Jon Bryon

Thanks for your reply. I understand what you are getting at. We may be talking at cross purposes a bit. For me, a conversion is not a kit. A kit is something that contains all the necessary parts in the box (including, importantly, markings). That's why I'd say the F-105B has never been 'kitted' in 1/48, but I understand your POV. Of course, there are other complications in the discussion. The Grumman J2F-6 Duck has never been kitted in 1/48 (except, possibly, some ancient vacform). Classic Airframes claim to have kitted one, but what comes in the box is not a J2F-6 (and neither is the Merit one). I've just made one and IMO it took some 'serious scratchbuilding' to make this variant. So in my view, this is another unkitted aircraft in 1/48, even though you could buy a kit with 'J2F-6' on the box... Jon

RRP of £85 looks a bit steep! Jon

Indeed. And the TH-55 is announced by AMP and the Saab 105 by Pilot Replicas. But Clear Prop are meant to be working on a Firebrand, Anetra got as far as producing plastic for the Mi-8 Hip, Mars Models even put a MiG-9 on the boxes of other kits, Special Hobby have said they're doing a Super Mystere at some point, and yet they all seem to be vapourware. I am definitely sceptical kit manufacturers are going to follow through on all their plans, but we shall see... I think S&M only ever planned the Wasp. I would collar Mel at every show and he was adamant there is no market for a 1/48 Scout and had no plans to produce one. Jon

Yeah...I understand what you are saying, but disagree. Where are you going to draw a line between what is a variant and what isn't? Is an F-84F a variant of an F-84E/G? Is an F-86D a variant of the A/E/F? Is a Spitire F.24 a variant of the Mk.1? If so, would it be reasonable to convert one to the other? If not, why not? I'd say your distinction is arbitrary. Where are you going to put your line? Jon

I would suggest the following have never been kitted in 1/48: BAe Dominie Beech C-12 Huron (multiple versions not kitted) Bell TH-57 SeaRanger Bristol Brigand Cessna T-37 Tweet (mind boggles that this hasn't been done) Fuji T-1 HAL Ajeet HAL Tejas Hiller H-23 Raven Hughes TH-55 Osage Kaman UH-2A/B/C/D Sea Sprite Kamov Ka-25 Kamov Ka-52 Mil Mi-28 Republic F-84B/C/D Thunderjet Republic F-105B Thunderchief Saab J21R Saab 105 Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giant Vought F-8B/C/D/H/K/L Crusader Vought RF-8A/G Crusader Westland Puma (1/50 scale does not count) Westland Scout If it weren't for Collectaire there'd be quite a few other models on that list. Jon

I dunno. The X5s at work are pretty sporty at 120+ mph, and can hold their own on smaller roads at high speeds. Not quite as planted as a 5 Series, I'll grant you, but they don't really need to be any sportier. Jon

Not sure where you live, but worth bearing in mind that in London today, dipped headlights were not required after 6.44am, and if the road was street lit, not at all. Of course, was you can do and what you should do are two different things... Jon

I got my copy of this kit yesterday and it is remarkable value for money. However, if you've got one you might want to check it. Mine is missing a chunk from the leading edge of the wing at the nacelle from a short shot. Jon

Sorry, I forgot to reply to this. I spoke with Pete yesterday. It means the product is currently in stock and can be back-ordered if he runs out. If it says 'In Stock' then it is. HTH Jon

As per this Hyperscale thread, the FB info is a bit out of date and now provisional pending further data: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/hyperscale/icm-1-48-b-26b-k-8-gun-nose-t526837.html Jon

Eh? In 1/48 there are the following: F-35A: Meng; Kitty Hawk (unavailable) F-35B: Italeri; Kitty Hawk (unavailable) F-35C: Kitty Hawk (unavailable) Given the paucity of F-35 kits, I'd thank Airfix greatly for a B or C 🙂 Jon

If you still want an Su-33, the Oxted Model Centre still have them in stock. I can vouch for Pete and he's very responsive on Facebook. https://oxtedmodelcentre.co.uk/product-category/plastic-models/minibase/ Jon

I don't doubt they're rather unloved compared to fixed wing aircraft, but I find it interesting that the Italeri range of 1/48 Wessex kits (released 2012-2014) has been sold out for a long time and so presumably returned them a profit. Jon (waiting for a re-release)

My (vain) hope for a few years now has been a 1/48 Swift and Jet Provost. Aftet all, they did do them in 1/72 not that long ago... Jon

The Korean War is poorly served in general. The Douglas F3D Skyknight has only one meaningful (and limited run) kit in 1/48. There's no modern/decent tooling of the F9F Panther. The F2H Banshee needs to be re-kitted after the KH boo-boo (and no one's ever done the -3/4 other than Collectaire). There's no F-86A/E beyond an ancient ESCI kit, and no accurate kit of the F-80 since the 1970s. Still plenty of work to be done! Jon

Sure. Spanish I-16s like this one had a locally manufactured canopy. You can see it clearly in photos on this website: http://modelismomilitarehistoria.blogspot.com/2019/05/el-polikarpov-i-16-en-espana-en-octubre.html There are at least 2 (maybe 4) photos of this particular airframe. Cheers Jon

Thanks everyone 👍 It's a mismash of techniques: 1. Airbrushing different shades of the base colours through mottle masks. 2. A layer of tan-coloured Liquitex ink heavily thinned with X-20A. 3. Pin wash of AK Interactive Streaking Grime. 4. A more liberal wash using the same product then removed in a streaking fashion with brushes dampened in thinner. 5. Some AK Interactive Weathering Pencils in places of high relief, blended with brush and water. 6. Fuselage chips added with Vallejo paint and a sponge. 7. Prop weathered using the hairspray technique. 8. Various shades of oil paint were used for discolouring different areas. HTH Jon

Hello everyone, This is Eduard's 1/48 Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 that I finished in mid-September. The kit is inaccurate for a Spanish aircraft, so I've replaced the windscreen with a vac-formed example from Falcon and rebuilt the fuselage spine with plastic card and CA. The ailerons have been extended as well. Paint is mainly Mr Color applied freehand with an airbrush. The national markings are airbrushed and the only decals are the serials on the tail (which are the wrong font). The plan was to build this in 48 hours, but rather than two days, it took two weeks. I've written an article on this which I believe will appear in the November issue of SAM, so grab that if you want the full story Comments welcome, Cheers Jon

Do we actually have an independent source to verify this story? It does seem somewhat implausible a subject/scale and strange that ICM don't seem to have released any news themselves...have they? Jon

This is excellent news. However, I do worry that some of these newer companies (Clearprop, Modelsvit, AMP, Mars Models) seem to have CAD projects stacking up at a rate that doesn't match actual plastic production. I do hope these early Seasprites see the light of day, but first I want the announced Firebrand Jon

This kit is now being marketed as an F-104A/C. Did you happen to notice if wingtip missile rails are included in the kit rather than tanks? Thanks Jon

This is excellent news, but I hope the already-announced 1/48 Gazelle and TH-55 are not affected, let alone the later model Huskies. One also wonders if the Wasp which I believe was being tooled for S&M will ever see the light of day... Jon

I really like these AMP helicopters (I built the HUK-1 Huskie last year and it was the most fun kit I've built in ages) and this is great inspiration for the Sycamore in my stash. Thanks for sharing. Jon

Maybe you should as one of the complainants has announced he just got paid after going public on FB! Jon

There are also a few posts on FB now from ex-SAMI contributors complaining about not being paid... Jon