New Box, Old Mould - The Pitfalls of Kit Selection

A few days ago I was involved in an on-line discussion regarding the re-issuing of old moulds which I thought I'd revisit on this blog.

The discussion started with a commenter's experience of building, in their words, the awful Airfix 1:48 scale Hawker Fury, which contains plastic from 1980. It then turned to whether or not it was an underhand tactic by model makers to sell kits that are well past their sell-by date and is such practice unfair on customers?

New Box, Old Plastic

To start with lets look at things from the model companies point of view. They have a product to sell, they exist to make money. Straight forward and to point I know, but that is the reality and I see little point in blaming them. It's easy for us to shift the blame to them, to call them underhand but in the end it's up to us, as customers, to make informed choices.  If we do then we won't be buying the inferior products and they will cease to sell them.

Certain companies seem to have different approaches to re-boxes, in my experience they are:

• Academy - For years Academy have been producing budget kits of a mixed quality. In recent years they've started releasing more expensive and higher quality kits but I've not yet seen any of their range retired. They've changed the catalogue numbers of some their older kits but released them exactly the same as before so I'm not even sure that counts as re-boxing them.
• Airfix - The near bankrupt Airfix of a few years ago quite obviously couldn't afford to do much else other than sell their old models. But now there's been a significant cull of older models. Although some still remain I suspect that there will be replacements in the pipeline.
• Eduard - A newer manufacturer with an emphasis on quality. There kits seem to retired fairly quickly.
• Hasegawa - It feels like Hasegawa never change. I've bought many of their kits and sold them all on, never actually building a single one. Alongside their steady range of new releases new box, old model seems to be what they do.
• Revell - The re-box kings. I rarely buy Revell models for the reason so many of them are so old, and in many case not even their models to begin with. I think their recent Star Wars licence will keep them earning for the foreseeable future along with the loyalty of the American market toward the old Monogram kits. But Revell just isn't a name that's associated with quality in my opinion. Which is a shame, because the few new kits they make are actually very good, if you can find them.
•  Tamiya - Like Hasegawa they never seem to change, we see a few new kits each year which are of a high standard. However their older models were years ahead of their competitors when they first came out so they seem to still hold their own against today's kits. Interesting in my preferred scale, 1:72, I have noticed a reduction in the range recently (mostly the Italeri kits they re-boxed for the Asian market) so they obviously feel some of the older kits are no longer of a high enough quality.

I do believe it's no coincidence that that model kits have moved in terms of quality so much in the last 10 or so years alongside the growth of the internet side of scale modelling. By participating in forums and groups, by writing blogs and posting photographs and so on, are we already driving the change so many of us desire?

And then there are on-line resources such as Scalemates. This site is a model kit database which gives a complete time-line of many kits, allowing us to see just how old the plastic inside that box is.

One counterargument I often hear is the argument that bad kits will put off beginners from continuing with the hobby. I can see the point, after the first kit I built for this blog you may wonder why I continued. Well I do believe this is a hobby that requires a certain amount of perseverance and patience anyway. Anyone who quits after one setback will never be a modeller, so that's one reason. Secondly the majority of model companies have already figured this out which is why we have the starter kit. These are the kits I always see younger modellers with in my local hobby shop. Interestingly this seems more common among companies targeting Western audiences, maybe those beginners in Asia have the character I referred to in my first point or maybe model making is more embedded in their culture?

So with all that in mind I guess it's time to wrap this post up. To finish I will say, if you really do want to build an Airfix 1:48 scale Hawker Fury from 1980 now's your chance. I very much doubt this kit will be around for much longer.

Kits You Have to Build - FineMolds Star Wars Range

As today is of course Star Wars day and what could be more appropriate than a look at the world of Star Wars scale models.

When it comes to Star Wars then we're not exactly spoilt for choice. The Star Wars copyright is well protected and so licensed releases are few and far between. Here in Europe the main option is the Revell range which is predominately easy kits and pre-painted snap fit kits aimed at children rather than scale modellers. That leaves the Japanese company FineMolds. Here in Europe they're much harder to get hold of, but believe me they're worth the effort!

For me the original Star Wars was a key part of my childhood. I was fortunate enough that my parents bought me the Kenner toys that were released at that time, my favourites being the X-Wing and the TIE fighter which fought numerous duels around the house. Of course Star Wars back then was largely pre-CGI and so the the toys felt like models from the film, which brings me back nicely to FineMolds.

1:72 X-Wing box

I've seen these kits in the flesh and I have to say detail wise I felt like I had one the models from the films in kit form. The main reason for this is that FineMolds were given access, by Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic, to the original production models. I believe in some cases you can recognize parts from Hasegawa kits etc, that were used to create the original models as FineMolds have replicated them so closely. They've also taken the sensible step of releasing fictional models in two scales that we're all familiar with, 1:48 scale and 1:72 scale unlike Revell who seem to have used a mixed bunch of weird and wonderful scales.

For me though the one I'd eventually want to build is the 1:72 Y Wing fighter. As a child this was my favourite of the fighters and it was one that I was never able to get (in the Kenner form) and so I'd love the chance now as an adult who's not quite forget the effect Star Wars had on him.

Manufacturer's complete model photo

Better Than Watching Paint Dry! Tamiya 1:48 Africa Corps - NCOs

I've been trying to fill time between coats of paint on my current aircraft project with some figure painting, better than just waiting for paint to dry!

Recently I've been trying to work out which scale and type of models give me the most enjoyment. Heroic 28mm has obviously been one option; I do have a sizeable collection waiting to be painted. I've also considered 1:72 scale but found at that scale the models lack the character of larger scales. So eventually I found myself painting a couple more of Tamiya's 1:48 scale Africa Corps.

The latest additions are two NCOs, fairly straight forward in terms of uniform to paint.

I find it really enjoyable painting figures at this scale and will certainly do more. It's a shame there are more figures available. Tamiya's figure sets are good, there's just not many of them. Beyond them I'm only really aware of figures to accompany aircraft models (pilots, mechanics etc). If you, my readers, have any other recommendation please let me know in the comments below. It'll be much appreciated!

And Then There Were Two... Or Zwei

There's been a lack of activity for a reason, a good reason, I've been busy building and painting various projects. 

I've also got my hands on a compressor for my airbrush and have been practising with it. After a few false starts it's making a huge difference to what I can achieve with an airbrush and so now I'm having a re-think about what projects I'll be undertaking in the future. For someone who's been so used to brush painting this has opened up a whole new range of potential projects!

In an earlier post I promised that'd I paint more of Tamiya's 1:48 and so now there are two! For now I'll leave you with a picture for this somewhat brief update.

Until the next time where, I hope, there will be something even more "miniature" than I've tried to build before!

In Box Review – Eduard Spitfire Mk.IXc Late Version (8281)

The Spitfire may be a British icon but it's certainly one that has not been as well represented in 1:48 scale as it could have been.

While there's plenty of kits out there they are largely plagued by inconsistencies or lacking the production standards that more experienced modellers demand these days.

With the Mk.IX we've most recently we've seen releases from Airfix (in 2007) and Italeri's American Aces release (from 2010). In my opinion both these kits are simple and lack the finer details but should not be discounted, especially if you want a straight forward build or if you're a novice modeller.

Elsewhere there's ICM's release from the late 1990's which if I remember correctly featured an interesting VVS, (Soviet), version but was an absolute nightmare to build and the Hasegawa's release a few years later which was unfortunately too short in the body meaning you needed an after market conversion kit to get it right.

So over to Eduard, can they finally give this legendary aircraft the kit it deserved? Recently my business took a delivery of Eduard kits from our wholesaler and I couldn't resist taking a look.

Well, upon opening the box my initial response was, "is that it"? Eduard's profipacks are usually packed with sprues and yet this box was only half full, containing four grey sprues and a single clear one.

However my initial response was a misjudged one, there's everything packed into this kit. The surface detail is beautiful, fine panel lines, rivets and they all look great, even the exhausts have been hollowed out.

As with all Profipacks there are photo-etched parts, mostly for the interior and these look to be the usual Eduard high standard. In addition the clear parts aren't too thick and there's an option of either opening or closing the canopy. Either way you should be able to show off that nice photo-etched interior.

Shape wise it looks good, add that to that the detail and it makes this the obvious choice over the Hasegawa kit which was it's nearest competitor.

Now if that wasn't enough this is also going to be one of the kits that has the option of Eduard's own resin Brassin extras. Already there's tyres, drop tanks and an incredible cockpit which I'd consider painting on it's own as a side project.

For the marking options you have a choice of six. Naturally they're all RAF markings, and five of the six are standard camouflage schemes. However there's a good choice of pilot nationalities to choose from, for me the aircraft flown by Pierre Clostermann stands out as the one I'd probably want to build.

Manufacturer's finished product shot

So back to my earlier question, can Eduard finally give this legendary aircraft the kit it deserved? In my opinion, it looks like the answer is a resounding "Yes." However I would say while it appears this kit does go together rather well it's still probably one for more experienced modellers. For the beginner out there I'd personally recommend the Airfix release mentioned above, I have an unfinished one somewhere and it's not such a bad kit.


Overall In Box Score: Outstanding. The perfect Spitfire!

A Desert Diversion in 1:48 Scale

Occasionally I like to try my hand at figure painting, usually while waiting for another project to set or dry. Recently I was given an almost complete Tamiya 1:48 Africa Corps set, for free, by a generous eBay seller. I've been thinking that Tamiya's figures at this scale fill a gap in the market and have wanted to try painting them for a while.

So now I had the chance, my first thought, they're a bit smaller than the figures I'm used to. (I always forget to put something in the picture for scale when photographing models, head to foot this figure is about 30mm / 1.2")

My background is that of a figure painter in heroic 28mm and 54mm scales, which I've been painting the best part of 20 years. In this time I've developed a preference for paints from Games Workshop's Citadel range while finding Tamiya paints rather frustrating to use for brush work. So with an infantryman picked out it was time to overcome my Tamiya nemesis.

I started with an undercoat of Tamiya fine grey primer (which is fantastic stuff) and then airbrushed a light coat of Tamiya XF-60 (Dark Yellow) as I wanted a clean base colour to start with as shown above. This was a mistake, I'd picked up the wrong desert colour... So I brushed XF-49 (Khaki) which was meant to be my original base colour before highlighting with XF-59 (Desert Yellow), XF-60 (Dark Yellow) and XF-57 (Buff). Citadel paints were then used for the skin and some of the finer details.

I did wonder if painting the face and eyes at this scale was possible. Originally I decided not to but it was just getting to me, I couldn't leave him with no eyes! My experience at figure painting has taught me the face makes or breaks a model and so eventually I had give him some eyes (and some soul, I guess). I will probably dust him up a bit with some weathering powder later but for now I'm really pleased I managed to paint a figure at this scale. For a first attempt, I think it turned out reasonably well.

Overall a fun diversion, I'm sure this Infantryman will have others joining him in the future.