Radub

Agreed!

To "recap", that is the "nub" of the "riposte" from some here. Apparently, when asked if they were doing a Dr.I, Richard Alexander replied "there is one already on the market". Some concluded that this was in line with the BS "rule" that "WNW never ever issues kits made by others" (Lancaster much?) and that WNW will never ever issue a Dr.I. I am quite certain that WNW will eventually issue a Dr.I. That stupid made-up "rule" has been breached by WNW many times (again, Lancaster!). When (not if) the Dr.I will be released I will relish in watching these people try to justify how it breached their BS "rule". :-) Radu

I don't have to "prove" anything. I am not the one treating WNW like a "cult" with a "messiah" (PJ), revelations (interviews taken as gospel), and commandments (rules about what they "do" and "do not do"). I am fully aware that I blasphemed in some of the cultists eyes, but I do not believe any of the BS peddled about them. I refuse to drink the Kool Aid. I love their products and I bought a lot of them. I demonstrated in my replies that all the so-called "rules" about WNW are pure BS. You believe whatever you want. :-) Radu

I am not calling anyone a liar. I did not say "you, sir, are a liar!" I said that those respective assertions, those made up "rules" that keep circling the internet, are lies. I have no idea who is the precise person who started the lies. Radu

Nope! I am not just "saying" that these rules do not exist. Reality demonstrates that these "rules" do not exist. They broke every single one of the these so-called "rules". Radu

Mr Colour Thinner will remove all paint without attacking the plastic. I used it before to remove Klear from canopies without any problems. Make sure you get the blue label. This is what I have: http://www.mr-hobby.com/en/itemDetail.php?iId=156 Hth, Radu

The Roden kits were released before WNW was known to the public. But it should make no difference. Why am I even enteratining this? There is no "rule" that WNW will never make kits that were also made by others. They never said that. When asked about the Dr.I, Richard Alexander replied "Why? There is a good kit on the market already". That is all. The crazy world of the internet took that remark and created a whole scaffolding of crazy around it. Note that Richard did not say "never ever, not in a milliom years". :-) Radu

There is plenty of evidence that in this case they can co-exist. Radu

That is just because the decal sheet is so sparse that they had to fill it with something. It is part of a kit, it is not "a decal sheet for a competitor". That is no "proof" of a "rule". And in any case, there is no "rule" that WNW will never ever issue a Dr.I. They were asked "Will you do one?" and they said "No". They did not say "never". That means that they were not planning one when asked. They are free to plan one at any stage of their choosing. They did the same with the Camel or the Lancaster. Only WNW knows if they will or won't issue a Fokker Triplane and they will not say anything until they are good and ready, if at all. Anyone who claims to "know" the "truth" about a WNW Dr.I is speaking through their... hat. :-) Radu

He also says that about movies. He spends an eye-watering amount of money on making his movies. Yet he makes money out of it. There is plenty of proof that he is an astute businessman and that he understands how a balance sheet works. It is pure speculation to insinuate that WNW is kept afloat only by the money that he carelessly dumps into it. Radu

Hmmm... Most of that is not really true. You are just repeating the usual made-up "rules" about WNW, which have little basis in reality. We can answer the questions in the order you asked them: Q: Why no Be.2, Dr.I, DH.4, Jenny, Nieuports, SPADS, early Albie's, Caudrons, Breguets, Farmans, Macchis, Avro 504k, Short seaplanes, 1 & 1/2 Strutter, Gunbus, etc, etc? A: Can you show me the place where they said that these kits will never be issued "in perpetuity of the universe"? Who dictated that these kits will never be issued? WNW never said that - you mentioned their "secrecy" (will come round to that later). Just because these kits don't exist it does not mean they won't exist at some stage in the future. Q: Why allow popular kits to sell out? A: Why not? It is a ringing endorsement of their success that their kits sell out. Bravo! That is what any manufacturer dreams of. There is nothing that gives more nightmares to a manufacturer than a full warehouse and no customers. Q: Why not make larger runs, or make further runs? A: Costs. Storage. Efficiency. Staying "nimble" in a fickle market. Tons of reasons. Q: Why kit planes with little demand? A: This is a multi-layered doozie! You said their stuff sells out. You said they make stuff in small runs. So, I see no major risks if there is "litle demand". BTW, what do you mean by "little demand"? Just because you do not want it? They all seem to sell well. And anyway, modellers like to 617ch and moan that "why is that manufacturer making only popular subjects? When are they going to make the less popular models that were never kitted?". WNW are making those models in little demand that modellers ask for. So, if this "little demand" label is true, you cannot possibly hold this against them. Q: Why no marketing? A: This is an outright lie. I subscribe to a few scale model magazines. WNW took back-cover (most expensive) adverts for their kits. They also have adverts inside the magazines. They send samples for review to magazines and websites. They have a website where they display models by their customers. They attend trade shows. They have stands at model shows where they had out marketing materials. As a matter of fact, from that point of view WNW have more marketing than Tamiya. Q: Why just release kits with no warning? A: This is an outright lie. They always announce the models a few months before they are available for sale. That is why they have pre-orders. They just announced the Lancaster months before it will be available. Often they issue clear WARNINGS that kits will be announced at certain dates. They place a blank place-holder on their website where they will later place the announcement. In Telford this year, on day one of the show they "warned" that they would announce a new model the next day - that was the Handley-Page O/400, yet another model announced before the released date. Q: Why ignore subjects that would sell in large numbers? A: What? You just said their stuff sells out! Their stuff sells in large numbers already! And again, I return to my first answer: if there is something that you want and they have not released it yet, who dictated that such a kit would never be issued in the future? Q: Why the secrecy? A: Fair play to them! They are entitled to maintain their plans under wraps. This is not different from Tamiya or any other manufacturer. Loose lips sink ships. Q: Why provide decals for competitors kits? A: I am not aware of such a product. I can't find it on their website. Q: Why the reluctance to make kits of already released subjects? A: Not true. There have been previous kits of SE5a, Camel, Fokker DVII, Fokker III, Pfalz DIII, DH.2 from other manufacturers. Q: Why the Anglo-German infatuation? A: And American subjects. Also they have a kit of a French Salmson. You ended with this: Q: This doesn't seem to be a "traditional kit manufacturer", as I know of no other manufacturer that operates like WNW. Companies tend to want to maximise profits, & I'm pretty sure WNW are not doing that. Making money - probably - but not maximising profits. A: Almost all manufacturers operate like WNW. I am quite certain that WNW is not making a loss. They have a great product that never clogs the shelves. It is a success story. Long may that continue. Radu

The hobby is changing all the time, from the very beginning. I discovered the internet around 1995 and went on forums such as rec.models.scale or Hyperscale. Even then there were people woried about closing shops, manufacturers closing down, impact of games, children not interested, etc. All of these are old tropes. The hobby is stll here. What drives the hobby is the interest, the "cool factor": you see a model in a magazine, on the internet, on a competition table and you want it. That is all. There are plenty of distractions around. As long as people get "stirred" by a scale model, the hobby will survive. Having said that, I find myself less and less "inspired". Increasingly, many models you see these days are filthy corroded derelicted wrecks with crappy paintjobs. Models just don't look "realistic" anymore, and they used to! Look at model magazines from 10 years ago, you will notice the difference. I am not saying that this fetish for filth and ruin is "killing the hobby" but all I am saying is that I find myself saying "I wish I could build like that" less and less. That "death of inspiration" is more frightening to me than anything else in this hobby. Radu

They are in every way a "traditional kit manufacturer". Yes, Peter Jackson is involved, but most likely he just financed the first kit or two. Then the profits from that funded the next releases and so on. That profit increases with every sale and eventually they have enough money to fund more complex models. They are not "idiots with money". They have an accountant. They undertand how commerce works. Radu

How long is a piece of string? :-) Radu

My nearest model shop is still standing. But on the same street there are at least four empty premises that used to be clothes and shoe shops. On the same street there also used to be two shops selling electronics (TV, sound systems, computers, etc) and they closed too, one is now a cafe and the other is a phone repair shop. All shopping is changing, not only hobby shops. Brick-and-mortar hobby shops closing is not the "death knell" of the hobby. The hobby is thriving on line. High-street shopping of all kinds is under pressure from skyrocketing costs such as rent, utilities, wages, taxes. The hobby is fine, you should be worried about the rest of the world around you. :-) Radu