www.accurate-miniatures.com

No modeling news, but we have posted some fresh data on VMSB-241 during the Battle of Midway within our research pages. To support the existing SB2U Vindicator information, we have added SBD-2 information, relating to Maj. Lofton Henderson. The new page is here:

http://www.accurate-miniatures.com/research/dauntless.htm

As always, thanks for your support and encouragement.

I find these kits costly. Besides the fully engraved details donw to the interior, can anyone tell my why their boxes are so darn bigger than those of Tamiya's and Academy's?

The boxes are designed with a tray insert to seperate the clear parts, decals and instruction booklets from the rest of the kit. This allows a measure of protection from damage for the clears and decals, as well as a box that is less prone to crushing.

Tom, thanks for the update. I'll get a news article up.

shonen_red


Accurate Miniatures, may cost more than some on the market but they are far more detailed. I for one love them, no aftermarket items required, which I belive is the philosophy behind the kits. We would all like to see cheaper kits, with AM kits you know what you are getting. Other kits work out more expensive when you start to add aftermarket goodies.
Buzzsaw, when are we going to see a 1/48 Lancaster? :-) or Wellington :-) or Spitfire series :-) or, well this list would be endless :-) Keep up the good work :-)
Mal

Hi there

Let me be the first to agree with Holdfast!! :-)

Accurate Miniatures kits do cost a bit more... but that's because they are just about the best on the market!! :-)

It's so good to see them back in production - I'll snap up everything I see!

All the best

Rowan

Shonen Red,

Accurate Miniatures kits are no more expensive than other manufacturers kits of equal quality, and may actually be less than some. Their level of detail is the finest on the market for the subjects they model. Their Avenger has the best interior of any model airplane kit I have ever built, and their Dauntless simply puts the Hasegawa kits to shame.

Perhaps they are more expensive than others where you are at due to import duties, etc?

At any rate, they are worth what you pay for them, hands down. And their customer service is just as good.

Scott Gentry

I dont believe that there kits cost any more than any other quality kits on the market the key word is quality!!!I would much rather lay my $28.00 down for a well detailed kit with recessed panel lines than a worn out monogram kit from the 50's with raised panel lines and with no hope of the monagrms parts fitting.also the money you save on the kit will have to be spent on putty any how...larry

Shonen, You find Accurate expensive? I find Revell, Monogram and Tamiya expensive. Why do I find the latter brands expensive? Very simple, although the unit cost of these kits is lower (apart from Tamiya) the amount of money you have to spend to bring them up to some modern standard is horrendous.... Accurate (along with companies like Skybow) are the best on the market, what do you prefer? 50 releases a year (of which 40, are 30 year old
re-releases) or a handful, all of which can be built from the box, with the minimum of aftermarket pieces and well-researched and well-tooled. Do me a favour, start supporting companies which support the hobbyist and stop comparing two companies which are dissimilar. Tamiya et al, are more concerned with gimmicks, if you want a Zero with 'real action sound' go for Tamiya, if you want a scale model, take a series objective look at companies like Accurate...Jim

Buzzsaw,How about a foray into 4 engined Bombers?
I will send you the story about my Father's crew on a B-24..............

I'd love to see the story, but don't wait up for any thing with four engines. Not saying it won't happen, but if it does, it will be a while.

:-) Ah, so a 1/48 Wellington is a possibility? :-)
Mal

It does not matter what you read on Hyperscale yesterday, Joe was not in the office, no one other than me and a couple of distributors actually spoke to him, and there are no plans for a 1/48 scale four-engine anything.

On the other hand, a 1/32 scale B-36 would also be a possibility, but since this is a FOR PROFIT business, I would not count on that happening either.

Sure would be cool, tho...

I have the AM F3F-1 & 2 and the SBDs. The SBD-2 sounds great! How about a 1/48 F2F-1, please, please, please :-) :-) :-) :-) There is not a 1/48 F2F-1 in any format

As you look at the market, you'll see a lot of things conspicous by their absence. I think the best example is the A5. The problem with things like A5s and F2Fs is that there is not a whole lot you can do with them. Yes, they're pretty, and they're nice, but in the case of the A5, there were only two versions (A5, RA5), and the Navy was the only agency that ever employed them, and in 1/48th, they're BIG. So a company is severly limited in the way in which to market them. As rabid as some people are who want one, after they make purchase of a couple, they're done, which means after we sell a few thousand kits, we're stuck with a huge investmant in tooling, R&D, packaging, etc, and no way of recouping the investment.

Popularity in one thing, but a company needs to look at the potential profitability of the product before it actually spends any money. Did you ever wonder why there are so many Mustangs and Bf-109s out there? It's because they sell. People love them because there are a thousand diffrent ways to do them. On the other hand, there ore only a few ways to present something like an A5 or an F2F.

Looking on the hobby store shelves, we see a lot of things that really need to be done because, as yet, no one has (at least correctly). What you're going to see from Accurate Miniatures over the next few years are a few more mainstream kits that have been severly overlooked over the years.

Want a hint? I can't give you one, because we have a policy of not announcing new stuff until we have it on the shelves. This is because of the ebb and flow of the production cycle. Suffice to say a lot of people are going to be surprised, and a lot of people are going to be very happy.

:-) I fully understand your point of view and I for one would like to see AM go from strength to strength, and not come crashing down due to a bad decision about what to kit. Anything you produce will be great :-) I still think a Wellington would be a good idea :-)
Mal

Because of the detail and quality ,I buy AM kits on reputation alone.I have more to build than I have built,but I always look in my LHS for the next release.

You can not go wrong in buying an AM kit if you want a very good representation of a particular aircraft. ( I also would LOVE to see a Wellington or Lanc. I would also be in plastic Heaven if a 1/32 B-36 was produced. Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes)
capnjock

I have yet to build a AM kit but all I've heard about them is good things. I'm going to have to pick one up and see how they are.