[theodore]

Wow, did this topic open up the proverbial 'can of worms'!! I'm relatively new to this forum (I was on the Florida Diecast Forum until it went 'kaput' in January) so I cannot comment on too many events in the past. One trend I have noticed here is that people will make negative comments on something that they do not collect. For example, I have no interest in post-WW2 aircraft or armor, but you will never see me post anything on a Century Wings' thread. There is no need to populate a thread, just to say that you do not collect these, for whatever reason.

The best assessment of whether or not a diecast model is accurate or not is to have the actual aircraft or tank in front of you to make comparisons against. A restored piece, to operating condition, would be the best scenario, but a unrestored piece is almost as good. When I was the tour guide at the Flying Tigers Warbird Museum in Kissimmee, Florida, I had the honor and privilege to see many WW2 aircraft restored to operating condition and was able to analyze these in different states of restoration. I was able to peruse many B-25's, T-6's, a Goodyear Corsair, a P-40N, a General Motors Avenger, and so on. I was able to review the actual, not reprinted, tech manuals and talk to the A & P mechanics on a constant basis. Tom Reilly, the owner, was able to give me information on these aircraft, since he has restored and flown them all, that was quite informative and valuable. I was able to interview roughly 1,000 WW2 vets from around the world as well (some thru interpreters).

My point is this: most of you would be surprised at how accurate these diecast actually are. There are comments that some people have made about diecast that are not accurate, based on my many days as the tour guide above, but I do not feel it is in my best interest to correct them.