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1/48 - Boeing B-17G by HK Models - Release Oct 19 - Eduard F Summer 2024


Sidders

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Ah! So that's why I never got started on my Monogram B-17 uber project! I must have known! Nice one HK, and an early G model too....just what I wanted. Just hope it doesn't replicate that annoying cross section at the windscreen like the 32nd kit. Good news though, and waaaaaaaaaay overdue!

 

Should sell by the B-17 bombload......wait!......that's not actually a lot is it? :devil:

 

Steve

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I know most everyone would like to see a new 1/48 Lanc but to me I actually think the Tamiya kit is pretty good.  I built it and it looks like a Lanc and I enjoyed the build.  I do think we need other older updated 1/48 kits (or never kitted) before the Lancaster.  I would go for a Shackleton, Sunderland, B-29 or B-24 before the Lanc.  I do agree with the older post that a B-17C would be nice to see but given it was not the star of wwII we probably will need conversions to get it done - but the again this is the golden age of modeling so dreams can come true.

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On ‎9‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 1:03 AM, kopperhed said:

I'm still excited about a new B-17. I'll still buy a G, as well as an E if they release one.

But anyone who isn't a stick in the mud can see we sorely need a

17 C!
17 C!

17 C!

Repeat after me:

 

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

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5 hours ago, 28ZComeback said:

What is wrong with the HK 1/32 B-17?? The windscreen?? Is that all? 

The main problem is that the fuselage cross section on the kit is almost perfectly circular, whereas it should flatten off at the bottom of the windscreen. This gives the whole nose area an inflated look that isn't quite right. This article on LSP explains the problem in depth. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/45987-hk-b-17-accuracy-issues/

 

Steve

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1 hour ago, fightersweep said:

The main problem is that the fuselage cross section on the kit is almost perfectly circular, whereas it should flatten off at the bottom of the windscreen. This gives the whole nose area an inflated look that isn't quite right. This article on LSP explains the problem in depth. https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/45987-hk-b-17-accuracy-issues/

 

Steve

CAD image was on page 1

71138327-2349653495284262-50269422299067

 

Boeing-B-17-Flying-Fortress-Courtesy-of-

 

B-17-by-Jay-Beckman.jpg

 

 

HTH

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I did see that, but it's not conclusive until we have the plastic. It does appear to be too rounded in that area if the CADs are anything to go by. The issue was more than pointed out on many build threads, so I would be a little surprised if it wasn't picked up at HK.

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That circumferential panel line that passes between the astrodome and the windscreen appears to flatten off over the top.

 

The old Monogram kit was fine for its day, but anyone who thinks flattening the nose a smidge on a new kit is harder than getting that old beast with its raised panel lines fitted, seam-filled and surface detail sorted one way or another across its whole area is gazing through rose tinted spectacles in my honest opinion.

 

If and when I can afford the new HK kit, I'll get one.

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1 hour ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

If and when I can afford the new HK kit, I'll get one.

Same here! The idea of a new 1/48th B-17 is too good to pass up (and that panel line does look flatter, which is a good omen)

It might mean that I won't need to use all of the several tons of aftermarket and the bag of Blue Circle cement that I bought ready for my Monogram kit.

 

Steve

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6 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Repeat after me:

 

You will never get your investment back on a 1/48 injection moulded B-17C

 

Are you talking about my investment in buying a kit? I would get endless hours of enjoyment, so yes I would.

 

Are you talking about the manufacturer? That's naive thinking of you sir, considering today's scale model market.

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4 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

 

The old Monogram kit was fine for its day, but anyone who thinks flattening the nose a smidge on a new kit is harder than getting that old beast with its raised panel lines fitted, seam-filled and surface detail sorted one way or another across its whole area is gazing through rose tinted spectacles in my honest opinion.

 

 

And the problem is?

http://village.photos/images/user/98f6b132-de76-46aa-adf6-3164f1b40a83/resized_b1ccbfe8-520f-488c-a6e2-f94ec34cb94f.JPG

http://village.photos/images/user/98f6b132-de76-46aa-adf6-3164f1b40a83/resized_6562f90f-317e-41a6-ab1e-92b324155423.JPG

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19 minutes ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

No problem. It's just a fair amount of care and work to get a well-finished B-17G out of the Monogram kit. I have built one in the past... A new kit will be much easier overall, even if it needs a contour adjusted on the nose and a couple of panel lines rescribed. I just think some people go out of their way to find insurmountable problems with new kits whilst simultaneously overlooking far bigger tasks required to get a good turnout using old kits.

 

32 minutes ago, kopperhed said:

Are you talking about my investment in buying a kit? I would get endless hours of enjoyment, so yes I would.

 

Are you talking about the manufacturer? That's naive thinking of you sir, considering today's scale model market.

The manufacturer. The number of B-17Gs built, how iconic they are to the European Theatre of Operations and the vast choice of markings compared to how obscure the B-17C and D were means that a model company will sell Gs at a rate of 10 to 1 or more than Cs or Ds. That's why P-51Ds sell really well, yet P-51As not so much.

 

How many 1/72 B-17Gs have you seen built on forums? I've seen loads. I don't recall seeing many (if any?) of Academy's B-17C/D kit built online. At the price point this new kit will likely be, some people will find the money to buy a new-tooled modern kit of the B-17G. I really can't imagine many people forking out that sum of money for a C or a D model because it's the kind of aircraft that most will ultimately find themselves happy to do without.

 

Actually running a model business I am now fully onboard with 2 observations from others in the industry that I'd heard numerous times beforehand:

1) That whenever a new product is announced, someone will immediately ask you for something else

2) That the absolute last people that any model company should listen to when it comes to making commercial decisions is modellers or you'll be bankrupt in short order

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On 9/21/2019 at 2:16 AM, chrisrope said:

Haha I just bought a Revell one yesterday via eBay, perfect timing. 

Bet this ones costs more than the £21 I paid though

Hi

    i just a few months ago got two b-17's  and two b-24's cheap

   they were one box, two kits at one kit price 

   i wont be getting rid of them, will either build them or use them as a source of donor parts

 

   hopefully the HK b-17 leads to a release of 1:48 resin conversions 

and maybe a halifax (as i have an FM one )

 

   hope they do the lanc in1:48 

 

   cheers

     jerry

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2 minutes ago, 28ZComeback said:

Remember when we all threw away our Mongram F-80’s because the new 1/48 kit was suppose to be so much better. 

Yep, I love all these new 'must have' kits. It means all the accurate, second hand Monogram kits are nice and cheap.

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1 hour ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Actually running a model business I am now fully onboard with 2 observations from others in the industry that I'd heard numerous times beforehand:

1) That whenever a new product is announced, someone will immediately ask you for something else

2) That the absolute last people that any model company should listen to when it comes to making commercial decisions is modellers or you'll be bankrupt in short order

It's true, producing "109s, P-51s and Spitfires" is a safe business route and it's not wrong. But as a contributor on a board like Rumourmonger and the commercial success of the likes of MPM/Special Hobby, denying the potential of different subjects is strange opinion.

 

As a modeling company, who are you listening to if you're not listening to modelers? What are you in this business for? Not listening to your customers seems like an unwise business decision.

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41 minutes ago, kopperhed said:

It's true, producing "109s, P-51s and Spitfires" is a safe business route and it's not wrong. But as a contributor on a board like Rumourmonger and the commercial success of the likes of MPM/Special Hobby, denying the potential of different subjects is strange opinion.

 

As a modeling company, who are you listening to if you're not listening to modelers? What are you in this business for? Not listening to your customers seems like an unwise business decision.

Well, I wouldn't be so optimistic about commercial successes of SH, especially since the time they've started to partially use 'long-run' moulds...

And listening to customers vs. reading what people (who are just a small percent of the customer base) write on the forums or FB are entirely different things, and there are numerous examples that the latter is a road to nowhere. For example, I still recall those numerous requests for new Mirage F.1 kits on many forums - ask KittyHawk and SH how many they sold...

Edited by caughtinthemiddle
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1 hour ago, kopperhed said:

It's true, producing "109s, P-51s and Spitfires" is a safe business route and it's not wrong. But as a contributor on a board like Rumourmonger and the commercial success of the likes of MPM/Special Hobby, denying the potential of different subjects is strange opinion.

It's not a strange opinion: it is one based on Jamie's sound commercial sense and direct experience of the economics of the model trade. Both of which are extremely welcome in this forum.  Especially given the commercial problems that have been caused in the past by people on the internet saying they'd "love to see" subjects in large scales which ended up giving their manufacturers real financial headaches. Like the Revell-Monogram 1/48 PBY, the Revell-Germany 1/32 Hunter, and the Aeroclub 1/48 Vulcan. For all three of those it turned out loads of people wanted to see them, but very few wanted to buy them at prices which repaid the investment. 

 

Model companies do not have the ability to write magical cheques based on opinions expressed on the internet. They are all fairly fragile niche enterprises compared to most consumer businesses and it's not in anyone's interests for them to damage their ability to sustain themselves in business.

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I doubt that Kittyhawk and SH will tell you, and if they did it may not be the truth.  However some years ago there was a lot of fuss made about annual surveys for the most wanted kit.  The regular leader was a 1/48 Vigilante.  When this did appear, the copies stayed on the shelves.  It is not the only example of "most wanted by the hobby enthusiasts" kits not proving "most wanted by the market".

 

If you need any proof of the unworldliness of the enthusiast just look at any "Airfix next year" threads for overstated enthusiasms.  Modellers are easy to convince that what they love and want is what everybody loves and wants: the salvation of the model industry.  (Just don't ask me what I'd like to see - well you can, but don't expect it to pour off the shelves!)

Edited by Graham Boak
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I'm no economist and I don't run a model company, so I go by what I see. And I see new kits of new subjects being released. Yes, they are mostly limited run companies and have less to lose than a mainstream company but they run a risk as well. They could just be releasing what they want to see in scale but I doubt they don't seek out their customer bases and desires.

 

I don't expect the rest of the existence of the modeling hobby to just be new pops of safe subjects. I am glad to see a new B-17G, as I've said, but is something different that unlikely?

 

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