[wp_913]

Hi

I'm still a new collector, reading all of the the very informative posts here. So my question is,,, which Dragon F/A-18 is THE one to get ?? I have read that they are either very accurate or NOT very accurate. Is the aircraft itself or the weapons ???

Also, a local hobby shop told me that the Dragon F/A-18's are made by Witty Wings and are basically the same plane.

Any thoughts or recommendations for a somewhat new collector of F/A-18's ??? Thanks

[David Hingtgen]

Witty and Dragon F-18's have NOTHING in common (except some shared errors on the Super Hornets).

As for "accurate or not accurate" and "aircraft vs weapons"---which version are you talking about? Legacy Hornets or Super Hornets? It also does depend on release by release.

[wp_913]

Hi

Well I'm not really familiar enough with the variations. Being a new collector, I just want a nice and fairly accurate representation of some of my favorite planes. I Already bought a Century Wings F-14 Tomcat, and from what I can tell, everything else may pale in comparison, they are really nice.

So given that, any recommendations on either the Dragon or Witty ???

[David Hingtgen]

I've posted the weapons errors numerous times in several threads around here. But here's a summary:

Legacy Hornet: Dragon's your only option. A/B's are physically very accurate, C/D's less so, but still pretty close. Weapons range from all wrong, to half wrong, to all correct.

Super Hornet: The early releases (VFA-2, especially) of both Dragon and Witty have physical errors. Witty fixed theirs early, Dragon has MANY with major errors. The fixed Dragon one though, is probably about the best 1/72 Hornet of all. Both Dragon and Witty have very inaccurate weapons in all releases. Witty's are probably worse and harder to fix though.

[wp_913]

First off,

A HUGE thank you to David for sharing his wealth of knowledge. I think I'm beginning to understand the nuances of the various F/A-18's. I have poked around the many posts regarding the weapon inaccuracies, I must say it is rather frustrating. It takes as much effort to produce something that is wrong, as it does to produce it right. AGGGRRRHHHHH...

Oh well. so David, which one is the Dragon Super Hornet that is Fixed and one of the best 1/72 Hornet of all ???

And finally, I have references to the Dragon Weapons Sets, but completely unable to find any for sale even after an extensive web search ??? Any ideas if these sets are still available and if the weapons in the sets help to correct the problems.

Thanks again

PS. I think I may have been spoiled by my Century Wings purchases, their models seem very far ahead of the competition in terms of quality

[David Hingtgen]

Which Dragon Super Bug Versions Are Correct?

[SKUNKY]

Originally Posted by wp_913

Also, a local hobby shop told me that the Dragon F/A-18's are made by Witty Wings and are basically the same plane.

Did they also mention that Century Wings F-14s are made by Model Power and are essentially the same plane?.....I love it when people are so knowledgeable about the business they're in...or is it kind of like when you go to a Chevy dealer and the salesman tells you that the Impala and the Corvette are really the same car with just a few very minor alterations...(and by the way, you look marvelous in it!)

[tank nut]

Seems to me the last time I looked that the dragon had landing gear that could be up or down and witty only has down and looks no where near as good as dragon, so is this guy going to tell ya that CW makes Hobby master next? And please CW make a F/A 18 so I can trash my dragon one for a real diecast model.

[wp_913]

Yes indeed, a fair amount of seemingly insider mis-information at the local Hobby Shop, mostly repeated rumors... another reason to shop online once you have the right info. That is why a forum like this is SO extremely helpful to us new collectors, for that I THANK YOU all. Someday I hope to be able to pass along some useful information as well...

No they did not mention any other BS about who manufacturers what, just the Dragon and Witty statements.

Now I just need to figure out how to fit the F/A-18 with the proper weapons loads. It's disapointing that the Dragon Weapon sets are essentially unavailable.

But with some more research on this forum I hope to figure it all out

[Folgore]

Originally Posted by SKUNKY

Did they also mention that Century Wings F-14s are made by Model Power and are essentially the same plane?

Good one, Skunky!

And welcome to the nuthouse, wp_913! A warning: When I started collecting, I thought I'd get just a few models, too. Maybe eight or so -- the most representative single-engine fighters of WWII... Now I have a few dozen, with no end in sight...