DougN

Since Tamiya has already released very nice 1/48 Mossie kits, why would they need to measure another Mossie? And why would this measuring of another Mossie mean a new kit is coming? And in 1/32? Awful lot of assumptions...

Personally, I would rather Eduard scaled up their excellent 1/48 Hellcat to 1/32.

I think the fact is that mistakes like this happen to all model companies, it's inevitable no matter how hard they try to avoid them. The thing that sets a great company apart from the not-so-great ones are how they deal with it. In this case it seems Airfix designed packaging that should not have damaged the canopy. Regardless, they are now doing everything they can reasonably do to deal with the issue by providing replacement parts to anyone who asks (I'm sure they will make them available to LHS via their distributors for those who don't want to contact them directly as well). I don't think Trumpeter would be doing the same thing. If they did, I'm certain they would get less "flack" than they do now and people would be praising them for actually doing something about a problem. In fact, I'm still trying to get a new windscreen from Trumpeter for my MiG-3 kit (I've even offered to pay to get it!)... Doug

I remember when ZM used to offer goodies for pre-ordering a kit - too bad they don't do that anymore

Not for me. 1/32 is the perfect scale as far as I am concerned - not to big - not too small

If you can wait a bit - I might know of a solution. I have this kit to do a review build for another site. As I'm not s huge P-47 fan, the only "bubbletop" that really interests me is Gabby's bird. As such, I have asked a site sponsor and contributor there, Mal - Miracle Masks, if he would be interested in doing some Gabby masks for this kit which I would use in the review build. He has agreed and I've sent him all the reference info, so I would expect them in the next few months once I start building the kit. He said he is pretty backed up with orders, and would start on the masks once I get the build going so they would be ready for the painting stage. Doug

As the saying goes - a picture is worth 1000 words. Perhaps you could post some photos of what you are asking about which would make it easier to diagnose Doug

Love the Gladiator, so really looking forward to this build! Doug

Nice progress! You just need to set your white balance on your camera (which will get rid of the yellow hue) and you'll be all set Doug

I think you are confusing HK models (B-25; B-17; Meteor) with ZM (Zoukie Maru) which have the full detailed structure and is likely the "Sandy" kit you have (unless it is the Trumpter one).

Great work so far - I really appreciate the effort you've put into examining the kit. I'm looking forward to the next bit with fixes! Doug

I've always preferred the clean lines of the bomber version and will be quite pleased if that is the first version HK release! Doug

Having spent 20 years in the transportation industry, I can assure you that any flammable paints can be shipped by air. There is just a quantity limit per package. I get Mr Color paints and thinners from Hong Kong shipped via air all the time. The fact is however that the company shipping them needs to complete the proper paperwork to do so, and they also become liable in the event their package causes an incident. Because of that, some companies don't want to assume that risk and therefore just don't ship them. Doug

Personally, while I admire the concept behind the SWS kit and passion of ZM, I find them too busy for my tastes, so I am looking forward to seeing what the "Basic" versions will be like. I'll be in for an A3/A4 since Hasegawa hasn't bothered to release one yet Doug

I've actually got a build review going as well - see link in my signature Doug

Personally, I don't want to mess with getting out a paint stirrer (of any kind mentioned above), making a mess stirring the paint up and then spending time cleaning the stirrer after use. BB's let me simply drop them in the paint jar, shake it for a few minutes and I'm all set. No mess to clean up and works great. Doug

Definitely looking forward to this one so I can add to my Legion Condor collection! Doug

I just want to be able to order the La-7!

What updates? He has not announced any for this kit that I have seen.

No - only upgrade so far is Radu's radiator screens. From what he has posted elsewhere, Roy is working on a big pile of stuff for the Revell Spit, and getting ready to vend at the Nats - so I doubt you'l see anything soon from him for the 1/24 Tiffie (if it even needs anything).

Please show me where a kit has been labeled "unbuildable". I've never seen a kit labeled "unbuildable" - virtually any kit can be built. However I have seen (and agree in some cases) that a kit might indeed be a "waste of money" or "very inaccurate" which are very different things although many seem to confuse them as the same thing as "unbuildable" since posters here seem to like to use that statement. And to your second point above, to me it's just as rude to make fun of people who happen to care about accuracy and want their kits to be as accurate as possible. And it's extremely rare that I've seen anyone "made fun of" for buying and building any particular kit. I've seen many, many more posts making fun of people who care about accuracy. Doug

Personally, there are a lot more Trumpy kits I think are good than I think are bad. And while there are some with - what most would consider - some major shape issues, even those are probably fine for a casual builder not overly concerned with the shape issues.

Sean - I'm curious as to why the only posts we ever see from you are asking for parts, or trades or where to get parts. Why don't we ever see any competed work or work-in-progress posts?

Great job Florin, I'll need to build one like this someday! Doug

Many like EZ Line because of its ease-of-use and the fact that it stretches and does not break. All good things, except for the fact that EZ line is flat, not round. Add to that the fact that it is/can be lumpy and to me it is hard to make a convincing aerial wire with it. Stretched sprue is good because its free and you can make the aerial wire as thick or thin as you want, not to mention any color you want (as long as you have some sprue in that color). Since I am lazy, I use fishing line, as I've got some great stuff that is charcoal colored and is nice and thin. Easy to use and it's round and the correct color. If it goes a bit slack, you can just heat it a little and it will tighten right up again. For attaching, I try to replicate what is on the actual aircraft. Some airframes have a post on the verticle stab that you can just drill a hole though, or cut a groove in and attach your aerial. Other airframes have no post so I just drill a hole into the leading edge at the attachment point and stick the end of the fishing like in with some superglue. When dry, I then pull it tight and attach it to the front mast (if applicable). If it a whip-style aerial, I just drill the hole, cut a piece of fishing line and stick it in at the appropriate length. Doug