6th Scale Icons Inc. Going out of Business

[Mike Stannard (toyrific)]

Dear Friends

It is with great regret that I have to inform you that 6th Scale Icons may be closing it's doors at the end of this year, maybe sooner. Firstly I want to assure you that all current orders will be filled as I have all parts in stock, just assembly is required.

It has been a hard struggle keeping my doors open over the last two years and I am now in a situation that I have no capital to remain in business. To run my business and survive cost over $5000.00 a month, this year my average monthly sales has been less than $4500.00. As you can see the numbers do not add up.

The reason for this must be the economy as I know from over the last 7 years all of my customers are happy with my products and appreciate what I have brought to the hobby.

There is only one way I can stay in business and that is if my sales increase, moving to a smaller workshop location is not a option as I need all the space I have to maintain production and a smaller shop would not save enough in the long run. My current shop is on a lease until April 2012 which I cannot opt out on.

This is my full time work, I do not have a second job for additional income to fall back on.

I applied for a bank loan and was told today that it is was not approved. This is such a niche market for the bank to base it's potential on and I have no property to put up as collateral. The fact that I have put over $600,000.00 through the bank in the last seven years makes no difference, they have based their decision on my current cash flow, which if it was good I would not have needed the loan.

Adding to this problem, I have found out that another company (Not Steel Dragons) is recasting some of my parts and selling them. I do not know the extend of this as I have only seen a picture of five recast parts, which are clearly recast in resin of my metal parts. The company does not have these parts on their web site, so must be selling them by other means, the said company had recasts of my parts on their web site in 2008 which they removed when I contacted them and claimed they did not know they were recasts. As they removed the parts I never went public with this in 2008. Looks like they have been knowingly selling recasts for the last three years.

I only found out about this by accident when second company offered the parts for sale last month. When I contacted them I was told they had purchased them from the company that was recasting the parts, the second company have removed the parts from their web site and I assume are not offering them any more. I am not at this stage going to name the company as I am still investigating it. But I will tell you the company is based in Germany and they are also offering recasts of other major customizer's products.

I will keep you all informed on progress and hope that somehow I can overcome this problem and stay in business. If you would like to help I urgently need orders. Any orders placed now will be filled, if any items ordered are not in stock or I cannot produce I will not take payment for those parts.

Another alternative is to sell the business or take on a partner that is willing to invest some capital and eventually take over, if there is anyone out there that might be interested in this please contact me.

Yours Sincerely
Mike Stannard
6th Scale Icons Inc.

[steve winstone]

Hi Mike,

I am sorry to hear that things are bad, but it is the same all over, I hope you are able to sort something out, as it will be a loss to the hobby to see you go.

I wish you the best of luck.

Kind Regards
Steve Winstone

[simon_manning]

the parts i have had of you mike have been superb, times are tough and i would of orderd more, some buisness's have been harder hit than others, i will try and place an order with you,i need the fan and segment covers plus the rear air intake grills for the jadgpanther late, i will e mail you, keep at it regards simon manning

[Paul Morris]

Hi Mike.

Sad news indeed, I hope you can find a way around this for yourself and as Steve said for the hobby in general.

Best wishes for your future.
Kind regards Paul.

[Tim Bowman]

Hi Mike

I know your business has had slow times before and as one of your many happy customers, I just want to wish you all the best.

For all of us who value the handful of craftsmen in our hobby, now might be a good time to show your support. If there are parts from Mike Stannard you have been thinking of purchasing for your build, maybe now is a good time to order. Mike has always come through with orders of mine and his communication on any production delays is always top notch. 100% satisfied with the parts, accuracy and quality.

I can count the quality craftsmen in our hobby on one hand and it would be a shame to see any of them pack it in, not to mention a loss to our hobby.

Let's support all of them.

Order sent Mike!

kindest regards and best wishes
Tim

[Mike Stannard (toyrific)]

Dear Friends

I want to tell you a little story about the last 24 hours. At around 5 pm yesterday I received a phone call from my bank telling me the loan I had applied for had not been approved, I sat down had a cup of tea and a cigarette, yes I am a smoker. Over the last few weeks I had thought about my options if I did not get the loan, my last resort was to trust in my customers and inform you all of my situation. At around 7 pm I started drafting my newsletter and finally hit the button on it at around 10 pm, then I posted the newsletter on the SAG and Armortek forums and went to bed thinking I would know if it was successful the next day. I was worried that it might have a negative effect and after I had sent out the newsletter and made the posts I wondered if I had done the right thing. But I have always believed honesty is the best policy.

This must have been nagging on my sleeping brain as I woke up at 12.30 and could not get back to sleep. So I decided to check my e-mails, I had already got around 15 of them. I spent the rest of the night answering e-mails and sending out invoice, every time I sent out the mail a few more came in. By 7 am I had answered around 25 e-mails. I shut the computer down and went and had breakfast with a friend. I did a post run and went to my shop. I got back to my apartment at around 2 pm. I had another 15 or so e-mails, I started answering these and again each time I sent out a few more came in. I finally caught up on them at 6 pm with 52 e-mails answered. I am good with my hands , but I am not a typist, just one finger on each hand.

These 52 e-mail from customers from all over the world have resulted in 15 confirmed orders and around another 10 promises of orders by the weekend. The 15 confirmed orders have resulted in over $6000.00 in sales. I think I will sleep well tonight, the first time in over a month.

What a wonderful hobby we are in. I have been collecting, buying and selling toys since 1976 and loved every day of it with no regrets, lots of worries at times lately, but never any regrets.

The response by customers to my situation has been overwhelming, the good wishes by e-mail and board posts I never expected. I can tell you all now that I am here to stay for as long as you need my products. How can I let down all the members of this hobby that have supported me over the last 7 years and now in particular, the last 24 hours.

I cannot thank you all enough, I feel humbled by your actions and support.

Yours Sincerely
Mike Stannard (AKA Toyrific)