Steve Collins

Special Hobby version is supposed to be available within a couple of months. At least, according to the information I got at the IPMS/USA Nats. Steve

I did mention this to a Revell representative at the IPMS/USA Nationals in Hampton, Virginia, last week. He made a note and said he'd pass it on. I told him if they did a decently accurate -4 and -5, they'd sell a million of them. Steve

Ben, You might get more response if this were posted in the WWII section. Cheers. Steve

I'd be happy to help. I've got several of the sheets and have at least one spare. I'm in the States, though, if that matters. If nobody steps up to help from where you are (I'm presuming GB), I'll send you a set. Steve

Mike, Most of the Panthers had the wheel bays painted the same color as the underside of the aircraft (gloss sea blue). I don't have references handy at the moment on the cockpit colors but memory tells me that at least the lower half of the cockpit was interior green. Be aware that the memory has been known to be faulty. I'll do some digging when I get home and see if I can find something for you. Steve

Ed, they're not 1/48. They're 1/72. I've seen several of them and they're gorgeous. Steve

On the later seats, the air data sensors (that's what the horns are) are folded down until the seat deploys during ejection. That's why they don't show up. Steve

Make sure you use a south- or west-facing window if possible. Steve

Yes, I do (if you're talking about the one that's been around for a while and is made for the Tamiya kit). It fits the Tamiya kit pretty well (should fit Hasegawa's kit and the Airfix kit, with a bit of fettling). You need to make a bit more room than you'd think for the instrument panel to fit on either side. Other than that, it's reasonably accurate and looks good when painted up. Steve

Agree with the above comments on the RAM outlines. From firsthand experience, I can tell you the RAM is not raised to the degree shown. Please go with engraved lines and either decals or painting templates. If you do, I'll certainly buy them. Steve

By the way, you might want to look at the dihedral of the Academy kit (or apparent lack thereof). It looks decidedly odd sitting next to my other Mustangs. Steve

I'd say your best source of information would be at www.j-aircraft.com. Very knowledgeable on the subject. Steve Edit - Specifically http://www.j-aircraft.com/main/newkits/a6mdesc.htm. Hope this helps.

Same here. I was hoping they'd be completed and available for purchase, but can't even find a way to contact the originator now. They'd sure save me a lot of work.

Sorry, 1/72. I'll ask around and see if anyone I know has the FREMS kit. I can probably use them as examples to work from, though drawings of the originals would be nice. Thanks.

Gentlemen, I've an itch to build an Argentine MB339 from the Falklands/Malvinas war in 1/72. I would like to have the plane properly armed. Since I can't find GIAT/DEFA 30mm pods that someone else has made, I'm planning to scratchbuild my own. However, I can't seem to find drawings or measurements of the gunpod the aircraft carried during most of their attacks. Does anyone have or know where I can find these drawings or measurements? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Steve

I've spoken with the president of ZM (through a translator) a few times at IPMS/USA Nationals. Super nice guy, very interested in what the modelers want. You should be able to give him a very good perspective, just getting back in now. Steve

One thing that I've found to use when going through different media (plastic, then filler or superglue, or whatever, then plastic) is to use one of the microsaws instead of a scribing tool. I just hold the blade of the saw at a bit of an angle to use the end of the saw for the first pass or so, then gradually flatten out the angle of the saw so it is, well, sawing the line. I do, however, only go in one direction with the blade! Steve PS. Lovely work. It's going to be a beauty. Inspirational.

Yep, it surely is. my mistake on that one. I remembered the decals but not specifically what version of Cobra it was. It is definitely a flat-panel Cobra. Your best choice for now is probably the Hobbyboss kit. I think MPM/Special Hobby are planning a late Cobra in their new releases. Sorry for the confusion. Steve

Should be fine for that one.

Just in the process of finishing one. I'll post images when I get it done. It is a competent kit. You cannot build a very early Cobra from it, as it doesn't have the clear nose piece for the landing lights or the round landing skid legs (that's easily fixed with a sanding stick, though), but it does give you a choice of left side or right side tail rotors. The kit contains all the parts necessary to build a 'late' -1G Cobra as well as the earlier ones (after the change of the landing light location). Fit is pretty good, except for the thickness of the canopy piece, and that may have been down to me. I added collectives for both cockpits, seatbelts, and the gunsight/combiner glass for the pilot. I also rebuilt the gunner's weapon control, but that's because I'm a terminal sufferer of AMS. Decals are very good, if just a slight little bit thick. As is usual with a lot of Eastern European manufacturers, you'd better put them very close to where you want them to do, cause they're gonna want to stay where you put them. They were plenty strong enough to withstand my attempts to move them about. The weapons that are included in the kit (two minigun pods and rocket pods were less impressive. The SUU-11A gun pods reminded me very much of the ones that came in the Matchbox kit years ago. Shape is right, but no detail at all. Hope this helps.

I use a small scissors I got from a fly fishing store. They have tiny serrations along one edge, which helps to hold the PE in place as it's cut. If necessary (and it's usually not), I'll then do the smooth-jawed pliers/sanding stick thing to get rid of any burr left over.

They look good to me. When will they be available to ship across the pond? Steve

First aerial demonstration I ever saw was the Thunderbirds flying the F-4E. Now that was a show. Pure muscle moving a brick wall. Totally impressive. Thunderbirds. Definitely. Steve

According to their website: "When you enter your first order here at the new webshop, you therefore have to re-enter your user information and come up with a password, by filling out the personal information form." Appears that you do it as you order. Steve

Any of the later Roden kits should be fine. As a beginner to WWI aircraft, stay away from the Fokker D.VIII kit. Getting the wing on is like balancing a plank on a toothpick. The Fokker D.VIIs have fit issues with the lower wing to the fuselage. The DR.Is are fiddly but work out ok. The Nieuports (Nieu.11, Nieu.16, etc) are good kits to start with, with good enough fit and less rigging than most. The Albatros kits are not bad at all. As stated earlier, the Camel kits are fiddly, but then most of the Roden kits are made to get as many variants out of the molds as possible. All in all, a good place to start. You might look for the Eduard weekend editions of the Nieuport 17 or 23 or the Fokker DR.I. Almost the same price as some of the Roden kits and much nicer. The Nieuport 17 is the nicest out-of-the-box WWI kit I've ever built. Steve