Meng and WnW

[Archimedes]

I too felt like Christmas had been cancelled when WNW wound up. I had bought a paltry 15 of their kits (and have now built a whole two of them). I so wanted the Lancaster but, at least HK came through so I can now get another one of those. 
 

best regards

Paul

Edited December 7, 2020 by Archimedes
Typo

[mpk]

On 12/1/2020 at 3:05 PM, DeanKB said:

If it's on Facebook, you can more or less guarantee it's utter nonsense.

 

When people tell me about some weird, obviously untrue article, and I ask for their source, they invariably say they saw it on Facebook.

 

I'm convinced average IQ levels are declining, as people seem to lap up all sorts of nonsense.

 

You're not wrong. I left FB years ago. I felt it had the capacity to be toxic. Indeed,

history has proven me correct. 

Twitter as well. 

I do all my online talking here, with you guys.

Poor sods! 

[MikeC]

8 hours ago, Bradleygolding said:

So instead of producing two different boxes, instructions, decals, and plastic parts; then having 2000 of each. Do one version of everything, but make 4000.

But are you likely to sell as many? How many people bought two Brisfits, for example, but would have bought only one example if there was only one boxing?  Just a thought.

Edited December 6, 2020 by MikeC

[Basta]

I also don't agree with the argument that multiple boxings was a bad or exploitive idea on their part. First off, it's SOP for most manufacturers as a way to maximize potential sales. ICM for example is really aggressive, with multiple boxings with nothing more than different decals or a figure tossed in.

 

It also makes perfect sense for planes like the Camel, D.VII and Albi, and I appreciated the wider choice it offered regarding schemes and markings. 

[MikeC]

2 minutes ago, Basta said:

I also don't agree with the argument that multiple boxings was a bad or exploitive idea on their part. First off, it's SOP for most manufacturers as a way to maximize potential sales. ICM for example is really aggressive, with multiple boxings with nothing more than different decals or a figure tossed in.

 

It also makes perfect sense for planes like the Camel, D.VII and Albi, and I appreciated the wider choice it offered regarding schemes and markings. 

I'm not saying it was a bad or "exploitive" idea; if it improves sales compared with a single multi-version boxing then that's good business - of course any manufacturer wants to maximise sales. I simply wondered whether that was the case.

[Basta]

3 minutes ago, MikeC said:

I'm not saying it was a bad or "exploitive" idea; if it improves sales compared with a single multi-version boxing then that's good business - of course any manufacturer wants to maximise sales. I simply wondered whether that was the case.

Actually I wasn't thinking of your post but I certainly agree with you that 2 DFW boxings was probably not needed, but then the plane itself was not really needed either; there was a glut of obscure German 2 seaters that looked alike and it was that wilful selection process more than multiple boxings that was the main mistake. 

[LSP_Mike]

While there is a degree of truth there, WNW only did one SE5a, and it was on the shelf for quite a while, same as the Bristol f2b. WNW may have been skewed slightly towards obscure German types, but we also have two Felixstowe.

I always thought it would have been an idea to release planes at the 100 year mark: something British and German from 1914, then 1915 and so on. We might have had some real interesting models.

[Basta]

1 hour ago, LSP_Mike said:

While there is a degree of truth there, WNW only did one SE5a, and it was on the shelf for quite a while, same as the Bristol f2b. WNW may have been skewed slightly towards obscure German types, but we also have two Felixstowe.

I always thought it would have been an idea to release planes at the 100 year mark: something British and German from 1914, then 1915 and so on. We might have had some real interesting models.

That would have been a great idea and an excellent marketing tool. But tbh the reason most of their British planes lingered was esthetics; most of them look like converted tractors with wings, all painted in a thrilling mix which teeters between drab and mud. The sopwiths did have style tho and saved them from a complete visual rout. Nothing to compare with the Germans in design or style. Real swag. 

[LSP_Mike]

True enough regarding color. I do wish there was a Brit plane to compliment the Taube and Albie BII. Lots of CDL and rigging wires.

[Basta]

14 minutes ago, LSP_Mike said:

True enough regarding color. I do wish there was a Brit plane to compliment the Taube and Albie BII. Lots of CDL and rigging wires.

I think the Brit pushers, the Feb and the Dh2, are every bit as eccentric and appealing as the Taube and the Albi. They're so awkward and ungainly and early flight, they're fantastic. I grabbed a Feb a while ago and will do it in a night bomber scheme (love the black on black) but would still love to get a Dh2 as well. 

[Bradleygolding]

1 hour ago, LSP_Mike said:

True enough regarding color. I do wish there was a Brit plane to compliment the Taube and Albie BII. Lots of CDL and rigging wires.

BE2, Boxkite, 504? anybody. Oh yes they didn't make of those!

Steve

[Greif8]

15 hours ago, Basta said:

That would have been a great idea and an excellent marketing tool. But tbh the reason most of their British planes lingered was esthetics; most of them look like converted tractors with wings, all painted in a thrilling mix which teeters between drab and mud. The sopwiths did have style tho and saved them from a complete visual rout. Nothing to compare with the Germans in design or style. Real swag. 

 

You make a very good point about lack of color, and to a lesser extent design, impacting the desire of modelers to buy and build WWI British aircraft.  I recently completed a build of the WNW Raymond Collishaw Sopwith Triplane; and while I am very satisfied with how it turned out, I have to admit that the Triplane does look at bit drab next to the WNW Fokker DVII with it's two tones of blue and red paint.  The airframe still looks very fetching to my eye though! 

 

I think one of the main lures of our hobby is that it is about 45% art, 45% technical execution and 10% historical research - and that percentage varies with the modeler, or even between different builds.  German aircraft of both World Wars, and that nation's armor during WWII, provide an almost endless variety of interesting paint/camo schemes - many of them either not constrained by official guidance, or that guidance was very loosely enforced.   The result provides a huge amount of scope for artistic license and many of the paint/camo schemes are also an interesting technical challenge to the modeler.  Additionally, many German aircraft and armor fighting vehicles "look the part", and that provides what writers call a "hook", that draws many modelers to and into the subject.

 

Ernest      

[DrDave]

[url=https://ibb.co/0J06bzx][img]https://i.ibb.co/pXHMFkS/F1-CF030-E-51-E9-4-EF5-812-C-09-A0-EB589904.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://imgbb.com/]india gif images[/url]
 

colourful stuff is around.

[Archimedes]

On 12/6/2020 at 2:05 PM, LSP_Mike said:

True enough regarding color. I do wish there was a Brit plane to compliment the Taube and Albie BII. Lots of CDL and rigging wires.

BE2c all the way.  I do hope Copper State or Roden do one of those...