The Little World

Kits that have been started by another modeller are traditionally lower priced than pristine ones.

I suppose this would be reversed if the original builder was Leonardo da Vinci, but so few of his plastic models seem to have survived the Reformation…

I got this aircraft kit from the clearance of a legacy stash and the original gentleman had only completed two operations; the cockpit tray in one fuselage half and the radar bin assembly. The latter is fine as is, but the former was been removed for interior painting. He did it well, but it will colour up better this way. And I can detail the dash. This maker is not heavy on interior detail.

The maker – Idea Model Company – seems to have been a Korean knock-off factory of the 1970’s that supplied copies of other Asian model-maker’s moulds to the western market – like to Mastercraft in Canada. This model may have murky origins, but as a person who also has many iterations of emigration in his family…I don’t care. I get a Grumman Tracker that I can tog out in Royal Canadian Navy colours at a bargain price. I shall make it in honour of the original buyer.

If there are seams to fill and fillers to fudge, I am prepared to do so. It will be a good basic structure to drape decoration upon. We shall get along very well.

Note: if you ever purchase a started kit, do so with realistic expectations. The original builder may have done things to a museum standard – in which case you are getting a shortcut to success. They may have made an average job of whatever they tackled – and you must decide whether you can raise the standard or just go along with it. Either way works, if you are realistic.

If the start of the kit is bad – bad seams, bad joints, bad surfaces – try to find this out before you start either building or paying, because you can make yourself sad either way. Decline it gracefully, and realise that some zombies cannot be revitalised.