Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Oh my is right ... I just had to look one of these up myself. The British Battle fighter isnt the only aircraft they made either. There mig-29 and P-51 are quite interesting to say the least ? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Thompson Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 17 hours ago, Bonhoff said: No mention of the "British Battle Fighter" for sale in The Works a few years back? Snap together, fit wasn't too bad, prop spun when you blew it, wings back to front.... Looks like a British Battle Fighter to me... John 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 The British Battle Fighter has been the subject of much merriment on here: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 OK I'm resurrecting this thread after an enjoyable 20 minutes sifting through it. Lots of wonderful information here, and it's apparent that the kits highlighted have really made an impression upon many of you. However, with the greatest of respect, none of you have the correct answer. Feast your eyes on this. One of my earlier eBay purchases from about 15 years ago (when Luft '46 was just a twinkle in a mainstream kit producers eyes and I was dead keen to expand my collection)... Looks good eh? Look closer... Clue: Those 4 hollow mouldings right of centre are the 2 sets of halves for the HWK rocket-assisted take-off pods... And closer... Note the 'scale drawing' . I recall emailing the eBay seller (who must have breathed a HUGE sigh of relief on passing off this to some sucker me) and saying that it had arrived safely, but was a bit rough. He mildly objected to my opinion, and told me that he had been the originator of the moulds for the kit! Oh, and BTW, this is apparently one of the rarest of the Merlin stable. Any collectors out there? SD 4 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werdna Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Collectors, pah. Get it built, SD... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 1 minute ago, Werdna said: Collectors, pah. Get it built, SD... Righto, I'm on it. Maybe.... Or maybe not... You're a naughty person @Werdna SD 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tempestfan Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 Ian Huntley did some freehand drawings (or rather with freehand details) for Airmodel, e.g. BI-1. But not on booze… Is that the Vagn Espensen Merlin? How much you pay me if I take it? 😜 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Thompson Posted August 8, 2021 Share Posted August 8, 2021 That's not too bad for a Merlin. I have one or two of his later WW1 'offerings' where the wing trailing edges are 3mm at the thickest. And a 1/48th Salmson 2A2 you that if you stick the fuselage together would make quite an effective club or mace. I spoke to a model shop owner once who new him and was convinced he had no clue as to how bad he'd become. Did you know that at one time you could buy Merlin white metal blobs as detail parts? A bit sad really, the first 12 or so Merlin kits were not too bad for their time, and of subjects not available elsewhere. Still, the second worst kit in my stash is a Merlin Airco DH10 (the worst is a very early Dekno kit which I can only imagine was produced on a really, really bad day). Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Smith Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 1 hour ago, Beermonster1958 said: Can't remember where the the rest came from I think it also used the Airfix He177 wings, suitably modified. It was one of those classic kit bash conversions that you remember though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWFK10 Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 I've built the Merlin Junkers J.1 and DH9a. They were both OK, in fact the J.1 is rather nice. On the other hand, I bought one of their replica Frog Penguin Harts and while I appreciate you can't reasonably expect a reproduction of a 1930s kit to build into an accurate model, the quality was rubbish. I did wonder whether the original specimen it had been reverse-engineered from suffered from the severe warping that the plastic used in Penguin kits was prone to. And then there's this cautionary tale...... I think the worst kit I ever bought was a 1/72 Yak 7. I've no idea who made it, except that they were presumably Russian as the murky polythene bag that was the only packaging contained a smudged instruction sheet in Russian, printed on something with the texture of ancient, browned newspaper. The kit itself was moulded in psychedelic bright green, with abundant flash. Needless to say the fit was awful, while the canopy was a scale foot thick, semi-opaque and shot through with moulding flaws. The decals were of a similar standard to the first batch of Novo kits, i.e. completely useless as they shattered on exposure to water. Around the same time (late 1980s) I also bought a Wellington 1 of similar provenance, produced from the Frog mould - though I don't think Frog ever managed to release the kit before they went bust and it ended up in the Soviet Union. It was atrocious, with shot-shot parts and unusable transparencies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vildebeest Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Yes, I have a Merlin Wapiti, it comes out every five years or so and then goes back. As that review says, the plastic on the fuselage is flaky, and the thought of having to deal with that just makes me think that if I really, really need a Wapiti, converting a Frog Wallace will be easier. I couldn't say how bad the rest is, I have never had enough enthusiasm to check. Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 21 hours ago, Beermonster1958 said: The aforementioned Ju-287 is intriguing. I seem to recall kit bashing article for one of those from an article in one of the Airfix annual modelling guides! Fuselage that was half He-177 & half balsa. Engines from the Me - 262, Ju-87 undercarriage for the nose wheels......! Can't remember where the the rest came from! Happy days!!😉😂 John. 19 hours ago, Troy Smith said: I think it also used the Airfix He177 wings, suitably modified. It was one of those classic kit bash conversions that you remember though. For the benefit of our younger readers , courtesy of Airfix Magazine Annual No 7 There's more but you get the idea. Probably a whole load easier than attempting the above model. And it least the pilot will be able to see (even with the original Airfix He 177 transparencies!) SD 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tojo72 Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 I must say I'm very selective,when I have a kit in mind I usually research build reviews and blogs and get opinions,it has served me well.Not to say I haven't screwed things up on my own,but have avoided real bad clunkers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 I have never really understood why folks pour so much scorn on 21st Century kits. Accuracy (within certain limits) doesn't bother me all that much. I have seen completed 21st Century models that have been properly painted and - to my eye, at least - they look nearly identical to the equivalent Hassy-Tammy-FarEastern-y effort and cost about a quarter of the price. Chris. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 52 minutes ago, spruecutter96 said: I have never really understood why folks pour so much scorn on 21st Century kits. Accuracy (within certain limits) doesn't bother me all that much. I have seen completed 21st Century models that have been properly painted and - to my eye, at least - they look nearly identical to the equivalent Hassy-Tammy-FarEastern-y effort and cost about a quarter of the price. Chris. I'm not sure that folks criticise 21st Century kits that much? (I presume you mean the short-lived and now OOP manufacturer?). I recall a few reviews when they originally appeared stating that the decal sheet alone was worth the price of purchase. They were available originally in outlets such as Home Bargains here in the UK for the princely sum of £2.99 each... Yep, that's a 1/32 kit for £3. The decal sheets for the Ju 87 Stuka, Macchi Mc 205 and the Bf 109 are first class (but they would be, having been overseen by Roy Sutherland). The Stuka sheet (with the snake markings) reflects the current state-of-the-art findings as revealed by Axel Urbanke in Luftwaffe im Focus. It's the best set of markings available for that particular airframe - much better than any aftermarket sheet. I agree - they're great kits SD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 I think that "purist" modellers see them as being too toy-like and not really worthy of serious contemplation. I think they also look at the prices and that confirms their feelings, from their point-of-view. Once they are tarted-up, I reckon they can hold their heads up with many of the best kits. Chris. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 ISTR they had some strange gimmick where major parts were screwed together, with the screw head then covered by screw caps. Regardless of the ill-judged snobbery of some modellers, they were as kits superb examples of the toolmaker’s art and thus can be summarily dismissed from further consideration in the thread, which repeatedly tends to wander from considering the truly horrible into the mildly unpleasant. At this rate of drift we shall soon be discussing the new Airfix Sherman Firefly. I hold to my view that the only people who wouldn’t agree that the Andy Pack vacforms weren’t the worst kits ever are those who have never seen one. Imagine a sheet of plastic card placed over something or other and heated under an oven grill. Which may indeed have been how they were produced. (Did anyone anywhere ever manage to build one?) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonhoff Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 4 hours ago, Seahawk said: ISTR they had some strange gimmick where major parts were screwed together, with the screw head then covered by screw caps. I'm building their Me109 G-14 at the moment - The kit on the whole isn't too shabby, biggest problem has been filling in the screw caps afterwards. IanJ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circloy Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Quality Engineers that write/re-write procedures and leave out the key points that control "Quality", don't include those that perform the tasks in compiling the procedure & don't circulate the document to those same people. Then pass the buck when Auditors find issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawzer Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 8 hours ago, Bonhoff said: I'm building their Me109 G-14 at the moment - The kit on the whole isn't too shabby, biggest problem has been filling in the screw caps afterwards. IanJ I built one a few years back and was surprised how well it turned out. Undercarriage didn’t look quite right mind you. had the ju87 too but stupidly sold it….. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Veeday 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badger Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 Any of the early Attack resin AFV kits where all the smaller parts are cast into a single backing sheet (a bit like a vacform). I have one but am too scared to open the box to take a photo to share!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Thompson Posted August 11, 2021 Share Posted August 11, 2021 33 minutes ago, badger said: Any of the early Attack resin AFV kits where all the smaller parts are cast into a single backing sheet (a bit like a vacform). I have one but am too scared to open the box to take a photo to share!! That was the standard way for many resin producers for a couple of decades, and still is for some. Paul. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SafetyDad Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 On 11/08/2021 at 06:52, Seahawk said: Regardless of the ill-judged snobbery of some modellers, they were as kits superb examples of the toolmaker’s art and thus can be summarily dismissed from further consideration in the thread, which repeatedly tends to wander from considering the truly horrible into the mildly unpleasant. At this rate of drift we shall soon be discussing the new Airfix Sherman Firefly. I hold to my view that the only people who wouldn’t agree that the Andy Pack vacforms weren’t the worst kits ever are those who have never seen one. I'll see your Andy Pack vacs, and (perhaps inevitably, given this thread title) both firmly put the thread back on track and also provide a worthwhile challenger for the title... I give you this! A little resin kit of the Soviet equivalent of the Luftwaffe DFS 346 rocket-powered high speed airframe. Looks OK doesn't it? Artwork isn't bad... Then we open the box... Oh dear. SD 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Pah! Andy Pack beats that even on box-art. They were adorned with amateur watercolours in what I believe is properly called the naive style (and the rest of us call not being able to draw). (is this beginning to sound like the Four Yorkshireman sketch?) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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