Help and advice

[celt]

Due to a loss of feeling in my hand,modelling has become a chore and not fun,so much so,I have been considering other hobbies.My wife suggested I try bigger scales,I use the gentlemans scale and have done so almost exclusively,except for a brief foray into 1/35 armour.I have done a bit of research and 1/24,1/32 are not suitable because of cost/size.1/48 seems to fit the bill.Can anyone recommend a first kit to cut my teeth on.Regards Celt.

[DavidWomby]

Can't advise as I don't have any 1/48 experience but sorry to hear about your hand and I promise we'll still consider you a gentleman even if you have to move to a bigger scale :-). Good luck.

David

[Stuart]

Easy peasy - Get anything Tamiya!

The P-51 and P-47 are beautiful kits, not very expensive, fall together and build into great looking models. You may find them easier on your hands too thanks to the good fit. You might still have to do a light filling and sanding but it won't be much.

Hope that helps.

Stuart

[Stuart]

Acrually I'd advise against some of the new Airfix tooling such as the Spitfires and Hurricanes - they're great awesome kits, but the cockpits are very fiddly.

Hobbyboss also seem to produce some nice stuff, not very accurate in cases but from what I've seen on two I have on the bench they build up nicely. I'm having a great time on the Tunnan I'm building.

[iggie]

I'd not dismiss the 1/32 stuff too quickly; some Revell kits at this scale are cheaper than some 1/48th (or even 1/72nd!) kits. They go together easily and are easier to hold for painting etc.
Their Mosquito is £19.95 on eBay, the Spitfire Mk.22 £16.99. Ok, they are old toolings and have some accuracy issues if you are a rivet counter but they are fun to build!

[JohnRatzenberger]

I'm sorry to hear that.

Not sure of how reasonably priced they are over there, but you might consider some of the CAK (Classic American Kits) such as Monogram, Aurora, Testors.

[Dazzled]

I have to agree with Stu, the Tamiya P-51/F-51 is still the nicest kit I've ever built in terms of engineering and ease of construction. It's a delight to build.

Hope your hand gets better soon

[celt]

Can't advise as I don't have any 1/48 experience but sorry to hear about your hand and I promise we'll still consider you a gentleman even if you have to move to a bigger scale :-). Good luck.

David

Thanks dwomby,much appreciated

[celt]

Easy peasy - Get anything Tamiya!

The P-51 and P-47 are beautiful kits, not very expensive, fall together and build into great looking models. You may find them easier on your hands too thanks to the good fit. You might still have to do a light filling and sanding but it won't be much.

Hope that helps.

Stuart

Acrually I'd advise against some of the new Airfix tooling such as the Spitfires and Hurricanes - they're great awesome kits, but the cockpits are very fiddly.

Hobbyboss also seem to produce some nice stuff, not very accurate in cases but from what I've seen on two I have on the bench they build up nicely. I'm having a great time on the Tunnan I'm building.

Thanks Sir T,I will look out for Tamiya,you are right about the new Airfix Hurricane the cockpit is too fiddly for me to cope with.

[celt]

I'd not dismiss the 1/32 stuff too quickly; some Revell kits at this scale are cheaper than some 1/48th (or even 1/72nd!) kits. They go together easily and are easier to hold for painting etc.
Their Mosquito is £19.95 on eBay, the Spitfire Mk.22 £16.99. Ok, they are old toolings and have some accuracy issues if you are a rivet counter but they are fun to build!

Thanks iggie,but internet shopping is not for me,but if I see them in my LMS I will be sure to pick one up.

[celt]

I'm sorry to hear that.

Not sure of how reasonably priced they are over there, but you might consider some of the CAK (Classic American Kits) such as Monogram, Aurora, Testors.

Thanks jRatz,my LMS has some CAK from time to time.

[celt]

I have to agree with Stu, the Tamiya P-51/F-51 is still the nicest kit I've ever built in terms of engineering and ease of construction. It's a delight to build.

Hope your hand gets better soon

Thanks Dazzled,but the damage done to my hand is permanent,but I will try the Tamiya option.

[dollar19]

Hi Celt
I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune. Having had a finger amputation 3 weeks ago I can empethise with you.
If you want to try 1/48,and not drop a lot of money do check out some of the Revell/USA boxings. Some are ex Monogram as you probably know. Quality does vary but many are quite good, and build up nicely.

I'm hoping you can find a new comfort zone in this great hobby we share. I'm finishing up a build today that I started a week after I had the amputation as my own self prescribed therapy.

Hang in there! I'm sure you'll find your way.

Greg

[Softscience]

Hi Celt
I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune. Having had a finger amputation 3 weeks ago I can empethise with you.
If you want to try 1/48,and not drop a lot of money do check out some of the Revell/USA boxings. Some are ex Monogram as you probably know. Quality does vary but many are quite good, and build up nicely.

I'm hoping you can find a new comfort zone in this great hobby we share. I'm finishing up a build today that I started a week after I had the amputation as my own self prescribed therapy.

Hang in there! I'm sure you'll find your way.

Greg

What Greg said.

The Revell/Monogram BF109G-10 is a pretty simple (only ~40 pieces), but very nice kit, and it doesn't cost very much at all. It also isn't that big, so it won't kill your shelf space.

Really sorry to hear about your hand. Work accident of some sort?

[celt]

Hi dollar 19 and Softscience,thanks for the advice.Having built the gentleman scale for the last 35 years,1/48 is going to take some getting used to.The size difference and of course the extra cost,also there is not much in the way of variety in my local LMS.As for my hand it was an old work injury that I injured again!! Nothing to do with work this time,I had an accident doing weights