Dennis.E

Look forward to it mate!

Many thanks big J. I think I may well take this up with Revell themselves, as I know from my professional knowledge the main peices have been taken from their molds far to early, in all probability to get kits 'out the door' and into stores ASAP. I feel as modelers Jereon we have the stake here, and we have a say as to quality in the kits we choose to purchase. I'll find an email address and send Revell an email - we'll see what- if anything- positive comes of it.

Awesome!

Nice work big J;- I saw one of these completed at our New Zealand Nationals recently and they do look great when finished. Good luck!

Cheers Darren - just as soon as I can wrestle this bloody 32 scale Red Arrows Hawk into shape I'll have the 24 scale G-2 on the bench...keep churning them out mate - I've got your 109 as my new desk top screen saver! Best of luck on whatever you choose Darren.

I've managed to get the main components to line up Jereon; with the superglue dry (cementing one small section at a time as I go - I am still worried about the canopy lining up with the fuselage halves)I intend to sandpaper the terribly fitting main pieces (the top fuselage from the canopy forward, and intakes are the worst culprits here) back flush and polish out any scratches left from this process. Several of the intake parts and the fuselage leaves you with mating surfaces that are proud of each other, necessitating a good sanding session and plenty of superglue. What is making me mad Jereon is the remedial work required to get this project up to an acceptable standard, in a product manufactured in 2010! If I brought a Hasegawa or Tamiya product of the same lineage a simple swipe of the sanding stick is usually enough. I agree with your observation concerning the engineering as well. For the life of me I cannot see why Revell have done things the way they have. Several construction parts just don't work logically, and I notices Revell have printed step 48 twice - different both times. I realize Jereon this sounds like a rant - I am quite happy to reach for the sandpaper to clean up parts, and work on the odd peice that isn't quite fitting right. What irks me is I work 12 hour night shifts for the money I use to fund my hobby, and if the standard of the work I put out was like this I would be hauled into bosses office for a 'please explain'! The other side of this is that this kit was obviously aimed at younger modelers...how many of those have we lost back to electronic products due to products like this ending up in the bin? I really feel manufacturers should just take a little more care, and be prepared to be scrutinized by their customers when they don't exercise a reasonable standard of quality control. Ultimately Jereon I can save this project - but I have been doing this now for 40 years, so I should be able to. Younger, or less experienced modelers, attracted by the low retail price of this kit...wellll

Good Afternoon Gus;- Any progress at all?

Now I wouldn't normally look at a kit such as the red arrows Hawk; it's just not my cup of tea, but the wife looked at a finished version at the recent Nats and declared she wanted one... Sooooo, after a quick search of the net I found one and a week later (and some hassles, but that's another story) the kit duly landed on my doorstep. I have always been a little skeptical of Revell kits and the fit of their parts (an opinion borne of their earlier efforts that required more putty then glue), it was their 32 scale JU-88 that gave me some hope for the future of the brand. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I made a start on the hawk, and, Jesus, what a bloody joke! The main fuselage halves were terribly warped, the cockpit section would not fit without some chopping and filing away, and now the intake halves will not fit together without superglue and copious amounts of masking tape. I am almost afraid to try gluing the intakes to the fuselage, that now resembles the masking tape and clamp version of Frankenstein. Is this just me, or have any of you out there suffered the same fate? If so, why are we putting up with this rubbish? Okay, so it's cheap, you say. Then I would point to Italeri's 32 Mirage and the fit issues there. Both late production kits, both should have been subjected to quality control measures. I wonder how many of these kits (Hawk) have ended up in the bin, and how many young modellers have gone back into the lounge toward the playstation and out of our hobby (read that as the future of our hobby) because a manufacturer is more interested in their profit margin than say, Tamiya, who put quality first. Anyone out there who has built the Hawk care to add to this??Is it just me? Cheers, Dennis

Hi Rick - just an idea mate...try emailing Tamiya HQ in Japan. As a commercial Company they will want to know you have in fact brought the kit and aren't simply trying to scam parts so they may well ask for the box code and kit number...there must be an email address for Tamiya (after all - they are TAMIYA). Failing that try phoning them in Japan - from experience I know their English speaking staff speak the Kings tongue as well as we do..I hope that helps Rick, and good luck!

Absolutely f#$@%&kin beautiful mate! Seriously Darren, a wonderful project - congratulations! You deserve a nice long hot bath after that one!!

Good Point!

What a stunning and well observed peice of work Darren! You really have nailed that finish mate! What colors are you using for your filters? I can see browns and greys...would this be right Darren? I now have a trumpy 24 scale G-2 to go with my Revell 32 scale G-6, and I really want a finish on my projects similar to yours.

The metal color line is the best of the Vallejo colors Gus - I have brought a couple of those finishes, but here in New Zealand they work out at almost twice the price of the brush on range. For me Gus, I am happy with the brush on versions (although, in saying that, I will be using the airbrush versions on future contest entries).

Tamiya Acrylic thinners do a great job Gus - they do an excellent job of cleaning the brushes as well!. Another thing I have noticed Gus is the viscosity of this product appears to such that you don't need a lot to go a long way. I just shake the bottle, open the lid, and dip my brush onto what has come out the top...and that always seems to be enough, in contrast to say, Tamiya's acrylics. The quality of these paints is just brilliant Gus - I think you agree if you decide to try them the finish is superior to standard Tamiya acrylic products (which, of course, is not to impune the Tamiya product in any way, the Vallejo product is just superior for metallic finishes). I hope this helps Gus.

Looking good Gus!

Fantastic weathering and observational skills! Regards, Dennis

Good Morning Gus, I have just tried the Vallejo AV Metallic range - Aluminium, steel, oily steel and gunmetal blue. Fantastic stuff! I am using them in conjunction with their range of pigments on my Hawk project and the results are far superior to anything I have used previously. Regards, Dennis

I've never actually tried that particular product line Gus...there appears to be so many out there now it's almost confusing! I'm following along with your build, and look forward to seeing the results of your 'tinkering s'.

Fantastic job Danny! I applaud your perseverance...

If I could finish a Spit like yours, I wouldn't be staring clear of them! - Fantastic job Mish!

What colors are you planning on using for the exhaust cans Gus? I got bogged down with the myriad of tones offered by Vallejo (then, of course, the Revell 32 scale F-15C I was trying to resurrect died completely and now rests sadly back in it's box)! Cheers, Dennis

I think it's interesting to note Italeri are now Business Partners with non other than Tamiya...you would be forgiven for thinking therefore Italeri's product would reflect this partnership through infrastructure sharing and quality control - Tamiya's Board of Directors may well to note this works both ways, in that we as the modelers should be looking at this and asking the question of why their Business partner is putting out product that is well above price point for what you get when compared to Tamiya who also put out product to a set pricing structure yet we all know what we are going to get...and we get it. I have looked at this product, considered the price, and put my money elsewhere (Revell 1/32 109/Fw190) instead. Padubon;- I think you are doing a fantastic job, especially in the cockpit area - it's just such a shame a Manufacturer commercially in bed with one of the greats of our hobby puts out this standard of product, in this day and age, when clearly they can (and I jest in the direction of the 35 scale motor torpedo boats here) put out far, far better. Just my opinion guys.

Thankyou so much for the advice and offer of help Darren - I will be tagging along here and learning from you. I have also seen the Panzer (If memory serves me correctly) and your weathering there was simply awesome.We are so fortunate to have probably the world's finest modelers working on this site, their projects which serve to give one the encouragement to take one's project to the 'next level'.I am pretty sure Jeroen has an entire Luftwaffe squadron in his basement, from which he removes wee pieces to add to his projects!. Thanks again Darren, I am grateful for the aid of a fellow modeler in bettering my efforts!

Sorry Darren, I have entered my response twice! Apologies!

Hey Dave, what did you use for the dry brush on those tracks? That metallic finish looks absolutely real... Regards, Dennis