Well, I suppose I'll throw my 'eloquent' arguement in. I believe the 152's cost should be reduced to put in in line with the F4U-1C. The planes were produced in similar numbers (200 for the C-Hog, high 100's for the 152). Before the Niki was 'nuetered', it was the most common plane in the arena. That plane was also comparitively rare in real life, although I've forgotten the exact production numbers (I believe it was somewhat less than 400 produced, but I could be off here and I don't feel like looking it up).
So what it boils down to for me is the issue of HOW planes are perked. If you base it on production numbers, there is no basis for the Ta-152 being so much more expensive than the C-Hog. So for me at least, there is no real evidence supporting a policy of perking a plane because of its production numbers in real life.
That leaves only one thing that would be a realistic approach, and that is how the aircraft perform in the Main Arena. I believe this is probably how HTC decides the perk cost of a plane. Look at the Me-262. It is perked at 200 points for a very good reason. That plane is so superior to every other plane we have (at any altitude) that an unperked 262 would run rampant over the MA. People who think that 95% of people wouldn't be in a 262 if it was not perked are, frankly, delusional. So in this case, performance matches the perk cost (in my opinion). The Ta-152 is an awesome fighter at 30k and up. I'm not contesting that fact. The P-51B is the second fastest plane in the game (minus the jets). So why doesn't it see more use? Because it hits that 450+ mph at 40k, and nobody flies up there. Same thing with the Ta-152. It is probably the best prop fighter we have at 30k and up... except all you are doing is stargazing because there isn't anyone up there to fight. Yes, there are the stratobuff B-17 pilots that cruise around at 35k... but why in the name of God would you risk 30 perks going up after something that has an even money shot at killing you?
Under 25k, the Bf109-G10 and the Fw190-D9 are FAR superior to the 152. I'm not even convinced that the 152 turns better than the Dora does to be honest, but I don't fly the 152 very often. Under 10k, where 95% of the action is, there are so many planes that are better than the 152 it would be hard to list them. I'll try anyway though. 109G10, 109G2, 190D9, P51D, P51B, La7, La5, Yak9U, F4U (all versions), P47 (arguably),P38, Typhoon, Tempest. I'd even list the 190A5 and A8 as superior to the 152 under 10k, but I can get a lot out of those planes. I believe all but 2 of those planes can turn better than the 152. At least half of them are as fast as the 152. At least half of them have better acceleration. All but 1 can outclimb the 152 (to the best of my knowledge). The 109G10, 190D9, La7, yak9,P51,typhoon, and tempest are better than the 152 in all of the above- which makes fighting them a rather dicey proposition (especially considering all but the Tempest are free, while you are spending 30 points).
So, in my opinion at least, there really isn't enough evidence to support a perking of the Ta-152 based on its performance vis a vis other prominant late war planes. However, all that said, it IS Hitechs game, not ours. It is his decision on which planes see use and what planes don't. His motives may be unscrutable as a God's, but he does have the right to do whatever the hell he wants with his game.
As a side note, I'm also curious as to the over-expensive perking (in my opinion) of the F4U-4. Me-262 and Tempest seem pretty much spot on (although I wouldn't be surprised to see a drastic decrease in Tempest usage because of the introduction of the 262), but the Ta-152 and F4U-4 just seem out of whack if you try to use the other perk planes to compare them to.
