[Berkut76]

Originally Posted by Cardinal

Excuse my ignorance Sergey, but how well developed is the market for die-cast collecting in Russia and the former Soviet states/republics? Surely good quality 1/48 IL2s , for example, could be marketed there ... ???

Unfortunately, the answer to your question is very poorly There are very few collectors in that area of the world of built diecast and plastic models. The prices are also very high and somewhat puzzling with Forces of Valor models COSTING MORE than Dragon Armor.

To make matters worse, most of the people who collect scale models of military aircraft and vehicles are rivet counters of the highest degree. To them, built diecast models are equal to toys because of crudeness and inaccuracies, which are even more pronounced on the models of the Soviet armor and aircraft. If multiple spelling mistakes, poor historical write-ups, and incorrect unit identifications drive me wild, you can imagine what such oversights do to a person who has been building kits for more than a few years.

All in all, models of the Soviet aircraft and armor could only sell well in the former Soviet Union if they are quality built (choice of media diecasts vs. plastic is irrelevant) from top notch materials and are 99.999999999% historically accurate. Price tag doesn't seem to be of concern as long as a product is top notch. So far, only Dragon T-34s have been able to entice collectors over there.

That being said, I continuously update people on the Russian forums with news from "built" world, but so far hasn't been able to make much headway. From what I've read, you can buy or at least order from the store pretty much every plastic kit and upgrades for it even in medium-sized cities on the periphery, while built models have spotty distribution even in major population centers like Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kiev.

Regards,

Sergey

[planenutsfrog]

Originally Posted by flyXwire

I'm wishing for radial-engined 'Butcherbirds' next as I've gotten rid off my FM/A Fw-190s.

Late A7/8/9 and associated F and G variants would be particularly welcome .

Another highly desirable addition in my opinion, would be the "teardrop canopy" Spitfire MKIX/XVI .

[flyXwire]

Oooooh...very nice Sweet Sally! I'll have one to go, please. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Ara1

I vote for a Ki-21 Sally for the Flying Tigers to shoot down...

Plus I love that fargon airplane.

[Ara1]

Hey flyXwire,

I hear ya on the Sally but apparently very few Japanese items are going to sell.

I wish that weren't so because the planes and schemes were gorgeous.

[hworth18]

Originally Posted by Ara1

Hey flyXwire,

I hear ya on the Sally but apparently very few Japanese items are going to sell.

I wish that weren't so because the planes and schemes were gorgeous.

I'd love to see more Japanese A/C and even a few Russian ones..

[FormerViperDriver]

Russian planes, please. And French and Italian, too, although I'm a realist and think probably IXO will remain the only ones with any of those in their catalogues (but I want 1/48... and higher quality).

I agree with those wanting Japanese planes as well, but I have my Marushins to keep me relatively happy in that respect.

FVD

[Elmer]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

I agree with those wanting Japanese planes as well, but I have my Marushins to keep me relatively happy in that respect.

FVD

Hey FVD... speaking of Marushin, how many do you have? What would your review of the quality be? Do you recommend any? Can you post pics?

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by Elmer

Hey FVD... speaking of Marushin, how many do you have? What would your review of the quality be? Do you recommend any? Can you post pics?

Elmer,

I have 5 Marushins (Zero, Tony, Frank, Val, and George). Pictures are already posted under the "Marushin" topic (logically enough). As for quality: overall shape is quite good, paint is excellent, and they do have good heft (very few plastic parts, such as props and tail gear). But: very crude cockpit detail, inaccurate colors for inside of cockpit and wheel wells (I remedied that myself), no pilot figure (if that's important to you, they do sell those separately), and pitot tubes (on wings) are a bit crudely rendered (simple metal tube, a bit too thick).

Plus, there is definitely some assembly required, to include use of superglue. I don't mind that myself, but some people who complained about having to assemble early EI models will want to steer clear of Marushin, because they require far more work compared to EI.

Still, I really like them and my biggest complaint is how hard they are to obtain (plus maybe the price, which is not cheap, especially for the Betty bombers).

For a 1/48 collector who wants Japanese planes, I guess it's the only game in town, except for the FM/Armour Zero which has not had very good reviews in general.

FVD

[Elmer]

Thanks FVD!

[wmosner]

Been more then a month since Harry first asked, still no rumors?

Any of you distributors heard anything?