That Sandringham/Sunderland  owned by Kermit Weeks, is actualy the Sister to our NZ4115 Q-Queenie at MOTAT here in Auckland. Her RNZAF serial number was NZ4108. In 1963 NZ4108 was sold to Australia, where she was converted to a civilian guise (more a Sandringham but because the work was not done by Shorts, It not a Sandringham in true sense).
Some links to NZ4108's conversion
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m169 ... VH-BRF.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m169 ... VH-BRF.jpg

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m169 ... VH-BRF.jpg

Eventually after a number of owners NZ4108 ended up with the Weeks Collection.
When NZ4115 was given to MOTAT in 1966, she was the only fully kitted out Short Sunderland (that could fly) in the World right down to the working stove in the galley.
Regards

Alan

Found this:

Italeri 1/72 Sunderland preview on Hyperscale

Looks like a great kit but it's going to need to be at forty quid a pop!  :?

FWIW & All the best
Sgt.S

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That does look nice. If the price of plastic keeps going up you always have the option of weighing it in!!

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Looking for the Good Old Days

Looks like this is finally going to hit the shops !
Forty quid does sound a lot but I could spend double that on a night out in town and all I'd have to show for it would be a hangover and a half eaten kebab.
A kit like this will keep me home at night for quite a while and I'll have a nice model at the end of it so I'm going to get my order in.
Just don't tell the missus  :oops:

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Buffalo

Forty quid should be measured against the time it will take to do a kit like this justice. In terms of £'s per hour it's probably very good value, plus there is the handy little PE fret and what looks to be an extensive decal sheet. Given the speculation about what the RRP was going to be I think it's not at all bad.

peebeep

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Bring me my chariot of fire

By the time it reaches we of the Antipodes, I would be looking at around NZ$100.

Considering an Airfix Sunderland can fetch around NZ$70 in a model shop, here in Auckland, the extra few dollars is not too much more.

All things considered though I would buy one, and build a 204 Squadron aircraft, some which were crewed by Kiwi's in West Africa.

I already have in mind what I would do with the interior

Probably would not see one though till Nov-Dec 2012

Regards

Alan

Wise words Buffalo and peebeep, it's forty quid (or NZD100) but how much would that get you in most other hobbies? The other thing is that you've got something to show for it.

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Looking for the Good Old Days

One set of good quality power-kite lines.  :idea:

The thought of having to shell out forty notes for either item fills me with dismay TBH.....I long ago packed in the nights out on the town in order to sustain my hobbies, I'm seriously going to have to consider giving up eating at this rate!  :fear:

All the best
Sgt.S

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Sarge, you obviously have not been buying any Hasegawa kits lately!

peebeep

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Bring me my chariot of fire

Those sprue shots look very nice.  The metal sheet of etch fills me with fear..

Exactly, it's still a cheap hobby compared to some.
My wife plays golf and when you add up what she spends on membership and green fees over the year it would make your eyes water. She'd still throw a hairy fit if she knew I'd spent £40 on a model though !
Donald Trump has just opened his new golf course up here.
A round will cost you £150 during weekdays and even more at weekends !
That's a lot of plastic.

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Buffalo

From the Scale Aircraft Modelling Magazine page on facebook ...

Due in the UK Mid-September 2012

SRP: £39.99

Technical details:

- Finely engraved recessed panel lines and rivets
- Fully detailed cockpit and interiors
- complete weapons load
- Photo etch fret
- detailed engine and exhaust
- Under carriage

http://s1233.photobucket.com/albums/ff3 ... underland/

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Cheers! Alan
*****
'If you aren't living on the edge, you're taking up too much room'.

http://tangfastico.blogspot.com

Given that the Airfix offering is just under half the price (£19) of this new one;  how detailed is or isn't the Airfix one?  Does Airfix offering for instance have much to show in terms of cockpit and general cabins and different floors of the interior?  

There is however a WEM set available to beef up the Airfix one but from memory that I believe is going to set you back at least a further 20 notes.

Several actually, but not at the silly prices Hasegawa are asking.....They're the second worst culprit next to Dragon!  :roll:

Managed to get the 1/72 B-25J and B-26G for just slightly more than Hasegawa would have me pay for just one of them.....They're going to price themselves right out of existence if you ask me!  :lol:

All the best
Sgt.S
PS - Please note I didn't actually say this was a ridiculously expensive kit, after all there's quite a lot of it.....What I did say is that it had better be good if I'm going to part with forty quid for it.  A statement that I stand by wholeheartedly.  :idea:

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It looks good, Andy. The PE is a bit of a gimmick, I think. It's almost a token. PE seats frames, IP and seat belts, mainly.

The transparencies look good, and there appear to be 5 markings options.

The exhausts are of the plain tubular variety - they stayed away from the Hedgehogs (which must be the most difficult item to reproduce in Injection-moulded plastic!).

Assuming assembly is straightforward (not a bad assumption for Italeri) it should be a good kit. The only caveat will be the accuracy - which is where Italeri don't rank highly in my estimation.

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Portfolio

There are issues with the Airfix kit that, if you are after accuracy will need to be addressed.
If you are interested I have a build underway in the demo section

http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.o ... 25459.html

The Airfix kit has only the front part of the flight deck (which really needs replacing). The WEM kit while nice really only will do you for a Mk I/II or early MkIII (thats pushing it too). You need to realise that the pilots seats on the Mk I/II and MkIII are somewhat different, as well as the Instrument panel. The WEM kit is not totally accurate either, especially the bomb bay. If you wish to build your Sunderland with ASV then the WEM kit will require additional add ons, as the flight deck whislt remaining the same postion wise had changes (Actually wonder if the WEM cockpit set would fit the Italeri model?)

In all honesty the Italeri kit will need some work, if you are after accuracy. For example the indented panel lines are not correct as the Sunderland did not have those as in this close up


Edit: After a closer inspection, the Italeri kit does not have the correct amount of port holes on the Starboard side foward of the bomb bay on the lower deck -there should be 10 not 9. You will need to add a porthole in the bow section
The Airfix kit actually has the correct amount.

If you just after an OOB kit to look good IMHO it should look nice. But as been stated previous, need to get ones hand on the kit and cut plastic to make a proper assessment

Regards

Alan

Hopefully the reason this model has taken so long to materialise is due to the fact that Italeri have taken extra care to avoid any howlers when it comes down to accuracy.
A few of their kits in the past have had major outline issues.
I think a few errors have already been mentioned on other forums but they seem to be very minor and easily fixable.
As long as the basic shapes are correct I'll be happy
Not sure which of the Oban based aircraft I'm going to go for in my build. At the mo it's looking like the early DE/DG version.

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Buffalo

Given its age (1959), the kit is very good. A reasonable grasp of using plasticard will provide you with a perfectly serviceable interior where you're likely to see it. Engines and props require replacement IMO.

http://airfixtributeforum.myfastforum.o ... 29513.html

The Italeri is winning me round. It's a far easier way of adding a MkI to my stable of Shorts.

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Both the Airfix and Italeri Sunderlands will benefit the use of said plasticard to build bulkheads (at least) on the lower deck (forward of the rear of the bomb bay) to stop the 'Open - See Through" effect (even with the horrid transparencies on the Airfix kit), that open effect does not exist on the real aircraft.

Regards

Alan

Really a price of £39.99 for a modern kit to high standards of what is a big aircraft shouldn't be expensive but it is compared to what both Revell and Airfix put out for similar sums (you can buy a whole Atlas for the same price ).  Still much like hewman100 the kit is winning me round I have a soft spot for large flying boats.

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This Sceptered Isle
Tonkarite, I will make it a word oneday... maybe.
2012 Bought:Built 8:23