The Plastic Model Building Rant Thread

[valkyrie013]

Hi All!
There are a few model building threads in Fan Art, and that's great! This thread is just to discuss the hobby in a general way, Rants about certain manufactures, how the hobby is going, new announcements on new manufactures, maybe announce bigger releases. So, not many general rules, mainly no politics unless its really relevant to the topic.

If you want to do a "Bio" intro on what you build ( Aircraft, sci fi, trek, minis, etc.) and how long, that's quite okay, any modeling questions, like what's the best P-51 kit, is all okay, but do keep it civil if another doesn't agree on your choice

So me,
Building for.. ugh.. 35 years? ( damn I'm old) Most is Gundam, but do enjoy the occasional Aircraft and trek/wars kit. Have done armor and ships, just not many. Can't do cars.. always turns in to a flaming bag of poo. Have a long term goal of making every Marine plane that called Hawaii as home. Not that long a list, but long enough I'm also open to any questions about painting, glue, etc. especially if your new to the hobby and what to learn more!

Bit of news for me, Kitty Hawk closed its doors in June, which was a surprise to me, there kits were... well .. a mixed bag, but some were great, and there Flying Flapjack kit was excellent. Sad to see them go, and hope there kits get picked up by others.

 

[valkyrie013]

Latest sci fi upcoming releases
1/350 ( size of big enterprises) Grissom due late 2021 price? None stated but probably above $50 but less than 80$
https://www.culttvmanshop.com/PREOR...--Price-TBA--PREORDER-RESERVATION_p_6738.html

1/1000 uss voyager , around $46 may be out now but some places are still tba so look around.

https://www.thetrekcollective.com/2020/12/round-2-models-reveal-brand-new-uss.html?m=1

Apparently there thinking of a 1000 scale Enterprise D. The 1400 scale one is 18 inches long, but a 1000 would up that to 25 inches! Huge!

I would like them to restart the 600/650 scale. 1000 is to small for some ships, and 350 is Way to big to display. A 600 NX would be great!

 

[John Clark]

I have quite a few kits still to build, though I'm not quite as steady as I used to be. Some of those kits are rather old though now.

I've probably started building kits forty or so years ago, though it has been a while since I last did any.

Mine were mostly aircraft though there were some SF subjects in there (Mostly movie/tv based).

Right now, unbuilt (and off the top of my head), I have.
ERTL Excelsior,
a F18G, an EA6G Prowler and IAI Kfir (All Hasegawa),
YF23, Bell Whisky Cobra, Sukhoi 27, Mig-29 and a fictional Mig Stealth (Can't recall the make),
B26 Marauder, F4 (UK) Phantom, Grumman Panther (Matchbox)
Aliens APC (Halcyon)
Panavia Tornado (Italiera I think)

There's rather more in the cupboard and I have to get back to them. All the aircraft kits are 1/72nd except the Tornado which is 1/48

I do still have all the old kits I made (though the glue has started to go on one or two)

Typically back in the day, humbrol paints were the easiest to get, but now I think there is only one store locally that sells any kits and they are mostly locked towards Star Wars or Spitfires.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I have built several mostly Star Trek model kits over the years. The most difficult one to build for me was the fiber optic Enterprise D. I have several still in their boxes in a closet that I'd like to put together one day.
I have a Babylon 5 kit and a fiber optic Deep Space 9 I'd like to do but I don't have any supplies anymore for painting them.

 

[shapeshifter]

Pandemic got me back into this hobby. Last I built, well started, was Kronos 1 from STXI back in the day. It was mostly finished when I put it away.

Came across it while rummaging through a box of collectibles and decided to finish it, Haven't. Stopped. Since.

I went online bought and few things with some of my stimulus's checks to keep me busy... the Shenzhou, Discovery, NX-01, (built as refit version) TOS Romulan Bird Of Prey and Klingon Battle Cruiser, Space Seed Ent with Botany Bay, F-104 Starfighter with little 1701, TMP Refit and Reliant, (built pre-battle) an Excelsior (built as NX) TNG Vor'cha and D'deridex class Romulan Warbird, Ent-E, Discoveryprise (FANTASTIC kit!) and a Kelvin.

Waiting to be built; a replacement Voyager, an Excelsior as NCC, a 1/650 scale 1701, a /2500 discoveryprise, Grissom/BOP.

Non Trek, '58 Plymouth Fury, Keaton Batmobile and Jokermobile, '68 Volkswagen Beetle, and a Saturn 5 Apollo 11 Rocket.

Latest sci fi upcoming releases 1/350 ( size of big enterprises) Grissom due late 2021 price? None stated but probably above $50 but less than 80$
https://www.culttvmanshop.com/PREOR...--Price-TBA--PREORDER-RESERVATION_p_6738.html

I am waiting for that!

And this DS9 reissue. My original, bought at a convention and built back in the 90's got crushed in an accident.

1/1000 uss voyager , around $46 may be out now but some places are still tba so look around.
https://www.thetrekcollective.com/2020/12/round-2-models-reveal-brand-new-uss.html?m=1

Like VOY? GET IT! Put a battery powered bulb inside and watch it light up through all those Huge windows.

Apparently there thinking of a 1000 scale Enterprise D. The 1400 scale one is 18 inches long, but a 1000 would up that to 25 inches! Huge!

The 1000 was so fun and easy to build. Soooo sleek, it appears to move even when it is still. Don't Glue the 2 sections together, have fun doing separations! I'd get a 1400 of that ship!

I would like them to restart the 600/650 scale. 1000 is to small for some ships, and 350 is Way to big to display. A 600 NX would be great!

YES. The Shenzhou at 2500 is way too tiny for $30! TIP!: I build my kits to fit in their boxes when not on display, usually by simply making the nacelles or the saucer or both detachable.

I have quite a few kits still to build, though I'm not quite as steady as I used to be. Some of those kits are rather old though now.

Wanna sell any? PM me with kit invoice.

I have built several mostly Stat Trek model kits over the years. The most difficult one to build for me was the fiber optic Enterprise D. I have several still in their boxes in a closet that I'd like to put together one day.

I have one of these, https://www.culttvmanshop.com/assets/images/amt/trekvintage/legendaryspaceencount01.jpg I am thinking about opening and building. I need an Ent-D or two.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I got the 1:400 or 1:350 scale (3' ish) USS Enterprise CVN-65 when I was young. Soooo many pieces. All the planes were separate, all the little bits on the superstructure were separate.


I never did finish that thing.

Built many Star Trek kits over the years, including a few kitbashes.

 

[scotpens]

I started building models at age 7. In fact, I still remember the first two models I ever built: a Cunningham sports car and an MG-TC by Aurora, probably in 1/32 scale.

Nowadays I'm into mostly cars and sci-fi stuff. I'm looking forward to the Moebius Aries-1B moon shuttle from 2001: A Space Odyssey, due sometime around the end of the year. 1/48th scale and 10 inches across -- that's going to be one big display model. Maybe one of the aftermarket guys will come up with a working zero gravity toilet.

 

[John Clark]

Wanna sell any? PM me with kit invoice.

I should mention that most are at least part painted (the internal bits) and this thread did start me off again

A couple of years ago, the answer would have been sure - and don't worry about it.
I was considering giving them away at that point as one of my mates mentioned wanting to start again (But he's not one for taking care of stuff he's had in the past unless he needs to return it)

As for ship building (rather than aircraft or scifi subjects), the only one I ever made was the Golden Hind way back in the day.

I picked up model making as a habit off my Dad who made mostly planes when younger, but before some of the rules came into force (and airsoft came out), some rifles. He picked it up off his father, though plastic kits weren't as common then, so my Grandfather tended to carve all his out of wood. We've still got those too.

 

[publiusr]

I have several kits as part of the Someday Isle….

 

[StarCruiser]

Stacks and stacks of kits, some old, some newer. Star Trek, Star Wars, BSG (classic), Naval, Armor, Cars etc....

Been building models since was about 3 years old. First kit was a ~1957 Ford T-Bird snap kit - bright red. Maybe that has something to do with me really liking red cars?

Even with as many kits as I have, my collection is NOTHING like Forbins!

 

[flandry84]

Started off painting 1/72 scale plastic soldiers then gradually moved into the 28mm historical side of things.However these days my old friends patience,dexterity and eyesight are slowly abandoning me.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I had a huge, and I mean huge model of the USS Nimitz in megabloks, does that count as a model?
It had working elevators a full landing deck and details. It was around 1.5 meters long.

It even came with a compliment of planes to decorate the deck.

 

[Q2UnME]

To the OP: Nice thread, Thank You for starting it....

Well, where to start.... I think I've been building models for 50 years (Christ!)

I've got a storage area off our bonus room with boxes and boxes of model kits waiting to be built (retirement stash). There are some vintage ATM Trek kits up there, bunch of Bandi Star Wars kits and a few Polar Lights Trek kits.

During Covid, I built the Eaglemoss Hero Collection BTTF DeLorean Time Machine. Took 18 months and more money than I'm willing to tell my wife about. Turned out absolutely brilliant and is currently sitting on top of some file cabinets in my office so I can enjoy it almost daily. A couple of months ago I started the Eaglemoss James Bond DB5. About half way into that build.

As for preferred kit manufacturers, well, you can never go wrong with Tamia. Polar Lights puts out a good quality, accurate product. The old ATM/Ertl kits were all over the map in terms of form, fit and function. You could tell their kits slid in quality as the molds used to make them aged over the years (and years and years..). They never invested in new tooling.

Oh, and I'm still pissed to no end that the Model Masters line of paints is now defunct. That was THE paint of choice for decades and decades... I hear the Tamia Acrylic paints are a decent alternative

Q2

PS: Forbin's model stash is a thing of beauty ... Klingon operas have been sung about it ...

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I'm not that into the whole painting thing, I'll put the most important decals on a model and if it looks right to me I'm happy, less the fact I can't see that well even when I was younger so that kind of made painting hard, I kind of love that whole "unadorned look" and that's how I've been doing it for years. This will probably upset a few of the purists.

 

[valkyrie013]

I'm not that into the whole painting thing, I'll put the most important decals on a model and if it looks right to me I'm happy, less the fact I can't see that well even when I was younger so that kind of made painting hard, I kind of love that whole "unadorned look" and that's how I've been doing it for years. This will probably upset a few of the purists.

I

Do what you like to do.
I build for myself. If others like it? Great. If not? Owell, don't care about others opinions, there loss.
If all you do is snap it together with some stickers and your happy,
Good!

To many people think there opinion matters over the person who built the thing. Constructive criticism on how to improve? Sure. Other than that I build for my enjoyment. Not others.

 

[shapeshifter]

There you go. The one it needs to make happy is you. The 3D-edness is the primary draw for me. To pick it up and view it closely from angles you never get on the shows.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

OMG speaking of snaps in the 80s and 90s I was addicted to Monogram models. They made a great selection of glue and snap models and I think at one time I had bought all the snap models from one store. So much fun to put together and decorated in my own unique way.

I have plans for the USS Voyager when it arrives, that's the 1/1000 polar lights kit which is also a snap model. I'm going to build it but spray it silver or gold and have it on display in that fashion.

Also back then I think it was Monogram but they did a lot of highly detailed steam trains in snap form. I had a collection of locomotives, they were all HO scale.

 

[publiusr]

Talk a look at Starship Modeler, All Scale Trek, and Culttvman...

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

Ooh I found a video

This is the one I had but it wasn't Revell, but a Monogram kit in dark green, was also a snap kit with the same details. I did paint the wheels black but the rest was untouched.

EDIT: Did find a video about Monogram kit but not a Big Boy.

 

[publiusr]

Ooohh