BloorwestSiR

I got some work done today. I started on the flying surfaces. First up was the rudder. The horizontal tailplane had a slight casting imperfection in it. After determining that the rudder would fit over it and cover it up, I decided to leave it as is. Next up I glued on the port wing and tailplane. Again, there was a small gap that was easily taken care of. Onto the starboard side next.

Here's the link to Tamiya log https://tamiyablog.com/2025/01/tamiya-56047-german-main-battle-tank-leopard-2-a7v-full-option-kit-at-nuremberg-toy-fair-2025/

And Tamiya has announce they're updating their 1/16 Leopard 2 kit to the A7 version. But it's the full option RC version so easily over $1K. The original release was $1300 CAD.

I'm up for the Leopard 2 but was curious what the price was going to be especially as Tamiya has their 1/16 kit. Thankfully it's significantly cheaper ($252 CAD) so I will most likely bite the bullet and get one. My tax refund should arrive just in time to do that.

Matt, that makes a lot of sense. Andrey does some very nice kits indeed. I also have his Cavalier conversion in the stash so I know this isn't a one off.

My brother-in-law and his wife live in North Bay. They just moved there last summer from Windsor. It's cold up there. If you're coming through Toronto and have time, Wheels and Wings is a great hobby shop. Be happy to meet you there. Carl

Thanks Martin! The panel lines are all very consistent and precise. The only possibly odd thing might be the way the fuselage halves join in front of the vertical tail. The seam isn't on a panel line so needs to be filled in. I suppose doing it this way means you don't have to try and replicate a panel line that matches the rest of the kit.

I think it's on the to-do list by JetMads.

Time for an update. After test fitting the engine, I noticed that something was interfering with the fuselage closing up as neatly as it did without it. I sanded down the cylinder heads a bit and that helped. After much procrastination, I decided to just go for and glued everything together. I still had a small gap at the front of the cowl but that was pretty much it. The gap was quickly taken care of with some CA and that was that. Shouldn't have let it bug me so much.

It was $131 Loonies for the big box after tax and shipping for me. Which has to be an absolute bargain. Especially since the Loonie has tanked since I placed the pre-order. Carl

Most are except for the fuselage sections that go around the tail wheel. The VIII only has the ones with the retractable tail wheel and the IX has the one for the fixed version. I think the extended wingtips are also only in the IX kit. Carl

That's a Netherlands machine, I'm looking for this one or AM decals to do it: I grabbed this from a post on Britmodeller. But that's the only place I've seen anything about it. It's the Takom kit but under the Snowman Models brand. All the previous Takom Apaches have come out under the same label.

Anyone know of AM decals for a ROCAF AH-64D(E?) in the tiger stripe camo? Supposedly Takom/Snowman were going to release a boxing with those markings but I've never found it available.

Ours is great. If we're not home, she will tuck the package behind our planter so it snot visible from the street. I have even found them covered by the snow shovel. Helps to keep the porch pirates away.

Can I ask who makes the Firefly kit? I asked Andy about doing one when I met him at Heritagecon last year but he was born committal.

I did 4 at the same time once. It made for a crowded benchtop. March should work for me. Carl

I've only done the Tamiya kit as an A. The first time was when it was still fairly new when I was 13 or so. More recently, I built another in 2023 and enjoyed enough to start a third shortly thereafter. There seems to be a resurgence of AM for the Tamiya kit of late. Aerocraft has brass landing gear, a resin canopy and there's several 3D decal sets. The Reedoak pilot and RIO figures are stunning and a drop in fit.

An F2G conversion for the Tamiya Corsair kit. I'd love to see one from either Laminar Flow or Halberd. Either one of those would absolutely knock it out of the park.

The details are not as crisp, I also found them to be softer, more rubbery than Quinta or Red Fox. I only used the one set and it was to augment the Teknics resin cockpit in my Tamiya F-14. So in this case, it was fine for the purpose. But yeah, the other companies are better products. Carl

With the Canada Post strike over, Dave at Screaming Toad was finally able to send me their update set for the ICM CH-54. I haven't looked too much in the box but it's impressive. Carl

Michael, I was looking for the same sheet. The last place I saw that had one was Ultracast. That was right before Christmas and it was $100 Loonies so I passed. Looks like someone wanted it as they're now sold out. Carl

I have a pair of Tamiya 1/48 Tomcats I ordered from them in July, 2023. Still waiting on them. They've sent other stuff I've ordered but it's been drips and drabs getting it. I also get the "we'll ship it with the next container" reply each time I've asked. The current reason for a delay is because of the Canada Post strike which of course ended 3 weeks ago. I've requested them to ship what is in stock via airmail and asked for a discount due on the shipping due to the wait. I'll see what they say. On other forums where folks have asked about delayed new releases from Kinetic, which is owned by Lucky Models, folks have been told that sales are slow so they've had to push the new releases back. I wouldn't be surprised if this is also affecting Lucky Model. Carl

Our boys are 13 and 11 so we have a similar waiting period.

Don't I know it !

I was looking at that earlier today. My wife loves Hello Kitty soni way thinking of it for her.