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Benchtime is usually pretty sedentary, right? We sit. We maybe raise or lower our seat to get a better angle on certain tasks (I frequently lower my chair as far…

Kit reviews are broken. Most of the time, they just scratch the surface. Sprues are pawed through, a few ejector pins are noted, and the kit is pronounced “highly recommended”.…

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

• Wait, Tamiya’s Doing a 1/32 P-51D Mustang? – 2011
• Thoughts on Tamiya’s Upcoming 1/32 F4U Corsair – 2013
• Thoughts on Tamiya’s New 1/32 Mosquito FB.VI – 2015

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:

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…)

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…)

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.

(more…)

I did something yesterday, and it's still eating at me. I came across a build. Not a good build at all. The paint job was your typical "hairy stick" special.…

Earlier today, the Doogs' Models Facebook page cracked 10,000 likes. Holy crap. When I started on this venture five years ago, I had no inkling it would attract the kind…

For October's Sprue Cutters Union, The Combat Workshop asks: Whether it's a part of the assembly process, a finishing technique, or a particular tool, what do you think are the…

Since returning to modeling in 2010, I’ve seen several new kitmakers come onto the scene. Quality has sometimes varied. Some manufacturers burst out of the gates while others took a few kits to find their footing. But they’re all injecting a steady stream of vitality into the hobby and keeping the established players on their toes. For all of those who like to gripe about the hobby dying out, these new manufacturers offer a powerful argument that that is just not the case.

And now we have another to keep an eye on –  TANMODEL.

Bucking the trend of new kitmakers emerging out of the Asia Pacific region, TANMODEL comes to us from Istanbul, Turkey. They’ve already released one kit – a 1/72 Hurkus trainer – but it’s their impending 1/48 RF-84F Thunderflash that first brought them to my attention.

The more I looked into TANMODEL, the more interested I became. From their commitment to working from 3D scans of actual 1:1 aircraft to the quote on their website of “thinking like a modeler, not despite the modeler”, to their rather ambitious roadmap, which includes a 1/32 F-4E Phantom, 1/32 F-111 Aardvark, 1/32 F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighters, and a new-tool 1/48 SR-71 Blackbird.

Who is this company? To find out, I reached out to TANMODEL’s founder, Baris Tansoy, to see if he’d be willing to answer a few questions. Graciously, he accepted, and his answers follow below. Enjoy! (more…)