The 2020 Dream Kit List

Happy 2020 to you all!  I am currently completing a big kit that I hope to write about before the end of the month.  But before I get to that finish line, the first week of January is as good a time as any to break out another “Top 5” wish list.

Last year’s Top 5 was a pretty successful list:

• 1/48 P-38 By Tamiya: Released! (I got mine in the fall)
• More 1930s Airplanes in 1/48: Sorta done? (I got the Sonia last summer)
• 1/48 A-12/SR-71/YF-12: Mostly done? (I will keep an eye out for this one)

My 3 for 5 is a pretty good record.  So let’s see if we can get a few more winners this year!  Some of my wants below might seem a bit far fetched at first.  Keep in mind we live in a platinum era in scale modeling.  So there really are no limits.  Even if the mainstream makers don’t touch some of the more esoteric subjects, we have ‘smaller’ makers bringing us quality kits of 1/48 B-52s and B-47s.  Seriously…1/48…

Here is my 2020 list of my 5 most wanted kits (in no particular order):

1. An Updated New Tool Tamiya Corsair in 1/48

Yes, a holdover from last year.  And my arguments are the same. The Spitfire and the 109 got updated recently.  They also gave us an up to date A6M5 Zero not too long ago.  So why not an update to their Corsair kits first released in 1996?   Their Corsair could benefit from an update to the design of the wing folds and the hood in front of the cockpit. Those are two things that Tamiya dealt with rather well with their unbelievably well done 1/32 Corsair.

I’m also thinking that despite Hobby Boss’s new mold Corsairs, there is a lot of room for improvement.  Keep in mind, Hasegawa’s -4, -5, -6 and , -7 variants are also getting long in the tooth (and have their own build issues).  An updated family of Corsairs is a completely reasonable ask.

2. A 1/32 Val or Kate by Zoukei-Mura or Tamiya

Yet another holdover from my 2019 list but I think a big scale carrier attack plane would be welcome from either of these two manufacturers.  ZM brought us two versions of the Ki-45 Nick in 2019.  But they went German for a follow up in 2020.  If ZM or anyone else made one of these kits, I think they will sell very well.

3. A Sally or Frances or really any Japanese Twin Engine Bomber in 1/48

I’ll admit, I do have a fascination with the many different airframes the Japanese produced in the War.  And this is where the 1/72 builders have such an advantage.  There are great kits of these two planes in that scale.  Builders have produced some amazing models from these kits.

However, outside of vaccuform kits, there are few Japanese twin engine bomber models for us in 48th.   There is the very nice and simple to build Tamiya Betty which is worth every penny of its asking price.  AZ Models brought us a Lily recently and I am told it is very nice even if it is a little difficult to come by here.

I think these would be as well received in 48th scale as they have been in 72nd.  The prototypes enjoyed relatively long service lives and there were a variety of paint schemes on these planes to keep builders happy.

4. A 1/48 Northrop Gamma

This is my Top 5 list and I am thinking blue skies here.  This is a continuation of my relatively recent interest in 1930s aircraft. I just love bare metal with wheel pants and a big ol’ cowl.  I have seen the Williams kit in 1/72 and I have seen some wonderful builds of it posted online.  But these require some TLC as well as some custom decals to really pull off.  Planet Models recently produced two versions of the Hughes H-1 Racer so maybe they might want to expand on that??

5. A 1/72 or a 1/48 PB4Y-2 Privateer

Again, this is a long shot for sure.  But ya don’t get what you don’t ask for.  Actually it’s been my experience that we tend to get a lot of un-asked-for BF109s and FW190s but that is for a different topic.

I have a big interest in the Pacific War and that is where I tend to focus my builds.  One thing I have noticed is that the more I learn about the Pacific War the more I realize that I don’t know much about it.  Take this Privateer for example.  I didn’t know it existed  or what it did until I ran into one at the Pima Air and Space Museum in 2018.  While the liberator bomber does absolutely nothing for me, this highly modified version made an immediate impression.  It just looks mean – especially in the tri-colour Navy scheme.  Now I know there are a few resin conversion kits out there designed to convert the Revellogram B-24 but those are expensive conversions to an old kit.

I love this plane and I’d love to build a good one.  Maybe 1/48 is the wrong scale for this beast and I should hope for a cutting edge 1/72 as the Matchbox version is old and rather difficult to come by.  I know I would pick one up if someone made one in either scale.

What about you?

These “wish lists” are always a subjective thing but that’s what makes them fun to discuss.  So what do you think of my wish list? Did I go too far?  Nor far enough?  I’d like to know what your top five are – let me know in the comments!