NG Models Rewards Program

[YesterAirlines]

To be honest I prefer a lower price for models in general without a reward program. It makes things more complicated and we probably pay for the "free" model anyway in one shape or form.

NG are price competitive with everyone else - hell in the UK they are cheaper than most. I don't see any reason to think the models would be cheaper without this and they aren't anymore expensive than before the cards were introduced.

 

[YesterAirlines]

I'm admittedly a bit meh on exclusive models. There's unlikely to be many choices, and knowing NG, the majority will inevitably be US/UK stuff. NG almost never releases airlines like SQ or CX, so there's no reason to believe they'll pop up as exclusives.

Free models sound great tho, hopefully NG has sorted things out with retailers.

Both Cathay and Singapore are quite aggressive when it comes to licensing so that might be the reason and and neither have many specials schemes active at present too. NG have made 5 SQ models and 4 CX models compared to say 8 LH so they have been made. I get your point though.

It's unclear whether the models will be exclusives or whether you can just choose a free model from existing releases.

 

[OscarBravo992]

It's unclear whether the models will be exclusives or whether you can just choose a free model from existing releases.

Personally, I'd prefer to choose a model from existing releases. As @pons399 said, I doubt many potential exclusive models would fit my criteria. Either way, I'll be grateful for what I can get.

 

[Purpleplane]

Personally, I'd prefer to choose a model from existing releases. As @pons399 said, I doubt many potential exclusive models would fit my criteria. Either way, I'll be grateful for what I can get.

I also would much rather be able to pick a model from existing releases.

 

[pons399]

Both Cathay and Singapore are quite aggressive when it comes to licensing so that might be the reason and and neither have many specials schemes active at present too. NG have made 5 SQ models and 4 CX models compared to say 8 LH so they have been made. I get your point though.

It's unclear whether the models will be exclusives or whether you can just choose a free model from existing releases.

Does NG care about licensing? I was under the impression it was a non-factor for them, and every other non-GJ brand. The TAP A330 seems to be their first licensed product.

 

[abdulmohiuddin]

NG are price competitive with everyone else - hell in the UK they are cheaper than most. I don't see any reason to think the models would be cheaper without this and they aren't anymore expensive than before the cards were introduced.

Here in Canada they're on par with Gemini with prices while stuff like Phoenix is like $25 more, which is appalling

 

[Purpleplane]

Does NG care about licensing? I was under the impression it was a non-factor for them, and every other non-GJ brand. The TAP A330 seems to be their first licensed product.

I don't think they're very concerned about licensing...for example, look at all of the Delta releases, and they have a pretty strict policy, been sending a lot of Cease and Desist letters.

 

[Barison82]

Does NG care about licensing? I was under the impression it was a non-factor for them, and every other non-GJ brand. The TAP A330 seems to be their first licensed product.

Their TAP L-1011-500 was the first I think?

 

[Barison82]

NG are price competitive with everyone else - hell in the UK they are cheaper than most. I don't see any reason to think the models would be cheaper without this and they aren't anymore expensive than before the cards were introduced.

Just a hypothetical choice scenario of what incentive could be offered - reward system vs. lower unit price, I know which one I’d choose but that’s not living in the real world and there’s no such thing as a free lunch…

 

[YesterAirlines]

Does NG care about licensing? I was under the impression it was a non-factor for them, and every other non-GJ brand. The TAP A330 seems to be their first licensed product.

I think they don't care that much but the closer to home you get and the more litigous a company is the more they care. The Sichuan Olympics A319 and Air China Olympics 737 plus the Boeing house 787 are good examples where they have been very careful and effectively disavowed the models. Delta being in the US have practically no grounds to do anything and their letters were very half-hearted. Cathay being in China and SQ being nearby are probably rather different kettles of fish but you're right to a degree. TAP are another level.

Other brands certainly do care. All those orange box pretend EW wings models JC make are for the same airlines - SQ, CX, NH. The reasoning is licensing. Not that they care but they want to avoid being pinged by the airlines.

Also all those BBX coded Aeroclassics for AA, DL etc are exactly the same. Removing the real brand and hiding behind a fake one even if obvious to us is a clear way to distance themselves.

Gemini care about licensing because they can be found in the US. AK probably to a degree too because he is resident in the US.

Regardless 9 models for SQ and CX considering the available moulds isn't a bad output anyway.

 

[LiveryCollector]

NG are price competitive with everyone else - hell in the UK they are cheaper than most. I don't see any reason to think the models would be cheaper without this and they aren't anymore expensive than before the cards were introduced.

Well here in NL they are usually more expensive. €50 for a AV400 A350 and €58 for the same NG one.

But I can imagine a few reasons why they might higher (or already did) their prices:

1. Additional cards.
2. Making and maintaining the infrastructure (website etc.) needed for the codes.
3. Extra personnel tasked with inventing the program and keeping it running and dealing with questions etc.

On top of that, the retailer might ask more for selling NG models because of time that they have to spend on it compared to other brands without.

Credits to NG and retailers if they would not higher their prices at all but I doubt that there is something like "free" from a business perspective in general.

Not that this program makes me buy less NG models but I prefer simplicity.

 

[YesterAirlines]

Well here in NL they are usually more expensive. €50 for a AV400 A350 and €58 for the same NG one.

But I can imagine a few reasons why they might higher (or already did) their prices:

1. Additional cards.
2. Making and maintaining the infrastructure (website etc.) needed for the codes.
3. Extra personnel tasked with inventing the program and keeping it running and dealing with questions etc.

On top of that, the retailer might ask more for selling NG models because of time that they have to spend on it compared to other brands without.

Credits to NG and retailers if they would not higher their prices at all but I doubt that there is something like "free" from a business perspective in general.

Not that this program makes me buy less NG models but I prefer simplicity.

I think it is more likely that the Aviation Megastore's pricing is just awful. I visited that shop and not only was their pricing very high but it was also inconsistent. Nice store but not one that I found to be focused on a good deal for the customer at all. If NG are higher in the Netherlands then I suspect they are 'clipping the ticket'. I know for example that NG's shipping prices to retailers are cheaper than JC Wings and Pandas.

 

[Mark22]

Avmega's prices are sometimes higher (maybe €1 or 2, but not much more for 1/400), but overall it's average + you can visit the shop to inspect the models yourself. With all the QC issues that manufacturers have these days, I much rather visit a physical store and see the model before buying, so I don't mind spending a tiny bit more.

 

[YesterAirlines]

Avmega's prices are sometimes higher (maybe €1 or 2, but not much more for 1/400), but overall it's average + you can visit the shop to inspect the models yourself. With all the QC issues that manufacturers have these days, I much rather visit a physical store and see the model before buying, so I don't mind spending a tiny bit more.

This quick comparison using existing preorders illustrates the difference and you can see it is more than a few Euros on all of these aside from the PHX A350. The prices in brackets are converted to Euros for UK and US store equivalents. Waffle's prices are even cheaper because everyone with an ounce of sense gets at least 10% off using a code which I didn't put on his prices.

I know you'd have to pay shipping to buy from elsewhere but that's not the point. The point is that prices at Aviation Megastore are not competitive. They also clearly show two others things:

1. They price larger 400 scale models like the A380 at a higher price than say an A350, which is pretty cheeky as we know the costs are the same as shown by the UK and US stores
2. Their NG prices are unrealistically higher than for other brands - and there's no really good reason for that either I am aware of



Visiting the stores is valuable but I'd rather shop at a well run online retailer like Bedfordshire who checks all his models before sending than a store like Aviation Megastore, which I know doesn't check its models at all and relies on you to do it for them.

A third point unrelated to the store in particular is that Gemini models are absurdly overpriced in Europe, including the UK.

 

[KL808]

Avmega's prices are sometimes higher (maybe €1 or 2, but not much more for 1/400), but overall it's average + you can visit the shop to inspect the models yourself. With all the QC issues that manufacturers have these days, I much rather visit a physical store and see the model before buying, so I don't mind spending a tiny bit more.

I was at the store myself last March and I agree with Richard that it’s a great store to visit and look but the prices are high compared to ordering online.

 

[Mark22]

Yeah I get jealous of American collectors as they have so many online retailers (that also resell used models), they often have much better prices and more rare models.

 

[KL808]

Yeah I get jealous of American collectors as they have so many online retailers (that also resell used models), they often have much better prices and more rare models.

I think waffle would be worth while if you order a bunch of models to combine shipping to NL

 

[Mark22]

Could have bought many models from them, but often there's only one or two models I want and we all know how fast they can dissapear. Anyway, this is getting off-topic, let's hope this reward program will work well.

 

[KL808]

Could have bought many models from them, but often there's only one or two models I want and we all know how fast they can dissapear. Anyway, this is getting off-topic, let's hope this reward program will work well.

Have you tried reaching out to waffles customer service and try to arrange something like a quarterly shipping? So you buy models here and there and at each quarter they would mail you your purchases?

 

[YesterAirlines]

Have you tried reaching out to waffles customer service and try to arrange something like a quarterly shipping? So you buy models here and there and at each quarter they would mail you your purchases?

Waffle's not renowned for his customer service. I don't think he'd be up for that