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On my list too...

 

 However, notice the lack of large aircraft in 1/48th WWII for decades now... I think, with the fad of 1/32, that the hobby is just too diminished now, and in too steep a decline, for these kinds of "risky" releases... R.

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Between 2009 and 2014, about 0.25 1/48th WWII aircraft/year per the eight biggest players (much worse since)... As of 2017, about 37 years since a mainstream WWII four engine of any kind has come out, minus Trumpeter's sad (and deservedly forgotten) Condor... No purely Civilian airliner or floatplane ever... Oh it's a freaking Golden Age all right...

 

 Robertson

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Ok Mr. Happy, I'll bite. 

 

You're looking at a seriously small demographic of the modeling world. And the 1:48 WWII aircraft you're referring to are all still available somewhere. If you're resourceful (and don't drag them into your red line chamber for torture).  It's a shame you're only limited to 1:48 WWII aircraft. Other genres and scales are exploding. 

Edited by jester292
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5 hours ago, jester292 said:

Ok Mr. Happy, I'll bite. 

 

You're looking at a seriously small demographic of the modeling world. And the 1:48 WWII aircraft you're referring to are all still available somewhere. If you're resourceful (and don't drag them into your red line chamber for torture).  It's a shame you're only limited to 1:48 WWII aircraft. Other genres and scales are exploding. 

 Don't worry about him. That is just Gaston Marty for you. He has been booted from just about every forum I've been on. He tends to always use a different name on each one for some reason.

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14 hours ago, nerdling said:

 Don't worry about him. That is just Gaston Marty for you. He has been booted from just about every forum I've been on. He tends to always use a different name on each one for some reason.

 

I'm all too familiar with his antics. His reputation is no mystery!

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On ‎2017‎-‎05‎-‎26 at 8:07 PM, jester292 said:

Ok Mr. Happy, I'll bite. 

 

You're looking at a seriously small demographic of the modeling world. And the 1:48 WWII aircraft you're referring to are all still available somewhere. If you're resourceful (and don't drag them into your red line chamber for torture).  It's a shame you're only limited to 1:48 WWII aircraft. Other genres and scales are exploding. 

 

  I doubt other genres and scales are "exploding", but I would be curious to know which ones. I happen to also do 1/350 scale WWII IJN ships, and in that narrow subject range I am quite happy with the quantity and quality of all that has come out in the past twelve years (a radically different and more enjoyable experience compared to 1/48th WWII aircrafts, both in quantity and quality)...: Not enough to blind me to the fact that I happen to agree (in ships) with the all-important Japanese home market, which is what Japanese companies are retreating to, given the global shrivelling of the modelling world. (You only have to see the current unfurling pace of Hyperscale to see how severe that is...)

 

  The basic truth is that nothing serious has come out in 1/48th four engine prop aircrafts in over thirty years, civilian or military, and even large twins have been almost non-existent for decades in that scale (except for mostly inaccurate short run kits, like SH's He-115, which was completely, and deservedly, forgotten within months of its release, like most short runs kits are). Not to forget the total absence of the larger hull floatplanes, which were so iconic in so many ways. Even 1/48th Japanese Army bombers are non-existent. This is not because all of this is a small market (unknown, since no one ever tried it): This has been, in much larger part, due to the 1/32 scale WWII "revival" fad Tamiya re-booted with their Zero in 1999, when, instead of expanding into exciting new multi-engine subjects, all the boring old single-engine WWII ground covered in 1/48th had to be unimaginatively re-threaded into the bigger scale... Big yawn... This lead to nearly two decades of excruciatingly boring subjects, familiar shapes, and now grotesquely large multi-engines no one will ever build (a wall seems to have been very quickly hit with those!)...: A great impoverishment over what could have been... One that was custom-tailored to an aging market that will now sink this hobby even faster, and, I have to say, deservedly so...

 

Robertson

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You use words "exciting" and "boring" as if they're not subjective. Which kind of detracts from the argument.  It just to dip my toe in:

 

1:48 Me 410, Bf 110 series, B-25 series, Pe-2, etc. To say that single engine fighters are boring is only your opinion but from what's become available in the last 10-15 years only adds to the diversity available. And that's just WWII. Your apparently "neglected" scale and subject. 

 

I'm off to build a 1:48 Monogram B-29. 

 

Edited by jester292
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On ‎5‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 1:13 AM, Robertson said:

Between 2009 and 2014, about 0.25 1/48th WWII aircraft/year per the eight biggest players (much worse since)... As of 2017, about 37 years since a mainstream WWII four engine of any kind has come out, minus Trumpeter's sad (and deservedly forgotten) Condor... No purely Civilian airliner or floatplane ever... Oh it's a freaking Golden Age all right...

 

 Robertson

 

Who are you counting as the eight biggest players?   Zvezda, Airfix, Trumpeter, Hobbyboss, Tamiya, Special Hobby, Revell, Hasegawa, Eduard, Academy, DML?   

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10 hours ago, nspreitler said:

 

Who are you counting as the eight biggest players?   Zvezda, Airfix, Trumpeter, Hobbyboss, Tamiya, Special Hobby, Revell, Hasegawa, Eduard, Academy, DML?   

 

Don't forget about ICM. Some of their new kits are excellent and on each one it seems they improve things a bit more (not to mention really good value for money). These are only the initial releases, most have been released in multiple boxings:

LaGG-3 series: 2008

Hs-126 series: 2010

C-45 series: 2014

Do-215 series: 2014

U-2/Po-2 series: 2014

Do-17 series: 2015

Ju-88 series: 2015

I-153 series: 2015

Fw-189 series: 2016

I-16 series: 2016

He-111 series: 2017

So, that is 11 new tool 1/48th scale WWII kits from just ICM alone in 9 years, or 1.2 per year.

 

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On 5/28/2017 at 4:05 AM, Robertson said:

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Mfezi said:

 

Don't forget about ICM. Some of their new kits are excellent and on each one it seems they improve things a bit more (not to mention really good value for money). These are only the initial releases, most have been released in multiple boxings:

LaGG-3 series: 2008

Hs-126 series: 2010

C-45 series: 2014

Do-215 series: 2014

U-2/Po-2 series: 2014

Do-17 series: 2015

Ju-88 series: 2015

I-153 series: 2015

Fw-189 series: 2016

I-16 series: 2016

He-111 series: 2017

So, that is 11 new tool 1/48th scale WWII kits from just ICM alone in 9 years, or 1.2 per year.

 

 

I forgot ICM and they certainly have released a lot of stuff.   I was more curious what 8 companies Robertson considers the big eight since according to him the hobby is dying fast.  

 

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7 hours ago, Mfezi said:

I am just as curious as you...

 

The only thing accurate in what he wrote is there have been very few new four engine aircraft since the 70s.  However, the Ju-52, PBY, C-47, and Wellington are as bis as a 1/48 B-17 they just don't have 4 engines.  The only 4 engine bombers that were produced in numbers greater than a couple hundred that there are not mainstream kits for are the Halifax and Stirling.   I would love to see them, but I can't see them making money for any company.  

 

Hasegawa, Revell and Tamiya have released very few new kits, but ICM, Zvezda, Trumpeter, Hobbyboss, Airfix, and Eduard have been busy.   Airfix has released a new Spitfire, Hurricane Meteor, Defiant, and Stuka in just the last couple years.   Special Hobby has a ton of new releases in the last 10 years, and ICM and Zvezda are making kits that are as good as nearly anything else on the market.  

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I don't dispute the shortage of 4-engine, WWII propeller aircraft. But one should also consider the popularity of the genre in general. For example, in one of my local shops that sell model kits, there is a Revell/Monogram B-17 kit that has remained unsold for at least 5 years. The box is half-bleached from the sun, as they have been displaying it in the window at a discounted price. Except for some old stock Roden kits, I don't think there are any other kits in that shop that I have seen remain unsold for so long. I've been tempted a few times, but it is just not my genre. I have heard that the B-17 in particular is much more popular in the US, so maybe there is at least some sort of market, but compared to the rate at which WWII fighters and modern jets sell, I can see the risk for any company venturing there: Big, expensive moulds that will probably yield only limited sales. The same goes for large flying boats, which also interests Robinson/Gaston. If you look at the list that I posted of ICM, twin-engined aircraft appear to be considerably more popular, and there has been a lot of recent releases of those, some of which are really fantastic kits (for example, the Zvezda Pe-2). In my mind, considering you still have the option of building all the plastic kits that had been released in the past, as well as all the wonderful new releases (I add to this also modern jets - GWH and AMK have really made a name for themselves), along with the proliferation of aftermarket items, it really is the best time ever to be a plastic modeller. I don't think there is any way that Robinson can convince me otherwise.

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13 hours ago, Mfezi said:

I don't dispute the shortage of 4-engine, WWII propeller aircraft. But one should also consider the popularity of the genre in general. For example, in one of my local shops that sell model kits, there is a Revell/Monogram B-17 kit that has remained unsold for at least 5 years. The box is half-bleached from the sun, as they have been displaying it in the window at a discounted price. Except for some old stock Roden kits, I don't think there are any other kits in that shop that I have seen remain unsold for so long. I've been tempted a few times, but it is just not my genre. I have heard that the B-17 in particular is much more popular in the US, so maybe there is at least some sort of market, but compared to the rate at which WWII fighters and modern jets sell, I can see the risk for any company venturing there: Big, expensive moulds that will probably yield only limited sales. The same goes for large flying boats, which also interests Robinson/Gaston. If you look at the list that I posted of ICM, twin-engined aircraft appear to be considerably more popular, and there has been a lot of recent releases of those, some of which are really fantastic kits (for example, the Zvezda Pe-2). In my mind, considering you still have the option of building all the plastic kits that had been released in the past, as well as all the wonderful new releases (I add to this also modern jets - GWH and AMK have really made a name for themselves), along with the proliferation of aftermarket items, it really is the best time ever to be a plastic modeller. I don't think there is any way that Robinson can convince me otherwise.

 

The B-17 is popular in the US, but with the F and G already covered by Revell it is a tough sell for another company.  I would love to see a new tool B-17 but that isn't likely, the same with the B-24 and certainly the B-29.   

 

It certainly is a great time to do this,  I just started the Airfix Defiant and it is a gem.  I am 95% complete with a Tamiya P-47 and it is excellent.  Up soon will be a Trumpeter MiG-23 and the Tamiya F-14.   There certainly isn't a shortage of great kits to build, and I'll occasionally build one of the old big bombers too. 

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