POWER AND INFLUENCE

WHETHER it be by letter, telephone or over the counter at various trade shows, modellers frequently ask me to use my power and influence with the manufacturers, both major and cottage industry, to produce the kit that they think will set the world on fire. When I reply by asking 'What power and influence?' they seem rather taken aback. People do not seem to realise that those of us working as journalists in the model industry have little to do directly with the manufacturers themselves apart from receiving their advertising copy and reproducing this to the best of our ability. We also review their products and give our opinions on the merits or otherwise but we have no direct way of influencing anyone. In any case, I for one, would not do so as a matter of principle because it is not my place to tell somebody that he has 'simply got to do this kit as it will make him well liked by everybody and swell his bank balance into the bargain'. The choice of manufacturing a new kit is the prerogative of the company concerned and it is their responsibility in the long run. Many of the cottage industry people make models that they would like to see themselves and in some cases this is exactly what the modeller at large wants. So be it! In other cases, mostly amongst the larger companies, market research is all part and parcel of taking the decision on whether or not to invest thousands of pounds into the moulds. They do take note of what they find in the mail bag from modellers but this is often so diversified that no clear picture evolves. One wonders at times why there should be so many mpdels of the same aircraft on the market but that's the way the market research cookie crumbles. At the same time major manufacturers watch each other like hawks and if they find that a kit of a certain aircraft type is selling well then they want to get into the same market.

To take this a stage further and to answer a letter I had from a reader last week asking why Scale Aircraft Modelling did not have a correspondence column, the same set of principles appears to be the order of the day. Three out of four letters ask me to tell Matchfix what to do. I always reply by suggesting that they write to the manufacturer direct and use their own written influence on those who really matter in the choice of what kit to mould. An offer of assistance with research in photographic or drawing form might also help if the individual has this ability or the archive material available. Everyone's needs are different, that's why we customise our models with different markings or use our skills to detail a cockpit over and above that can, for economic or practical reasons, be supplied in a kit — rarely do two modellers agree on what they want as a top priority so my so-called power and influence is just the same as yours!

JAMES P. WOOD

It is my sad task to report the death of Jim Wood of Esoteric Models on Tuesday 3 March aged 54. Jim was an American by birth and very well known to the aircraft modelling community both here and in the United States. He was a founder member of IPMS in that country and until the time of his first illness a few years ago, a Boeing 727 captain with Pan American Airways. At that time he set up Esoteric Models as a furtherance of his modelling skills and produced some extremely good US Navy pre-war aircraft which we all admired. More recently his production of a Bell 47 in both 1:72nd and 1:48th scales has set standards in the cottage industry that will be hard to beat. Jim was an out-and-out enthusiast for everything he did. We came into closer contact three years ago when he became the first editor of the revived Airfix Magazine. I, like many others will greatly miss his sense of humour and undoubted ability as a top flight modeller. Our deepest sympathy goes to his widow Christine and his three sons.

Alan W. Hall