I'm going to assume the delays are more to do with improvements (which I'm fine with) than the Chinese holidays (which after all would have been known well in advance).
I've waited for AC before so this delay isn't even registering yet!
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I've been watching this on Facebook and I really think these guys have a great product in the making.
I get why people are worried, but these are just sample pictures and I am pretty sure all the little issues will be sorted out.
Everyone should be encouraging them I think. More options is good for everyone, especially people who HAVEN'T been lucky enough to have been collecting since 2000
I've been watching this on Facebook and I really think these guys have a great product in the making.
I get why people are worried, but these are just sample pictures and I am pretty sure all the little issues will be sorted out.
Everyone should be encouraging them I think. More options is good for everyone, especially people who HAVEN'T been lucky enough to have been collecting since 2000
so true... but you could have ended up with lumps of metal back then aka ww tomcats (i cannot take credit for this one... someone else said it) even if it cost a quarter of what these allegedly highly accurate officially licensed products now cost less than 5 years ago (or was it 3? hmm... memory's failing).
I've been watching this on Facebook and I really think these guys have a great product in the making.
I get why people are worried, but these are just sample pictures and I am pretty sure all the little issues will be sorted out.
Everyone should be encouraging them I think. More options is good for everyone, especially people who HAVEN'T been lucky enough to have been collecting since 2000
I think they have the potential for a great product, but they still need to get the ball over the line yet.
They should be encouraged sure, but encouraged to make the necessary improvements and not try to pass off anything second rate.
There are enough different Tomcat manus out there these days that even if CalWings fails nobody is going to be stuck without enough F-14 models, that's one thing I can assure you of.
Now the market has an overflow of 1/72 Tomcats, to be competitive will the retail price drop ????
Prices have risen very steep the last years, for all brands who manufacter 1/72 Tomcats !
Now the market has an overflow of 1/72 Tomcats, to be competitive will the retail price drop ????
Prices have risen very steep the last years, for all brands who manufacter 1/72 Tomcats !
Unlikely, it's the production costs that's mainly driving the price rises. The price can't be lowered without risking a reduction in revenue or making a loss even if sales do increase.
Now the market has an overflow of 1/72 Tomcats, to be competitive will the retail price drop ????
Prices have risen very steep the last years, for all brands who manufacter 1/72 Tomcats !
nope. not likely. even the old ww tomcats which used to retail at $50(?) is now asking for thrice that under its new guise, jcw
interestingly JUMBLIES have just listed JR + WOLFPACK models!! All models £5 more than FT. thought these were sold out??? Flying tigers has very few left.
interestingly JUMBLIES have just listed JR + WOLFPACK models!! All models £5 more than FT. thought these were sold out??? Flying tigers has very few left.
They're only sold out at the manufacturer. Anything could happen at the distributor level, perhaps Flying Tigers bought too many and needed some cash back by selling some to Clevelands.
I noticed Jumblies were now, belatedly offering them, and assumed it was a result of pre-order cancellations elsewhere meaning they were able to get hold of some?
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jumblies also state delivery date on ALL 4 are 31st January next year. we know the JR + WOLFPACK have been delayed for mould tweaks. so the later the better for me. could turn the JR into a birthday present in February!!!
Wonder if anybody else in u.k will list these????
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Last edited by robertjon5; 10-11-2016 at 05:18 PM.
So how are they attracting so many pre-orders when we haven't even seen any decent images of the final product? I'm interested, but I would at least need that image before pre-ordering!
So how are they attracting so many pre-orders when we haven't even seen any decent images of the final product? I'm interested, but I would at least need that image before pre-ordering!
I think most would say "hype" and I suppose if the pre-orderers are on good terms with their retailer, they could cancel the order or return the model if they don't like the final product.
So how are they attracting so many pre-orders when we haven't even seen any decent images of the final product? I'm interested, but I would at least need that image before pre-ordering!
Agree totally. While we've seen bits and pieces from calibre that are intriguing if not downright promising, we've also seen things from them that are worrying. Most critically, we have yet to see a paint-and-tampo-and-wear/shading finish from them that appraoches the benchmark set by early CWs or current Air Commanders, which I consider to be the gold standard at the moment. No matter how good their mould, if they finish them like hobbymaster, given the premium price they are demanding, I'll probably not be interested.
I do give them props for choosing the VF-142 bird though. Nice, non-cliche choice.
CW gold standard ? your kidding right ? I've seen just as many paint **** up CW's then on hm's and as most recently as the anniversary scheme, 10 yrs can still screwing it up
I can only say that apart from HM's first Tomcat Checkmate which indeed has many finishing & fitting issues that I once owned. The subsequent releases from Christine onwards that I'm owning have fairly good finish. The IRIAF & MIG 23 killer are one of the best finishes. These are just my experience with HM Tomcats so far.
Even my CW VF-31 Theodore Roosevelt has some uneven paints finish on nose , paints chip at sweep wings.
Looks to be a fair amount of detail. I'm not too happy about the quality of the paint finish, mind, but then I suppose it is only pre-production. Will look forward to seeing images of the final product.
Very nice model! The nozzle has the details and nice. If they can fix the seam from the gun vent piece and also make inter-changeable wing-gloves (wings swept backward and forward), Calibre Wings could be the KING in F-14 diecast market!
It does need quite some work still. The rudders need their angles less Hornet-like for starters. And the proper gun vents look fine but not the too obvious piece of plastic they come with. Also no idea why the on board ladder steps have to stick out. On the proper jet you'll see their outlines, but they don't stick out like this.
Here's the Wolfpack. Seems this also has a few issues, canopy colour seems off compared to the main body, not too sure about the airbrake. Seems to be sitting a bit 'proud'?
The gun vent looks better with the tampo covering the gap, just hope that holds up over time!
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I have to say, both sets of model images look pretty exciting...I'm sure if these are pre-production photos, some more of the minor issues will be ironed out?
I love the JRs F110 exhaust petals! I currently only have the Wolfpack on order myself, which also looks very good. Not sure if the air brake will fit completely flush with the body in future, would this be quite difficult with diecast metal?
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Appears that the stencils on the JR vertical stabs are off a bit; hope they get those right. Also, the tampo on front fuselage looks a bit high, and the very top part gets get cut off abruptly. My CW Wolfpack tampo is quite a bit lower, more like the actual livery looked like...
Great canopy shaping, to my mind...
That is what usually happens after a pre-pro. We'll just have to wait and see.
well time will tell. liking what I see so far. I am sure tweaks will be made. although maybe not all on these first 2 releases due to time restraint. but like HM I am sure they will improve! they just need to generate to some cashflow.
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Looks really nice, but honestly - somehow I do not see much progress over „working prototype“ and Tokyo show pictures. All that time I was - for god's sake - waiting for improvements, breathing in... breathing out , but areas that needed attention on the S-A-M-P-L-E-S, - mainly the fuselage join gap and of course the gun vent panel gaps to name the most visible - still continue to needing attention.
Is it me or can anybody tell me where „tooling adjustments to correct the errors seen on the test shots“ were made? I register that upper air brake is without dents, which was corrected on pre production models already, but the most sensitive issues remain unchanged - fuselage join gap and the gun panel gap (somewhat reminds me FOV Showtime 100 ...). Hopefully - as AC informed us – pre-production version comments allegedly will carry a lot more weight than previous comments (don´t understand why, but lets be surprised).
So here are some comments:
- improving eliminating gun vent panel gaps
- tightening fuselage join gaps (especially front gap under RIO)
- MLG wheels are not upright (vertical)
- outer weapon palletsare not upright (the lower vertical part is not vertical)
These comments come largely from high expectations. I think we all have very high expectations for this CaW F-14 since it was presented as the most hi-tech and most awesome F-14 in diecast, as very high quality model, „The finest in die-cast military aircraft“. And CaW are really close: nozzles are simply awesome, overall feel of the model is great, looks like model you might want, but it look like that construction with exchangeable gun vent panel, logically resulting in possible gap problems in quite a prominent area, was maybe somehow risky. Anyway I wish to CaW technicians to be able to eliminate these ugly gaps.
I like it but:
Fins too splayed out.
Gun vent panel fit loose.
Canopy seems to be sitting a bit proud.
VF-1 tan radome demarcation line looks too sloped.
Overall, better than any other F-14 tooling to my eyes.
The gun ven gap isn't noticable on the VF-1. Probably due to the markings. I think they've done a great job and finally seen a decent upgrade to F-14's available on the market.
There is something about these CalWing F-14 that just seems right. The proportions, the shape of the canopy (although I hope they can make it sit flush), the stance...it simply looks like the real thing to me. The JR version looks especially realistic.
Sure, there are several things to be corrected as mentioned in previous posts: the much too slanted fins, the angled radome beige demarcation colour on the WP, etc.
Perhaps a bit of light panel weathering on the plane and undercarriage to bring out some details would be nice too.
I’m far from being an F-14 expert...the latest CW JR Tomcat being the first in my collection. But looking at these pics...I have to say that it looks pretty promising for CalWings.
They look nice, but I frankly don't see that much of an improvement over the CW and HM versions. I was looking at the pictures posted on their Facebook page and saw room for many improvements, most of which have already been mentioned.
Rolling wheels? Really?
I also hope the paint improves. I understand that it's a pre-pro, but I would want to get it right at this stage.
The canopy fit and color on the VF-1 will probably be addressed.
The gun vent piece is going to be a problem.
Just my 2 cents. I'm impressed with the effort, and I hope that they follow up with improvements and deliver a great product, but I'm not ordering any until I see some customer reviews.
The graphics look very sharp. There looks to be many more small detailing on the model that again, looks very sharp. It is like they looked at what was missing from other models and added the little touches. The over all look is very good, for a first model on the market, this looks terrific.
Yes I agree, the market niche is over saturated, but with the best model in such a market, Calibre should be ok and they are tackling liveries that have not been done but popular. Plus, it is one of the most popular models, the F-14 is always iconic with collectors. Have one on order and looking forward to it from what I see here. Cannot say the same for the past HM models and recent CW models.
Looking at the photos, I'd say that my verdict is that it's a mixed bag. The overall paint finish is very much "hobbymaster 2016" which is not good, but the overall level of detail is higher than HM. Since i have plenty of CWs, im not exactly rushing out to get any calibre products, but if their SU24 is at this standard I think it will be very nice indeed (though they'd have to get the camo right)
My eyes might be playng tricks, but looking at the Wolfpack photo on the stand, do I detect something protruding from the inboard wing root leading edge when wings are in the forward position?
Note that most of the photos are with the wings in swept back position.