HubertB

I was (and still am) one of the guys jumping around at the idea of a 1/32 DC-3 ... But, in all my posts about this kit, here or on LSP, I always wrote two conditions : 1) I wanted a DC-3, not a C-47 ... I know the difference was sometimes small (to summarise, mainly the cargo door and the extreme rear end without the glider hook) and that most post-WWII civilian DC-3s were in fact ex-C 47s, but, still, I was disappointed to see the kit only offered the option for boring olive drab military versions ... 2) Above all, I expected a price point in the range of the former Catalina. i.e. 600 €, VAT included for us Europeans. I braced myself for this cash-out. But, at something like 750 € with VAT, it was just 20% above my expectations, and psychologically priced-out for me ... I know the internet has extended beyond dreams the capacity to sell items even in small quantities, but a business can still price itself into a teeny weeny niche ... HPH did it for me with the C-47 kit As for the Buff, if you want one in large scale, you can find one for less than 50 € as a paper model (as well as a Tu-95). A lot of work, but then HPH kits are not shake-and-bake either ... And finally, I’d greedily jump on a B-58 (even though I already have the paper kit) IF the price point was right, i.e. significantly less than the C-47 ... Hubert

Well that’s assuming you don’t buy any new kit until 2189 ... And, at my current building pace, my stash will still be here when they launch Picard’s new Enterprise ... Hubert

Good choice. The finish calls for foiling, methink Hubert

I’m sure you have seen this, and taken care of it, but the cowling looks also different from the Camel. Hubert

Agree with you there ... Just like with the Lancaster. Only this one is even less advanced as a project, judging by the pics which seem very early stage. They appear to be leveraging their brand franchise to undercut competition’s projects. A departure (and far less gentlemanly, IMHO, I might add) from the early days when they would not do kits because « there were already competition doing it » ... Hubert

Looks like WnW is also developing a kit of the same ... http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/productdetail?productid=3206&cat=5 That makes a lot of offer for an esoteric (not to say insignificant) WWI fighter ... CSM should focus on French or Italian subjects, as WnW do not seem that interested in them Hubert

Definitely no bulge nor depression Hubert

That looks more like the solution... if you reduce the bulge, you will more or less align the rear end of the fuse with the opposite end near the cockpit ...at least it looks like it. Hubert

It’s actually a bulge followed by a depression .... Having done this kind of mistake, it looks like some f#@%-up 3D design ... Hubert

It’s notorious that the engine representation of this kit is somewhat .... strange. The design team at Trumpeter did not seem to have understood that a radial was long, not because of the space between cylinder banks, but because of the accessories on the back of it ... Other rabbit hole is actually a bulge rather than a hole, on he rear fuselage behind the canopy... But then your goal is to go easy without all these worries Hubert

The move to Portugal was a resounding success as far as Patricia’s health is concerned ... And I cannot be more happy myself, thanks Take care. Hubert

Hey Dale, a tablet is still less useful in the toilet than paper ... just sayin’ Hubert

Certainly the best "what-if" I have ever seen. Love it ! Hubert

The Claude, the Nate, the Tempest and the Yak-3 are among their best, without too much fussy fit like with the intakes of the P-80, T-33 or even the T-2 Buckeye Hubert

I’d check the Reedoak range first ... Hubert

Hmm. That does not sound good for a Mustang with wheels. Better change for a mustang with real horse-shoes Hubert

Here is my only one (well, the only visible one, I mean, because started kits in their boxes don’t count, do they ?) It’s a 1/32 scratchbuilt Aichi Hansa, a Japanese licence-built Hansa W-29, with an Hispano engine. It was started in 2008, before WNW existed, years before WNW’s W-29 was launched and went OOP. The build was stalled when my cat pushed into an unscheduled first flight - with only very minor damage . And ... sorry for the cluttered bench .You can see my current mojo restorer ... an Entex 1/36 Palawan. It is in fact a kit of George Watson’s (of IBM fame) Palawan IV, designed by Sparkman and Stephens, and built by Rasmussen. And with only very minor improvements (like open skylights, to see the inside fittings - hang-on, that means I have to scratchbuild the interior ? ) Hubert

I once started a detailed SS Mauretania, correcting and improving the ... Airfix 1/600 venerable kit ... When I fought and battled over the scratchbuilding of the main windlass/capstan on the f’csle, where the biggest part was about 1.5 mm in diameter, it suddenly dawned on me that there was no reason to inflict myself such insane teeny-weeny detailing ... So, now I do 1/32 aicrafts, where I can « relax » detailing cockpits with less-than-a-one-millimeter-diameter knobs and levers. But this is « meaningful » detailing ... But I have decided not to touch the small scales anymore. 1/350, 1/400, 1/600, 1/700 are banned in the ships scales, and 1/144, 1/72, 1/48 for aircrafts. It’s just 1/32 for aircrafts, and 1/200 for fighting ships (IF they are pre-dreadnoughts, so in IM plastic, there is just the Mikasa ... or cardboard models ) or bigger scale for sailing ships and minor vessels ... One has to protect one’s nerves and eyesight, hasn’t one ? Hubert, perfectly able to explain rationally his choices, without the slightest trace of BS

With everyone else here : manufacturers release the same subject time and time again because they believe it’s going to make them money. And their working assumption os that it is better to have a slice of a gant pie than 100% of a small cookie ... This is called competition, just like you have more than one beer to choose from, to drink while you watch your favorite program among the dozens available ... And finally, let’s face it: if the future release of another FW-190 was announced from Tamiya rather than KH, everyone complaining would be dancing a happy dance, saying they are going to buy at least ten ... I am just happy that we have manufacturers like KH or Special Hobby, or resin manufacturers, that have released subjects I am more interested in. And I support them with my spendings. This, again, is what free market is all about. Judging by my kit expenditures over the last 10 years, Tamiya is a midget, Hasegawa is not on my chart at all : if they judge business success by my reaction alone, then they would actually say their investments have been wrong and they’d be out of business ... Whilst I am still waiting for a DC-3 in IM (or HPH to get their price down), I’ll contend myself with the forthcoming Saab 29, and even the Westland Whirlwind, in spite of my « no camo » personal rule (because Westland had the good idea to civilianise one for a few months at the end of WW II. Hubert

Well deserved. An outstanding build, and an original scheme. What’s not to love ? Hubert

Outstanding work ! I particularly like the gunsight detailing. Hubert

I’ve heard that the red uniform is awesome with girls ... Hubert

You’re going to be in the police afterwards ? Like a Monty on a horse (rather than a Mustang) ? Hubert

Gotta say I spent 4 days in Las Vegas - in the Mirage - 22 years ago, in May 1997 (and managed not to play one cent, btw). That was enough of Las Vegas for me for about 4 lifetimes ... Hubert

No problem, I can drink your share Hubert