Artful69

Sorry to hear, Harv! ... Rest up, get well ... and be more bloody careful when doing Joe Biden impersonations in future!!! Seriously, mate - Shaken but wishing you - not stirred!! See you soon I hope Rog

I'm afraid I've been a little cagey about HPH kits since the bad build reviews started coming to light ... I paid some good coin on the Walrus, Me.410 etc and haven't gone near either kit since Bryan's loosing fight with his substandard F7F Tigercat ... An extortionate amount of money for a very mediocre kit - that's hard work to boot! The news in relation to this says: IM small parts and canopies ... Resin / fibreglass large parts. But waitaminute!!! Doesn't shrinkage affect resin casting?? If so ... the LARGER the parts ... the more prone they are to shrinkage ... I wish Infinity had been sold to an IM company TBH ... I'd feel more comfortable if Trumpeter kitted it! Rog

I like this one!! ... And that's a definite yes from me!! Rog

Saw Andy's You-Tube announcement ... not my cuppa, but glad to see more choices in 16th scale ... He's selling them at reasonable prices too! Rog

Rob? The Meng stuff looks good inside the box … I’m looking forward to having a crack. Gotta find RAAF decals for the EA-18G … (I might have a lead on some!) and some camo decal markings for the Mirage. got the RAAF camo markings for the Phantom … I might need some decals for the Aermacchi - the ones supplied are for a 2010 anniversary scheme - I want to make something based at Pearce. Rog

Happy Birthday Carl … mine was on the 22 July - I forgot it until I looked at my watch to check the date at about 10am!!!! 🤪🤣 Rog

I honestly think that both Trumpeter and Hobby Boss get a very unfair shellacking from the community ... Don't get me wrong - some of their efforts leave much to be desired (1/32 B-24 and A-26 being prime examples) ... but a lot of their offerings come in fairly decent ... especially on the fit/finish front. lol ... and I was taught to build engines, transmissions and other assemblies ... which is why I get off on assembly detail, putting things together - and also why none of my builds will ever win a show!! ... I just enjoy the hobby - my finished product is serviceable (and if real would probably run well!) Rog

Thanks for the tips - should I need them! ... I'm not really a mix-my-paint kinda guy ... more a near-enough-good-enough kind (which is why I bought that XF-4 in the first place) ... So I can paint my corsairs etc without the hoo-ha ... also I don't have a lab coat! 😆 Rog

Just shy of 500mm nose to tail and 450mm wingspan ... I think a Tamiya Spit only comes in at 300-odd mm wide! From what I'm reading in reviews Hobby Boss doesn't get half as many bad reviews in 48 scale ... either that or the 48 crowd aren't that fussy!! I wanted to fondle plastic for myself so that was the kit I opened up ... *swoon* ... I'm in love already 🥰 Rog

I arrived back from camp today ... late - on yet another delayed flight. The company really needs to choose a more reliable air service. A bunch of stuff was waiting for me at the post office ... When last out, I bought a stack of paint ... but what I didn't get was the interior colour for the USA aircraft - that weird bile coloured yellow/green stuff called Zinc Chromate. Strangely, Tamiya would have you mix 2 colours: 3 parts XF:3 (flat yellow) + 1 part XF:5 (flat green) ... which, when mixed, will resemble XF:4 anyway ... 😳 ... so I just bought XF:4!! A while back I made the decision to start a collection of Australian services aircraft (Because the RAN used some as well as the RAAF) ... I grabbed a couple of F/A-18's, Mirages etc ... only to find that 1/32 subjects were very limited ... They are also very big! ... So I've decided to downscale this collection to 1/48 with a couple of exceptions that I'll keep in 1/32 ... From Metros ... F/A-18's ... A & B ... Apparently the Kinetic legacy hornets are the shiz And the newer Meng Super bugs are not at all shabby either ... Over to Frontline ... ... and the Meng Growler ... which I forgot to get AM decals for!! A BAE Hawk trainer ... By Hobby Boss ... AND it's supposed to be a great kit - accurate too!! along with the A-4F Skyhawk ... which, in the RAN was an A-4G ... apparently the only visual exterior difference to the RAN kite was the bent refuelling probe (thanks BNA!) Here's an example of something used in the RAN that's not available in 1/32 ... a "Stoof" ... and just because we do actually have a couple of these ... and oldy but a goody from Italeri - the C-130 Herc'!! ... This thing should make my 1/32 Lancaster cringe!! Although some of these kits have Australian markings, some do not and some just have the wrong ones for a subject I want to build ... So thank you Novascale! ... On to BNA! ... Aside from the refuelling probe for the A-4 I grabbed a second Z-M F-4E ... The new Tamiya F-35A (although why on earth our ADF is buying these, I'll never know!!) A jet I used to see VERY often as a kid ... the "Macchi Jet" or Aermacchi MB-326 ... another one I used to see as a kid ... Although this one hasn't got the RAAF markings I wanted (for a Camo bird) so I'll have to hunt some more AM decals down! And one of the main reasons for the decision to change scale ... a 'swing-wing' F-111 ... big, at nearly 500mm long - even in this scale it will make a couple of 1/32 prop birds look small. Rog

Has anyone heard any rumours about possible suitors for the Infinity gear?? Rog

Heya Carl … it might be an idea to cast some masters off those Fisher kits!!! - if only someone had a kit of the P-51B we could do that with as well! with the original masters gone now, it would be a shame to loose Paul’s creations to history if we can try to salvage something instead?! Rog

As soon as I arrived home from mining camp this week I headed over to a hobby store near where my subwoofer was repaired and ready to collect. I discovered it via Google while looking for Tamiya Acrylic Paints in local supply. I went through the instruction manual of the kit and worked out which colours I already had, putting a circle next to the ones I didn't. Of course we should ALL know by now that it's impossible to visit a store and buy JUST the items you're looking for ... I'm honestly quite surprised I didn't come away with more! (I was very tempted by a 1/48 F-111C Hobby Boss kit that I've heard good reviews about!) ... The store is like Dr. Who's Tardis ... a very small shop front - but it goes on forever to the back!! Next stop was to a store chain called Totally Workwear to pick up a "Shacket" ... It was here that I remembered that I'd left my trusty Sundström respirator at the mining camp so I needed something to paint in! On to the Post Office to pick up the latest arrival from BNA ... Deceptively big ... because I know what I'd ordered ... Occupying one side of the box was packing material ... and on the other was another large cardboard box (half the size) with some other stuff packed into the end! The big box housed this ... a 1/16 Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf.F2 - which I will backdate to an F1 African issued machine ... One of the 2 specified marking sets IS for an African number (so I hope the engine deck layout is, also!) - buuuuuuuut without the required Palm Tree emblem (It's Trumpeter - so I'm really not all that surprised). They're available in this scale from Peddinghaus anyway - so problem solved. Since the only external difference between the F1 and F2 is the longer barrelled high velocity 75mm (L/43) replacing the low velocity 75mm (L/24) ... It's the perfect conversion tank for the AM I previously bought ... and the really good part? ... the leftover mantlet can be used to adapt the other L/24 I have for a Pz.Kpfw.III Ausf.N - since I have the 'M' chassis for that one! In this scale it's almost ridiculous to use plastic or resin for machine guns ... especially those with a separate cooling jacket so I got some Aber brass ... as well as some 1/32 gear for the other project ... And finally another piece of the Midway puzzle! ... although I'm gutted about the Kate being called off ... I really wish they had finished and released both at the same time ... now we have to wait and hope someone else will "acquire" the companies assets!! ... Rog

Not at all surprised here ... I think this kit was designed with AM conversions in mind ... The only disappointing bit is that the design would be difficult to backdate to a Mk.I or Mk.Vb ... and the kit is just that good as base to work from! Rog

Meh … not really 🫤 Rog

That canopy does look to be the sauce! ... If you've got the 3D gear for that set up (cue AM guys here!!), you'd have to leave it open, wouldn't ya? Rog

Nice work so far Ern ... Parts fit looks pretty good (It was never really one of Trumpeters weaknesses as said previously) ... a bit of capillary action with some extra thin on the wing attachment and that'll do ya I reckon! Rog

lol Kevin ... I was attempting to be critical without going OTT ... Once I built a Cyber Hobby Bf.109E-3 (the E will always be my favourite), there was no going back to the Trumpeter kit ... although prior to the Cyber Hobby kit I found them more enjoyable to put together than the Eduard kit. It looks mostly like a 109E to be sure (and is probably the best of the Trumpeter 109's) but the shape accuracy of the Cyber Hobby kit blows it away (once an aficionado sees something - it cannot be unseen, I guess 🤷‍♂️ ) At any rate I'm enjoying watching Ern playing with his plastic! Rog

Heya Ern ... 1st up - thanks for giving us a good look at the plastic that has emerged from the vapourware of years gone by. I have one on my order list with my hobby store in the east to help complete my Midway collection ... Also waiting on my store to acquire the Infinity Val ... (absolutely gutted about the Kate though and praying some enterprising company will pick up the slack there!) In relation to the first part of the above comment ... Not necessarily so! ... This kit was conceived about the same time as the Avenger, Dauntless and Wildcat ... All of which turned out to be good representations of the original. If this kit was put together by the same team that put the other stuff together (especially at design stage!), there's no reason to doubt that it will be a fairly accurate kit. Add your Quinta stuff for that huge expanse of open internals along with some detailed gun barrels and you're probably where you want to be. Trumpeter (as opposed to HobbyBoss) are, of course, very hit and miss in the accuracy department - as an example, their Bf-109's are quite woeful in external shape accuracy ... yet in most other aspects, the kits themselves usually represent good bang-for-buck ... The boxes are sturdy, with items well packaged. The fit and finish of most of their gear is exceptional, with lots of included detail (even if some of it is suspect) ... Although the 2x 109's I built of theirs were difficult to look at afterward, they were actually fun to build! The remaining kits serve as paint mules for testing new techniques. Trumpeter cop a steady stream of unfair abuse in my opinion ... Their 1/32 Me.262's were considered the best in any scale until Revell released theirs (some years later!) and the differences making the Revell kit the new 'star' were so minuscule it was meh! While their P.47's cop the odd drive-by, they are fairly close to where they need to be - their only competition being the Hasegawa kits ... which had their own list of imperfections. I went with the Trumpeter kit ... again - choose your poison ... bang-for-buck! I am looking forward to snagging this one with both hands!! Rog

I arrived back to Perth to find a couple of parcels waiting for me ... One from my favourite Japanese retailer via Fed-Ex and one out of Hong Kong ... Lets open that one first ... a small box with 2 sets of the same 3D printed AM ... This is a 1/16 KwK 37 - 75mm L/24 (main armament of early Pz.Kpfw IV's) - designed for the Heng Long RC vehicles ... and will be specifically, in this case, acting as a conversion set for my Trumpeter 1/16 F2 to back date it into an F1 Detail is good enough in this scale ... The MG barrel has snapped off the other one - but it doesn't matter as they will both be replaced by turned brass items anyway. It comes complete with mantlet, view port covers etc ... and the radio antenna guard ... No instructions though!! Minimal clean up required ... although this detail inside the barrel doesn't look like rifling?! Next ... I was back to that Japanese store I bought a few kits from previously ... The big box was well stuffed with packing paper ... and these kits were double bubble wrapped ... it seems they actually care about the condition that the items arrive at their destination ... All prices were paid in my local currency (AUD) so no conversion fees ... Some prices were slightly higher than what I paid the last time ... The Tamiya Mosquito was $203 AUD instead of $187 (and I think that is a reflection of currency rates - specifically USD / JPY rates)... but that's still better than the $340-$360 you'd pay retail for it here ... Try finding a brand new Hase' Bf.109F-4 for $45 AUD or equivalent ... or a Hase' Stuka for $71!! ... How about Tamiya Corsairs? - $127 AUD for the -1a and $138 for the -1d ... Shipping? ... add an extra 18+ % and you're still lower than any Australian outlet - even with discounted items!! Rog

Since Infinity are now done … (with the Kate 50% complete apparently!) … I hope some enterprising mob take up the slack and produce one!! Rog

It is … first 2 scheduled releases are the A-4 and A-3 … First release (2nd half of year) is a special edition of the A-4 … I have 2 on preorder 😍 Rog

A quick durry before the action starts 😆 ... he's on smoko! Cheeky Nav photobombing the shot. Rog

With the -1C, I think its more about the wing panels (top and bottom) and the gun shrouds, than the barrels. I think 20mm Hispano barrels in 1/32 should be readily available from somewhere! Rog

I too am chasing a conversion! ... to create a -1C Rog