Manufacturers and boxes

On Thu, 25 Mar 1999 06:42:13 -0600 devans@uneb.edu wrote:

Quoting me:
>> Phil, wishing that manufacturers would get over the 
size-it-to-fit-the-box mentality.... <<
 
> Well, I could go into some comments about standardization, marketing, 
shelf space, etc., let's say I'd rather they'd get away from the 'let 
us see how much empty box space we can get away with to inflate the 
visual impact of this dog.' <

I agree with you, mostly. BUT, I'd much rather have a larger box with 
empty space in it and the contents sized "properly", i.e., to a 
consistent scale, than to have the _box_ a standard size and the model 
therein made any old size. Sometimes, SF models are the last bastion of 
this practice -- that, let it be noted, died out in _other_ modelling 
genres years ago.

The various Viper and Raider models are a case in point; neither the 
Monogram nor the Comet ships are in scale with one another. Nor were 
the original Star Wars X-wing and TIE fighter. And AMT were notorious 
for the peculiar range of scales that they chose for their Star Trek 
kits, odds examples like the TOS Enterprise and Klingon BC being the 
rare exception. They've improved somewhat of late, but not much -- of 
course, my wish for a 1/1400 DS9 (to be in scale with the 
Enterprise-C, -D and -E) is a bit unreasonable -- it would be over a 
metre in diameter! <g> Of course, a 15-inch one that's in scale with my 
Gamescience/Task Force/Galoob ST minis would be nice....
 
> On a related note: Just picked up BattleFleet Gothic(my caps), and 
give it points for a relatively small box crammed pretty full. I'm not 
gushing about the ships nor entirely comfortable with the $60 price 
tag, but I've done far worse. <

Hmmm. From the sound of that, the US version uses a _much_ smaller box 
than the UK packaging, which looks to me to have a lot of empty space 
in it. And $60 is not a bad price compared with £40, particularly at 
the current exchange rate. Methinks the Evil Empire is being a little 
bit greedy over here.... (so what else is new?)

Phil
------------------------------------------------------------
"I think... I think I am!     |        I think _I_ am:
 Therefore I am... I think?"  | 	Phil Atcliffe  
   -- The Moody Blues	      | (Phillip.Atcliffe@uwe.ac.uk)