Small Scale Military Headquarters

tmanthegreat wrote:Anyone (particularly Jim@Merit) have any insight as to when the S2 scheme is officially coming out? Badcat's website is noting an August release date, but most other retailers are saying December. My initial thought was on the later date, but given that most of the tooling is already done for this, I don't see why it couldn't be August...

Just curious

The S-2 will be available towards the end of August / early Sept.
We hope to have something else by December.

Jim, I like the sound of that!

Jim@Merit wrote:

tmanthegreat wrote:Anyone (particularly Jim@Merit) have any insight as to when the S2 scheme is officially coming out? Badcat's website is noting an August release date, but most other retailers are saying December. My initial thought was on the later date, but given that most of the tooling is already done for this, I don't see why it couldn't be August...

Just curious

The S-2 will be available towards the end of August / early Sept.
We hope to have something else by December.

Sounds intriguing.

.............. sounds promising.



- MG

Ahhhh....what sound? I don't hear anything.

I finally got the chance to open mine up !!

GREAT looking aircraft .

Time to put back in the box and up onto the shelf .

"We hope to have something else by December"

Gasp!

A Dauntless wearing Stars n Bars?

Dangummit....I will just have saved enough $ by the end of Aug. To get the Midway Dauntless...now if Merit makes an SBD-5 with radar and stars-n-bars....I will have to start saving all over again...and find room for another dauntless...welcome back 1/18!

Would love to see a red borderd insignia version...

Like the one that flies with the CAF at airshows

OR

A prewar yellowwing version

As if I wasn't confused enough to start with. I am only allowed one Dauntless. I initially was leaning Midway, then I took a 2nd and 3rd look at the Coral Sea, and now I have a third unknown version to possibly contemplate. I definitely want one but I'd kick myself if I got an S1 or S2 and the third turns out to be "Stars and Bars". So I guess its down to a waiting game, unless I see one for remarkably cheap. I applaud Merit for bringing something new in 1/18 for collectors. But I they've made it hard by giving me so many options, since I have limited discretionary income.

I hear you Big Mike....BUT when Jim @ Merit said "something else" it may not be a S3 Dauntless...either way we will know before December so you can make an informed decision and a few sellers should still have a S1 & S2 still around.

big_mike wrote:As if I wasn't confused enough to start with. I am only allowed one Dauntless. I initially was leaning Midway, then I took a 2nd and 3rd look at the Coral Sea, and now I have a third unknown version to possibly contemplate. I definitely want one but I'd kick myself if I got an S1 or S2 and the third turns out to be "Stars and Bars". So I guess its down to a waiting game, unless I see one for remarkably cheap. I applaud Merit for bringing something new in 1/18 for collectors. But I they've made it hard by giving me so many options, since I have limited discretionary income.

Quite glad Merit has given us a bunch of options. They have stepped up to the plate, are being very reliable and delivering a quality product.

I got the Coral Sea version and am very happy with it, but I really wanted the Midway version all along. Had I known it would come out about a month after the Coral Sea aircraft in stead of half a year later, I'd have waited for that. But on another note, I do like to have at least two of each 1:18 aircraft type (and in some cases have more) so having two Dauntlesses from two battles where the aircraft was crucial to the overall outcome is fine by me.

* I'm quite pleased w/ my "Coral Sea" debut + considering that only a Ltd. # (1000) were produced. Not so interested in the "Midway" 2nd. version though for some reason. They'll probably make about 3,500 more or less of those.


- MG

Greetings

The Midway schemes were pretty plain looking which is why they don't generate appeal in terms of a "ooo ooo I have to have that scheme" type of deal. However, the historical significance of the scheme is what is really making people say "I really want the scheme" type of deal.

The Coral Sea Dauntless is a great bird. I will likely get the Midway Dauntless and then be done unless a prewar version comes out or a red stars and bars comes out. It is nice to have two representations of the plane from the early Pacific in World War II. That was mostly overlooked with the Hellcat, Corsair and Avenger models.

Corey

Greetings

Found out today that the SBD arrestor hook is actually FUNCTIONAL. The piece on top of the hook is tabbed and hookes into the fuselage. Simply give it a careful gentle tug and it should come down for you. It does work though. Use caution as to not break it but it should function. Mine does

Corey

I received mine in the mail quite some time ago, and finally opened it up. I was rather impressed with the weathering effects, but it surely was not worth the money I paid. I'm almost ready to start making my own hand made 1/16 scale aircraft fully available to anyone. Why are so many planes ignored? Only the Spitfire? Where are the Tempest, Typhoon, Seafury? Where are the YaK, MiG, La, Il-2??
How many more American planes are we going to see? Why so many Corsairs and only 2 F6Fs? So many Me, Fw, Ju? Id rather have seen a Ta, or a He than a Ju or a 100 different Me/Bf/Fw. Heck, If these companies cant even get the names and nationalities of the planes correct, or even the designations.....???? The reason they went under is because they limited production to re-paints. I also question how they got so many details wrong. How could you call an American Corsair an F4Y, a USN Spitfire a RAF Spitfire and reverse the invasion stripes, and call a Bf a Me? Surely they researched the aircraft replicated. To not produce quality boxes, and paint jobs just shows the lack of interest in the subject. The same goes for the 1/32 "models".

Great find Corey! Yes the Dauntless is a fine model and well worth every penny.

tmanthegreat wrote:

big_mike wrote:As if I wasn't confused enough to start with. I am only allowed one Dauntless. I initially was leaning Midway, then I took a 2nd and 3rd look at the Coral Sea, and now I have a third unknown version to possibly contemplate. I definitely want one but I'd kick myself if I got an S1 or S2 and the third turns out to be "Stars and Bars". So I guess its down to a waiting game, unless I see one for remarkably cheap. I applaud Merit for bringing something new in 1/18 for collectors. But I they've made it hard by giving me so many options, since I have limited discretionary income.

Quite glad Merit has given us a bunch of options. They have stepped up to the plate, are being very reliable and delivering a quality product.

I got the Coral Sea version and am very happy with it, but I really wanted the Midway version all along. Had I known it would come out about a month after the Coral Sea aircraft in stead of half a year later, I'd have waited for that. But on another note, I do like to have at least two of each 1:18 aircraft type (and in some cases have more) so having two Dauntlesses from two battles where the aircraft was crucial to the overall outcome is fine by me.

I'm new to this forum, and really only posted because I was disappointed with the SBD.

I agree on the 2 of every 1/18. I've had that going for quite some time. I'm more along the lines of 4 of every one, so I can customize 2 of each with my own decals/stencils, and correct mistakes. For the toy like nature of these 1/18 scale, they are not too bad.
I think I'm well over 700 1/18 aircraft, and 200 AFVs. Many still in the box. Yikes....That could have sent me on a nice trip around the world, and I'd have my basement back. Oh well....

Someone made a comment about marketing of domestic aircraft vs production companies. 1/18 aircraft are in demand all over the world. Especially modern aircraft and AFVs. Most WWII and modern war machines from major nations are highly marketable. The problem is developing an accurate 3D model at the correct scale with accurate slopes and dimensions. I've actually made my own Tempest, La, YaK at the 1/16 scale out of solid balsa, then coated with resin and hand detailed. It was not that hard. I believe the problem is that these "companies" pigeon hole themselves into making too many repaints of the same model, then failed to sell them due to that problem. If I see another P-51D or Me/BF-109 I'll shake my head in disgust.

I'm currently working on a 1/12 Flanker, and it is much harder than a WWII aircraft, obviously. I use lasers to make sure I sand the balsa correctly. I don't think I'm going to coat this one in resin, but I am moulding the parts. If I don't, it will be harder to detail because fixing resin details to wood does not work as well as resin to resin. I don't know. We will see how it goes.

Thanks all....

DO335PFEIL

You have a lot of comments and information jumbled together in your posts to such an extent that it is very difficult to understand what you are talking about.

You first have to remember these are mass produced models, not homemade pieces as you are doing. Certain considerations have to be made for mass production and errors are not just limited to the 1/18 scale. You can find errors in 1/48 scale, 1/32 scale and beyond. The truth is the Dauntless is one of the better if not the best of the mass produced 1/18 scale aircraft to date. In my opinion the only aircraft that even come close to it in terms of quality were the BBI Corsair and the Zero. Many of the 21st products look like dogs compared to the Merit Dauntless.

You are correct, there were some clear problems that should have been corrected. There were also glaring QC control errors that didn't help matters. This is probably why 21st Century Toys went under like they did. As far as the repaint situation goes, repaints are a factor in model airplanes. Many people do not like it, but it is the way it goes. Any product line has multiple repaints. Hobbymaster, Corgi, Franklin Mint all have multiple repaints of one tooling. It is the way it goes. My thought on repaints was always to just buy the one I liked best and if one came along in a repaint I really liked you either sell the other one or make room for a second one.

One of the issues with what you said is that the main market for these companies is the United States, and some of the aircraft you mentioned aren't well known in the United States. For example, as people here in the US to name a German aircraft from World War II people might say the FW-190, Stuka or 109...maybe the 262. I promise you no one would say the DO-335. Same thing with the Russian aircraft. I was at an airshow where a Yak-3 flew this year and no one knew what it was except for the diehard aviation fans. I think all models do have a market, but the hardcore collector only plays a small role in a company and their overall business outlook. Companies will produce what sells, and they know P-51's, Corsairs and the like will sell. I am thankful the Dauntless has done so well as it gives some hope that a more obscure model will be done in the future.

As a final note I will say this, I am glad you can make your own aircraft. Unfortunately many people can not. A lot of people have families, jobs, kids, other commitments that prevent them from doing the work you are doing. Some also do not have the skill or do not want to be bothered. Truly most of these aircraft are great value for the money and allow people to collect that are not able to build models or do custom building.

Coreyeagle48 wrote:DO335PFEIL

You have a lot of comments and information jumbled together in your posts to such an extent that it is very difficult to understand what you are talking about.

You first have to remember these are mass produced models, not homemade pieces as you are doing. Certain considerations have to be made for mass production and errors are not just limited to the 1/18 scale. You can find errors in 1/48 scale, 1/32 scale and beyond. The truth is the Dauntless is one of the better if not the best of the mass produced 1/18 scale aircraft to date. In my opinion the only aircraft that even come close to it in terms of quality were the BBI Corsair and the Zero. Many of the 21st products look like dogs compared to the Merit Dauntless.

You are correct, there were some clear problems that should have been corrected. There were also glaring QC control errors that didn't help matters. This is probably why 21st Century Toys went under like they did. As far as the repaint situation goes, repaints are a factor in model airplanes. Many people do not like it, but it is the way it goes. Any product line has multiple repaints. Hobbymaster, Corgi, Franklin Mint all have multiple repaints of one tooling. It is the way it goes. My thought on repaints was always to just buy the one I liked best and if one came along in a repaint I really liked you either sell the other one or make room for a second one.

One of the issues with what you said is that the main market for these companies is the United States, and some of the aircraft you mentioned aren't well known in the United States. For example, as people here in the US to name a German aircraft from World War II people might say the FW-190, Stuka or 109...maybe the 262. I promise you no one would say the DO-335. Same thing with the Russian aircraft. I was at an airshow where a Yak-3 flew this year and no one knew what it was except for the diehard aviation fans. I think all models do have a market, but the hardcore collector only plays a small role in a company and their overall business outlook. Companies will produce what sells, and they know P-51's, Corsairs and the like will sell. I am thankful the Dauntless has done so well as it gives some hope that a more obscure model will be done in the future.

As a final note I will say this, I am glad you can make your own aircraft. Unfortunately many people can not. A lot of people have families, jobs, kids, other commitments that prevent them from doing the work you are doing. Some also do not have the skill or do not want to be bothered. Truly most of these aircraft are great value for the money and allow people to collect that are not able to build models or do custom building.

I can see your points, but I believe that the diehards are the ones buying these items, not the individuals who bought a P-51 at Walmart 10 years ago for $40.00. These are not sold retail anymore. I don't think casual collectors would spend $200.00 on a model. I remember quite a few people who wold not buy the new MH-60 due to the fact that it was essentially a re-paint at $150. That may be the reason why we are seeing 2 SBDs and not another F-14, F-16, or P-51, but I could be wrong. I think over production of the popular P-51, F4U and such killed the 1/18. In my opinion, had a greater variety of planes become available, these companies would have made it in the black.

I agree that the new Merit have nice weathering effects, but is still was not worth 150.00. At 150.00, I expected more details, especially after they claimed to take it to another level, but in reality, these new 1/18 are no better than the last JSI F4U-a1. It is my belief that they way these companies over produced single variants killed the market, and tainted the product. Had they offered a wider variety, they could have sold them for just as much now, instead of the 40.00 then. I believe the "die-hard" collectors would have bought the variants, as we are all collectors, and we are buying them now.

A few points....

While well over 100,000 people attend airshows each year, only a couple of thousand of these airplanes are produced. Not everyone at an airshow are there to see a WWII Soviet fighter. Sure, you may ask one of these people to name a WWII German aircraft, and they may never heard of the Do 335, but I would imagine 98% of people in this forum would know, and how many of the people here would buy a 1/18 335? These new 1/18 are selling out in the initial runs, at $150 +... Ask these same people who have never heard of the Do 335 if they know what a SBD is, and I think they would have no idea.

I've sold many of these 1/18 scale and 1/32 scale planes overseas. There is a large demand for them, especially now, and they are willing to pay. I sell several a month to France, Netherlands, Brazil, and even Russia, just to name a few. I don't sell through Ebay, I find the the international buyers for some reason don't like eBay. I think its because of the Buyer Protection, and buyer pays return shipping (When I sell overseas, I pay the return shipping, and the individuals are willing to pay 150.00 for a F-104, and MiG-15bis believe it or not, but they never return them).

The very expensive die-cast models you speak of are not repaints in the way these 1/18 scale are. Not every P-51D was constructed the same. There were many small details that these companies captured while these 1/18 scale ignored. That speaks to the toy like nature of them. (I agree, but I think all the 21st look like dogs, how could you not include the directional antenna on a plane?)

Hope I made more sense this time and I'm not trying to be argumentative.... I'm just a "die-hard"

Cheers.

DO335PFEIL
First off welcome aboard! I do hope you will create another post with some pictures of your 1/16 Tempest, La, & YaK models, as they sound fantastic.

I must say I agree with much of your feelings toward previous releases, but am confused when you make the statement,

“ I expected more details, especially after they claimed to take it to another level, but in reality, these new 1/18 are no better than the last JSI F4U-a1”

It makes me wonder if you actually had examples to compare or if you have the visual acuity to detail of Stevie Wonder. The old 21st Century/JSI Corsair is not even in the same zip code as the Merit Dauntless.

Really…other than adding antenna detail ( spring tension antenna mount, antenna isolators, antenna wire), and the blue green lens for the formation lights missing from the top of the port and starboard wings, what detail is missing? Bomb stenciling?

As you are a skilled modeler, you may be familiar with Hobby Boss models…they used to make molds for Trumpeter, have produced some fine kits, and from what we can gather, made the molds for the 1/18 Dauntless, as a production kit (before Merit decided to use it as a the basis of their pre-built model) To compare, I have built and detailed one of the best kits of the SBD series available in any scale, the 1/32 Trumpeter SBD Dauntless, I have spent many hours researching and reading about the SBD, and I have actually seen and flown in the back seat of the Commemorative Air Force’s SBD-5 Dauntless and must say, for my money, the Merit is very detailed and far beyond the more toyish examples you mentioned.

This of course is just my observation. I do look forward in seeing your work.

Cheers,

Mark

Yoxford:

You hit the nail right on the head with your post. I can't imagine even comparing a 21c Corsair to this Dauntless. I too, would like to see photos of his planes that he made.

Back to the Dauntless, has anyone noticed the uneven paint of the walking areas on the wing? Check it out...the one side is slightly different than the other in terms of how big it is. I have had two Dauntlesses already and both were the same way so I expect everyone to have the same situation. Appears the masks Merit used during the painting process were just a tad off. Just something I noticed.

Corey

Jumping in here a bit late, but Yoxford and Coreyeagle 48 are on the money - one can't really compare the Merit SBD Dauntless to the 21c/JSI Corsair, which is a simplified 10-year-old tooling, or quite a few of the other 21c aircraft for that matter. The 21c Corsair was great in 2002 when it first came out, but BBI topped it off with their superior version in 2004/5 and the JSI re-release of the old tooling simply added insult to injury.

What we get with the Merit Dauntless is a quality and highly detailed model. Is it a perfect replica? No and it has inaccuracies (such as the missing radio boxes) but in terms of what we got with the plane compared to what we had before, its almost apples and oranges. Only a few select other BBI models (Corsair, Zero, Bf-109), JSI (the F-14), and some 21c aircraft (AH-1W, ME-262s, F86, Mig 15, F-104, Avenger) really compare to the level of detail on the Dauntless.

Also, there is not a high demand for these products and never was - or certainly not a demand like there is for Star Wars or GI Joe. Are there collectors? Yes most certainly, but not legions of them. Had there been 21c likely would have survived, but the truth is (and QC issues aside) their products barely sold at TRU the first time around, sold poorly at Wal Mart, sold poorly at TRU again and by that time 21c had gone under. Those were mass retail stores and the products were at most of them and were visible to the general public.

BBI and Merit seem to have figured out that these things are collectors items, make just enough to satisfy demand, and that's it. Since they are not producing these things in the multiple thousands as was done before 2008, we have fewer items and hence higher prices. But - and thats a big but - this strategy is allowing those companies to survive. They are making things and they are selling items. Even if we count the repaints and minor retoolings, 2011-12 hasn't been that bad of a year for 1:18 overall as we've so far had about 5 repaints/re-releases/minor retools and 1 new item (that was better than most preceding it).

I don't mean to rain on anybody's parade, but I tend to prefer constructive criticism around here where people make a comment based on the facts and observations of the trends and products in this hobby. Just my two cents

* * *

BTW, Corey is correct in that the tailhook on the Dauntless does indeed extend You have to free the little tab under the tail, but then it moves down. Mine's a bit stiff, but it is moving and I'm not warping/breaking plastic. I think I had a criticism of the non-moving tailhook posted earlier, but I'll validate Corey's observation that it does indeed move!

Hello all,
I normally don’t respond so quickly to a post, as I don’t frequently check this email, but it was still up when I accessed my laptop, and saw the responses through my tertiary email. Obviously I touched a nerve. While I did not mean to do so, I can tell people doubt my assertions. Normally I would not be concerned because I know what I’ve done, and I rarely post photos of models that I make, as I make them for my own enjoyment, to display at the modeling club, or give to VFWs as a donation.

As far as the corsair is concerned, the F4U-1A VMF-214 was not a 21st. It is a JSI/Merit, and considered a prototype. It has nice weathering, dirty recessions, and looks "in service" complete with exhaust stains on the underside. However, as with the F4U-1A VMF-214, the SBD is missing details. The parts of the plane most affected by debris, birds, machine gun cycling, and such are not weathered at all. There is no weathering on the propeller, or leading edges of any surface. I'm kind of suprised that people questioned whether or not I have seen such a product. I rarely see it for sale, but there is a picture of it under the JSI WWII on this website, and you can obviously see it is a Merit as is is plastered all over the photos. Merit missed the same details on the SBD, and almost all the stencils. There should have been over 50 of them on this aircraft. I think I counted 5 or 6... something along that line. The stencils were added by the crew chief, not the production facility. This exact SBD, S-12, had many stencils.
21st went under due to poor management and a lack of foresight, not a low demand for the product. These items sold for over 8 years. The 1/18 sold quite well despite the low quality of the product, they were only 40.00. The owner was not a business man, and did not understand the concept of over production of one variant, and spent too much money on designs that were never produced. A similar example can be seen in the music industry. If you overproduce one sound, it wears out very quickly, and the sales fall. 21st made too many variants of the same paint scheme. BBI, Admiral, and others faired better. I get that these are all opinions, but I believe it to be true. Had these companies attempted a higher quality product, instead of the "toy", they would have sold much better. When I finish fixing, and modding a 1/18 21st, BBI, or whatever; i easily sell them for several hundred dollars. I've acually sold some of the modifications to former CEO's and such of these companies. It's unfortunate that these 1/18 were of such poor quality that it made the whole 1/18 scale brand suffer. I've heard all these points being made by forum members, and have discussed them in detail for a long time. The 1/18 is great if you want somethig quick, but I'd rather pay 100.00+ for a 1/16 kit that has much more realism. The 1/16 balsa R/C kits look better than the 21st century if assembeled correctly, but again, that is my opinion, and its only worth 2 cents.

Also, Someone commented that they had flown in a SBD, I was curious as to which one. I know the owners of the flyable SBDs, and have myself ridden in a P-47, P-38, B-17, Lancaster, just to name a few, and have flown a P-51D. I know, I'll probably get, "sure you have". I will not share what I do for a living, but it does allow me contact with many owners of WWII aircraft, and some obselete jets. I'll give you a clue as to who owns the P-51D...."Calloway Warbird Plus".
The most enjoyable ride was in a Flanker. I took a trip to Russia 7 years ago, and paid $500.00 for a 30 minute ride. You can still do this. Quite the experience, and much cheaper than the 1400.00 people pay to fly in a P-51. Quite humerous that Russia can barely afford the aircraft it makes. I believe there are now 4 Flankers owned privately in the US.

Cheers