a fortuitous convergence of business and pleasure: 1/4 scale Ducati Panigale model

[brady]

My business is selling 1/8 scale model car kits. They have many moving parts, are assembled mainly with screws and bolts, but are for display only (no functional engine).
The company producing them surprised me with this announcement at the Nuremberg Toy Fair today:

With the inclusion of the 1:4 [20.5 " long] Ducati Panigale 1299S in our catalogue, we offer our customers a new product range, where the traditional Pocher quality is present. We had never reproduced a motorcycle so far and couldn´t have found a better model to do it. The 1:4 Panigale is made of premium metal die-cast and comes ready painted. The kit is easy to build and supplied with detailed instructions. The model consists of more than 600 parts made of an assortment of materials including metal, rubber and premium quality plastic. Most of the parts are simply screwed. Wheels, transmission chain, front and rear suspension, brake and clutch levers are all functional and offer an incomparable level of detail.

It'll be expensive; their car kits are $800 and this should be comparable. Assembly time will be approx 30 hours. And then it just sits there. But there will be one sitting in my living room soon after the kits arrive in my shop, which probably won't be until late Fall 2015.

[PhilB]

Do you have a website or catalogue? I didn't know Pocher was still around. I remember lusting after several of their kits when I was a kid, 40+ years ago. I never got one, but maybe it's time to.

PhilB

[carsick]

Where's the 1st gen SV love? Although it sounds like the model would cost more than the bike in that case. Is that a picture of the actual kit?

[union]

Pretty sweet. Love those super detailed models but can't bring myself to pay for them.

[brady]

Do you have a website or catalogue? I didn't know Pocher was still around. I remember lusting after several of their kits when I was a kid, 40+ years ago. I never got one, but maybe it's time to.

PhilB

Pocher 1:8 scale car kits by ScaleAutoWorks | Pocher

[brady]

Where's the 1st gen SV love? Although it sounds like the model would cost more than the bike in that case. Is that a picture of the actual kit?

Yeah, for the price you might as will build up a display SV and park it inside. That's a photo of the real bike, but the kit will look very close.

[scottieducati]

Yep, there's a Panigale I'm interested in...

[jwm2k3]

I want one...and a real one too...

[PhilB]

Pocher 1:8 scale car kits by ScaleAutoWorks | Pocher

Thank you. How much are you asking for the 8C2300?

PhilB

[brady]

Thank you. How much are you asking for the 8C2300?

PhilB

PM'd

[R7]

To rich for a toy that I can't park my ass on and wheel around a bit. It will certainly be something a ducati enthusiast will end up owning though. Just my opinion, I would think a MotoGP replica racer (MM93, VR46, etc) would be more marketable and cater to a larger crowd than a replica of a production bike

[Charlief]

very cool business...I always find it fascinating what other people do for work.

[brady]

To rich for a toy that I can't park my ass on and wheel around a bit. It will certainly be something a ducati enthusiast will end up owning though. Just my opinion, I would think a MotoGP replica racer (MM93, VR46, etc) would be more marketable and cater to a larger crowd than a replica of a production bike

Just tooling up and producing a motorcycle kit is a big gamble, it seems like the exotic car kits (Lamborghini Aventador and Huracan) would have a broader appeal. Even with the kits costing $800, knowing the rough sales figures I don't know how they're making money. Actually, I have a pretty good guess: Audi [owner of Lamborghini and Ducati] is subsidizing production and development costs in exchange for the marketing value. Hopefully motorcycle enthusiasts will be more fanatical, impulsive and willing to part with the $$ than the average car modeler is. I'd love to see a MotoGP bike, but they may be assuming this will have a broader appeal to the street rider, and it can pretend to be advertising for street bike sales.

[SVRACER01]

To rich for a toy that I can't park my ass on and wheel around a bit. It will certainly be something a ducati enthusiast will end up owning though. Just my opinion, I would think a MotoGP replica racer (MM93, VR46, etc) would be more marketable and cater to a larger crowd than a replica of a production bike

[01xj]

I have at thing in my living room. It came straight from Japan and all the parts are unpainted and unassembled. I stood the box up on display and all the shitty complicated parts sit inside of it. A friend sent it to me as drunk amazon purchase.

[SVRACER01]

bike and rider? give it to me then

- - - Updated - - -

ive got this one already

[brady]

from the Nuremberg Toy Fair, a prototype kit:

[stoinkythepig]

from the Nuremberg Toy Fair

Did you go to Nuremberg? Interesting town. I used to go there often and stayed at the Maritim hotel.

[brady]

Did you go to Nuremberg? Interesting town. I used to go there often and stayed at the Maritim hotel.

Never been, but I keep an eye on what goes on there.

[brady]

Is that a picture of the actual kit?

Here are a few pics of an actual kit in 1:4 scale:

[brady]

Gotta find a way to realistically booger up the tires now....

[carsick]

Yesss. Do it... and try to get more wear on the left.

[stoinkythepig]

Gotta find a way to realistically booger up the tires now....

I have a 48" belt sander in my shop. I imagine it would do the job perfectly.

[nick5446]

Yours looks a whole lot better than these things: Full Size Kits

[carsick]

Full Size Kits

Warn a guy before linking something that hideous. I'm feeling sick now.