Hey Lightning!
Funny that you mention that. Back in October 2003 just before Dragon released their first 1/72 Me109, I asked Scott Crawford, one of the head honchos at Dragon about the lack of a swastika on its tail. The following is my question, followed by his answer:
Hi Scott,
I was looking at the photos of Dragon's booth at the recent Hobby Visions
show and I noticed that the 1/72 die cast Me109E on display does not have
a swastika on its tail. Will there be a swastika on its tail when this plane is released? Many thanks.
GI Gene
Tucson, Arizona
Hi Gene,
Glad you liked the preview -- I'm pretty charged about it myself, since HG
Division is my favorite (and about darn time we made one!
I checked with our Warbirds guy in HK about the Me109E ... sorry, no
swastika is planned. Apparently, it's a line we can't afford to cross in
that market -- results in sticky issues with importing and distribution.
I'm not as immersed in the diecast aircraft lines, but couldn't help but
notice that Tamiya and Hasegawa also seem to follow the same policy. I had thought we might be able do it in the same way we do the SS figure insignia (with little stickers), but our Warbirds guy has been doing diecast aircraft for 20 years and says that's already been tried several times without success ... so in this case, I've got to defer to his experience and agree.
Hope that answers your question -- and thanks for your note!
Scott.