Small Scale Military Headquarters

FOR 2980 US$ you can have this custom made for You !

You can choose the colors or weapon load ... you will have to wait for it to be produced ... but the 1/18 scale IS a waiting game ... allready ....



http://www.hphmodels.cz/index.php/en/sh ... -1-18-lang

I can't wait the harrier making a vertical landing in my mail box .....

Waow, 2'000$ for the HO-229 Horten...

They are the only company making a PBY Catalina in 1/32.

Yes, it's expensive.

It looks good. Haven't decided if I will pull the trigger or see if there is a second release.

Here's my unboxing pics. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 397&type=3

Questions:

Any word on the armament kit or second release?

Anyone remember what the time frame between the spotcat release and the black knight release on the F-14 was?

Greetings:

I write a newsletter about my airshow travels and aviation things that some of the membership on here reads. In my most recent newsletter I did a review of the Harrier.

Here is a link to my newsletter. The review of the Harrier starts on page 2.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6N8kv ... sp=sharing

Corey

Nice job on the review Corey, well done. I had no idea that all the control surfaces on the Harrier are moveable, that's a cool touch.
The canopy issue is a big mistake on their part however. Apparently the companies who make these a/c ARE NOT listening to the public. Everyone complains about these a/c not coming with flightcrew so, you have to buy them seperate, which is not a big deal just an added cost. At least you can add a pilot if you so choose to.
Hopefully the rumor of the Weapons Pack is true. This should sell very well and depending what they include in the pack, these items could be used on other jets in this scale.


Steve

The issue certainly is a company not listening to the public, but it's the Chinese manufacturers, not the U.S. Based developers/distributors like Merit. We're basically dealing with cultural/ideological differences and the Chinese don't give a crap about collectors. I'm certain Merit would have wanted a functioning canopy, but which also looked correct, and the Chinese likely told them they could t do it and to take what they offered. Unlike our capitalist system that is responsive to consumer demand, China is pretty much the opposite.

"If you don't want it, someone else will" is the mentality.

If I understand correctly, isn't 1/18th scale stuff in jeopardy ?? We the consumers keep asking for different items in this scale but, they won't deliver. We all have our "wish lists." How long ago did those pictures of the F-15E surface ?? Haven't heard anymore on that one. I wrote to Merit asking them " What are the chances we'll see the F-15E produced ?" They told me " That's a large aircraft, we'll have to see how are sales of the next item go." How much did it cost to make the molds and produce a prototype just to let it sit on a shelf somewhere never to see the light of day again ?? Seems to me that's not money well spent.
I have seen the Dauntless in person, BEAUTIFUL aircraft, not my cup of tea but, very well done. Why have standards slipped since that one ? I thought that one was what all future 1/18th aircraft would be compared to. I love my 1/18th jets ( Wolfpack F-16 and 2 Tomcats ) and want to see others produced but, it's the little things that go a long way. Instead of making the tailfins open on the MK-82's how about making the canopy functional or include a pilot figure.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is if they make what we want, we'll buy it and the scale will do fine. If they put out a product with flaws, which are simple to correct and shouldn't happen in the first place IMO, the scale will suffer and so will future projects.
I have no interest in the Harrier especially at the price of it and it's mistakes but, I hope it sells very well because the 1/18th scale depends on it. Just my 2 cents.


Steve

I don't know for sure, but common sense would indicate a prototype mold will be pretty cheaply made and low cost vs a heavy precision final production mold for a serious 5000 item run.

A-10LOADER wrote:If I understand correctly, isn't 1/18th scale stuff in jeopardy ?? We the consumers keep asking for different items in this scale but, they won't deliver. We all have our "wish lists." How long ago did those pictures of the F-15E surface ?? Haven't heard anymore on that one. I wrote to Merit asking them " What are the chances we'll see the F-15E produced ?" They told me " That's a large aircraft, we'll have to see how are sales of the next item go." How much did it cost to make the molds and produce a prototype just to let it sit on a shelf somewhere never to see the light of day again ?? Seems to me that's not money well spent.
I have seen the Dauntless in person, BEAUTIFUL aircraft, not my cup of tea but, very well done. Why have standards slipped since that one ? I thought that one was what all future 1/18th aircraft would be compared to. I love my 1/18th jets ( Wolfpack F-16 and 2 Tomcats ) and want to see others produced but, it's the little things that go a long way. Instead of making the tailfins open on the MK-82's how about making the canopy functional or include a pilot figure.
I guess what I'm trying to say here is if they make what we want, we'll buy it and the scale will do fine. If they put out a product with flaws, which are simple to correct and shouldn't happen in the first place IMO, the scale will suffer and so will future projects.
I have no interest in the Harrier especially at the price of it and it's mistakes but, I hope it sells very well because the 1/18th scale depends on it. Just my 2 cents.


Steve

I generally agree, but the harrier is a nicely done 1:18 scale plane. I do agree an opening canopy instead of opening bomb fins (although cool) would be a better trade off. I suspect we have no idea how much it costs to produce a model like this. It amazes me that a 1/32 scale model kit costs $100-200. So to get a model put together with the level of detail the harrier has is more representative of the cost of making this kind of model. I think we should appreciate the fact that the harrier was produced, and certainly there can be criticism but in reality it is pretty well done overall.

Does anyone know what is keeping the lift nozzles from rotating into a VTOL mode? Is there something obstructing or is it in the internal workings of the mechanism?
Thanks

Its feels like there's something with the internal mechanism that's obstructing the full movement. I've been avoiding forcing the exhaust vents into the correct downward position as I don't want to wind up breaking something...

Anyone know how to put the pilot into av 8b without damaging it.
or the pilot

There is a youtube video of an unboxing av 8b 1 18 search

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hVP-vKa6bo0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8MVf-uCmX7w

Black_Dragon_One wrote:Anyone know how to put the pilot into av 8b without damaging it.
or the pilot

I had a spare BBI US Navy F-18 pilot that I used in my Harrier. Aviatornut appears to have used the BBI USAF F-16 pilot figure. I could not get the complete Navy pilot figure to fit initially as the ejection seat sits very close up to the instrument panel and the spaces for the legs were too tiny. I wound up removing the figure's legs below the knee joint and got a better fit.

To remove the figure's legs, I simply soaked it in boiling water for a minute or two to soften the plastic, then used a small screwdriver to pop out the pins on the knee joint to separate the lower leg (shin & foot). It can be easily reinserted at a future date without damaging the figure. I then softened the rest of the figure in hot water as this made it easier to cram into the small space between the seat and instruments and forward windscreen. I don't plan on taking the figure out very often and you can't see the truncated legs.

I'm not sure what Aviatornut did exactly on his plane, but it looks like he got the complete BBI USAF pilot figure into the Harrier cockpit without modification... The USAF pilot figure has "thinner" legs and does not have the bulging pocket/suit above the boot like on the Navy pilot figure. Further, there are likely slight differences with each Harrier and some may have the ejection seat placed just far enough back to squeeze in the figure, while on other planes its a tiny bit too forward.

Tman thanks

I'm still waiting for mine Harrier. Have a jet pilot from 21st Century, with an old looking helmet. May be from the F-104. It is a little bit smaller than the BBI one (but legs are broad, it will probably need the same removal that tmanthe great suggest). May be with a modern helmet, it would fit better in the AV-8B's cockpit? Of course, this 21st pilot is much more simple, has no tactical vest with a lot of pouches, but with home made belts to cover this lack of stuff, who will notice that?
By the way, to seat a (BBI) gunner in his place in the 21st Cobra, I cut slices in the figure's bottom to reach the correct low height in his seat, but had to remove the boots. So, it is sacrified, but fit well (his helmet top is just below the pilot's HUD/sight).
Perheaps somebody who has many F-16 or F-18 pilot could also try this cut slices procedure?

I just picked mine up today. I totally forgot about requesting this from my local hobby store many moons ago. No pictures yet, but I'm very happy today!

I got my Harrier this week as a gift from my girlfriend and although I am not an expert on aircraft, what a piece of art! I started checking pictures in the internet and this model has a lot of good details from the real ones. I have to accept, although I always call them my scale models I’m so happy with my new toy.

I saw a Herrier offered at Diecastairplanes.com for $239.95. Is that the Harrier everyone is looking for? Also repaints (or old inventory) of Bf-109 for $89.95, and F-86's for $139.95. Other then the Harrier price, the others don't seem bad.

$219.00 on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321894448707?ss ... 1558.l2649