[lanslide]

Rush - thanks for the vote of confidence! Skunky really did get us good! I'm still laughing too! Admin, where are you?

[Rush104]

Originally Posted by lanslide

Rush - thanks for the vote of confidence! Skunky really did get us good! I'm still laughing too! Admin, where are you?

No problem, lanslide! Believe it or not, I wasn't being difficult just for the sake of being difficult. I firmly believe that opinion polls are very effective tools for letting the makers know what we want, and I am in favor of them. You're doing good by keeping this topic alive.
I guess my point was that, by their nature, opinion polls are inclusive. If, during the course of the voting, certain models get voted off the island, then that's the nature of the beast. We're all dreamers here to some extent, we all have particular planes that we would really like to see in diecast. I guess I just wanted some reassurance that an individual will get his chance to be heard, at least initially.

[SkyBuffalo]

Possibly, we could have all voters who wanted to participate submit their top 20 choices (could be fewer, but only up to 20) for whichever era they want to vote for. At the end of the voting period, these are tallied up and presented to the forum in a list, including each plane and number of votes. Then maybe, the top 25% or 50% are chosen for each era to be the top picks. Then we would do an all-forum poll for each era using those picks, basically like the normal polls we already do. That way, we have the raw numbers of choices that we and the manufacturers can see (i.e. the first choices), then we have the official poll by the forum which would give a more focused look at the top choices. This would show the manufacturers what they would actually be able to sell in a decent amount.

Later, some of the top choices could be discussed in individual threads (just like we do now) to present certain paint schemes and option/variations for the planes. This would also give the manufacturers a better idea of what they could potentially produce. But this would probably be done after the 2nd all-forum poll is finished and closed.

[lanslide]

Right SkyBuffalo - this poll would be our best chance at getting what we want. At the very least we could see for ourselves what might get produced in the future so we can save some room for them!

[Rush104]

I think you hit it on the head, SkyBuffalo. I failed to convey it in earlier posts, but I guess my point is this- we gotta have some kind of baseline with which to begin a poll. I think that process has to be, by its nature, a write-in type of campaign of a limited duration. That will give us a good reference point concerning which aircraft to include in the official (click by the name format) poll.
That's where managment can help us by designating a POC for the write-ins. Whoever is picked would collate the initial write-ins, and present the winners for inclusion in the poll.

[lanslide]

How about right here - right now? My initial 1/72 list would be:

WWI:
Fokker Dr.1
Fokker D.7
Albatross
Spad XIII
Sopwith Camel
Nieuport 28
SE-5

WWII:
P-36
P-39
P-61
P-63
A-20
A-26
B-26
B-29
TBD
SB2C
Val
Kate
Tojo

COLD WAR:
F7F
F8F
F9F
F-80
F-84
F-100
F-101
F-102
F-105
F-106
F-111
F-5
F-6
F-7
F-8
F-11
A-1
A-5
A-7
B-58
SR-71
U-2
X-1
X-15
Mig 15
Mig 17
Mig 19
Mig 23

MODERN:
F-22
F-35
B-1
B-2

[Rush104]

Way to get the ball rolling! I like a lot of your suggestions, especially for the Cold War (my favorite era). BTW, which F-84s and F9Fs would you like to see? The straight-wingers, the swept-wingers, or both?

[lanslide]

Originally Posted by Rush104

Way to get the ball rolling! I like a lot of your suggestions, especially for the Cold War (my favorite era). BTW, which F-84s and F9Fs would you like to see? The straight-wingers, the swept-wingers, or both?

Ah ha ! You are trying to make this complicated! - just kidding - I like them all but let's be realistic. The most prevalent versions are fine for me now - straight wingers.

[Rush104]

I'll kick in with my initial choices for the Cold War, all in 1/72nd:

1) T-33A Shooting Star
2) F-101B Voodoo
3) F4D-1 (aka F-6A) Skyray
4) B-58A Hustler (I'd buy this in 1/144th, also)
5) MiG-19/Shenyang F-6
6) F2H-3 Banshee
7) F7U Cutlass
8) F9F-2 Panther
10) J-35 Draken
11) Mystere IVA
12) Super Mystere B.2/Sa'ar
13) Mig-15
14) Mig-17
15) Tu-16 Badger (1/72 or 1/144)

This is my top 15 for this year. I am trying to limit my choices to models that have not been produced yet. I'm also (hopefully) not listing any models that have already been announced as future releases, at least in 1/72nd (like the A-7). I'll work on my WW1, WW2, and Modern lists.

[Rush104]

The garden has begun to be planted. In time, we'll find out which ones are weeds and which ones are watermelons...