Scale modeling! Big things come in small packages.

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Scale modeling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Tue Oct 31, 2017 1:13 pm

Well, since the previous thread is now sadly gone, here's a new one. Welcome to the general scale modelling thread!

What does this involve?
Any kind of model kit or model set is welcome. This includes the standard plastic kits, but also metal kits, wooden kits and papercraft, as well as dioramas of every type(that includes cardboard ones of Ponehenge) If you build something that's in any kind of scale, this is the place for it. Hell, even snap-together kits are welcome!

How do I get in on this?
That all depends on what you want to build. There's a ton of different model kits varying in complexity out there. A good source for information on kits is Scalemates which is basically a giant database containing kit, tool and paint info, reviews, galleries from users and more. Be sure to check reviews before just buying any random kit. Unfortunately, there are no hard rules in terms of complexity and size, even when going by scale. Some small-scale stuff can be more complex than bigger scales, depending on manufacturer and year of release. In some cases, old kits from decades ago are reissued, and standards back then were different. Most of the kits I've built are by Revell who include a complexity scale on the boxes, even if it's mainly based on part count rather than actual difficulty. Other brands use their own methods to define how difficult a kit can be, and there's no standard.

In general, for most kits you'll need the kit itself, the correct paints, a sharp hobby knife, glue(preferably modelling cement, superglue is also an option but has its drawbacks), a file(I use sanding sticks) and a sprue cutter. A cutting mat helps to keep your desk safe. There's also various tweezers for tiny parts and decals, as well as clamps to keep parts together as the paint dries Masking tape or fluid is also recommended for the more complex paint applications, and there's decal softeners to put waterslide decals on properly. You can paint with various brushes(as I do) or you can go for an airbrush. Again, there's a massive amount on the market and especially with airbrushes you want something reliable and easy to clean. And of course the most important thing you need is patience and inspiration.

For a lot of kits there are also addon or replacement parts available, in plastic, resin or photo-etch. These are mainly aimed at the more experienced modeller, but can add a lot to a kit if they're used right.

The best source for all of this is your local hobby shop. If you're just starting, it helps not to go all-out and return home with a massive kit and loads of paint and tools just to discover it's not your thing. Some manufacturers keep this in mind and offer modelling sets, which include a kit, basic paints, glue and a brush or two.

For kits in general, 1/72 aircraft are a pretty good starting point and offer a nice mix of complexity and size. Do some research first though, so you don't end up with a 284-part Russian helicopter kit in 1/72 as your first kit ever.

Scales?
There are a few common scales to be found. One of the most common for airplanes is 1/72, where 1 cm on the model is 72 cm in real life. Along with that popular scales include 1/144, 1/100, 1/48 and 1/32. Cars tend to be 1/24 or 1/25, although here 1/32 also pops up. Military hardware like tanks and stuff are usually 1/76, 1/72 or 1/35. A lot of these scales have been around for quite some time. Along with that, box scale is also a thing. This is where a kit is scaled to fit a specific box size, rather than a standardized scale. Usually box scale stuff doesn't mesh well with the regular scales as a result.

So I've got a kit and tools and stuff, now what?
Read the instructions carefully before building a kit.Don't cut all the parts off the sprue and then start building, as you'll lose track of what goes where really quickly. I generally read through the instructions a few times before starting off, and stick to single steps if possible. I also pick out the paints I need and put them together with the kit to make sure I've got all the colors I need.

Don't forget to test fit parts before gluing them together, and make sure they're the right parts in the right spot. There's little that's as annoying as discovering you swapped two parts early on in a build and it's preventing some steps later on. Make sure you have plenty of room for everything you need. I've got a few storage boxes I use while building, one containing the kit and its parts, as well as the paints for that specific kit. It makes for pretty easy cleanup afterwards, and you don't end up searching through a lot of different paints for the right one.

Building a kit takes time, so don't rush. Paint needs time to dry properly and will generally interact with glue, other paint and masking tape. If you end up with seams, theres a few different kinds of filler you can use. For transparent parts, there's separate glues on the market as generic modelling cement tends to leave unsightly stains on transparent parts.

This is hard! I'm not getting the results I want!
It can be, at first. It helps to keep practicing and stick to cheap and basic kits for a while before going for the bigger stuff. Again, this is what prior research is for. Even the most basic kits can give some great results with a little effort and time. Reading ahead in the instructions can also help here, so you don't end up with a part that needs to be painted but you can't reach it. Be proud of what you build, as it's always a step on the way to the next level.

Additional detailing and fun
You can stick to the kit as the instructions state you should build it, but you can always choose your own colorscheme, get aftermarket decals or even print your own. Along with that, there's techniques like weathering and dry brushing to experiment with to make your model look highly realistic. There's a lot of resources out there for this purpose as well, as instructions can sometimes be incomplete or insufficient, and some kits don't really look like the thing they're supposed to represent.

Dioramas
Of course, just having a tiny vehicle may not be enough. You can also build a diorama around it, placing it in a period-appropriate environment. This is where you can really let your creativity shine. One of the best sources for tips on building dioramas I've found is Boulder Creek Railroad. Across various videos, you can get some great info on how to build a diorama and accurately replicate an environment. This stuff is much more aimed at building the diorama than the actual kit of course.

So what does the end result look like?
Here's a few pictures of what I've built so far.


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This ranges in scale between 1/24 and 1/144, although the Slave I is box scale and 1/160.

Other resources
Besides the links in the post above, there's also Something Awful's scale modelling thread. It has been a pretty good guide for me, even though I feel I'm nowhere near the level of the stuff that shows up there sometimes.

A note on paint
Keep in mind that kits from most manufacturers tend to refer to manufacturer-specific colors and paints. This is a pretty good conversion chart in case you need to cross-reference brands, as a lot of them will only use a name or their own numbering scheme.

That's all for now, I might also add stuff later. Feel free to join in, leave comments, offer suggestions, ask questions and all that. This post has mainly focused on plastic kits, but as said at the start everything else is also welcome. I'm also using this thread as a general build log of kits I'm working on, with pictures and reviews whenever I finish one. For more information on what I've made and what's up next, you can also check my Scalemates profile.
Last edited by Smoke on Thu Jun 09, 2022 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Tue Oct 31, 2017 2:31 pm

Got started on the 1/144 Powered GM Cardigan by painting in some details before really getting into the nitty gritty.

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It'll take me a while to get this puppy done.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Captain Rufus (?) » Tue Oct 31, 2017 2:49 pm

I haven't built a model kit since my Turn A Gundam this summer. Been working a whole lot.

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by RudeCyrus (?) » Wed Nov 01, 2017 12:29 am

I need to get back to work on my Lego sets. It's basically the same thing, right? :v:

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Wed Nov 01, 2017 4:01 am

Only if you glue it together and paint it :P
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:40 pm

Got down to do some work on the Cardigan today. In case I haven't mentioned it yet; this should NOT be a beginner's gunpla despite being the main suit of Gunpla Build Fighters Try for the first few episodes.

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Non-blackwash on left, blackwash on right. This was NOT the intended effect but in a way I think it came out better than intended.

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The middle section white was handpainted and sealed so I was initially dismayed that the water-base still applied and the white got messed up. But when it dried it actually looked pretty cool for weathering.

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Closer look with the backpack attached.

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The GM's "eyepiece" had a quick wash of black paint that was quickly wiped off, leaving the paint in the recessed areas to highlight the raised details.

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Believe it or not, the most annoying piece was the damn antenna. There's a giant nub mark that you can't avoid making on the back and it looks really stupid AND avoidable had Bandai not cast it the way they had. So far the only nub mark that's been a real issue, which isn't bad as I've heard bad things about this kit's nub marks problems but so far it's been kind.

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The "locking" arms of the shields are actually well designed, though poorly cast as I will be dealing with those nub marks as well. However, these were shocking since they're new parts added to the ten year old kit, so they really shouldn't be that poorly done.

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They look so alike, don't they?
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Fri Nov 10, 2017 7:44 pm

Got to do more work on my GM today.
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Finished off Shield #2 - which one is it? You'll never know!

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This was kind of a kick in the pants, because I'd put the shoulders together and only then realized what Bandai had done. See, in order to make the beam saber racks pivot, the swivel joint extends through the top into the cavity above the actual shoulder joint. And it's bright yellow, so it sticks out like a sore thumb inside that gray inside (ironically, this wouldn't be a problem in a straight build because that interior is normally yellow, even though the painted sample in the booklet is gray). I of course corrected my mistake.

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The Powered GM Cardigan coming together quite nicely.

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The right arm mostly assembled and its forearm gun armor getting the inside painted black.

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Both arms assembled and playing around with him - gotta say I'm entertaining the idea of getting the original Powered GM because it looks like a pretty solid kit on its own (and all the pieces needed to build it are still in the Cardigan's kit).

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Testing the rear hip skirt weathering in conjunction with the upper body.

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This guy really is a precursor to the Thunderbolt style of 'stick subarm weapons everywhere' concept.

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Finished the day by assembling the other shield sub-arm to balance him out visually.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Sun Nov 12, 2017 10:56 pm

You know what day it is? LEG DAY!

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The toes really did not want to hold any of the blackwash, took several annoying attempts.

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It's almost a shame that this kit won't get a stand (don't have any Action Base 2's ready) to show off those soles.

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While it's nice that the Powered GM's big-deal shock absorber shins got some neat detail, seems kind of a waste that the armor wasn't designed to easily come off like the Master Grades or something to actually show the detail as an option.

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Something vaguely similar to what you get if you build the Cardigan like a stock GM - just pretend the shoulders are smaller, whiter, and less pronounced, and the arms don't have yellow things on them.

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The leg boosters felt similar to the giant pieces on the sides of the legs of the Super Custom Zaku F2000 - appropriate, since that's essentially the Zeon version of this same kit concept: a generic grunt suit from 0083: Stardust Memory given a massive overhaul in arms and armor.

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I know the kit is over a decade old but I still hate having to cut these hip skirts in two. Pretty sure sooner or later my old nippers (I've never bought another pair in over a decade) are going to break from having to cut pieces not exactly meant to be cut in two.

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Ran out of time to truly finish this guy, but he's all done aside from the guns needing to be assembled and a few stickers needing to be applied.

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My eventual plan is to display these two together on the shelf.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:12 pm

Alright, last time I posted before the forumpocalypse I just got started on an Academy P-47. It's pretty much done now, so here's a few pictures.


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Still needs some minor touchups up top, and this is right after the decals were applied so there's a few wet spots. Those have dried up by now. Anyway, time for a short review. I've previously built a Revell P-47D so there will be some comparisons(even if the Revell kit is relatively ancient dating back to 1963)

This is the first Academy kit I've built, and it's left me a bit doubtful so far. The kit itself is great, everything goes together nicely aside from a minor issue with the propeller I had, although that's more a case of design than anything else. Basically, the shaft for the prop can be pushed back making it a bit harder to get it on. Instructions are clear and concise, even if they take less steps than a similar Revell kit would. There's a lot more overall detail to be found too. On the other hand, the Revell kit allows you to build a sliding bubbletop while this kit omits that detail. Final paint instructions are also clear, even if there's a bit of research to be done to get the correct colors.

However, and here's my biggest issue with the kit, the decals aren't that great. They're very thin, and need to be folded around some parts. The cowling decal looks great, but is hell to put on after installing the prop, and the prop can actually damage the decals if you're not careful. They also don't fit entirely, so there's a bit of a gap at the bottom. The black and white bars in the back suffer from a similar issue in that they have to wrap around certain parts. I ended up carefully slicing them to fit properly. The white also doesn't give enough cover, so you can see the paint (or decals) below if you look carefully. The roundels on the back are also bigger than they should be when comparing to the instructions, again requiring some careful surgery. The decals also have this slight glossy shine to them, which doesn't work very well when the rest of the plane is painted in matte.

Overall, the kit is good, but might be better served with aftermarket decals(or even grabbing them from a Revell kit) The alternate paintjob that's provided might be easier, as it doesn't require decals on the cowling(just big ones on the tail) but requires a bit more masking work. I just hope the other Academy kit I picked up will be a bit nicer when it comes to decals, as it's also a fair amount larger. Otherwise I'll just have to mask off and match the paint as much as I can.

Next up, another Star Wars kit. One that'll require a decent amount of masking, as it's the ARC-170. It comes complete with three tiny Clone pilots that need to be painted and decalled too.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Tue Nov 14, 2017 12:02 am

^ looking good, Smoke! Wish I had the space to put up some WWII models.

As for me? Its Powered GM Cardigan Day 5 - Final Detailing

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The greatest pose of all time.

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I doubt I'll ever have him use the beam saber again, but I built the third fist just to get the full experience.

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Top rifle has been blackwashed, bottom has not.

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The Powered GM Cardigan: complete!...structurally. But not finished just yet.

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Adding the stickers and detailing the three black dots on the back of the guns as to match the three dots on the arms.

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And NOW he's complete!
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Captain Rufus (?) » Tue Nov 14, 2017 12:42 am

Looks damn good.

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Mon Nov 20, 2017 4:08 pm

Well, the Star Wars kit I mentioned is done. It's the ARC-170 in (according to the box) 1:83. Again from Revell, and a fairly neat kit.

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Just like the Slave I and Millennium Falcon I've already built, this is a former Revell EasyKit Pocket release. These were released as pre-painted snap-together kits several years back, and were generally nicely detailed. However, being prepainted and snap-together means you can finish one in minutes, taking a lot of the fun out of it. These kind of remedy that, offering the same design but requiring paint and glue.

There's still a few roots of the snap-together origins and most of the kit can still be built like that, but for other bits you need to bring out the glue(such as the wings and wingtip cannons) The end result represents the ARC-170 pretty well, even if it does emphasize just how small these things are compared to actual planes and jetfighters, especially given that there's three pilots in there. The pilots are included as well, but are rather tough to properly detail as they're fricking tiny, even for the supposed 1:83 scale. A quick calculation with kit size and official specs shows the actual scale of this craft being far closer to 1:128.

There's a decent amount of decals included, some of which can be replaced by paint if you feel like it, and some of them are to be applied during construction. I made the mistake of not doing the wing edge decals until after I put the wings together, which turned out to be quite annoying. Painting it can take quite a bit of work due to all the edges and details, but the panel lines help here. It goes together smoothly, with no real issues. The only thing that could be better is the S-foils though, as they're permantently stuck in attack position. I can see why though, as making those movable would have a severe impact on both part count and build complexity, and as this kit has its root in the EasyKit Pocket line it's quite understandable. Oddly enough, there's also no stand included with this kit while most others in the line come with one.

Overall, a pretty good kit considering the price and size. It'd be nice if there were some decal/design variations included but that's where the internet can help.

Next up, a T-55A tank in 1/72. Still deciding between Soviet and Vietnam versions, but it'll most likely be Soviet. I'm going to put bigger kits on hold for a while.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Sun Dec 24, 2017 10:38 am

And the tank is done. This is only the third tank I've built, and it's gone a bit easier than before but I still got a bit frustrated with some tiny parts.

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And finally together with its predecessor.

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This kit is fairly recent, and pretty full of detail. Over 100 parts, the tread is link-and-length again and pre-sagged for a bit more realism. There's four variants to build here, a T-55A in Soviet or Vietnam versions, or a T-55AM in Czech or East Germany deco. The latter two have a darker shade of green and differentiate mainly in the detail parts used. Overall it's a fun build that requires a decent amount of work, but it's never really frustrating other than having to deal with tiny, tiny parts that can and will fly off if you're not careful. All the wheels are on their own sprue and consist of two parts, the track is as said pretty much link-and-length(although there's no individual links) and they all have their own little spot. Everything goes together nicely and with a great fit. It helps to prepare well though, and you have to decide on which of the two major versions you're building at the start. Decals are as always with tanks pretty limited, although the East German version has a bunch of additional markings.

I haven't yet decided what I'm building next, as my stash has also grown a bit in the meantime and will continue to grow thanks to Christmas. I might get started on that Tornado though, as it's one of the oldest sets in there.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Sun Dec 24, 2017 4:15 pm

And speaking of Christmas I'm gonna doublepost because my wonderful and amazing wife got me four new kits this christmas: The Italeri Jaguar GR.3, Revell DHC-6, Revell C-121C Super Constellation and the Revell Tupolev Tu-144D(Also known as the Soviet Union"s answer to the Concorde). I'm pretty sure that thanks to my Secret Celestia there will be yet another addition, and I will edit this post to reflect that.

LATE EDIT BECAUSE I FORGOT: A 1/24 Mazda RX7 from my Secret Celestia :D
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Sun Jan 14, 2018 12:57 am

Thanks to a friend, I've got my first 1/100 Master Grade kit - the online exclusive P-Bandai Unicorn Gundam 02 Banshee Norn (kind of a mouthful, huh?). Six hours in and I'm only just getting close to finishing the core mech, still got the weapons, its transforming shield, and of course all those tiny, tiny stickers!

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Sun Jan 14, 2018 4:17 pm

What kind of part count do those have? They look pretty complex for their size.

I'm about halfway done with the Blue Angels F/A-18. The main fuselage is painted and I did some paint tests to see if the colors matched well enough, landing gear's halfway in place(still need to paint the edges of the doors and put on the wheels) and most of what's left is smaller parts. The one thing I have to keep in mind is that Leo likes to see what I'm doing.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Captain Rufus (?) » Mon Jan 15, 2018 3:51 pm

The parts count tends to be LOTS.

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Mon Feb 05, 2018 3:56 pm

Haven't had much time to build recently, but here's a shot of how far along I am. Wheels are installed, but I still have to add the gear doors, decals and other details, as well as the engines. This is also just a primary color of paint, I'll have to go over once again.

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Mon Feb 19, 2018 4:43 pm

So, here he is - the finished HGUC GM Striker
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I'm not a fan of the flat feet of the GM, but unlike the Powered GM Cardigan (which through it being a retooled Powered GM, shares a majority of core engineering and parts with the GM Striker), this kit is wonderfully balanced and is a great product given what you get for maybe $10.
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I will say that if anything, the kit ABSOLUTELY needs at bare minimum a blackwash or panel lining, to bring out the armor pad detail.
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As an enhanced EFF grunt, the GM Striker comes with the typical 90 mm bullpup machine gun that ground-specialist units like the Ground GM, Ground Gundam, Blue Destiny, etc. use, with the fold-back recoil brace bar. Unlike those other kits, this gun doesn't have a separately cast ammo pack, so the gun is all solid gray.
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But that's not why anybody would buy this kit - no, the reason is the awesome Twin Beam Spear. Partner it with an action base (in this case, I borrowed the one from my Zudah as it is the only base I have the "tab" adapter installed on, which is the type the Striker uses) to really make the weapon's fold-down gimmick look badass.
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It looks great as an auxillary support close combat unit alongside the more well known ground assault units, like the Ground GM.
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Now, this is not actually an advertised feature, but I found that by hooking the folded recoil bar on the little "bulb" that sits behind the head, the gun itself can snugly fit into the slot between the backpack's boosters. I personally leave the trigger hand attached since it's nominally out of view and it works as parts storage (not like the kit has any other guns to use it on) so I can swap it in much more easily.
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Also, since I brought it out of the display, have a fun Zudah shot.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:59 am

Well, I might have to shelf the F-18 for the moment. The canopy managed to break(turns out the transparent plastic parts are fragile as hell) and there's a nice crack down the middle of it. I'll have to see if I can get an aftermarket replacement part somewhere, or try to fix this somehow. Unfortunately it's not a clean break too.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Sat Mar 03, 2018 6:14 pm

The F/A-18 is done! Despite the aforementioned setback I pushed through and completed it earlier.

On to some pictures:


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Overall it took a bit longer than I expected because real life has a habit of getting in the way, and the cracked canopy almost led me to stop work on it completely. I'm glad I pushed through and completed it though, as the end result is worth it. I ended up painting the canopy silver because of said cracks, and even like that it still looks good.

On to a review: This is the second Academy kit I've built, and it's actually better than the previous one. The color callouts are very complete but did require some research to find matching Revell paints. The fit is pretty much perfect on every single part, and there's a lot of those. As this is a demonstration aircraft some minor surgery is required including removing bits and filling other gaps. The one thing the instructions don't mention is that the holes for the weapon rails need to be filled in as well, but thanks to a review I was prepared. There's a lot of parts included that don't end up being used for this version though, and those got relegated to my spare parts box. The overall amount of detail is great, the part gaps have been designed to match actual panel lines on the plane so there's barely anything visible. There's a lot of decals included as well, allowing you to build all 7 different Blue Angels in both 2009 and 2010 versions. Hell, there's even a guide for cutting the decals depending on what bits are closed or opened, and separate ones for the open parts. The wing bottom ones were a bit scary since they're huge, but they're a perfect fit and neatly wrap around all obstacles in their way. Besides the landing gear, both the canopy and airbrake can also be built in an open position if you prefer.

The only drawback I found is that the clear plastic is very fragile. One bit even snapped as I was cutting it off the sprue, but held together long enough to put it in place. However, it's part of the cockpit so now it's forever hidden away. If I can find this kit again for the price I paid, I'll build it again with a different number.

Up next: A terrible kit. I bought a MisterCraft(they used to be known as MasterCraft) kit a few months ago for what seemed to be a really low price(less than 10 Leva, so less than $6) already, and some research has revealed why. The company apparently uses old molds from other companies and reissues them under their own brand name. The one I'll be building is a 1/72 MiG-19, which according to the instructions can be built in one of four ways(Soviet, DDR, Czech Republic and Bulgarian Air Force). However, the included decal sheet is of fairly low quality and most of the multicolor ones are out of register so I'll be building the Soviet version. Worst case scenario I have some spare decals from the MiG-21 that I can use.

I also picked up their 1/72 F-16A kit because it's a Thunderbirds version and was also cheap, and that one looks even worse. The box claims it has 78 parts, but a quick count shows that there's less than 40, the jet exhaust is completely smooth and refers to decals being used for decoration that aren't included, there are parts listed in the instructions that aren't even there, and more such fun things. It'll be fun to compare it to the Revell kit I built a while back afterwards.

EDIT: Oh dear lord, it's worse than I thought.


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According to this one's box, that's 70 parts. I think they're counting every single decal as a separate part or something(EDIT 2: Thanks to all those small bits, the count is almost accurate. Sure doesn't feel like a 70-part kit from any other brand though) The plastic feels soft and looks somewhat gritty, there's flash all over, the panel lines are occasionally shaky or incomplete, the detail is way too soft in some spots and there's no guiding pins for parts that go together so I'll have to hold them in place while the glue dries. On top of that, the cockpit interior consists only of a seat that looks like it came from a pre-WW2 plane and an instrument panel that according to the instructions has a decal but in fact doesn't.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Tue Mar 13, 2018 3:41 pm

Today's project is the 1/144 High Grade Iron Blooded Orphans "Gundam Astaroth Origin"

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What makes IBO kits unique from other Gundam series kit offerings of the same size - excluding Real Grades - is that almost all the kits will feature an inner frame as seen above. Most Gundam models this size are hollow in at least some if not most of the body, held together by the outer pieces and joints in PVC plastic connectors, but with IBO the kits are much more lean and thin, being based on mostly identical core frames and the major differences between kits using the same frame being the external armor and weapons you equip it with. It's a rather unique take when it comes to Gunpla.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Wed Mar 14, 2018 4:26 pm

In a way I am reminded of Bandai's Mega Armor line of Megaman X model kits by that, those also consisted of a basic frame with different armor parts and heads to go with it. Shame the line was limited to X and his many armors and colors, Zero, iX, Vile and Bit.

Meanwhile, the MiG-19 is starting to take shape. Unfortunately it's a shape with seams, gaps, sprue gate marks and vague detail. The paint guide is rather interesting too, as it shows a lot of detail(like opened or closed airbrakes and stuff) not existing in this kit. I'll have to get out the filler soon too, there's some ugly gaps where the wings attach to the fuselage no matter which angle they're at.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Thu Mar 15, 2018 9:51 am

And he's done.

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He's a bit clunky when you try to pose him, mostly because of his massive shoulder armor - you can make it work but it's not simply "lift arm" and you're done, it's "carefully position the inner shoulder armor joint, then move arm, then adjust secondary rotation joint to make the shoulder armor look good"

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For weapons he has a sledgehammer, a sword (the upper portion of the sledgehammer is in fact the scabbard for the sword, so it's the same handle for "both" weapons), and a shotgun. The shotgun is the weakest due to it having an oddly angled handle making it impossible to hold straight without the dedicated angled hand...which is only available for the right palm. However, that doesn't mean it's entirely useless on the left for cool poses.

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It also has a "flight mode" where the tail backpack lifts up and the shoulder armor both rotates and folds down wing blades (yes, those are also melee weapons at times in the lore). It's okay, servicable enough but again, the mass of the shoulder armor just means it hits everything when you try to pose it. However, as far as mobility-intended functionality, this is a HELL of a lot easier to pull off than other Gunpla which do full on transformation which routinely requires partsforming and excess parts left over from each mode.

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Mon Apr 02, 2018 4:34 pm

Work on the MiG-19 continues, due to life getting in the way not always as fast as I'd like. Kit continues to be terrible though, even with filler. There's part indications and numbering that doesn't match the part schematic in the exact same instructions, the fit continues to be rather horrid at points(had to sand down the canopy quite a bit to get it to fit properly) and I'm pretty sure the rocket launchers try to occupy the same physical space as the landing gear, which looks somewhat bent in points.

I did pick up a Revell S-37 for future building though. As we're still looking for a house I'm trying to stick with smaller kits for now.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:28 pm

Just finished the MiG-19, which will now go down in history as "The worst kit I've ever worked on". And here I was thinking Revell's P-38 had issues.


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Anyways, onto a review. I don't think the MiG-19 needs any introduction as it's famous enough by itself. This is supposedly a MiG-19S, if the box is to be believed, and it appears to be at least somewhat accurate in shape. Speaking of the box, it boldly states the part count(70 parts), 6 colorschemes to build, that it's made in a European country and what they refer to as a Super Decal Sheet. You can see said decal sheets a bit earlier in the thread, but they're not very super, have some printing issues in my boxing and are incomplete. The partcount only gets close if you count all the additional bits that shouldn't really have to be separate bits, and there's even a few too many of those. The instructions are reasonably clear, but only cover 4 out of 6 colorschemes, use the wrong part numbers for some bits, refer to a nonexistant decal and are woefully incomplete in terms of what color the wheel wells, landing gear and wheels should be. They actually manage to look better than the kit you're building, and the final schemes actually show parts that would be possible to be built in an open or closed position if this kit had twice the part count and some effort put into it.

The plastic shows some swirling(but thankfully no sink marks), the parts don't even include any guiding pins and rely on a vague approximation of a location resulting in a decent amount of fitting issues, there's gaps and seams everywhere, the engraved detail looks like whoever designed it didn't care much and had a bit to drink, some parts are left with huge stubs from the sprues due to the way they're designed that require quite a bit of cleanup, the canopy doesn't even fit properly without a lot of work and is thicker than most window glass, the pilot seat pretty much just floats in midair and is only attached in the back(there's no actual cabin detailing other than the seat and an instrument panel, the latter of which is the location for the missing decal which I replaced with a spare from another kit) and there's many more issues to be found. As it turns out, it's a knockoff with engraved panel lines of a kit originally released in the early 70s, and this shows throughout the entire kit.

On the other hand, this kit costs around 5 euros and the end result is kind of enjoyable to look at from the right angles. And if you get lucky you get properly printed decals for one of the four or six variants that will require at least some research to build properly. The decals were also pretty enjoyable to work with, and at least everything somewhat fits together, even if it requires sanding, filling and trimming off the flash.

For those of you looking for cheap kits the old reminder stays true: Cheap kits tend to be cheap in quality and brands like MisterCraft/MasterCraft should be avoided unless you like putting in more work than is needed. If you put said work in, you can still make something decent though. I've got an F-16 kit from MisterCraft in the stash as well, which will prove to be at least interesting when I start on that, I've already noticed missing parts and details on that one...

Next up, I'm staying in the Cold War for a bit and starting on the F-89J Scorpion. This kit offers both D and J options, but the J variant comes with nuclear rockets and looks a bit more interesting to build. So far it's already been a relief.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:02 am

Some progress on the F-89. This is so much more enjoyable to build than the MiG was.


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Unfortunately the nature of the plastic means the red needs several coats to really work. It's doing a good job so far though. I'm actually a bit more along than shown in this picture, the tailfin's gotten a coat of aluminium that will be followed by a bit of red(there's a few decals that need aluminium underneath) and the bottom's pretty much done at this point. For assembly I'm nearing the final steps: All that needs to be done is finishing up the weaponry and its rails, but before I'm installing those there are several decals that need to go on there as they go underneath those parts.

Due to the way this kit is constructed I'll also have the leftovers needed to make the MisterCraft F-16 actually have a cockpit with an instrument panel, even if it's an inaccurate one. But that's still a ways off as there's a few kits inbetween that I want to finish first.

I might finish this one at the end of this week if I put enough time in it, as I'm home sick at the moment anyway.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Thu Apr 26, 2018 10:26 am

All of the paintwork is now done save for some minor touchups on the Genies. Due to decal placement on the wings their rails haven't been installed yet either, and for ease of assembly reasons I didn't install the four other missiles yet either. Most of that decal sheet's gonna go on there, I'll probably get started on it this evening or tomorrow as there's still some paint drying.


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So far it's been a pretty great kit that involved a decent amount of masking.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Fri Apr 27, 2018 4:52 pm

And the decalling's done. Took some time as there's quite a few that go on there, but totally worth it.


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This is a fairly great kit of an unusual subject, the F-89 Scorpion. It was designed from the outset as a jet aircraft, which was a first ever at the time. The F-89J variant shown here is a fairly interesting aircraft as it was designed as an interceptor to stop Soviet bombers in the 50s. To do this it was equipped with AIR-2 Genie air-to-air nuclear rockets, with the goal being to make sure the explosion was big enough to take out any enemy bombers without having to rely much on accuracy. Only one of those was ever detonated live in a test scenario and included a PR event showing the fallout was safe enough to use the weapon in a populated area by having five volunteers from the air force stand under the explosion. The more common F-89D that can also be built from this kit had rocket pods on the wingtips to defend itself.

On to the kit itself: It's from the 90s which kinda shows in some minor parts(such as including a transparent fourth leg to keep it upright, this version just has you add some weight to the nosecone to prevent taildragging) The fit also has some minor issues that will require cleanup, but overall nothing nearly as bad as other kits I've built. There's no real errors with parts, paint or decals this time around, but it's recommended to only install the weapons or fuel tanks after you've put on the basic decals for the wings. The colorscheme is a pleasing silver and red, and the decals add enough additional color to keep it from being boring. The overall paintscheme is the same for both versions in the box, but you already have to choose at the start because the cockpit layout and decals as well as the rails on the wings vary depending on the version you build. The F-89J can be built with the wingtip tanks shown or you can install the rocket pods.

The one downside is that the paint guide for both versions assumes you're building it with drop tanks, so the decal references are a bit off there. Other than that, there's a ton of decals to put on, ranging from tiny to relatively large, and some of them require a bit of masking to paint the surface underneath. Unfortunately the instructions aren't always very clear on this, which is why the lettering at the back of mine is a bit pushed forward compared to how it's supposed to be.

Overall, recommended for being a fairly odd subject and being fun to build.

Up next, I'm starting on a DHC-6 Twin Otter. The kit is an 80s Matchbox original so it'll need some cleanup, but it should work out nicely based on what I've seen and read about it so far. It also includes skis and floats because of the nature of the original craft as well as previous issues of it, but those won't be needed for this variant. Same goes for the two noses it gets, only one is needed. On the other hand, the amount of stuff included is useful if you want to build a different version.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Thu May 24, 2018 4:34 pm

And almost a month later the Twin Otter is done.

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As said before this is an 80s Matchbox kit, although for the time it's fairly decently done. There's still a decent amount of minor and less minor issues to be found though, such as the comparable lack of detail to modern kits and some fitting issues. Along with that, the box art(actually a photo of the original plane, there's a few more on the back but no pictures of the actual model) shows details on the actual plane that are not present in the kit itself. The instructions are good but screw up placement for one part in the cockpit detailing on the ceiling, as the instructions have you put it in the (empty) passenger compartment. A quick check of the instructions for a previous boxing shows correct placement there though.

Painting will require a bit of masking and could have benefited from slightly more help on the location where it switches between red and white, the black parts on the wings also involved me counting the details in the instructions and on the actual parts to verify the proper locations. The decals are very nice as usual for Revell. The black strips on the wing leading edges are actually decals, they worried me for a bit because I have some bad experiences with folding decals. They turned out very well though with the help of some Micro Set setting solution.

Overall: A decent little kit for its age with a nice colorscheme, instructions could be better. Maybe it's about time a new version was done though.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Sun Jun 03, 2018 12:07 pm

Alright, I'm really multiposting here and I know there's people reading along. Don't hesitate to post if you have questions, comments, suggestions or even requests, I like having a bit of input and feedback regarding what I'm building.

So this kit is gonna need some backstory: My wife and I are visiting our relatives in Belgium and The Netherlands in 10 days, and she wants to give a gift to her aunt and uncle basically inviting them to come visit us here in Bulgaria. To do this, she wanted to make a small package with various things hinting towards this so they can guess. One of her ideas was to include a small airplane in Bulgarian livery or colors as part of it. Unfortunately those are virtually impossible to find in toy form, so she came to me.

There's not much on the market for Bulgarian civil airliners in terms of model kits either, unless I were to build a Boeing 737-300 in 1:144 scale and use aftermarket decals, which would be rather large(approx 27x24cm or 11" by 10") and difficult to take with us on a plane. So I decided this would have to be a custom job. First preference was towards the Air Canada Boeing 747 I had built before, as the decals made it rather easy to strip the Air Canada bits leaving a white body with window decals, but I couldn't find that kit anywhere. In the end, I decided to redo the KLM 747 I built way back when I first started this hobby, only this time properly, still in KLM livery, but with a custom tail. It turned out pretty neat.

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As I didn't review this kit back when I built it, here's my feelings about it. It's a pretty old kit of a 747, which shows very well in the raised rather than engraved details(including lines and windows that are absolutely huge for the scale) and the fact that the landing gear is actually simulated(It's literally five sticks with a block and tiny wheelshapes on the end) rather than including any kind of doors. The engines are very underdetailed as well, with the front just being a flat surface. As a result, it looks much more like a toy than anything else. The instructions are limited to a small amount of steps before you get to the final result, and the overall building process is really easy and basic. On the other hand, the paintwork and decals are what's gonna take up most of your time here, and they try their hardest to make it look less like a toy. The end result won't fool anyone, but is presentable enough if you put in some effort. Still, at the same pricepoint there are many far better kits to be had on the market, unless you really want to build a KLM Boeing from the late 80s at this scale, and I can't really find another reason to buy this. If you're a beginner, the paintwork and decals might scare you off or present some difficulty, if you're more experienced, the simplicity of the construction as well as the lack of detail is a massive downside.

Next up: A green and orange helicopter. I got this kit last year during my vacation along with the T-55 but haven't gotten around to it yet, partially because it needed one specific color for the interior I didn't have yet. I have everything I need now though, so it's time to get started. I might not be able to finish it before my vacation starts though.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Kronos (?) » Fri Jun 15, 2018 5:44 pm

Been a long time since I've had something to post.

Now I've got the 1/144 HGUC Blue Destiny Unit 1 to show:
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I think technically this is a Gundam because the lore behind this mobile suit is that it is a remodeled Ground Gundam body with a modified head unit from a Ground GM. Uniquely, this kit comes with two heads because while there are technically three Blue Destiny Units, Unit 1 is the only one that differs in how it is shown between its original appearance in the Blue Destiny video game and the Blue Destiny manga. Bandai solved the problem by simply allowing you to have both heads - they even have different eye pieces, though on mine I'm using the manga head because it's uniquely asymmetrical with the game eye piece because, again, more unique.

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And this is the "game" head with the "manga" eyes - for both heads instead of using the intended stickers, I painted the interior a dark gray and the eye surfaces with silver to catch the light better.

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The significance of the color of the optics and visor are essentially the entire gimmick of the Blue Destiny suits - they are equipped with the EXAM System, which is supposed to bridge the gap for normal pilots to better fight the potential threat of Newtype pilots (Newtypes being more spatially aware and able to react and even predict enemy manuvers better), though ironically enough EXAM only works because it has the soul of a Newtype trapped within it. Anyway, when EXAM is activated, the normally green optics of a Blue Destiny mobile suit turn red, a few parts shift around to open up more vents, and the performance of the suit increases exponentially. The problem though is that this can make the suit go berserk and become outright uncontrollable. With Unit 1, along with the color change, EXAM is supposed to extend the leg vents slightly, the shoulder armor slides out a tiny bit, and most noticably the backpack has two latches that open up, revealing extra boosters behind the head. The kit accomidates for all of this, as the shoulder armor is on a slide rail, the leg vents are readjustable with two parallel sockets to move position, and the latches on the back partswap, but since EXAM mode is going to be the main display form and the backpack latches are beyond annoying to remove, I don't bother doing the small crap - it looks better with all the parts extended anyway.
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Also, even though it's the most recent releases I've added to the collection, it doesn't look out of place with other ground-based Earth Federation suits:
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Of note is how good it looks with the Ground Gundam on the right, as that's the older, original Ground Gundam that I built as one of my first Gunpla. It needs a little refurbishment to remove some rookie mistakes and maybe additional detailing, but even so it holds its own next to its successor.

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Additional 'Blue Destiny' lore dictates that there actually was a Blue Destiny Unit 0, which was a straight up Ground GM modified with a lot more vents (basically think giant humanoid robot covered with industrial air conditioner units), and Unit 1 came about to try and get better performance as Unit 0 did not produce desired results. However, to save time they just took Unit 0's head and repainted it all blue for use on Unit 1. My intention in the future is to create Unit 0 because I now have a spare Unit 1 head and the Ground GM kit that exists (it's essentially the same kit, but all the new versions of the Blue Destiny Units and Ground Gundam are retooled from it), so I just need some vent pieces (fortunately, I know where to get them) and I can kitbash Unit 0.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Thu Jul 12, 2018 3:43 pm

Alright, so it's been a while for me. I came back from a well-deserved three week vacation last week, and ended up finishing this kit late last night. It's a Sikorsky CH-53G as used by the German Air Force, in an older deco, in 1/144 scale. This is actually the first helicopter I've built in this scale, as all others have been 1/72.


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So, onto a review. As it's in a 1/144 scale the result is a small but finely detailed helicopter. Nice touches for this scale are the inclusion of a decently detailed cockpit(despite this not being very visible afterwards) and even the cargo area is modelled and detailed. Well, at least the floor is, there are no real walls and there is no proper ceiling so you look up straight into the rotor area. The way the kit is designed allows you to open the back hatch, but there's no hinges for half of it so I ended up just closing it. You can model it opened as a result, but this would involve installing the landing gear first to make sure you don't end up with floating parts. There's a lot of small engraved panel linings that seem to be relatively accurate, and everything goes together nicely. There's two deco options included, the one pictured here as well as a more recent full camo one that requires paint mixing if you just have the Revell assortment available. The decal sheet is relatively huge as a result and is something that might make or break this kit for you, as the camo version has low-vis details so a lot of decals are in there in two variations. But even keeping that in mind, there's quite a few to put on. The rotor alone requires five decals per blade, three of which fold around, so that's 30 decals to put on and get in place in just the right spots for just that bit. I ended up making a guide on a piece of paper for this, so I could just rotate the next blade in. Along with that, a lot of the decals are tiny things, so planning ahead and keeping track is definitely recommended. Overall, I'd say it's worth it if you keep the size in mind.

Onto the next build. A while back I built the MisterCraft MiG-19 and proclaimed it the worst kit I've ever worked on. I also mentioned I had gotten one of their F-16 variations then. I'm starting on that one now, so here's a few shots of what's in that box...


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This is everything in the box. As you can see, it does look like the parts to make an F-16. Now lets take a closer look.


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Note the completely smooth exhaust, the texture of the wings, and the massive amounts of flash. Other fun things to note: The instructions claim there's a bunch of decals for the exhaust in there to add the missing detail. Those are not present. The same goes for the instrument panel and its decal in the cockpit and the control stick, all three are not present in this kit either. Thankfully, I have a decent amount of spares available to put in and I've already trimmed a part and its decal left over from the F-89 down to size, and I have a spare stick from the F-18. At least there are some guiding pins to put everything together present in this one, even if they tend to be closer to guiding suggestions.

As a sidenote, I saw they also have a version of the F-16 available that I've built before. Here's the release I built back then. I'm kind of tempted to buy that one as well so I can compare and see how close the decal sheet is to the Revell version. On the other hand, I'd have to build another crap kit as a result...
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Madeline (?) » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:48 am

In the course of getting rid of excess junk, I’ve been on the lookout for a couple of Gunpla kits: an RX-78-2 and an HG Strike Freedom Gundam. I still haven’t found the RX-78, but I did find the Strike kit, so I’ll be assembling that soon. :crack:

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 7:18 am

I had no idea there were this many kits of just the same Gundam. Which one are we talking about?

Also, Scalemates is a general mess when it comes to Gundam stuff. The reason for it is simple: Every product has a topic, which refers the vehicle or thing it's representing or intended for(So the topic "F-15E Strike Eagle" refers to everything related to that craft). Apparently a lot of people just consider that to be "Gundam" for a hell of a lot of these kits, which is kind of the same as classifying every jet fighter under "Jet fighter". The same problem applies to Star Wars and other pop culture things.

EDIT: Because I am a glutton for punishment I've picked up a third MisterCraft kit, this time covering a civil airplane. As it turns out there's at least two different boxings as mine only includes half the decals(with some minor printing issues) but I've seen reviews that had them all. This one actually has a label of the original, now defunct, manufacturer on the bottom of the included stand. It looks to be a bit better than the previous two, but not by much.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Madeline (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:06 pm

Smoke wrote:
Sat Aug 11, 2018 7:18 am
I had no idea there were this many kits of just the same Gundam. Which one are we talking about?

Also, Scalemates is a general mess when it comes to Gundam stuff. The reason for it is simple: Every product has a topic, which refers the vehicle or thing it's representing or intended for(So the topic "F-15E Strike Eagle" refers to everything related to that craft). Apparently a lot of people just consider that to be "Gundam" for a hell of a lot of these kits, which is kind of the same as classifying every jet fighter under "Jet fighter". The same problem applies to Star Wars and other pop culture things.

EDIT: Because I am a glutton for punishment I've picked up a third MisterCraft kit, this time covering a civil airplane. As it turns out there's at least two different boxings as mine only includes half the decals(with some minor printing issues) but I've seen reviews that had them all. This one actually has a label of the original, now defunct, manufacturer on the bottom of the included stand. It looks to be a bit better than the previous two, but not by much.
Yeah, that sorting is not user-friendly, and also I wasn’t very clear either. There are a huge number of RX-78 kits that have been released in the last few decades because it was the main suit in the first series of Mobile Suit Gundam. It should be this HGUC kit but it wasn’t with the other kits I’d stashed away to build later on.

Curious that your kit only has half the decals.

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Sat Aug 11, 2018 1:08 pm

Eh, it's a MisterCraft kit. I kinda know what to expect from them. According to the reviews of the kit linked on Scalemates I'm not the only one getting a different sheet. I've decided to contact them through their website and see what happens, as this kit is pretty far down in my stash anyway and I have some others I want to finish first. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised.

Also, Scalemates offers various sorting and filtering methods for their search results, although they're not always that link-friendly. If you set the search results to Kits, you get all the filters you could want. Kinda neat to see the full timeline of every kit in that scale made of this Gundam too.
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Madeline
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Madeline (?) » Mon Aug 13, 2018 12:54 pm

Thank you for introducing me to Scalemates. It’s so useful once you start figuring out how to sort by filters. I’ve even been able to find listings for some of the model cars and airplanes I built when I was little.

I did finally find my missing kit, plus my brother gave me one more this weekend. So I went from having one kit to build, to three. I can’t find my paint markers so I may forego panel lining any of them for now, but I have everything else I need.

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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Tue Aug 14, 2018 11:52 am

The main reason I use Scalemates is that it allows me to check reviews and the age of specific kits, as well as finding interesting kits via the newsfeed. Not to mention that it's quite handy for looking up instructions and other details as well, as some companies don't always list all the decal/color options for a kit on the box or don't provide pictures. If you register on it, you can also add information and reviews for a kit (and help with the filtering in that way) or post your own projects.

Another site that can be quite handy is The Ultimate Model Paint Conversion Chart as it allows you to reference colors and paints across a whole lot of brands. Another option is Scale model paint finder but at the moment it's a bit more limited (It doesn't have the entire range of Revell paints, for example). And if you prefer an app for Android there's a bunch of apps as well, I currently use Hobby Color Converter.
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Re: Scale modelling! Big things come in small packages.

Post by Smoke (?) » Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:34 pm

Gonna doublepost a bit so I can push this thread onto its second page, it should be a bit easier to load after that.

I've continued work on the F-16 and it's nearly done. Just needs some more paint, then it's decal time. This kit has also injured me, as I was trimming down the exhaust to get it to fit better my blade slipped and took a small chunk out of my left thumb. It's almost entirely healed now but it'll leave a scar. And today I found out I didn't even have to trim down the exhaust, the fitting issue was caused by the fuselage halves not aligning very well and those needing to be trimmed down a bit. It also turns out parts I thought weren't in the kit are actually there. I've also gone over the decals, and they're mislabelled as hell besides being incomplete. Virtually none of the numbers match between the instructions and the decal sheet, but thankfully it's reasonably obvious what goes where. Maybe I can finish it this weekend and finally get started on that Zvezda kit that's been tempting me.
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