cbk57

I am starting the Tamiya 1/32 F-15E, a big part of the inspiration for this were the Kopecky scale madels detail parts especially the cockpit which is my favorite area to work with. So I of course am starting there, i have the full cockpit upgrade sets, then will be ordering more upgrades as I go. We all know about the beautiful quinta stuff and so on, so can I make something better than a 3d print, I doubt it but let's see. So I have the Kopecky parts, labels from Anyz, some rivet lines from archer for the cockpit sides, Airscale instruments. My plane will be one of the Sadam Hunters from Speed Hunter Graphics, so 2nd Gulf War. I found a bomb load out and saved that so I will have a historically correct load out. Will use reskin exhaust, aftermarket ordinance. I don't plan to do seamless intakes, going to make an effort to get the kit parts looking half descent but really you have to work hard to look up the exhaust inlets and I just don't think it visible enough to worry about. I may detail the wheel bays with the Kopecky set, I ordered, may use some or all of it will decide that once I have the parts. I found my ejection seats were missing along with landing gear and screw bags, I ordered the landing gear from a reseller, but am getting the seats fro mine of our fellow members. Kitsworld makes the 3d belts for these seats so I am going that route, might add some upgrades to the seats once I see them. I have been saving every dirty F-15E photo I can find, this plane will be a bit rough and abused when I am done with it, If you have seen the youtube F-15 walk around video, I think at Lakenheath in England, those my planes look perfect, mine will not look perfect. So here is the obligatory picture of the box:

I did that very thing, pointing out to them that Tamiya has a history of doing partnerships with Italeri and Ebbro, as such perhaps Tamiya would let them use the existing R-2800 for planes using that engine and save them some engineering and tooling. Some of you may not be aware but Tamiya has supplied Engine and other parts for Ebbro's line of 1/20 formula one cars. They shared most the parts for the Lotus 29(might be slight off, successor to 25 by Ebbro) and have supplied Ford DFVs and transaxles for Ebbro kits.

They also make an excellent alternative in style to Kotare. Where would we be without contrast, If Kotare does do the G6 series as you would expect there will be two exceptional options that feature different build styles, both of equal merrit and quality.

Kotare could really have a long list of great subjects, I would only rule out the kits that Tamiya has tooled in 1/32, otherwise, for my part every significant prop of WWII is wide open and I am interested. Kotare design style of simplified parts, elimination of panel lines, lend itself to everything as far as I am concerned. Unless a kit is done the Tamiya way with removable micro thin panels, I want it all closed up permanently as most of the time I want my build clean like it is ready to fly. Also I just don:t want every kit to take me a year to build. So I would be perfectly happy if they did them all Mustangs, Wildcats, Hurricanes, Hellcats, 190s, all the 109 series and so on. I would be perfectly happy if they took the most important WWII fighters and just started going down the list. I have a lot of personal fault in this regard, I am interested in the Combat planes of WWII and after, I am not interested in planes as a whole that did not have a significant story. I am I not into unusual aircraft or esoteric ones, I respect that people are. Lots of people will want the Curtiss Jenny that Lemkits is doing, for me no interest whatsoever. I know it was important as a trainer but just don:t care. However I respect Lemkits for offering this to the people that badly want it and am happy for those that do as especially in aviation there is a huge segment of modelers that want the unusual. I just hope Kotare does not go there the way WNW did, but that is just speaking for myself. I feel very much the HPH, Lemkits and companies like that are out there to serve the specialty and unique market and that is their best place to operate.

What I don:t like about 1/32 Hasegawas is the 109 and 190 series were more akin to 1/48 kits so far as overall detail and parts layout goes.

I kind of disagree and agree at the same time. My expectation was they would do a main stream subject that would sell. The 109 series makes perfect sense to me in that regard, I thought though the Spitfire MKI though would be balanced against a BOB 109E. The K was a huge surprise to me, unfortunately we know anything German sells. There is also a general and in my opinion over wrought fascination with the K as the ultimate 109. I wish it were something else personally however I will buy one. I also expect this is the beginning of a series and we will see a lot of 109 variants come from Kotare. We will actually see alingning gear and wheel alignments that makes sense and fit well, as well as align well, they will eliminate fussy and unneeded panel lines. The cockpit detail will be outstanding. Personally I have never built a K so will get one, however I will look foreword to the more popular versions like the G series and will get one of those. It makes sense to go here as Zouke just released the G boxing which has parts for a ton of variants but a lot more parts as a whole, so this will be a simple build and a great alternative to Zoukei style. This line of kits should ensure that Kotare can build some momentum and maybe someday they will do some of the different kits people want and take some risks. But early on I thought they should take zero risk. Dumb production policies and subject matter choices were a factor in killing WNW, I do not want to see that again.

I will have to buy one of these just on principle, not my first choice but i was hopping for a 109 series, I just thought it was a given they would do the E series. I will buy one of these though to support them. Probably will preorder and buy direct. It also helps I have never built a K

I just plan to enjoy it and not get caught up in the details. This is entertainment not a documentary, for documentary there is Gregs airplanes and automobiles and the guy that does detail break downs on B-17 and similar bombers on youtube. We can obsess about the details all we want but that is not the point of this series. Will there be things wrong yes, terribly wrong almost certainly. Will people bang on all the mistakes and why it is unwatchable of course. I will be ignoring every one of them and just watching the series for the fun of it. If I want dull dry and accurate, I know where to find that.

It is impossible for me to answer that question, I vaugly remember the first model I think at around age 5, I am now 53. I built kits on a weekly basis in my childhood, just glued them together. Later I started painting them in my early teens. Unlike some thought I never had a stoped. Even when I went away to law school, I set up a tool box, when I was home I would do the big stuff requiring airbrushing, but then i would take a car kit, some tools and work on a model for a while on the weekends. I did not stop when I got married or we had our only child. In fact the first thing I did when my son was born was purchase a 1977 boxing of the Revell Viking ship and built it for his room. I slowed down sometimes i have only finished one or two kits in a year. However, I have never stopped. I do not think I have went 12 months without working on a model since the first one. The category of model changed over the years, my first modeling love was ships, I build most of the warship kits that were available whether tall masted or modern. I probably built half a dozen each of the small Revell Constiution series and the small Missouri class series at the minimum. Then i moved on to planes and tnaks but not knowing any better was frustrated with the fusilage seems, barrel seems and terrible tracks. So I moved on to race cars which is when I got more into learning airbrushing. Then I had some basic skills and focused mainly on military planes and tanks. I came to LSP with my acquisition of the Tamiya Spitifire and the birth of WNW. I remember when the Spitfire came out, I thought so what, I knew nothing of the Mk IX, it was not that interesting to me. Then I got a cannot turn it down deal on the kit and the quality blew me away along with the build experience. I had been a long time Tamiya fan but not that into their planes as it was not that big of a thing for them until more recent years. Since that time I have been very active in this group although my focus on LSP comes and goes.

That is the way to role, if we buy responsibly, this is an absurdly cheap hobby, it is the overbuying and hoarding when it gets expensive. I don:t know what the most absurd price is on a Jetmads Viggen, but let’s say you bought that and spent the quality time building it, then so what. The enjoyment of that build if your thing would be worth every penny, and cheaper than most other hobbies. Say you wanted to restore an old Mazda Miata these can be cheap by car standards, but a good starting point on a 1990 Miata is probably 4,000 plus t and then you start spending from there. You could spend 500 or more on a Jet Mads kit and still be money way ahead over ones favorite piece of machinery to build up, Car, Motorcycle, whatever. I only name Jet Mads as I know they are expensive.

Then don:t buy the kit, very simple. It is a cheap hobby, if you are smart about it expensive kits relativly speaking are cheap. I have more kits than I can build in a reasonable period of time, however I sill have only about 20 kits on hand. I choose to not buy a lot of kits and purchased a Jetmads kit because a deal was available, I realized it was just sitting and moved it on to someone else. I love the WNW DV, wish i had one on hand kind of however, I don:t, I have lots of models to build, no bid deal. If i really did want to make it a priority to buy one and build it I would spend the money and sell a kit or two to reduce the cost. Again no big deal, they are out there and available to buy. Also as prices will go up, either someone will produce one in 1/32 or somehow WNW will bring them back into production someday.

The word “relative” is an allowance for any particular exceptions one might come up with. But take the Albatros DV the rule still holds, it is better to buy one when it is available even at a high price and build it. So what if it’s $250.00 if you are going to build it. If I wanted to build a DV, personally I would buy one and build it. If you are going to stick it on a shelf and leave it in the box might be a waste of money. Most model kits are available however there are exceptions that are expensive and rare, all things are that way. Most of us want a watch, a few people want a Rolex and those are expensive. However there are plenty of watches.

Cost of kits Kotare or otherwise. If a kit costs more but delivers a great build, I am okay with that, kits have come a long way since the 1980s. Ignoring inflation compare a 1/32 kit from 1975 to a kit tooled today. The level of detail is normally a mile beyond what was done back then. I don:t mind paying for that, I would buy a MacBook over a RadioShack model 2000 Computer from 1980 also. What I find appaling really is that those old kits are sold at modern prices. Someone tries to buy a model at the craft store and a 50 year old kit is $30.00 and should be $15.00. Hobby lobby sales a fair number of really old kits and although they discount, their retail is modern prices for old kits. Kind of lick paying the same price for a new Mac as a 50 year old pc. Imagine if you could still buy brand new computers using 50 year old technology but inflation added. I think modeling a cheap hobby as long as you don:t hoard. A person that wants to build the Border Lancaster could focus on that model for 2 years at at $600.00 you can:t get cable for three months for that price in the U.S. When I cut cable, my basic package was over $200.00 per month. Models are cheap as long as you actually build what you buy as you buy them. Think of it in 1/32 if you only bought a model when you finished the last one, your hobby would only cost you two or three hundred dollars per year for most of us. I would submit that most model kits you can get whenever you want even if worst case you have to pay full retail. As such Ebay is the ultimate stash, you don:t have to own the kit but can get it whenever you want. However take a Tamiya Mosquito, it is a better economic decision for me to pay $250.00 for the kit when I am actually going to build it, than it is to pay $150.00 stick on a a shelf and never build it. I can buy a Mosquito any day I want typically on ebay so why store one on my shelf? Now there are exceptions to this rule, for example, if you are a fan of Jet Mads kits, you have to buy those when they are announced as a rule. But most injection molded kits relativly speaking are in unlimited supply. Even if you pay up for a kit that has gone out of production, if you are going to build it, what is the problem?

The Mustang does not tempt me as the.Tamiya kit is such a nice build, however, the 109 does especially with Airscale dropping such nice parts for it. If some more cockpit parts show up from Airscale I might do a 109E.

I look at some of those stashes and feel a little better of my own. Mostly I do not keep multiples on hand. In any event, I look foreword to anything Kotare releases as even if I do not like what they release I will still look over every detail of the manual. I suspect though whatever their new kit, chances are better than average they will tool something I will buy. At some point I am going to grab an early kit and probably the early mid release with the figure.

Do you buy every model you like? I know said in fun, same spirit. If I buy 5 models per year, I probably see 50 I want. It hurts the matter that I like so many different things and so I always run the risk of chasing modeling squirrels. I am into Planes, tanks, cars, and the occasional Star Wars kit. My son wanted the Mandelorian Razor crest and I did a one day finish job on that New Year’s Day. He spent an hour building it. I did the paint work on it in another hour or so.

I build the following scales 1/32, 1/35, 1/144, 1/72, 1/48, 1/20, 1/12 and 1/16. As such 1/35 planes do not worry me. I have looked at the discussion and arguments above, I am questioning how much this 1/35 vs 1/32 is an Asian market thing vs a quark of Border Model. Gundam is hands down king of the Asian market. I really think that large format models is more likely a thing in the West. It is not just a money question but a space question to devote to storage as well as build. I am speaking beyond planes here, from big trainers, to big tanks, big airplanes or whatever, even big RC kits. Big expensive models require space, resources and time which often may not be so readily available in the Asian market. Gundam is typically more virticle a perfect grade box is still small er than most LSP boxes. As such stores better and displays better in the normal small space. On a side note I have been visiting the local Kreisler’s Hobbytown in Harrisburg Pa, the primary plastic model they sell now is Gundam which take up more than half the plastic model shelf space. Also comprise the most expensive plastic kits they carry. I would say they had over 50 different Gundam kits and quite a few perfect grade kits selling for $200 to $300. Interestingly by contrast when I go to Hobby Express in Cranberry Pa they have a vast selection of traditional kits such as planes, tanks, ships, cars and a small selection of Gundam, Sci Fi and so on. They normally have a significant selection of 1/32 planes, 1/200 ships and other huge plastic kits as well. They also have massive selection of RC, train and collector die cast type kits. HObby Express is the biggest hobby shop i have seen anywhere in my life. In the end the market will tell if there is a market for 1/35 planes. I like this HE-111 release a lot but still may not buy one. I like a lot of models that I do not buy.

I thought these were designed for the old 21st century toys releases. In addition to the 1/32 kits there was a line of 1/18 kits at the time that I saw here and there. Anyway a number of the 1/18 kit releases have seemed very toy like not just this one.

I have to think this over, I checked my orders, I ordered a lot more crap than I realized. I had 10 orders the smaller being $40, the highest $89 most close to 75 but under. Basically I ordered the vast majority of my paint and supplies through them last year.

Great post and great point regarding the Asian market. I don:t really give a whit as to 1/35 or 1/32 as I am not a constant theme or scale builder anyway. I only disagree with one point, I am not sure this is the end of 1/32. While Border is leading, we have not seen much yet from anyone else and we are seeing new 1/32 kits come out steadily. Are ZM and Kotare going to change their scale of choice because of what Border is doing? I doubt it but we will see. I suspect we will have a schism, some 1/32 and some 1/35 but I am not sure we will see much change unless something really pushes them in the numbers game. Right now the real players in 1/32 seem to be HK, ZM and coming along Kotare, everyone else does a 1/32 here and there. I don:t see Tamiya if they do another LSP switching to 1/35. I would also take note soon we will have two LSP Kate’s one in 1/35 and one in 1/32. However my first impression is that the 1/35 kit will be overall the superior kit from a build standpoint. So for me I would get the kit the builds the best and ignore scale. Once I see reviews and build issues if I buy one then I will decide. The HE 111 cad looks amazing, makes me want one, but will I buy, probably not, I am kind of avoiding twin engine and bigger LSPs. Is it an absolute, no, if I get the urge to buy I will but I do find myself wanting that plane. A strength of the HE 111 is that big glass front with lots of visible detail. Makes all the work worthwhile.

Did you get an email offering the VIP program for $120.00. Is it too much? I spend a fair amount through Sprue Brothers but I am thinking it a bit much for me but am going to have to take a hard look at my orders over a year period. I would be in for sure at $60.00 but I probably only place about 4 orders per year.

Another note, a HK models B-17 has a 39inch wingspan and 30 inch length according to a quick web search so actually quite a lot more surface area than this model. I think some of these big models are absurd but there are plenty of folks on this forum that love them so this one is really not outrageous for people willing to commit the space. What is surprising is how many people are willing to buy these super kits whether it be a 1/200 Battleship, a 1/16 Tank or 1/32(1/35 in this case) uber kits. Let's not forget the 1/48 Trumpeter Type VIIC.

If you build this on a couple pieces of wood, I would think you could leave the Island split from most of the flight deck, and as such add it all together if you want or spit up the display into two pieces. Maybe you could make the total flight deck area at the minimum size to just support one plane and the island. I am thinking this is almost 4 square feet which is a lot of area for most people displaying a model but I bet there are creative things you can do with this to make it work better when you want to break it down.

My guess is this kit is not a hot seller. Keep in mind, I think you could get it 25% off at Thanksgiving through Sprue Brothers and it has been on lightning deal more on at least one other occasion in the last 6 months. While a staggeringly good kit and interesting, it is none the less 4 to 5 times the average selling price of a 1/32 kit. It is also about 4 to 5 times the size and complexity of a typical 1/32 kit. I am glad Border made this and released it, the modeling world is a better place with it than without. However, once these finally do sell out we probably are not going to see another shot at this for many years. So if you want one, you better get it as eventually you will only be able to grab them on places like ebay. Eventually the prices will start going up on them.

Well you could use it on the Revell MkIX kits. I personally would not attempt to use that stuff on a Kotare Mk I as someone has developed a 3d printed engine which is more detailed and better designed for that kit. Might be able to adapt them to certain Mosquito variants. I suspect on the whole though there is generally a better alternative than attempting to reuse the Tamiya parts. I suspect a better answer would be to build the engine as a stand alone display piece vs adapting it to a kit.