The end of Atlas Editions

Back in 2016, I wrote about Atlas Editions and their strange business practices. Since then things have carried on in much the same way and they have continued to supply subscribers with new models, albeit sometimes erratically and not always to their satisfaction. Now however, with effect from May 2018 and confirming speculation that had been rife for a while, the Atlas Editions brand is officially being phased out. All of the once omnipresent advertising has disappeared and the Atlas website now states that while existing subscriptions will be honoured, no new customers are being accepted, with visitors directed to the 'Model Space' website of Atlas's parent company De Agostini.instead. So what has led to this drastic decision being made?

Originally issued in mainland Europe, then the UK coach series and now widely available

Looking back, the first sign of trouble was in late 2016 when Atlas stopped producing new UK-outline models for the Classic Coaches collection and for the following year it just became a series of reissues of existing models from the European bus and coach collection. Only a matter of weeks after the final model was despatched to subscribers, most of the earlier ones were released to wholesalers and quickly became available through normal retail channels at prices lower than Atlas's, much to the annoyance of these subscribers.

One of the last UK coaches before this series turned entirely to foreign reissues

The next indication that all wasn't well was when the Stobart Shop started advertising plentiful stocks of most of the models from the World of Stobart series as £12 bargains. Notably these included the Van Hool coach, until then a rare and sought after item that had been changing hands for £70 or more on eBay. Needless to say this particular model quickly sold out to the fleet operators who had been waiting for prices to drop so they could afford to buy them for repainting. Even now, several months on, the Stobart Shop still have many of the other models available at the same low prices.

A real bargain at £12 from the Stobart Shop compared with eBay prices

Now it seems that in the face of falling customer numbers and a worsening reputation, De Agostini have decided to pull the plug on the Atlas Editions operation completely. Many Atlas models suddenly appeared on the Model Space website on a 'pick and mix' basis allowing customers to choose the individual items they wanted with no further obligation to sign up for a subscription. Following quickly on from this, UK wholesaler John Ayrey appears to have acquired en masse all remaining Atlas diecast stock from many different collections and is offering these models to retailers in this country.

Ayreys have the whole Greatest Show on Earth series so look out for these hitting the market soon

Even in their death throes, Atlas have managed to upset many of the few remaining subscribers by telling them their collections are complete when they know there are some missing models they haven't received, which are supposedly no longer available. Their stock control clearly hasn't been very effective as they seem to have run out of some models prematurely while having massive surpluses of others, which are now being dumped on the market at bargain prices while the few that are out of stock are climbing in value. All of this just adds to the frustration of customers let down by Atlas, who face paying a premium for the rare missing models while seeing the value of the rest of their collection plummet.

Several Stobart collectors are missing this one and Atlas can't supply any more

This sudden dumping of so much surplus stock flooding the market means there are now plenty of these models available from many different suppliers. If you go to the right places, you can buy them for far less than Atlas charged to subscribers and a fraction of what they sold for on eBay when first released. While good for people like me as a source of cheap raw material for conversions, it's not so good for collectors who paid full price, and past experience of this mass devaluing means suppliers usually avoid dumping and carefully control the release of surplus models. This is obviously a quick solution to get rid of the stock without worrying about the consequences, which again suggests De Agostini just want the Atlas brand and its products to disappear as soon as possible.

Something different, the Popemobile from the Polish 'Kultowe Auta PRL' series

Interestingly the models available through the Model Space website and John Ayrey include some from European collections that had never been available in the UK before as Atlas had outright refused to allow UK customers to subscribe to these collections. Maybe they wouldn't have ended up with such a huge surplus (and would have made more money) if they had made all of their collections available to customers worldwide instead of arbitrarily restricting them by region. Thanks to these sources, I have managed to build a complete collection of the European bus and coach models at prices lower than those Atlas would have charged me, which I never would have anticipated when they were first released.

The Danish Volvo never before available in the UK until it appeared on the Model Space site

One of the many bones of contention was the lack of accurate information provided by Atlas and their inability to clearly communicate when collections had come to an end. I once received a text message containing just the three French words "fin de collection" with no further explanation, followed by an email apologising that these texts had been sent in error so I'm not sure what collection it was referring to. Presumably as part of the shutdown, a few weeks ago, totally out of the blue and almost two years after receiving the final model, Atlas sent me an email stating that my last Greatest Show on Earth model had 'recently' been despatched and my collection was now complete!  

The last one, received in 2016 so why are Atlas only now telling me this collection is complete?

It appears that De Agostini are focusing on their core business of partwork kits, where customers receive a selection of parts and a magazine each month and over the course of two or three years (and several thousand pounds) build up a complete large-scale model, such as the James Bond Aston Martin that was heavily advertised a few years ago. It's fairly certain there won't be any more collections of diecast models under the Atlas name, but De Agostini have introduced their own Dinky Toys partwork series that pairs the same models previously used by Atlas with a monthly magazine, so this seems to be the way they'll be sold in future.

A hypothetical RHD Fleischer S5, thanks to the widespread availability of cheap Atlas models

Will anyone really miss Atlas Editions? To be honest I doubt it as they weren't the most professional of businesses and their customer service often left a lot to be desired. The products will be missed far more than the brand itself as, although there were more than a few duds, Atlas have been responsible for some interesting models that probably wouldn't have otherwise been made. For now I'd encourage anyone who wants particular Atlas models to take advantage of this mass sell-off and seize the opportunity to obtain them at bargain prices without the hassle often associated with Atlas or the rampant profiteering of eBay as there won't be any more once they've gone.