# The World Needs a C-17 Kit



## Brent Gair (Jun 26, 1999)

I'm not generally one to start wish lists or whine about a particular subject being unavailable. However, sometimes there seems to be a hole in the model world which defies explanation.

Airlift has never gotten a particularly impressive representation in the model world. The C-141 had a couple of kits. The C-5A had a nice kit...not a lot of kits...but one nice one. Today, there seems to be models of almost every obscure type. I even saw a model of a Coaler.

I'm slightly dumbfounded by the complete absence of any injection molded C-17. I'm not trying to convince anybody that a C-17 will outsell any of the trillion ME-109 kits currently in production. But seriously...you can currently buy kits of the MBB Siat-223 Flamingo, Sopwith Tabloid, the Nord Griffon, HP Herald...you get the idea.

The C-17 first flew 15 years ago. It's seen action in every hot spot since then. I do have a new motive (though not my only motive) for this new interest. Canada has just announced the purchase of Four C-17's. In England, the RAF is leasing C-17's (leasing?). The Australians are buying it too. That puts it in the service of worlds main Englsih speaking countries. That's a bigger market than the C-141 or C-5 ever had.

And no kit (old Combat vacuform barely qualifies as a model of anything)?

Yeah..."Panda" announced one about 5 years ago. I can't display an announcement on my shelf.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

A 1/72 vacuform kit was listed at one time on the AIM site, following an online petition of interested parties. Sadly, I don't believe that AIM is in business anymore. I have a few of their large-scale airliner kits and they are quite impressive.

Here is a link to the original petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/72C17/petition.html


Perhaps a similar one could be started for an injection molded styrene kit.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Brent Gair said:


> Yeah..."Panda" announced one about 5 years ago. I can't display an announcement on my shelf.


 Sure ya can! Laminate it, frame it, stick it right up there!


The AF site has a lot of nice C-17 photos, btw:
http://www.af.mil/photos/index.asp?galleryID=60


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## Brent Gair (Jun 26, 1999)

One irony I forgot to mention is that Revell Germany has just announced a new 1/72 scale Transall kit. The Transall is coming to the end of it's service life (first flown in '63) and was used by four countries: Germany, France, Turkey and South Africa. Furthermore Heller already made a Transall kit.

The population of the Transall using countries is 250 million with only France and Germany being affluent nations. The population of the C-17 using countries is 400 million...all wealthy nations.

Somehow, in that math, the Transall was chosen as a new kit.


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## Trek Ace (Jul 8, 2001)

Go figure.


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## Y3a (Jan 18, 2001)

I wish they had a LOT of 1/48 scale or even 1/32 scale airplanes such as:

Monocoupe D145
Monocoupe 90A
Gee-Bee Sr. Sportster
C-5b
C-17
C-130
Lockheed Constellation
The Russian giants (224 and 226)
727
237
L1011
HE 111
X-1 thru X-15a


1/24 scale Apollo Command module, Service Module, and LEM


1/72 Saturn 5 launch system including Crawler

Thin Vacuuformed parachutes for various jets and spacecraft displays.


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## Guest (Jul 3, 2006)

Agreed on a kit of this bird, wouldn't mind one myself !

I wonder though, could it be that the French/German consortium who first put together the Transall and, assuming they still hold all licences to produce maybe didn't have it in mind to charge a lot of money for access to thier technical data as, say Boeing/McDonnell Douglas may have to get access to thiers to ensure something like an accurate model kit could be produced?

Let's not forget the corperate bean counters here folks.

That may or may not be the reason.
It could be that it was just one factor.
Possibly nothing at all to do with it ? 

Just a speculation on my part so ignore as you wish 

Go easy folks.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Y3a said:


> I wish they had a LOT of 1/48 scale or even 1/32 scale airplanes such as:
> 
> Monocoupe D145
> Monocoupe 90A
> ...



Couldn't imagine where I could display a 1/32 scale C-5/17/130. But wouldn't mind trying.  rr


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