Giorgio N

Regarding the differences between Mirage III-E and Mirage 5 the 5 was an E with some simplifications and some improvements. The 5 originally had only a small range finding radar in a more pointed nose, no provision for the SEPR rocket, more fuel and extra pylons. The original 5J (and therefore the 5F) also had the dorsal extension in front of the fin. Later subvariants became a bit more complicated... there were actually two different types of pointy noses with the pitot on the bottom and then other subvariants with a different nose with pitot on the tip... and then there were 5s with the same radome of the III-E while the fin extension appeared on some III-Es but disappeared from some 5s.

This kit was actually sold in a number of different variants and with different "noses" The original kit featured the standard III-E radome and the III-R recce nose. Later the Mirage 5 was issued, with a pointier nose that however is not the one used on the proposed Israeli subvariant. This, as said before, has the pitot tube mounted under the nose as in this picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Mirage_5F.jpg The 5F issue has the correct fin with extension at the front. This was used on the 5F and on most (but not all) Mirage 5 subvariants but also on several export Mirage III-Es Later the kit was issued as a Belgian 5BR, with the same noses as the original box. of which the recce nose was the one to use. Then it was issued as a 5BA, with the Mirage 5 nose but the original fin. These features are correct for the 5BA as this subvariant has the pitot on the tip as shown below: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Dassault_(SABCA)_Mirage_5BA%2C_Belgium_-_Air_Force_AN1673907.jpg Now I don't know how accurate the nose was for a Belgian 5BA, in any case the configuration proposed is correct. The original 5F kit however has a different fin so this must be modfied removing the extension. Exhaust was of course the same in all boxes (and the kit included a representation of the whole engine), only the noses and fin were changed. The load was also the same in all boxes, with various bombs and missiles.

Can't comment on the shapes of the kit but one thing is sure: the nose cone is wrong for a 5F. This (like most Mirage 5 subvariants) had a pointier cone with the pitot tube below it, not on the tip as in the kit. The shape of the kit nose cone does not look right to me

Let's not confuse the internet in general with a forum like this where kits are discussed by people with a certain knowledge of the real thing. Yes Britmodeller may have a good following but it is still only one source on the web. Numbers may look high but within the bigger scheme of things they are not as massive as they may look. We may have 28,000 visits a day but how many of these are multiple visits by the same person ? Sure there are at any given time several hundred people connected (checked just now, there are around a thousand people at the moment, over 800 of these not members) and mind, they are great numbers! Still, overall it's only a few thousand. Even assuming that all of them would be reading about say the Italeri Fw.190D and its issues, how many of these few thousands would actually change their mind because of what they may read here ? Some will sure do but I bet that a lot would just not care. Similar things may be said about other forums.. of which there's a good number although generally only the ones in English language have an international reach. I have to say that forums too vary in regard to the aspects discussed. We may harshly criticize a kit here but the same kit may well be highly rated on a different forum because of the different slant of the members. Model companies are sure well aware of the importance of an online presence, it would be a crime not to be ! Italeri has a long established online presence and as a company they are very "social", with not only a presence on the main platforms but also a number of initiatives aimed at involving the modelling community. For any bad thing we may say on this forum about one of their products, they would be able to counter on multiple channels with a "firepower" much superior to ours. The same applies to all other companies, they are all on the web, they all have their social media pages, they all run initiatives to connect with the customer base. They pay people to organize these things, people who do it for a job and know to best get the message through. I can't see why they should be scared by my comments on Britmodeller when they can access many more people in more convincing ways. Then there are all the other websites, youtubers, Facebook groups and so on... Websites... some are run by enthusiastic modellers (a number also contribute here) and will have no problem in pointing the good and bad of a kit. Others are run by people who have less interest in analysing a kit and may focus on other things. Then there are websites that have as a policy to never criticize a kit. I know as a fact that there are even people running websites who contact model companies asking for free kits promising good reviews in return! Modellers as a result will find very different opinions on a kit depending on which of these websites they hit. They may get a complete assessment of every rivet or they may get a "builds well, little filler needed" rating or even a "great kit, just buy it so next time I'll get another free kit" kind of review. Facebook... there are a lot of Facebook groups devoted to our hobby and it's not hard to find groups with over 10,000 members. Granted, only a fraction of them will actually contribute (same as here in the end) but the contributions can really be very variable, from some real insight to some that can't tell a Spitfire from a Buccaneer. Yet these have quite a good reach... although it's a fact that single individuals are often members of more than one group. Youtube is pretty much the same, channels there vary a lot in quality but most of the time they don't go into much depth in the pros and cons of a kit. Personally I've seen some impressive builds on youtube with some very useful videos showing how to apply a certain technique but if I need an assessment on a kit it's a platform that gives me very little... but maybe I just haven't found the right YT channel. So really do we think that if we on this forum don't like the newest Italeri issue this will make a big dent in their sales ??? Our voice may be authoritative (at least to me the voice of some here is) but it's but one in a crowd. Of course sometime the crowd may start singing with one voice and companies may change their mind (see the Trumpeter 1/32 Wildcat story). Most times the criticism would just be confined to a niche and companies would still keep offering the kit as it is. Companies that received heavy criticism are still around while companies that offered great products have closed. When a company has to close it's because they have done something wrong, most of the time something that has little to do with the plastic kit that ends up in our ends. Most times it's because they are badly managed or have financial issues or they got the distribution wrong and other similar things. That brings me to Italeri (afterall this is a thread about Italeri): sure they must have done something right if they are the only European mainstream company from the '70s still around in the hands of the original owners ! And it's easy to see where they their strengths are: a wide but balanced catalogue (proper mix of safe and less common subjects) and a very good distribution. In the past these were also complemented by a very reasonable pricing policy. Now this has been changing quite a bit and Italeri is becoming expensive, too expensive for the quality they offer. Will this continuous increase in prices be a problem for the company ? Not if others suffer the same fate (Airfix prices are also increasing considerably), however others manage to offer quality at good prices. Someone here keep criticising companies like Eduard for their prices... well, today Italeri is the expensive company, not Eduard ! Italeri still holds the advantage in terms of distribution so they may not worry (and Eduard's range is still very limited). My local hobby shop however is now starting to have more Hobby 2000 and Special Hobby kits than Italeri ones in the window.... So, Italeri's Fw.190D... it was considered the best on the market in the '80s, superior to the then recent Airfix one and the various older offerings. Today however we're not in the '80s anymore and there's better stuff around. Yes the Academy kit may be OOP but it's easy enough to find for a tenner or little more and it's a much nicer kit. Italeri's old Dora may still be of interest for those who don't mind raised panel lines but at €16 ???? To me it's an absurd price compared to the competition. I've already seen shops offering the kit for less, at say €12 it may be a more interesting product.. but then the same shop that sells it for €12 sells Eduard Spitfire kits for €10

Exactly, and IMHO that's how it has to be ! Each generation has to find their way to express things and a bit of rebellion against mum and dad is necessary to move things forward. Of course in return the previous generation will complain that today's youngsters are bad and they follow ideas that will corrupt society and so on.. that in music is the same people said about blues in the '30s, rock'n roll in the '50s, psichedelia etc. in the '60s, metal in the '70's, rap in the '90s and so on and so on and so on. I keep hearing a lot of complaints from people in my age range saying that young folks today should listen to classic '70s rock and everytime I ask why. Why should a 16 year old boy today be excited by something that was already old when his father was 16 ? It would have been like asking me to listen to music from the '40s. Now I do listen to a lot of '40s big band music today, but would I have this relevant to me when I was 16 ? Not at all... It is debatable if subjects in rap music are really all that different from those in other genres. Same for the contents of many lyrics. Sure some subgenres of rap feature very violent content but is this so different from the many country songs about outlaws of all eras or the murder ballads of popular music everywhere ? Sure rap artists often glorify misoginy and the exploitation of women but were the lyrics of many "hair metal" bands so different in content ? Rap musicians have also been often linked to the criminal world but again this is nothing that hasn't happened in other genres, just think of how many american singers of the '50s had ties with the mafia. Not to mention how certain subgenres of rock made the news more for the actions of their musicians than for their music, the Norwegian black metal bands above all. The reality is that in rap music there are good lyrics and bad lyrics as in any other genre. There are songs by say 2Pac or Ice Cube that are extremely deep, exploring very serious issues in a very insightful way. And of course there are others by the same artists that just talk about having a good time with the girls and the "homies". At the same time there have been rock bands with lyrics that were always only about having a good time with the girls and the mates. Now I have my views on why if say Johnny Cash sings about prison it's a poignant song about the misfortunes of life while if an 18 year old boy from Compton sings about prison it's an incitement to crime but better not go there and keep it to the music...

Glad to see Electronic mentioned. It was a band I didn't care much for when they hit the scene (I was in my early '20s back then). I later rediscovered them and now love their music. Guess it was because when I was younger I was listening to music in a different way. It was in my mid '30s that I started looking at records in more depth, trying to hear different things and understanding where everything was coming from without prejudice.

The current issue of their F-14A includes decals for a VF-1 aircraft, you may see if anyone has the kit and does not intend to use these markings. Of course there are a couple of potential problems... one is that the Italeri decals are designed for the Italeri kit and they may not fit perfectly the Hobbyboss one... but then this is a potential issue with every decal sheet. There is then the fact that the aircraft proposed by Italeri featured a different rear fuselage end (known as beaver tail by Tomcat fans) and different gun gas grilles compared to the Hobbyboss kit and the same Italeri Tomcat. Of course this is something that may or may not bother you. Alternatively you can keep checking the usual second hand outlets, decals for the hi-vis VF-1 scheme were made by Microscale early in the type career and later by Fightertown, HAD models, DXM and Eagle Strike. DXM and HAD sheets are the most recent, they should be the easiest to find in shops. Others are likely only available on the second hand market

Hmmm.... a difficult one, as even in some masterpieces (some of which have been mentioned here) I can sometime find tracks that do not warm me as much as the others. I'll try with a few off the top of my head, in no particular order Depeche Mode's Violator, others have mentioned this and I have to add my vote too. Really an album where all tracks are well deserving The Velvet Underground and Nico. King Crimson's Red Dr. Dre's the Chronic. Yes, a rap album and one of the most important. Here even the skits are worth listening for those who like the genre. No surprise that Dre has become one of the most succesful artists ever. Einsturzende Neubauten's Haus Der Luge. That yes, it's from a band whose international appeal is relatively limited (and for many is not their best album, most would consider this to be Halber Mensch) but there's music outside of the English speaking world too. Almost up there: The Queen Is Dead, by the Smiths. I say almost because I'm maybe not too sure about a couple tracks. Then there are a number of Massive Attack's albums... I never skip any track when listening as they all satisfy my hears, however I'm not sure if all tracks can beconsidered killers. Same for Portishead eponymous album and Tricky's Maxinquaye. And the same applies to a lot of progressive rock albums, where even the fillers have a strong place within the album development. But then there's here the matter that defiining "killers" the tracks of bands that are relatively "niche" is not always easy. Or at least not as easy as with rock or pop albums that contain a selection of individual songs.

Gloss varnish.... it really depends on what you're going to do over the paint. If you're applying a wash then yes, it could be useful to have a gloss coat over the paint. This because on matt paints the wash can be harder to remove and leave excessive residues. Said that, if I'm using a wash applied very carefully I often do not add a gloss coat. At the same time if I have to apply decals in areas of the cockpit then of course it's best to have a gloss coat, followed by decals, whatever wash or other effect required and then a final matt or semimatt coat. Have to add that often I paint the cockpit in a semigloss or gloss paint by adding some clear gloss to the base paint. This mostly when I airbrush the main cockpit colour, Regarding drybrushing, I generally don't bother with a gloss coat before this, you can drybrush over Vallejos with no problem. I generally do this using the same paints, if I find the result excessive (and sometime I do apply too much paint while drybrushing), I just cover with a thin coat of the original colour to blend everything in.

Personally I use Vallejo's a lot in painting cockpits, both the Model Air and the Model Colour. Of course I prime before painting: for larger areas I use a spray primer (Tamiya or Mr. Surfacer). For smaller details I either groupe a number of parts together and use the same spray cans or alternatively I use.. Vallejo's primer, that can be brushed easily and sticks well to plastic. Vallejo's primers are also available in a number of colours, something that can be of help when painting a cockpit. Their black primer for example is perfect as a base for those ejections seats that are mostly painted in black. They have a number of grey primers including a German Panzer Grey one that is very similar to RLM 66 and in any case, being a very dark grey colour, suits well black or dark grey cockpits. They even have a silver coloured primer. Once primed, I love these colours because of how quickly they dry, allowing me to add a lot of details in a short time.

Here it is: Quality of the picture is what it is but at least shows the shape. Just out of curiosity, I have checked the pilot notes for the Seafire Mk.45/46 (don't have those for the Mk.22/24 but the 45/46 were very similar) and the radiator flap actuator is included within the components driven by the pneumatic circuit. Speaking of the 4+ book, it's IMHO very nice, offering a lot of detail pictures and some diagrams, Only 28 pages but very useful to add details to any Mk.22/24 kit. I believe it's been OOP for a while though, not surprised it's hard to find

Would depend on each modeller's idea of what a very good kit is... To me a kit with recessed panel lines on the fuselage and raised on the wings is not a very good kit. A kit with a cockpit made of 3 flat surfaces is not a very good kit either, at the very best it can be a decent starting base. Really the 326 and G.91 are still interesting because they are the only available options and the 326 at least features good shapes. The Esci Skyhawk however was not rated particularly high when first issued, today it's hopelessly obsolete and it's only luck is that other better options are not always easily available. Among the better options is the Monogram kit, that is actually 2 year older than the Esci one

The opinions of a relatively small number of modellers in an online forum do not have enough weight to change the destiny of a company. Plastic kits are made in thousands per each production run and reach a wider audience compared to online forums. And even the people who post on a forum like this one often don't read everything that's written on the same forum, witness the number of times certain questions are asked again and again and again.... When companies fail it's because they have made some kind of mistake in running the business. There's plenty of mistakes to be made in this, although most times it's always the usual suspects....

The Occidental kit is a clone of the Esci kit with rough recessed panel lines. So retains all the inaccuracies of the original kit and in addition it's not particularly well moulded. The Esci kit features raised panel lines but fits better. In any case both are seriously lacking in interior details. As said, both are quite inaccurate, with problems that can be immediately noticed just looking at pictures of the real aircraft. There have been rumours of a new kit from Kinetic but nothing has appeared yet

There should be a jack in place of that metal sheet support, while the part attached to the flap is correct. To open the flap the jack would extend, so there would be nothing entering the wing. This setup is not the same as in the earlier Griffon engined variants, where the actuator was on the side of the rear radiator wall. There's a decent picture in the 4+ volume on the Spitfire 22/24, unfortunately B/W only. I'll see if I can make a scan