Witty / Apollo "Gone out of Business". All workers have been sacked and the factory has closed. It's been reported that Witty 1:72 and 1:400 as well as Apollo 1:400 are winding up business and are no longer dispatching models to retailers. There you go...
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That's a real shame, especially for those put out of work. I only recently picked up several of their 747-400's and thought they were really nice. Also their 1/72 Hawker Sea Fury is a beauty, glad I picked up a few of those before they become rare.
Too bad, I was enjoying a lot of what they were releasing, especially the 747s. I still have a Star Alliance LOT 763 and Etihad A321 on pre-order; I wonder how that works out...
Good news for my wallet, but that's about it.
And of course, hopefully something comes up for those who were dependent on those jobs. At the very least, hopefully they had some sort of warning so that it wasn't so sudden and out of nowhere.
Last edited by Wilson King of Prussia; 07-31-2014 at 06:19 PM.
Unless they come back as something else, there goes the chance of ever seeing a South African 747-300 in the classic 'Springbok' livery. Iraqi airways 747-400 also.
I hope that one of the main players will purchase their 747 moulds or at least the CAD drawings so we can see more of them released. Even though they copied the AC Il-76 mould, I hope Andrew will consider implementing some of the Witty improvements such as the darkened engine intakes, the wheels showing the typical Russian green axles and a stand hole (for me being a photographer).
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Mathieu [More of my diecast photos at To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. ]
I'm sorry to hear this news. I SINCERELY hope that GJ or PHX will buy their 747-400 mould though. Its the only one of the B744 that I'd buy so let's hope the Apollo/Witty 744 mould will live on...
They were too expensive for me. I'm willing to accept some imperfections to save a bit of cash. Man does not live by models alone. Or at least this man does not.
Consulting the database, +/- 130 WITTY 1/400 release in less then 2 year, I believe 60% of previous unsold releases at higher prices ... I am not sure this is a way to stay in business in this industry .. do we really loose an important 1/400 producer ??
I hope GJ does not buy the BigBird 747 moulds. If they do we'll only get more superior Delta 744s. They'd probably be put to better use by AC/JC/PHX. PHX could use the Witty workers too, hardworking bunch with good QC.
doing some research "WITTY INDUSTRIAL CO. LIMITED".
WITTY INDUSTRIAL CO. LIMITED also knwon as 威達製品有限公司 is a business incorporated in Hong Kong on January 9, 2004. Key Financials are not available as WITTY INDUSTRIAL CO. LIMITED has not filed accounts. Accounts are required to be filed on or before 20/09/2013.
List of Hong Kong companies subject to winding-up ...
02/Jul/2014 .... Witty Industrial Co.
And... from a badly translated (using Bing) Hong Kong classified advertisment.. The manufacturers tooling dies are up for sale too. So, it's doubtful that any type of re-birth is going to happen as Witty is liquidating everything...
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The MOULDS !!!!!!!
What is going to happen with the moulds ????????
Do Gemini or Aeroclassics have any plans for the moulds ?
Did Gemini use any of these moulds?
What are the wider consequences of this closing --apart from the riddance of the "dippy" 744 upper deck and the "zinc history" ?
Will the B720 moulds (wings and engines) be discovered and reclaimed by ACLX ?
PS:
Gemini, stick to your own 747s, they are great, just fix the pylon junctions !
Gemini 747-400 mold is just AWEFUL.
1.Nose gear position is too forward.
2.Fat head give their Jumbo a foolish looking especially from the front face.
3.The winglet/expanded area is added from a 747-100/200 wing mold so you can even find the soldiering line on the parts.
Way worse than even the Aviation400/IF400/Witty 744 molds.
Though AP quited the hobby I'm sure there'll be anyone else to buy their superb BigBird 747 molds and make good use of them, as long as the molds exist.
Thank God I managed to get my much loved IL-76 models which they did and I personally thought were fantastic!!
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A400M
MRTT (Phoenix)
ABSA /First Choice/Florida West 763W
Sabena white/ Citybird/ Varig MD11 ( Geminijets)
KC-46 ( Geminijets)
Air Namibia/ Surinam/ Gulf Air A343 (PHX)
TWA/ SAA/ Air Mauritius/Bahrain/Omani SP
Airbus A310 Phoenix you have to make this!
Yufei, You make good points and your eye is very keen, not to mention your superb conversion and technical skills. I wish my eyes and hands were still in warranty !
[email protected] least in the U.S., Big Birds generally cannot be found.
--Gemini I do believe r/e the 744, and the classic 747s present the best engines.
--GJ does need to correct the pylon junctions & seams
--Phoenix's 744 nose cannot be reality (a joke really), is more akin to a "Galaxy" or an Antonov, though their engines have improved significantly. (if only they can get the MD-11 ones right all on the same plane).
--So I can't say awful by what is available. Variety here appears to be the issue.
--Sharing of Phoenix tooloing responsible for 744 nose ??? The classic 741s and 742s were better. WHY ???????????????
ANDREW, PLEASE SAVE THE Av400 L10-11 mould; It could be a gem with minimal tinkering...........Ohhhh the possibilities !!!!
Question for retailers, have you received confirmation from your distributor / importer that the final releases (for example Aeroflot Polar Il-76 with CCCP registration) will still be shipped out? Or will these now only be available through Chinese retailers who were able to get then before the Witty-Apollo inventory and tools got impounded. I assume US/Europe retailers already pre-paid to have these shipped?
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Mathieu [More of my diecast photos at To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. ]
he must have had so much booze it must take a while to recover... -)
Honestly it is very upsetting, they did interesting stuff with a great potential for the future. Now... I don't know what it is going to be now, pretty much not much...
How much would such moulds cost? If a collector could get hold of them, we could possibly see them put to good use with some nice releases/commissions.
With them closing , a lot of my dream 747s will never come true .
Why not? The moulds are not going to be melt down but sold. I understand JC is buying some of them and perhaps AK will buy the BigBird400 747 moulds? Those are the only two possibilities unless Inflight200 starts an 'Inflight400' series, which would be good news also.
Think positive my friend!
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Adrian
The missing B.707s still needed to be done in 1/400: Uganda Airlines, Luxair,
DC-8s still needed to be done in 1/400: UAT, Iberia ('80s scheme), Air Ceylon, Air Spain, Seaboard World (-63CF)
Aeroclassics Comets still missing- Dan Air (4 & 4C), United Arab Airlines/Misrair/Egyptair, Kuwait AW, Sudan AW, East African AW, Saudi Royal Flt.
Question for retailers, have you received confirmation from your distributor / importer that the final releases (for example Aeroflot Polar Il-76 with CCCP registration) will still be shipped out? Or will these now only be available through Chinese retailers who were able to get then before the Witty-Apollo inventory and tools got impounded. I assume US/Europe retailers already pre-paid to have these shipped?
To answer your question regarding the Aeroflot IL-76 "YES" just arrived today.
Mark
__________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Your Canadian Alternative Choice For Airline Diecast Models.
Well I received the final Apollo models today. The Aeroflot Polar CCCP Il-76 and LOT Boeing 767 Star Alliance. The 767 looks spot on, that mould deserves to be rescued by a manufacturer. The Il-76 was also done with the same registration by Aeroclassics. But, this one has nicely darkened engine intakes and what I really like, the wheel axles are painted in "Russian" green. It also has a stand hole so I can take my photos. To me these little details should have been adopted by Aeroclassics but I doubt that will happen. I will miss Witty / Apollo, no matter what.
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Mathieu [More of my diecast photos at To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. ]
Location: Hangzhou, Zhejiang; Peoples Republic of China
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Re: Witty / Apollo "Gone out of Business"
Good on ya mate!!
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Enjoying aviation from a "TSA-free Zone"!!
Take the money-grab & deceit out of our hobby, and bring back ethics and quality!!
Just say NO to Apollo400/Black Box/Panda Models/Junk-X/First Choice/C&C/IF400/AV400/Witty400/Magic/AV200/AK200/Flightline/Flightline200/Flightline400/Pegasus/Blue Angle/5stars & any BigBirds (real or fake)
I also had a couple of Apollo models recently arrive - the Virgin Australia 777 and Singapore 747-300. Happy with the VAU, however the SQ has a paint defect on one side...oh well. That 747 mould is REALLY good though, hope someone snaps it up.
Did not care for their pricing though. Some models did seem like a "grab and go".
Would many in this forum agree that with Aeroclassics, Phoenix, GJ, JC, and Herpa, that we have enough manufacturers to keep a steady stream of well made models (and enough competition to keep QC alive and well)?
Honestly, there are what, 20-30 1:400 scale models collectively produced each month by he above mentioned folks. Even Brinkley could not keep up with the pace back in the day.
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Now where's that 747-400 club?
More Lufthansa and Virgin Atlantic 744s!!
By all that is holy.... MORE Cathay Pacific (NC) and British Airways!! To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
Did not care for their pricing though. Some models did seem like a "grab and go".
Would many in this forum agree that with Aeroclassics, Phoenix, GJ, JC, and Herpa, that we have enough manufacturers to keep a steady stream of well made models (and enough competition to keep QC alive and well)?
Honestly, there are what, 20-30 1:400 scale models collectively produced each month by he above mentioned folks. Even Brinkley could not keep up with the pace back in the day.
But seriously, I think Witty had one of the best QC for a while at least. I've never received a Witty/Apollo model with a broken/bent/wrongly attached anything.
When it comes to accuracy, Aeroclassics has not exactly been stellar this year, might I bring up the complete blunder of the fake registrations painted on the Koryo releases or the mis-printed wing colours on the Aussie Fokkers, incorrect type printed on an Aeroflot Il-76, the list goes on. In terms of design errors, would not be surprised if they score the worst so far this year.
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Mathieu [More of my diecast photos at To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. ]
I just received my Witty IL-76 with the big engines (Russian AF).
Excellent model and I'm a very happy recipient of many Apollo, Witty models.
Don't care about any opinion other than my own. I'm disappointed they're going.
Witty / Apollo "Gone out of Business"
