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Where is 1/48 new tool B-24/B-17/B-29/Lancaster ?


AlCZ

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I don´t understand why after three of four decades we haven´t a new tool kit a QUARTER scale B-17/B-24/B-29 and Lancaster. It´s here a gigantic (and expensive) 1/32 B-17 from HK, TWO B-17 in quarter scale, THREE 1/72 Lancaster, and now f.e. THREE New tool Su-33 in 1/48 (Kinetic, G.W.H., AviationArt), every two years is released another new Bf-109 in quarter scale (last - Zvezda G-6), another Mustang(close to release Airfix and relative soon Eduard) but ICONIC and IMPORTANT Heavies in "Royal Scale" -You have a obsolete Revell and Monogram Modeller for American and decent upgraded  Tamiya Lanc....  I´dont understad why modellers company ignored Heavies in quarter scale. (1/72 is too small and 1/32 too big - and expensive). I every year lookin ´for new tool B-17 and Liberator - but - no, no, no, sorry, no...

 

it is a shame.... one of most important and famous Bombers haven´t 21th. century quality kit. A decade ago got rumors from new tool B-17G from Tamiya - but this kit never announced and released.... I still hope from quarter scale Heavies, but i was VERY sceptic.

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I feel your pain. I would be happy just to get a new release of the Spitfire Mk XIV but so far the best company to accomplish that without having to do a whole new retool would be Airfix (it looks like their Spit Mk XX is set up for just such a contingency) but so far no news. My best guess regarding the big aircraft is that sales/demand are much lower on the big aircraft because of the tremendous amount of room they take up once built (and I suspect 1/32 bombers suffer from the same malady), plus the price point, which is always a factor. Unless the demand goes up exponentially I would also imagine that Revell will not consider even retooling their old 1/48 bomber force. That would help tremendously.msome order why Eduard does not take up the cause, and the answer is pretty much the same, plus the logistics involved dealing with bigger boxes, shipping, etc. I would love for Revell to retool their existing twin and four engines bomber kits by engraving the panel lines. If you ever tried to rescribe a big bomber kit then you would no doubt never do it again, we are talking many hours dedicated to a very arduous task (at least for me) just to cover that process. I also believe that the bigger a 1/48 kit is, the more warts exposed, the B-24 and 29 are good examples (depending on how picky you are, and for a more modern big kit the Revell B-58 Hustler is an incredibly labor intensive putty queen that needs a total retooling!) but I digress. My advice is that you work with what you have, I doubt you will face the day when Revell releases a retool of their bombers, or Tamiya coming out with a full range of four engines bombers (I would love to see a 1/48 Sterling) so learn to accept the realities of plastic modeling. If I built all the four engines kits I have I would have to build an addition on to my house! Anyway, hope this helped mate because hope is all we got.

 

Cheers

SA

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If you can find 2500-3000 guaranteed buyers for any of these kits (at probably US$150 retail each), I'm certain that one of any number of companies will endeavour to produce a kit. The existing kits, despite their age and other limitations, are relatively cheap (in their home markets anyway) and you have to wonder how many people will pay the premium that would come with all new toolings. Just look at all the complaining about the price of the new Roden C-5 for an example of what I'm talking about.

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Quote

Just look at all the complaining about the price of the new Roden C-5 for an example of what I'm talking about.

 

Just look at all the complaining about the price of the new (insert practically any kit name here) for an example of why the OP isn't likely to get his wish.

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While I sympathise with the original post I can't see a new replacement kit any-time soon. As mentioned people will moan about the price, wrong decal options, wrong mark produced and on. Then they'll want to upgrade it anyway. Cue more moaning.
I've been going over the B-17 ready for next year's GB and there is nothing wrong with it that I can find. Yes it needs detail improvements but quite a bit is straight forward enough to do yourself.
At some stage I'll go over the B-29 which has some twisting in the fuselage (released from mould too quickly?) and possibly an alignment issue with the fin. But it's a decent starting point.

Neither of them are as good as US publications seem to imply (possibly biased?) compared to modern detail standards but as long as the moulds are OK there's no need to replace them IMHO. A manufacturer would be better making a never kitted plane if they wanted to make a talking point. For the US a C-130 would be a no-brainer with possibly a B-52. For the UK a Stirling, Vulcan or Victor would all have similar demand. Just my thoughts.

 

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Then we have duplications by different manufacturers of what heretofore were obscure topics like the Bolton Paul Defiant. Either Hobby Blob/Trumpeter didn't get the memo or didn't really care, the Airfix kit was just fine (unless you are a hard core rivet counter, in which case you will be sadly disappointed with any kit) and there wasn't really a need for another Defiant, especially so close on the heels of the Airfix release. I think the probability (I can't venture a percentage) of a new tool twin is much better than a four engined bomber. As was said earlier by myself and others, the price point would be the biggest problem. I still want to get kits like the Sea Venom and Meteor Mk 8 but my wife says (and she has a point, like they often do) that until I start building some of the hundred plus kits I already have that I can forget buying any $60.00 plus kits to add to the overflow of the others. By the way, anyone ever get whacked in the face with kits falling out of the over stuffed closet? I would love a nice 1/48 Sterling or Halifax made by Tamiya, but would be happy with a new tool Blenheim (this also applies to Airfix ) or a Baltimore, but guess I will have to wait for Santa Claus to show up with it. Who knows, maybe the Chinese companies will surprise us with one of these kits, but with our luck they will come up with a 1/48 Spitfire "one-Mark-fits-all" with a really fat fuselage like their Hellcat and inserts for each subsequent mark of Spit a' la Fw 190/Tf 152. The possibilities are endless!

Cheers

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Well, I'll start the moaning, I guess. Any new mold B-17, B-24 or Lancaster will be priced well North of what I could afford. While the prices for the Revell/Monogram B-17 and B-24 remain reasonable (IMO), look at the Lancaster prices these days.

Am I saying that the manufacturers should not make these? No, not at all. I just won't be buying one...

Edited by Don McIntyre
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On 9/6/2017 at 7:39 AM, Brad said:

Kinda strange to think we got a 1/32 B-17 and Lancaster before new 1/48 ones. I'm sure someone will get around to it eventually.

 

Somewhat irrationally, I think, 1/32 was the megahotness a few years back. Manufacturers were releasing all kinds of 1/32 kits. And I think a harsh reality of price and amount of space needed set in eventually. Those models are simply not practical to a large number of potential buyers. Same thing happened with 1:200 ships. I'm not sure the big B-17 and Lancaster will have long term selling power. The rabid fanboys grabbed them immediately, and after that....

 

It's a sad fact of life, but every upscaling reduces the size of the potential market for an already large  model. And for a large aircraft, going from 1/72 to even 1/48 makes for likely fewer sales, thus higher prices, which leads to fewer sales, which eventually leads to a manufacturer wondering if they should bother at all. And the answer has obviously been that it is not. I doubt we are going to see any of these in 1/48 by someone else in the foreseeable future...

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The Chinese manufacturers are an interesting bunch: Meng, Takom and others have been releasing some pretty wierd and wonderful kits recently (admittedly 1/35 AFVs) including prototypes and others that didn't even leave the drawing board, and you have to wonder about what their potential sales are likely to be; if they are looking to corner an un/under populated niche, might they venture into the 1/48 heavies sector?

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5 hours ago, johnny akes said:

The Chinese manufacturers are an interesting bunch: Meng, Takom and others have been releasing some pretty wierd and wonderful kits recently (admittedly 1/35 AFVs) including prototypes and others that didn't even leave the drawing board, and you have to wonder about what their potential sales are likely to be; if they are looking to corner an un/under populated niche, might they venture into the 1/48 heavies sector?

I think that's more a sign of desperation in the armor modeling sector, frankly. The well known, popular, and likely to sell subjects have been done to death by the manufacturers. I think they are grasping at straws now with one off prototypes and paper panzers, throwing them at the wall, and hoping they stick and sell. 

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I agree with the armor theory. Some manufacturers list as many as 6 versions of the Tiger tank Early, Mid, late production with or without zimmerit ? With or without interior ? Now im seeing eastern front early production and particular unit production. If you count them there is probably 20+ Tiger tank models in 1/35th scale from about 6-7 main manufacturers. Tamiya, DML, Dragon, Rye field, & Takom to name the ones that come to me now. 

      That being said Meng is trying to expand into aircraft and there 1/48th P-51 Mustang by all accounts is actually quite good. Though i have a sneaking suspicion it is the Dragon/Dml 1/32 P-51 scaled down. They have other aircraft as well. The 1/72nd F-102 comes to mind. So will they expand into 1/48th Heavies ? I doubt it for reasons that have been pointed out in the above posts. 

Edited by Corsairfoxfouruncle
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Desperation? Hardly. Is it desperate to do something differently? Some of us don't want to buy what the majority happily builds ad nauseam and so, for us, there are Meng, Takom, Bronco, and so on. Thanks to them, a Char 2C, Tadpole, and Bishop take pride of place and would not exist without these companies and their desperation.

 

End rant; off topic anyway; g'night all. :)

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On 06/09/2017 at 1:39 PM, Brad said:

Kinda strange to think we got a 1/32 B-17 and Lancaster before new 1/48 ones. I'm sure someone will get around to it eventually.

We don't have the Lanc yet. It's keeps being tantalisingly out of reach and no I won't buy one. Too big and probably way out of my price point.

 

As to the plethora of Tigers, surely then that argument would hold for the Spitfire Vb/Vc/VIII/IX? Yes I know there are Special Hobby and Eduard but they are hardly mass market are the only ones at the moment.

 

Trevor

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Apart from the ones stated, where the only game in town is Revell/Monogram, except the Tamiya Lancaster (and even the 'new tool' wasn't - it still has raised panel lines...) Massive omissions in the 1/48 range already that I'd buy: Blenheim (I have the Classic Airframes Mk.I and IV but don't feel up to even starting them!), Beaufort (only available as a rather poor Vac form)  Hampden (only available in Vac Form) Sunderland (only available as a massively heavy Resin/Vac Form), Botha (Not available at all AFAIK)..... 

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On ‎31‎/‎08‎/‎2017 at 12:09 AM, VMA131Marine said:

If you can find 2500-3000 guaranteed buyers for any of these kits (at probably US$150 retail each), I'm certain that one of any number of companies will endeavour to produce a kit. The existing kits, despite their age and other limitations, are relatively cheap (in their home markets anyway) and you have to wonder how many people will pay the premium that would come with all new toolings. Just look at all the complaining about the price of the new Roden C-5 for an example of what I'm talking about.

 

 

On ‎08‎/‎09‎/‎2017 at 11:43 PM, Asmodai said:

 

Somewhat irrationally, I think, 1/32 was the megahotness a few years back. Manufacturers were releasing all kinds of 1/32 kits. And I think a harsh reality of price and amount of space needed set in eventually. Those models are simply not practical to a large number of potential buyers. Same thing happened with 1:200 ships. I'm not sure the big B-17 and Lancaster will have long term selling power. The rabid fanboys grabbed them immediately, and after that....

 

It's a sad fact of life, but every upscaling reduces the size of the potential market for an already large  model. And for a large aircraft, going from 1/72 to even 1/48 makes for likely fewer sales, thus higher prices, which leads to fewer sales, which eventually leads to a manufacturer wondering if they should bother at all. And the answer has obviously been that it is not. I doubt we are going to see any of these in 1/48 by someone else in the foreseeable future...

I think both posts sum up very neatly why we are unlikely to see large scale kits of the type suggested by the O P. I am unconvinced there is a large market for same and, I do wonder just how many of the H K 1/32 B-17s (with a retail price approaching £300!!) have actually been sold. Any kit needs mass market sales in order to justify its investment. Is their a mass market for such large kits? I am not necessarily convinced. I certainly wouldn't buy them because the likely cost would be way out of my affordability league. I certainly don't agree with the OPs comment that 1/72 is "too small" for a heavy bomber type. Are the B-36 and B-52 "too small" ? Even a "smaller" type like a B-29 still represents a sizeable chunk of plastic.

 

Allan

 

 

 

 

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Agreed. I build large scale free-flight and RC models of anything up to 12 feet span, but they can be disassembled and boxed up in the garage roof when not in use. I still don't have room in the house for a non-flying 1/48 B-29 or Lancaster, let alone 1/32. I don't have the shelf or cabinet space. And if it doesn't fly, its only purpose is to sit on a shelf or in a display case.

Edited by Work In Progress
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