Tnarg

I really like the Arduino idea. Be sure to leave a way to program the device again once it is inside, just in case you change your mind. Sneak that small USB connector in and you can fix what you find later with lighting. Good luck and keep having fun, Tnarg

So.... which image hosting service is actually worth the money and why? Which ones let us easily post here and have the images show with good resolution? Which ones don't break the bank and are easy to use? Anyone have good information for a true Luddite who dumped Photobucket, but hasn't gone anywhere else? Tnarg

The Sopwith Strutter has lots of possibilities. Besides the usual suspects, they used them in Afghanistan, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Greece, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, plus civil planes in Argentina, Sweden and Switzerland. It really got around. WNW could release a post war version and Pheon could still make several sheets to cover the variations.... but would anyone but me be interested in them? Not a lot of Small Air Force stuff gets built it seems. Probably have to print or make masks, but a good kit makes that work. Tnarg

I recall that we kept hearing T-33's buzz Guatemala City when I was there in 1975-76. Luckily, they never went up against the Harriers in Belize, but were posturing to do that. Was the sharkmouth marked T-33 one of those planes? I never saw them, only heard them. Tnarg

There are not quite as many distinctive and interesting color schemes for the Starstrutter as for the Fokker D.VII, but you could at least make half a dozen with great fuselage "art". No ladies, dragons, horses, nor boxing bunny rabbits, but some fascinating geometric patterns are available. Tnarg

Now that is incredibly interesting and wonderful news.... but not for my bank account. I had too many hours invested in Dr. Martin O'Connor's Austro Hungarian article series and book, but this puts them into three dimensions. We are living in a crazy good time for WWI releases. Tnarg

The Hansa Brandenburg CC number 24 was Gottfried Banfield's if I recall correctly. He was one of the most famous Austro Hungarian aces. He had a long and fascinating life, and was possibly the only ace to achieve five victories in a flying boat. Any of these kit possibilities could be very interesting, I am very pleased to see talk of an Austro Hungarian subject. Tnarg

I also just got that Viggen book and highly recommend it. What a great collection of detail photos. Thank you to the author. All we need now is a 1/32 version of that aircraft. Tnarg

If you want a list of what most people want, think of those kits that keep coming out over and over and over. Mustangs, 109s, Spitfires and maybe 190s seem pretty easy to find, and they keep making more. Even when we have P-47's and P-38's, we want Mr. T to make his version. If you want a list of the stuff one or two of us obsess over, look at what WNW did. Junkers J1, LVG C.VI for a first release? What were they thinking? As Adam Savage says, "I reject your reality and substitute my own". And thank you very much Sir Peter and company for those. I know that I would love to have a number of kits that will never make it in injection molded plastic. However, I have lots of very nice resin kits that satisfy some of my obsessions. I even have a 3D printed 1/72 Handley Page 42 airliner. That is crazy weird, but amazing. That will never appear in 1/32 injection molded plastic, not even in 1/72 scale. Somehow, I don't think you will get what you really, really want if all of us vote. You will get what the majority of us kind of like. You won't get an SM-79 Corso (air racer), a Martin B-10B and you probably won't get a complete set of all the Saab aircraft in 1/32 scale (and I am very sad for that). Tnarg

They have an X-3 on the list... fascinating Tnarg

No lasers involved I hope. I had a retinal tear a few months ago and the doctor said we needed to stitch it back together with a laser. Luckily it held, but I saw the little dots float around in my eyes for a few months. It almost seemed as if I was watching a projection of the floating blood cells (small circles and larger irregular ones) onto the cells of the retina and because the retina cells were smaller, it was like looking at them through a microscope. Fascinating, if you ignore the problem. Bottom line, it gets better and you will see well again. Just don't pop another one. Tnarg

Can you imagine an X-20 in 1/32 or even 1/24? Match that Gemini kit from Revell with a "real plane" from space, even if it never got past the drawing boards. Those lifting bodies: M2F-2, HL-10 and X-24A and B cry out to be done in 1/32, as does a really fine X-3 and X-2. Those actually flew. Revell keeps putting out the X-1, but where are its brothers? Paul Fisher did a great deed for us with his X-1A/B kit, and we can only wish for the best for him as he recovers from that disaster and follows his passion. Don't get me started on how much I want those Saabs, but a 29 sounded so good. Hope Fly make that one. And to respect the start of the thread.... that Whirlwind is such a beautiful plane. It almost has the grace of the Spitfire. So many models, will we even build a fraction of them? It is just too much fun to dream. Tnarg

What other alternative would be anywhere as interesting? I guess you could imagine quite a few, but that TinTin scheme would really get your attention. That's the fun with "What IF?" projects. Tnarg

Maybe Voss and the whole squadron? Expensive? Less than a Gotha and an 0/400. Tnarg

The lifelike poses and detail of those figures makes this seem even more real. What an amazing piece of art. Tnarg