New toys

[cnq]

Just scored these two 1/72 diecast models from a local collector for a very good price. They come complete with boxes and everything. The F4 is from Corgi and Dornier is made by IXO

[snake]

Would probably pass on the Corgi Phantom, as much better on the market, but hey, if the price was right.

The Do 335 by IXO is another one of those more obscure aircraft done by them, and a decent rendition. Have it myself, and quite happy with it.

[cnq]

Would probably pass on the Corgi Phantom, as much better on the market, but hey, if the price was right.

The Do 335 by IXO is another one of those more obscure aircraft done by them, and a decent rendition. Have it myself, and quite happy with it.

How does it compare in terms of accuracy to the HM F4 Phantom ?

[aferguson]

The general rule of thumb is that HM does better jets than Corgi (modern jets) and Corgi does a better job on WWII planes than HM. And that is pretty much correct. Where there is an overlap in subject matter, of course.

The HM F4's (and there are piles of them) are a bit better in shape, colour and detail. There's nothing wrong with the Corgi it's just that HM is a bit better. There is also a (bewldering) selection of schemes and variants to choose from with HM. But you'll pay for it. $70 plus per model. Sometimes plus, plus, plus for some of the older out of production models.

It comes down to the individual. I have bought planes that many others have criticized but i'm quite happy with them. If it looks good to you (or to me) then it's good. Period. It depends alot on individual detailed knowledge of the real plane, pre conceived impression, axes to grind (HM-philes vs. Corgi-philes) etc.

I think the HM phantoms are better than the Corgi phantoms, but there's nothing wrong with the Corgi phantoms, if you get my meaning.

I bought a FOV Randy Cunningham phantom. It had been torn to shreds on diecast forums. I spent an hour sprucing it up a bit, modified the nose shape slightly (took 3 minutes) and i really like it. The equiv. HM goes for about $300 when you can find it. So that's an example of what i'm talking about. The FOV also came with two multi ejector racks loaded with bombs, that i will graft onto other Vietham planes i own.......something HM doesn't offer on any of their Phantoms.

[cnq]

The general rule of thumb is that HM does better jets than Corgi (modern jets) and Corgi does a better job on WWII planes than HM. And that is pretty much correct. Where there is no overlap in subject matter, eg the beaufighter, then HM is the only game in town.

The HM F4's (and there are piles of them) are a bit better in shape, colour and detail. There's nothing wrong with the Corgi it's just that HM is a bit better. There is also a (bewldering) selection of schemes and variants to choose from with HM. But you'll pay for it. $70 plus per model. Sometimes plus, plus, plus for some of the older out of production models.

It comes down to the individual. I have bought planes that many others have criticized but i'm quite happy with them. If it looks good to you (or to me) then it's good. Period. It depends alot on individual detailed knowledge of the real plane, pre conceived impression, axes to grind (HM-philes vs. Corgi-philes) etc.

I think the HM phantoms are better than the Corgi phantoms, but there's nothing wrong with the Corgi phantoms, if you get my meaning.

I bought a FOV Randy Cunningham phantom. It had been torn to shreds on diecast forums. I spent an hour sprucing it up a bit, modified the nose shape slightly (took 3 minutes) and i really like it. The equiv. HM goes for about $300 when you can find it. So that's an example of what i'm talking about.
The FOV also came with two multi ejector racks loaded with bombs, that i will graft onto other Vietham planes i own.......something HM doesn't offer on any of their Phantoms.

Thanks for the info aferguson. I guess it's down to individual collector when it comes to a certain diecast model. I don't have any HM jets so I can't really see for myself. May be next time I come to my local hobby store I will check out the HM F4 model to see if it's worth the money ( paid only $30 for almost brand new Corgi F4 above).

[cnq]

The diecast Dornier 335 fits in very well with my other plastics. I may repaint it later as the brown camo is not accurate.

[aferguson]

it's more likely correct than incorrect

http://modelingmadness.com/review/axis/ ... ver335.htm

[cnq]

it's more likely correct than incorrect

http://modelingmadness.com/review/axis/ ... ver335.htm

the pictures below are of the real deal. The camo does not look brown to me





And with my Tamiya 1/48 Dornier 335 Heavy Armor

[aferguson]

those are restorations.......restorations often (almost always) have wrong colours. It's possible that when the prototype was first built in 1943 it was two tone green like german bombers (as it was considered to be a bomber/attack aircraft). By 1945 it was almost certainly repainted in standard luftwaffe colours of the time, green and brun violet. B&W photos of the plane show a high contrast colour scheme. Two tone green is low contrast in B&W photos whereas green and brun violet shows as high contrast in B&W photos.

Never trust restoration's colours. They are VERY unreliable. Besides, in the top photo the dark colour shown is pretty much brown violet. It faded quickly to a brown like in the model pics. The model may be a bit too light but not as wrong as many think. Repainting might be worth it to get rid of inked panel lines however.

[cnq]

those are restorations.......restorations often (almost always) have wrong colours. It's possible that when the prototype was first built in 1943 it was two tone green like german bombers (as it was considered to be a bomber/attack aircraft). By 1945 it was almost certainly repainted in standard luftwaffe colours of the time, green and brun violet. B&W photos of the plane show a high contrast colour scheme. Two tone green is low contrast in B&W photos whereas green and brun violet shows as high contrast in B&W photos.

Never trust restoration's colours. They are VERY unreliable. Besides, in the top photo the dark colour shown is pretty much brown violet. It faded quickly to a brown like in the model pics. The model may be a bit too light but not as wrong as many think. Repainting might be worth it to get rid of inked panel lines however.

I'm happy with the "restoration" green color since that's the only one we see now in display

[cnq]

FOV 1/72 B25J Michel. I love the nose art. Overall quality is 7 out of 10 imo..

[aferguson]

it's a nice model.

if you want to do some quick improvements, remove the 4 gun pods on the sides of the nose (2 per side) as they were taken off in the field and not used, and paint the upper inside quarter of each engine cowl olive drab (anti glare panels)

[Dauntless]

I got one of these FOV B-25's a while back. The QC was so bad I sent it back. It had glue finger prints all over one of the top wings. Really showed up on the silver finish. Was offered another but decided the FOV olive drab version I have of the same squadron was good enough.

Not a bad deal for the price though. Especially if you don't want to spring for a Corgi.

The B-26 Marauder "Flak Bait" is worth having too.

[aferguson]

will be interesting to see how the upcoming AF1 B-25's compare to FOV and Corgi.

and of course the AF1 B-17 is highly anticipated.

I just hope they don't do something dumb like put the national insignia on the wrong wings, which they've done on a few of their other models. If they are the quality of their P-61, they'll be fine.

[cnq]

it's a nice model.

if you want to do some quick improvements, remove the 4 gun pods on the sides of the nose (2 per side) as they were taken off in the field and not used, and paint the upper inside quarter of each engine cowl olive drab (anti glare panels)

That sounds interesting. Would you have any pictures of the plane after this mod ?

[[CAT]CplSlade]

Here's a 1/32 build of it:

[Dauntless]

will be interesting to see how the upcoming AF1 B-25's compare to FOV and Corgi.

and of course the AF1 B-17 is highly anticipated.

I just hope they don't do something dumb like put the national insignia on the wrong wings, which they've done on a few of their other models. If they are the quality of their P-61, they'll be fine.

The price is right though for the upcoming Mitchell. Sort of in the middle between the price of a Corgi and the FOV.

I hope AF1 comes out with something nice for the B-25 and especially the B-17G. I'm more concerned about the accuracy than the paint, as that can be fixed. Though good to get it all. I've been waiting years since I started collecting 1:72 die cast for a new B-17.

Can't help but admire the Do-335. It's one formidable looking machine. I think it looks meaner and cooler on the ground is why I bought the IXO one too a while back. I figured I could paint it later if I wanted. Your 1:48 is cool with the cannons though cnq. That would be something to do to the 1:72 version if it could be done.
Oxford is coming out with one that looks to have somewhat corrected colors, the same mold, but is in flight mode only.

"Lady Lil" is pretty cool though, I may get another one.
Interesting the nose looks like a Parrot, whereas the other one looks like it has an eagle nose. Maybe each crew picked their own birds to paint on their B-25's, or all parrots?
http://www.flyingmule.com/products/UM-85045

[Dauntless]

There she is without the side guns, all weathered. ^^^

[aferguson]

those are great pictures that [CAT]CplSlade posted. They put flat plates over the holes when they removed the gun pods, as you can see. I used thin paper i think, cut to shape, and painted it silver......doesn't matter if you match the colour exactly as you can tell from the pics. It's a neat little mod that adds some authenticity to the model.

[The_Helicopter_Pilot]

I may be wrong, but isn't "Lady Lil" out of Oklahoma?

[cnq]

[quote="[CAT]CplSlade"]

Here's a 1/32 build of it:



Thanks.
Looking very nice. I'm going to do this mod after I finish with my current project.

[cnq]

Also picked up a used Corgi Green Zero (1/72) not too long ago to go along with my Shinden. These are the only 2 Japanese plane of this scale in my collection .

[Dauntless]

I like the Shinden a lot. Wish someone would make one pre-built.

That Corgi Zero is suppose to be ace of aces Nishizawa's. It's an old mold with lots of gaps etc.
I bought that one and quite a few more Corgi's till I found a better one in that scale by Witty Wings.
They can be had quite inexpensively. All but the last few releases have fixed gear down. The more expensive ones are optional gear up/ down. Even then they are not that expensive.
http://www.aikensairplanes.com/zero-a6m ... y-72001-6/

I never realized there were so many different variants of the Zero till I started looking closely at them. Most of the differences are with the engines.

It's hard to beat the old 1:32 21st Century Toys Zero, or the 1:18 BBI, but they are no longer made. It's why I started collecting the smaller die cast models.

[cnq]

Thanks Dauntless. Yes the Shinden is a very unique aricraft and it's one of my favorite planes of WW2. I thought that someone here got the Shinden (prebuilt) model from Japan Or may be it was in 1/144 ??
The Corgi Zero on the other hand is not too bad for the price I paid for it and they both display well together .