Procopius

I am profoundly average, and had a great deal of trouble with the undercarriage on AZ's F.22 and Vb Spitfires, but almost no trouble at all with Sword's Vc or IXe.

Aw, dammit! I understand the Tamiya Skyray is quite a nice kit. The Cyber-Hobby Sea Vixen is lovely to build, but apparently in no way resembles a Sea Vixen at all. I've heard that Zvezda's Mi-24 is spectacular.

Wowsers, that Zero in particular is incredible.

Pity those of us in the Colonies, for whom Hannants is the cheapest option after shipping is factored in, even in comparison to US-based sellers.

Erm, surely you mean the opposite?

Own a replica of the plane he scarcely flew!

Had the Harrier force not been decommissioned, plans were underway to enable them to fire a blistering salvo of Christmas crackers at any ne'er-do-wells.

How's the High Planes kit? Aside from not cheap.

Don't tease, you devil!

Yessss! I just got their Flogger-B recently. Hope they still do the MiG-27.

I'm not sure the provisions of the Buy American act would have allowed the purchase of a UK-developed Viking, either. Protectionism in the USA is a mighty strong force.

Quick drive-by: what are good acrylic equivalents?

Thanks, Giorgio. Unfortunate that Gordon is apparently a little unreliable, but I suppose it will really take 30-40 years before Cold War historiography is at the same level as stuff on WWII.

Thanks, Peter! I managed to find a US-based supplier for them, too.

Not too many, I daresay, which is likely why you can get them at clearance prices from Squadron, Scalehobbyist, and Spruebrothers here. My suspicion is that Dragon/Cyber-Hobby has a different target market for its kits, as well as different sales expectations, based on price point alone. I'm not saying I don't want a 1/72 Sea Vixen, a good one. I do. Quite a lot! But I don't think it's a likely choice.

While I'd love to see either or both, the Sea Vixen especially is, I'd say, largely unknown outside of the UK. Here in the 'States, I only heard about it after willfully plummeting headfirst down the postwar British jets rabbit hole, and 1/72 is not (alas) a terribly popular scale here (although I'm doing my part!).

Heyo, I purchased an RV Models MiG-23M (the MiG-23 has always struck me as the Hertz of MiGs: it tries harder) and might get a MiG-23MLD, and I note that they apparently don't come with any underwing stores. Since modern airplanes always look a little naked without missiles, and because I am at heart a man of profoundly middle-class Victorian sensibilities, I was hoping to change that. I know DML used to make and ICM does make a set of 1/72 Soviet-era AAMs, but I honestly have no idea which missiles go where, or what the Russian names for the weapons are...I vaguely recall "Aphids" and "Atolls", but what they do, I couldn't tell you. So, who makes the best underwing stores for these Cold War-era commie jets, and what did MiG-23s typically carry?

Damning with faint praise! Paintwork looks amazing on both kits. Are you using enamels or acrylics?

The Ki-43 could be Tateo Kato's plane...

Hi there, I'm on a bit of a Cold War kick right now, and everything I know about it comes from being six in 1989 and from reading old copies of SOVIET MILITARY POWER during my first decade. Are there any modern books that talk about the Soviet air arms during the cold war? Topics I'm interested in are: Procurement policies Social histories of the high command and the lower ranks Late 70s to mid-80s -era aircraft Information specifically useful to modellers is nice, but not a priority compared to the above three. It'd be nice to be able to tell the MiG-21 or MiG-23 variants apart, though. I realize not all of this is likely covered comprehensively in one book; multiple books are fine, I read fast; do you have any suggestions for me?

Oh, terrific! I didn't realize those were available stateside. Thanks!

What are appropriate colors to use for painting those camouflaged Cold War-era MiG-23s in straight-up Soviet service? I am not a good paint mixer (as I am an excellent paint spiller), and I really only use acrylics, so "close enough" is probably fine. I see Testors/Polly (easily available here in the land of milk and honey that is northern Illinois) have some Soviet aircraft colors (Soviet Green, Soviet Khaki, Soviet Sand), but are these what I need?

Perhaps they (the Wasps) were to be dropped from V-Force bombers over Moscow, thence to deploy the WE.177? Johnny Russian'd never see it coming!