getifero

Your first example could be announced by herpa and be blocked by LOT-Management for many years. The second example would suite Sky500 (if they had access to the mould).

But back to topic:

1st mystery: Christmas models

Christmas models for many years now have proven to be reliable sales successes. herpa's »Advent calendars« (as much as I appreciated them as a collector) unfortunately were shelf warmers, because herpa packed in simply too much exotic/historic or otherwise unpopular models.

The charm of a Christmas model may be strange for many of us (including me), but it is only logical that herpa continues with popular series.

2nd mystery: Transaero Tu 204

From the many challenges in the realisation of a new model the cockpit window printing is one of the most sensitive. So it is hardly surprising that inaccuracies in this field can lead to hideous results. There are sadly many examples of poor cockpit window printing in all scales by nearly all manufacturers.

The Transaero Tu 204 (in the first version) could easily have the dubious honour of being the model with the ugliest face. But is it therefore a mystery?

We fail to understand why herpa time and again is prepared to take risks und to put quality controls on the bottom of the list. Well perhaps because »quality« never played the role in our scale we would have liked to have seen, but possibly also due to poor competition and lack of internal controls. If the market leader in the 1:500-scale segment of the model making industry survives only because of the constant financial support of an »independent gentleman« this is not a healthy situation.

3rd mystery: Who copies Who!

Wasn’t China the Eldorado of product piracy? Sorry for being prejudiced and at the same time naive enough to buy (from time to time) products of obscure Chinese manufacturers like Sky500 because I don’t understand why aircraft-industry and airlines should obtain licence fees for just logos on airplane miniatures and their boxes (there was an ECJ-Judgement which dismissed a case Opel (at that time still GM) made against a model maker in 2007; but I am not particularly exercised in international and US-trademark law).

Now does Sky500 copy herpa? I very rarely buy a Sky500 model because the (special-) livery-range of that Hong Kong based manufacturer don’t match with my collection focus but as far as I can tell Sky500 models have other (and often more) details and (sometimes better, sometimes worse) colour reproduction. It is also incongruous for Sky500 to »copy« herpa and try to sell the »copies« 40% more expensive. In the past Inflight 500 (Witty Wings 2nd 1:500-scale trademark) »repeated« some Big Bird (Witty Wings 1st 1:500-scale trademark) releases. herpa did so later with Inflight 500 releases. Why finally the »coincidences« with Sky500; I don’t know, for me it is just by accident and nothing to turn into a story.

4th mystery: »La Tante Restaurant-DC-10«

This was an admittedly odd livery choice. Maybe Ghana Airport or Vindira Company (the owners) ordered a decent quantity and the leftovers were made palatable for »Club«-members.

5th mystery: The Novair A321 neo-release

Only Charter knows the whole story!