jenshb

I see the F-104 and F-16 are both $40(ish) from your store in Hong Kong. If I order from Lucky Model, shipping and possibly VAT and the handling fee unless it slips through HMRC's net, that will obviously go up. Adding 20% VAT to $40 would make it $48 or around £38, so you can't use the addition of VAT as an excuse for the £70 price tag. For some reason, the F-104s are selling for £40 at Hannants, so I am sure retailer markups have a part to play, but as Kinetic has set up a European agent, will that reduce the price? Will it be different within the EU compared to the UK?

Right - appreciate mould design limitations. When I checked the Early Viper Guide, there is a difference in panel lines on the small mouth intake between Block 15 and Block 15 OCU (Operational Capability Upgrade?), and to my eyes the panel lines are fairly correct. The OCU has an additional panel on the LH side which the kit has, there are two panels that can be scribed for the RH side, but I wouldn't lose much sleep over that. Panel lines can be filled if not needed. However, I do think the too fat shape of the tailfin base and end pieces (parabrake and non-parabrake) are rather obvious e

Could corrected tailfin bases and ends for the A not be added to the upper fuselage sprue? There seems to be some free space there...

I had the same issue with D74 on my kit. Why was this piece moulded separately in the first place? I also had to file off a little on the rear of the gun panel, the front right hand panel insert I decided to glue in place and sand level afterwards. The upper front/rear fuselage join was no worse than the equivalent join on the Tamiya kit - pretty decent, but still needing some focus and attention while the glue sets to make it level and only require a little work afterwards. I too experienced the gaps at the wing root, but will deal with those later. As for the AIM-9s, I will use ResKit i

Got it - thanks for sharing that excellent info!

It says file unavailable.

Excellent pics Steve that shows the issue and the necessary correction beautifully.

Just placed and order fo the SG set.

Order placed! BTW, have you stopped doing the F-15SG conversion for the Revell/Mongram kit? Jens

The leading edge was extended as well - the original stab lines up with a panel line on the upper fuselage - the larger stab extends approximately to the lights. Then it is just a matter of cropping the span to eliminate the chamfered trailing edge and sand the leading and trailing edges sharp.

Personally, I would expect the plates to be included in a £70 kit...

I can't think of a single kit where the harnesses moulded on the seats look credible, so it would be best left off. Photoetched seatbelts can be very fiddly, but they need to be "curled up" and straightened a bit to look like the fabric material laying naturally - the inks on the prepainted stuff will then chip and need repair. Paper/fabric will need buckles, so an optivisor and two pairs of tweezers and maybe a stiff drink to calm the nerves. Aires tend to pursue the photoetched belt and buckles, so the same will apply, but at least you won't have to repaint pre-painted belts. The most rea

Thank you Raymond. This model represents 671 when sent to Kyrgyszstan in 2002/2003 to support NATO operations in Afghanistan. You will notice it carries a LANTIRN (or was it Litening?) pod borrowed from the RNethAF as we didn't have our own night vision/designator pods at the time. Eventually the RNorAF selected the SNiper/Pantera XR. At that time it did not carry the PIDS and ECIPS, so the pylons for station 3 and 7 as they come in both kits are fine. The reinforcement plates below the canopy hinge and on top of the wing roots would be present, but the plates on the spine were added late

That would also be possible Raymond, but the question I replied to was asking what it would take to make an MLU from the Tamiya F-16C, which is what I did a few years ago.

You will need a A or B tailfin base (the Tamiya tailfin can be used, but the fairing on the fin top needs modifying), fill the recess for the wider footprint of the C, then scribe the correct panel lines on the fuselage spine. Those are the main things. I used a tailfin base from a Hasegawa kit. Some of the A boxings come with both the original short base as well as the extended version for either the brake chute or the Belgian ECM-equipped version, so the kit can still be finished.