Just Acquired Two Warbirds (1 Viewer)

I for one am very excited about the return to Warbirds. This is an area that is lacking and as Louis said could be endless. The dioramas would be spectacular. I can envision Louis's small scene with a runway and other fuel trucks and it just makes me giddy!

We are behind you 100% Andy. Please don't take it the wrong way:D

Bill Sager
 
Bill,

That "small scene" was a photo Gordon and Andy whipped together to show me what the control tower would look like. My diorama has that tower, the Quonset Hut, the Bedford QL Fuel Bowser, the RAF Austin Ambulance, Winston Churchill, Captain Clark Gable, all the allied pilots and groundcrew, including five of the dispatch riders, and 8 WWII era RAF aircraft, including a Douglas A20 Boston, Bristol Beufighter, two different Spitfires (Mark II and Mark V), Hawker Hurricane, Fairey Swordfish, Gloster Gladiator and DeHaviland Tiger Moth. That little Austin pickup in the photo will soon be joining the diorama (probably by the Symposium). Will that be inclusive enough for you? By the way, I had a cool idea for a diorama from the Pacific Theater: the bridge and a piece of the deck of a Japanese Carrier like the Soryu of the Akagi to display my Zeros and Kamikaze pilot (under attack from some allied planes from the Pacific theater, like a Brewster Buffalo and P-38 Lightning).

Regards,

Louis
 
Louis,

You better give me a drool cup when I get to the symposium I would'nt want to make a mess on your dioramas:D

This is great stuff and thats what Andy needs to hear to get this warbird series up and running again. I can only imagine what Andy would have in mind for the Battlefield Backdrops series.

I am looking forward to next years crops.

Hope all is well at the house with the new one and I hope you can get some rest.

Regards,
Bill Sager
 
Dear Bill,

I am so hopeful that Andy will get wood Warbirds in production again. Early on they were a big part of K&C's production, and to this day they are some of the most beautiful and impressive products he ever made. Indeed, the pilots, ground crew, diorama pieces and related vehicles make this potentially one of the most fun subjects Andy can address. When you really think about it, WWII was the first war where air power truly dominated. It is an area that all WWII collectors can really get behind.

Regards,

Louis
 
The Wooden warbirds are fine models, but frankly from a quality of craftmanship, the detail was much greater on the cast resin models. I understand the Nostalgia and Hand crafted aspects of the wood model, but you just don't get the rivet and fine detail you do in the casting process. Now I'm always willing to be educated, but you put the wood BF-109 next to the cast unit and there's no comparison. Would that quality change now with more advanced hand crafting technics? Because my opinion is quality is one genie you can't get back into the bottle. I wouldn't want to see a line that throw back to a lesser quality vs. an artsy quality. It's as if Andy went back to making 80's style figures?
What's your opinion?
Ray
 
Dear MNRocks,

No disrespect intended, but I think you must be inexperienced with the wood warbirds. They are so far superior to the polystone models it is beyond comparison. The detail is insanely high quality, and as far as rivets, they are either painted on, or in some cases, applied with finish nails. The polystone warbirds were mediocre at best, as is evidenced by the fact that the dealers couldn't sell them until the present K&C price craze. They literally sat on the shelves for 2-3 years. Ask any dealer. The wood planes, on the other hand, despite the expense, never last a minute on a dealers shelf, and haven't for a number of years. The last time the wood warbirds were available through a dealer were a few with the Old Toy Soldier Home in San Diego and King & Country, U.K. They all flew off the shelves around 2000. I missed out on several by only a few days. Come to the N.Y. Symposium in March, spend an hour with the 48 in my collection, compare them to the two polystone ones (which I own but don't even bother to display), and then tell me what you think. I am sorry, by the way, at the lecturing tone of this post, but these warbirds are my passion, and the polystone ones simply don't compare.

Regards,

Louis
 
I think all the points here are well taken and I for one would like to see both. I love the attention to detail that Andy has gotten to but I also like the warmth that the original warbirds have. I guess I still have a lot of desire for the original products along with the new.

Whichever way Andy goes I'm sure we will be satisfied. I just think that the air wars as Louis stated are such a large part of WWII that it just seems a natural fit and without it my collection feels incomplete.

Bottom line is let's get the show on the road:) Or should I say in the AIR!!!

Bill Sager

PS: Ray you know me about this stuff:D
 
As an amateur in this field, I have to agree with Louis. I love the detail. I'm getting a Corsair in January so I'll let you know then. But Ray, you sold one of these a few months ago, to Louis I think so you have some knowledge in this area also.

Isn't this fantastic, all this talk about warbirds. Makes you get excited for more.
 
Thanks to Brad's comment, now I know why MNrocks has such a poor opinion of the wood warbirds. The ME109 I purchased from MNrocks for Hans was a mass-produced, lower quality early production version (about 150 were made quickly by a Philopine factory Andy later stopped using). The quality of the wood warbirds produced between 1993 and 1996 (at two other factories) was night and day better. If you could see the ME262 Swallow I was holding earlier this evening you would forget about polystone.
 
Hello Again Louis,
No offense taken, I did sell you the BF-109 a few months back and that is the only wood unit I have to use as a comparison and frankly it did not measure up to the polystone version. It's interesting to hear that there are quality issues even within the product runs at K&C. Going forward I would love to see the other models regardless of quality issues just for the love of it. In the end I am a great fan of the aircraft and only want the best quality available and more of it. As has been stated repeatedly "Ground Support" for these models is sorely lacking, I'd love to see groung crews for the Brits, American and German airforces!
 
Dear MNrocks,

There was indeed a big improvement in quality as the production runs of the wood warbirds went on. The early ones are kind of primitive, the later ones are masterpieces. Anytime you can get to New York I would be thrilled to let you inspect my planes.

Regards,

Louis
 
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