HI there

OK - it might be a little bit mad ... but that's me!

When folks are awarded a UOM, they get the chance to state their piece - set wrongs right. In the process, of course, there's plenty of people with a valid point of view who might go unheard.

So... this is, for want of a better description, the Aircraft Soapbox. Your chance to say what you think's good and bad about our hobby. The topic's "sticky" i.e. it'll stay at the top of the forum where everyone can read it. So, now's your chance to set the modelling world to rights - but remember libel or just plain BS will be deleted - keep it clean and measured.

I'll kick things off...

I really want to encourage people to "think outside the box"... a dreadful cliché, but every kit doesn't have to be a "shake 'n make"...

There are so many superb subjects out there that the major manufacturers will never be able to touch - pure economics will see to that.

So be bold - think small! Small manufacturers that is! The small, short run manufacturers are part of the life blood of our hobby. True... their kits do take a bit more building... but isn't that the whole point? Exactly what makes it fun!

My gig this year is vacuforms - watch out! I'll have some of you converted! ... , but everyone - broaden your horizons and see beyond the Tamigawas of this world...

Rowan

Next....

vacforms....... i was looking at the site of a guy called matt swann called swannys models and its refreshing not to see the phrases me 109-f1,f4,g6,g8, g10..... and the other one f 16,a,b,c, it seems to me that a lot of modelling sites are awash with these kits to the point where even when they are excellently built and painted, i find myself thinking "oh no more of (insert kit name here) i love to see the less well known aircraft in kit form, at the moment i myself am building a bf 108, a defiant nf 2 and a dh 2

Hi Phil

....a DH.2 - as in the WW1 pusher?... have you seen Eduard's new beauty? Well you will, once I get time to write the review! I guess with that '108, you already have ...

All the best

Rowan

this IS the eduard dh2 kit, the 1/72 profipack version, and will be more rigging thread than plastic when i finish it! and top marks to eduard for including a complete rigging guide in the instructions
the 108 is a heller 1/72 kit with the extratech etched set

Hi Phil

1/72 scale... I've just got the new 1/48 version - I'm equally knocked out by it! I'll have a review done soon.

I can't wait to see your finshed model!C[ ]

All the best

Rowan

Personal opinion here, but having done the limited run building and scratchbuilding a conversion of a model that does not exist in kit form, I find it more relaxing to build a well engineered, great fitting kit. With all the superb kits out there, I really have to think twice about building a subpar limited run kit that costs the same as a top of the line kit.

Again, just my personal preference. No one's opinion is wrong or right in a case like this.

I have been at this since before clear parts in kits. What jangles my nerves are nit pickers, they llok at a plane and say "this isn't right" or "that's not the exact color" and yada yada yada, This is just a hobby after all and I have seen a lot of models that are not historically accurate or correct but hey! I liked em, either for the paint or the weathering or trying something different. If i want 100% accurate I can go to a museum! I just like to see what other people are building and how they think it looks to them. I'll stop now

Hi Probuilder

I've never heard it put that way... but that is a NEAT way way of putting it!

All the best

Rowan

I'll put my $.02 in....

I shop at a local hobby shop that I love... the service is great, the selection is fantastic, and they're full of great tips. The only thing they don't have going for them is.....wait for it.... they have the CHEAPEST paper bags ever!

You buy all of your goodies... you hurry home with great anticipation, and then when you pick up the bag from the back seat the bottom falls out and drops all the bottles of paint you just bought...effectifly turning your street into a crappy Jackson Pollock reproduction.

Yep...there goes about $5 to $15 bucks worth of paint. Now we're not talking about the end of the world here...But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Oh well.... cheers!
-scott

Ok, I'll toss my hat into the ring and vent my spleen as well.

I agree, there's accuarate and then there's the extreme. I don't fault those who take it to the extreme. In fact, I'm always amazed by their talent to do so, but don't shoot someone else down because they don't. Yes, like it has been said...it is a hobby.

I also agree on the trend of producing a multitude of variants of the same aircraft.....why? If you want to impress me, produce a decent kit of a Fairey Gannet! Or, maybe another Canadian Jenny complete with skis...I have the Merlin kit. A 1/48th version would do nicely. In fact, the more obscure the aircraft..the better!

Oh..and Vac forms, they provide a cool selection of the obscure birds I spoke of, but way out of my league....maybe five years from now. Until then..I'll have to whimper about the selection of injected kits.

There it is..not much of a venting...but I ask for very little.

Hi all!

Well, let me reactivate the soapbox!

The main subject of this thread are the limited short run kits so far. Personally I like them!
For several reasons, one being that the short run manufacturers offer to the modeller subjects a mainstream manufacturer wouldn't do. I'm not as mad to build a short run when a better version is available from Tamigawa but if it's the only way, so be it! I like WW2 airplanes and I want to build them all! The Bf 109 and P-51 as well as the He 100 or the P-43! My goal, beside the ambition to become a better modeler, is to have an historical collection of WW2 planes. If you have that goal, you can't go around short run kits! I don't want to wait 20 years to build a Defiant or a Pe-2 in 1/48 scale!
Diversity is what makes the world evolve and the diversity of our hobby is what has helped improved it! Go back 20 years and compare with today! It's amazing! I think the short run manufacturers are for a great part in this evolution! What makes them go on is money, but also passion!
I'm impressed about the quality of Tamiya kits and I build them with pleasure... but they are mainstream! You see a lot of them around build the same way! As someone said here at Armorama (sorry I forgot the name) "Tamiya makes an average modeller look better", but if you achieve to make a short run kit look equal (or even better!) than a Tamigawa one... what a fulfilment!
I think it's a pity some of you don't try short run kits! The first time I build one I was intimidated by the resin and the photoetched parts. The vacuformed canopys made me shiver like a little child! But think of all the subjects you WANT to do but you don't allow yourself to try!
On the short run kit boxes you can find words like "for collectors", "modelling skill required", "for model kit fanatic" etc... Aren't these the words to describe a modeller?

Jean-Luc

OK. I'll bite too.

I really like the short run kits. When you build one, you always learn something new or aquire a new skill. I can't build a Hasegawa kit anymore without adding at least an Eduard PE set to it.

I don't buy or build Tamiya kits anymore. To me, they're oversimplified, overpriced, and overrated. I don't learn a thing from building one of their kits. The only thing they're good for, to me, is painting. But that can be done with any kit, so why pay more? If I just wanted to impress people with having no visible seams on my builds, they might be enough. But I enjoy the work required to get that out of a rougher kit.

I like kits that demand my attention during their construction. There's a sense of accomplishment you get when you have done the difficult work, not the kit engineer.

Do I like short run kits? You betcha !

I have to say that I see both sides of the story. For an amateur (such as myself), Tamiya and Hasegawa kits are preferred because most of the time (except in the case of the Hasegawa P-40E) they are considerably easier to build. However, as a modeler one never gets better unless he learns new techniques and works on the poorly put together kits. But after all, the reason we all model is because we enjoy building them. The more challenging they are the more fun some of us have.

Thanks to the designers for creating this place. It is such a wealth of knowledge.

What's my gripe?

Not having enough time... there's nothing worse than going away for a month and coming back to a table full of bits and pieces, and not ahving any idea where you left off mobile modelling kits anyone?

I hear ya cokes... once school starts i have to more-or-less abandon the modeling table for several months
that is why i, and no offense to those who do build them because i love seeing a highly detailed and out of the ordinary model, tend to stay away from the more time-intensive cottage industry kits. I try to maximize my time. Sadly, i only have sooo much patience and like to see a finished kit! But that is a question of whether or not you want just quantity or quantity/quality

just my ramblings,
cap

I must respond to T_Terrific's comments, albeit in a civilized way.

I think that AMTech is the best outfit out there. They take an older, but still OK kit, and they throw in excellent decals, a nice resin nose and good instructions, all of which for a very nice price. Sure, you'll have to work in order to finish the model, but isn't that the whole point of the hobby?

They did the same thing with the Hs 123, the C-135 and the Ju-88s. I have most of their kits in my stash, and I'm currently building their Ta 183, a really nice gem of a kit if there's ever one.

They give absolutly marvelous customer service (they included a second fuselage pair without some small moulding glitch in their P-40E kit) and when you send them a mail, they kindly respond to you.

I say, bring on the Ta 183B, the Banshees and the P-61s!

I like building the short run kits because they are often subjects the mainstream kit manufacterers would never produce, but these sort of kits also require more time to construct than a Hasegawa or Tamiya kit.
Were it not for the ''Tamigawa'' kits people like myself who have to work or go to school (or both!) would likely build only a few models a year or quit the hobby completely. Thats nice if some people have the extra time to build short run kits or super detail the ''Tamigawa'' products but I suspect many modelers just don't have the time to build the more challenging short run kits. Its not a matter of ability or desire, it is about having enough time to build them.

Right now I am building two 1/72 scale Huma kits and a 1/72 scale DML Ta 152C and so far they have been slow to build because of poor fit of the main parts, I will be glad when these models are built so I can start painting them, it is my favorite aspect of modeling.

Matrixone

Ok I like building models, I dont really care what plane it is necessarily except when things become common like a Bf109 whatever. SO I guess i like small companies who take chances with different subjects. Heck im still waiting for anybody to produce a plastic Global Hawk. but i guess thats going to take awhile. But something else... I like the mainstream companies because they are "easy" to build. There are some different kits that they have. And with a newbie like me, I need some help before leaving the nest.
Oh another thing that drives me crazy is how companies in paint charts put "cockpit color"
and "cowling color" for the cockpit and cowling. I mean like its not obvious already. what i really need is an actual color.
well i hope i made sense.

Here's some thoughts on aircraft paint from a treadhead builder I painted aircraft while in the USAF I asked a MasterSgt about the FS color paints and if they have to match up exactly

He told me they are just general guide lines As long as the paint was close to the color chips that was ok

We used polyuethane paint while I was in At first it was a 50/50 mix of part A and B Later it changed with the new EPA guidlines It went 2 parts A to 1 part B Part B was the clear catylyst

On the newer paint we could mix up a quart from a one gallon can and spray it Later that day we could mix up another quart from that same can of paint and it would end up a little lighter or darker

Hope all that I said was as clear as mud Don't pay attention to those people who gotta critisize a lot at the shows Good critisizm is good

But those who say the paint is off a shade or two need to get a life

Got to agree with you there Chad, life's to short to worry about stupid things like exact paint colours.
Andy (++)

Gotta ask....what is "UOM"?

Hi BugNerd!

Welcome to Armorama!

UOM = User Of the Month

This was an award given to a Member of the site for his contribution (mainly). It is not used since some time now. It´s not because there are not great people here anymore, but I believe it´s probably because it´s very difficult to find an UOM now the site has almost 15000 members!!!

Jean-Luc

P.S. for Site related questions, you should post in the dedicated Site Forum. So don´t be surprised if a moderator deletes our messages in a few days

I understand. I asked here because it appeared in this thread.