review Glenn Hoover: How To Build Kitty Hawk’s OS2U Kingfisher Model

[LSP_K2]

One thing that boggles my mind is the amount of misinformation and derision continually thrown out there regarding Kitty Hawk Models.

 

"You build KH Models?"   People ask this with looks of wonder in their eyes, seriously. They see some of my KH builds and they can't believe it's a KH kit.

 

The Kingfisher builds well, the T-6 builds well, the F-86D builds well, and both versions of the T-28 build well. I've never done the OV-10, but will.

 

But the over-the-top hate and derision has long since become a standing joke to those of us who look forward to and eagerly build all of the new Kitty Hawk releases.

 

I've run into the same nonsense, Ernst, and usually just dismiss it as the ravings of a loony bird. 

[karimb]

Brother Ernie

Honestly i have got through half the build of the bronco and i can't really say the kit is what i expected. Nothing far off from what an average modeler can handle but the kit does require quite the dedication to see through. For some reason it kind of reminds me of some short run kits with flash mismatched moldings and no or wrongly placed locator pins. I still haven't figured out if my kit was a lemon per se or if they are all the same, specifically the 10A bronco. I don't mean to have a bash at khm as i know some of you guys have produced stunning models based on their kits but i was quite disappointed. I still have two of their kits in the stash but now i will know what to expect when i decide to start on those. And to finish gaboon viper as a matter of fact. Just my two cs

Karim

Edit: and yes i am sorry i have digressed from the thread topic so just disregard my comment lol!

Edited March 2, 2018 by karimb

[Zero77]

I've built the F-86D. It was not a perfect kit, but it was far from being unbuildable. The details were very decent, and the fit as well, with only a few shortcomings here and there. Actually the little challenge was something good for me, and it was one of my funniest builds.

It think it's about the same quality range that Italeri.

 

I like KH.

[Out2gtcha]

Brother Ernie

Honestly i have got through half the build of the bronco and i can't really say the kit is what i expected. Nothing far off from what an average modeler can handle but the kit does require quite the dedication to see through. For some reason it kind of reminds me of some short run kits with flash mismatched moldings and no or wrongly placed locator pins. I still haven't figured out if my kit was a lemon per se or if they are all the same, specifically the 10A bronco. I don't mean to have a bash at khm as i know some of you guys have produced stunning models based on their kits but i was quite disappointed. I still have two of their kits in the stash but now i will know what to expect when i decide to start on those. And to finish gaboon viper as a matter of fact. Just my two cs

Karim

Edit: and yes i am sorry i have digressed from the thread topic so just disregard my comment lol!

 

 

I built myself a D model Bronco, and built Glen an A model, and have a 3rd OV-10A I will build for  myself. Yes, it definitely has some poor engineering to it, but I found the fit just fine on mine, and really dont remember that much flash overall.   The main issues for me were the wings and aligning the booms. The outer wing sections have a very small section of overlap to connect to the center section, and typical of earlier 32nd KHM kit, the engine mounts are very poorly engineered as well, although that didnt bother me in the least since I made the engine panels closed.   

 

The Bronco wings definitely have to be strengthened with  a brace or brass rod/square tubing, but the canopy, sponsons fuselage including cargo door all fit really well on my copy. 

[cd66197]

    Many thanks to Mike Swinburne for reviewing this book. I just joined the LSP forum. My name is Glenn Hoover, the author of this book. I appreciate the comments from such a group of esteemed, experienced modelers. Let me give you a little more insight on why I started writing these books. This might be a bit lengthy but I hope it will be informative.

 

    I'm sure that when all experienced modelers start working on a kit, you go over the kit instructions to establish an overall flow of the build; mainly looking for key spot to paint, add decals, etc. As you proceed thru the build, many of us markup the kit instructions to indicate that a part was used or a section was completed. And you may have an aftermarket kit like one of Eduard's BIGED sets that has multiple PE sets with their own instructions (e.g. interior, exterior, weapons, bomb bay, etc.) So now you have to go back and forth between, potentially, five or more sets of instructions to determine your build sequence. I'm sure that at some point we all realized that our game plan wasn't perfect…you may have missed a part, glued something on backwards, added a small part too early in the build only to have it damaged as you build the rest of the model or just had some unclear instructions. From talking to my fellow modelers at our local IPMS meetings and at the IPMS model shows, another issue is you don't have the luxury of time to build a kit in a non-stop fashion. You may have long gaps between each bench time because of work, family activities, or just life in general so when you get back to the model build, you have to figure out where you left off.

    

    I hoped to remedy these many of these issues with my books. First let me say that I'm retired and I work on models and model instructions basically full time. When I start a book, I spend about 4 or 5 weeks creating a draft that includes a step by step sequence on how to build the model…down to the individual piece level. The aftermarket instructions are added at the right spots to create a smooth flow with the kit instructions. I breakup the kit and aftermarket instruction sheets in Photoshop to make individual figures just for a specific set of steps. I enlarge, enhance, and annotate the figure so it's easy to read. I reorganize the instructions to add the smaller exposed pieces (antenna's, etc.) later in the build to reduce the risk of handling damage. I also include steps to paint and add decals in the sequence (I haven't seen any kit instructions that do that).  Now I need to proof my draft… Using my instructions, I build two, sometimes three, kits to make sure I have the correct sequence. I add some in process photos and final build photos. I make changes to the instructions as needed. In the end, you have a single checklist spanning over 100 pages containing 800 to 1300 individual steps with photos of my build. The checklist has a “Done†column for you to indicate completion of that step. The actual build phase is another 5 or 6 weeks making the creation of a typical book about 2 to 3 months.

 

    So, all of the prep work is done. When you start a build on your kit, just open my book to step one and follow along making marks in the Done column as you go. When you stop building for a while and come back, you'll know exactly where you left off. In addition to the checklist, I provide a list of paints mentioned in the kit instructions along with what I used. I normally use Tamiya acrylics and spray lacquers. You, of course, can use whatever paint you want along with any weathering or scratch build add-ons. I include a 4-page list of tools that I normally use on any build and where I bought them. In the back of the book, there's a detailed sprue index that shows what page a certain sprue piece is being used. In the front of the book is a Table of Contents show all of the major sections of the book along with a little history of the actual plane followed by photos and figures of the individual sprues and PE sets. With your talent and experience along with my book, your finished model should be awesome.

 

    I'm working on my 10^th book now (1/48 scale F-22). For the LSP members, in addition to the Kingfisher, I just released Revell's 1/32 scale AR196B Arado. I got a bunch of requests to do Kitty Hawk's 1/32 scale OV-10D Bronco so that will be number 11. On my website, glennhoovermodels.com, I list all of my books with options to buy a standard paper binding or a spiral binding. Granted, these books are not cheap. When you order them, the publisher prints them on demand which is why they cost so much. I only make about a small profit from each sale which doesn't come close to covering the hundreds of hours to create the books and the cost of the kits and supplies. Anyway, sorry to ramble. I hope this was helpful. I'm looking forward to participating in your forum…Thanks Glenn Hoover

[LSP_Kevin]

Welcome aboard, Glenn!

 

 

Kev

[CANicoll]

I've run into the same nonsense, Ernst, and usually just dismiss it as the ravings of a loony bird. 

 

 

Well, not everything is so straight forward with Kitty Hawk, lets be honest.  The P-39 is a mess of a kit, regardless if you pose the entire thing open or closed. Some of the engineering in the kit just boggles the mind, and having so many panels to open, but don't fit if you close them, makes no sense.  And it is not a cheap kit at over $80 (I paid $88 a few years ago).

 

If ANY KH kit needed a book, I would say its their P-39.  I understand that was one of their early kits, and from what I've seen on here the past few years (and validated by your all comments above) is that KH makes a number of stellar kits. 

 

Too bad I started with the P-39 and worse, when I approached the folks from KH at our local show a few years ago to ask about the problems I had during the build, I was told to basically go away - that it was an 'old kit' she told me.  Yet it is still being sold.  I was polite and inquisitive, not negative or aggressive.

 

Good for the hobby to have another good manufacturer. But very hard to get the bad taste out of my mouth from that kit, and the subsequent treatment by the KH staff.  Hence that is my ONLY KH build.

 

Chris

Edited April 3, 2018 by CANicoll

[Uncarina]

Glenn,

 

Welcome to the Forums! I very much appreciate the resource you provide, and the description of how much work goes into your books. Thanks for all you do, and I will be getting the Bronco book when it becomes available!

 

Cheers, Tom

[thierry laurent]

Indeed it is quite unfortunate the two Airacobra kits are far from being shake and bake kits...

[LSP_K2]

Chris, I was speaking to the comment from Ernst, that notes groups of modelers that seem bent on ripping KH kits to shreds, while all along continuing to buy them, not the individual modeler that may have negative observations of a specific kit.