eoyguy

Do they cost as much as the kit itself? 😅

Would love to see a Flak 88 in 1/16th with some appropriate figs.

Looks like the Gecko kit is the one to go with. Think a kit bash, with leftover DW parts, would be possible, to make mid or later versions from the Gecko kit?

Can you make any comparisons between the DW kit and the Gecko Models version based on this build? https://armorama.com/news/german-7-5cm-pak-40-anti-tank-gun-early-production

I've never seen a late cupola for that kit in 1/25th, but you may be able to get someone to re-scale and print something like this: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/tiger-i-ausf-e-late-turret-hatches-3d-print-set-1-35-1-16 A bit of work is truly being optimistic, but its good to challenge yourself sometimes.

Don't know if they sold well, but thats a fair point I suffer under the hope of seeing a Super Mystere one day. Insert maniacal laughing here...

Yeah, but for a mainstream company to produce a kit of a subject, they need to know there's a market larger than maybe a 100 or so that a conversion might sell. Those HC and CA kits were sold when the model market was much different, and 1/48 scale to boot. I realize that we are getting to the point where the hobby is being supported by smaller number of folks willing to spend more $$$ on their desired subject ,but still, if a company is going to invest in molds and injection molding, they need to sells many of thousands, not a few hundred, to recoup cost. As far as the subject matter, the A-D were limited production and not used in WWII to any great extent after Poland, so how many markings/color scheme choices is the builder going to have? And postwar? I would think that would be even less popular. In a smaller scale and/or perhaps by a limited run company, I can see it working, but large scale mainstream injection molded? I have my doubts.

Yeah...I'll go with the blue pill in this case.

Externally they are all pretty solid. Internally, there are some T-34/85 specific details that aren't right for the earlier versions, but that doesn't matter to me at all, but if you plan on showing one opened up, it would be good to know the differences. There were so many different big and small differences between types, and I mean of the same version, that saying this or that isn't exactly right is a bit foolish. Earlier turrets with later hulls were not uncommon, as they did not stop the production line or set aside parts that were usable. You can go to town and make different versions, I heavily modded the early 42 turret into a Stalingrad turret, and made the changes necessary to the hull, including a new rear plate. I also found a 1943 Uralmash (UTZM) turret meant for RC that makes a nice change as well. I have all four versions, and for the time they were released, and the price, they are, a good value. Having all versions also allows me to change the wheels around as needed, adding the solid wheels to the 85, or all steel wheels to the Stalingrad version. T-34 MYTHICAL WEAPON is probably the best one source ref for the T-34, but I believe its OOP and spendy to find second hand. Like $295 on ebay spendy.

Agreed. I have no dog in the fight, but they looked a bit "Italeri-esq" to me. But those who must have the kit because, reasons, I'm sure will be willing to overlook them.

The American accents for Band of Brothers were pretty good across the board, much better than most American actors do with British accents. Damien Lewis's especially so. Another Brit actor who mastered the American accent is Andrew Lincoln from "The Walking Dead". So much so that on more than one occasion, I have seen comments asking why he was using some "fake" British accent in an interview. To hear him speak in behind the scenes interviews is rather startling, with him in full Rick Grimes attire but an almost different language coming out of his mouth. My wife knows him from "Love Actually", I had no clue...

Im kinda OK with it. I need some tough love/outside force to keep more from buying something that I really have no need for. My hobby room looks like my idea of a great model shop, with kits stacked on the shelves and stuff scattered everywhere. If I built one kit a month(not gonna happen) I would still need an extra lifetime to make a dent, and that's not including the literally HUNDREDS of scale figures I have tucked away, awaiting the brush. Though I did just buy a 1/16 Sherman kit from France....guh!

The wife and I watch a lot of "Escape to the Country" and over time, we have come to pick up on a few of the more distinct British Dialects. Those from Yorkshire stand out to me, as do the more posh accents from around London, and the less posh from east London. We can also differentiate between a Canadian accent and American accent when they are on the show. Honestly, both make me cringe a bit compared to the generally more pleasant English accent. Hearing the boys from Oasis speak makes my ears bleed as well. As I understand it, the dialects from Manchester are frequently voted as the worst in the UK. They always make me think of that scene from the movie "National Lampoons European Vacation" when Chevy Chase whips out the translation computer and his son says "dad, he's speaking English" when the hotel clerk is talking to him, in what might have been a cockney accent. Here in the US, its pretty easy to differentiate between British, Irish and Scottish accents, though the different dialects, not so much. In the US, I can hear someone speak from different parts of the country, especially the south , and figure out pretty quickly if they are from the south east like the Carolinas or Georgia, the deeper south like Mississippi or Alabama, Texas or Louisiana (some very unique accents there, some sound almost like New York). New England/Boston, New York and New Jersey are pretty distinctive as well. One of the funniest things I ever heard is the pronunciation of "about" in parts of Virginia sounding like a very Canadian "aboot". It really threw me off when I first moved there, I wondered why all these Canadian lived in Richmond. To hear "Z" called "zed" is very foreign to us. In 3rd grade I had a teacher discuss the very word "route" compared to "root", and that depending where you are from, they are interchangeable...when referring to a road. Not the parts of a tree. "Creek" is another one. Many places here, its a "crick". One thing that fascinates me is the British English dialect where a G at the end of a sentence is pronounced as you would a K, known as G dropping. "Somethin(k)", "nothin(k) and the hard G and the end of "thinking". Also, I think its the south English/cockney dialect where they pronounce "Th" as "F" or "V" as in "Free hundred" or "faver" instead of three hundred and father. Hearing someone say "three thousand, three hundred and thirty three" with that accent cracks me up. Your wife isn't the only one that has trouble with the Scottish accent. We frequently repeat that "he's speaking English" quote when we hear the thick accent from that area. Just recently I ran across 2 Aussies on Youtube that do reaction vids, and I couldn't place the accent. I had never heard Aussie where a word like "No" was pronounced as "Naur" I couldn't wrap my head around it, so I watched a couple of YT vids that explained that Aussie dialect. I still find it very strange.The guy goes by the name "Spartan", and for a time, I thought he was saying "Spider"...

Knowing little about Phantoms, was the later/longer gun installed on F-4's before they gained leading edge slates? Since all the Phantoms from Tamiya are hard wing, this would be a consideration.

Many years ago, now, we were were doing a lot of 'what if' aircraft profiles over on ARC. I did a few myself, and one was of a Tunnan marked as a Luftwaffe aircraft. Were I to do one of these, it would definitely be a Luft 46 in this scheme:

F-5Em of Brazil, new cockpit/seat (MB MK10LF),MFD IP, refueling probe and option for the vertical fin extension. And Derby missiles. That I would buy!

Message sent

Israel used the M4A1 HVSS straight up as the M1 and then heavily modded as the M51. I see them doing that version as more of a "we have the parts to do it" as they already did the HVSS M4A3, and are releasing the M4A1 76 VVSS. Its just a matter of some parts from each kit put in a different box.

What would you want for the Iraqi set from Linden? Thanks

And I Love Kit M4a1E8 and M4a1 (76mm)W. Plus Gecko just released a MK I version of their Universal Carrier and they are also releasing an early version of the Pak 40

Message sent, thanks

Yeah, looking at the available pics of that sheet, I think they would work, but its hard to tell. Guess I can put out some feelers in the buy/sell and see if anyone has it. Thanks!

I'm interested in doing a Jordanian Hunter from 1967, and was wondering if 1) there have ever been decals for Jordanian Hunters in 1/32 and 2) if no, are there ANY Jordanian roundels out there that would be appropriate? I would really like to do this one:

I hope the box art isn't an accurate representation, the VVSS Shermans didn't have the mantlet cover. A small detail thats easy to correct/ignore, but not a great indicator. I also hope they include the ability to do the barrel without the muzzle brake and just the thread protector. I will forever hope for a Japanese Type 95 in 1/16, but I know the popularity of Japanese armor is right there with a prostate exam, so...

Its pretty much in everything we eat, in the water, etc... My wife is all about natural foods, living longer and that kind of stuff, and she replaced all of our plastic "Tupperware" with glass, since apparently heating up food, storing food or eating from plastic anything is a source for it. I'm a bit fatalistic about it as well. I kind of figure at this point in my life, considering my exposure through food, water, hobby, breathing, that I probably have about an LSP's worth, at least, in the cracks and crevices. I have inhaled everything from styrene to resin while not wearing a mask (not to mention my parents second hand smoke well into my teens) but the "it won't happen to me" mindset has prevailed. With everything in our environment these days, and about a 50 percent chance of developing some form of cancer, who can say what will and won't necessarily be the cause of out demise? If I have turned my brain to tossed salad through modeling, well at least its been something I have enjoyed doing, and hopefully I have a few good years left before something really terrible hits. There is one absolute, and its that we don't get out of life alive, but hopefully, somewhat compos mentis. Though with the way I buy kits but not build anything, it may already be too late..!