Build Review - Snap-Fit Hit? Zvezda's Messerchmitt Bf-109F-2 (7302)

I said curiosity would lead me to try building Zvezda's 1:72 Bf-109F-2 and sure enough it did! So surprised was I by how the initial stages of the build went that I just had to share.

This kit is designed to snap-fit together without the need for glue, however I have decided that I wish to glue it and add some extras. But that doesn't mean I wasn't going to see just how well it fitted.

To start with I assembed the cockpit front and rear walls on the single piece that formed the wings, the idea is that you then push this up through the assembled fuselage and it all snaps together. I generally prefer models that provide you with wings in a single piece (where possible) because it eliminates the need for checking angles that comes from having two separate wings.

As you can see it's a nicely detailed cockpit. Although I did use Eduard's photo-etch set, (73475), I didn't feel the need to use the whole set. Once that was done I was ready to assemble the fuselage. I painted the side walls of the cockpit and made sure I didn't forget to add the tail wheel before joining the two halves. Here I elected to use glue, while the parts snapped together I wanted a sold join between the parts, that I wouldn't have otherwise got.

And then it was time to push the cockpit up through the bottom of the fuselage which turned out to be a really firm fit and it all clipped together perfectly.

Finally I clipped in the panel to the base of the wings which contained the wheel wells, couldn't be simpler. The only thing I didn't like was already the attached pitot tube as it's far to easy to bend or break.

So what are my thoughts? To start with I think I prefer this approach to easy kits compared to the Hobby Boss approach of few simple parts. The way Zvezda have engineered this kit leads to a really well thought out kit, intelligently engineered with easy assembly in mind. The bonus is that the detail doesn't have to be sacrificed this way. Plus it gives the modeller more freedom to build the kit in as easy or as complex a way as they feel comfortable doing.

Reading a lot of the modelling forums I see a lot of the more experienced modellers dismissing this kit because it's a snap-fit kit and it appears such a kit is beneath them. It's a shame that such thinking may cause some to miss out, in my opinion (and reflected in my approach) this hobby should be all about experimentation and trying out new things.

Like I said at the beginning of this post this is only the initial stage of the build so I will refrain from any thought of scoring until it's progressed further. But so far, so good!

Update (26th April 2014)

Unfortunately this kit, although very nice fell foul of my nemesis, Tamiya's XF-2 flat white paint. For some reason I find working with white paint (via spray, airbrush or even paint brush) to be extremely difficult and in this case so difficult it pretty much ruined the model.

Completed Review – Tamiya MiG 21 (61602)

Scale: 1:72, RRP - £3.99

A while back I attempted to build one of Tamiya's largely forgotten series of 1:100 aircraft, in this case a MiG-17 which if I'm honest was a less than impressive build. So as a result I've largely forgotten this series until I saw some for sale at the Shropshire Scale Model Show the other week. As they were selling for £2.99 each I thought I might well give them another go.

The MiG-21 is a fighter I've always found interesting, back from the days when aircraft designers still tried to build aircraft that resembled sci-fi rocket ships and so I was keen to see how this one would build.

Opening up the kit and the parts looked good, to my untrained eye it certainly looked like a MiG-21. There are a choice of 4 markings, (two Soviet, one Polish, one Vietnamese) all in silver, so in reality it's a case of painting it up and then just choosing which decals to apply.

As builds go it was absolutely straight forward as there aren't many parts at this scale. Cockpit detail consists of a seat, which once the canopy is on is all you'll see anyway. Apart from that you have choice of wheels up or down. Unlike the MiG-19 the missile pylons and missiles were much less of a struggle to attach which was a relief

 Paint wise I used a base coat of Tamiya AS-12 (spray) and then masked individual panels and airbrushed them with Tamiya X-11. This was mostly down to the fact that these two colours were only silvers I had! A coat of semi-gloss spray and then on with the decals, I decided to go for the Vietnamese variant.

As it happens I know a bit about this particular aircraft, 4326, it's one of several on display outside the Hanoi Aircraft Defence Museum, it's well known as a "Phantom Killer" and among its pilots it counts Nguyen Van Coc, the highest scoring ace of the war. It is actually a MiG-21PF and because the painting instructions weren't quite accurate I made some changes. I referred to the more accurate painting instructions for Academy's 1:48 MiG-21PF kit, of which this aircraft is one of the options to build.

The changes were, a dark green nose cone, and the fin at the rear (rather than black) and the cockpit colour which I changed to that awful Russian interior turquoise. It a shame there aren't any decals for the kill markings that adorn the nose of this aircraft, I guess this version will have to be an early version!

I really enjoyed this build, it was quick, fairly simple but still, the end result is a model that I think looks really nice when on display. It's now got me looking for one in my preferred 1:72 scale!


Overall Build Score: 3 out of 5, a simple and yet good looking kit that was a breeze to build. Let down only slightly by the lazy painting instructions.

Two Times One O Nine - In Box Review (Airfix & Zvezda)

Time for another dual-in-box review, this time I'm going to look at two variants of the ever popular Messerschmitt Bf-109 in 1:72 scale.

In my last comparison in box review I chose two models at different ends of the price scale. This time we're to look at two similar priced products (even though I do have a more expensive Tamiya kit in the stash). The kits are both newer releases, an Airfix Emil and a Friedrich from Zvezda.

Modellers really are spoilt for choice, all of the mainstream companies have released many 109s, and so I had to decide which to look at. I eliminated the Academy and Hasegawa kits early on because they have some serious shape issues, especially the Academy ones. The Tamiya kit is meant to have a better shape but a slightly short fuselage. I actually compared a Tamiya Bf-109E with the Airfix one and couldn't really see any issues myself. So in the end it came down to price, and as I mentioned earlier in this post, I thought I'd compare two similar priced models this time, both retailing at around the £7 mark.

The Airfix kit is once again one of their newer releases and so I now have high expectations whenever I get hold of one of these. The Zvezda kit is also a fairly recent kit, it is however a snap fit kit aimed at beginners.

Airfix Messerschmitt Bf-109E-4 (A01008)

Airfix's 109 soon followed on from their impressive A6M2b Zero which I reviewed previously. And as is the case with their new toolings there's a huge improvement on the older Airfix kits. This particular release follows the same format and like the Zero, looking at the parts makes you want to get on and build it.

Again Airfix decided to go with the single colour scheme option, which is OK I guess if you want to build that scheme. The scheme in question is that of an aircraft flown by Franz von Werra who was famous for becoming the first (and only) Axis prisoner of war to escape from a POW camp in Canada and return to Germany. Back to the decals and being ever so popular the 109 isn't short of 3rd party decal options if you feel like doing something different. If not then the ones with the kit look to be perfectly good quality Cartograf decals.

The actual aircraft in its "retirement"

Looking at the parts, they're full of nice details for a budget kit. There's an engine for a start, but don't get too excited as unfortunately it's slightly flawed. The machine guns have been cast into the cowling rather than above the engine, so you'll have to scratch build them if you want to display the engine (and remove them from the cowl). A plus point though is the flaps. Yes at 1:72 scale you have separate flaps, which means you can show them in the down position if you want, a very welcome addition I think.

So all in all, it's business as usual for the new invigorated Airfix, which is no bad thing. And again I'm impressed with what I see. I actually think in terms of quality it's comparable with the more expensive Tamiya kit at half the price.


Zvezda Messerchmitt Bf-109F-2 (7302)

"My first model kit" the box proclaims (in Russian). This is a snap fit kit which seems to turn more experienced modellers away, and you know what, I think they might be missing out.

I opened this box and was actually surprised by what I saw, this is beginners kit with plenty of detail. Realistically it's competing with the likes of Hobby Boss's easy kit range which retail at about £1 less. But rather than going for the low parts and less detail approach Zvezda have gone for more parts, more detail but no glue approach.


And you know what? I'm really intrigued by this approach. I guess the only real question if will it actually "snap fit" and we'll have to wait until I build it before we know the answer!

There's side wall detail, cockpit floor details, an option of using a flat instrument panel with a decal or a painting a raised detail one. In the Hobby Boss easy kits you get none of this. You also get a nicely detailed pilot option (moulded into a seat) which is good to see, or good to add to the spares box as decent 1:72 pilots seem hard to come by!

Looking at the decals, you get two options. One is a standard Luftwaffe camouflage scheme, the other an all white Eastern front scheme which is a refreshing change (and obviously influenced by Zvezda being a Russian company). As for the quality, in my particular box, (and it may just be a case of this one, rather than all) they don't look too good I'm afraid. So much so that before committing to a colour scheme I have sought out a "Plan B" just in case they don't work out.

One final note is oddly enough the packaging. The bigger Zvezda kits come in rough card boxes with no plastic bags and on several occasions I've found the contents to be broken as a result of this final lack of quality control. These easy kits appear to be more tightly packed and I'm pleased to say damage free.


So which to buy?

Tough choice, really there's nothing between them and of course I've already bought them both! So I guess the real question is which to build first? In this case Airfix fully met my (now high) expectations which means my curiosity may well lead me to build the Zvezda kit first, just so see how it performs.

Airfix Messerschmitt Bf-109E-4 - Overall In Box Score: Promising. Excellent value, excellent detail. Looks like you can't go wrong with this one.

Zvezda Messerschmitt Bf-109F-2 - Overall In Box Score: Promising. Such detail! Outperforms its easy-kit competitors and holds it's own with regular kits.

So if you have a preference as to wanting to build an Emil or a Friedrich then I say choose the one you want as these both look like excellent offerings. Otherwise the Airfix kit slightly edges out the Zvezda kit at this stage. But don't discount Zvezda's offering, it's a really good looking kit.

What's On The Workbench? #1

What's on the workbench?

Due the (chaotic) way I approach my modelling it means that I'm usually working on numerous things and completing only a few of them. Of course they're the ones this blog tends to focus on and the others, they get left behind. This means that as far as the blog has been concerned it sometimes appears that I'm doing nothing at times!

With that in mind I've decided to take a look at some of currently in-progress models that I'm working on and maybe this'll be a more regular feature of this blog.

First up is a purchase from last week's Shropshire scale model show, Tamiya's 1:100 scale MiG-21.

I been a bit undecided about this range since building the MiG-17, however I saw several of these kits for sale at £3 each and thought I'd have another try. So far I have to say the MiG-21 looks a better kit than the MiG-17. The main purpose of this build will be, at a later date, practising shading and weathering a model with a metallic finish.

Next is Tamiya's 1:48 Citroen 11CV, a classic car of the WWII era.

I've been thinking of branching out in quarter scale vehicles for a while but wasn't good enough with an airbrush to paint them. I'd picked this kit up from a local model shop's closing down sale many months ago and stashed it away since then. Rather than going full on into tank building I thought this would be a good starting point for me to familiarise myself with vehicles in this scale, with the added bonus of already enjoying figure painting at this scale.

As to be expected it's the usual level of detail I've come to expect from Tamiya. I hope I can do it some justice when it comes to painting it, my growing confidence when using an airbrush means that this is certainly more likely than it was when I first bought this kit!

Finally, a base. I really like seeing models on display bases and so thought I'd try creating an airfield base. I've used one Trumpeters display cases in this case.

I've added very fine sand onto a layer of PVA glue and now I'm waiting a few days for it to dry before attempting to add a coat of paint to seal it (and then finally drybrushing it). The PSP plates are from Brengun (1:72 scale) and hopefully they'll figure somewhere in the display.

So that's what's on my workbench! Until the next time.

Shropshire Scale Model Show 2014

Yesterday I took a break from the modelling desk and decided to visit the Royal Air Force Museum at RAF Cosford as it was hosting the 2014 Shropshire Scale Model Show.

This was the first scale model that I've attended in many years and so expectation was high. How was it?

The surroundings were very apt, as the various stands and displays were set up around the numerous aircraft on display. The museum alone is worth a visit, especially impressive is the Cold War hall featuring several MiGs, a Vulcan, Victor and a Lightning to name but a few.

The show consisted of numerous groups, mostly IPMS affiliated groups and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) displaying a wide range of aircraft and other models, all to a very high standard. It was really interesting to see such a collection and to be able to meet and chat with a few of the people responsible, although some seemed more approachable than others.

So many good models, it's so hard to pick a favourite!

MiG-15 - Britmodeller.com

The Luftwaffe in many shapes and sizes - IPMS Cleveland

Ilyushin Il-28 - IPMS Swindon

Mil Mi-10 - IPMS Swindon

MiGs - IPMS Mercia

Eileen - IPMS Leicestershire

P-51B - IPMS Staffordshire Moorlands

Porsche 917K - North Somerset Modellers

If had to pick a favourite, and it's a very tough choice, it would be the Porsche 917K by the North Somerset Modellers. Why? Because it's a beautifully built model of one of the few cars that interests me! But really, all of the above and many more were just fantastic.

The only thing to mention was the trade aspect which I found to be a little disappointing. I expected better of the retail companies I'd previously used and many of the other sellers were selling off overpriced "vintage" kits. While I'm sure a few gems were to be found it wasn't really for me. The novelty of searching through cardboard boxes full of dusty old kits soon wore off and I decided to focus more on the model displays. One mans junk may be another treasure but I can do that via eBay from the comfort of my own home...

On the plus side I did find a few specialist companies selling detail parts and figures and a few local, (to the venue), model shops who seemed to have thought a bit more about what to offer so I didn't come home empty handed!

All in all it was a good day in a great museum setting. I look forward to doing it again some time.

Even More Miniatures In Detail!

As I was between projects I decided to focus on extending the Miniatures In Detail "brand".

So here is my Pinterest page. I originally found Pinterest to be a very useful tool for collecting links to inspirational projects and to reference material. I was surprised how popular my personal page has become in such a short space of time and so I'm more than happy to share my findings.
You can find your way to this page by clicking the links in this post or by the link on the menu bar at the top of this page. I hope to see you there!

Citizens Of The Imperium - Inquisitor in 28mm Scale

It's been a while since I last posted because I'm taking a short break, this is partly because I'm hoping to visit a model show soon. Rather than start another project I thought I'd wait and see what I inevitably buy while I'm there and then start a new project afterwards. In the meantime I was looking for something else to occupy my time.

This break gave me a chance to think about miniature painting again, and while I was thinking I was reminded of the Games Workshop specialist game, Inquisitor, that was released just over 10 years ago. For those of you who are not familiar with it, it was a 54mm scale role-playing game featuring small groups of characters. For me that was exactly why it appealed, the focus was on character models and I'd always enjoyed painting characters in 28mm scale. Of course small groups of figures meant this was never going to be commercially appealing to the Games Workshop and sadly the game disappeared after a short run, the models lasted longer but are now no longer produced. I held on to many of my models for years but eventually I decided sell almost all of them and re-invest in scale models.

I imagine now you're wondering what was I thinking about? Well I was thinking about painting character models in 28mm scale, in-between scale model projects. My first thought was to paint simple Warhammer 40K themed characters, citizens of the Imperium if you like. This train of thought eventually led me to thinking about converting 28mm Inquisitor themed models. The 40K universe has (or had, I'm not so up to date on it these days) such a rich background, for me it was typified in the works of John Blanche and the Inquisitor themed Eisenhorn and Ravenor series of novels by Dan Abnett. Further research led me to discover that there's an active community of 28mm Inquisitor players out there. While I'm not look at playing any more, just painting, it was very interesting to see that the game lives on in this form and people have long had this idea before I got round to thinking about it.

Of course when I was at my painting and converting peak you used to be able to buy individual sprues and parts from the Games Workshop. These days you can't and the cost of buying a box set just for a few parts makes converting prohibitively expensive. This was one of the main reasons I stopped buying Games Workshop products.

So, ordinarily that would mean I'd have to rely heavily on my ever dwindling (and mostly Warhammer Fantasy) spares box. There was a time when I would only use Games Workshop parts or sculpt them myself, partly because I had aspirations of entering the Golden Demon and the use of any third party parts would lead to a disqualification. But since then things have moved on, there are plenty of good quality third party parts out there. If the Games Workshop can no longer deliver what I need then I have no choice but to go elsewhere, and as I said, my spares are getting less and less.

So how did I pass my time? This is a first attempt, a young Eisenhorn as featured in the Dan Abnett novel, Xenos.

The model was actually made from Games Workshop parts and green-stuff. A mix of parts including, the head of a classic 90's plastic Chaos Warrior Champions, a body from the Empire militia set, a pair of Imperial Guard legs and a bit more sculpting than I was comfortable with if I'm honest!

Overall I'm quite pleased with this one. When I get more spare time I may well revisit this project and do a few more.