I went into my LHS today and found a ton of Vac form kits had just hit the consignment section, and were going CHEAP! What better opportunity to choose my first vac form kit?[:D]
First one I looked at: Aeroclub’s 1/48 BAC Lightning F.3. I love the Lightning, but all those white metal parts scared me stiff![:0]
Next up: Dynavector’s 1/48 Westland Wyvern. An interesting bird, but the decals were terrible in the kit and I think a few parts were missing. Still, at the price it was a steal and a half.
There was a large number of 1/48 WWII German birds in vac form including a Heinkel 219 Uhu.
I eventually settled on an Avia S-199 “Mule” in 1/48 as it was the least intimidating of the lot.
Seriously, I think I almost broke a sweat choosing the kit. I’m very indecisive in hobby shops at the best of times, but I think I really outdid myself in that department today![:p]
I’ll probably kick myself for the next year or so for not picking up the Lightning, but I figure if I get halfway through the kit and decide vac form isn’t for me, at least I won’t feel the guilt so badly as if I had taken it.
I like the “Mule” well enough to have a model of one in my collection, but if I don’t get through it, it won’t break my heart.
Anyway, the Airfix Lightnings are out there and are said to be excellent.
I’m interested, what were some of your first vac form experiences like?
For your first vac you should choose a plane that you really want to build, there are some points during a vac build that take some motivation (sanding, test fitting etc.)
At the end of my vac buid I was really suprised that it actually looked like an aircraft! Just like al my other kits, I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing?
Swanny, both the Wyvern and the Lightning were going at 300 Czech Crowns, I don’t know about American Dollars, but there’s about 20 Crowns to a Canadian Dollar. I wouldn’t expect to see Aeroclub or Dynavector kits for less than 1000 Crowns around here.
richbasas, As you might have guessed by now, my LHS is here in the Czech Republic, Brno to be precise. It has one of the most interesting consignment sections I’ve ever seen.
You missed out with the Wyvern. I’ve done that as my first Vac, and I’m smitten. Once you’ve got it cut out of the backing styro, you can put it together pretty much like a regular styrene kit. The metal parts are reasonably moulded, and not at all scary to work with (coming from a gaming figure background I would say that!), but it is a beauty.
If anyone out there who isn’t bored with me banging on about the Dynavector Wyvern is still listening, just get one, and if you can, get the Compass Rose resin cockpit tub, flaps, wheels, dive-brakes, air-intakes, exhaust nozzles & such. Ok, so it makes an easy vacform into a not-so-easy vacform cut’n’shut, but the quality of the plane is up there with the best. I saw a comparo review of the Dynavector+Compass Rose, Versus the new Classic Airframes kit, and was still pleased with my choice.
I don’t know if the shop itself has online ordering, but it is run by MPM in some fashion, so I suppose if you went to the main MPM page, it would be the same thing.
As for 1/72, they have a fair amount of MPM (of course), Eduard, Special Hobby and other MPM associated brands as well as Kopro, Smerand a few other Eastern brands like Zvezda, Maquette, Eastern Express…
They also carry Hasegawa, Tamiya and a bit of Fujimi.
The real deal, I find, is not so much the prices of the kits, but the prices of aftermarket goodies. Czech Master resins and Eduard PE sets still look like a pretty good bargain here even after I switch Crowns over to Dollars.
As for the Average Czech wage compared to Canadian, I think its really all relative. By Canadian standards my last Canadian job was low paying and by Czech standards, my current job is a bit on the low side right now, so I don’t feel I’m in an ideal position to compare them at the moment. Perhaps once I get more command over the Czech language and can look for jobs outside of teaching, I’ll have a better basis of comparison.