Like most have said already, in terms of liveries, Phoenix is not afraid of anything, and it keeps knocking it out of the park consistently every month. We all know their molds are not the best available. However, they are not the only ugly molds out there, just the ones that for whatever reason get attacked the most. More importantly, seems like by and large the people that like the models still get them regardless the passionate comments that follow every killer release set they announce. So, kudos to the collectors that still buy what makes them happy, I know sometimes it can be difficult to focus on the selection process of what is it that you truly want to add to your collection, with all the noise going on online.
Now, I personally would like to talk about something slightly different, but applicable to this situation.
Clearly, collectors want more classic releases than what it is being offered. We want airframes from the eighties and nineties wearing the iconic liveries from that era. By and large, this hobby is about nostalgia, and models are a way to keep alive cherished memories of the airplanes that you can’t see taxiing around an airport or flying overhead anymore. Sure, there are many young collectors fabricating their own memories right now, so they want die-cast models of current aircraft types and liveries. But watch most of those collectors wanting those same types and liveries of today ten years from now, and most manufacturers not releasing them anymore under the “it’s already been done” argument (history has a way of repeating itself).
Phoenix is the only brand that seems to recognize the importance of exploiting nostalgia, and their release sets seem to come from a JustPlane’s video, or an Airliners.net gallery showing images of Kai Tak, or Heathrow and JFK in the eighties, nineties and aughts.
We all know that JC owns a wide repertoire of molds, the majority of excellent, or at least better, quality than the Phoenix counterparts (at least the ones that matter, 741/2/3/4, MD-11s), and wherever that isn’t true, NG is usually able to come to the rescue (think TU-154, A330).
We all also know - based on hints that have been popping up (by more than one person) on recent discussions across multiple social outlets - that the reason JC is not joining Phoenix in exploiting the nostalgia gold mine - with their superb molds of contemporary classic airliners - is because they are on a short leash by GJ, who seemingly gets off when they see their older releases (of which they haven’t even produced that many) going for absurd prices on the second-hand market. Bravo GJ for clearing the path for Phoenix to thrive on the nostalgia market, they are not shy, you can keep playing with yourself while watching eBay.
As far as NG does, I personally think that they are showing that they are new in the business after all. They are like a young talented sports player that doesn’t know which team is best for them. NG sees the big names JC/GJ and AC abstaining from releasing the long-sold out classics, for which there is huge (new) demand still, so they emulate. Probably, not completely realizing that they are too just handing out a very lucrative market to Phoenix.
You know what I think about preserving a model’s value: As far as I am concerned, there can be an unlimited supply of rare models out there and I could not care less, the more the merrier. What really makes me happy is looking at my shelves drinking coffee in the mornings (or something else in the evenings) and indulging in a bit of nostalgia. Sometimes I also enjoy impressing myself with the examples produced on the really nice molds, and I also enjoy coming up with the very thoughts that I lay here when I compare the really nice pieces with the less nice ones (they are all nice) and question why that is. That is what I enjoy. I don’t care for eBay bidding wars, and my blood boils a little every time someone posts a glorified toy airplane on Facebook and shamelessly asks $100 for it.
Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the first time that human egos and greed get in the way of development and offering what is truly beneficial for society in general.
