Updated fighter classics...

[Bozothenutter]

The absolute baseline of aircraft kits any manufacturer 'should' produce as basic fare...

 

So we have new 1/48:

Spitfires

Mustangs

Hurricanes

Bf 109's

Fw 190's

Stuka's

 

But not yet:

Zero's

Thunderbolts

 

Anything else missing?

No Fairey Flabbergasteds, or Gothic Freimulicks.

Just the kits we grew up with.

Are there any new Zero's or T'bolts in the works?

 

[exdraken]

is the Tamiya and also Hasegawa Zeros that outdated really? or Thunderbolts that is?

 

any real need for new ones? are you missing anything? I do actually quite like them!

[kiseca]

Resurrecting an old thread..... was this question about what would be the evergreen, always in print models that would be a reliable staple for any kit manufacturer?

 

If so, going by the builds on Britmodeller, I'd add the Tomcat, Starfighter and Phantom to the list.... and maybe the Sukhoi 27 and its derivatives.

[Giorgio N]

Yes, all the classics have been done to death but let's change the question a bit: how many GOOD kits exist on the market of such classics ?

The reality is that looking at the many kits available, these are less than we may think. To name one real classic, there is only one good Spitfire IX kit on the market in 1/72 scale, all others are either old stuff or half-hearted attempts. Other variants of what is, at least in Britain, the most famous WW2 fighter are treated even worse.... for example there is no really good and modern kit of a Spitfire Mk.I in the same scale.

It makes sense that manufacturers would see this as a gap and try to fill it, afterall something as famous as a Spitfire in one of its most famous variants is guaranteed to sell, hence the recent 1/48 Eduard kits and the just announced 1/32 offering from the new Kotare brand

[kiseca]

It's a good point. I was looking for a Spt

2 hours ago, Giorgio N said:

Yes, all the classics have been done to death but let's change the question a bit: how many GOOD kits exist on the market of such classics ?

The reality is that looking at the many kits available, these are less than we may think. To name one real classic, there is only one good Spitfire IX kit on the market in 1/72 scale, all others are either old stuff or half-hearted attempts. Other variants of what is, at least in Britain, the most famous WW2 fighter are treated even worse.... for example there is no really good and modern kit of a Spitfire Mk.I in the same scale.

It makes sense that manufacturers would see this as a gap and try to fill it, afterall something as famous as a Spitfire in one of its most famous variants is guaranteed to sell, hence the recent 1/48 Eduard kits and the just announced 1/32 offering from the new Kotare brand

 

It's a fair point, I was looking for a 1/48 Spit IX and assumed Tamiya would be the one to get, but they only have one in 1/32. It makes sense that they don't make every mark in every scale but it was still, for some reason, what I expected to find. 

 

I also agree that the choices in the op are boring and done to death, but that really goes hand in hand with a thread about which aircraft would be classics that should be staple, baseline kits for any manufacturer. They're classic kits because they sell well, everyone wants one. They're popular because they are classic aircraft that captured the public imagination for some reason.  They're boring choices because they're popular. Most aircraft enthusiasts have an interest in the Spitfire or Tomcat, so most modellers have built one or want to. Hence it makes sense that most manufacturers would have such models in their portfolio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ckw]

The problem is, how many versions of Spits (or whatever) do you produce?

 

For a big company, like say Airfix, how many kits do you need to sell to make it worth while. Assuming that perhaps the majority of Airfix buyers are not experts, then a Spitfire is a Spitfire whether its a Mk.I or IX. If they produce both, yes there will be some people who would want both but I suspect these are a minority and hence the majority of their Spitfire market will be split across two different kits resulting in less profit per kit.

 

Cheers

 

Colin