forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => What's New => Topic started by: Dave W on August 24, 2020, 11:20:25 AM
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Our Forum is today the first modelling website to feature an in depth critique of the new Meng/ once was Wingnuts Fokker Dr.1 Triplane kit.
Head over to the kit reviews board for Erik Whipple's detailed analysis of the kit . Here's the link:
https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=11456.0
Our sincere thanks to Erik for his excellent and well illustrated, detailed evaluation.
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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Excellent review! I received my kit from Sprue Brothers a few days ago and have only given it a brief examination, just enough to make sure the middle wing wasn't broken (it wasn't) and to peruse the instructions. I'll now have to check to see if the wings are warped.
I also have the Encore edition of the Roden 1/32 Dr.1, complete with all the aftermarket bells & whistles from the likes of HGW, Vector, and Aviattic, and intend on building it as Voss' F.1. My Meng kit will therefore be done as a later Dr.1 and I'll wait to see what aftermarket decals become available before deciding on a scheme. As famous as it is, I find the Baron's all-red scheme boring and the other kit options don't do much for me either. :)
Cheers,
Eric
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Awse! Great stuff. It will be interesting see build reviews about the wing curvature issue and how it fits together- I imagine the wing attachment points for struts will be better than the Roden. (?) Still waiting on mine...
Not the definitive Dr1 WNW would have made and we were hoping for but I’m still looking forward to attacking it with the nippers and having a go!
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Thank you Eric and Dave, a very informative and welcome review. Regards, Pete in RI
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As per my reservations its clearly been rushed to market and the ball has been dropped on Art work/Decals etc... Shame, as there is plenty of information around if they looked. But the Voss decal issue is amateur, Meng should of done better. Yes it would of been refined more if WNW was still around, but it is the biggest modelling save in 2020...
But hasn't stopped me ordering a couple...
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Thanks for accepting my observations regarding this kit as simply that. Observations. Of the two examples currently in my possession. Some of the modelers on other websites and social media have gone sort of ballistic on me, but I think they'll get over it. One person said that the one he received is perfect in every way, but made no specific mention of the Voss face decal and posted no images of the plastic.
I haven't had a chance to go back and perform a detailed comparison between the Meng and Roden kits. As I stated early in the text, the kit does indeed appear to be a significant advancement over prior releases and I reckon most of the credit for that resides with the WNW crew involved in the design.
I don't pull any punches in my reviews anymore, though. I learned that lesson with the PCM 1/32nd Hurricane series. I'd glossed over a couple of issues with that short run kit since my initial appraisal focused on overall shapes and dimensions rather than every gizmo in the cockpit and wheel well. However, as it was my first offense, I "got away with crucifixion". It never ceases to amaze me that sometimes a reviewer will get torched for missing something as tiny as a 1/48th misspelled stencil and then get torched again later for pointing out something so big and obvious that you can plainly see it before you even hold the parts up to some trustworthy plans.
Still, I had much the same reaction upon surveying the Meng kit as I might've had if I'd brought Scarlett Johansson home from a nightclub at 2AM only to discover that below the belt she had something rather significant in common with Hugh Jackman. :o
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To compare things equitably, surely your guest from the nightclub would have interchangeable parts for the young Miss Johansson, the more mature Scarlett and the prodigiously undercarriaged Mr Jackman?
Sandy
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Eish! Very droll Vickers, that image is hard to erase! :-[ I’m a glass half full kinda guy but I guess that’s a deal breaker. I see what you’re saying though. WNW is the Scar-Jo of kits, so we understand your disappointment. After a bit of plastic surgery hopefully we’ll get acceptable results :D
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gentlemen,just a 2 pence information... the strange small part on the clear sprue is probally a reflector gunsight... one was fitted on the Leutnant Alfred Greven's jasta 12 triplane (source Alex imrie triplane book page 85 phot 124)
forgive my bad english,
regards
Fred
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gentlemen,just a 2 pence information... the strange small part on the clear sprue is probally a reflector gunsight... one was fitted in on the Leutnant Alfred Greven's jasta 12 triplane (source Alex imrie triplane book page 85 phot 124)
forgive my bad english,
regards
Fred
I thought so, based on its shape and location in the instructions, but as I mentioned in the review I don't recall ever seeing one of them in my books. Wouldn't you know, Imrie's book is one I don't have. Thanks for the clarification.
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Eish! Very droll Vickers, that image is hard to erase! :-[ I’m a glass half full kinda guy but I guess that’s a deal breaker. I see what you’re saying though. WNW is the Scar-Jo of kits, so we understand your disappointment. After a bit of plastic surgery hopefully we’ll get acceptable results :D
Given the kit's origin, I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect straight wings and well-rendered decals. I certainly hadn't anticipated that I'd have to use my pasta pot during the build- perhaps I could hire Gordon Ramsay to shout obscenities at me while I'm dipping the wings. ;D
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I mean fair enough, the wings are bent. Yep it took me maybe ten minutes pressing them against the edge of my worktable till they looked straight to my mark-1 eyeball. Might even be easier with hot water as some have proposed. Yes wings without the warp would have been preferred, but for a kit that can be had for $39 USD I am super happy with what I got so far.
(https://i.imgur.com/5gVe3xOl.jpg)
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Some good comments on a well done review, but I think we need a test build or dry fit first. Do you remember the hoo-ha over the LVG lower wing? It was curved upwards - just a little and this was deliberately done to overcome the inevitable droop and resulted in perfect alignment! Those Triplane wings are thick, dense mouldings though, prone to warping on mould extraction, and could possibly be steamed if they are warped, can't be worse than the Zvezda Tiger I! (I can just hear Mr Ramsay screaming: " How many times have told you not to baste it in Tomato Sauce??! Shredded Spinach leaves, Marc!"). Just be aware the Roden wings are all a bit too long, 2mm for each side, IIRC, but is so evenly done it's not noticeable if you don't correct it. Can't wait for mine... Regards, Marc.
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Vickers, people go nuts on the internet and get offended by... whatever. it ain't about you. if you keep doing even-handed, detailed reviews, you'll attract the right kind of people as regular readers. the drama queens will get bored and move on, but there'll always be new ones. it's about them, not you. let them stew in their juices and feel free to keep dropping worthwhile, honest content.
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Vickers, people go nuts on the internet and get offended by... whatever. it ain't about you. if you keep doing even-handed, detailed reviews, you'll attract the right kind of people as regular readers. the drama queens will get bored and move on, but there'll always be new ones. it's about them, not you. let them stew in their juices and feel free to keep dropping worthwhile, honest content.
+1 ;)
vB
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Vickers, people go nuts on the internet and get offended by... whatever. it ain't about you. if you keep doing even-handed, detailed reviews, you'll attract the right kind of people as regular readers. the drama queens will get bored and move on, but there'll always be new ones. it's about them, not you. let them stew in their juices and feel free to keep dropping worthwhile, honest content.
Yep, this is always proven over and over...I think I still have people on my block list from when the news about WNW demise emerged from here. Most people imho will be silent and will know the value of the review, which is very good :).
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I thought your review was quite good. I bought one, had the misfortune of the usual piece being broken, I think if MENG had packed it differently with the seat at the opposite end of where it is packed the issue would disappear. There are always the rivet counters and the arrogant that enjoy slamming anybody and everybody. Brave souls they are behind the shield of their computer screens. Keep those good reviews coming.
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Vickers, people go nuts on the internet and get offended by... whatever. it ain't about you. if you keep doing even-handed, detailed reviews, you'll attract the right kind of people as regular readers. the drama queens will get bored and move on, but there'll always be new ones. it's about them, not you. let them stew in their juices and feel free to keep dropping worthwhile, honest content.
So true. At another modelling forum just mentioning WNW sends the place into a double-down troll-town meltdown.
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Thanks for the review, I already have a Roden one and not that much interest in the Triplane if I'm honest. So I'll probably not get one.
Thanks for being a bit critical, better to see issues and make an informed decision if one can live with them or not.
Around here it's still a €60 kit, not all that cheap as has been suggested! (and if I were to get it at e.g. Luckymodel, I'd have to pay import duty, taxes, admin fees, still making it a 60€ kit that still requires a new decal sheet. (apart from the wonky font and odd Voss face decals, I don't see any stencils other than the weight table, no werknummern, manufactureres plate, etc. One could use the Roden F.I sheet as aftermarket! ;D
Jeroen
PS When I had a full build review posted on ModellingMadness using some poor quality aftermarket resin parts I got angry mails, even though I included pictures to show how bad the parts really were. I was told for $40 I had to accept parts that looked like monkey poop. I bought the parts myself, no freebies. That manufacturerer, for some reason, had a loyal fan base that appears to respond to anything negative written on that brand.
The same, but to a lesser extent, happend when I wrote a review featuring aftermarket decals that were incomplete, overscale (would not fit) and highly translucent. When I wrote the Hasegawa kit decals were a bit thicker but exhibited none of these things I got some angry-ish e-mails explaining that I did not know that I was doing. When I explained that a tail marking will only fit one way on a tail or not at all I got some angry mail back. It's just a hobby! ;D Sorry for the OT rambling ;)
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Vickers, people go nuts on the internet and get offended by... whatever. it ain't about you. if you keep doing even-handed, detailed reviews, you'll attract the right kind of people as regular readers. the drama queens will get bored and move on, but there'll always be new ones. it's about them, not you. let them stew in their juices and feel free to keep dropping worthwhile, honest content.
Yep, this is always proven over and over...I think I still have people on my block list from when the news about WNW demise emerged from here. Most people imho will be silent and will know the value of the review, which is very good :).
+1 Yep block them. These troll types rarely if ever put themselves forward to review anything, ignore them, please keep up the great reviews.
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Your review was/is fair and honest in My Opinion. I know I will enjoy building mine but also will use it to help Me to enhance My last Roden kit 8)
RAGIII
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I thought your review was quite good. I bought one, had the misfortune of the usual piece being broken, I think if MENG had packed it differently with the seat at the opposite end of where it is packed the issue would disappear. There are always the rivet counters and the arrogant that enjoy slamming anybody and everybody. Brave souls they are behind the shield of their computer screens. Keep those good reviews coming.
Isn't it all kind of crazy? There seems to be an enormous amount of drama surrounding WNW, and I have no idea whatsoever why that should be. It's a model company. We are talking about plastic model kits.
It's all supposed to be a fun hobby, and almost nobody out there in the world cares about this stuff at all--just us crazy modelers!
We should unite and enjoy our common shared interest/passion.
Instead there is just all this drama, derision, and division.
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My thoughts exactly Rick.
One thing I'm obliged to having pointed out in the review is the fretless PE which is a superb touch. My pet hate with PE is cleaning tiny attachment points with a file resulting in bending, distorting or searching the floor on hands and knees!
Used to be common but haven't seen it for ages. Well done, Meng.
Sandy
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My thoughts exactly Rick.
One thing I'm obliged to having pointed out in the review is the fretless PE which is a superb touch. My pet hate with PE is cleaning tiny attachment points with a file resulting in bending, distorting or searching the floor on hands and knees!
Used to be common but haven't seen it for ages. Well done, Meng.
Sandy
Yes, the un-fretted PE is a nice touch. I well remember the ease of the Old Photo Cut stuff ;D By the way someone somewhere mentioned that Meng got the Jackets for the MGs' wrong. Being somewhat detail picking out handicapped what is the error?
RAGIII
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I thought your review was quite good. I bought one, had the misfortune of the usual piece being broken, I think if MENG had packed it differently with the seat at the opposite end of where it is packed the issue would disappear. There are always the rivet counters and the arrogant that enjoy slamming anybody and everybody. Brave souls they are behind the shield of their computer screens. Keep those good reviews coming.
Isn't it all kind of crazy? There seems to be an enormous amount of drama surrounding WNW, and I have no idea whatsoever why that should be. It's a model company. We are talking about plastic model kits.
It's all supposed to be a fun hobby, and almost nobody out there in the world cares about this stuff at all--just us crazy modelers!
We should unite and enjoy our common shared interest/passion.
Instead there is just all this drama, derision, and division.
This is why I only post and share my work here . Anywhere else and it's drama , derision and division because they can't handle the truth .
I like the review . Very honest and straight forward no BS and buttering it up . Thank you for that :)
Terri
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I thought your review was quite good. I bought one, had the misfortune of the usual piece being broken, I think if MENG had packed it differently with the seat at the opposite end of where it is packed the issue would disappear. There are always the rivet counters and the arrogant that enjoy slamming anybody and everybody. Brave souls they are behind the shield of their computer screens. Keep those good reviews coming.
Isn't it all kind of crazy? There seems to be an enormous amount of drama surrounding WNW, and I have no idea whatsoever why that should be. It's a model company. We are talking about plastic model kits.
It's all supposed to be a fun hobby, and almost nobody out there in the world cares about this stuff at all--just us crazy modelers!
We should unite and enjoy our common shared interest/passion.
Instead there is just all this drama, derision, and division.
This is why I only post and share my work here . Anywhere else and it's drama , derision and division because they can't handle the truth .
I like the review . Very honest and straight forward no BS and buttering it up . Thank you for that :)
Terri
+ I just don’t get it. It’s hilarious in one way sad in another. Gutter-snipers on their keyboards with nothing to contribute...
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Yup , they steal a forums energy robbing it of it's richness and that's sadist part when a community gets destroyed.
Hmmmm and WOW ... guess I need to read more closely because I haven't noted any actual nit-picking or negative comments here about the fine review or the kit. But there sure is a lot of piling-on negativity from folks complaining in general about what they perceive are other people's intentions in voicing their observations and opinions. That drama is "destroying" this thread for me.
Gene K
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Yup , they steal a forums energy robbing it of it's richness and that's sadist part when a community gets destroyed.
Hmmmm and WOW ... guess I need to read more closely because I haven't noted any actual nit-picking or negative comments here about the fine review or the kit. But there sure is a lot of piling-on negativity from folks complaining in general about what they perceive are other people's intentions in voicing their observations and opinions. That drama is "destroying" this thread for me.
Gene K
I was honestly thinking the same thing. I haven't seen any complaining other than people here complaining about other people complaining somewhere else. Also I don't understand why the wing warp is a big deal. Seems like five min to fix for anyone who has a modicum of skills.....I bet I can bend that plastic with my bare hands. I'm gonna give it the old college try!
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Wow , that sure ruffed a few feathers I removed my both of post . No further comments
Terri
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OK folks...everyone open a bottle of Tamiya glue and inhale the calming fumes.... well you get the idea. :)
The Mengnuts Fokker Dr.1 is, at the end of the day, a plastic model kit of a certain number of parts ( some straight, some a bit bent) but it's just a model, so buy it and build it and enjoy our fantastic hobby. Or grab another WW1 model kit from Roden or Copper State or Special Hobby or Eduard etc.... we really are spoiled for choices now.
I did not see any hostility creeping into the debate re the Meng Dr.1 but there seem to be some concerns so let's maintain our Forum's enviable reputation as the friendliest model site on the internet .
With that in mind and seeing as we're all talking Dr.1s right now, here is a photo I took of Manfred Von Richthofen's compass from 425/17, as displayed at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
(https://i.postimg.cc/G3mwCKZR/Von-Richthofen-compass-at-AWM.jpg)
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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Yup , they steal a forums energy robbing it of it's richness and that's sadist part when a community gets destroyed.
Hmmmm and WOW ... guess I need to read more closely because I haven't noted any actual nit-picking or negative comments here about the fine review or the kit. But there sure is a lot of piling-on negativity from folks complaining in general about what they perceive are other people's intentions in voicing their observations and opinions. That drama is "destroying" this thread for me.
Gene K
I was honestly thinking the same thing. I haven't seen any complaining other than people here complaining about other people complaining somewhere else. Also I don't understand why the wing warp is a big deal. Seems like five min to fix for anyone who has a modicum of skills.....I bet I can bend that plastic with my bare hands. I'm gonna give it the old college try!
I’ve never tried it but if people can bend spoons plastic wings shouldn’t be too hard, same principle I guess heat + pressure and hold it in position until it re sets. Or maybe it works without heat? Tell us how you go! :D
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(https://i.ibb.co/GvFPgBP/get-busy.jpg)
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Okay, I started working on the kit and first think I did was cut the wings off the sprues and got to it. I literally bent the wings back into shape in less than five min with my bare hands. No torches, no heat, no flames, no cauldrons of boiling water, no boiling pots of oil, no machine ground aluminum plates. Just my mitts and a small amount of pressure. I would say the term, much ado about nothing comes to mind........
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(https://i.ibb.co/GvFPgBP/get-busy.jpg)
That Bob Dufresne! Him Beaucoup smart man! ;)
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Hi guys. Just got through reading all of the comments made regarding this new DR1 kit. All I have to say is, thank you Meng for providing us with this new kit.
Mine is still en-route, having at last been accepted by USPS. However no idea when it will dock, land or appear.
Lastly, have any of you that have both the Mengnut and the Roden kits, looked to see if the cowling in the Mengnut kit will fit on the Roden fuselage. Seems with the abundance of kit cowlings they gave us, that that error by Roden could easily and relatively more affordable be resolved.
Thanks for any replies
Russ
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The WNW Albatros D.V kits are notorious for a warped upper wing. The occasional wrestling match with plastic is just a modeling fact of life. I don't know if the WNW's production people had a say about the readiness of the tooling but I kinda doubt it. It's a 1/32 Fokker Dr.I kit. If you keep in mind that nothing is perfect, build it and have fun. I'm sure it won't look like a pogo stick when it's done, although in my case you never know.
Dwayne
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New Fokker DR.1, Meng has competition ;D
https://www.bnamodelworld.com/model-planes-suyata-su-sk-001-fokker-dr-i-q-plane-red-baron-cartoon-figure-size-70mm-x-35mm?zenid=d6163e986a8c849c00e2de73037b1213
PS
I gave this shop because details can be seen :D
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New Fokker DR.1, Meng has competition ;D
https://www.bnamodelworld.com/model-planes-suyata-su-sk-001-fokker-dr-i-q-plane-red-baron-cartoon-figure-size-70mm-x-35mm?zenid=d6163e986a8c849c00e2de73037b1213
PS
I gave this shop because details can be seen :D
What an odd thing... never could quite understand the appeal of these 'egg' planes...
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" never could quite understand the appeal of these 'egg' planes..."
I never understood why no loud complaints from chickens, I know I'd be offended if I laid eggs.
sp
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" never could quite understand the appeal of these 'egg' planes..."
I never understood why no loud complaints from chickens, I know I'd be offended if I laid eggs.
sp
:) :)
But i do like this one, the figure reminds me a little of Michael Schumacher.
yaggo
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LOL, that's awesome! wonder if I can get the figure separately and pose it with the Gotha UWD.
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Ha ha ha....
Well if it is cartoon Red Baron’s you are after...
(http://www.treswright.vervehosting.com/Gallery/Keith-Baron-2.jpg)
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I got 2 of the Meng triplanes last week, but there is one thing that I don't quite understand. The front part of the cockpit coaming is attached to the middle wing. On one of them the coaming was broken off but on the other it wasn't. Why they just didn't make the coaming part of the fuselage side I don't know.
I think this is a common thing on this model. Although it doesn't look difficult to fix it's still a bit aggravating. Otherwise there is a great deal to like about this model. You can make from 101/17 through Voss' 103/17 plus any later model. I'm sure there will be many 1/32 decals coming to satisfy everyone.
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[quote author=Russell Niles link=topic=11457.msg213757#msg213757 date=1598904534}
Lastly, have any of you that have both the Mengnut and the Roden kits, looked to see if the cowling in the Mengnut kit will fit on the Roden fuselage. Seems with the abundance of kit cowlings they gave us, that that error by Roden could easily and relatively more affordable be resolved.
Thanks for any replies
Russ
[/quote]
Hey Russ,
I was wondering the same thing and IF memory serves, the forward fuselage on the Roden is about 2.0mm too narrow at the front of the upper deck on top. Fixing that may take care of what I'm about to write next...
I just did a test fit of the Roden firewall and fuselages halves with one of the Meng cowlings. The Meng cowl is just about 1.5mm larger in diameter than the Roden firewall. However, the Meng cowling is also very thin along that edge. It looks like one could run some 1mm strip to partially fill in the rather large circumferential mating notch on the Roden firewall, then marry the two. The mismatch is most apparent at the points where the lower cowl meets the firewall on either side. It doesn't look like too much trouble as long as you don't compress the lower sides of the cowling so much that it looks pinched. I expect that the fuselage fix for the Roden kit might result in a real decent fit for the Meng part, but we won't know until someone tries and for my bench that'll be a while yet.