Kit Manufacturers - Page 2

Geek44 · #11 (**permalink**) July 20th, 2008, 01:49 AM

No sweat MAGNA...feel free to PM me with specific questions if you have them.
I neglected to mention that Dragon aircraft kits often include some nifty PE frets as do some of the more recent Tamiya kits in 1/48. It's very fine stainless-steel (I think)...it's silver in colour and a little thicker than brass. It responds well to annealing, which is the process of softening by applying heat, then allowing it to cool slowly. I suggest a gas flame for this as candles produce soot. Expect seat harnesses, rudder pedals, small aerials and radar arrays in WW2 era subjects. Dragon's WW1 aircraft have machine-gun cooling sleeves, sometimes wing struts and the small horns to accommodate control cables for flaps and ailerons too. Great stuff and a good starting point for beginners with PE. It's not so fine as the brass and copper stuff and folds are very obvious and easy...no special equipment required. Further, where one has to bend a flat machine-gun sleeve into a cylinder (very difficult), they provide the correct sized rod in styrene to 'wrap' the sheet around. I can't recommend the softening process highly enough when attempting that.
Peace.

MAGNA · #12 (**permalink**) July 22nd, 2008, 10:31 AM

Thanks Geek. Good stuff. I hope others will add their experience as we go on this one.

As a matter of interest I bought an Italeri JS-2 kit which actually has two tanks in it. These are great for Father Son efforts as one is the usual Italeri three sprue bells and whistles kit for Dad and the other is the quick make kit for the young bloke with I think about eleven parts only!! Thus young fry gets to make the same thing Dad is making without the frustration. I will make both soon in the Follow as I Build section just for interests sake. Decals etc are provided for both so the end product is two vehicles that look pretty good.

Geek44 · #13 (**permalink**) July 22nd, 2008, 08:45 PM

Never knew about those Italeri kits. Truth is, I haven't built anything by them since their 1/9 scale Kettenrad, Kübelwagen and motorcycles...a looong time ago. I still have (somewhere) the MG34 that came with the BMW with sidecar.

dsfraser · #14 (**permalink**) July 27th, 2008, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAGNA

Thanks Geek. Good stuff. I hope others will add their experience as we go on this one.

As a matter of interest I bought an Italeri JS-2 kit which actually has two tanks in it. These are great for Father Son efforts as one is the usual Italeri three sprue bells and whistles kit for Dad and the other is the quick make kit for the young bloke with I think about eleven parts only!! Thus young fry gets to make the same thing Dad is making without the frustration. I will make both soon in the Follow as I Build section just for interests sake. Decals etc are provided for both so the end product is two vehicles that look pretty good.

That's an awesome concept. I wish I had know about this when my kids were younger. Neither is interested in models today (18 and 20 yrs), and it might have made a difference. They're both hooked on vidiot games. . .

Geek44 · #15 (**permalink**) July 27th, 2008, 06:49 AM

Damn games. I like them too but I like to mix a few kits in as well. I never built a single kit between the ages of maybe 16 and 23. Too busy doing stupid stuff (like smoking) and having girlfriends.

MAGNA · #16 (**permalink**) July 27th, 2008, 10:55 AM

I built one at age sixteen - a Christamas present. A 1/76 scale Matilda. I still have it. As you say Geek, the next few years were filled up doing the stupid stuff.

Geek44 · #17 (**permalink**) July 27th, 2008, 09:10 PM

Some of which (smoking) I'm still paying for today

.
(Been on patches for five bloody years now...cheaper than cigarettes but starting to be a pain).

Leatchy · #18 (**permalink**) July 30th, 2008, 02:32 AM

On the subject of father son builds. One of the biggest regrets of my life is that when my son showed an interest in modelling (warhammer and warhammer 40K) I was unable to take a hands off approach. i just couldn't bear to see the models ruined as he learned the craft. I would let him build something and then repaint it properly when he went too bed. I really thought I was helping at the time, but when I look back, all I did was take away his sense of acomplishment. He has no interest in the hobby anymore and concentrates all his energies into sport and video games. I blew it. Word of advice, buy the kit, forget the price, let the youngster stuff it up completely and then pretend it's great and praise the hell out of him for making the effort.

MAGNA · #19 (**permalink**) July 30th, 2008, 10:19 AM

Good point. Let them develop as they go as we have all done. My oldest two are not really interested and never were. The youngest actually likes putting the things together but can't stand the idea of painting them - and that is fine by me as I get to do it. Then I can say "That's the one you made - pretty good isn't it?".

Geek44 · #20 (**permalink**) July 30th, 2008, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Leatchy

On the subject of father son builds. One of the biggest regrets of my life is that when my son showed an interest in modelling (warhammer and warhammer 40K) I was unable to take a hands off approach. i just couldn't bear to see the models ruined as he learned the craft. I would let him build something and then repaint it properly when he went too bed. I really thought I was helping at the time, but when I look back, all I did was take away his sense of acomplishment. He has no interest in the hobby anymore and concentrates all his energies into sport and video games. I blew it. Word of advice, buy the kit, forget the price, let the youngster stuff it up completely and then pretend it's great and praise the hell out of him for making the effort.