Comet metal 1:432nd sets

[grwebster]

michael, yes and yes
Chris, the wartime Comet IDs were all painted od and all of them had the hole drilled through the center of gravity. The post wars did not have the drilled hole, mostly, but I think some must have come from old wartime stock and were issued with a new coast of paint with the hole untouched, Seems to me I have one or two like that.

[chrsn]

Michael,

Good to meet you and thanks for that Authenticast product listing! It looks like that list is comprehensive as far as everything they made, not that I own all the planes on that list (my collection is very piecemeal). I guess Dennis would know definitively what they produced.

And yes, as far as I know, Comet/Authenticast are metal and Cruver is plastic. I used to heavily favor the metal models, but the plastic ones have really grown on me. Either way, they really don't show up on Ebay all that often. In fact, you'll see a lot more Authenticast models of armor and tanks than of airplanes.

GR, those pictures you posted on the other forum of the boxed cruver 1/432 sets issued during WWII--are those all the aircraft Cruver produced in 1/432 or were there more?


Chris

[grwebster]

the four Cruver plastic sets are all that I know about, I never checked to see if they added aircraft over the years. It would seem logical that they did.
Other id sets like wartime Wiking Luftwaffe one did, they kept the same wooden box and changed the background when they added new aircraft. These sets mixed the countries together. The post war German Hansa boxed sets did the same thing but kept the countries together.
I should post some pics on these when I get back.

[MichaelB]

Yes...I can confirm one painted, metal B-24 with a hole drilled through it in my collection.
My only example, which is probably where it will stay.
Now...the Cruver ID planes are very light gray, yes? With or without hole? My Kix planes are a darker gray, but I also see some variations in the gray "level".
Michael

[grwebster]

Yes, the cruver plastic ID ones had holes in them, they were all dark grey/green, not light colored, but this comment is from just judging from my sets, two of which were bought years apart

I have some metal Comets with the holes in bright silver all over. I don't know if they were official or not. Could just be some ones' attempt to make them more realistic, less ID.

If you want photos of anything, just ask.

[chrsn]

Michael,

I was under the impression that the Kix cereal planes were all light grey. I was lucky to buy a boxed set of wartime German cruver planes a while ago, and they're all a very dark grey. They all have a pinhole through the fuselage too.

Upon looking over my list, I have a couple of light grey Cruvers, which I assume are Kix planes, that were not part of the regular boxed wartime ID models as far as I can tell (perhaps they were issued later separately or in a different boxed set): a P-59 Airacomet and a P-61 Black Widow. All my other "light greys" were made from molds that I know were part of the WWII boxed set. Besides those two, there must be additional Cruver 1/432 planes I'm not aware of. And I don't think there's a comprehensive list of what Cruver made in 1/432 scale either.

[MichaelB]

For your entertainment, here are scans of all my loose planes. There are just a few with the "hole" and color of the WWII IDs. You will see that the "gray" color varies by a great deal. Some of the pieces have a waxy look to them, and if I were to scratch their wings, I would rub off a surface layer. Are they acetate?
There are two Comet metal pieces, a B-24 and P38. Both have their holes and are painted OD. They seem to be of a finer quality than the plastic planes.
There is a silver B-29, but it was painted somewhere down the line.
Michael

[chrsn]

Seeing your Cruvers together like that makes me think that I shouldn't simply classify the color of my planes as "light grey" or "dark grey."

One thing I do know is that the boxed German wartime set that I bought is all one uniform dark color like in the photos of GR's "Cruver plastic 1:432nd scale IDs" thread. But the "light grey" ones I have probably do have quite a bit of variation in color just like yours. Having bought almost all my planes piece by piece, I would add them to my list and then package them up for storage very quickly. But I think I'll do a thorough look through them in the near future to see what I really have on my hands. I'll snap a few photos too so you can see! And yes, I have quite a few that have a "battle-damaged" look just like some of your planes.

[grwebster]

michael, the two planes on the top row of the bottom photo are Comet IDs if they are all one OD color, the post war sometimes had a diiferent color underneath.
chrsn, Denis ramsey has compiled a list of the ID, I don't have it here with me, but perhaps when he signs on he can post.

[MichaelB]

Yes, about the variation on "gray" - everything from almost transparent to brownish to greenish to shades of gray! The only observation that's important is if the color can tell where they came from. Apparently really dark ones are Cruver ID; all the others are Kix, yes?
GR, 10-4 on the two metal Comet pieces, a B-24 and P-38.
Also, in the first scan note the two B-25 and P-38 pieces...both have holes through them, so they are Cruver ID pieces.
Not shown this time are a full Kix set which I picked for color uniformity - again a medium gray.
...these are really cool little planes!
MJB