[Gort]

Originally Posted by Airasair

B-29 Superfortress
P-61 Black Widow
P-59 Aircomet
P-63 Kingcobra
A-1 Skyraider
A-20 Havoc
A-26 Invader
F7F Tigercat
SB2C Helldiver
TBD Devastator
PV-1 Ventura
D3A Val
G4M Betty
Ki-45 Nick
Ki-46 Dinah
Me-410
S.25 Sunderland
Short Stirling
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

I’ve gotta hunch that Hobby Master and/or Corgi or some other enterprising company will eventually produce at lease one of the planes you list, Airasair. If (and that’s a big if for Corgi) diecast manufacturers get their ever-lovin’ acts together and carefully consider collectors’ wish lists, they might furnish the P-61 Black Widow (oh, brother—do I love that bird or what!) and/or the G4M Betty (another favorite) and/or the F7F Tigercat. Or any number of your warbirds.

In fact, I’d say it’s likely, given the current stormy economic climate (manufacturers will have to satisfy customer demand—or go belly up). So keep your fingers crossed.

[Celtic]

Originally Posted by Airasair

All I care about is I want more plane choices then just the same old P-51, P-47, and so on only done in differnet paint schemes. There are alot more planes out there that are worthy of finally being made but for some reason they aren't. So what if they may not be as popular or did not perform well as some of the more well known planes, like for instance the P-39 might not be the most popular plane and did not perform well as hoped but still HM obviously saw it as a plane that had to be done and I believe its doing well on the market. You just have to give these others planes a chance and I bet all will do well on the market because so many of us want them so. So here are my list of planes that I believe are well over due in 1/72 cause I believe that 1/72 is the "Goldilocks scale" cause its not too big and not too small, its just right. And any new plane being made must be done in 1/72 scale first before any other because it would satisfy the majority of customers. Give what the people want! And just in case for any future argument, a B-29 in 1/72 is still smaller than a B-17 in 1/48 and its doing well.

B-29 Superfortress
P-61 Black Widow
P-59 Aircomet
P-63 Kingcobra
A-1 Skyraider
A-20 Havoc
A-26 Invader
F7F Tigercat
SB2C Helldiver
TBD Devastator
PV-1 Ventura
D3A Val
G4M Betty
Ki-45 Nick
Ki-46 Dinah
Me-410
S.25 Sunderland
Short Stirling
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

Great list!

[Celtic]

Originally Posted by Gort

I’ve gotta hunch that Hobby Master and/or Corgi or some other enterprising company will eventually produce at lease one of the planes you list, Airasair. If (and that’s a big if for Corgi) diecast manufacturers get their ever-lovin’ acts together and carefully consider collectors’ wish lists, they might furnish the P-61 Black Widow (oh, brother—do I love that bird or what!) and/or the G4M Betty (another favorite) and/or the F7F Tigercat. Or any number of your warbirds.

In fact, I’d say it’s likely, given the current stormy economic climate (manufacturers will have to satisfy customer demand—or go belly up). So keep your fingers crossed.

Great, Gort graces our gathering! Welcome back! Your survey was excellent. I wonder if a market for diecast will grow in China, given their 12% growth rate? We're going to be hurting for sure, but I at least will plug on with purchases until the bank account goes boinggggg...

I was looking at some pictures of the F7F a couple days ago, but wonder if the manufacturers would take a chance creating a model with so few paint schemes. Otherwise, it is just about the perfect twin. (There was only one better IMHO, a Mitsubishi twin-engined fighter that came out near the end of the war.)

If I was to dream one of those crazy dreams, flying on clouds of fancy, I would want a Martin Mars -- in 1/72, of course...if nothing else, it could be used for body building!

[STARMAN 352ND]

I would love to see a F7F Tigercat but i think it would be in the same boat as the P-61 Blackwidow ...
There is not enough paint schemes for it.
JP

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by Airasair

All I care about is I want more plane choices then just the same old P-51, P-47, and so on only done in differnet paint schemes. There are alot more planes out there that are worthy of finally being made but for some reason they aren't. So what if they may not be as popular or did not perform well as some of the more well known planes, like for instance the P-39 might not be the most popular plane and did not perform well as hoped but still HM obviously saw it as a plane that had to be done and I believe its doing well on the market. You just have to give these others planes a chance and I bet all will do well on the market because so many of us want them so. So here are my list of planes that I believe are well over due in 1/72 cause I believe that 1/72 is the "Goldilocks scale" cause its not too big and not too small, its just right. And any new plane being made must be done in 1/72 scale first before any other because it would satisfy the majority of customers. Give what the people want! And just in case for any future argument, a B-29 in 1/72 is still smaller than a B-17 in 1/48 and its doing well.

B-29 Superfortress
P-61 Black Widow
P-59 Aircomet
P-63 Kingcobra
A-1 Skyraider
A-20 Havoc
A-26 Invader
F7F Tigercat
SB2C Helldiver
TBD Devastator
PV-1 Ventura
D3A Val
G4M Betty
Ki-45 Nick
Ki-46 Dinah
Me-410
S.25 Sunderland
Short Stirling
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley

New stuff,,, I like it! It would be nice to see some new aircraft being produced, as apposed to reruns of aircraft that have already been done.

[Gort]

Originally Posted by Celtic

Great, Gort graces our gathering! Welcome back! Your survey was excellent. If I was to dream one of those crazy dreams, flying on clouds of fancy, I would want a Martin Mars -- in 1/72, of course...if nothing else, it could be used for body building!

Thank you kindly, Celtic!

Eh ... as for the Martin Mars, I’m thinkin’ your chances are slim to none; China would have to expend half its zinc stockpile to produce the thing. Which begs the question: Did the real plane actually get off the ground (uh...I mean ocean)? Just kidding. Believe it or not, two of these 50 year-old monsters are still flying today: the Hawaii Mars and the Philippine Mars.

Another Martin tidbit: The first Mars was berthed at the Naval Air Station at Alameda, California. It made the round trip to Pearl Harbor in just five days, including all servicing and cargo loading. We're talking lickety-split here.

Yeah, I’d go for one of those.

[Cruver Collecter]

How about and Arado Ar 234? Landing gear or skid equipped version would make for an interesting model.

[Shawn 507]

Three CWs on pre-order. I can't count how many HM aircraft are on pre-order. As for Draggin' and the P- 40/51B? I've given up on those. Gorgi? Well I have but one I must get, the blue PRU P-38. After that its if I feel in the mood for any others. Now if they make a OD C-47 used for an Airborne Op, its game on!

[HotTrap429]

Originally Posted by Gort

I’m pullin’ this one out of my ear (yes, robots have ears), but I’m thinking kabelace is right. The sub-prime crunch and dollar mess (and resultant recession and looming depression—not to mention China’s manufacturing dilemmas) will impact diecast production immeasurably.

I hope I’m wrong, and I admit I’m a pessimist, but the heady days of plentiful new models are dead and gone. We’re looking at spotty production, shrunken inventories and catalogs, and the demise of several cherished manufacturers—or at the very least, their painful reorganization.


None of this is gospel, of course. Few understand world herky-jerky economics; fewer still can accurately forecast its future. All I can say is, keep what you’ve got, ‘cause the day will come when diecast models are scarce. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but definitely somewhere down this treacherous, murky path.

WELCOME BACK GORT!

Couldn't agree with you more. The economic picture on my own carrier isn't very bright right now and $40.00 + for a 1/72 scale WWII fighter is pushing the ole budget to a breaking point. I've purchased only one new plane from an online retailer this year and that's my HM P-39 Devastating Devil. Love the plane and hope to get the P-400. Can't afford much else so I agree with you, those heady days where I could buy what ever I wanted are gone.

[tripoli]

Someone needs to do a 1:72 SR-71 and I expect HM would be the one most likely to. I think you do have to consider the economy, something I have been aware of and noting for the last 9 months back. I think if the economy continues to tank, you could see smaller runs of the schemes normally not seen out there at a slightly more premium price as well as some models no one else is marketing to keep the competition down. Generally the smart move when the market demand gets tight to to the limited spending.

HM has done a wonderful job on their models, I am looking forward to adding a few this year, with the rest of my hobby money being spent on CW. I expect these two will dominate in the quality of what is produced and they really seem to be listening to their consumer base.

I do not have that much faith in Corgi, too much baggage on both ends of that merger, things won't start out well and with the market demand dwindling, its going to be a rough road for them I think.

Carousel look incredible but started high on their prices and with the recent hike, I can only hope they do not go any higher as they produced incredible replicas. They just need to not mass produce items that are already flooded out there.

FOV is tackling the mass marketers, the lack of quality in comparison to a few others may be nuetralized by volume sales. Hope they can work to gain on quality, they are just soo close to being there but keep falling just a bit short to the tiny details.