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| My oh my, how the hobby has changed. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 25 2018, 01:52 AM (349 Views) | |
| Harold K | Mar 25 2018, 01:52 AM Post #1 |
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Dweeb
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Starting my example of the magnificent Airfix Lancaster B.II tonight has put me in a contemplative mood. If you have this kit you know that it is a large box packed with many sprues, holding innumerable (well, seems like it) parts. On a shelf a few feet away from me is a completed example of the original Airfix Lanc Mk III kit. Although I built it about 45 to 50 years ago, I have some memory of the process and of a medium-sized box containing gray (were they silvery gray?) parts. What strikes me is that about the only thing the two kits have in common is polystyrene parts; the are so different.The smooth sides of the fuselage interior in the old kit give way to detailed textures nearly from nose to tail in the current one. There was no option to open the bomb bay of the III; there is on the II. The undercarriage of the old kit is adequate, looks the part, but the new kit surpasses it; flat spots on the tyres and all. Overall, the fine detail and delicacy of the smaller parts (guns, u/c, "towel rail" and other antennae) separate the kits most of all. That and the quality of the transparencies stand out. The old Mk III does look like a Lanc, still. But I can already see that the B.II is really going to look like a Lanc! I'm also well pleased that Airfix have done this wonderful kit entirely in polystyrene and have not resorted to the dreck that my signature line refers to and that we all contend with in most kits these days. Even I'm getting used to working with the stuff. |
| Box-shaker; hater of all things resin and photoetched. | |
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| Mark Schynert | Mar 25 2018, 07:00 AM Post #2 |
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Yeast
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Interesting, because I had much the same experience looking at the new AZ P-36C as compared with the Monogram P-36 (I've still got an unbuilt one). Lots of interior detail on the new kit, and next to nothing besides styrene. Now, I do have Starfighter's P-36 interior upgrade (resin), so they'll be pretty close in detail, but if the new kit fits as well as the Monogram, it's going to be an easier kit, because even good resin requires extra work. I've got the Lancaster II, and it's good to hear what you have to say. Really, the Airfix kits are hitting sweet spots over and over again for me, because of cost, detail, and precision of assembly. I'd prefer to leave the tussles for the exotic subjects, like the Williams Brothers Gamma 2A I am presently massaging. I'm always going to be taking on challenges, but sometimes I just want something that goes together like it was designed in the 21st Century. |
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| jvenables | Mar 25 2018, 01:10 PM Post #3 |
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Hawk
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Good comment. I sort of share your signature line comment. I don't mind resin too much but I loathe PE. I have used PE interior sets a few times and whilst some of the detail is exquisite, I have generally found them unnecessarily fiddly, a little too 2-dimensional for my liking and the completed effect no significant improvement on scratchbuilt detail. That said, there is definitely a place for PE such as oleo links, dive flaps (eg. SBD & SB2C) and others. About 12 months ago I picked up a couple of the new Airfix Lanc B.IIs at a very decent price, planning one to be mated with the Blackbird Models Lincoln conversion. It's good to hear positive accolades for the kit. |
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James from Brisbane, Australia Now living in Laos Nil illegitimi carborundum | |
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| Graham Boak | Mar 25 2018, 04:34 PM Post #4 |
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Hero
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Photo-etch is good for the anti-torque links on undercarriages, and it can do for wheel doors and other detail that comes out just a bit too thick in IM parts. I suspect it is also good for detailing the cockpits but that doesn't interest me enough. I've also used it for the finer parts on 1/700 ships - but not the very finest parts that pe can give you! The problems I see with it is that people try to do too much with it. OK for super-modellers with microscopic focus and tiny fingers, which doesn't describe me. However, I don't have any problem with resin, as long as it is used to produce superior parts than in the original injection-moulded kit. Which it usually is, to be fair. What about vac-forms? I presume 3D-printed parts count as resin? I began in a day when real modellers had nothing to do with these nasty plastic things. But like everything else, they are neither good nor bad as a matter of principle. Pick and choose what suits you, ignore the rest. I have kits of subjects that I wouldn't have if they hadn't come out in resin (or vacform - and in at least one case photo-etch). That's not counting conversions using resin/vac-form parts. I have models that would be (even) worse than they are without pe detail. |
| Lancashire, UK | |
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| Mark Schynert | Mar 25 2018, 10:00 PM Post #5 |
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Yeast
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PE is absolutely a mixed bag. It's best for flat detail, or duplicating detached panels that would otherwise be excessively thick, the best examples being flaps, dive brakes and landing gear doors. I can see the value of torque links, but i haven't had a lot of success with them. some cockpit detail is enhanced by PE (instrument panels come to mind) but I am constantly amazed by how much detail is barely visible inside a cockpit in our scale, even when the 'lid' is open. Which, for my models, is rarely. One of the problems with PE is that many of the kits that include it are not terribly precise on how to bend it or exactly where it is located. The attachment surfaces are also often minuscule, meaning that the part is liable to go adrift most any time, especially after the model is done. I've yet to try printed parts. The need hasn't yet coincided with available product. |
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| Harold K | Mar 25 2018, 10:19 PM Post #6 |
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Dweeb
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Late last year I used my first printed part, on a 1/700th DKM Gneisenau. It enabled me to do the ship in its late 1939 fit, which the Tamiya kit cannot do on its own. I heeded the advice of other ship modelers and exposed the part to direct sunlight for a couple of days. Having done that, I had no problems with enamels adhering to this rather large part, the ship's aircraft hangar. I'd do it again. I meant to close my post last evening by saying that I am now more enthused than ever about the Airfix Fortress III, having seen what a great job they've done with the new Lanc! |
| Box-shaker; hater of all things resin and photoetched. | |
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| dknights | Mar 26 2018, 12:35 AM Post #7 |
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The court of LAST RESORT!
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I completely agree with the sentiment of the original post. I am constantly telling fellow modelers that we are living in the golden age of modeling. What amazes me is the selection of kits available as injection molded kits in 72nd scale. We are seeing things now that we'd have been lucky to see as a vacform 25 years ago. |
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David M. Knights Fortes fortuna adiuvat 14 Finished: Special Armor V-2, Airfix P-51 15 Finished: SBS Gladiator engine 16 Finished: Brengun C2 Wasserfall, Merit SS-N-2 Styx, World's smallest diorama, Airfix Hurricane. 17 Finished: Japanese Carrier Deck, 18 Finished: NONE The bench:Platz T-33, Trump. T-34/85, Meng F-106, Airfix P-51 #2, Airfix P-40 Revell MiG-21F-13, Ace Citroen V-11 | |
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and that we all contend with in most kits these days. Even I'm getting used to working with the stuff.




12:22 AM Jul 11