Sunday, October 12, 2008

Ugh...it happened again...and a few new kits

Next Saturday is the Cincinnati Contest and Swap Meet. Mark Smith and I attended last year and had a great time. (Somehow I even won an award...) We've been planning to go for months, so you would think I'd have a few things finished for the show, right? Wrong! Once again, I've failed to finish anything over the summer and early fall. I've got tons of models that are almost done, but I'll have nothing to take to the show. I've pissed away most of my modeling time...again... What a loser. (Btw, I'm of the opinion, that while I could care less about contests and winning trophies, I like to enter something at every show I attend. I feel you get more out of these shows if you participate.) I've got the 24 hour tank that just needs a little bit of assembly and I started the new Accurate Miniatures Predator last night and already have the major parts assembled, but usually my modeling time is limited during the week. So there is a slight chance I won't attend empty handed, but I wouldn't bet on me.

I did pick up a few new kits on Friday. Here are a few first thoughts:

Accurate Miniatures Predator UAV: This is the AM rebox of the Platz kit. A nice simple model. The decal sheet has options to do any USAF Predator, but I have other ideas. The molding is nice, it has some surface texture and a little flash. That being said this is the perfect quick build.

Revell Germany Gannet: After the disappointing Trumpeter Gannet we finally have the Revell Gannet. It looks nice in the box. It is more detailed then the Trumpeter kit, and the shape looks better; plus it is cheaper. The clear parts are very thin and very clear. The only bad news is that there is too much flash for a brand new kit and while the bomb bay has some nice detail...there is nothing to put it in. The decals look pretty good with one FAA and one German option. One other odd feature is that it appears Revell AG have hired the son of the old Airfix moving flying surfaces guy...yep this kit issued in 2008 has moving control surfaces...

Trumpeter Lightning F.6: I'm not a big Trumpeter fan. Most of their 1/72 kits I've seen fall into the close but no cigar category. Their kits lack the finesse of the top of the line model makers and they usually have some silly mistakes...not to mention the high price tags. That being said the Lightning looks excellent. Nice molding, and nice detail. In fact it kind of looks like a scaled down version of the 1/48 Airfix Lighting. The decals look normal for Trumpeter...ok I guess. The only bad news is the price. I paid almost $30 for a 1/72 scale jet. Ouch. I look forward to tearing into this one soon.

Trumpeter CH-47D Chinook: This kit falls squarely into the close but no cigar Trumpeter category. It looks like an ok kit, but for the price I expected more. For example the mating surfaces on the fuselage halves are not flat and one or both of them are a little warped. All in all, it is probably a better place to start then the Italeri kit, but it just doesn't inspire me like the plastic in the Lightning box does.

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