While shaking my head at the plethora of car kits in the
model section of the toy department at Wal-Mart, I saw
another plane kit from the 21st Century Toys model
company. This one is the JU 87 B/R STUKA.

Wal-mart had two kits on the shelf.

I was looking for the Corsair, but went back and settled for
the Stuka.

A woman at "Customer Service" told me four Corsair kits would
be in over the next few days. :hat:

I'll be purchasing one of them, as well.

I picked a couple Corsairs and a Zero kit. Haven't started them yet. Did not look too bad for $10. I do have a couple preassembled 1/32 Corsairs.

I've completed the Zero.
It is a nicely engineered kit. It almost stays together without glue.
However, where I did use glue, the glue merely dried. It did not
melt and fuse the plastic like other plastic kits. Whatever type
of plastic 21st Century Toys uses, it is resistant to the model glue
that comes in the red tube.
I'm considering using Superglue for the Stuka.

Thanks for the tip. I had read that somewhere before. Would that apply to the Corsair also?

I hope not, but probably.
I would assume the company makes all the kits from the same
stock plastic.
Looking at my finished Zero, I see that the wings have split open
along the entire length of the seam. :(

Must be that cracking noise I hear at night. :p

Only use superglue....My Miacchi fell apart after a week! $@$%$%%

My guess is the plastic is probably ABS- possibly Ambroid Pro Weld, Plastruct Plastic Weld, or any other solvent cement with methylene chloride in it would work. Also, are these kits available anywhere other than Wal Marts?
Andrew

The-Nightsky sadly reported:Only use superglue....My Miacchi fell apart after a week! $@$%$%%
Sorry to hear it.
I guess I get to experience the fun of re-building my Zero soon! :p :freak:

Andrew Gorman wrote: My guess is the plastic is probably ABS- possibly Ambroid Pro Weld, Plastruct Plastic Weld, or any other solvent cement with methylene chloride in it would work. Also, are these kits available anywhere other than Wal Marts?
Thanks for the tip.
I only have one model shop near me, and I didn't see these kits the
last time I was there.

I have only seen them in WM

The Corsairs are in!
I picked up an F4U - 1A/D kit today! :hat:

I have only seen them at WM. Seems to me that many times WM will require being the exlusive seller of a product to be the requisite for buying if from a supplier.

to(m)

Sounds like a good deal for 21st Century Toys!

I called the company, and for about the next 6 months or so, WalMart will be the only seller.
I haven't found the Bf-109 yet, but I've got the other four. The Corsair and the Stuka are a grey styrene, the Zero and Macchi are a translucent cream color. I used straight MEK for my glue (like Testors liquid cement but stronger...) and haven't had any problems with the bonding.

Overall, the kits are well engineered and a steal for the price. The instrument panels are a little lacking detail wise, but that's the only drawback I've found so far. The Corsair is my favorite in terms of detailing and finish.

Also, the Zero kit is not the A6M2 model 21 listed on the box... It is and A6M3 model 22. The cowl is completely different, and the model 22 has two additional cannons in the wings. This kit is also the most difficult in terms of getting the wings glued up. I had to remove the landing gear retaining ridges from the upper wings just to get the seam to close.

I called the company, and for about the next 6 months or so, WalMart will be the only seller.
I haven't found the Bf-109 yet, but I've got the other four.

The Bf-109 is the only one that is sittng on the shelves around here

Just recently came across this thread and it seems a bit old, but our Wally World off and on had the 21st Century Model kits from 1/72, 1/48, 1/32 and now 1/18 but as soon as they went on the shelves, they went to the discount aile where I picked up the #10163 P-40B Tomahawk, for like $25.00 During the holidays they had the ME 262/P-51 combo for $28, but now has discounted thos as well.. I had a problem with my left stablizer not fitting tight so I use CA glue, (standard equipment for my RC car racing, LOL).

Has this company discontinue producing their kits, I am serching for a P-51D Mustang at a reasonable price??

I checked the www.21stcenturytoys.com website, and they list the
P-51D Mustang in 1:32 scale. The page for it is here:

http://www.21stcenturytoys.com/area21/articles.asp?newsID=297

The date for this news is December 10, 2007, so the kits should
be out there somewhere.

In the "Tragedy at Wal-Mart" thread, I mentioned my local
Wal-Mart discontinued all kits. Just before Christmas, I looked
again, and all kits were gone. It's too bad. 21st Century Toys
has a kit for the ME-262B-1A/U1 listed on their home page.

I would like to have been able to buy that.
Now, I don't know where to get one.

Have you checked Ebay, I know the shipping can be a bit much, but I did find several of the 1/18 scale Mustangs, I wouldn't mind a 1/32 scale version but the 1/18 are so huge, and when I was growing up, the largest model I recall building was either 1/24 or 1/28, but that was so long ago, like earlier 70's.

I'm still trying to figure out what is going on with WalMart. About a month ago, the woman who stocks the shelves told me that models were being discontinued. This didn't make much sense to me, as these were the one item in the toy section that didn't sit on the shelf.

I called the WalMart corporate office to ask what was going on, and sure enough, the manager of the local store called me back and and assured me that neither he nor anyone at the corporate offices had heard anything about this.

Earlier in the day, I called 21st Century to get their take, and they said that not only were the models going to continue to be sold at WM, but they were in the process of getting a distributor for model shops and other retailers.

Of course, now there are no models at my local WalMart, so I guess I'm going to have to get on the phone again... but at least 21st Century kits should be available at one retailer or another.

The new mold 21st century P-51D has been showing up on the west coast and midwest. This is not a model in the strict sense. It is a prebuilt with some assembly required but they are nice in any case. The P-51B/C has been the nicest so far.
As far as WM and models, our WM keep the area well stocked until mid-December. Now there are only 3 or 4 kits and a half dozen bottles of paint. Other toys have been moved into 2/3s of the area previously occupied by models

Nothing at my Walmarts....Including the supercenters.... acouple of car kits but thats it. The only thing 21st century they have is some action figures and a few of the 1/144th dogfight series....this is really starting to suck. I did manage to score the c-202 and the zero.....Thats it. Never saw the stuka:(

They're all gone at my Wal-Mart Supercenter in (near) Tucson.
All I managed to get was one Zero, Corsair, and Stuka each. :(

I had a prebuilt 1/32 P-51D in my hand at Wal Mart three nights ago in Scherreville Indiana. The thing is that distribution from WM is spotty at best and all stores do not get them. As far as the 1/32nd scale unbuilt kits. I am looking forward to the soon to be released wave of P-51B, FW190-D, etc. Roy Sutherland is product manager at 21stC and he posted a few weeks ago on Hyperscale that WM will NOT carry the kits any longer do to discontinuation of all models. They would still stock the Prebuilts though!

Max Bryant

I had a prebuilt 1/32 P-51D in my hand at Wal Mart three nights ago in Scherreville Indiana. The thing is that distribution from WM is spotty at best and all stores do not get them. As far as the 1/32nd scale unbuilt kits. I am looking forward to the soon to be released wave of P-51B, FW190-D, etc. Roy Sutherland is product manager at 21stC and he posted a few weeks ago on Hyperscale that WM will NOT carry the kits any longer do to discontinuation of all models. They would still stock the Prebuilts though!

Max Bryant

Did Roy mention if any of the major retailers would carry the new releases of the 21st Century kits
Thanks

Did Roy mention if any of the major retailers would carry the new releases of the 21st Century kits
Thanks

Unfortunately he did not. I hope he does when the kits are ready. I had a hard enough time getting the ones that Wal Mart carried. I am sure he will give up a source.

Cheers,
Max Bryant

Roll Models has a few available-
http://www.rollmodels.com
Andrew

...discontinuation of all models...

WHAT?!! WHAT?!! :eek:
I just found a cheap source for World War II airplanes,
and now they're discontinued?!! :confused:

D'Oh!

Darn...I showed up way too late to this post...didt even get to see them at my Wal Mart!

Well, I have four Wal-Mart stores within driving distance of my home. Only one ever had a model section (It is empty now) and only that WM had any paints available (These were the cool paints from "House of Kolor") It would seem that whether the "Powers that Be" are aware or not, WM is not stocking any models anymore. 21st Century kits or otherwise.

The same WM has also stopped stocking recent Star Wars figures and has the pegs filled with figures that have been out since 2005, so I get really annoyed and depressed when I go there now.

Hey Guys,

I found several 21st Century 1/18 WW II planes via Ebay, I know the shipping can be a beast, but if you're looking for something, you might find it here..

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZbeeninboots

Did Roy mention if any of the major retailers would carry the new releases of the 21st Century kits
Thanks


The 21st Century customer service rep I talked to a month ago said that they had just about finalized a distribution deal to start selling their kits nationwide at other retailers and hobby shops, so hopefully that will still go through. He also said that all of the original model kits should be available, including the 109F and C.202 (the 109G-14 and C.205 were in the second run of kits).

What I don't understand about the WM decision is that models were the only thing in their toy sections that never sat on the shelf. The only thing I can think of is maybe Revellogram's new owners decided to get into a unit cost battle of wills with WalMart... who knows?

Checked a few WM this morning. Most have no 21st Century kits left. One had a Zero markd down to $7 (got it) and another had several prepainted kits - Sherman, Long Tom, 8" Howitzer, German 2 Ton truck, German Halftrack marked down to $13 from $14.96 (I will wait on these to see if they discount further

I've seen those, they're always gone when I go, though I picked up 2 Revell kits, a 1/48 Spitfire & Spirit of St.Louis for $3.50 each.

I was in our local Walmart, and found 6, 1/18 21st Cen P-51 Mustang "Old Crow". They looked as if they had been stored in their stockrooms for a long time due to the accessive dust on top of them, I picked up one today for $25. Is this model rare, cuz I was wondering, these planes had tons of dust on them and who knows how long they had been in the back??


Thanks!!

I visit at least 4 Wal Marts and this Christmas none of them seemed to have the 1/18th planes or much else 21st Century stuff. I did find an orange F-104 for 25.00 last weekend but I already have the German marking version.
I have seen old crow over the last year so no I don't think that it is rare or anything.
25.00 is a good price. If you are thinking of grabbing some to sell on Ebay let me tell you packing and shipping them is a real PIA!

Max Bryant

I visit at least 4 Wal Marts and this Christmas none of them seemed to have the 1/18th planes or much else 21st Century stuff. I did find an orange F-104 for 25.00 last weekend but I already have the German marking version.
I have seen old crow over the last year so no I don't think that it is rare or anything.
25.00 is a good price. If you are thinking of grabbing some to sell on Ebay let me tell you packing and shipping them is a real PIA!

Max Bryant

Yeah the thought did cross my mine, but I have just about sworn off Ebay, I used to do fairly well on ebay but I am 0-10 and losing money each time I list. I am just interested in the planes. The 1/18th scales are so awesome. I use to build 1/32 as a kid and now at the age of 50, I prefer just to pick them up pre-assemble. LOL!

Today I visited another Walmart and picked up a 1/18 Migbis and the Big Beautiful Doll P-51D Mustang @ $25.00 ea. They had the combo F4 Corsair and Zero at 1/32th scale for $17. Would like to pick up a Junker Ju-87 with the Snake down the side for $25 or any of the other Mustangs I don't have for the same price, I still have a couple of more WM to visit yet...

[QUOTE=thunder44]Yeah the thought did cross my mine, but I have just about sworn off Ebay, I used to do fairly well on ebay but I am 0-10 and losing money each time I list. I am just interested in the planes. The 1/18th scales are so awesome. I use to build 1/32 as a kid and now at the age of 50, I prefer just to pick them up pre-assemble. LOL!
I got hooked on the 1/18 a couple years ago when WM had them on clearance for $5. I picked up a P-40 and P-47. $25 is the lowest I have seen them recently. You are right at >50 years old the detail level on the 1/18 is easy to see. I have started collecting more 1/32 just because they are easier to display

I haven't seen any of the 21st Century models in our Wal-Mart for the last 8 or 9 months. Also, their selection of models and supplies has dwindled to almost nothing.

Apparently models and supplies don't make Wal-Mart enough money.

Why doesn't that surprise me.

tom :rolleyes:

I was lucky enough one day to walk into a TARGET store and pickup one of 2 1/18th scale H-60 Blackhawks they had on clearance.
At some point down the road, I intend on dismantling it and re-accurizing it much more in depth and getting rid of a lot of the production infrmites like the giant gaping pinning divets on the stbd side of the fuselage.
Which brings me to my next remark...The 21st century and daughter company Elite Force/Extreme Detail toys are NOT easy to dismantle without screwing something up, so my redo will wait until I am good and ready. Until then, it looks really incredible and accurate enough as a base 60-L platform,with a couple upgrades like the infrared heat suppression sheilds on the exhausts.
Because of it's size at 1/18th on my shelf it looks really great and overall accurate enough for now.
Eventually it will be made to a DAP or maybe a 60-K.

They also had a Longbow,but i only had enough money for one helo.. DANG

lastastronaut said:They also had a Longbow, but I only had enough money for one helo.. DANG
Quick! Sell some blood! Roll a drunk! Do whatever you have to!
Get that other helo!

My Wal-Mart has finally rid themselves of all model-related
things. The kits are gone, the paints are gone. Everything
is gone. The end of an era (for me). I used to love going to
Wal-Mart 24 hours a day to buy models, paint, glue, brushes.

On-line purchasing from now on, I guess.

On-line purchasing from now on, I guess.

The sign is up for a new hobby shop near where Wetmore loops north.

I went into my local Walmart tonight and they had several of the 21st Century Toys 1/32nd P-51 Ds,a couple BF-109s.
They had a handful of the smaller 1/48th planes.In that size they had a few FW-190s, a few Bf-109s, a few P-51 Bs, and a few P-40s.
They had a couple of the 1/18th scale ones as well from 21st cent. Toys
In that size they had a couple P-51 Ds, and a couple BF-109 Gs.

Someone had mentioed that their local Wally has also seemed to have slacked completely on their Star Wars selection. The same Wally that still had some 21st century, also had just gotten in a reallly healthy supply of star wars.
The Whole section relegated to Star Wars was completely full, and the end caps of 4 other isles had the rest of the overstock surplus figures hanging on hooks.

Discontinuation of some products is unfortunately out of the hands of the immediate buyers who decide and order what products will be sold or what products will be discontinued,and is the result of decisions from the bigger cats.
BUT some products that remain a distribution and public mainstay like Star Wars etc,IS in the hands of the personnel inside the store, and what THEY think is selling or what THEY THINK is going to appeal to a certain demogrqaphic to yeild better salesvs. what they consider a smaller potatoes yeild.
So unfortunately, while some Wally's will have a rediculous supply of say...Star Wars stuff, and on a consistent basis.. other Wally's will perpetually really SUCK and have meager pickins.
This is due largely to one or two SPECIFIC IN STORE managers or buyers for the store who have decided it's not a money crop item based on either demographic of the area..or even something as stupid as his/her own personal choice or hang up.
I Kniow because my Wife works in an office position there, and at one store she worked in Seattle, the guy who was the manager/buyer for the toy area was a Star Wars fan....big time, so he made sure he was always on top of getting the newest releases in.. and in quantity..and the demographic atmoshere supported his decisions..lucky for him.
Meanwhile.. another one a few cities away was bare pickins everytime I went there.
I was lucky to have a wife who looked out for me. She let the guy at her store know what SW stuff I was looking for, and he said he'd keep his eyes peled and let her know when he got new stuff in, so i could try to catch it on the shelf right away.