"highly detailed and accurate model built for sale " - built models sold on Ebay

There are a fair amount of built models offered for 'sale and display' on ebay. I'm not sure I could ever part with some of mine like that but there are plenty of people who have no qualms about offering their latest 'creations' for sale.  At first sight this one is neatly finished for example;

  " ..A beautifully finished 1/72 scale model of the Focke Wulf FW 190 A-4 as flown Maj. Walter Dahl, Stab/JG 300, Jüterbog, Germany, December 1944 with some light weathering to depict in service use..."

"...its built to a high standard.... Guns are realistically hollow and the propeller rotates by simply blowing gently on it!..Compare this to many others with crude finishes and poor paintwork currently on eBay...."


Unlike this guy I feel a little uncomfortable about criticising the work of other modellers. But, well, I can't help but point out that this is the Zvesda snap-fit Fw 190 A-4 kit as the modeller acknowledges himself. Walter Dahl was of course NOT flying an A-4 in December 1944  but an A-8 with the bulged cowl MG cover (..larger calibre guns of course....) and with the fuselage extension of the later Fw 190 variants. ( I guess we won't mention the absence of the outer wing MGs, the upper wing bulges, the grossly over-scale head armour and support, the 'unpainted' cooling gills of the BMW radial etc etc..).

Of course as an Experte (note spelling and capital letter..) I can't help but 'whine' about details like this. And while the model sales pitch above could be seen as no more 'accurate' than plenty of others out there on ebay the model sold for £99 ! ....so good luck to him I guess. And here's one of those examples referred to above...which incidentally is posted up by Ebay at the bottom of the 'Dahl' modeller's own auction! ..That must be irksome! At least the write-up tells it like it is ...

"...A 1/72 scale assembled painted model of a Focke-Wulf 190 aircraft...

Assembly has imperfections, a ridge along the fuselage joint, some glue marks, undercarriage is off upright. The prop turns and is a loose fit. Paintwork has some marks on the underside.

Except for the central bomb, the aircraft appears to be complete, although some smaller details may be snapped off/not present...."


My own build of the Zvezda Fw 190 A-4 'snap-fit' kit is here

Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 in 72nd scale (3)

..progress on the Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6. Two months since my last update, but some work has been done - and  that's a new-tool Airfix Ju 87 B-1 also in the picture..more soon

Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 in 72nd scale (2)

While struggling with the Airfix Blenheims recently, I picked up the Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 again. I am amazed to think that it is five years since I started this kit and that I haven't touched it in all that time.

It is a great looking kit, for less than half the cost of the Hasegawa model. I have replaced the rather short tail fin with the Quickboost resin replacement and fitted the AIMS resin Jumo engines as the Jumo charger intakes supplied in the kit are very poor - perhaps copied from the equally poor Hasegawa intakes.

Engines on and the new tail has also been fitted. The undercarriage - as on most Ju 88 kits - was far too 'stalk-like' and has been cut down a little and repinned. Still a little unsure of which machine I actually want to model, but my choice will no doubt be inspired by the latest AIMs decal sheet - Ju 88 Fighters which arrived here last week.

Zvezda snap-fit early-variant Panther - Pz. Abt. 51 Panther Ausf. D of the 9th Pz. Div, Kursk July 1943

Having completed a couple of the Zvezda snap-fit 1:72 scale Luftwaffe fighters I thought I'd have a look at one of their snap-together AFVs - this is their early variant Kursk Panther, which, er...,  just snaps together. The fit of road wheels and tracks is particularly ingenious - the outer wheels have pins which clip into lugs on the rim of the track and so hold everything in place securely and invisibly - well it was new to me at least...below; a few shots of progress on this build so far..

The tracks are on and done up and the hull deck is secured. Strangely only one of the tracks joins at the top out of sight under the skirts - the other join is under the road wheels. The fit is very tight and the road wheel assembly is under quite a bit of tension.

The Panthers at Kursk equipped the Pz. Abt. 51. Markings in the box are provided for "434 and " 445" which obviously would have looked something like "442" illustrated below - the pic is from the collection of my good friend Didier Lodieu who published a two-part feature on Pz. Abt. 51 Panthers in Heimdal's 39-45 Magazine a few years ago...

Zvezda Bf 109 F-2 in 1/72 - (4)

Nearly finished the Zvezda Friedrich, here in the markings of 'weisse 12' flown by nine-victory ace Ltn. Karl Vockelmann of 7./ JG 53. I have still to add a hint of exhaust staining and some stencils. Decals were taken from a variety of spare Academy and MSAP sheets. Vockelmann was reported MIA on 19.5.43 after Luftkampf. The Zvezda Friedrich kit was a little pricey and a little short on detail options compared to, say, the recent new Airfix Emil - no poseable flaps, aileron mass balances or separate rudder for example. Fit was indifferent and the large locating lugs on the canopy spoilt the overall effect - the model looks a little toy-like I think.

Zvezda new tool 1:72nd scale Bf 109 F-2 Friedrich (2)

..nicely detailed parts just snap together and/or plug in....no glue required ..and no gaps either. Is this the end of modelling as we know it ?  Shame the supercharger intake is solid and the pitot tube attached to the port wing simply won't survive the handling and painting stages. Once the lower wing insert is clipped on, construction proceeds with the cockpit. The various detailed parts - including a three-part pilot figure - just plug into the top of the wings and the fuselage halves then clip onto the wing around the cockpit....however the wings are just solid parts and there is no provision for deploying flaps/slats or ailerons at all... I think if building this again I would at least cut out the radiator flaps which are invariably down when the aircraft is on the ground ...but those are the only criticisms...

Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 1/72

After looking at the Hasegawa G-6 over on my Luftwaffe blog I thought I'd build the Zvezda Junkers Ju 88 G-6 first. Great looking kit, for around half the cost of the Hasegawa model. One or two issues apparent straight out of the box, and while I am no rivet-counter I will be replacing the tail fin with the Quickboost resin replacement and something will have to be done with the Jumo charger intakes which are very poor representations in the kit  - perhaps copied from the equally poor Hasegawa intakes.
Edit: a note from AIMS' John McIllmurray who was in touch about this kit and commented ;

"...the tail is wrong, the wings too thin (the side fuselage ducts are not needed on the G-6 ) and the engines are completely wrong and the nacelles immediately behind them too short! My engines not only have the right detail but include the missing cowling length so you can add them straight onto the kits cowling and blend in. Basically as with AMT before, Zvezda have done a compromise kit that can also become an A-4 but the Jumo 211 J and Jumo 213 are just too different both in power egg and rear cowling to allow this. If you already have the Quickboost fin/rudder all you need from me are the engines which are £7.00 plus postage..."

So this build is on hold until my new engines arrive......