TonyW

It’s a lovely looking kit, and you’ve done it proud Tolga. However, if it is to retail at £320 then I’m afraid I’m out. I understand the argument around it being short-run, no aftermarket needed etc, but I have to wonder how many units would sell if it were around the £100 mark as opposed to what I would guess will be a relatively small number at full price? Assuming of course there is sufficient production capacity to handle a bigger demand. Nothing Airscale wouldn’t have already considered I’m sure, and I do wish them well with it. . They would sell like hot cakes at £100. The maker would take a loss on every one and soon close down, totally demoralised. The kits then sold would take on a collector value and soon hit high numbers. A better plan would be for the maker to earn enough to want to continue releasing top quality stuff for us to buy. You might not like the asking price, but the same situation exists with Purdey shotguns, Ferrari motor cars and Banksie artworks. It's nice that they exist, affording them is up to you. Wingnut Wings had the benifit of a very rich backer and charged three figure sums for their outstanding product. They had the name, the product, and mass production available. They have gone though. It's a tough world out there.

Your model is astonishing, well done. I don't think the manufacturer could have got a better advert anywhere. As regards price, my rule of thumb with the current price of anything is to think of something reasonable and then double it. You still come in way under the asking price of everything from a cup of tea to a house, but it helps you see that every commodity and service is the same. Models are no different.

First job today is to check just that Alex. I spent ages yesterday aligning everything as best I could. The general fit of the engines is extremely vague at best. I filed, sanded and propped things into alignment and with luck things will be OK. If not, they will get refixed. I'm just hoping that I don't need to re do twelve engines!

Non whatsoever! I haven't a clue how these whoppers are going to get stored or displayed at the moment. My blinkers are on very tight regarding the matter. They will get a photo call here and a night out at my model club but after that they will have to be stored. I have the space, but nothing big enough in the way of boxes. I'll need to deal with that as the builds progress. I've had a dream shed build in progress for far too long now. It's hopefully going to be finished as a great big model shop. The structure is pretty much up but it's a fair way from completion. It's been held up for one reason or another for too long now and the latest obstacle has been my hip giving up. The years have caught up with me. Ladders and general building work are out of reach at the moment but I'm in for a robo hip next week. With luck and a sober doctor I'll be up and running around before the summer gets going properly. At that point I want my shed. 😁

The M10 program’s failure highlights the risks of rapid acquisition in the absence of infrastructure compatibility and evolving mission clarity. As the Army recalibrates its vehicle portfolio, attention is likely to shift toward more flexible and infrastructure-aware solutions. Magnificent! I'm going to embrace that one and add it to my core value perceptions.

A couple of lazy days cat sitting for my sister meant a lot of loafing around, eating and drinking and binge watching Black Mirror, but no 707 action at all. Yin and Yang. Today was more productive on the airliner front. The third of the triplets got it's fuselage reinforced with additional plastic sprue glued along the upper joint from the inside, followed by a small lake of gorilla glue floated along the seam to make one very solid joint. Engine nacelles are all one bit now and there's steady progress being made on the wings. I'm a bit further on than the picture below shows, with the wing section now all one bit and the fuselage fully glued along the bottom edge. Things are drying as I type. The other two(!) have now got motive power fitted. The single guide pin Heller provide to help with the fit of each engine assembly is slightly out of whack. One pin to help you and it's in the wrong place by about 1mm. Trim it off and the fit improves no end. Annoying, but somehow very Heller. Also, each engine will only fit one way but Heller don't exactly make that apparent. The differences in fit are subtle and any modeller who ignores instructions could get confused and a bit wound up. Ask me how I know this. Think French and all is well though. I've used tube cement for the initial setup followed by a touch of extra thin superglue run into the wing to nacelle joint. I debated about drilling and pinning each part but put my trust in adhesives instead. The words 'cement' and 'superglue' drew me in and convinced me all would be fine. I can be my own worst enemy sometimes. I've quit for the day, while I'm ahead, but things are progressing in a very satisfying way at the moment. More later.

I'm trying not to think about that one. I'm also trying to ignore the 26decals Aer Lingus sheet, three of these beasts should be enough for anyone.

Not wanting to let this one fade away to the back of the stash, I got stuck in just now. Deja Vu hit me like a ton of bricks as reinforcements were added to the outer wings, weight added to the nose and a hit of tamiya silver leaf went over the wheel parts and engine pods. Things can stop for the day at that point, more tomorrow though.

The on again, off again, twin 707 saga is on again. In a big way as well. The brakes went on again recently for a number of reasons, all done and dealt with though. That means work can restart for the umpteenth time. Logic went out the window once I spotted a cheap AWAC version on the 'bay. I added it to the stash. Two more books got added to the library as well. Logic came back in again when I gave the kit a closer study. Same kit as the early one, just added radar dish and different decals. A big plus is the filled windows. A major time saver If I go for broke here. [/url I'm looking at this one with reverse engineering in mind. I've done the apprenticeship on the other pair, uncovering the flaws and the methods of getting around them so in theory the new kiddy should go together rather quickly. I stress the in theory bit. It may well transpire that this gets done before the others. It could also happen that I've got too greedy and the whole lot will collapse around me. Time will tell, and there's not too much of that left in the GB. Who knows what scheme it will be in, certainly not me! TWA Pan Am or BOAC. What a fabulous choice to have. The BOAC version abandoned at the start of the thread suddenly comes back into contention. Confused? You soon will be. The other pair got some done on them as well. The second airframe has had its wings fitted and things look good so far. The rubber bands and a fair amount of tube glue have got things nice and strong and ready for more. The cockpit had to come off the grey one as the seats and console are needed elsewhere. A can of Halfords grey was bought yesterday for the wing centres and a couple of different gold foils have been bought with a view to replacing the kit Speedbirds and lettering with something brighter. Some fake gold leaf failed when tried. It had a grain to it that won't polish to a smooth finish. Worth a go though. Next attempt will be with some adhesive backed bright gold foil. If it all goes Pete Tong I can always revert to the Heller decals. Best I get cracking on the actual building then. It looks like I'm back in the saddle and raring to go. YEE HAAA. EDIT: I have no idea why the last few para's are underlined. I'm not about to type that lot again though, so it can stay as is. Tony.

Monogram at the top of their game, given the best possible attention. The collector in me shuddered a bit when the thread started but you really have made a showpiece of a model here. It looks amazing.

Superb photography. Hard to pick a favourite, but if pushed it would be the group shot of the F16s. That shape is still futuristic to me, no matter the age of the type.

If it's upsetting the rest of the family, build gliders.

I order them direct from their website. Buy three, get one free. Postage to the UK is $7.00 regardless of how many. The order can take a while to get here, but it always does. A good company to deal with. Tony.

A purchase of a full bumper '70 Camero from @Pete in Lincs yesterday morning just turned up here! Lightning fast delivery and dispatch! Thanks Pete. Because it got here so quickly, and is obviously a bit keen to go, I've teamed it up with a set of Butch Leal decals from Slixx and a couple of Tamiya rattle cans. A scratch built hood is in my future, along with a root around the spares supplies. It's going to be a Super Stock Summer I think...

That is just beautiful. Looks like I've got me a new screensaver!