2008 Summer Wonderfest - CafeReo 1/144
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Cafe Reo continue to support 1/144 aircraft, there will be production protoypes of two new serries
* Bigbird series 4
* "Dive Bombers"
http://www.cafereo.co.jp/wf_news.htm
i imagine the release date of these productss will be Lte 2008 or Early 2009?
I think the "Summer Fest" 3rd August 2008? - so maybe some pictures next week?
I guess Big Bird could throw up anything (no pun intended). At least, it won't be more Betty's! Anyone like to take a stab at what we might see?
ReplyDeleteAs for the divebombers, the field is pretty limited if we consider only those aircraft to be built in reasonable numbers during WW2. Consequently, I expect we'll see more Vals, Suisei and Stukas. Whilst one anticipated role of the He177 was as a divebomber (the mind boggles!), the only other major Luftwaffe option would be the Ju88.
It will be interesting if we get a new Dauntless or Helldiver. And a Blackburn Skua would be most welcome!
Any other thoughts?
A Vultee Vengeance would be nice. Wouldn't hold my breath though. A Henschel Hs123 might stand a chance of getting in however. That and a Skua would be most welcome.
ReplyDeleteAny and all dive bombers would make welcome additions among those like myself who use these models for wargaming
ReplyDeleteas long as its not all IJN/IJA it will be start.
ReplyDeletethe stuka might raise is head, its is the first thing you think of in this category - maybe they will see sense and maybe limit it to a special? also cafe reo have been doing some crazy but interesting specials!?
there as to be a least one Japanese item?
1x or 2x types of japanese
1x american
1x German
1x Brit/soviet/italian?
I'm pretty sure we'll get Dauntlesses, with slight improvements over what 21st Century put out. I'm hoping for Hellcats or Vindicators though, but highly doubt it.
ReplyDeleteIt would be very disappointing if they put out more Stukas, but probably the easiest choice for them. Let's hope they haven't taken the easy road and selected fillers for this release with more Vals and the usual suspects.
I would love to see a Ju187 or Hs123 as specials though.
Big Bird should be good....they've got the usuals out of the way, though I guess there's a risk they'll do a Lancaster and a B-24D. I'd guess a Helen or Peggy, Ju-88 and perhaps a Yank medium...Boston would be ace but I'd guess Marauder/Mitchell.
ReplyDeleteDivebombers could be dire....Judy, Val, Lily and Stuka. Fair chance we'll see a Dauntless, but a Helldiver would be better. Vengeance would be nice but I'm guessing the chance of seeing something from outside the US/IJN-IJA/Luftwaffe trio is small.
Speaking of divebombers I have just received masters for: a Vultee Vengeance A35 and a Vought Vindicator SB2U. These will take a few months before they are ready to sell though.
ReplyDeletePeter, do I sense more decal requests? ;-)
ReplyDeleteBee, my mind must have gone a blank when I forgot the Hs123 as a Luftwaffe divebombing option. Think of all the camo options, including the Spanish Civil War ... insert sigh here. But the question is, could a Hs123 appear with, say, a Gladiator and a Fiat CR42 in a second series of biplanes from F-Toys?
Only time will tell ...
We Aussies would love to see the much maligned Vengeance, as the RAAF was one of the biggest operators of the type. Of course, Mr Hawkin will come to our rescue if the Vengeance is overlooked by CafeReo!
Badger, unless Popy is reborn with a new Projekt Flieger series, I doubt we'll see a non-resin Ju187. Wing144 possibly, but not CafeReo or F-Toys.
Other divebombers unlikely to make the cut are the Breda Ba88 Lince (FE-Resin did a resin one a while back) and the Loire-Nieuport LN40.
As for Russian alternatives, Martin questioned whether the IL2 Sturmovik might be considered. Technically ground support, but it was used as a divebomber on occasions. But do we want another Sturmovik? What about the Petlyakov Pe-2 or the Tupolev SB-2, both equally justified as divebombers as the IL2?
I didn't realise there were so many fellow Aussies here!
ReplyDeleteI seem to be out of the loop a bit regarding Mr Hawkin's work. Can any of you gentlemen bring me up to speed?
Ah! Found the search function.
ReplyDeleteNice work Sir!
From what can be interpreted at http://144planes.com/ ...
ReplyDeleteTwo Stukas (a D-5 and G-2), two SBD-3 Dauntless, two SB2C-4 Helldivers (could one possibly be a Shrike? ... doubt it!), two Yokosuka D4Y Suisei (F-Toys Vol 7 revisited) and ... well ... eh ... #09, #10 and #11 translate to "colour secret" and #12 to "secret". As CafeReo have already released the Ryusei, surely not! But, other than the Val, what else is there in IJN terms???
No Hs123! No Vengeance! No Skua! Definitely nothing Russian! :-(
Incidentally, bee. If you want to see Peter H's work, check out eBay item 140254681157 - "1/144 resin Loire 130-M Floatplane". And Peter and I are just the tip of the Aussie 1/144 iceberg!!!
Greg