Jump to content

Kittyhawk / Panda just announced on Facebook they are closing down


Recommended Posts

It is interesting to hear people complain about Kittyhawk kits.  How long did we go without an injection molded 1/48 kit of an F-101A/C, RF-101A/c, F-94C and several others?  I have built a couple of their kits and while they were not up to a Tamiya level in engineering, they turn out pretty good in the enbd.  Maybe they need some real modelling skill but they sure beat starting out with a vacuform or resin kit.  (Not discounting vacs and resin, just not my cup of tea.) 

 

Geoff M 

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

Finally got my MH_60R kit. I have to say in the box it looks impressive. The details are very sharp. I dont know how accurate or inaccurate it could be but as a kit, its substantial in terms of content. 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I've waited decades for Fury's, Cougars and Banshees. Now they're gone. Aside from one or two manufacturers, almost all kits have some sort of build issue. Complainers complain. I was pretty darned happy with Kitty Hawk.  

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 year later...
On 6/6/2021 at 12:19 PM, MoFo said:

 

I could see someone like Italeri or *maybe* Revell buying them to add a bunch of European-interest subjects to their catalogue in one fell swoop.  Someone who isn't afraid to reissue mediocre kits from defunct manufacturers  (thinking of some Esci toolings for Italeri, while Revell still reissue some stinkers).  As long as the offer is more than scrap value, *someone* will pick them up... they just have to be willing to sit on the tooling for a few years before reissuing them; sure, there's excess inventory today, but 5 - 10 years from now, people will probably be desperate for at least a couple of the KH releases.

 

Unfortunately, the list of potential buyers would be pretty small.

Looks like Trumpeter is buying their molds.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Trumpeter buying the KH molds has been a rumor ever since KH shut down.  So far, all is known for sure is that a company called Storm Front is reissuing the 1/32 F-5s.  They are suspected to be an offshoot of Trumpeter, or one of the other existing companies, as opposed to being a totally new brand.

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was hoping we had reached a point beyond rumors. I knew about the F-5's. Seems weird that if Trumpeter had the molds that they would only release one kit through proxy. They would surely see how much some of the old KH kits go for, and would be fools to not capitalize. My interest is in some of the unreleased projects, namely the Mi-28.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Rock - initial post was two years ago. They're already shut down for what it is worth; this thread is now discussing what happened to their molds and the likelihood we'll see re-pops or some unfinished projects released by another company.

Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Specter1075 said:

I was hoping we had reached a point beyond rumors. I knew about the F-5's. Seems weird that if Trumpeter had the molds that they would only release one kit through proxy. They would surely see how much some of the old KH kits go for, and would be fools to not capitalize. My interest is in some of the unreleased projects, namely the Mi-28.

 

Mi-28 would be awesome as would a Ka-52. I'm holding my breath for Takom or Meng to jump on them.

Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Tracy White said:

Rock - initial post was two years ago. They're already shut down for what it is worth; this thread is now discussing what happened to their molds and the likelihood we'll see re-pops or some unfinished projects released by another company.

 

It's probably a spammer registering for the site.

Link to post
Share on other sites
5 minutes ago, MoFo said:

 

It's probably a spammer registering for the site.

 

Yes, another one registered at the same time and posted an IT flavored response in the internal server error thread. That fact both posts are in quotation marks makes me wonder if these are bots using some LLM like chatGTP to generate posts?

 

.

 

Edited by habu2
Link to post
Share on other sites

A small secondary market is not an indication of larger demand.   A year ago Wingnut Wings Felixstowes were selling for double original price, but now are sitting unsold  at the original price after the remaining New Zealand stock was released.   There may be a handful of people who really want a kit and will pay a high price for  it.  That does not mean there is a market for a lot of them.   

10 hours ago, Specter1075 said:

I was hoping we had reached a point beyond rumors. I knew about the F-5's. Seems weird that if Trumpeter had the molds that they would only release one kit through proxy. They would surely see how much some of the old KH kits go for, and would be fools to not capitalize. My interest is in some of the unreleased projects, namely the Mi-28.

Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, habu2 said:

 

Yes, another one registered at the same time and posted an IT flavored response in the internal server error thread. That fact both posts are in quotation marks makes me wonder if these are bots using some LLM like chatGTP to generate posts?

 

.

 

It had immediately struck me that both mertox's and rock55's posts seemed very odd first ones for brand-new members (less than a day) to make...

....I hadn't even considered the bot/chatGTP angle, though - my initial thought was also simply they might be spammers getting a foot in the door....

Link to post
Share on other sites
29 minutes ago, andyf117 said:

It had immediately struck me that both mertox's and rock55's posts seemed very odd first ones for brand-new members (less than a day) to make...

....I hadn't even considered the bot/chatGTP angle, though - my initial thought was also simply they might be spammers getting a foot in the door....

Well, at least they're not hawking Bitcoin or other non-model sh...stuff.

Link to post
Share on other sites
23 hours ago, mertox said:

Looks like Trumpeter is buying their molds.

 

10 hours ago, Rock55 said:

Hi, Oh no, I'm really saddened to hear that Kittyhawk / Panda is closing down! They were such a fantastic platform, and I enjoyed using their services. It's always tough to see a beloved company go. Thank you, Kittyhawk / Panda, for the wonderful experiences and memories. Wishing the team all the best in their future endeavors.

 These couldn't be more bot if they tried...

Lemme guess...you "have one laying down in my store and willing to sell out in good condition and at affordable price
If you are still interested in buying it,you can kindly text me on my mail for more enquiries"

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...