Latest Alphasim products.......

[AndyG]

When I was a plastic modeller I bought Spifires (and all the loved models) from every producer:
Revell, Matchbox, Italeri (?), Airfix (Johnnie Johnson), Frog and even Russian, Czech and similar strange manufacturers so why not for FS?

Panty

You and me both! The KP Spitfire was one of their better efforts, and the Rareplanes Seafire 47 was the first vacform I ever managed to complete. And like many I cut my teeth on that Airfix Mk IX; primitive was not the word! :shock:

AndyG

[panty]

Primitive the Airfix IX?
And what about the Mark 1 from Frog?
I'm old and I'm talking about early '70 models...
Please don't speak aloud or my good friend Kikko will start talking about his collection of models from the fifties

[AndyG]

Primitive the Airfix IX?
And what about the Mark 1 from Frog?
I'm old and I'm talking about early '70 models...
Please don't speak aloud or my good friend Kikko will start talking about his collection of models from the fifties

Some of those Airfix moulds were FROM the fifties! The aforesaid Spitfire and the 109G-6 were around before I was born!!!

AndyG

[panty]

Good products came from the fifties:
Elvis, Rock, Hunters, Dove, me.......

[AndyG]

Andy,

Yes your views are valid, as are all the others and yes l agree more variants can make a big difference, there was so much demand for other Seakings that l buckled and did pack 2 and did two extras for pack 1.

I should have learnt from the Seaking extras with regards to the Merlin but l didnt and l got stung again, its rare l get stung twice and l never get stung three times in a row !.

I see your point on the other Mks but l'm powerless to make a change in policy, the only realistic way is for people like yourself to do exactly what there doing, walk on by. Thats not anti AS but the plain truth.

Again it depends on the author, some add extra Mks as a matter of course, some....like me add them later as an errored after thought, some dont add them at all and l suppose thats one of the biggest concerns many will have....inconsistancy in packaging.

Finding the happy medium will and has so far proved difficult but l'm sure in the end it'll get better....it has to, to remain attractive to end users.

Best

Michael

Well, I decided it was a sensible idea to post over on the Alphasim forum, as there is a current thread running about the Javelin. Kudos is due to Phil, as we can now anticipate a Javelin pack v 1.1 which will include a pen-nib rear, and an FAW 9R, at which point I shall be making my next AS purchase!

AndyG

[Trev Clark]

Well, a good an open discussion, glad about that No Dave, I wish I were in the employ of Mr.P, perhaps I would get a discount Seriously, speaking as one who waited his entire life (and afterlife it seems) for Airfix to make an Argosy C Mk 1, my love of the obscure kit subjects seems to be reawoken in FS, after a gap of 20 odd years. It seems only AlphaSim are keeping this love alive in the payware sector. A freeware RAF Argosy is not a forlone hope is it? :tuttut:

[Michael davies]

Andy,

Yes your views are valid, as are all the others and yes l agree more variants can make a big difference, there was so much demand for other Seakings that l buckled and did pack 2 and did two extras for pack 1.

I should have learnt from the Seaking extras with regards to the Merlin but l didnt and l got stung again, its rare l get stung twice and l never get stung three times in a row !.

I see your point on the other Mks but l'm powerless to make a change in policy, the only realistic way is for people like yourself to do exactly what there doing, walk on by. Thats not anti AS but the plain truth.

Again it depends on the author, some add extra Mks as a matter of course, some....like me add them later as an errored after thought, some dont add them at all and l suppose thats one of the biggest concerns many will have....inconsistancy in packaging.

Finding the happy medium will and has so far proved difficult but l'm sure in the end it'll get better....it has to, to remain attractive to end users.

Best

Michael

Well, I decided it was a sensible idea to post over on the Alphasim forum, as there is a current thread running about the Javelin. Kudos is due to Phil, as we can now anticipate a Javelin pack v 1.1 which will include a pen-nib rear, and an FAW 9R, at which point I shall be making my next AS purchase!

AndyG

Sometimes it is a simple as that, ask nicely at the right time and the right place and doors open, Phil is quite open about reworks and has a set criteria as to what he will do for a given pack, he and I differ on what warrents extra work LOL.

Seaking, well yes pack 3 would include the HH-3 Pelican and the civil S-61N and l did toy with throwing in the Tahre as l cant realistically justify that as a stand alone, however each of these three alone are quite major airframe rebuilds and do fall out side of the rework criteria mentioned above, so it's a difficult decision to commit to because you would have to make the pack align with previous releases in price and quantity, its a hard call and the jury is still out.

There are calls for a civil Merlin as well, l cant see how it can justify a stand alone so it'd have to be a free update for both the Navy and RAF packs, again another hard call and again the jury is still out.

Oddly l seem to be stuck in the helo rut right now so once l've done these other two/three l may look at the above alternatives, but like l say, theres some hard pills to swallow in there.

Your comment on developing is spot on and if your thinking like that already then you are half way there, most of my research is down to variations and how to add or subtract as easily as possible, you do need an eye to discern the 'base' model, once you have that then the variants drop into place nicely, dont give up young padawan .

Finally, even negative posts or comments can be viewed as positive, ie as how 'not' to do it , every one is learning all the time.

I do have to pick up on one point Dave noted and thats pricing, generally l think its about right, but there have been some recent models that l have to truthfully say were a little....'expensive', yes they were good, very good, but it seemed a step into a new market that many were not comfortable with, l know the previewed FA-18 will be in this new region but l think many others will be around the Seaking and Javelin area, it does seem to be the area most are comfortable with.

Y'all take care now

Michael

[DaveB]

Hello Michael,

Pricing for me is only concerned with the sphere of aircraft I'm interested in mate. I do buy the odd American hardware from time to time but this is few and far between. So.. looking at the present UK catalogue, the most expensive models are the Javelin (which I don't have) and the EF2000 (which I also don't have) at around the £13.20 mark. This is about as much as I'd want to pay If there are more expensive models out there, I presume they'll be for your rich American audience

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[PushinPolys]

Most people here do not know me but I publish my work through AlphaSim. Phantom set 1, 2, 3, Flanker set, Backfire set, Sea vixen (first ever project for Alpha and today the Dornier 217K/M and a good deal more in the pipe. Value for money has always been a priority for me and everybody at Alpha. As a designer yes I can make it more real and more realistic but what price then? I think that £11-16 is reasonable for what you get and with an ever expanding choice of models available most of which other publishers would not even consider I believe it has a valuable place for the Sim community. When I did the first set of the Phantoms it was almost impossible to satisfy everyone’s wishes, think about it, all the different weapon loads, cockpit changes, avionic upgrades the list is endless. The models are not perfect but they were done over 2 years ago and time moves on but for the market we try and satisfy I think it is pretty much on target. I could have decided to do just one variant, get all the gauges correct, custom sound set, payload and weapon editor and a number of other things but who would have purchased a pack like that at say £29.99 I am happy with the way Alpha do things and although I have been approached by other more mainstream publishers I will continue to work solely for Alpha simply because of Price, diversity of subject and a relative freedom of choice in what aircraft you wish to model. I have also purchased various Payware from other houses at double and treble the price of Alpha's offerings and been very disappointed with the product. As most of my work is done alone it can be very time consuming to get something to market, yes it is my choice to do it in the first place and if it goes down like a lead balloon it is my loss and sometimes that can mean months of wasted effort. I spend on average about 60 hours a week on projects and if I get a small return from my efforts I am happy. If it bums out I am disappointed and sometimes feel like giving it all up and become a bus driver but then again there is always the next project. :-({|=

[ianhind]

As Senor Trev said

Well, a good an open discussion, glad about that

Congratulations Gentlemen - an excellent discussion. I have sat and read every contribution and it all makes very interesting reading.

Thank you.