all, so sell it on eBay. Could end up anywhere.
I get the thinking behind it but if every producer went down that road, they would never gain any new customers and the hobby would soon end up every bit as dead as some fear it could be due to recasters. It’s also a bit insulting, frankly. No different to going into a shop and being told that they won’t serve you because you’re not a long term or “trusted” customer. Anyone did that with me, my immediate response would be to tell them to do one and I’d never go back. Even if I’d bought from there before and liked what they were selling.
- Steve
Hypothetical concept: One or more “trusted customers” buy it then at some point down the line decide they’re not going to paint it after all, so sell it on eBay. Could end up anywhere.
I get the thinking behind it but if every producer went down that road, they would never gain any new customers and the hobby would soon end up every bit as dead as some fear it could be due to recasters. It’s also a bit insulting, frankly. No different to going into a shop and being told that they won’t serve you because you’re not a long term or “trusted” customer. Anyone did that with me, my immediate response would be to tell them to do one and I’d never go back. Even if I’d bought from there before and liked what they were selling.
- Steve
Tommy Brown
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sd0324
A Fixture
Redcap
A Fixture
An unusual business model as you say Steve but ultimately, his business, his decision. I do wonder however what the mechanism is for getting 'onto the list' and inner sanctum and also, what is 'Plan B' for when his current 50 x 'band of brothers' start to die off or, even possibly at sometime in the future abandons the hobby due to family/health/economic reasons etc. or even, a simple change in era and genre of interest for the modeller(s). Is there a waiting list to join on a one in - one out basis and how do you get onto said list...? Is it by invitation only..?
Also, are there 50 people out there who will buy each and every single piece produced irrespective of subject, pose, number of figures, scale, cost etc...?
This is taking fear of recasting to another level and I think other manufactures have already all but negated loss and risk to them by adapting to the real and not an ideal world environment by having limited runs of figures (available to all) so they recoup their investment, make a return and profit that they are content with and then if the re-casters later get hold of the piece, then business damage is kept to a bare minimum. The other sound tactic as well of course is to sell figures in quick limited runs and at a price which means any saving (if any) is all but negligible if you buy a poor recast figure from the criminals.
One excellent UK manufacturer I can think of is very savvy and pragmatic in this respect and appears to have all but eliminated the re-caster risk to his business.
I don't paint WW2 Germans/ US so this is of no consequence to me and Jeff himself will have to decide if this revision of his business model works or not.
Either way, he is a talent so his work will hopefully always be in demand to those with an interest in that genre. I wish him well.
Gary
Zastrow.cuirassier
PlanetFigure Supporter
Great as always !
AJLaFleche
A Fixture
I get the idea and rationale, but why promote it beyond an email to the trusted customers? If I saw it and were interested in it then found I was not going to be able to get it, I'd be quite frustrated with Mr. Shiu
Redcap
A Fixture
Quite and I suppose it also now begs the overt question as to why use PF as a platform to promote and advertise these products if the 'ordinary' members are then not allowed nor indeed "trusted" to buy them less we recast them..? Presumably, he may as well just email his referred to 50 preferred customers directly and completely take PF out of the loop..?
Gary
you can look but do not touch!
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Could even have the opposite effect to what he intends. If guys wanting his figures think they’re only going to get knocked back if they’re not one of the “chosen few” (or if they do approach him and then get knocked back), they could quite simply not bother and just go straight to a recaster and get them there instead.
It strikes me as a muddle-headed strategy on all sorts of levels.
bigtodd
PlanetFigure Supporter
Or...... It is his business and he has a successful business model. I and many others have bought dozens of his figures and keep going back for more. Just like Gary mentioned above.
Also I look at it as a special release kinda thing. If I don't make the cutoff, then oh well. I still have to order all of Jeff's D-day figures and Tiger I riders.
I keep going back and eyeing the "75mm Cuirassiers vs Square set," and "the French Infantryman, 1807 - Ferminiature," or " The Archers 100mm (fingers crossed) Dolman Miniatures."
Lots of stuff out there that I want to throw my money at so overall, "No worries!" Let's keep sculpting and painting. Wooohooo.
Also I look at it as a special release kinda thing. If I don't make the cutoff, then oh well. I still have to order all of Jeff's D-day figures and Tiger I riders.
I keep going back and eyeing the "75mm Cuirassiers vs Square set," and "the French Infantryman, 1807 - Ferminiature," or " The Archers 100mm (fingers crossed) Dolman Miniatures."
Lots of stuff out there that I want to throw my money at so overall, "No worries!" Let's keep sculpting and painting. Wooohooo.
Richie
A Fixture
Totally agree Gaz.
Just send email alerts to the inner circle and leave the rest of us untrustworthy thieving b.....s alone.To be honest, personally I'm fed up with his posts and the way he treats good modellers who have been in the hobby years
in particular totally blanking them.
Tecumsea
PlanetFigure Supporter
Best way to ensure that your item will be recast in the future is to limit it to 50 copies. Especially given the popularity of the genre.
However if you can make 50, sculpt them yourself and sell for a profit then hit the road and what the recasters do is irrelevant.
Keith
However if you can make 50, sculpt them yourself and sell for a profit then hit the road and what the recasters do is irrelevant.
Keith
Next it'll be...there is a number (1-50) sculpted on the bottom of a boot. With the hope that if it gets recast, he'll know where it's from.
Like it wouldn't get scrubbed or filled. Look at firearms and their serial no.s...
I emailed him...I'm still trying to find out if I'm a trusted or non-trusted buyer.
I can't seem to buy anything from him lately limited or not - much less, even get an answer or any communication from him.
Steve
Like it wouldn't get scrubbed or filled. Look at firearms and their serial no.s...
I emailed him...I'm still trying to find out if I'm a trusted or non-trusted buyer.
I can't seem to buy anything from him lately limited or not - much less, even get an answer or any communication from him.
Steve
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