vince14

Oh Radu, you complain about people making things up about WNW but then go right ahead and make something up yourself. You know that saying they included decals for the Roden Dr.I 'just because the decal sheet is so sparse that they had to fill it with something' is utter nonsense, right? This is the decal sheet in question, with the Dr.I markings highlighted - they're about 25% of the total area of the decal sheet, so hardly 'space filler'. And that's before we consider why they'd go to the time and expense of making them just to fill a decal sheet - surely you'd save the money and just make the sheet smaller if you were a traditional model company, right? h And you're just playing semantics by saying 'It is part of a kit, it is not "a decal sheet for a competitor"' - you know very well that STWilliams meant that they included decals for a competitor manufacturer's kit in one of their own products. Besides which, WNW didn't have to include the decals for the Roden Dr.I at all. They could have easily left them out. It doesn't mean that they are now abiding by some rule that means they'll never release a Dr.I - in fact the instruction sheet for the kit even says 'Recommended model (as at April 2018) is Roden 601 1/32 Fokker Dr.I. So make what you will out of the words 'as at April 2018'. It does prove that they're not a traditional manufacturer, though, unless you can show me another example of where a company has included decals in one of their own kits for a model that they don't produce, but a rival company does.

The Roden kits might have been released before WNW was publicly revealed, but Richard Alexander has said that they were so deep into the design process that not releasing them made no sense (don't forget that WNW started as a company back in 2005). I'm also pretty sure that Peter Jackson has gone on record saying that he didn't want WNW to be directly competing against the likes of Roden. We do know that he makes the final decision on what kits are made, though - this is from an Ouest France interview with PJ; What criteria do you choose to release a model. Who decides on the final choice? Me ! I have the last word for my films, and the same goes for the selection of models! This is very simple: I get an email from Richard Alexander, the Wingnut Wings coordinator who tells me that he has someone from the team about to break free. He asks me what model I would like to do next. I'm sure people think there's a big business strategy behind it, but there's none! I only have to choose which model I would like and 18 months later, I can build it, and the rest of the world too! It's an ideal situation for me. As for not being a traditional, profit-driven business, Richard Alexander said this in an interview with LSM; Much has been said about WnW craziness of the new and most welcome news… but there`s are voices that said that what WnW wants is, as all companies, the profit… I think WnW has been showing that is not true… what do you want to say about this? Well those voices are dead wrong. Wingnut Wings is NOT a profit driven company. I would think that was very clear from our choice of subjects and the attention to detail that we often apply well beyond what most modellers would expect. If we were a profit driven company would make models of Mustangs, Spitfires, Bf 109s, Fw 190s, F-15s and Ferraris etc. Any one of which would almost certainly prove to be more profitable than even the most popular of First World War aircraft. In any case, some people say these 'rules' exist, others (like yourself) say they don't. But seeing as none of us actually work for WNW, we have no idea whether the 'rules' exist or not - it's just speculation from both sides.

The Pfalz, SE5a and DH.2 (and the Sopwith Triplane) were already deep in development by WNW when the Roden versions were announced and released, so that’s why we have those from both manufacturers. The alternative Fokker D.VII and E.III kits were from Battle Axe, and were neither readily available nor any good. The Camel came about after the Hobbycraft kit went OOP (but before Italeri re-released it, which in any case is the older Academy kit and not much good). So WNW have abided by the ‘unwritten rule’ of not releasing kits that other manufacturers are currently producing. Will that remain the case? Only time will tell...

Just because you prefer the Lanc over the HP doesn’t mean everybody does. And WNW have previously stated that every kit is priced to make at least a small profit. You’re looking at WNW the wrong way. They’re not a traditional kit manufacturer, they’re the pet project of a very rich man. There’s no such thing as a ‘total flop’ in the WNW world - if there was, we’d have a WNW P-51/Bf-109/Spitfire to make up the ‘short fall’. WNW are like high-end sports car manufacturers such as Bugatti or Koenigsegg. They don’t need to sell many to make a profit, but their primary purpose is not to make a profit - it’s to make as perfect a product as possible. Revell, Hasegawa, Airfix - their primary purpose is to make a profit, regardless of quality. Yes, WNW kits are expensive - but so is a Bugatti Veyron when compared to a Kia or Hyundai. It’s a shame if you can’t afford a WNW kit or a Bugatti Veyron, but then again maybe you should have worked harder at school.

Indeed. Which is why they’re selling kits, rather than giving them away for free. It doesn’t change the fact that they kit whatever PJ wants them to kit.

Not really - they’ve been very public on their outlook and goals since day one. There’s an article on Hyperscale with Peter Jackson and Richard Alexander where they explain the origins of WNW. Essentially, we modellers are reaping the benefits of one modeller who happens to have a lot of money and a passion for WWI aircraft. That’s why all this talk of market size, pricing and saturation points are irrelevant. WNW will carry on making kits of WWI aircraft for as long as Peter Jackson wants them too.

Nope. They make kits of subjects Peter Jackson wants to build - it’s as simple as that. Being owned by a guy worth half a billion dollars has its advantages.

I can tell you exactly what the answers to those questions will be; 1) We have no plans to do so, but 'never say never' 2) We have no plans to do so, but 'never say never' 3) We keep our future developments under wraps until we’re ready to announce them, but we're always working on new kit ideas

I think you're under-estimating the size of the market for pre-WWII kits. I have no interest in anything with the Stars and Bars or Swastika on it, for example, but that doesn't mean that a market for those kits doesn't exist. Besides which, we all know that WNW will carry on producing kits of WWI aircraft as long as Peter Jackson keeps on wanting them.

The Lancaster is not surprising, when you think about it. Peter Jackson's favourite film when he was growing up was The Dambusters, so much so that he's still trying to re-make it. Thanks to that effort, he has lots of data on the Lancaster which he's used for WNW purposes. Honestly, I think the Lancaster will be the exception to the rule for WNW. It'll most likely be WWI kits (perhaps entering the 1920's occasionally) for the foreseeable future.

There are still plenty of WWI aircraft that are yet to be kitted in 1/32, including well-known types like the BE2 and Halberstadt D.II - and then you need to factor in Peter Jackson's fondness for more obscure types too, as well as the fact that they're hardly short of funding. I think WNW have plenty of years left in them yet.

Is there any proof that the Blue Angels (or indeed any military aerobatic team) are successful as a recruitment tool, though? How many people join the Navy purely because they saw the Blue Angels in flight? Don't get me wrong, I think aerobatic teams are a nice thing to have. But I'm not convinced that anyone has ever walked into a recruitment centre and signed up purely because they saw some aircraft flying in close formation. In fact, isn't the movie Top Gun often quoted as the best recruitment tool the Navy ever had?

If you ask me, they should be the last to get the newest toys. Operational requirements should always have a higher precedent than showboating.

The Typhoon (it isn't referred to as the EF-2000 in the UK, though it is occasionally called the Eurofighter) is scheduled to remain in-service until 2040. It's supposed to be replaced by the yet-to-be-more-than-a-fibreglass-mock-up BAe Tempest. Frontline RAF fast-jet duties will be handled by the F-35B and Typhoon until then.

Nope. The F-35 is replacing the Tornado GR.4 and Harrier GR.9/Sea Harrier fleets (although the Harriers are already gone).