Matthew Robeson gives us a look into the box of Trumpeter''s huge new Grumman HU-16 Flying Boat in 1:48.

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first of all it is absolutely rediculous for a 1/48 scale kit to cost $140.00. no amount of detail or add ons short of starting and flying warrant such a price. i know tamiya has many 1/32 kits that have everything in them including the kitchen sink if needed with a hefty price but they are great! for a fairly new kid on the block to ask this kind of money for a a soso kit is not acceptable. i'm sure that if tamiya or hasegawa were to make this kit it would cost under $80.00. therefore, i urge you modelers out there to not pay this amount for this or any other 1/48 kit as it is not worth it by a long shot. i have been modeling for 55 years and will not accept such nonsense!!! ok, come on revell,tamiya and hasegawa, you have been called out to give us a great new albatross at a desent price! i thank you for your time.

david kidd
st. marys, ga usa

I believe the $140 'suggested retail price' is just that, a list price. I am already seeing prices on some internet pages slightly below $100. That said this builds into a very LARGE aircraft, so no I don't really see a problem for what you are getting. Keep in mind there are some pretty pricey 1/72 scale fighters and such from older established names (like Hasegawa). They list for around $70 these days.

Completely agree with you, Jim!

This is a VERY good kit - inside out. It is NOT a "so-so kit - and is priced "sensibly" compared to some other kits. Despite not being an expert on how ships sink, I find the box art just wonderful - excellently depicting the Albatross.

I'm sorry kid one but this aircraft scales in at about TWO FEET in wingspan in 1:48. That is a big kit. The review is quite clear that it appears to be a superb rendering as well. Trumpeter may not be a storied old war horse but they're producing a lot of truly first rate kits.

100% agree, Ray!

I'd be more then willing to pay $100 for this kit. A 2 ft wing span is huge! Proper display space is already an issue as my man cave is only 10 x 10.

Growing up about 15 min from Grumman's Bethpage main plants and corp offices, I seen 1st hand everything built in the 60's & 70's, and a accurate Albatross has long been on my want list.

Joel

Remindes me of the catalina. Big plane and lots of fun! I can think I few kits in the stash mostly hasegawa that cost me pretty close to 100 there's nothing cheap about the hase's unless I'm missing a major discount some where

I do believe this is likely a very nice kit. Just can't see it being much better than their Wellington, or Tamiya's Betty, or Italeri's Boston III in the same scale.

With a suggested retail price of $140.00, Trumpeter will have to change the side box printing to 'Middle-Class & Up' rather than the usual 14 years & up. She's definitely priced out of the kids ballpark.

Thanks for the input guys. Yes, the MSRP is about $140, but it's available for close to $100. It's comparable to many kits of the same size, since it's as large or larger than most 1/32 kits. The Tamiya Betty cracked $100 when it was recently re-released, and the Wellington was around $90 when it first came out. It's a really nice kit, and I'm very excited to start building it for the site here.

And yes, the kit is very well detailed inside and out. I'm currently plotting ways to actually see inside, looks like a couple of doors can be opened. Just fill the ejector pins in the fuselage.

One small flaw, it is missing the tail support for ground handling. It's a small strut, but should be easy to make. Stops the plane from breaking the hull when it's unloaded and rocks back