Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
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- SJPONeill
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
There's been quite a bit of recent discussion on this topic over at the Scale Model Nostalgia group as well (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScaleModelingNostalgia/;)
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The World According To Me
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
Matt,
Talking Merit/Inpact only (Airfix/Fury is confusing discussion) -- I always thought they were different (and still do, but...)
I do not have a Merit kit to fondle.
I pulled out my Inpact Bulldog kit and compared it to the pix in Don's build as best I could. The engine, the fuselage details appear to match line-by-line, panel-by-panel, even what I think is an unremoved ejector mark on the fin is there. The stand holder is present in the same place on the trailing edge of the lower wing. Strut holes, rigging holes, etc, etc. To me, my Inpact kit looks exactly like what I can see of what Don says is a Merit kit.
My kit does have an Inpact stamp inside and it is, like Paul says, an original stamping and not a change from another one.
We need pix of the Merit Bulldog sprues & interior, preferably side-by-side with one of the others, but the Merit kits are hard to find and cost way too much on eBay for me to buy one just to win (or lose) a point.
I'll take/post pix of my Inpact Bulldog tomorrow unless someone beats me to it.
Talking Merit/Inpact only (Airfix/Fury is confusing discussion) -- I always thought they were different (and still do, but...)
I do not have a Merit kit to fondle.
I pulled out my Inpact Bulldog kit and compared it to the pix in Don's build as best I could. The engine, the fuselage details appear to match line-by-line, panel-by-panel, even what I think is an unremoved ejector mark on the fin is there. The stand holder is present in the same place on the trailing edge of the lower wing. Strut holes, rigging holes, etc, etc. To me, my Inpact kit looks exactly like what I can see of what Don says is a Merit kit.
My kit does have an Inpact stamp inside and it is, like Paul says, an original stamping and not a change from another one.
We need pix of the Merit Bulldog sprues & interior, preferably side-by-side with one of the others, but the Merit kits are hard to find and cost way too much on eBay for me to buy one just to win (or lose) a point.
I'll take/post pix of my Inpact Bulldog tomorrow unless someone beats me to it.
John Ratzenberger
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
Do you have a link to the actual conversation, please, Simon? Not a very user friendly format, it has to be said!SJPONeill wrote:There's been quite a bit of recent discussion on this topic over at the Scale Model Nostalgia group as well (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScaleModelingNostalgia/;)
Paul
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- SJPONeill
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
I don't think Yahoo gets the concept of user-friendliness...I'll se eif I can dig it up as I deleted the conversation as it occured as it wasn't one of my areas of interest...stand-by...
Please critique my posts honestly i.e. say what you think so I can learn and improve...
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- cameraman1944
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
Photos of the Airfix Hawker Fury
P1100030 by cameraman1944, on Flickr
P1100031 by cameraman1944, on Flickr
P1100030 by cameraman1944, on Flickr
P1100031 by cameraman1944, on Flickr
Don Robson
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
This Fairey Flycatcher was made from a Pyro Kit.
2980428847_de32f746ef_o by cameraman1944, on Flickr
2980428847_de32f746ef_o by cameraman1944, on Flickr
Don Robson
Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
Now, without wanting to delve too far into kit forensics (;-)), I'd say that looks like a significantly older tooling than the Airfix Spitfire Vb and Bf109, which were their "first" 1/48 scale kits, in 1979. Look at the Spitfire Vb, for example (here, if you don't have one to hand):
http://americanscalemodel.freeforums.org/post1030.html;
All the parts are contained _within_ much larger frames, and the vast majority of the sprue runners leading to the individual parts are square to those frames. The Fury has its small parts hanging off a central injection spine, and most of the runners are at an angle to that central spine, in the direction you'd expect to ease the flow of plastic from the central injection point. That approach is typical of the older kits in my stash, but decidedly NOT typical of Airfix new-tools of the 70s and 80s...
Of course, it's possible that the Fury originally had rectangular frames, and someone has carefully trimmed them off to recycle the plastic, but if they didn't do that in 1979, why would they start in 1980...?
bestest,
M.
http://americanscalemodel.freeforums.org/post1030.html;
All the parts are contained _within_ much larger frames, and the vast majority of the sprue runners leading to the individual parts are square to those frames. The Fury has its small parts hanging off a central injection spine, and most of the runners are at an angle to that central spine, in the direction you'd expect to ease the flow of plastic from the central injection point. That approach is typical of the older kits in my stash, but decidedly NOT typical of Airfix new-tools of the 70s and 80s...
Of course, it's possible that the Fury originally had rectangular frames, and someone has carefully trimmed them off to recycle the plastic, but if they didn't do that in 1979, why would they start in 1980...?
bestest,
M.
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
I am convinced that the Inpact and Merit kits are unrelated.
http://modelingmadness.com/review/preww ... ulldog.htm; See Kit section.
The subsequent history on the Inpact tools is well known and clear. The only issue is the relation between Airfix and Merit Fury tools.
The diagonal sprue branches from the main trunk do match this image I found of a Merit Sopwidth Camel sprue shot
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Merit-British ... 0861398737;
http://modelingmadness.com/review/preww ... ulldog.htm; See Kit section.
The subsequent history on the Inpact tools is well known and clear. The only issue is the relation between Airfix and Merit Fury tools.
Yes it the first thing that struck me, the sprue layout does not match the 1980 date stamp.mattbacon wrote:All the parts are contained _within_ much larger frames, and the vast majority of the sprue runners leading to the individual parts are square to those frames. The Fury has its small parts hanging off a central injection spine, and most of the runners are at an angle to that central spine, in the direction you'd expect to ease the flow of plastic from the central injection point. That approach is typical of the older kits in my stash, but decidedly NOT typical of Airfix new-tools of the 70s and 80s...
The diagonal sprue branches from the main trunk do match this image I found of a Merit Sopwidth Camel sprue shot
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Merit-British ... 0861398737;
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- JohnRatzenberger
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
I'm an idiot.
Somehow I got it in my head that Don was doing a Merit Bulldog.
The topic title and the first sentence clearly say Inpact.
I'm an idiot, and I apologize to all idiots for lumping myself in with them.
End of my discussion.
Somehow I got it in my head that Don was doing a Merit Bulldog.
The topic title and the first sentence clearly say Inpact.
I'm an idiot, and I apologize to all idiots for lumping myself in with them.
End of my discussion.
John Ratzenberger
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It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
Ill take some photos of a Airfix Fury and a Inpact/ Pyro Fury together in a bit. Ive got a growing number of 1:48 inter war biplane kits in the stash as i rather like the colourfull schemes they wore.
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Re: Relationship of Inpact/Merit/Pyro/Lifelike/Lindberg Kits
Here we are, first off Airfix:
And the Pyro one:
Im loathe to open the packets up as i dont want to loose any parts but i can try and take better photos if needed. I do have a Pyro box but no kit, its got other kits in it.
And the Pyro one:
Im loathe to open the packets up as i dont want to loose any parts but i can try and take better photos if needed. I do have a Pyro box but no kit, its got other kits in it.