GazzaS

That's part of what I feel the events has stolen from us: The hope that they would be announced maybe next.

That's great! I have a few warship kits myself... Just haven't been in that frame of mind, lately.

Me too, Bill!

San Diego my friend. And if you went to Parris Island let me salute you for your ability to become a Marine amidst those terrible sand flies. You look hard in that photo Smitty! Excellent!

I know there are guys who go that extra distance to make it extra special... Mebbe we can make it longer than usual?

I'm right there with ya, mate!

I've noticed that many of us have served our countries in uniform. I think it would be great if we could share this part of our heritages in photos. Maybe we can sticky this one as like some kind of group photo album? This is me: I'm not a person who goes out of his way to end up on camera, and I've lost a lot of photos between marriages, divorces, and moves. But fortunately my wife kept copies of these. One is me in my boot camp Alphas photo. The larger is me during Desert Storm at Saddam Hussein's "Line of Death". I'm wearing half of my MOPP suit and there is charcoal from the suit all over my desert cammies, neck, hands, and face. The photos have yellowed over time and I tried to improve them with the menus that go with the TS9500 printer, to no avail. The only option I could find was to improve the DPI from 300 to 600 which didn;t make any difference. Anyway... Please share photos of you in uniform if you have em.

Me too! Excellent idea.

I could give you some recommendations... but that really depends on what you charge for shipping to Australia.

But will they sell?

I think the things that I find unattractive are the Cone-shaped spinner and the un-tapered cowl. The rest, bar the Polish khaki is fine with me. The Khaki reminds me too much of "gówno".

My WNW panic buy was just four kits that could be found in Australia. And that would only double my stash when the final three arrive. I didn't buy as many because my interest is mainly limited to German stuff, and I don't need every version of D.VII made. I also wasn't much into the larger two seaters, limiting my needs even more. One of the things I loved about WNW was the potential for dreaming about what's next. Maybe a nice Albatros D.III (I've already built the Roden version) or a Halberstadt D.II would have arrived one day. I might have even broadened my horizons and built some Austrian stuff had they produced any. And hey, the Germans even built copies of the Nieuport 17. Or was it the 11, or both? But I think they were too smart for their own good. Relying on a gov't subsidy instead of being financially independent and selling what ppl wanted. Eventually that subsidy would come back and bite them in the ass. Imagine your stashes had their been SPAD's and OEFFAG Albatrosen! I know some of you guys like the big bombers. And there is a guy here making an awesome Gotha that makes me want to emulate it. But I know I just don't have the stamina nor the display space. I hope that someone buys all the moulds and pumps out the kits, even those "still in development". I imagine the boxing and the directions won't be as nice. I hope it doesn;t take too long! Gaz

Excellent build, Lothar! A beauty for certain!

Yeah, we all look the same.

I agree on two points... one...It's a great looking build! Two... it's a fugly aircraft. Nice work, Ern!

I'm sorry, but I love models. I love building them, painting them, talking about them, and even speculating where the darn moulds could go. It saddens me greatly to have a conversation killed off because of a few people who may be less than gifted when it comes to tact. Edit those people and let me talk. It's bad enough I can't go to my monthly club meet, and I can 't go to any shows this year because they've been cancelled months in advance.

Yeah... and lately I have felt a growing aversion to posting there myself.

Quote from WWIaircraftmodels.com Sad news from New Zealand today indicates Wingnut Wings has been closed down permanently and its assets are to be sold off. Details are yet to be publicly disclosed but it’s understood staff have been informed they no longer have jobs at Wingnuts, and all assets- the moulds etc- are to be disposed of. Wingnuts, which was begun by Sir Peter Jackson in 2009, has like many NZ businesses been locked down recently due to the coronavirus shutdowns there. The business issues affecting the decision to close the business permanently are not yet known but are not thought to be entirely due to the Covid 19 issue. The Forum contacted Wingnuts’ General Manager, Richard Alexander yesterday and sought comment. He responded that an official statement would be forthcoming. When we approached him today on this matter, the email diverted to a message referring all future Wingnut Wings matters to Clare Olssen and Kate Leppard. Clare Olssen is Chief Executive Officer of WingNut Films and Kate Leppard is the company’s Chief Financial Officer. We sought official comment from Clare Olssen and Kate Leppard. We asked about the status of the Wingnut Wings business, the employment status of staff and the situation re pending mail orders in their system. There has been no response from the designated contacts for Wingnut Wings. Significantly Richard’s name now no longer appears on replies from his official email address. Update: late today Richard Alexander confirmed to the Forum that he is no longer at Wingnut Wings. Asked about the situation there he said "I am not able to comment at this time". The Wingnuts website is still active and accepting online orders however due to the uncertainty about the company’s status now, it is suggested Forum members consider whether to place any further orders with their online store until the company officially clarifies the status of its current pending orders. It’s understood there are also major job cuts at the Vintage Aviator (TVAL) too with all aircraft production stopped, most staff made redundant and the company retrenched to a maintenance team for the existing aircraft collection. Sir Peter Jackson has made no comment on the closure decisions. More details will be posted when they are known. Dave Wilson Gold Coast Australia

The kit just arrived today. I was surprised by the small decal sheet. I had never studied his plane that much and believed that the wings would be covered in Lozenge. But looking at the instruction booklet I can see it was all white. How does one weather an all-white machine? I'm gonna see if I can find some aviattic lozenge for less than an arm and a leg. As far as the figure... it probably doesn't even look like him. I remember that the Richthofen (who was quite a skinny fella) looked more like Square-jawed Robert Shaw:

I was more interested in the VIIF than I was in it being Goering's plane. It was the only D.VII available, actually.

Great looking pair!

Thanks for the info, Mate. I actually hit up Last Stand for Goering's Fokker. BNA for Roland C.II and Halberstadt CI.II, and Metro Hobbies for Hansa Brandenburg W.12. I've still got a couple of Albatros D.V's left over in the Albatros Trilogy. Nice kits, but I don't need a Jasta of each. I just hope they got set-aside and didn;t walk out the door over the weekend.

An interesting quote from Farcebook: "A lot of our compadres are mistakenly assuming the rumours of trouble at WNW are due to the coronavirus and lockdown, which undoubtedly are not helping the situation. However there are apparently more important factors contributing to the gloom regarding the future of Wingnuts. There is currently much controversy in New Zealand over a substantial amount of public money spent on promoting film companies and production facilities there. Peter Jackson’s WETA Group is said to have benefited greatly, including a substantial annual subsidy from the taxpayer. Many questions have been asked as to how this public money has been spent, with little apparent benefit to the public at large. For example, it has been asked if some of the money was used on non-film activities within the Group, such as TVAL and Wingnut Wings. Perhaps there might be expensive legal battles ahead if WNW were to continue trading. Who knows, but please let’s stop endlessly posting the statement about Covid – this has little to do with the fears many of us have for the company’s survival." True or not.... It's not the first time I've heard bits and pieces of it from others.