Call out to modelers

[Splitpin]

It seems everything I decide to do is either, "out of stock", or "no longer available" except for Chopper nut and his C-47 ...Cheers young Nick
I'm now looking for two more kits:

Both 1/144 scale, the Revell A-400M, and a DC-8-50 (as used by Air New Zealand)
Decals for both are irrelevant, it's just the bones I'm looking for.

[chopper_nut]

Sorry, can't help with either of those. The only airliner we have is a 1/200 747-200. On that note though, we're starting to clear some kits out. A bit of old Airfix, Frog etc. Mostly from the 70s and 80s. If anybody is after something specific, let me know.

[chopper_nut]

Here is the link to the kitset inventory. This is also up on a group on Facebook. Open to reasonable offers and buyer pays shipping or can be picked up from Nelson. Coloured items may still be built so read the key.

[Splitpin]

Nick , what a stash ....that 747-200 is definitely out of place, poor thing.
PM me a price mate ....what brand is it?

[Splitpin]

I found a DC-8-50.....in Florida, so I should see that at Christmas ...USPS is incredibly slow. It's a bagged re-release from Minicraft , and is coming from a decal company.
However, I did have a win today, Ironhorse hobbies here in NZCH, mentioned on their website, that they had secured some new "old" Airfix stuff, including 2 1/72 Dakota IV's.
Reviews of the kit on Hyperscale, Brit Modler etc all rate it well, with the rivet counter faults of course ...so I grabbed it and will pick it up tomorrow.

[aerofoto]

If you want a DC-8-50 specifically Marty then probably the best way to go is in search of the 1/72 scale kit by MACH 2 MODELS ....





PP1 REVIEW
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/ind ... -airlines/

PP2 REVIEW
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/ind ... es/page/2/

PP3 REVIEW
http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/ind ... es/page/3/


Just how good it Is I can't speculate .... I don't have it (although I have almost every other DC-8 kit ever produced) .... and I've still not actually read the above builder reviews yet either (all models have their idiosycrasies), but, by face value it seems to look OK.

Never seen this kit "HERE" in NZ though.

Probably only procurable from Europe or the UK/HANNANTS (it "is" currently there as of today) .... MACH 2 MODELS have released a number of different livery boxings of the same DC-8-50 kit ..... and again for their other DC-8 kits too

And if you're wanting TE/NZ decals for it then that could be "A PROBLEM" .... unless the guy in WEL might be convinced into knocking something up for you and with a view to maybe supplying the commercial after market for this particular kit as another livery option.

Did "A LOT" of trips on our DC-8-52's during the 70's .... always seeming to end up on ZK-NZA and -NZC though .... the same as I always seemed to end up on DC-10-30's ZK-NZM, -NZN, and -NZS too.

Miss the sight and sound of our DC-8's today ....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVtllgMagVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOjR13rQEnE


Partly the reason why I knocked out this out a wee while back .... although the imposition of PB's policies are currently rendering some of the imagery lost and I've no time, at the moment, to replace any of it ....

https://tonymadgehjg.proboards.com/thre ... inal-story


.... and in any case the supporting 3D model use within the above-linked feature is changing now anyway as follows ....


5X PAGES
https://tonymadgehjg.proboards.com/thre ... -restarted

Mark C
AKL/NZ

[Splitpin]

The Mach 2 stuff looks good ...Hannants have a few, but not at $162.00 NZD plus post thank you.
You would think some of the kit makers would notice the demand for DC-8s and do some tooling...not everybody wants Boeings.

[chopper_nut]

Airliners are a bit of a niche thing. If you want anything from Hannants, Zac and I do orders reasonably frequently.

[Splitpin]

Nick ...I did spot a 1/72 737-200

[chopper_nut]

£70 worth

[aerofoto]

not at $162.00 NZD plus post

It's a very big kit Marty (like the HELLER 1/72 B707-320B/C too .... of which I acquired a few) .... hence that very big accompanying price tag, but, it's probably the best that can be acquired and maybe worth every penny of it.

It's certainly the only "clean" kit of a DC-8-50 currently available.

You would think some of the kit makers would notice the demand for DC-8's and do some tooling...not everybody wants Boeings.

I think it's a phase the kit market goes through .... like the appeal of DC-4's, DC-6's, and CONSTELLATION's probably being greater now than during the 1960's and especially if marketed with the right selections of classic liveries.

HELLER produced a 1:125 DC-8-30 kit (not a great kit though).

REVELL produced 1:144 DC-8-10 and SUPER 61 kits .... often erroneously marketed as DC-8-50's and SUPER 63's (now very old kits by today's molding standards).

NITTO/DOYUSHA produced a 1:200 DC-8 SUPER 61 kit .... and a 1:100 DC-8 SUPER 62 kit also.

MINICRAFT produced 1:144 DC-8 SUPER 63, SUPER -71, and SUPER -73 kits .... and also produced a selection of very good 1:144 B707's too (all within the past 25 years).

The above are the very best of the bunch (along with the MACH 2 1:72 DC-8-39 and 50 kits) among the few "good" DC-8 kits that've ever been produced and marketed.

Some master modelers have built DC-8-50's and SUPER -62's by cutting sections from fuselages of DC-8 SUPER 61 kits (I understand the MINICRAFT SUPER 63 kit may actually have lines scribed into its interior fuselage sections to facilitate this), then, acquire after-market resin parts for engine types, nacelles, pylons, and wings to complete their custom builds .... BUT .... this can be "a very complex business" and is probably not recommended unless one's "a master modeler".

Like I mentioned in regard to the recent popularity of DC-4, DC-6, and CONSTELLATION kits .... there's bound to come a time, in the future, when there's a resurgence of kit interest in DC-8's .... and possibly even DC-10's too.

Just a matter of "time".

AS "CHOPPER NUT" related .... airliners are a "niche thing" within the world of plastic modelling. They're definitely less popular than most other kit represented aviation subjects. Most retailers find civil aircraft kits just sit around on their shelves for a very long time .... and of course unsold stock doesn't make money. Because they're less popular most kit producers limit what they produce in regard to airliners .... or avoid producing them altogether .... or produce them in smaller scales (like 1:200) to aid reducing production costs whilst also trying to meet demands of this much smaller enthusiast market .... whilst kit retailers limit what they purchase and offer for sale.

Another thing that began hitting the kit industry from the late 1970's too and particularly in regard to civil aircraft kit subjects .... is that BOEING began demanding royalties from the marketing of kits of all aircraft types it represents and even had US Customs impound supply of unlicensed products (by comparison AIRBUS are reputed to have paid AIRFIX to produce the A300B .... and paid REVELL to similarly produce the A310 around this same period .... and McDONNELLL-DOUGLAS apparently had no objections whatsoever), whilst some airlines also began doing similar in respect of their names/logos/brandings too .... all of which has't helped much by making these already "niche market" products a little less profitable to produce

A brief word of advice to people, in NZ, whom "DO" appreciate airliner kits. Some of the ZVEZDA 1:144 civil aircraft kits are actually quite good (lots of western subjects represented among classic Soviet era types too), but, being "Russian produced" I suspect these may become more difficult to acquire later on .... unless the cause of this potential difficulty with future supply is sooner resolved.

Mark C
AKL/NZ

[emfrat]

£70 worth

Not bad for such a "classic"

[Splitpin]

Your all right...if it means that much to me, then it's worth thinking about.
Thanks for the info Mark

[Splitpin]

I've changed direction again
I'm now looking for one of the old ...and rare, 1/72 KC/NC 135 kits. Preferably a KC...with a view to converting to an RC-135W.
Dig into your stash.... do you really need all those kits?

[aerofoto]

You mean "THESE" Marty ? ....













The KC-135A was last released (recently) by ITALERI as follows ....





My prime "beef" against this/the above kit (as now marketed by ITALERI) is the box art clearly advertises an original "short tail" KC-135A, but, the kit parts are for the later/modified "standard/tall tail" aircraft version. This's one of very few occasions I've ever been caught out like this. I bought it because thought the tail had been modified by ITALERI, but, it hadn't. Cutting the kit to specification is possible, but, not something I really want to engage in doing.

Except from EBAY (etc) I think this's the only one of the former AMT/ERTL produced 1:72 scale C-135 SERIES kits than can still be easily procured now. IT was available "HERE" up to a few years ago .... I got mine from IRON HORSE HOBBIES during a discount weekend

HELLER (back in limited production now) have released the former 1:72 AMT/ERTL KC-135R(FR) ....





Another expensive import I'm sorry Marty

Mark C
AKL/NZ

[chopper_nut]

You don't make life easy for yourself do you Marty?? Keep an eye on the chap in Lower Hutt on Trademe, he puts up quite a few old / rare kits and he's not that unreasonable price wise.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/search?memb ... ing=206074

[Splitpin]

Nick , no I dont ...I've become an FOF ...Fickle old fart
Oh Mark, a couple of years back I sold all of those kits on behalf of my brother who needed to cash up. If only I had thought forward ...such is life.
I will try and hunt down that Heller 135, thanks for the heads up.

Nick, I do keep an eye on the dude on trademe...God knows where he finds all that stuff ....have a good weekend chaps