spruecutter96

Superb building and painting skills here, my friend. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

Hold on a minute..... If the offending markings are obscured before they leave the Chinese factory, why are people blaming Creative Models for the issue? The responsibility lies with the manufactuer, not the distributor. At the most, Creative Models could be brought to task for not mentioning the censorship on their website (but - let's face it - everyone knows that they will sell fewer kits if they did. It's a real Catch 22 situation). As has been pointed out, Swastika markings are readily available on aftermarket decal sheets (but the more obscure markings may be a tad harder to source). Cheers. Chris.

Have to say... the flying sequences were great (as several previous posters have mentioned) but the bits in between the flying were utter garbage. BTW, Kelly Macgillis was openly gay, even around time of Top Gun, which might go a long way to explain why she didn't enjoy a long and fruitful career in Hollywood (that's not a criticism of being gay.... it's simply a reflection of the inherent conservatism of Hollywood as a whole). I can't think of many major Hollywood stars who have "come out" and enjoyed very successful careers after the event (although Ian McKellen, Ellen Page and Jodie Foster seem to have managed continued success after they announced their sexual orientation, so I guess there are some exceptions to the rule). Wouldn't it be nice if Hollywood could stop living in the 1950's? Cheers. Chris.

A superb diorama, with HUGE attention to detail. Really excellent work. The water looks great and I know how difficult scale water is to pull off. I tried to watch the film a few months ago. Switched it off after twenty minutes... I could feel my brain turning to mush with every passing second. Moronic, flag-waving, wish-fulfillment cobblers! Cheers. Chris.

Excellent work here, my friend. It just shows you that dioramas don't have to be four feet square to be effective. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

That is one tiny model. You've done a great job on her. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

Agree with the previous poster.... almost certainly to do with Swastikas and the fact that any printed representation of such is illegal in Germany. Otherwise, a previous owner censoring his own kit, perhaps? A weird one, though. Chris.

She looks amazing! A real tribute to your building and painting skills. I really like the fact that she has one nozzle constricted and the second is dilated (which was a common sight with Tomcats, I believe). Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

A very warm welcome to the site, mate. Have a great time here. Chris.

He (it??) could be trying to catch some flies.... Very nice job, by the way. I will have to build at least one alien kit before I pop me clogs. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

This is a great tribute to the very brave individuals on both sides who fought and died to further a cause. In an ideal world, mankind would have no need to fight wars and disputes would be settled by other means. I salute the men who fought, so that (hopefully) future generations will not have to. Chris.

Hello, I have seen some dealers at model shows selling large sections of "teddy bear hair", which I'm told you can cut to any length you want and use on dioramas. However, I must admit that I haven't seen anyone flogging the stuff for at least a couple of years. E-Bay? Hope this is of some help. Chris.

A very welcome to the site, my unhinged friend. Keep a good look out for the Normals.... you just can't trust those lying swines! Enjoy your time here, mate. Cheers. Chris

The Flory Models clay-based washes have a MASSIVE advantage over most commercial model-washes out there.... If you don't like the results they've given you, you can simply remove ALL the wash with a dampened cloth. Try doing that with enamel or oil-paint washes.... Just to state the very obvious, it's always a good idea to have a completely-dried varnish coat (or two) between any washes you might be using and your base coats of paint. Having said that - in theory - Flory washes should not affect the base coats in any way (but do checks on an old model first, just to play it safe). I have used the Flory washes a couple of times and have nothing bad to say about them. Cheers. Chris.

Hmmmmm...... I paid 14 quid for a genuine pair of Xuron shears at a model-show five years ago and now I can pay the same money for (nearly) six Chinese rip-offs..... Can anyone guess which seems the better deal, with the benefit of hindsight...? I've bought four Chinese, cheap-and-cheerfuls this year and I simply can't tell the difference from the originals. In a few years, maybe I will see some difference, but early indicators are very good indeed. Cheers. Chris.

For a first diorama, I think you have done a really outstanding job. Your skills will only increase from this point onwards. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

Hope you have a great time, Shar. It's a part of the world I would love to visit. Chris.

Superb build and paint skills we are seeing here (Speaking like Yoda, again!) I think the chipping effect is very effective and certainly not overdone. I love the shells and boxes lying on the engine-deck - they really add something to the feeling of realism. Were those items provided with the kit? Cheers. Chris.

I bought around 100 second-hand UK modelling magazines from Hannants London a few years ago (at five for a quid, it seemed too good to pass up). Most of the magazines were published in the 2000's. After reading most of them, it struck me just how much repetition goes on. There were some examples of the same magazine printed a multi-page build article on the latest Tamiya/Hasegawa/Revell "headline" kit release and then they would do a VERY similar article about the same kit in different markings maybe a year later. Whilst I fully appreciate that any magazine's appetite for new articles must be very difficult to satisfy, wouldn't it be a good idea for the articles to stray from the road-most-travelled every now and then. How about some articles about garage, short-run, resin kits and other more esoteric subjects? I fully appreciate the argument that the magazine could alienate its core readership, but reading about endless articles about Spits, BF-109's and FW-190's gets a bit samey after a while, IMHO. What do you think? Chris.

I've just been to see the new Dunkirk movie and - although it was very well-made and produced on an epic scale - there were a few aspects that need some comment. A. Tom Hardy's Spitfire - who had any idea that a Spit could glide for (what seemed like) 10 minutes? Also, just how much ammo did that Spit carry? I thought that early model Spits carried a maximum of 12 seconds ammunition, but I would estimate that our Tom was carrying between 40 and 50 seconds worth..... (Yep, I'm only too aware that only a military nerd like myself would be aware of this anomaly). B. Soldiers on the beach. I would say that there is never more than 1,000 people on the beach at any one time. Is this because Chris Nolan has an aversion for using computer-generated imagery to enhance his movies? Surely the beaches would have been much busier than this if they had 300,000 troops to move? Don't get me wrong, it was a good film of a very important subject and you should give it a go. Cheers. Chris.

That price does seem "slightly less than truly competitive" (that's how a government body would describe it, anyway)... I wish I could afford to buy kits at these sorts of prices. Chris.

Just my personal preference, but I think ALL aircraft look better with the kitchen sink hanging off them. Others may disagree, of course.... Cheers. Chris.

A very sad event. I'm would take a guess that all German Tigers are currently grounded, pending a more comprehensive investigation. Chris.

Very nice work - a real tribute to your build and paint skills. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.

A great set of images, my friend. The mission markings on one of the Hogs tells a story on its own. Looking at the shot of the damaged A-10 reminds me of a photo of a Hog that crashed in Iraq some years ago. The impact of the wheels-up landing had caused the barrels of the cannon to come loose and they were sticking out by one or two feet from the front of the aircraft. That landing must have rattled the pilot's dentures a little... Thanks for sharing with us. Chris.