[skidmarksdiecast]

Originally Posted by skysurfer808

... if they did the Recon Sader, and HM did the fighter ones, that would work, plus it would help make the Final Countdown Air Wing complete, which is what Century seems to be doing.

Skysurfer808

Hmmm. Sounds like I may need to scratch-built a 1/72 scale USS Nimitz pretty soon-- all 15'-2" of it.

[zed550]

only time will tell!

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by skidmarksdiecast

Hmmm. Sounds like I may need to scratch-built a 1/72 scale USS Nimitz pretty soon-- all 15'-2" of it.

....And don't forget to add the weird "storm cloud Vortex fX" for good measure!

[edkao]

I really like to see a series of A-1 Skyraiders. Both Navy and Air Force variants.

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by edkao

I really like to see a series of A-1 Skyraiders. Both Navy and Air Force variants.

repeating for the nth time.....GEMINI ACES ARE DOING A-1 SKYRAIDERS fellas!!
And you can expect a good quality too!

[SaorsaDaonnan]

the F7U Cutlass, obviously...


to be serious for a moment, the F-4 certainly seems like an intelligent choice, as does the Prowler.


I'll step out on a limb, though, and say that they should continue the Grumman product line and build a LEM.
That is, the Moon Lander! How cool would that be?

[FormerViperDriver]

Originally Posted by SaorsaDaonnan

I'll step out on a limb, though, and say that they should continue the Grumman product line and build a LEM.
That is, the Moon Lander! How cool would that be?

Yeah, but with the full Saturn V rocket to go with it, in 1/72 scale!

FVD

[edkao]

Originally Posted by Andrew

repeating for the nth time.....GEMINI ACES ARE DOING A-1 SKYRAIDERS fellas!!
And you can expect a good quality too!

That's fine, but why can't I want a Century Wings A-1?

I have never bought a Gemini Aces model, what if I feel the quality of GA is not comparable to CW's?

[Andrew]

Originally Posted by edkao

That's fine, but why can't I want a Century Wings A-1?

I have never bought a Gemini Aces model, what if I feel the quality of GA is not comparable to CW's?

Actually, despite a few problems that tend to be fixed with revised versions, GA is pretty tops with their stuff. I reckon you could expect a very good product having seen their existing models. Wait for them to bring out their skyraider. I don't think you'd find many dissappointments with GA unlike the rest

[SaorsaDaonnan]

Originally Posted by FormerViperDriver

Yeah, but with the full Saturn V rocket to go with it, in 1/72 scale!

FVD

Hmm....at just over five feet long, it would be the perfect size for display in the den or hobby room of a medium-sized home. However, the cost would be staggering...surely several hundred dollars, possibly as much as six hundred or so. I'd pay it, actually, ( if I could muster the cash) but I wouldnt be confident that Century could sell enough of them to break even, let alone profit. I imagine they'd need entirely different machines to produce them, and the shipping costs alone would probably exceed the cost of most diecast models.


I would do it this way: first, produce a high-quality LM* (Eagle from Apollo 11). There are plenty of space nuts out there; if the LM mold were any good, plenty of them would sell. At 3.5 inches in height and 5 inches in width, the LM could probably be sold at a price point comparable to their F-14 and A-6 models; additionally, the size suggests that LMs could probably be manufactured on the same machines Century uses for those aircraft. Thus, the risk that Century would face in developing an LM model probably would not exceed the level of risk they have been willing to take with the Intruder. In fact, since (I would guess) the space market is bigger than the market for retired Navy mudmovers, there would probably be less risk. Like other models, the LM could be repainted and reissued, especially in Aquarius markings as the lifeboat from the Apollo 13 mission. (They might also consider a third LEM from a latter Apollo mission, probably 17, to be sold with a lunar rover, which at 1.7 feet in length could, presumably, also be made on the same machinery.)

Next, having established confidence in the market for space-themed products, Century should then produce an Apollo Command Module Capsule in Apollo 13 markings to commemorate the other most exciting moment in the original space program: the safe return of Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise. A second command module, Columbia, would continue to utilize the CM mold, but would also represent the third and most daring step for Century: the production of the entire Apollo CSM. The Service Module, to be sold with Columbia, would itself be the size of a new model: 4.1 inches long and 2.2 inches in diameter. The Apollo 11 CSM should be sold as one unit (the CM reusing the Apollo 11 CM). This would cost quite a bit more than the average diecast model, even by Centurys standards...probably in the $100-120 dollar range, perhaps as high as $150. While fewer people could afford this model, even $150 is not a completely unmanageable cost...just look at the (shudder) Franklin mint model line. Since SMs would not sell on their own, the only possible reuse would be for collectors wanting an entire Apollo 13 stack, or possibly as part of an Apollo-Soyuz test project set, which would of course require the development of a fourth diecast model. (Soyuz models would sell, I think, but that's a tanget that should only be explored after a highly successful line of diecast space products already exists). An Apollo 13 CSM, however, would require significant retooling in order to accurately replicate the damage incurred at the moment of explosion. Accurately representing the interior of the SM might be prohibitively expensive.

Completing the mission sequence by issuing a Saturn V would be a highly desirable but enormously expensive undertaking. As with the product line I've already described, I believe that the Saturn V should be issued in...trying to resist the pun...phases. I imagine that the first stage could not be sold if second and third stages, including the instrument unit, payload shroud, and escape tower, were not already available. I propose that the third stage be offered first, along with the instrument unit, payload shroud, and escape tower. This would allow diecast model lovers and space enthusiasts to display some portion of the Saturn V operating, yet without the cost of buying the entire rocket. A particularly cool option would be to display the initial rendezvous of the CSM and LM, which of course occured with the LM still on the third stage. By offering the third stage alone, Century could reduce the risk of selling entire Saturn Vs by testing the market first.

Producing and selling the first and second stages, which should probably be sold as a set (again, SEPARABLE pieces), would be a much more daunting task, quite possibly involving new machinery. The second stage, the S-II, would be 1.2 feet and the first stage, the S-1C, would be two feet long!