Airtourer

Information for those living in Australia, Metro Hobbies in Victoria have the kit in stock for AU$59.99 plus post, ordered mine today. Des.

The kit is now available from the Roden Store, in Australia it is $65 plus post, I think I will wait until our local hobby shops have them in stock, at least I will be assured of prompt delivery. Before buying one I will wait until I see a decent review of the kit, lots of bad things have been said over the past few days so I will wait to read a proper review. Des.

Like you Smokey I plan on doing mine the same as the Temora example. I have heard that it will be released at the end of November and should sell for around $69, lets hope so. Des.

I wrote to Roden asking the status of their new 1:32 scale Cessna 0-2 kit, I received an email today stating that the kit will be released at the end of November. Des.

I live close to HMAS Albatros and there used to be a Cessna 0-2 based there, it flew over my place quite often, a lovely sight and sound, pity it isn't there any more. The Temora Aviation Museum has one in their collection of aircraft. I really hope Roden stick by their commitment and do release this kit soon, here is another picture of this beautiful aeroplane, this is the aircraft at the Temora Aviation Museum in NSW. Des.

I checked the Roden site today and it is listed as 1:32 scale but no release date. http://www.roden.eu/HTML/framemodels1.htm I'm really looking forward to getting one of these kits. Des.

A brilliant idea Paul and one that I will be trying. Des.

Thanks very much for all the really kind comments, they are much appreciated, and thank you Kevin for posting the article on my build, makes me feel very proud. Des.

No problems Matt, it's easy enough to get confused. Aviattic are producing the Ansaldo and are working on a Macchi M.7 both in 1:32 scale HPH are working on an Aviatik Berg D.1 and a Caproni CA.3 also both in 1:32 scale Des.

Aviattic let it out that Ron was working on a Macchi M.7 just after HPH released their Macchi M.5, Aviattic were going to keep it secret but by releasing the news it may deter people from buying the HPH kit. HPH are working on a 1:32 scale Aviatik Berg D.1 with Austro Daimler engine, they also plan to release the engine in 1:18 scale. Of great interest is that they are also working on a 1:32 scale Caproni CA.3, this will be a massive project and when completed will be a fantastic kit. Des.

Thanks Matt for your comments and I fully agree with you regards the quality of resin kits. I built the 1:32 Alley Cat Bristol M1.c and it was an excellent resin kit but on the other hand I built the Omega 1:32 Mosca MB bis, this kit was very close to being tossed in the rubbish bin. I also built the 1:32 Battle Axe Eindecker E.III, another horror kit but I managed to build a reasonable looking model. I know that Ron from the Aviattic will be producing a resin Macchi M.7 in the near future, it promises to be a beauty, I doubt very much that Wingnuts would ever produce a Macchi M.5. I don't mind paying big money for a kit if it is of reasonable quality, the HPH Macchi M.5 is not too bad and can be worked into a very nice looking model, I hate paying big money for a kit that has to be virtually scratch built as the parts supplied in the kit are useless. I will be keeping my eyes open for the next WW1 kit that HPH produce in 1:32 scale. Des.

Many thanks to all those who have left extremely kind comments, they are really appreciated. Stephen, the machine guns are fitted but sit too far forward in the nose of the fuselage, the machine gun butts should be visible in the cockpit but because of the very tight fit of the cockpit components there was not enough room to position the guns in their correct position, at least it does have machine guns. HpH only have to make several adjustments to their kit and add some more detail to the engine and they would have a superb kit, as Dean said it is an expensive kit and for the money should not have any issues, all in all it is still a very attractive looking model. Des.

Thank you for your very kind comments. The ignition leads are made from wire I stripped from ear phones. There are 3 wires inside the ear phone leads and they are wrapped in what appears to be a metal foil. The colour and the look of these wires is very close to what I have seen on actual engines. The thing I like about the wire is that it is very fine measuring only 0.23mm, so scale wise they are very close. Des.,

Thanks very much guys for all the wonderful comments, they are truly appreciated. Kevin, by all means, please feel free to publish onto the website. The kit supplied floats are perfectly okay, it is just that I prefer the look of the suspended floats. Sommo.b, here is a photo of the underside as requested. Des.

These last few photos show the completed model. There were a few issues during the build but nothing that could not be overcome quite easily, even so I would not recommend this kit to a beginner but more so to a modeler with some experience. It is a beautiful looking aeroplane and the model does it justice, I am very happy with the way the model turned out.