To relaunch the 1:500 scale market and to try to revitalize an aircraft collecting sector that had clearly been dying for many years, something that all the most attentive and critical collectors can see, except for those few who continued and continue to defend Herpa tooth and nail without any critical spirit and contenting themselves with a handful of Lufthansa, Emirates, Qantas and C-17s, A330MRRTs, and C-5As, many proposals have been made in the past, both by myself and by other important collectors around the world. These proposals were sent both to the old Herpa management and to the great Mr. Borgmann and to the new management and to Mr. Kuelgen.
1) Create a low-cost brand to stem the unstoppable price hike and prevent an ever-increasing number of collectors from abandoning the 1:500 scale. A low-cost brand based on F-Toys-type models, a "luxury plastic" brand with perfect replicas of real aircraft, but made of plastic, with much more detail on the fuselage and improved landing gear. Prices would be halved, at least 30% lower, despite the excellent quality, even though they're made of plastic.
2) Transform all old generation models (about a thousand between B737-200/300/400/500/600/700/800, B757-200/200F, B767-200/300, B767-300F, B777-200/300, B747-200/300/400, B747-200F/400F, B727-100/200, B727-100F/200F, DC-10/10F, MD-11/11F, L-1011, MD-80/87
A319/320/321, A300, A310, A330-200/300, A340-200/300) into new generation models using next-generation molds with state-of-the-art landing gear and leveraging the licenses still held for older models and defunct airlines for years. It would have taken years of work and a wonderful relaunch, especially since the vast majority of Herpa old generation models, despite having older molds and rolling gears, are wonderful models of iconic airlines.
3) Create a truly exclusive Wings Club with exclusive models available only to members, offering discounts on regular production, but only for members, to encourage true membership.
4) Relaunch the 1400 scale. Herpa has produced and occasionally produces good 1400 scale models, and although mostly made of plastic, in my opinion it ranks fourth or fifth after NGModels, Gemini, and Phoenix. It could forcefully enter the 1:400 market by creating high-quality models at truly competitive prices for the 1:400 scale, offering a valid alternative to lesser-quality manufacturers.
5) Listen to our customers—us, the customers—the millions of collectors who buy Herpa models worldwide, with online questionnaires, questions and answers in English, and attentiveness to our customers' desires and dreams.
6) Create a special online repository to collect collectors' requests, so we can take them seriously and bring them to life by producing the most popular and sought-after airlines and models. In fact, the voting system for the most popular and desired models, liveries, and airlines should be recreated, allowing collectors (perhaps club members) and customers to vote.
7) Share the marketing strategy and licensing policy, without delving into company policy, of course, to understand why it is so difficult to obtain licenses at 1:500 scale. Whether it is a matter of greed on the part of Herpa, which wants to earn too much compared to what it offers the airline, or whether it is a problem of the appeal of the 1:500 scale compared to the 1:400 scale.
8) Involve collectors registered with the new Wings Club in marketing decisions, always respecting their roles and market laws, to involve the collecting world in Herpa's decisions.
9) Greater transparency in communication. Timely disclosure of which airlines have granted licenses, greater communication regarding quality control and pricing trends.
There has never been a response to all this, demonstrating an arrogance that has led and is leading to the absurd "failure" situation regarding the 1:500 scale where the disgust and irritation of collectors are now well-known, with an ever-increasing diaspora towards the 1:400 scale.
