Giorgio N

Wow, fantastic model, really impressive ! Another masterpiece from you, I missed a few posts in the WIP so now I sure have to go and check them all, Well done !

Not without some additional parts, that have been offered in specific sets in the past. Alternatively these can be scratchbuilt. If however you want to build one straight from the box, then no, it can't be done

Different lengths in what sense? With longer and shorter stocks? Or with different barrel lengths? Variations in stock types sure did happen, different barrel length however would indicate different versions that may or not have been present in the same unit. In any case with a different barrel and stock the relative proportions of the various rifle components would be visually different, as other parts remained of fixed length while using two rifles in different scales result in the same proportions but different lengths. This is particularly noticeable in the "bulk" of the obj

The F-104 served in Belgium from 1963 to 1983, a total of 20 years. The F-16 entered service in 1979 and the type is still operational, making it over 40 years. I would expect the flight hours ratio to be similar. The F-16 in US service has a much better accident rate compared to the Starfighter in most European air forces, that makes sense considering the very different technology level. One advantage of the F-16 was also that the type was rarely used at such low level as the F-104. On the other hand F-16 pilots suffered similar training issues at the start of the type career, with

Were many of the two-seater painted in wraparound? I've never seen a picture of a TAV-8A in such scheme. Thinking about it, I can't remember having seen the single seaters in wraparound either and pictures I've seen of these taken after retirement showed grey undersurfaces. I may be wrong but I believe that the wraparound scheme only appeared on the later AV-8Bs.

Not without major work: the J features a larger tail compared to the A/C. There are other details, but this is the biggest difference

Are they actually producing any kit in Germany? My understanding is that all their own kits are made in Poland and this country name appears on all Revell boxes I have, reboxes excepted

Are they still a thing in the hobby? No, they have been made obsolete by other manufacturing techniques and today most of the subjects that appeared as vacformed kits are available in injected plastic or resin. Do people still build them? Yes, there are modellers who still enjoy these, as you've seen from the answers above. Market value? Depends, for some don'expect more than a fiver, others may fetch high prices if you find the right modeller or collector interested

The Frecce also used a number of standard R later in their career with the Gina, so it is possible to build a recce nose aircraft in PAN livery. Of course it would have to be with the 4 MG and not the cannon armed Luftwaffe variant. See for example this great site for pictures, in this page it's possible to see both pointed and standard noses in the same flightline. https://www.alessandrozucchelli.it/rivoltoanni80-2.html Said that, I do hope that a pointed nose will be offered by either Kinetic or the aftermarket, being able to build an early Frecce aircraft would

I'm aware of the differences between the variants, I'm not sure however I'm seeing these in the HB kit parts. Mind, I do not have the kit in my hands so I can only check sprue pictures, but these and the instructions really look the same to me. If you have seen them then HB did their homework right

I don't have the HB kit so can't comment on the accuracy, one thing I noticed however is that both A-4E and A-4F boxes seem to include exactly the same parts, unless I've missed something https://www.super-hobby.it/products/A-4F-Sky-Hawk.html https://www.super-hobby.it/products/A-4E-Skyhawk-20194027-1.html If so, then you may start from either one

Very good news ! This was one of the rumours I mentioned in a post a while ago, glad to see it becoming reality

Ok, need to have a rant here.....Yes, there were many factories and different paint manufacturers and depends on the guy who mixes the paint and so on and so on and this and that and the other... But when it comes to new production stuff the term "close enough for government work" does not equate to "give them any s..t you can make and they'll be happy with it". There are standards and there are rules, and whenever a company does not supply a product conforming to the requirements, they are not paid the full amount... and companies do not like to be paid less than expected, reason why th

Hi Bill, how are things ? IMHO Italian shops tend to be at the high end pricewise. The biggest one is Mister Kit that can be roughly described as the Italian Hannants.. not as large, much smaller but it's the kind of place where you can find everything. And that everything is generally not cheap.... Another good shop is Steel Models, more focused on tanks than aircraft. Interesting is also Italian Kits, that only has a few kits but is also a manufacturer. Astromodel often has bargains, they are local distributors for a number of brands and are the producers of Lifecolor paints so may be i

I forgot to add.... in doubt, just ask on the forum ! You're not sure of the best paints for a certain colour scheme or a certain detail? Just go to the relevant section here and post your questions, you'll find plenty of modellers glad to help you finding the answer.