Kit List, What's In, What's Out for 2017 - February

Part way through last year I decided to keep a record of everything hobby related that I bought and sold in order to keep track of my hobby consumption.

2017 has seen me continue this, so here's what I bought and sold this month, just been a few detail parts to enable me to work on several more aircraft kits which I currently own.

In - Purchases for February 2017

• Yahu Models Instrument Panels - £4.30
• Vacform Canopies - £4.60

Total Yearly (2017) Expenditure - £46.06

Out - Downsizing for February 2017

• None

Kit List, What's In, What's Out for 2017 - January

Part way through last year I decided to keep a record of everything hobby related that I bought and sold in order to keep track of my hobby consumption. Although I didn't buy an excessive amount I also didn't get much completed.

With a new year starting I've decided to repeat the whole exercise, and actually complete more models. After all what the point of buying them and not building them? I'm not looking to create a bigger stash because I want to keep my hobby consumption at an efficient level.

In - Purchases for January 2017

• Oil paints (for weathering) - £7.90
• Tamiya paints x2 - £3.60
• 4x Bandai 1:144 Star Wars Kits (X-Wing Starfighter, Y-Wing Starfighter, Poe's X-Wing Fighter, First Order TIE Fighter set) - £25.66 

Total Yearly (2017) Expenditure - £37.16

Out - Downsizing for January 2017

• Eduard 1:48 F6F-3 Hellcat

Looking Ahead: The Aircraft Wish List For 2017

Around this time of year you will no doubt be seeing plenty of "New Year Resolution" posts, this post is one and at the same time isn't one of those type of posts.

After last year in which I completed just one kit and suffered a significant loss of motivation I've taken some time to reflect on what I want to achieve this year and come up with an "ideal" world list (actually, it's 3 lists) which I'm hoping will give me a sense of direction but not be so strict as to become too much of a chore to complete.

I've decided to break down the builds into 3 categories, ideally if I can complete one build from each to a reasonably high (for me) standard then I'll consider 2017 a success. Realistically I need to tackle some of the kits I currently own before buying new ones, so some of listed won't become an option until I complete others.

Category 1: Out of the box builds

My, as of yet incomplete, Typhoon build showed me that I don't have to buy photo-etch and resin extras to actually have a build that is both enjoyable while providing a sense of achievement and progress at the same time.

We're very fortunate that these days we have a good choice when it comes to out of the box builds. As I want to build these models in flight, to keep things straight forward as possible, the Airfix range is ideal as they always seem to give you the option of both, something I wish all manufacturers would do.

• Airfix 1:72 Spitfire Mk.I/IIa (Owned)
• Airfix 1:72 Bf 109E-7/Trop (Owned)
• Airifx 1:72 Hurricane Mk.I (New Purchase)
• Airifx 1:72 P-51D Mustang (New Purchase)

Category 2: Detailed Builds

The next level of build involves a bit more detail, here I want to more work on the cockpit, either resin replacement work or photo-etch enhancement, or both. In such cases the canopy will be open so the aircraft will be modelled as it were on the ground and I will also consider building a display base.

• Eduard 1:72 Spitfire Mk.IXc (Owned)

There's only one aircraft in this list, however I own more than one of these kits so I could, if I excel myself, possibly build more than one of the same aircraft.

Category 3: Conversion builds

The final category is the most involved and challenging as it goes beyond the standard detailing and requires conversion work such as resin engines, super detailed interiors and so on. The kits I have in mind are:

• Tamiya Mosquito FB Mk.VI (Owned)
• Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt converted to a P-47M (New Purchase)

As I've said this is an an "ideal" world list but I think it will be useful to look back after a year and see if this list helped me focus. Of course I won't just be building aircraft so there will still be builds that aren't on this list, and hopefully some miniature painting as well.

Time to get 2017 started then!

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - December 2016

Finishing my record of what I buy and sell during this year:

In - Purchases for December 2016

• None

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £231.80

Out - Downsizing for December 2016

• None

No sales, no purchases, this month. Although a great many model companies had end of year sales none them offered anything to tempt me into a purchase at this time as I have plenty to be getting on with and want to continue decreasing my stash over the coming months.

That bring this record to a close. There was one significant purchase which accounted for more than a third of my expenditure, the Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower board game. Apart from that the rest felt like I'd managed to reduce my purchases, but on the other hand I've haven't got anything built and so have I really got my stash under control?

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - November 2016

Continuing my record of what I buy and sell during this year:

In - Purchases for November 2016

• Hasslefree Miniatures - £32.22

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £231.80

Out - Downsizing for November 2016

• None

Just the one purchase from Hasslefree Miniatures as I took advantage of their yearly Halloween Sale (a few days after Halloween itself, which is why this is accounted for in November's purchases).

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - October 2016

Continuing my record of what I buy and sell during this year:

In - Purchases for October 2016

• None

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £199.58

Out - Downsizing for October 2016

• None

Finally a whole month of not buying anything, unfortunately that could be could down to a whole month of not much in the way of hobby progress!

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - September 2016

Continuing my record of what I buy and sell for the remainder of this year, unfortunately it's pretty much been a month of hobby inactivity for September:

In - Purchases for September 2016

• Citadel Paints - £15.30
•  Tamiya Masking Tape (2 Rolls) - £4.80

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £199.58

Out - Downsizing for August 2016

• None

Looking at my collection citadel paints it's becoming apparent many are no longer fit for use and so this month I decided to start replacing some of them, something which I'll probably continue over the coming months. Apart from that, Tamiya masking tape, because invasion stripes require a lot of masking and I'd ran out. So now I can get on with my Airfix Typhoon Build.

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - August 2016

Another month and continuing my record of what I buy and sell for the remainder of this year here's what I bought and sold in August:

In - Purchases for August 2016

• Kovozavody Prostejov 1:72 North-American Mustang Mk.III 'Malcolm hood', RAF - £9.99
• Kovozavody Prostejov 1:72 P-51B/P-51C Mustang p/e parts - £3.70
• Kovozavody Prostejov 1:72 North-American P-51 resin pylons & fuel tanks - £3.70
• Peewit P-51 Masks - £2.40
• Montex Hawker Typhoon Masks - £2.00

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £179.48

Out - Downsizing for August 2016

• Tamiya 1:72 AH-6 Night Fox
• Tamiya 1:72 AH-64 Apache
• Frog 1:72 B-26 Marauder
• Airfix 1:24 Spitfire Mk.Ia (Incomplete)
• Airfix 1:48 Spitfire Mk.Vb
• Airfix 1:48 Messerschmitt Bf-109F-4

A few larger scale kits went as I just don't have room for them and couple of helicopter kits were sold. I've had an interest in trying helicopters but there was no chance of me starting any time soon and so I decided to sell some in order to fund this month's purchases.

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - July 2016

Earlier I decided to keep track of what I buy and sell for the duration of this year. This is what happened during July:

In - Purchases for July 2016

• Airfix 1:72 Gloster Gladiator Mk.I - £2.99
• Airifx 1:72 Supermarine Spitifire Mk.I / Mk.IIa - £2.99
• Airfix 1:72 Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXc - £2.99
• Airifx 1:72 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-7/Trop - £2.99
• Airfix 1:72 Higgins LCVP - £2.99
• 2x Xdradecal D-Day decal sets - £14.52
• Tamiya Paints - £9.00

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £157.69

Out - Downsizing for July 2016

• None 

The Airifix purchases were me taking advantage of a promotion in the Home Bargains store here in the UK in which Airifx kits were on offer for less than half price. Some of the purchases will allow me to sell off larger box set that I currently own (Airifx D-Day sets), some are just for parts or test models. The remaining ones are not on my to build list, so I've over purchased, which ideally I want to avoid as part of this exercise.

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - June 2016

A few posts back I decided to keep track of what I buy and sell during this year as I attempt to monitor my hobby consumption. So here's what happened this during June:

In - Purchases for June 2016

• 2 x Airfix 1:72 Hawker Typhoon IBs - £5.98

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £119.22

Out - Downsizing for June 2016

• None 

Just a couple a kits this month which will allow me to sell a larger box set and still build one the kits on my to build list.

As far as actually hobby progress, there's been none this month.

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - May 2016

A few posts back I decided to keep track of what I buy and sell this year as I attempt to monitor my hobby consumption. So here's what happened this during May:

In - Purchases for May 2016

• Games Workshop Liquid Green Stuff - £6.00
• Warhammer Quest: The Silver Tower - £95.00

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £113.24

Out - Downsizing for May 2016

• None 

Obviously one significant purchase in buying Warhammer Quest: The Silver Tower. I'd been searching for a board game for a while as a long term painting project and this one turned out to be ideal. With this and my Mordheim painting project. I should have plenty to be getting on with for some time now and don't really envisage any more miniatures purchases, (other than components), in the immediate future.

However one thing I have realised is that my paints will need refreshing as the Silver Tower features a lot of colours I've not tended to use much before now. I'll try and phase them in over the next few months as I paint certain batches of miniatures.

Kit List, What's In, What's Out - April 2016

A few posts back I decided to keep track of what I buy and sell this year as I attempt to get my stash under control. So here's what happened this month:

In - Purchases for April 2016

• Games Workshop parts (for a Mordheim project) - £12.24

Total Yearly (April to December) Expenditure - £12.24

Out - Downsizing for April 2016

• Fujimi 1:24  Porsche 917K, 1971 Monza 1000km winner
• Games Workshop 5x Marauder Horsemen box set
• Eduard 1:144 Me 262A Dual Combo
• Tamiya 1:100 Me 262A & Me 163B
• AZ Models 1:72 MiG-17F / Lim-5 Fresco-C
• Airfix 1:72 Hawker P.1127
• Tamiya 1:48 Sd.Kfz.222 Armoured Car
• Airfix 1:72 Hawker Hurricane / Sea Hurricane Mk IIc plus Eduard photo-etch detail set
• Hobby Boss 1:72 Me 163 Interceptor (Easy Kit)
• ICM 1:72 SB 2M-100 Katiushka
• Special Hobby 1:72 Yakovlev Yak-23 Flora Warsaw Pact

It was a bit disappointing to see some of these go. They were all projects that at some time I'd intended to build; but hopefully they've moved on to somewhere where they'll actually get built.

Kits I Want To Build - Aircraft

A few posts back I wrote about downsizing my stash in order to help me focus a bit more on what I’ve got and what I want to build in the future. A few kits have already been moved on and so now I thought I’d try and identify the aircraft I have an interest in, both from a historic point of view as well as well modelling point of view.

I have to confess it gets a bit difficult at this point, there’s still quite a lot of them. I had to stop eventually and that point was when I reached 25 aircraft, any further would be straining the credibility of the exercise.

So here’s the list, broken down into five categories. Four of these are Second World War categories, the first three being aircraft of steadily increasing sizes. A couple I have already built but would like to do again in different colour schemes, (Spitfire and P-51D) and so are not considered essential builds right now. Medium bombers present more of a challenge for me as a build although the Il-2 is looking like a distinctly possible build for the near future. Heavy bombers are the same plus I have to contend with the issue of displaying them due to their size so they’ve effectively been put to one side for now.

The WWII experimental fighter / jets category is pretty much a self-contained project that I’ve had in mind for several years now. It’s not been started yet, partly due to my inability to replicate RLM colours to a satisfactory likeness. I actually plan on writing further on this subject, but for now, like the heavy bombers, it’s been put to one side.

And finally we get to the Cold War era aircraft. Initially this interest was sparked by the late WWII jet fighters and by my Hobby Boss F9F-2 Panther build. And this is the point where I’ve decided to draw a line, just two kits will remain, and that’s because they’re really good kits with a whole load of extras that I don’t wish to part with at this time. I do have a couple of helicopter kits as well which I’ve excluded, and then there’s all the non-aircraft kits which are not with the scope of this post.

Does this help? Well looking at a list of 25, it’s still quite daunting. But the categories do help me prioritise a few builds, and then things look a bit better. With that in mind I’m going to get started on the WWII fighters list.

Simple Scratchbuilding - Academy's F6F-3/5 Hellcat (2224)

After my last build I decided that my next model would be an opposing aircraft, also in flight. Naturally I decided on the Zero's rival, the Grumman F6F Hellcat, of which I had a couple to choose from in my stash.

Opening up Academy's 1/72 F6F-3/5 kit (2224) I was surprised to find that there was only the option to build a wheels down version.

Any way you like as long as it's gear down

Oh well, I thought, guess I'm going to have to build Eduard's F6F-3 (kit 7076, also 1/72 scale). But once again, only one option is offered, wheels down.

I imagine the reason for this is that the Hellcat had hydraulically actuated landing gear struts which rotated through 90° and retracted backwards into the wings (instead of sideways like many other aircraft of the era). I presume this was because the wings folded up to save space when been transported on aircraft carriers. From a modelling point of view this would mean manufacturers would have to produce more parts so in these cases it's appears they didn't feel the need to.

So with the parts I had, I decided to try and model the gear up. This wasn't a straight forward as I expected. For a start the gear covers don't actually fit the space where they'd go if they were up, so some trimming was be needed! Fortunately there was enough space within the wing for the wheels, the finishing touch was to added the struts. These were made from small pieces of cocktail sticks, sliced horizontally.

Finally I cut a hole in the base of the aircraft for the stand. One thing I learnt from my last build was, doing this on a completed model is a somewhat nerve-wracking task, best avoided if possible!

Update 16-Dec: Unfortunately this particular build was consigned to the scrapheap soon afterwards. While trying to fit the clear parts I damaged several of them which meant I would not be able to finish this model to the standard I'd hoped for. (I later realised that the fumes from the glue I used to stick the two fuselage halves together above the clear parts had caused them to fog).

Complete - Airfix's A6M2b Zero (A01005)

Completed Review - Airfix's A6M2b Zero (A01005) - Part 2

Scale: 1:72, RRP - £5.99

It's been more than a month since I last wrote about Airfix's A6M2b Zero and as it's approaching completion I thought it's about time I wrote a bit more about it.

Apart from the issue mentioned previously with fitting the machine guns and cowl the kit pretty much fell together, I didn't actually feel the need to do any filling, which is always a bonus. The clear parts fitted well and aren't too thick, meaning some of the details inside can still been seen.

To paint the model I used Tamiya acrylics. I'm becoming more confident using an airbrush and so this time I attempted to pre-shade the panel lines with Tamiya's XF-1, Flat Black, although this worked better on the base of the aircraft.

The base was then sprayed with XF-12, JN Grey, while the rest of the aircraft was sprayed with JN Green (XF-70). Finally in order to highlight the model the green was highlighted with lighter mixes of JN Green and Interior Green (XF-71, the colour I'd used for the interior).

Spraying went well and it's really good for the confidence to have a successful spell with the airbrush. There was a slight issue with a dog hair getting stuck in the freshly sprayed paint but I was fortunately able to rescue it...

Next, I moved onto the decals.

I have to say I found them a little thick and a bit more work than they should have been, especially as Airfix claim this is a level 1 difficultly kit.

The yellow bands along the front of the wing took some bending before they settled and the red outlines to the rear of the wings seem poorly thought out. The decal was a thin rectangle with a hollow centre (rather than being a solid rectangle decal) and as you can imagine was somewhat awkward to slide into place. With hindsight I should have cut it into more manageable pieces, but I got it settled eventually.

So for now that's it. I'm intending to display this model in flight, weather it a bit and attach the spinner. I've not attached the landing gear yet until I've found a suitable base to for it (otherwise the gear will be down).

Looking back to when I wrote my in-box review of this kit I scored it 4 out of 5. So the question is, now that I've built it, do I stand by that original score? There were a few issues in the build, but once it's built it's a really good looking kit. For the money you pay it's absolutely worth it, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that you have a go at building one.

Overall Build Score: 4 out of 5, as I wrote before, Airfix can be really proud of this release. Easily the best budget Zero kit out there and one that can also hold it's own with the high end kits.

Build Review - Frustration & Airfix's A6M2b Zero (A01005) - Part 1

I'm sure we've all been there, a nice easy night planned doing a few simple modelling tasks. Well tonight was that night, I was going to work on Airfix's 1:72 A6M2b Zero and then spend the rest of the evening writing a blog post (but not this one).

However things didn't go to plan due to a frustrating evening caused by a bad set of instructions. So time to turn that frustration to something helpful for anyone wishing to build this kit.

The part in question is the fitting of machine guns and the cowl that covers them. In step 5 you attach the machine guns to the underside of the cowl before fixing them in place in step 7. However the part is too wide to slot in vertically as shown in the instructions.

Step 5

Step 7

Thankfully I hadn't attached the engine as the only way in was to try and slide the cowl and guns in from engine end. This was awkward as the parts kept catching which resulted in parts 14C and 8A separating on numerous attempts. Eventually I managed it with the aid of a dental tool and a small file to push them into place, Although the two parts were slightly separated it shouldn't be noticeable once the canopy's fixed in place. A dab of glue on part 8A before sliding it in sees that it attaches to the top of the control panel in the cockpit.


Anyway, I hope that's some help if you are planning on building this kit and have been doing an internet search before getting started!

While I'm here I may as well put up a picture of the cockpit parts and the pilot. I really dislike painting people at this scale however this pilot painted up really well (this photo doesn't do him justice). The cockpit has some small details which paint up nicely, and the dials are decals which do the job just fine.

So despite the minor setbacks so far it's a nice kit, I'm sure further updates will follow.

Vintage Kit Build #1 - The Worst Kit You'll Ever Build?

I’m going to start by saying I have fond memories of Airfix kits, I grew up making them. So imagine my surprise when I found out that this kit was exactly one of those kits I built as a child, it hadn’t changed! By today’s standards it’s a really bad kit, much as I like a bit of nostalgia I have to wonder why kits like this aren’t retired.

I would imagine that given its pric of £5.99 (I actually got mine for £1.99 a few months ago) it would be picked up by novices and I have to wonder how many would continue with the hobby after trying to build something like this. Airfix are producing wonderful kits with their recent releases (some of which we’ll be looking at soon) and I feel it’s such a shame for the brand if someone chooses this one and misses out on one of the others.

So what is it like? It’s basic, really basic. The cockpit consists of just a seat, but that shouldn’t be too much of an issue given the thickness of the clear parts, you’ll never see inside this one.

The fit is deplorable, the base of the tail just doesn’t exist and so you’ll be sculpting it yourself. The wheel wells seem to contain plastic wedges which are presumably there to support the ill-fitting wheel covers should you choose to do an in-flight version. Add to this an instruction sheet that fails to mention adding weights to the nose to prevent it becoming a tail-sitter and the landing gear down  option is an equal recipe for disaster.

Next up, the marking options. The box clearly shows a P-39N (with guns mounted in the wing, not below as they were in the P-39Q). The marking diagrams also clearly show two options for a P-39N but the parts are for a P-39Q. I think this lack of attention to detail is just unforgivable.

 

Now despite this I’m not going to completely right off this kit, the decals look to be good quality and the colour schemes are interesting if you want to attempt a P-39N conversion. If you want a basic but inaccurate build straight out of the box then it can be done.

 

Mine will be pressed into service in my "Experimental"s, a special unit whose duties will include being painted and stripped, over and over. A task this one will perform admirably, I’m sure.

About My Reviews

Over the years I've accumulated many models and now I've returned to the hobby I continue to buy more. And more. My past experience is that some get built, some get binned (some get binned and then taken out of the bin and given the second chance), some are a pleasure to build and others seem like a curse.  One of purposes of this blog is to share my experiences of models that I buy and those I already own through reviews; after all in this day and age many of us like to check out the internet before we buy.

To start with I’m going to say all my reviews are going to be independent. For dependent ones please check out the adverts of various companies! All kits are going to be reviewed and compared to what is available to hobbyists today and with the view that the kit is meant to be built.There will be a mix of in-box and build reviews, the review title will let you know which is which.

Next is the issue of accuracy. I’m not going to get out the slide rule and a set of authentic plans and begin counting rivets when it comes to aircraft and vehicles. We’re fortunate enough to have the choice these days between how detailed we want our models to be. I appreciate some of us want simple fun builds, others want super detailed models that pass as the real thing. With this in mind I’ll take the view that a kit is a foundation on which a modelling project can be built.

Now I'm guessing you would like to know how exactly I am going to rate the kits? To make it easy for everyone, every kit will be rated from 0 ( meaning "why did anyone even bother to produce this one?") to 5 (5 being the highest) and will be based on the following:

• Build – The ease with which a kit can be built and how well it fits, how good are the instructions. Basically, less filler equals a higher score. 
• Detail & accuracy – Is it an accurate representation of what it's meant to be? Does it give you different build options?
• Decals – Again the ease with which the decals can be applied (not all kits have decals so obviously this applies only to those that do). 

So with all that in mind, I’m sure you’re all looking forward to our first review which will follow this post soon.

The to do list

So a quick look at my to do list for the rest of the year.

This lot comes courtesy of Academy Hobby Model Kits, (and my wallet), all in 1/72 scale, all Second World War aircraft.

First up is the P-39Q/N kit. I'd like to do this one in a VVS (Soviet) colour scheme as Soviet aircraft from this time is an area of particular interest to me. Second will be a P-51B Mustang, I'm undecided between a well known USAAF scheme or a lesser known RAF (Polish) version. Truth is, if the build goes well, I'll probably end up getting another one and doing both.

After those two comes the F6F-3/5 Hellcat kit, typical US Navy colours but by then I figure it'll be fun to paint something different than Olive Drab. And rounding up I hope to finish with the infamous Hans-Ulrich Rudel's JU87G-1 Stuka and a bare metal P-47D Thunderbolt.

Plenty to be getting on with and of course they'll all be appearing here as work progresses.