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More of a line of collectible "toys," there's not
a lot of info available about Speccast -- and
the line seems to have thinned out over the last
2-3 years (likely due to Franklin Mint/CDC's
lower pricing).
However, they were the first 1:48 scale metal
aircraft I saw, and purchased, beginning in the
late 1990's. While much more toy-like than the
competition (They double as "banks," most
have slots to insert and remove coins -- except
for P-38's, which are too small.) some of them
are really quite nice and display well with
similar scales. (There is some debate on
whether the planes are 1:48th, or 1:45th scale. I
think they are 1:45.)
Many have also become quite collectible,
having been released in runs as small as 504,
and as many as 2,500 (perhaps more -- anyone
know?). Pappy Boyington's Corsair and
"Flying Tigers" P-40 are very hard to find, for
example and fetch prices over $100. These
planes originally debuted for about $30-$60,
and have bottomed out on Ebay of late for less
than $20 (albeit for the more common liveries).
I can attest to the models durability, my
"Chuck Older" P-40 (a somewhat rare model)
fell about four feet when the shelf it was
parked on collapsed -- I'm not the best
handyman! It fell onto a hard desk along with
three other Armour aircraft. Thankfully, it
only suffered a couple of minor scratches on
the right wing, which kind of looks like battle
scars... Okay so I'm putting a positive spin on
things. It held up real well, but I don't
recommend this experience to anyone.
I have 18 or so Speccast WWII planes in all,
mostly Corsairs and P-40's with a couple o'
P-38's (these are 1:64th scale). I'll be posting
reviews and pics of all of them here, and if
anyone's got better info on their
collectibility/production runs, please let me
know!
a lot of info available about Speccast -- and
the line seems to have thinned out over the last
2-3 years (likely due to Franklin Mint/CDC's
lower pricing).
However, they were the first 1:48 scale metal
aircraft I saw, and purchased, beginning in the
late 1990's. While much more toy-like than the
competition (They double as "banks," most
have slots to insert and remove coins -- except
for P-38's, which are too small.) some of them
are really quite nice and display well with
similar scales. (There is some debate on
whether the planes are 1:48th, or 1:45th scale. I
think they are 1:45.)
Many have also become quite collectible,
having been released in runs as small as 504,
and as many as 2,500 (perhaps more -- anyone
know?). Pappy Boyington's Corsair and
"Flying Tigers" P-40 are very hard to find, for
example and fetch prices over $100. These
planes originally debuted for about $30-$60,
and have bottomed out on Ebay of late for less
than $20 (albeit for the more common liveries).
I can attest to the models durability, my
"Chuck Older" P-40 (a somewhat rare model)
fell about four feet when the shelf it was
parked on collapsed -- I'm not the best
handyman! It fell onto a hard desk along with
three other Armour aircraft. Thankfully, it
only suffered a couple of minor scratches on
the right wing, which kind of looks like battle
scars... Okay so I'm putting a positive spin on
things. It held up real well, but I don't
recommend this experience to anyone.
I have 18 or so Speccast WWII planes in all,
mostly Corsairs and P-40's with a couple o'
P-38's (these are 1:64th scale). I'll be posting
reviews and pics of all of them here, and if
anyone's got better info on their
collectibility/production runs, please let me
know!
Speccast 1:45, 1:64
