Teeny Weeny Models

[JayBee]

Many of you will have gazed with wonderment at KiwiZac's build of the BrenGunn 1/144 Flying Flea. If you have not, do so now as Zac is to be applauded as one of the bravest modellers that I know for actually attempting to build this model.
http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,40325.0.html

Having got my Flea model about a month before Zac started that post I already knew what was in the box, but I had not been shocked by the littleness of it as I had obtained another model in 1/144 scale at SMW 2014, which also has a lot of tiny PE parts, including seat belts in four parts!

Then I remembered a kit I had in the stash which although it is 1/72 scale is still up down there with these other two in terms of tinyness.

So, the first of these models,

The BrenGun Flying Flea:










The second model is the Polikarpov I-16 from Armoury, in the Ukraine, in 1/144 scale. You get two complete kits in the box :













The third model is the Link Trainer by Meikraft.
An interesting model in its own right as the main sprue is polystyrene, the base is resin, the wings and hood are provided both on the polystyrene sprue but also in metal, which the instructions tell you is pewter, and then there is that light brown square of..........very thin wood veneer. Juust what that last part is for I am not sure!
It was also a limited run kit as you can see from the box lid mine is No 28 of 550.
















I have not included any scale smaller than 1/144 in this thread as lovely though some of the aircraft provided for the various ship scales are, what I am talking about here are kits that have more than 4/5 pieces.
That's all folks, but before you ask, yes I wear my reading glasses AND a magnifying visor when dealing with anything like this.

[kerick]

Get a large, clear plastic bag and work inside it to keep track of flying bits! Or spread white paper on the floor. Isn't there a special apron that attaches closely to a person then drapes down the chest and attaches to the work bench? Maybe something jewelers wear?

[loupgarou]

Get a large, clear plastic bag and work inside it to keep track of flying bits! Or spread white paper on the floor. Isn't there a special apron that attaches closely to a person then drapes down the chest and attaches to the work bench? Maybe something jewelers wear?

YES, and I remember a letter in a VERY old issue of Model Railroader from a guy that had contrived such an apron for working on kits. Everything went well till the phone rang... No mobile phones then

[PR19_Kit]

Meikraft, there's a name to conjure with. They had a very esoteric range of kits, and until recently I had one of their Douglas D-5581 Skystreaks.

I'd vaguely remembered that they did a Link Trainer, but I'd never seen one till JayBee's pics shown above, what an amazing device.

I've got 3-4 of what I called 'Cornflake Box Kits', VERY small kits all on one sprue that came with Kellogs Cornflakes many years ago, and the ones I remember are a Shorts Empire Flying Boat and an AW Atalanta, but there are six in the full range I believe.

[JayBee]

Indeed Kit. There was a Concorde, a Viking, a Viscount, and a Comet.

[zenrat]

I remember the Airfix DH-88 Comet being given away with cereal but I think you had to collect tokens and send off for it.
And we never got through enough packets before they changed the promotion.

[Captain Canada]

Cool stuff. That Link trainer model would be neat to build.

[PR19_Kit]

I found quite a few teeny weeny model kits when I went to look for my Empire flying boat, which has no tailplanes but in that scale they'd be easy to scratch.

I'd forgotten I'd built the P-38 from the series and you won't believe how small it is!

Top left is a Hellcat, top right is an H-34 chopper, on the right is an un-identified (by me....) bi-plane, bottom is the bits of the Empire boat and bottom left is an Fw190. I've got two of the bi-planes, so if anyone's interested....



... and here's the P-38.  One prop blade seems to have gone AWOL but I should be able to sort that.

[PR19_Kit]

Hm, that went down like a lead balloon...... 

[JayBee]

Only just saw your post Kit.
I think your unidentified bi-plane looks like a Sopwith  Pup.
The P-38 looks nice and rather smaller than the Revel 1/144 one, I think.
Can you remember where you got them, or what make they were?

Jim

[PR19_Kit]

Thanks for the ident on the bi-plane Jim, I know slightly less about most bi-planes than I know about nuclear fusion.... 

The P-38, Fw190, Hellcat and S38 chopper came from some lo-price cornflakes I got in Derby in the 70s. One of my local IPMS Branch members came across them by accident and the shop that sold them was MOBBED by modellers in no time. 

The P-38 was the pick of the bunch for sure, and the other three completed the 'range' IIRC. They have no decals so most of the P-38's markings were hand painted  apart from the stars and bars which came from the air group of a Revell USS Saratoga kit that I'd converted to R/C. And no, it didn't sail too well........... 

[Flyer]

Looks like a Pup to me also . Love these tiny models but I won't try any, 1/72 size is about as small as I can go, 1/144 if it is a big aircraft I suppose. The P-38 reminds me of the Micro Machines toys I had as a kid, but with much better detail.

[Joe C-P]

Get a large, clear plastic bag and work inside it to keep track of flying bits! Or spread white paper on the floor. Isn't there a special apron that attaches closely to a person then drapes down the chest and attaches to the work bench? Maybe something jewelers wear?

Micro-mark sells just such a product. I have one, somewhere. It attaches to the table with velcro.

[JayBee]

I have just received, from the Big H, the new Mark1 Vampire in 1/144 scale, aand yes it is pretty tiny.





Take a look at the wingtips. There is a small cutout at the LE this is for the clear lenses that you get. They are really tiny, you may not even be able to see them in the photo.


Jim

[JayBee]

OK resized the image this might help.

Jim