VMA131Marine

Heller did the Alize in 1/50 scale as well. Granted that was 1962. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/heller-l835-alize--168551

Along with the USAF, Canada and Taiwan operated the F-101, and Greece and Turkey operated the F-102.

This is not true. Unlike with the 1/72 Blenheim, the 1/48th scale kit was only ever intended to be a Mk.I or Mk.I(F) hence Airfix tooled dedicated Mk.I fuselage halves with the nose attached rather than having a separate nose to accommodate multiple variants. I suspect they concluded there were internal cockpit differences between the I and IV that they would have to reproduce in a 1/48 scale kit that they could ignore in 1/72. Airfix would have to tool up new fuselage halves, clear parts, and cockpit interior parts to get a Mk.IV or V/Bolingbroke out of their Mk.I Plus I would take these rumours about the kits not selling well with a hefty grain of salt. Airfix did do a second boxing of the kit for the Mk.I bomber variant to follow the Mk.IF and outside of some U.S. stores they seem to be hard to find. Neither Hannants nor Airfix themselves have any; the kits aren’t even listed in their catalogues.

Andy’s Hobby HQ now has the Hortens available for pre-order. US$89.99 plus shipping for the Big Box version https://andyshhq.com/products/pre-order-takom-wings-32001w-1-32-horton-big-box-ho229a-horton-flying-wing-pre-order-copy The single A and B kits are US$54.99 plus shipping each

Maybe they’ll even things out and do the Supermarine Spiteful/Seafang next …

I’m not sure you are correct about this. This He 111 kit is likely to retail well north of $100/£100/100€ and I doubt production will exceed 10,000 copies if that. Based on the boxes I get from Airfix which are conveniently numbered, their larger kits are seeing production runs of 5000-7000. At the price, this is going to be a kit for enthusiasts not casual modelers and enthusiasts are likely to be well aware of the issues discussed here before committing to buy. And it does have an impact; I see the Border 1/35 Spitfire is starting to show up on eBay at larger and larger discounts, which is something I haven’t seen with there other 1/35 kits. I suspect that’s in part due to the silly accuracy issues and design choices in developing the kit.

Less than 100 airframes built and served with only 3 squadrons: 616, 124, and 680 in Egypt got 6 aircraft.

I’m more bothered by the rivets than the stressed skin effect tbh.

I think the point was it’s not currently in production so the only option is the second-hand market. Prices on actual completed sales on eBay currently range from $75-$190 with most in the $120-$140 range.

Not to mention also that the He 111 was flush riveted. The Border model looks like it has stove bolts holding it together.

Never heard of MPM Hobbies but I can recommend ScaleHobbyist as an alternative. I’ve always gotten great service from them. https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/browse.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber_a&so=d&kw=Hornet&man=TRP https://www.scalehobbyist.com/catagories/browse.php?pg=1&ppp=48&sb=stocknumber_a&so=d&kw=Hornet&man=HBB

The Spitfire Mk. VII at the Smithsonian NASM doesn’t have any visible canopy rails: Neither does this one:

There’s very little difference externally between a late Mk.II and the Mk.Va. I think the main thing is going to be the prop and spinner because the later Mk.IIs had the enlarged oil cooler with the circular opening. So, the Va makes sense just from the point of view of maximising the use of the molds. The Mk.Vb and Mk.Vc will each need a new wing mold and later Vb’s and Vc’s had a new armoured windscreen so additional clear parts will be required. Kotare is a small company with essentially one product at this point and I’m sure they need to maximise income so they can fund kits of new subjects.

The seat is just horrible too. It looks the same as the one in the Trumpeter 1/24 kit. It’s so bad it isn’t even inaccurate; accuracy assumes there are measurements you can compare.

Look carefully, they are ribbed.