[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by djjeffhall

Sweet looking livery. Anyone know this birds history?

Leutnant Josef Jennewein had 86 aerial victories, 5 western front with the rest scored in the east. Looks like 29 of his victories were IL-2 Sturmoviks, not to shabby.

[MigAlley]

And he was a skiing world champion, not many aces who can say that!

I love these eastern front schemes, it's a fresh breath of fresh air after all those green/grey ones they've done before - and Dragon haven't cancelled any Fockes before, so chances should be reasonable of these making it to the stores. If so, I'll probably get both of them - and hopefully they'll produce a nice green one as well, for those of us who missed out on the Flying Mule FW!

I agree, though, that Dragon is not exactly putting out the right vibe at the moment, with all those delays and cancellations - and one could say the same of Corgi, who insist on putting out some of the "wrong" models, while cancelling the right ones! Nevertheless, I really do love Dragon's FWs, their Mustang Ds and Thunderbolts - their crispness and detail is just great, and justifies any further releases for me. It is a shame, though, that we don't see any more Mustangs or Doras - they've left these for a while, so now might be the right time to bring out a new scheme or two (rather than wringing the last of the life out of the admittedly great Thunderbolt). And let's hope Dragon finally decide to bring out a new cast that actually will prove viable!

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by MigAlley

And let's hope Dragon finally decide to bring out a new cast that actually will prove viable!

I like there Fw 190s and Bf 109Gs(Have one of their P-47s and like it too), but sure would like to see something new. As far as lengthy delays go, seems like all the diecast companies are currently in that slump.

[Old Crow]

I love these eastern front schemes, it's a fresh breath of fresh air after all those green/grey ones they've done before

Definitely agree.

By the way, welcome to the forum MigAlley.

[Cruver Collecter]

Dragon has been putting out some aircraft on dioramas, but I wonder what chance there might be for them to start making some of their Fw 190As with some different armament setups. A Fw 190A with weapons like the W.Gr21, twin MG151/20mm cannon gun-pack, or a variant like the Mk 103 30mm gondola mounted armament. The Fw 190F with some bombs slung underneath would make for a real interesting looking model. The one I would really like to see would be a Fw 190A-8 Night Fighter variant with all the radar antennas (Probably never see that one though). It would be nice to have some Fw 190s sporting something other than the standard drop tank for a change.

[Captain Eddie]

Originally Posted by MigAlley

And he was a skiing world champion, not many aces who can say that!

He wasn't an Ace, but well respected pilot Eddie Cignac was a champoinship skier, and won, amongst others, the Eastern US Ski Jump Championship in 1938. He flew P-39's, P-47's, and P-51's. He ended up as a Captain and Flight Leader of the 486th ,and then became the acting Group Operations Officer, before he was killed.

Welcome to the asylum, MigAlley!

[djjeffhall]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

Dragon has been putting out some aircraft on dioramas, but I wonder what chance there might be for them to start making some of their Fw 190As with some different armament setups. A Fw 190A with weapons like the W.Gr21, twin MG151/20mm cannon gun-pack, or a variant like the Mk 103 30mm gondola mounted armament. The Fw 190F with some bombs slung underneath would make for a real interesting looking model. The one I would really like to see would be a Fw 190A-8 Night Fighter variant with all the radar antennas (Probably never see that one though). It would be nice to have some Fw 190s sporting something other than the standard drop tank for a change.

Cruver,
I could be wrong, but I don't think Dragon has a very good history of changing their birds in any way. New paint, yeah. Actual changes as you suggest, no. I'd love to see it happen, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[stwhite]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

Dragon has been putting out some aircraft on dioramas, but I wonder what chance there might be for them to start making some of their Fw 190As with some different armament setups. A Fw 190A with weapons like the W.Gr21, twin MG151/20mm cannon gun-pack, or a variant like the Mk 103 30mm gondola mounted armament. The Fw 190F with some bombs slung underneath would make for a real interesting looking model. The one I would really like to see would be a Fw 190A-8 Night Fighter variant with all the radar antennas (Probably never see that one though). It would be nice to have some Fw 190s sporting something other than the standard drop tank for a change.

That is an excellent idea. This is exactly the reason I love my Corgi Flying Mule exclusive FW190.

[MigAlley]

Originally Posted by djjeffhall

Cruver,
I could be wrong, but I don't think Dragon has a very good history of changing their birds in any way. New paint, yeah. Actual changes as you suggest, no. I'd love to see it happen, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Well, don't forget the rocket tubes on the new Thunderbolt, or the two-seat and nightfighter Me 262s. I agree it's unusual for them to do that sort of thing, but not unheard of. More unusual for them is to make actual changes to the casting itself. This is the problem with all those Fw190 A-8s they've done - their cast is more like an A-4 or A-5. Similarly the FM-2 Wildcat, which should have a much longer tail than the F4F. You have to be a bit of a rivet-counter to bother, but it does suggest that they do not always take things as serously as some other manufacturers. And that does not bode well for ambitious subversions like the nightfighter Focke. Still, I think these Eastern Front ones are really a turn-up for the books - and as a bonus, having these in the Eastern Front collection will divert attention from the lack of detail of my Ixo Soviets!

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by MigAlley

Well, don't forget the rocket tubes on the new Thunderbolt, or the two-seat and nightfighter Me 262s. I agree it's unusual for them to do that sort of thing, but not unheard of. More unusual for them is to make actual changes to the casting itself. This is the problem with all those Fw190 A-8s they've done - their cast is more like an A-4 or A-5. Similarly the FM-2 Wildcat, which should have a much longer tail than the F4F. You have to be a bit of a rivet-counter to bother, but it does suggest that they do not always take things as serously as some other manufacturers. And that does not bode well for ambitious subversions like the nightfighter Focke. Still, I think these Eastern Front ones are really a turn-up for the books - and as a bonus, having these in the Eastern Front collection will divert attention from the lack of detail of my Ixo Soviets!

Funny thing with the Dragon is they do have two different upper cowling molds and wing molds. One of their upper cowling molds is a good match for A-4 thru A-6 models where the second mold does support A-7 thru A-9 model. They also have a two gun wing mold and a four gun wing mold and if they just provided some different barrel variants for outboard armament would really open up some possiblities. Sometimes they do miss when it comes to matching up these molds with the right model type they are depicting.