Tiger Models -/- F4U-1A Corsair

Hasegawa has caught a lot of our attention with their "Egg Plane" series. I very much enjoyed building their A6M Zero, and recently picked up the P-51D. However good and fun their kits are, they still have a lot of aircraft that's on our wish list.

When I finished the A6M Zero, I showed it to my Dad, and he loved it. He wanted one as well, but I knew he wanted a Me 109, and Hasegawa only had a Fw 190. Then I saw these new pictures surface on the internet, an F4U Corsair, Ki-84 Hayate, and a Messerschmitt 109E. Both me and my Dad were thrilled. And so I decided to try out the Corsair, as a side note my Dad did get the 109 and I'll be building that one soon. These as Tiger Models have declared are "Cute Series" model kits. 

The kit comes in all blue plastic, except for the propeller, engine and wheels, which are molded in black. And a very clear and nice canopy. Stickers and decals are included. The decals are fantastic, 5 seconds in water and they lifted, and applied extremely well to the surface. It is a snap kit, so if you looking for a fun intro kit to a youngster, I highly suggest that you take a look at this. The fit of the parts was excellent as well, needing only a small dab of filler on the underside. 

The best part was the wings. Usually in a kit we get the options of the wings up or down. Some vintage kits have them on a hing flapping about as you bank a turn to the left. These wings are pose able as well, but they "snap" into place when they are down. It's truly fantastic! You pull the wings outward they spread apart and fold up. I've got to admit the kit had won me over at that part.

In conclusion, this kit is utterly fantastic. It's a simply design, with more than enough detail. The decals are superb. And the overall finish of the kit leaves you quite satisfied with a grin on your face. Grab one today you will not be disappointed.

Tiger Models has also released 3 more new "Cute Series" kits: Supermarine Spitfire Mk V, P-40 Warhawk, and Lavochkin La-7.

Revell 1:72 Millennium Falcon

The older AMT and MPC Star Wars kits are becoming harder to find. They were last released with the first release of the Original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD. But that's most likely the last time we'll ever see them. So now the word is out Revell Germany is going to make Star Wars kits "Awesome"! This is going to be great brand new Star Wars kits with state of the art engineering

 "What's that? They're going to be Snap kits? Well OK that could be worse I mean they could also be pre-painted........ oh they did that too, well OK at the very least we'll get like and X-wing in 72nd scale...... What the heck is 57th scale and where can I not build it"?

Yeah that's the basic reaction to the Revell kits. And personally I think they are good kits, they look nice and they are new tooled, they are ..... snap kits,  and the are pre-painted but a snap kit isn't bad, and a prepainted kit usually just needs a quick coat or primer and your off. But then the scales, why make an X-wing in 1:57th scale, and a 1:14 Landspeeder? They have another series of "Easy Pocket Models" These are really nice, they are kinda like the Bandai Mech Collection, small snap kits with pretty awesome detail. I've seen a few modellers turn these into stunning pieces.

So yeah the odd ball scales kept a lot of us away (Thank goodness FineMolds came to our rescue), but then the weirdest thing, of all the odd scales, they released the Millennium Falcon in 1:72nd scale..... I mean I'm happy about it, but why just the Falcon?

When I heard that FineMolds lost their Star Wars licence I gotta admit I was a bit devastated. The kits looked fantastic, the subjects were outstanding, and then they were gone. Bandai got that licence and have been turning out some amazing models, including the Falcon in 1:144 scale. But the holy grail of them all was the FineMolds 1:72nd Falcon. Its legendary detail and precision made it a very sought after kit. Heck I still wouldn't mind getting one, so then why, WHY did I buy this Revell kit?

Well good news for the rest of us is Revell still has their Star Wars license and got the rights to produce the FineMolds kits, so far there are only 3 and one of them is the 1:72 Falcon. It's in my local hobby store with a hefty price tag of $399 Cdn. 

"But truly it is worth it for all it's  precision and wondrous detail, its' utter magnificence"? 

That may very well be, but to the side I saw this guy, and I know that it too is 1:72nd scale. The parts are all displayed on the back of the box, I thought it really didn't look all to bad, I even thought it looked pretty good. The price was hefty again for a snap kit, about $70 Cdn. And when I brought it home and opened the kit I was really very pleased with the detail. 

My goal for this kit, is to take it apart and properly accurize the kit. There are pipes that are molded into the plastic, these will be removed and replaced with either good wire or styrene. There are details lacking on the sides, yep that will be added and corrected. I've even planned to rebuild the entire cockpit 

And yes this project is going to be BIG and take a long time and there are probably many times I'll put it to the side for a while, but honestly the idea of sprucing it up really appeals to me. I want this kit to be, dare I say it, as good as the FineMolds kit (I didn't say it would happen, I said its what I wanted). 

But why should you buy it? Well the ball in is Revell's court at the moment. They've got this Snap kit and the wonderfully produced FineMolds kit that might possibly dissapear forever at any moment. So they are going to try and sell as many FM kits for the most they can get.

The Revell Kit: Its' a Snap,  Prepainted,  Not as accurate, and still quite pricey. Revell needs to lower the price on this thing seriously no higher than $50 Cdn, and even then you'd probably not feel as satisfied. And with the New Force Awakens movie they released this kit again but with the different rectangular dish, and that one cost even more then this one!

I personally look forward to the challenge of this kit. And this one might not be the challenge your looking for but in all honesty it's a good kit. 

What would also help in the sales is if Revell put 1:72 on the box in big letters. I think a few earlier releases had this on the box, and it really needs to be on there again. I think if more modellers knew the scale and saw a lower price tag, more would be inclined to grab this kit and build it. But I've really got the feeling they are trying to push the sales of the FineMolds kit.

I'm regretting my purchase a bit.... for what I've got planned it's going to be more work. Fun work most definitely, but it's going to take some good time and care for me to get it where I want it. But if I were to build this straight out of the box.... I'd be pretty happy with it, pretty darn happy, it's the Millennium Falcon in 72nd scale, how cool is that ?!

It won an award?

Some nice panel detail here.

And a painted blue piece for the engine, 

unfortunately it's not transparent.

I really love the detail on the back of this kit.

Those are the turret lasers.... yeah I'll 

quickly be replacing those....

Ah that original round dish, how I've missed you so.

Even comes with a painted Han Solo and Chewbacca.

And they look fantastic, there's a lot of detail in these

2 figures, 

Lethbridge Model Show 2016

The Lethbridge Model show was this past Saturday (03/13/2016) It was going to be a long event and unfortunately neither my Dad or myself would have been able to stay for the entire event. We were able to make a quick stop, and I was able to take pictures of the event. I think I got about 95% of the models. 

On our way there we were treated to a rare sight, a Stearman was flying in the sky. And this was the first time I'd ever seen one in real, and wow what beauty, a very graceful aircraft that I hope I will see more of in the future.

With most competitions there are "Peoples Choice model" I always have a hard time at things like this so I went ahead and picked my top 5 favourites, starting with #5!

5. Academy 1:48? CH-113

Bright yellow and red with the Canadian roundels, awesome! The finish on this kit was so smooth and flawless, I'd love to learn how this modeller pulled it off so well. Again this was just such a  stunning aircraft, and the added etched details really brought everything together, really a model with some great character.

 4.  Warhammer 40K Imperial Knight

So I apologize if I've incorrectly labelled this, the warhammer universe isn't my strong suit. But it is to my brother, and he was just and impressed as I was when he saw this picture. It's a pretty big model, but what I really love is that even though it looks like a knight, the modeller painted it to look reminiscent of one as well. And painting work was fantastic, and really just caught your attention, as a mean beast not to be messed with.

 3.1:72 RCAF Lancaster

It's always great to see Post War Canadian aircraft. With those Maple Leaf roundels, and red wings. Not only is building a post war Lancaster on my very soon "to build list", but seeing this one was a huge inspiration. The red is fantastic and the lighting in that room messed with my camera so it's not really doing the model proper justice. I believe this was a Hasegawa kit, but either way another stunning model. I'm very nervous to start building mine now.

2. Tamiya 1:24 Fiat 500F

OK, this was another kit that I was really surprised to see there, I love the old Fiat 500, and I've been desperately searching for this same Tamiya kit, It's not produced any more and seems to be getting harder to find online. I practically melted at the site of this kit, I'm really on the hunt for one now! I like the choice of red and that they left the canvas top opened to see inside, the engine hatch is opened and nicely detailed as well. Such a cute car and a brilliant build.

1. I.S.S Enterprise

This was a Polar Lights 1:1000 Enterprise for the Original series, and as soon as I saw it my eyes never really left, this was purely a stunning build, I'd love to know how the modeller managed to paint those panel lines. They are perfect and look so much like the original studio model. I've built this kit in the past but seeing this I'd love to attempt to build it again.

Bandai 1:72 Resistance X-Wing (Finished Gallery)