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