Wow that looks like junk.

I don't want to offend or anything, but I have always disliked it when people say that kind of thing. Unless you really hate the developer, there's nothing wrong with being a bit more polite, a bit more friendly. Referring to a product as "Junk" is... You could have just said "Doesn't look too great to me" also. Basically the same statement, but the latter is a more acceptable read for a developer that probably worked rather hard on his product, no matter what the final result is and what you think of it.There are of course some developers that try to rip you off rather openly; that's a different matter. VirtualCol is not one of those for all I know. As was said, I really like the exterior and them being from Colombia, the benefit is that they include repaints that you're unlikely to find otherwise. I agree the VC isn't too great when compared to the PMDG J41, but the PMDG J41 is also roughly twice the price of the VirtualCol J31...

I agree the VC isn't too great when compared to the PMDG J41, but the PMDG J41 is also roughly twice the price of the VirtualCol J31...

Exactly. The word junk, to me, only applies to aircraft that are advertised as something they're really not.

It really doesn't look too bad considering what it is (not high end). I don't have time to mess with full systems so this might fit the bill. The price does seem a little steep....considering what it is...$20 seems more reasonable. I would pay more if it had better vc and exterior textures. It's not that hard to do.

I assume what you could do, it being an FSX native model, is sling the PMDG J41 VC into it (if you have the PMDG one of course) and have a J31 with a pretty cool VC, which might not be totally correct for a J31 I know, but in spite of it not having the shiniest VC ever, the ability to do stuff such as that means it still has some merit for FSXers, because I think it has quite a nice exterior model to be honest, and I think might even get it and try that.Regardless of whether one tarted it up with a cockpit swap, I know it's not the best FS aeroplane we've ever seen, but I agree with the sentiments expressed by Benjamin on this, that to say it looks 'like junk' is simply mean. It's a spartan bit of modeling compared to some other FSX things for sure, but for 20 quid it's not a bad stab at things, and I'd like to see a lot of the people who think it looks no good, have a go at doing better themselves. I've made a few FS aeroplanes over the years, and even making simple ones is no five minute job, and if you think otherwise, try it, MS didn't even have a stab at putting a cockpit in their Flight Mustang at all.Al

Okay, so I bought it, since it was cheap and I wanted a J31, and to be honest it is not as bad as some people on this thread are making out. There is no denying that it's no PMDG by any stretch of the imagination, although regardless of the fact that it is not up there with the best where VC looks are concerned, as rough and ready as that aspect is, it does indeed have quite a lot of systems modeled, all the overhead works, as does all the stuff on the panel, and with the addition of a few tweaks I don't think it will be too bad. It flies okay, which is certainly more important, and externally it is quite a nicely modeled thing which runs at a fair old clip as far as FPS is concerned.It has a genuine native FSX model, with a separate VC, so you could indeed sling the PMDG VC into it if you wanted to, although I think I'm going to tart it up as is with a few ISG and reality XP bits and pieces instead, and it won't be a bad representation of the J31 then. Of course that won't make the VC a thing of beauty, but since the VC is textured with several DDS files, that can probably be addressed as well.I would say 20 quid is about right for it considering it is a reasonably accurate simulation of a J31 as far as systems go (after all, what can you get for 20 quid these days?), and in my view it is certainly worth supporting a relatively newish developer that was prepared to have a stab at it when they must have known it would be compared to PMDG's J41, so all credit to them for having a crack at it, after all, everyone's got to start somewhere, haven't they? It's all very well only ever giving the FSX A-list developers a look where FS add-ons are concerned, but those of a lesser stature deserve a look too, and deserve to be encouraged when we know that we could easily be in a position where flight sim add ons were not forthcoming in a world where MS have ditched Flight Simulator, so with that in mind, it is not a bad go at making an airliner. I'm not going to kid you and pretend that it is some kind of hidden masterpiece that you simply must rush out and buy, because it isn't, it's a bit basic where the cockpit visuals are concerned as you can see from the website screenshots, when we are used to being spoiled with the likes of CS and PMDG's efforts, but a few tweaks will make it more than passable, and I know I've spent 20 quid on a lot worse things for FS, that's for sure.Al

Wow that looks like junk.

Exactly. The word junk, to me, only applies to aircraft that are advertised as something they're really not.

Yes I know ..one man's trash is another man's treasure.I have to agree with Ryan here anyways.To me the word junk would be bad and harsh if the product was freeware.For all I know the dev just released the product just to make a quick buck .So overall the word junk seems to be quite appropriate.

Fine but the interior quality is below freeware standards and I wouldn't fly it if it were freeware. My opinion...

Yes I know ..one man's trash is another man's treasure.I have to agree with Ryan here anyways.To me the word junk would be bad and harsh if the product was freeware.For all I know the dev just released the product just to make a quick buck .So overall the word junk seems to be quite appropriate.

Fine but the interior quality is below freeware standards and I wouldn't fly it if it were freeware. My opinion...

Hey! I never said I haven't used the word junk in here!

Hey! I never said I haven't used the word junk in here!

I know.Ryan did.I quoted Ryan.

I have to agree with Ryan here anyways.To me the word junk would be bad and harsh if the product was freeware. For all I know the dev just released the product just to make a quick buck .So overall the word junk seems to be quite appropriate.

But that's the point exactly: you don't know. For all you know, the developer might have worked night and day without break to get it done. Maybe he is just still learning, maybe he is still inexperienced... So instead of assuming the most negative of scenerios ("the dev is a greedy somethingsomething"), why not assume the most positive scenario ("He is still learning")?Whether the product is in fact "junk" is irrelevant to me; the point is that there's nothing wrong with being polite, whatever your opinion of the product or the developer is.Understand though that this is not specifically directed at you, or anybody in particular. It seems to be a growing trend which I have disliked already from the beginning.

Fine but the interior quality is below freeware standards and I wouldn't fly it if it were freeware. My opinion...

Freeware standards? Most freeware does not even have VC at all and those that have usually do not have any better than this one + they usually just use FSX default systems. I happen to own Virtualcol Fokker 50 and I can say that its not junk at all.In my opinion this JS31 addon has way better interior than many products of Commercial Level Simulations for example, and they are respected developer with lots of customers.

Took the plunge and bought it from their own website, where it was quite a bit cheaper, now waiting for the transaction to be approved by my bank, how long is that going to take?!Don't think I'll buy from their own site again, or seems like a hassle to me, god knows when I'll get my product, wanted that today too!I must admit though that I'm suprised at the responses on here, when I first saw it, I thought the exterior model looked fantastic and the VC wasn't to bad, but it would seem that many people in this thread could create something better.... errr, I think not!

But that's the point exactly: you don't know. For all you know, the developer might have worked night and day without break to get it done

Or maybe he has just stopped improving/working the plane because he knew he would find somebody he could sell it to for the same price ? This dev has already released other planes and they all seem be just as good as this.

Whether the product is in fact "junk" is irrelevant to me; the point is that there's nothing wrong with being polite, whatever your opinion of the product

Correct.But.At some point there's no way to say something without upsetting people.Anything other than junk would be going beyond optimism. I'd be lying.Damned if you do and damned if you don't.. I'd rather be "damned" if I do (cause forum members will disagree with me and down-arrow me insult me whatever) than having a noob confused by some optimistic comments and spend money on addons like this. I know what it feels to be a newb and be low on cash. I would have loved it if when I was completely green somebody told me to stay away from stuff that I bought because other people said they were "okeish".Of course this is only my opinion.

MindYerBeak, you can be both negative and polite at the same time. They don't exclude each other. My point is that regardless of your opinion of a product, you can still politely say you hate a product. Nobody will be confused either.

MindYerBeak, you can be both negative and polite at the same time. They don't exclude each other. My point is that regardless of your opinion of a product, you can still politely say you hate a product. Nobody will be confused either.

Exactly.And just calling a product junk just because of few pictures without actually trying it or without seeing any very negative reviews is not too constructive in my opinion.Seems that in these days some people are getting too used on eye candy provider by developers like Captain Sim. Its nice of course, but just lack of eye candy does not make product to be junk.With that definition Level D 767 is bad addon too as it does not have extremely detailed VC. Yet its still one of the best addons for FSX thanks to its high quality system simulation.

I'd rather be "damned" if I do (cause forum members will disagree with me and down-arrow me insult me whatever) than having a noob confused by some optimistic comments and spend money on addons like this.

And what addons then are worth spending money?

Or maybe he has just stopped improving/working the plane because he knew he would find somebody he could sell it to for the same price ? This dev has already released other planes and they all seem be just as good as this.

Do you even have any idea about how much effort developing addons takes? Everyone does not have money/time/experience to make something near perfect like PMDG.I am just saying that also this kind of addon can be worth the price if you are particularly looking for this exact type of plane. I have had fun with lots of lower quality addons and think that they were worth my money.