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Scale Model Aircraft Kit Reviews
"SMAKR"

SITE INFORMATION PAGE

SMAKR Home  |  What's New  |  Submissions  | Information Requests |  News  |  Links  |  Reference Corner 
1/72 Reviews  |  1/48 Reviews  |  INBOX Reviews  

SMAKR 
PO Box 411, WHYALLA SA 5600, Australia

This Site Information Page elaborates on more aspects covered on the SMAKR site than what the Home Page touches on.  Each is covered by a heading below, please refer to the section that interests you.

If you are looking for some specific information, assistance or answers to commonly asked questions, then please have a look at the Information Requests page and look for the topic of interest.

Comments are welcome about your experiences with SMAKR including suggestions for improvement and notification of any broken links, missing images and so forth.  To forward comments simply use email and send to smakr1@optusnet.com.au. 

SITE DISCLAIMER

All Kit Reviews have been written from the Author's perspective and do not necessarily reflect the view of SMAKR. Other peoples opinions may also differ with regard to the kit.  SMAKR reviews are intended to be living reviews, in that they are able to be appended, updated and altered to improve accuracy, enhance readability and moreover become "better" reviews.  All genuine SMAKR reviews are unbiased and accurate from the reviewer's perspective, and most are comprehensive in detail and coverage.

SMAKR is NOT a commercial site nor affiliated or sponsored in any way! It is a FREE resource for all modellers and as such no professional judgement is given nor implied. Feedback about a particular review should be sent to the author (or via me if their email address is not displayed) and SMAKR accepts no accountability for authors responding to emails etc - this is purely at each person's discretion.  Additional comments intended to be appended to a review are very welcome, SMAKR reserves the right to edit and attach comments or not attach comments accordingly.

Please remember that modelling is about FUN and ENJOYMENT which is the prime reason SMAKR exists - please keep this in mind when browsing through this site.  

Note that the advertising banners and pop up windows generate NO INCOME for SMAKR, these are part and parcel of having access to a free web hosting service - complaints and inquiries should be directed to FortuneCity not SMAKR (I have no control over them!!).  

KIT REVIEW INDEX - Fully Built AND INBOX review indices

A separate index exists for 1/72, 1/48 and INBOX reviews, but all of them are sorted in exactly the same fashion.  This is by the aircraft's major type, that is, designation.  For instance, F-14, P-47, SR-71; Mi-24; Su-25; MiG-29, and so on.  There is no doubt that some entries might create confusion or not strictly adhere to this, so some additional assistance in locating your aircraft type is listed below.  

• Listing reference - in many cases where a listing might be confusing I have advised where to find it - for instance Avro 504K is found under Avro.  If you looked under 504K, there is a comment telling you where to find this aircraft.

• Subtypes (eg: RF-101, MC-130) will generally be found with their parent designation. In this case, these two examples would be found in F-101 and C-130 listings respectively.  Unless variants have different designations (eg: Su-27, Su-33, Su-35 Flanker family), which will be found under each designation accordingly.

• USAF helicopters are sorted under their most common H designation, (eg: Blackhawk will be found under UH-60, not S-70. The Sea Stallion family will be found under H-53; likewise the Chinook will be found under CH-47).  If in doubt, go to the variant (eg: MH-60) you are looking for as in most cases a note will tell you where to find that helicopter - if a review exists of that variant.  Or use the find feature of your browser and type in what you are looking for (eg: MH-60) for each index page.

• Model numbers or variant types under a company name (eg: Boeing Model 230, PZL 37B) that has no specific name or designation will generally be found under the company's name, in this case Boeing and PZL listings.

• Where there is no universally recognised designation, as is the case with many European aircraft types, then the review will be listed under that aircraft's name - ie:  Mirage, Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier, Hawk, Lightning, AMX etc.

• Many USAAF WWII examples will also be found under their name because their designation may vary between a small group of letters, eg: Avenger, Helldiver, Dauntless, Vindicator, Tarpon, and so forth

• Most non-production X and Y aircraft (eg: XP-77, YF-22, YF-23, etc) will be found under the respective X & Y headings.  Production prototypes like YF-16 will be found under their parent designation (ie: F-16). Again in cases of confusion, a note will generally be placed in a logical spot directing you to where the link actually is.

Try the general rule of thumb search ethic:-
Let's use the RA-5C Vigilante as the aircraft in this search example.  Basically you should follow these three steps in order when searching an index. 

1. Try the aircraft type, root designation, or basic production variant - (that is, A-5)

2. Then try the variant designation as it reads - (RA-5C)

3. Finally, go straight for the aircraft's name - (Vigilante)

Two final Tips:- 

• Use the "Find" feature on your web browser (CTRL+F for IE users) and type in a keyword (aircraft name; variant; base designation etc).  This is a quick way of locating a review but remember it will only work on the page you actually have up.  You may need to open up each index page and do a search.  

• And, more often than not, if there is any real ambiguity on where a review might be located, there will most likely be a note in the index in a logical area telling you where to refer to.  For example; if you went to the Me 109 listing, there is a note that tells you that these reviews will all be found under Bf 109.  

• If there are any problems please ask.

INFORMATION REQUESTS

Due to the amount of time spent answering emails which could have a standard response to or which I cannot really help with, an Information Requests page has been set up.  

Please read this page BEFORE sending me an email  

An answer to your query may be there; or your query might be one covered which I may not be able to help with, thus ensuring you can spend your time finding the answer elsewhere and not wasting it on me!  Thus, I can also spend more time on the site for YOU!!  If you still send me an email and a response is covered on this page, then please don't expect a reply, or to be only sent a link to the page!

I've put a fair bit of time and effort into this page, and also provided a summary on the What's New page.  I generally don't respond to emails if the answer is clearly here.

WHAT'S ON THE WORKBENCH

This section appears about half way down the home page and outlines any projects I am currently working on.  Obviously this also indicates a review of this kit is forthcoming to SMAKR soon after the project is finished!  So it might be helpful to know this if you have this kit in your collection and are looking to build it yourself soon. 

You will also notice % completion.  This should give you an approximate indication as a guide to whereabouts I am in the project.  As a very general rule of thumb I tend to use a fairly standard approach to the various stages of the project.  Of course projects are different in % completion depending on size and complexity but as a very broad guide the following are indicative points in the project:

• 5% - parts clean up; basic cockpit assembly (in progress)

• 10% - cockpit assembly completed; fuselage halves being placed together - cleaning of seam lines etc stages

• 25% - basic airframe; main wing assembly; tailplanes - next would be filling, sanding etc stages

• 35% - main airframe assembly completed; tail fins

• 40%-45% - external stores; options (smaller aircraft; smaller project; less parts, etc would be closer to 40% and so on) 

• 50%-65% - detailing; general construction complete

• 70%-75% - painting scheme being applied

• 80%-85% - painting scheme being completed; finishing detailing

• 90% - all construction complete; all painting complete; gloss cote applied or being applied; preparing decals

• 95% - decals applied; gloss cote applied or to be applied

• 100% - final gloss and finishing cotes applied; project completed - review to follow soon!

"Promised" Reviews Coming Soon section should be reasonably straight forward.  This is where I list Kit Reviews that regular SMAKR contributors have told me are either on the workbench or are intended to be written up in review form and submitted to SMAKR.  There is no guarantee the reviews will actually be forthcoming, or when, but these reviews are expected to be published in the near future on SMAKR and could be of some use to you if that is a project you are about to undertake. 

REVIEW CONTENTS

Each review has been set out in a similar format with a fairly chronological sequence of how the kit was built.  Some reviews contain headings for ease of reference while others do not (earlier SMAKR reviews from the late 1990's) although some of these are gradually being updated over time.  You can expect to find the following topics covered in most reviews on this site, but it must be stressed that individual reviews may differ based on the individual styles as submitted by the author/reviewer - the following is really only a guide; more information about content suggestions can be found on the Submissions page.:

• The name of the reviewer, email address if permission granted to display (remember this is the email address at the time the kit was submitted to SMAKR and I cannot guarantee its accuracy later!), when the Kit was submitted to SMAKR (this is when the kit was added to the site offline, not necessarily when it was written or the kit built!) and sometimes any other info, such as credit for any addendum's or photos supplied and date when the kit was built (if known).

• Details on the Kit - for example Kit number; if it is a reboxing of another company's etc.

• A short spiel on a history overview of the aircraft - note that sometimes this information might be taken from one review and applied to another.

• Boxart of the exact or earlier/later release kit made and an overview of what is inside the box when you open it.

• An overview of the instruction sheet and what it contains, such as number of assembly steps, quoted paint ranges, sprue diagrams, marking diagrams etc.

• Commentary on construction, including bits to watch out for, corrections to be made and ease of fit etc.

• Examples and options on the aircraft replicas that can be built, including comments on the decals and ease of application.

• Accuracy comments on the kit once built; details of any references if supplied and used.

• A concluding comment or overall assessment on whether (and who to) the kit is recommended.

• Links to some other kit reviews on SMAKR of the same aircraft type in all scales and from all manufacturers (note that I no longer do this with new reviews due to time restraints)

• Images of the completed model (if supplied) and/or photographic/artistic references of the aircraft itself.

INBOX REVIEWS

These are set out in near identical fashion to the built up kit reviews but there are obviously a few differences - most notably they are reviewed before they are built (or perhaps "previewed" for wanton of a better term).  INBOX reviews provide you with an insight into what a kit has to offer, such as how many parts, decals and versions provided, any flash apparent, overview of the instructions, breakdown of some of the parts, test dry fit of some major components and a general impression on the predicted build up of the kit.  The intention of the INBOX reviews is to allow you to 'see' inside a box before purchasing a kit and this will help you decide whether or not that kit is what you are after - naturally these reviews cannot tell you how the kit will really fare in its completed form (some very praising inbox reviews in the past have turned out later to reveal a difficult and inaccurate kit!).  But its purpose is well served and a 'preview' can be invaluable to the modeller seeking a quick look inside a kit before a purchase. 

Rec.Models.Scale newsgroup postings will sometimes be published here on SMAKR, taken direct from the newsgroup.  This is NOT illegal (due to the public forum nature of the posts) and apart from setting out and some spelling checks, the post is not edited in any way, and more importantly the original author is always credited!  A hell of a lot of SMAKR readers do not access the newsgroup, and this is an excellent way of bringing this information to them.  For a number of practical reasons (nor is it necessary!) permission is not always sought before these posts appear on SMAKR, and most authors are only too happy for their work to receive some due recognition!  However, at the same time this is not intended to create disharmony to those of you who place these posts in the newsgroup, so if you have any concerns about your post appearing on SMAKR please contact me to discuss!

SUBMISSIONS PAGE

No doubt, the submissions page is probably quite self explanatory by what its title implies.  This page sets out all the information, tips and suggestions on any submissions to the SMAKR website, including Kit Reviews; INBOX Reviews; Sample kits; Model Images and Boxart!

SMAKR has a policy to try and attach a copy of the boxart to every review it has on the site, to enhance the readability of the content and of course to identify the kit at a glance.  A table of "missing boxart" is provided on this page outlining all the reviews which are missing their boxart.  Any assistance in locating or getting hold of these is always appreciated.

Submitting Kit Reviews to SMAKR is easy, you only need attach a review to an email in text, Microsoft word or html format (or even write the review in the email!).  If you are also able to supply boxart and model images - great!  If not, the review is still very welcome!  Some general conditions and other bits of information are included for submitting reviews as well, which should be read before submitting your first ever review to SMAKR.  

REFERENCE / MISCELLANEOUS SECTION

There is too much information about the Reference section to list here, but in summary this area of the web site provides a wealth of valuable information to the modeller that is still relevant to Kit Reviews.  For instance you can find a page that provides opinions on Kit Manufacturers; a Humbrol cross reference chart; policy and FAQ page on information requests; discussion on various types of scales available in the hobby; some basic modelling tips; common terms found on SMAKR; Federal Standard colour code overview; plus a whole lot more.  

This section is, however, of a secondary nature to SMAKR (since the site is about Kit Reviews!), so many of these pages are published for interest purposes as they are, without intending to be updated or changed (or at least very often).  There is also no real intention of providing other information in this section, unless something is of interest and I decide to publish it.  

LINKS PAGE

I am sure this is very self explanatory, being just a small collection of links to other interesting sites on the Internet which I have chosen to place here.  SMAKR does not trade links with other websites nor wishes to make this page a comprehensive links collection, since there are plenty of sites on the Internet which already provide this service.  For more information on the links page policy, feel free to look for the heading near the bottom of the information requests page or the information on the links page itself.

COMMENTS, FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS

Comments, Feedback and Suggestions are always welcome at any time to help improve the site and help it to become a better resource for all modellers and SMAKR readers. If you have built a kit that is reviewed on this site and have some comments to add to the review - by all means send them in.  There is always scope to append this information to the review to enable it to be a better and more accurate review.  Please notify me of any broken links or problems (other than those in the Information Requests page!) you are experiencing with the site so that these can be addressed.  You may also want some further opinions on one of the kits I have reviewed on this site and I would be happy to help if I can. If you think there are better ways for layout or headings on reviews, or tips for changing one or two things, also happy to hear them.  While all good suggestions will be considered, the site may still remain the way it is and implemented on that basis.  SMAKR has its own unique feel and appeal, most of which is renowned as a laid back and relaxed aura, so much of the existing setting out and style is worth retaining.  I hope you enjoy your experience with SMAKR and you will regularly visit!  But if you can contribute a review or two, well that would be even better!  

Mark B
SMAKR Editor/Webmaster

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Note:  All material on this site is Copyright
No portion of this site may be reproduced in part or whole
without expressed written permission.  
Please send enquiries to: smakr1@optusnet.com.au 

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SMAKR Home  |  What's New  |  Submissions  | Information Requests |  News  |  Links  |  Reference Corner  
1/72 Reviews  |  1/48 Reviews  |  INBOX Reviews