BiggTim

That is a tough one for sure. I might suggest trying to find a canopy from another kit, like Hasegawa, and see if it fits better? Or maybe find an aftermarket canopy? Good luck, and I look forward to seeing how you fix it.
 
Tim

HAHA!! I am just having fun with this, but since you asked....1:35 is more of a bastard scale than any other scale except, perhaps, HO (1:87) because it does not correlate to virtually any other scale. For instance, most popular model scales have equivalents in architectural scale: 
1:12 equates to 1" = 1 foot
1:16 equates to 3/4" = 1 foot
1:24 equates to 1/2" = 1 foot
1:48 equates to 1/4" = 1 foot
1:32 equates to 3/8" = 1 foot
 
If you don't like imperial, then 1:35 doesn't even equate to any engineering or metric scale that I am aware of, so where did it come from?  
 
(Please note, I am just stirring the pot purely for fun! I value everyone's opinions on the subject and say "build what you like and have fun". More power to any company that keeps good kits coming!! Whether these are good kits or not, I cannot say)
 
Tim
 
 

I wasn't even going down the scale road. But since you opened the can, I will NEVER build a plane in 1:35 scale. It's a bastard scale that should never have existed in the first place. I'll put up with it for armor, but only because I have little choice. 
 
There...happy now? 

Sgt York? Or Sgt Rock?  I was never a comics person but a friend of mine in the 70s was into Sgt Rock comics.  
 
In any event going back to the 1/35 Tamiya thing, those early kits were seen more as Toys than as serious models so I just don:t think Tamiya or anyone else cared all that much about real accuracy.  I was an avid armor modeler first once I became more serious and in the 80s I built most of the Tamiya armor catalog.  As such even then they allowed for battery packs in a large percentage of kits although I only ever owned one Tamiya kit to my memory that came with the mechanical parts and in fact did build it and run it on batteries.  My first tamiya kit might have been their Panzer IV motorized version and I had parental help building it.  I remember playing with it and running it under batter power probably around 1977ish.  
 
We have gone around and around on this scale debate, at this point it just is.  Border for their own reasons are into 1/35.  It is not clear to me that anyone else is following them.  They are trying to do something different I assume to carve out their own space in larger scale planes.  We all know what pays the bills in the modeling world and that leaves a company like border treading a well beaten path.  Your can keep tooling the same subjects in 1/32 that everyone else has or you can split and go down the 1/35 path doing your own thing that kind of works with an existing parallel modeling universe.  I actually thought when this thread started it was something new and was disapointed to find out our formites were arguing once again about a Border 1/35 Spitfire Mk V which I believe they announced about a year ago  and we proceed to have the same argument every time border releases a new kit or someone decides to talk about Border.  Maybe that makes Border the smartest model company on the planet as they get free advertising on our forum and in our heads just by announcing anything in 1/35.
 
I still have not yet purchased a Border kit.  The first announcement i have seen from them that I am remotely interested in is the He-111 but not sure I would buy and build one.   So far I think Border is over rated from an engineering and quality standpoint.  They certainly nail complexity but sheer complexity is not a chief selling point to me, when I am choosing a modeling subject.  It won:t put me off but it is not a priority.     
 
My goal for this year is to learn just enough Japanese to write and prepare a fake apology letter slash announcement to be released for April 1, 2025 in which Tamiya announces that they apologize for every releasing or having anything to do with 1/35 and are buying back all of their 1/35 kits every released to replace them with new issue 1/32 versions.  By then most of you will forget about my post and we should all get a good laugh out of it, just to confuse you I will post it on an armor forum on facebook.  Then it will filter through as a rumor and soon become a fact.

I have several dozen old Sgt Rock comics, have had them for years now.

It doesn't specify WW2 Allied, but they obviously (?) are referring to a finned air-delivered bomb-shaped plastic assembly item to glue underneath somewhere.
 
As for 1:35 scale, by and large I'm ignoring it, the way I have done with helicopter kits for donkey's years.
I will, however, take to it if Border et al start doing Cold War jets, particularly Vietnam era jets like the Thud, Voodoo, Vark, Phantom, Scooter, SLUF etc.  TBH, 1:32 is a fraction too big for many Cold War jets, but we do like standardisation for any collection, otherwise we'd be happy with toy town box scale.
 
Tony
 

Retrospectively, when I'm looking at the picture of that tank with the big German crosses I've the strange feeling it is coming right out of a sixties Sergeant Rock comics book! I'm wondering if this was not the reference used by the Tamiya designer of that era...
 
P.S. I corrected my text as it was obviously sergeant Rock rather than the famous sergeant York!

Hi,
 
Actually the history about Tamiya and the 1/35 scale is a little bit more complex. The Panther A tank most people are refering to is NOT the initial 1/35 Tamiya Panther tank. The original was actually made in 1961 whereas the well-known Panther A model was only made in 1968. Both were very different.
You can see them on scalemates: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/tamiya-1-german-tank-panther--347436 and https://www.scalemates.com/kits/tamiya-mt223-panzerkampfwagen-v-panther--347433
If you think the 1968 one vaguely looked like a Panther, I can tell you the 1961 kit was FAR worse! Simply look at that after a deep breath! Note the "Tiger II" decal probably explains they did not really know what was an actual Panther tank... Not really surprising because the Tamiya models of the sixties were only made from... some pictures! They only started measuring full scale vehicles from the seventies.
 
Moreover, Tamiya 1/35 standardization only arrived at the end of the sixties decade. It even looks they did not create the first 1/35 model but this is not surprising because at that time there were models in close to every scale! During the sixties they also released AFVs in other weird scales such as 1/21, 1/50 or 1/55! It is true they were the first to decide to standardize progressively AFVs models in 1/35 and for whatever reason this was based on approximate measurements of that inital Panther dog. Useless to say that the initial so-called 1/35 Panther tank kit had not the same hull dimensions than the 1968 one that was still inaccurate! The first relatively correct 1/35 Panther tank with regard to hull and turret main dimensions was released by Nichimo in 1974 and... it was also motorized! So the batteries size were not the only reason for the dimension inaccuracies of such sixties models. There were other examples of successive generations of Tamiya 1/35 models of the same AFV that had clearly different dimensions. I think this was just a product of the time as models were intended for children and accuracy was not really a major criterion... This hopefully evolved but that scale stayed. Too bad as this is why we are now struggling between two scales!
 
 

HAHA!! I am just having fun with this, but since you asked....1:35 is more of a bastard scale than any other scale except, perhaps, HO (1:87) because it does not correlate to virtually any other scale. For instance, most popular model scales have equivalents in architectural scale: 
1:12 equates to 1" = 1 foot
1:16 equates to 3/4" = 1 foot
1:24 equates to 1/2" = 1 foot
1:48 equates to 1/4" = 1 foot
1:32 equates to 3/8" = 1 foot
 
If you don't like imperial, then 1:35 doesn't even equate to any engineering or metric scale that I am aware of, so where did it come from?  
 
(Please note, I am just stirring the pot purely for fun! I value everyone's opinions on the subject and say "build what you like and have fun". More power to any company that keeps good kits coming!! Whether these are good kits or not, I cannot say)
 
Tim
 
 

I know it may not matter to many of you, but I lost a good old friend this past weekend, at the age of 100. He was a veteran of the USAAC in WW2, served with the 474th FG, 428th FS, as an assistant crew chief working on P-38 Lightings. He was fantastic human being, and a good friend, and I will miss him. Archie Lee Stuck. He is the reason I love P-38s so much.
 
Tim

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335353767609
 
 
These?  please delete if posting the link is not allowed.
 
McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II
 US Air Force (1947-now)
14 TRW 69-0349 / OZ
1973 - Udorn RTAFB 

Hi Eli.
 
Various 1/32 sets were released but the choice is quite limited. I have a Cutting edge one (it includes Tumbleweed), the Print scale set mentioned hereabove and at least another one but cannot remember which one without checking.
 
HTH
 
Thierry

I would love a set of Vietnam era RF-4C decals even without a decent 1:32 kit to put them on. Though we might get lucky with a Revell repop to convert the Tamiya, or a new creation from Red Pills, down the road a bit.
So 1:48 would be better even though Caracal have done mkgs for Udorn OO code Tumbleweed.
Would be nice to see Budweiser from the same unit, the Towel Rail OZ jets also from Udorn, and a Tan Son Nhut AC coded jet with the big red and white Compass Count self-destruct warning placard (round nose retrofit to six FY 65 jets with slightly larger no.3 station window below the laser recon set).
I don't have photos but there are some people here on LSP who have a few.
 
HTH
 
Tony
 
 
.

Gents,
Are there any markings for this Phantom variant from this era?
Would it be an interesting subject if available?
Thanking you,

Ouch, but nice save. If that had happened to me, I would have binned it and printed another one.....
 
And you're right, most standard SLA resin is pretty tough, but brittle like polycarbonate - when it goes, it just explodes!
 
Tim

Getting closer all the time; today my two bottles of OD 41 showed up. Once I find some medium green 42, I'll be set.
 

Hi guys,
 
Printed SLA resin parts can be very nice but they have a major drawback: they are VERY brittle! So, if you do not handle or package them cautiously, here's what you can get:

 
Ouch! Useless to say this is not a glamorous state...  My single part was a close to twenty parts puzzle!
However, do not dispair, even in such a case! Even in extremely messy situations, it is generally possible to repair things. Indeed, if the printed resin is brittle, it generally breaks in a "clean" way. This means that if you can identify the different pieces and where they should be to rebuild the full part, you can reassemble the broken pieces as a minikit! Simply take your time, only use very thin CA glue and you will be able to recreate a correct part. This asks for time and the part may not be as good as the initial one without sanding, priming and so on... Nonetheless, this may save a modelling project! Here's the result after a short hour of work. I just tried to repair it as a challenge because the producer will send me a replacement part. However, I was amazed at what can be done with some patience! Last, keep in mind I just did a quick sanding of the seams and did not allocate further time to remove the surface blemishes resulting from the repair process!

Hello all,
 
So I am working on the Trumpeter Bf 109G-6(Early) and I have an issue.  The windscreen is about 3mm to narrow and 1mm to low.  When I place it on the fuselage there are huge gaps on each side.  The height is an easy fix, just add styrene strips under it.  But I am not sure on how to fix the width.  Now, if I squeeze the fuselage together I can get it to line up properly.  Up until this point, this kit has assembled very nicely.  Looking for tips to fix this issue.
 
Thanks, Richard

I know it may not matter to many of you, but I lost a good old friend this past weekend, at the age of 100. He was a veteran of the USAAC in WW2, served with the 474th FG, 428th FS, as an assistant crew chief working on P-38 Lightings. He was fantastic human being, and a good friend, and I will miss him. Archie Lee Stuck. He is the reason I love P-38s so much.
 
Tim

*cough*
 
https://www.eduard.com/aircraft-and-helicopters/other/2/?cur=2#nextproducts
 
https://www.eduard.com/aircraft-and-helicopters/other/bf-109g-6-1-35-1.html?cur=2

Hi Ray
My sons gave me a Dragon 1/35 Panther with the two option boxing a while ago. Instead of wasting an entire hull and turret I bought an old Tamiya Panther to use the parts on the extra hull in the Dragon kit. And guess what. The Tamiya parts are visibly larger. After a quick measurement they are closer to 1/32 than 1/35. Actually 1/33 in length. 
I also have a wreck of a 1/25 Tamiya Panther which I hope to rebuild sometime in the future. After the observation with the 1/35th models I decided to measure the 1/25 Panther. And same story. The hull is closer to 1/24 and the turret is 6 mm wide. A bit of cutting and pasting will be required to get the proportions right.
Cheers
Nick

The three main aircraft scales (oh and btw, a helicopter is an aircraft: all helicopters are aircraft but not all aircraft are helicopters) have a direct relationship to each other.
1 inch = 6 feet in 1/72
1 inch = 4 feet in 1/48
1 inch = 2 ft 8 in in 1/32.
Eh? How is that direct?
Multiply by 3, then
3 in = 18 ft in 1/72
3 in = 12 ft in 1/48
3 in = 8 ft in 1/32.
 
It's a ratio of 1:1.5, so any dmension on an LSP is 1.5 times as large as on a 1/48 model.  Rather appeals to my tidy mind.
 
Buy and build 1/35 if you like, it's your modelling pound/dollar/euro/other currencies are available; but 1/35 just isn't for me, I have enough in proper scales to be getting on with (see Shoggz's Stash thread).

1" = 6 feet and 1" = 12 feet.
 
I've still got a feeling that 1/35 was an approximation for a 6' person to be 2" high.
 

Me too, Tim. Working with my brother one time, installing some windows, he asked if I was sure I could read a tape measure. I replied, I can read an architectural scale; 3 sides, 11 total scales, right side up, upside down, left to right and right to left, so you tell me.

You suck, Kev!! I have at least 3...in 10 years.