12 Squared models

12 Squared catalog

12 Squared history

Company name

12 squared = 144

Machinery

My machine is a Technical/Vocational School training tool, about a square foot and three feet high. It is designed to produce either a poker chip or golf tee, one at a time. The XF-85 for example was made with seven different molds, all hand cycled through. Always wanted to kick out the X-1A and offer the three together (X-1, X-1A, X-1E) but that added ¾ inch is just too much.

Production

I could maybe produce four complete kits an hour if everything came out well, and it usually didn't. At best something like the XP-77 I could kick out 6-7 an hour. With the CSS Hunley I only got 1 out of 8 tries filled for either hull half. One kit was never released because I could not fill the mold. #2-15 was to have been the HL-10. I only produced one complete kit and was "whined" out of it by the guys that now own Aviation Usk while at a show.

Subjects

Let me explain to you my operation. I thought BIG, and ran 1000 instructions for the first kit, the 1/144 EP3 conversion. It was a conversion in a scale no one but airliner buffs dealt with in the 70/80 period. First no one want to mess with a conversion. First they have to buy the aircraft for five times the conversion price, then decide that they want an aircraft so special that it may be the only one or in this case maybe 30-40 out of hundreds built of the type. Al Lloyd always wanted me to kick out scads of B-24 conversions but I kept asking him how I could survive making $10 kits when they have to buy a $40 kit to use mine? So from app 900 X-1's I'd say probably less than 200 Gnat 750's, I don't believe I sold 100 T12's or Fat Man IV's.

Direct selling

I didn't supply dealers. I have always considered myself a modeler and I hate to think that with all my labor as a single individual why give 40% to someone who does nothing to advance the hobby other than to sell other peoples products. So because of that fact I decided to offer the kits direct only, with the exception of perhaps one or two outlets overseas, because I couldn't meet demand. At best I probably produced close to 900 X-1's, as it was the first ever and still has one of the best decal sheets. Anyway, Pegasus worked out a deal with Squadron for a guaranteed purchase of XXX number of each kit. So he could produce to that amount, they would do the major release and he would get the residue of sales after the big push. The only problem with that was that he had to double his price to get what he needed to maintain profitability. As a modeler that makes me mad. I tried to keep my price at a fraction of his and go direct, but a lot of people don't like dealing across the pond. I believe it is changing due to the internet but 10 years ago there was still a barrier there. Hence my volumes have been low. I'm kicking out other kits as orders come in. I never kept more than a 15-20 kit stockpile of any one type except when it was a new release.

Quality

I tried to make sure all my parts were filled and not send out any 'short shots'. When John Meicrantz released his Meikraft models I had a customer call me up from the IPMS convention to tell me not to worry because this guy had released eight kits in color boxes but when you opened them up it was like an injected vacuform as the flash was all over. He got most of his masters from the Czechs, and they visited him and told him to call me to find out why my kits were clean and his were all flash.

Competition

The 1/72 scale one had been out for a while when Desert Storm broke out. Meikraft called me and said 'WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING" After a week of hearing this I said, how about a Scud/Patriot model, mounted on a metal stand in the shape of Iraq? He loved it. I kicked out the masters for all the parts as I couldn't fill a Scud on my machine. He had the stands spun and "ON Target" had their only issue. Never saw a penny of that until he called back one day saying he had a $500 order from England but they would only buy with a credit card. I took them, he didn't. I billed them and kept it as my share, since he never offered anything. He did produce a batch of metal stands for me though for the 1/48 BGM-109.

Ron Downy who in the late 70's early 80's kicked out a couple kits under the SMDC label sent me the material on the Air Logistics trailer. He also had done the LTV Loon which he gave to me to reissue. After 8 months Joe calls me, when is that kit coming out, what do you want next. I told him it would be out when I got there..... Other wise I thought the IAR 90 would be a great release as no one had done it. He called several months later wanting $500 for the IAR. I said when I released the RE2005 I'd buy the next one. A few months later he called again to tell me I needed to release the Re2005 as he "had heard" that Pegasus was coming out with one. Well I tried to hurry but Pegasus beat me out by a month and I didn't have decals. The entire side of the Pegasus box is a tribute to "Joe Franscisa without who's great contribution this kit could not have been produced." That kit was followed by the IAR 90 by Pegasus. I can see finding another market for the IAR if I refused to buy it when available but I just don't think its right to sell the same master to two different people just for profit. Anyway the Pegasus kit can't stand up to mine, but only about 40 people know that as that's about all I sold.

Production stop

I guess one of the big things that helps me to stop was the repetitive simultaneous releases. I did a J8M and within two months both MPM and Hasegawa released one. MPM then came out with an XF-85 (my dolly is still heads above theirs), and the same with the XP-77. Then I go deeper into the esoteric and do the ME328, guess what, MPM and then Airfix of all people. They couldn't do an TSR2 until they go bankrupt, but they can do an bloody ME328.

The real kicker though was when I was convinced by one Joe Francisca to buy a set of masters through him from his relatives in Poland. He originally called to offer his assistance in increasing my production; "let me visit and look at your operation and I guarantee I'll increase your production 100%". Right, 15 years later and he has yet to produce anything himself. He has a website out of New Jersey where he peddles other peoples work. Anyway we worked out a deal for a set of masters based on a vacuform his relatives had done on the Re 2005. I told him what I required and sent him $500. They sent me one set of parts prepared the way I requested along with an Italeri kit of the Re 2002 with the note, take the cockpit and landing gear from the kit. Right, WRONG. Totally WRONG. I scratch built up the cockpit walls, made up the ribbed flaps and scratched the landing gear based on data from contacts in Italy.

Future plans

Hoping to get back into it by the end of the year (2007). Hope to start out with a clean slate of kits and gradually redo the molds for some of the old kits which people would like to see again. No use coming out with those that others have done since then like the X-1/X-4/XP-77/etc. Have a bigger machine now, bought one from the widow of Meicraft Models when he died. If I can get all the parts on one sprue I could kick out up to 60 kits an hour which would let me produce more at a reasonable price while still leaving time for new masters. I probably have 30-50 types partially worked on, just gathering dust. Anigrand has a great site and has produced darn near everything I ever really wanted to do.