The Little World

I’m just back from the hobby shop with three pots of paint and a new kit for the stash.

It wasn’t an impulse buy – I have had it on the acquisition roster for some time, and just wanted to see what was available around town before I opened the wallet. I’d also asked around the traps to see which maker was producing the best kit. It’s a 1:72 plane that has multiple suppliers

Well, it has multiple prices, too…and some of them are a challenge to the credulity.

Okay – let’s start out by setting the criteria for a Little Workshop/ Little Studio model. It must be 1:72 or 1:76 scale. I can stretch to 1:87 if I have to in railway equipment but that is subsidiary to the main focus. I don’t do 1:48 or 1:32-1:35. Lovely stuff, but no space to branch that far out.

The model must, for the most part, be injection moulded – I have to accept some resin parts in the small-maker European kits but I’m not going to go vacform. Oddly enough, I am willing to accept die casts and toys that have potential.

I do not need the ultra-detail that people seek to win contests. I am not in competition with myself ( I know me and I would not fight fair…). I do not need detailing kits, photo-etch, or alternative packs. I can make what I need for the most part out of the box.

I do not need exact markings in-box – I have sources of decal sets and a printer.

I do need the kit to be good value for money. For the most part, I’ll pay a standard flat rate of $ 20 per engine. I am prepared to increase this to $ 30 if the model is completely different and absolutely necessary for my collection, but the manufacturer that asks me to shell out $ 55 per engine based upon box art and photo-etched toilet paper holders in the crew’s head get’s no interest.

If I find someone prepared to give me a single engine for $ 15 or a twin for $ 20 I’ll purchase immediately and modify the kit cheerfully if needed – that kind of value encourages creativity.

Thus my shopping trip today passed by the new Airfix C-47 and settled upon an older Italeri kit that was 1/3 of the price. It neatly fits within the engine rule and gives me a chance to try a maker that I’ve not used yet.

The model airplane world must have the same sort of fanatics that the model train world has. But in this case it might be the  non-rivet counters rather than the other way round. Panel-line counters? Contour fascists? Colour vigilantes?

I am more likely to yield to the bean-counters. Particularly as I like beans and I’m paying for them.