SleeperService

Are these available again? I know Jamie sold the brand but haven't seen them since.

It will surprise nobody that I'm going to fail again. A sudden death in the family and then a recurring bug have pretty much finished me off for a while. Sorry once again.

Time to put the last few 'not enjoyable at all' weeks behind me and do something positive. This is my 1/48 Fighting 48th Sherman M4A4 nearly built as a US Training vehicle. It has been in the MoD for a lengthy period and suffered damage I've found some of the missing parts and my custom printed Archer serial number set and, most importantly the paint I mixed for this very project. I think I may have started this around 2010 so about time to get it done.

A year!?! That were nothing I remember....... they were awful thought like spring steel in plastic. We had family holidays in Lincolnshire and the model shop in Louth carried ESCI, and I'd buy a bunch with my birthday money. Then came the year when the tracks changed..... and then the L&L were introduced so I got quite used to sending letters to buy spare parts so I could finish builds. Postal Orders for payment.... learned about patience the hard way. I did a SdKfz 250 with my nephew some years back, it's still at my Sisters and holding up well so, fingers crossed, you should be OK.

Sadly I don't think DS tracks will ever match the reliability of styrene and that is because of the uV light that can zip clean through them leaving damage all the way through the structure. Other vinyl is denser so the uV can only get so far beneath the surface leaving a layer that is microcracked attached to the still flexible core. Even if not subjected to uV the material still seems to deteriorate at a faster rate. What possessed Dragon to use the material I have no idea although a cynic may say that it was to prepare the market for their styrene Magic Tracks. Way back the ESCI range had to switch to L&L styrene when their vinyl material proved unsuitable for tracks. You may find a boxing with those in and then make more by the magic of resin. Alternatively THESE may help and you have options to buy from the US if that works from Trump's USA.

Hello I'm SleeperService and I have a problem my MoD is starting to dominate the stash so it's either get some finished or rent a larger flat, I'm going for the easy option. Fortunately my current Churchill STGB entry is on pause while I await materials to make the Ardeer Projector for the turret and resin to cast better suspension parts so first task is to go stash mining and find the first victim successful outcome but first I need to get some milk and bread so I'll update you when I have exhibit A to share.

Some interesting stuff there and you seem to have a few good ones on the go as well.

I feel your pain possibly literally. I hope you get some built and enjoy the experience.

Good selection there and at very different stages too. Love the signature image as well.

By my standards that's almost complete......

I'm happy to be relieved of that task Thank You. @Troy Smith worked out a fix but I can't find it again but I think he has a computer memory so may be able to help.

I can't find the comparison photo I took but IIRC it wasn't that far off the same. At the time we were trying to pin down where Airfix went astray and my interest was whether the area behind the engine bulkhead was the same as it should have been but it wasn't. I'll go Mountain of Doom mining and retake the photo if I can't find it.

I'm just happy to see the Blenheim I etch in 1/48 reappearing. I'm quite impressed by the hybrid offering as well so it may slip into a cart at some point....

I'm sure you'll feel better soon. 😜🤣

Common sense and a desire for accuracy I suspect... Old Airfix was quite chunky and had it's issues the spine IIRC was the main issue Hasegawa is better for shape but availability was 'patchy' until the interweb and wasn't detailed as well as the price suggested New Airfix has been stretched to the Mk.II length while meant to be a MK.I, you can fudge it but next to an ARMA Mk.II it looks very different Quite frankly the Arma kits are literally miles ahead of ANY other Hurricanes full stop. Order as a bundle and they are cheaper than Hasegawa who are arguably the second best. If I was Mr Airfix I'd dump the recent sprues while they still have value and rebox the ARMA kits with a single sprue offering the optional parts, perhaps as a joint venture. Unlike the TSR.2 models there isn't that much of a market for Airfix long term for another attempt at getting the details and shape correct. Far better to concentrate on new subjects with much better sales prospects.