Full Afterburner Firefly............................

[pennausamike]

Ok, since I was the first one to ask about this master in this thread I figured I would chime in now.

I do like the ship overall, and the size is great- I love a model that I can add lights and other things into.
I do however have serious questions when it comes to the quality and finish of the raw kit though.

I'm looking forward to following your progress!!

I think that was a thorough and useful presentation of issues with the master.

I would agree most with the rough areas you showed as needing smoothed out, tho' I assumed that that would come before molding.
I also viewed some of the caulking as useful in removing such a large and multi-faceted shape from a mold, to allow for multiple castings; tho' Ron would be better qualified to speak to that.

None of the problems you presented are a deal-breaker for me, especially not the symmetry issues you showed in the green horizontal and vertical lines above.
The gaps at the windscreen are fit items I would attend to at joining the two halves.
My eye just isn't tuned to that level of perfection.
I would admit that I tend to build three-footers in my modeling, so my opinion is just that, my OPINION.

My primary interest in this ship is to have a kit to build flaws and all.
My worst scenario is a progress thread that lasts 2 years and results in a "perfect" $600 ship with a billion parts that I'll never have the time or money to build.

Perhaps the most useful information, from those actually serious about purchase of a three-foot Firefly replica, is what flaws or features would make you choose to NOT make a purchase.
Aegis159 presented an excellent analysis of pretty nearly all the flaws, but which ones would you be willing to deal with on clean-up and assembly; and which flaws would make the kit too much trouble to build or too unsatisfactory upon completion?

 

[Lord Abaddon]

I think that was a thorough and useful presentation of issues with the master.

I would agree most with the rough areas you showed as needing smoothed out, tho' I assumed that that would come before molding.
I also viewed some of the caulking as useful in removing such a large and multi-faceted shape from a mold, to allow for multiple castings; tho' Ron would be better qualified to speak to that.

None of the problems you presented are a deal-breaker for me, especially not the symmetry issues you showed in the green horizontal and vertical lines above.
The gaps at the windscreen are fit items I would attend to at joining the two halves.
My eye just isn't tuned to that level of perfection.
I would admit that I tend to build three-footers in my modeling, so my opinion is just that, my OPINION.

My primary interest in this ship is to have a kit to build flaws and all.
My worst scenario is a progress thread that lasts 2 years and results in a "perfect" $600 ship with a billion parts that I'll never have the time or money to build.

Perhaps the most useful information, from those actually serious about purchase of a three-foot Firefly replica, is what flaws or features would make you choose to NOT make a purchase.
Aegis159 presented an excellent analysis of pretty nearly all the flaws, but which ones would you be willing to deal with on clean-up and assembly; and which flaws would make the kit too much trouble to build or too unsatisfactory upon completion?

Well said, and I think that really comes down to personal preference, how far Ron is willing to go (and invoke costs, time, etc.), and skill levels. As you said for me (and IMO) so far nothing I'm seeing at this point is a deal breaker. I am looking to see Ron's continued progress on what looks like an excellent kit.

 

[snag]

This is going to be a fun kit, so I needed a fun label.

This picture, that I never showed before ...

(The caulk looks like crap, but it is a preliminary step in the master.).

Yeah... the angle of the shot + soft details + the portion of the ship that's in the camera frame makes the thing look like a painted rubber chicken. I think a wider shot would be more flattering.

IMHO time spent on building the pattern in much more important than a neat label. Randy Cooper's SD came in a plane cardboard box and the kit is a fantastic piece. Just my two cents.

 

[Styrofoam_Guy]

Well it looks like Rshanko has been banned so we will probably not see this model progress any more