haveblue

Today was a good day! $59.30 after cashing in my points!

@edfifer USA isn’t home , it’s actually Australia ...best I can see for the skyraider or HS129 at home is $250 plus $20 shipping, and the HE219 is $330 plus $10 shipping. Save myself about $80-$100 per kit, so I might as well get on it!

@Neo Thanks...got a busy period right now packing an apartment into a container Re the F-16...it seems to be the popular choice! I'll be picking this one up for sure

@Troy Molitor I'm about to leave Tokyo, thanks for the wishes....can't see any career being a pilot at home either. Almost all of my friends there are unemployed, or have been furloughed for years. There are going to be HUGE safety issues in aviation coming out the other side of this...but that's another discussion.

Thanks Chuck, your thoughts are appreciated! LSP as a group have always been helpful, one of my first interactions here was buying an impossible to find decal sheet. A member here was willing to send it internationally to stranger...I still haven't seen that sheet anywhere since then, so I got very lucky on that one! It's nice to be a part of a positive group

I've actually wondered if I should buy a few extra kits to resell on ebay or something when I get back. For example I can buy the Hs129 kit for around $180, and that kit at home sells for around $270. As for having stuff on the shelf, especially re the ZM stuff it has been wonderful...everything is on the shelf, kits, all the brass ZM extras, ZM decals, ZM resin figures and even the reference books! I'm really going to miss having that luxury.

Wow didn't realise the F-14 and F-4 were quite that old!

Cheers! Luckily the Skyraider kits they have here both include the weapons accessories!

Thanks for the reply F16 is a favourite, but I have always loved the big cat...but I heard the F14 kit is a bit dated.

Thanks Rog, already have a Spitfire, Mustang, Corsair and Mosquito! Generally go for one type of each aircraft, but I was looking at the new Korean P-51. HS129 is high on the list so far, cheers.

I've been working and living in Japan for the last 5 years as an airline pilot, in that time I've enjoyed having access to great modelling kits and extras.. Job is no more for obvious reasons...been extremely difficult watching a 25 year career turn to shadows and dust. Returning to my home country in the very near future, and with that there will be a shipping container. So I've decided to roll the dice one last time and get a couple of kits before I depart as they are substantially cheaper than buying them at home. The great news is I can get one of the following for around $60 (I've got points I need to cash in at a store I frequented): Tamiya 1/32 F-16 CJ F-14 F-4 A6M5 Zero I also plan on getting a 1/32 ZM Kit from a different store but I'm torn between 2: HS129 AH1 Skyraider Ok...maybe 3 ...distant 3rd is the HE219 If you had to pick one Tamiya Kit and one ZM kit what would you choose?

Yes that’s correct, Korean War version. They had a couple of kits at the front of the store, I knew it was coming but I thought the current situation may have delayed it’s actual arrival in store.

Haven't been keeping up with release dates, so if it's been covered already please delete the thread. Saw at the Tamiya store in Tokyo today that new 1:32 F51D was sitting front and center....cost is 14200 yen with tax (around $135 USD, $190 AUD).

Ok for interest, I went to my local Tokyo stores. Zero TA152’s ...but a couple of 1/32 Horton Wings if anyone’s interested.

Fenous....I live in Tokyo. There’s a couple of stores near me that stock ZM kits, I’ll have a look next week for you if I get a chance. Cheers. HB

Not going to happen my friend! It’s the Japanese way ...you’ve heard of KISS (keep it simple stupid)? The Japanese have KIDS (keep it difficult stupid!)

I never touched the inside of the canopy at all, and I didn't tape it with anything either, cheers.

Canopy originally had a seam on it, so I was happy how it turned out

Ok I'm not familiar with the Novus brand, but that doesn't mean much at all because I'm a complete novice at this stuff! But what I have found is that polishing at 90 with progressively finer grades can help remove the fine embedded scratches, I also do this when I sand the primer/paint on a model. Also, I use the Tamiya polishing compounds and have found them to be excellent, along with their gloss varnish to finish/protect the canopy, and it worked quite well for me. From memory I think I even used a circular motion with progressively finer compound pastes and it wasn't an issue (used the Tamiya polishing clothes as well) For clarification I just put a dab of the compound straight on the canopy then polish until the compound has disappeared. Then I'll move to the next fine grade etc etc...so it's all "wet" polishing. I used to use micro mesh with progressively finer grades (3200 -12000 etc) but now I just use the Tamiya paste in progressively finer grades What I can't tell you is how the gloss varnish will react to CA glue, haven't tried that as I use white glue to attach my canopies.

Me too...thats actually why I polish canopies now!

What polishing compound are you using? And when you polishing do you change the direction in which you polish by 90 degrees each time? Ie 3200 grit along the canopy lengthwise then 12000 grit 90 degrees to the 3200...

Without introducing thread drift... I’ve lived in Japan for the last 3 years. They aren’t taught their history in school, they bury it or retell it differently to how it actually happened (eg they teach they were liberating China from incoming allies not invading China ). A lot of Japanese wouldn’t even know what a B29 is or what it’s bombed. I’ve worked with people here that looked utterly shocked and confused when I mention the Japanese occupation of Singapore etc. As mentioned previously if there’s a yen to be made they’ll make it. (Lots of mustangs and cosairs out there) Also as previously mentioned...yeah there’s no where to hang that monster in a standard 20-30 sq metre apartment

Yes it looks like the release date is December 22nd 13000 yen which is $115 USD, $160 AUD Have a great Xmas everyone, hope you find one of these under your tree

Correct, definitely 1:72....trust me I scouted that show looking for 1:32 items!