Anyone else disappointed with HK Meteor?

[georgeusa]

Wow!!. When I started this thread, I made the assertions that I thought this was a very buildable and good kit. I also did not complain about its price. (Just me, but I have an addiction problem, price usually doesn't dull it. 1/32 PBY is the exception though.) My query was formed when within a very short time span I received the HK B-17, B-25 and the Meteor. There was a very, very huge contrast between the detail level of the B-17/ B-25 and the Meteor. It made me wonder if there was a basic marketing shift by HK from the highly detailed WWII bombers and the Meteor with its rather good, but basic layout. I have never implied this is a bad kit, poorly made, or I regret buying it. All that struck me is how different the philosophies of design concerning the kits were when it came to comparing the presentation of the 3 models. I am quite glad I bought this kit and look forward to building it. My only real gripe concerns the decals, but I have bought kits because of the decals, never not bought kits because of the decals. That is an easy fix. So, to anyone that mistook my initial post as degrading this kit, I apologize. I think it is a good, decent kit and will happily build it. It just pales in detail level in comparison with its brethren from the same company and was wondering why the policy change.

[Rizzo]

Got to agree.

For years modellers have moaned their tits off about the lack of this kit or that kit - " Oh! Wouldn't it it be brilliant if X, Y or Z was produced? I'd buy dozens"...blah! blah! blah!

Then, when a kit that has been suggested by the "experts here" would be a real money spinner and everyone wants it, is produced they then moan their tits off about why they won't buy it?

What is wrong with you people?

Here we have a injection moulded kit, in 1/32, of a aircraft that has featured on peoples wants lists for ages. And all you can do is criticise the whole package from the basic decals (which most modellers will replace with aftermarket anyway) to not having full engine detail or cockpit detail (most of which will be next to impossible to see since the cockpit is small and painted black...except for those who like to dry brush everything white...?)

Revell are soon to release an all singing all dancing 1/48 Tornado model featuring deployed flaps, extended air brakes and reverse thrust buckets amongst other great looking details!! It looks totally amazing but already there are those moaning their tits off that the first release will come with only one Luftwaffe decal option (again, most people will be turning to aftermarket decals...) and some are calling for the resin aftermarket chaps to swing into action to replace everything in the kit!!!

Perhaps this is the reason why some kits nowadays are released with "bits" missing because the manufacturers know that it'll be replaced by modellers with aftermarket pieces, so why waste time and money (the bottom line) making them in the first place.

I think we have become really spoilt to the point where if a kit is released that doesn't fall together and include every option YOU want then it's consigned to the "unbuildable" pile and it's reputation is destroyed on forums like this. How about a little bit of modelling skill from yourself? 20 minutes spent with some plastic card, stretched sprue and other odds and sods can produce a pleasing result.

Give it a try, and stop moaning about everything!

Jeff

Wow you get really irritated by people being disappointed with a kit. Must be tough to cope with Trumpeter threads.

[venomvixen]

Wow!!. When I started this thread, I made the assertions that I thought this was a very buildable and good kit. I also did not complain about its price. (Just me, but I have an addiction problem, price usually doesn't dull it. 1/32 PBY is the exception though.) My query was formed when within a very short time span I received the HK B-17, B-25 and the Meteor. There was a very, very huge contrast between the detail level of the B-17/ B-25 and the Meteor. It made me wonder if there was a basic marketing shift by HK from the highly detailed WWII bombers and the Meteor with its rather good, but basic layout. I have never implied this is a bad kit, poorly made, or I regret buying it. All that struck me is how different the philosophies of design concerning the kits were when it came to comparing the presentation of the 3 models. I am quite glad I bought this kit and look forward to building it. My only real gripe concerns the decals, but I have bought kits because of the decals, never not bought kits because of the decals. That is an easy fix. So, to anyone that mistook my initial post as degrading this kit, I apologize. I think it is a good, decent kit and will happily build it. It just pales in detail level in comparison with its brethren from the same company and was wondering why the policy change.

Nothing to apologize for, its been an interesting thread.

[gingerbob]

...moaned their tits off...

...moan their tits off...

...moaning their tits off...

...stop moaning about everything!

Glad you finally achieved that last bit.

[LeVi Tophatter]

George USA,

It's a very nicely moulded but intentionally 'basic' kit. The intake concern is more for the folks who have an eye for these things... This is really about the price. If it were a lot cheaper (with time, price reductions and sales usually come!), most of the more enthusiastic folks would naturally be more relaxed about it!

Striking a balance is remarkably simple in concept, as others have mentioned:

A good base kit for a competitive price (for the '90%')

A limited edition super detailed 'Enthusiasts/collectors' kit or just a 'detail pack' add on (for the '10%')

Take your pick and spend accordingly... Hasegawa, Fujimi, Tamiya, etc. used to/still do this and Eduard are really good at doing this today.

[venomvixen]

Mines just arrived, first look in the box and its not that bad at all.

The cockpit is adequate and would be perfectly usable for a normal person, maybe a bit light on

for us looneys but we do have Airscale and the like.

Surface detail is lovely, instructions are top shelf, molding is spot on.

The ailerons have separate trim tabs, not sure if I like that or not.

Wheels are ok, gear wheels are xxxxx basic and miss all the electrical black box trickery that lurks in there

but so has every other Meteor kit so I cant be to harsh.

I shan't comment on the intakes as they don't look to bad in the box but I haven't compared them to anything yet.

The windscreen part is crap. It has a definite curve in the front panel that is most certainly not on the prototype and

looks just plain wrong.

Decals, the blue on the fuselage roundel for the 600 squadron option looks sus and the wing roundels are off centre by a

poofteenth but still noticeable.

The wee little one that comes as a extra is adorable!

Edited May 15, 2014 by Greg B
swearing removed

[gingerbob]

Not a criticism of the kit, by any means, but why the heck would they think that someone finally getting their 1/32 Meteor (oh joy!) would be the least bit interested in a 1/144th one? Admittedly I would chuckle and say, "Oh, cool!" but I don't consider myself an example of rational thinking, at least in this case.

bob

[marty_hopkirk]

Not a criticism of the kit, by any means, but why the heck would they think that someone finally getting their 1/32 Meteor (oh joy!) would be the least bit interested in a 1/144th one? Admittedly I would chuckle and say, "Oh, cool!" but I don't consider myself an example of rational thinking, at least in this case.

bob

Same here, didn't see the point of the 1/144 kit and would happily give mine away.

Marty...

[tony.t]

Bought two Meteors when it was first released, three months ago, so did put my money where my mouth was.

Xtradecals already have two sheets out, and there's another firm or two releasing stuff shortly, one of them including more comprehensive stencil data. E.g.

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/KW32068

Going for the Fisher F.8 conversion but not convinced I need replacement belly tank or nacelles, the latter of which might be tweaked if necessary. Dunno.

http://www.mcssl.com/store/fishermodels/132-gloster-meteor-corrected-intake-set

and the WIP for the F8 set, scroll down for extra views including lovely decals

http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=50126&page=3

Problem is I don't think the replacement resin nacelles are compatible with the Profimodeller double inlet/exhaust set with one full Derwent engine, which will be a must

http://www.profimodeller.com/detail/p32191-engine-bay-engine-gm/

And Eduard has stuff lined up for June onwards (up on Hannants' crystal ball)

http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=&code=&product_type_id=&scale_id=953&keyword_search=Meteor&setPerPage=25&currency_id=

Tony

Edited May 18, 2014 by tony.t

[venomvixen]

Reviewing this thread in light of some of the accuracy above all bun fights of late I can help but notice that some of the more

vocal "Accuracy is all" commentators where quite dismissive of the faults of this kit.

To be pondered further

[Cees Broere]

I loved it. Buy it so HKM can produce Lancasters etc.

Cheers

Cees

[Jennings Heilig]

Reviewing this thread in light of some of the accuracy above all bun fights of late I can help but notice that some of the more

vocal "Accuracy is all" commentators where quite dismissive of the faults of this kit.

Once more (and boy, does this get tiring), the entire world isn't pure black and pure white. It is a factual statement that the HK Meteor kit is a *very* well done effort. By all measures, it is quite accurate, and provides a *very* convincing replica of the real thing. It has beautiful surface detail, and very accurately captures the 'look and feel' of the real aircraft.

I don't know what you're interpreting as "accuracy is all". If it's anything I've ever posted in any forum anywhere on the internet since its inception, I'm afraid you've MASSIVELY misinterpreted me. I can't honestly recall ever hearing anyone who is *concerned* with accuracy in the scale models we all profess to love demanding that "accuracy is all". Pointing out a lack of accuracy is NOT the same thing as demanding "accuracy is all".

So is the HK Meteor 100% perfect? No. I dare you to show me anything produced by mankind that is. Yes, it *does* have things that may not be entirely accurate (the intakes). Do the very slightly too large diameter intake lips totally destroy the look of the model? Not in my opinion. Are they still wrong, yes, of *course* they are.

Does having slightly too large intake lips completely ruin this kit? That's a matter of opinion. Does the other 99.5% of the model still stand on its own as an accurate and nice looking replica of the Gloster Meteor? I think it does.

Let's compare this to something like the Eduard Bf109 fiasco. The Eduard kit has *numerous* and pretty egregious (by any reasonable measure) errors in basic research and design. The kit has major parts that are too large for scale, rendering it impossible to (accurately) use any existing aftermarket decals on it. They simply don't fit.

Let's compare to almost everything done by Kitty Hawk. Every kit they've done has had major problems in basic research and execution. Parts that don't belong on the variant they're trying to portray, extremely poor fit, fake 'detail' (in at least one case, copied from another manufacturer's kit), hodgepodge of parts that don't belong together, poor quality control, poor mold surface preparation, etc, etc, etc.

So how horrible is the HK Meteor? It's a continuum. Most kits fall pretty squarely in the middle of the bell curve.

If you expect the entire world to be this or that, A or B, black or white, you're going to live a very, very disappointed, very sad life.

And as I've pointed out (again, and again, and again), the fact that someone points out errors in a model kit doesn't mean anything except that they're pointing out an error. If you agree or disagree it's entirely your opinion, to which you're entitled. The fact that you may disagree doesn't make you right and the other person wrong, any more than the opposite is true. And it doesn't devalue as a human being as many people seem to think.

The world is a messy place. Inconsistency is the only constant you're going to find. The sooner you accept that and move on, the happier you're going to be.

Edited June 16, 2014 by Jennings Heilig

[Armchair]

Well said Jennings.

Bryan

[Caution Wake Turbulence]

...and boy, does this get tiring...

I think you must enjoy it though......? Maybe just a teeny little bit?

[georgeusa]

Jennings, Good god man, quite waffling about and just state what is on your mind. I always like your posts, might not always agree with them, but always like them. Please keep it up. The person who started this lame thread should be flogged!!

[Chaotic Mike]

Jennings, Good god man, quite waffling about and just state what is on your mind. I always like your posts, might not always agree with them, but always like them. Please keep it up. The person who started this lame thread should be flogged!!

And there, ladies and gentlemen, is final, unequivocal proof that Americans *can* do irony and humour, and some of them are even good at it! If this were FaceBook, I'd be upvoting...

[pacificmustang]

Jennings, Good god man, quite waffling about and just state what is on your mind. I always like your posts, might not always agree with them, but always like them. Please keep it up. The person who started this lame thread should be flogged!!

Absolutely agree George, I mean the same bloke who started this thread is now advocating olives on pizzas are wrong. The man has no limits

Regards

Bruce

[venomvixen]

Pointing out the accuracy or inaccuracy of a kit is fine and dandy.

What gets tiring is those that point out inaccuracies in other kits get narky when one of their own pet kits or manufacturers get a serve

ie HK in this thread, the innumerable cries of outrage when Classic Airframes gets a rightly deserved flogging etc.

Black and white has nowt to do with it.

[gingerbob]

Absolutely agree George, I mean the same bloke who started this thread is now advocating olives on pizzas are wrong. The man has no limits

Olives on pizza (and that's BLACK olives) are almost mandatory in my household. Much to my surprise, black olives were one of the first favorites of my daughter, and have been ever since (she's 8 now).

This kit might not be perfect, and they coulda done better, but that picture from Cees sure looks good, and when someone is dumping one for $25 I'll happily take it! But then, I happen to like Classic Airframes- possibly because I haven't actually attempted to build one yet...

Accuracy uber alles!

[Rizzo]

Edit: nm

Edited June 17, 2014 by Rizzo

[SeaVenom]

I haven't got the Meteor yet but it does look pretty good to me. The surface detail looks nice and the accuracy too but that said it's always good to see peoples opinions on accuracy etc.

[venomvixen]

I haven't got the Meteor yet but it does look pretty good to me. The surface detail looks nice and the accuracy too but that said it's always good to see peoples opinions on accuracy etc.

Its a good kit, its just let down by some really daft issue's

The windscreens got a huge curve across the top that is not on the original, which makes the canopy pants

The cannon ejector ports are moulded on one side but not the other,

The instrument panel has whopping great bezel moulded round everything when the gauges are flush mounted in real life

No effort to show the ammunition bay (Big mistake)

The seats off shape wise

Gear wells have some inaccurate ribs but miss everything else

The tail pipes are short lengths of nothing

The intake issue

The ventral fuel tank shape is well off

Decals are appalling

The whole thing has an air of being rushed into production without bothering to finish it off.

I bought two because I love the Meteor and that is the only reason I got them, for the asking price its a bit steep.

[sinnerboy]

Just got mine, looks a nice kit but I'm no Meteor expert so I bow to those more informed such as Danni, however even I can see the windshield is wrong and the decals are naff.

I paid £55 for mine from Lucky Models inc P&P which I'm happy with.Would I have paid full RRP in the UK, 80 sobs?...no!

IMHO it's not worth that

[tony.t]

Add $85 and you can have an F.8

http://www.mcssl.com/store/fishermodels/132-gloster-meteor-f8-conversion-set

Very nice kit. Yes, the inlets probably do need replacing, as does the windshield - both are fixed in the above conversion.

Really looking to the Lancaster.

No, 1/32 isn't for the penny-pinching faint hearted. It's also for those who take delight in little details of their choice.

The Meteor is a wonderful kit as it's from a genre that receives little or no attention - post-war British jets. So the mature amongst us are willing to correct errors without making a fuss, and are delighted to have the model.

I could live with small, correctable errors in a 1/32 Scimitar, Sea Vixen, Sea Hawk, Javelin, Jet Provost etc as I'd be so overjoyed to see them in IM form.

Now, if it were yet another Spitty, P-51 or Bf.109 etc., yes there would be much bitching about errors in a comparably priced release. A bad kit of a well-covered subject is utterly superfluous to want or need.

Tony

[venomvixen]

No, 1/32 isn't for the penny-pinching faint hearted. It's also for those who take delight in little details of their choice.

The Meteor is a wonderful kit as it's from a genre that receives little or no attention - post-war British jets. So the mature amongst us are willing to correct errors without making a fuss, and are delighted to have the model.

I could live with small, correctable errors in a 1/32 Scimitar, Sea Vixen, Sea Hawk, Javelin, Jet Provost etc as I'd be so overjoyed to see them in IM form.

Now, if it were yet another Spitty, P-51 or Bf.109 etc., yes there would be much bitching about errors in a comparably priced release. A bad kit of a well-covered subject is utterly superfluous to want or need.

Tony

So if its a kit of something like this type of aircraft that doesn't get a look in we aren't allowed to point out issues but be mature about it?

Perhaps I've missed your point?