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Giorgio N

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Everything posted by Giorgio N

  1. The problem is when a price tag is put on an accident.... There have been several instances in other areas where asset managers have decided that going with an insurance to cover the potential cost of an accident would have been cheaper than implementing measures to increase safety. At least the aviation industry seems to not follow such practices but every time I take a train or enter an underground station I wonder if similar decisions were taken....
  2. The matter of the sabotage on the Macchi factory is debated here in Italy. It is sure that there was a fire at Macchi that damaged a number of aircraft but sources disagree on the reason. Some believe it was an Israeli led sabotage, others are sure that it was accidental. In any case the Israeli were only too happy to let the rest of the world believe it was a sabotage. There were also rumours of pressure from Israeli agents against individuals at Macchi and Fiat, again ever proven and again with no effort from Israel to deny this happened. The reality is probably that the Israeli intelligence network was not as developed and effective as many believed and as Israel let them believe, however it was a story that suited everyone's interest. Behind the end of the Egyptian contract there was not much any fear from Macchi and the Italians (so much that deliveries of various materials continued after the accidents) but mostly disagreements from the between the parties.. as most often happens, it's money that matters. As further proof that Israeli activity did not deter the Italians from dealing with countries in the Middle East, Macchi later sold a number of former Italian Air Force Vampires to what had become Nasser's Egypt, in a deal that sits half-way between a spy story and a diplomatic farce... Please let me know when you're in Milan ! It's always a pleasure to meet a fellow modeller from far away !
  3. There's no need to be secretive, Italeri as a company is registered as "SPA", the equivalent of the British PLC, so a "public company". The final balance sheets of these companies are public by law in Italy, everybody can pop into an office in a major city and request to see them and verify things like revenues and expenses, profit or losses. Same for government contracts, if a company has been given a contract by the Air Force this is public... that brings me to the AMI boxings... these are produced through and agreement with the Air Force and Italeri is licensed to do so, but I wouldn't call them government subsidies since the Air Force does not pay Italeri to make kits of Italian marked aircraft (and Italeri never really did that many...) We can agree that Italeri is not what it used to be for the modeller, at least for aircraft modellers like me. Years ago they had many new kits every year while now they only have very few and their news are mainly reboxes. True that others also have very few real news every year: Revell in terms of revenues is in a different order of magnitude but the number of new aircraft kits they've issued over the last few years is minimal too
  4. Shrunk by how much ? Do you have an insight in the numbers of the company ? At least over the last 20 years it's always been classified in the same revenue range, meaning that at least for the last 20 years they've done roughly the same As for the management, they are the only historic model company that never changed property, having been owned by the same folks since the start. If they are still around it means they must be doing something right... This even if I consider myself very unhappy about many of Italeri choices and I've often been unimpressed by their news over the last years..
  5. Let me be the first to say welcome to the forum Hany ! I'm sure you'll enjoy here !!! Your memory is correct, the aircraft in Milan (serial MM.91818) is a hybrid, that is a MC.202 that was converted to MC.205. The "problem" with the authenticity of this aircraft is that she had quite a life after the war! She was one of the aircraft reconditioned and modified for sale to Egypt however being part of the final batch she was never delivered as at some point Aermacchi and the Egyptians had disagreements that led to the cancellation of the order. For this reason she remained in Italy and then entered service with the Air Force to be used at flying schools. She then served until 1956, wearing the standard overall aluminum scheme of the era. After withdrawal the aircraft was donated to a technology institute in Northern Italy where she remained until 1979 when Macchi started work to have the aircraft back to flying conditions. She flew until an accident in 1983 forced Macchi to stop any flying activity. Five years later Macchi gave this aircraft to the Milan museum in exchange for the one that the museum had owned for a while, MM.92166, herself also part of the undelivered Egyptian order. Being from Milan myself, this means that without realising it I actually saw two different 205s, as I first visited the museum in the mid '80s before the exchange... back then however I did not take notice of things like serial numbers, so never realised this was not the same Macchi I saw later until several years after. As you can see this aircraft wen through several refurbishments, starting with the preparation for sale to Egypt and ending with the restoration done by Macchi in the '80s. It's impossible to say what remains in the original colour and what not and it's likely that actually no part is in the original paint
  6. Sure, you can see several pictures of 50th's Thunderstreaks here: https://svppbellum.blogspot.com/2019/02/il-republic-f-84f-thunderstreak.html I have decals for 50-19 in a Tauromodel sheet so markings will not be a problem. They are not the most colourful to be used on the operational Italian F-84Fs (the honour goes propably to the 6° Stormo with their red trident) but I like the blue flashes on the tail. One other unit I considered is 8° Stormo, that is better known as a long time user of the G.91Y but was a very late user of the Thunderstreak from 1967 to 1971. https://www.aviastore.it/?p=9269 There's a certain fascination in types seen very late in their career.. in 1967 the F-84F was well past its prime but still fielded on... The Thunderstreaks and other "80" fighters were only fully replaced in Italian service in the early '70s.
  7. Looks like a newer style Hase box, has it been reissued ? I have an older box with USAF markings but wouldn't mind adding another to the stash. Built one a while ago and enjoyed this kit a lot. It would also be nice to see some new aftermarket decals sized for this kit, with so many units operating the D in the USAF there are plenty of potential options
  8. Decided on my build: it will be the SH F-84F first ! Italian markings, yet to decide the unit but I may go for a 50° Stormo machine as this unit is not as often represented but their Thunderstreaks carried interesting markings. Being a relatively late user of the type in Italian service, their aircraft were actually painted aluminum with some panels in NM only, that should make an interesting contrast with other shiny NM machines I have in mind for later builds
  9. Great work on what is supposed to be a modern kit but seems to fall well short.. I'm a bit worried as I have two in the stash, not really looking forward to building them now..
  10. That would be really cool! However knowing my build pace I'd be happy to finish one..
  11. Oh dear, had totally forgotten this ! Since 10 years have passed, I can't remember the rationale for my choice but if I suggested this then I must have had my good reasons. One is for sure that the oft quoted Humbrol 149, that represents green FS 34092, is not really the best match. Over the years, thanks in particular to the input of a number of knowledgeable people here, I've found that 34092 is too green and too blue to properly represent RAAF Foliage Green. Humbrol 30 on the other hand is slightly darker and less blue, so may well fit the bill. I know others used Humbrol 75 for this same colour and maybe today I would tend toward this one... that however I don't know if it's still in their catalogue. One other thing to keep in mind is that Humbrol seems to have changed several of their paints over the years, some more todaythan once. So while my comment may have been correct enough for 2013 it may not be the same today. My tins of Humbrol 30 are all from the "good" era before production moved to China. They all work well, I can check tomorrow what the paint looks like. Since I've now almost totally switched to acrylics, I tend to use a mix of Vallejo paints for Foliage Green: I start with a base of 70-895 Military Green and then I pass a thinned coat of 70-897 Bronze Green over the areas in shadows, panel lines etc. The latter colour is supposed to be a match to Humbrol 75... but again I don't know if Humbrol 75 has changed too and if it's available. To give an idea of the colour I tried to depict, I took a lot of inspiration from the Beaufighter shown in this thread... back then I was still in the FS 34092 camp. Today I've changed my mind a bit
  12. Since the start is near, I can confirm I'll join the fun! My last purchase of 2023 just arrived in the shape of a Special Hobby Thunderstreak but I also have a Tamiya Thunderjet and a Sword Thunderflash in the stash. Yet to decide what to build but in any case it will be an Italian machine.. must say however that a couple USAF options are tempting..
  13. Not sure if this year or next but a B-24 may join the stash. Unless the announcement of this kit will cause a number of older kits to hit the second hand market and I find one at very low price... A Swift is most likely, already have one in the stash but need another to convert to an F.1 since I recently found a Freightdog set. Then I may get me a couple of MiG-17s from the current sale.. a kit with a few issues but still way better than the competition
  14. Hmmm... the idea of having a cheap options for novices or casual modellers makes commercial sense but deliberately avoiding a "normal" kit because of the presence of other kits on the market is not something I would state if I run my own company. It's like admitting that the company believe they can not eat into the market share of the other companies. Now I can understand it for a niche subject, where the small number of potential sales may not be worth the hassle, but here we're talking of the latest RAF/FAA combat type and an aircraft that will be relevant for the next 30 years or so... The Eduard kit is indeed 20% more expensive than the Airfix one in the UK... problem is that the Eduard kit on the market today is the Profipack edition, with PE parts and masks. The Weekend edition of the 109F has not been issued yet but the S.199 retails at E12.00 so it's likely the 109Fs will cost the same. This is the same price of the Airfix simplified kit. There's also an AZ kit that today generally retails for £14, however the KP Club Line box of the same kit sells for less than a tenner... Now this is a kit that seems to be not as accurate however having built their G I know they kits that fit nicely and build easily.
  15. I'd be very surprised to find it's the standard kit without some parts, a completely new mould makes much more sense. One thing I noticed is that they have moulded the canopy with the same annoying feature of the standard kit (and the Tamiya one too): the windscreen side panels don't include the lower frames but these are part of the fuselage. This means that any damage in that area will be visible while adding part of the fuselage would have resulted in the possibility of hiding any damage under the paint. And damage in this area is very easy, be it from glue or by removing the part from the sprue (as happened to me with both the Airfix and Tamiya kits). The best way to mould a P-51D windscreen is with part of the fuselage, like done for example by Hasegawa and Italeri.
  16. I see you're sorted with the Amarillo Pro, just for curiosity here's the official "font" from TM-55-1500-243_23, Change 8. This is the 1986 version of the document describing the colour and markings of US Army helicopters and aircraft.
  17. It was stated on the brochure the company printed when they presented the project. I think there's a thread on the secretprojects forum where some pages from the brochure are shown. I'll see if I can remember or find the link
  18. Could be. The Fly kit wasn't bad at all, hope they just keep it as it is without messing with the moulds.... Agree ! Especially when they replace the resin parts with badly moulded plastic... In general, with the exception of their "HQ" kits, their products need some skill and experience to assemble, most such modellers would have no problem with resin parts
  19. A few random comments: Wonder what resin parts will be replaced from the Mig-17 and the Ba.65 as their previous kits had none... With the Mig in particular it would good if they replaced all plastic parts with new plastic parts as the mould quality was terrible. Looks like this will be a P-51D year for 1/72 modellers! Eduard, maybe Arma, now AZ/KP.. Some old kits never die! They mention Smer but all those kits are Heller's from the '70s. G.50 from a cooperating production? Maybe the AML kit? The original was quite rough, let's see what they'll do of it...
  20. Considering that it was only with the Eduard kit that we had a properly accurate Mk.ix and that a properly accurate Mk.I in 1/72 does not exist yet, a properly accurate Mk.XII may be quite far... Added: of course there have been 1/72 plastic kits of the Spitfire XII on the market so the subject is not really one that nobody has kitted. Different story for the Marut I asked for when this thread was started a few years ago! Can't build that in plastic, regardless of accuracy. There is hope though: I had 3 types on the list: 1/72 kits of the AMX, Ora and Marut. In the meantime Italeri did the AMX and someone (sorry, can't remember the name) is working on the Orao. Hopefully the Marut will follow
  21. This is probably the most interesting new kit from Airfix this year to me. I've considered building a Liberator for a while but had not found the right kit at the right price yet, I may wait for this one. Also comes with a 15th AF decal option from the box, a big plus for me
  22. Of course it doesn't! Popular it will be popular, however... This is a simplified kit aimed at a specific section of the market, does not mean to compete with Eduard. Of course more experienced modellers may be tempted but what can this kit offer to an experienced modeller? Sure will be a quicker build but that's the only advantage. The price in particular is not really competitive, at least as long as the kit is sold as part of a starter set. £12 is not much but it's the same money of Eduard's weekend Edition kits and will likely be the cost of their 109Fs when these will be available in this format. An Eduard weekend kit includes not only a greatly superior set of plastic parts but also full decal sheets for 2 aircraft with all the stencils, something that Airfix's starter kits lack. The Airfix sets on the other hand for the money will give some pots of paints of dubious quality and a cheap brush.. great for beginners but not much for the others
  23. It sure was underrepresented until recently but what's available today is pretty good. More than good if we look at the recent Eduard kit
  24. Didn't AMK close? Or at least they seem to have been on hiatus for a while. I wouldn't expect any new production run of this kit unless the company gets back or someone buy the mould. A pity as their Kfir is a great kit
  25. Good to hear, mine was recently recruited for an F.1 conversion so need another to build from the box
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