I currently got married and… because of that, I have to stay at home most of the time instead of hanging around with friends at pubs. So… “fortunatly” I would have plenty of time to spend on my old favourite hobby.
I managed to pick up a Tamiya 1:32 F-15C kit with extrodinary discount from my local shop. I’m planning to build this kit with home-printed decal sheets, featuring my wedding photo on the tails. Now, I’m looking for some aftermarket detail sets. All I can find is the Eduard Big Ed which appears to be a package of several Eduard PE products:
I would like to collect some advises in this forum regarding the Eduard product. Are there any other product brands I should consider? Also, can you recommend me any online shop outside US and UK? (they are too far from me, shipping fee alone will burn a hole in my pocket)
Rice, first off, WELCOME to this insain place we like to call home. Second… Eduard makes some of the best PE stuff in the world. Some of the itsy bitsy pieces will drive you nuts and other parts will bring out those nasty words but the added detail is worth it. The BIG ED sets are just that, a bunch of sets thrown togrther to make one big set. One other seller you can try is FLIGHTDECKS. They have there own web site. His products are also outstanding. Good luck and post lots of pics,OK?..Harv
Go to the searchable catalog at Roll Models and search for “F-15C” by manufacturer “Eduard”. You can buy the individual set by Eduard instead of getting everything in the Big Ed. You may get everything you want in the older, but cheaper 32056 set.
You must have a very understanding wife. Congraduation.
Good suggestion. Always add the shipping charge to get the total cost before you decide where to order. Sprue Brothers often has the lowest shipping in my case.
As a newly wed, I do fought for the rights to keep my hobbies and activities. However though, my wife is moving in to stay with me in my room (I stay with my parents). So, I had to sacrifice my working bench space, and I’m not allowed to do any modelling in the room. She hate paint smells.
So I adopted a method to create a portable workbench in reference of an article in FSM (don’t ask me which issue… I don’t want to waste time digging into the piles), and I’m going to work at my balcony.
I’m almost half a globe away from US, Canada and UK. So whichever reputable and reliable website I purchase the aftermarkets from will cost me a fortune in shipping. So I’ll have to make a few more item purchasing from the same site to make the shipping fee worthy. I did check out SprueBrothers, but they don’t have as much item favorable to me. So, I made the purchase at the website I posted.
It’ll take time for the goods to arrive, and I think the amount of time per day I could spend on building the kit will be limited. I’ll try to photograph my progress and seek advise.
Try Lucky Model in Hong Kong. The shipping from HK to worldwide is cheap and fast. For small item like a PE set, it makes sense to order from them.
Still don’t know where you are. In the US, most LHS can order not usually stocked item from their distributor for the customer. For inexpensive items like the PE, it is ofter cheaper than paying the shipping.
Oh… I didn’t realize that I left out my location info. I’m from Malaysia. Military modelling here is a very-very rare hobby. My nearest decent modeling shop is in Singapore.
I usually pick up tamiya paints from a RC store and sometimes Humbrol paints from train modelling stores. They don’t have full range of paints though. Malaysia used to have a few chain outlets of professional model shops years ago, but they close down one by one until 2 years ago, the last shop got bankrupt.
Now I found half a shop (sharing a lot with a soft-toy shop in a shopping complex) on modelling. The owner of the shop builds models for customers for living and have very limited kits for sales. He makes orders for the handfull of modellers here, but normally the order have to be large enough to interest the supplier. So… we get orders delivered like once per 3 months. I bought a 1/32 Tamiya F-15C kit that one of his customer ordered but didn’t show up for a very long time for less than USD$ 100.
I’m proud to say that, due to the limited supply for modelling, I have good experience in using materials I could grab for modelling tools and detailing.
Thank you very much for all those links. I suppose shipping from HK wouldn’t cost me too much. Another thing, I’m an Armour and Diorama fan. Anywhere I can shop for Diorama goodies like trees, cobblestone walkways, bridges, static grass, etc?
I am a lot further from Hong Kong that you are. One thing that I like about ordering from Lucky Model is that shipping for most PE or accessory sets is free to any part of the world.
Is it easy for you to order from the shop in Singapore?
By comparison, shipping from Canada or Europe to US are slow and expensive.
I went to the Lucky Models. I’m impressed by the large variety of selections they offer, although I find some of the items are really expensive. However, they don’t have the Big ed F-15C set I’m looking for. Individual purchase of the PE is very expensive.
I haven’t found any Singaporean Hobby shops online yet. There’s only one I found on eBay and I’m really disappointed on the limited selections and reluctant attitude in their responds.
However though, my wife is moving in to stay with me in my room (I stay with my parents). So, I had to sacrifice my working bench space, and I’m not allowed to do any modelling in the room. She hate paint smells.