I just got the latest Squadron catalog. In it there are lots of re-issued Lindberg line kits. These are really blasts from the past. I'm all for nostalgia but most of these are really dogs. Case in point the 1/400 scale HMS Hood. I had that turkey way, way back. I could have sworn that back then it was claimed to be 1/350 scale. Anyway avoid this kit at all costs, unless you've got a very big bath tub and you've wanted a bath tub toy to play with in it.

Would a swimming pool and .22 do?

The challenge----- what ever happen to the challenge of turning a dog into a "fine work of model making art"!

I know there are people, even people on this site, who could turn this into "a fine work of model making art," but life is too short to make this silk pulse into a sow's ear.

Dave, I don't think firing a .22 into a swimming pool is a good idea, especially if it is an above ground pool! Speaking from the past (a very looong past) experience, firecrackers work better. As for the challenge of improving some kits, there is the law of diminishing returns, too much work for too little gain. I agree that some older kits can be improved with a little TLC, but some aren't worth it. Unless the kit in question is the only game in town. Al

Firecrackers definitly. It blows the ships out of the water literally. Sort of reminescent of the actual event

Hello Steve, Some members of a club and I used to give presentations about model building during a program called Arts Alive in a Connecticut middle school. It exposed the students to all sorts of artistic activities. It also introduced quite a few adults to our hobby. Many did not realize it was more than just gluing pieces of plastic together. We were actually invited to join the Artists Society. That would have been like Rodney Dangerfield in Caddyshack, oil and water. However, I once made the mistake of mentioning my childhood escapades involving models and explosives. The kids all wanted to know if we were going to blow something up right there and then. I had to explain that I had a lot more time and money invested in my models than back in the Dark Ages, so we most definitely would not be scuttling anything. I could not help but wonder if any of the kids mentioned to their parents about the destructive, rather than constructive, topic discussed that day. Al

I used to build model trucks and tanks out of balsa wood.........They blew up a lot better than the plastic ones.............Al