Model Kit Reviews

[Wolster]

Originally Posted by Geek44

Airfix?! You're a brave man Wolster. Good luck.

Now Airfix is under new management I am willing to give them a try. I know that none of the kits I have ordered are new moldings now they are in with Dragon (I think, could be one of the other chinese manufactorers) I think there could be some half decent offerings to come. They are releasing a new BP Defiant soon which I will get. And the 1/24 Mosquito is a must!!

As an aside, I have a Dragon diecast 1/72 190 Dora from JV44 and the detail is excellent, by far the best I have seen at this scale. The cockpit detail is amazing and as it features an opening cockpit I have displayed it that way! Only thing is they seem to have the marlings wrong, it is 'white 1' when it should be 'Red 6'!

[Geek44]

Good call Wolster, I'd be willing to try the new stuff too. I suppose it just depends how much money Hornby wants to invest into the kits. The moulds are probably the most expensive part of a new kit. I can only hope their 1/24 Mosquito is better researched than their old 1/24 range. The best of the old bunch was the Hawker Harrier. The Hurricane was a joy to build as was their Ju87B. The shapes of these kits were a little odd...almost like caricatures. They were however, excellent kits in their way and among the best of a mediocre bunch. I grew up on Airfix and for that, I wish them well.

[MAGNA]

i remember drooling over the Airfix catalogue they used to hand out each year. I didn't want much - just all of it. The variety was always good compared to other manufacturers too.

I have noted that there is a problem with some of the kits being re-released when it comes to the moulds. A few of the kits we have bought for gaming have parts which are missing detail and look half melted. Some are just missing off the sprue altogether. I don't know if this is a cleaning problem or whether the moulds are too old but I hope they fix it because there are still quite a few kits that other plastic manufacturers just don't make.

[Geek44]

When the detail has started to 'soften' on the mouldings, ie. 'looks melted', it's a pretty sure sign that the mould has aged. I worked in the injection moulding industry for about four years...I'm no expert but I have a little knowledge (which is a dangerous thing I'm told). It is a shame too because, as you said, there are many things other manufacturers haven't covered. I've waited thirty years for a 1/48 Handley Page Hampden and finally somebody has done it.
Anyway, here's the latest fe pics of my Panzer IV which I've been quietly stealing an hour here or half an hour there to work on. Progress hasn't been huge but I'm experimenting with filters at the moment so the time frames suit me. I'll apply a filter to the model which takes around an hour. Then I let it dry for 23 hours...works for me. As you see it now, I think it has about nine filters in light grey, dark grey, dark earth and sand. The effect is very subtle. I hope the pics show what I want them to. So far, the filters are the only weathering I've applied.
Peace.
PzIVPainting1.jpg

PzIVPainting3.jpg

PzIVPainting4.jpg

[Geek44]

And these.
PzIVPainting5.jpg

PzIVPainting6.jpg

I'm trying to make the hatch plates over the engines and the gun muzzle look as though they've been discoloured by heat. So far, I think I need to go way darker than I have since those areas have maybe five extra filters applied but they don't look much different to me.

[MAGNA]

Nice work so far. It does seem to add a realism to the paint work. Many of the models you see with sharply contrasting washes tend to have a sameness which says "I am a model". It is nice to see something that says "Can you tell whether I am a model or not ?". That is after all what modelling strives for.

[Geek44]

Originally Posted by MAGNA

Nice work so far. It does seem to add a realism to the paint work. Many of the models you see with sharply contrasting washes tend to have a sameness which says "I am a model". It is nice to see something that says "Can you tell whether I am a model or not ?". That is after all what modelling strives for.

That's quite a compliment mate. Thanks.
(I'm not finished yet )

[lufttiger]

Very nice Geek, yeah i just saw in FSM about using filters, i kinda had been
doing it already, just a bit differn't. Yours is looking good so far.

[Geek44]

I kinda use them on my aircraft but like you say Luft, different. This is my first real try on a vehicle and everything I've read suggests three to five applications. Having messed with it a little in the past, I thought I'd see what could happen if I applied more layers...maybe twenty, maybe more or less. Just to see. The pics aren't really showing what's happening though which is kinda boring...I'll see if I can get some better ones.
Thanks lads.

[MAGNA]

Just for interests sake here. I am building a 1/76th M7 Priest, the M3 chassis with the 105mm howitzer as used in WWII. It used to be a Matchbox kit years ago but is now a Revell.

I remember the matchbox kits being fairly easy to make and good for beginners. This one is up a couple of levels compared to the others. I don't know if Revell have changed things or not because I never had the original Matchbox kit of this one. There are a lot more smaller parts.

Everything is fitting well and the parts are crisp too. The only slight hassle is the instruction pictures. The smaller bits aren't really shown on the model as in after fitting so some is guesswork as to what angle to glue things.

I don't even get to paint this one as it is for the games group so someone else will be doing it. They also gave me one M3 halftrack by Hasegawa to stitch together (when you get time.... no rush.... just need it by next week or so...). I'm betting it will be more complex than the Airfix version which I have always enjoyed making.

I'll keep posting for the different types and makes as I go since we are always making something. Hopefully it will be useful to someone at some stage.

More Panzer IV pics too please Geek.