The Little World

Making friends with other model builders is a good idea – they sometimes have large stashes of kits that they bought a long time ago…but have forgotten. They may have changed scales in the meantime.

Then they remember you and the scale you build. And make you a wonderful present of an unbuilt kit or two. Nothing better than a gift kit – I never look them in the intake.

This is a Hobby Boss kit that I have never seen in our local shops – probably was here and gone within a short time. I can never figure that one out – some lines flicker in and out of existence like mayflies while others cling to the shelves like barnacles. I’m a fan of Hobby Boss because they do a good shape with easy build and let a person get onto the modification and decoration all that much sooner.

This one wasn’t on a clear plastic tray – it’s one stage on from that. Three or so sprue trees and good to go. The decals look fine and the painting diagram is as clear as you could ask for. Though I will say that the hues depicted do not match what they are listed to be – but that is the printing of the paper plan, not of the model. I’ve learned not to be caught out by this, though I can still see things on the internet that suggest wrong colour balances.

The only complaint I could ever level at Hobby Boss in my small scale is that they play safe – they do not mould aircraft outside the mainstream – preferring massive sales of the common kit. I recognise that if they do not get busy with new prototypes, I will run through their repertoire in a year or so and be forced to repeat.