Artful69

- for your score K2
- for the previous thread deletion!!!!
 
That was Erwin's legacy to our forum ... Miss the guy ... But at least he left an ongoing piece of himself behind - one that wasn't filled with snark and controversy!!
 
Rog

I don’t know if this means anything at all but my mate took his dog into a vet in Auckland yesterday and saw the back of this envelope on the receptionist’s laptop. Luckily he had the presence of mind to take a snap.

 
Does @dutik have some serious inside track info he’s not letting on about?
 
I’m up for a couple of Balrog duelists. 
 
P. 

Well, I do not have a crystal ball but development of a new kit asks for years (commonly 3 to 5 as a minimum) and in the meanwhile the company needs to stay afloat. Practically this means minimising risk and investment while earning a sufficient amount of money. There are not twenty ways to do that! Releasing reasonably small aircrafts of well known topics not covered by good and accurate kits seems to me the less risky approach. And this strategy should go further than a single kit family (Spitfire). All the guys are savvy but they do not have anymore the deep pockets of Mr. Jackson behind them. So the business model is obviously tighter. As a freelancer having his own company it looks logical to me to manage such a business in that way. The future will tell us if I'm right or wrong but I would not be surprised seeing at least three lines of profitable 'small' topics before seeing something else being released! Wait and see...

As unlikely as this is ... it's not completely bonkers!  ...
We lack this Iconic BoB bomber from the 1/32 line up ... and also an accurate Ju.87B/R
Both of these fall under the "... something to shoot down" banner.
 
Rog

Well, they did say that it would compliment the Spitfire...  
           ... and there are only two other planes to think of when you think of Spitfire...  the 109 and the Walrus....
                                    ...  just kidding.  Of course, I meant Hurricane.

As unlikely as this is ... it's not completely bonkers!  ...
We lack this Iconic BoB bomber from the 1/32 line up ... and also an accurate Ju.87B/R
Both of these fall under the "... something to shoot down" banner.
 
Rog

As unlikely as this is ... it's not completely bonkers!  ...
We lack this Iconic BoB bomber from the 1/32 line up ... and also an accurate Ju.87B/R
Both of these fall under the "... something to shoot down" banner.
 
Rog

I like your logic. 
 
When it comes to Spitfires I'd argue that 1a, Vb, IX, XVI and Mk 22/24 are the most significant. If I were Kotare I'd leave the IX alone as Tamiya nailed it but a Mk22/24 would be welcomed by many so that we have a state-of-the-art Griffon engined machine. 
 
Kind regards,
Paul

Sensibly ... It's the most logical selection given other manufacturers have the market cornered with the other major marques.
 
... And before anyone states the obvious - "Kotare don't make money from Cyber-Hobby sales" - bear this in mind ... Hobby 2000 just re-popped some Cyber Hobby kits a while back. These Cyber Hobby kits are very detail heavy (more than Kotare's Spitfires), superbly accurate, have no real vices (apart from the cowl fit over the engine - which takes a little patience and work to accomplish) and these can be purchased for about 60% of the retail of those current Kotare kits. Unless you're a complete brand snob (or a collector like me  ) ... it's a no brainer decision for the majority of the population! So a Bf.109E-3 or 4 might seem like a great idea, but may take a long time to sell!
 
The odd one out (mass-produced) would be the E-1 - with Eduard kits becoming scarce and no conversion available for the Cyber-Hobby E series.
 
A - thru - D would be obvious choices ... as well as perhaps giving the 'T' a look at?
 
But that's if they ARE indeed, looking at an opponent in the short term ... Realistically, the only information we have is that it's a mainstream release (not a Special Ed) it's number is 32009 and it's not a Spitfire ... on a Venn Diagram it's a subset that's about as vague as you can get!! We only have 'kitsets' numbered 32001 (Mk.Ia Mid) and 32601 (Mk.Ia Mid SE) released at present, 32004 (Mk.Ia early) is nearly due and 32002 (Mk.Va) is slated as next on the production run ... That leaves 32003 and 32005-8 unannounced ... 5 out of 9 kits ... I'd think we've got a better chance of guessing what Spitfires are on the planned run for the next releases, quite frankly ...
 
Since the Mk.Va is on the way and the Mk.V was the most produced variant - surely a Mk.Vb must be on the cards now? ... If not kit 32003 then surely 5-8??
 
Rog

Sensibly ... It's the most logical selection given other manufacturers have the market cornered with the other major marques.
 
... And before anyone states the obvious - "Kotare don't make money from Cyber-Hobby sales" - bear this in mind ... Hobby 2000 just re-popped some Cyber Hobby kits a while back. These Cyber Hobby kits are very detail heavy (more than Kotare's Spitfires), superbly accurate, have no real vices (apart from the cowl fit over the engine - which takes a little patience and work to accomplish) and these can be purchased for about 60% of the retail of those current Kotare kits. Unless you're a complete brand snob (or a collector like me  ) ... it's a no brainer decision for the majority of the population! So a Bf.109E-3 or 4 might seem like a great idea, but may take a long time to sell!
 
The odd one out (mass-produced) would be the E-1 - with Eduard kits becoming scarce and no conversion available for the Cyber-Hobby E series.
 
A - thru - D would be obvious choices ... as well as perhaps giving the 'T' a look at?
 
But that's if they ARE indeed, looking at an opponent in the short term ... Realistically, the only information we have is that it's a mainstream release (not a Special Ed) it's number is 32009 and it's not a Spitfire ... on a Venn Diagram it's a subset that's about as vague as you can get!! We only have 'kitsets' numbered 32001 (Mk.Ia Mid) and 32601 (Mk.Ia Mid SE) released at present, 32004 (Mk.Ia early) is nearly due and 32002 (Mk.Va) is slated as next on the production run ... That leaves 32003 and 32005-8 unannounced ... 5 out of 9 kits ... I'd think we've got a better chance of guessing what Spitfires are on the planned run for the next releases, quite frankly ...
 
Since the Mk.Va is on the way and the Mk.V was the most produced variant - surely a Mk.Vb must be on the cards now? ... If not kit 32003 then surely 5-8??
 
Rog

Sensibly ... It's the most logical selection given other manufacturers have the market cornered with the other major marques.
 
... And before anyone states the obvious - "Kotare don't make money from Cyber-Hobby sales" - bear this in mind ... Hobby 2000 just re-popped some Cyber Hobby kits a while back. These Cyber Hobby kits are very detail heavy (more than Kotare's Spitfires), superbly accurate, have no real vices (apart from the cowl fit over the engine - which takes a little patience and work to accomplish) and these can be purchased for about 60% of the retail of those current Kotare kits. Unless you're a complete brand snob (or a collector like me  ) ... it's a no brainer decision for the majority of the population! So a Bf.109E-3 or 4 might seem like a great idea, but may take a long time to sell!
 
The odd one out (mass-produced) would be the E-1 - with Eduard kits becoming scarce and no conversion available for the Cyber-Hobby E series.
 
A - thru - D would be obvious choices ... as well as perhaps giving the 'T' a look at?
 
But that's if they ARE indeed, looking at an opponent in the short term ... Realistically, the only information we have is that it's a mainstream release (not a Special Ed) it's number is 32009 and it's not a Spitfire ... on a Venn Diagram it's a subset that's about as vague as you can get!! We only have 'kitsets' numbered 32001 (Mk.Ia Mid) and 32601 (Mk.Ia Mid SE) released at present, 32004 (Mk.Ia early) is nearly due and 32002 (Mk.Va) is slated as next on the production run ... That leaves 32003 and 32005-8 unannounced ... 5 out of 9 kits ... I'd think we've got a better chance of guessing what Spitfires are on the planned run for the next releases, quite frankly ...
 
Since the Mk.Va is on the way and the Mk.V was the most produced variant - surely a Mk.Vb must be on the cards now? ... If not kit 32003 then surely 5-8??
 
Rog

To be able to build a complete (accurate) evolution from the earliest production, through to the last Mk to fly would be awesome! I certainly look forward to a decent Mk.Vb One look in the Hobby Boss kit made me cringe (and I'm usually pretty tolerant with mild shape issues - building a Trumpeter Bf.109E-3 and 4 and enjoying every minute of it) ... even HPH's turd polishing kit really isn't enough remedy for it, sadly.
 
Until these guys came along I thought I was going to be stuck with Tamiya Mk.IXc's or VIII's ... Or hopeful that maybe ZM would end up tackling the elliptical winged wonder.
 
I got 2 of the first release, the Brian Lane as a collectable, the early is on backorder - and will consider buying anything they put together. The engineering choices made in tooling the parts to get the smooth transition in shapes right is sublime ... It looks so good in the box, I'm almost scared to put together the first kit in case I bodge it!
 
I'd like to see a Battle or an early Hurricane ... but the Defiant had a very useful transition role as a night fighter and I'd love to see these done at some point.
 
Rog
 

Maybe Kotare will have surprise lined up for Xmas just like WNW used to do?

I'm only pleased with this...
 

To be able to build a complete (accurate) evolution from the earliest production, through to the last Mk to fly would be awesome! I certainly look forward to a decent Mk.Vb One look in the Hobby Boss kit made me cringe (and I'm usually pretty tolerant with mild shape issues - building a Trumpeter Bf.109E-3 and 4 and enjoying every minute of it) ... even HPH's turd polishing kit really isn't enough remedy for it, sadly.
 
Until these guys came along I thought I was going to be stuck with Tamiya Mk.IXc's or VIII's ... Or hopeful that maybe ZM would end up tackling the elliptical winged wonder.
 
I got 2 of the first release, the Brian Lane as a collectable, the early is on backorder - and will consider buying anything they put together. The engineering choices made in tooling the parts to get the smooth transition in shapes right is sublime ... It looks so good in the box, I'm almost scared to put together the first kit in case I bodge it!
 
I'd like to see a Battle or an early Hurricane ... but the Defiant had a very useful transition role as a night fighter and I'd love to see these done at some point.
 
Rog
 

Oh, come on!
There's always room for another Spitfire ... re-boxings, clipped wings, extended wings ... 
We could be seeing Spitfires for the next 20 years!
 
Rog

To be able to build a complete (accurate) evolution from the earliest production, through to the last Mk to fly would be awesome! I certainly look forward to a decent Mk.Vb One look in the Hobby Boss kit made me cringe (and I'm usually pretty tolerant with mild shape issues - building a Trumpeter Bf.109E-3 and 4 and enjoying every minute of it) ... even HPH's turd polishing kit really isn't enough remedy for it, sadly.
 
Until these guys came along I thought I was going to be stuck with Tamiya Mk.IXc's or VIII's ... Or hopeful that maybe ZM would end up tackling the elliptical winged wonder.
 
I got 2 of the first release, the Brian Lane as a collectable, the early is on backorder - and will consider buying anything they put together. The engineering choices made in tooling the parts to get the smooth transition in shapes right is sublime ... It looks so good in the box, I'm almost scared to put together the first kit in case I bodge it!
 
I'd like to see a Battle or an early Hurricane ... but the Defiant had a very useful transition role as a night fighter and I'd love to see these done at some point.
 
Rog
 

Oh, come on!
There's always room for another Spitfire ... re-boxings, clipped wings, extended wings ... 
We could be seeing Spitfires for the next 20 years!
 
Rog

Oh, come on!
There's always room for another Spitfire ... re-boxings, clipped wings, extended wings ... 
We could be seeing Spitfires for the next 20 years!
 
Rog

To be able to build a complete (accurate) evolution from the earliest production, through to the last Mk to fly would be awesome! I certainly look forward to a decent Mk.Vb One look in the Hobby Boss kit made me cringe (and I'm usually pretty tolerant with mild shape issues - building a Trumpeter Bf.109E-3 and 4 and enjoying every minute of it) ... even HPH's turd polishing kit really isn't enough remedy for it, sadly.
 
Until these guys came along I thought I was going to be stuck with Tamiya Mk.IXc's or VIII's ... Or hopeful that maybe ZM would end up tackling the elliptical winged wonder.
 
I got 2 of the first release, the Brian Lane as a collectable, the early is on backorder - and will consider buying anything they put together. The engineering choices made in tooling the parts to get the smooth transition in shapes right is sublime ... It looks so good in the box, I'm almost scared to put together the first kit in case I bodge it!
 
I'd like to see a Battle or an early Hurricane ... but the Defiant had a very useful transition role as a night fighter and I'd love to see these done at some point.
 
Rog
 

... A classic case of straddling the fence giving you splinters (in an area you don't want 'em!!). The thing about the SB2C is: The whole original kit was resin ... The IM kit was a ground up design - and to be fair, also their first attempt ... Bit's designed to go with one kit will not necessarily work on another ...
 
... In comparison - reviews on the Vamp and Val appear to be fairly decent in the main and there appears to be no bad reviews on the resin parts either with only the odd complaint about the usual fit issues experienced in fitting AM resin upgrades to an IM kit ...
 
Hopefully this Kate will be more of the same ... I certainly hope so ... It's the only one in 1/32!
 
Rog
 

I’m still happily holding out for this HPH 1/32 scale Kate— resin or not. The 1/35 Border Kate simply has no appeal for me. Yes, it looks like it will be nice, but I’m not willing to get started in a new scale at my age. I have the Tamiya A6M2 and the Infiniti Val in the stash (not to mention their early-war USN Pacific adversaries), and I don’t feel like adding an off-scale Kate to the mix. 
Just me— others no doubt have a different view…

I believe the Helldiver issue may be a very convoluted one, not easily explained.  For example, some builders reported the rear canopy not only fit poorly, it was woefully inaccurate.  Yet the canopy for the *resin* version of the kit was accurate, and - just to top it all - apparently fits with no problems on the plastic version!

... A classic case of straddling the fence giving you splinters (in an area you don't want 'em!!). The thing about the SB2C is: The whole original kit was resin ... The IM kit was a ground up design - and to be fair, also their first attempt ... Bit's designed to go with one kit will not necessarily work on another ...
 
... In comparison - reviews on the Vamp and Val appear to be fairly decent in the main and there appears to be no bad reviews on the resin parts either with only the odd complaint about the usual fit issues experienced in fitting AM resin upgrades to an IM kit ...
 
Hopefully this Kate will be more of the same ... I certainly hope so ... It's the only one in 1/32!
 
Rog
 

... A classic case of straddling the fence giving you splinters (in an area you don't want 'em!!). The thing about the SB2C is: The whole original kit was resin ... The IM kit was a ground up design - and to be fair, also their first attempt ... Bit's designed to go with one kit will not necessarily work on another ...
 
... In comparison - reviews on the Vamp and Val appear to be fairly decent in the main and there appears to be no bad reviews on the resin parts either with only the odd complaint about the usual fit issues experienced in fitting AM resin upgrades to an IM kit ...
 
Hopefully this Kate will be more of the same ... I certainly hope so ... It's the only one in 1/32!
 
Rog