Category: The Plastic Addiction

Remember when I told you that I tend to work in "families" when I build models?  Here's the latest addition, in 1/72 scale.  I might add that I don't usually do these types of subjects in the smaller scale–I like 1/48 for WWII fighters–but these were very nice (and very quick) projects.

(A note: I recently purchased a new digital camera, and I'm still playing with the settings.  Forgive the quality of the pictures while I figure the new camera out…)

Without further ado…

_{A pair of 1/72 Kawasaki fighters, the Ki-61 (left) and Ki-100 (right).  The Ki-61 was built from a Hasegawa kit (almost out of the box, I did add a control stick).  The Ki-100 was from a FineMolds kit–it was given to me several years ago partially completed.  I merely cleaned up a few seams, added the canopy, scratchbuilt a tailwheel (the original white metal one had gone AWOL), and painted the lot.}

_{Another two-shot.  It is easy to see where they modified the Ki-100 to take the radial powerplant.}

_{The Ki-61.  I've since painted the wingtip position lights…}

_{From the rear.  The color scheme might be spurious, but I like it–it was the easier of the two provided in the kit, so I went with it.  Did I mention that this was a quickie build?}

_{The Ki-100 from the front.  That huge powerplant dominates the photo.}

_{And from the rear.  You might be able to make out where the nose section was gloved to accept the round motor.}

So, there you have the photos.  The story behind the build is this–I was given the Ki-100 several years ago.  A good friend of mine had built 99% of the model, and I guess lost interest in 1/72 scale, so he gave it to me.  Rather than give it away yet again, I decided to give it a good home.  It was put into the stash and promptly forgotten during our last move.  During my recent inventory effort, I re-discovered it.  It looked like all I need to do was touch up some seams and paint the whole lot.  As I got closer to the finishing stage, I realized that the white metal tailwheel was missing.  Enter the Ki-61…

The FineMolds Ki-100 was based on the Hasegawa Ki-61, judging from the instruction sheet for the former.  Well, I found a Ki-61 kit for a decent price and decided to get it to use the tailwheel from it.  Well, once I got the kit home, I realized that the tailwheel was molded to the fuselage.  It would make copying it very difficult, and I didn't have the heart to steal the tailwheel and render the Ki-61 an orphan, so I used the Ki-61 tailwheel as a pattern to scratchbuild a similar unit for the Ki-100.  When I was getting the Ki-100 ready for paint, I decided that the Ki-61 would make a nice companion piece.  It was built, out of the box (well, nearly so–I added a control stick that you can't see) and it took maybe all of a week and a half.

Paints used were Tamiya's JA Green and JA Gray, Floquil Railroad acrylic ATSF Silver for the Ki-100 undersides, and Testor Acryl RLM04 yellow with a drop of red added to deepen the color.  Cockpits are RLM79 (well, at least on the Ki-61–I suspect it to be likewise for the Ki-100, although I didn't do the cockpit on that one).  Decals were kit items, applied over a Future base coat.  Final flat was Acryl.

I could go into the history behind the Ki-61 and Ki-100, but Wikipedia does it so much better…

Next up in the paint shop:  a Monogram 1/48 scale A-10A to be painted as AF80-221 from the 18 TFS in March 1982 during Operation Cool Snow Hog.  Yes, it is the one that had the white camouflage over the standard Euro-1 color scheme…

Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

I can't speak for anyone else when it comes to the what/why/when/how they build, and I won't try to.  I won't presume to tell anyone else how to build their models, or why they should.  I will tell anyone who listens that they can do whatever they put their mind to–an answer to the proclamation,"I could never do that!"  Yes, you can.  It isn't difficult to do–back in the day, we experimented with techniques, products, and materials until we happened upon something that worked.  Later on, as clubs gained in popularity, you could ask the other members.  Now, with the Interwebs, you can post the same question to a few dozen forums and get hundreds–if not thousands–of answers within an hour.

As for me, I fall into several of the loose groups of "categories" that modelers tend to get dumped into these days.  Most of the time, I'm a casual builder, building models largely out of the box to suit one person–me.  Usually, the model is anticlimactic–as Deep Purple said it in "Knockin' At Your Back Door", "It's not the kill / It's the thrill of the chase."  The meat of the project is the research for almost all of my projects.  Sometimes, the research will be brief, but I will find something that interests me–unusual paint scheme, interesting history–and take it from there.  Sure, there are the times when I'll pick up a kit and have at it.  Even then, though, I do manage to do a quick bit of research on the subject.  

From time to time, I'll get involved in a project that requires more research than others–and these projects usually involve a limited-run kit.  Some of the earlier efforts lacked details and the only way you could discover them was to look at photos.  Some examples include Special Hobby's 1/48 Ju-87A kit where you were instructed to add some details in the cockpit.  The instructions weren't clear on what and where, so I had to source some photos to help in the additions.  Digging for the information was a bit of a challenge, since it wasn't exactly thick on the ground.  I haven't done a web search, but I'll bet there is more information floating around cyberspace now than there was ten years ago.

Another project that I'm in the middle of that has required more research than I usually put into a project is Special Hobby's 1/48 Macchi C.200 kit.  While it is better out of the box than their Stuka was (the benefit of four or five years experience on their part), there are still areas that come up a bit short.  The details are better, for sure, but I didn't like their method of attaching the main gear struts.  There was a shallow dimple in the upper wing and a small pimple on the top of the struts, which in this kit were a bit on the oval side.  Even if they managed to be round, I knew that the gear attachment wouldn't hold up for a minute.  So, I did what I thought would make a stronger landing gear system–and, in effect, rebuilt 99% of it as well as add missing details.  Some photos of the gear well:

^{Here's the left side, unmodified–see the dimple?}

^{And the right side–notice the strut well liner (not quite complete) and gear trunnion with a moutning hole for the new strut made from scrap sprue}

You'll notice that the added detail isn't superdetailing by any stretch–it is merely adding bits and bobs until the end effect approaches what I see in photos of the 1:1.  I don't try to represent every hose, harness, line, fitting, and connector–but I have great respect for those modelers who do.  A friend said to me, "I could never do that.", to which I answered "Yes, you can.  All it took was some basic materials and time."  Sorry, I can't locate the strut photos right now, but they were rebuilt using aluminum tubing and paper that had been saturated with CA (aka Super Glue)–when the CA cures, you're left with a thin, flexible material similar to plastic.  The only parts of the struts I kept were the fork castings.  It took maybe an hour for each strut, and the wells took an hour each.  Nothing difficult about that–Chef Martin Yan used to sign off on his shows with his signature, "If Yan can cook, so can you."  Well, If I can do the detailing work, so can you.  I'm no modeling God…

Back when I first started surfing the Web, I made the acquaintance of Al Supercynzski.  His signature was "Build what YOU like, the way YOU want to…and the critics will flame you every time!"  I can think of no wiser words when it comes to modeling.  Each one of us derives our own satisfaction, enjoyment, or compensation from the hobby in our own way.  Build your models to the best of your ability.  There's more than enough room for all of us.  Al's gone now, but his words live on…

Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

I've already told you a little bit about the stash I've assembled over the years. By some standards, it is large, by some it is paltry, but all the kits were acquired because I intended to build them. I still do, as a matter of fact, but…

My current inventory count is somewhere in the high 1,800's. Why so many? Well, the first reason is access—having worked in hobby shops, the kits are readily available and carry an employee discount. That would explain the half-dozen copies of Classic Airframes' P-6E kit to go with the four of their F4B-3 (the plan was to kitbash a few of them to get an F4B-4). It also explains why I have every variant of the F-111 in 1/72 scale, and how I managed to get a bunch of the Hasegawa 1/200 scale “Purple Box” L-1011 TriStar kits and decals to go with them.

But I digress. I do have collections mapped out for all those kits. To wit:

1/48 scale World War Two aircraft. This was my original collection, and much of the stash fits this description. At the beginning, everything was 1/48 scale—fighters, trainers, bombers—but these days I limit it to fighters and twins in 1/48 scale, all the four-engine heavies are now in 1/72 scale. To be honest, even the twin bombers are in 1/72 scale, but they're repeated in 1/48. One of these days, I'll decide which scale to stick to for the larger subjects…

1/72 scale modern aircraft. I branched into jets after building Monogram's then-new F-105G kit while in my sophomore year of college—I'm a Thud fan, and the kit was then and still is a very good kit. I donated that model to the AFROTC Detachment there at the school, and a year or so later decided I wanted an F-111. Well, back in those days, the only 'Vark kit in 1/48 scale was the Monogram revision of the Aurora kit—it ain't much to look at. The more I started to look critically at the kit, the more I was convinced that I could never get it to meet my standards (which were then and still are fairly lax—if I can compare the model to a photo and see discrepancies, I'll either fix them, ignore them, or simply don't build the kit.) and I gave it to a friend who thought it was the best think since bottled beer. I went to the local hobby shop and found Monogram's 1/72 F-105G and built it. Basically, it was a smaller version of the kit I built the year (or so) before. I decided that a 1/48 scale Thud was the same size as a 1/48 scale B-25, and I had already started to downsize that group, so I stuck to 1/72 for the jets as well. A few years ago, I realized that there was no way that I would ever build one-let alone two—1/72 scale Convair B-36 Peacemakers. Hobbycraft had just released their 1/144 scale kits, so I decided that modern bombers would be done in 1/144 scale, so that became a collection-within-the collection…

1/35 scale armor. After college, I caught the armor bug. It came on slowly—a Sherman here, a Panther there—and before I could say “General Patton”, I had a whole bunch of armor kits. When we moved, I culled the stuff I was sure that I'd never build—mostly German WWII—and sold it off in favor of the modern tanks, multi-wheeled armored cars, and anything from the Middle East wars. I've been pretty good at keeping within the framework, although I've added WWII Mediterranean Theater equipment to the list—which has had the consequence that I've replaced a lot of the kits I sold off. Never fails…

1/350 scale ships. Ship fever has always been with me, since I built Revell's Arizona kits—1/720 and 1/426 scale—multiple times. I've settled on U.S. Navy and selected others in 1/350 scale. I dallied with 1/700 scale (and still have some aircraft carrier kits in the smaller scale) and 1/400 scale, but I've decided that I can get most of what I want in 1/350 scale without a lot of hassle, and wait on the rest. If nobody does an injection molded kit, there's always resin.

1/144 and 1/200 scale airliners. I've always had a soft spot for Air Florida and Braniff, and those two carriers form the basis of my airliner collection. I also have been known to toss in some Southern Airways, Delta, Eastern, and European carriers into the mix, too. Narrow-bodies get done in 1/144 scale, wide-bodies in 1/200…

1/24 and 1/25 scale automobiles. I started out collecting MOPAR musclecars (Road Runners, 'Cudas, and the like) and NASCAR Stock Cars. Well, the sheer numbers of subjects I want to do has meant a pretty large collection…

100mm and 120mm Military Miniatures. I've been ignoring this group for far too long—I started collecting figures when Michael Roberts was producing his superb 100mm figures from the American Civil War. It has been a few years since I painted a figure, I should probably get back to work on one soon…

Also, each collection has some collections-within-the-collection. I have a 1/72 scale USCG collection, a 1/48 scale Century Series collection, a 1/48 scale Florida Air National Guard collection, and the beginnings of a 1/48 scale South Carolina Air National Guard collection. I've already mentioned the IDF and WWII Italian and Braniff and Air Florida collections as well.  Sometimes, they can be pretty straightforward, other times, they can get convoluted a bit…

Having all those models in the stash can be troublesome. Moving them all is a hassle—and I've done it eight times! They take up a lot of space, for sure. They add temptation to stray from a current project–or, on the flip side, they get forgotten.  And, even if I were to finish one model a week for the rest of my natural lifetime without buying anything new, I'd wager I still wouldn't finish what I have. The answer? SIDNA…

SIDNA—Stuff I Don't Need Anymore—is exactly as the name implies. Every now and then, I'll do what a friend calls a Fleet Rationalization Plan where I go through the stash and cull those kits that have either been superseded by better ones or subjects that I'm fairly sure that I'll not build anytime soon. They get sold off at shows, via the Interwebs, or at kit auctions. I'm about due again…

And even after I cull the dead inventory, I still have a backlog of kits in work. Right now:

1/72 scale FineMolds Ki-100b, started by a friend. He gave it to me several years back, all it needs is a tailwheel (the original got lost) and paint. Not my usual scale for single-engine WWII fighters, but this is a nice little kit—or so it appears. I'm looking forward to getting it finished.

1/48 Revell (Monogram) A-10A. This is one of those “For Someone Other Than Me” kits, and it is shaping up nicely.

1/700 USS Independence, being converted to USS Cowpens. This is one of those rare small-scale ships I have in the collection, and is currently more of a back burner kit than anything else, especially since Dragon released their 1/350 scale kit a few months ago!

1/35 Sturmgescheutz IV. This is one I'm doing as part of a group build with the local AMPS Chapter, and I'm woefully behind…

1/48 Special Hobby Aermacchi C.200. No progress lately, and there really needs to be some soon. I have to get this one finished and in the books. There's a review that needs to be done…five or six years later (don't be alarmed–the in-box look was done in a timely fashion).

And, on the back-burner, I have:

1/48 scale Monogram F-106A. If there ever was a back-burner project, this is it. I started this one in 1995. I decided to re-scribe the panel lines. What was I thinking….

1/24 Monogram 1995 Dale Earnhardt Silver Monte Carlo SS Stock Car. This is another kit I started years ago (1995), I finally unearthed it during the latest inventory effort. And now I find out that there might be a new set of decals for the same scheme coming out—this one might wait a little longer.

Reheat 120mm Space Shuttle/SR-71/U-2/ER-1 pilot. He's painted for the most part, I just need to do some of the detail painting. You'd think I'd sit down for a few hours and do it….

120mm Reheat Neil Armstrong on the moon. Someday, I'll finish this one. The basic figure is built and primed…has been since about 1999!

 1/144 scale Minicraft C-32/Boeing 757 with Ethiopian Airlines decals. Another review sample (the review was done ages ago—1998 or thereabouts), the decals were produced by a company that's been out of business for at least five years. If the kit itself weren't so horrible…

I promise, I'll make the time–once the days stretch to thirty hours long….

Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

Over the years, I've changed my take on modeling events.  At one time, I would attend every event I could, while these days I'll go to most of the events within a few hours' drive, but I don't feverishly plan my vacation time around the model calendar.  There are a few reasons behind that–first, I'm in an area where you have to travel further to go to most of the events, which tend to be one-day affairs rather than the weekend events I'm accustomed to; where I used to be very active with the local IPMS Chapter (I held office for nearly 8 years, 7 as Chapter President), I've just now started attending Chapter meetings here in South Carolina after a 10-year absence from the club scene; and, finally, my impression of what the events should be has changed.

When I say "Modeling event", what comes to mind for you?  A contest?  Exhibition?  Both?  Neither?  Let's take a look at them and then you can decide.

First, let's look at contests.  By definition, a contest is a competition between two or more individuals or teams for a prize or recognition.  That's Wikipedia's definition, by the way, but I'm sure Mr. Webster's is pretty much the same.  In any case, a model competition is where modelers bring their completed models, submit them for some sort of judging, and awards of some sort are given to the "best" models in attendance.  While I have no problem with this in theory, far too often I see bent feelings and heartache when someone toils for months to build a "Contest Winner" only to see it fall by the wayside.  I also don't see eye-to-eye with some of the organizations and the way they judge the models.  To understand, let's take a look at some of the various judging schemes in use…

1.  People's Choice.  The easiest one to understand, everyone who attends the event–whether they are there as an entrant or just to look around–is given a ballot.  They are told to write down their favorite model (or models), and the model or models that get the highest number of votes wins.  The selection criteria is strictly by what the attendees like that day–usually the biggest, or most colorful model on the tables wins.  This is fine if all you want to do is have a winner in some way, shape, or form, but it generally comes down to a popularity contest.  Nothin' wrong with that, if that's what you want…

2.  Tiered, aka "The IPMS/USA system", aka 1-2-3.  The models are divided into classes and categories, ie., Aircraft, 1/48-1/71 scale, Single Engine, Axis.  All models that fit this category are judged against a basic set of rules and against each other.  In short, the model with the fewest number of flaws (as defined by the judging guide) wins that category.  The winners from each category within a class are then judged in the same manner to arrive with a Class winner, then all of the class winners are again judged to arrive with a Best Of Show.  Each category usually sees a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and sometimes an Honorable Mention award.  Probably the best system to use with a large number of models–you can winnow the contenders down fairly quickly–the major issue I have with this system is that it offers little in the way of feedback to the modeler since, by the time he knows the results, the judges are long gone, or can't remember why his model placed where it did.  That being said, IPMS/USA has the system tweaked to where it runs like a well-oiled machine, especially at the National Convention level.

3.  Open Judging, aka "The Chicago System", aka Gold-Silver-Bronze, aka "The AMPS system".  Under this scheme, each model is judged to a written standard–so many points for construction, so many points for finish, etc., etc.  Each model is judged to the same standard, and each model usually gets a written score sheet.  The scores get tallied up for each model, and the medals are awarded.  There is usually a minimum score required to medal–say something like 70-80 points earns a bronze medal, 81-90 gets a Silver, and 91-100 gets a Gold.  There are no limits as to how many of each medal are awarded.  I like this system simply because the judges tell you, via the score sheet, where you did well and where you need to improve your skills.  There has been much debate whether this system would work for a show that sees close to 1,000 entries…

4.  Hybrids.  Some shows do the tiered judging as well as a People's Choice, and several organizations have used a modified Open system that combines the best of the Open and tiered  criteria.

Is there a "right" judging system?  Well, sure.  Each and every one I've outlined are "right" for the organizations that use them.  Dead horses have been beaten unmercifully over judging systems and the benefits/drawbacks of same…

Anyway, I used to compete, and I've won a few awards, but that's not why I entered.  I enter contests to support the group who spent lots of time and money to host the event.  I go with the idea that I'm showing off what I've built and if they happen to win a plaque, medal, or other trinket because someone else liked them, that's fine.  If they don't win anything, that's fine, too.

Which brings me to the topic of exhibitions.  I'd be perfectly fine with a model exhibition, where you came, put the models on a table for people to look at for the day, then pack up and go home.  No judging, no bent feelings, none of that.  Problem is, most modelers–at keast those in the United States–won't do that.  If they don't stand a chance of winning something, they won't bother.  I don't understand that line of thought, because I've never been able to figure out what an award adds to the model.  I know when I've built a good model, and when I've built a clunker–I don't need a judge or a score sheet that tells me so.  I understand the line of thought that says you need to know where you stand as a modeler, but there is a group of modelers who sees competition as the end-all, be-all goal of modeling and get quite upset when the results don't fall in their favor.  That, more than anything, is why I tend to stay away from competition these days.  I've seen grown men throw tantrums when none of their 60+ entries didn't even place.  I've seen heated discussions degrade to where the "insulted party" nearly resorted to throwing punches.  Is it worth all that, really?  I guess if that's what you're all about, but I have enough drama in my day-to-day life without injecting more–especially over little plastic airplanes, tanks, cars, and ships.

Famous quips that relate–From the movie Caddyshack:  

Judge Smails: Ty, what did you shoot today?
Ty Webb: Oh, Judge, I don't keep score.
Smails: Then how do you measure yourself with other golfers?
Ty: By height.

And, from celebrated modeler Sheperd Paine: "If you want to compete, take up tennis.  This type of thing is just not something you need to compete with.  It's about having fun."

I've told folks that I've retired from competition, which is largely true.  The main reason?  You might be surprised, as it has little to do with what I've outlined–I have such a full plate that my completion rate is way down from what it used to be when I would go to every contest I could.  So, why do I attend these events?  The same reasons I started attending them in the first place–I like to look at the craftsmanship on display.  I like to talk to friends–or make new ones.  I like to learn from other modelers.  And, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like wandering the vendor tables looking for stuff I "need"…

Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another.  I bid you Peace.

This morning, while surfing my usual haunts on the Interwebs, I came across a post that announced the passing of Robert Reder, founder of Monogram Models.  My modeling career may have started with a Revell kit, but it most certainly was honed on Monogram's products.  From the Snap-Tite kit of the L'il Red Baron, to the actual Red Baron show car, and through their line of 1/48 scale World War Two aircraft kits, Monogram Models kept me occupied for many an hour as a youngster.  

Another recent passing that I've learned of is that of George Toteff, long time employee of Aluminum Model Toys (you know them as AMT) and later as the founder of Model Products Corporation (MPC).  One of George's lasting contributions to the hobby is slide molding, since a car body could be molded in one piece.  Before that, bodies were multiple pieces that had to be assembled–fine for kits, but for promotionals, not so much.

And, while not confirmed per se, another thread has announced that Accurate Miniatures is again gone.  When the first iteration of AM hit the scene, their new kits of previously kitted subjects (SBD Dauntless, TBF/M Avenger, early B-25 Mitchell, all in 1/48 scale) were head and shoulders above the previous kits of those subjects, and they also introduced new kits of others (Allison-engined P-51's in 1/48 scale, McLaren M8B, and Grand Sport Corvettes in 1/25 scale).  While there were issues–mainly releases of kits many months or years after they were initially announced–the kits were then and continue to be quite good.  The original company, according to the Wikipedia article, ran into some trouble and became insolvent.  The company was bought and while high hopes spread, the simple fact is that nothing truly new was produced.  They released the SB2U Vindicators that the original firm had done the tooling for, and they also released some Monogram kits (1/72 scale P6E, P-51, P-40, and F-4C and F-4J; 1/48 SB2C Helldiver), none of the new owner's announced new tool kits–or even modifications of the existing kits–came to fruition.  What a shame…although someone will probably pick up the pieces and start again.

Thanks for reading.  Save a thought for the Reder and Toteff families and the employees of Accurate Miniatures, be good to one another, and as always, I bid you Peace.

I've been putting something together in my head for a few days now–namely, a review of a kit that doesn't seem to have been reviewed anywhere else.  I'm usually hesitant to do reviews–what might be okay to me isn't to you, and what you find acceptable is glaringly bad to me.  Also, I've already told you that unless I see something badly out of whack on a model when compared to a photo of the 1:1, I won't lose sleep over it.  Others, though, can't live unless every panel line and rivet is an exact 1/72 scale copy of the original.  All I am really looking for in a review is what the kit has, what it doesn't have, and what I need to do to fix it.  I'll decide from there. 

Anyway, here goes:

I picked up a copy of the Kinetic 1/72 F-16I "Sufa" (Kit 72001) recently.  We'll cover The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly…

The Good:  It is a 1/72 Sufa, complete with a selection of ordnance for the low, low price of about $30 US Dollars–and if you shop around, you can find it cheaper.  Previous rumblings on the Interwebs about their 1/48 scale F-16's indicated that the nose drooped excessively, but the 1/72 scale kit didn't seem to have this problem when I compared it to a built-up Hasegawa Barak.

The Bad:  It is based heavily on Hasegawa's decades-old F-16 kit.  The cockpit, like Hasegawa's kits, is rather basic with the same anemic ACES II seats.  Also, Kinetic must not have realized that the Sufa was based on the Block 52 airframe and repeated what most of the other kit manufacturers have done in the past by not including the heavyweight landing gear–the Block 40/42 and Block 50/52 airframes all have this.  Some of the detail is also on the soft side, including some of the characteristic lumps and bumps that make it a Sufa.

The Ugly:  I think I know where the Matchbox trench digger is now.  The panel lines aren't quite as wide and deep as Matchbox's kits used to have, but again, for a kit tooled in 2010 they should be sharper and more petite.  Actually, the same goes for the rest of the detailing, a lot of which is on the soft side.  The static dischargers look like tree branches.  There were also a few ejection towers inside the parts that need to be trimmed away.  

Bottom line:  Yeah, it's a Sufa, but it will take some of that modeling work to bring it up to snuff.  Hasegawa also has a 1/72 Sufa kit, bit it too is based on their long-in-the-tooth F-16 molds.  At $40 MSRP, you'll still have to pony up more cash for the Skunk Works Models IDF Weapons sets.  

For me, I can deal with the soft detail–yeah, for $30 I shouldn't have to, but I knew going in that it was a Kinetic kit and the "Some Modeling Experience Helpful" label appeared in my head.  The fact that it includes ordnance for $10 less that Hasegawa's kit goes a long way with me–I can do an awful lot of detailing and panel line filling for that $10 (plus whatever you have to shell out for the additional ordnance kit).  The lack of the heavyweight landing gear is, to me, inexcusable–the Block 40 airframes have been out for some time now, so it isn't as if Lockheed Martin just decided to retrofit the fleet yesterday.  You can't really fake it, either, as there is the attendant bulge that goes along with the gear.  Hasegawa, in the past, has thrown in some struts, wheels, and bulged doors but in reality the bulge continues onto the fuselage.  That's where this kit really falls down–lack of research and originality.  Again, will the cost differential tilt your decision?  A bit of epoxy putty should fix the bulge issue, but nobody has yet given the 1/72 scale modeler the proper heavyweight gear parts…

Someone mentioned that they hoped Revell AG would do the Sufa trick with their two-holer F-16 kit, but that kit represents a Bravo model.  They'd have to do a Delta model, then add the spine, lumps, bumps, and CFT's before they could get a Sufa.  And Revell, add the heavyweight gear when you do…

Until someone tools up an up-to-date 1/72 F-16 series (Tamiya?  They got the one-holers from Block 25-up covered in 1/48 scale, and the way those kits are broken down should make the station wagon an easy jump–then all they'd need to do is put it in the same shrinking machine they've used on their 1/48 P-51's, Corsairs, and a few of their other kits), we're left to choose between Kinetic and Hasegawa.  And I'll probably get the Hasegawa kit at some point to compare and contrast with Kinetic's kit…either should make a nice companion to my Hasegawa Barak.

Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.