The kit I'm most looking forward to in 2014

If 2013 was any indication, 2014 promises to be an exciting year for scale modelers. Looking at the list of 2014 new kit releases on Cybermodeler there's something for all of us to look forward to. Kitty Hawk's Seasprite, UH-1Y, and AH-1Z. The Su-33 Sea Flanker from Aviation Art. Trumpeter's 2S7 Pion and T-80. Another huge 1/200 scale ship from Trumpeter.

Someone recently asked me what I'm most looking forward to, and my answer was...the kit we don't yet know about.

Seriously, look back one year to January 1, 2013. We knew nothing about the most exciting kits that were announced or released during the year. Who would've guessed we'd see a new tool 1/72 F3D Skyknight, a 1/48 MiG-25, a 1/35 IDF D9R, or three Object 279s! Or that we'd learn that a 1/48 MiG-31 is in the works or a 2S7 Pion is on the horizon?

This is why 2014 is exciting. We now know that the manufacturers are willing to keep some of their best projects under wraps until the last minute. At this point I'd venture that whatever secrets reside in the hangers of Area 51 are far less interesting than what Kitty Hawk, Trumpeter, and Meng have in store for us.

And as the manufacturers announce these new kits, I ask that you remember one of the five questions you should stop asking: When is it going to be released? It'll get here when it gets here.

Speculating about Kitty Hawk's next release

You can glean the most interesting nuggets of information if you follow every discussion on every forum and read every post. In case you missed it, ARC forum participant "song" (who works for Kitty Hawk Models) essentially said on this thread that the next Kitty Hawk release will be Russian.

I thought it might be fun to speculate about what aircraft it might be because, well, I have too much time on my hands. It's an interesting exercise, especially if you're able to step away from what you would like to see and carefully consider what would be profitable in the marketplace. I'm going to assume this next release is a 1/48 scale jet but could be wrong right from the start, in which case all of this is moot.

Let's think about what the kit will NOT be. It won't be a MiG-21 because Eduard and now Trumpeter have released their respectively nice kits. A MiG-23? Not likely considering Trumpeter kicked of its series of MiG-23s earlier this year. It could be a MiG-27, but if I worked for Kitty Hawk I wouldn't take that risk given that it wouldn't be difficult for Trumpeter to modify their -23 molds to produce a -27.

A Mig-29? No way, not with Great Wall's promising new kit. Many of you would be thrilled with a MiG-31 (as would I), but having seen limited service it wouldn't be quite as attractive a subject as other aircraft. That said, a new MiG-15 or -17 might be interesting, but I'm not sure modelers would find those to be truly must-have kits. Ditto for a MiG-19, though a Farmer would be fairly high in my product backlog.

I think that leaves three strong possibilities.

I think Kitty Hawk's next release could be an Mi-8 Hip. The helicopter was produced in many variants and was used by more than 50 nations, so there's no shortage of camouflage and markings options for the modeler.

It could be a MiG-25. Personally, I find this to be the most exciting possibility, and the Foxbat is always popular on internet wish lists. We're long overdue a fifth or even fourth generation representation of that impressive aircraft, and there are at least three distinctively different variants that Kitty Hawk could produce -- I'm thinking a fighter (either the P or PD), reconnaissance type, and trainer), and with a variety of markings for several nations. But there's a more compelling possibility.

My prediction is that Kitty Hawk's next release will be an Su-22 Fitter. I think a Fitter would make for a more interesting model than a MiG-25. It was used by at least a couple dozen air forces around the world in a variety of schemes, and the loadouts would provide a great deal of creativity for the modeler. It wouldn't be that difficult for Kitty Hawk to produce an Su-22A, an M4K, and a two-seat UM3K. The only thing that might weigh the choice in favor of a MiG-25 would be Eduard's recent release of their Su-22 package, but given that it's built around a merely average kit, I think the folks at Kitty Hawk might see the opportunity for improvement.

What do you think? No wish lists please, just viable, profitable models.