Dennis7423

I can say for me, Vac-form canopies is what keeps me away from several subjects. I've tried many times, but just can't seem to master the process. I'm sure I'm not alone, unfortunately. It keeps my away from many kits that I would otherwise love to have and build some day. That's the only thing keeping my away from Lukgraph's Dragon Rapide. But, if we could 3D print clear canopies... think of the possibilities! Those 1/32 B-24 turrets would be a breeze. Maybe some day I'll get better at vac-form stuff, but it hasn't happened yet. - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

I think the missing link with 3D printing is going to be clear transparencies. Once those are accomplished, the sky's the limit! Or, someone has already accomplished this and I have been under a rock. - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

All- I was reflecting this morning while perusing my WnW USAS Camel kit, and realized what a true loss we have suffered for us LSP WWI builders. What hit me is that we've lost a business that truly put research into new WWI kits, and pumped them out on a pretty regular basis. While Meng did release their Dr.1, the kit was basically "ready for print" and I presume that's why they picked it up. I don't imagine Meng is going to research and develop any further WWI subjects in 1/32... we may see them release other former WnW kits (if they bought up the molds), but likely nothing new.

Thanks Rigor! I'd be curious to know where it ends up. I'm sure my co-worker's Dad would be curious, too. - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

Sprue shots from ICM's Facebook page: 119022255_1438928826300051_789772841268278465_o by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr 119001739_1438928839633383_6657460585718895959_o by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr 118982746_1438928832966717_4327940767539703263_o by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr 118982347_1438928909633376_3408217547636326212_o by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr 119038870_1438928916300042_488222909586962980_o by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr 118993783_1438928942966706_3131845084490450964_o by Dennis SAuter, on Flickr 118936812_14389289

Okay, I gotta throw a few more in here: P-6 Hawk P-26 Peashooter Curtiss F11C-2/BFC-2/1 Goshawk And a fun civilian bird? Make us a De havilland Otter! - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

As the Beatles once said, "You may say, I'm a dreamer... but I'm not the only one." With ICM absolutely crushing the 1/32 market right now, it's got me dreaming about kits I'd like them to produce. And, they recently did a poll on their Facebook page, asking their fans what they would like to see. I like that they give a rats rear end about the stuff we want to see in kit form. Here's a few I'd love to see from them (and they just might be watching): - Lagg-3 series - Curtiss Jenny - PT-19/PT-22 - Hawker Hurricane series - Hawker Fury Wha

Looking forward to the update! Thanks Ali :-) - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

Ray, you are correct. The L was a long-tailed F model with the Merlin. The M was a long-tailed E with an Allison engine. The N was a long tailed Allison bird with the revised fuselage rear window (aside from very, very early N's). These are the basic differences between the later variants, no accounting for the fine-print details. - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

All- Received mine yesterday, and it's a real beauty! Because of Meng's harder plastic, the details (I especially saw this on the injection-molded machine gun cooling jackets) just might be crisper than WnW's was offering. Looks great in the box, and I presume it will build up nicely. I do find the markings a bit lacking, however. I will peruse elsewhere for something different. Buy one without hesitation if you have any interest in this bird! - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

Just saw a fella over on Facebook that got the Resin2Detail engines "not" intended for this kit. They fit like a glove (no mods needed), and they look fantastic, even if they aren't the exact right type of R-2800 for the A-26. I just might spring for them at $40 a piece. - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

Ali- I was curious, any updates on these suckers? - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

This is one of my all-time favorite threads on LSP. So much good information coming about! And who says our hobby is boring... - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

I can second the observation about the fragile cockpit on the ICM kit... my Hannants order arrived last night, and upon opening the box this morning, all the cockpit frames were broken in at least one place. Easy enough to fix though! Really is a very nice kit, and I look forward to building it. Hoping for some additional decal options, which are no doubt headed our way in the near future. - Dennis S. Thornton, CO USA

It appears there is lots of aftermarket coming available for this kit.. some of it will correct kit errors (Eduard cockpit set for example, properly converts it into a single-seat cockpit), but we're always going to have those shape issues with the fuselage and canopy. Hoping new cowlings come about, and proper engines (since Resin2Detail missed out and produced the wrong 2800's for the A-26). At the end of the day, one just might be able to make it presentable. I, for one, and planning to do some slight conversions to it to make it into a proper A-26B (reconfigure the nose gun placements, mol