Eduard 1/48 P-51D build
Eduard’s 1/48 P-51D has had a lot of hype. It’s a good kit: but it’s “Eduard good,” not “Tamiya good.” Here’s why that matters.
Poor History, Visibility and Elan: a response to Doogs’ Models
Why do people build so many WWII German subjects? Many possibilities have been raised, and here are three reasons I think we are missing: poor history, subject visibility, and perceived elan.
Eduard 1/48 Mirage IIICJ “Shahak” build review
This was a very problematic build, though the finished model looks nice. I screwed mine up, so you don’t have to. It’s a public service I provide.
Eduard 1/48 P-51D in-box review
Trumpeter 1/32 MiG-3 build review
Sometimes you like a subject enough to put up with a frustrating kit. That’s what I expected from this one, but it turned out to be quite a delightful build.
Tamiya 1/32 Mosquito build review
I built Tamiya’s big Mosquito. It’s the latest tooling in Tamiya’s 1/32 aircraft series, and it is nothing short of fantastic. I’ve built their Corsair and that is also superb. One of these two must be the best model kit ever produced to date.
MiG-17: great success!
To my great delight, my Trumpeter 1/32 MiG-17 was judged the winner of the Cold War Model Making & Photos Early Cold War Group Build.
This was a very tough build during which I learned a lot about techniques, paints, how to get certain effects, and the importance of properly masked markings. It was a major factor in my decision to get a Silhouette Portrait 2 mask cutter, which has already proved itself invaluable in my Mosquito build.
My in-box review of the kit is here
And my full build review is here.
Kinetic 1/32 F-86 Sabre Build Review
Despite initial misgivings, this kit turned out to be something of a diamond in the rough. Nothing about this kit suggests it should go together well, yet somehow it does. Read on for my first encounter with Kinetic.
On Defaults
Lately, I’ve been thinking about default settings: what they say about who we think matters and their impact on the market. They may be contributing to an elitist mindset among scale modellers.
So many kits
Lately, I’ve been reflecting upon the kits I’ve built. While thinking about what I enjoyed building as a kid and what I’m enjoying now, I wondered how much of my choice has been personal interest and how much was dictated by the kits available. As a kid, many were gifts, too.