Tiger331
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Posts posted by Tiger331
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Thanks for the encouragement guys. I have seen plenty of argument over the inaccuracies and other points that haven't been fixed from the Promodeller boxing, but these complaints seem to come from the usual Chinese kit bashers over on American sites who think they know best. The detail already that I have seen and experienced in the first hour of building, to me at least, makes the Promodeller boxing the second choice. But I will let you guys make up your own minds.
So I have started it this afternoon with the weapons bay, looks all good at the moment. The MG's have hollowed barrel ends which is a bonus, but I have already had to deal with two of the pesky poor sprue attachment points, but with care in the way you remove the part, all is ok.
Pics to follow much later tonight or tomorrow of the gun bay progress, and then it's onto the cockpit.
I so like to read all those comments on the US websites about Far Eastern kits and their various inaccuracies etc......I'd like to take a closer look at my ten favourite US-manufactured 1:48 scale kits of WWII and Post-War subjects that have been produced over the last 12 months to see if they have any flaws....but wait......only ONE (IIRC, the Ventura) has actually been released !!!
People in glass houses...etc
Mark
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Not sure if its safe to say this, but I have a soft spot for the Heller/Airfix Jaguar! Its certainly not a shake and bake kit, and will need some modelling skills thrown at it to get a decent result.
It appears then that Heller did retain these moulds when they split from Humbrol (which is probably the reason why Airfix haven't re-popped it - which in itself may not be a bad thing?), but as Heller have issued it as an RAF machine, then one would assume that they've included the RAF sprue, so the plastic in this kit should be identical to the last Airfix kit issued. It will be interesting to see how good the decals are....Paragon are no longer producing resin, but they did some excellent parts to enhance this kit. NeoMega's resin cockpit and seat is a must!
KH's Jaguar looks okay - Having seen Mike's build of it, but I'm really looking forward to Italeri's offering....
Thats assuming Italeri go ahead with their own kit..........given the current way the market is, i would not be surprised to find the italeri kit is actually a variant of the KH kit..........they have a deal with Kinetic right now and it does not seem so far fetched that they may have developed the same with KH.....as you say, time will tell....
Cheers
Tiger331
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I really like this.....a very imaginative display of the Gnat and an inspiration to get my own kits of the Yellowjacks team leader and CFS aircraft finished....doubt it will be during 2012 though !
Congratulations on a fine display piece...
Tiger331
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Michael
I have the decal sheet from the Revell Typhoon and can let you have the code letters.......let me have your address
PM sent too
Tiger331
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Which of the Eduard kits was used to produce your lovely Nieuport 17 ?.......or were the decals from an aftermarket sheet....I'm looking to do a Russian aircraft but cannot find any Eduard issue of the kit that includes these decals....?
Cheers
Tiger331
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Here's my vote.....
Trumpeter MIG 23 or A -4E/F Skyhawk or the Academy F/A-18 Hornet. All can be built OOB with minimal requirement for any aftermarket, with the possible exception of decals......those in the Trumpeter kits are a bit bland unless you go for the rather whacky Czech Flogger G in NATO Tiger markings.....
Enjoy
Tiger331
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Ah.....more whining and whingeing from the great British public......and before you issue any retorts or ripostes I'm from the UK myself. I would recommend that you go back and read Bill Clark's excellent email which is pretty much spot on. Appears no-one will be happy until Hannants go under and then where will you be ?. Fortunately that won't happen anytime soon...they still have legions of loyal customers in spite of their "vastly over inflated prices". We all have our crosses to bear with local prices. Try living here where my LMS is currently stocking the Kinetic 1:48 F-5A for 36 pounds and we can look forward to paying 65 pounds for the new Academy F-4B when that turns up. As a result we do the maths, work out the best Internet price and make a risk analysis on whether we will get stung for import duties or just bite the bullet and pay the local price, secure in the knowledge that the box will not arrive crushed and that we will not have to pay shipping and /or customs/import duties. A little more time spent researching on the Internet and making a purchase elsewhere when it is advantageous would, IMHO, be a better use of your time than constantly knocking Hannants and other UK retailers that are only trying to provide you with a service.
Tiger331
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Hi there
I'm looking to do an early P-38 Lightning (P-38F) in 1:48 scale and cannot decide between a Hasegawa kit with some aftermarket......cockpit detail set and wheels or the 'new' Eduard re-issue of the Academy kit with all of the detail goodies already included. I seem to recall reading good and bad about each of these kits so it would be nice to receive some collective guidance on the best one to go for. I'm not a rivet counter but I would like to know a little about buildability and accuracy.
Many thanks for your help
Tiger331
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The Aviation Workshop never produced the item you refer to although it was quoted on one of their decal sheets for the Indian Jaguar M. Regrettably it was a regular trait of the company to quote accessories that simply didn't exist and were highly unlikely to be released by them in the future. The lesson ?. Be very wary of any references to Model Alliance resin accessories in their decal placement instructions.....in at least 50 per cent of cases they simply wer not available which makes it very irritating for those modelers trying to research what is (or was) available to complete their chosen project.
HTH
Tiger331
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PM on its way
1 copy to be posted (BFPO)...Sadly cannot make SMW12 due to prior work commitments
Tiger331
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Thats a great photo - many thanks! I've NEVER seen a photo before of a Phantom with an ILS aerial WITHOUT the RWR fin top! Particularly ironic it being an FG1. This aircraft was previously with 43 Sqn., so appears to have spent all of her flying life with the RAF. Interesting that ex FAA FG1's - initially anyway - had the RWR fin top fit WITHOUT the ILS aerial's.......you learn summink new every day!!! Just noted that it also has the cental glazed panel plated over - in readiness for a periscope...most likely!
The sight of Non-RWR fin tops on ILS aerial fitted aircraft was actually quite common in the early 1980s. I used to work closely with 4 (Engineering) Sqn at RAF St Athan (that completed the 'majors' on RAF Phantoms) in those days and it was totally dependent on the mod state of the aircraft and how soon Strike Command wanted the aircraft back on the front line. In an ideal world both the RWR fin top and ILS would be fitted at the same time but needs must and quite often the complete mod would have to wait until another suitable gap in the engineering programme.
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Valerio
Complimenti !
Veramente belissima
Mark
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Well we won't have long to wait until it's released ,hopefully, and then we can examine the plastic and make a more informed descision, with any luck it will be better than the other 1/48 injectin moulded Vampires currently on issue.
Quite........I just love all these 'informed opinions' based on ONE photo of the kit mock up from a show. Of course, there will always be those that 'knock' Trumpeter regardless of how good or bad their kits are.....It's quite laughable now reading the US-based websites and forums and all the ranting about Trumpeter kits and their many apparent 'issues' months before they actually release the kit. I was hoping BM would resist the urge to follow suit. Let's just see what the final product looks like before we all launch at Trumpeter. I fully agree with the comments regarding the superb Vampires that A2zee produces and I am fortunate enough to own several of these exemplary kits....others are less fortunate than I and simply cannot afford these kits so the opportunity to acquire an injection moulded kit for less should be applauded....lest we forget, these are hard economic times for many modellers. As long as the basics are there, it should form the basis of a good replica and there does not appear to be much that a little bit of plastic fettling could put right but the proof will be in the pudding, on release. I do agree about the drop tanks though....they do look a little 'inflated'. Bottom line....let's applaud Trumpeter for, yet again, producing a kit that is unlikely to be top of any other manufacturers 'to do' list and let's think back to what they have produced (accurately or otherwise) over the last 5-10 years......no one (with the possible exception of Tamiya in recent times) always gets it right and the aviation modeling world would be a far poorer place without the likes of the 'new boys' like Trumpeter, Hobby Boss and now Great Wall Hobbies and Kittyhawk.
Tiger331
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Well Spence - very sorry to hear that.
I guess that MIS's mix of proper articles and detailed reviews finally lost out to the current fad of "glossy nothingness" that seems to be in vogue in certain other magazines. The scene is now free for other mags to become what they virtually are anyway - long advertisements for the manufacturers, edited by toadying acolytes, with little thought given to how the average modeller may work.
Our UK modelling magazine scene used to be really, really good, but its been populated of late by those who either joke their way out of any confrontation, or who are just are plainly so interested in mere decoration and self-agrandissement that they ve forgotten what their proper role is: Right down to the point of editorials that laugh at other editors, despite their own lack-lustre efforts.
As the production values of these mags go up, their credibility goes down.
Yes - I'm biased, yes I'm a bit angry, No I'm not a bit sorry about what I've just written.
Cheers Spence - and good luck with the new project, and apols to those who contribute to these mags - its the so-called editors Im gunning for.
Jon Kunac-Tabinor, miffed
PS to any other editor - I have every issue of your mags going back for at least 3 decades with the oldest. I don't do "Smiths as a library" ( how arrogant is that from you know who you are): I buy, so I reserve fully the right to criticize. And I will, so watch out.
Jonners
Spot on. I am very sorry to see the demise of MIS since it was easily the best monthly magazine. I very rarely dabble in anything other than aircraft subjects but the quality of editorial encouraged me to read most of the non-aircraft related stuff too.like you, I have been a regular WH Smith buyer (rather than reader) when I lived at home in the UK so feel equally entitled to comment on the sad demise of the aviation modeling press. I subscribed to SAM almost from issue 1 for well over 20 years but abandoned it some time ago when it became a shadow of its former self. I still maintain a subscription AMI but even that is now beginning to morph into more advertorial. SAMI and MMI .....I simply will not comment. Yes, it's a sad day when a quality magazine closes but I don 't think it will be the last to go....it 's just ironic that it should be the first. At least here in Norway I have to be really choosy with what I buy.....Most of the mags are around 11 pounds a copy but I will not take out a subscription because of the worry of inconsistent quality/content or the specter of going out of business.
I feel for Spence who has worked so hard to produce a quality magazine with meaningful editorial.....I very much look forward to seeing his new title though sadly I will have to wait....work commitments preclude me seeing it at SMW12 this year.
Good Luck to Spence !
Tiger331
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Are Great Wall Hobby and Lion Roar one and th same ?.....reason I ask is that the latter are showing the forthcoming release of a '9-13' over on HLJ.COM.......good to get confirmation
Tiger331
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Hi David,according to the Model Alliance Decal sheet it is from the Coastal Command Communictions Flight stationed in Gibraltar in 1956.The only photo I have of it was on a visit to Bovingdon sometime around that year.
Ian
I believe the Coastal command communications Flight was actually headquartered in Malta and based at RAF Luqa.....of course the MEAF was spread far and wide in the 1950s and these aircraft were spotted as far East as Aden and Muhurraq and West to Gibraltar. Another example of Model Alliance not quite getting their research right.
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Note to All
DO Check your copies of the Trumpeter MiG-23.....I picked up two from my local model shop two weeks ago and thought I had checked the contents. Turns out I hadn't as today, when I revisited the shop, I was presented with four sprues of 'missing' parts for the kit !. I've just checked again and lo' and behold, they WERE missing. I can see where Trumpeter have created a problem for themselves (and their packers). The parts 'map' on Page 3 of the instructions only indicates one each of Sprues WA & WB when there should be two of each. Looks like it was done in haste since, on the same page, there are two white stickers blanking out the tyres which look as if they were originally going to be done in vinyl.
Hope this helps........Like I say, best to check and SPREAD THE WORD
Tiger331
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Chaps
Don't want to sound ungrateful here but we appear to have come off the original thread. I've had monthly (often weekly) dealings with Hannants for the last 25 years + so I'm well aware of their customer service and ability to accept back inferior or incomplete items. I've also spent almost 20 years working on the periphery of the decal industry so I'm also well aware of the vagaries of the various decal manufacturers. I think its possibly unfair to single out Microscale.....the vast majority of manufacturers that I have had dealings with (with the possible exception of Cartograf) have had quality issues with their sheets and some are much more expensive than those produced by Microscale. True, generally speaking, you get what you pay for but I believe in this case it is more about the argument concerning the provision of full roundels on sheets or decal sheets where the roundel centre color is separate.
The purpose of my original post was to ascertain if the problem with my Wessex sheets was an isolated one or whether the entire batch (based on other buyers experiences) is affected by the out-of-register issue. I await an appropriate response.
Thanks
Tiger331
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Hi there
Just wondering if anyone else has experienced problems with off-register examples of the new Xtradecals 1:48 Wessex release ?. I bought two copies on release and they have just arrived. Unfortunately the roundels are out of register and some of the badges show minor signs too. Isolated problem or common throughout the production batch.
Grateful for some confirmation before I return them.
Thanks
Tiger331
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I've just been looking over a recent acquisition of the Hobby Boss F-111C and cannot help thinking the long range drop tanks are just not 'right'.....I cannot seem to find a decent review anywhere which highlights accuracy issues (or otherwise) with these items ?.
Can anyone shed light on this and whether I need to invest in some aftermarket replacements.
Many thanks
Tiger331
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I've built a few 1:72 scale F-4s in my time and have found the recent Revell issue of the F-4 to be one of the best (if not the best) for buildability.......I've used practically no filler on this kit and it goes together really well.....
Having previously struggled with a 'new-generation' (1990 vintage) Hasegawa F-4G Wild Weasel (and subsequently abandoning it), I was wondering if I could convert the Revell F-4F to a F-4G ?. I figure all it needs is a new pod to replace the fin cap and some modification to the under nose gun pod (deepening as well as replacing the actual gun muzzle ?).....I'm not looking to produce a 100% rendition with all the 'bells and whistles' (although I will look carefully at the antenna set up and reproduce this too) but what do you F-4 experts think ?......or should I hold out for the hard to find Hasegawa 1:72 kit and return to the fray when (if) I manage to hunt one down ?
Your advice gratefully received.
Tiger331
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Which ever way you do it, you won't be disappointed. It's a very nice kit.
I'll second that.............just picked up two from my LMS here in Norway and it's a beauty...I'll have to wait for the AM boys to come up with some slightly more inspiring decal choices though.
Tiger 331
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Gents,
Thanks very much for your inputs.........It's good to know I can utilize the RF-4B (with modifications) since this appears to be the one that is more readily available and cheaper......I've seen the RF-4Cs go for silly money although I've put a 'wanted' notice up just in case someone has a spare.
Thanks again
Tiger331
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Hi there,
It looks as if I will shortly pick up a commission to do a Vietnam-era (1968) USAF RF-4C Phantom. I'm not an expert on this particular variant and I know that Hasegawa RF-4Cs in the two most popular scales are hard to come by.....I think they also feature the late-model RF-4Cs too ?. I think I've read somewhere that an early RF-4C can be produced from the RF-4B with some new all-moving tailplanes (slatted ?) etc but I'm not really sure. I do know the Hasegawa RF-4B is more readily available so it would be easier (and probably cheaper) to obtain one of these but can I produce the right variant from this kit ?.
Grateful for any information you can provide.
Thanks
Tiger331
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Jaguar A (Kitty Hawk 1:48) - Out of the Box Build Review
in Build Articles
Posted
Finally received two of these beauties yesterday when our post office re-opened after a long holiday break. I do find it a bit odd that Kittyhawk sought to release the French A model first given the potentially wider appeal of the British Aerospace variant with the chisel nose which has been the standard export variant with more international appeal ?. Could it be that the 'new' Italeri mould of the GR1/3 is actually going to be the Kittyhawk kit in 'disguise'.
Incidentally, please check your kits for parts breakage. My two kits came from different sources and one arrived with a broken canopy and windscreen. On tackling the kit supplier, he mentioned that mine was not an isolated case and it has been created by KH trying to pack too many parts into a marginally small box (makes a change). Like i say not an isolated case so if you have more than one or have not opened the kit yet (unlikely I know !), please do so.
Cheers
Mark