Model Airplane International - July 2016, Modelarstwo
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//-->ALL THE INFORMATION YOU’LL EVER NEEDTO CREATE THE BEST AIRCRAFT MODELSEEFRUBSIDOR SAILS INFDETFTGIERSCRIBESVIPER!GET THE BEST FROMKITTYHAWK’S 1:48 AH-1ZKIT BUILDJuly 2016£4.50 / Issue 132IT’SSHOWTIME!WE VISIT SWORD &LANCEwww.modelairplaneinternational.comKITPREVIEWTAMIYA 1:48 F-14TOMCAT AND 1:100EMBRAER 175BUILDSINSIDENEW4DEDLOALLYFUKIT BUILDthe brand-newtdetailed look a ard Fw190A-8We take a1:72 EduGREAT WALLHOBBY 1:48MIG-29SMTFULCRUM329 771747 504052How to contact us:ContentsVOLUME 11. ISSUE 132. JuLY 2016REGULARSP04- EDITORIALP06- NEWSLINEP78- EVENTS DIARYP79- CONTACTS DETAILSP81- NEXT ISSUEP82- FINAL THOUGHTS…REVIEWSP8 KIT PREVIEWTamiya 1:100 Embraer 175Tel:Fax:01525 22257301525 222574Model Airplane International. Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX, EnglandVOL.11 ISS.132 JULY 2016Editor:Editorial:P76 NEW RELEASES DECALSDecorate your aircraft models with these newsheetsPublisher:Group Editor:Administration Manager:Office Manager:Advertising Manager:Spencer Pollardspencer@adhpublishing.comAlan HarmanMarcus NichollsHannah McLauriePaula GraySean LeslieFEATURESP10 IT’S SHOWTIME!P14 FULLY LOADED!We visit Sword & Lance from DarlingtonThe editor builds the brand new Eduard 1:72Focke-Wulf Fw190A-8Editorial Design:Advertising Design:Art:Peter HutchinsonPeter Hutchinson & Alex HallADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane,Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX.Tel: 01525 222573 Fax: 01525 222574E-mail:sean@adhpublishing.comAdvertisement and circulation:P42 EXTENDED KWIK BUILDSword 1:72 Jet Provost T. Mk.5P24 FULCRUMDistribution:Jammie Haggo builds Great Wall Hobby’s MiG-29SMTSeymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue,London, EC1A 9PT.Tel: 020 7429 4000P58 KIT PREVIEWTamiya 1:48 F-14A TomcatP34 REFERENCE FEATUREP46 VIPER!MAI takes a look at the impressive MiG-23 FloggerDrewe Manton build the Kittyhawk AH-1Z in 1:48P68 NEW RELEASES KITSThe latest kit releases assessedSelect Publisher Services, 3 East Avenue,Bournemouth, BH3 7BW.Tel: 01202 586848 E-mail:tim@selectps.comNewstrade:Subscriptions:P70 NEW RELEASES ACCESSORIESThe latest aftermarket releases assessedP62 SHIZUOKA TOY FAIRP72 NEW RELEASES BOOKSBrett Green captures all of the highlights from thisyear’s eventADH Publishing, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe,Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Tel: 01525 222573 Fax: 01525222574 Rates: UK £44, Eire and Europe £56,Worldwide Air £69.Website:www.modelairplaneinternational.comSome of the latest aviation and modelling titlesTodayibbscreToSuEEE PAGSModel Airplane International is published monthly by ADH Publishing Ltd, Doolittle Mill, Doolittle Lane, Totternhoe, Bedfordshire, LU6 1QX. Entire Contents © 2016 ADH Publishing Ltd.Reproduction in part or whole of any text, photograph or illustration without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. While due care is taken to ensure the content of ModelAirplane International is accurate, the publishers and printers cannot accept liability for errors and omissions. Advertisements are accepted for publication in Model Airplane International onlyupon ADH Publishing’s standard terms of acceptance of advertising, copies of which are available from the advertising sales department of MAI.Issue 132- www.modelairplaneinternational.com3e56ToddabsySucribaySubsceribEDITORIALIF ONLY THEY’D LISTEN TO US…very time a new kit getsannounced, there is usuallyeither a wall of disapprovalor disappointment to whitthe chosen subject is eitherthe wrong subject, wrong scale orEthere’s already a kit on market, why do “we” need anotherone? The recent announcement of Tamiya’s new 1/48 F-14Tomcat ticked all these boxes and then more – there’s noshortage of 1/48 F-14s out there and Tamiya Tomcat wasn’tbringing anything new to party with its closed slats andflaps. Why are Tamiya doing a Tomcat?“If your favourite subject doesn’t appear in the next batch of kitannouncements, it not because kit companies are not listeningor are somehow missing some great market opportunity”4MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL -July 2016The simple answer is that a Hasegawa1/48 F-14 makes no money for Tamiya. Andfor that one can substitute any kit companyand subject matter into the mix. “But whycouldn’t they have done… (insert favouritesubject here)?” and it’s here that the notionthat enthusiasts know what would sell tends tosplinter off into different directions. Enthusiastsknow what they personally like to build, butall too often those wants are conflated into awindow onto the modelling world when in factthey’re just a mirror to the individual. All toooften people talk in the plural as if there hadbeen some election for a spokesperson for allmodellers, when in fact it’s entirely subjective.To quote an old Genesis song, “I know whatI like....”It’s often said that if you ask 10 enthusiastswhat they would like as kits, you’d get 10different answers. The enthusiast sector is ahighly vocal and highly organised part of thehobby – but it is a part, not the whole. It’s easyto look at the myriad of new releases and thinkit’s all enthusiast centric, and that kit majorcompanies are hovering around modellingforums hanging on to every word anyone hasabout what will sell and what won’t. I’m suresome kit companies do keep an eye on thoseplaces, but they’ll also be looking at the thingsthat sell in their ranges – and sometimes theseare things that fall outside of enthusiasts tastes– and feedback from the trade as to whichproducts lines are moving and which onesare not.Occasionally there’s grumblings about whykit catalogues don’t have the wider range ofsubject matter they had decades ago, buttimes have changed, the market has changedand kit catalogues tend to be an accuratereflection of what sells – if your favourite kit orsubject matter isn’t in one, chances are there’sa logical reason for it. It’s not like everyonesat around a board table like something in aJames Bond movie and just decided to dropa kit of subject matter out of spite. Similarlythe notion that kit companies should electmodellers to “choose” which of their kits shouldbe on sale on the basis of the “best” kits. Youcannot force a market to buy a kit if they don’twant it, but equally it there’s little commerciallogic to withdrawing a kit that sells volume justbecause three guys on a modelling forum thinkit should be retired. Equally, it would take abrave (or rich) person to open a model shopand sell only the kits they think the modellingpublic should be buying.Alas, sometimes even the really nice kitslose their market for a while, and yet decades-old warhorses continue to solider on, despiteprotestations that they’ll put off fledglingmodellers for life – because if they are, they’retaking their time doing it. An inexperiencedmodeller could easily be disillusioned bya modern, complex kit as they could bysomething basic from the 1960s. It’s a roulettewheel of chance dependent on the aptitude ofthe builder, and in this regard you even comeacross enthusiasts arguing over a kit thatsome find an “engineering disaster” that othershave little problem with.The bottom line is that kit companiesare businesses, they are not a service tomodellers. And while that may sound harsh, itis a commercial reality. Model kits are large,expensive investments, and different kitcompanies have different business models(sic) as to who much and how fast toolinghas to pay for itself in order to be a success.That’s why when you sometimes get the“risk” subjects announced, you also get some“bankers” as insurance.The late great Maurice Landi of Matchboxonce said something to the effect thatsometimes they listened to the enthusiast toomuch and ended up with “much requested”subjects that didn’t resonate with the wider kitbuying public.Which brings us to the issue of theenthusiast end talking up a subject matter andkit, only to go AWOL when it’s finally released.“Well of course, I’d really love one, havingchampioned it as a kit for some time now, butwhere would I put it?” There’s the tendency toexcitedly talk about ideas for releases that arejust that – ideas with little if any possibility ofever being done, even if a handful of peoplesay “I’d buy one”. That’s great, if you could buy100, that would be better!As unpalatable as it may sometimes sound,kit companies tend to know more about theirmarkets than modellers do. That’s not todiminish the support and sales from modellers– far from it! – but when it comes to thecommercial side of things, the view is oftenclearer simply because every kit companyknows its product lines and its sales inside out.“I know what I like…” But liking somethingand thinking that everyone else will like it tooare often different things. If your favouritesubject doesn’t appear in the next batch of kitannouncements, it not because kit companiesare not listening or are somehow missingsome great market opportunity.They’ll have done their research, they’llknow what the trade has sold and is asking for.And it’s their money that’s being risked on newkits.(Jonathan Mock)Issue 132- www.modelairplaneinternational.com5
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