Minicraft

[Green Dragon]

Cybermodeler has posted an in box review of the Nato version of the 1/144th scale Boeing E3 Sentry. http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/min...min_14611.shtml
I'm not sure but to my eyes the detail seems a bit soft. All of the mating edges of the wings and tail planes look kind of rounded too. My old Airfix 707-400 is a much crisper moulding. I was going to get one but I'll wait to see a full review before parting with my money.

Cyber modeler main page. http://www.cybermodeler.com/whatsnew.shtml

Paul Harrison

[Green Dragon]

Cybermodeler has a look at the E-8 JSTARS version of the Minicraft 707 today. http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/min/kit_min_14613.shtml

Paul Harrison

[Green Dragon]

The latest reissue of the old Minicraft B-29 is posted on Cybermodeler. It is now in grey plastic intead of that silvery stuff mine is made from and it has an all new decal sheet for Atomic Tom of the USAF plus two Washingtons, one RAF and one RAAF. http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/kits/min...min_14609.shtml
The siver plastic of my kit is very hard, hopefully the grey version is easier to work with.

Paul Harrison

[Green Dragon]

Has anyone heard any news of the 1/72nd Martin Mariner kit? It's disappeared from the Minicraft site and the Braz Models site no longer has "for Minicraft" on their CAD images of the Mariner.

Paul Harrison

[Weaver]

Here's an odd one: Minicraft-go-X-Files:



Here's the box blurb explanation:

Minicraft

1/144 Scale

US Navy NC-121K

"CONNIE"

PROJECT MAGNET

"Paisano Dos"

US Navy NC-121K CONNIE "PROJECT MAGNET" One important result from Project Magnet was the discovery of peculiar magnetic forces from above the Key-West Caribbean area, commonly referred to as 'The Bermuda Triangle'. It is widely suspected that this carefully unpublicized program may have been a worldwide operation intended to detect the existence of and effects of UFO's.

The non-Fox Maulder explanation is that the aircraft were mapping the world's magnetic field in detail in support of MAD ASW operations, of course. Nevertheless, it's interesting that the aircraft's name means "Friend Two", and it was replaced by an Orion called "Paisano Tres" (Friend Three).....

From a modelling POV, note the Road Runner decals.....


AND, if you want to go looking for those pesky Nazi UFOs in Antarctica, they do a Project Deep Freeze R5D-3 (DC-4):



(the tinfoil hat brigade have long believed that Project Deep Freeze was a covert mopping up operation of the Nazi's secret UFO base in Antarctica.... )

[pyro-manic]

Paisano Dos is a looker, definitely.

[Green Dragon]

Been wanting them for several years, Minicraft also do the R4D-5 Dakota from the original Operation High Jump in 1946.

Paul Harrison

[Maverick]

Minicraft are releasing a post war PB4Y-1 in 72nd along with a C-130H in 144th.  Hard to understand however, that the small Herc is only a couple of dollars cheaper than the Liberator???

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php?action=post;topic=26703.0;num_replies=6

Regards,

Mav

[Thorvic]

http://www.creativemodels.co.uk/minicraft_172_martin_mariner_pbm55a_w2_usn_marking_options-p-32361.html

The Minicraft 1/72nd PBM Martin Mariner is now out in the UK

[Captain Canada]

Oh cool ! Defo on the want list...bloody expensive tho !

[Green Dragon]

Has anyone bought the reissue of the ski equipped Dakota kit with boxart from The Thing From Another World? The boxart doesn't have the Tropical Tilly nose art that was on both sides of the real plane, wondering if it's on the decal sheet?

Paul Harrison

[Weaver]

http://www.creativemodels.co.uk/minicraft_172_martin_mariner_pbm55a_w2_usn_marking_options-p-32361.html

The Minicraft 1/72nd PBM Martin Mariner is now out in the UK

And just in case it's not expensive enough for you, there's now a £50 Eduard detailing set out for it:

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/EBIG7288

[PR19_Kit]

I'll stick with my Rareplanes Mariner vacform I think...............

[Spey_Phantom]

just read this over on KG144.

it would appear that Minicraft is closing shop, quoted my username "MiG88" after reading this on Aviation Megastore:

"According to our distributor MINICRAFT has ended her activities per 1st of November 2022 and no stocks will be coming anymore. We still have some stocks of their kits but when gone, it is finished."

this comes to no surprise to me, as in recent years they have been grosly overpricing reboxed ancient ex-Crown moulds.
i guess that finally came to bite them in the #ss. still, very sadnews to see another kitmaker go, i kinda liked theyre 1/144 TBM Aenger and B-29 kits 

[PR19_Kit]

Time to stock up on DC8s and MD90s then!