REVIEW: WEEAC NAVIGATOR SERIES

By: Tom Cleaver

What: 10 instructional CD/ROMs

Made By: WEEAC

MSRP: £4.95 Pounds each (except Zero -£5.95) - approx US$9.00 each

     Judging by the e-mail I get from visitors to this site, and comments I see at the forum, our average reader is probably someone who used to build models when they were young, and have now returned to the hobby as an adult.  Their problem is that, while they have the hand-eye coordination of an adult, they have the modeling knowledge they vaguely remember picking up “on the street” when young.  Oh, and if possible, they’d like to build a model that won’t require them using all that fiddly resin or photoetch stuff, at least not right yet.

     I’ll be any one of you who fit that profile would love to have an experienced modeler right at hand while you’re working on that kit, who you can question at length about constructing it, deciding what to paint it, deciding how much detail to give it, deciding what markings to put on, etc.  Oh, and if they could explain all this with pictures and maybe even a personal demonstration of what they’re talking about, that would be even better.

     Good luck finding anyone who could do that for you.  Until now.

     WEEAC is a small company in England founded by two dedicated modelers whose goal is to help you produce a quality model, right out of the box, with no aftermarket anything.

     The “Navigator” is a CD/ROM that provides “how to build” guides, each one unique to a specific kit.  At a cost of approximately $9.00 US plus postage from the UK, these are handy-dandy little instructional guides.  While each is specific to a particular model, you’ll be learning techniques and - more importantly - attitudes that can be applied across the board to other projects.  The “Construction Navigator” is an approximately 6,000 word document, with hyperlinks to photographs showing the process of construction, is quite comprehensive.  There is a walkaround “gallery” around 40 photos of the completed model to provide both inspiration and guidance. Additionally, where a full-size aircraft exists to be photographed, each disk has a walkaround section of photos of the real thing for research.  For those who want to go beyond what has been done with a model here, there is the “Navigator All Directions" section, which has hints and tips for “creating that model with a difference.”  The 95-page document has 132 photos and 16,532 words of text to navigate a modeler through tricky areas like Detail Additions, Dry Brushing, Color Washes, Etched Brass, Resin Parts, Filling and Blending, Transparencies, Metallic Finishes, Pastel Weathering and last of all Decals.

     I received three of these, for the Hasegawa 1/48 P-40E, the 1/48 Hasegawa Grumman F-14A Tomcat “VF-111 Sundowners”, and the 1/32 Trumpeter Me-262A-1a.  While I have been modeling long enough to be pretty familiar with most techniques for construction, painting, etc., I definitely learned some new things about color washes and pastel weathering that have already been put to some good use.  For anyone from a novice to our standard “average modeler” this will get you off your “modeling plateau” and turbocharge your learning curve as you advance in skill using these instructional guides. 

     I can certify that these guides know what they’re talking about when it comes to various skills they teach and points they make of things to be watching for as you build a model.  I learned all those the hard way over mumblemumble years, but you can learn them over the process of a few projects, using these guides.

     Personally, for what all is in them, I can’t believe these are as cheap as they are.  One almost sees the WEEAC folk as those classic English craftsmen, hat in hand, bowing low as they present their product, saying “M’Lord, will this do?” (Somebody has been watching entirely too much Masterpiece Theatre).  But they are that traditional English product: highly useful, very well done, and damn nicely priced indeed.

To date, the series includes:

No.0: Tamiya 1/32 Mitsubishi A6M2b Model 21.

No.1: Hasegawa 1/48 Curtiss P40-E Warhawk, which includes a walkaround of the Kittyhawk at Hendon.

No.2: Academy 1/48 MiG-21MF Fishbed J, which also includes a walkaround on the MiG-21.

No.3: Airfix 1/48 Supermarine Seafire FR46/47. (Excellent for getting the most out of the Grand Phoenix re-boxing with all the resin goodies)

No.4: Classic Airframes 1/48 Gloster Meteor F.8, which also includes a Hendon walkaround.
 

No.5: Trumpeter 1/32 Messerschmitt Me262A-1a, also including a Hendon walkaround (I particularly liked this one).
 

No.6: Revell 1/48 British Phantom FGR Mk.2, including a St.Athan and Hendon walkaround.

No.7.1: Hasegawa 1/48 Messerschmitt Me109G-2/6.
 

No.7.2: Hasegawa 1/48 Messerschmitt Me109G-14/10.

No.8: Hasegawa 1/48 Grumman F-14A Tomcat, including a US Navy photo gallery featuring the Crusader and Vigilante.

No.9: Airfix 1:48 E.E. Lightning F-2A/F-6 with a walkaround.

     The CD/ROMs have lots of “bells and whistles” on board, and Recommended System Requirements are: Windows XP, Word 2000, Pentium II 300, 128MB ram, 130 MB Hard Disk Space, 2XCD-rom, SVGA Graphics card, SVGA monitor and mouse.

     WEEAC is now set up to take payment via Pay-Pal. 
 

     Think of these as the patient teacher you always wanted, who you can ask the same question of as often as necessary, and never have to worry about hearing an exasperated tone or the question “didn’t you get this before?” Highly recommended.  Even old dogs can learn new tricks with these.

Thanks to WEEAC for the review samples. 

Get yours at: http://weeac.co.uk/