New Merit 1/18 DAUNTLESS DISCUSSION

[Jnewboy]

Very cool!! Im very happy this is happening! This plane broke the back of the IJN's carrier fleet in the Pacific. Im guessing a price point above $100 or more, especially if its wings fold up!

[plasticboy]

Indeed, love to see SBD alive but the price is what I'm more concerning.

[cjg476]

I just pooped my pants!!! "Sir here is a blank check, right what ever amout you need to. I need that dauntless".

[tmanthegreat]

Simply fantastic Either this plane of the FW-190A were probably the most needed WWII aircraft in 1:18 in terms of historic value (well probably also the Wildcat) so really glad to see its going to be a reality!

I wonder if this will be a new BBI tooling or through another company that Merit deals with? Somehow I think it could be through BBI as they did that fantastic 1:32 Dauntless. Pilot figures will be another question, though of little concern for me as I picked up enough of those cheap loose BBI ones back in the day

Very, very happy about this and early 2012 isn't too far away.

[VMF115]

Very cool!! Im very happy this is happening! This plane broke the back of the IJN's carrier fleet in the Pacific. Im guessing a price point above $100 or more, especially if its wings fold up!

Jnewboy, the SBD Dauntless did not feature folding wings, now the Douglas TBD Devastator did have folding wings, and was in the battle of midway too.

[Coreyeagle48]

have to get one of these. the family connection and all...have to get one

[hotrodrock]

Hate to get off topic, but what's the deal with the big B-17? What scale, what's it made of, who makes it, etc.

[snake]

Dauntless is a great choice.

Would have preferred a FW 190A, or Komet, but very happy to see a Dauntless in 1/18. Will go well with the Corsair, Hellcat, and Avenger for the US Pacific theater.

A little bit of a surprise, but as Admiral had a pre production model, not totally out of left field.

Spring of 2012 seems pretty optimistic though, as all we see so far is a drawing. I do hope this comes to fruition, but wouldn't be the first time an announced model hasn't made it into production.

[normandy]

Re: the B-17, it looks like it my be a styrofoam kit. Scale and maker

[Buckyroo]

I'm in on this one!!!!!!!!!!!

Something new in 1/18 - WOW

[aferguson]

hotrodrock: if you're interested in a nearly 1/18 scale b-17, here's the best choice going:

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/stor ... duct=18599

also comes in silver

[Dauntless]

wow! that was completely unexpected. and the best scheme to start with.
Think it's the admiral mold? They've got some prototypes of awesome planes.

[Beeavision]

Banana Hobby is responsible for the B-17 pictured at iHobby. Check out the link below....

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 145&type=1

[aferguson]

do not buy anything from banana hobby. Way overpriced and whatever they have can be had from many other sellers for cheaper and better service.


as for the Dauntless, i think Tman might be right that bbi has made it with merit backing it financially.

[Beeavision]

Here's where to buy one....

http://www.bananahobby.com/2216.html

[aferguson]

as i said, i don't recommend you buy anything from Banana Hobby. Overpriced and terrible customer service.

Besides that b-17 is not 1/18 it's about 1/16. The one in the link i gave above is the closest to 1/18 and the best in quality currently available.

[Beeavision]

I do agree with aferguson. Banana Hobby from my personal experience with them took almost a month to finally get my order shipped. They seem to ignore emails too. But on the other hand I did get my items I paid for and they look absolutely great hanging from my ceiling. I heard of other sites like this one who seem to follow the same methods of providing poor customer service. But yet for some odd reason they're still in business and seem to have a fairly large fan base. Not to mention appearing at various expos all over with a booth worthy of a second look. All I can say is do your homework first before buying anything. See what others have to say about them and if your conscience is telling you to go somewhere else then do just that. Just walk away. On the other hand sometimes you just have to take the good with the bad to get what you want but only if its worth it to you.

[sdcc73]

After seeing this great news on the SBD, I couldn't help but recall what Badcat said on the SB2C...

From Badcat: 1:18 scale SB2C Helldiver—An extremely good seller in 1:72, don’t dismiss too quickly.

If SBD sells then a SB2C (the real-life replacement diver of the SBD) may have a chance too. This is only if the SBD sells well. Hopefully it does. Now where do I order!

[Coreyeagle48]

Greetings:

A couple thoughts here.

1.) Have to have one of these. My great uncle was a mechanic on these in World War II. Along with a Hurricane I was always hoping a Dauntless would be made. So glad to see it might finally be here.

2.) I really hope it is not a JSI release. Every JSI release has been a fiasco. And the QC problems with the JSI stuff would mean this plane would be a mess. Hoping it is a BBI release.

3.) Price is going to be higher than the Walmart days. Guys, get used to this fact. The days of these planes being at Walmart for $40 are long gone. Walmart wouldn't even dare carry these now with the way the toy department has turned into a pile of crap our friend Battlewagon loves so dearly. TRU has become much in the same.

4.) The Midway color scheme is a tremendously excellent first paint scheme. Hope for an early scheme as an S2 release...or a mid 43 scheme like the CAF's Dauntless and sell the thing at the airshows. People would buy it. That plane ALWAYS attracts a good crowd.

5.) I wonder if this is the Admiral prototype that the mold has been developed from and I really hope JSI doesn't have it.

6.) 2012 might just be the end of the world here on this forum...a brand new release...will the membership be able to contain itself.



Corey

[Jackson]

Built more than a few Dauntless Monogram and such Companys Models in my youngster days...{ 60s 70s } is one of my favorite Allied birds.... Stuka American style....welcome

[Jackson]

Dauntless is a great choice.

Would have preferred a FW 190A, or Komet, but very happy to see a Dauntless in 1/18. Will go well with the Corsair, Hellcat, and Avenger for the US Pacific theater. Agreed..it fills the gap nicely for the Carrier Squadrons in the PTO... I also would have preferred a Butcher Bird myself

A little bit of a surprise, but as Admiral had a pre production model, not totally out of left field.

Spring of 2012 seems pretty optimistic though, as all we see so far is a drawing. I do hope this comes to fruition, but wouldn't be the first time an announced model hasn't made it into production.

[gouchy]

WoW!

Just when I made a comittment to hold out for only an A-10, HIND, SU-27, KingTiger and nothing else... This curve ball comes along!

From the distant memory of the stillborn SBD dream from Admiral, out of nowhere Jim@Merit comes along and teases, titillates and draws you in like a Chinese Honeytrap and before you know it, we're sold and spilling out government secrets and our bank account details.

Guess its time to amend my wishlist and clear some space in the mancave ceiling. I'm sure most everyone here is gonna hang theirs in a dive? Its the perfect plane for that, here's a pic to whet your appetites



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.

http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/getd ... idway.aspx

http://collections.naval.aviation.museu ... lQuery.php

[toyktdlgh]

I don’t mind paying the higher prices for new items, it’s the old molds that I have issues with. It’s hard to pay 3 times the price for something that once sold for $40. The F-14 never sold for that and I had no problem spilling out the dough for that release. I just hope it’s a comparatively reasonable price and not a crazy one. I can’t wait for more news on this plane!

[normandy]

This Dauntless should be cool in 1:18, any pics.

Re: B-17 and Hobby King, $261. is not a bad price. Just a warning about Hobby King, while they do have a warehouse in the U.S. returns (as of 10/26/10) have to be shipped back to china......with a picture of the item being returned and the box it came in.
Last year Mrs. Normandy ordered a battery for our sons helicopter. She ordered one as in 1, HK sent 3 all the wrong size. Customer support center was in china and not helpful at all. Emails were nasty as if we did something wrong. It was cheaper to sell the 3 batteries and buy the correct one (1) then it was to ship everything back to china.
Hope they got their act together but I don't buy from them.

Back on topic, This is due Spring of 2012, very cool.

[aferguson]

i've bought several items from Hobby King and never had a problem. Mind you i've never had to return anything (touch wood).

Re: B-17 that price may get alot better if they come out with a kit version of the b-17. That just means it's an airframe only without all the servos and other r/c gear. In other words it's a static model. Price should drop another $70 or so IF a kit version comes out. May or may not with prop driven aircraft; with jets it's always a certainty it will but not so with props.

Also, before you buy anything from Hobby King wait 5 minutes or so. Just leave the window open for the item you want to buy and wait. Often, there'll be a little pop up window open after a few minutes, offering the item for a lower price, usually about 5% off. For example, the price on the B-17 will drop nearly $15.