Sunday 24 June 2007

'The End'

As much as I want to continue building models as possible, logistics (or rather the display area/cabinet) plays a significant part whether you can do so or just have to stop when the space finally runs out. And with a heavy heart I have to say that I have been nearing the end. There are now 4 display cabinets full of models in my house and no re-arrangement of the models inside can yield more space....The only solution is to get more cabinets but you can't fill the house with them, at least that what the HM (Home Minister = wife!) told me. The only other alternative is to build your own house to your own specifications - in which I have no Ringgit Malaysias to fork out. It's kind of sad when you have to stop your hobby because you have run out of space!

Anyway, after taking into account my unbuilt kits, I found out that there is is still space left for the last models of mine. My wish list would be:

1/72 planes (5 slot) : I intend to choose from F-15E, Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale, Su-30, F-105D or G, A-4 Skyhawk, F-86 (CA.27) Sabre, F-4 Phantom and the F-104S.

1/48 planes : 8 from this list - P-39/-400, SBD Dauntless, Hellcat, Fulmar, Barracuda, Firefly, Me163, Ar 234, Bf 110, MC200, MC202, MC205, G50, G55, Re2000, RE2001, CR32, MS406, MB152, MiG-3, LaGG-3, Il-2m3, Ki-44, Ki-27, A6M3 Type 32, A6M2 Type 21, J2M, D4Y, Buffalo and Boomerang.

1/35 AFVs : 6 from this list T-80BV or UD, Ariete C1, Challenger 2, Char B1bis, Hotchkiss H39, Somua S35, AB41 and AS42 Sahariana.

1/350 ships : 6 from this list - HMS Hood, Fletcher-class DD plus whatever kits manufacturers come up.

When these 25 kits are complete, a chapter of my life has ended...well not really I guess since basically I haven't done any weathering job on my completed kits!

Monday 18 June 2007

Kit From Hell - Shanghai Dragon 1/35 MAZ-543 w/Scud missile

Background
The SS-1 'Scud' (or more appropriately R-11, R-17 and/or R-300 Elbrus) is a series of tactical ballistic missile developed by the former Soviet Union during the Cold War. Developed from the German V-2 missile, the Scud can carry conventional (HE), chemical or tactical nuclear warhead. The missile are carried onboard a TEL (transporter-erector- launcher) based on the chassis of the IS-3 heavy tank (early versions) or the MAZ-543/9P117 8x8 truck. The Scud missile became infamous during the 1991 Gulf War when the Iraqi Army launched several missiles into Saudi Arabia and Israel. Such was the impact of the Iraqi Scuds that their own modifications and other nations' tactical missiles derived from the original Soviet missiles are 'Scuds'.

The kit

Honestly I can't recall when did the Dragon offering enter the market (probably in mid-90s in the wake of Desert Storm). Certain sources in the internet argue that the Dragon kit is not of their own mould as the kit came in rather thickish sprue gate plus some short-cuts (such as the underbelly). I bought the kit at Hobby HQ KL for RM85 in 2003. The kit bought by me is a re-issue by Shanghai Dragon which IIRC re-release Dragon/DML kits at lower prices.


ConstructionConstruction starts with the cockpit, I mean driver and crew cabs. The interior is very spartan (as if Spartans use the Scud!) and almost devoid of details. There are instrument decals provided but I decided to diregard them as they look 'funny'. Instead I just paint the relevant areas flat black and add circles using white paint to represent dials. This is the start of my adventure with ugly gaps throughout the building process. The roof of the cabs need careful aligning - even that does not eliminate the gaps fully and liberal amount of putty is needed.

The same story goes for most of the kit...the worst however concerns with the undercarriage. I believe the original manufacturer based their kit on pictures alone...and pictures don't show the underbelly of the vehicle. So what we get are 8 large wheels without axles or connection with each other and no detail whatsoever! Oh boy, the least the manufacturer could do is to study the underneath of large trucks and makes the approximation for the underbelly. Fit is quite OK for the 4 front wheels but not for the rest. To make matters worse, one of the rod pretending to be an axle broke. In true Krapp Plastik tradition, they are left like that, misaligned wheels and all!
One other thing, the windows are to be made using templates and clear acetate supplied. I need to have a very steady hand (or learn to fine tune the controls) - some of the windows are undersized! I also left off the tow cable as the part look more like a 'string' than a 'cable'.

Painting
At first I want to paint the model to represent a vehicle used by the Red Army. However I later decided to have the model in the colours of its most famous (or infamous) operator-Iraq. Unable to find the best approximation of the Iraqi vehicles colour, I settled for Tamiya's XF-59 Desert Yellow. The missile is suggested to be painted white. However, research through the internet reveals that some missiles exported to Iraq are painted in its original green colour. This finding, coupled with the inherent difficulty in painting whites, makes me paint the missile in (supposedly) Russian Green (XF58 + a dash of XF-3 and XF-2).

I'm too lazy to coat the model with gloss coat and as the result some of the decals silvered (but not too badly). Dragon includes what is supposedly a graffiti in Arabic but since I cannot make out the characters, I just leave it off. I was thinking of applying my own graffiti (such as 'Death to the Iranians!' - in Arab of course!) but in the end I decided to shelve it. Oh, in case one is wondering why my proposed graffiti reads 'Death To Iranians', it is because the Iraqi flag supplied lacks the inscription 'Allahuakbar' (God Is Great) added in 1990 following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. So my model represents a MAZ-543 during the Battle of The Cities in mid-1980s between Iraq and Iran.

The model is finished with a general wash to bring out details. I would only do further weathering much later.

Conclusion
The Dragon Scud kit is not easy to assemble. Apart from suspect accuracy, the kit also suffers from poor fittings and details. It however makes a nice display, especially when you can pull everything off.




Thursday 14 June 2007

Collections - AFVs and Arty

1/35 AFV and artillery

T-55A (Tamiya)
M48A3 (Tamiya)
T-62M (Tamiya)
M60A1 RISE/Passive (Academy)
T-72A (Zvezda)
MAZ-543 TEL w/SS-1b Scud-C (Shanghai Dragon)
Tiger I initial production (Tamiya)
King Tiger 'Production Turret' (Tamiya)
Panther G 'steel wheel version' (Tamiya)
Churchill Mk VII (Tamiya)
KV-1B Model 1940 (Tamiya)
M26 (T26E3) Pershing (Tamiya)
IS-2m (Dragon)
T-34/85 model 1944 (Dragon)
M4A3 Sherman '75mm gun' (Tamiya)
Cromwell Mk IV (Tamiya)
T-34/76 Model 1943 (Tamiya)
Panzer IV Ausf.J (Tamiya)
Carro Armato M13/40 (Tamiya)
Grant Mk.I (Tamiya)
Type 97 Chi-Ha (Tamiya)
Matilda Mk.II (Tamiya)
Panzer III Ausf.L (Tamiya)
Crusader Mk.I (Italeri)
Jagdpanther late version (Tamiya)
M40 75/18 SPG (Tamiya)
Panzerjager Nashorn (Dragon)
M12 155mm GMC (Academy)
Type 1 Ho-Ni I SPG (Tamiya)
M10 GMC (AFV Club)
M18 Hellcat GMC (Academy)
Marder II SPG (Tamiya)
SU-122 SPG (Tamiya)
SU-85 SPG (Tamiya)
M20 armored utility car (Tamiya)
Type 94 tankette (Fine Molds)
M16 MGMC (Tamiya)
SdKfz 251/9 kanonenwagen (Tamiya)
SdKfz 222 armored car (Tamiya)
M3 Stuart (Tamiya)
M24 Chaffee (Italeri)
Panzer II Ausf.F (Tamiya)
SAS desert jeep (Tamiya)
Type 95 Ha Go (Fine Molds)
Universal carrier MkII (Tamiya)
PAK 40 75mm AT gun (Tamiya)
Flak 36/37 88mm AT/AA gun (Tamiya)
leFH 18 105mm howitzer (AFV Club)
25-pounder field gun (Tamiya)
6-pounder AT gun (Tamiya)
M1 155mm howitzer (AFV Club)
M1938 122mm howitzer (Zvezda)
M1942 76.2mm AT/field gun

unbuilt stash
Merkava Mk III (Academy)
Leopard 2A5 (Tamiya)
ISU-152 SPH (Dragon)
Sherman Vc Firefly (Dragon)

The Collection - Ships and Rides

1/350 Ships
USS Missouri (Tamiya)
DKM Bismarck (Tamiya)
HMS King George V (Tamiya)
IJNS Musashi (Tamiya)
Type XXI U-Boat (AFV Club)

unbuild stash
USS Arizona (Mini Hobby Models)

1/24 Cars
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI (Tamiya)
Honda NSX (Tamiya)

Tuesday 12 June 2007

Collections (cont'd)

1/72 aircraft

Mil Mi-24 Hind D/E (Tamiya)
Mil Mi-17 Hip (Zvezda) given to a friend
McDonnell Douglas AH-64A Apache (Hasegawa/Italeri kitbash)
Bell AH-1W Super Cobra (Italeri)
Agusta A129 Mangusta (Italeri)
Kamov Ka-50 Hokum (Italeri)
Boeing F/A-18D Hornet (Hasegawa)
Northrop F-5E Tiger II (Tamiya)
Northrop F-5E Tiger II (Mini Hobby Models)
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29N Fulcrum (Italeri)
BAe Hawk Mk108 (Italeri)
Aermacchi MB 339A (Supermodel)
Vought F-8E Crusader (Academy)
Grumman F-14A Tomcat (Fujimi)
Boeing F-15C Eagle (Hasegawa)
Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcon (Hasegawa)
Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet (Hasegawa)
General Dynamics F-111A (Italeri)
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-21bis Fishbed-N (Fujimi)
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-31B Foxhound (Zvezda)
Sukhoi Su-34 Strike Flanker (Italeri)
Sukhoi Su-25 Frogfoot (Zvezda)
Fairchild A-10A Thunderbolt II (Italeri)
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II (Hasegawa)
Panavia Tornado GR.1 (Hasegawa)
SEPECAT Jaguar A (Hasegawa)
BAe Sea Harrier FRS.1 (Italeri)
Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk (Academy)
Dassault Breguet Super Etendard (Academy)
Dassault Breguet Mirage 2000C (Tamiya)
Saab JAS39A Gripen (Italeri)
Chengdu J-10 (Trumpeter)

unbuild stash
Shenyang J-8II Finback (Trumpeter)
Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-23MLD (Zvezda) cannibalized for parts!
Cessna A-37 (Hasegawa)
Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer-C (Dragon)

Monday 11 June 2007

Intro and Collection (with updates, as of January 2014)

As stated in blog title, I have indulged in this hobby since 1981 when I was 11. I was attracted by my friend's model of a spaceship from a Japanese anime. My first kit was a 1/144 F-14A Tomcat and since then kits have come into and gone out of my collection. Here's my current collection (looks large but I know other modelers who have bigger collection).

1/48 Aircraft models
Yakovlev Yak-9DD (ICM)
Yakovlev Yak-3 (Eduard)
Yakovlev Yak-1b (Accurate Miniatures)
Lavochkin La-7 (Academy)
Polikarpov I-16 Type 18 (Academy) replaced with Eduard I-16 Type 24 'Weekend Edition'
Dewoitine D.520 (Tamiya)
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt (Academy) replaced with Tamiya P-47D Thunderbolt Bubbletop
North American P-51D Mustang (Tamiya)
Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat (Tamiya)
Vought F4U-1D Corsair (Tamiya)
Lockheed P-38L Lightning (Hasegawa)
Mitsubishi A6M5c Zero (Tamiya) replaced with Hasegawa A6M5c Zero
Aichi D3A1 Val (Hasegawa)
Kawasaki Ki-61-I Tony (Hasegawa)
Nakajima Ki-84-I Frank (Tamiya) replaced with Hasegawa Ki-84 Frank '22nd Flight Regiment'
Nakajima Ki-43-I Oscar (Hasegawa)
Kawanishi N1K1-Ja George (Tamiya) replaced with Hasegawa N1K2-J 'Late Production'
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.I (Tamiya)
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.V (Tamiya)
Hawker Hurricane Mk IIb (Hasegawa)
Hawker Typhoon Mk Ib (Hasegawa)
Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-3 (Tamiya) replaced with Tamiya Fw 190A-8/A-8 R2
Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 (Tamiya)
Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 (Tamiya)
Junkers Ju 87B-2 Stuka (Hasegawa)
Heinkel He 219A-7 Uhu (Tamiya)
Bristol Beaufighter Mk X (Tamiya) given to a friend
de Havilland Mosquito FB.VI (Tamiya)
Mitsubishi Ki-46-III Dinah (Tamiya)
Nakajima J1N1-S Irving (Tamiya) given to a friend
Gloster Meteor MkI (Tamiya)
Messerschmitt Me 262A-1a (Tamiya)

unbuilt stash (all now completed)
Heinkel He 162A-2 Salamander (Tamiya)
Supermarine Spitfire MkXIV (Academy)
Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk (Academy)
Fiat CR.42AS Falco (Classic Airframes)

to be continued....