PDH

Absolutely superb, well done

I'm half through building a cross kitted 1/35 Cromwell - Airfix Hull/Suspension arms with an Accurate Armour engine deck and Tamiya Turret and road wheels. Solves nearly all the major issues and goes together almost perfectly. Need to press on and finish it!! P

Either Tasca/Asuka - they do straightforward Sherman V or their Firefly kit or RFM should be OK. I would doubly make sure that a conversion kit for a Dragon model is going to be ok for either of other two, resin kits are mastered specially for a specific kit manufacturer so if there are dimension issues these will need to be addressed. P

Just arrived this morning, cost me less than £20 delivered!

Doesn't look like it. Anything with the red banner is marked as 'Not Available - Log Your Interest Below' with a link to register your interest. To me it looks as if they are trying to see what demand remains for their products so they can plan to produce/supply before they close. P

Yes the wrong wheels probably came from R1374. I've only bought A1373 as it has the parts to make a MkIV and a MKVI so if A1374R1 exists I don't know. From what I've heard Academy didn't inform Airfix of the change from 6 to 8 bolts but I'm not sure that stands up as the Reference Number was changed but again I don't know how the production of these kits operates. I'm assuming the whole operation is done in South Korea and complete boxed kits are sent to the UK. My A1373R1 came direct from Airfix so they've had them in stock! P

I hope this explains - You can tell the kits with the 8 bolt wheels by the Reference Number on the box. The original Reference Number for those with 6 bolt wheels is A1373, the 8 bolt kits have Reference Number A1373R1. The latest release, Reference Number A1384, has 8 bolt wheels. The turret pistol port bolt nor the engine deck issues haven't been fixed in either the revised or new releases. P

?? Other way round John!! Also Pistol Ports have not been changed, still missing the 4 prominent bolt heads. P

Thanks, the second video is helpful, short and to the point. P

Thanks, I had a quick look on YouTube the other day but nearly all of them were 'selling videos' not 'How to Use' but I'll take another look. Like you I do hope they released more colours but I suspect it will depend on the sales success of the first batch. Cheers P

No ball. I've bought the Tools set but not used any of the pens yet and have been looking for instructions on how to use. So far not found anything so it'll be a bit of trial and error when the time comes. P

I think you will find there are two Panda manufacturers - Panda Plastics and Panda Hobby. Plastics is US based and are the successor company for RHPS semi workable Sherman tracks. Hobby were China based and are the company that appear have gone out of business. As far as I'm aware Plastics are still trading, their website is up and running at https://www.shermantracks.com/index.html so you should be able to buy direct. May be a post on a more US orientated forum may help to find out if there are issues. P

Kit bash - in my view the Airfix hull and Tamiya turret are the best parts of the relevant kits. A lot of Airfix parts fit Tamiya and vice versa so you can select the best of both kits. The Tamiya wheels fit fine on the Airfix hull so there is a fix there if you have an original moulding. So I'm currently building a Cromwell IV with mainly Airfix hull parts, Tamiya turret (and if you want to fit a metal barrel then the Aber 75mm Ref 35 L-37 version fits perfectly) and Tamiya wheels with probably aftermarket tracks. For SCC15 I'm going with SMS PL153. Hope this helps P

Posted on their Facebook page on October 26th - An important announcement for readers of our magazines Phoenix Scale Modeller International and Phoenix Scale Modeller International From the November 2023 issue, we have decided to stop distributing our magazines through news agents including WH Smiths, Menzies, Barnes & Noble and many other Newsagents. Q. Why? A. The world of magazine publishing industry has been heavily hit by the events of the last two years. As an example, high energy bills and the loss of one of the largest suppliers of wood in the world which of course is needed to make paper has led to price increases of over 45%. And costs of transportation have also risen by up to 25%. Q. Could you not cut costs? A. We could use cheaper paper and printers, but this would have an effect on the quality of the product, something we will not do. Q. Does this mean you are stopping production of magazines A. This is a Yes and No answer so I will cover it in two parts. Yes: Unfortunately, we have decided to stop producing Phoenix Scale Modelling in its current form as it was always the weaker title. Subscribers for this title will be contacted directly with more details. No: Phoenix Aviation Modeller will continue in production, but you will purchase it via Direct Sale and the new November issue will be with us on Monday and it is available to pre-order now from the web site. Q. What is Direct Sale? A. We are taking over distribution removing the most expensive part selling a magazine to Newsagents. The best and cheapest way to get our magazines is buy taking out a subscription or buying individual copies directly from us at www.phoenixscalepublications.co.uk as many already do. Individual copies have postage charged at a discounted rate, while, 6 and 12 Month Subscriptions are sent postage free. You can also buy from selected Model Shops NOT NEWSAGENTS around the world. And of course, we have our stand at shows around the world including a small one you may have heard of Scale ModelWorld at Telford in a fortnights time. Q. But this means you will sell less magazines? A. Ironically yes but also No. What many do not realise is that publishers get as little as one-sixth of the cover price on magazines. And we must also supply between 500 and 1000 copies more than you sell. And some of these never make it as far as the shops shelves and are pulped direct from the distribution warehouses. So by removing the biggest cost we will sell less but make more money to reinvest in our future. Q Why not put prices up? A. I wish it was so simple, as I have already said publishers only get a 1/6 of the cover price so would only get 1/6 of a price rise. So we would have to raise the cover price by £6 to get £1 a copy more. This goes against one of our core beliefs of Value Service and Honesty. We have been honest by explaining our decision, We believe we will be able a better Service by bringing everything but the printing in house. And by keeping the cover price we are producing the highest quality product at the best price we can. Though I am not saying price rises will not happen over the next 12 months if we have to, but that is always a last resort. And if prices do rise taking out a subscription now makes even more sense with its free postage. Q, Any other changes A. Yes but not a big one We are changing our production schedule to a monthly one rather than 4 Weeks-4 Weeks-5weeks forced on us by distribution this means for UK subscribers and those pre-ordering will receive their copy in the first week of the month on the cover. So Novembers issue will arrive in the first week of November. We will start taking pre-orders one week before the delivery is due to us from the printers, and will advise customers by email and social media as we have done from day one. Q. I still have an unanswered question? A. Drop us a line [email protected] or come see in in Hall two at Telford where will have partners from both Modelling side and Production side available to answer questions You can also buy Novembers magazine as well as take out a subscription and see our latest new book titles and maybe we can tell you about a few new projects including why this is not the end of Phoenix Scale Modelling International In bookshops !!!!! Q, Can I help Phoenix. A.Please Spread the word, post this on personal and club sites , or make it a topic on any forums you are a member of. One of the key objectives for us is to get this new sales model to work is spreading the word as well as recruiting Model Shops to stock our magazines and books and help Phoenix to serve you better.

I got an email from them the other day, I used to subscribe but no longer do. They have advised they had stopped selling via W H Smiths and move to postal delivery. They earn more revenue this way even though they will sell less copies, think they said they got about £1 from every copy sold in WHS. Can't remember when they said this was effective from. Other newsagents may stock otherwise it's order on their website. HTH P