[Epapazian]

Apparently that rumor about the new Altaya 1:144 scale bombers being sold by IXO via online and, we presume, other sellers, is true. Just got an email from Pete's Collectibles soliciting pre-orders on the following planes: BV-222, Betty, Arado 234 ( I wasn't aware this was being made in this scale ), B-29, C-47, C-54, Fiat BR-20, JU--88, JU-188, JU-52, B-26, PBM, , PE-8, Piaggio P.108, SM-79 and the Short Sterling. These are priced at only $27 apiece, which is lower than the customary eBay price for the first of this series that are now appearing in eBay's listings. Also of interest is the fact that some of the planes being offered by Altaya in Europe and by some eBay sellers---like the JU-290, HE-177 and Emily-- are not on Pete's initial list. On the other hand, Pete has planes like the PBM, Fiat BR-20 and SM-79, which were not on the original Altaya Europe list. All of this tells me that Altaya plans to do about 50 of these planes, including some that have not been identified as yet.

[mikeb1958]

Damn, I wish these were in 1/72 scale. Lots of great planes there. Oh well.

[RonO]

Originally Posted by mikeb1958

Damn, I wish these were in 1/72 scale. Lots of great planes there. Oh well.

There are a lot of great planes there and I am ok with 1/144, but I fear the quality will not come up to a minimum standard. Hope I am wrong.

[Epapazian]

Diecast Direct, which was IXO's US distributor the last time around, has also listed the same planes as pre-orders on its website at $29-30 per model. Hmm. The plot thickens.

[pulqui]

Something here does not make sense. None of the models already released in France are shown on Pete's or Diecast Direct web sites. And the Ar-234 is not even on Altaya's 1:144 list.

[Epapazian]

Originally Posted by pulqui

Something here does not make sense. None of the models already released in France are shown on Pete's or Diecast Direct web sites. And the Ar-234 is not even on Altaya's 1:144 list.

The brochure and visuals depicted on their site showed an SM-81 , an A-26 and a B-25, none of which were on the original European list. This leads me to speculate that more planes than those first listed were planned. If this is so, this may explain the discrepancies between IXO's initial Altaya offerings for the U.S. and the latter's first European lineup. As for the Arado, perhaps this is a mistake and it's the 1:72 scale version ( I hope ), or it may be one of their additional 1:144 offerings. Who knows.

[flyXwire]

Here are what Pete's going to offer:

BLOHM & VOSS BV-222 ""WIKING"" IXJ-2008-08
MITSUBISHI G4M1 ""BETTY"" TYPE1 IXJ-2008-01
ARADO AR 234C BLITZ IXJ-2008-02
MARTIN B-26 B/C MARAUDER IXJ-2008-09
MARTIN PBM MARINER IXJ-2008-16
PIAGGIO P.108 IXJ-2008-07
PETLYAKOV PE-8 IXJ-2008-11
SAVOIA-MARCHETTI SM 79 SPARVIERO IXJ-2008-12
SHORT STIRLING B I/III IXJ-2008-05

[Epapazian]

I just pre-ordered a PBM, Short Sterling, Arado 234, BV-222, SM-79, Fiat BR-20, Piaggio P.108, PE-8 and a Betty. I'm also on the hunt--eBay-wise--for the FW-200, Emily, HE-177, JU-290 and Cant Z 1007. It should be an interesting year.