thierry laurent

No but the single seaters such as the Albatros DV or Fokker DVII were hot sellers. This was clearly confirmed more than once by people such as Richard Alexander and whatever was the amount of kits sent to the resellers years later they always sold out VERY quickly. The later moves like the Gotha seaplane were far more questionable and this is demonstrated by the fact the kit is still available here and there. The fact that company was driven or not by profit does not change anything to the fact I explained: you can sell 'non-mainstream' topics (but not fully exotic ones like that Gotha) with a top quality and a good marketing. Look out of the model kit arena and you will see dozens of examples.

Very frankly Radu, I already heard that but I'm not fully convinced by what is looking more like a posterior way to justify their business policy decisions rather than reality. I already wrote it in another thread but top quality and good communication result in sales as we are now in a world where offering can drive the demand ! Look at the WnW model that sold boat loads of 'models that do not sell': a phrase related to WW1 LSP that I read I do not know how many times before their initial releases! There are people moaning about ANY kit release in any scale but finally the quality is what is prevailing! One exemple: companies like Trumpeter or KH have been bashed for decades but even if I'm praising their decision to release LS kits, they had too often the following features: expensive, not that easy to build, inaccurate, awful instructions, not inspiring box tops, etc. Very frankly, if we had more competitors with better quality I'm not convinced they would have sold so many kits. Blaming customers or prospects is really a lame way to justify a lack of foresighting, quality and relevant marketing...

I think it would but you can also use lead foil.

Remove them. They appeared later when MDD realized some areas showed signs of structural fatigue sooner than expected. Accordingly they reinforced them. You can see the same on F-15, F-16 and so on.

I'm sorry to conclude that Asia as a whole is not anymore a driver in our market! Japan, China or Korea producers look to be out of the loop since the demise of KH. Hopefully Eastern Europe took the lead.

Actually they are better detailed, easier to assemble and more accurate. So, as you, I used the Eduard kit with Alleycat resin to make a D. And I have another one for a E1. For later Emils the Chinese kit is the obvious choice. Correcting the slat chord on Eduard kits is a chore.

I'm afraid Hasegawa is not anymore in that race... They did not release any new 1/32 kit since 2016.

Many people are using hot air heat to bend plastic or resin. Personally I prefer using hot water. You're sure the temperature will stay under 100°C and the heat is applied homogeneously over the part. This allows you to bend it easily. Nonetheless be cautious as even if water cannot go further than its boiling point it is more than sufficient to be burnt!

They just announced the re-release of the Fw-190D9.

I still do not understand there is no Hanriot in large scale. She was one of the most aesthetically well designed WW1 fighters...

Bulldog is ready to ship but Hart was still waiting for the decals some days ago.

Actually few of the metal parts are still required for the Lightning as most of the areas covered by them are now better covered by aftermarket: - cockpit - LG wells - wheels - exhausts - refueling probe - pitot tube This leaves the LG legs (I do not want to consider SAC ones as a really acceptable option), end of arresting hook and canopy hinge! And the situation is quite comparable for the Hunter. It is nonetheless true some items will be more annoying (e.g. technical stencils) as they are OOP for ages.

This kit will be a collaboration between KP and Hph/Infinity.

Hi, I'm curious: does anyone know the fate of the Echelon molds? Looking at the kits frames, they were huge and quite sturdy as I guess such female molds were made of resin reinforced with aluminium powder. ??? Thierry

I discovered the Replica In Scale magazine at least twenty years after it ceased publication and...hunted each issue on the second hand market! There was also a companion publication but I'm forgetting the name (something like aeroscale). The guys really produced a labor of love and the quality of the contents was incredible for that era! Too bad they stopped so quickly. The Phillip Friddell's blog is a follow-up of that initial paper effort. Highly recommended !!!

Finally, I found some information. It looks the development of the technical means to produce it was far slower than foreseen (COVID?). This was postponed to 2022. There are also rumors of further kits such as the Avia fighters (B-35, B-534?).

Changing the nose area is the noticeable effort.

It would be plain stupid to avoid the AS versions as they were never released in plastic.

I found back this link from 2020: https://www.modelarovo.cz/aero-l-29-delfin-1-32-kovozavody-prostejov/

If they want to go on with Italian topics, ok but can we also get planes like the MB339, Tornado F3 or the AMX rather than only revisiting topics for which more than acceptable kits exist...? Please! I love the Macchis but there are so many terrific Italian designs without ANY large scale kit (including WW2 planes). If only they could alternate already covered iconas with other topics. Up to now the F-35 was the only original topic. Don't get me wrong, I got 8 of their large scale planes but hoped they would not move in the crowded area (WW2 single engine fighters) whereas so many other good topics are still waiting.

Well, who knows ? You never have a final date when a kit release has just been communicated! In the best case, if they do it, it is provisional and as such rarely the effective one. They say 2022 but if you really do not want to be disappointed, think first February or March 2023.

Hi, For whatever reason, I cannot find any 1/32 red top missile. I know Flightpath made some in a detail set for the Echelon Lightning but this looks to be fully OOP. Is there any other option in large scale? 3d print maybe? Were the ones in the Trumpy kit so accurate nobody considered them again? BR Thierry

My Echelon kit canopy looks like a brand new one but if you release a resin one, I will not really hesitate getting it!

I didn't think we would get so quickly a third plastic kit of that plane! I simply hope Italeri will go on with jets and more particularly with the Cold War missing links...

Indeed, there is not even a Vac kit!