Small Scale Military Headquarters

While I am bummed about the current situation at 21st Century, I am really excited about the two plane Admiral will release. I have a feeling both their SBD Dauntless, and Skyraider models will raise the bar as far as 1/18th scale models go. Sure they have had their share of delays, and I too wonder when they will be out. But, from the few pictures we have seen of the prototypes, these will be killer models, and great additions to out 1/18th scale Navy aircraft.

Will AT lower their level of detail if 21st is not around,... that is big question????

Will we see 1/18th items with less detail from AT???????
because you know Jason complained about that in the past...of one upmanship to the point of oblivion..........competition is a good thing especially in our hobby.......

No doubt that AT will put out some exciting 1/18th A/c I just hope the level of detail does not suffer......

I see your point, but I don't think Jason would lower the level of detail in these models. He is proud his father flew the Skyraider, and I think in a way he sees this model as a tribute to his father.

I just hope that I can have an A1 with the option of having the wings in the folded position ( plug and play kind...not working fold....and to have the armor shield in the cowling removable....not all a-1 pilots used it and in the hot humid Vietnam climate many did not close it until they hit the deck...... that is if the scopes that brought in fresh air was not clogged with bugs and bird parts......

I knew a mechanic that worked on them many of the scoops came back clogged......

I just hope it has some of these features I am tired trying to fix what is not there..

I am not asking for a 10,000 dollar 1/18th aircraft kind of detail just a little detail.

Jason's issue of one-upmanship had nothing to do with detail. From what I have seen and heard, the Dauntless model would pretty much set a new bar for "mass market" 1/18 aircraft. Keep in mind that the Sabre and Me-262 were Admiral's first planes, and were quite impressive as a first offering (take a look back at some of 21st's first offerings, like the original Mustangs, Stukas, and Me-109Es for accuracy, detail, and moving features).

Will you get that level of detail for $40 WM prices? No. The Dauntless is currently still set for pre-order around $70, if I recall correctly, and I am guessing the Skyraider will be closer to $100-$120.

If anything, you may see Admiral work to incorporate more detail - they aren't going after the same target market that 21st had to deal with (in other words, they didn't need to appeal to the parents of 8-year-olds as a primary demographic). They will target people like us: collectors who appreciate more detail, realize that also means it's NOT (really) a toy, and are willing to pay a bit more for that detail and accuracy. And now that they really don't have to compete with 21st at WM and TRU prices, the need to balance quality with matching 21st's discount price points is no longer an issue. The focus can be where we want it - a BETTER product at a FAIR price.

The Skyraider is going to be a huge model. I am really looking forward to it, its size alone will be really impressive.

Jason has already said that new models will probably feature optional parts for undercarriage, rather than retractable undercarriage. That was before 21c's woes. So i don't think he is or was overy concerned about one upmanship with 21c. His goal is to produce quality, accurate models at reasonable prices.

Even with no competition around, if people don't like the product they won't buy it; so detail, accuracy etc will still have to be there.

I'd just be thanking your lucky stars that AT still seems to be in the game. And Jason did mention THREE new aircraft under development.

I don't think AT has to worry about 21st trying to one-up them for a while.
Like they did with the Saber, the 262, and a false claim of an F-4 in the works.

The Dauntless, Skyraider, and Phantom is going to set the bar pretty high.

Keep an eye on BBI though.
I saw the prototype of AT's Zero with folding wing tips no less. They no doubt would have produced it if not for BBI's Zero.

Lets hope the cut-throating is over for a while.
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I think there is room in the market for AT proto type navy zero. they just need to be at the same price point as bbi or less.
it all comes down to price point.