Next From Laminar Flow Design: 1/32 P-51B Conversion

[hworth18]

Will he be tooling new wings also?

[Dennis7423]

Just now, hworth18 said:

Will he be tooling new wings also?

 

While not admitting to doing that directly, I imagine he will. He's said that he's starting with the fuselage, and moving outward from there essentially. He's very, very receptive to feedback and guidance, and he's been made aware about the wing differences.

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

[hworth18]

5 hours ago, Dennis7423 said:

 

While not admitting to doing that directly, I imagine he will. He's said that he's starting with the fuselage, and moving outward from there essentially. He's very, very receptive to feedback and guidance, and he's been made aware about the wing differences.

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

 

That's great to hear! 

[Wurgermeister64]

Just my 2 cents: I get that there is a market for a P-51B, and many are willing to use a conversion set to sacrifice either a Revell or God forbid-their P-51D kit on it. I remember Jerry Rutman made a masterpiece resin kit years ago. That being said, whatever happened to Mainstreamers like HK stating that their kit was in the works??

[LSP_Ray]

ZM mentioned a while back that they are planning on one.

[BiggTim]

29 minutes ago, LSP_Ray said:

ZM mentioned a while back that they are planning on one.

And neither of them has said beep since. Either they have both tabled it, or they are playing it very close to the vest. Whatever happens, I think it's an awful waste to see all those hated Trumpeter B kits languishing out there because no one wants them. Just like the P-38, they had an opportunity for a home run, and blew it. 

Edited June 22, 2023 by BiggTim

[LSP_Kevin]

I'm pretty sure Neil canned the HK Models P-51B project a long time ago. But you never know, I guess...

 

Kev

[Artful69]

8 hours ago, Wurgermeister64 said:

Just my 2 cents: I get that there is a market for a P-51B, and many are willing to use a conversion set to sacrifice either a Revell or God forbid-their P-51D kit on it. I remember Jerry Rutman made a masterpiece resin kit years ago. That being said, whatever happened to Mainstreamers like HK stating that their kit was in the works??

 

8 hours ago, LSP_Ray said:

ZM mentioned a while back that they are planning on one.

 

8 hours ago, BiggTim said:

And neither of them has said beep since. Either they have both tabled it, or they are playing it very close to the vest. Whatever happens, I think it's an awful waste to see all those hated Trumpeter B kits languishing out there because no one wants them. Just like the P-38, they had an opportunity for a home run, and blew it. 

 

6 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

I'm pretty sure Neil canned the HK Models P-51B project a long time ago. But you never know, I guess...

 

Kev

 

HKM announced years ago that they were planning on a P-51B ... along with a host of other kits.

 

I get that, usually, most manufacturers keep their projects to themselves until the final stages of production - giving themselves about 6 months to a year of marketing before the plastic hits the shelves. We're used to having a VERY short time between announcement and retailed plastic.

 

... but in the last 10 years or so it seems that some manufacturers have announced projects even before the gestation period starts! Sometimes we're even teased with some CAD work before the proposed kit is shelved (eg: HKM's Ju-52 - and we will never know if it will be a permanent ditching or not!).

 

All of this this could be for any number of reasons ... HK models announced the Lancaster LONG before release ... and this they did, knowing that WNW announced that their 'surprise' Lancaster would be hitting the shelves within the same year. I'm glad they did!! It proved to be a few years of sales for them before the fabled kit finally emerged (with it's own list of issues) in a very different livery. ZM announced the FW-190 line up when design work was only just starting. God alone knows why Trumpeters Devastator took so long?!

 

I think people have a poor concept of the amount of time and effort that goes into these things before the final production run ... Some kits can take anywhere from 5-10 years from concept to retail.

 

I suspect both ZM and HKM lost a lot of retail business by releasing Do-335 kits almost simultaneously and I'm pretty sure Neil stated somewhere that he was canning the P-51B project shortly after ZM announced their three projects: Bf-109G, P51-B and Ar-234 as he felt competition would only hurt the sales of both companies.

 

ZM's P-51B is in the works somewhere, I'm sure of it ... just don't expect it to appear overnight ... same with their Ar-234 ... I have a feeling that their Bf.109G-14 was pushed along a bit further in the queue only because of the anniversary year. Apparently Radu has had quite a bit to do with the company and he might be able to shed some light on progress - or he might have been asked to keep confidentiality - or he may not even be privy to that info anyway.

 

Neither company owes any of us a series of public announcements about what they're doing and when - I'm just glad to hear occasionally that they are thinking about us - potential niche customers in a very niche market!

 

Rog

Edited June 23, 2023 by Artful69

[MikeMaben]

36 minutes ago, Artful69 said:

                  Apparently Radu has had quite a bit to do with the company and he might be able to shed some light on progress -

He's a busy man then, working on Revell's P-51D, Hurricane IIB. With his knowledge of the subject, I wouldn't be surprised

to see a nice Revell B.  

[Artful69]

14 minutes ago, MikeMaben said:

He's a busy man then, working on Revell's P-51D, Hurricane IIB. With his knowledge of the subject, I wouldn't be surprised

to see a nice Revell B.  

 

I was referring to his connection / work with ZM ... Since they are the only company with an announced P-51B in the works at present.

 

Rog

[CRAZY IVAN5]

3 hours ago, Artful69 said:

 

 

 

 

HKM announced years ago that they were planning on a P-51B ... along with a host of other kits.

 

I get that, usually, most manufacturers keep their projects to themselves until the final stages of production - giving themselves about 6 months to a year of marketing before the plastic hits the shelves. We're used to having a VERY short time between announcement and retailed plastic.

 

... but in the last 10 years or so it seems that some manufacturers have announced projects even before the gestation period starts! Sometimes we're even teased with some CAD work before the proposed kit is shelved (eg: HKM's Ju-52 - and we will never know if it will be a permanent ditching or not!).

 

All of this this could be for any number of reasons ... HK models announced the Lancaster LONG before release ... and this they did, knowing that WNW announced that their 'surprise' Lancaster would be hitting the shelves within the same year. I'm glad they did!! It proved to be a few years of sales for them before the fabled kit finally emerged (with it's own list of issues) in a very different livery. ZM announced the FW-190 line up when design work was only just starting. God alone knows why Trumpeters Devastator took so long?!

 

I think people have a poor concept of the amount of time and effort that goes into these things before the final production run ... Some kits can take anywhere from 5-10 years from concept to retail.

 

I suspect both ZM and HKM lost a lot of retail business by releasing Do-335 kits almost simultaneously and I'm pretty sure Neil stated somewhere that he was canning the P-51B project shortly after ZM announced their three projects: Bf-109G, P51-B and Ar-234 as he felt completion would only hurt the sales of both companies.

 

ZM's P-51B is in the works somewhere, I'm sure of it ... just don't expect it to appear overnight ... same with their Ar-234 ... I have a feeling that their Bf.109G-14 was pushed along a bit further in the queue only because of the anniversary year. Apparently Radu has had quite a bit to do with the company and he might be able to shed some light on progress - or he might have been asked to keep confidentiality - or he may not even be privy to that info anyway.

 

Neither company owes any of us a series of public announcements about what they're doing and when - I'm just glad to hear occasionally that they are thinking about us - potential niche customers in a very niche market!

 

Rog

I feel there's a great deal of wisdom in what you've said . These things do take time especially when we'll bar -b-q the thing if they don't get most of it right . Look no further than trumpeter and what they did to their 51B, I could tell there was something wrong with it straight away and I'm not a mustang man by any stretch. I wouldn't touch that thing with a 10 foot pole. Now then I'll wait for Z-M and HK[ maybe?] for a good rendition, I'll bend the throttle over the stop to get one  and again I ain't even a mustang man.

[F2G_lover]

This is the one I want to build. Thunderbird. Already have the decals from Draw, just need a kit worth putting them on.

 

 

[D Bellis]

56 minutes ago, F2G_lover said:

This is the one I want to build.

The new warbird that was rebuilt with a P-51D wing? Or the original P-51C owned by Jimmy Stewart? 

 

D

[F2G_lover]

40 minutes ago, D Bellis said:

The new warbird that was rebuilt with a P-51D wing? Or the original P-51C owned by Jimmy Stewart? 

 

D

 

I want to build it as the original that one the Bendix Trophy in 1949. It sounds like he had his reasons for putting a D-wing on it, and his plane, his money, his ass - I'm not about to criticize. I think it turned out beautiful.

[petrov27]

Any updates on progress with this conversion kit?