Hello everyone,

The appearance of the first unit badges on Polish FA-50s prompted us to look into this subject. We decided that since there are already three different re-boxings of the Academy kit on the market that include Polish decals, there was no point in developing a comprehensive set containing every single piece of stenciling. The badges are the most important element; after a preliminary analysis, we decided to include them along with the national insignia (checkerboards), side numbers (since not all the aforementioned kits cover these specific airframes), and the stencils that include the aircraft's serial number. We even posted a teaser on our Facebook page. And that’s where things stopped being smooth sailing...

With minor exceptions, we never comment on—let alone review—decals from other modeling companies; hence, we are omitting specific brand names here, replacing them with the letters A, B, and C. We do not want to be accused of trying to discredit any particular manufacturer. Mistakes happen—sometimes big, sometimes small, sometimes disastrous; we make them too. The nature of our work is such that good documentation is often hard to come by, and despite the best intentions, you can end up with a dud. However, to get back to the point: we do make one exception—we strongly condemn the copying of someone else's work, especially when that work contains errors.

Upon analyzing the various sets, it turned out that for companies A and B, the stencils were printed in the wrong color—FS36118. In reality, the stencils on our FA-50s are a distinctly lighter shade. This likely stems from the fact that Korean aircraft are painted that way. Surprisingly, Company C didn't make that mistake; however, they *did* use the wrong font for the markings, making them look slightly different from those on the actual aircraft. So, if we were to simply include the necessary markings in the correct color, something would still be missing or incorrect in each of those re-boxed kits. Another solution would be to design decals specifically for the Academy 12366 kit, but that model has disappeared from the market, and even then, we aren't entirely happy with it, as the included decals are tailored for Korean aircraft.

On top of that, following our teaser, we received numerous inquiries about 1/72 scale. While there is indeed a conversion set for the Academy T-50—which even includes decals for Polish aircraft—it is heavily simplified. So, while a dedicated decal set might theoretically make sense, we have never been fans of releasing decals for conversion kits due to their limited availability.

We have to admit we are in a bit of a dilemma. We are leaning towards producing a comprehensive decal set for the Polish FA-50GF, followed by an add-on for the PL version—should any significant differences arise—released in both scales. However, we have serious doubts about whether such a set would succeed on the market, primarily for the reason outlined below.

Unfortunately, the recent trend in scale modeling focuses chiefly on achieving the most visually striking paint job; the accuracy of details—such as specific colors, the appearance of individual decals, photo-etched parts, or 3D-printed and resin components—is becoming increasingly less important. Suffice it to quote one of the Polish modeling "influencers" who, quite recently—in response to a remark about factual errors—wrote something about comparing the model to an "imaginary original."

In short, we try to do our job as well as possible, and we often correct manufacturers' errors regarding decals; yet, a significant number of you assume that since the kit already includes decals, there is no need to spend extra money. Accuracy doesn't matter to them—as long as the checkerboard insignia is there, the fact that it has the wrong size or proportions is... well...

Add to this the fact that the number of modelers is shrinking year by year—as our hobby loses out to 21st-century forms of entertainment—and the emergence of competition from China, which is very difficult to match on price. Because these manufacturers often skip the accuracy aspect and work "by eye," they invest far fewer man-hours; consequently, while we are working on a single set, they are producing five.

This whole spiel is, in a sense, an opportunity to show you what we are up against these days. We frequently encounter the opinion that we simply refuse to make certain kits—kits that "would surely sell." Well, no—unfortunately, that isn't the case. One person's subjective feeling—even after chatting with a few buddies—doesn't mean a kit will sell enough units to meet the minimum print run requirements.

We’ll end on a hopeful note, however: we still manage to—as they say in the corporate world—"make the Excel spreadsheet balance." There are still kits that prove popular, allowing us to produce those more niche—and sometimes downright unprofitable—sets. We are very interested in hearing your thoughts—both on the FA-50 decal set itself and on the phenomenon we described. Please send us an email or leave a comment on our Facebook or Instagram posts. If you would like to purchase the FA-50 set, simply click "notify me when available" on the product page; this helps us gauge the level of interest.

D..256 Polish FA-50GF Kościuszko Squadron

We’d also like to remind you that we have two FA-50 T-shirts available :)

T-Shirt Maxi Plus Polski FA-50 23 Tactical Air Base

T-Shirt FA-50GF Poland 

For those modelers who are getting impatient, we would like to let you know that the German Typhoon required some modifications, and we will be writing more about this soon.

D..238 German Eurofighter Typhoon NATO Tiger Meet 2023

Some time ago, we ran a poll on our Facebook page that proved very popular; the clear winner was...

D..181 Polish MiG-21UM Tiger Schemes Part II

This will be another of the delayed projects we intend to finish and release before the year is out.

Next week, we hope to launch a new product from our 3D series, and in three weeks, we’ll see you in Szczecin for the "Modelarski Paprykarz" event. We are also working on several new kits—some of which we’d like to complete this year—but we’ll share more details on that later ;)

Exciting things are in store ;)

Best regards,

The MM Team