forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => What's New => Topic started by: Dave W on December 01, 2021, 10:18:58 AM
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Roden have just advised me that they are proceeding with development of two more 1/32 scale WW1 kits for 2022.
The Spad XIII Late will be released first but Vladimir says the Sopwith One and a Half Strutter is now definitely on the production list for a mid-2022 release and they confirm a 1/32 scale Avro 504 will be released toward the end of the year.
Vladimir says Roden is persevering with its re-launched WW1 line, despite sales of the Spad XIII Early falling short of their hopes.
Roden re-launched its WW1 production line after a detailed Forum poll identified the wanted kits.
The message here is clear folks- if we want Roden and the other manufacturers to deliver more plastic goodness we need to be supporting them as much as possible.
Large scale WW1 aircraft still have a future thanks to Roden, Copper State and Lukgraph leading the field and a new Aviattic kit in development too. There's still plenty of wind under the wings for our hobby!
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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Oh that old fashioned Avro of mine?
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Thought-provoking comment that the SPAD hasn't yet achieved hoped for sales.
I think we should bear this in mind when voting for manufacturers to produce our wish lists. I voted for an SXIII from Roden and have bought one so far with certainly one "late" when available and probably two or three more after that. I hope others who voted have backed up wishes with purchases otherwise Roden and others may not trust such a poll in future.
We have some extensive wish lists on the Special Hobby thread. Hopefully all those wishes would likewise translate directly into actual purchases. I only asked for a Hanriot because I know I will buy it. (A Halb D.II too, if we're lucky). Maybe any analysis of the lists should factor in some "weighting" as to what would actually be bought against what it would be nice to know was available.
So, barring disasters, Mr Roden - I promise to buy a late SPAD, at least one Strutter and a 504K.
Mr Special Hobby, I promise to buy a Hanriot and a Halb D.II if available.
FWIW
Sandy
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I suspect the SPAD sales fell short when it was 'discovered' that it appeared to be an old tool that wasn't released in the past.
It would seem the newest releases will be new, modern and up to date molds (sharper detail, less mold release angle), which should certainly be an improvement over the past molds. Hopefully, the design would be improved, as well with better attachment points of the parts.
I think this news that Roden hasn't given up on the WW1 market is very good news and I would encourage them to strive to do the very best they can on these new releases. I think they would be rewarded with sales from builders who don't usually build WW1 subjects.
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Is there a way to but from Roden direct?
Thanks,
Mike
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I too bought one of the Roden SPAD XIII (Early) when it was first released. I have bought and built almost every WW1 kit in 32nd that they have done. Furthermore I was saddened to read that their sales on the SPAD were shorter than they had anticipated, which leads me to a comment. Perhaps if they had done the molds on the wings to allow the modeler to either do the early or the late SPAD, all in one release, sales may have been better.? I am not complaining about their way of doing business, far be it from me to complain about any or all of the 32nd kits that come available to us, just my own 2cents worth in this issue.
Russ
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This thread provides a lot of food for thought. Do I like Roden kits?? Lots! Just look at my post in Completed Models... I support them all the time, as their choice of subject is great, and there is so much of interest in many scales. I have just received my Spad XIII from my LHS and already cut some plastic! Yes, some modelling needed, but nothing the (below) average modeller can't fix! So maybe another Early for me and two lates at least... Can I recommend them to my modelling friends? Yes, absolutely, and if you are into market research that is the only response that counts. As for the proposed releases, yes, Roden, My money is waiting! Always remember though, that our community is but a very small part of Any manufacturer's market... So Roden, concentrate on the box artwork, ease of assembly is important, and can I add just a little area of concern? The recent decals in the new XIII are a bit out of register on my kit, the colours are pixilated and simply not dense enough, and the outlines are blurry... I know Rick used them, but some of this shows for sure and could be easily improved.... But Thank You, Mr Roden, and more power to your company! Regards, Marc.
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Roden have just advised me that they are proceeding with development of two more 1/32 scale WW1 kits for 2022.
(...) they confirm a 1/32 scale Avro 504 will be released toward the end of the year.
I feel this video (https://youtu.be/rQqwG_rQx7A) accurately surmises my feelings on this subject.
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Hi all,
I'm keen on the next two 1/32 kits , the avro and sopwith. Neither have appeared as 1/32 kits before, early period planes as well.
Hobbycraft had already produced a 1/32 Spad XIII which built into a pretty good profile, with plenty of examples having been made on modelling pages over the last 20 years.
Maybe Rodens was a step up on that but it does provide another reason for sales being a little lower
Regards
Daryl
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I have done my part to support Roden and will purchase the late SPAD and likely even the Avro and Sopwith 1.5 though those were not subjects I was wishing for myself.
Regarding the SPAD, I do think having two boxings may have not helped it out with sales possibly? Personally there were a couple early subjects I wanted to do so for me it was no problem but I have seen comments and heard those that wanted "late" only to do USAS subjects so maybe sales will improve for the later boxing?
If I were them I would slap Eddie Rickenbacker's #1 SPAD on the "late" edition box top (despite that subject being overdone) and advertise the heck out of it....
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Great to hear that Roden are decided to expand their 32nd scale line.
And yes, I have 2 early Spad13s, and I will get the Strutter and Avro 504K definitely.
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1 late SPAD XIII for me. 1 1/2 Strutter and Avro 504 MOST WELCOME, but I'll get then only if the overall quality of those kits comes near to the quality of CSM.
That's me!
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If only they would get back to 1/72 WWI production. Oh well... I kept hoping for them to release a Nieuport 28 in the One True Scale.
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Thoughts on disappointing SPAD XIII sales. First, I have not been able to find a U.S. distributor. I buy through Sprue Brothers but I also look around. If I had found one for sale, I would have bought it. Second, manufacturers have the trick of kitting the less desirable variant of an aircraft first, then later bringing out the more popular version. In the case of the SPAD XIII, I consider the late version of the aircraft with square wingtips the most flown by US Air Service and therefore the more desirable. The United States is a large market. If you haven't distributed a kit within that market or that appeals to that market, I think it premature to judge sales potential.
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Thoughts on disappointing SPAD XIII sales. First, I have not been able to find a U.S. distributor. I buy through Sprue Brothers but I also look around. If I had found one for sale, I would have bought it. Second, manufacturers have the trick of kitting the less desirable variant of an aircraft first, then later bringing out the more popular version. In the case of the SPAD XIII, I consider the late version of the aircraft with square wingtips the most flown by US Air Service and therefore the more desirable. The United States is a large market. If you haven't distributed a kit within that market or that appeals to that market, I think it premature to judge sales potential.
Just for the record I found this pretty quickly on a search. https://www.megahobby.com/categories/model-aircraft/1-32-scale.html . Personally I think the price is a bit high compared to what Sprue Brothers charge for the other Roden WW1 kits. I didn't look for any more but I would think there are others. One wonders if Sprue Brothers simply made No Order from Roden? I have also found in the past that ordering from one of the Ukraine E Bay dealers is often less costly even with shipping.
That being said My Opinion is that the Early SPAD XIII has received Many unjust criticisms on other venues, often by Modelers that have never touched a Roden kit and didn't build WW1 until WNW hit the scene. Yes it could have been better but really does build up nicely with a bit of effort!
I have stated often that as a a long time WW1 modeler Roden kits were greatly received when they first hit the Market. WNW raised the bar but I have continued to support and build Roden kits .
I have also stated that I feel Roden needs to up their game in some key areas, mainly Strut attachment pins, locating holes, and decals. After that it is smooth sailing for this Modeler.
I am Very pleased to hear that Roden is continuing development of the Strutter and Avro. I look forward to their release as well as the SPAD XIII late. Again I hope for and expect improvement on the two new releases, but will purchase these kits No Matter how much improvement is noted.
Thanks for the update Dave.
Obviously JMHO 8)
RAGIII
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My comment does not address kit quality. I have built Roden's Alabatross DIII, Nieuport 28, Fokker Triplane and O-1 Bird Dog and I'm now building Roden's Stearman as a crop sprayer conversion using the William's Brothers Pratt & Whitney engine. I chose Roden's Stearman over ICM for the conversion because the Roden kit includes a firewall. All are good models. My comments are based on marketing practices alone. Thank you for finding a US distributor, I had never heard of them.
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I hope that Roden, CSM and SH continue on the path of developing and releasing more WWI subjects at a really affordable price that beats the steep price of other WWI manufacturers.
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My comment does not address kit quality. I have built Roden's Alabatross DIII, Nieuport 28, Fokker Triplane and O-1 Bird Dog and I'm now building Roden's Stearman as a crop sprayer conversion using the William's Brothers Pratt & Whitney engine. I chose Roden's Stearman over ICM for the conversion because the Roden kit includes a firewall. All are good models. My comments are based on marketing practices alone. Thank you for finding a US distributor, I had never heard of them.
Sorry for any confusion. I added MY Random thoughts after showing the link to answer your question/statement. The further comments were not directed at you or anyone in particular 8)
RAGIII
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Not to belabor the point, but Evil bay seller rebelalpha has the SPAD XIII for $45 plus $12 for shipping. It's where I got mine.
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Not to belabor the point, but Evil bay seller rebelalpha has the SPAD XIII for $45 plus $12 for shipping. It's where I got mine.
Thanks Ken, Like I said the Ebay sellers seem to be the most economical route!
RAGIII
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I am happy that they will continue - I have all of their kits
IMHO the low sales for their SPAD XIII depend on the bad distribution of Roden kits
It is almost impossible to find them in Italy or to find them at market prices and not overpriced in EU.
Some shops have them but it seems that they passed through the distribution route and prices are inflated.
The best option in this pandemy period would be to make them available through the big A, but it seems not the case at this moment.
er me
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I'm happy as well, I have the 'Early' and will get the 'Late' as well as I really like SPADs and the Hobbycraft is very, very rare around here.
However, the decals are definately a weak point of most Roden kits. I specifically bought the 'Asian Service' boxing of the Cessna O-1 because that had an instrument panel decal that the Vietnam war boxing didn't come with.
The same goes for other kits, like the Fokkers and Albatrosen.
On the other hand, I'd rather have a decent kit with undecent decals, than the reverse...
Also, other than here on our Forum, there does not seem to have been much promotion. No CAD images (if it was done this way?), no early sprue shots, no built up model to show what it can look like. I'm glad that at lease there are builds here on the Forum, but those aren't very easy to find IMHO. I'd suggest Roden use the power of the web and social media a bit more to spread the word?
BTW, I could get one from my local hobby shop at a fair price :)
Jeroen
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You can spread the gospel all you like, I just ain't biting, sorry.
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The point is you can only make that decision of you're are of it -if you don't know that you can't...
I only discovered Roden did a 1/32 O-1 bird-dog because I followed AOA decals and saw they did a sheet. I wondered what model to put them on, only then discovered that Roden do one...
Normally that'd be the reverse :)
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Not to belabor the point, but Evil bay seller rebelalpha has the SPAD XIII for $45 plus $12 for shipping. It's where I got mine.
Do you have a link to that please? I am not finding it. Thankya
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It seems that all of the discussion here is about 1/32 and 1/48 kit wishes, so perhaps I'm out of order.
I would like to see a Roden 1/72 Halberstadt D.II.
Rick
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It seems that all of the discussion here is about 1/32 and 1/48 kit wishes, so perhaps I'm out of order.
I would like to see a Roden 1/72 Halberstadt D.II.
Rick
I don't think you're out of order at all, Rick. Roden has produced 1/72 kits before as we all know, and one hopes they don't ignore that side of the business completely.
It is almost impossible to find them in Italy or to find them at market prices and not overpriced in EU.
That is a tremendous shame to hear because there are two spectacular Italian decal options in the box. When I was showing my mother the kit she was disappointed I plan to do the RFC one because the Italians - particularly Baracca - are clearly more colourful!
I'm now building Roden's Stearman as a crop sprayer conversion using the William's Brothers Pratt & Whitney engine.
Okay, we will need to see that posted in The World of Scale Models (https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?board=106.0) subforum!! As a long-time agplane fan (and owner) I'm very excited to hear more!
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I'm happy as well, I have the 'Early' and will get the 'Late' as well as I really like SPADs and the Hobbycraft is very, very rare around here.
However, the decals are definately a weak point of most Roden kits.
Also, other than here on our Forum, there does not seem to have been much promotion. No CAD images (if it was done this way?), no early sprue shots, no built up model to show what it can look like. I'm glad that at lease there are builds here on the Forum, but those aren't very easy to find IMHO. I'd suggest Roden use the power of the web and social media a bit more to spread the word?
BTW, I could get one from my local hobby shop at a fair price :)
Jeroen
I must agree reference the poor publicity other than Here on Our Forum! I am not sure if Roden uses CAD technology so that could be part of the issue. As for Roden using the power of the web, I Agree 100% The only real publicity I saw on FB was a couple of sites after release and where Ken and Myself posted our build results! Hopefully Kens build showed at least some Modelers just how Great this kit can look! Again JMHO,
RAGIII
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Roden also suffers from the efforts of a dedicated group of attackers who crop up all over the place online whenever Roden kits are mentioned. They engage in deliberate efforts to sabotage Roden's sales and, I suspect, probably have an impact on those sales. They make all sorts of totally absurd comments about Roden and their kits.
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I absolutely agreed with you Jamieg, seems like these haters team up together on the web to discredit Roden for no valid reasons.,...I wonder if it is an anti-marketing plan orchestrated against Roden and coming from the fan base of the competition
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I have to admit I was such a WNW admirer that Roden passed me by. But I’m liking the SPAD and was Recommended the DIII here. So will do a side by side build with a D5 to determine if WNW at current cost are 5 times better.
I intend to do their Gladiator from a few years back but apparently it’s worth buying the cowling because it’s moulded in three pieces for some unknown reason.
Haters gonna hate!
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I have a couple of SPAD 13 early kits and feel they have great potential. One will be completed inItalian markings. I'll pick up two of the late versions especially if they offer Rickenbacker and Luke decals. I'm surprised that none (decals) are currently being offered for the two American aces. I have 1/32 figures for them.
A few years ago I moved away from WW! interests and am now back. My big issue is finding out of production aftermarket upgrades for some early kits in my stash. Roden kits offer a great base for super-detailing their kits. I'd love to see some 1/32 Austro Hungarian Albatros D III kits.
With the dissapeaance of brick and mortar shops in central Pennsylvania almost everything is mail order.
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Any injection moulded 1/32 AH model would be greatly appreciated. Edgar keeps saying CSM is still working on the Hansa-Brandenburg D.I, but the gestation period on that kit is worrisome.
jamie
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I'll pick up two of the late versions especially if they offer Rickenbacker and Luke decals. I'm surprised that none (decals) are currently being offered for the two American aces. I have 1/32 figures for them.
With the dissapeaance of brick and mortar shops in central Pennsylvania almost everything is mail order.
James,
Perhaps you, and others here, can convince Richard Andrews of Aviattic to make another run of his Frank Luke decals in his "Legends" series.
The loss of Rosemont Hobby Shop there in PA years ago was a great blow to WWI modelers IMHO.
WD
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PART, the Polish photo etch manufacturer, has offered a number of outstanding detail sets for Roden kits. Perhaps they will continue to do so for the SPAD 13 kit and subsequent releases. Their SPAD 7 set is excellent. I saw a comment in an earlier posting about a reissue of the Aviattic 1/32 scale Frank Luke decals. Markings for Rickenbacker's aircraft could also be offered.
I'm looking forward to the future Late version of the SPAD 13. I feel the Roden Early SPAD 13 can be dressed up to hold its place with the more recent releases. Perhapse Model Cellar will offer a couple of quality figures for SPAD 13 dioramas as well a suitable figures to display with the Copper State Models Nieuport kits.
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I'll pick up two of the late versions especially if they offer Rickenbacker and Luke decals. I'm surprised that none (decals) are currently being offered for the two American aces. I have 1/32 figures for them.
I would be very, very surprised if at least Rickenbacker wasn't a decal option - if not the box art - for the Late boxing! But now I have visions of a painting of Luke in his SPAD circling a burning balloon, its observer parachuting down...
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a 1/32 scale Avro 504 will be released toward the end of the year[2022].
Forgive my ignorance, but has Vladimir said it is a 504k? I as as I know there is a myriad of 504 versions although I'm only really familiar with the "k" and much later "n" models.
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Hello,
I am a late comer to the modern world of model aircraft, i tried a few before 2000.
Roden does get bad press, but , as someone who has only seen pictures of the kits, i believe the problem is the builders themselves.
I have purchased a Roden Junkers D1 early model, and in my time perusing the user submitted photos on hobbylinc website, far to many builders have built the Roden models and forgotten simple things like REMOVING the flash before assemblind and painting their models.
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That is an excellent kit you have and it goes together well. Only quirk was getting the decals to sink into the corrugations, I managed it with the help of Micro Sol decal solution but if that failed I just would have painted them in. I was not aware of any bad press about Roden, I have always thought highly of them. You are probably right about the modellers.
Alan.
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That is an excellent kit you have and it goes together well. Only quirk was getting the decals to sink into the corrugations, I managed it with the help of Micro Sol decal solution but if that failed I just would have painted them in. I was not aware of any bad press about Roden, I have always thought highly of them. You are probably right about the modellers.
Alan.
my THOUGHT is that if the first decal doesnt go on right, to grab ye old razor blade and turn the decal sheet into a simplistic painting mask.
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Hi all,
I've built models from various kit manufacturers and all of differing quality standards and pricing.
'Roden' models can, with a little more effort, be made into good models.
I for one will take anything they produce, especially with aircraft never made in this scale,
Mike
(https://www.thatoneplease.co/buildlogs/ALBATROS-D.I/shots1000/alb1.jpg)
(https://www.thatoneplease.co/buildlogs/SSWDIII/shots/SSW1.jpg)
(https://www.thatoneplease.co/buildlogs/NIEUPORT-28/shotsx800/noop28-1.jpg)
(https://www.thatoneplease.co/buildlogs/FOKKER-DR.1/DR1shots/fok1.jpg)
(https://www.thatoneplease.co/buildlogs/FOKKER-D.VI/shots800/fokdone1.jpg)
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Hello,
I am a late comer to the modern world of model aircraft, i tried a few before 2000.
Roden does get bad press, but , as someone who has only seen pictures of the kits, i believe the problem is the builders themselves.
I have purchased a Roden Junkers D1 early model, and in my time perusing the user submitted photos on hobbylinc website, far to many builders have built the Roden models and forgotten simple things like REMOVING the flash before assemblind and painting their models.
From a 1/72 only point of view: They are a bit more challenging than Eduard (but Eduard only have maybe 4 Great war types in production…) and the decals are frankly bad (at least the older ones, but I have not encountered good Roden decals so far). On the other hand they are very nicely detailed and I’ve bought every single type and will continue to do so if they should issue more. In 1/72 the new kits are top of the class, but Roden isn’t far behind - and I’ve bought Roden kits just to get spare engines, because they are the nicest injection-moulded engines I’ve seen.
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Lovely aircraft Mike. The bases complement them very well without being distracting. Can you share how you make them?
Peter
UPDATE
Checked your website Mike. Astounding. PDFs for each model's construction, including base! Fantastic resource!
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I remain very excited for Roden's 1/32 Avro.
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I remain very excited for Roden's 1/32 Avro.
Me, too! Me, too!
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By the way: Does anyone here know how Roden and the people of Roden's are faring? (Oh, that‘s all to bad!)