Old_McDonald
05-21-2008, 03:54 PM
I have always been a fan of WWII fighter aircraft, however, I hardly ever have time these days to really get down to cranking out models. I can gradually work on one (a TOS Jupiter II) right now but as the gigilo says, so many and so little time.
I came across a 21st Century 1/32 scale Focke Wolf. It looked pretty nice with everythbing painted/tampoed in with no stick on decals. A flat finish instead of the usual glossy plastic. Anyone here everr see these? What do you think of them? They look good enough to me to display as amateur level models and a whopping lot cheaper than diecast..
MightyMax
05-22-2008, 10:47 PM
I like them and think they are great for what they are. I currently have the
P-51B, Me-262, P-47D, Macchi 202, 109F on display. Hanging from the ceiling are their 1/18th bigger bros. I currently have the FW-190D, P-40B, P-51D, P-47 Razorback, and Spitfire hanging from fishline like when I was a kid!
I have bought all the kits they have released thus far and have been waitng forever on the P-51B kit.
Max Bryant
djnick66
05-23-2008, 08:37 AM
What do you think of them? They look good enough to me to display as amateur level models and a whopping lot cheaper than diecast..
I think they are pretty nice. I have two of the pre-builts. One is the P-40B. Its "attractive" but pretty poor and toylike in detail and finish. To be fair, thats one of their first models. Plus, since it was made in China and was supposed to represent a Flying Tigers plane, the toymodel lacked the old Nationalist Chinese insignia. Instead of the neat screen printed markings you get on most of the models, this one had thick paper stickers that you have to put on yourself. The Macchi Mc. 202 pre-built was 1000% better. And a much newer model. The Focke Wulf seems nice. They have redone some of the models too. Aparently there is a new P-51D that is better than their original kit. Some of these models are fairly old... 10 years or so now.
21st Century is kitting some of the planes as unpainted, unassembled models. They sell for $9 to $15. So far they have the Messerschmitt 109G, Messerschmitt 109F, Zero 22 and Zero 32, the Macchi Mc 202 and 205, Junkers 87B Stuka and F4U-1 Corsair.
Its interesting to read the comments over on Hyperscale. Some guys moan about these as being toys and that they are NOT a model... yet the Corsair has better detail than the Revell 1/32 Corsair, is more accurate, has better decals, etc. The detail is a bit heavy (better on newer planes) and the screw and peg together construction requires a lot of putty and sanding to hide. Newer planes are better engineered and don't have the big screws and plugs on the outside.
Their pre-finished P-51B seems really nice and its more accurate than the $90 Trumpeter kit. It is supposedly coming out as a kit next, but 21st Century is pokey with adding new kits to the range.
Supposedly some of the 1/18 stuff is also coming out in kit form in the future. I hope thier new 1/18 B-25J gets kitted...
Old_McDonald
05-23-2008, 10:10 AM
Thanks, Sounds as if they are worth getting into. I happen to pick up the short nose yellow 11 FW. I'm hoping they will turn out the long nose FW soon. My local Walmart only had the FW. Hoping for more soon.
jlspec
05-27-2008, 01:17 PM
The short nose FW 190 is the latest release and is quite a bit nicer than the older long nose 190. I haven't seen the long nose for sevceral months. I have several of the Corsairs (both prebuilt and from kits), Zero, and P-51B on display in my office. For the price I think they are a good value but check them for obvious flaws if you are picky.
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