Flying Boats and First World Problems
Right now, the tiny plastic thing I've been building is a flying boat: a 1/144 Be-12 "Chaika" (Gull) from Amodel. It is now not so far from done, with the basic painting done, and I'm pleased with how it is turning out. The work has been slow, admittedly, essentially because Amodel is not kidding when they say you should have some experience building models before attempting their kits. I'll be writing up a full kit review once it is finished. I've been fairly busy lately with the real world, but have had some time to think about why exactly I think this or that model kit is interesting enough to buy. With airplanes, at least, the dominant trend seems to be obscurity. With the Fw 200 and the He 219, I was drawn to the kits partially because I wanted to know more about the aircraft in question. It's a similar story with the Be-12. (What's a Be-12 you might ask: well, [assuming a slightly smug and superior tone] it is a cold war turboprop Soviet se...