It appears in these photos they got the barrel jackets right, as opposed to the early sprue shots of the assembled weapon which showed the cooling holes lined up, instead of this correct staggered layout. So that’s something. I suspect this will be their premium offering, as Richard has implied above, and more will be released in a different boxing. Let’s hope so, as I agree, the bust casting doesn’t really look so hot, and we’ve already discussed the box art, the addition of a “Richthofen sleeve” doesn’t improve things. Perhaps Meng is trying to cash in on the “limited” nature of WnW releases. But to limit this kit to only 1,000 pressings seems to be poor marketing, unless they intend on releasing it in a different format later. And by limiting it, it also implies a hefty price tag. I’d think a better marketing ploy would be to release it in a cheaper, fewer “bells and whistles” format, then add a “limited edition” later. Since I already have two Roden kits built and on the shelf, I won’t be buying this limited edition, unless it’s considerably cheaper. In my opinion, Meng has an opportunity to make lots of money here, but not with this particular release in this particular boxing, if the price isn’t right.
I’d hope there would be several marking “options” as well, since even Richthofen’s last Triplane, 425/17 went through at least 2 markings changes before he was shot down. This would be the early depiction, with the “Maltese” style crosses as it was painted when it left the factory. The markings on 425/17 had been largely painted out to the “Balkan” style crosses by the time he was shot down in April 1918 (although the lower surface crosses were only partially painted out).
VR, Russ
News Reporter
