SPA Modeler

Bruce, Truth is spoken once again! I think the instruction sheets have been dumbed down considerably and in many cases the artwork is substandard. So many are produced off-shore with no checking of language skills. This is from the Hasegawa F-11 Raptor sheet...

Thanks Bruce! It’s funny how we can obsess over a small detail such as the cowl ring... speaking of blue plastic, you should see the shade of blue that my Hasegawa 1/32 FW-190A came in.... it sure reminds me of the original F-15 “Air Superiority Blue” of 1975.... don’t forget your mirror lens Ray Bans

Lyle, What could be a factor here is in Japanese there is no distinction between /r and /l sounds in speech. I write “could” because the anonymous translator is most likely Japanese but that is not entirely certain. It is an error that should have been caught at the proofing stage, though.

My Dad told me a story of a fella he knew in the U.S. who printed his company’s Shipping boxes in China. The fella’s company slogan was, “The Finest Ear Wigs in the World,” something along those lines, and the fella got on the horn and told the printer that they needed the slogan printed on each and every box—what he said to the Chinese printer was,”Okay print this on every box—“The Finest Ear Wigs Blah, Blah, Blah.” You see where this goes, right? Every box that was printed had “The Finest Ear Wigs Blah, Blah, Blah” stamped on it. They caught this mid run but the fella took it in stride and used the “Blah, Blah, Blah” boxes, too.

Lost in translation Part II

Looking at the instruction sheet, what is the difference between the part that is open and the one that is closed? It looks like the exact same illustration to me. Also... is it really a “nozzle?” It looks like a “louver,” with multiple panels... a louvered exhaust perhaps, if there is such a thing.

True, but not just overseas...I spent a lot of years at GE Appliances. We sent a sample label to a vendor in the US doing water filtering products. Yep, guess what every boxed item was labeled? The sample. We found that while visiting the plant and had to help them create and relabel several hundred items.

My precious... hand polished:

LyleW wrote:True, but not just overseas...I spent a lot of years at GE Appliances. We sent a sample label to a vendor in the US doing water filtering products. Yep, guess what every boxed item was labeled? The sample. We found that while visiting the plant and had to help them create and relabel several hundred items.

Lost in translation III

Great story, Lyle. I looked up GE’s slogan earlier and promptly forgot it. Too many paint fumes, not enough brain cells, perhaps? Cheers, my friend!

One more shot of the polished armor ring:

Do you modeling masters think this is a genuine color photo for partial color matching purposes? Maybe not? The factory finish! I like the variety here—the areas which are painted over where the insignias are which do not match the factory work for example. The flat qualities of paint.

Bruce, I suspect that is a colorized photo. The flesh tones just do not look quite right. Most German WWII actual color photos are much grainier, and the colors are either more vivid, or washed out. I’ve seen a few original color FW-190 photos. I’ll see if I can find any...

Stikpusher wrote:Bruce, I suspect that is a colorized photo. The flesh tones just do not look quite right. Most German WWII actual color photos are much grainier, and the colors are either more vivid, or washed out. I’ve seen a few original color FW-190 photos. I’ll see if I can find any...

Dangit you’re right. I bet it was colorized. Thanks, Carlos!

Here is one—an A-2! Blue 4.

It looks like you got the cowl ring sorted out. I would've said the same thing... it does not sit flush but others have already come to the rescue. I don't know if I would try to color-match using archive photos. Too many variables, IMO. Using modern photos of non-restored aircraft/parts is a bit better but still some variables at play including degradation of paint over time. Jerry Crandall's Dora Volume 2 has some nice color pics of Luftwaffe aircraft parts to illustrate the different RLM shades. The PCM instructions call for a RLM 65/02/71 scheme... I don't know enough about early Antons to know how the A-1 fit in relation to the Luftwaffe switch to RLM 76/74/75 but I do like the RLM colors from the Mr Hobby Aqueous line of paints.

Struggling to get back on the West Coast clock after my overseas trip. Bright and chippy in the morning but kinda zombified at the end of the work day!