Is scale 1;500 now defunct ?

[Geoff]

Thank you for your note.As far as I'm aware there are only 2 shops in Dublin that have any stocks of Herpa and then very few as they don't sell very well here in Ireland. I might stand a better chance going into Northern Ireland. The next best thing is to stay on this website for a while longer and see how things go. Kind regards, Geoff

[fleetlordatvar]

Other than physically moving, you can do a more thorough search in your home country to find someone or a group to meet in person. Other than this i can only think of continuing online in some form.

[Geoff]

Thank you for at least posting something up. I truly don't know whether to carry on on this website or call it a day. I must admit I've had great fun on here and have been glad to meet kindred spirits such as yourself. I do feel very much cut off living, as I do, in Ireland, where very few people have such a hobby as I do . I would appreciate your comments over this. Kind regards, Geoff

[fleetlordatvar]

????????????

[Geoff]

WHO CARES !

[Geoff]

If I knew how to set up such a forum I'd be quite happy to do that. To put what I asked earlier into perspective, I give an example of what I'm on about. I have in my collection a model Boeing 747-200 that was used by Boeing as the flying test bed for the then new Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 for the new Dreamliner. I have it in the scale 1;500 which as I understand it is now rare as it's now only made in the scale 1;400, and I can only find one for sale, and that in the United States. The one I have is not accurate in that all four engines are the same size instead of number 2 engine being larger. I keep the model more as a novelty, but not in my normal display. I agree with you that the phrase "other" can mean anything these days, but can understand why it's quoted that way. Perhaps I should become less reliant on Herpa and look elsewhere, but I find that other makers charge more, and like all things in life, you get what you pay for. As to your remark about scale preferences, I note that there are more 1;400 scale models in the States, and in Europe more 1;500, or perhaps I'm not looking in the right places to get an accurate take on this. Anyway, I'll keep looking, and buying those models that make, and keep me happy.

[Siegerflieger]

Why don't you bring all your 1/500 collectors to an actual functioning forum instead of putting up w/ the degradation at the main forum

I guess it would help if this site had a dedicated 1:500 section. Listing discussions under "other" doesn't really make anyone feel welcome. Even this discussion wasn't posted there!

Scale preferences seem to vary greatly by country.

Besides Herpa (ca. 250 releases in 2013), there is currently also Sky500 (ca. 20), Hogan (ca. 7), JC Wings (1; already 3 in 2014), who release far less models, but still contribute nicely to collections.

So, in Mark Twain's words: "The report of my death was an exaggeration."

[Brusselsairlines]

EDIT: greetings

[Brusselsairlines]

Hello everybody, I'm currently visiting the city of HongKong and here too, lots of 1:500's are sold! No so many as 1:400 but still a lot! By the way, it's funny because I saw on antother forum the question; "why is 1:500 so popular"? Funny Greetongs from HK.

[Geoff]

Totally agree with you on all counts. May we all live long and prosperous lives, and have fun doing it

[eugenevh]

lol - Now your last comment about a 'grown man buying toys' have been a huge debating point on some of the forums I read. It seems you are either on the one side or on the other.
I see them as expensive toys, but toys they are. If you want a real plane, then you need to get one from Boeing or Airbus or one from the smattering of smaller manufacturers.

It might still be a collection, but in my view it will always be a collection of toys. Not an investment per se.
Some models might bring you a profit a couple of years down the line, others you might not be able to give away to a charity.

In any case, I kind of have a huge distaste towards people who speculate with my hobby as they make it more difficult for me personally to get the models which are seemingly produced in ever diminishing numbers. A term has been coined on another forum : PANIC BUYING! It seems some models in certain scales are almost sold out before they are even freely available in the market place. Welcome to the club of Panic Buyers and Men who spend large amounts of money on toys they treat like gems

[Geoff]

Thank you for your very kind and much appreciated message. I fully agree with you re the issuing NEW and UPDATED models all with the same item number. I've already fallen into that trap once.One particular model springs to mind, the Boeing 747-8i, the first edition of which was a disgrace.Where was quality control when they let that out ?. I complained to Herpa and they did eventually replace it but this is bad also, but better than nothing. In this case they gave the item number 516068 for the first model, and then with the second model the number was 516068-001, same plane, same reg, same name. I also agree that I buy them with my money, they keep me happy, and others may giggle at a grown man buying toys(?) I care not one jot.

[eugenevh]

I started out in 1:500, but then saw that for my particular scheme's I wanted at that stage (South African only) that 1:400 and 1:200 has seemingly a bit more variety to offer.
Another thing which put me off 1:500 actually is the Version 1, Version 2, Version 3 business I saw in the database. My question is why don't they do the mold right the first time? Or if you bring out a better mold, then give a different registration.

At the end of the day I decided to only stick to 1:400 and 1:200 as that is already taxing enough on the budget.

I don't think 1:500 is dead at all. 1:200 is great, but the space issue will catch up to most. Yes, you can rotate your displays, but what if you want to display all models at once, then it does become a bit tricky. 1:400 seems to have the most current manufacturers, but that could change in the near future.

As stated previously, it isn't a waste of money. I still have a couple of 1:500 models which hasn't seen the light of day in other scales (excluding customs now), and they are just as lovely to look at than the others I have.

I don't think you have to worry at all that 1:500 will disappear. There are a lot of collectors who have a lot of vested interest in that scale which will see it grow for a long time still.
If you were a 1:600 collector however, that would have been another story entirely. I have a couple of Schabak 1:600 and in my view they are just too small and in my view appear a bit crude at times. Ok, it could be my eyesight to blame there so if you are a 1:600 collector just blame my eyesight :-)
I've seen some collectors with amazing airport dioramas in 1:600 though (Swiss I can think of for now) and it does appear very nice from a distance.

Geoff, as Fleetlord rightly stated, simply enjoy your 1:500 collection. You worked for it and you paid good money for it and nothing should take away your enjoyment of it.

My mantra as always on forums are : It DOESN'T MATTER what OTHERS think about your collection. YOU are the one who should be happy with it. And importantly, you DON'T NEED VALIDATION form anyone else to feel good about that or anything about yourself in life. When people try to put you down it could well be because you appear as a 'threat' to their view of themselves.

[fleetlordatvar]

got it. maybe a little passionate about your scale preference. Np, it happens to us all eventually.

[Geoff]

Thank you for your comments re the 1;500 scale. I have learned a lot by my one query, and will look more for the scale I want from Scale Model Store in Holland. I've been looking at some of the planes now up for sale/auction on E-bay and discover a lot of items are based on planes now flying in the U.S.S.R/Russia which are of no interest to me, but to each his own I say. I have gained a lot of information from all of you, and thank you for your help. I now think it's time to move on and bring this matter to a close.