References...and Tips

[JohnRatzenberger]

Here post information and references to subjects being built, etc.
A good place to ask historical or technical questions.

[MerlinJones]

A couple of potentially useful links;

For reviews of 1/144 stuff, going back to Lordy knows when, together with an informative and friendly Forum;
http://kampfgruppe144.blogspot.com/;

For an on-line museum of 1/144 aircraft;
http://airalex.homestead.com/;

For Hobby Link Japan, in the land where growing tiny trees is a respected art form;
http://www.hlj.com/scripts/hljlist?qid= ... &inStock=1;

[MerlinJones]

What Wiki witters;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1:144_scale;

The first UAMF 1/144 GB;
http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewforum. ... f965bbf201;

[MerlinJones]

Hints - Old Kit or New Kit?

I'll focus on Revell, as these are the kits you're most likely to find in the UK.
Revell began 1/144 military aircraft decades ago and bought in what was available from Japan and China.
These include everything from WWII. A few of these have been recently re-issued.

Others are the Harrier 'GR3', looking very much like a GR1 and the MDD F-15A Eagle, with a Tigermeet tail.



(NOTE I cut out the cockpit and scratched my own in the model shown above).

There's even an old Tomcat out there, though it's very unlikely you'll find any of these in the shops.

Old tools are given away by a complete lack of cockpit...not even a hole. Fit is reasonable and, with a canopy in place, the lack of a cockpit is less of an issue. However, another trait of older kits is lousy canopies...usually of the wrong profile and this can seriously let down an otherwise adequate model.

Later, Revell bought in some DML/Dragon kits and these are identifiable by a cockpit filled with crew. Now much ridicule is lobbed the way of these intrepid airmen, but compared to the blank non-cockpits of old, they were a great advance. Further more, they meant that you could model your model in-flight, out of the box.
Besides, with a little tinkering, they can be made to look quite good.

http://gregers.7.forumer.com/viewtopic. ... &start=675;

And;



This Tomcat is an old Dragon;


As is this;


Any other F-14’s are pure, new Revell.

Mid- to late-90’s, Revell started producing their own 1/144’s and, to be honest, it all went uphill from thereon in. It was from this era that the recently re-issued Alpha Jet came from and the absolutely marvellous SA330 Puma and Chinook and even lovelier BAC Lightning, which was re-issued with Saudi markings. The Puma was re-issued as a Tigermeet aircraft and commemorative schemes seemed favoured amongst Revell kits, especially with regards Tonkas.

Hopefully, any shop-bound Tonka should now be a new tooling, which is a truly delightful piece of kittery.

These are new tools;





This one is the old tooling;


Biggest difference inside is that the new tools have separate front ends. Dragons also have those crewmen, remember.
(The Revell F3 is also a Dragon).

The latest generation of Revell kits include all Harriers, the Sukhoi Su-37 Berkhut, MiG 1.144, Tomcats and the Hawker Hunter and Grumman Hawkeye. Others recommended include the Kamov Black Shark, the F-104G and TF-104G, Hughes Apache and their new Eurofighter Typhoon.
Brand, spanking new this year is the MDD F-15E eagle and F-18D Super Hornet, (although their older Hornets are not to be sniffed at). Later this year, there’ll be a new tooled F-16, the last one being an okay-ish Dragon.

In their current catalogue, provenance is as follows;
A-10 Thunderbolt II...Revell, nice
Alpha Jet...Revell, nice
AV-8 Harrier II Plus...Revell, nice
BAe Harrier GR7...Revell, nice
Bf109E…old Crown, not nice…go Eduard or Sweet
Dassault Rafale...Revell, nice
Eurofighter...Revell, nice-ish
Eurofighter Typhoon, Single Seater...Revell, nice
F-14A Tomcat...Revell, nice
F-14A Black Tomcat...Revell, nice
F-14D Super Tomcat...Revell, nice
F-15A Eagle...LS/Arii/Crown...not nice
F-15E Strike Eagle...New Tool
F-16C…New tool, not yet available.
F-18 Hornet...Revell, nice
F/A-18 Hornet "Wild Weasel"...Revell, nice
F-18D Super Hornet...New Tool
F-19 Stealth Fighter...Revell, nice
F-104G Starfighter...Revell, nice
F-117...Revell, nice
Fw190…old Crown, not nice…go Eduard or Platz
Hawker Hurricane Mk.1…old Crown, not nice…go Sweet
Hawker Tempest…old Crown, not nice.
Hawker Typhoon…old Crown, not nice.
Ju.87 Stuka…old Crown, not nice…go Eduard
Me262…old Crown, not nice…go Eduard or Trumpeter
MiG-29...Revell, nice
Northrop B2...Revell, nice
Spitfire Mk.1…old Crown, not nice
Sukhoi Su-37...Revell, nice
Tornado ECR...Revell, nice
Tornado GR Mk.1...Revell, nice
Tornado IDS...Revell, nice

Regards,
Bruce

[JamesPerrin]

Very, very useful. Thanks Bruce!

[ShaunW]

Excellent, thanks for taking the time Bruce.

[MerlinJones]

Some of you might be nearing the point where you add a canopy. I know some of you have passed this point, so I apologise for posting this next bit too late for your current build

Here's some stuff on 1/144 pilots I've just concocted;

1/.144 Aircrew

Back in the day, few 1/144 models had cockpits, let alone pilots. It was deemed sufficient to have a blank plate beneath the canopy and, if you were being really clever, you’d paint it black and be content.
Much of this was, I believe, down to the small detail that the canopies themselves weren’t very good. Even if they were actually clear, they’d be so thick and chunky that nothing would be discernable beneath them.

As kits and canopies improved, so did cockpit provision and some of the latest 1/144’s even have resin cockpits and instrument panel decals are increasingly the norm.

All that said, provision of aircrew has remained sadly lacking. DML/Dragon saw the need in the 80’s and responded with the best that the limited moulding technology of the day could offer;



Now to not mock, but certain wags were oft to refer to these chaps as ‘Sontarans’…otherwise known as those nasty Mr. Potato Head men, from 1970’s Doctor Who. Things is, being modellers, we can work with such materials.
A bit of careful whittling…
A few strips of masking tape…
Bits of finely wrought sprue…
Some deft paintstrokes…




They also come in tandem;




Then we had the wonderful Aeroclub, who provided us all with an exquisite range of finely crafted, white metal bits and bobs, to accurise our 1/72 aircraft and, eventually, some of their own 1/144 short-run plastic kits…including some in 1/144. Of course, it didn’t take them long before we had little poly bags, each containing a pair of white metal ejection seats and pilots…in 1/144.



Here’s a seat, glued to some plastic, with a crewman awaiting being seated;



…And painted up;



Sadly, since one half of Aeroclub passed away, acquiring these little beauties has proved harder and harder and I’ve had to look further afield.

Oz Mods produce a small range of 1/144’s and some ordnance and decals to go with these. Over recent years, they’ve also responded to calls for crew and have responded in a splendid fashion. These are resin, but beautifully cast little chaps and paint up nicely;



My only issue is that, whilst they’re not overly expensive, at what works out to be £1.65 a pair, you have a relatively hefty P&P to pay, of £12 to get your good goodies from Oz to the here in the UK.
(Of course, you could increase what you buy, to make the P&P of more value).

Some manufacturers, besides Dragon, supply crew with their 1/144 kits and these are Pit Road and Platz. That said, there’s always THE alternative…


To scratch your own.

Now don’t panic. Remember, 1/144 is your friend and not something to be afraid of. Imagine I’d proposed scratching from…er…scratch, a 1/24 figure, or even a 1/72?
In 1/144, all we really need is to make a body with a head. This could be a squat cylinder and a small sphere. Alternatively, it could be a piece of sprue with a rounded tip and a ‘neck’ filed into it…or just a small sphere.

Having checked the size of the hole I need to fill and the clarity of the transparency, I know that a length of chunky plastic rod will suffice and I filed a ‘neck’;



I could leave it at that, but I thought I’d try and demonstrate some potential embellishment and added two short lengths of my finest plastic rod, bent, to represent arms;



Finally, to see if I could and because I had some handy, I added a tiny length of stretched sprue;



Now notice that I haven’t bothered to fill that gap in the arm, or work towards a perfect sphere of a head. Be aware that the photo you’re seeing is much, much bigger than the real thing.

Aaaah…something I forgot to mention earlier…:oops:
I cut a length of rod and dry-fitted this into the cockpit and placed the canopy on top. This was then cut down, a bit at a time, so that I now know exactly how tall my pilot can be;



Next, I’ve put a dab of H61 enamel on his face area and painted the rest of him with some green acrylic I had lying around;



He got an acrylic white helmet next, followed by black ‘hands’, oxygen mask and pipe and visor.



Again, I didn’t worry too much about getting everything exact and I most certainly didn’t even dream of bothering with dry-brushing or washes! This is all about creating an impression…just like that;



Not like that!
Like that;



Because I’ve had practice, this took me less than half an hour to do, including photography.
Give it a go and you can then display your 1/144 model in flight…perhaps it’s something to do whilst waiting for the paint to dry.

Regards,
Bruce

[MerlinJones]

Lovely fine, brass, woven mesh;

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fineline-Model-Products;

[MerlinJones]

This is obviously way after the event, but for future 1/144 builders, perusing this GB, I give you Lilliput Air Force, makers of 1/144 decals, resin conversions and canopy masks, including some for the A6M2 Zero;

http://www1.odn.ne.jp/citropen-cafe/lil ... dex-e.html;

Regards,
Bruce