3DStewart

I have never used Model Kit Collector, though I have bought recently from Puzzle Craft on eBay. That purchase was fine with no problems at all. Correct items, sent in a proper box.

Presumably there must have been some degree of support for it within the Russian military, at least at regimental level. It obviously has tactical implications, so presumably it must have been authorised, or at least accepted by the regimental commanders.

You have to be realistic about how long Revell hold spare parts. According to Scalemates, the kit was released in 2018, that's coming up to seven years ago. While it's possible Revell may have spares, you need to factor in that they may not.

That's a shame. I greatly enjoyed the previous competitions you ran. I never won, but got an occasional placing. I hope they return someday. They are a plus point for me when deciding which shows to visit.

Is there a competition please?

I never understood why 1:35 was chosen. It's neither a rational scale (1:100, 1:50, 1:20 etc), nor an imperial scale (1:144, 1:72, 1:48, etc). I don't fully believe My Tamiya's history. 1:32 was already established for armour and would have given more space for motors and batteries, and a scale would have had to be chosen to do a mock-up of the hull and running gear. It's not a cause of make something, and ooh, look it's ended up 1:35! I've never been a fan of 1:48, it's always seemed to be neither one thing nor the other. Too big to be convenient; too small to be impressive. Perhaps I'm helped by being short-sighted. My eyesight has deteriorated with age, but it's middle and long vision that's got worse. I can take my glasses off and see perfectly at 150mm, so 1:72 is still viable for me.

The Italeri kit has better interior detailing and other improvements like weighted tyres (you can see these in the photo above). I was disappointed that no new internal details were provided for the gun turrets, but it's a small thing. The decal sheet in the Italeri kit is better. In short, while the Italeri kit is clearly a re-work of the Supermodel tooling, it is a better kit.

It was a good show and larger than I expected with two sports halls + numerous other rooms/spaces. It was busy than I expected, even approaching congested mid morning and the traders seemed to be doing well. Well done to all involved with its organisation. Stamford looks a beautiful town. I'd like to come back with my wife for a weekend break in the summer.

No, not currently. My wife is quite tolerant of my modelling, as she wants me to be happy. However, if for some reason I had to choose between the two, she would win and I wouldn't complain because despite the occasional frustration she enriches my life in ways that modelling never can!

This made me smile, but if I had to choose between modelmaking and female companionship, I would (with mourning for my lost love) choose to keep the latter.

I'm not kept awake by worry too much, but when it does it's usually that someone will be harmed at work and I'll be held accountable. I'm in charge of building services in a large complex estate and there's always something that's non-compliant. Apart from that I have the occasional family worry that keeps me awake. Once or twice I've worried that the best of my years are behind me and I haven't achieved my potential, whatever that is. Quite often I'll be woken up by my wife's snoring, but that doesn't come under the category of worry.

Date please?

I think it depends on the situation. If you offer them in good faith, knowing you can reasonably expect to get them within whatever delivery period is stated, then I think that would be legal. Even if you have a product in stock it doesn't mean you can guarantee to fulfil an order, as stock can deteriorate, go missing, or the buyer request delivery conditions you can't or don't want to fulfil. Manufacturers have forever been advertising products that don't exist at the time of ordering (because they haven't been made yet) and nobody is troubled by that.

I noticed in the Hobbycraft Telford that all the kits were priced above RRP (if that concept still exists, but you know what I mean).

Neg freely; neg hard. It's the only way to make bad sellers see sense.

I can't comment about Ring, as I don't have it. However, at work I have made a policy decision (I'm responsible for building services) that no future building equipment will be bought that isn't open protocol, even if this means not having the latest tech. The costs of closed protocol are too high, both maintenance costs and product obsolescence.

Yes, but my skills come at a price. I will require a £500 construction fee for the Starfix kit. 😁

Astonishingly good!

Here is the first time you read that 3DStewart is the best model maker in the world. Now, for the second time you read that 3DStewart is the best model maker in the world. And a moment later you read for the third time that 3DStewart is the best model maker in the world. (See Greg B's clip above.)

I've often wondered whether scale modelling will be eclipsed by computer modelling. Leaving aside accuracy and the working features of a simulation, might I simply get more enjoyment scratch-building a model in a 3D graphics program than physically?

RobL, does it really matter if some of the posters disagreed with you? If they're right the hobby company will go bust, if they're wrong it won't; either way there isn't much you or I can do about it. As my late father would have said: "Life is to short to worry about such things." My starting point is that everything I read on the internet is wrong, unless I have good reasons to think otherwise. Most of what you read on forums and social media is at the level of what 'some bloke down the pub is saying'; background noise and nothing more. Don't let it worry you.

I think Airfix kits from the 70s (with one or two exceptions) were the sweet spot for the hobby. Pocket money prices, but with an increase in accuracy, while still being easy to build. Sure, they tended to do things like moulding undercarriage legs integral with the doors and cockpit detail was usually spartan, especially in Series 1, but it did make them buildable and they were generally accurate in outline and detail.

I think part of the problem is we never compare like for like. Modern kits are much more complex than 40 years ago and while technology improvements have negated tooling cost rises to a degree, they are still more expensive in real terms because of it. More parts also mean a larger frame area, which tends to mean a bigger injection moulding machine, more plastic in each shot and so on. Complexity always comes at a cost and modern kits are more complex, so expect them to cost more. If you want cheaper, demand simpler, but we're not going to do that, are we? There has also been a shift to larger kits. 1:16 armour, 1:32 planes multi-engine etc. They have no interest for me, but evidently some modellers love them. It's not surprising those are expensive.

They've just announced that the show is moving to Hall 12 to give more space. It's also a little closer to the train station.

Car parking is expensive, but it's not the only transport option. As many will know, the NEC is adjacent to Birmingham International Station on the West Coast Mainline. I know that might not be ideal depending on your mobility and the amount of stuff you buy, but as I live half an hour away by an easy to get train it's more attractive than driving, especially as my rail ticket is 40% less than the discounted parking and I won't have mileage on top.