Old Dog

I have never tried them but if storage time is an issue I won't bother. Decals, like most other after market items, tend to be available only for a limited time so if you don't buy them when available good luck on finding them. I usually try to by detailing products when available even if the kit I'm getting them for may not be built for years. The other issue is how do you know how long the item has been in stock with the vendor you are purchasing from.

A Yak-28P, the two man interceptor version, was released under the Bobcat label almost three years ago. I'm no expert so if it had shape issues I would be clueless but I have the kit and it looks pretty good in the box. I wonder if this kit is a new tool or just a reworked tool to make the bomber version ?

When I got back into modelling over a dozen years ago and started poking around on the net I found a number of sites doing (mostly) inbox reviews. I found them moderately helpful for a guy who had been away from the hobby for 30 years. The one thing I found frustrating was that for many of the kits I was interested in I couldn't find any reviews at all and that prompted me to start my own site and for a number of years I cranked out inbox reviews of kits for which I couldn't find reviews. After a while I started doing some main stream kits as well but in the past few years sites doing reviews of all types have multiplied and after a while it became pointless to continue. I still do an occasional one if it's something I passionate about or I'm not impressed with other reviews of the kit. I still read reviews (or look sees) of new kits just to get a feel for them and for the most part these days they are not much different than the product reviews on Amazon, some like, some hate so I tend to take them with a grain of salt. The ones I have really grown to dislike are video reviews. Most of these folks seem to like to hear themselves talk and I really don't need to watch them unpacking and opening the kit nor is the blather helpful if the reviewer states right off that he isn't the least bit familiar with the subject he reviewing. I don't think most people realize just how much work and time consuming it is to do a good review. There have been times when I felt I could have built the kit in less time than it took to do a review. Trying to cater to what everyone likes and dislikes isn't really possible and last year while shopping for a new vehicle I found many of the same caveats in car reviews that I have found in the past in kit reviews.

I, like you have several sets in my stash and they have always been stored in an air conditioned space in their original bags. I have not used any of them either but in looking them over after reading your post I found some with no shrinkage and several that had considerable shrinkage, enough that it may affect how they fit the intended subject. Why the difference I have no clue unless it was related to the temperature and climate at the time they were cut or they were cut from different materials.

Very nice and different as well, love the paint and markings !

No cockpit at all, just a pilots head to put under the canopy...

Excellent metallic effects !

WOW ! For a minute I thought I was looking at the real deal, excellent !

A rich boy play toy

The 1/48 kit from ARBA was the first resin kit I built so I'm looking forward to adding this one to my 1/32 collection !

Nice work so far ! I'm looking forward to building mine. I have the Lone Star resin set which was designed for the old Monogram kit that I'm hoping I can modify for the fairings and the like. A couple notes, the drag chute and air brake mods on the night fighter version were designed to slow the plane down quickly so as to not overtake or run into their quarry. I believe the blister on the top of the fuselage covered the radio direction finding antenna and did not need to be optically transparent and I have seen photos where this was painted. Looking forward to seeing this one finished !

Define "better kit", easier to build, more accurate detail wise ? The HobbyBoss kit, at least the non turret version they sell has some serious shape issues, the most glaring being the fact that there is no indication at all where the turret was located, just a smooth flowing fuselage. The fuselage should have the bulge for the turret even though it wasn't installed. The HobbyBoss kit it probably an easier build. The GWH kit has some detail issues but it's been a while since I looked at it and don't recall them but at least the major parts are better than the HobbyBoss kit so it would be my choice. Note: I have not built either of these.

They will soon be stocking it, should make a lot of folks happy !

Just saw a real one of these at the Thunder over Michigan airshow a couple of months ago, nice job !

I find that the older I get the less inclined I am to go crazy with detailing and after market. I haven't finished a 1/32 kit in a couple of years as I have been plugging through a bunch of unfinished 1/48scale kits. Relatively few people ever see my collection in person and most who do wouldn't know the difference if the wings were on upside down, so detailing a hard to see location is mostly wasted. Yes, I know it's there but... I have a lot of kits in my stash that I really want to see built in what is left of my time on earth and spending crazy hours on a kit for details that aren't noticeable once in the display cabinet won't get me there. If built mostly out of box is heresy then so be it. I open kits that I bought several years ago and find the box stuffed with all sorts of after market and say to myself "What was I thinking" ? To me it's more fun to accomplish the goal of seeing a kit I've wanted for years complete and in the case more satisfying than spending countless hours super detailing. I still love seeing what some of the artists on this site accomplish and admire their work, it's just not for me.