SleeperService

This very subject has been ongoing in a FB Group and the consensus is that Airfix are doing the Hasegawa thing. Release a kit, let it rest for a while then re-release with different schemes. If true I'm in a quandary as either We'll be subjected to endless 'I told you's by Mr Annoying. We'll bank on a re-release that then doesn't happen. Decisions, decisions. Frankly @RMP2 I'd strongly suggest a search or ask on BM before buying a Trumpy or HB kit. Some are good, many are bad, and some praised as good aren't. Stick a decent cockpit in the Airfix 48th take care assembling it and you can get a beautiful model. Aires wheel wells will make you go mad I used them once and the model is in the 4Boxes of Doom until my therapy gets me to a state to carry on. If you want a Trainer go for the Neomega conversion, the Sword kit can be improved but Airfix is easier. Nearly forgot I highly recommend a metal pitot tube. I swear the plastic kit part will break just by being looked at too closely.

A very good lesson here for many 'experts' and not just in aircraft. In AFV world a myth about the Churchill tank hull width changing dramatically was comprehensively debunked by three of us over a few hours online. I've found that many of the old classics are a better fit than some modern kits and often much more accurate than people say. Excellent work investigating and doing image magic to demonstrate it.

Is this the original resin fuselage Smer/OEZ offering or a new injection moulded. Any clue in the box art writing? Please.

That front end belongs on the front end of an alien spaceship. I shall be spending money with CWS very soon I think. I hope the canopy/windscreen fit is better than it looks though.

OOP! Rare! Collectable! on your preferred reselling site. add in NOT Airfix, Revell... for extra effect.

The paint is made in the UK however some of the ingredients may well be imported. Other posters are right about international transport though and Brexit hasn't helped either. I'm told that Halfords have moved their order system to only allowing branches to order in-stock items, one reason given was poorly trained staff ordering obsolete items, several small orders from the same store clogging the system, and the Internet sales can't have helped. There has been a shortage of knifing putty recently too. Remember when we used to joke about shop queues in the USSR...

You aren't alone in that. To keep you occupied until November THIS SITE is pretty good. Not sure if RAAF would have got to the Black ponies though.

Well People Greetings and I hope you are all safe and sound. Managed to get a good session in on this build yesterday and this morning so without further ado... I'm sorry for the scene of destruction but the first image has corrupted. I taped the parts together and can assure anybody who wants one of these in their collection that the fit is very good indeed. I'd say that 90% of the surface texture will be removed by a coat of filler primer and a brief sanding, I just sanded these parts lightly so you can see how easy this is. If you want to dip your toe in the 3D printed pond then this would be an excellent first project and would certainly stand out when built. Rikki Wolfe is also a very helpful guy indeed. If you lack FB where he is 'Lost British Projects' send me a PM and I'll pass his e-mail on. Comparing the model to the limited information available the fuselage rear is from a later P.1216 version of this evolution, as I really want to do the original it will need modifying. The wings appear to be mounted low on the fuselage section to try and resolve the mismatch however it isn't going to be a show stopper by any stretch. So here you can see the main undercarriage areas cut away from the booms - the section on white card is the remains of one removed section after attention from Sushi the Supercat. I separated the wings from the rear fuselage and split them to widen them as you can see 2mm at the outboard end 5mm inboard. I think the designer scale the wing to the reduced length resulting from them being mounted low on a wider part of the fuselage. The air intake and fins were split to make clean up easier and not because I was too rough and partly broke them off One face of each fin was quite rough so I applied filler the other side was very smooth. Next slide please Side view of the rear fuselage section showing the reshaped and trimmed parsons nose fairing that is the rear of the fuselage and about the middle of the whole aircraft. The two holes are where the integral nozzles were removed. The kit has Harrier type but the three poster Pegasus used Plenum Chamber Burning up front on very different outlets. The rear section has been removed as the designers compromise didn't allow a large enough rear pipe. Last slide... Acrylic knifing putty blends in the parsons nose and two areas on the sides where the wing was mounted. The surface is now very smooth indeed and took about twenty minutes work. As I said there really is nothing terrible about 3D printed kits. This one is filament printed plastic and a good coat of MEK made it robust enough for some rough handling. The internal structure was removed almost completely leaving just three layers in most places in all about 90 minutes work in SleeperDad's workshop finishing off with thin nose pliers to literally roll the unwanted layers away. Another good coat of MEK on the inside and done. The real thing was going to be mostly carbon composite construction with the wing leading edges and intake front easily replaceable if damaged so a minimum of panel lines. It just gets better. Until next time I bid you a fond farewell.

As part of my continuing return to polite society the Wichita East Facility has been taken out of mothballs and re-opened. Hurrah!! The Wellington will need considerable attention to curate all the parts and information so has been off-lined and replaced by the P.1214 3D printed aircraft of Lost British Projects which I purchased at the Hamex '17 show. I builds up into a very nice display model but, being a little whacky, I've decided to see how near I can get to the current build standard. What you get is this: Which should assemble to resemble this Originally this was my project for the Anything But Injected GB but it took longer to get to SleeperDad's workshop than I hoped. Note that the fuselage parts fit flawlessly and a very nice desktop model could be built without much difficulty. But I decided otherwise. First thing was to brush on 2-3 coats of MEK to ensure that the filaments stayed in place and the few tip parts that had come loose were reattached. There followed an extended period of violence towards styrene as I removed the internal structure that would interfere with the bays I intended to create for wheels, cockpit, and intakes to the engine. I still need to consider the nozzles....

Enjoy the hobby my friend. We're all different - a friend can machine up exquisite parts for all metal live steam models. He brought a plastic kit of one and struggles with it. Horses for courses. This site is friendly and helpful and Mike and the Minions will get the big stamping boots out when needed. If you're interested in a subject then ask in the relevant area for kit recommendations, some kits are more user friendly than others. SR-71 Yes, please. The trainer option would be good too. Awesome aircraft - once heard never forgotten. Happy days at Mildenhall.

Acrylics are the reason I got out of vehicle refinishing. It is very difficult to get a consistent quality finish with them and auto paints are better than the stuff sold to model-makers. They shrink as they dry so sharp corners leave a way to peel the paint away, the paint layer is very thin and needs multiple coats if it's going to be handled which brings more issues. That said for small areas requiring multiple colours that will be protected such as cockpits mentioned above and wheel wells they can be very useful. PlaStix has a very good technique which will help a lot. If using tiny amounts for detail like switches and such then get artist acrylics. Much better coverage, a tube will last a lifetime, quality much better with finer dyes. For large areas then enamel is far superior, a single mist coat and then a wet one will cover most of the time without smothering detail. Old Humbrol is very good but Compucolour is getting better every day. They are building a good reputation for accuracy of colour too. Naptha based thinner is much less smelly than white spirit, however you should realise the surface will remain wet for a while so, once the paint is on, ensure it is protected from dust while it hardens. Not matter what paint you use practice with it will improve results, take your time, if the finish looks bad let it dry thoroughly before trying to repair it. I always wear disposable nitrile gloves when painting, some have 'rusty fingers' leaving residue on a surface that loiters, grease and sweat will do the same. Very annoying until you twig the root cause is your freshly washed hands. If in the UK then primer for anything is Halfords rattle cans. Pity they don't do a pink for light green or yellow....

Nuclear Fusion was 10 years away when I was at school. Now nearly 60 it's still 10 years away.... Coming at this from an economics angle I don't see how that scenario, which I remember well too, was ever going to work unless we went full 'Star Trek' moneyless society. Within the current trade networks the 'best' or 'least worse' plan that could be applied now would be for a manufacturer to list the kits that they offer as 3D prints to be printed off locally. As now the files could be sent for manufacture and have a single use licence embedded. Decals and instructions could be sent directly to the customer. The International banking system is already setup to handle local taxes that are transaction specific so the burden for that is removed from the purchaser. What will need to change is the import duty that is charged in some countries but only on items that are shipped. Buy it elsewhere and carry it through in person and you have a different process. As for the printers they could be leased by a local operator who would distribute accordingly. A great way to generate employment especially for folks with challenges as the work area can be tailored for specific needs. If a bakery line can be setup for wheelchair and partially sighted workers to use safely then anything should be possible. The line I saw is in Germany but there are others in the USA for certain.

Seems like the message is clear to me. It'll change stuff but the hobby will continue. I think I was at that exhibition too as that rings a bell. I also remember IBM predicting a world market of 6-7 computers. Given the amount they spent on R&D they were so far off it's embarrassing - especially as at Palo Alto Research Center the whole distributing computing network concept was pretty much defined and most was designed. However things change some will stick to old methods, others adopt the new while the wise will pick and choose. We still have thatched roofs after all.

With amazing timing my IL-28 has finally left the airlines care and is at Langley where HM Govt decide how much ransom I'll have to pay. Better late than never I suppose.

Model kits are very rarely time critical amply demonstrated by regular release date slippage. The money invested is implied by the amount of effort put into the design. That sign is quite common in the UK and completely correct. The issue here IMHO is that the products haven't been good, or cheap, and certainly no faster than others. Kinetic recently announced their Gina G91-Y with nearly complete CAD designs. Lots of people raised red flags about the issue so Kinetic have gone back to redo the project. Most commenting were very familiar with the subject and offered documentation, access to remaining airframes etc. Raymond knows his customer base and that an accurate kit will sell many more items than a poor one, especially when alternatives are already around. The sad fact is that KH take very little notice of any material as evidenced by the 'Reference Materials supplied by Detail & Scale' sticker being removed as they had been ignored (author's comments on other sites inc ARC), Sorry but my passion is economics where they are standard terms. 'Enthusiast' is an informed purchaser with knowledge of the subject and a specific requirement, in this case type modelled, decals, variant offered etc. The are making the purchase as they want that particular product. OTOH 'Casual' purchasers are those who want a model kit, it may be down to a choice between plane/AFV/ship etc. and they may purchase the item in question if it fits that category but the subject isn't a consideration. There is some overlap in our hobby but not much especially compared to areas like computer equipment, TV, and even housing. I agree completely on all of this only seeing the cause of the problem differently. With respect that isn't true at all. I have worked in the financial sector as part of a team advising potential buyers which business would be the best fit for them, that is the most profitable within the specified timescale. The investigating is always done on a best case/worst case basis. Which one is developed will be determined by evidence from non-financial sources, 'due diligence' virtually mandates this. So let us look at why a particular company is a target. If others in the same geographical area are struggling then we'd look for a regional issue - shortage of raw materials, infrastructure at capacity, a natural disaster, political change or legal, and so on. The next area is the market sector - has the target any unusual methodology (organisation, production techniques, business model, culture), is it producing product to a different standard from other suppliers in the same market audiences, has there been a sudden change in the market overall. And so on and on. All true, however we are told that the company has been over-producing and stockpiling product. This is not something the Chinese usually do and their tax structure penalises those who do. Warehouse space is very expensive compared to other countries to ensure product is shipped (and payment received) promptly. If it sits around that's foreign currency tied up uselessly, which the Chinese government certainly don't approve of. Historically the supply of KH kits has been erratic in most markets, the cause of this is usually production runs that are beyond the ability of the equipment to sustain. Chasing a lower unit cost by tying up equipment for an extended period is foolish especially if it means other items go out of stock in the meantime. I'd venture that KH sells at least 50 kits to 'enthusiast' purchaser to every one brought as a present or an impulse purchase at a show or other event. Make it accurate and you'll sell the 50 and pick up some of the impulse purchases, how many of these is down to pricing and perceived value (utility in economic speak). However by making kits that offer no improvement to others available or are considered to be of an unacceptable standard then you will lose some of the enthusiast purchases, in this interconnected world you could lose nearly all of them. That means 51 sales projected becomes maybe 5-6, that means trouble.