Joe Meredith

Hi All I was looking at the Famous Russian Aircraft books on Amazon earlier and was astonished by the prices being asked for some of the older books - for example the MiG-21 book going for £1262 and MiG-29 for £1516!! Surely no one would pay prices like that? The MiG-21 book is also on ebay and is listed as poor condition!! I was thinking of selling mine, and of course would be overjoyed if it went for over £1000 but that hardly seems likely! Does anyone know what, realistically, it might be worth now? All the best, Joe

Hi I have ordered a couple of Hobby Boss AH-1's as a start, but can anyone suggest useful (and hopefully not too rare) 1/72 kits for some other IAF helicopters I'd like to have a go at? I'd like to do a Bell 212/UH-1 - there is a Revell kit but don't think its right, and I'd also like to do a CH-53 if its feasible. Thanks Joe

Hi Dave, Many thanks for the reply, look forward to hearing from you. All the best, Joe

Hi Would anyone be able to help me find two parts that were missing from Revell kit 04319 (I believe this was a Hasegawa kit originally). The parts are numbered D11. I have contacted Revell but as the kit is now sold out they are unable to assist. I am able to pay with paypal if your not UK based. Hope somebody can help, Kind Regards, Joe

Apologies for the bump, but I have just taken delivery of this book, and my first impressions are that it is excellent - Its true that some of the photos have already been used elsewhere, but many of them are new to me, and there are some nice shots of Blackjacks after dark and the aerial views of the bases are very impressive, especially the spread of Engels on pp126/7. I think possibly my favourite image has to be on pp250, of a Tu-95 and 2 MiG-29's overflying Moscow though. Joe

Thank you Ken, Have sent order! Joe

Many thanks for the review, I think I will definitely have to get a copy - have already ordered the Cold War book - where would be best to order from? Amazon doesn't have it at present, and when I added it to the cart on the Crecy site got a warning about the sites security certificate...where else is good? Thanks Joe

Thanks for the replies - wasn't sure if it was out, as Amazon have a habit of announcing a release date and then if the book over runs then they say its out of stock - so I have emailed Crecy to clarify. Will have to order the Cold War book as well though, I think. Joe

Hi, I have been searching for some reviews of the above title, but can't seem to find any...I was wondering if anyone has the book and if so whether it is worth getting? I am always keen to pick up stuff on Russian bombers, in particular the Blackjack. Many thanks Joe

Many thanks for the reply - will try that...I hope to get started on the kit sometime this week, work permitting!

Hi All, I am planning to build a 1/144 Tu-160 as a sort of preparation for tackling the Trumpeter example I have stashed away - I have recently had some good results spray painting with Halfords paint for some cars I repainted, and thought I would get the white I would need for the Blackjack from there as well, as I am going to need a fair bit of it - is there a particular type of white I would need or should I just go in and ask for 'white'. I have found the paint they mix in the shop better than the stuff on the shelf. Thanks Joe

Sorry for the bump, but it looks like the V-12 is close to release, there's some box art (I assume) on the Hobby Terra site: Joe

This slab of a book arrived today, and I thought the edition on the Flanker was huge! I haven't had much chance to look at it in depth but it seems to follow a similar pattern to the previous titles, the chapters in this are: Introduction p3 Part 1: The Origin of the Family p7 Part 2: Off to a fine start p55 Part 3: The Interceptors p93 Part 4: Mass Production p127 Part 5: The Trainers p193 Part 6: Experiments And Projects p 213 Part 7: Beyond the Great Wall p249 Part 8: In Soviet Air Force Service p341 Part 9: MiG-21 At War p359 Part 10: Face to Face with the Adversary p403 Part

Its not a Russian plane but it is sooo tempting! The mouse pointer has been hovering over 'add to basket' on Sprue brothers site, but I really ought to wait for a UK retailer to get them, rather than have to pay the customs charges...

I confess I know virtually nothing about the Draken, nor much about any other Saab aircraft, but this sounds like a very nice kit and perhaps worth looking out for.

No, nothing as yet... I know - I can't believe I put that, I think at the time it was simply the idea of a few bits that wouldn't need to be removed from sprues! Though that hardly takes forever! I did have the Amodel Tu-160 at one time but sold it on when I heard about the Trumpeter, plus it had all those bits that needed opening up as you say; also had an An-22 which I wished I'd kept but circumstances got the better of me... Joe

Hi, I don't go in for Sci-Fi models really, but just wanted to ask about the kit of the Galactica itself - was it supposed to be a rather poor representation of the actual ship, and does anyone know where to find a photo of the kit built up? Really enjoying the new series, have to catch up on the third season still though... Joe

Quite nice is something of an understatement there! Hoping they will do the IL-78 Midas, or should I just bite the bullet and get an IL-76 before they all disappear?

Yep, the more I think about a 1/48 Tu-128 the more it appeals! And on similar lines I think they'd please a good few people with a Foxhound in 48th scale too. Blinder would be good considering the shortfalls of the ESCI/Italeri etc kit. Joe

I have emailed them regarding the 144 scale An-225, and if they have any idea when it may be released. I suppose it could still be a long way away though, but I'm intrigued to know if it will be all plastic or will have some pre assembled fibreglass parts. Hopefully all plastic to keep the price down, but preassembled parts appeal to the lazy streak in me! Joe

Another one I forgot to mention before - 1/72 Tu-144 anyone?

Theres a sample page of this book available for viewing on the Transport Diversions website, here

I don't know whether it will be - I suppose even in 144 scale it will be very big and warrant fibreglass main parts... Saw about the Buran in this Cybermodeler page...item 72023 The big Antonov's would be amazing - a challenge to display though! The Beriev's and the A-90 though, now they would make fascinating subjects...Proves there's plenty of possibilities for them still.

I have been thinking about what else Amodel could release as part of its range of large scale mixed media kits; they've released some amazing subjects with more on the horizon such as the Buran shuttle and V-12 helo - but I wondered if they'd go along the route of releasing some Airliners, with Military variants...for example the Airborne command post Ilyushin IL-80 derived from the IL-86, and how about the Tupolev Tu-134UBL trainer? Mind you imagine they did civil versions with fibreglass fueslage which needed all the windows opening out... :D

Well its certainly good to see these large subjects Amodel puts out done justice to; are you looking forward to the Mil V-12, that should be a kit and a half!