Model Forum / General / Models / August 2006

Personally I make models for 2 different reasons.  Sometimes, usually when I
have an extended period  with some time on my hands like over a holliday or
something, I make a model for the sheer relaxation and enjoyment of the
process of making and painting it.  Sometimes I make a model when I'm
feeling really creative to see the realization of some ideas I have on
making the perfect incarnation of some beloved subject (as a form of
personal artwork) and sometimes just because I just want to see a realistic
looking 3D portrayal of the vehicle (usually in my case a fighter aircraft,
or more rarely, a tank, almost always WWII era) that you just can't get from
looking at a photo or a drawing in a book.  In the latter case I
particularly enjoy the sense of relative size you can notice from putting
one aircraft next to another of the same scale.... ever since I saw how
small the Spit and the 109 were at the Smithsonian when I was a kid I have
been curious about this.  Reading the dimensions on paper just doesn't cut
it.

Every so often I have been tempted to fulfill this third modeling need by
some prefab aircraft "replica", usually die cast, or more rarely wood or
plastic, which is offered for sale.  Usually these prove out to be crudely
made and very overpriced.

Enter the "Ultimate Soldier / 21st Century Toys" replicas.  I was curious
about these when I recently saw them on Ebay.  I looked carefully at the
photos and to my surprise, they seemed pretty well done.  Ultimate Soldier
had sparked my interest once before a couple of years ago with their odd
1/6th scale RC model of a Stuart Tank.  I think they make GI Joe figures.
For the life of me though I do not get what a 1/32 realistic scale model of
an historical WW II fighter really has to do with GI Joe, and I thought
there was something fishy about the whole thing.  I kind of figured they
would be junk no matter what they looked like.. but I was sorely tempted by
the subject matter: 1/32 scale replicas of a whole series of those flying
Ferraris of the late war Regia Aeronautica, the Macchi C.202 and C.205.  I
love these planes and they are seriously rare, I don't think I've ever seen
one available at 1/32 scale.  So I took the bait and against my better
judgement, shelled out $25 or so (counting shipping) that it cost me to have
a C.202 sent to me.

When it arrived I was amazed.  I expected a heavy duty PVC molded with
peeling stick-on decals and stenciled paint.  But for all I can tell, these
appear to be 1/32 scale plastic models of a pretty high quality, same type
of (polystyrene?) plastic and everything that I'm used to making, though of
what specific brand I don't know, apparently hand made in some sweat shop or
prison in China.  The craftsmanship is remarkable, maybe not quite top
modeler skill level but better than what I can make.

The potential ethical issues implied by the price and quality
not-withstanding, if you want a model for reason number 3 this is a
seriously good bargain.  I don't know if anyone even makes a 1/32 scale
model of either of those beautiful Italian aircraft (which Ultimate Soldier
offers in something like 5 or 6 different historical variants) I would guess
the kit alone would cost $75-$100 at the absolute bare minimum, not counting
the paint and the glue and everything.  To do it right you would also need
all sorts of tools I dont have from simple clamps to magnifying glasses to a
working airbrush complete with air compressor, plus plenty of space and
probably something like 20-40 hours of free time to do it, which thanks to a
new job and recently becoming quasi nomadic (due to last years Hurricane) I
also don't currently have (I actually have a backlog of about 6 kits I need
to make which are sitting in some box and I don't even have paint at the
moment).

Seeing as I'm the free-handed brush, scotch tape and rubber band type
modeler, I think I'll save my personal efforts for the more common American
types I've made over and over and can do a pretty good job on without
worrying too much if I screw it up.  A used Revell kit I got for $10 on Ebay
isn't going to cause a nervous breakdown if I get paint on the clear part of
the canopy or rip the decals or something.  The Ultimate Soldier Macchi's,
their Corsair, and their Fw 190D's look fantastic, and I think I will be
slowly adding them to my little air-fleet.  My friends will never know the
difference and will laud my modeling and painting skill no doubt.  I hope
Ultimate Soldier releases the Spit and the Stuka in 1/32 as well as 1/18
because I dont' want to mix scales (for the above mentioned reason).  For
that matter their tanks look pretty good to me too, when I've collected all
the planes I might get a few of those.

Anyway, just a heads up kindof a review.  If anyone knows anything more
about this mysterious company, like whose models they are using to make
these things, I'd love to know more.

BD