I just read through the Calibre Wings Facebook Group that Noel Lee has been fired and the management company that is controlling the group (Univest) is either seeking a replacement or running the company themselves effective immediately.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackAces
I just read through the Calibre Wings Facebook Group that Noel Lee has been fired and the management company that is controlling the group (Univest) is either seeking a replacement or running the company themselves effective immediately.
I take anything on the Calibre FB page with a pinch of salt now. Supposedly they had new management "in order to deliver a professional service" in place on May 22nd, that didn't stop Noel's live stream. I guess it is a wait and see if Noel reappears in a few weeks on another FB rant. It was previously indicated he was the founder/owner and chief quality controller so who knows what is really going on?!
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Yeah... not a big surprise honestly. Noel had a passion for the craft and, when it came to the models, definitely knew what he was talking about. His PR work and customer care, on the other hand... needed some work. He didn't seem like he could grasp that while he might be right, there's still things you just don't do as the face of a company.
Sad thing is, ever since that change in management Wildblood mentions, they basically stopped posting updates to the facebook. That's what I will miss most - Noel put out regular updates on future models and in-progress pics, such as from the QA line, or the wireboxing of the S2 Tracker and so on. Doesn't seem like anyone else cares enough to do that.
Hopefully he wasn't as important to the company as it seems on the surface. CalWings makes the best models on the market right now as far as I'm concerned, would hate to see that quality suffer before I get the other models they have had in the pipeline for a while now.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
I suspect it's another dose of 'fake news' - why he does these announcements and online rants is beyond me. CalW was never under new management and unless he's fired himself (again) I doubt anything has changed.
I like his models but his reputation is now further damaged. A near 7 hour livestream to call out some Macross troll was nothing short of weird and embarrassing
Three factories down & I'd say finding a suitable fourth will be a tough ask, although I dare say not impossible. I do hope he gets back up and running though in the future & I'll continue to buy more of his F-14's if the right scheme comes along.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlackAces
I just read through the Calibre Wings Facebook Group that Noel Lee has been fired and the management company that is controlling the group (Univest) is either seeking a replacement or running the company themselves effective immediately.
I think that's unlikely, as he IS Calibre Wings, ie he owns the company.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
its official! NOEL LEE has left Calibre Wings. posted on another forum.
So its official: I was chatting with Noel (on Facebook) and he confirmed he is no longer involved with Calibre and it has new ownership. That's all I know. Personally I am not too happy with this turn of events. For all his Facebook gaffes Noel WAS Calibre Wings, and brought tremendous passion and energy to his craft. Which other company owner would spend dozens of hours running quality control himself on EACH unit of a model run (of say 1000 units)? He just seems to have been caught in between lofty ambitions (and announcing projects when they were too early in the development phase), a dishonest factory which did not want to back the quality of its the items it produces, some people in the Macross community who were trolling him, and his own inflamed sense of righteousness which lead to misplaced broadcasting of strong opinions to the whole world.
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Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Oh no, another bad news in diecast world this week. First Hobbymaster surprisingly, frustratingly, and disappointingly intends to delete the dorsal air brake from their SU-30SM mold, and now this thing with Noel.
I´m so sorry it ended like this. Noel was one and only, he was like unicorn in diecast world. I´m afraid no other person will invest the same love, effort, time and passion into diecast models. And all that only because of some irritant Macross troll who got under Noels skin, combined with Noel´s lack of social media skills. 7 hour waiting for that troll to join the livestream speaks for itself.
Noel was also the man who was trying to push the envelope. He was pathfinder, introducing new technologies and new things in diecast. But mainly he had real passion to make models accurate and thus beautiful - something what I´m completely missing on all models from Hobby Master (who are only money grabbers without really caring about how their models look). I´m afraid all this is gone now.
I also wonder if there will be any new factory where new Calibre models will be made.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by robertjon5
its official! NOEL LEE has left Calibre Wings. posted on another forum.
So its official: I was chatting with Noel (on Facebook) and he confirmed he is no longer involved with Calibre and it has new ownership. That's all I know. Personally I am not too happy with this turn of events. For all his Facebook gaffes Noel WAS Calibre Wings, and brought tremendous passion and energy to his craft. Which other company owner would spend dozens of hours running quality control himself on EACH unit of a model run (of say 1000 units)? He just seems to have been caught in between lofty ambitions (and announcing projects when they were too early in the development phase), a dishonest factory which did not want to back the quality of its the items it produces, some people in the Macross community who were trolling him, and his own inflamed sense of righteousness which lead to misplaced broadcasting of strong opinions to the whole world.
Yep, that was my post you've copied. I am chatting now and then with Noel and overall a rather sad situation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ladia
Oh no, another bad news in diecast world this week. First Hobbymaster surprisingly, frustratingly, and disappointingly intends to delete the dorsal air brake from their SU-30SM mold, and now this thing with Noel.
I´m so sorry it ended like this. Noel was one and only, he was like unicorn in diecast world. I´m afraid no other person will invest the same love, effort, time and passion into diecast models. And all that only because of some irritant Macross troll who got under Noels skin, combined with Noel´s lack of social media skills. 7 hour waiting for that troll to join the livestream speaks for itself.
Noel was also the man who was trying to push the envelope. He was pathfinder, introducing new technologies and new things in diecast. But mainly he had real passion to make models accurate and thus beautiful - something what I´m completely missing on all models from Hobby Master (who are only money grabbers without really caring about how their models look). I´m afraid all this is gone now.
I also wonder if there will be any new factory where new Calibre models will be made.
Totally agree with you, Noel had unrivaled passion and was on a quest to produce the best models possible. I too have a feeling any new owners of Calibre will have nowhere near the same commitment and drive to deliver exceptional models and thus no longer have to look forward to buying dozens of F-14s in the coming years.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Agreed on all counts, but unfortunately Noel kinda brought this on himself. The witch hunting of disgruntled customers (and if it was a troll as I suspect, that almost makes it worse) is unacceptable from a business standpoint, and he'd done it numerous times before this too. I suspect he was so easily drawn into it because of his passion, and while I completely agreed with his principles in each case of that saga (in some the damage was basically nonexistent, or the customer was in the wrong, etc etc) how he handled it was... not great.
So while this development sucks and I sadly expect CalWings' reputation and quality to suffer, it also feels like it was inevitable. Noel is an amazing guy and was unrivaled in his passion for the industry, but he shouldn't have been given the reigns of (or shouldn't have been allowed to) CalWings' PR. Put someone else in charge, so there's a stopgap to prevent the witchhunt shenanigans.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Probably Noel is so frustrated with the bashing he got from the Macross fertinity. Well IMO, Calibre Wings should have not produce any of those fantasy Macross models and concentrate only on the reality models. To be honest, his PR is not that good either; I experienced this when chatting live in his Youtube channel early this year, where he was quite rudely dismissed my request for production of a certain model.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Certainly among the best models on the market and the best f14 tomcat, but pathetic customer service and disrespectful responses from Noël,
Probably one of the reasons for his layoff
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
This is the end I saw when Calibre started messing with Macross, (though this is most certainly not the route I expected ). The best we can hope for is that CalW doesn’t get wound up. I’m sure the fancy plans of B-58s, MiG-31s, U-2s etc are dead.
Well, piracy shouldn’t pay. Even in the contorted Macross world. Should have just stayed out.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adour
This is the end I saw when Calibre started messing with Macross, (though this is most certainly not the route I expected ). The best we can hope for is that CalW doesn’t get wound up. I’m sure the fancy plans of B-58s, MiG-31s, U-2s etc are dead.
Let`s hope the Su-22 comes to fruition at least. The Ukraine Digital camo Su-24 release date seems to be getting further away too.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adour
Well, piracy shouldn’t pay. Even in the contorted Macross world. Should have just stayed out.
So should the same apply to the outstanding Top Gun models? Does that apply to the HM MiG-28s, and the JC Wings F-18E as well? Don't forget, trademark 'piracy' is why all of those great models exist, otherwise we'd be stuck with the TSM offerings as well as that substandard toy crap Corgi is peddling. Coincidentally, TSM doesn't appear to have a pulse anymore after that, did the terms of the legitimate license break them? Force them to use a substandard yet cheap and easily subcontracted Witty mold (just like Gemini Aces, Herpa and JC Wings before them), that didn't generate the sales revenue to make up for the licensing fees Paramount demanded? In the fateful final livestream, Noel stated Paramount wanted $50,000 for 200 models, something like that.
Or does it apply solely because it's Macross/Robotech?
I'll agree that Noel's 'proud to be pirate' rebellious stance was not helpful, some things should just go unsaid (like JC Wings and HM with their Top Gun products, still in existence but not on blast with William and Johan on YouTube tearing their shirts off and yelling 'Come at me, bro!') and I think sometimes the cultural sentiments being expressed lose or gain some things in the translation to English.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumper
So should the same apply to the outstanding Top Gun models? Does that apply to the HM MiG-28s, and the JC Wings F-18E as well? Don't forget, trademark 'piracy' is why all of those great models exist, otherwise we'd be stuck with the TSM offerings as well as that substandard toy crap Corgi is peddling. Coincidentally, TSM doesn't appear to have a pulse anymore after that, did the terms of the legitimate license break them? Force them to use a substandard yet cheap and easily subcontracted Witty mold (just like Gemini Aces, Herpa and JC Wings before them), that didn't generate the sales revenue to make up for the licensing fees Paramount demanded? In the fateful final livestream, Noel stated Paramount wanted $50,000 for 200 models, something like that.
Or does it apply solely because it's Macross/Robotech?
I'll agree that Noel's 'proud to be pirate' rebellious stance was not helpful, some things should just go unsaid (like JC Wings and HM with their Top Gun products, still in existence but not on blast with William and Johan on YouTube tearing their shirts off and yelling 'Come at me, bro!') and I think sometimes the cultural sentiments being expressed lose or gain some things in the translation to English.
Ha. Quality of a crime is not mitigation. However, carefully skirting the limits of the law, is what the limits are for, and that’s what HM has done. It’s also arguably what Calibre did with their TG F-14s. If someone wants to test that in court, well that’s up to them. So far no-one’s had the urge. Blatantly stamping “Rolex” on the watch face, not on. Expect them to come for you.
As for your swipe at Corgi, well some of the most impressive models in my collection were made by Corgi. Only beaten by John Jenkins Designs and Bandai. The worst Corgi products? Well obviously those aren’t in my collection. It’s called discernment. JC Wings military stuff. Mostly junk. HM? Very variable. How many years have they churned out lop-sided Starfighters for? Why are they obsessed with sticking blue in their greys? What’s with the light green in USAF SEA cam? Why the nasty thin-walled toolings with the gross horizontal nose-seams? Why the shallow blanked intakes? If that’s not all sub-standard toy crap, what is? Still sells though. Witty? Mostly junk. I could move on to the other manufacturers. Not sure why Corgi attracted your ire in particular. Then again, I don’t particularly care either. You’re obviously biased.
No, piracy - intellectual property theft - shouldn’t pay. Doesn’t matter how well done it is, because it’s theft and that’s er, crime. Sorry you don’t get that.
Doesn’t mean I don’t think Paramount, Dassault etc aren’t A-holes with their licence charges.
Now since I collect models of real stuff, my problem is this. Calibre made some pretty good models (late). Their F-14 tooling wasn’t great, but it was well finished. Their Su-24 was very good. Their F-16 looked promising (I don’t own one). Their upcoming plans were exciting. TG, Macrcross et al, all the same fantasy crap to me, and will never be in my collection. Eventually screwing around with that stuff is what seems to have killed them, so I’m slightly miffed. I don’t see swapping the Su-22, MiG-31, U-2, B-58, and S2F for Tom Cruise’s ego trip and some cartoon sh1t as a good trade. You probably disagree.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by riceless
A warning to all calibre wings collectors:
I was told by a store that i used to buy calibre wings from, that they are not accepting pre-orders for the up-coming JR 'special color'.
They told me that this release of 500 pieces are defective items from previous releases.
They also told me Noel was kicked out because he was in a huge debt he could not pay back...the new management needs to find a way to pay it off...
it's just sad...
Yeah that doesn`t sound good. Hopefully customers existing pre-orders will make it to release phase. Poor show if they were willing to intentionally release defective item`s to customers. They must be in the Doo doo!
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adour
Ha. Quality of a crime is not mitigation. However, carefully skirting the limits of the law, is what the limits are for, and that’s what HM has done. It’s also arguably what Calibre did with their TG F-14s. If someone wants to test that in court, well that’s up to them. So far no-one’s had the urge. Blatantly stamping “Rolex” on the watch face, not on. Expect them to come for you.
As for your swipe at Corgi, well some of the most impressive models in my collection were made by Corgi. Only beaten by John Jenkins Designs and Bandai. The worst Corgi products? Well obviously those aren’t in my collection. It’s called discernment. JC Wings military stuff. Mostly junk. HM? Very variable. How many years have they churned out lop-sided Starfighters for? Why are they obsessed with sticking blue in their greys? What’s with the light green in USAF SEA cam? Why the nasty thin-walled toolings with the gross horizontal nose-seams? Why the shallow blanked intakes? If that’s not all sub-standard toy crap, what is? Still sells though. Witty? Mostly junk. I could move on to the other manufacturers. Not sure why Corgi attracted your ire in particular. Then again, I don’t particularly care either. You’re obviously biased.
Adour. I believe Jumper was commenting on the cheap kiddies non scale Corgi Top Gun models they produce, not Corgi die-cast models in general. Correct me if i`m wrong Jumper.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by riceless
A warning to all calibre wings collectors:
I was told by a store that i used to buy calibre wings from, that they are not accepting pre-orders for the up-coming JR 'special color'.
They told me that this release of 500 pieces are defective items from previous releases.
They also told me Noel was kicked out because he was in a huge debt he could not pay back...the new management needs to find a way to pay it off...
it's just sad...
Honestly... that sounds like complete BS to me. It would make *no* sense for any company to market a batch of defective models as a new 'special color'. Not only that but... CalWings quality has been on par if not better than the competition basically the entire run. The only times we've seen 'huge issues' with it are from the highly vocal trolls (the very same Noel Lee went on his tirades against).
Say what you will about the man, but he was passionate about his craft, and did his very best to ensure quality. The problems were with PR, not craftsmanship. The mention of debt comes completely out of left field too, when we already know the reason why they parted ways with him. You can't go on public witch hunts for disgruntled customers.
Regarding the JR Special color though, don't forget that Noel Lee himself announced that he'd be doing a special limited run of that same model, with custom weathering. I'd put money on that being the 'special color' they were talking about, and not accepting preorders for it more likely means they might not be doing the run anymore since, well, Noel's not with the company anymore.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo4
Adour. I believe Jumper was commenting on the cheap kiddies non scale Corgi Top Gun models they produce, not Corgi die-cast models in general. Correct me if i`m wrong Jumper.
Yes, exactly. Not Aviation Archive, I have a number of those and love them.
I get frustrated what gets allowed to come to market per the licenses, and what doesn't. So this passes muster?
And I mentioned the Top Gun items from JC and HM just to ensure those judging CalW for not respecting IP, are doing so equally and fairly, and not giving one genre a pass (Top Gun vs Macross).
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrachova
Honestly... that sounds like complete BS to me. It would make *no* sense for any company to market a batch of defective models as a new 'special color'. Not only that but... CalWings quality has been on par if not better than the competition basically the entire run. The only times we've seen 'huge issues' with it are from the highly vocal trolls (the very same Noel Lee went on his tirades against).
Say what you will about the man, but he was passionate about his craft, and did his very best to ensure quality. The problems were with PR, not craftsmanship. The mention of debt comes completely out of left field too, when we already know the reason why they parted ways with him. You can't go on public witch hunts for disgruntled customers.
Regarding the JR Special color though, don't forget that Noel Lee himself announced that he'd be doing a special limited run of that same model, with custom weathering. I'd put money on that being the 'special color' they were talking about, and not accepting preorders for it more likely means they might not be doing the run anymore since, well, Noel's not with the company anymore.
That may be so, but he made a bad decision messing with Copyright laws. Whatever his good intentions, it may end up costing CalWings customers dearly.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Not that I'm happy about all this at all, but if CalWings has produced its last model just think what this might do to the value of the models out there. Can't imagine it will do nothing but drive prices up. Thoughts?
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Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo4
That may be so, but he made a bad decision messing with Copyright laws. Whatever his good intentions, it may end up costing CalWings customers dearly.
I don't disagree about the Copyright law stuff... however, from what little I've been able to dig up, wasn't it an issue with the fans, not with the company? Like, they got permission from Harmony Gold, but not Big West, and that was a problem because Harmony Gold is like, persona-non-grata for Macross fans even though both own the rights to Macross. So the one company calls them pirate models, but the other has its branding on the box. Who's right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fusion Monkey
Not that I'm happy about all this at all, but if CalWings has produced its last model just think what this might do to the value of the models out there. Can't imagine it will do nothing but drive prices up. Thoughts?
As others have said, I really hope their last model is, say, the Ukranian Fencer, or the Fitter they have in the pipeline... I have at least what I want from them aside from that, but still. Would be a damn shame. Value would definitely shoot up though, they're incredible models.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
I sent an email to Calwings today (to the email address which is now featured on their Facebook page), enquiring about my order for the VF-102 Diamondbacks F-14A (CA721416) which I pre-ordered back in May. I received a reply from them soon after, advising me that it will be ready in September, and apologising for the delay. Let's hope that's actually true.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrachova
Honestly... that sounds like complete BS to me. It would make *no* sense for any company to market a batch of defective models as a new 'special color'. Not only that but... CalWings quality has been on par if not better than the competition basically the entire run. The only times we've seen 'huge issues' with it are from the highly vocal trolls (the very same Noel Lee went on his tirades against).
Say what you will about the man, but he was passionate about his craft, and did his very best to ensure quality. The problems were with PR, not craftsmanship. The mention of debt comes completely out of left field too, when we already know the reason why they parted ways with him. You can't go on public witch hunts for disgruntled customers.
Regarding the JR Special color though, don't forget that Noel Lee himself announced that he'd be doing a special limited run of that same model, with custom weathering. I'd put money on that being the 'special color' they were talking about, and not accepting preorders for it more likely means they might not be doing the run anymore since, well, Noel's not with the company anymore.
Pls. dont get me wrong. I'm pretty sure most collectors (including myself) appreciate Noel's passion and dedication to perfect the models. I pre-ordered the first calibre wings F-14s since the very beginning, the JR and wolf pack, and until the very recent JR. You could still find my thread about that purchase in this forum. But I do not have any confirmed information about why he left CW. Can anyone show me? Did he made any explanation in public? I cant believe a company founder was kicked out of his company simply because of PR.
For the special color release, its just a warning from the store to me, that its better to wait the real product comes out before deciding to purchase. Why would the store do that? They won't profit from not accepting pre-orders right? For your bet against CW not doing this run because Noel was gone, i'm pretty sure u're going to lose. I know there are at least 2 other stores accepting pre-orders for this release. From the pictures of the 'special color' release, i cant see any custom weathering.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
The only public explanation we have is that post on CalW facebook about parting ways with Noel Lee. But, I think it's safe to deduce that it was a PR issue - the first time he went on a streamed tirade about a customer service issue, they pulled the stream and his last few posts on the subject, then went silent aside from a note about a 'change in management'. Then Noel showed up again on the facebook, did this recent witch hunt stream... which was also wiped, and after which, the post about parting ways.
From what we have publicly seen, it seems a logical conclusion to me. As for the special model... I've had several preorders cancelled before a model came out due to releases changing or being cancelled. It's not an impossible thing, and most places don't charge cards before the model is actually released. But, I do agree that even if the original plan for it was for this to be Noel's custom weathering, they'd more likely just downshift to a slightly special version rather than cancel it altogether. They used to do clean/panel wash versions of their models - its likely a return to that, for this one.
Compare the pictures of that 'special color' to the pictures of the currently released one. It's definitely panel washed/faded. Maybe not full weathering, but it is definitely not a clean model, and not a different base scheme. I'm pretty sure they even have the same pilot and WSO:
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying Kiwi
Who kicked him out? Noel IS Calibre Wings, only one who can kick Noel out is Noel
Yeah that's the big mystery isn't it? As far as we knew Noel is (and now was) the sole founder and owner of Calibre Wings. There was never any other person, name, or face associated with the company, other than recently someone named Kelly doing customer support, and even then she was apparently his sister so it was a tightly controlled family business. Or so it would have seemed until this whole "new management, Noel is out" message with zero other communication. So if there are new owners, fine, but who is it? What is their strategy and vision? Are they going to continue the product roadmap as publicly announced by Noel over the years? Etc etc.
The fact that we don't know anything about the person or persons who have taken over, whether Noel sold the company or if it was always owned by a group of investors and he was just the public face, its all just conjecture. Terribly frustrating and at the moment I am inclined to believe we shall not be seeing many, and in fact probably not even a few, future releases from Calibre.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrachova
Compare the pictures of that 'special color' to the pictures of the currently released one. It's definitely panel washed/faded. Maybe not full weathering, but it is definitely not a clean model, and not a different base scheme. I'm pretty sure they even have the same pilot and WSO:
hmmm...is it the problem of my screen or my eyes...im seeing some strange light pink color on the wings and the fuselage...can anyone see that?
For Noel, i tend to think he is the founder but not the sole owner. It takes a lot of money to start the mold and produce 1,000 models. It makes more sense for the investors having the right to kick someone away from the company. If you google 'Univest', you'll find things related to finance/investment.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
I have a doubt. If Caliber Wings disappeared, would the molds be sold to another company such as Hobby Master, Corgi, etc, or would they be lost? I ask if anyone knows the case of another similar company in which it has already happened
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying Kiwi
Who kicked him out? Noel IS Calibre Wings, only one who can kick Noel out is Noel
Probably he himself. I mean, he has debt that he cannot pay therefore other party that can took control of the company that has potential. It's a normal practice for small businesses in Asia.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by JuanCarlos
I have a doubt. If Caliber Wings disappeared, would the molds be sold to another company such as Hobby Master, Corgi, etc, or would they be lost? I ask if anyone knows the case of another similar company in which it has already happened
The classic examples were X-Plus whose F4 mould was taken on/over by Air Commander and Witty Wings whose moulds ended up with JC Wings & Herpa (amongst others, I think the ADV Tornado ended up with Aviation 72?).
In short it does happen.
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Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wildblood
The classic examples were X-Plus whose F4 mould was taken on/over by Air Commander and Witty Wings whose moulds ended up with JC Wings & Herpa (amongst others, I think the ADV Tornado ended up with Aviation 72?).
In short it does happen.
I`m personally quite worried that i may not see the Ukraine Digi camo Su-24. It`s been ages on pre-order. All previous Su-24 waves have been released in pairs, apart from this wave. It`s a while since `Blue 91`was released. Hopefully it`s because of delays with the COVID situation.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wildblood
The classic examples were X-Plus whose F4 mould was taken on/over by Air Commander and Witty Wings whose moulds ended up with JC Wings & Herpa (amongst others, I think the ADV Tornado ended up with Aviation 72?).
In short it does happen.
Always begs the question "who or what is air commander?" Their website is (c) 2012, their only product was/is the F-4, and all the links on their website are dead except for one to email them.
Maybe just a guy who runs is part time and who is quite shy. But who has also in the end produced some of the greatest diecast models ever released.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo4
I`m personally quite worried that i may not see the Ukraine Digi camo Su-24. It`s been ages on pre-order. All previous Su-24 waves have been released in pairs, apart from this wave. It`s a while since `Blue 91`was released. Hopefully it`s because of delays with the COVID situation.
I remember Noel saying in one of his final video's the factory stated the digi scheme was too complicated for them so there's every chance this one won't see the light of day sadly
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by 11Sqnldr
I remember Noel saying in one of his final video's the factory stated the digi scheme was too complicated for them so there's every chance this one won't see the light of day sadly
Hmm... That sounds like a bit of a cop out to me. Why release a photo of the finished model, if it wasn`t feasible in the first place? (And take pre-orders for it?) Especially when you see the quality of the finished model in photo`s. I would agree with him if someone had to paint it all by hand. I`m no expert, but you`d think once the pad printing/stencil process is set up, it should be fairly straight forward for a quality company like CalW to accomplish. If the likes of JC Wings and Herpa can do it, i`m sure CalW`s can.
My feeling is CalW`s were in trouble before this model got to the production process. Hope i`m wrong.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by FortunateSon
Always begs the question "who or what is air commander?" Their website is (c) 2012, their only product was/is the F-4, and all the links on their website are dead except for one to email them.
Maybe just a guy who runs is part time and who is quite shy. But who has also in the end produced some of the greatest diecast models ever released.
Yeah, Air Commander are one of the great mysteries of the diecast world. I've got AC1005-AC1007 and love them. If they ever released an Israeli, JASDF 'blue camo' or an IRIAF F4 I'd be all over it. But, so far, just that anniversary scheme Lufty F4F, everything else is a US bird.
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Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by 11Sqnldr
I remember Noel saying in one of his final video's the factory stated the digi scheme was too complicated for them so there's every chance this one won't see the light of day sadly
I have it on pre-order and asked my UK retailer recently what was happening. He indicated the UK distributer were still in contact with Calibre and it is still expected later this year.
Got to be honest I'm far from convinced myself so I bought the recent Russian release to hedge my bets. I'd still get the Ukrainian digi-camo and the IRIAF if they ever reach the shelves.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Definitely looks like a case of them just rushing out the 500 or so models they had lying around in limbo after whatever was previously planned with them fell through. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but that does not look like enough of a variation to call it a 'Special Color Version'.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Definitely looks like a case of them just rushing out the 500 or so models they had lying around in limbo after whatever was previously planned with them fell through. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but that does not look like enough of a variation to call it a 'Special Color Version'.
This does rather confirm what the retailer said to `Riceless` about the 500 `Special colour`models being defective, alas. I`d get a refund double quick. Shoddy. Damn shoddy, and contempt for their customers. They should be ashamed to send crud out like this.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carlo4
This does rather confirm what the retailer said to `Riceless` about the 500 `Special colour`models being defective, alas. I`d get a refund double quick. Shoddy. Damn shoddy, and contempt for their customers. They should be ashamed to send crud out like this.
Precisely, and it is antics like this which makes the pragmatist in me take a cynical approach and predict that the "new management" of Calibre either does not intend to or otherwise will fail to deliver a high quality product, and the company will fold within a few months or a year from now. Sad state of affairs; where I was looking forward to revised and improved F-14 tooling from Noel, we instead get the seeming demise of the company in the near future.
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Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
It really is a damn shame since it's looking more and more like that's the route CW might be going, considering the CalWings models I do have are by far my best and most favorite. Ugh.
One small upside, I suppose, is that if the quality does drop or they simply fade away... that'll probably increase the value of the models released pre-fall, eh? Sad laugh...
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by riceless
So I got the recent special color release of Cal wing JR.
The box art shows the model with weathering, but there is no weathering on the actual model.
From what I can see, the special color means the color of the right wing is different from that of the left wing. 😵
Thanks for information. Just to make sure what are we talking about: weathering or panel wash?
As you said, your model is not weathered. But has maybe at least some panel wash that would differ your CA72JR03W from clean version CA72JR03?
Some official CalW photos show there should be a panel wash on CA72JR03W (... only panel wash), while clean version CA72JR03 has no panel wash at all.
CA72JR03W: Weathering: No, confirmed Panel wash: Yes? No?
Could you please post some hi-res photos of your model?
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by riceless
So I got the recent special color release of Cal wing JR.
the color of the right wing is different from that of the left wing. 😵
Ask the seller for a replacement model mate. I returned a HM Skyraider because the left wing was a different colour to the model. The replacement I got was perfect and the first model must have got missed by quality control.
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by riceless
I tried to contact the seller, but they're just avoiding me. I think they knew there is a problem.
Sorry he's being unhelpful I got ripped off at the start of collecting models. Ordered five and received four. I contacted seller and he accused me of lying. I left it at that and started buying models from a retailer who looked after their customers
Re: Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wing
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flying Kiwi
Sorry he's being unhelpful I got ripped off at the start of collecting models. Ordered five and received four. I contacted seller and he accused me of lying. I left it at that and started buying models from a retailer who looked after their customers
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Noel Lee has been terminated from Calibre Wings.
I got ripped off at the start of collecting models. Ordered five and received four. I contacted seller and he accused me of lying. I left it at that and started buying models from a retailer who looked after their customers 
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