Kitty Hawk models is going out of business

[Mark B.]

2 hours ago, Neo said:

Wonder if they got a cease and desist or something legal with an aircraft company for not licencing maybe? 

I was wondering about that as well.  I wasn't aware that they molded any Boeing aircraft though. 

 

[Tony T]

23 hours ago, VMA131Marine said:

A 1/32 mainstream manufacturer injection molded Etendard? !!! That’s crazy talk. It would sell maybe a thousand copies at best. Probably less.

 

Kitty Hawk produced quite a few Dassault Breguet jets in 1/48, so you're saying that's what busted their finances?  Or is it just contempt for fine aircraft? 

I'd love to see a European kit maker produce the tragically neglected Gina, Super Mystère, Étendard, SuE, Sea Vixen, Jaguar, Mirage F.1  etc in 1/32 scale but am grown up enough to realise that those are just margin note pipe dreams, which is why 1/48 scale is becoming increasingly attractive. 

 

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

 

As for licensing bills, Boeing have the rights to all the McDonnell jets, but I doubt three Voodoo boxings would have been a calamity, ditto Dassault. Dunno about the egg beaters and creep crawly stuff though: did KH make a model of the thing that rhymes with peep?

 

Tony

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by Tony T
typo

[shark64]

On 6/3/2021 at 11:56 PM, Stalker6recon said:

Recently, I purchased two kits direct. One was the MH-60S KH50015, every review I read online and the profile at scalemates.com show the kit with a resin M197 cannon, mine did not have the part. I contacted Kitty Hawk and requested the part, they said the part was not included with the kit. Even their own post regarding the kit shows the cannon included. Now they have stopped answering my emails and refuse to do the right thing.

 

Sad really, they make some nice looking kits with great detail, but they kept messing up. Missing parts, confusion about figures, poorly written instructions and zero customer care. I am pissed about the cannon, the factor that made me choose that kit, I would have choosen something else, if I had known they would screw me over. Hopefully they will take this time to get their act together, find a way to make consistent products with better fit and less challenging instructions and better customer support. They shot themselves in the foot, maybe trying to hard to become the biggest company possible, instead of working on the fundamentals first.

 

 

I designed the M197 Gun. Werners Wings has it with an ammo box. I used mine on my build. 

 

Oliver

[Phartycr0c]

Having prevaricated for some time over the KH mirage , do I? dont I ? i did. 

 

call me shallow but this has forced my hand.

 

do fully intend to build it but i needed to grab one while they are still available without the rarity tax..... 

 

I built the Kingfisher, Am building the Bronco have the Trojan and am now awaiting the Mirage. 

 

Although KH kits do have their issues, for me its possibly about lamenting the fact that we have a little less choice of subjects now. 

[npb748r]

just picked up the kingfisher (for a lot more money than it should have been) but that's my 7 kitty hawk kits that were on my large build list but not in my stash.  That's £600 spent in 3 days that was completely unplanned. Assuming nobody picks up the moulds and KH really are gone for good, had I not bought these kits I would forever be regretting it so what's done is done. Shame to see a company disappear that releases 1/32 aircraft that nobody else does, tit's a big loss unfortunately, at least for me.  

[scvrobeson]

Hopefully someone will pick up the molds from them.  Having modern 1/48 kits of the Jaguar, Gripen, Seasprite, Su-17, Voodoo, Fury, lots of great stuff.  The kits had issues with them, but at least they were trying new stuff.  I'll miss them, and hopefully the kits reappear at some point.

 

 

 

Matt 

[firefly7]

I followed your build Oliver on another site. It was a  work of art.  Ruben.

[LSP_K2]

I may or may not chase down a big Mirage now, but probably not. Perhaps I'll still get one someday, I have no idea.

[firefly7]

Spruebrothers still has both Mirages at a reasonable price Kevin. And if you go over $ 200 on the order shipping is free.  

Edited June 6, 2021 by firefly7

[LSP_K2]

1 hour ago, firefly7 said:

Spruebrothers still has both Mirages at a reasonable price Kevin. And if you go over $ 200 on the order shipping is free.  

 

Finding the kit right now is no real problem, but affording it most certainly is. Thanks for the input though, I do appreciate that.

[mozart]

Just ordered my third NA T-6, hopefully to finally appear as a Harvard I.  Getting drawings to work from is a difficulty but it’s the equivalent of the USAAF BC-1 so I might have some luck there! 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 6, 2021 by mozart

[Dave Roof]

My friend John joined us for dinner last night and we were discussing this in my office. He brought up some interesting points and "How cool would it be" / "what iffery". 

 

If his memory is correct, Mr. Song, the drive behind KH, was once part of Trumpeter. He noted that about the time Song left Trumpeter to start KH, was about the same time the 32nd releases from them came to a standstill. Again, this is based on what he vaguely remembers hearing/learning and I am in no way stating they are fact. Even if his memory is correct in what he heard, it still doesn't mean it was true then or now. 

 

As most know, Trumpeter, Hobbyboss and I Love Kit are all related in some form or fashion. John noted that many kits from Gallery and Merit have found their way into the Trump/I Love Kit product lines. His speculation is that we'll eventually see the KH kits released under the I Love Kit brand name.

 

Again, this is not intended to start a rumor and it is in no way based on fact or even on anything heard from another source. This is just his personal take on what he "thinks" could happen based on the known relationship of the above mentioned parties.  It sorta kinda makes sense. 

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Song was indeed a kit designer at Trumpeter back in the day, and used to post here on their behalf until he left. Oddly, once he started his own kit company, he stopped posting here. Incidentally, many of the 'new' Chinese kit companies have been started by ex-Trumpeter people. The Trumpeter conglomerate is quite an empire from what I understand, and they do all the tooling for Merit, as well as the other sub-brands you mention, which I think are mostly just spin-offs. But they certainly are the number one contender to take up the ex-Kitty Hawk moulds. Possibly they already have them.

 

Kev

[Mark P]

So, does this mean the "golden age" of 1/32nd scale is behind us?

 

Mark Proulx

[LSP_Kevin]

29 minutes ago, Mark P said:

So, does this mean the "golden age" of 1/32nd scale is behind us?

 

Mark Proulx

 

Not behind us, but it's clear the industry's focus is changing once again. We've had an incredible and unlikely run as a niche in the hobby, brought about by a number of factors, but it was never going to last forever.

 

Kev