Aaron; others have refuted Manstein's points enough for me for now, but I would like to respond to a couple of other posts:
carsanab replied on 06-01-2011 2:03 PM
I agree with Manny....one of the purposes or reasons we post on these forums IS to let everyone including the kit manufacturers what the pros and cons of their products are regardless of whether we are fans of the makers or not. They all have good and bad issues and every kit is different.
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Im sorry but I have to REALLY disagree with this statement. ..in fact I am upset that someone who seems to be as connected as he says with the manufacture or release of its thinks this way. The whole idea of the hobby is for everyone of ANY skill to enjoy the kits available or coming out. to say if you cant handle it there are these other options is really looking down on the newcomers/beginners to the hobby.
That's not the point I was making. The builder has to presume a certain amount of WORK on their part needs to be done. It is a model kit requiring assembly. Now, the question for the manufacturer is one of target. Beginners need or want different features than builders who have progressed a bit. You can't please all groups with the same kit.
I wasn't trying to imply "if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen," just that there are options. If you don't like it, don't buy it. If it's too complex, do something simpler. Hey, guess what, I find complex math more complex than I want to do, so I stick to research, web page coding, and plastic model building, which are simpler. Does that mean I'm insulting my abilities to do math?
With regards to my connections; I want to state again just so it is clear, that I work WITH Dragon, not FOR them. I am not a representative and these are not their views; these are my opinions after having worked with them for a couple of years.
Finally, (in inverse order to your posts) I agree that the pros and cons should be discussed. I've listed off things on the CVL kit we got wrong for one reason or another for builders that do care and who want to go all out. I don't think it's slamming a manufacturer to list problems with a kit unless you use phrases like "garbage," etc. One thing to keep in mind though, is that manufacturers do not spend a lot of time watching forums; they're focusing on the next kit to get it out the door. You may think this is a big, powerful group, but it's really a small pond when it comes down to how much time any manufacturer gives it.
iraqiwildman replied on 06-01-2011 2:20 PM
Also, how do I become one of these "insiders" who get to test these new releases?
I can only tell you how I got to where I am... this isn't the only road. I'm 39, married, no kids. About ten years ago I found out that the National Archives has regional branches, and not only was there one near me (Seattle), but they had the records for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, where most of the Pacific fleet battleships and fleet carriers were worked on. I start hanging out there on weekends and just sit and read the records and scan things I find interesting or potentially helpful.
I start answering questions on websites such as this, SteelNavy, and Modelwarships. I become known as a guru on the Essex class carriers because people have a steady amount of questions and it turns out that I've found a lot of information no one had before. That leads to another person who is helping Dragon contacting me and feeling me out about if I'd be willing to help an unnamed manufacturer (at that time) with a potential Essex class project and can I keep a secret.
Boy, can I! I jump at the opportunity; by this time I'm getting a little tired of answering what feels like the same question over and over, and I figure it will be easier in the long run if I can just steer them to the right kit. This leads to a collaboration with Dragon on their 1/700th CV-16 Lexington and CV-12 Hornet "1945" kits. They work with me a bit, and when they decide to try a 350th CVL, the knowledge of cariers I have puts me in a good position to help out more. I jump at that opportunity as well, but keep in mind that I never received anything more than a thanks for the Essex class work, and I never talked to Dragon about compensation for my time on the CVL project until after the kit was out and I wanted to send some as thanks to some other researchers who had sent me files and information.
The reason I got test shot pieces was that I was the most familiar with the ships and the pieces out of the people who were helping on the project due to the 10-20 hours a month I was spending looking over their CAD and photos and plans. Testing is not as cool as you might think. You have to build the kit and look for problems within a day or two. No putty, no paint, just blaze on through. Then, if you find problems, they might not be fixed based on cost to re-work the molds.
So a lot of it was circumstances and luck. My best advice is to have something to offer that no one else does. In my case it was information and a willingnes to help.