balloobear

Thanks for the info,great responses. I was suspicious of the colourised photo, leaning more towards something like a wartime era roundel blue . Cheers,Simon

Hi! Can anyone state with any authority what colour the codes were on Imperial Airways aircraft, Specifically HP 42's and C Class boats ? Opinion seems to be divided with the majority portraying black, but recently dark blue has started to appear in some kits and images including a "colourised" photo of an HP 42. Cheers in advance for any help, Simon.

As usual with this forum there are people being very negative about this kit without actually having seen one. Well I have just received mine and its fantastic. The precise fit of the major components is superb .Most issues seem to concern the surface finish of the parts. I work with 3D printed parts all day long and I am very used to achieving a smooth surface finish. I have started on the Princess and the trick is to rub the surface wet with soap in the water (stops the paper clogging up) using 180 grit paper until the "squeaky" noise stops. Difficult to understand until you are actually doing it, but the surface acts like a washboard in skiffle group until you have broken the back of the individual ridges ! Once the noise changes swap to 400 grit and rub until smooth enough for primer. It took me 15 mins to prep the forward fuselage half. It is useful to spray a light track coat (i use black acrylic aerosol ) to visually aid in seeing where you have got to. Compared to A Models Tu -126 Moss I also have on the bench this thing is a doddle and far easier than some of the vac forms I have built in the past. Some areas of the kit are of lower resolution and may require more work, there is a degree of porosity to the surface of some parts which will require some filler or surfacer paint.This is an inevitable consequence of the materials used,but the comment regarding having to cover the whole thing in filler is simply rubbish.If you can deal with casting flaws and bubbles in resin kits you can deal with this. If I can work out how to post pics I will ad some to show my progress and these steps. I am looking forward to see what else this guy comes up with. I will certainly be purchasing a 1/48 HP 42 ! Wonder if I can persuade him to do a Blohm Und Voss BV 238 ? Photo above shows the two fuselage front sections. The one on the right has been rubbed as described above and is ready for primer.Note the remains of the track coat in the panel lines .I hardly think these are overdone ! In fact they are a little faint and will probably need re-defining a bit. Two wing panels, the one on the left after 10 mins rubbing as described above. 600mm ruler,this puppy is BIG !!!

Hi! Just wondered if I might be able to express some opinions regarding the UFO. Since I made the masters I am probably in the best position to pass comment.I am not new to this game,I have been a Pro-Modeller for 25+ years and have been mastering resin kits for more than twenty(If you have ever built a ARBA 1/48 kit you've built one I mastered).I have retailed kits,run a model club and even won my share of gongs at regional and national competitions.I have always tried to encourage and pass on my knowledge and to promote this as a rewarding and fulfilling hobby. I am simply amazed and somewhat dismayed that such vitriolic reaction occurs in response to something new arriving on the scene.This is not confined to this item,it seems endemic in the modelmaking hobby and appears to have become much more so since the advent of the internet forum.I have always viewed this hobby as creative,freindly and helpful,but it seems that whatever the background,small cottage industry or giant Oriental megafirm,no-one is immune from the attentions of the negative factions.It is a simple fact that if you thoughtlessly criticise every new product,then sooner or later the manufacturers will stop,and then we won't have a hobby.Critisism is valuable and welcome,IF it is constructive.Indeed in the world of resin kits we are in a far better position to change masters and update models in the light of new information,but if you have such information we need the proof,your opinion is simply not enough. To be specific to the UFO ,I have built this on commission and have spent many hours trolling through the DVD's identifying the differences between the studio miniatures,of which there were several different ones (like most film miniatures).The originals where around 9 inches across and depending on which version had 15 or 16 vanes ( the 15 vane version had a "missing" vane perhaps eluding to the presence of a door.) There is also another variation that had an extra section of the saucer below the lower dome.All appear to have a metal rim to the edges of the upper and lower domes,something missing in every rendition of this craft I have seen yet.The overall colour is silver/mettalic with black stripes on the lower saucer and a green band around the upper hull section,There seems to be variations in the surface of the vanes between miniatures,some textured some plain.This model is an interpretation of the Studio Miniatures,I have not had the privelege of handling an original,and as such I have strived to create something that as much as possible looks right. A comment was made about the lack of builds on the web,the simple reason for that is that it is so new at present only two have been assembled,both by me ! I am not in a position to comment on the asking price as I just built the masters,but i can confirm thast they have been cast by a well known and respected Eastern European company and that they exhibit clean faultless bubble free components,and that the two domes are vacformed in crystal clear acrylic.The model has around the same amount of resin in it (and uses around the same amount of rubber,which is the expensive bit ) as a Volks 1/4 scale figure and they retailed for upwards of £300 !! Value for money is a tricky subject,but it boils down to individual taste.If you think it is too much then you wont buy one,but it is for the manufacturer who has all the facts and figures in front of them,and knows how much they cost to produce to set the price.We would all like to have cheap kits,and how many of us would have readily coughed up £125 for a 1/32 Spitfire 10 years ago? But this is no longer a cheap hobby,and when we do buy a cheap kit how many of us end up spending 3 or 4 times the kit price on aftermarket stuff? Lastly a heads up to the negativity brigade,next one off my bench is a Studio Scale SHADO Mobile and that's certainly not gonna be cheap!!!!! Anyway I don't normaly partake in these forums,I prefer to actualy make something,so i'm off to me bench......................Oh poop,Dragahasegamiya have got this Phantom wrong,it's a whole 0.0025 mm too short,I'll just have too bin it !!!!!!!!!