nmayhew Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 31 minutes ago, LSP_K2 said: It seems that I may have asked this before, but how would you describe a "proper" review? for me, a peek in the box adds little value when it masquerades as a review one or both of test-fit / test-build and assessment of accuracy is what i would class a proper review as a former reviewer i can see why few are done these days - they are a huge drain on time i actually find threads where new kits are sometimes torn apart quite useful, because that is often where SMEs contribute mozart, Basta, Rick Griewski and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 OK, thanks. Not likely I'll ever do one of those then, as even an OOB "look-see" review can take me some serious time, depending on the complexity of the kit itself. I seem to recall that it took the better part of two days each to review the Airfix 1:24 Hawker Typhoon and Tamiya 1:32 Mosquito, and that was with no cutting of parts or assembly at all, which would have taken considerably longer. I also posted a Q&A session here regarding reviews in general, and most seemed quite happy with OOB reviews that were photo heavy, as mine typically are, a conversation that was prompted by a discussion I had with Scott Van Aken last September, wherein he and I had distinctly differing points of view as to what constitutes a good review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 The perfect review is close to impossible to do as this should cover too many very heterogeneous desires and interests: complexity, ease of assembly, quality/cost ratio, part surface treatment, sprue gate type and location on part, use of multimedia material, accuracy of versions and schemes, scale accuracy, quality of plastic and decals, casting quality, quality of packaging, quality of instructions, number of options, release variations, need to have documentation and easiness to find it, etc. with dozens of pictures to show everything! Ouch! LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Griewski Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I feel alone sometimes. I just need the data on the kit. Give me the skinny as was said in the older days. Photos show a lot. Shoot all the categories. I can see features, assembly break down, texture, sprue gates, flash and resin casting quality etc. Minimal judgements please. I care little for topics and opinion related to market appeal or relative comparison to rivals. The review should not be a sales team review. Please do not talk about kits the manufacturer could have produced. I care little if more variants maybe/could be produced later and so is a good investment for the market. Is the kit I am looking at correct? Warn me of warped wings, inaccurate areas or challenging fit so I can decide if I want to deal with it. Finally snip some parts and assemble a few areas that to the reviewer look challenging or are well done/impressive. The perfect review comes up when I open the box. I just need data to convince me to take the risk with my $156 bucks. scvrobeson, LSP_K2 and Basta 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thierry laurent Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I understand your point but the main problem is time. To give you one example, without any single picture, a tweak list is asking globally for close to one week of work to be finalized! If you add an absolute minimum of one day to take pictures plus time to format them with the text, you get the picture! I'm sure we do not see commonly exhaustive reviews for that single reason. LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony T Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 I wasn't knocking the review process on LSP, far from it. We say thanks with genuine gratitude for the detail pics — which allows us to assess the kit visually — and people are at liberty to make constructive criticisms of the kit. On one other site the reviews are really just a shop window and moderators start axing posts or giving out "holidays" if they don't like the members' feedback; it seems they exist to serve the manufacturer and not the modeller. Ultimately, the pictorial review with any obvious pluses and minuses is what we need. SME can chime in then we start looking for solutions, if necessary. Members' in-progress builds are really useful for highlighting any issues and, after the kit's been out for a while, the tweak list can take shape. It works very well on LSP. I wouldn't change that process: review, in-progress and tweak list. Tony LSP_K2 and Rick Griewski 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Williams Posted August 29, 2020 Author Share Posted August 29, 2020 If people expect a certain type of review and they aren’t being met by reviewers, then my advise would be to write the reviews yourself. On many sites, reviews are done by members, for free, and with things they bought with their own money. It doesn’t seem right to criticize reviewers or sites when people take the time to write something up, even if it isn’t as expansive as some people would like. If the only allowed reviews were full build reviews by a SME on the subject, there would be a lot less available information out there on the net. Rick Griewski 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 Price confirmation and release date, of course it's free postage in the UK, being over £100, I hope there's comprehensive details of what's included in the box and the quality, prior to release. LSP_K2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted August 29, 2020 Share Posted August 29, 2020 3 hours ago, Dave Williams said: If people expect a certain type of review and they aren’t being met by reviewers, then my advise would be to write the reviews yourself. On many sites, reviews are done by members, for free, and with things they bought with their own money. It doesn’t seem right to criticize reviewers or sites when people take the time to write something up, even if it isn’t as expansive as some people would like. If the only allowed reviews were full build reviews by a SME on the subject, there would be a lot less available information out there on the net. I agree wholeheartedly, Dave, yet when it gets right down to it, so few seem to actually be willing to "step up to the plate" regarding reviewing things, kits themselves probably being the most popular. I have written gobs of reviews for LSP of items that I have purchased myself, and while I have gotten the occasional review kit through my association with LSP (something many consider as "free" kits), to my way of thinking there's nothing free about it, not when it takes me several days of photo taking, photo rejection, then more photo taking, followed by organizing my thoughts, observations and comments into what I hope will be a reasonably seamless integration into the database format we use, so that it's clear, readable, and also delivers an accurate depiction of the kit particulars, including instructions and decals, plus any resin, P.E. or metal parts that may be included. Rick Griewski 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotsman Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Just Pre-ordered from the big H , and through gritted teeth my wife has decided that this is my Xmas present , so don't look for a review good or bad from me much before the 26th of Dec! Stevepd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael931080 Posted August 30, 2020 Share Posted August 30, 2020 Sorry, but count me out after I see the price conversion of over $200.00! I think I will still keep my older kit and its resin bits to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Griewski Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 I will challenge my LHS to get a good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timvkampen Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) On 6/12/2020 at 5:48 AM, Dave Williams said: https://www.themodellingnews.com/2020/06/preview-part-iv-italeris-new-32nd-scale.html Hopefully the production kits don’t have the sink marks across the flaps and on the tail fin. For better or worse, the panel lines and plastic seem similar to the F-104 kits. I think the panel lines look inferior to the new tool Revell kit, although it looks like Italeri is using multiple parts to build up fuselage, which should avoid the areas of the Revell kit lacking detail because they were at 90 degrees to the mold. I agree with youDave. The panel lines and plastic seem eerily the same quality as the 104. This means rescribing the whole lot. There is a good tutorial on LSP by an F-8 builder, but I am dreading the 104-exercise which I recently started. Painstakingly slow as I do not want to screw up the kit...The Tonka will need the same treatment I am afraid. That said, still great to see a new tool Tornado. This is also helpful: https://www.themodellingnews.com/2020/08/build-review-pt-ii-kitty-hawks-32nd_22.html#more Edited September 1, 2020 by timvkampen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timvkampen Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 Rescribing tutorial: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Williams Posted September 1, 2020 Author Share Posted September 1, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, timvkampen said: Rescribing tutorial: Not sure I really understand that technique and don’t know what a “dry point” is. Is he saying to scribe the existing panel lines deeper, and then sand down the surface to get down to the new narrower panel line? If the panel lines are wide and you rescribe with a narrow tool, what keeps the line straight as you draw the tool down the existing panel line instead of just wandering around in that wide trough? Edited September 1, 2020 by Dave Williams timvkampen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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