Topic: Is JD really listening to the collector?

Obviously C3 has a juicy licensing contract with FDNY. Which also explains why they are doing no name departments, as they are cheaper to get licensing for. Hell, most of those small departments probably do it for free just to have a model made. But to answer your question, no I really don't think they are listening at all. So until things change, I'll spend time on Ebay.

code 3 has a blanket contract with fdny...but that being said, code3 has had no problem getting boston and chicago and philly's permission to do apparatus in the past....and most likely would not have a problem in the future...the problem is that JD can talk the talk about listening to the core collectors that have been with code 3 way before he was around...but in fact all it is is talk...he is only interested in doing things his way...

i may be wrong but a lot of the people including me have said no more fdny for a while unless it is something unique a tda or new rescue 1 or the collapse rig or updated satellites so lets see if this is the surprise he is talking about if it is just another repaint then we know they are not listening

yeah thats what i was thhinking, if its somthing new, rescue 1 or somthing, ok but another repaint and im not gonna be happy

i would agree...short of a 1/32 engine 10 (which they should have done a long time ago to accompany truck 10)or a satellite, collapse rescue, or one of the other unique apparatus, John is going to really be treading on thin ice in justifying his statements and keeping what little credibility he has left (and it is a little)

Hello to everybody,
as a collector and firefighter from Czech Republic-Europe would like to see more 1:34 Scale Models.Hummer Fire Truck could be great! "New" Naval is a shame - old moldings in a new colours only! Perhaps in 1:34 Scale.Hope that new Diamonds will not be FDNY but something new like LA, Las Vegas, Washington.
Sorry for my English :-)
Antonin Minarsky
Czech Republic

i would agree with rescue 42 except for the part about buying patterns...being that there are still trucks left from the small no name departments for sale from code 3, and JD says they are going to still do the small no name departments, they cannot be looking at buying patterns...if they were, they would see that except for the most recent boston fiasco with the wrong paint, the depts that consistently sell out are boston, philly and chicago...hell they cannot even get fdny to sell out 1500 units everyone is so sick of fdny...boston, philly, chicago, add a few big depts from the west and south, and that will be the the proven winners for a buying pattern...

"the depts that consistently sell out are boston, philly and chicago"

Except for the Boston's and Chicago's that went to KB Toy Liquidators.

That was a while ago. Also before they began limiting the releases below 2,000 pieces. We can beat this drum to death. But C3 has missed sure fire sell outs in the form of an update Clark County engine, a Clark County Rescue, Las Vegas Tiller and a Rescue, LAFD, LA County FD, and the list goes on and on.

I dont mind beating anything to death. The last LA City Pierce engine went to KB Toys. Thats where I got mine. And there was a lot of them there, not just a few, and they were there for a long time. The last LA County E16 was liquidated as well. Sure fire sellouts? Right here is four big cities that didnt sell out. Maybe its time to visit another place all together.

Again, your LAFD Seagrave was one of 11,000 that were produced under 4 repainted Stations. They were made between 2000-2001. The company was under different management/owners then. LACoFD E-16 was one of 5,000 and it was made in Nov 2004. Today's Code 3 usually puts out 1,500 of each release.

They would sell out any modern equipment from ANY of the stations I listed with a limited release(say 1500) in no time at all. There are a lot of us that want to see something from L.A. The last modern engine or ladder for LACoFD, besides that horrible Freightliner Engine, was the LTI TDA in 2000. The last modern LAFD was in 2001. When given the opportunity West Coast agencies can do well, ie San Francisco ALF, CDF Highland ALF, San Diego, Ventura County, Glendale, etc. There are dozens, if not hundreds, or departments in the Western U.S. that could be done and sell well. Hell, there are a bunch of departments here(ie Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas) in Texas. Plano is still one of my favorites and is a hard one to find, along with the Ft. Worth releases. But all we get is more no name, backwater departments with plain graphics or FDNY. Yippee!

It wasnt a Seagrave that was last produced, it was the Pierce, and each release went to KB Toys. My local KB had dozens of 88's. That and 33 were 2500 piece releases. And they were released after years of screaming, "make more LAFD. In 2000 and 2001 they were $20 cheaper, and there were a lot more collectors that were buying everything. Right now a half decent FDNY release cant sell out, and FDNY outsells anything else 2 to 1 easy. You use flawed logic, you get flawed results. When you realize that the 8 most vocal collectors screaming for west coast releases dont make up the buying demographics and then realize that any company the size of Code 3 or Funrise can back up thier claims, then you look for another direction to proceed. Code 3 surely kept records and with the stroke of a key, can tell you what sold, and who bought it, and where they were from. If the buying power was west coast releases, you would see west coast and not FDNY. You said it yourself, Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Dallas would all be great releases. I would hate to see any company do a release of something that wont sell, it slows down releases of things that do sell. I have four LAFD models in my collection, I dont have anything from Dallas or San Antonio. It really is time to look at other cities. I have two Ventura County trucks, and they are both nice. I dont need another one.

Well I don't ever recall anyone saying "build more LAFD" back then. Especially since Code 3 had made a bunch of Engines in 1997. The point is, while FDNY has enjoyed modest releases, a major department like LAFD and LACoFD have been largely ignored since 2001. Between these two agencies they cover a population of 9 million people. But when you can't sit and say "well in the past they went to K-B Toys" when Code 3 would release 10,000 pieces in various station numbers.

If Code 3 released, say LAFD Station 1, with new equipment and only 1,500 it would sell out overnight. Another example would be LACoFD Station 51 in Universal City(Universal Studios). One selling point is it has the 51 which has it's own historical significance and the other is it's the only publicly owned fire station on private property in the U.S.

If he were listening, then C3 would have workshop plans with stuff from the forum!!!!!!!!!!!!

Somebody from the "old guard".....honestly don't recall if it was Scott or Orlando....but one of them once told us that KB got to pick and choose what they wanted when they came knocking on Code 3's door. I have no clue if that is true or not, but it would certainly make sense in terms of the last release of Los Angeles Pierce Dash engines. Engines 33 and 88 were not around long enough to "sink or swim" on their own before they were KB'ed away. Unfortunately, I didn't know at the time that I had a KB outlet near me, so I ended up having to buy them from PTH.

I have to agree that something truly NEW from Los Angeles, be it an Arrow XT, an upgraded Seagrave engine, or the long-overdue ALF Eagle tiller....I think that would sell very well.

I would not list Boston on the list of cities that sell well, personally. Sure, the first two engines did OK, but what happened when we finally got the long awaited ladder to complete that station set? KB, baby! Boston Ladder 23 is the epitome of something that should have sold out fast and become hard to find. Instead, it sat on the shelf for months, surviving not one, but TWO significant sales before being liquidated. The most recent Boston engine finally did sell out (somehow?) but the mate ladder is still available from Code 3. Whether it was the color fiasco, or the lesser-quality detail than the first ones....I don't know. But, they didn't go like hotcakes, that's for sure.

Bigger mind-blower was Phoenix. 1500 pieces, and it not only went to KB, but is still easy to find, if you look in the right places. Gee, and people wonder why Code 3 won't spend the money to make one of those unique "one-off mold" ALF engines that Phoenix runs. ::: scratches head :::

There's been a lot of talk about Chicago. Sure, a modern Spartan/Crimson engine would probably do quite well, but yet another HME/Luverne repaint is going to be dud city. That'd be almost as mundane as another LA Dash, or yet another FDNY engine with no special significance.

I definitely agree that they need to spice up the lineup with more variety, but it doesn't matter what they do, they will NEVER make everybody happy. Proven fact, time and again!

Oh, and as for the original topic of "Does JD listen to the collector"....well, let me ask you this. If you were "JD" and you had to weed through some of the drivel on this board in order to find the legitimate comments, thoughtful suggestions, and pics of models that Code 3 COULD actually make, would you take the time to do that and listen to us? Neither would I.

Just my $.02