Well, I am happy as it appears I have initiated a really good, thorough and civil discussion.
Can I assume safely that Albatross1234's alias is Scott? NO offence taken at all, brother....thanks for weighing in...this exercise has been to:
1. Get a discussion going and
2. Find out which of the non-WnW kits fit the criteria listed....and I am really pleased that the one kit that keeps coming to the surface is a Nieuport 28....as stated, it has always been one of my favorite aircraft.
As far as selling more than building recently, I am sorry to say you are right. I actually try to soften the blow of sending kits out the door by telling myself I am really just pawning then in order to raise cash fro to art projects I have going on, one of which is my Japanese garden. It has been the time of year (North of the Equator, that is) for planting and I need to get some specific trees which can are only available now. So, I sold some kits and lots of books, bought the plants, and have already started replacing the kits, the Hannover being the first. Yes, I take a loss, but I now have the plants and am getting kits back in here that I know I will build. I have also learned a lot from you guys in the months I've been on this forum and am now focusing on kits that I know there is a lot of research available for.
My goal is to really develop my skills as a model builder and working on the WnW kits is a great way to do that. You might say there is no challenge so how am I developing skills? Well, I think managing to assemble a stock WnW Mercedes D.III as well as I possibly can. is a start. Then do another one adding the basic wiring. Then do another one using some of the Taurus bits. Then do a masterpiece using BO's bits and the Taurus bits. I see it as a growth process. And I have actually spent a lot of time working on the finishes on both the Pups I've done. That is my real area of enjoyment.
I didn't mean to give the impression that I have no intention of building anything other than WnW kits. Not at all. When I get a bit more comfortable, I have all the Hasegawa Golden Age fighters I intend to build, warts and all....including converting the BF2c into an F11C Goshawk or an F4B4 inot an XF6B. Likewise with the racers kits from Williams Bros. I plan to build them all correcting, cleaning up and detailing in the process. And, convert some of them into the imaginary racers my dad drew when he was a kid. I also plan to build a line of imaginary Schneider Cup racers as if the Cup races had continued into the 1940s.... like a Mig 3 racer on floats. So,long term, shake and bake builds will not be part of my plan.
OK....now its time for me to actually get to the bench and spend a a day with my increasingly loved W.12. The HGW seatbelts have arrived and I plan to follow Bertl's advice on working with them but also use the PE from the WnWs box to see how far I can get with them. As Lance always sagely says, "it's all about having fun".
Cheers from NYC,
Michael