Robertson

I have almost never seen the Skyray in hobby shops in 20 years, much less a built one. No 1/48 Spitfire offer for 24 years, no P-40 ever, no 109 for 19 years, no Ki-43 ever (more famous on the Japanese market than the Zero), no Zero for 30 plus years, and no P-51 for 28 years. Plus no high back Spitfire XIV ever, which the market is still waiting for... But a J1N1 yes. An Aichi Seiran yes (another one, like the Swordfish, I haven't seen built in decades, even online). These guys are simply geniuses. Given their position as market leaders, and the fact 1/48 is still the most popular aircraft sc

Did not know it even existed. 167 built and served 1947-1950 (no Korean War action I think). Has the unofficial single piston engine record for a war load... Its hydraulics were a nightmare to maintain. It's always nice to learn about an unfamiliar type, and it is indeed impressive 🙂

Yes... The 48 year old Monogram is far more accurate. In fact the Monogram is, to this day, the only kit to get the symmetrical tear drop wing airfoil correct, which is amazing. And the mouldings are still so fresh they are indistinguishable from an early 1975 issue, except the clear parts look slightly more polished(!)...

Excellent work! It is nice to finally see a good build of the Hobby Boss kit. Especially for the TBM-3 version, it is a far more accurate kit in the cowl, canopy shape (overall width, but especially at the top frame), and even more so the propeller shape, than the Accurate Miniatures kit. I wish we would see more builds of it. I think it is still the best 1/48 WWII aircraft kit Hobby Boss has ever done.

Their 1/48 aircrafts are not flying off the shelves... Serves them right for not doing a Spitfire for 24 years and a Me-109 for 19... Or a P-40 ever. Try to find on the shelves a J1N1, Swordfish, Do-335, Fi-156 Storch, Aichi Seiran...: A decade's worth of Tamiya 1/48 output that I haven't seen on the shelves (or even built) literally in decades. Even the Heinkel He-219 is rarely seen any more. The worst problem of Tamiya (until recently) was their dumb 1/48 subject choices for 15 years. I doubt they make a fortune off the 1997-2012 part of that range.

The P-38 can get a bit "rivety" on top, despite flush rivets. Especially notable is how tight the rivet pattern is on the wing... The reason it shows less on other types is they tend to have narrower wing walk areas. The whole wing is also more steeply sloped from the tail dragging attitude on most other fighter types, which encourages people to spread their weight and limits their activity on the surface. The P-38 is more level, so the shoe wear really shows after a while. You can see the ones at the back are even more stripped than the closer one...

67 schemes: I have their Pe-2 sheet with something like 50 plus schemes and it is absolutely amazing. I cannot recommend them enough.

The rivets poked through the paint near the cockpit in the hundreds, like shiny raised dots, so not that flush... The wear made them very visible, more so than most types with smaller walking surfaces or with a protective covering. This poke through effect applied mainly to Olive Drab versions.

In 1/48: For Spits up to the Mk II, Tamiya. For Spits Mark V to Mk XVI, Eduard, not even a question. For Spits Mark XIV and up (Griffon), only Airfix post war bubbletop types are available, unfortunately. I adapt Eduard Mk XVI bubble canopies to the Mark XIV, as the Airfix Windscreen does not convince me. The Airfix panel lines also look bigger and less convincing. Eduard Spits are a marvel, among the very best kits ever made in my opinion, but have patience for the walls of the wheel wells that are 12 flat/curved pieces... This is done for a reason, and after that

I stand corrected! 😊

No that's not the case: You can easily pry then apart by inserting a #11 blade and twisting it, pulling them from the "inside" so to speak: This applies to all parts, including main fuselage and wings. They're just massively deep alignment pins... The ease of filling of the Meng wings is also remarkable. That being said, I still lean towards the Airfix (under camo) because of 3 things: Best machinegun leading edge openings, best gear legs, and most of all best depiction of the nose cowl fasteners, at least under camo... Meng beats Eduard for a metal finish, but if you are good with weathering,

Fantastic and totally convincing paint job. I rarely comment on models, but this is just something else...

Having gone into this further now I can say that the Eduard MG opening are tiny and awful, a real kit disqualifier, as well as the poor/non-existent Eduard depiction of the cowl fasteners (completely absent in the upper middle of the cowl!!!) and I replaced the Eduard gun openings with far better Airfix equivalents. All 3 cowl tops lack a slight flat area behind spinner, but fixable. Airfix has generally the best depiction of the prominent cowl fasteners, and takes to the Eduard windscreen like a champ, even canopy closed. Much better sliding canopy frame thickness on Meng and Airfix. Best str

And a glass nose that pinches to about half the size that is should... (Monogram got it dead on, and that nose section will fit the AM fuselage perfectly). OR prop blades too skinny by half (Monogram again on the mark there) OR tail hinges that are just engraved lines when they should be a semi circles meeting a recessed area (Monogram again dead on, but you get the picture)... Accurate Miniatures were so impressed by these moulds they delayed the kit's release for an ENTIRE two years (1997-1999, test shots builds seen, unchanged from final 1999 release, in 1997) while they sued in court the K

This B-25 discussion was really funny. I looked at built up examples of the 1/72 Airfix, and all I can say is I wish the 1:48th Accurate Miniatures kit was half as good (or even one tenth really)...The accuracy of the cowling, props, and especially the canopy is miles ahead of anything in 1/48. The panel lines looked quite nice, and, if not the smallest I have ever seen, they are not out of line with just about anything made in 1/72. The decals looked superb on the model. Having wasted months on resin After Market cowls, mix matching Monogram parts (nose, props, vertical tails)