Author: Doogs

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Tamiya’s 1/32 Release Pattern

PicMonkey Collage

Tamiya’s next big 1/32 release is a perennially popular topic around the modelling interwebs. I’ve written about it several times, including:

The current round seems to have kicked off from two directions. A clever post from what seems like a newish Facebook page, Fake Modelling News:

FMN

Heh.

And the second, a post on Large Scale Planes bemoaning the lack of a new 1/32 kit at this year’s Shizouka show, which is where Tamiya typically introduces new 1/32 subjects (LINK).

This confluence got me thinking – maybe an update is in order. I mean, every time it comes up, I hear two common refrains. On the one hand, there’s a sort of shrugging, “Tamiya is Tamiya and they’ll do what they want”. On the other hand, there’s “Tamiya will definitely do X”. Sometimes said by the same person, which is funny.

The truth is this. Tamiya is Tamiya and they’ll do what they want. But they’ve established a pattern going back to at least 2009 that they have not yet deviated from. And as long as they hold to that pattern, precedent can help inform prediction.

The way I see it, there are two separate but related tangents – timing, and subject selection. (more…)

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One Shot, and Only One

Car-Crash

How long do you have to stick with a product before you can pass judgment on it? To some out there, it’s inappropriate to call a product crap when it completely and totally fails you out of the gate.

Screw that.

Look. Right now, we’re absolutely spoiled for choice. In the kits we build, the aftermarket we choose, the paints and tools we employ. It’s a total buyer’s market, and unless you’re being sponsored by some brand or other, you are under absolutely no obligation to stick with a product that does not meet your standards. (more…)

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Painting & Weathering Study: Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless

SBDs_VMSB-231_Majuro_1944

With the Kingfisher out of the running for my upcoming magazine build, I’ve had to cast around for another suitable subject. The only real requirement is that the subject be painted in the tricolor camoflage worn by US Navy and Marine aircraft in World War II.

I’m hesitant to pull out HK’s B-25 for a PBJ-ification. Warmer weather is coming, and with it, the spiders that always cause havoc at the bench. My last go-round at an HK B-25 was delayed because the damn things kept building webs in the bomb bay. I also considered Tamiya’s F4U-1A Corsair, but they’ve kinda been done to death for the moment.

Then I had a thought. How about a Dauntless? Trumpeter makes a good kit. It’s one you don’t see built all that often, and when it is, it’s almost inevitably an earlier SBD-3 dressed up for Coral Sea, Midway or Guadalcanal. Which I totally get. In terms of historical impact, 1942 was the Dauntless’ year.

But…the SBD-5 was built in larger numbers than any other variant, and performed a workhorse role in the long slog to drive the Japanese back to their home islands. It has a quieter but still significant story.

Before I embark on the build (or even choose which markings I want to go with), I thought it’d be an interesting exercise to look at some examples of the SBD-5 in action, and note some interesting painting and weathering characteristics.

(more…)

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Nope: A Rant About Awful Engineering

godzilla

When I started building models as a kid, I had no idea what I was doing. Gradually, that changed. And one of the first kits that I actually, legitimately tried at was Monogram’s venerable OS2U Kingfisher.

Since then, I’ve had a soft spot for the awkward floatplane. So when Kitty Hawk announced they would be making a new-tool Kingfisher – and in 1/32 scale no less! – I was thrilled.

kh32016new

When sprue shots and reviews started coming in, I was still thrilled. When I got the kit and briefly pawed through the bagged plastic, I was still thrilled. So thrilled, in fact, that I decided I was going to build this sucker for an upcoming magazine article. I even found a rather battered Kingfisher I wanted to tackle:

Then, I actually got started on it. The front and back halves of the R-985’s cylinder banks didn’t fit together because – get this – the locating pin was too big. Okay, annoying, but no real biggie. Drill the corresponding hole out a bit wider and viola.

And then I looked at what came next.

IMG_20160301_223723

IMG_20160301_223729

Really, Kitty Hawk? Really? (more…)

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Let’s Talk About Photo References

So. The Scale Modelers Critique Group‘s Photo Reference Group Build kicks off on March 1, 2016. And as the start date looms, there have been some questions about photo references.

This post is intended to give a bit of guidance…but certainly reach out to Will, Jim or myself if you have questions. (more…)

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The White Whale

Moby-Dick-3

I’m sure that more than a few modelers have a “white whale” of a kit. The one that got away…that went awry…that gnaws at you.

For me, that kit is Academy’s 1/32 F-16D Block 52+ Viper (or, alternatively, the F-16I Sufa…). My first go at this kit – in late 2013 – was cursed from the start. At the time, it felt like everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Beginning with my ill-fated decision to use Eduard photo etch in the cockpit.

HAF F-16D Eduard PE Fail 16 (more…)

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