vince14

That's a screenshot from a computer game...

Well, that's yet another WNW Pup I'll be adding to the stash!

Saying LSP isn't about military aircraft models because there's the odd topic on something else is a bit like saying Playboy wasn't a porn mag because it had the odd article from Norman Mailer in it.

So I guess you wouldn't play any military flight simulators either then?

True, but plastic models are a very small part of Tamiya's hobby offerings, which in itself is a small part of a much larger company.

TVAL halted all sales a while ago (presumably when they first suspected that something was amiss) and only re-started them recently. However, I believe that the accusations are around three aircraft that were sold to the New Zealand Warbirds Association.

Yep, Gene had nothing to do with WNW - thankfully! Apparently he's been accused of skimming a percentage off the top of sales of replica WWI aircraft, and using one of TVAL's aircraft as security for a loan he took out.

Tamiya's primary market is Japan, though, and a Ki-61 would sell like hot cakes there.

That's very interesting news for me, as I have one of the new Supra's on order - so maybe I'll get a 1:24 to go with the 1:1!

Fun Fact - the data generated from those 'select all traffic lights' authentication methods is being used to help programme driverless cars.

HPH do a couple of DH Hornets in 1/32, although it's a full-on resin kit and is pretty expensive. https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/HPH32024R https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/HPH32034R

You do the design work in the US, you outsource the manufacturing to China. That's what practically every other model kit company does, including the likes of WNW.

Let's not forget either that all Tamiya kits have to have the personal approval of Masayuki and Shunsaku Tamiya both before they enter the design phase and prior to release. Also, the owner of Model Factory Hiro (which is a kind of WNW for cars) chooses all the subjects he wants to kit himself.

That’s very harsh. I’ve worked with the aviation authorities in Indonesia and I’ve found them to be exceptionally professional and very keen to improve safety. Besides which, you could also say that Boeing has a long history of protecting their reputation at all costs.

Whilst I generally agree with the whole ‘fly the aircraft’ thing, I do have some sympathy for the Ethiopian crew - it all went wrong for them very quickly, and I guess when you’re only 450ft off the ground and the aircraft suddenly tries to pitch you face-first into the dirt you might not react the way you would if you had a stack of altitude to work the problem.

I'd study the decal sheet carefully before purchasing - I know there was a sheet (for a B-17 I think) that contained the nose art and the tail markings, but not the serial number or individual aircraft/squadron code letters.

Just install uBlock Origin - it's free and, hey presto, the adverts are gone!

If there's a bunch of African markings either with the kit or coming from the aftermarket, then I'm buying multiple!

There’s already a 1/32 Ilya Muromets, although you’ll have to source it from Russia - oh, and also be able to read Russian too! https://plane.deagostini.ru/model

He's said before that he built kits when he was a kid.

This is a pic of the front fuselage after it came to rest - you can see that the port bang seat is gone, but the starboard one is still in the aircraft.

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...