So few jets.... Why?

[Sir Desmond Glazebrook]

Hi guys.

I find myself being influenced by our own very dear Smitty, "Who no jets?"

Indeed. Why?

I am 55. I was born 19 years after WWII. The 3rd book I read was a coffee table history of the Battle of Britain. I was 5.

WWII features heavily in my imagination. I love WWII subjects. As we all know WWII was the largest conflict in history. The Second Punic war is nothing in comparison. Indeed, even the Great war cannot compete in barbarity and suffering.

As such WWII will always be my main interest.  Not many jets in that conflict. However I think the Rafale and Gripen compete in beauty to the Spitfire. If anything, the Spitfire wins simply due to elegance. 

So, why are there so few jet builds?

[Spitfire]

Jets really hold no interest at all for me, probably due to the fact that I was born in 1952 and was raised on WW2 movies and comic books, and the golden years of Airfix kits, plus my dad and most of my uncles were in the military during the war. I can remember while on holiday in Wales near an RAF base seeing my first jets and was amazed that they did not have props. So my formative years were filled with WW2 one of my first books in junior school was "Reach for the sky".

I can appreciate the significance of a lot of jets and enjoy the power and grace of them at air shows but as model subjects they do not appeal to me.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[smitty44]

Yes sometimes I feel sad and all alone, but I am, so far, not a big fan of doing WIp threads myself. I do want to change that though. I just think its the people who are attracted to LSM are WWII and before. Even when it comes to armor. I build them all though.

[Old Dog]

I like jets but mostly the ones from the 50s through Vietnam. Later models all seem to be trying to prove the theory that with enough power you can even make a brick fly. That said almost all the jet kits in my stash are 1/48, I only have one 1/32 jet and I want to sell it. There are so many WWII aircraft that I want to build that I don't get the urge to build a jet very often. As for posting build logs, I did a few at various sites when I first got back into the hobby after a long hiatus but over time I found that build logs were the kiss of death for me. Seemed like most of them ended up as fails. Stopping and taking photos as I went just burned me out I think.

[smitty44]

6 minutes ago, Old Dog said:

I like jets but mostly the ones from the 50s through Vietnam. Later models all seem to be trying to prove the theory that with enough power you can even make a brick fly. That said almost all the jet kits in my stash are 1/48, I only have one 1/32 jet and I want to sell it. There are so many WWII aircraft that I want to build that I don't get the urge to build a jet very often. As for posting build logs, I did a few at various sites when I first got back into the hobby after a long hiatus but over time I found that build logs were the kiss of death for me. Seemed like most of them ended up as fails. Stopping and taking photos as I went just burned me out I think.

I agree about your take on build logs, and big jets take up alot of space and more cash. So did my big Lanc though!

[1to1scale]

I am a fan of all planes. My first love in airplanes was Korean War Jets. When I was six, my first two planes were the monogram F-86, followed by the Monogram Mig-15. After the Korean jets, I built most everything through Vietnam era, then did a few modern jets, like the F-15, F-14, and F-16. After high school I started working, and playing with real cars and airplanes, then when I hit my mid 40’s, I started back into model planes and armor, mostly WW2, but last year I have been running through that cycle of jets again. So far I built 2 jets, one that is almost finished, a Mig-15, and an A-4 I have in primer. Next on the bench will be an F-117. So, my range is all over the place. 

[BlrwestSiR]

I think the greatest challenge is space. Most 1/32 jets are big. Displaying a finished one can take a fair bit of real estate.  I've done a few (3 F-4s, 1 F-16, 1 F-104) so far and have a bunch still in the stash so I'm definitely building them. Just need to have the space once they're done.

Nevermind what I'll do once the 4 engine heavies start hitting my bench...

Carl

[GusMac]

Personally, I prefer building jets in 1/32 but they are large and at my rate of progress they take a long time to complete. My display case currently has F15C, F16C, A7E and Mig-23 and a solitary Spitfire XVIe. I'm only a few years younger than Dale so I also grew up on WWII movies, books, Commando comics, etc but I lived just across the water from RAF Leuchars as a kid so seeing jets everyday I think is my biggest influence. Most of my wish list are also jets, ie Viggen, Gripen.

[Sir Desmond Glazebrook]

The other day I bought the HK Meteor. Upon opening the box I fell in love with it. Once I complete my 2 current builds I will build it.

WWII born aeroplane yet again. 

[GrahamF@Iconicair]

I produced my first and last Jet kit last year, The only reason I decided to do the Attacker was to make use of the wing CAD and somebody said that if you do an aircraft that had service history it would sell better than the previous Spiteful and Seafang. So after spending many hours of CNC and machining a couple of visits all the way down to Yeovil to measure and check the last survivor I completed it. Which is not free to do by the way.

The sum total was sales of 45.

If it had been made by anyone else ( and the masters whittled out of wood by hand ) it would have retailed at twice the price and still be selling. I think what some people really want is the more esoteric jets but only if they are injection moulded by the big boys but this is likely never to happen because the cost of the moulds is 100's of thousands and it's only ever likely to be 'mass' appeal jets like American jets.

Graham 

 

[npb748r]

9 minutes ago, GrahamF@Iconicair said:

I produced my first and last Jet kit last year, The only reason I decided to do the Attacker was to make use of the wing CAD and somebody said that if you do an aircraft that had service history it would sell better than the previous Spiteful and Seafang. So after spending many hours of CNC and machining a couple of visits all the way down to Yeovil to measure and check the last survivor I completed it. Which is not free to do by the way.

The sum total was sales of 45.

If it had been made by anyone else ( and the masters whittled out of wood by hand ) it would have retailed at twice the price and still be selling. I think what some people really want is the more esoteric jets but only if they are injection moulded by the big boys but this is likely never to happen because the cost of the moulds is 100's of thousands and it's only ever likely to be 'mass' appeal jets like American jets.

Graham 

 

Graham,

I'm one of the 45 !!!!  I have the kit ready to build once I clear some current builds off of my desk. I'm really pleased you did this, it will be my first resin kit and I have to say it looks fantastic.  Personally I'm fed up with spits, 109's, phantoms, corsairs, starfighters and the all of the other repeat kits released. I'm grateful that manufacturers  like Trumpeter and HB reinvigorated the 1/32 scale market and we now have so many subjects to choose to build. But I'm even more grateful that people like you take the time, effort and expense to bring something special and unusual to the market. These kits normally require a bit more effort on the builders part but we are model makers, not lego builders.  Thank you for doing what you do.

neil  

[aderowlands]

I’m on a jet kit buying spree of late with a majority of my props set for sale. So far it’s 3 Tamiya F-4’s a C/D, J and E on the way, Tamiya F-16, Trumpeter MiG-29A, Trumpeter F-18E, Trumpeter A-4F and a Tamiya F-15J (to be built as a C, the J has the MSIP instrument panel) and in various shopping carts across the interwebs awaiting next pay day are an Italeri F-104G/S, Trumpeter F-8E and maybe a Kittyhawk Mirage need to see a few builds on that before I reach my final decision. To balance the jets out I did buy a ZM Do335 A-12 because just an oddball. 

[ScottsGT]

Pfffttt.... Majority of my stash is hair dryers.  I think I still have 9 or 10 Phantoms, 6 F-16's (already built 8)  2 A-10 Warthogs and 2 F-18's, although one is a Super Hornet.   I think the only props I have duplicates of are 2 Skyraiders and one is for the Fat Face Fisher conversion, 2-P51's and 3-1/72 Connie kits.

[BlrwestSiR]

3 hours ago, ScottsGT said:

Pfffttt.... Majority of my stash is hair dryers.  I think I still have 9 or 10 Phantoms, 6 F-16's (already built 8)  2 A-10 Warthogs and 2 F-18's, although one is a Super Hornet.   I think the only props I have duplicates of are 2 Skyraiders and one is for the Fat Face Fisher conversion, 2-P51's and 3-1/72 Connie kits.

I was waiting for you to chime in.  I knew you'd balance out all the props on your own. 

Carl