Artful69

A couple of boxes arrived today ... The longer one while damaged, was packed enough with this blue thick bubblewrap, that nothing inside was damaged though - not even a Revell box!! Finally my Gecko Models Pz.Kpfw II Ausf.F arrived ... I haven't checked if it has a metal barrel yet - but if it doesn't, I'll have to acquire one! I've been waiting a while for this kit to show up at the local HS - we could do with more soviet developed WWII aircraft. I wasn't going to bother with this kit initially ... since I have a couple of Fly's Mk.II's ... but I was intrigued to hear that Revell had put this one together well for a change ... so I took the punt ... I have a couple of FlaK 88's already but you can never have enough of one of (if not) the most versatile (and powerful) artillery pieces of the war. Plus there's the collectors "biscuit tin" which is a bonus Ever since the announcement was made, I knew I was going to get this kit ... Who doesn't love a big kitty?? I especially like the early type with the air filters on the back. This is the weirdest boxing of a kit I've had for quite some time ... The sides are bigger dimensionally, than the top ... I was concerned that Wittmann's tiger might be the only option here, but there's a Kursk 505th unit in the descriptor for available markings I have a Das Werk Pz.Kpfw III Ausf.J ... which only comes with a metal barrel for the shorter 50mm option ... So this gives me one for the L60 - and when I can finally get a hold of the 2 kits from Heller / Monochrome / Gallery - I'll have the other barrels ready to go here! Finally, I've been looking forward to getting one of these for a while ... I wanted the large, clear plastic one but this will do the job ... Will a large enough frame for LSP twins! More Later Rog

A great kit ... markings are of a great but relatively unknown pilot - compared to a lot of his peers ... Was the top scoring ace in 1943 before being pulled out of frontline service and shoved onto the propaganda train! Reinstated to service when things got more desperate in the home defence later in the war and was one of the main contributors to the development of Me.262 deployment and aerial tactics. Rog

Well ... when the GF finally arrives in Perth she'll be happy! The Her new car finally arrived at the dealership at the end of last month ... I had to wait until finance settled on the home loans before getting finance across the line for the new car. I must admit - it's pretty plush ... not as laid back as the ute but certainly not wanting for bells and whistles! IMG_9108.mov Rog

If it's the same designers that put together the Avenger, Dauntless and Wildcat ... I think we'll be ok?? Maybe they'll have a crack at a Vindicator also? Rog

I gotta say ... I was happy when they announced the Val ... but absolutely STOKED when they announced the Kate within a few months afterward AND changed their original 23 - 24 release schedule to put both birds out within spitting distance of each other. Along with Tamiyas A6M2b we have (close to) the complete Midway line up - Just short of an Aichi E13A Recon floatplane. On the USA side we have the TBF-1 Avenger (The Trumpeter kit needs a little modification, but otherwise fits the bill), the F4F wildcat, the F2A Buffalo, the SBD-3 Dauntless and a B-17 (if you want to go that far!!) ... The only missing parts from the USA side of things are a B-26 Marauder, the SB2U Vindicator and the TBD-1 Devastator (yes I know we've seen a mock up at a show lately - but until we have a fully boxed kit from Trumpeter, I'm not buying!!) ... I'd be surprised if sales weren't higher than expected, given that the pair they are putting up will generate sales for each other - we all want the 'set'! ... Now all we'll need is Midway decals for them !! Rog

Don't we all ... lol 😆 Rog

Infinity Val release ... details below ... From a personal point of view ... I'll grab the slightly overpriced kit and grab any accessories I deem necessary, elsewhere. Meaning maybe Master barrels and Yahu instruments ... Look, I understand that by the nature of the company (small & short run type injection moulded), ANY product is going to come out expensive in comparison to say, Revell. That is ... If they want to make any return on their product at all. It's the nature of the market that they've entered. Which means a very particular sort of product selection - because price will isolate you otherwise. You need something that a lot of people have wanted for a while, but none of the majors have taken a punt on - and done accurately (at least externally) ... Very difficult to do! For example ... what if they had selected a Spitfire Mk.Ia? ... or an A6M2b Zero? ... or a Bf.109G (any variant, now that ZM is committed) ... You cannot charge the same or even a similar amount as the others, because product comparison at that level will kill you. I don't think anyone will disagree that Kotare, Tamiya or ZM will produce a MUCH better (accurate) and detailed product in direct comparison ... and if you're not so accuracy conscious, Revell etc are cheaper. On the other hand, with this type of selection ... They are the only Val in town (in big scale) ... And most people who have an interest in that particular subject style, will be ok forking out the additional cash to grab one ... Infinity will be thanking their lucky stars that Border's Kate is only in 35th though!

About the size of a DH Mosquito ... just a bit chunkier. Rog

Much, much better! I was going to suggest Fly Hurricane AM - as they are dimensionally accurate ... But Martin beat me to it!! Looking good Ern! Rog

Mine's on its way Ron! I've seen Andy's video's - everything from the early test shot to the full production kit. It's definitely an early Tiger ... But ... Since I refuse to build anything SS related, It won't be Wittmann's! It'll probably be built as a Kursk Tiger ... maybe from 505 or something. Rog

Yes exactly! .... Zimmerit was applied at the factory only - not replaced or applied in the field ... so it's a pretty solid identifier on the period of vehicle you are looking at. SO ... unless your museum curator gets a bit of 'creative licence' going with some 'After Market' Zimmerit, the vehicle can correctly be identified as a late G or H. Which, will be identified by certain other variant amendments at factory fit out level. The mesh side skirts are a different story. Although the mesh was introduced along with other weight saving / cost saving / production time saving measures attributed to the J variant - it was not just a factory application ... solid skirts were no longer produced. I'm sure you've seen various photos of vehicles with solid skirts in the field ... some with various parts missing, having been shot off in combat or otherwise lost or destroyed and removed. Some crews elected to remove them altogether - enjoying the benefits of faster speeds and manoeuvrability that the weight shedding provided - thus you will see photos of the frames on the vehicles without the skirts. Other crews wanted the skirts replaced, but the only option available was the mesh variety ... and so you can find photo's of StuG III's and even Panzer III Ausf.N's with mesh skirting panels replacing blown off solid affairs! TLDR ... mesh skirting means more than likely a J - but check other factory fitted components to make sure ... Rog

You might be right about the Ausf.H bit ... IIRC Zimmerit was phased into production at the latter end of the G production - and all throughout H production and phased out before the J production ... not all late Pz.IV late G's or H's had zimmerit though, so references need to be checked ... but at least you can, with a fair margin of safety, say that any J was not going to have it applied ... a rear shot of the museum tank would be a telltale - what kind of exhaust muffler set up is there? ... Late Js dropped the rearmost return roller as part of the production simplification process also - as noted on the B & W photo above. Rog

As is typical ... lovely work John! I have a couple of these in the stash ... Found the Vector Resin stuff and the barrels ... Are there any AM exhausts and wheels made for these things? Also nice that the thread has sparked offshoot discussions on the early Mustangs - very informative. I wonder where the moulds for these kits disappeared to? There has to be enough demand out there by now to warrant a fresh re-pop, surely? Rog

Anyone thinking the hobby was dying in larger scale is really not looking at the bigger picture ... we have announcements of new tool kits arriving daily - weekly Just on Scalemates looking for a kit product number for order and came across this in the suggestions column ... So it looks like Gecko are following up from their Ausf.F release ... Good work!! ... I wonder if they'll do similar to Takom and release a Marder II or a Wespe, using the same chassis? Meanwhile I think I found a short barrel solution to my 1/16 Pz.Kpfw IV Ausf.F want ... It's designed for the Heng Long RC kit ... But I should be able to make it work for the Trumpeter 1/16 Ausf.F2 kit. Rog

“Nice” … is very much a relative term when dealing with Trumpeter kits! Rog

lol Martin 😆... Actually ... Googles locator is off slightly - as tends to happen with recent additions to the maps ... lot 833 (soon to be number 29) is further north and about 3 lots back from the corner turning left ... Funnily enough, my lightning tracker app has a much more recent satellite photo where you can see a number of complete houses and a few more in various stages of completion. Rog

Ok … On the 8th of February 2023 … I became the proud owner of a plot of land … Rog

You forgot the ensuing life or death cat fight out in the parking lot! 🤣 Rog

No facepalm 🤦‍♂️ reaction button 👎 Rog

I was JUST going to go with the whole spy balloon thing - Trumpeter’s team now have the correct dimensions to design one lol 😆 Though they’ll still mess it up somehow! Beat me to it!! Rog

Maybe old news for some? But Tamiya’s 2023 new tool LSM’s … … and another Border Model LSM release … Rog

Trumpeters effort a bit dodgy?? 🤔 Rog

An Update ... I flew home on Wednesday last week after my usual 2 weeks away at work ... and thanks to a set of botched home loan documents, a hefty PreStart cost estimate quote, some documentation to complete - which had to be posted ... and some settlement issues, I had my R&R mapped out to do some significant sorting work. Then came the call from my manager about 3 hours after arriving home - Please cut your R&R short and come back on the Monday ... So I had to fly back to work early! .. Even so ... I Posted the important documents off on Friday ✅ ... Got the corrected Home Loan documents on the Monday a couple of hours after I arrived back on site - signed and sent off ✅. Settlement is arranged for the 8th of Feb ✅ ... which gives me about a week or so to go through the PreStart quote and mark questions etc ✅ ... Next stop ... Land Settlement! Rog

It's quite simple ... It's taxation used to add value to the politicians wallets!! Rog