New News on WNW: 16 April 2020

[Guest Dekenba]

39 minutes ago, biggtim said:

You and me buddy!! It just means we have more refined tastes!!

And more space.

[Captain Boogaloo]

On 4/18/2020 at 4:02 PM, DannyVM said:

Indeed well said Ernie. Every kit has his flaws, and i'm sure for some the WNW kit would also, but still, this is modeling and enough is for sale these day's regarding aftermarket that it will build into a fanatastic model.

Having seen the Wingnut Lanc test shots/ builds in the flesh and spent an hour plus bugging the Wingnut staff on their Telford stand, by all means keep repeating that, until you believe it. Unfortunately the Wingnut bird made HKs look like the work of enthusiastic amateurs, compared to that of uncompromising professionals. I'm sure it can be made into a very nice model and the many builds around are testament to that, but there's no way the Wingnut bird would've needed anything other than brass gun barrels ( and even that is debatable) - it was on course for being the best 1/32 wwII model released to date ( even compared to Tamiya 's awesome Mosquito) - What is it, eleven pages of tweak discussions &  another £50 of aftermarket upgrades for a £350 model, but apparently that's all good....and before anyone asks, yes I did also look very hard at HK's Lancaster ( and their 1\48 B 17) ....but I'm afraid neither is in my stash, despite having both their 1/32 B 17 and B25. The loss of Wingnut is a damned shame, and HK models are really not in the same league. Sorry, but I really felt a reality check was needed on this thread. Just my tuppence worth.

Blue Skies! Stay safe!

Captain Boogaloo

[Guest Dekenba]

1 hour ago, Captain Boogaloo said:

Having seen the Wingnut Lanc test shots/ builds in the flesh and spent an hour plus bugging the Wingnut staff on their Telford stand, by all means keep repeating that, until you believe it. Unfortunately the Wingnut bird made HKs look like the work of enthusiastic amateurs, compared to that of uncompromising professionals. I'm sure it can be made into a very nice model and the many builds around are testament to that, but there's no way the Wingnut bird would've needed anything other than brass gun barrels ( and even that is debatable) - it was on course for being the best 1/32 wwII model released to date ( even compared to Tamiya 's awesome Mosquito) - What is it, eleven pages of tweak discussions &  another £50 of aftermarket upgrades for a £350 model, but apparently that's all good....and before anyone asks, yes I did also look very hard at HK's Lancaster ( and their 1\48 B 17) ....but I'm afraid neither is in my stash, despite having both their 1/32 B 17 and B25. The loss of Wingnut is a damned shame, and HK models are really not in the same league. Sorry, but I really felt a reality check was needed on this thread. Just my tuppence worth.

Blue Skies! Stay safe!

Captain Boogaloo

Do you only make WNW & Tamiya kits?

[krow113]

Seagull alert!

We dont do that here.

[Captain Boogaloo]

Hello Dekenba,

No, I've never made a Wingnut model ( I'm more into ww2 a/c), the Lanc would've been my first, although I am tempted by some of their ww1 range ( Camel, Bristol fighter) , I normally build 1/24 stuff ( still can't beat Airfix for that: most disappointing kit I ever bought? Trumpeter 1\24 Spitfire Mk V - not one thing correct on that terrible excuse for a Spitfire model, everything from fuselage shape to wing profile is total balls, and their "Merlin"? Jesus, there really are no words. No excuse for that! Their Hurricane is much better, but still has that Merlin... Bf109 series, quite nice as is the Fw190d ( still needs tweaking tho!). 

Let's see, I've got Airfix, Trumpeter  1/24, Kinetic 1/24, Tamiya 1/32, Special Hobby 1/32, Kittyhawk 1/32, Hobbycraft 1/32, Tamiya 1/48, Revell 1/32 & 48, Hasagawa 1/48 and a few 1/72 kits plus the odd sci fi studio model knocking about. I should've built everything by the time I'm one hundred and eleventy! I hope that answers your question?

Blue Skies

Captain Boogaloo

 

[Captain Boogaloo]

What's a Seagull alert?!!!!  Something that steals your ice cream when you're looking the wrong way? 

Blue Skies!

Captain Boogaloo

[Clunkmeister]

Captain Boogaloo, I too have fondled that Wingnut Lanc plastic and it was absolutely sublime.  The detail in that kit was destined to be close to perfection in every way.  But of course at the time, they had what they thought were unlimited funds to design and produce the ultimate model kit.   I don’t expect anyone will be able to continue the level of love and perfection that’ll be necessary on that kit.

I built the HK kit. No, it was by no means perfect. But for my needs, it was exactly what I needed for what I had in mind. I don’t believe the Wingnut Kit would have been suitable for my build. Oh, you could do it, but it would be a helluva lot more work.

The HK guys obviously used a postwar Canadian Mk.10 Lanc as their prototype. Different chin scoops, metal elevators, etc. it’s a bit of a mish mash, but in the end, with he addition of oh, £50 in AM, it gives a VERY favorable representation of wartime Lanc Mk.X. 

But comparing HK to Wingnut is like comparing a Hasegawa A6M to a Tamiya A6M. Same airframe but cruising at two different flight levels. Hasegawa will NEVER be Tamiya no matter how hard they try, but they still turn out a decent A6M.

[GazzaS]

An interesting quote on Farcebook: 

"Peter Jackson took his country for a ride. All rides come to an end. Some good and some bad,this was a very bad ending. We might not ever know the real story because of disclosure agreements signed by all of the employees at these companies. Peters late friend Paul Allen who owned the Portland Trailblazers where I live had his company go bankrupt and let all the small companies they owed money to take it in the shorts even when he could have paid them off what was due. Peter has just about done the same to the people of NZ.. Rich stay rich sorry to say."

 

Meanwhile...  all of my panic purchases arrived.

 

 

[Guest Dekenba]

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

An interesting quote on Farcebook: 

"Peter Jackson took his country for a ride. All rides come to an end. Some good and some bad,this was a very bad ending. We might not ever know the real story because of disclosure agreements signed by all of the employees at these companies. Peters late friend Paul Allen who owned the Portland Trailblazers where I live had his company go bankrupt and let all the small companies they owed money to take it in the shorts even when he could have paid them off what was due. Peter has just about done the same to the people of NZ.. Rich stay rich sorry to say."

 

Meanwhile...  all of my panic purchases arrived.

 

 

This is incredibly unfair - from what I've seen, no PJ companies have applied for insolvency. No receivers appointed, no notices and no suppliers left high & dry. Other NZ companies have done so.

Facebook is an absolute pit of rumour, innuendo & lies.

Although I have no FB account, I can see how it can be useful for following modelling groups - as long as you take any comments with a huge pinch of salt.

Better still, don't read the comments!

 

[Clunkmeister]

I really feel what we need to do is that these are stellar kits.  I have close to 100 of them, I know, stupid, but we all buy what we love, even if it meant eating mac and cheese for awhile.  

I have a couple that are half finished SOD sitters, and getting them done will be a priority here.

[biggtim]

2 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

I really feel what we need to do is that these are stellar kits.  I have close to 100 of them, I know, stupid, but we all buy what we love, even if it meant eating mac and cheese for awhile.  

I have a couple that are half finished SOD sitters, and getting them done will be a priority here.

I've gt a Pfalz D.IIIA that I need to finish as well.

[DocRob]

58 minutes ago, biggtim said:

I've gt a Pfalz D.IIIA that I need to finish as well

I finished mine a short while ago. When you start yours you will find maybe the most elegant airframe of it's time. A pure pleasure build.

Cheers Rob

[biggtim]

18 minutes ago, DocRob said:

I finished mine a short while ago. When you start yours you will find maybe the most elegant airframe of it's time. A pure pleasure build.

Cheers Rob

It's actually started, and I love it!! Certainly one my all time faves, too! It's just been tabled for a while now due to other projects. I hope to finish it this year!

[Artful69]

Well ... The story of WNW demise/impending demise isn't great ...

BUT ... Since WWI subjects aren't my thing, the only disappointment I might of had is missing out on a Lancaster ...

Fortunately they aren't the only game in town ... I bought the HK Dambuster because I doubted that the special birds would've developed oil canned panels anyway ... and I was waiting on the release RRP price of the WNW kit to see if the juice was going to be worth the extra squeeze. So ... now I'll just have to get the HK kit ...

Seriously though ... do we have a proper company announcement of a complete and final closure ... or just rumour and he said-she said?

Rog

[GazzaS]

6 hours ago, Artful69 said:

Well ... The story of WNW demise/impending demise isn't great ...

BUT ... Since WWI subjects aren't my thing, the only disappointment I might of had is missing out on a Lancaster ...

Fortunately they aren't the only game in town ... I bought the HK Dambuster because I doubted that the special birds would've developed oil canned panels anyway ... and I was waiting on the release RRP price of the WNW kit to see if the juice was going to be worth the extra squeeze. So ... now I'll just have to get the HK kit ...

Seriously though ... do we have a proper company announcement of a complete and final closure ... or just rumour and he said-she said?

Rog

Well...  there is a quote from a WNW employee about them all losing their jobs.  Unless that person/account has been totally fictional and not found out, then I suppose if could be fiction.    Here it is:

This guy's home page on Farcebook titles him a "A lead modeller at Wingnut Wings"

 

So....FWIW...

[Artful69]

7 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Well...  there is a quote from a WNW employee about them all losing their jobs.  Unless that person/account has been totally fictional and not found out, then I suppose if could be fiction.    Here it is:

This guy's home page on Farcebook titles him a "A lead modeller at Wingnut Wings"

 

So....FWIW...

Thanks for that Gaz ... with all the BS and usual melodramatic speculation flying around its always difficult to figure out what's real ...

Rog

[Bill_S]

Ordered the Roden Dr.1 yesterday; I'll just have to make due. I've been looking all over for Barker's Camel with no luck. :-(

[Clunkmeister]

20 minutes ago, Bill_S said:

Ordered the Roden Dr.1 yesterday; I'll just have to make due. I've been looking all over for Barker's Camel with no luck. :-(

There's nothing wrong with the Roden DR.1. It's actually a really decent little kit.

You can do what many do to the WNW kits, and replace the prop with Proper Plane, use a resin engine or Wingnut engine sprue, use AM guns, and Pheon and Aviattic decals.

I really didn't see how much better the Wingnut DR.1 would actually be. The Roden is nice. Plus, if you want to go whole hog, Squadron put out an "Encore" version of the Roden kit with resin goodies and different decals.  They offered both the DR.1 and an F.1 kit.

My take?  "slightly" less crisp moldings, a bit of extra flash, some parts no show perfect right off the sprue, and absolutely atrocious decals.  Roden decals are, in my opinion,  hideous. Every time I've tried to use them, they nuked themselves in the water. Plus, they flake up and I could never get them to apply well. Technique, maybe?

[BlrwestSiR]

18 minutes ago, Bill_S said:

Ordered the Roden Dr.1 yesterday; I'll just have to make due. I've been looking all over for Barker's Camel with no luck. :-(

Shows in stock at the moment. 

https://www.wheelswingsestore.com/wnw32608-wingnut-wings-1-32-sopwith-7f-1-snipe-w-barker-ltd.html

[Bill_S]

14 minutes ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Shows in stock at the moment. 

https://www.wheelswingsestore.com/wnw32608-wingnut-wings-1-32-sopwith-7f-1-snipe-w-barker-ltd.html

Alas, Carl - that's the Snipe, not the Camel. Thanks anyway!

[BlrwestSiR]

Sorry Bill, saw the Barker bit and thought that was it. 

Carl

[GazzaS]

3 hours ago, Clunkmeister said:

There's nothing wrong with the Roden DR.1. It's actually a really decent little kit.

You can do what many do to the WNW kits, and replace the prop with Proper Plane, use a resin engine or Wingnut engine sprue, use AM guns, and Pheon and Aviattic decals.

I really didn't see how much better the Wingnut DR.1 would actually be. The Roden is nice. Plus, if you want to go whole hog, Squadron put out an "Encore" version of the Roden kit with resin goodies and different decals.  They offered both the DR.1 and an F.1 kit.

My take?  "slightly" less crisp moldings, a bit of extra flash, some parts no show perfect right off the sprue, and absolutely atrocious decals.  Roden decals are, in my opinion,  hideous. Every time I've tried to use them, they nuked themselves in the water. Plus, they flake up and I could never get them to apply well. Technique, maybe?

I'll tell you the biggest thing I like about WNW kits over Roden kits.  It;s the locator "pins" for the struts.  On WNW, I;ve found them to be large enough to actually prevent most accidental dislocations during the later stages of the build.  On the Roden kit, you have very tiny locator nubs and very small gluing surfaces.  When I rigged my Roden D.III I totally detached the upper wing twice.  Eventually I began to notice that the LG struts were bowing months after I completed the build.  Then, one day, one wingtip was actually touching the shelf because one strut had detached, causing a second to snap.

 

"Pin them!" you say?  Tried that.  Again, you're working with a very small surface.  While trying to pin one of the LG struts of my Roden Dr. I, using a .25mm drill bit, I buggered up the top end, ruining the strut aesthetically.  At that point I got disheartened.  I should learn to build my own struts.  I just haven;t got that far, yet.

[biggtim]

15 minutes ago, GazzaS said:

I'll tell you the biggest thing I like about WNW kits over Roden kits.  It;s the locator "pins" for the struts.  On WNW, I;ve found them to be large enough to actually prevent most accidental dislocations during the later stages of the build.  On the Roden kit, you have very tiny locator nubs and very small gluing surfaces.  When I rigged my Roden D.III I totally detached the upper wing twice.  Eventually I began to notice that the LG struts were bowing months after I completed the build.  Then, one day, one wingtip was actually touching the shelf because one strut had detached, causing a second to snap.

 

"Pin them!" you say?  Tried that.  Again, you're working with a very small surface.  While trying to pin one of the LG struts of my Roden Dr. I, using a .25mm drill bit, I buggered up the top end, ruining the strut aesthetically.  At that point I got disheartened.  I should learn to build my own struts.  I just haven;t got that far, yet.

I've had similar happen to me on some planes and ships years ago, and I found after a while it was because I was getting my rigging too tight, whatever the material. The trick is to get it just tight enough that it stays straight, but isn't actually taut enough to play a tune. Now, I've never built one of those giant WWI bombers, and maybe those actually require the rigging to help support those long wings. But in fighters, the wing, glue joint, and strut should be doing most of the work, the rigging just helps out a little. I think with the newer products, which are slightly stretchy, it should be possible to make them look taut without exerting real pressure on the joints. Just my experience, anyway. 

One interesting note - the old K5Y Willow biplane kit actually came with STIFF steel wires for rigging, and I mean stiff as hell. Their idea was that all you had to do was glue them in place, and they held themselves straight with no tension at all. It actually wasn't a bad idea, and worked pretty well. Until you bent one!

[GazzaS]

3 minutes ago, biggtim said:

I've had similar happen to me on some planes and ships years ago, and I found after a while it was because I was getting my rigging too tight, whatever the material. The trick is to get it just tight enough that it stays straight, but isn't actually taut enough to play a tune. Now, I've never built one of those giant WWI bombers, and maybe those actually require the rigging to help support those long wings. But in fighters, the wing, glue joint, and strut should be doing most of the work, the rigging just helps out a little. I think with the newer products, which are slightly stretchy, it should be possible to make them look taut without exerting real pressure on the joints. Just my experience, anyway. 

One interesting note - the old K5Y Willow biplane kit actually came with STIFF steel wires for rigging, and I mean stiff as hell. Their idea was that all you had to do was glue them in place, and they held themselves straight with no tension at all. It actually wasn't a bad idea, and worked pretty well. Until you bent one!

On the D.III build I'd actually used EZ-line.  I've switched to monofilament since.  It doesn;t help that the Roden plastic is soft.  Still...there's not a lot of space between upper and lower wings for big hands.  I wear a large glove, and have never been called graceful/dainty/gifted dexterously.  Long tweezers help. 

[biggtim]

2 hours ago, GazzaS said:

On the D.III build I'd actually used EZ-line.  I've switched to monofilament since.  It doesn;t help that the Roden plastic is soft.  Still...there's not a lot of space between upper and lower wings for big hands.  I wear a large glove, and have never been called graceful/dainty/gifted dexterously.  Long tweezers help. 

I have similar problem, XL gloves for me. I make a full size 1911 look like a compact.

Case in point: