Kitty Hawk has announced an Fw 190A-5

[CATCplSlade]

3 minutes ago, ericg said:

Has to be the most yawn-worthy release of the year. 

 

Really? Another 190? 

 

Were you saying this when Revell released their P-51? Or their Spitfire?

 

I know I didn't...because raining on another's parade is antithetical to the atmosphere we try to cultivate here. This is supposed to be the good site to belong to, and not one of the squabbling pissholes other sites have become.

[Gazzas]

Just speaking as someone who has only returned to building models 3 years ago after 35 years off...   I don't have any 1/32 190's in my stash.  And looking for one on EBAY usually only produces a few results, mostly in the US with their exorbitant shipping fees .  So, what am I gonna do when I want a 190?  Pay double for secondhand?

 

When I complain to my wife about yet another movie being remade by Hollyweird, she points out to me that they have to make new ones for the generation that hasn't seen it before.   I mean what teen wants to see Murder on the Orient Express??  Anyway...  I have to admit she's right.

 

Gaz

[timvkampen]

just wait for ZM....or Tamiya?? 

[chrish]

I’m all for a new 190 yes

[LSP_Kevin]

3 hours ago, mattlow said:

It's possible that KH needs a big volume selling kit to help fund the more esoteric kits they produce.

 

I think this applies to any manufacturer, and is absolutely the case. Through my own experiences as a fledgling content provider for the modelling community, I've come to realise just how important a big-selling item is to the viability of any business. You can crank out as many esoteric subjects as you like, but they'll only ever sell in small volumes, and eventually you'll need a cash cow or two to keep the business afloat. I see nothing wrong with that, and if the kit finds a market and does the required job for Kitty Hawk, then more power to them.

 

Kev

[CATCplSlade]

I am kind of excited by the Z M 190's, but also discouraged by the cost of all those parts I admittedly will likely hide away as well, as I like to feature the exterior paint scheme over the smaller detail anyway; the way my stuff ends up being displayed makes it difficult for guests to see what I have done anyway without me taking stuff out and manhandling it...which as we know only invites disaster. The more you handle them, your odds increase of feeding the carpet monster pitot tubes, mg barrels, and various other little breaky bits. If they were offering both levels of complexity to each variant, I would be more inclined to make a purchase.

 

So far I have only an A-5 right now (Hasegawa) and would be more than happy to build all the other A-variants that show distinct exterior features that set them apart. For example: I once owned a 1969 VW Transporter, but if I already owned a kit of a 1968 Transporter I wouldn't be as interested in that kit as much as I would be in a 1970, or 1971 Transporter. This is because visually, the 1968 and 1968 are hard to tell apart but there are a few tiny cosmetic changes if you know what to check for. But, from the '68/'69 to the '70/'71 there were more significant changes that anyone would notice on closer inspection, even though all four vehicles look generally alike. Like many things early Volkswagen, most of the changes were interior and mechanical in nature. Those things aren't always visible (how do you show the differences in gear pitch within the transmission?) so as awesome as that much detail is I can't use it and would rather not have to pay for it. I like some of the newer guys like Meng offering a base kit and allowing you to buy working suspension or interiors for some of their armor. But do you get what I'm saying?

 

I sometimes find myself imagining that the boss man at Z M is obsessed with the idea of creating EXACT duplicates of actual aircraft, that would necessitate the use of micro-tools to build but would for all intents and purposes actually function if they weren't made of plastic, PE, and resin. He does realize a 4mm bolt is only 1/8 mm at LSP scale, right? I'm blind enough, as it is.

Edited July 15, 2018 by CATCplSlade

[Tony T]

 

What peeves me off is the possibility of already delayed Kitty Hawk subjects, chiefly the Jaguars, Republic Streak and Flash, none of which are available as kits, being possibly delayed for, oh no!, yet another kit of the 190 (or 109. Or Mustang, frankly).

 

But at least the 1/48 Kitty Voodoos are emerging. 

 

Tony

 

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

2 minutes ago, Tony T said:

 

What peeves me off is the possibility of already delayed Kitty Hawk subjects, chiefly the Jaguars, Republic Streak and Flash, none of which are available as kits, being possibly delayed for, oh no!, yet another kit of the 190 (or 109. Or Mustang, frankly).

 

It's entirely possible that, without the cash flow injection from a popular subject like the Fw 190, the release of those other kits (or perhaps even the business itself) might have been in jeopardy. This is a business decision by Kitty Hawk, and only they know why they made it, but I'm sure they had good reason.

 

Kev

[CATCplSlade]

21 minutes ago, Tony T said:

 

What peeves me off is the possibility of already delayed Kitty Hawk subjects, chiefly the Jaguars, Republic Streak and Flash, none of which are available as kits, being possibly delayed for, oh no!, yet another kit of the 190 (or 109. Or Mustang, frankly).

 

But at least the 1/48 Kitty Voodoos are emerging. 

 

Tony

 

 

 

 

Now, see, that is a much better reason than, "Oh, not another boring herpally derpally doo!". If a company has had many projects on the burners and all of a sudden come up with something like this it would be nice if they also addressed why this new thing and not one of then old things mentioned as coming? If they just need an honest cash infusion and are taking the road most traveled (and obviously still profitable) then I say go ahead, but just make sure what you offer shows honest effort and not sheer money grab. Yes, there are certainly many other subjects they could have tackled that likely would have sold as well, but I willing to consider that maybe a lot of the CAD for FW 190s was easily available to them as opposed to having to generate new data for a previously unkitted or long overdue for an update aircraft and so they took the path of shortest return on investment--which would also make sense if you needed money to fund projects and turn them into saleable merchandise. I think Revell beat them to the punch with their recent 109s and now the Mustang, so that's why they didn't do either of those.

 

I mean, these are the guys who brought us the Kingfisher and the Airacobra, that while on one hand were a needed update AND new offering but had many builders tearing at their hair (this includes ear hair, if you don't enough left on your scalp) during construction. Perhaps those two hurt them a bit financially?

 

 

EDIT: Ha, Kev, you beat me!

Edited July 15, 2018 by CATCplSlade

[kalashnikov-47]

I agree to a point.  But add up all the existing and announced Fw 190 kits.  We all know that the 1/32

aircraft market is much smaller than the 1/48 aircraft market.  If all the announced kits actually see

the light of day, it's going to be a pretty saturated market out there.  I'm already sitting on way more

1/32 Fw 190 kits than I'll ever build, and I'm not unique.  This move might be a little too late in the game.

 

As far as the Revell kits of popular subjects, well they've found their niche..  I can get Revell Fw 190's

and Spitfires for less than $25 here in the USA.  Tamiya also has their niche at the other end of the scale.

But for all of the in-between guys.... It's going to be a pretty crowded market.

[Tony T]

 

Yes, I understand the reasoning, but it's based on two probably false premises:

 

a/ that modellers like myself will gleefully go out and buy the Wurger as the 'Streak and 'Flash didn't come this year (again). No I won't. 

 

b/ that kits of popular WW2 props are an automatic cash cow. I think that that market is so saturated with great models and experts that buyers have become very picky, and KH don't have a good reputation for getting details right = a snake pit.

 

And KH is not very helpful at explaining what they're up to. It's almost as if they're afraid to discuss their products and just put them out without more fanfare than hints on Facebook. That's their business, but my money is mine. 

 

I do like their 1/48 Voodoos and look forward to getting the RF-101 kit too, warts and all.

 

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DeanKB]

3 hours ago, CATCplSlade said:

 

He said the forum--not the manufacturers--were anti-German, so your last comment is inapplicable. How many of those Luft 46 subjects are in injected plastic as opposed to resin, though? And not counting short-run stuff like PCM put out, how many different German planes are available in our scale?

I shall check on the last point & find out. As a fraction, I'd guess it's higher - far higher - than Italian, British, Soviet & American subjects. 

[CATCplSlade]

9 minutes ago, Tony T said:

b/ that kits of popular WW2 props are an automatic cash cow. I think that that market is so saturated with great models and experts that buyers have become very picky, and KH don't have a good reputation for getting details right = a snake pit.

 

 

Mainstream modelers (of which we are predominantly NOT) aren't as picky, especially if they are younger and have no one guiding their purchases. They know "109" and "Focke Wulf", "Mustang" and "Zero" and buy an item that meets that criterion. Random Amazon shoppers looking for a gift for their grandson "who likes to build model planes" are going to get something with a name the casual person may recall from TV or a movie. The market is saturated in our local biome because we have been in the game long enough to learn there are differences and have make more selective choices. I'm also not sure how well known KH is outside the more niche sector that appreciates a Kingfisher or Voodoo, and if this gambit will bring them a more widespread audience.

[CATCplSlade]

1 minute ago, DeanKB said:

I shall check on the last point & find out. As a fraction, I'd guess it's higher - far higher - than Italian, British, Soviet & American subjects. 

 

Well, I think we can pretty much disregard the Italians and Soviets. They don't get much love from anyone in 1/32.

[LSP_Kevin]

2 hours ago, Tony T said:

 

Yes, I understand the reasoning, but it's based on two probably false premises:

 

a/ that modellers like myself will gleefully go out and buy the Wurger as the 'Streak and 'Flash didn't come this year (again). No I won't.

 

This itself is based on a false assumption: that kits like this (or any kit) are aimed at dedicated, hardcore modellers like us. We represent a thin slice of the market that, by itself, could never sustain an entire industry. These kits need to sell in volume to run-of-the-mill hobbyists, and if we happen to buy them too, all the better. It's true that larger-scale subjects do tend to attract the dedicated hobbyist, but it's really only the resin and vacuform kit manufacturers that actually target them. We tend to be more valuable to the aftermarket than we are to mainstream kit manufacturers.

 

In the end, this kit may not prove to be a successful move from Kitty Hawk, but I'm willing to bet it will outsell either of the belayed postwar jets.

 

Kev