What if you could make I.M. Styrene aftermarket parts? What would they be?

[upnorth]

Easy. Canopies and other clear parts:

Vac formed canopies and I never quite saw eye to eye regardless of the number of times I've tried them and I've met a fair number of other modelers who share the sentiment.

If I had the option of an injection molded canopy replacement over a vac formed one, I'd jump at it even if it would cost more.

A close second would be landing gear sets:

When I think of all the kits I've seen with underdone gear wells and gear detail that the aftermarket as we know it has tried to replace with PE (flat hydraulic struts and lines drive me nuts! ) or resin gear wells with god awful casting blocks that require cutting and sanding to the point where the bay roof is paper thin just to fit inside the kit's wing, its obvious to me that making these parts from styrene could be no worse.

Beyond that, I'd probably go straight to conversion sets:

When you consider of all the variants of the Hercules and 707 that there were, making conversion sets to cover a lot of the variants of them that would never get kitted would be enough to keep one busy for the forseeable future.

Might also take a shot at making a set to convert the various existing Mil Mi-17 Hip kits into the updated Mi-171 variant. That would be a rather large conversion project by the looks of it if one had to go from scratch.

[Brian da Basher]

I think yhou all know my answer.

For fun:

Spats! In all shapes and scales! Currently the only aftermarket spats I'm aware of in 1/72 are Aeroclub white metal spats. While they're very nice, there's only two types. Hawker Fury and Gloster Gauntlet. I'd make "straight-leg" spats like on the Northrop Gamma, I'd make P-26 spats, Stuka spats, Moraine 225 spats, Curtiss Shrike spats, P-6E spats, etc.

Spats! Spats! And more spats!

Ahem.

Now to make money, I'd make "correction" kits for every Trumpeter product as well as detail parts ('pits, noses, dropped flaps, weapons) for F-16s, F-14s, Me-109s, Fw190s, Spitfires, Tomahawks and Mustangs.

I imagine my "money-makers" would more than cover the cost of my spats obsession.

Oh, and I'd make some T-tails for Mr Howling Mouse too.

Brian da Basher

[upnorth]

I think yhou all know my answer.

For fun:

Spats! In all shapes and scales! Currently the only aftermarket spats I'm aware of in 1/72 are Aeroclub white metal spats. While they're very nice, there's only two types. Hawker Fury and Gloster Gauntlet. I'd make "straight-leg" spats like on the Northrop Gamma, I'd make P-26 spats, Stuka spats, Moraine 225 spats, Curtiss Shrike spats, P-6E spats, etc.

Spats! Spats! And more spats!

Well, If we're feeding odd aircraft fetishes and not worrying about profit.....

I'll see your spats and raise you contraprop sets for every prop driven aircraft you could imagine!

I've always entertained the idea (in a small dark corner of my brain) of one day doing a P-38 with contraprops.

[Daryl J.]

Anyone who hangs contraprops on a P-38 has to be a seriously good man!


Daryl J.

[Weaver]

Both fetish AND possible money makers: conversion sets to turn a good Mustang kit into a Cavalier Turbo-Mustang (Dart engine) and a Piper PA-48 (T-54? engine).

Since, unlike in-lines, radial engine cowl are usually moulded separately, how about a set of generic radial-to-turboprop conversions, that fit onto "standard" radial engine backplates?

[HOG]

Kits of some of the stuff we`ve seen on here.

G

[Mossie]

A conversion set for the Martin Baker run Meteor T.7¹/₂'s.  Canopy would be the most difficult thing.

Like others, weapons sets.  Trying to find exactly what you want can be hit & miss.  I'd especially like one that included British missiles like Firestreak & Red Top, possibly even Fireflash.

[Weaver]

There's an idea Mossie: test ship conversions.

TSR.2 Olympus engine pod for the Vulcan, Iroquois pod for a B-47 etc....

[Mossie]

Now thats a good idea, you could do the RB.199 pod as well.  There's so many testbed possibilities out there that would make a nice take on a model.

There's also many one of variants of aircraft, the Hercules W.2 'Snoopy' comes to mind.  Many SIGINT, ELINT & other special duties aircraft that could do with a conversion set too.  In fact, Heller did a SIGINT sprue for the C-160G Gabrielle that was a simple addition, shame about the base kit.  I'll probably junk or kitbash that kit (it's warped to hell) & use the extra sprue for something else.

[Weaver]

An extension of the same test-ships idea: how about kits of parts to mount X-plane kits to carrier plane kits, i.e. all the fairings, mountings/pylons etc to put a 1/72nd X1 onto a 1/72nd B-29, or a 1/72nd X-15 onto a 1/72nd B-52?