ChairmanMilo's Collection

[Heer]

Holy crap !!

Nice collection you have there. I love your choice of german armor!!

[ChairmanMilo]

Holy crap !!

Nice collection you have there. I love your choice of german armor!!

Thanks man. I have a big collection of German armour in 1:72 now, but I am down to my last three Tiger Is by Dragon in 1:35 - the rest got sold off last spring. I needed the space and my collecting priorities changed. I have plenty of room for the 1:72 beauties being released by Hobby Master lately, and even Dragon seems to be releasing some gems every month or two.

[ChairmanMilo]

Here are some updates. I have quite a few new arrivals lately - 99% of them from Merritec as usual.

I don't have the time to rotate my collection a lot lately and my wife & I are still planning on moving soon, so spending half a day rearranging my collection isn't an option. I do have the time to swap one or two items at a time, though, and to add items that'll fit in sets that I already have out on display. I've recently been keen on adding aircraft of the minor Axis powers, including some of the more obscure items released by Easy Model (like the Bulgarian D.520, Hungarian Bf 109G-10 and Rumanian MiG-3) and adding to my collection of Dragon and Hobby Master armour.



^ four Dutch F-16s, including one by Easy Model on the far left in a Tiger Meet scheme. It actually looks fairly good considering how cheap it was - I managed to find one for cheap on eBay.



^ closer shot of the Easy Model F-16. There's no comparing it to Witty's effort but it isn't too too bad.



^ a small portion of my USAF Vietnam War collection, with no room for the other camo'ed beauties that HM has released. The second F-102 by Hobby Master is easy to spot.



^ closer shot of the F-102, which is likely the only F-102 I will buy unless they release another in a similar guise, which I personally think of as doubtful.



^ two Corgi helicopters out of the three that I currently own - the brand new Lynx HAS Mk.2 & my personal favourite, "Humphrey" the Wessex HAS Mk.3.



^ the tiny little Lynx is a thing of beauty, although the glossy coat makes it a bit difficult to photograph.



^ Corgi's Wessex tooling looks so good that I find myself wanting to add more of them to my collection. Thank goodness none of them apart from this release fit within my collecting parameters, or I would have a lot less room around here. The only other Corgi helicopter I own is "Chink 69".



^ the recently released Austrian Texan, which had been announced several years ago but was only released this year. I don't know why it was delayed, but it looks great.



^ a closer shot of the Hobby Master AD-4 Skyraider I added to my collection a short while ago. I think it's the best of the four I have in my collection at the moment.

[snake]

All very nice additions, Chairman.

I particularly like "Dirty Diana" F-16, and the F-102. And the F-111 is just awesome.

[graycap]

I see you display most of your magnificent collection on open shelves. Any tips on how you keep it all dust free?

[Light.Inf.Scout]

Best collection I have ever seen...jealous as hell!

[ChairmanMilo]

Thanks, guys!

I see you display most of your magnificent collection on open shelves. Any tips on how you keep it all dust free?

I would recommend not having cats. That would probably help. We have two cats. I have to dust my collection every couple of weeks & I use a makeup brush to do it. It's a very drawn-out process, but it is a sort of meditation for me to clean my collection. I also find a sort of "zen" in re-arranging & rotating my collection. I figure there are a lot of collectors out there that are the same way.

I wish I had some glass display cabinets, but even then, with two cats... I'm still going to have a dust problem.

[ChairmanMilo]

I rotated a lot of my collection last weekend. It took a long damn time but it was worth it.



The Vietnam War shelf, with the USN and USAF aircraft mixed for the first time instead of separated.



^ courtesy of Hobby Master (for submitting information & photos for a collector profile on their website), the VF-31 F-4J.



^ the third Hobby Master A-1 Skyraider, the VA-25 A-1H. I swapped it for the VA-176 A-1H, mostly because I snapped one of the wing guns on it I might have to email William at Hobby Master at some point in the future to ask for a replacement. Frankly, I'm surprised I don't break more of my diecast.



^ my first Hobby Master Fw 190 (in 1:48 scale), a Fw 190 A-8/R8 as flown by Wilhelm Moritz. The armour plates on the sides of the fuselage are overscale, but the level of detail on the entire piece is pretty good. I like the camouflage, too - I know it might not be completely accurate but it is one of the better attempts thus far. I don't know that I'll add more unless I can find them at a discount.



^ both Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Avro Arrows out together for the first time.



^ two aircraft named "Stinky" - the P-51D by Witty and the new Hobby Master A-26B Invader.



^ I rather like this one. The fiddly bits weren't fiddly at all and the joins on it are pretty damn tight. It is not as big as I thought it would be.



^ my most recent Texan, an SNJ-3 as flow by the Marines. This one is in my top five... I have all of the Texans & Harvards released so far.



^ the other two new Texan/Harvards, a Spanish & Swedish example. It's good to have another Swedish aircraft in my collection, the other being the photo-recon Spitfire (1:48).



^ Battle of Britain Hurricanes, including the two most recent releases (up front).



^ Battle of Britain Spitfires (with the exception of the pre-war 19 Squadron release), with two Matchbox Spitfires in the back row. Now that I have them out for the first time in a very long time, I find that I like them less. The join line immediately after of the propeller on the cowling is terrible if you look at it closely. The screw hole under the nose is bad, too. The finish is good, however, as are the colours. The subtle weathering is also nice.



^ the new Corgi Defiant in all its glory. I plan on adding quite a few of these to my collection. I could find no faults. In the lighting I have in my display space, I don't really see that Corgi used the wrong shade of blue on the fuselage roundels.





^ Corgi's first C-47, "Camel Caravan to Berlin" of Berlin Airlift fame. I haven't had this one out yet and managed to squeeze it between heavy bombers.



^ all of my Hobby Master MiG-21s out (save one, the Soviet photo-recce release... there just wasn't enough room). Anyone that has a Hobby Master MiG-21 can tell you that it is not fun to display gear-down. I had to fiddle with the u/c of seven different MiG-21s, managing to lose the closed gear doors of one in the process somehow... and I don't have the carpet for a carpet monster to exist! The Iranian F-14 is sitting next to the Iraqi MiG-21, both from the Iran/Iraq War. All that is missing is the upcoming Iranian F-4E by Hobby Master. I do not recommend setting up this many MiG-21s on display unless you are willing to sacrifice most of your day and to endure a bit of stress



^ Hobby Master's first two Spitfire Is in 1:48. I will be adding a few more of these to my collection.

[snake]

Always great to see your collection, Chairman.

See you have added some more Hobby Master. Really glad that they did the A-26, but not a fan of the scheme.

Thanks for posting the updates.

And the "makeup" brush, is the best way to dust your models.

[ChairmanMilo]

Always great to see your collection, Chairman.

See you have added some more Hobby Master. Really glad that they did the A-26, but not a fan of the scheme.

Thanks for posting the updates.

And the "makeup" brush, is the best way to dust your models.

Yeah, "Stinky" was not the scheme I would have picked... although it does have a novelty factor

Makeup brushes are the only way I'd be able to dust these without breaking 'em. It doesn't prevent me from being allergic to the dust, though... I actually have to wear a dust mask while I'm doing it sometimes! Darn cats...

[tmanthegreat]

Its funny, but I've got several WWII aircraft reference books that show profiles of "Stinky" for their section on the A-26. Not sure why, but there must have been some popularity/fame behind the scheme and that led Hobbymaster to choose it for their first release. I will admit I'd have likely gone with a different scheme as well, but think HM was correct in their overall decision to go with with the general silver WWII USAAF A-26 for a first release

[Light.Inf.Scout]

I have said this before...I need your address and times when your house is vacant, LOL

[ChairmanMilo]

Its funny, but I've got several WWII aircraft reference books that show profiles of "Stinky" for their section on the A-26. Not sure why, but there must have been some popularity/fame behind the scheme and that led Hobbymaster to choose it for their first release. I will admit I'd have likely gone with a different scheme as well, but think HM was correct in their overall decision to go with with the general silver WWII USAAF A-26 for a first release

You know what? I think you're right. The all-silver scheme is flawlessly executed, and coincidentally (or is it?) the casting is shown to be pretty damn good too, because with an all silver-scheme flaws are much more readily apparent, such as poorly done join lines. Now that I have the first one & know how good the casting is and how good the aircraft looks period, I am re-considering my decision not to pre-order the third (also silver) release.

I have said this before...I need your address and times when your house is vacant, LOL

My wife would probably give you that information along with renting you the U-Haul you would need. Hell, she'd probably help you move it all. I'll have to remember to never, ever tell you that you mentioned that

[Heer]

Any pics of your armours?

[ChairmanMilo]

Wow, I forgot to post photos of my recent armour additions!

I have been buying quite a bit of it lately, and I rotated a bunch of modern tanks out a few weeks ago to replace with World War 2 Soviet armour. I now have a row of T-34s along and a top shelf that consists of a T-34, a KV-1, two SU 85s, one SU 100 and the sole Dragon T-34/85 released thus far.

[Light.Inf.Scout]

Christ man...you're killing me.

[graycap]

Thanks for the information re keeping your collection clean. Must get a make-up brush.

[stefano]

chairmanmilo
WOW
You have the greatest collection i ever seen
Is very beautifull and comprhensive very well represented and of great historical value i also like your way of displaying
well done
stefano

[ChairmanMilo]

I moved late last month into a slightly smaller but insanely superior apartment a few blocks north of where I was living before. The apartment I used to live in was built in the late '60s - early '70s and was not in very good repair at all. The pipes were not PVC and we had a water problem - not only were there water outages every couple of weeks due to ongoing repair work, but the water came out of the tap with an orange tint. We went through a lot of Brita filters in the old apartment. The hallways weren't ventilated and stank of years of our neighbours' cooking and baking, and the elevators were original. Every time the weather changed it seemed like the elevators stopped working - humidity seemed to have the worst effect on them, and living in southern Ontario, we have a lot of humidity in the summer. Believe it or not, it gets just as hot and humid as Miami in Toronto during the summer months.

Anyhow, we moved into a building that was completed last year. It was originally conceived as a condo but someone must have thought they'd make more money off of these units if it were an apartment building. The place has central air and heating, brand new appliances including a huge fridge, a flat-top stove and a dishwasher (thankful for that... I am the dishwasher!) and an in-suite washer & dryer. For once we don't have to share washers & dryers with grumpy and sometimes odd strangers. The bathroom looks like it is straight out of a five-star hotel. There's a salt-water pool, a gym, a media room and a party room - the usual fare for new condos and apartment buildings nowadays.

I have slightly less space for my tonnes of books, magazines and diecast, but we have some storage units downstairs that help with that problem. I did have to downsize my collection, though. I ended up selling over 100 items to Scott Merritt last weekend, who was kind enough to drop by to pick it all up. It barely fit in his van! In the immediate future I have more hard decisions to make as I downsize even more. 100 out of 500 diecast planes sounds like a lot, but there are still a lot of items that haven't been displayed much (or displayed at all). I am at about 98% when it comes to what I currently own fitting in categories that I collect, which is much better than it used to be. I also sold off most of my 1:48 planes, which caused a lot of pain but will end up being the right choice for me. Those HM Spitfires will be replaced with Corgi releases in the future to save a bit of room. I hate displaying different scales together, so that makes sense, right?

I managed to get some diecast on display and some of them are new releases that I've been excited about since they were announced.



^ the first diecast that found its way out of storage - the two Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Arrows. The RCAF T-33 came later.



^ Falcon Model's RCAF T-33. It looks great, although I would have appreciated not having to superglue the wings back onto the fuselage. When I lifted the plane out of its packaging the wings fell off. I am grateful, however, that the packaging prevented the separated bits from moving around in the box and damaging the finish. The front u/c actually came with open doors for each side, instead of two of the same side's door like with the first release



^ RAF Coastal Command heavies by Corgi along with the new Blenheim & the RCAF Beaufighter.



^ the three new releases... the Corgi RAF Coastal Command Blenheim and Halifax, and the RCAF Beaufighter. The camo demarcation on the nose doesn't match the camo demarcation on the fuselage but I can live with that. It looks pretty good, and other than the nose it was finished flawlessly. The Blenheim is a peach all on its own. It is an example of what Corgi can do when it does something right, and it really knocked my socks off when I first got it out. The Halifax blew me away, too. From what I have read the accuracy of this release is phenomenal. The finish is also flawless and I managed to avoid having to search for the nose gun in the box after I got it out. The closed u/c doors are a bit loose but some glue helped with that.



^ ROCAF fast movers, including the three Dragon F-16s, the Hobby Master Mirage 2000 and the new Hobby Master F-5E Freedom Fighter.



^ this new F-5 looks great. I can only hope that I can get my hands on the Taiwan exclusive variant of this release at some point. I have the ROCAF RF-5 on order along with the Iranian F-5. I like these small jets. I can add more of them to my collection than F-4s or F-105s, that's for sure. I believe Hobby Master really nailed this tooling and I can't wait to see what else they do with it.



^ what I just pulled out of storage: a shelf full of Israeli fast movers. What you are seeing are two Witty F-15s and four Witty F-16s accompanied by the Hobby Master F-4 and Hobby Master A-4. In the back you can see the IXO Merkava and Hobby Master Centurion tanks. I picked up the Merkava a couple of months back and this is the first time it has seen the light of day. I wish there was more room on the shelf, because I have the third Witty F-15 sitting down in storage. God, but do those F-15s take up a lot of room! It is interesting to see the two McDonnell Douglas jets on the same shelf together, isn't it? I thought I lost the pylon for one of the wing tanks on the F-4 but thanks to the influence of my lovely wife, I organized everything in my collection as I packed it, and I managed to find the pylon within a few minutes downstairs. The pingy bits on Hobby Master's F-4s can drive me to madness

[snake]

Glad you like the new place Chairman.

Must be tough to downsize, but looks like you are sticking with themes, in 1/72.

Like the Coastal Command display. I have the Wellington, B-17, and B-24 in CC, and they are amongst my favourites. That Halifax looks very good, as well as the Blenheim.

Thanks for posting these new updates.

Looking good.

[ChairmanMilo]

Glad you like the new place Chairman.

Must be tough to downsize, but looks like you are sticking with themes, in 1/72.

Like the Coastal Command display. I have the Wellington, B-17, and B-24 in CC, and they are amongst my favourites. That Halifax looks very good, as well as the Blenheim.

Thanks for posting these new updates.

Looking good.

Thank you kindly. We are lucky that Corgi released a whole series of Coastal Command aircraft - they are all pieces of art in their own ways, even the Liberator with its nose join. In RAF Coastal Command camo the nose join isn't near so bad as it is with the all-silver jobs.

You're welcome, too! I'm just lucky our point-and-shoot camera didn't get lost or misplaced in the move. Use of the wife's expensive camera is strictly forbidden I have only had those Israeli F-15s and F-16s out once, a couple of years ago. I forgot how good these Witty jets are, even if the canopy on the F-15s could be better.

[Wrights Collectables]

^ two Corgi helicopters out of the three that I currently own - the brand new Lynx HAS Mk.2 & my personal favourite, "Humphrey" the Wessex HAS Mk.3.



^ Corgi's Wessex tooling looks so good that I find myself wanting to add more of them to my collection. Thank goodness none of them apart from this release fit within my collecting parameters, or I would have a lot less room around here. The only other Corgi helicopter I own is "Chink 69".

Hello Milo,

Let me first commend you on a fantastic collection. You should take it on the road and charge a pound entry!

The "Wessex's" successor the "Sea King" flies over my house every night. It belongs to a search and rescue unit, so partakes in some fast flying at low altitude most nights! At first it wakes you up, but as with everything, you get used to it. It's got to the point where I miss it if I am sleeping out of town!

[ChairmanMilo]

Here are some updates. I don't get to rotate the collection nearly as often, but I do have quite the lineup of fast movers out at the moment.



^ all six Royal Air Force Harriers done by Hobby Master so far, including the four recent disbandment-schemed GR.9s. I am on the fence about ordering the new GR.5 just announced.



^ my Republic of China lineup, including the recently released Hobby Master RF-5E and one of the two F-CK-1 Ching Kuos I received this week from Merritec.



^ the three most recently-produred ROCAF aircraft in my collection. When you display F-16s, F-5s and F-CK-1s together, they kind of look like a family (with the F-CK-1 being the mongrel child).



^ my Israeli lineup, with a Witty F-16 swapped for the new Easy Model F-15I and an Easy Model M4 Sherman added.



^ the weathering is nice, but the lack of detail is a bit sad, along with the lack of weapons and aircrew... the tires look a bit more like donuts than they should.



^ the Sherman isn't so bad... although I do wish Dragon would release one or two.

[snake]

Nice looking themed display's Chairman.

Like that you got the entire Harrier anniversary schemes.

ROCAF is pretty well represented as well in your collection.

I still don't have any Israeli schemes, and need to pick up that F-4 "Kurnass" at some point. Great looking scheme, and wish that a good F-15 came in Israeli colours. Perhaps the new HM F-15E?

[paulmerton]

...and the sole Dragon T-34/85 released thus far.

There was also Dragon Armor 60249, which depicts a captured one used by the Germans in Poland, 1944. It looks practically the same, but has different markings and a Balkenkreuz on the turret.