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Hi All First one completed for 2017. Started over the Christmas holidays, finished earlier this week. Mainly out of the box, but I added some of the missing scoops and inlets on the spine and beside the cockpit, also the small intake on the nose, also added a few bits of plastic card on instrument coaming to make it look a little busier. Tried to improve the front lights but did not work as well as I hoped, also removed wing tip lights and made new ones using clear sprue. The decals are a NIGHTMARE, I found them really tricky to work with, especially the Dayglo, (I made a few small errors myself with the decals), thankfully I have two kits so as I destroyed various decals I could get a replacement......... Last but not least made the school boy error of not adding nose weight, so I had to insert a metal pin and make a small base to get it to stand correctly. I persevered as I really like the box art and as soon as I saw that I knew that it was one of the schemes that I had to build. Now comes the problem I still want to build about another 6 with different schemes, I have one more kit so that is a help, but not sure what scheme will be done next. cheers Ali

Morning folk's first AFV of the year is Tamiya's Universal carrier usual fare flawless fit,beautiful detail even the tracks gave no problem, she is in the colour's of the 50th(Northumbrian) division with the famous crossed T's insignia,the division were landed on D-Day which is the period shown,they were broken up in late 1944 after a long hard campaign with the BEF in 1940,the western desert,Sicily and some month's in Italy.

Many years ago when Airfix released the 1/72 scale Concorde the local model group set about a what if concorde group. The plan was to to come up with something regarding the Concorde and what if a company or organisation purchased one of the several Concordes for personal use. This is my dads take on the concorde done in Eddie Stobart markings. The model represented the red, white and green paint design and their famous Stobart logo branded on the tail. This colour scheme was famous on the roads of Britain, and could of been in the skies also. Thanks for looking.

Hi, here are some progress pictures. I've added the wires (streched sprue). Instrument panel is from the kit. I' ve received the eduard brassin engines - that has to be the best set I've seen, and I've seen a lot. Cheers!!

Hi Folks There have been a few top class builds of the recent Airfix Jet Provost posted in RFI of late so I decided to post my humble contribution. I give you the recent Airfix 1/72 Jet Provost T3 finished in Light Aircraft Gray(from the Mr.Hobby range) and decals from the Xtradecal set for the Airfix Kit. The hi-vis markings were for the most part ok to use but getting them to follow the curve of the leading edge of the wing was less than successful with the solid areas of dayglo decals being quite rigid and brittle which resulted in cracking and splitting of the decal. I patched up the dayglo as best I could and touched up the damaged decals with some dayglo paint. I did attempt to add some of the vents/air scoops to the fuselage but did not correct the canopy as I had finished painting before I read about the canopy framing being an internal feature, for noting on the next one. Thanks for looking

Hi all. I just finished the Eduard 1/48 Hellcat for a friend of mine. The kit builds really easy. No fit problems whatsoever. Included in this kit are some very nice resin wheels and a colored pe set for the cockpit. Also pe spark plug wires for the engine are included. The decal sheet for several versions looks very nice but I don't like the fact that they don't react to decal setting at all. The model was painted with Gunze Aqueous over a base of Alclad black primer. Aqua gloss from Alclad was used as a clear coat before the wash and decals were put in place. Final coat used is Alclad matte. Thank you for watching. René

Hi, This was a quick 'starter' build to fill the gap between my last build and the 'NATO' GB. Trouble is, I now have another two weeks to go (though I am away next weekend) WIP is HERE if you are interested Cheers Nigel

Airfix DC-9 1:144 26 Decals 'Iberia' This is ye olde Airfix kit from the orginal 'KLM' boxing. As I have 4 of them in the stash I though I should build one of them, even though the Fly Models kit is a more modern tooling. It is still worth building as it has very good fit and is pretty accurate. The main problem with it is that it lacks the prominent 'Lobe Crease' along the lower fuselage. I scribed it in with an Olfa P cutter, and worked along the line with a sub miniature half round file to emphasise it. It also lacks the eyebrow windows on the cockpit glazing, and although I left the glazing clear, I used the eyebrows off the decal sheet. Iberia's 9's all seemed to have an amount of thrust reverser staining at the back end, so i tried to replicate this also, with a puff of Tamiya 'Smoke' from the airbrush. It's one of my favourite classic airliners, and it has the plus of a red cheat line! And 'With something else', A Fly Models 'Baby 9' in Draw Decals TWA livery. There was a 'Gotcha' with the decals. the instructions only show a Post side profile, so i reapeated the layout on the starboard side. A couple of days later looking on Airliners.net I spotted that it was wrong, which just goes to show the importance of checking references.. Out came the sellotape and I stripped the titles off. The ever helpful Mr Stringbag just happened to have some replacements so i was able to correct it. Thanks Chris! Can you spot the uncorrected error here? Thanks for looking, John

Good morning. I would like to show you some models made before signing up on Britmodeller (yes , i love the Navy!) F6F-3 Hellcat Eduard 1/48 FM-1 Wildcat Hobbyboss 1/48 F6F-3 Hellcat Eduard 1/72 F6F-3 Hellcat Academy 1/72 F4U-1 Corsair Tamiya 1/72 P-51C Mustang Mk.III ICM 1/48 P-47D Thunderbolt Tamiya 1/72 Norseman Revell 1/72 Bf-109 K4 Hasegawa 1/48 Bf-109 E4 Academy 1/72

Picked up this kit in a shop when I was stocking up on paints. Cost me £6 and was stashed away for a bit of a fun, mojo restorer when things got a bit intense. A noticed it had been built/review in a magazine this month and tbh, I was less than impressed by the effort put in. So, it was out of the stash and onto the workbench. By no means a perfect kit but a really enjoyable and straight forward build.

Hi, In 1942 Haiti started organizing their airforces from Garde d'Haiti. The first equipment was a group of biplane Douglas O-38E received from US, which immediately started antisubmarine sorties over Caribbean Sea and this region of Atlantic Ocean. I've learnt about it some years ago reading something about Battle for Atlantic in Net. There was a page about Latin American share in battle for Atlantic - now I cannot find it again. Nevertheless - I have found another page with photo and colour profile and even with scratchbuild model. More can be read here, especially in post by Juchan which I appreciate very much. He clarified my doubts: When I realised that Ardpol is producing Douglas O-38E - the late variant of O-38 with completly re-worked aerodynamics (completly new fuselage for instance) I desperatly needed it. The Ardpol is a small family business located in my home city Krakow (like also Choroszy Modelbud) - so I bought the kit about year ago and soon start work on it. But then I have some months break... This is resin kit, very delicate and detailed. In box you will find only pre war US decals. In presented here model there are home made early-style Haitian national insignia (Czech markings were the base for them). Depth charges Mk XVII by Attack Squadron. I added aerials, Pitot tube and landing lamps. The photo exists for no 4001, but the 3012 was one of existing Haitanian O-38 E and such number I was able to find in my drawer (decal set - Techmod "US Numbers yellow")... Here is the result: As always - I made propeller rotable : And family photo - two Ardpol Douglases O 38 (B and E): Coments welcome Regards Jerzy Wojtek

Hello! This is one of my model. I did it at 2015. It is difficult kit. I used a lot of putty. Canopy was made of transparent packaging. Native canopy did not fit the model. I used MR color paints. Weathering- oil dots, salt dots, pigments and washes.

I love flying boats and I have had one of these big boats in my unbuilt stash for a number of years. It was an original release boxing from the early 1970s. A member of our model club called Tony had started building a recent Hasegawa reissue of the Marlin when, about three quarters of the way through, he decided to jump ship from aircraft modelling and join the salty beard and barnacled bottom brigade and he now builds superb waterline warships on sea dioramas. He offered his unfinished Marlin to me and because of the quality of his build so far I accepted. I carefully removed the canopy and improved the cockpit using photos I could find on the web. I then added pilots as I like to have crew in all my models. Engines, props and beaching gear came next. I then decided to make my Marlin different from the kit offering and the ones you always see displayed. I converted mine from a SP-5B with tail radar to the earlier 1950s P5M-2 with a manned tail turret. So it was out with the hacksaw and off came the radar. I also opened out the blanked off tail cockpit and added a floor, gunners seat, ammunition boxes and a gun sight. I also opened up the beaching hatch . I found a tail barbette from the old Revell Skywarrior in my spares box which was ideal for the Marlin and added a couple of 20mm cannon from brass rod. The big radar housing above the cockpit was also removed. And then on a nice warm and dry morning before the wind got up I went out into our back yard and sprayed the whole aircraft with a can of Tamiya AS-8 Navy Blue applied straight onto the plastic without any primer. Any touching up and all other colour details were done with brush painted Humbrol enamels. And finally I managed to find some appropriate decals in my spares box for a United States Navy big boat in the 1950s. And there she is. Thanks Tony...................... My original boxing from the early 1970s. Is that a hairy brush I see.................... It took me a few attempts to get this shot without my fingers in view..................

Thanks Joe - kind as always I got some moulding mojo this afternoon so I made up a frame for the other pilots: I've decided, with a label on the front, that a single mould for these four will be fine (and it also let me be my usual lazy self). I can mould them all at once or just fill the mould for the one(s) I need. That's the theory anyway. I've also pondered the flow and gates and decided to go for the 'standard' method used for injection, a gate on the helmet. This will give me a mould where, when the parts are pulled apart, has 'shallow beds' for the parts (like the silicone putty one) rather than having problems trying to pull out the part from 'sucking rubber'. Another theory. I cut up a cotton bud for the gates: I had considered a 'block on the feet' like the PJ pilots but I can't see how I could get the resin in through the feet. I'm going to try injecting it with a syringe this time to avoid more 'skeletons' (another theory). I coated 'mould 1' with release agent, let it dry (I think) and then mixed up another 50ml mix, pouring it carefully over the parts: I'm going to stick with the 50ml mix I think as it's easy to get the proportions right and I have plenty, sorry PLENTY of rubber left.

Just gone 7am on 4 February 2015 and South African Airways Flight SA257 from Johannesburg is about to touch down at the King Shaka International airport in Durban : At the controls are Captains Frik van Schalkwyk (left) and Matthew Smith (right) The hour long journey marked Frik's inaugural flight as Captain, following an extensive flying career with the airline, and here's the proud man after arrival : I'd like to thank Frik's wife Shirley (my cousin) for allowing me to post her photos of the momentous occasion - I only hope my model has done it justice. Here are the rest of my pics of Zvezda's A320 finished off with Draw decals (Set 44s-A3N-1), Skyline details (SKY14058), and Authentic Airliner windows (A320 family) ...and for those of you who are wondering about the secret of levitation, here are a couple of pics that haven't had the brass wire airbrushed out : Best Regards. mike

The gentleness and humour of those things is regrettably something in short supply in our time now. I shudder to think at some of the violent obscenities that Youtube has opened up to minds too young to comprehend and emotionally process what they are seeing. Somebody woke up a comedian this morning... No. I will not be goaded. I will however let you see my latest wheeze for the canopy (probably just reinventing the wheel but I like it) below. Judging by the deceit over the crowd size at the inauguration, I'm just expecting an administration of continuous lies... First up, I stopped dawdling and got the Youngman structure finished off for the port (non-folded) wing. Same procedure as before re: tubing etc That will of course be stuck on last, along with the starboard wing. Not before. Looking at you James.... That shallow drilling angle required to make the opening in the wing for the brass tubing to enter was a bit problematic, so I had recourse to my old favourite of 'heat the needle': 20 seconds flat and you're done, with n0 attendant risk of the drill skittering out of its hole and suddenly adding some unexpected panel lines... Despite some slight undersizing, I'm going with the kit wheels, using the mid-wartime version supplied: The complexity of the glasshouse has been causing me to ignore it but the time for dalliance is passed. With open canopies, I've grown increasingly unhappy with the frame definition - or rather lack thereof - that you can see here, compared to what is visible on the real aircraft: I'm talking mainly about the rear edge of that transparency, where the sliding portion slides forward to meet it. Let's get Maureen in: You can see the frame stands proud on the real thing compared to the more flush version in the kit part, ergo, some extra definition is needed: I've re-frames the existing part with Microstrip as you can see: This also incidentally solves the problem of missing length from the part caused by the width of the original saw cut: For my liking it re-introduces a greater sense of solidity and believability in this region of the aircraft. You get a wider view of what I mean here: and here: regarding the varieties of scale and solidity in the framing of that long glasshouse. That's probably it for the day. Mrs. B's back with the shopping and I heard kippers mentioned. I presume it's fish and she hasn't bought me a tie.... Tony

Thanks Simon - collectors, not modellers then? It's a challenge to me now! Just for John I've painted the pedal internals black - the last time you'll see them but hey, friends and all that: That done I bit the bullet and shoved the internals in and glued them in place - I'll shave the bottom later: When that's dry I'll see if I can squeeze a pilot in there... looks tight eh? Talking of shaving, I chiselled off the 'they're not locating pins' from the wing internals and, after a bit of dry-fitting and sanding to get the cannon holes lined up, glued the halves together: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr I've also run a hairdryer over the big mat after Benedikt's advice that it may have been heat that warped it: Seems to have sorted it (thanks Benedikt) which I'm pleased about as ordering one off the 'net has courier charges attached. Looking at that photo now, taken in natural light, has given me a new view on lighting my photos - hmmm

Thanks Simon and Johnny - the fit and shape at the top is fine... it just seems to be too long (see below) Thanks TT and John - trying to fit the gear doors closed was a fool's errand I'm afraid. There appears to be an obvious difference between the angle of the front and rear of the opening and the doors appear to have similar angles, once cleaned up, but then the top join is gapped at the front and rises at the rear. I trimmed and refitted about twenty-ten times, using Giorgio's great idea of having BluTak in the hole, but in the end (the last photo) there was still a gap in the door join and they still didn't fit well enough for 'a bit of filler' so they went in the bin and the Milliput will be out. I think they're 'designed' to look good open but with the flash and old mouldings I hesitate to comment! Thanks Cookie - and thanks for your confidence! Remembering your problems with the floor stopping the wing going on I dry fitted the wing last night: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr Same problem, but it DID make me realise that, as the top of the i/p fits OK, I can just shave some off the bottom (fnaar) and ignore the gaps down the sides as they won't show after close up. Thanks Tony - I wish I was getting a feel for the work on the casting (it would be a nice reward) but nothing yet apart from some rubber action... I will persevere, slowly. Great Guinness anecdote - most places I've seen have some half-filled glasses ready for the final top up but waiting when you're thirsty is 'orrid. Perhaps it's a way of encouraging a slower pace of life - or at least slower drinking. Thanks Benedikt - I started by filling the hole with Humbrol putty but couldn't mould it properly so it's been shaved back as a good base for the Milliput. Nice Lego dog, very clever. I'm amazed by what people can do with the stuff. John, like Rosie, Molly is very affectionate and often sits with Mrs B or leans against her on the sofa. She also comes and sits on my lap (Molly, not Mrs B, sadly), stares in my face and licks my nose and, if I'm lucky, lies on my chest and snuggles her head against my neck. Dog breath aside it's supposed to be a dog thank you for all the food. Of course she used to try to lick my mouth ('please regurgitate some food for me') but that's been banned!

Hi all, here some pics of my new build Italeri Mirage IIIE. Apart from the pitot (by Master) I build it OOB. Hope you like it!

I started this for the Helicopter II GB 3 ½ years ago, and ran out of time because an elderly relative died near the end. It sat gathering dust almost complete for a while, and then I dropped it when my dog was around; he ate the starboard skid and starboard horizontal stabiliser end plate before I could get it from him. Anyway, as people who have been kind enough to read my Sea King WIP thread know, a few days ago I decided it was about time I resurrected my lovely Gazelle. A couple of hours of scratch building later, to replace the terrier-ingested parts, and here she is. I will take some better pics over the weekend. Original build thread here: Finished helicopter here: the airframe in which I flew my first rotary-wing solo, on Trafalgar Day 1985. Hope you like it! Crisp

Did the white for one of the Spitfires' D-Day stripes. 20170121_224716 by Edward IX, on Flickr It's an interesting masking challenge, because the Sky tail band is half covered on the underside by the stripes.

Evening you lot. We have RLM 04 or Custard if you will. kitchen roll mask and a lazy bag on the tail. I'm hoping for no bruised bananas. woah! Coat one, what the hey? It only looks like it's working. yup deffo better than black pre shading. One more blast then masks off. Oh yeah flaps too. Not much left now build wise. I decided to get the remaining parts and tally up what needs doing while I set up a top coat area. ( side table and a big box ) here's pretty much the bits n bobs. Ooh the belts remember them? There are more bits in the box, the bits you snap off! So I'll leave them till right at the end. I set up the spray area and blasted the old girl ready for decals. Hopefully I'll get them on tomorrow but we're off to a late panto with the kids "Dick Whittington" so who knows? excuse the rubbish pic, the main cave light is bobbins. I need to let that dry now so it's wooden hills time for me. One last snap for @CedB I popped frank. next to the two Stearman guys. Having a right old party. thanks for dropping by. Hopefully more tomorrow. take care y'all. Johnny Custard.

Mercy bowcoo Ced. Each time I add a bit it still seems like it'll be forever to finish. I've never known an aircraft for having so many bits that you keep discovering sticking out of various places... Cheers TT! Don't say that about the female pilot you'll only remind Mar...too late: Sweet of you dahling but I just don't have the figure. I seem to recall making vague noises about doing something with Milliput way back on the thread due to your excessive zeal for a Maureen in the build. Funnily enough Martian I was idly looking at 1 72 figures not that long ago - there's some Preiser 'girls' in 1 72 that could be modified but they're too expensive for my tastes. As for some of the metal females in that scale on Ebay, those Ive seen are just too ghastly for words....let me think this through..maybe... Cheers Bill. By 'undercut the slide framing edges' do you mean underneath the canopy on the inside? (I wasn't really that concerned about that aspect, more so seen from the outside). As to the inclusion of First Officer Maureen Dunlop: If I can find an appropriate shirt-sleeved figure to modify, she's in. Addenda: that doesn't mean she'll have a working folding arm....just to be clear.

Hi Ozzy. Thank you. I used Revell's Acrylic Aluminium thinned with water and applied with a fine brush. I had to be careful not to catch the other wheels. Thank you Badder. I think my stuff looks similar because I have to find ways to create the effects I want without an airbrush. I'm mostly able to the things I have in my head in one way or another. This morning I spent a lot of time on the washes on the tracks - it seemed to take forever: There's still more weathering to be added but I'll do that once the tracks are in place. This was just a test fitting to see how it looked in place: I meant to show before how the rear stowage boxes look when in place: Some of the smaller bits for the lower hull. The exhausts have been painted Anthracite and now need to be dry-brushed with Gunmetal and then 'rusted': I have started attaching some of the parts to the upper hull so I can get the basic painting done before final assembly: I also got some paint, Humbrol 93, applied the lower part of the hull so I can get the rest of the painting and weathering done on it before I fit the tracks. More later I hope. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix

I've tried the same thing, it appears not. Although I haven't asked about it. (Oh the irony if you can't see this...)

I picked this up as an impulse buy a few years ago as I really fancied the silver SEAC aircraft. Several times during the build I wished I hadn't. Horrible fit, trenchlike engraving on the newer parts. I actually set it aside for over 2 years before doing a "quick finish over the last couple of week so by no means my best work at all, very much a view from a distance model. Build thread can be found here. For all that though, it still looks pretty attractive. The markings are for an aircraft of 648 Squadron in India, 1945. Thanks for looking.

Hi all, Here is, finally, the Nippon Maru from Imai at 1/150. She has been a training ship for many years and is now a museum. It was a long but fun built, very nice kit, too bad Imai is no longer around. This is the first with four mats and I figured then that one extra mast should not be that much more work, yeah, right... Anyway, hope you like her. T/care Jesse

Good day, gentlemen! I present you my next model. It made with resin details of landing gear, air brakes, jet nozzles and ejection seat. And also I used a set of etched parts from Eduard. Painted strictly according to instructions of Tamiya.

Kuat Systems Engineering Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft Slave I Bandai Slave I (1/144 scale); completed in Tamiya and Vallejo acrylics, MIG enamels, and Secret Weapon Miniatures pigments. The stand and the Star Wars decal are from the Fine Molds version of this model and the mythosaur skull was made with my Cameo cutting machine. All and all, I think this kit turned out great. I was pretty nervous about starting it because the paint job is pretty complex, but once I got in the thick of it I was okay. It could probably stand to use some more weathering and I'll probably do some before I take it to the model club meeting next month, but for now I'm calling it done. The work in progress log can be found here. Comments and criticism is welcomed as always!

Cheers for those links Bill. I'd been looking at some of the Preiser stuff on the 'bay earlier and found it a bit expensive but after a trawl around the alternatives you sent though I found this Preiser set in 1/72: with a number of likely candidates for modification. Trouble was most places were sold out until I discovered a railway suppliers in N.Devon that had one in stock at reasonable rates, so an order is now made and it looks like there will be a Maureen for the Barra after all. As an aside, whilst I was doing the above, Mrs B. enquired what I was looking for so avidly this time of night on the iPad. A word of advice: never absent-mindedly reply to your spouse that your are just searching the web for a suitable woman that you can use. Proof positive if ever it were needed that context is everything in a statement... Johnny: Cheers for that - we must have hit the submit reply button simultaneously!

Yes all OK, it's just that the combination of fragile, bendy parts and superglue can be a tiny bit frustrating at times. Well I have put in a good six or seven hours of construction today and progress has been good. First I got the spine assembled into the rest of the fuselage: Next various bits on the tail area: At this point I had my first blade breakage: The fuselage section of the instructions were completed by adding various bits in there: Now we move onto the cockpit, starting with the seat: The seat involved quite a bit of convoluted bending, partially done using my bending machine, finishing with pliers and finger pressure, the sides were then glued: The rest of the cockpit was then completed and installed: Then I moved onto the engine intake area. The rings on this part needed to be bent through 90 degrees, unfortunately despite care one of them snapped off: So that had to be glued, hopefully it will be strong enough with the U shaped part added: Today was finished off by adding that part to the front end along with a couple of stingers: It looks like those will present a nasty snagging hazard, I need to be careful. The next stage is the front landing gear but as I'm away next weekend the next update won't be for another couple of weeks. Bye for now, Nigel

Talk Dirty to Me A flurry of activity found me touching up some details and dirtying up the tracks, running gear and lower hull. Decided to try out the Humbrol pigment powders on this so I got out the pot of Dark Earth powder and, using the Flory sand mix as a wet base to stick the powders to I proceeded to plaster it all over the lower half of the Luchs. I also managed to plaster it all over me, the desk, the keyboard, cutting mat, my cup of tea and the missus didn't recognise the cat. After it had dried on I proceeded to dust it off strategically all over the room. Refreshed the drybrushing with my old fallback of Vallejo Steel on the tracks and appropriate areas of the running gear. We are pretty much finished. I may spot some bits to touch up and I'm undecided on finishing the ammo cans for the back of the turret but I shall call this near enough done. I'll put up an RFI when I am able to take some better quality pictures (light and granddaughter permitting ) but here's some pics to keep you all going. It's not easy to spot but I hand painted the label on the extinguisher. Only an impression mind, you won't be able to read it I also put some Vallejo Chrome on the turret vision blocks and the applied a little X-23 clear blue to simulate the coated optics. So there it is, the Mirage Hobby 1/35 Luchs, a bit basic and needs a LOT of work to get it up to snuff but it is possible to coax a decent Luchs out of it. Definitely not one for the beginners though Thanks for all the support, help and positive comments. Dusty Phil

Another one of my impulse buys, I bought the CMR York conversion (fuselage tail all sort of bits and pieces) at Melbourne Model Expo in 2015. Just after I handed over the cash the guy selling the kits said all I need now was an Airfix or Hasegawa Lancaster..Doh! I thought the York was a complete kit..see that is what happens with impuse buys.. you do no research! I had visions of doing the very bright and shiny all - silver RAAF / Governor Generals aircraft.. but after looking at the resin I knew it was going to take too much work to get the item to a pristine base line to apply the all flaw revealing silver paint. So I built Danair, for the interesting colour scheme and because I have seen this aircraft at Duxford. I need to do a few more touch ups an antenna mast and a final top coat but I'd just finished decallingand putting the props on..had to take a picture

Hello everyone, I'm new to here and I'd like to start off by showing my Amodel 1/72 Il-38 May. A challenging kit but not without reward, I am a huge fan of this company as they make subjects not found anywhere else.

Sneaky Sneaky Wishy Washy So I managed to sneak some time tonight and did most of the washing with a mixture of different Flory washes (Dark dirt, Grime and a lightened sand mixture) Wash goes on... Wash wipes off.. And after more cleanup plus a little drybrush of Vallejo Steel to pick out the worn bits.. Also added rust pigments to the exhaust earlier Need to add a little mud effect to the tracks and running gear and touch up some etails but it's nearly done Thanks for looking in. Washy Phil

Neat! What regiment? Anyhoo, I sprayed the Middlestone, my order of more Colourcoats arriving just in the nick of time. I missed the canopy and will have to go back and do it later. I'm still really loving these paints. Having to wear my mask and clean with lacquer thinner is kind of a pain, but they go down so well it's hard to be really put out. Since I now have so much less time to model, the drying time isn't much of an issue, either. Also painted the spinners -- the red is Gunze Aqueous Insignia Red, (my RAF Red enamel is somewhere between Texas and here), and the Sky ones are Gunze lacquer Sky Type S from those overpriced little RAF paint sets you can order from the Far East.

Hi all, a brief update. When last we met I was bemoaning the fact that I screwed up the wing to fuse joint, and was going to have to sacrifice to the gods of modeling for my sins. I sentenced myself to more filling, sand, priming panting, etc. -- clearly a fate worse than thought I deserved. Anyway, here are my atonement photos. First, everything masked off with tape and plastic wrap, showing the subject area after much filling, etc., etc. However, at this point, a great light appeared and mine eyes were awakened! After all the darkness, I was rewarded by a somewhat forgiving breakthrough in understanding; It dawned upon me that the real aircraft wing to fuse join is NOT that depicted on the model, but in fact, is the more curved line show below, marked as "A": The line marked "E" represents the kit's original wing-to-fuse join, and it needs to be removed, as much as possible. In addition, the other unmarked lines need their scribing extended to the new join line. Shown below: the "corrected wing-to-fuse": Shown below, the original kit wing-to-fuse line: Hopefully, you'll agree, it looks a lot better than the original setup. Truth be told, I probably would never have noticed this discrepancy, if not for the gluing accident. Just goes to show, I guess, that we are all capable of redemption, at least in modeling terms. Now, a little weathering, some decal work, and then adding the final bits. We are finally rounding the corner, headed for the post. See you all soon, Ed .

Hi all, My first love was always railways, and over the years they have featured large in my life, both real and model. As my modelling mojo had deserted me, I was casting around for something new to work on, and over the Christmas holidays got back into railway modelling. I’m now ready to share the first progress shots, be gentle with me, its early days yet! Chapel Lane goods depot, work in progress by jongwinnett, on Flickr The baseboard is a cut down Ikea lack shelf, sized to fit on top of a bookcase. This is then covered in a layer of 25mm/1 inch form, to make and easy surface to add details and pin track. The track bed also has 3mm cork tiles, just because! Chapel Lane goods depot, work in progress by jongwinnett, on Flickr Chapel Lane goods depot, work in progress by jongwinnett, on Flickr As you can see, motive power for now consists of a Bachmann Skarloey, which will not remain Thomas-like for long!

Hello All, After several years on the shelf of shame, my Matchbox/Revell Privateer is done. It has been converted to the Coastguard version and the next time I see him it is going to a pal of mine. His Dad flew in these back in the day. The conversion involved replacing the side gun turrets and with big picture windows and replacing front and rear turrets with observation canopies. I also added interior framing (mostly now invisible) wheel well detail, exhausts and some other minor engine detail. I could have done more accurisation and improvement, most notably the air intakes around the cowling and the propellers, but it isn't appropriate for a desktop model (and would have taken another two years at my rate). This is my first 4 engine "heavy" and my biggest model ever. My wife's only comment on it has been "It's very big isn't it" so I think she's quite happy it's going to my pal's house! The insignia are from an aftermarket sheet but all the lettering, coastguard emblems and engine grilles are all laser-printed onto clear decal paper. The "DANGER" lettering was applied on top of scrap white decal squares and the coastguard logo was applied over a spot of white paint to deal with the transparency issues. Pics: Thanks for looking, Adrian

Here's my recently completed Special Hobby Sopwith Tabloid; I started this kit probably 15 years ago but didn't like how the rib tapes were molded so I sanded them thinner and the model sat while I tackled other projects. Photos in the Mini-Datafile show these a/c having lightly colored rib taped so I went over them with a white pencil. The deck and sides were highlighted with a brown pencil to pick out some details as well. Rigging done with .005mm fishing line, ceramic wire and EZ Line. Decals were minimal as a/c this early in the Great War weren't using the Union Jack so I just redid the kits decals to make up RNAS 168. This is a model of the a/c that was used to bomb the Zeppelin sheds.

Hi gentlemen! Thanks to Roy and Harvey... Well, today, rear axle, not so bad by Pocher: First step, on the lathe, trumpets: The same, almost terminated, and in situ: Now, the beginning of surgery, to reduce the thicknesses of the case lips, on the milling machine: More cutting, and after, filling... Why? To approach the real differential/gear box, of course! Boring, but... Thanks for looking in, Dan. To the moderators, or for the webmaster, why no preview before submit, very useful for us I think!

That's what I do on this -- cut the entire bottom of the IP off below the compass platform.

Well, that would mean two A6M2-N. Doesn't matter, I have some choice in my stash, and as I think some diversity would be welcome, I'll go for something else. What about the Norseman? I've found a good reference on the bookshelves, but I'll have to look for decals.

hmmm, Trumpton.....That name may take on a whole new meaning soon...... Trumpton, D.C. does have a certain ring to it and with his ego who knows? Ian

Thanks guys - Guinness is good for you! I think the 'surfer' ad was one of the first ads, but sadly not the last, that had me thinking "WTF is all that about??!!" I used to like the ads with the talking Toucan, my favourite being the one where the man is pouring a Guinness in front of the Toucan saying "Guinness" repeatedly, presumably to teach him to speak the word. The Toucan cocks his head as if listening. In the background a door is heard to open and a voice says "I'm home love", at which point the Toucan says "Bad news Mrs Jones, your husband's turning into a parrot". Classic. Guinness in Dublin is like nectar. Elsewhere, especially the UK, not so much IMHO. Thanks Simon - Dave Allen, sadly missed. Thanks Benedikt - I didn't think of that and I'll be careful with it in the future. Sadly the mats can only be delivered by courier so I'll need to save up. Thanks Jont. it is one of the attractions but feel free to have a pint whether you're moulding or not! I'm going to wait the full 24 hours for the rubber to go off so I did some work on the Spit. Seams sanded: What a big nose you have, Grandma. And then the tailwheel bay and doors: cleaned up: Too fiddly after two evenings over the pub but I'll see what the doors are like before deciding to use them or Milliput.

A short time later, they're painted and fitted, should have it finished tomorrow

I've had Airfix' PR.XIX kit in my stash for some time, and after the huge Typhoon I wanted to build something smaller. With the exception of the propeller (if I recall correctly) from the box the kit builds into a type 390 - the actual, proper PR.XIX. I'm interested in building one of the early PR.XIXs, which were sort of rushed into production, officially designated the type 389. Ted Hooton describes these as a "panic conversion" based on F.XIV fighter airframes. Supermarine built 22 type 389s in April and May 1944. The first operational sortie with a XIX was on May 24th, 1944. The main difference between the 389 and 390 was that the latter was pressurized. For modeling purposes, this means a few modifications to the Airfix kit: On the exterior, the air scoop on the nose on the left hand side needs to be removed. 389 aircraft also had the cockpit side door. The 389 had 4-spoke wheels, and fishtail exhausts. Since the cockpit wasn't pressurized, the aft bulkhead was also standard, not a closed off bulkhead. To make these changes, starting with the cockpit interior, I've cannibalized an Eduard Spitfire IX overtrees kit I have in my stash for some parts. I'm using the Eduard seat and the aft bulkhead which fits the Airfix kit perfectly (I just had to cut off a little from the bottom to make the shelf with the oxygen tanks fit). In addition to these parts from the Eduard Spitfire IX, I used some parts of the Eduard zoom set for the PR.XIX. This included the instruments panel and various levers. Some details were fitted to the starboard fuselage, but I left off any parts that are connected to the pressurization system. I wasn't sure about the temperature gauges fitted to each side of the cockpit sidewalls so I did install those. Finally, I also used parts of Barracuda's detail set for the XIX. These include the rudder pedals, oxygen hose, undercarriage controls, control stick and the throttle quadrant. I didn't use Barracuda's seat. Although it's really nice it comes with seatbelts molded on; I wanted to give the aircraft an older Sutton type harness. This came from a PE set from my spares box. I'm thinking about maybe displaying one of the kit's cameras outside the aircraft so I'm fitting some camera parts from the spares box instead of the kit parts since these will be all but invisible once the model is finished anyway. I've just glued the fuselage halves together this morning. Anyway, as always, thanks for looking!

Fw-190 D11 JV 44 Kit: Hasegawa Conversion: Renaissance Extra's: Cockpit set and wheels from MDC. Decals: Eagle Cals Cheers,

I find those binary situations where two different photo references give contra-indications to be one of those points in modelling that mirrors the uncertainties that historians themselves must encounter, writing as they do something which is a construction via discourse, and based upon not just surviving evidence, but also at times involving the use of inference and probability. One thing I've learned regarding paint-schemes and a whole load of other structural issues is that apparently clear cut descriptions in reference books about what left the factory do not always match the modifications and alterations that subsequently took place on the front line, as a result not only of operational experience, pilot preference etc. but daily wear and tear over the lifetime of the aircraft. Running up up against such issues always reminds me that the historical record appears a much calmer and retrospectively-ordered representation than the frequently dynamic and chaotic experience of those events were for the original participants. Tony