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what happened to Academy


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They appear to still be in business. I have not heard anything to the contrary. They have been quiet, I never really thought about it until you mentioned it. Hopefully it means they are busy working on slat wing, as well as long nose 1/48th Phantoms. 

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No doubt some of their recent armor kits are quite good, but they can be confusing to the beginner who isn't exactly sure which parts belong to which variant. Good references are essential. I like their Panzer IV and have it in my collection and I will get their Stug as well (although the Dragon Stug's that I have built were enjoyable and can be turned into really nice pieces...again with good references as Stug's  had so many versions, sub-versions and even hybrid versions). The best...I am always hesitant to declare anything the best as its often  subjective to the individual. But Academy has certainly come a long way from making nasty bad copies of old Tamiya kits and its nice to have options outside of Tamiya, Dragon, Hobby Boss, Meng etc.

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On ‎9‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 7:24 AM, Don said:

No doubt some of their recent armor kits are quite good, but they can be confusing to the beginner who isn't exactly sure which parts belong to which variant. Good references are essential. I like their Panzer IV and have it in my collection and I will get their Stug as well (although the Dragon Stug's that I have built were enjoyable and can be turned into really nice pieces...again with good references as Stug's  had so many versions, sub-versions and even hybrid versions). The best...I am always hesitant to declare anything the best as its often  subjective to the individual. But Academy has certainly come a long way from making nasty bad copies of old Tamiya kits and its nice to have options outside of Tamiya, Dragon, Hobby Boss, Meng etc.

I'm planning on getting three or four more of the Panzer IV's, and probably a couple of the STUG's. Looking at the kit, I can see a whole series of Panzer IV based tracks coming out of it.  I'd really like to see them do a Panzer IVJ or even an early G.

      Now I really like Takom and Rye Field as well as Meng. Their prices are refreshing, and their quality is on par with anybody if not better.

gary

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I built Dragons Panzer IV J and just turn a blind eye to the inaccuracies. I'll buy a couple more Academy Panzer IV's as its one of my favorite tanks...not as much as I like my Tigers though LOL (actually, Academy's Tiger I isn't that bad either. Good beginner kit). I have a few Tamiya IV's in the stash and they're great for simple and easy fast builds (also great for beginners). As for the Academy Stug, I'll grab one as I have a pile of Dragon and Tamiya Stugs in the stash.

 

Regards,

Don

 

 

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22 hours ago, Don said:

I built Dragons Panzer IV J and just turn a blind eye to the inaccuracies. I'll buy a couple more Academy Panzer IV's as its one of my favorite tanks...not as much as I like my Tigers though LOL (actually, Academy's Tiger I isn't that bad either. Good beginner kit). I have a few Tamiya IV's in the stash and they're great for simple and easy fast builds (also great for beginners). As for the Academy Stug, I'll grab one as I have a pile of Dragon and Tamiya Stugs in the stash.

 

Regards,

Don

Tigers! I went thru the usual quagmire of Tigers. Probably starting with the Tamiya kits. Still have a couple. Then I discovered Dragon, and a little later AFV. Then one day I see a RFM early Tiger, and bought it. Next I bought another one. Think I've bought seven RFM Tigers in one form or another. While this was going on I finally bought a Tiger II. A Meng I think. Think I have four now. Then Takom tried it's best to bankrupt me with their Panther. Guess I own six or eight now with another six or seven from Dragon, plus a couple from Tamiya. I really like Panthers! By the way Byrden gave the new Academy Tiger kit good marks. 

gary
 

 

 

 

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4 hours ago, RKic said:

Have you actually built any? Or just adding to the stash?

 

Which one? Right now I'm working on an early Kursk Panther D, using parts from Zvezda and Meng. Still need a couple after market parts to really get going. By the way the Meng kit is fantastic news except for the tracks. 

 

Reason I want three more Academy kits is for a Mobile Wagon project. And yes I often add to the stash just many others around here! 

Gary

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17 hours ago, ChesshireCat said:

Which one? Right now I'm working on an early Kursk Panther D, using parts from Zvezda and Meng. Still need a couple after market parts to really get going. By the way the Meng kit is fantastic news except for the tracks. 

 

Reason I want three more Academy kits is for a Mobile Wagon project. And yes I often add to the stash just many others around here! 

Gary

Sorry, I hope my message didn't sound like an attack. Didn't mean for it to. I was commenting on the volume of armor you must have, and curious what portion of it is built. Because damn, that's a lot of kits!!!!

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2 hours ago, RKic said:

Sorry, I hope my message didn't sound like an attack. Didn't mean for it to. I was commenting on the volume of armor you must have, and curious what portion of it is built. Because damn, that's a lot of kits!!!!

Here is the deal, and can take this deeper. About four months ago my garage was broke into, and I lost about two hundred fifty kits. Guy tried running them on eBay, and a guy in Tennessee returns two Dragon kits. They show up at my door step. Now I know got them, and the prosecutor knows. So I've been rebuilding my loss. The guy didn't get everything, but got the best of the stash. We're fairly certain where the rest went, but no concrete evidence to gain a search warrant. I could tell you more.

        In the summer I go fishing five to seven days a week.

Gary

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Sorry to hear about this Gary. It really ticks me off and gets my dander up reading about peoples possessions and collections getting stolen. I hope everything works out for you.

Regards,

Don

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3 hours ago, Don said:

Sorry to hear about this Gary. It really ticks me off and gets my dander up reading about peoples possessions and collections getting stolen. I hope everything works out for you.

Regards,

Don

What really hurt was the theft of a Loomis 2 weight fly rod!! It will cost me double to replace it. The good part is they will have a hard time getting rid of it, and Loomis still has the serial numbers on file!! I check hoc shops all the time, and the shops are watching for it, as they made about ten of them.

Gary

 

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Sorry to hear of the theft. I am still peeved on losing

a family heirloom, my grandfather's Hardy Palakona

which went to a family member who never fishes or

knows how. Might as well have been stolen. That's

a LOT of kits to loose! I feel your pain.---tight lines---John

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On 9/9/2018 at 4:20 PM, ChesshireCat said:

Here is the deal, and can take this deeper. About four months ago my garage was broke into, and I lost about two hundred fifty kits. Guy tried running them on eBay, and a guy in Tennessee returns two Dragon kits. They show up at my door step. Now I know got them, and the prosecutor knows. So I've been rebuilding my loss. The guy didn't get everything, but got the best of the stash. We're fairly certain where the rest went, but no concrete evidence to gain a search warrant. I could tell you more.

        In the summer I go fishing five to seven days a week.

Gary

That's heartbreaking. The theft, but moreso that you know who did it but can't get the law to do anything. Sorry to hear.

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17 hours ago, john53 said:

Sorry to hear of the theft. I am still peeved on losing

a family heirloom, my grandfather's Hardy Palakona

which went to a family member who never fishes or

knows how. Might as well have been stolen. That's

a LOT of kits to loose! I feel your pain.---tight lines---John

I'm not very happy these days! The kits were more than I could build in a life time, yet p.o.s. left a few really sought after kits. Like the high grade AMK Mig31, and a Tamiya 1/32 Zero. 

 

I like Hardy equipment! I will put their reels up against an Able seven days a week for less than half the money. I'll probably spend $850 on a new Hardy two weight this winter.

Gary

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11 minutes ago, ChesshireCat said:

Let's just say we're related. 

Glt

That's even WORSE:explode:!  Having your possessions taken from you by strangers is one thing. Having a relative steal from you must be devastating I'd imagine. If you can't trust family then who can you trust!

 

Again, good luck and I hope justice will be served to the individual at some point.

 

Regards,

Don

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