Photographs Copyright © Collin Riley 2005-2012 |
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| McDonnell
F-101B Voodoo, "58-0259" 2nd FITS, Air Defense Weapons
Center, Tyndall AFB, Florida, Oct 1978 |
Air
Power Series. Mostly very good, this Voodoo
has a good plastic to paint match, excellent national insignia,
good cockpits for the scale, nice canopy fit, and very good landing
gear stubs that fit nicely into wing and nose recesses. Unfortunately,
on my copy, there is a glaring gap in the fuselage on the port side
beneath the canopy. Also, there is a gap in the plastic between
the starboard intake and the fuselage. One odd part of this model
is a rotating weapons platform. The platform is on the belly of
the model, just below the radar operator's seat. On one side are
two white missiles, on the other side two red missiles. Spin the
platform to select; "no missile" is not an option.
I do regret spending US$70 on this model. For
whatever reason, prices are escalating rapidly, especially for HM
diecast. Somehow, Corgi has kept price increases down; for instance,
I bought the first Sterling for US$119, a good price for a lot of
model. My slightly defective Hurricane from the new mold was US$39
(Corgi, please mail me that carb intake!), and the new-mold Spitfires
are the same price. But purchasing these $60, $70 and $80 1/72 models
has become a real drag on my diecast budget. Hobby Master is now
the premier war bird manufacturer, turning out huge numbers of new
models in a variety of scales, and is able to raise prices repeatedly.
Perhaps their product quality and frequency of offerings have had
the effect of expanding the diecast market to more affluent customers,
or perhaps the expansion of China's middle class has widened the
customer base. Whatever, higher prices seem to be here to stay.
One bright spot is the frequency of sale items, seemingly caused
by excess product availability, especially in the US; some excellent
HM models can be bought for a song (I recently bought a 1/48 F4B
for US$29, just half price). Unfortunately, this old retired guy,
and avid collector, isn't able to keep up. Pricing has finally exceeded
my "collector's conscience." The wife will be overjoyed,
even though I'll still be dipping into Corgi's offerings and a few
HM first runs. |
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| Type |
Fighter |
| Hobby Master item |
HA3701
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| Distribution |
Unlimited |
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