opinions on 21st Century 1/144 planes?

[aferguson]

i'm interested in hearing opinions on these as far as accuracy and quality go. I've never seen one in the flesh and know very little about them.

I'm especially interested in hearing about the spitfire, p-51 and p-47's.

[The_Helicopter_Pilot]

i'm interested in hearing opinions on these as far as accuracy and quality go. I've never seen one in the flesh and know very little about them.

I'm especially interested in hearing about the spitfire, p-51 and p-47's.

All they basically are IMO are pre built model kits, to me they have good detail, but not all are very well built, like my old crow it's tail wings are glued on pointing a bit up, they're really good gap fillers though, but I'd still rather F-Toys.

[tmanthegreat]

I mostly have the 21c aircraft in my small 1:144 scale collection, but they are not the best. Back in the day, it was sort of hit and miss - you would need to go through the lot of them at Wal Mart of TRU to find one that was truly defect-free. Typically, they had lots of varied QC issues and 21c seemed to have difficulty painting the framing on canopies, etc. Then there was the pink Spitfire... (I know that was accurate, but still, it was a pink warplane!)

I actually felt the P-47s were one of their better offerings - they seemed to have gotten their tooling and QC process better on the two that I have.

[JollyRoger]

By far the F-toys P-51s are the better aircraft all around but in a line up or for backdrop filler the 21st P-51s look pretty good. Heres a line up up F-toys and 21st Mustangs. Behind them are 2 Bandai WingClub P-47 Bubble tops and a 21st P-47 Razorback. The issues we found when we were searching for the 21st Centurys were bent wings and landing gear.

[aferguson]

that's quite a collection.

[The_Helicopter_Pilot]

By far the F-toys P-51s are the better aircraft all around but in a line up or for backdrop filler the 21st P-51s look pretty good. Heres a line up up F-toys and 21st Mustangs. Behind them are 2 Bandai WingClub P-47 Bubble tops and a 21st P-47 Razorback. The issues we found when we were searching for the 21st Centurys were bent wings and landing gear.

See that's the same problem I had with the P-51's and FW-190's the ME-262's always had bent gear, BUT ive bought at least 8 F6Fs back then, and they seemed to all be flawless, of course this were taken in the totnado a while back, but I never seen one flaw on and of the 21st hellcats...

[Dauntless]

The bubble top P-47's F-Toys look nice, as does the 21st Razorback.

Are all the P-51's 21st Mustangs? They don't look half bad.

I've got a few of the Hellcats too HP.

Just what I have I don't know exactly because I can't find them dang it. They're in a box in the garage somewhere. It's like looking for the Ark in the Indy warehouse.

[JollyRoger]

The first 3 in line are F-Toys the last 4 are 21st Century.

[Dauntless]

Dang it, going to have to find all my 1:144 21st planes.

Can't help but notice the IXO/ Altaya B-25 back there with the palm trees, boom etc. diorama.
What do you think of those B-25's? I've been watching a couple but like the one you've got of the two versions, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
...and where you getting those pieces from for the dioramas, N scale railroad stuff? I read it's a viable option for 1:144 scale enthusiasts to get pieces from N scale, and some are actually building dioramas with trains, though I've never seen one.
Now that would be something.


Also noticed the Cafereo B-17's down below. Your whole 1:144 display has got me intrigued.

[Warbird Kid]

Hey Dauntless, thats my B-25. Would you believe it that, that's a Minicraft B-25? I backdated it a C/D. Lots of scratchbuilt stuff on that one

-Palm Trees
-Engine Hoist Crane
-Scaffolding
-Parrots
-Tent

The L3 Cub was a paper cutout from Fiddlers Green. The 1.5 Ton truck is obviously a 21st Century. The 55 gallon drums we're made by Sweet from Japan. Here's a link to more photos: http://www.coroflot.com/cdsoltis/The-Bats-Belfry

[Dauntless]

A Minicraft huh. Checked it out. Very nice work WK.

I get it now, you must be the graphic designer in the family.

Wish I had the patience and time to do something like that.
That's why I have to get instant satisfaction with pre-built everything.

[JollyRoger]

A Minicraft huh. Checked it out. Very nice work WK.

I get it now, you must be the graphic designer in the family.

Wish I had the patience and time to do something like that.
That's why I have to get instant satisfaction with pre-built everything.

Correct! Thats my boy. I keep telling him I pass the baton on to him but he does not want to hear that. I am the first to admit he is a great model and scratch builder. True you need a lot of patience and dedication. I remember I would take a model that came with 5 pieces for the nose landing gear ( 1/32 Revell P-38) and end up with 25 pieces in it when I was done. Now I love the the aircraft that come prepainted and semi decaled. And the advancements that have been made with models that are totally finished. It's amazing. You cannot get finishes as clean and precise as them, or markings that are tampoed on are just beautiful. Its a plus and minus though. There is really no need to strive at making a beautiful model because it's there for a price but at the same time the art of modeling is diminishing. If your a model builder that's fine, if your a collector just as good. As long as we keep the hobby and interest going is what matters.

[Dauntless]

Yes surprising what is covered by the pre-built companies. There are aircraft that you can't even get in a 1:144 model kit.

Though when doing a search of 1:144 models there are quite a few that aren't covered by the pre-builts, are scarce or too expensive to buy, so that is an option.

I used to build a lot of models back in the day, mostly 1:72, but so far I'm satisfied with what I have found pre-built. Still would like to attempt a Minicraft or other model that I simply can't get or afford in 1:144 pre-built like a Soviet TU-95 Bear.

[JollyRoger]

I just went through our inventory because I was wondering how many 1/144 aircraft 21st actually made. I am confident we have the complete series that was made cause we constantly searched several times a week until 21st Century folded. There are 15 two pack's and 20 single box's. In my opinion looking at them again they are really not that bad for the original price. Some parts like landing gear doors are a little bit thick. It seems that these like every other item that 21st made started out as being on the rough side but were refined as the series went on. To me what stands out were finding ME262's that the wings weren't bent or making sure any airplanes landing gear or tail planes were straight. I also realized that 21st carried the same markings for several aircraft through their different scales. A smart way to utilize their research. Here are pics of the series. When they were first issued I was curious as to the accuracy of the markings and started to do research on them. I was surprised to find that many were in the markings of notable aircraft.

The 2 pack DogFight series

DOGFIGHT SERIES 1
F6F3/5 “White 2” Lt. Richard Stambook VF-27 “Snarling Cat” / USS Princeton CVL-23 / Philippine Sea, October 1944
Nakajima Ki-84 KOU Hayate “FRANK” Toshizo Kurai / 1st Training Fighter Unit / Sagami Army Airfield, 1945

P-51D “Ridge Runner III” (WD A) Pierce W. McKennon / 335th FS / 4th FG / 8th AF, RAF Debden, Spring 1945
ME 262A-1a “White 5” Erprobungskommando 262, Lechfeld, Summer 1944

Grumman Hellcat (E L) F.Mk.I 800th SQ / Fleet Air Arm / HMS Emperor, Aegean Sea, September 1944
FW 190A-8 “Black 13” Josef Priller / III / JG26 / Lille-Venderville, France, September 1943

DOGFIGHT SERIES 2
F6F3/5 Royal Navy JV161 “White 116” Dutch Pilot Petrus J. Huijer, OFF Vl 3kl, 1840FAA Sqn. / KIA at Stretton, Cheshire, GB 3-15-1944 / collided with A.J.Smith flying Hellcat JV166
Ki-84 Hayate “Red 29” ( Red circle w/ slash )

P-51D “PETIE 2nd” (HO M) Lt. Col. John C. Meyer / 487th FS / 352 FG / 8th AF, Bodney England, Sept. 1944
FW 190A-8/R2“Black 8” Unteroffizier Willi Maximowitz, IV. / JG 3, 11. Staffel, Dreux, France, June 1944

P-51D “OLD CROW” (B6 S) Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson / 357th FG “Yoxford Boys” / 8th AF, Leiston Field, UK, 1945
FW 190A-8 “Red 19” Oberfeldwebel Ernst Schroder 5./JG300 Lobnitz, Germany Nov. 1944 (“Kolle Alaaf” left side)

F6F-5N “MINSI III” David McCampbell / Commander Air Group 15 / USS ESSEX / Pacific Theatre, Late 1944
A6M2 ZERO Type 11/21 “Yellow 170” Kounoike Flying Group( Grn w/ Yel strip)


DOGFIGHT SERIES 3
SBD-3 Dauntless “2-S-12” Ens. John Leppla-Radioman John Liska / VS-2 / USS Lexington, May 1942
A6M2 ZERO Type 21 “Black V-103” Saburo Sakai

SBD-3 Dauntless“B-1” Lt. Richard “Dick” Best-Radioman John Snowden / VB-6 / USS Enterprise, June 1942
A6M2 ZERO Type 11/21 “Yellow 110”/ 261st Kokutai NAG / Flight Leader / Mariana’s early 1944

Spitfire (Recon) – FR IX 16 Squadron, France, Post D-Day 1944
Me262A-2 ‘White Nose” Replacement Nose “Black 4” / JG7 Pilot Unknown Prague-Ruzyne Late May 1945

Spitfire Mk VIII/IX (HL K) 308th FS, 31st FG, 15th AF, USAAF
Me262-1a “Red B” (White line camo)

SBD Dauntless “S-1” Major Christian Lee VMS-3 “Devilbirds” / St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, anti-sub patrol ,Atlantic 1943-44
Spitfire Mk IXc (ZX 6) Sqdn Ldr Stanislaw Skalski, Polish Fighting Team / No. 145 Sqdn / Tunisia, Spring 1943

Spitfire Mk IX EN398 (JE J) Wing Commander Johnnie Johnson, OC Kenley Wing 1943
Fw-190A-8 “Yellow 11” Feldwebel Alfred Bindseil , 6./ JG1, Stormede Germany April 1944

Spitfire Mk VIII/IX (CR C) Squadron Leader Clive Robert Caldwell, RAAF No. 80 (Fighter Wing), Darwin Australia 1944
Ki-84 Hayate “Yellow 69” on tail

P-47D Razorback 42-28066 “164” “TURNIP TERMITE” 47TH FS, 15TH FG, 7TH AF Hawaii
Fw-190A-5 “Yellow 2” Oblt Josef Wurmheller 9/JG2











The single box's

SINGLE PACK SERIES 1
F6F3/5 “White 12” Arthur Ray “Hawk” Hawkins / VF-31 / USS Cabot CVL-28 Philippine Sea 1944

ME 262A-1a “Green 1” Rudolf Sinner / Stab III / JG7, Brandenburg-Briest 1945

Nakajima Ki-84 Type 4 Hayate “FRANK” “Yellow 43” 3rd Chutai “Sakura” / 47th Sentai / 10th Air Div. / 1st AF / Narimasu AAB, 1945

P-51D “Louie IV” (E2 C) Thomas J. Christian Jr. / 375th FS / 361st FG / 8th AF, RAF Little Walden 1944

SINGLE PACK SERIES 2
F6F3/5 “White 7” Robert E. Murray / VF-29 / USS Cabot CVL-28 Ryukyu Island 1945

ME 262A-1a “Yellow 3” Stab III / KG(J) 54, Erding, May 1945

Nakajima Ki-84 Type 4 Hayate “FRANK” 2nd Chutai / 29th Sentai / 10th Area Army, Taichung AAB, Taiwan 1945 (Blue arrow tail)

P-51D “Miss Marilyn II” (CY M) Edward B. Giller / 343rd FS / 55th FG / 8th AF, RAF Wormingford 1945

SINGLE PACK SERIES 3
FW190A-8 “Red 3” (Blk & Wht Cowl Stripes )

FW190A-5 ( Yellow Fuselage Band )

A6M2 ZERO Type 11/21”Yellow 170” Kounoike Flying Group

A6M3 ZERO Type 22 “Red/White 168” (Grn w/ wht stripes)

A6M2 ZERO Type 11/21 “Red 155” Lt. Cmdr Itaya, Pearl Harbor

A6M3 ZERO Type 22 “White 105” Hiroyoshi Nishizawa / 251st AG / Rabaul 1943

SINGLE PACK SERIES 4
P-47 BubbleTop (Y8 D) “Snortin Bull” James Mullins 404th FG, 507th FS, RAF Winkton, England 1944

P-47 Razorback (5F A) 5th Emergency Rescue Sqd., 65th Fighter Wing, Boxted England 1944

SBD Dauntless “S-1” Major Christian Lee VMS-3 “Devilbirds” / St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, anti-sub patrol Atlantic 1943-44

Spitfire Mk IXc (ZX 6) Sqdn Ldr Stanislaw Skalski, Polish Fighting Team / No. 145 Sqdn. / Tunisia spring 1943

A6M3 ZERO Type 22 “ Black V-187 “ Donated by civilian volunteer group in Japan (Presentation Num. on side) Tail damaged by concussion bomb on Buna Airfield. Captured Dec. 27, 1942

[jlspec]

Thanks for the list. I have 46 different listed on my spreadsheet. I will have to double check what I may be missing

[JollyRoger]

Thanks for the list. I have 46 different listed on my spreadsheet. I will have to double check what I may be missing

Let me know if you come up with something different than I listed. Also note that some of the same aircraft were put in the single as well as the double packs.

[Dauntless]

A checklist, very cool!

[jlspec]

Thanks for the list. I have 46 different listed on my spreadsheet. I will have to double check what I may be missing

Let me know if you come up with something different than I listed. Also note that some of the same aircraft were put in the single as well as the double packs.

You were correct I did not count some that were in both singles and Dogfights. But I did find I am missing the P-47 Turnip Termite / FW190-A yellow2 Dogfight and the FW190A Red 3 Single. I also had a custom sbd I painted

[The_Helicopter_Pilot]

Thanks for the list. I have 46 different listed on my spreadsheet. I will have to double check what I may be missing

Let me know if you come up with something different than I listed. Also note that some of the same aircraft were put in the single as well as the double packs.

There's an Me-262/P-51 DogFight pack missing there, the 262 is all grey with a red tip nose, and the P-51 is the yellow nose camo one you have listed.

[Coreyeagle48]

Greetings

I have been looking for the Dauntless dogfight packs forever to get the Dauntlesses.

Wish I could find them.

Corey

[JollyRoger]

[quote="Coreyeagle48"]Greetings

I have been looking for the Dauntless dogfight packs forever to get the Dauntlesses.

Wish I could find them.

The new Dauntless's by F-TOYS blows away the 21st Centurys. Here are the F-TOYS Dauntless in U.S. Army A-24 paint scheme next to the 21st.











And I didn't realize it till just now when I was taking the pics the the F-Toys Dauntless has dive brakes with clear thru holes!

[JollyRoger]

[/quote]
There's an Me-262/P-51 DogFight pack missing there, the 262 is all grey with a red tip nose, and the P-51 is the yellow nose camo one you have listed.[/quote]


OH MAN! You mean I'm missing one? Now I have to start searching. Could you post a picture of what the Dogfight set looks like.

[The_Helicopter_Pilot]

I can't find it on google, this is the P-51 in the set https://www.google.com/search?q=21centu ... yoFI#i=170
If I go beck to Oklahoma ill take a picture of the 262, it's just like the 1/32 262, I think it come in a dogfight pack with the camo P-47?