Disney "Planes"

[Uncle Pete]

Science Fiction isn't really the right sub-heading but since the planes don't exist I'd have to say it's the closest I can get.  I was poking around in the "Group Build" section and the following sprang to mind (not that I'm suggesting it, just thinking out loud).  Just out of idle curiosity, I looked up if any of the kit companies make versions of the characters from Disney's "Planes" movie (and for that matter, "Cars") that one could build in a constant "scale" (they don't).  I'd have thought Revell or one of the other American companies would have jumped on it.  Or am I a bit more flippant than most?  

[Paul J]

Zvezda did six of the aircraft from 'Planes'  to 1/100th scale. I built one for my grand daughter, The pink twin engine Va tail one called Rochelle. I liked it so much I bought another to do a what if "real" aeroplane. All the aircraft featured in the film are caricatures of real aircraft. e.g DH88 Comet Racer, GB racer Corsair, Cessna Ag wagon crop duster and a couple of formula air racers  that exist.

[Rob G]

Zvezda also did a range from Cars.

[Uncle Pete]

Thanks. lads. I'll have a butcher's.  1/100 might be a bit small for my aged eyes, though. I know you can get RC versions (a bit loose in looks to be sure but they fly well) of Dusty and Ripslinger at a bit over a metre wingspan.  I built the Ripslinger but haven't had the nerve to put it in the air yet.

[Blastvader]

49 minutes ago, Uncle Pete said:

Thanks. lads. I'll have a butcher's.  1/100 might be a bit small for my aged eyes, though. I know you can get RC versions (a bit loose in looks to be sure but they fly well) of Dusty and Ripslinger at a bit over a metre wingspan.  I built the Ripslinger but haven't had the nerve to put it in the air yet.

Are they the Flite Test foam-core kits/plans?

[Uncle Pete]

24 minutes ago, Blastvader said:

Are they the Flite Test foam-core kits/plans?

That's the one.  Those lads have got a good system figured out (and they seem like a nice bunch of blokes, too, with a good sense of humour).  The planes are a bit dodgy looking (highly simplified)  but they appear to be 'ard as a coffin nail.  Very sturdy.  Still don't have the nerve to fly the Rip yet, though.... maybe in the summer.  Actually, that's why I took to building plastic kits... I want to build but don't want to send 200 hours of sweat spiralling into the ground (Unscheduled Landing) or into the top of a tree (Unscheduled Climbing) on a maiden flight.  A £150 RTF is much better suited to that purpose and, besides, with RTFs I don't need an engineering degree from Cambridge to figure out the motor-ESC-rx-servo-battery combinations... Some boffin already took care of that (and I've already fried a couple of motors and ESCs experimenting anyway!)

[Gorby]

Is this what you mean?

https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?fkSECTION[]=Kits&q=Disney

 

Bit busy at the mo and haven't had a chance to read everything in this thread, so if it isn't, ignore me.

[Uncle Pete]

30 minutes ago, Gorby said:

Is this what you mean?

Yes.  Somebody else mentioned Zvenda but the kits appear to be snap-fits.  TBH, I'd never heard of the company.  When I googled the idea before, nothing showed up except die-cast toys... I guess I'm not that good at asking the right questions, hence my inquiries on here.  I'd had passing thoughts on grabbing an FA18 (seems like the easiest base plane to get hold of... Can't imagine any kit company making cropdusters) and modifying it with the facial canopy and helmet.  My original question was more out of idle curiosity than any desire to get stuck in on one today.

[Troy Smith]

1 hour ago, Uncle Pete said:

 Somebody else mentioned Zvenda but the kits appear to be snap-fits.  TBH, I'd never heard of the company.  

As  @Paul J mentions, they are snap fit, but don't let that put you off, the engineering is superb,   I got some of them (and cars) and they are very impressive,  the only downside is the use of paper stickers rather than decals.

I got some a few years back when LSA  Models were closing down, and did them with daughter who was 4.    The use the old Matchbox formula of multicoloured plastic, and with the stickers require no paint or glue 

 

Zvezda are Ukrainian, and are a rising star (little joke Zvezda = star) among kit manufacturers, not a huge range but some great kits.  Th eir 1/48th Pe-2, La-5, La-5FN  and Bf109F and G are of particular note.

[Uncle Pete]

2 hours ago, Troy Smith said:

they are snap fit, but don't let that put you off, the engineering is superb

You may have just talked me into it.  Now to see how far I can stretch the wife's sense of humour...

[Blastvader]

7 hours ago, Uncle Pete said:

That's the one.  Those lads have got a good system figured out (and they seem like a nice bunch of blokes, too, with a good sense of humour).  The planes are a bit dodgy looking (highly simplified)  but they appear to be 'ard as a coffin nail.  Very sturdy.  Still don't have the nerve to fly the Rip yet, though.... maybe in the summer.  Actually, that's why I took to building plastic kits... I want to build but don't want to send 200 hours of sweat spiralling into the ground (Unscheduled Landing) or into the top of a tree (Unscheduled Climbing) on a maiden flight.  A £150 RTF is much better suited to that purpose and, besides, with RTFs I don't need an engineering degree from Cambridge to figure out the motor-ESC-rx-servo-battery combinations... Some boffin already took care of that (and I've already fried a couple of motors and ESCs experimenting anyway!)

 

I've got a couple of their planes (the Spit and the Storch) though I've flown neither. The Spit has been half done for a couple of years (I didn't like the card-stock turtle deck and decided to do it with blue foam, though I didn't have any at the time hence why it's been languishing for so long) and the Storch is still in its packaging.

 

I do like the chaps, though the quality of the video content has dropped quite a bit, which is not a surprise as the main 'cast' are more interested in running their business which has expanded massively.

[FG2Si]

Converting a Corsair into Skipper shouldn't be too difficult. You would need to add a mouth to the lower cowl, and paint the canopy solid.  I started on one for my son using the Trumpeter 1/32 F4U-1 D kit. I did the mouth from epoxy putty, and it was mostly just a lower lip. 

 

The biggest challenge would ebe the markings. I never got that far before the kit was binned due to our moving homes. 

 

The Super Hornets would be slightly harder as you'd have to make a helmet to go over the canopy. 

 

Hope that helps,.

 

Carl

[Asmodai]

On 12/19/2017 at 8:22 AM, Troy Smith said:

As  @Paul J mentions, they are snap fit, but don't let that put you off, the engineering is superb,   I got some of them (and cars) and they are very impressive,  the only downside is the use of paper stickers rather than decals.

I got some a few years back when LSA  Models were closing down, and did them with daughter who was 4.    The use the old Matchbox formula of multicoloured plastic, and with the stickers require no paint or glue 

 

Zvezda are Ukrainian, and are a rising star (little joke Zvezda = star) among kit manufacturers, not a huge range but some great kits.  Th eir 1/48th Pe-2, La-5, La-5FN  and Bf109F and G are of particular note.

Minor pedantic correction - Zvezda is a Russian company, headquartered in the the town of Lobnya, which is close to Moscow. 

[Troy Smith]

On 21/12/2017 at 01:36, Asmodai said:

Minor pedantic correction - Zvezda is a Russian company, headquartered in the the town of Lobnya, which is close to Moscow. 

I have a very crude 1/48th Yak-9 kit from about late 80's,  that was made by  "Kooperative Zvezda"  or Кооператив Звезда 1/48 Як-9, who were based in Donetsk, 

Кооператив Звезда 1/48 Як-9

 

 

 

I have assumed the two companies were related,  but his may well be  wrong.

 

A look at my Zveda Bf109F shows they are indeed in Russia.

cheers

T

 

[Asmodai]

On 12/24/2017 at 6:36 PM, Troy Smith said:

I have a very crude 1/48th Yak-9 kit from about late 80's,  that was made by  "Kooperative Zvezda"  or Кооператив Звезда 1/48 Як-9, who were based in Donetsk, 

Кооператив Звезда 1/48 Як-9

 

 

 

I have assumed the two companies were related,  but his may well be  wrong.

 

A look at my Zveda Bf109F shows they are indeed in Russia.

cheers

T

 

Probably not related, since it is a common word 'star', instead of something made up like 'Airfix' or a person's name, like 'Tamiya'. The earliest references I can find to the current Zvezda are from the early 1990's. They released some of their own stuff, and reboxed some Italeri kits then. Their 1/35 T-60 tank kit was their first armor release, and this is pretty generally regarded as one of the worst, if not the worst, 1/35 armor kit on the market. They've come a long way in less than 30 years, that is for sure.