I'd like some advice/opinions on these kits I'm thinking of buying

albatros1234 · 23 February 2010, 09:34 PM

first I'd like to know a comparison between a blue max and special hobby spad vii.also info on the following kits, whether the are up to snuff, problems and over all opinions:
hi tech salamander
hr hansa brandenburg c1
aeroclub fe2b and re8
spin bristol m.1c
blue max dolphin
copper state aeg civ,avaitik c1, hansa brand w12,dornier d1

any comments welcome/helpful. thanks guys.

Aaronw · 23 February 2010, 10:12 PM

Sorry just a question, what scale are these, some of these sound interesting so hoping you say 1/72.

Familyman · 23 February 2010, 10:28 PM

I built the Aeroclub RE 8 recently. See here:

Other models in 1/48

If is absolutely your one and only scale, it is not a bad kit at all, but if size does not matter that much I'd wait for the WNW offering in 1/32.

For Spad VII I'd choose the Special Hobby kit any time, even tho it is not an easy kit to put together. One of the problems with it is that it represents a late production Marcay build machine...

Mikko

Flamingo · 23 February 2010, 11:51 PM

Some remarks for those kits I have:

The Spad 7 kits are very similar, the major differences are the shape of the cockpit cut outs, don't know which is more accurate and Special Hobby has vastly superior wings of very fine section.

The Aeroclub FE 2 and RE 8 are quite useful kits but would benefit from some refinement of the cockpit and other detail. For my taste they contain far too many white metal parts.

The FE8 has some inaccuracies when compared with the NZ replica Building the FE.2b | The Vintage Aviator
upper wings at tailbooms, section of stabilizer and elevators and most important air intakes for the radiator.

The same site offers good references for the RE 8
Re.8 Reproduction | The Vintage Aviator

The Blue Max Dophin is useful but requires a lot of cleaning up and careful assembly.

The Dornier is has some minor faults and an ugly radiator but all the kits are very good if compared with the non existing alternatives in that scale!

albatros1234 · 24 February 2010, 12:18 AM

they are all 1/48 my prefered scale.although i have been dipping into the 1/32 arena lately. I personally think 1/72 is too small to fool with or look very impressive once built plus the kits usually include very little if any detail. I did build and enjoy eduards 1/72 spad xiii it has detail that rivals many larger kits. thanks for the responses and more are welcome. I have read the reviews but reviews are fairly useless too me. those guys seem to say alot of good things about everything like they're afraid to offend the manufacturers .maybe they think if they upset the manufacturers they wont get any more free kits.plus half the time the reviewers open the box and describe whats in the box , which tells you nothing about fit and buildability. I want to hear from people who have built them and have a valid opinion with nothing to lose from telling the truth. and yes i have been eyeballing and drooling over the wingnuts re8, boy that one looks nice . probably the one i'm wishing for most from WNW. but who knows when that will be released from their track record 2016.i have one aeroclub kit the be2e , i'm gonna kitbash that one with the roden be2c to make one nice be2e.i dont mind scratch building and adding to kits, i have like sixty something windsock datafiles and another 10 or so ww1 aircraft books so i have the references.

se5a12 · 24 February 2010, 12:45 AM

Hi
I have built some of these kits
aeroclub fe2b:- Shape issues around the cockpit edges for gunner and pilot that nothing but a bit of sanding/filling can cure otherwise replace all struts and a good kit

dolphin:- Very good kit ,again I replaced some of the metal struts around the cockpit area.

special hobby spad:- Shape represents an incorrect model for guynemer but ok for some of the RFC models can be made into a good kit

copper state aviatik:-excelent kit but had problems with the engine area,the resin top cover needs to be shaped more rounded downwards.I used the windsock datafile for reference..

Graham Hunter · 24 February 2010, 07:10 AM

The Spin Bristol M1.C is a good kit. There is some scratch building involved but overall a good build.

Here is a link to my build.

Graham Hunter : Bristol M.1c

drIace · 24 February 2010, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albatros1234

first I'd like to know a comparison between a blue max and special hobby spad vii.also info on the following kits, whether the are up to snuff, problems and over all opinions:
hi tech salamander
hr hansa brandenburg c1
aeroclub fe2b and re8
spin bristol m.1c
blue max dolphin
copper state aeg civ,avaitik c1, hansa brand w12,dornier d1

any comments welcome/helpful. thanks guys.

Since youi've chosen 1/48, these are the only ones on the market of the particular subject. So it just depends on how much you want to build them (regardless of what others say of them). If the Re 8 is tops on the list, I'd wait for the WnW kit to appear this year

GAJouette · 24 February 2010, 07:38 AM

Albatros,
The Blue Max SPAD VII is a really good kit with a little TLC.I don't have the SH kit to compare,but surely it would be easier to come back at a good price.As for 1/72 scale kits I can no longer do them justice,however there are those who can turn them into Masterpieces.
Regards,
Gregory Jouette