1/32 B-29?

[ringleheim]

Airplanes, by their design, make for horrible models to display, don't they?

 

They are all fuselage length and wingspan width, with nothing in the 4 corners but empty space.

 

They consume a lot of space but most of it is empty air.

 

There are obviously some exceptions to the general rule, but a B-29 is a great example of a tough to display thing.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lee White]

1 hour ago, Pup7309 said:

 

 

Yes, model companies in Japan make better quality kits. Would  they ever do a B-29? No. 

 

Size concerns rule it out anyway. 

 Japanese kits are top shelf, but I don't think that they would rule out a B-29 out of hand. Yes, it is the vehicle that dropped the Atom Bombs, but i think that the Japanese are a more pragmatic lot- Is there a buck (Yen) to be made? They aren't going to demonize a machine, it's an inanimate object. P-38s put an end to Yamamoto, yet how many Lightning kits has Hasegawa sold since their 1/48 kit came out?

[LSP_Mike]

Again, I think most would "like" the idea of a well done B-29.

Rather fewer would shell out the money to buy one. The B-29 would be a dud in Japan, pragmatism notwithstanding. Tamiya has not done one. I see Fugimi did a 1/144th kit.

The b-29 carries more ....stigma than a P-38.

[iaf-man]

one of the reason in Japan it won't be displayed-have you seen

their apartments?especially in large cities...1-2 tiny rooms

[rigor]

Where is tom's build thread on b-29. Could use a good read. And it's a great build 

[Royboy]

An interesting thread this one! There has been much talk about just doing a nose section of very large aircraft to display their artwork/kill marking etc over the last few months amongst some modellers I know. A couple of manufacturers definitely like the idea of just selling nose sections as well.

Perhaps there could be a decent market there for them? The B-29 and B-36 would make very interesting displays as something different.

The whole aircraft is another question, HK gave a 'wall climber' attachment in the B-17 kit, perhaps that could be the way to go including ceiling attachments as well.

Food for thought perhaps?

I'm enjoying this discussion!   

Edited January 5, 2019 by Royboy
Spelling error

[Nic C.D.]

I like aircraft modelling, always have. I think it is fantastic that modellers can get excited about a kit being released that no-one thought possible before. In the last couple of years, I've built a T-28, a Kingfisher and a P-61 in 1/32. Not everyday subjects. I know a lot of people that have bought these kits too, even though I hardly see any in a competition, so for a modelling company to selecting a type based what you might see in competition (or even built) is a bit silly. For many, the fun is in buying a kit and doing research on it. 

 

A 1/32 scale B-29 sounds cool and I know quite a few modellers that would be excited about it. Pricing is important for me though. This is why I would much rather be tempted to buy a Liberator than a B-17.

 

I have to say one thing though - and I hope it is okay for doing this. I so much more enjoy visiting the WIP, group builds and RFI parts of LSP. These pages inspire me. The discussion page sometime just kills my buzz. When I get excited about a kit and I come to find some photos of sprues or liveries, some of the comments just take away the fun for me. So in order to keep the fun, I'll probably just remain on the pages where the building is going on. No more discussion for me.

 

Have fun building, all!

 

Nic 

 

[LSP_Mike]

Interesting point Nic, and, a reminder to all members that we do better having civil discussion regarding details, faults, and fixes, as opposed to argument and taking shots at one another.

 The nose -art concept is cool. In 1/32, we would have a ready market for detail bits, and decal manufacturers would jump in there as well.

[Juggernut]

I wouldn't purchase just a nose of any aircraft.  You can't really do anything with it other than display it for what it is....the nose of an aircraft.  I'm reminded of what Shepard Paine said of doing a diorama with such a thing and he said it looks just like what it is, the nose of an aircraft with a bunch of figures standing around it.  There is no sense that the subject continues off the base and ends up looking kind of strange, especially when viewed from behind the nose.  The main theme of the subject either then becomes the nose art on the section, or what the figures are doing in and around the nose of the aircraft making it a supporting actor instead of the main attraction. Times may have changed and it may very well be that it's now acceptable to do such things but were I to encounter such a scene, I'd draw upon my experiences and although I'd look at it, I wouldn't spend much time studying the efforts the modeler put into constructing it.  But that's just me....

[Pup7309]

6 hours ago, LSP_Mike said:

Again, I think most would "like" the idea of a well done B-29.

Rather fewer would shell out the money to buy one. The B-29 would be a dud in Japan, pragmatism notwithstanding. Tamiya has not done one. I see Fugimi did a 1/144th kit.

The b-29 carries more ....stigma than a P-38.

+1

[LSP_K2]

6 hours ago, LSP_Mike said:

Again, I think most would "like" the idea of a well done B-29.

Rather fewer would shell out the money to buy one. The B-29 would be a dud in Japan, pragmatism notwithstanding. Tamiya has not done one. I see Fugimi did a 1/144th kit.

The b-29 carries more ....stigma than a P-38.

 

A couple of interesting points here. Yes, I'm usually pretty happy to see big stuff announced and subsequently released, but that in no way implies I'll be buying any of them. As to any stigma attached to the Superfortress, many modelers here routinely build A6M2 kits, and would also build Pearl Harbor Vals and Kates too, given half a chance, so I don't see the logic in assuming Japanese modelers would have any "issues" with building B-29s, aside from the aforementioned lack of space, a problem that I myself unfortunately have.

[Radders]

Someone produce one so I can get some 3D printed engines to make a Tu-4/KJ-1.... 

[Gene]

In a time long ago and far away, I had a 1/32 vac of the B-29 and yes it is imposing (I want to say I had to remove a door to get the box in, but it's not so).  I don't know what I was thinking at the time of purchase - it takes me forever to build and detail a decent size WWII fighter - guess it would have to be 'willed' to grandchildren for completion.  That's the problem with a vac, but with an injection molded kit, weeell, maybe I could finish it my own lifetime.  What I'm really holding out for is a 1/32 HK-1, aren't you?  I could store kit stash inside.

[LSP_Ron]

Isn't the Gillow's kit 1/32?

[jimbo]

I think the relatively recent crop of 1/200 ship models is an indication of the ability, certainly, to do a 1/32 B-29. Heck I just got a pre-order announcement for the 1/200 Yorktown, that is sorely tempting! Of course, ships are linear and easier to display. I have the Missouri and it’s HuGE!!! Personally I don’t get the geopolitical angle, certainly Japan is a robust modeling market but not by far the largest? I honestly don’t know and I’ll happily understand a correction. I’d buy a 1/32 B-29 just to hang it from a tall ceiling, or in the woods or something. And you can do one in OD/Grey, no? Just not a combat a/c perhaps. Interesting prospect and discussion for sure!!!

 

Jimbo