airscale

Kit is releasing soon here

wow Max, that is quite an undertaking - very nice job It's going to look fabulous when it's finished - such a brute of an aeroplane - I actually prefer the car door version Peter

so it will look like this Kev? will those icon things have pictures or anything - it looks a bit sterile to me

Happy Birthday Iain! spend it doing what you love and with who you love 🥰 Peter

It's an interesting question this, and one I have not completely reconciled as I start out on this journey.. I did choose the Defiant because there wasn't one, but also because I found it interesting and I thought it would sit well with evergreens like the Spitfire and Hurricane and the BoB collections. Once I started out, I heard a rumour of an IM company looking at doing one and that it might still happen (since pulled out btw and not due to mine) but it made me think a little about strategy For me it is most important that the kit is the best in class, so even if I did a Spitfire 1, I would want it to be better than anything else out there including Kotare. This is not a blind ambition, the technologies are different and finesse in 3D is easier to achieve - volume on the other hand isn't, so it is a fine balance. I could do an F4F quite happily because the client I am aiming at will pay for that best in class, however, it also means a bunch of other clients and the wider market don't get aircraft that either don't exist, or are kits that are so old they just do not represent the airframe well in a collection. I also did this to take a tiny bit of the power away, as has been said above and is seen by the P51B saga, 'proper' companies are scared of each others roadmaps and consequently some airframes just do not ever materialise, or do years and years after being announced despite an obvious market for them - in fact my next kit is on that list - someone has said they will do it, but the way I see it is if with a lead time of about 6 months if I can be first, rather than cheaper, i will get enough business to keep me in a situation where each kit pays for the development of the next. peter

Indeed - I have always said that if the first 100 sell, I will make more. It takes time and the batches won't be as big, but if it keeps selling, I will keep producing them. it may slow down a bit though when I have the next kit to make too - more news on that in the coming weeks Peter

Thanks you Iain for the thoughtful, thorough and positive review, I am also super pleased to see you build it as a nightfighter as I am desperate to see what it will look like - hopefully like I saw it in my head all those months ago just so you know, it is the LSP community that inspired me to do this, supported everything I tried (and failed) to do and are ultimately responsible for the birth of a new business that is intent on filling gaps in the 1/32 market - a perfect reward circle... Guess what will be in the Xmas Raffle this year I got the tracking number of the clear parts being shipped and they are at the departure airport so won't be long before the countdown starts Peter

that comfy chair is mandatory and I spend many, many more hours in it than I should.. ..and yes, it is where I do all my design work ..as far as what is on my bench, as soon as the Defiant is launched, I will spill the beans on the new kit - and no, it is not one of the planes on the wall

Hiccy Burpday juraj!!

wonderful to see - I just wish I had this six months ago when I scratchbuilt a 1/18 scale one thank you for your commitment to preserving and sharing such rare information here Peter

umm, mine is quite tidy for now, I build, design & print in here... will probably be the only one with a pixellated desk as there is something secret on there ..and the printing bit with another 20L of resin that arrived this morning.. Good fun this Peter

thank you everyone it has been a real blast seeing the kit out in the wild and Nigel certainly seemed to like it also had lots of enquiries about it so hopefully it sells in enough numbers to pay back the time and investment which is pretty substantial the clear parts are due to be sent on Monday, so shouldn't be long before I can start the countdown Understood, but I have to be sure everything is in order before I take cash and put my name on it It won't be long, and while it is possible there will be competition to get one, I consider that a nice problem to have hehe - I am about two thirds the way through it and will announce it once the test prints convince me it can be done. it is not as straightforward as the Defiant Thanks again all for all your encouragement and support guys, I am thrilled I actually got to realise a dream and make my own kit - who knows where it will all lead Peter

..all done - they are bloody superb! not long now Peter

Just totally and utterly fabulous… I cannot tell you how grateful I am Tolga for taking a very early prototype and making it look this good you did a brilliant job, thank you peter

I have mirek’s email if you get stuck-PM me peter

the test shot clear parts are here - I am speechless, they are AMAZING!! I am beyond happy - this has always been the biggest worry - now its a production order and the kit will be available in the next few weeks ..now to see if they all fit as they should 😎 Peter

impossible to say, but I expect so - the only difference I can see it it's thicker, the stuff I linked is 0.1mm - the thicker you go, the harder it is to get an absolute pull down over the mould. That said being so thin it is pretty flimsy.

Good luck Kev Just to say after years of using that machine with PETG, ABS, Card etc, the absolute bulletproof winner in terms of materials is this stuff It is just 10 thou plastic card, but it forms so well, flawlessly in fact, it's easy to get the temp right, has no bubbles or stretches and even an eejit like me gets fantastic results far better than anything I have ever used and I have tried a LOT of different materials & thicknesses for clear parts anyways, thought it might help

Well Max no part can exceed 22cm by 12cm on the print plate, or 25cm high so anything big needs to be cut down into parts. I reckon something as big as a Wellington in 1/32 would fit as the breaks would be forward fuselage, mid section, rear fuselage, then inner & outer wings.. not saying I am doing one, just saying I think it could be done (or an Anson ) Hi Jay, no, still the trusty Saturn(s) - I bought the new Ultra 16K which has a slightly bigger build plate and it's rubbish, it's £500 sitting in my garage gathering dust.. ..afraid not ..thanks Martin - the whole thing is styled on the period documentation, as will be revealed when I send Iain a review copy soon TTFN Peter

1/24 scale Defiant kit commission with vacform transparencies... a big beast Peter

On the topic of names and numbers, it only has one or the other - not both...

i can neither confirm nor deny it is a Wellington, Battle or Lysander.. here are 3 bits of it..

hmm, that’s hard without giving it away .. it fought in WW2… monoplane…at least one propeller… heroic contribution…

shame.. I guess there are another two options.. 1. slit the cowling at the bottom right through the front cowl ring and remove a slice & close it up again to the right diameter - shouldn't be too hard to get it round again 2. fill and fair the discrepancy at the bottom where it won't be seen

beggars belief... I don't care how $hitty your day has been, or if it's a question you have been asked a million times, there is no excuse for talking to ANYONE like that, let alone a prospective customer I simply can't wrap my head around it.. disgraceful..