Great Deals!

Zoinks! A personal note I had to share. With not a lot in my local area for model shops I am limited to a couple of big box craft stores in the area; AC Moore and Michael's, both of which carry a VERY limited selection of a Revell USA kits. Primarily 1:48 scale.

One of the perks to these stores however is that they are almost always offering a 40% off coupon which can drop a $40 USD 1:48 F-15E Strike Eagle kit down to $24 ... not a bad deal. On occasion however, they drop a 50% off coupon on you and even more rarely, as they did this past week, an uber coupon of 60% off any single item. And while only one store offered the 60% coupon the other always matches so it's essentially 60% off both stores!!

Needless to say I made a couple of trip to both AC Moore and Michael's and gave those coupons a work out!

QTY	Paid	Reg.Price	Manufacturer	Scale	Model	Kit #	Discount
1	$19.99	$39.99	Revell	1:48	F-15E Strike Eagle	#85-5511	50%
1	$15.99	$39.99	Revell	1:48	F-15E Strike Eagle	#85-5511	60%
1	$8.80	$21.99	Revell	1:48	A-10 Warthog	#85-5521	60%
1	$9.89	$24.99	Revell	1:48	MiG-29 FulcrumA	#85-5865	55%
1	$14.99	$24.99	Revell	1:48	F/A-18 Super Hornet	#85-5950	40%
1	$9.99	$24.99	Revell	1:48	F/A-18 Super Hornet	#85-5950	60%
1	$7.60	$18.99	Revell	1:72	YF-22 Raptor (Snap-Tite)	#85-1198	60%

The haul!

So that's a total of about $200 USD in plastic for just a shade North of $85 USD ... just wanted to say BOO YA! If you have a Michael's and/or an AC Moore around, they won't have much, but with some patience you could land yourself some pretty amazing deals!

These will be great for me since I am a beginner. It made buying the same kit affordable so I can either build it twice or have one in store for later or spares. Great practoce projects. The YF-22 is actually a pretty decent kit. It will give me something to practice painting on and, since I have two of those as well, I will try some scratch building on the cockpit to see if I can add some details there.

Anyway I thought I would share my find!

Now ... I guess I had better get to building something ...

Kit Review: Academy 1:48 MiG-29A Fulcrum A

Academy's MiG-29A Fulcrum A comes in a variety of boxes but are all the same kit (as far as I know). As my fetish for MiG-29's deepens and I have already purchased the Revell USA 1:48 kit, which is a pretty Ho-hum kit, I went in search of something with more detail and "drama". Great Wall Hobby (GWH) has, what appear to be some nice kits, but I can't justify spending $80 USD on a kit, given my current skill level. That leaves me looking for something between the Revell kit, which I got with a 55% off coupon for $10 USD, and the Great Wall kits at $80+ USD. I stumbled across a couple of Academy MiG-29 kits; specifically the MiG-29A Fulcrum A (no. 12263) because it appears to come with the Luftwaffe decals which I have a difficult time finding in the aftermarket. Anyway as part of my usual research I collected some video reviews and other assorted online resources to try and learn more about the kit and  what to expect.

Playlist Home: Kit Review: Academy 1:48 MiG-29A Fulcrum A
Number of Videos: 3
Duration of Playlist: approx. 30 mins

Additional Online Resources

Vodnik's MiG-29A Review

Vodnik's MiG-29A Build Log

Review and build log containing detailed breakdown of a lot of the deviations from the actual airframe. Personally, as I am largely just a beginner, I don't hang up on this level of detail, contenting myself with OOB builds. But if YOU are then this might provide some useful information, and if nothing is inspirational to review whilst building your own.

Modeling Madness (Spyros Vakatatsis &  Kyriakos Labropoulos)

Review and build log containing impressions of model and build-ability.

ModelVersium.de 
A very brief review of the kit. It's in German but if you speak the language then no problem. If not, then Google translator makes short work of it and translates it into comethign legible for us non-speakers :)

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Video Attributions ...

FFS Models
Ivan the Terrible
Chrizlys Modellbau Werkstatt

Model Build: F-14 Tomcat

My first model was a SnapTite F-14 Tomcat. Months later I am looking to take another stab at building an F-14 Tomcat. This time not a SnapTite kit but Hasegawa's 1:72 High Visibility kit. With it's raised panel lines it's a kit I have had floating around for a while and been avoiding, but have decided to take a shot at learning how to work with raised panel lines rather than sanding them down and scribing new lines.

Not the Super Tomcat as documented by Genessis Models in their great tutorial series I have collected, this playlist and resources are more generic and assembled from a number of different sources.

Playlist Home Page: Model Build: F-14 Tomcat
Number of Videos: 22
Duration of Playlist: approx. 7 hours

Links to other online resources ...

Narita Family
Multiple award winning model builder provides insight and step-by step instruction on how he built his Tamilya 1:32 scale, F-14 Tomcat diorama. Unbelievable results. Great for inspiration and reference.

Video Attributions ...

Scale-a-ton
Andy's Hobby Headquarters
The Inner Nerd
Tony's Scale Modeling
Daniele .Modeling
nonochile
james bond
Squadron TV
Mass Narita

Technique: Working with Raised Panel Lines

Scott Van Aken's 1:72 High Visibility Hasegawa F-14A Tomcat with raised panel lines. See build article here.

I typically end up with kits with raised panel lines because they are relatively less expensive. Kits with raised panel lines tend to be older molds and tooling than kits with recessed lines so they tend to be less expensive, So if you're modeling on a budget you are likely to encounter them fairly frequently.

This was the case with a 1:72 Hasegawa F-14A Tomcat (High Visibility) model that I recently purchased. I had honestly done no research on the kit and was not aware that it had raised panel lines when I purchased it. I might have made a different decision at the time when I was making the purchase had I known, but it was the cheapest F-14 I could find so I bought it. When I opened the box I was very disappointed and it sat on my shelf for months.

Hasegawa F-14A Kit. Nice kit but comes with raised panel lines.

After rescribing the raised panel lines on a 1:72 Hasegawa F-15C, with very limited success I decided that this time I would use the F-14 project to learn how to work WITH raised panel lines rather than against them.

Of course the biggest problems with raised panel lines are ...

• Loss of detail when sanding joins and cleaning up filler spot.
• Unable to perform weathering techniques such as pin and sludge washes. 

I have been searching around online and have found VERY little information out there on detailing and weathering aircraft with raised panel lines. Only one video and a coupe of links to articles which go into some detail on how to handle them. I wanted to collect them here so that I would have them for reference as I progressed on my F-14 build.

Hopefully you  (and I) can find something useful in this rather limited collection of information.


Playlist Home: Technique: Working with Raised Panel Lines
Number of Videos: 1
Duration of Playlist: 4.5 mins

Additional Resources ...

1/48 Revell B-17F to E Coastal Command Conversion
Buildnotes of a B-17E with raised panel lines. Goes into some explanation of how he dealth with them.

Don't Be Afraid of Raised Panel Lines
Another build article of a 1:72 Me 262B. He goes into some explanation of how he achieved his very nice finish. For me however, particularly when build contemporary Naval aircraft, the weathering seems a bit light. Besides I enjoy the "drama" of a more heavily weathered plane. He also doesn't go into how he handled having to sand around raised panel lines without loosing the previous detail. Perhaps he did lose the detail? I have only scanned the article so far, so I may have missed something.

Shading and Enhancing Panel Lines
This article does not address raised panel lines specifically but offers some direction on pre and post shading which may be used for raised or recessed panel lines alike.

Re-Scribing or drawing on Raised Panel Lines
Great article directly addresses the issue of weathering and highlighting raised panel lines! Finally!!

Video Attributions ...

ModelKitsReview

Model Build: F-15E Strike Eagle

One of my favorite US fighter planes has to be the F-15 and the F-15E Strike Eagle in particular. I have built a couple of F-15C's which have not turned out that good, but am now half-way through my first 1:72 scale Hobby Boss F-15E Strike Eagle. Not a particularly detailed kit in many ways but it's been a pleasure for a staring out modeler to build, and I am happy with the results so far, so ... no complaints.

As usual I have assembled a number of videos on the topic of building F-15E Strike Eagle models. Academy 's 1:48 scale seems to be the overwhelming favorite out there but Revell supposedly has a pretty nice offering in the 1:48 scale arena as well (Revell 1:48 Kit Reviews).


Playlist Home: Model Build: F-15E Strike Eagle
Number of Videos: 8
Duration Of Playlist: approx. 1hr 40min

Video Attributions

DanDondeModelling
GT Scale Modelling
craig kerr
ScaleModelMania
MurderInkModels

Kit Review: Revell 1:48 F-15E Strike Eagle

I have built several 1:72 scale F-15's. Lately, I have been deciding whether or not to buy a larger version of the F-15E Strike Eagle and I am definitely excited at the prospect. Without driving 30 minutes through the snow to the nearest hobby store however, I am limited to whatever I can find in my local Michael's or AC Moore craft stores. Both of whom have plastic scale modeling sections that leave very much to be desired.

Stocked with only Revell America kits the selection is tragically limiting, however I have found this Revell 1:48 scale F-15E Strike Eagle that by all accounts ... looks pretty good.

The number of you tube videos published on this specific kit is pretty limited but I have managed to discover a few in-box reviews as well as some useful links to articles on scale modeling sites which provide first impressions of not ony the kit but their own experiences building the kit.

Now what I have learned is that this kit is provided by both Revell America as well as Revell Germany and they appear to be, build-wise the same kit. So the links and videos include information on both.

Revell Germany kit box

Currently, at my local Michael's craft store the kit is retaining for about $40 USD, but there are always coupons available so I am hoping that I cross paths with a 50% off coupon and land one for about $20. That would be a great deal indeed!!

Online Kit and Build reviews

It seems that the only reviews I can find relate to the Revell of Germany version. I am assuming that these two versions of the kits are the same so I am posting links to them here.

AircraftResourceCenter.com
Hyperscale.com (Dieter Wiegmann)
TheModelingNews.com
ScaleModelingNow.com
JonBryon.com
Hyperscale.com (Jonathan Chuck)

Video Attributions

JJ Modeling
Joey N
Chrizlys Modellbau Werkstatt

Technique: Detailing Aircraft Cockpits

The first step in nearly every kit I have ever made, it's also , to me, the most intimidating as it's always the part that people look at first and always have the highest expectation for detail.

Found lots of instruction, experience and inspiration to share. I have not even gotten through them all yet (so some may be garbage) so please leave me your thoughts if you find them helpful and which ones you found to be not so helpful!

Playlist Home: Technique: Detailing Aircraft Cockpits
Number of Videos: 22
Duration of Playlist:  approx. 6.5 hours

Attributions

Will Pattison
Fox Thre3 custom models
PLASMO - plastic models
rebelsatcloudnine
International Scale Modeler
hyperscale
f4cphantom2
Kelly Cottle
Clem OMM
Luftangreifer
Harry Houdini Models
Victor Ques
Scale Models Consortium
dropupppuHD
The Inner Nerd
Warren Blanch
Modelmaking Guru
ModArt633
Scale-a-ton

Technique: Rotary Engines

Rotary engines give a modeler an opportunity to really show off his detail work. I have not done one yet myself, but have just recently received a 1:48 scale North American T-6 Texan which has a rotary engine, so this became a relevant topic for me .

I am very excited to get started on it. I found a couple of video tutorials on the subject. I have not yet reviewed them all but will as a I get closer to building the Texan.

Playlist Home: Technique: Rotary Engines

Number of Videos: 4

Duration of Playlist: approx. 40 mins

Attributions

PLASMO - plastic models
Luftangreifer

Technique: Scribing Panel Lines and Raised Details

Someone said that scribing is a skill not a talent. This is a good thing as it means that one day I may actually be able to do it successfully., But today is not that day!!

As with everything in modeling, there are a variety of opinions on how to do things and scribing is no different. What I have discovered is that is more about patience, a steady hand, becoming comfortable with the tools and developing a technique that works for you. That being said, I have a few videos of folks who know what they are doing, explaining how THEY scribe panel lines and add or replace rivet detail. Everyone has to start somewhere and these provide a great place to start, food for thought and some inspiration to take on your way.

Playlist Home: Technique: Scribing Panel Lines and Rivets
Number of Videos: 12
Playlist Duration: approx. 130 min.

Attributions
PLASMO - Plastic Models
Paul Budzik
Pheedens Garage
TheGhostOfZeon
John Vojtech
Asrul Hazimin
International Scale Modeler
Geoff Coughlin
Drewe Manton
ModelKitsReview