Artful69

We hardly needed another Do.335 - one kit and AM could've supported the rest ... but what are we now - 5 kits in? ... There's also a Trumpeter 109.K ... ... ok, ok ... bad inclusion? ... and the Old Man loves those P.51's - even with Tamiya already in the picture. Same with the Revell He.219. My initial thought on the single seater was Bf.109 (insert whatever variant here) - Funny how a lot of their kit quizzes end up though ... people say "Nooooo ... that would be too obvious, it couldn't be that" and then Bam! There it is! ... If it's a G-6, we may finally get the most accurate one (sans Tamiya)! They could go for the Heinkel's He.100/112? (ZM esoteric's factored in)... but given their previous Ta.152 and the Fw.190's coming online ... I'd say the safe money would be on the Dora. If the old man has fallen in love with the schräge musik concept and/or the idea of a twin engined night fighter (He.219) .... it could be anything - I'm clutching at straws here ... but given his admiration for Kurt Tank - and again factoring in the ZM esoteric's, an IM Ta-154 isn't out of the question ... (personal wishlist here though screams Do.17z!!!) A single seat fighter, liquid cooled, USAF: ZM esoteric's here could mean anything!! a P.38 or P.39? (probably the most esoteric choices of the lot) ... P.40? ... P.51.A or B? ... This one's harder to pick than a broken nose! Rog

Of course ... I was stating my opinion on the issue ... I agree the the Matchbox kit is the clear winner of the two - I wouldn't wish the Hasegawa kit on my worst enemy. However I have two Matchbox kits sitting in on the shelf in the stash room ... and I wouldn't rate the kit against against any of the other three - again this is just my opinion walking through the box parts, though. I do remember there being a kit comparison and the Matchbox kit competing surprisingly well in the accuracy department ... however the detail and the fit reflect the era. Hardly the fault of the kit - just that, for mine, something better came along! Personal preference factors in here ... The most enjoyable build to date for me (ignoring accuracy) was the Trumpeter kit. Rog

Yep Thierry has the list in the best order ... The Cyber Hobby kit is the go to for the E-3 onwards. The cowl fit is a bit fiddly but the achilles heel of this kit, as said above, is the instructions which are a bit of a minefield. Not as bad as the Bf.110 instructions though!! The Eduard kit isn't all that bad, really - The cowl fit is worse than the Cyber Hobby kit and the wing slats need a tone down - but reviews by those in the know say the shape isn't all that far off!! ... and it's the only E-1 option out there ... unless wing surgery to a Cyber Hobby kit is something you'd like. The Trumpeter kit has some shape issues - more so than the Eduard kit ... but the engineering/fit of the kit makes for a more pleasant experience in the build than either of the above IMO. If accuracy is less of an issue to the builder than stripping out hair follicles in construction - then this is the kit for you! Matchbox and Hasegawa fall into the same category for mine ... Too old to compete with the newer kits ... detail is weird, fit is a wrestle and inaccuracies abound. Of the two Matchbox would be the clear winner though. Rog

Easy enough to just change the one letter ... Digger - an appropriate name for a dog wouldn't you think!?! Rog

Given so little in the clue department ... all three answers could be anything ... For instance how many variants of how many twins did the Luftwaffe have? ... Then there's the ZM esoteric factor ... Rog

Is there a pricing point for this kit yet ... I take it I can't do anything until the pre-order stage anyway? Rog

That MiG-3 is supposed to be a sweet little build - perfect for the low drama, relaxed type of adventure ... I've had my eye on that kit for some time ... Resisted pulling the trigger this year only because there's a Lanc and a Lib around the corner! ... If I can make a suggestion in regard to the Arado (which is another brilliant kit!) HpH does a AM resin canopy replacement for it. I think there's another mob who do an AM one too? ... at any rate, some bright spark in the Revell design team thought it'd be a good idea to have the modeller assemble the whole thing: frame-by-frame. I took one look at the sprues and caved immediately ... If you go down the kit path you're a braver man than I!! Nice haul! Rog

Just got an email from one of the local Australian retailers I use for buying LARGE kits ... Preorders are up for $290 AUD ... Cheaper than the original HKM B-17G's were retailing at years ago!! ... Well done HB ... Rog

I believe Kev has replied with the sort of info that you’re after ... as an average - if you’re talking Injection Moulded ... The most obvious consideration is retail price point - cheaper kits (such as Revell) are going to sell in greater numbers regardless ... more people are likely to take a punt on a $25 - $50 kit as opposed to a $150 - $300+ kit ... unless the subject matter proves to be popular. I would think that short/limited run kit numbers would drop that figure given that the moulds are theoretically less expensive to make ... and I suppose that is reason why this subset of the industry exists ... as well as resin and and vac form and paper ... using (overall) cheaper mediums and manufacturing processes to keep the cost per kit down. Rog

Guys ... Thanks for the input ... my week just got busy, but I'll be shopping on the weekend

Hi all Some time ago I remember someone posting a thread on some cheap(er) airbrushes. They were knockoffs of a major brand (I can’t remember if it was Iwata or Badger or something else) and all I remember is that they were serviceable and the parts were actually interchangeable with the major brand they were copying. im in need of a new set up with lines, connectors and a couple of airbrushes. Can anyone either point me in the direction of the thread in question or the knockoff brand that was reviewed?? TIA Rog

I'll pop in to see how you do bro!! Rog

Mmmmm That's not a bad size I suppose ... I know that a Graf Spee and Scharnhorst are available in 1/350 ... as well as a number of others ... I know this ... which is why I asked about the measurements of Danny's Tirpitz ... It gives me a reference point, should I choose to abandon 1/200 in favour of 1/350 Rog

ZM are usually pretty thorough in their research ... So I'd doubt that they would make that sort of FUBAR ... It seems unlikely. It IS a model kit though, and there's no such thing as a 100% accurate kit. It may be worth having a look at their concept notes for that kit if you can scrounge them. It usually refers to their references. Other than that, If you look up the history of the A/C they are modelling - that should be able to yield some additional insight. It may be that the particular A/C that they are modelling had them retrofitted as a field mod ... A lot of the weight saving measures designed for the A-6 were implemented on older variants in the field ... so why not the 30mm schräge musik gun-pack? Rog

Danny ... I'll follow this one!! ... I wanted to do a full spread on Kriegsmarine vessels in the same scale ... I liked 1/200 so I grabbed a Bismark ... Before realising I can't get a Deutschland class or Scharnhorst class in that scale So ... how long IS that sucker, bow to stern, in Cm's/mm? ... I might swap out and go 1/350. Rog