It was a good day in the Dave's Model Workshop household. A fresh delivery by the Postie! And what have we here? Another ridiculous, juvenile radio control buggy kit! A Tamiya Hornet!
Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!
I distinctly remember in the 1980s being rather dismissive of the Hornet. I remember pooh-poohing it - it's a cheap, entry-level kit, and it's nothing special. But I rather suspect I was wrong, in that special know-it-all way that 12 year olds specialise in. Having done a little research as an adult, the Hornet is an amazing get-the-maximum-bang-for-your-buck RC kit. From what I can glean online, it's fast, cheap, reliably bulletproof, and (most importantly) fun.
This is the perfect companion to my Sand Scorcher.
You two are going to have such adventures together!
So... ummm... asking for a friend: when does a healthy interest turn into an addiction?
In recent years there has been a lot of hype around Wingnut Wings kits. I've seen them winning again and again at scale model competitions, and I've heard a lot online about how detailed and how amazing these expensive kits are. So I finally took the plunge and started one. Does it live up to the hype? Are Wingnut Wings worth it?
Before we begin I have to set the record straight on a couple of things:
My views are based on a sample size of one. This is the first WNW kit I've built. So my views on all Wingnut Wings kits as a whole probably aren't terribly statistically sound!
At this stage I'm only about 20-25% into the build.
Full disclosure - this kit was provided to me gratis by HobbyLink Japan (their website is here) to review. There has been no editorial influencing, no pressure to review the kit one way or the other, but I felt in the interests of honesty I had to disclose that up front.
So, with that out of the way, what is the kit like?
The kit: Wingnut Wings 1/32 scale Fokker E.IV
It. Is. Detailed.
So, so detailed.
I had been planning to build this quite quickly, to do it as a refresher away from what I usually build (I haven't built a WWI aircraft model in about 20 years!). But the kit is so detailed, so intricate, that you really can't rush it. To do so would not be doing justice to the engineering of the kit, to the potential of the kit.
I was all set to be quite skeptical of the hype. Surely one kit is much the same as another, right? But I have to admit that this Wingnut Wings kit is pretty special. The plastic is very forgiving - even when separating the finest, flimsiest pieces from the sprue, it doesn't shatter or snap. The instructions are an absolute joy, with a phenomenal range of references. The fit is pretty amazing.The engineering is just clever.
All that said though, there are some down sides. I won't give too much away here, you'll have to watch the video, but it's not all breathless fanboying from me here. There are compromises, and there are moments when the incredible detail is just too much - sometimes it feels like gilding the lily.
So what are you waiting for? Watch the video now! And if you like the look of it, you can purchase the kit here from HobbyLink Japan.
It's good to be over the ghastly busy period at my work. And I'm building again! I've made a solid start on the Wingnut Wings 1/32 Fokker E.IV, and I'll have a new video out about it in the next day or two.
The Wingnut Wings Fokker E.IV
So does an expensive Wingnut Wings kit live up to the hype?
Let's just say this: it's pretty extraordinary. There is good and bad, but it's an extraordinary experience.
That little chair is a work of art in itself.
The cockpit comes together. Detail, detail, detail!
Oh, it's been a rough month. I've not put out a new video in almost three weeks, and I always try to put out a new video for my audience every single weekend. This is pretty poor form, especially for you guys who are members of The MOD Squad and help to financially support Dave's Model Workshop.
Today I've put out a video explaining just what the hell happened in August. It's not looking for sympathy, it's just an explanation and so that you know that I haven't forgotten you.
The worst of it is over, and it'll get better from here. I promise.
I'm having another brutally busy week at work this week, just like last week. I'm getting up at 5am, racing to work by 6am, and putting in long days. In the evenings I have no energy left for building models or filming videos. Bugger...
I don't think I'm going to get a video out this week, for which I apologise in advance. As you know, I release a new video every Friday so that you guys all have something new each weekend. But this week it's just not going to happen. Sorry.
I've been a bit quiet lately, as I've been flat out at work (horror week, don't ask...) - so first up sorry for the radio silence from this end. In the very little spare time I've had, I have been playing with running the Sand Scorcher, and it has been a lot of ridiculously juvenile fun.
I've had it on a beach, on sand in its natural environment.
I took the Sand Scorcher for its maiden voyage. All I will say is I'm glad I took some still photos before I left the house, because it's never going to look that good again...
All I will say here is the following things may have occurred:
It may have been driven under a closed gate - the size of the gap between the ground and the bottom of said gate may have been less than the height of the car.
It may have hit a stone wall.
It may have hit a stone wall so hard at the front bumper that the licence plate at the back of the vehicle fell off.
One thing I can confirm as a definite: I'm looking into how much replacement body shells cost on ebay...
The Tamiya Sand Scorcher is done. It's rather nice to have finished a build in six weeks, rather than ten months like the last one! And more importantly, I get to have a little juvenile fun with this one now that it's built!
Looking good.
I'm happy with how the Sand Scorcher has come out. The decals replicating the original 1979 decals look good, I love the heat-stained tailpipe, and even though there are some imperfections in the two-tone colour scheme where I had dramas with paint seeping under masking tape, I'm pretty happy with the final result.
Look at the driver, and the spotless windscreen. Don't pay any attention to the masking of the blue paint...
I'm very pleased with my personalised 1979 license plates.
Oooh, shiny!
Spotless.
Putting on those final details like the two wing mirrors and the windscreen wipers was pretty damn satisfying. They're fragile, so fingers crossed they stay on. I read someone writing online about the Sand Scorcher who mentioned that these little details are "the first things to fall off when you roll your Sand Scorcher (and you will)".
I'm planning to take it to the park tomorrow and give it a trial run. Can't wait!
