[Closed] The new L.E. FM 1936 ford Convertible with trailer looks cool!

Key word is CUSTOM..... You can do anything with a custom...

You are right. The paint is wrong, the trailer doesn't match, (forget about the fact that the trailer didn't exist back then), and some people praise the looks of this new model, and this is coming from those who jumped all over DM for NOT having power window controls in the 48 Buick CV. Talk about double standards....... WOW ....

But we need these guys to be in Business

Calling for abandonment isn't the answer. Brian is having trouble over the Sweet Sixteen Cadillac and he has Almost 1000 committed. Remember it is on the back Burner along with the Olds, I really want that Olds! D4C editions run 600, 750, 900 so how much do you want to pay for that exclusivity? D4C Specials with no possibility of re use of mold which means we have to own the mold. That would drive pricing up around $300 to $500 @ 900 pcs & 600 pieces respectively. It is about money, that's why they are in business, not just something to do. Everyone from the owners to the stockholders have some right to a "Return on Their Investment" in any business. Businesses today face a lot of hurdles to even make the first buck, I don't deny them that. A Bank CD pays 5% so why not put the money in the bank instead of going through all of these things to make a buck? Overhead is tremendous, think of all of the "CUSTOMER SERVICE" time we car nuts take up of FM & DM time alone. I want exclusive models too but our numbers are not high enough to guarantee that any manufacturer won't use the molds again to produce something they can make some money on. The MOLDS average $125,000.00 divided by 1,000 means they have to charge $125 per car just to break even and that does not include any allowances for Defectives (remember the fuss over the 57 Cadillac), Customer Service, Offices, Computers & Office supplies, Warehousing, Shipping, Returns (just because you decided after they sent it you did not like it that much, really subjective), Wages they pay someone to answer the phone, do warehouse tasks and to pack and address your model, Insurance so they have some protection if the building burns or gets flooded, Employee Benefits like Health Insurance, Taxes(the Government always their slice), Code enforcement or the constant requirements of Cities/States, Advertising, Mail, Catalogs, Flyers Promotions like Pebble Beach/Hershey show Displays & or Booths ( booth Fees for a show run $5,000 for a 10X10 size, think about what we take for granted)& the Chineese Manufacturer wants to make a profit too! ALL OF THOSE THINGS MUST BE CONSIDERED! ALL OF THOSE THINGS ARE PAID FOR FROM A % OF YOUR PURCHASE! Hey NO PROBLEM! Don't get me wrong TFM has done a lot of things that are Not Kosher in my book but without them making money, they won't make cars for us, it's that simple. The same holds true for any manufacturer or they won't be here to make anything for us. I just don't want to see the prices go through the roof, they are almost too high now and the only way to get cost down is to sell more volume or take content out or reduce service. DM service is the best FM well? but they are trying to fix it. Re-Paints allow them an opportunity to cash in, sell more cars they already paid for the mold so more money goes into the Kitty thats why they had this colossal anouncement of 4-5 "New Cars" the jury is still out over the Steamer, Jeez I hope it is a 1/24th but as stated before Odds is it is not. Off the Soap BOX your Turn!

8 3/4 inches not 1:24??? The Coupe Simone is over 9" long......

Well stated David, but if you look at the LECCs, most of them were made from existing molds (with minor modifications) and thus did not require a major investment outlay. What gets me is the cloning (or nearly so as in car/trailer combo) after the release of the LECCs that I disagree with....... They, the LECCs, were marketed as being exclusive and unique to club members and members only... Maybe we should blame the club directors for the misleading sales promos..... JMO
I guess I have said enuff.......

Just a nit...

There is only one Continental convertible, or did I miss something?

Exactly...the Coupe Simone being the biggest 1/24 TFM makes by a margin.

The Steamer should be closer to 6 inches long by my estimation.

OOps...... right..... (for now).....

Yes, but the trailer...

Was an all new tool requiring new molds, which couldn't have been cheap. Not as costly as the tooling for a new car, but still not inexpensive. And I doubt that the premium club members paid for the LECC was enough to amortize FM's cost for it. So this is probably a simple case of their trying to recoup what they spent on it. And unless the Club had it in writing that the trailer would never be issued again to the general public, they're perfectly entitled to do so. A little underhanded? Perhaps. But again, they have to try and keep from going bankrupt, and this is part of that. And "unique" has different shades of meaning to different people... most would probably say that the paint color on the LECC and its trailer qualifies it as such. If FM ever issued that car and that trailer in that exact color scheme to the general public, then I'd say there was a legitimate beef. But otherwise, I just can't see getting too upset about it. JMO

Excellent points, and I'll add one more.

I think maybe we can tend to get too hung up on the "collectibility" or exclusivity of a diecast. So much so that when our diecast is redone in a different color, or as in this case a different year is done with an almost identical trailer, we can feel like we've been taken advantage of, or we feel that our own diecast has lost some of its appeal or exclusivity. In the case of the Ford with the trailer, personally I would absolutely not care if I had the Club piece and then saw this one. Come on, they're different folks. I just don't get why there is such a stirring up about it. I only see my collection as adult toys. They're not exclusive to me, other than they reflect what I like as far as autos. I don't have to hang on to any of them. And I surely won't let me collection hang on to ME. LOL! I will keep what I have and enjoy them. When the enjoyment is gone, I'll sell them for whatever the market bears. So FM can do all the repaints they want. And redo LEs with changes, too. It just doesn't bother me in the least. I'll buy what I like, and like what I buy, despite all the petty stuff the mints might do. There are really so many more important things in life to focus on or be concerned about. JMO.

You are Correct My point was if we want something absolutely exclusive then we must pay for it start -ing with the Mold or Die used to manufacture "OUR Special". That is what we face. I loved the Idea of a Ford Woodie (Available from DM) and a Chris Craft Boat (New Mold) sitting on a trailer (Also New Mold) but at what cost?? Do we have enough members who will buy because as the price climbs the subscribers of that issue decline.
Read that as if it is $150.00 usual price, we get about 750 Buyers equalling $112,500.00 but if the price is $300 then maybe it is 400 buyers equalling $120,000.00 and at $500 my guess is half that or only 200 buyers Now 200 buyers of a $500 dollar edition only produces $100,000.00 The best pay out or supposed optimum would be the 400 at $300.00. That Ford with Boat is much more complex and requires more molds. The time to do pattern work is more than Double even if the trailer doesn't take much in metal or such. It does not pencil out unless they can sell some more of them elsewhere. History shows us that our D4C cars are the items someone else paid (Franklin MInt) for the molds so what we really have are Re-Paints with some minor changes, slight to more complex (Trailer)but each change has a cost, we only rented their mold to make our run. Jay Olins might want to re-coup his mold investment sometime after it is made too! Then would he sell our molds? Ah the price of exclusivity! What a can of worms. Have a Great Day!
The Soap Box is Yours.

Right on Patrick

Jerry

I don't think there should be so much groussing because the D4C Cars are specifically our colors and the offerings later lack the initial impact and uniqueness, thus they are "Gee I saw that before only in another color" The D4C cars don't necessarly "lose value" and after all, unless you are buying them for "Investment, Profit Resale" who cares. The statement has been made before "I buy my toys for my enjoyment" not for re-sale so my purchase was made for the reason of I liked it! and if someone later puts out another color which out does the original, I may purchase that one too. I usually don't do Re-Paints however I do own one.

Bob, I agree What are we doing building a collection for enjoyment of the automobile or is the "collection" driving us to have every one for whatever the reason. Seems the "collection" that drives us is no longer the hobby we started to relax and enjoy? I'm not into selling stuff and I admit I have been tempted to buy things I did not like only to be able to say I have them all, that ended a long time ago when the space and dollars made it necessary to choose what I was buying!

I also buy for enjoyment and not for investment. I have sold only one ( 1 ) model that I purchased only because I boo-booed and ended up with a duplicate. I still have one of the two and will not part with it. What I don't understand is the collector that says he isn't in it for the money and then has a model modified to make it a one-off and then puts it up for sale for 10 times his total cost and totes it as 'highly collectable'. I do not believe any of us would give our collection away and say that the money didn't matter because he enjoyed the collection so much.........