I was looking into the practicality of producing some planes using a "P500" system – where I'd list a plane and solicit orders for it to be modeled (3D CAD) and produced. That's a method that is used with great success in the boardgaming world to guarantee that there is a market for a product before the final development and production is begun. It is also now being used for some plastic 28mm minis.
It looks like this would be practical if I could get at least 100 people willing to put up $10-$12. Depending on the plane, that would get you 1 large one (Vulcan-sized bomber), 2 smaller bombers (F111 or Beagle-sized), or 3 or 4 fighters. (That would include US shipping; international would be a couple of dollars more – but the dollar is down, so that should even out.)
First I'd put up a list of suggested planes for voting. The finalists would then be put up for pre-order, where you'd provide an e-mail address where you could be invoiced (from Paypal, so you could use any credit card). Once there were sufficient people registered, you'd be invoiced to pay for the costs of production, which would take 90-120 days or so. If not enough people actually paid, you'd be reimbursed (minus the Paypal handling fees).
I think this is a good way to get some of the more unusual planes produced – ones which don't have the mass market appeal for the other manufacturers to invest in. It's also a good way to get better versions of planes that have been on the market but aren't up to snuff (like the TD Vulcan and Badger). The CAD process should lead to very accurate and crisp models.
Of course, one important aspect of something like this is to make sure that there is rules support for the miniatures. If this goes forward, I'll be providing info for popular games (and soliciting gamers to help with that process).
To get things started, the plane I'm suggesting first is the TRS.2 – a prototype of an F111-like penetrating bomber that was never produced. It is not only a very interesting and neat-looking plane, but its design is also very clean, which makes it a good choice for working any bugs out of the production process.
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Let me know what you think of the idea and what planes you'd like to see (keeping in mind what the other manufacturers already have in the pipeline).
I've also posted this on the 1/600 Yahoo group.
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examines another pre-painted building for WWII.