Thursday, July 15, 2010

Incorrect Markings on RTF Model Airplanes

I've been drooling over what Nitroplanes/Airfield RC have been coming out with this past year.

However, I'm disappointed that their quaility control at the Chinese factory(
I assume) is terribly lacking. Point in fact is with American military aircraft from World War Two to Vietnam and the modern era. The "Star & Bar" is displayed on top of the left wing and bottom of the right wing with the point of the star pointing in the direction of travel or up if on the fuselage. And on both sides of the fuselage. In the modern era, the American flag is displayed on the vertical tail usually. If you are standing on the left or port side of a airplane, the flag is normal looking, on the right or starboard side, it is the reverse view "as if you were looking at the flag on a flagpole."


Case in point: Airfields' popular 55" wingspan P-51D Mustang with either the red nose spinner or the yellow spinner. Truth be known, I would love to buy the yellow nose
Mustang. But I cannot bring myself to - because of the incorrect wing markings done on the yellow airplane. They got it right with the red spinner
airplane! What happened here with the yellow one? Even more bizarre, their smaller 30" wingspan size P-51s are correct in their wing markings!?

The Art-Tech P-51D is done correctly. The pictures prove it on their own website!


Then moving on to the big, beautiful Twin 70mm ductfan powered F-4e done up in U.S. Navy colors by ProJet. And the star & bar is on top of the starboard(i.e. right wing). To make matters worse, the point of the star is facing AFT, Not Forward like it should!!!









The color schemes are not bad-don't get me wrong about that. But to allow such models to reach the public with these type of mistakes point to poor oversite management in my opinion. That F-4E just begs for the USAF southeast asia paint scheme on a future model release. I hope that they can get it right when they do it.

___
Ref.
Nitroplanes.com-
Projet F-4e twin 70mm DF(http://www.nitroplanes.com/90f4efiedfrc.html).
Airfield RC P-51 55" yellow (http://www.nitroplanes.com/93a51-51-yellow-rtf-24g-eretract.html).
Airfield RC P-51 55" red (http://www.nitroplanes.com/93a51-51-silver-rtf-24g-eretract.html).
Airfield RC 31.5" P-51 blue (http://www.nitroplanes.com/93a275-800p51-blue-rtf-24g.html).
Art-Tech 29.5" P-51D (http://www.nitroplanes.com/at-21133-minip51.html).

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