Piotr Mikolajski

To close the Grot's subthread, here is a drawing from 15.07.1960.

I think that "The new 1:48 scale kit from Great Wall Hobby has just arrived" in the description suggests fresh delivery.

Not really. One of the engineers gathered information about the TS-16 Grot project. I won't translate the whole thing, but just a section on why the project was terminated. In those years it was customary to undertake major investment tasks based on so-called government decisions. Such a decision (e.g. on the construction of a power plant in Kozienice or the construction of a coal mine in the Lublin region or a nitrogen plant in Puławy, etc.) inserted the topic into the government's plan and provided guarantees of funding and a certain priority for implementation. (...) An important rung on this ladder was to obtain a positive opinion from the Scientific Council under the Minister of National Defence, a council at departmental level. When the deliberations were approaching the moment of passing a positive resolution, the proponents of the national engine took the floor, criticising the engine from the MiG-19 aircraft adopted by the constructor. The criticism was justified, as it was not the best engine for a trainer-combat aircraft: it had high fuel consumption and a short service life. On the other hand, the adoption of the RD-9F engine already in stock offered the possibility of quietly carrying out airframe tests, while the engine could later be replaced by another more suitable one, e.g. a domestic one. The issue of cost was also not insignificant, as the cost of building a new type of engine was estimated at the time to be three times the cost of building an airframe. It is impossible to assess today who was motivated only by 'local patriotism', i.e. the desire to secure funds for the realisation of the development of his own company, and who was already aware at the time that he was steering the whole subject towards its annihilation. In any case, the resolution was postponed and consultation with the Soviet Union was requested. The answer received after a few months was that the subject was not advisable ('не целесообразно'). This can be explained by a different reasoning. In the Soviet Union, the issue of the cost of fuel was not a major issue. It may be that the issue was that of the single-seat combat variant. I don't remember whether it was already then or a little later that Poland was supposed to deal with agricultural aircraft in the COMECON. In any case, the order for the company was withdrawn and the documentation, according to the chief constructor's assessment, advanced by 30%, was handed over to the ordering party. At the time, the idea seemed to make economic and training sense. Was it likely to succeed? Probably yes, although the accumulation of new developments would have had to cause some lengthening in the time taken to implement the theme. (...) It seems to me that the fact that the Grot project was not realised from today's perspective of years is no longer such a misfortune. The subsequent development of training and combat aircraft simply did not confirm this direction. From the stories of other engineers working on the project, I know that costs were rising and that innovative solutions were actually starting to become more of an issue.

The day will come when my strong willpower weakens for a while and I will make something yellow from Canada.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Answerkits/posts/pfbid032w9srRHaRn8WKC5EYHXmQZGRF1TV5vVemqw1uZWNUGf6ihThxdbgkb3VqckyxcByl

Again, we are back to the economic realities of the time, not an assessment from today's point of view. We are talking about a period only 20 years after the end of the Second World War and the economy of a country that had been ruined both by the retreating Germans and then looted by Soviet troops, and on top of that could not benefit from the Marshall Plan. Did PLL LOT want to fly on Western aircraft? Of course. In the autumn of 1957 PLL LOT bought three second-hand Convair CV-240s from SABENA, and in the spring of 1959 two more second-hand ones were bought. The CV-240s were economical to operate and were used extensively until 1964. But due to problems in obtaining spare parts and difficulties in carrying out overhauls in PLL LOT workshops, the Convairs were sold to the USA in January 1966. Lessons were learned. In the economic realities of the time, Poland had no real choice, as it had no dollars to pay for Western aircraft, Western spare parts, Western overhauls and so on. The much less economical in terms of fuel consumption An-24 was still much more accessible and much more cost-effective, as it was priced in the internal currency of the COMECON, the so-called transfer roubles and it could be overhauled at Okęcie. Moreover, Poland was the main supplier of food and ships to the USSR, and also had a strong position (80%) in the pharmaceutical market. This meant that it was possible to buy these aircraft without spending the so badly needed dollars. The return to Western aircraft purchases came in the late 1980s and the selection of the Boeing 767ER as the successor to the Il-62M, with deliveries in 1989 and 1990. Which deliveries were proudly announced by PLL LOT and were celebrated throughout the country, also as a sign of the severing of ties with the USSR.

Yep. Here is a more detailed entry showing the not-so-amazing credibility of the company's announcements. I don't want to suggest anything, but if you change the question to "would you buy CASA in a pre-order", I would answer no, for two reasons: My complete lack of trust in this company. Quite simply, I don't believe them. CASA was supposed to go on sale at Christmas, now it's supposed to go on sale in May. In August 2023 I wrote "I doubt the release this year" and I was right. The quality of the model itself. They showed parts of the kit at Bytom this weekend and the feedback from those who have looked at them is far from enthusiastic. Long story short: the quality is mediocre, the price is high. Of course, if these are test parts, the quality might be improved, but you can't be sure. Basically all my comments from the post below are still valid. I may buy another model from Answer only after seeing the quality of parts of the final product.

I have also written about profits. But I don't really see the point of continuing this thread, because it is not up to me to prove the thesis of Italeri's profits, ten times greater than Eduard's.

One thing we can be sure of - boxarts have definitely been made.

Just published.

No, but purely due to lack of space. Amodel has previously released a box with PLL LOT markings and if I were to do one, it would be in this paint job. Below is an excerpt from a popular Polish crime series from the 1980s - the scenes were recorded at the Warsaw-Okęcie airfield, the plane is authentic, all the equipment too. The procedures for boarding the plane are also real, members of the AT unit took part in the filming. The whole thing was recorded in 1984, at that time there was some hijacking of LOT Polish Airlines planes to West Berlin, the name LOT was ironically interpreted to Landing On Tempelhof.

Still there is no mystery here - Eduard has its own sales management and analysis system, which has been mentioned a few times. At least once Mr. Sulc explained that these analytics have a significant impact on production management and the withdrawal of sets from sale, but also their return. Their system shows what is worth reissuing and what is unprofitable and this is the answer to the question why specifically CR.32. You write about the more popular kits, but there is no direct correlation to the popularity of a kit and add-on sales. People may be eager to buy a kit, but they will be reluctant to buy an PE sets - the discontinued colour ones for the F-14 from Fine Molds are a good recent example. Eduard produces PE sets for many manufacturers, has contacts with distributors and probably has one of the largest data sets of scale kits sales globally. Add to this more than 30 years of market presence as one of the leading manufacturers. Last but not least - Eduard will not mention the 2019 kit from AZ, which was probably 'inspired' by Italeri. The latest boxes are from 2022, so that will also be the market for these sets. Especially as the runs of these sets are not thousands of pieces.

Because they have it designed already and this is a leaflet for distributors. Italeri has reintroduced the CR-32 fighter biplane kit in 1/72 scale. Consequently, we are reissuing our previously released and sold-out photo-etched sets. The whole project is finished, so there is no extra work here. On top of that, Eduard makes these sets entirely in-house, so they can only make as many as they have orders for and then some more for their shop. Easy money. Of course the earnings depend on the number of orders, but at least the risk is low, they won't be left with hundreds of sets in stock.

Source: Eduard Leaflet May 2024: The main new release in May will be the premiere of the P-51B Mustang kit in 1/48 scale, which we have prepared as a Dual Combo in the Limited Edition under the title OVERLORD: D-DAY MUSTANGS / P-51B MUSTANG DUAL COMBO 1/48. This release is eagerly anticipated by the customer community. A selection of decals allows for the construction of two out of the nine American and one British aircraft from the Normandy landings and subsequent operations during June 1944. The 4th, 352nd, 354th, 355th, 357th, 361st, and 363rd Fighter Groups will be represented with brightly colored machines from the summer of 1944. The selection includes the legendary „Salem Representative“ machine flown by Lt. Ralph K. „Kid“ Hofer of the 334th FS, 4th FG, and the RAF is represented by the famous aircraft flown by S/Ldr Eugeniusz „Dziubek“ Horbaczewski of No. 315 (Polish) Squadron. The kit also includes masks and pre-painted photoetched parts.

By Sharkit: https://fantastic-plastic.com/LockheedL-133Page.htm

I'm sorry, but you are judging the aircraft from the perspective of 2024 and modern standards, not from the perspective of the late 1950s and the needs of the prime customer at the time. The Soviet Union needed an aircraft that was rugged and reliable, could use poorly prepared airfields or even a piece of ground with non-existing maintenance facilities. It was to replace the Il-14s with greater comfort for passengers and for ground crew. And this is just such an aircraft, designed to meet those needs.

2023.12.12 Source: Facebook of Armory Models Group Glad to introduce our next upcoming release, expected on 1st Quarter 2024 - long awaited 1/72 Dennis 3t British WWI Lorry. The kit is designed in the best traditions of "Armory", consisting of plastic parts with a generous addition of photoetching for the best detailing. The highlight of the model is the ability to install the front wheels in a turned position for the most realistic look in the diorama, as well as the removable hood and an authentic-looking resin engine. Also possible to open the rear side of the cargo body and gain access to the rear axle right from the cargo body floor - just like on a real car. 2024.03.11 Source: Facebook of Armory Models Group One step closer to the release! Stunning boxart from artist Olena Stanilevich

This may be a linguistic issue, as Polish 'all' or 'the same' has a literal meaning, but also a meaning of 'similar goods and also so great a choice'. But I don't mind the entire Hannants catalogue in Moje Hobby, especially as I don't pay for postage

Moje Hobby is one of the biggest shops in Poland, but I wouldn't count on them having the same stuff as Hannants. They have a very good agreement with importers, and with the size of their sales themselves they pull various things directly from manufacturers.

But these issues were not the reason for the new tooling. Eduard released earlier versions of the A in 2015 and gradually added new sprues for new versions. Releasing the A-8 was a matter of time to make whole A/F line in modern tooling. And, as @VMA131Marine mentioned above, old moulds are still in use. A manufacturer will not replace good quality and working moulds with new ones just because modellers expect it. Moulds are expensive and are operated for as long as it makes economic sense. Well, I have it in 1/72: MiG-17 family (including Polish modifications), Il-28s, Yak-17s and An-2. Fortunately MiG-19s will be released by Clear Prop and maybe Modelsvit release Su-7BKL. Maybe Zvezda release Mi-8/Mi-17 family based on their 1/48 kit and maybe they will go for Mi-14. Of course, I can add more here, but it is known that it will come to wait, and I may not be able to get them, because nobody will release these kitst. But I also realise that it is hard to invest a lot of money in the Il-28 family when a Trumpeter model costs less than 10 euros. It's not an obsession, it's a simple return on investment. Popular types will not get boring for a long time to come precisely because they are popular. The average person starting to build models has probably heard of the Messerschmitt or Mustang, but there is little chance they have heard of the Hampden. We had a company that filled a niche market and produced less popular models of very high quality from steel moulds. Where is Wingnut Wings today?

Actually this article on Wikipedia is not perfect or complete but it lists over 1100 types of aircraft used by air forces during WWII: 146 fighters (29 biplanes, 78 fighters & fighter-bombers, 32 heavy fighters, 7 rocket / jet / mixed) 197 bomber / patrol / observation (15 heavy, 51 medium, 106 light / ground attack / recon & observation, 25 carrier based) 127 seaplanes (70 flying boats, 57 floatplanes) 170 transport 23 gliders (16 transport, 7 trainer) 147 trainers (61 primary, 51 advanced, 35 bomber / target tugs / others) 9 rotorcraft 287 prototypes (103 fighter, 67 bomber / attack, 16 transport, 26 gliders, 27 trainer, 13 rotorcraft, 35 miscellaneous) I'll repeat - about 1100 types and I didn't even count experimental aircraft listed there, because these usually were civilian ones. I'm talking about types, not variants and subvariants, different weapon sets or marking schemes. If we were to get into versions for just one Junkers Ju 88 there are 10 base ones. If we were to go even deeper, into base variants of these versions, there would be about 60 for just the Ju 88 - and still no modifications related to equipment (like different radar antennas) or armament, no test modifications (like turbochargers), no field modifications (like flamethrower), not to mention markings or camouflage. For comparison: all serial built Soviet fighters of the Cold War period (La, MiG, Su, Tu, Yak) are just 25 types. I don't really see the point of continuing the topic of which types there were more of and how varied they were, the thread is about the Eduard kits planned for 2025.

...and throw away fully usable current moulds?

Shipping is free with orders 5990 CZK: https://www.eduard.com/Shipping-and-Charges/ There's still some time, maybe a friend will want to buy RC too, or maybe you'll want to buy two boxes? Also, with the 15% discount on other products it's worth hitting that amount, for example buying PE parts, resins or OVTs. I always check their shop to see what they have put in the Sellout category, as this product, once sold out, will not return to the catalogue. Some of it has the normal price, but some is discounted by 50%.

This is irrelevant. You don't run a global business using polls on a local forum. Again: it's not about the perception or beliefs of an individual person, it's about hard results from model sales. Military aircraft sell better than civilian aircraft. Military aircraft involved in combat sell better than those that have not been involved in any combat. Aircraft sell better than helicopters. Prop planes sell better than jets. The Second World War sells better than the Cold War. The modelling business is not a charity. If the Cold War had been of more interest to the general public, I wouldn't have wondered if Modelsvit will release the Su-7BKL, I would have had it in the stash for a long time.