OT... Plastic Models

[Jeffrey H.]

I was into plastic models as a kid, I never really had the $$, patience or skill to do them right. Nowadays, every time I make a run with the wife over to Michaels, I spend some time looking over the 48th scale aircraft and I get this little urges to start up modelling again.

But I don't want to waste my time on crappy models. It used to be, back in the day, Tamiya made the best stuff. Expensive but generally the best detail and quality.

I was wondering if any of you folks are still into this hobby and if so, what are considered the best plastic models these days ?

[Hertston]

I built the occasional model until a few years ago. Tamiya is still the best probably, although there is no longer that much of a disparity in quality and I used to buy for subject (warships and subs) rather than manufacturer. I still fancy the Revell 1:72 Gato which looks a terrific kit; the only problem is that at four feet long I have no idea where I'd put it when done!

[Hard Sarge]

go to my part of the Forum (EDtBTR) and look for a post by Carlos

he makes models from Card Board Stock, he is pretty good at it



tm.asp?m=1268189&mpage=3&key=carlos&#1416201

[Hard Sarge]

ahh, just in case, these are a sub post in Update IV, either follow the link which will put you a couple pages past when he started showing some of his models

but should start at the beginning

he does good work !!!

[Jevhaddah_Slitherine]

I hope to be getting a Type IXB U-boat from Santa this year (Model not real one) [:D] I have a cutaway Type VIIC to build and various 1/72 scale tanks.

I have been collecting these over the last couple of years but have not had the time to build all of them. What I normally do is look up reference material for the real life version of the model I am building then add the missing detail using everything from odd bits of cardboard through to plastic and Balsa wood.[:D]

Mrs Jev despalr's at all the junk I hoard for this, old cereal boxes, yoghurt tubs etc [8|]

Cheers

Jev

[CJMello63]

Tamiya was the best I came across but we seemed to have a decline of a decent hobby shop in the area. Plus I had no net back then and my model building stopped 20 years ago. Now my eyes are worse and still no decent hobby shop. 

[leastonh1]

I dragged Mrs H into our local model shop a few weeks ago and asked the very helpful guy behind the counter for help with this very problem.

I'm almost 40 and haven't built a model since I was at school, so have no idea what's good or not. He said that Italeri are excellent quality and easy to build if I've been away from the hobby for years. He suggested the 1:35 scale to begin with. So, I bought a model 2 1/2 ton. DUKW 353. I have to say, the detail on the pieces is amazing. The quality does seem a lot better than I remember it, but I'm still no expert.

Hope that helps a bit.

Regards,
Jim

[sullafelix]

I was out of modelling for many a year and got back into it five years ago. Dragon models has great detail but are the hardest I've come across, example you have to do the tank treads piece by piece. I like Italeri great detail but not so much a pain as Dragon. I bought some over seas " weird " names that I can't recall, Hungarian and others. I bought them because they did some models that you won't see anyone else make. Only problem was they all were very hard and low on instructions. At least in CT. in the US I've had very good luck in finding old  ( 1960's ) airfix and the like that they don't want an arm and a leg for. Actually they were cheaper than newer models.
 
 One thing I noticed unfortunately after I bought them was 1:72 and smaller just aren't going to work with my 48 year old fingers. I bought some of the Tamiya 1:700 ships which I always thought were the best ship models and I have no idea of how I'm going to work with the parts.
 
 I've never been into painting models just building them. I've actually painted about five with dioramas etc. but never really got into it. so I don't know if some are better or easier to paint then others.
 
I've never really seen that much difference between a $ 45 and a $ 18 dollar 1:35 tank. So I just tend toward the bargains. It's possible that the $ 45 ones are easier to paint, less putty etc.

[Jeffrey H.]

Italeri...forgot about them. Thanks Jim.

[Doggie]

I've been building them off and on since the days a 1/48 scale monogram hellcat cost 50 cents.

There is no one best manufacturer. It depends on the subject. A lot of manufacturers are buying and swapping each other's molds these days, so you may get what was an Hasegawa model in a Revell Germany box. That's the case with Revell's 1/72 P-3 Orion and 1/48 F-4E/F/G Phantom. Both were originally Hasegawa molds, but are cheaper when they come in a Revell box.

Revell has also released a few "new" 1/32 scale kits, like the Westland Lysander, Tiger Moth, and DH Sea Venom, all of which are re-issues of old Matchbox brand kits from the UK. These are old kits but a good value for the twenty bucks or so you'll pay for them.

Tamiya generally has the best 1/48 scale aircraft kits out there. Thier He-219 Uhu nightfighter and assorted variants of the DH mosquito almost fall together when you shake the box. The He-219 has little perks like a white metal cockpit tub which doubles as a nose weight so it will set properly on it's tricyle landing gear.

Hasegawa has a wide selection, but most of their kits lack things like an option for dropped flaps, which are standard on most Tamiya subjects. Your 1/48 corsairs and mustangs look much better with the flaps down.

Italarie also reboxes old kits in new boxes. Thier A-20 is the fifteen year old Esci kit, and their TBM and B-25 is from Accurate Miniatures. The original AC kits are about ten bucks cheaper.

Best buys are off the internet. There's a number of online hobby shops and their prices are usually at least 20 percent less than you'll pay in a hobby shop. You can get even better deals on e-bay, but at the risk of dealing with individual sellers. The good news is that some established hobby shops also use e-bay and offer substantional discounts on excess inventory.

[DuckofTindalos]

ORIGINAL: Jevhaddah

I hope to be getting a Type IXB U-boat from Santa this year (Model not real one) [:D]

Shows a lack of ambition, don't you think? Santa can bring anything...[;)]

As for me, I built quite a few models back in my childhood. I was quite bad at it; not enough patience... Or manual dexterity, for that matter...[:D]

[Jevhaddah_Slitherine]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

ORIGINAL: Jevhaddah

I hope to be getting a Type IXB U-boat from Santa this year (Model not real one) [:D]

Shows a lack of ambition, don't you think? Santa can bring anything...[;)]

As for me, I built quite a few models back in my childhood. I was quite bad at it; not enough patience... Or manual dexterity, for that matter...[:D]

Sigh the ambition IS there, unfortunatley the space to keep the U-boat ain't [:(]

I wonder if Mrs Jev can be convinced that a real life Type IX U-boat would be the ultimate in Houseboats... [:D]

Dear Santa Can I have a Type IX...... [8|]

Cheers

Jev

[BoredStiff]

No more model building for me. I just don't have the patience for it anymore, nor the interest, frankly. Plastic models feel too flimsy.

Occassionally though, I pick up a diecast model. I've got all three Minichamp JFK limousines, the one from Dallas (with six figures), the one he used in Germany (with 8 figures) and the one later used by his successor. The detail on these is incredible.


Accurate right down to the license plate, GG-300

Several tanks and aircraft, including the 1:44 Corgi Air Force One 707, the increasingly hard to find 1:72 Corgi Sea King "Marine One" helicopter, a Mig-21 and an Su-27 with foldable wings.

The Dragon Armor series of 1:72 tanks is pretty extensive and I have a few, although I'm getting tired of seeing three dozen versions of the Panther tank.

The one thing still missing from die-cast models are Soviet/Russian helicopters. I'd love to have a Mi-24 diecast, but the only one made is a kid's toy, not a detailed collectible model.

One of my favorite WW2 vehicles is the Italian Sahariana scouting car, of which I have two:

[leastonh1]

I love the building part as I find it relaxing, but the painting is the thing I doubt I would bother with. I don't have the time to mess with airbrushes, and the thought of learning all those fancy techniques makes my head hurt. 

[sullafelix]

Ditto Jim I find the painting to be just a chore while I love to build them

[Jeffrey H.]

Hasegawa...forgot about them too.

[MrBoats]

I like Hasegawa and Dragon, but Tamiya is still my favorite manufacturer ever since I bought my first kit in '72 -- the German soldier set that I spotted in the checkout aisle at the grocery store. Tamiya's 1/32 Zero kit is a wonderful challenge and a long project.

What I REALLY want for X-Mas is the I/200 scale Yamato by Nichimo. I think it's around $300 on EBay, with $99 shipping from Japan. I believe it's 5 - 6 feet long. So if all of you chip in I will build it and take pictures to post! [:D]

[Doggie]

Die cast vehicles tend to be more realistic looking than aircraft. It's pretty much a case of getting what you pay for. There are some real passable looking 1/72 scale B-24s and such, if you want to pay more than a hundred bucks for one.

Some of the cheaper die cast aircraft have huge seams where the fuselage halves and other sub assemblies are joined together. A properly built plastic model aircraft looks more realistic than most die casts.

Painting is easy if you stick to simple paint schemes. Your 1945 F-4U1D would be overall dark sea blue. A 1960's era naval aircraft is gull grey over white. Both are simple jobs for a spray can. More complicated stuff, like German camo schemes can be done without an airbrush, but it takes some time to develop the techniques needed to render them with a brush.

Yellow is a color to stay away from, no matter what you're painting. It's the hardest color to apply to anything from houses to oil paintings. The trick is to start with a flat white undercoat, then patiently apply one very thin coat of yellow over another, allowing each successive coat to dry thoroughly before proceeding with the next. Getting the yellow bands on the leading edge of the wings is the hardest part about building British fighter bombers. I usually cheat by painting aluminium foil yellow then gluing it down with a special aluminum foil adhesive found in most hobby shops.

I have one of those 1/72 scale U-boats waiting to be built. The Gato class fleet sub is much larger, so I settled for the 1/144 scale version, which is still 57.5 mm or almost two feet long.

The 1/700 scale ships are pretty easy to build, as long as you forget about photo etched railing and rigging. It would take a practiced micro surgeon to even attempt to rig a 1/700 scale warship.

If you want a real challenge, try an old fashioned balsa wood and tissue paper flying model. That will keep you busy for a couple of months. But you will know every structural detail of the real thing by the time you're through.

[leastonh1]

Doggie! [&o]

I have deep respect for those modellers who pay such attention to detail. I could spend all day looking at those amazing models done by people who go for the realistic look. It's an artform.

A two foot long sub model?! [X(] Wow, I bet that looks fantastic. I didn't even know they did models that big! Google....

Which reminds me...as we are talking about models and as I'm still a big kid...Has anyone built any of the MegaBlocks Pro series?? I have both aircraft carriers (as well as most of the others) and they are fantastic when built. Around two feet long and something like 1,500 pieces each. They apparently do a nuclear sub with a cut-away part, but I've never seen it for sale here in the UK.

Regards,
Jim

[Doggie]

ORIGINAL: Jim_H

Doggie! [&o]

A two foot long sub model?! [X(] Wow, I bet that looks fantastic. I didn't even know they did models that big! Google....

That's the 1/144 scale version. The 1/72 scale Gato is more than four feet long. The 1/144 scale version sells for twenty something dollars here in the U.S. To find it, search for an online hobby shop in the U.K. It's made by a chinese company called Trumpeter and it's available in either the 1941 or 1944 versions. They also make a number of other unique kits, like 1/32 scale P-38s, F-105s and a variety of 1/350 scale warships, but they tend to be a bit pricey. If you're patient, you can do like I did and pick up your 1/350 scale U.S.S. Hornet, Essex, or North Carolina at less than half price by watching for sales. I got mine for less than half the usual ninety dollar price. Hornet was the closest I could come to Enterprise the ship my uncle served on as a Marine 20mm anti-aircraft gunner. His most memorable moment was the day he shot down a spitfire. Ooops No harm done, except for a wet and pissed off limey.

All three of the Yorktown class carriers were similar, and it would take an expert in naval architecture to tell them apart. Invest a little more money and lots of patience in the photo etched railings, ladders and radar, and it looks great on a shelf.

.