[smd4]

Originally Posted by parsig9

I read your post with interest and carefully looked at my Corgi MB as I did so.

With Armour prices being so low lately it is tempting to want to grab a few more of them but it's posts like this that bring me back to reality...at least on this plane.

I'm not sure what they're going for now, but if they're low enough, they might make a good option for those who want to re-paint/re-detail them. When I had mine, I seriously thought about getting the old Revell kit, since it's the same scale, and using such things as the decals, propellers, etc. to dress up the Franklin version a bit. A repaint might be all it takes to make it somewhat acceptable.

I don't wish to bash FM too bad. I have one of their F-4 Phantoms, and it is indeed a work of art. Something slipped, however, from when that was made, to their later production.

[mustangdriver]

I know what you mean . It seems that with FM it is either hit or miss. I love the Spitfire and Hurricane, but hate the P-40 and P-51 that they did.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Originally Posted by mustangdriver

I know what you mean . It seems that with FM it is either hit or miss. I love the Spitfire and Hurricane, but hate the P-40 and P-51 that they did.

I agree their P-51D mustangs aren't the best....But they sure did a outstanding job on the "Let's Roll" & "Flying Tigers" A-10's and the F-4 Phantom "Showtime 100" in 1/48 ....When i see that.. i gives me a little hope they may be getting better....But now who knows.....They have been bought out again by another outfit...So well have to wait and see.
JP

[1250ships]

Just curious because I almost bought one years ago. How is their Dauntless?

[aeroeng]

I've got this SBD and A-24B and like both of them a lot.

[Cardinal]

Generally, I'm quite fond of the Franklin Mint Armour range, including my Swiss B17 . They're not perfect but are aesthetically appealing overall and display well. More pad printing and less decals though would improve them considerably. One of their best models is definitely the 1/48 Eagleston P47 - if you haven't seen one up close, I recommend you do so as it is an excellent piece of die-cast with great markings and a lot of 'heft' .

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by Cardinal

Generally, I'm quite fond of the Franklin Mint Armour range, including my Swiss B17 . They're not perfect but are aesthetically appealing overall and display well. More pad printing and less decals though would improve them considerably. One of their best models is definitely the 1/48 Eagleston P47 - if you haven't seen one up close, I recommend you do so as it is an excellent piece of die-cast with great markings and a lot of 'heft' .

I agree Card -- the P-47s are among the nicest models in FM's lineup, along with the P-38s and SBDs.

Question -- what kind of decals does your B-17 have? I just got a B-26 and it's all pad-printed, though it doesn't have any small decals, such as prop decals and warning labels and such... which I thought strange.

[Cardinal]

Originally Posted by PappyB

I agree Card -- the P-47s are among the nicest models in FM's lineup, along with the P-38s and SBDs.

Question -- what kind of decals does your B-17 have? I just got a B-26 and it's all pad-printed, though it doesn't have any small decals, such as prop decals and warning labels and such... which I thought strange.

Sorry, a miscommunication on my part PappyB .

When referring to the decals I wasn't referring to the B17 in particular but was speaking more in general about the range (e.g. my Spitfire and Bf109 have some decals where pad-printing may have been more appropriate - they are very professionally applied though).

[skysurfer808]

I have to say I agree with SMD on Armour's lack of accuracy and all round lameness in their depiction of models. Not all armours suck, some are pretty good. From the ones I've had I've got to give my own little review from the ones I've personally seen and held. So here I go.

Armour Hurricanes. Their Stanford Tuck is pretty decent, their Torch Sea Hurricane is pretty good, as are their MK IICs. The earlier marks have a few too many gun barrel holes in their wings, but their liveries are decent and they actually look like a Hurricane.

Armour Spitfires. Those are actually Spit Vs rather than Spit Is and IIs, so any Armour depiction of early Spits are inaccurate. When they are doing a Mk V, they are actually on the money. Best of the bunch in my opinion is their Caldwell RAAF Spit, and Hello...great nose art though it ought to be a Mk IX.

Armour P-38s. Pretty good, so long as they depict later model variants. Their Bong and St. Ex planes are very well done, they do stray a bit when they try to represent the earlier small cowled variants.

Armour P-40s. Their P-40Es absolutely suck, not worth the money with numerous inaccuracies, including underwing bombs, wrong prop hubs, and a wrong sit when on display. Their longer fuselage'd Fs are much better but for the same underwing bombs, sit, and stupid conical prop hub.

Armour P-47. These are among armour's better offerings, fairly well done and they look good on display. No major beef with any of them.

Armour P-51D. Stay away if you want a decent Mustang. These are the little planes that couldn't. Just about everything is wrong with them, nose, gear, canopy, tail, overall sit...etc. If you want a real decent depiction of a mustang in 1/48, spend the extra cash on Eagles International bird.

Armour F-86. Really a decent model, only real flaws are the some lack of detail on the canopy and slightly inaccurate national insignia decals. I'm quite happy with my Beautious Butch II.

Armour SBD Dauntless. One of the better Armour offerings, only flaw is the Midway SBD which has a strange gray paint job on its wing root fairings, and the fact that the canopy front is not painted, even though it is in the open position. Still the level of interior detail is pretty decent and this plane is worth getting if it can be obtained at a reasonable price. My favorites are the VS-2 Leppla and the USMC VMSB-231 Glidden.

Armour F6F Hellcat. Another decent model. The Vraciu is the best of the bunch, as it depicts an F6F-3, while all the others are modified from that base mold. The Mccampbell is pretty awful, you can see where the rear canopy glass was painted over, and the national insignias are placed too low on the fuselage of that thing. Still, I like the tri-color -3s that Armour puts out. Only accuracy flaw is the lack of an antenna on the tail, but Carousel 1 didn't include that on their Wildcats either...so I won't pick on Armour on that one.

Armour Zero. Most of these are pretty bad, with the exception of the straight wing Hamp and their Rufe Floatplane. My favorite is the Rufe, which I recommend getting, as it is the only floatplane in this scale, and its pretty accurate to boot. Best of all the thing comes with a little launch cradle for display.

Armour BF-109. These are pretty decent Messerschmitts, my personal favorites being the light gray scallop nosed Hartmann, and the Swiss one. Plusses are tough overall construction and metal props, only minus is the silly clear "armor" behind the pilot's seat.

Armour FW-190. Hit and miss depending on which one you are talking about, but the Losigkeit is my favorite and the Armour base mold does make a decent Butcher Bird. They even have a spinning cooling fan for the BMW engine. The other depictions can be spotty, watch out for strange placement of swazzis and other livery anomolies.

Armour Me-262. Also pretty decent, I'd recommend most of these, but not all of them have Swazzis. My favorite is the all gray version, which looks like something that belongs in a current day ramp, rather than 1945.

Armour Stuka. Also rather decent. I had the Rudel and I have to say it looks pretty formidable on the shelf.

Armour B-25. Pretty good, I had the PBJ and Bats Outta Hell, and both were decent depictions. My complaint was that the wings were rather loose, almost flapping on my Bats. Still, you got a pretty good amount of detail, including painted yokes, and a livery that looked rather accurate for both airplanes.

Armour B-26. I had Dominion's Revenge and Flak Bait, and I posted my 2 cents on livery issues in MH-1, and was graciously corrected. Armour's B-26 is one of their best bomber releases, mine had no problems and was a solid model of a beautiful aircraft. If you want an Armour Bomber get this one by all means.

Armour C-47. By all means stay away from this bloody monster. It's huge, comes in a giant box guaranteed to anger one's other half, and doesn't even make a decent depiction of a goony bird. The props look like they are feathered and there's a giant seam line right through the middle of the airplanes fuselage side. You've been warned.

Armour A-10s. All rather decent. No bad things to say about these, get em if you can and have the room.

Armour Phantoms. Showtime 100 is the jewel of that collection, followed by Old's Scat, but there is serious quality control issues, and the big fat drop tanks aren't so hot.

Armour F-15s. Ok, but not nearly the level of detail something so big and expensive ought to have.

So there's my thoughts on Armours. Some are good, some not so good. My other big beef with them concerns size. To have a decent collection of Armours requires a great big american size house. Anything smaller just can't stow the boxes that come with these things. For that reason I prefer Corgi and Armour's original 1/100 line.

Skysurfer808

[Metalman]

Hi Collectors,

Hi Starman, nice to see you on a post again! I've got as many Armor as anyone, I guess. I've got everything except a B-24. But I'll get one evetually. I like the P-51s, but not for the accuracy reasons. It's really the only D model in 1/48 around. I have a P-51B/C from Eagles international. I'll reserve my opinion on that line, other than to say that it cost 3X as much as my Armor P-51D and I didn't have to put it together. But one thing I like is Eagles Int. did me a personal favor by offering a B/C model P-51. Because it is a "B" they get an "A" for producing it! I've been watching and waiting for a B/C model for years.

As for the other types, that will have to wait for later. I do agree about the larger (Now Franklin Mint) Armor planes. I have the "Bit 'O Lace" Fort and it looks all right. I haven't decide how I like the panel lines yet. I also have the Civilian Ju-52 and a Norway Ju-52. There is no way to pack them in a box big enough, so I left them in their original boxes and use the handles provided. My B-26 (Flak Bait) has a flaw; the left aileron is not painted OD Green like the rest of the wing. Something to fix later. Take care and happy collecting!