Pocher Revival !

Nice!

This is exciting news

 

I just bought my very first Pocher kit, this should be cool.

 

I just contacted Stephane from Scale Details to see if he knows any additional info about this. He was the Pocher rep for the US until they went out of business and has since made a business out of offering great detail kits for the models. If you have a Pocher kit and would like to add some detail to it, take a look at his website. Stephane is also an FChat member who owns a Lambo and usually a Ferrari. I will let you know what Stephane says about this new Pocher news. Thanks

 

I have contacted him and looked at his website, I plan on ordering an upgrade kit from him. Very nice stuff.

 

A post on another forum suggests new models in new materials and no mention of re-releases. Guess we'll have to wait until the toy show to find out what is really happening.

 

I wonder how far they got with the F50 project K62 before the company closed down? Wouldn't that be awesome if they are able to offer the F50? I saw a few stories stating that the F50 was to be there next Ferrari offering. Keeping my fingers crossed for that one!

 

master was stolen at the Neurenberg-toyfair around 1990..

I don't think its smart to reproduce the old models, especially the Ferrari's.
They are very crude to todays standards..

 

Well, crude or not, even today these kits are a decent value for those like me that can't afford to spend $hundreds/thousands more on models of this scale from other companies.

If the new "Pocher" does re-release certain models (such as the TR and F40), I suppose those couple of unbuilt Ferrari kits I have sitting around will diminish in dollar value (not that I care, these will get built...eventually!).

Depending on what the announcement is, perhaps we'll see an increase in the number of the "old" kits on the secondary market...eBay?

 

Those unbuilt kits tend to be quite pricey, when available.

Any idea what the cost would be for a re-release? I saw a built F-40 years ago and have wanted one ever since.

 

I have a yellow Testarossa and a red F40. Does anyone know how many of each were produced? Thanks in anticipation. Colm.

 

Once again going to show that these molds are never thrown away.

Of course, getting such a kit off the ground is more than just the molding - many, many details of supply, assembly, packaging, etc.

I would think probably the Alfa and the Bugatti 57 would be a better place to start than the Ferraris.

 

From a scale model forum:
"I have been communicating with one of the Lemke folks. Lemke used to be the official distributor of Pocher in Germany for many years. He confirmed that they are working with Hornby to relaunch the Pocher brand in 2013. The will be a line of new models with new materials, though he would not reveal what these would be, nor did he say anything about rereleases of existing models. The launch or announcement is scheduled to happen in Feb at the Nurmberg Toy fair. I guess we dont have too long to wait."

As far as re-releases are concerned the Alfa Romeo Monza is displayed at the Hornby visitor center so perhaps it is a candidate for re-issue.

 

I never thought i would see Pocher kits for sale again.
Judging from the resale market the Ferrari models and engine kits would be good to raise quick cash.
Lets hope the Porsche model molds stay inactive.

While it would be exciting to see them develop new kits that is a considerable undertaking.
When i was a kid building models was really popular but doesn't seem like that now.
But i guess a 1:8 scale model is really aimed at the adult builder so maybe the model economy is better then i think.

 

I received a reply back from Stephane at Scale Details. He still thinks that this is all a rumor and will wait to see if anything actually comes of this before getting to excited about it. If I remember correctly, there have been other rumors in the past about Pocher coming back and never panned out. So I am sure he has seen this stuff before. As I said earlier, I just hope that whoever is doing this does not try and use plastic instead of diecast for the bodies if they reissue any of the Ferraris. I also do not want to see them follow the Porsche as a base line for quality and detail. I had heard rumors about the F50 prototype being stolen but still not sure whether this is true or not. Also, there would have to be more work done on that project instead of just one car. There would have to be drawings, molds, a few parts, etc. from it. If it was indeed stolen, how dumb do you have to be to bring the one and only prototype of a new product to a show and allow someone to take it?

 

The theft was discussed in a dutch magazine that covered the toyfair and that happened around 1988.. I have no information if that was correct or not..

The classics are still special, but the quality of the diecast Ferrari's is no longer in line with models manufactured today.

we'll see what happens..

 

Yes, but wouldn't those, of the same scale, cost two or three times as much?

 

I hope it happens.
I have few Pocher Ferraris and I have to say that if you want a decent model from them by today's standards you need to drop about $2K to get them there.
Back 1990 IIRC they were about 300 Swiss Francs. That is when the Revell 1:18 were considered VERY EXPENSIVE at 45 Francs. So to compete at today's market, they would have to up the quality and architecture of the models considerably. I just can't see how they could do this and stay bellow $1000 per kit.

 

I am very curious about the price-level they are aiming for.

Production was incredibly high in the 1980's, and if you want one they are still out there.
Its very easy to pick up an old one with some work for a reasonable price, and parts can still be found.

I don't believe its viable to make it commmercially worthwhile..

 

As am I.

Lots of Pocher kits are available on ebay and the Alfa 8C is the most common. I bought an uunopened one ten years ago for around $500 inluding shipping and broke even when I sold it on there last year.

Many are unstarted and asking prices for the rare and most desirable were hitting $2K+ last time I looked.

Also lots of parts and started kits available; occasionally completed models and I've seen heirloom collections of completed models for sale...one time every kit that Pocher made.

Commercially viable? I'd guess an entry level price of $1K and on up to $3K+ range. Marketable or not at those prices open to question.

 

It isn't a Ferrari but still this is exciting.

Hornby International, which owns the rights to Pocher since they were liquidated in 2000, has unveiled today the new 1:8 Pocher Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 kit at the Nuremberg, Germany International Toy Fair.

Some details from the new Pocher website.

"In keeping with the Pocher tradition the car body of the 13 lbs model is made of premium metal die-cast and comes ready painted. The kit is easy to build and can be assembled for both left-hand and right-hand drive. The 1:8 sportster kit consists of more than 600 parts made of an assortment of materials including metal, rubber, textiles and premium quality plastic. Many parts are simply screwed. Of course steering, suspension and spoiler mechanism are functional with doors and hatches being capable of being opened."

Their new official video is on YouTube and there are many more photos at Pocher.com.
There is no information about how close the kit is to production. Or the price.
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That certainly is interesting!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtqTO67skOg[/ame]