Hi all,
A casual look on Hannants site earlier turned up some reasonably priced vac kits by Joystick Models. Mostly German C-types but a few other interesting aircraft (Sopwith Batboat anyone?). Unfortunately they don't have any pictures of these kits.
So has anyone built any of their kits? Do they include any detail parts (engines, guns, etc..) in white metal? Are they buildable or best left alone?
The Halberstadt CL.IV is probably the one I'm most tempted by.

Thanks in advance.

Stephen

I found this picture of the 1/72 Albatros C.I which shows it has a few white metal parts

Here's what the WWI Modelling list has to say about them.

Here's the CL.IV built up which proves it can be done

Thanks.
Not sure how you found those, when I googled all I got was the Hannants kit list! Its a shame most of the links on the WWI Modelling site are not working, I would have like to have seen some of the others.

They look a lot like a Pegasus short run kit which I've handled in the past. Its nice they included a generous supply of strut material.
I think I might give one a bash, some of the spare bits from some Roden Albatross's will certainly be of some use.

The organization is still active. http://www.wwi-models.org/

Some of the links to external sites and galleries just lead to a 'This page does no exist' page. Not their fault at all, just what eventually happens to older websites. Anyway, I went ahead and ordered the Albatros J1. I was going to get the Halberstadt but then I saw that and it was just too tempting. I'll post pics and do a mini review here when it arrives. Thanks again.

My kit arrived this morning.

First impressions are pretty good. As I guessed, correctly as it turned out, it is very similar to a Pegasus short-run. Molding is sharp with some good engraved detailing and a decent interior. The fuselage is split horizontally to allow for accurate molding of the upper and lower cowls. The wings do not have a bottom, but the plastic is fairly thick so I may not need to add to this. As a plus of the molding process, the bottoms of the wings have a subtle 'bagging' between the ribs. In theory this will appear more realistic. This was difficult to photograph as the reverse side of the plastic is very glossy. The tailplanes on the other hand will need a bottom adding. White metal parts are provided for the prop, gun ring, Parabellum machine gun (not bad, but not as good as those in Roden kits), exhaust, wheels and a Benz Bz.IV engine. This is beautifully detailed and is the highlight of the kit. One wheel has a gap where the metal has not run fully into the mold. I'll be replacing these with some spares. Some rod and strut material are provided to make up the struts. It would have been nice to have the cabane stuts and landing gear legs cast in metal, especially as each needs to be made from a single piece of rod bent to shape. I'll also need to source a spinner although it is possible that these were lost in service.


Three view plans are given on the A3 sized instructions, but they are not to scale. This could make things interesting when it comes to making up the struts. Even if scale plans could not be produced on the limited space on the sheet, I do think some effort could have been made to at least show all the struts to scale. Pegasus are able to manage it on a single A5 sheet! Decals are given for a German and post-war Polish aircraft. That's 2 more than in other vacs I've bought. Painting instructions are basic but usable.


On the whole I'm impressed. It looks to be a good kit and I'm looking forward to building it. The struts will prove to be a challenge but not impossible.

Thanks for looking
Stephen

Jessie, maybe the CL IV can be built, but using Steve Hustad's work is mis-leading!! The Man is a MASTER, few mortals can match his skills. I know, I've seen a lot of his work up-close at TCAH in Minneapolis. Hi Steve!

Hi Mark,
there are some other examples of his work on the WW1 Modelling site. I'd love to see some hi-res photos of those builds.

I don't live in Minneapolis any more (1600 miles away now), so I won't be able to provide and Hi-Def photos, but MGunns (Mark Krumney) is with TCAH and he posts around here from time to time. Maybe we can entice him to share some photos...

We'll all have to ask him nicely then!