The Notable Moments of 2021

Let's take a look back at the best and most interesting models and moments of 2021.

We'll begin with the best box art of 2021. I think that award must go to Miniart for their Bulgarian Maybach T-IV H

The best box art for an aircraft goes to Jetmads for its 1/32 Viggen.

Most modelers would agree that the best release of 2021 was the Tamiya F-4B Phantom II, which hit the market in June. Sprue Brothers alone had more than 500 in stock. A trendy followed thereafter whereby every modeler who bought the kit was compelled to post a photo of it.

By mid-July the first Tamiya 1/48 F-4B was seen on the secondary market.

Border Models kicked off the year by announcing a 1/35 Bf-109G-6. That’s right…1/35 scale, not 1/32. I’ll be curious to see if we see additional 1/35 aircraft releases.

Also in January, without warning or any formal announcement, Squadron closed up shop for good. In April the Squadron name and the company’s inventory were auctioned with many of the lots going to smaller dealers. A month later Chris Decker — the force behind Midship Models, Yankee Modelworks, and Free Time Hobbies — announced his purchase of Squadron’s assets and his plan to re-launch the business.

In March Kinetic posted a teaser on their Facebook page about their next new release, which generated nearly 600 comments from their followers. The following month they announced the kit, a new tool 1/48 Fiat G.91. A keen eyed modeler found a minor inaccuracy in the wing leading edge, and Kinetic said they would postpone the release to fix the error.

In June Airfix announced that they were now on TikTok. I could be wrong, but I think they’re the first plastic model manufacturer to do that.

Also in June, Kitty Hawk announced they were closing up shop, which predictably generated mixed reactions within the aircraft modeling community. Many modelers suggested the company brought it on themselves with poorly engineered kits, though everyone seemed to agree that their subject choices were very strong. Either way, they will be missed.

There were other exciting and curious product releases throughout the year.

Just as the IPMS National Convention was kicking off, Sprue Brothers announced a joint effort with Phantom Phreaks to release 12 versions of the F-4 Phantom.

Some of the designers behind the defunct Wingnut Wings announced a new company, Kotare, and announced a 1/32 Spitfire Mk Ia for release in 2022.

Yenmodels released what must be the most specific kit of the year, a 1/35 Pripyat town sign.

https://armorama.com/news/yen-models-pripyat-city-sign

CHINO MODEL announced what’s probably the most unusual item of the year, 3D printed ears. Yes, you heard that right, ears.

For those of you chomping at the bit to do a beach diorama, Armor35 released these figures.

Finally, the low point of 2021 has to be this 1/4 scale figure. 

It can only get better from here.

Happy New Year!

Two new figures for your Airfix 1/24 Typhoon

Figures are usually an afterthought within the aircraft modeling community. Unless you're showing an airplane in flight or creating a diorama of a plane being loaded with armament, figures rarely have a place with aircraft. I've always thought that unfortunate, because unless you – and the people who see your models – are familiar with aircraft, it's difficult to appreciate the size of any one particular airplane without a common point of reference. And what better point of reference than a human being, who we instinctively assume to be roughly six feet tall?

When you think about it, the lack of figures in the hobby shouldn't be surprising given how many poorly sculpted pilot figures are on the market. I've seen many great looking aircraft online or in contests where a shabby figure detracted from the overall appeal of the model.That's why I'm always excited to see quality figures of pilots. Series 77 was among the first of the major manufacturers to produce one back in the 1970s. In the 1980s Verlinden's cadre of (anonymous) sculptors gave us two or three more. Even today, there's generally a lack of really good figures of pilots.

But hold your horses! Two exceptional new figures are coming to the market this month, and those of you who own or are planning to buy Airfix's outstanding 1/24 Typhoon will want to take a look at them. Each is sculpted by one of the best sculptors in the figure hobby.

The first is from Steve Warrilow of The Fusilier. The company is best know for its extensive line of World War One subject matter, but this release comes as a welcome surprise to those with an affinity for World War Two aviation and the Typhoon. The figure can be displayed with or without the life vest and includes a choice of three heads.

The other figure comes to us via Barracuda Studios from the hands of one of my absolute favorite sculptors, Mike Good. Mike's work is unrivaled in the hobby, and all of his figures, regardless of the subject, are must-haves in my book. Mike reports on planetFigure that it will be available to those of you attending the Telford show.

Both figures look outstanding and will be an excellent addition to your display of the Airfix Typhoon. Not to mention as a standalone figure, too.

Model of the year

It's time to announce Scale Model Soup's model of the year!

First, let me be clear. I'm calling my choice the "model of the year," not the "best model of the year."
This model is not the most detailed, best molded, nor the most popular model released in 2013. Instead, it's the model that, in my opinion, represents a significant mark in the hobby for one important reason: value.

Throughout 2013, and over the last few years, one of the most frequent topics of conversation on the interwebz has been the escalating price of scale models. Quality 1/72 scale aircraft now cost over $30. The newest 1/48 scale releases such as Eduard's gorgeous Spitfires, the Kitty Hawk MiG-25, and Great Wall's state-of-the-art MiG-29s will set you back $50-$80. Armor modelers have it no better, with Meng's releases at a similar $80 price point, and ship modelers are paying over $100 for some destroyers and most battleships. I could make an argument that these cutting edge kits are worth the money, but ultimately we're all looking for value. We're all looking for the best model for the least amount of money.

That's why my choice for Model of 2013 is the Airfix 1/72 Hawker Typhoon.

This is a gem of a kit. Squadron lists it for $8.99. Hannants shows it for £7.99. A halfway decent lunch costs more than that! Mark Davies provides an excellent review of the Typhoon on Hyperscale, where you can see the quality you get for a very small investment. An additional review and build is available on Aeroscale and an extensive discussion about the model and aircraft is available on Britmodeller. Clearly, this is not Hasegawa quality, particularly in the finesse of the surface detailing, but it's acceptable for the majority of Airfix's customers; more advanced modelers can spend an hour improving the surface detail if they choose, and many will use Eduard's photoetch sets (reviewed on Britmodeller) to bump up the detail.

If you've spent too much time in your man cave and haven't seen the kit, there have been quite a few builds online. Here are a few examples.

Britmodeller 1
Britmodeller 2
72nd Scale Aircraft 1
72nd Scale Aircraft 2

I would be remiss if I didn't mention at least one of the other kits that was in contention for Model of the Year, Airfix's 1/48 Javelin. I don't have it myself, but a good friend was very excited on getting the kit and telling me about its many virtues. The only reason I didn't choose it was its price, which is in line with other 1/48 scale releases. I know the Javelin is worth the money, but those conversations about kit prices was my driving factor this year in my selection of model of the year.

Looking forward I can't imagine we'll see kit prices come down anytime soon. We need to accept high prices as the "new normal" while weighing them against accuracy. The tipping point will always reside in what each of us finds acceptable, so clearly we'll continue to see contentious debate about price, accuracy, and value. In the meantime, let's celebrate the incredible selection of kits available to us today and look forward to what 2014 will bring.

A Happy and Prolific New Year to all of you!

Pecans are expensive, Airfix kits are not

In honor of Pi Day, I made a pecan pie over the weekend. Well, bourbon chocolate chip pecan pie to be specific. Not a model, but a real, edible pie. I wasn't up for the task of making my own dough, so I bought a pre-made crust (kind of like using a pre-painted photoetch) and the ingredients for the filling, but when I found myself on aisle 11 to buy the bag of pecans, I balked at the price...six dollars! Why are nuts so expensive? I quickly learned that making a delicious pie was going to cost me big money! No wonder a pie purchased at a farmers markets costs $15.

Like those pies, it seems as though good models are becoming unaffordable. Trumpeter's 1/48 Su-24 is $130. Hasegawa's 1/72 Typhoon is $58. Tamiya's BT-5 and BT-42 are $75, and Dragon's latest releases are in the $60 price range. Ship builders have it no better with a good 1/350 scale kit exceeding $100. And if you paint little figures, expect to pay $50 for a 54mm figure and $70 for 75mm.

It's easy to get bummed out when confronted by these prices. Many modelers have wondered if the hobby is becoming unaffordable, especially for younger modelers. It's okay to cry. It's okay to get angry.

I think that's why it's important to look for and highlight value in the hobby, and no one is giving us more value today than Airfix. Their latest 1/72 scale releases, while a bit on the simplistic side, are very nice and can be made into real gems.

Wolfgang Henrich posted photos of his Airfix Bf-109E to Hyperscale today, a kit which you can find for around $7. His model is a perfect example of the potential that the kits in this line offer. Wolfgang did an outstanding job with this inexpensive kit. Airfix deserves our thanks for producing kits that everyone can afford. Take a look; I think you'll be impressed!

Airfix and cup holders

The great thing about buying a car is that you can literally have one custom built just for you, assuming you can afford it of course. You can specify the engine, color, seats, audio options, pin stripes, and so on. Of course you always get a cup holder, and even Ferrari touts the presence of a cup holder in its literature for the F12 Berlinetta. Big fucking deal. Even the shopping cart at my grocery store has a cup holder.

So how close are we to being able to log onto Tamiya.com and customer order a Bf-109? I can see the orders coming in now: David from Jacksonville wants a Bf-109E, version E-4, without a resin interior, with resin flying surfaces, photoetch for the cockpit, markings for Helmut Wick, and so on. Pretty cool, eh?

We might just be a step closer to that reality with Airfix's recent announcement of a kit to convert their impressive Vickers Valiant to a Reconnaissance or Refueller airplane. Someone at Airfix was smart. With all due respect to my friends in the aftermarket industry, someone over there in Kent said, "Hey, why should we let some cottage industry chaps do this when we can do it just as well?"

Brilliant! It's a smart move by Airfix. They don't have to manufacture, box, and store two additional (complete) kits, and they are assured of selling additional Valiants as we choose to build either or both of the variants. And we modelers benefit knowing that the parts should fit flawlessly, which isn't always the case with aftermarket parts (think resin shrinkage).

We're living in good times!

Initial reactions to the Airfix 1/72 A-4B Skyhawk

Airfix has released some real gems over the last year or so, most notably their 1/72 scale Swordfish, which I understand is a beautifully detailed model and one that signaled a new commitment to quality by a manufacturer that is arguably one of the oldest and most respected in the hobby. While their latest kits are not yet on par with the Fifth Generation kits we've seen, they are much better than their older releases as well as recent releases from other manufacturers. Their new A-4B Skyhawk seems to be no exception.

I don't have the kit in my grubby little hands yet (I'll be looking for it at the IPMS Nats next week), but it's enticing for sure. It certainly looks nice in Drew Manton's hands. That said, I have to admit I'm a big fan of Fujimi's various incarnations of the Skyhawk, so I'm eager to see how the Airfix kit compares in a side-by-side comparison. Initial thoughts from others in this discussion on ARC are promising despite what some might consider shortcomings, most notably the kit's panel lines. I'm hoping Eduard eventually does a photoetch set, if only to fill up the cockpit.

If you missed it, Tailspin Topics, a fine blog that you really must bookmark, just published an article about the Airfix Skyhawk with some tips on improving it and making it more accurate. Be sure to check it out if you plan to buy or build the kit.