Small Scale Military Headquarters

gouchy wrote: Is the Merit SBD done as "White 6" of VMSB-241, Buno2106, flown by Lt. Daniel Iversen and PFc Wallace Reed at the Battle of Midway? This SBD is preserved at the National Naval Aviation Museum.

I have touched that plane.

Bombing Squadron 6 USS Enterprise CV-6
SBD B-10, flown by LT H.P. Lanham
http://www.cv6.org/ship/logs/action19420604-vb6.htm

aferguson wrote:come to think of it.....wasn't Trumpeter planning on doing a KIT of a 1/18 Dauntless? Maybe they are doing it as a built up instead (like their Easy Model line)?

It was Hobby Boss that was supposedly releasing a kit of the SBD in 1/18 but they canceled it late last year. I'm betting this one Merit is releasing is their's.

Good news!!

Working in the retail business I would guess that Merit is watching this thread closely.

They want to see our reaction and most of all what we would be willing to pay.

What would you be comfortable paying?

I would feel good if they were in the $80-90 range. I think in that range it would allow collectors to purchase multiple aircraft to repaint.

I am eagerly waiting for more details.

not sure it matters so much what we will pay. It matters what the gen. pop. will pay, which will be less than a bunch of toy addicts will be willing to pay. Pricing on this will be interesting.

As much as price i'm waiting to see if it comes with figures. If this is really by BBI then figures should be no problem. But a couple of figures is a pretty important add in, in my view.

With 2 figures, a price of $100 is not unreasonable. Less would be better.

I would venture to say that they already have a price decided on. I wouldn’t think they would be announcing a release without already knowing what they need and can get for it. My bet would be that this plane will be in the $130-160 range. The bbi 109 just came out for $79 so this will definitely cost more than that. Much more than $150 and they will loose a large section of collectors. It will be interesting to see what happens. I’m not sure what price I would be willing to pay at this point. I need to see some production photos before I decide on that.

I seem to recall that when Jason from Admiral Toys announced that he was leaving the business, he reassured collectors that his brother Jim would be doing everything possible to release the Dauntless... and that they had approached bbi about the possibility of collaboration...

This might be the Admiral tooling sold to BBI?

I already have my 4 repaints of this bird planned out. So looks like I will be in for 5 total.

I would like to see them release an unpainted, unassembled kit. That would keep the price down and let me choose the paint scheme I like. Anything north of $100 would likely scare me away or at the very least prevent me from pre-ordering one. Should be interesting to see how this turns out.

According to http://www.talesofthecat.com/ and somewhat implied by the "our" terminology from Merit's site (http://www.merit-intl.com/merit/main.html), Merit is the actual manufacturer for the SBD. Now maybe they still collaborated with Admiral or BBI or somebody else, but apparently they are producing this one themselves. Kind of interesting to see a distributor become a manufacturer,

if a Blackhawk is going to sell for 169.99, I wouldnt expect to see this sell for less. Im thinking at least 169.99 if not 199.99. Important to remember that small scale planes sell for the 50-100 range, I dont see how a 1:18 scale could sell for the same price point.
Merit is selling to the collector crowd for a higher price due to not having the massive numbers from brick and mortar sales ,so it will need to cost more. Isnt this what many of us have said is the way to go for these companies? We can pay more and have a 1:18 hobby, or refuse to pay, kiss 1:18 goodbye, and start collecting 1:48nd scale

I would think that it would'nt go to the $200.00 dollar mark, that would put it at the cost for a Dragon 1/6 Panzer kit, I hope its priced in the range of close to $100.00, but thats me being optimistic.

much of the reason why small collector models cost so much is that the market will pay it. If the market wouldn't pay it, the prices would come down fast. 1/18 is a tenuous market at best and hanging equivelant high prices on 1/18 planes will mean they sit and sit.

This Dauntless will be an interesting experiment and its succes or failure will probably determine the future of this hobby.

aferguson hit it...this could really change the course our hobby takes...not suprising and fitting when it was a Dauntless that changed the Pacific war so many years ago....whenever I read the story about Dick Best, his Dauntless, and Midway...it makes me proud...what a great plane and what a great generation of brave men that flew her.

"Akagi, having launched her first Zero, comes under Dick Best and the five planes of Bombing 6’s first division. Everyone on the flagship is watching the launch instead of the sky, or watching the last TBDs fleeing. Best orders his team, “Don’t let this carrier escape.” Best opens his flaps and streaks down. He is fascinated by Akagi’s yellow flight deck and the red circle painted on its deck. He aims his three-power telescope at his target, a point just ahead of the bridge. At 3,000 feet, he sees Akagi’s lead Zero take off, and keeps boring in.

Just as Masuda swings his flag, a lookout screams, “Hell-divers!” Fuchida glances up to see three of Best’s bombers racing in, straight for the bridge. Best, Lt. j.g. Bud Kroeger, and Ens. Fred Weber are all diving on Akagi.

Fuchida crawls behind a protective mantle. Makishima aims his camera on the three incoming SBDs, and suddenly realizes they are heading for him. Then he hits the deck. Kroeger dives in closer and closer, and releases his 1,000-lb. bomb at 2,500 feet. He pulls back tightly, convinced that his bomb has hit and the carrier has a starboard island.

Actually the bomb is a near-miss, just off the port bow, and its splashes into the sea, soaking everyone on the bridge, blackening their faces. The blast makes Akagi shudder. Nagumo, Genda, and the rest are surprised, but not scared. Cdr. Sasabe, the fleet navigator, looks at the water column, and thinks he sees his mother’s face. However, Best’s bomb, the second, hits directly near the midship elevator, and shreds the lift into twisted metal. The lift drops into the hangar. So does the bomb, which explodes in the hangar deck, setting off bombs, planes, and torpedoes. Among the ordnance going off are the 800-kg contact bombs Masuda’s crew left lying around in the endless swap-outs. These bombs explode, setting off more blasts. The explosion sends flames through the empty elevator well, and sets the flight deck ablaze. “Fatal hit. Several holes,” Akagi’s damage chart notes blandly."

I'm guessing a $170 - $ 200 price point. Cost of building product from China has skyrocketed in the past 3 years so no matter what scale or even what distribution model is considered, these things are costing more these days.

TKO,

I will buy 2 if you are willing to paint me one like the CAF's #5 that flies the airshow circuit. I got to go for a ride in that bird and what an experience.

Corey

IM JUST HAPPY!

DITTO on the happy.

It will make a great addition to the collection.
A Wildcat to provide escort would be nice....
and I would still like one day to see an FW190A version done in 1/18.....
Then there's the Hurricane, P51B, Ki-84, Ki-61...........

CW4USARMY wrote:if a Blackhawk is going to sell for 169.99, I wouldnt expect to see this sell for less. Im thinking at least 169.99 if not 199.99. Important to remember that small scale planes sell for the 50-100 range, I dont see how a 1:18 scale could sell for the same price point.
Merit is selling to the collector crowd for a higher price due to not having the massive numbers from brick and mortar sales ,so it will need to cost more. Isnt this what many of us have said is the way to go for these companies? We can pay more and have a 1:18 hobby, or refuse to pay, kiss 1:18 goodbye, and start collecting 1:48nd scale

Agree 100%. These discussions sound like the Tomcat discussions concerning price and future of the hobby. Just can't believe one release will make or break the hobby. There are plenty of collectors that completely missed the good ole days of cheap 1/18 prices and are more than willing to pay $100 plus simply because that's all they know.

IMO...Price point will be between $120.-$145.00

I have to agree with Jackson, $120.-$145.00, would'nt be a bad price, at $200.00 or more, I would have to pass, not to say thats not a bad price, I just lean more to armor and at that price I can get more bang for my buck

I'm in for one...maybe two...anything NEW is sweeet!

I wouldn't be surprised if it is more than usual. Maybe a hard sell, we'll see, but even so it's a new plane and not a re-painted Blackhawk with a few added chingaderas for $170, or for that matter a re-issued F-16 for $150.

I'd rather have it than either of those, even though I might have wait a little to scrape up enough scratch to get it.

With the Midway scheme It needs a companion plane like a Wildcat or Devastator (yeah right) though with a 1943 and later paint scheme it will be right at home with the Corsair and BBI Hellcat.

I agree, that's where I reckon they'll pitch it, somewhere about the $150 mark.

I would be much happier if it stayed close to $100.


I think we all have to give Merit a lot of credit!! After 1:18 scale left Walmart/ToysR'us and 21st century folded, its been through Merit's distribution, (pegasus X-1, V-1, JSI F-14 & bbi repaints) that 1:18 has been kept afloat.

It's a big commitment for them to take on a manufacturing project in 1:18.....kudos!