Tony T

They're not, but the Aires jetpipes set seems to have been designed for accuracy rather than to fit the Trumpeter (something I know from experience) and so allegedly fits into the shell of the Echelon vacform far better. What I'm interested in learning is whether the ResKit jetpipes set was designed to fit the Trumpeter fuselage or offers a highly accurate representation of the hourglass, thereby requiring the kit to be dremelled to death. Tony

The Macchi 202 Folgore will be welcomed as something completely different. Not so secretly, I'm still hoping Italeri do more Mirage III/5 variants before too long, so it will be interesting to see what's listed as "new" in the forthcoming Italeri 2023 catalogue. Tony

Some of the Xtradecals sheets were really nice. But we could use some new NMF era ones: especially Saudi F.53/T.55s, and No.19/92 Sqn F.2As for example, plus a reprint of 32-016 with the Firebirds and Treble-One F.6s. I'm still wondering if the ResKit jet exhaust hourglass shapes fit the corrupted, pinched-in, Trumpeter rear fuselage without major dremeling (like the Aires ones, which are as-if they were really designed to fit the Echelon). Some new AM in the form of brass legs of the correct length, a drop-in nose ring with greater inside depth to meet the intake assembly, a 4-5mm fuselage plug, less "pregnant" resin belly tanks and correctly shaped F.2A/6 strakes wouldn't be sniffed at either. Iain was working on some of this gear ten years ago, but sadly it never came to fruition. Tony

Try e-bay etc for Xtradecal 32-018 (with and without the hyphen). With the re-release of Trumpeter 1/32 EE/BAC Lightnings Hannants might consider reprints. We can but hope! The stencil/data sets are worth having too! HTH Tony

I love this model, but do wonder if the finish is just a tad too grubby and matted for a mid 1970s USS Midway machine, unless it had taken off from Atsugi after a farmer sprayed the runway with... shine all your buttons with Brasso... Sorry to sound like Revel Horwood going off on one, but it needs a good scrub-down. Having said that, the dynamics and paint job on the crew figures is utterly OUTSTANDING! Tony

OMG, up for one of those as well. Okay, 3rd F.6 Frightning, 2nd '23MF A big rush. No doubt to pre-empt the annoucement of a 1/32... or nada. After a big Six myself. Tony

Oh dear, that means adding two more next year: life is hell! Tony

Liking the 1/32 F-16 ADF tail. Must budget for this next Spring for L'ultima Diana project Thanks Tony

That, and a 1/32 Deuce (and Six). Tony

I have long since accepted that Tamiya are out of the LSP game and increasingly look to new firms like RPM (F-4B) and ICM, with the occasional meaty morsel tossed towards our gaping voracious canine mouths, such as Revell's Hurricane. As I particularly love Cold War jets, 1/48 scale has become the key morale booster with offerings such as the Airfix Buccaneer, proposed DBMK Scimitar, FFRom Super Mystère, Academy A-10C, Meng F-4G Adv Wild Weasel, Special Hobby Mirage F.1 and so forth. All things I'd much prefer in 1/32 scale but...! When Tamiya want to play again we'll draw a breath and exclaim "Really? Splendid!" But for now, even I've bored with Tamiyaconjecture, which is a word that might be proposed to the OED. Tony

Well, they are Red Pills Models, facing the realities of the complexities in producing such a kit. All I say is, "Red Pills Models, Take My Money". I don't mind a tad of filling and sanding in order to get a 1/32 F-4B. It already looks way more of a thoroughbred than my planned Tamiya-Cutting Edge mongrel. Tony

The DBMK I'm lusting after is the 1/48 Scimitar F.1, the first to come out. Should set the scene. If DBMK proceed further there are all sorts of possibilities, including a 1/32 Sea Hawk. I do wonder if the Sea Hornet and Sea Fury are a little too sophisticated in terms of complexity, but nothing ventured... as they say. They have stated that their primary focus is outline accuracy, not fit as such, and that the models are multi-media. Tony

Thanks for posting. Looking good so far. Tony

After the ironing board wing Spitfire release, the difference did indeed very much need to be made by Revell. Very bad marketing to show one pee-poor photo. But all's well that ends well. Definitely buying one, and any subsequent boxings. Well done Radu. Tony

That's great news. Thanks. I suspect that an authentic paint job would have made a huge difference. Tony