Faust

With Christmas truly over, all the decorations long down and the new year proving to be not yet much better than the last, I thought it would be fun to show that it wasn’t all bad news. I thought it might be nice to see that even in the midst of some of the worst times something simple like model kits can bring a lot of people together, even if they can’t be right there. What better way to do that than to show you guys the rather eclectic mix of models that I got for Christmas, and for you to help decide which one you want to get reviewed first. Check out my haul of ca

Thanks JackMan, I appreciate it! I sometimes wonder when I talk about box art if I'm the only one that cares, but it's nice to know that others do too!

I gave up trying to go for accuracy. I mean, the kit IS a total dog. I'm just going for a roughly correct outline that is Flagon G shaped. I really don't care about ram air inlets, rivet patterns, etc. F that noise. This kit is tough enough as it is. I'm just trying to get something that people will see it's an Su-15UM and I'm good with it. The intakes, though... those HAD to be corrected.

Thanks man! I wouldn't recommend it to others! 🙂

So, as for most of us, I’ve pretty much had it with the dumpster-fire that is 2020. It’s been exhausting and worrisome and just plain stupid, and I’m more or less over it. It is fine for it to pizz right off and never make its kind known again. Of course, I’m sure it’ll only get worse from here, but that kind of positivity is something for another day. In the spirit of 2020, that Grand Conjunction of Murphy’s Law and Sisyphus’ landscaping chores, I thought it was a perfect time to show how the Pioneer 2 Flagon G was coming. If there’s any project that really wallows in the spirit

I can remember seeing silver painted ones at the London International Airshow back in the day a few times. I did see one white one at one of the couple Sarnia Airshows that Walsh put on (it might have been the same year as the Sea Fury crash, but I can't be sure). I've never seen a bare metal one, but I must be a wee babe, I guess, and they were before my time. 🙂

We all know that “retro modelling” is now a major force. We’ve seen the reissues and the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia have never been put to more use than now. There’s a lot of demand for repops of old, hard to get kits of weird, not-kitted-since subjects. I thought this was a new trend. I was surprised to find out just how “not new” it was when I got my big box of models in the mail from Alan. In that box, among all kinds of cool stuff, was a Hawk Hupmobile Runabout. This is certainly a subject you don’t find kitted today, and I wasn’t surprised to see it was from the mid ‘60

One of the hardest things about finally getting your hands on a “grail” kit is deciding if you’re good enough to build it. Well, at least that’s what I find. I used to always worry that I’d somehow screw it all up and be worse off than when I started. However, the more I model, the more I realize that grail kits are the ones I really should be building first. I mean, what’s the point in having something you’ve longed for if it’s just going to sit in a box, right? A perfect example is the Matchbox 1/76 LRDG set. I’ve wanted this Orange Range two-vehicle set since even before I beca

With all the travel restrictions and border closures, it’s not been easy to go on “hobby shop runs” this year. What with that, and there not being any model shows, and thus no vendor’s rooms, finding awesome old kits has proven to be a rather difficult sport since March. Thankfully, I have someone in my corner, it seems, as my good friend Alan emailed me that he was going to be sending me some kits he was sure I’d like. Well, he sure knows me well, because in the monstrous 4lb box-o-kits he send me were all kinds of great treasures! From Corvette Street Rods to biplanes and still

Oh man... Corolla-Nova flashback! I would kill for a kit of one of those. That may be among the saddest of the nameplate dustoffs... I'm not sure the Horizon is worse. Wait, yeah... you're right. It is. 🙂

Yeah, I'm thinking point defence is pretty much the name of the game. It's almost like a Jet Komet.... another conversion I did! Thanks for the compliments!

The fun part about modelling is that you can be as exacting or as imaginative as you want to be, depending on the subject. Normally, planes don’t lend themselves to much in the way of imagination, but there are plenty of niche types that offer some creative freedom. A perfect example of that is the realm of “Luft ‘46”. This umbrella covers real and conceptual aircraft that were being designed for the future Luftwaffe before the end of the War in 1945. Luft ’46 is one of my favourite subtopics, and in fact is the reason I got back into building plane models about 20 years ago. Early

As most of you know, when an old ‘70s kit gets repopped, I get pretty excited. That’s because, even though I love the old ones, they’re not easy to find, and I’d say about half of my “retro” car collection is reissues. However, sometimes I do get lucky, and I find an original, or an older reissue. That means that when the new repop comes along, I don’t have to worry about finding one, or at least finding one right away. 🙂 A perfect example is the Monogram (now Revell) 1/24 1978 El Camino. This was just reissued as a 3-in-1 kit, a repop of the “Lowriders” version, I believe. However

Everyone always gravitates to the cool, frontline equipment. It’s the fighters, the bombers and the tanks that get all the attention. However, there are a lot of other people and machines in the background doing what they have to in order to keep those “famous” guys going. A perfect example is the humble “gas truck” or “fuel tender”. In WWII, there was no aerial refuelling, and it was these guys that kept planes across the world gassed and ready to go. Sadly, despite their undisputed place in the hierarchy of logistical assets, they aren’t very widely known or even much thought ab

Oops! You would not believe (or, maybe you would!) the number of times I've mispelled "Flagon" in the last while! I'm amazed that was the only one that got through. Maybe it wasn't? Oh well, to be honest, it's not that far from a wooden outhouse...