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Correcting the 1/72 Super Constellation


Gooney Fan

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IIRC Fisher Pattern made an upgrade resin set of tanks, but since all of his molds, etc. were destroyed in a recent fire, I think your best bet would be to find a set at a trade table or swap meet. I wish I had bought a set, as well as the flap set when they were still available, especially since Connies almost always have their flaps deployed when at rest. Hopefully somebody else can be more helpful.

Mike

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Plusmodel does an engine set - http://www.plusmodel.cz/karta_en.php?id=810. Well worth having, as the kit engines are not up to the mark. They also did a complete EC-121 kit based on the Heller C-121/L-1049 plastic, which had flaps and photoetch for the wheel wells and other bits and bobs, but it doesn't appear on their web site. Maybe a message to them would elicit more information?

 

It is a shame about Fisher Models. Paul's stuff was great. I don't know whether or not he will ever be back - he said in the aftermath of the fire that he was planning to be, but since then there have been conflicting messages (notably, not from Paul, AFAIK) to the contrary. I know that the web site is presently not active.

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Hi, Gooney Fan.

 

Unfortunately I missed to buy a correction set for the Superconstellation too. Of course my hope is that Paul will be able to resume production, more for him than for me.

Anyway the site is still up, except for the shopping cart.
At this link you can find three images of the tip tanks.
They are so nice that you can use as reference for scratcbuilding them.

As you see, the most evident difference is in the lenght, so that the correct tank results more slim. (I can guess the diameter is almost correct)

 

At this other link there is a quite reliable drawing that can give you an idea.

 

Hope this helps.

Best regards

Eugenio

 

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13 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

It is a shame about Fisher Models. Paul's stuff was great. I don't know whether or not he will ever be back - he said in the aftermath of the fire that he was planning to be, but since then there have been conflicting messages (notably, not from Paul, AFAIK) to the contrary. I know that the web site is presently not active.

 

I can sympathise there. Ours' was at the beginning of January and whilst we get lots of well-intentioned emails expressing sympathy and presuming that everything is not back to normal, the truth is that the insurance industry all need shot and our rebuild hasn't actually started yet. That was relatively small compared to the total destruction which Fisher Models has suffered.

 

He'll very much have other things on his mind, I fully expect, and even if he does start up again, the prospect of re-mastering the same stuff you already pored over once is quite off-putting for many. Maybe he likes that sort of thing - but maybe he'd prefer to just make something else going forward.

 

One thing for sure though is that paying for your website domain and the inevitable flow of enquiries all asking when they can buy stuff again when you're nowhere near being able to put a timescale on it would be a good reason to deactivate the website in the mean time.

 

Hopefully he does come back, but as I began, he has my full sympathy!

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Thanks, Jamie.

 

I wasn't intending to be critical; far from it. I was simply relating my experience since the fire. To have something like that happen must be devastating, to have it happen a second time (as I believe is the case with Paul) must be even more so. In his case, the insurance industry took a huge hit, and I've no doubt it's taking more than a long time to get claims processed. I could quite understand if he decided that it's no longer worth the candle, and just walked away. That would disappoint many modellers (yours truly included) because he made such brilliant stuff, but in the end it's his call, and his alone.

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7 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

Thanks, Jamie.

 

I wasn't intending to be critical; far from it. I was simply relating my experience since the fire. To have something like that happen must be devastating, to have it happen a second time (as I believe is the case with Paul) must be even more so. In his case, the insurance industry took a huge hit, and I've no doubt it's taking more than a long time to get claims processed. I could quite understand if he decided that it's no longer worth the candle, and just walked away. That would disappoint many modellers (yours truly included) because he made such brilliant stuff, but in the end it's his call, and his alone.

 

Absolutely! Also you had already articulated yourself clearly, I was just reinforcing rather than arguing :)

 

Best wishes,

 

Jamie

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  • 3 weeks later...

For engines and corrections there is also HaHen, never dealt with them so don't know about quality and customer service,

 

https://www.hahen.com/epages/64625185.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/64625185/Products/72001

 

https://www.hahen.com/epages/64625185.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/64625185/Products/72005

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 9/23/2019 at 2:53 PM, 72modeler said:

IIRC Fisher Pattern made an upgrade resin set of tanks, but since all of his molds, etc. were destroyed in a recent fire, I think your best bet would be to find a set at a trade table or swap meet. I wish I had bought a set, as well as the flap set when they were still available, especially since Connies almost always have their flaps deployed when at rest. Hopefully somebody else can be more helpful.

Mike

While I really like the look of Fisher's flap set, I think it is incorrect to claim that "Connies almost always have their flaps deployed when at rest". From all of the pix that I have reviewed showing parked Constellations, it seems rare to find one that has it's flaps extended while it is parked. So, in spite of the fact that Paul Fisher is currently out-of-business, one of his flap sets is not really necessary to build a Constellation.

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  • 3 months later...

One way of helping Paul resume his business, if he actually cares to do so, is for modelers who have examples of his resin sets to return them to Paul so that new molds can be made from them. This is already being done in the case of a noted maker of resin parts for Star Trek models who recently passed away and whose landlord cleaned out his apartment and destroyed all his molds before anyone knew about his death. Unfortunately, I myself have none of Paul's resin sets or I would have already returned them to him.

 

There's a moral to this story: You never know when a one-person cottage industry is going to cease doing business, for a myriad of reasons. So if you see something you like, better to buy it now rather than put it on your "wish list." Also, purveyors of cottage industries are well advised to make copies of everything and keep them at an off-site, secure (and fire-proof) location. Okay, that's two morals …

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  • 1 year later...

Paul produced products of exceptional quality and more importantly, is a really nice and generous guy.

I live in Santa Rosa where we lost 3000 structures to a gale-driven fire storm one night in 2017, followed by large fires and mass evacuations is 4 of the five following years.

Paradise was sadly completely lost.  Modelers here continue to wish Paul the best and CERTAINLY understand if he choses to close that chapter of his life-work. 

Grateful for the many Fisher Sea Fury and B-58 products that I have been able to obtain over the years. 

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  • 5 months later...
On 11/8/2019 at 9:28 AM, Marv said:

From all of the pix that I have reviewed showing parked Constellations, it seems rare to find one that has it's flaps extended while it is parked.

Ours at HARS usually has its flaps up, unless they need to be retracted for any reason. Let me know via PM if you need any photos. She hasn't flown for a while but should be back in the air soon.

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