Comet metal 1:432nd sets

[grwebster]

I got these models many years ago and was told at the time that they were the complete series of the Comet wartime IDs. Anyone have a complete list?








The stands are nice and fit the IDs well. Who made them?


These are a loose selection of the Comet wartime Ids and post war Comet/Authenticast models.

[ramseyd]

GR,
I have an excel spread for the existing Brass Comet Masters as well as all the Wartime comet + authenticast (Vol 1 catalog)+ suprerior + heritage+ pewtercraft + DFC produced models with their respective catalog numbers. I still need to map the other authenticast catalogs as some authenticast may have been lost and some added over those years. I have several (not all) of the catalogs, just have not taken the time to update.
I have sent it to you.
Dennis

[ramseyd]

If anyone has both an Authenticast and a wartime comet version of the PBY-5 Catalina, could you compare the thickness of the wings. I was told that the first version of the wing was too thin and created some problems in production, so a second wing was created ( I have both wing pewter Masters). This leads me to believe there may be two versions of this model made. The original thin version has the date 9/43 on the bottom of the left wing whereas the later thicker model does not have the date. Would love to know as I do not have either a comet or authenticast copy of the Catalina. It is possible that the thicker wing was introduced by Superior or other makers. Dennis

[grwebster]

dennis
thanks for the list of wartime comet models. Nice work.
here are the photos you requested. I do not see any difference except, as expected, the post war Authenticast does not have the hole and is painted in blue {top} and white {bottom}. The same dates are on each version.
The postwar model does not have well defined prop hubs.

The ID by Comet


The post war model by Authenticast



Both wing thickness appear identical

[ramseyd]

GR, Thanks for the photos. I am guessing that the "thicker" wing was introduced by one of the other companies that have owned the masters after authenticast (i.e superior, pewtercraft or DFC).

You also brought out another point, that their may be some slight differences between the production runs. I know the molds deteriorate a little with each production. You noted the prop hubs were not as well defined on the post war version, and that could be the result of using a mold too long or just missing the "fault" in that produced copy.

Ed Pugh gave me a tour of his "Reaper Miniatures" production line (he owned the masters before I bought them- DFC) and showed us how these were cast. One thing I noticed was that not all of the castings were identical, and they have a quality team examine each item produced for consistency/quality) before selling.

Would assume that the wartime models were better simply because the molds were newer and these had to be up to mil specs. The others were produced as "toys", so quality control was likely less stringent.

I have attached photo links (I hope I know how to do this right) of the Pewter Catalina Master with both wings. The dark grey is the original.
Dennis
http://www.catspawcreations.com/photos/pbytop3.jpg
http://www.catspawcreations.com/photos/pbybot3.jpg

[grwebster]

those website links worked fine, thanks for posting

[chrsn]

Wow, that's an impressive collection of Comet planes! I've never seen anything like that on EPay; I have only seen individual Authenticast aircraft that were manufactured post-war. Even then, it's hard to get your hands on them because there's usually someone who wants them more than you do (or who just has more money to throw around)!

[grwebster]

I once bought about 30 boxed post war Authenticast aircraft from a London toy dealer, Patrick Trench. They had been in his shop for a while and no one else showed any interest so they were priced to sell. Patrick told me at that time that the guy who had them also had the rest and he would get them for me- that never happened, unfortunately.
My collection of the Comet wartime IDs came from US dealer who specialized in ID models, Andy Harris. He had over the years some of the finest accumulations of quite rare items. He has since been out of touch with most of so who knows, us.He did say, but then he was a salesman, that the set was the only one he had ever seen. Perhaps he was right, I haven't seen any others but from time to time a single one on ebay is offered.
If you want to know more about these 1:432nd scale aircraft, the specialist and major collector is Dennis Ramsey who posts frequently on this forum.
Christopher, I just noticed you are from Houston, Texas. You should contact one of the founding members of this forum and another major collector of airplanes, Michael Bludworth, also residing in Houston

[chrsn]

Thanks for the info on your wartime Comet set, GR. How nice to be in possession of such a rare and special collection -- the entire (I assume) WWII set painted a uniform color!

I’ve never met Dennis but am very familiar with “the guy with the Comet masters” via an avid wargaming acquaintance of mine who has gone about making numerous reproductions of Authenticast airplanes for his hobby. He’s mentioned Dennis in passing and it’s pretty clear that he got a ton of good info through Dennis’ knowledge of 1/432 aircraft.

My own interest isn’t in wargaming but simply in collecting small Comet and Cruver planes as interesting artifacts of WWII aviation. I originally became interested in the 1/72 ID models, but given my limited space, I knew there was no point in collecting them. That’s when I became interested in the 1/432 planes. I’m starting to look into the 1/200 scale too, but it seems like Wiking aircraft are even harder to find than Cruver or Comet! I’ve been thinking about contacting Ron Crawford to inquire whether he’s still making his line of planes. That might be the only way I build up a decent collection of 1/200 aircraft.

[MichaelB]

So...Comet made the metal 1/432nd Authenticast models...
Cruver made the plastic 1/432nd models...
Yes?
All I have are the Kix issues - but wait! - I may have gotten a few of the "true" Cruvers in the past month...need to do some digging.
Welcome Chris!...another devotee of The One True Scale, I take it! Personally, I love them to. I think Ron is still cranking them out...good stuff...perhaps more 1/200 stuff on the market new, now, than in previous years - but never enough!
I don't remember where I got this ad from (maybe here!), but here it is again. A partial list of the Comet issues...maybe 1945.
Michael