What kind of new models to expect from the big names.

[Doug K]

Given the costs of tooling runs to hundreds of thousands, they need to be sure of a market.
The Flet Air Arm was alway ignored, so no change there then, where are my Fireflys??

[steelpillow]

Funny thing is, Airfix used to do lots of unique beasts with no scope for reboxing - Fairey Rotodyne, Bristol Freighter, SR 53, a whole range of warships, etc. and Revell did too - X-planes, funny cars, windjammers and so on. Various of these have been refreshed and pumped out again today, no discernible change to the decal sheets. Reboxing was never part of the plan, just reissuing.
Meawhile Luft'46 stye "Wunderwaffen" projects, such as the Revell Arado 555, are good and persistent sellers. Talk about niche!
So those arguments against, say, the Scimitar are just excuses to cover blind prejudice and ignorance.

But what does matter is current buying fashions. And here it's all large-scale monoplanes and AFVs. Nothing smaller than 1:48. And it's true - my branch of IPMS is dominated by these bloated monsters and you won't get a model of the month vote if you are not one of them. And all the popular/trending stuff on ScaleMates and elsewhere is the same. The tooling cost for these huge boxfuls of ludicrous detail and sprues the size of Hampton Court Maze must be horrendous, no wonder the manufacturers have to play money-grubbing games to get by.

But a 1:72 plane a few inches across, where the research was all done decades ago? Oh, come ON guys: affordable tooling, a market gagging for "niche" and anything different, when would a prototype Spitfire or a cult spaceship ever go out of fashion?

[jcf]

Because it doesn't work that way. The kit design and mould engineering is very different for each scale.
Fuselage wall thickness designed in 1/48th would be too thin for 1/72nd, go the other way from 1/72 to
1/48 and it's too thick. The applies to every part of the kit.

There is software around which adjusts all that accordingly. I don't think it's branded "Button B", but it's there for the asking.

Umm, no there isn't, every change in one
thing knocks on to another and then another and on and on.
Also the parts count for different scales is
going to be different every time. 

Out of curiosity have you ever done much
in the way of CAD and 3-D modelling?

[Old Wombat]

This seems to be turning into a bit of an "I wish they would make ..." thread, so I'll add my own.

1/350 HMAS Sydney (I) (or a generic Chatham sub-class of the barely pre-WW1 Town-class)
1/350 SMS Emden (or Revell to re-release a batch of their SMS Dresden/Emden kit)
1/350 Black Swan class ASW sloop

My eternally vain hope;

1/35 CH-53D/E (with the drop tanks, rather than the big fat sponsons)

[Gondor]

This seems to be turning into a bit of an "I wish they would make ..." thread, so I'll add my own.

1/350 HMAS Sydney (I) (or a generic Chatham sub-class of the barely pre-WW1 Town-class)
1/350 SMS Emden (or Revell to re-release a batch of their SMS Dresden/Emden kit)
1/350 Black Swan class ASW sloop

My eternally vain hope;

1/35 CH-53D/E (with the drop tanks, rather than the big fat sponsons)

I would add a 1/350 Type 12L Leander, this has lots of possible versions and re-boxing opportunities.

Gondor

[NARSES2]

Must admit I do find this constant knocking of Airfix a bit of a pain as I'm just glad they are still around and producing new tool kits, whatever scale they are in, especially as it was only a few years ago they were just about ready to have the coffin lid screwed down on them.

Why can't people just be even slightly happy that we have a hobby which is probably more robust and vibrant then it has been in a long time, and yes I know a lot of that is down to the smaller manufacturers, but their ranges get larger and larger and whilst some may fade away others are becoming the "new mainstream".

As a Moderator I very seldom say anything at all when it comes  to this type of thread, as I just read them and make sure no blood is being spilt, but just every now and then I feel almost compelled to say my piece, and this was one of them. So if anyone gets the hump please forgive me and remember it will probably be another year or two before I get involved again.

Chris

[scooter]

Why can't people just be even slightly happy that we have a hobby which is probably more robust and vibrant then it has been in a long time, and yes I know a lot of that is down to the smaller manufacturers, but their ranges get larger and larger and whilst some may fade away others are becoming the "new mainstream".

[kitbasher]

Must admit I do find this constant knocking of Airfix a bit of a pain as I'm just glad they are still around and producing new tool kits, whatever scale they are in, especially as it was only a few years ago they were just about ready to have the coffin lid screwed down on them.

Why can't people just be even slightly happy that we have a hobby which is probably more robust and vibrant then it has been in a long time, and yes I know a lot of that is down to the smaller manufacturers, but their ranges get larger and larger and whilst some may fade away others are becoming the "new mainstream".

I'm 100% with you on this, Chris.

[seadude]

They tend to avoid kits of singular one-offs (such as the prototype Spitfire). They prefer a kit that can be periodically reboxed with different decals, to stretch out the initial up-front cost of the tooling. So don't expect too many "Love this one-off" ideas to make it through.

That's pretty much the philosophy of most manufacturers. Most (but not all) model companies, at least in my view, are too afraid to take risks with offering new subjects that nobody has ever heard of or seen before. All they care about is repackaging the "same old, same old" subject because that's what makes them money. REAL historical subjects is what sells. Not weird, crazy, or unusual stuff.
Model companies (and maybe some model builders around the world) aren't going to be satisfied until they've done every concievable version and variant of the Spitfire, Tiger tank, Yamato battleship, etc. in every scale imagineable, every decal variant, etc., etc., etc.
But ask them to come out with German WW2 concept H44 battleship for example and they'll say NO WAY! There's no profit in it.
If people want the odd and unusual, they have to 3D print it themselves, or hope that somebody has made a resin/garage kit of the subject.

[kitbasher]

Not Airfix bashing now - they're producing excellent kits these days - but I remain surprised they've not replaced their 1/72 Anson and Lysander kits in recent years.

The 1/48 Anson is a lovely-looking kit, ditto what I've seen online and in print of the new Lysander, but wrong scale for me.

That said, the most enjoyment I've got out of an OOB build in the last 12 months has been building an Airfix 1/48 Hurricane.  Lovely kit and the build was a tiny bit personal.  I do now regret not getting a copy of the first boxing of the 1/48 Anson as one of the subjects is a very personal one.  Hey ho.

But back to Airfix in general.  They're not a charity and they can't please all of the punters all of the time.  Not all of their kits appeal but they're quality items and I wish them continuing success in their endeavours.

[steelpillow]

REAL historical subjects is what sells. Not weird, crazy, or unusual stuff.

When I see the number and variety of Star Wars, Thunderbirds and Star Trek kits in the shops, and hear of the success of Revell's Arado 555, I must beg to differ. It's all about the following that's out there, not what some dude wrote in an encyclopedia. And fashions change with the wind.

[steelpillow]

There is software around which adjusts all that accordingly.

Umm, no there isn't...

Out of curiosity have you ever done much
in the way of CAD and 3-D modelling?

Enough. Please stay on topic.

[PFJN]

This seems to be turning into a bit of an "I wish they would make ..." thread, so I'll add my own.

1/350 HMAS Sydney (I) (or a generic Chatham sub-class of the barely pre-WW1 Town-class)
1/350 SMS Emden (or Revell to re-release a batch of their SMS Dresden/Emden kit)
1/350 Black Swan class ASW sloop

My eternally vain hope;

1/35 CH-53D/E (with the drop tanks, rather than the big fat sponsons)

Hi,
That reminds meof something I forgot to add to  my wishlist - I'd really like to also see some larger scale injection molded models of any sort of WWII era light/medium warships like the Black Swan, Hunt, Castle, and River classes (or similar).  I know that some of these ships have been kitted in various scales (and/or in resin) but I'd really be happy to see maybe a 1/144 scale Castle class to go along with Revell's 1/144 Flower Class, etc.  And I'dreally like to be able to show a flight Iand flight II version of the Hunt class side by side to be able to display the differences in beam, and outfit of the two variants.

Pat

[kitbasher]

A new 1/72 Lockheed Neptune from Airfix or Revell.  Both have kitted the Shackleton, a Neptune would sit nicely alongside them.

Bags of scope for repops covering multiple versions, decal options, etc.

Surely a new Neptune is long overdue?  The only Neptune to date is the Hasegawa kit - now over half a century old!

I'm sure there's also a shed-load of aftermarket possibilities, including the Kawasaki P-2J.

EDIT: and Airfix please repop your 1/72 Canberra B(I)8 and put out new 1/72 bubble canopy Canberras.  Pleeeease.

[PR19_Kit]

EDIT: and Airfix please repop your 1/72 Canberra B(I)8 and put out new 1/72 bubble canopy Canberras.  Pleeeease.

AND the PR9 too!