|
| P-51D
Mustang 15-44-14978 - Maj. Walker "Bud" Mahurin, CO, 3rd
ACS/3rd ACG, Mangaldan, Luzon, 1945 |
Aviation
Archive. Fighter Ace
History. Produced in 2006, this model was made primarily
for the US market. At that time there was still a Corgi USA, office
in Chicago, and that office apparently had some say in selecting
model liveries. Why they selected this livery is a bit of a mystery.
Maybe the Chicago gang thought the Far East campaign was a bit unrepresented,
or perhaps they thought a famous name would sell models (not Corgi,
but Mahurin). To their credit, they tried to fancy it up with a
little dirt (that can't be rust because 'Ds weren't iron clad),
but the result only makes one yearn for factory fresh aluminum.
A little weathering sincerity would have been nice; instead we got
mud mayhem. It's not as if there aren't plenty of alternative liveries.
For instance, I've always wondered why Corgi didn't produce a yellow
nose (no, not the tip of the nose, the whole nose) like the one
HM just released. Witty distributed one, but I can't think of any
other brands taking the plunge--perhaps Easy Model, if you're into
plastic.
Beggers and Choosers. Okay Corgi
it's time to roll out a new Mustang mold. Unfortunately, it seems
Corgi is becoming very UK-centric in their new product lines, so
getting a new 'D or even 'B mold is probably a pipe dream. We haven't
even seen new releases of the existing and excellent US-type molds,
such as the P-38, P-40, or B-25. If my suspicions are right, we
could be missing a lot of potentially exciting US releases in the
future. Corgi's retrenchment (if it is such) may be taking the form
of concentrating on British (and possibly German) subject matter
and UK sales. The only non-British diecast airplanes listed in the
latest catalog are in the Flight range, which are stripped models
for sale to young collectors. The latest Corgi Collector magazine
lists just one non-British release, the long awaited and much anticipated
Russian Front Bf-110C. New releases of highly desirable four-engine
types, a range in which Corgi excels, are hard to come by in the
US, and online vendors (virtually the only channel for US sales)
report that their order numbers for such models have been cut back
due to high demand in the UK. This cut-back may be another indication
of Corgi's UK-centric marketing. Hobby Master's unbelievable production
schedule may be the reason for a retrenchment. The seeming futility
of marketing diecast models against HM's massive distribution blitz
may be forcing Corgi back to their original UK customer base, which
in itself seems quite strong. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong about
this. Hope, hope, hope. |
| |
 |
|
