MPC 1:51 Tie Interceptor

I lost out on a ebay auction for this kit, and then a miracle! I found one for sale and in Canada (quicker shipping) and WOW still in the wrap, never been opened.

The Tie Interceptor has got to be a favorite among Star Wars fans. First making it's debut in the Return of the Jedi, we really didn't get a good look at this ship, until Kenner made a toy. And this model kit is a pretty cool addition. I'm going to have to take my time in making some additions to this kits. It's a Snap kit, and it's got the potential to be a pretty good kit, but looks really fun straight out of the box. It's missing some exterior details the biggie being the Twin Ion Engines in the back. Also there are a few places on the wings where they simply made up detail. And the Cockpit in inaccurate, but that doesn't bother me as you won't really be seeing the inside. 

The funny thing is the Pilot is for the A-wing kit. And I think the A-wing pilot slightly resembles a Tie pilot. I'm not going to use the pilot here, but save him for the day I hopefully luck out again and get the MPC/AMT A-wing. 

Lastly, most people know I don't like display stands. I fins most that are included with kits to be too small for the model and flimsy, just an accident waiting to happen. This stand however looks OK, I'm going to make my own more secure stand when I get around to the kit, but for now it's not too shabby. I especially like the ROTJ display that comes with the kit.

Really glad I snagged this one, and I look forward to building it. I'm planning now to buy 2 more (hopefully used, or slightly used) To build a Tie Defender!

The infamous incorrect A-wing pilot.

Fokker 1:72 Fokker E.II Eindecker

Normally I get pretty excited with the new Airfix kits, but 2 new WWI aircraft took me be surprise. I'll admit at first I didn't have the most interest in this kit, but I began lately to want to build something WWIish. And had my mind set on this new tooled Eindecker.

This kit is pretty small, but designed with a very sturdy construction. I honestly had no troubles putting this kit together, especially the landing struts, they were better than the new tooled Airfix Wildcat. The only problem I encountered were the stripes for the fuselage bands, they don't add up, so your going to need to add a few touch ups to them.

I used "EZ Line" by Berkshire junctions. It was originally designed for railroad modelers to use for telephone wires but the rest of the modeling world has been using it for all sorts of things, and WWI aircraft is high a top that list. EZ barely describes it, this is some of the best stuff I've ever used and made the rigging process go by so smoothly.

I really enjoyed this model, it can be a nice simple weekend build with lots of good details added in the mix, or as a stand alone kit. And a thanks to Jerry for sending me this kit in advance of the Canadian delivery date.

Polar Lights 1:1000 NCC-1864 U.S.S Reliant & Aztec Decals Set

I've been very excited about this kit, ever since I heard it was going to be released. It's been years since we saw a new tooled Reliant (Miranda class Starship). And Polar Lights came through, with this fantastic model. In keeping with their 1:1000 line the Reliant is pretty small. But the detail on it is some of the best yet. Very crisp clean and well defined details decorate this kit. 

The biggest complaints about this kit are the decals. I've heard a few sad stories from modelers whose original decals were misprinted and out of register. I thought I'm probably getting a more recent kit and this might not be a problem..... well I was wrong, there are a few imperfections on the sheet, but I think I can work around these, given that I also bought the Aztec decal sheet, which I'll explain down bellow.

SO this is the the other part that modelers were a bit upset with. Their 1:1000 Enterprise Refit comes with Aztec decals for the entire kit. And when the Reliant came out we were a bit sad to learn that the decals would be separate from the kit.  Also that they wouldn't be available until a month after the kits release??? But are they worth it? Totally! I'm glad I grabbed these as well, they look fantastic and are wonderfully printed. A bit of a shame compered to the kit decals. You also get 6 other Miranda Class Starship names and I.D bands. If you really want this kit to shine buy these as well, again they are wonderfully detailed and I'm quite interested to see how they will react. Also note that these are note Pearlescent decals like the ones included with the Refit Enterprise. (The decal sheets have had a RED filter added so I don't get e-mails from PL for showing their entire decal sheet)