vince14

It isn't necessarily back on. All Jackson has said is that he hopes to re-start production soon, because he only has the rights for another couple of years. The interviews he's done regarding The Dambusters seem to be aimed at drumming up the finance from a studio.

My beef with SAC is that their parts are direct copies of the kit's original plastic parts, with no attempt made whatsoever to improve them (some SAC sets I've seen even retain the molding flaws of the kit part they were cast from). I bought a set for the Hasegawa Ki-44 and, just like the kit part, the tailwheel fork is 'filled in' and requires additional work to open it up. The added strength of white metal for landing gear in our scale is debatable in any case, so why pay extra for something that isn't an improvement on the original kit parts?

My kits arrived yesterday, and I must say I'm very impressed. CSM have really put a lot of thought and effort into them, right down to the presentation of the instructions and the packaging. Are they WNW quality? Not quite, but they're really not very far off at all. So it's good news, people. A company who are approaching WNW quality and appear to be happy to tackle some of the areas WNW are neglecting. I'll certainly be buying any future WWI kits in 1/32 that CSM produce.

Whether they're toys or not, there are people in this thread doing a damn good job of acting like children...

I think they will intentionally limit the production run, though - they'll produce enough to make their aimed profit point and then it'll go OOP, just like every other WNW kit. The only questions are how many kits do they need to produce to hit that point, and how long will it take for those kits to sell? Could be 1,000 kits, could be 100,000. Could be ten years, could be ten months - we simply don't know. Most of the R&D costs will have been absorbed by the Dambusters film project, I suspect. That'll have an impact on how many kits they need to produce to hit profitability.

WNW have never said they sell kits for a loss. Quite the opposite, in fact - they've stated that each kit has to make at least a small profit. The research has already been done for the Dambusters movie, so that offsets some of the cost of producing the kit, and they've already said they're trying to price it in the same region as the Felixstowe Dualists kit, which would put it in the $350-$400 range. There's no chance that WNW will be taking a 'seven figure' loss on the Lanc kits.

It's not the CO2 you need to worry about, it's the atomised paint particles getting into your lungs which cause the problems - that's why you should always wear a proper mask when airbrushing (and a helpful hint: if you can smell paint through your mask whilst airbrushing, your mask isn't stopping the paint particles).

He'd previously stated that most of his fortune would go to charity after he passed.

I'm sure that each kit WNW sells makes them some profit, but it's not the main driver behind the decision on which kits they produce - they make what PJ wants them to make. If all PJ wanted was to make massive profits, we'd have a WNW Dr.I, SPAD XIII, 109, Mustang, Spitfire...

You know you don't have to read these threads, right?

I have a feeling that the Lancs will be an anomoly, with subsequent kits very much remaining in WWI (or shortly thereafter).

WNW doesn't really operate as a comercial business, though. It's the hobby of a very rich man. I suspect that profit margins come quite a way down the list of considerations when choosing subjects.

Guess: 1. Breguet 14 2. Albatros C.III 3. Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter Wish: 1. Ansaldo SVA.5 2. Vickers Gunbus 3. Hanriot HD.I

I think the kit on top of the Salmson box is another Halberstadt Cl.II.

That'll buff out.