After having a night to sleep on it, I guess, in the most part, I have to agree with Manni that it is not worth getting that worked up over. I don't agree with some others here though that being critical of this decision by WNW amounts to 'bashing' the company. As some here have pointed out WNW's words and actions over the years just don't seem to gel. For years we were told, rather emphatically
'no Sopwith Camel' then suddenly we get 6. As Petrov pointed out:
From 2010 article on Hyperscale:
However modellers hoping for Wingnut kits of WW2 subjects such as a 1/32 Lancaster will be disappointed.
“We are concentrating on WW1 subjects. Personally I feel that the vast majority of WW2 subjects have been covered pretty well in 1/32, ” Richard said.8 years in development would tally with that interview rather nicely, though before anyone points it out, Richard didn't say that WNW wouldn't one day have a crack at WWII. I guess what I'm trying to say is do we take everything WNW say as 'gospel' or with 'a grain of salt' as the saying goes. Now please don't misconstrue this as an attack on WNW, this is more of an observation than anything else, personally I love their product and I, like probably everyone else here, have several of their kits partially made or sitting in my stash (though not as many as I would like
) as well as my eye on several of their kits to buy. WNW have always done things a little different from other companies they like to surprise their customers with their releases and, as Guy said, this one certainly qualifies as a surprise just not the one we were expecting! The disappointment has kind of faded a bit, though I must admit the bewilderment still remains. I'm looking forward (with a mixture of trepidation and excitement!) to the unveiling of the last of the 3 kits at the show.
On the flip side of all this it's rather interesting to contrast the feelings and opinions here on the forum with what I've seen on Facebook from the WWII brigade. They are over the moon about this release. It says a lot about the quality of WNW's models that, sight unseen, this release can generate that level of buzz from a community that has more than likely only heard about the engineering on these kits. HK has a complete test shot of their Lanc at the show while WNW has only a promo flyer yet I have seen comments to the effect of bypassing the HK kit in favour of the WNW one based purely on their reputation alone, as I said above, one thing you can say is WNW has had a major impact on the hobby not just in WWI sphere but across the board. To end on a lighter note, I had a bit of a chuckle when I read Matt McDougal of Doog's Model's FB post on the WNW Lanc release:
"Wingnuts is going to some pretty ridiculous lengths to avoid kitting a SPAD XIII" Dave Rickard
Rockhampton QLD