Jump to content

JohnT

Gold Member
  • Posts

    4,334
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by JohnT

  1. Jadlam sent me an email earlier that made me blink a bit.   - 

     

    "Tamiya Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II 1:24 61124"

     

     

    1/24 I thought

     

    Tamiya 1/24 I thought   :frantic:

     

    Only £70 odds in price and I thought perhaps I smell something not quite right here  - once my brain kicked in  :hmmm: and I looked hard at the box top

     

    Sadly only 1/48 :rage:  and not 1/24

     

    That said it will be a cracking kit if Tamiya have anything to do with it.

     

    Buy one and enjoy it !

     

     

     

     

  2. 5 hours ago, Peter Roberts said:

     

    They look great - are they preassembled?  Thoughts are around keeping paint away from the oleo.


    yes they are @Peter Roberts  I haven’t started and there may be a casting block to remove on they very top but otherwise they are ready to go. He is a small outfit so delivery time can be some weeks so it’s a plan ahead job. The P-38 I am doing has quite a bit of resin being added hence my purchase

    • Thanks 1
  3. Jeff @MrB17 if you ever feel the need to go for metal undercarriage legs and want something that looks the business then have a peek at Synthetic Ordnance Works web site. His stuff is really nice and while not that cheap it does add something to a big model. I bought the P-38 set and with the chromed section they do look way better than I could make the kit parts. 
     

    link to his website :-

     

    https://synthetic-ordnance-works.com/collections/all
     

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 2
  4. I had seen the astonishing and funny video of him in a Spitfire giving the late Alain De Cadenet a fright and haircut at the same time as a low flypast but had not seen this compilation in a very short video of him doing the same thing in the Gnat

     

    https://youtu.be/ljofhhdDGPo


    I have put it in as a link in case of copyright issues

     

    Enjoy


    PS. Not sure the Reds would get that low today or that the powers that be would sanction it either

    • Like 4
  5. 12 minutes ago, amos brierley said:

    Hello everyone.

     

     I was in MJR hobbies shop on Tuesday and the guy behind the counter was in discussions with another shopper, and he was trying to drum up trade for one of these kits, and also said something like the past couple of posts, if Hannants don’t / won’t give trade discounts and the kits only get 10% then that trader (MJR) won’t be selling them.     😉

     

    Cant blame him.

     

    My understanding and confirmed from a quick internet search on business forums today is that a retailer really needs to see a mark up of 30% + to be able to think of making any money.  Some look to more.  Certain large supermarkets (we know who you are !) even buy at £5 and sell for £10 with 100% mark up to the customer but use the power of their national retailing outlets to leverage big discounts from manufacturers.

     

    10% isnt worth getting up in the morning for tbh.  You will make more money at the end of the year but not working if its a 10% margin on all goods.  

     

     

    • Like 2
  6. Just hitting the sack but had to share a fleeting thought 

     

    If getting the perfect kit to build and doing it really is the Holy Grail how come I used to get way more fun and excitement from building a very basic (being polite here) Airfix Mosquito very badly way back when I started modelling than I do now?????????  Just sayin’

    • Like 2
  7. Interesting topic. Could there ever be a perfect kit or a perfect build for that matter?  I really doubt that.  Perhaps it’s the inner desire to achieve perfection that drives humans on, that makes painters do artwork after artwork, golfers try for the perfect round and so on. 
     

    The real question is - if an infinite number of monkeys had an infinite time to build models and were given an infinite number of 1/32 Trumpeter English Electric Lightnings would a perfect model ever result?  Nah!!!! :D

    • Haha 5
  8. 2 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

     

    Pfft. Fork out a grand in liquid cash for ten of them, sell all ten and you've got £100 gross profit before business running costs. You'd be better applying for a job at the local Tesco than dealing in these 🙃


    Jamie. It’s obvious you run a business. I never cease to be amazed at folk that are astonished at things like taxi fares and work out if a trip costs £X then multiply that by number of trips a day and the driver is well off!  Once costs of running a business comes off the net taxable will be minimal 

     

    Based on figures above of a 10 per cent margin a retailer whose margin is only 10% gross will find his costs - wages, electricity, insurances, building taxes etc etc etc will more than wipe that gross margin out. In other words he/she gets about £10 on a sale and pays out £20 plus to do the sale. How fast does he go bankrupt?  
     

    I think there won’t be a crowd wanting that business. I suspect buying direct is more the business model Kotare are looking at. That could be because they have worked out what the maximum the buyer will pay and looked at manufacturer costs and concluded that there isn’t enough fat there to feed both them and a retailer as well. 
     

    Lastly I do hope they are successful and go on to do an early Mk1.  And if looking for a good scheme perhaps a 603 City of Edinburgh Auxiliary Squadron machine?  “Auld Reekie” the mount of Pat Gifford. He was the first pilot to shoot down an enemy bomber in British airspace in the Second World War when he brought down a Ju88 attacking Royal Navy ships in Firth of Forth on 16 October, 1939.  So perhaps a decent subject for a kit. There is a lot more to Gifford and it’s well worth a read at the 603 history.  


     

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  9. What @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said. I seem to recall that some targets were covered by two or three aircraft in the expectation that some would not get through and noting that in the face of defences that bombing accuracy could not be taken for granted even with the effect of nuclear weapons. 
     

    Plus having 300 airframes does not necessarily equate to 300 operational aircraft in the event of an unexpected crisis. Also over the life in service there would be losses due to accidents. 
     

    I also read that the V Force would arrive on door step of the Warsaw Pact before SAC and were supposed to create inroads for SAC to follow. I’m not sure about that but certainly given geography the V Force might have been first to test Soviet defences

    • Like 4
  10. On 18/09/2022 at 07:38, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

    Hello John have you attempted to contact Maketar masks directly, its possible they have something in stock ? This sheet has some smaller sizes and may work ? By the way have you figured out the size difference for say 1/48th ? 

     

    https://shop.maketar.com/?product=132-usaaf-p-51-mustangs


    Thanks for pointing me in that direction. I’ve ordered a set of 1/32 rounders with red border masks. Not used them before and a bit hesitant but at least it’s not rigging or natural metal finishing :D

     

    I will have a look at sizes when they arrive. The stars and bars on the booms of the P-38 look to be sized to fit but all will be revealed once in hand. Can always look at their same set in 1/48 if needed

     

    Thanks again

    • Like 1
  11. Fantastic find from the mists of time. I don’t recall these ones but do remember a WW1 card diorama which I had and rotated my Camel; SE5a, Albatross and Fokker Dr1 and the DrVII on. All Revell products and not a bit of rigging in sight :D  Finished between school and bedtime. Blitzbuild ?  Nowt on a ten year old. Easy done if you substitute imagination for paint :D

    Happy days 

     

    Looking forward to this though

    • Like 2
  12. Pete

    not shouting but there are a few misconceptions in there. 
     

    The reason so many modern aircraft designs - F-22, F-35 and BAe Tempest all look similar is that the stealth criteria dictate that shape so as to meet mission requirements. It’s not new, compare North American Sabre with the Mig 15 for example. Same with modern cars. The design is dictated by the job 

     

    We don’t really have fighters an bombers any more. Aircraft are too expensive and have to be at least a little bit multi role. It’s back to money. Too many types in the inventory and costs shoot up. Again the USA buck that trend. 
     

    Collaboration is required between countries in aircraft design and manufacture because the costs are astronomic and other than trainers etc no country beyond the USA can really afford to go it alone. Some try with varying degrees of success. 
     

    France was never really involved in Tornado and actually held up their end of the Concorde deal when the UK wanted to pull out early on. That’s another story though. 
     

    Last the F-35 gets a bad press in the ugly stakes IMHO. She is no beaut for sure but she is not that bad. I’ve seen worse - a lot worse :D  Everyone loves a Harrier but she was a wee porky pigeon with elephant ears. Still loved her too mind

    • Like 5
×
×
  • Create New...