Incomplete Review - Revell 1:110 TIE Fighter (06734)

Scale: 1:110, RRP - £5.99 (or £12.99 including paints, glue and brushes)

With the new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, being released I decided to get into things with a quick and easy build. This was a bit of an impulse buy, I was in my local hobby store when the first batch had just arrived and the owner let me have one before they were even out of the shelves.

I've had fairly strong opinions on Revell and their Star Wars range but I was more than prepared to give them a fair chance here. I really wanted this kit to be a good one.

So to the kit, I was a bit hasty in getting started so I actually forgot to photograph the sprues so I'll direct you to Britmodeller's in-box review. The parts count is small, 22 in all but they do look reasonably detailed.

The wings, (for want of a better word), are both single pieces which was noticeable when compared to other kits in which the solar collector arrays are a single piece with a separate frame that attaches to them. I can see why because it's simpler for the novice builder, but if you want to airbrush them it'll involve a lot of masking as you spray the dark panels and then the grey coloured frames.

Up until now I've been avoiding the elephant in the room. That scale! 1:110. Just ignore this, especially if you wish to combine this with models from other ranges. This kit is actually bigger than the FineMolds kit and the Bandai kit both of which are 1:72 scale (and both of which scale up the same next to each other).

Now I appreciate that we're talking about the scale of fantasy vehicles and so with that in mind I measured up the pilots in all 3 kits. FineMolds and Bandai both were 1:72 scale, this kit was nearer to 1:50 scale. So why put a scale on it the first place? This seems very misleading if you're a modeller as really this is a toy kit. Looking a bit further at the history of this kit it then became apparent that this is actually Revell's 2012 Easykit Pocket TIE fighter, re-boxed and with the parts unpainted. Suddenly this looks like a rather lazy re-release just in time for the new film.

So how did it build? It goes together fairly well, in fact it's almost a push fit kit. The cockpit has a large hatch to the top which is meant to open to allow you to see inside (and see the oversized pilot). Again this seemed to emphasise the toy like nature of the kit.

Unfortunately this where my pride takes a bit of a knock. Due to the tight fit of the parts my dry fitting wasn't a thorough as it should have been and the hinge for the hatch ended up catching on the rear wall of the cockpit preventing the two halves from going together. How embarrassing...

So at that point there was only one place it was going, in the bin. I can't say I'm that bothered as I've already built the FineMolds kit and, despite the restrictions, I have one from Bandai to be getting on with.

I have to say when I saw all these kits in the store I though about getting a few other Star Wars models to quickly build. But with this experience I've changed my mind. I feel that there are much better options out there from Bandai and now, also, from Dragon who've just announced their new Star Wars range for 2016.

Dragon - Phase 1 Star Wars Releases

Overall Build Score: 2 out of 5, The detail is reasonable and a low number of parts makes it ideal for younger modellers. While it is relatively inexpensive it is essentially a repackaged Easykit Pocket TIE fighter from a few years ago without the pre-coloured parts. Combine this with very odd and completely wrong scale(s) make it feel like a somewhat lazy attempt at a cashing in on Star Wars as the new film is released.

Bandai and Star Wars - The Evil Empire Strikes Back?

There’s disappointing news for Star Wars fans outside of Japan.

If you follow my Instagram you’ll have seen I recently picked up one of the incredible kits from Bandai, in this case an excellent 1:72 scale Y-Wing. These kits are so good there has been huge worldwide demand for them. It was originally expected that such kits would be for the Japanese domestic market only but as we live in the time of the global economy naturally word got out and people from other countries started buying them. Why wouldn’t they when they’re the best kits they can get?

No that's not Coruscant...

Disney appear to have realised that this would probably have an impact on sales in other markets for which they have different, (and in my opinion, substandard), ranges and different agreements and so they’ve come down hard on Bandai and ordered them to ensure their distributors and re-sellers don’t offer them for sale outside of Japan. I'm sure they're completely within their legal rights to do so but the fact it's been allowed to go on for some time before they've pulled the plug is somewhat frustrating. Sadly this seems to be the way with some large corporations, especially American ones. They’re the first to want a free world market but when things don’t go their way they end up crying off to regulators, lawyers etc…

So what does that leave those us outside of Japan with? Well we get Revell’s frankly uninspiring offerings (although they may only be available in the US).

Disappointing...

At this point I should mention that Revell have made a statement that they had no involvement in Disney's decision. Interesting though that they mention they have no license to sell in Japan, it took me a minute to find their items for sale in Japan, but we'll overlook that for now...

The starter kits are well and good for those that are new to the hobby, something I've championed before. However the so called “Masters” range is actually a case of Revell doing what they do best, buying up old moulds and re-boxing them. In this case it’s the Fine Molds kits (one of which I once awarded 5 out of 5). Most of us would have been happy with that if something better hadn’t come along in the meantime. Plus they'll cost more than the Fine Molds kits ever did, for what is essentially old stock, the rumoured price of the "Masters" (Fine Molds) Falcon is in excess of $300!

However there are ways for us model builders to get hold of the Bandai kits, in the short term at least. First of all most Japanese sellers have been very good at communicating how (slowly) they’ll be taking stuff off their websites, so if you want something be quick (one informed me that I have until the 20th of September to buy any remaining stock or get any pre-orders in, which they’ll honour). Second, market sellers such as those on Amazon, eBay etc. will be selling them independently, although I expect prices will rise sharply one sellers realise they can profit. Once that happens there’s the third option, kit hunters based in Japan. In this case individuals living in Japan will buy kits and mail them to you, usually for a percentage fee (there’s a list here of some, but I can’t personally recommend any as I’ve not used them yet) which may turn out to be a better option than paying a premium on those for sale in option 2.

In my case my remaining hobby budget for the year has mostly been spent and I need to inform Iana that lots of parcels will be arriving in the mail from Japan in the near future (and my poor postman who has to carry them all)!

The sad part is this all seems so unnecessary, I was looking forward to seeing the new film in December but now there's a bitter taste about it all

Completed Review - FineMolds TIE Fighter - Part 2

Scale: 1:72, RRP - £24.99 (UK import price)

So back to blogging after a break and where better to start than with the FineMolds TIE Fighter. In my previous build review I pretty much covered how well this kit went together, so there isn't much more to say. I will make a quick mention of the masks that were included with the kit for the glazed parts, these were excellent and the decals went on without any problems, despite their small size.

Really all that's really left to do is show some pictures of the finished model.

If you read the my earlier posts, (the build review and this one), then it's not going to come as much of a surprise when I tell you that this is a fantastic kit. Beautifully detailed, authentic looking (when compared to the original film models) and all at a sensible scale. And to top it all off it goes together remarkably well.

The only difficultly for me was understanding the Japanese instructions, but as this kit was only intended for release in the Japanese domestic market that's completely understandable.

Simply put, this is, without doubt, this the best kit I've built to date. Yes, it even out-preforms my favourite model company, Tamiya!

Overall Build Score: 5 out of 5, an essential build for sci-fi modellers (and others). Perfection in model form, a kit that's well thought out, well engineered and true to its film roots in every way.

What's On The Workbench? #3

Bit of quick post, so what's on the workbench at this time?

Well of course Fine Molds 1:72 scale TIE fighter is nearing completion, I'm just itching to write my final review but it's not quite done yet.

Hopefully one day of good light at my desk can see the final details painted and the decals on. But trust me, this one's worth the wait!

Apart from that, I have started work on something else, between coats of paint on the TIE fighter. I'll reveal exactly what in a later post.

But for now a sneak preview, it doesn't exactly fall together thanks to some interesting choices for the sprue runners...

Build Review - FineMolds TIE Fighter - Part 1

Time for an update on FineMolds 1:72, a kit which appears on my to-do list for the coming year.

Upon opening the box it's one of those kits where you instantly notice the detail. The parts are full of little details, which is probably down to FineMolds having access to the original production models from the Star Wars films.

So naturally, I was keen to get started, and like any aircraft build you start with the cockpit, and in this case the excellent little pilot model. The cockpit consists of front and back halves, a floor and two inner side walls and then the pilot, his seat and controls. The side walls are painted black and then decals are added to give the red interior effect (I believe these are moving dials in the film, but it's been such a long time since I've seen them that I may be mistaken).

The rest of the interior is coloured grey, I used Tamiya's XF-53, neutral grey and dry-brushed with various Citadel greys to add a bit depth. The pilot is all black, again dry-brushed to bring out the details. FineMolds also give you some decals for his helmet and shoulder pads which are tiny! With these added he was ready to be seated.

All this went together smoothly, the fit is excellent, clip the front half on and the cockpit was pretty much done. There is a clear panel for the front but I decided to leave this off and paint it separately and so just masked the cockpit front as it was.

Next up were the wings. I believe the technical term is solar collector arrays so forgive me if I refer to them as wings from now on. These consist of a flat panel and then two frame pieces which clip onto either side. The flat panels were sprayed with Tamiya's XF-69, Nato black. I them picked out a few sections and over sprayed them with XF-61, German grey to add a bit of contrast.

After attaching the frames to the panels it was time to fix them to the cockpit and here I encountered my first (minor) problem. The fix initially seemed a bit lose and had me wondering how I would get then to settle at the correct angle. It was only then that I realised I had to apply more pressure and then the wings snapped into place. In fact, they fitted so firmly I doubt glue would be needed to hold them.

I think there may well be something in the instructions to tell you all this but the instructions are completely in Japanese. This is because this model, and the license, are only for the domestic Japanese market and so there's not a word of English to be found like you find in so many other Japanese kits.

And there you have it, in no time at all a TIE fighter built, next up would be painting it which I'll cover in my next post.

One Today - Miniatures In Detail's First Birthday!

It's one year today since this blog started so I thought I'd spend a bit of time reflecting before looking forward to the next year. The intention of this blog was to chart my return to scale modelling and at that it has succeeded. It was certainly a mixed year, a wide range of projects were attempted, there was a mix of success and failure.

Highlights included Tamiya's F/P-51D which I believe is my best build to date and Airfix's A6M2b Zero which came just at a time when I felt I was never going to get anywhere. There was also the unexpected return to fantasy miniatures and a first try at 1:48 scale military figures which I hope will lead to future projects.

Success!

Outside of this blog I've have been surprised by the success of my Pinterest page which I've been using to link to inspiration photos and articles I've found on the internet while researching projects.

As for the lowlights, there were a few failed projects, but the main one was my failure to complete all but one of the models I mentioned in my first post (two were started and subsequently abandoned, two remain un-started). This was partly due to my inexperience and not really having much focus, essentially I based this to-do list on what kits I had available at the time.

Failure! One out of five completed, two half completed...

I think part of the reason was that I wanted to attempt so much that I never really found any focus for the majority of this year, but this period of discovery has led me to realise that I'm finally finding areas of interest.

So what are they? Aircraft wise, I found a growing interest in US Second World War aircraft (but not just in US service), leading through to late war experimental aircraft and early cold war aircraft from all nations.

Which brings us back to the present day, with a clearer idea of what I like I can write another, hopefully more focused, to-do list for the coming year and be more successful this time round!

The To - Do List - 2014/15

In no particular order:

1. Another Tamiya kit, I want to carry on from my most successful build to date. A good part of that success was due to the fact I was building such a quality kit, it makes sense to build another.
2. An Eduard Profipack. After using Eduard detail sets for many of my builds it's time I tried the full package, Eduard plastic with Eduard photo-etch.
3. A Luftwaffe WWII experimental / jet fighter. A long time area of personal interest (I'll write more about that later) that I've yet to visit in model form.
4. An early Cold War era jet. A newer area of interest that has followed on from my interest in WWII jets. I'm aware I could chose Tamiya's F-84G Thunderjet (I've had my eye on it for a while now) and count this build towards No. 1 as well, but I would prefer that it doesn't.
5. A sci-fi scale model. Of course I'm hoping this will involve successfully finishing the Fine Molds TIE fighter which I couldn't resist starting a few days ago.

If I achieve some success with these targets, and time allows, then I'd like to attempt a 1:48 scale military project, probably starting out with a small vehicle to accompany the figures I've already attempted.

And finally I've like to at least continue painting miniatures. However I've found it difficult to stay inspired and focused so realistically I think I will be miniature painting between the modelling projects for now. At the moment I'm completely out of practice but who knows maybe this time next year, I'll be painting more of them as well as having completed plenty of scale model projects!

As for you my readers, I hope you've enjoyed this past year as much I have and I hope to continue sharing my journey with you into the next year (and beyond).

What's On The Workbench? #2

After my last post there was a certain inevitability that I'd have to follow it up with a build. So what's on the workbench?

It is of course, Fine Molds 1:72 scale TIE Fighter, I not going to say in this post, other than I'm loving this build so far.

I'll save the detailed report for when I complete this kit (assuming I can avoid any of the kind of disasters that have plagued my recent builds) and leave you a picture of a very small pilot and possibly the smallest decals you'll ever be likely to see.

Until next time.

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