Hasegawa/ Tamiya B-17 Rumors.

I absolutely agree!

Toadwbg's made a very good point. The executives are going to listen to the bean counters, not the modellers. That's a shame; a high quality B-17 mold would be a winner for EVERYONE - and quickly, too!

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jason A B-17 by either Hasegawa or Tamiya would be one of the best things to hit modelling since plastic. To not do this is, is just plain ignorant. They would sell like no other B-17. It would sure beat the old Revell kits.

I'm on your side Jason, but unfortunately executives at model kit companies are not as intelligent as you and I! Their may be several reasons for not issuing such a kit- even legal reasons. Hasegawa and Tamyia may have non-competition agreements with certain "trademark" kits of Revellogram and vice-versa as they do have a partnership going on (see recent Pro Modeller kits).

If I were an executuive at Revellogram, I would do this: Re-tool the existing design adding recessed panel lines, slight fit improvements, an open bomb-bay, vinyl tires and other fine details. This can be done for a minium of R&D and Design costs. The tooling ain't cheap, but I think they would see a payback in 2-3 years (the old mold probably paid for itself dozens times over).

The problem with most modern corporations is that they cannot see past the next fiscal year. They want a return on investment in less than one year. Those damb bean counters make sure of that!

I now return you to your regularly schedualed program.

Toad

A B-17 by either Hasegawa or Tamiya would be one of the best things to hit modelling since plastic. To not do this is, is just plain ignorant. They would sell like no other B-17. It would sure beat the old Revell kits.

My question is... Why not realease a B-17F/G kit? Of course this would be a fairly expensive kit, but it is an extremely popular aircraft. It is my favorite by far. I don't know the specifics of production costs, but the fan base must be huge.