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Showing content with the highest reputation on 24/02/17 in all areas

  1. Hi everyone, Just finished the Monogram 1/48 Skyraider that I originally bought to enhance my attempt at the old Matchbox kit, but which I decided to build instead. Finished to represent an A1-H from the period between the colourful Counter Insurgency Grey and the eventual adoption of the standard USAF SEA camouflage In the markings of the 516th F.S., DaNang Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, 1966-67 and used for Clandestine Special Operations ( as described in several references but what they were is not made clear ) Inspiration for the scheme came from Osprey Combat Aircraft No 97 which gives a side profile, so spent a fair time searching on Google and in books where it became apparent that..... ....the schemes weren`t standard at that time and differed from aircraft to aircraft and Squadron to Squadron, they weathered rapidly almost to the point that the original grey was showing through. Anyway, it`s mostly from what`s in the box, except replaced the kits dodgy fire bombs and undersized inner pylons, reworked the antenna layout to suit a VNAF aircraft....... and decals came from the remains of a Cutting Edge Decal Sheet. Hope you enjoy, thanks for looking Cheers Russ
    28 points
  2. Hi All, Long time since I got anything finished and posted but here's the first of my 2 recent completions. Its Airfix's 1:48 Spitfire PR.XIX, finished as one of the box options, PS888 based at RAF Seletar in 1954. Theres not much I can say about the kit that hasn't already been said by others, it builds great from the box, nicely rendered detail and fit was good. The only additions I made were; a set of brass seatbelts by Lion Roar, replaced the solid moulded intake on top of the cowling with thin sheet aluminium, drilled out the exhausts and added a bit of fuse wire for the whip aerial. Paints were Xtracryics for the PRU blue and Tamiya for the rest. I finished her with a light oil wash and minimal weathering as I presumed they would have been kept fairly clean then dulled down with Xtracrylics matt varnish. All in all a very enjoyable build and I can definately see more of these in my future, quite keen to use it as a base to try one the many options I have seen on here to a Mk.XIV conversion. Hopefully if I do then someone will wake up and offer one straight from the box :)!! Last thing to say is a big thanks to PeteW for the lovely photos that show her off far better than my phone camera, thanks mate! Anyway on with the pics, thanks for looking and any C&CC always appreciated, thanks, Stu.
    19 points
  3. This was built for the F-16 STGB and is the first of the “Tiger Meet” aircraft I will be building. I wanted something different for this GB (which is normal for me) and I didn’t want to really build an a typical Grey F-16. Well she is still grey but I just fell in love with the colour scheme. The scheme is all painted using masks from Model Maker, which were such a breeze to use. Walkway lines and ATA reference lines were masked an painted as well. She is represented here well after the 2015 Tiger Meet in a load out she has been seen flying with (AIM-9x’s are a bit of artistic license and actually belong to the forthcoming F-16CK). I so enjoyed doing this scheme that there are a couple more Tiger Meet aircraft to be built this year, with even more planned in the future. Please enjoy, thank you. Tamiya 1/48 F-16CJ Block 50 Paint: Mr Hobby & Ammo MIG Acrylic (main), Tamiya & Mr Hobby Acrylics, Model Master Metalizer Lacquers, Extra stuff: Aries F-16C Block 50/52 Cockpit Aries – F-16C/D Block 52 Exhaust Nozzle Model Maker – Polish F-16CNATO Tiger Meet 2015 Mask set Wolfpack – F-16C Dragchute Housing Tamiya 1/48 F-16CJ Block 32/52 ”Thunderbirds” ……… don’t ask! Build Link: build link
    19 points
  4. Hi, some pics of Airpower87's Choctaw practicing outside landings Have a nice weekend Macki
    17 points
  5. Not sure if maybe it belongs in the Space section, and for me the coolest flying machine ever made. It was the mount of my childhood heroes; ex-WW2 aces and budding Apollo Astronauts. It still holds numerous unbroken records including the highest powered manned aircraft flight (102,000 feet, 6.72M!). For a straightforward shaped thing it wasn't the easiest fit kit in the world, but I'm happy with the result. The decals are ridiculously thin and some were partly sacrificed to the Micromesh when policing away my less than mirror smooth initial finish. Oh well. Hope you like it.
    16 points
  6. Hi again, recent completion number 2 from me! This time its the Airfix 1:48 Seafire Mk.XVII, finished as one of the box options, a plane from No 1832 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Culham. The kit is a little bit chunky in places, closer to the standard of their Mk.XII than their most recent kits. I spent some time thinning various items such as the wing trailing edges, radiator housings and prop blades, which I think helped the overall look? I have seen comments elsewhere on this site about the prop blades being too narrow but in the end I went with what Airfix provided. Panel lines and cowl fasteners are a bit deep too so I tried putting a thick coat of primer on and rubbing it back to reduce this a bit. On the whole though it was still a nice straightforward build and i think it looks quite smart all together, I hadn't looked much at Seafires before this build but the lines of the Mk.XVII have really grown on me, with the short griffon nose, low back and large tail. Other additions were replacing the cowling scoop with thin sheet aluminium, the ends of the cannon with brass tube, drilling the exhausts out and adding a whip aerial from fusewire. Paints were Tamiya throughout and dark grey (which I thought looked a reasonable match for EDSG), also Alclad armoured glass for the windscreen insert and quarter panels. Finished with a light grey oil wash and light weathering, as with my Pr.XIX I thought they would have been fairly well looked after. As with my last build big thanks go to PeteW for the lovely photos, on with the pics and thanks for looking, Stu!
    16 points
  7. Something a bit different – an Airbus A330-200F, the cargo version of the A330-200 passenger aircraft. It’s quite rare to see an A330-200F as only 36 have been built to date. Apart from the main deck cargo door, the most visible difference from the passenger version is the distinctive hump under the nose. The passenger variant has a marked nose down attitude while on the ground, so the freighter’s nose gear has been lowered into a fairing beneath the front fuselage to lift the nose so that the main cargo deck is level when on the ground to help loading/unloading. I’ve converted Revell's 1/144 scale Airbus A330-300 into an A330-200F. This is quite a straightforward conversion – the front and rear fuselage shortened, all windows filled, together with fitting a new shorter tail fin and RR Trent engines (both from Braz Models). The nose gear fairing was made by mounting the kit’s nose gear bay in the lower position and sculpting the fairing using Milliput. The open main deck cargo door and crew door are scratch built. The Turkish Cargo decals were home made inkjet printed, with some of the kit’s original decals being used for the detail. I thought that this cargo version would look far better with doors open, so I’ve included some ground crew and equipment: > the cargo loader and pallets were scratch built > the passenger steps are from a Dragon 747 kit > the aircraft tug and towbar are from an Eastern Express aircraft tugs set > the people and transit van are N-scale railway accessories A few more pics below. Hope you like this conversion and cargo apron scene. Thanks for looking Tim
    16 points
  8. Hello modellers! Have managed to finish a build started in back December 2016 and would like to share it with you. It´s another Cessna O-2A Skymaster and I made it in cooperation with Luis Alfonso, since we both discovered having a soft spot for that plane. It´s my fourth 1/72 build of it, having built one Airfix in the early nineties and two Arii in 2005 and 2008. My intention was to improve the Arii kit and Luis Alfonso helped a lot in researching for the project. Most work was invested in vacuumforming a better windscreen and building a new undercarriage from brass sheet, using the Airfix kit as reference. As 1/72 kits of that type have become extremely rare and expensive, have used Arii´s civilian Cessna 337 as a basis as all versions come with two different port sides and all windows necessary for the military version. Interior detailing consisted in adding a pilot, gunsight, seat belts and a radio rack in the rear. For the propellers I used my standard technique of small nails in a brass tube, allowing installation after all paintwork is done and making the props to spin easily. The roof window was cut from clear styrene. Wing pylons were scratchbuild from styrene sheet, rocket pods are from sprue. The model has exhaust pipes from hypodermic needles and open cowl flaps from brass sheet. For the landing lights chrome foil was used. Additional panel-lines were rescribed and the the upper air intake was opened to give it some depth. After a base coat with Revell Enamel Basic, which BTW is also a formidable clean white, a preshading was applied. For the major paintwork I used for the first time acrylics only. The grey consists of a mix of Tamiya´s sky grey, medium grey and white. All decals are self-printed, even the stencils and the red stripes and circles. To seal them in I used the new Gauzy shine enhancer. Found it worked very well, sprayed as easily as my old Emsal, but appears to have a harder surface, making the wash flow more easily and isnt´t affected by decal softeners. Final assembly consisted of inserting the props, fixing wheels and antennas made from sewing yarn and a hair from a broom. Hope you like it Mario
    15 points
  9. Hi all, this is Eduard's Fw190, out of the box, using the supplied decals. I got this after building the Airfix A-8, which I really liked the look of when finished. I'm using the same hangar (last time, promise!) A great kit, nicely detailed that fell together-recommended...(still not sure if I prefer the look of the Airfix though!) http://i68.tinypic.com/2wntxr5.jpg[/IMG Thanks for watching.. cheers, Dave
    14 points
  10. Good evening, I want to introduce you my British Jug 1/48 by Arii. I built it many years ago but it's still in my hart because it's the first Arii/Otaki I ever built. It's a cross-kit (is it the right word?), the basic kit is Arii but the cockpit, the complete engine, the propeller and the engine cowling are Tamiya from the spare parts box. Thunderbolt IMG_1472, su Flickr Thunderbolt IMG_1473, su Flickr Thunderbolt IMG_1474, su Flickr Thunderbolt IMG_1475, su Flickr Ciao. Davide P.S. I edited this message. In italian the adjectives don't have the capital letter, we write "british and italian" not "British and Italian". I'm sorry.
    14 points
  11. My third completed kit for 2017 (but started in late 2016) is the F4U-5 by Hobbyboss. I found the build to be fairly pleasant and easy. Fit was near perfect, but I used a lot of filler to even out the outer wing panels. Hobbyboss gives you fabric covered panels, but the -5 model had metal skinned wings. Hobbyboss did right on the rest of the kit though. Details throughout are nice, and I love the wingfold engineering. With a few simple parts, Hobbyboss gives you a sturdy, and busy looking folded wing. The flap actuators have to be cut to build the flaps down, but that was very easy. I also added harnesses made from tape and wire. I really wish the kit came with HVAR rockets. Painting was done mostly with Tamiya. The photos don't capture it, but I did a lot of clear coat effects with various levels of gloss to break up the solid wall of blue. Weathering was kept to a minimum, as this was not an aircraft that saw much combat. The markings are from VF-14 in 1952-1953, when they were on-board the USS Wasp and later the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt., both times in the Mediterranean Sea. I'm seeing conflicting info though, as some sources say that VF-14 flew the F4U-4 and not the -5. Sigh....it's only a model.
    14 points
  12. 22 June 1995 marked the dissolution of EC 3/12 Cornouailles. Here's Kittyhawk's Mirage F1 CR/CT kit dressed up with Eduard etch, Scale Resin Wheels, Master Pitot and finished off with Berna Decals : and here it is on its display base : Thanks for looking. mike
    14 points
  13. Hasegawa kit with Quickboost engine, Aires cockpit, CMK gun bays, Eduard masks and Superscale decals.
    12 points
  14. My second completion for 2017, an out of the box build of the relatively new Airfix 1/48th B.P. Defiant Mk.I, finished in the provided markings of a Defiant used in late 1940 for trials on the suitability of the Defiant for use as an Army Co-operation aircraft by No.II(AC) Squadron at RAF Hatfield Woodhouse in South Yorkshire. The trials were conducted around the same time No.II(AC) Squadron was also given a Fairy Battle to trial its suitability as an Army Co-operation aircraft. Both types were judged by the experienced ACC pilots who had seen active service in France as in many ways being a step backwards from the Westland Lysander, particularly in the downwards view for both pilot and observer, but marginally better in relation to speed and relative manoeuvrability if compared against single seat fighters. I found this to be a relatively easy and trouble free build, especially utilising some of the points made by earlier builder and reviews here on Britmodeller - avoided possible pitfalls or issues. Main upper surface camouflage paint colours are WEM enamels, with an old, old, old Humbrol 'Sky' enamel for the underside, with a mix of Humbrol and Tamiya enamels for the detail painting. Used a set of Montex masks for the canopy and turret masking. Camo masks were self made. So another one completed for my collection of RAF Army Co-operation aircraft. I have a CA Fairy Battle in 1/48 that I am battling through to build the other aircraft trialled by No.II(AC) Squadron in late 1940. More RAF ACC and Tac/R subjects to come.
    12 points
  15. Hi all, Must admit to being a bit lazy on the posting front of late, A couple completed so far this year and far too many on the go. Here is the Kinetic 1/48th F/A-18 C completed late last year. Painted with Gunze colours built from the box with Two Bobs decals for the markings a challenging build but worth the effort. Thanks for looking Rick G
    12 points
  16. Content withdrawn - I will NOT be threatened by a moderator, simply because I queried the actions of another...
    10 points
  17. I'm guessing from photos of XH134 that her wheel hubs are silver, landing gear struts are Light Admiralty Grey, while the landing gear doors and wheel wells look like the underside colour of Light Aircraft Grey. Top is Hemp, no, wait, we can't call it that - too close to well, you know, and we wouldn't want any jokes about that now would we? Let's just call it BS4800/10B21 Lizard Grey. Really, that's what it says at http://www.e-paint.co.uk/Lab_values.asp. I kinda thought it was BS381C/389 Camouflage Beige, but I like that Lizard thing better! How far off am I? The tailplanes have been mounted to the fuselage using the @71chally designated "easy way out." What can I say? I'm lazy. The tailplane root blend into the fuselage still needs some work. Not quite happy with it yet. It already looks miles ahead of what Airfix moulded. What on earth were they thinking? Making this modification is quite easy, but results in tailplanes that don't have a solid way to align them to set the dihedral. I made a simple template from cardboard to set the dihedral angle. Since this angle is measured through the middle of the tailplanes (pretty much the seam line of the top and bottom halves) compared to horizontal (or vertical as I chose) I compensated the angle of the template to take the taper of the tailplane and fin into account. Hey, low tech, but it works. The tailplane span, across the elevator hinge line, came out to 101 mm, not far off the proper value of 102 mm. I don't know, but methinks she be starting to look like an aeroplane. Cheers, Bill
    10 points
  18. Hi all, Here's my latest 1:32 scale Wingnut Wings model. A full build log is available to view or download: http://igavh2.xara.hosting/index.htm This model represents the Sopwith Triplane, Serial No: N6301 “DUSTY II” of No.8 N (Naval) Squadron during May of 1917. The pilot : Flt Lt (RNAS) Roderick McDonald (8 victories). He was born in St. Joseph’s, Nova Scotia, Canada on the 31st October 1893, the son of Angus R. McDonald and Catherine McDonald (of James River Station, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada). Roderick McDonald joined the RNAS in August 1916 and was posted to No.8 (N) Squadron in early 1917. He scored 2 shared victories whilst flying Sopwith Triplane Serial No: N5472 and a single victory flying N6301 “DUSTY II”. Later he scored a further 5 victories when flying the Sopwith Camel. At the age of 24 and as a Flt. Lt in the newly formed No.208 Squadron, RAF, he was shot down and killed by Vfw Julius Trotsky of Jasta 43 on the 8th May 1918 (Trotsky himself was shot down and killed nine days later). The aircraft: This aircraft was one of 20 manufactured from an order placed in January 1917 (Serial No’s: N6290 to N6309). It arrived in France on the 24th May 1917 and was with No.8 (N) Squadron by the 28th of May. On the 7th of June it was operating with No.10 (N) Squadron. It moved back to No.8 (N) Squadron on the 12th of June, but by the 13th of July had been moved to No.1 (N) Squadron. It was while it was with No.1 (N) Squadron that this aircraft scored 2 more victories. when piloted by Act Flt Cdr FHM Maynard and Acting Flt. Lt. HV Rowley. This aircraft was eventually destroyed by fire in October 1917.
    9 points
  19. Thanks Giorgio - I'm looking forward to the fading/weathering too! Thanks Johnny. Thanks Benedikt - of course I should have checked the Humbrol website and that would have told me "Enamel Matt & Satin Paints: Surface dry 20-40 minutes, Fully dry in 24 hours". Thanks for looking at the pot - I just done that too and the little diagram presumably means 6 hours between coats. Now I know, but I'm not sure I'll be rushing to enamels again. Thanks Simon (Beard) - more than one model on the go at a time? What if I mix up the parts!! That said I might start something tomorrow while I'm waiting for all this boring drying. Thanks Ian - great tips on applying the pastels to a matt (noted) surface. Thanks Keith and Leon - Molly is still under the weather as the carrion works its way through her system. Ears down and a bit subdued, but still a bit potty: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr Hard to take pictures of a black dog. Keith getting pills into a Newfie must have been fun! Mols does that trick too - eats the cheese, spits out the pill. I'll try Stew's 'two ball method' (fnaar fnaar!) next time. Thanks Celt and Cookie, kind of you. Thanks Adrii - kind comments. As Benedikt replied to you I'm happy to receive comments and help - especially pointing out errors. If I think people are being disrespectful I'll certainly tell them! Out to the Theatre tonight but I should be able to get the Klear on before bed.
    9 points
  20. It was one of those warm August afternoons some twenty years ago. I had just arrived from my local library with a bag full of “Aeroplane Monthly” magazines. I sat at the terrace with a cup of coffee and started to read. Soon I was flying high above the South China Sea with Flt Lt Edward C. Powles en-route to photograph Yulin harbor at Hainan Island. I hardly noticed the sudden afternoon rain shower; so fascinating was the story told by Flt Lt Powles. When Airfix released their 1/48 scale Spitfire PR.XIX it was clear that I will build PS852, Powles’ favourite Spitfire. After an extensive research and build here is how she turned out. I painted my model with Humbrol 230 and a finishing coat of Humbrol 135. Because I used a paint brush, several coats were required. PS852 was built at Southampton (Shacklady & Morgan) or at Eastleigh (Spitfiresite). It was a Type 390 with pressurized cockpit and RR Griffon 66 engine. Construction Number was (possibly) 6S.594676 (Spitfirsite). On 31st of October 1944 PS852 was taken in charge by PRU Benson. It was transferred to No. 541 Squadron on January 9th, 1945 and again to No. 542 Squadron on May 8th, 1945 (Shacklady & Morgan). After that the literature gives confusing data until 1950s. I couldn’t find any information when PS852 and its’ companion PS854 were transferred to the FEAF. Powles wrote that the two PR.XIXs were made available to him on December 31st, 1950 at RAF Seletar. That gives a hint that these two Spitfires were at MBFE’s (Maintenance Base Far East) custody. In the early 1950s No. 81 Squadron had five Spitfire PR.XIXs at RAF Seletar (PS836, PS852, PS854, PS888 and PS890). According to photographs on RAF Seletar website they were painted PRU Blue overall with D –type roundels in four positions. Orders to paint all PR aircraft with PRU Blue were given in AP 2656A Vol.1 Sect. 6 para. 51 (issued in October 1944). Photographs of PS852 and PS854 confirms this camouflage. PS852 in it's original paint photographed in early 1950s at RAF Kai Tak (Copyright J.E. Steele). A close up shows Flt Lt E.C. Powles sitting in the cockpit of a Spitfire PR.XIX (PS852 or PS854). Note the original wartime stenciling below the cockpit (Copyright E.C. Powles) I used stencils from Kitsworld's decal sheet. However they had to be modified heavily (some very, very careful cutting) because they were pretty inaccurate. For example take a look at the yellow "HOOD RELEASE" text. It should read "HOOD RELEASE ON TOP" but what can you do. Some extremely careful cutting was required when I corrected the oil capacity number to 9 and airspace to 3! I also added the "12 VOLTS" marking; PS852 and PS854 were the only Spitfires at RAF Kai Tak with 12 volts system. Those Mk. 24s of No. 80 Squadron had 24 volt systems. This is my wild guess as I haven't found photographic evidence to back this up. Note also the dark grey exhaust stains that gives a hint that this aircraft has been flown at low altitudes with rich mixture setting and high power. Properly leaned and with correct cruise power set these stains should be light grey or almost white. Here is a photo of PS854. It is possible that Flt Lt Powles himself is sitting in the cockpit (Copyright E.C. Powles). As Powles wrote: "When I was sitting in the cockpit of PR.XIX, with all my safety and survival equipment and with the seat in the lowest level, there was just half an inch between the top of my tropical cloth helmet and the canopy". Note also how weathered the aircraft seems to be. Jim Kiker (see Hyperscale website for Jim's article on PR.XIX build) was lucky to interview Flt Lt Powles who told him that when he asked these two Spitfires to be repainted, no paint was available. According to Powles the other Spitfire was then painted with a mix of Roundel Blue and Post Office Red. Soon after that PRU Blue was suddenly available at RAF Kai Tak! As the Officer Commanding 81 (PR) Squadron detachment Flt Lt Powles flew 107 photo reconnaissance missions out of RAF Kai Tak. In February 1951 he was asked to photograph an airfield in mainland China. The job was a low level oblique line overlap. Powles wrote: " I was reluctant to use one of our Spitfires as they were painted PR Blue." This tells to a modeller that in February 1951 both Spitfires were still PRU blue. A new order concerning aircraft camouflage -AMO A.217/51- came into force on April 19th, 1951. According to the document all PR aircraft were to be painted with PRU Blue and Medium Sea Grey. High gloss finish was required. Two different paint schemes were introduced. Powles photographed the Yulin harbor on May 22nd, 1951. He asked the ground crew to clean PS852 carefully. After a flight time of 3 hours 30 minutes Powles made a Dead Stick Landing back at RAF Kai Tak. Another Dead Stick Landing followed on August 27th, when Powles photographed Haikou harbor. By the end of January 1952 Powles had completed 63 photographic reconnaissance missions and 36 high altitude weather observation flights. On February 5th, 1952 Powles made his best known mission. He climbed to 51.500 ft with PS852 and was forced to made an emergency descent from that altitude. It took three minutes(!) to reach the altitude of 3000 ft! During the dive Powles was flying at M 0,96! PS852 was given a thorough check and was declared airworthy by the end of the month. Powles took this shot of PS854 flying at 1800 ft near Aberdeen fishing village in Hong Kong using the Spitfires oblique camera (the Fiducials are visible in the original print). The pilot of PS854 was Sgt Ken Walker. According to Flt Lt Powles: "...shortly after PS854 was repainted". Sgt Walker arrived RAF Kai Tak in September 1952. So PS854 was repainted in early autumn 1952. The question is: when was PS852 repainted? "Flight" magazine's photographer Norman Macmillan photographed PS852 and PS854 sometime between February 22nd and March 4th, 1953 at RAF Kai Tak. These pictures were published in "Flight" magazine in colour on May 29th, 1953. Another one showing just PS852 but taken at the same time: For comparison here is my PS890 of No. 81 Squadron in MSG/PRU Blue scheme. PS852 and PS854 had also fuselage sides and spinners painted with MSG. Powles confirmed to Jim Kiker that PS852 was painted with PRU Blue and MSG with red and white spinner when he flew his record breaking high altitude mission on February 5th, 1952. Two questions arise: 1. Was the spinner later again repainted with MSG? 2. Red and white spinner was the mark of HKAAF, why would No.81 Squadron had used it? On December 18th, 1952 AMO A.685/52 came into force. It stated that all PR aircraft must be painted with High Speed Silver overall. Flt Lt Powles' "Tour" in the Far East was complete a few days before Macmillan pictured the two camouflaged Spitfires at RAF Kai Tak. So Powles never flew a silver coloured PS852 or PS854. In the end the two Spitfires were painted with HSS with red/white spinners and transferred to Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force on March 23rd, 1954 (PS852) and on August 6th, 1954 (PS854). Here is PS852 in it's last paintwork: A detail shot showing the propeller: The most common Jablo propeller had it's blades made of compressed "Jablo Wood". These blades were marked with pink discs containing numeric information about the blades. Airfix gives yellow discs which were for the rare blades made out of birch(?) tree. Do not use those manufacturer's winged logos either as they were not used in the 1940s or 1950s. The blade leading edges were mostly reinforced with brass plates so do not use aluminium paint to mark wear unless you are certain about the propeller type used in your particular Spitfire. Note also that Griffon rotated counter clockwise when viewed from the cockpit. I am not sure about the underwing serials. According to the photographs they were rather small but I can't tell when they were painted on. PS854 carried them at least after repaint in the fall of 1952. Here is a photo of PS854 for comparison: Some modellers think that the serials were white but I think they were painted with gloss black. If they were white then also the last digit should be visible. Some versions of this photo suggests that the spinner was white. The spinners of the three other Spitfires at RAF Seletar were painted white just before their retirement from service. The original "wartime"serials on the fuselage are interesting also: the last digits sat higher than the first ones. Take another look at this photo. This close up shows the corrected rocker cover bulges, some added hatches and landing gear down indicators. If you use Kitsworld's stencils remember that the fuel grade was 100/130 octane, not the fuel amount. So my Dear Fellow Modeller You've read so far. Thank You for your time and hope to see you again! Best Regards, Antti
    8 points
  21. Completely out of the box and I enjoyed every single bit of it except the horrible metal seat belts and they really should give us pre-cut masks for the price! Painted with Vallejo now I've discovered I need to thin them with their airbrush cleaner rather than their thinners! The subject is a bit of a cliche by now but a lovely excuse for some unsubtle weathering with AK Interactive enamels. So enjoyable I want to do the bubble top version right away. Thanks for looking.
    8 points
  22. Something a bit different this time, it is the Italeri re-pop of the Kinetic Thunderstreak, with a Quickboost nose intake. The underside is so colourful I wanted to display it so this is my attempt. I need to find a way to get the plane level on the stand but other than that it is finished.
    8 points
  23. Hello First thing I've posted in two years (or something like that), first thing I've finished in a long time and my first armour model since my early teen years So, this is Trumpeter's T-54B in 1/72, straight out of the box. I had great difficulties with the tracks, they really don't take regular modeling glue, or superglue, or anything.. I really have no idea what they're made of. Painted with Xtracrylics, LifeColor, Gunze and Citadel, with brush. No flat lacquer on it, sorry about that. -J
    7 points
  24. Hi chaps Time for more fun and games with this B17G build! So what have I been doing since the last post?...well I will tell you......having a wisdom tooth taken out....that's what I have been doing!...ouch!....sort of recovered now so its on with the build! I made a frame for the rear bulk head...so that you still can see into the bomb bay...simple stuff really just used bits of plastic................ ...and then the sun came out and I just had to get out in the garden to do a bit of modelling....it was actually warmer outside than it was inside!............... So my next task was to scratch the bomb hoist which is stowed on the rear bulk head.....here is a photo of a real one..... This is how I went about it. First off I laminated a few pieces of plastic together to get the thickness of the sort of framey thing and drilled out some holes to make it easier to cut out the un necessary plastic...... Next up...cut out the plastic.. Here it is all cut out and sanded .... This next photo shows a few bits of odds and sods cut to shape to make the hoist mechanisms...(I used an old biro pen and a childrens plastic flag pole....they seemed to be the right size!).... Once I glued the parts together I then wrapped some thin copper wire round to simulate the cable for the hoist... I then glued all the parts together and added some other detail using plastic and wire...and came up with this concoction!! Then I painted the whole thing! Next post there will be photos of the hoist in position!...don't go away!
    7 points
  25. Evening all, Long time no speak! Here's my first completion in almost a year after something of a hiatus last year. It's another beauty from Bandai, their lovely TIE Interceptor, arguably the coolest looking ship of them all. I mixed up a concoction of blues and greys to achieve the blue/grey of the ships from Episode VI, although I'm not entirely sure I've got it quite right.... As usual I've cut and engraved my own base from acrylic to finish the model off. Bandai 1/72 TIE Interceptor by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Bandai 1/72 TIE Fighter by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Bandai 1/72 TIE Fighter by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Thanks for looking, comments welcomed, Shaun
    6 points
  26. After building a Mk XIV, I felt like I was on a bit of a run and decided to break open the Xtrakit Mk XII. In general, the kit went together pretty well for a limited run kit. Only a few items to address - 1. The kit supplies some wing bulges to be fitted only to some airframes (including MB882 which I built) however there are no pictures showing these at all - I left them off. 2. Two sets of wheels are supplied - covered and spoked. I saw photos of MB882 with both and I think the "covers' are only temporary when at rest - I used the spoked ones. 3. The antenna is very blobby and I got a pack from Quickboost and used one as a replacement. 4. The sky of the kit decals looks a bit dark to me but the special font/size is pretty hard to find so I just lived with the kit decals. I experimented with a Model Master Ocean Grey compared to the Humbrol version on my Mk XIV. Looks a bit bluer in cast. Not sure which is more accurate as both seem in the ball park of my MAP chips. I noticed a post on "Aces shot down by Spitfires" listed this airframe as having shot down "Bully" Lang which was quite interesting to find out. I really only chose the subject as many of the photos (and this was a well photographed airframe) were taken when flown by Don Smith a RAAF 'ace'. I always try to model an airframe with an Australian connection where possible. Some consider the Mk XII the prettiest of all the Spitfires - Ventura uses it as their logo! Cheers Michael
    6 points
  27. Here is the hoist on the rear Bulk head..... Looking down through the top........ So whats next on the agenda?...well I think its going to be those complicated bomb racks! So best get on with them else we will be here doing this post for another year!! Cheers for looking in Fozzy
    6 points
  28. I know! But I prefer to think of it as; "Hemp Beige. The distinctive, natural colour of cloth made from hemp fibres. Grown in Asia and the Middle East, hemp fibres have been used for millennia." So the PC colour brigade can put that in their pipes and smoke it!! Keith
    6 points
  29. Cheers chaps, I only have a few little greebs to put on , the little brackets under the rear suspender winglets and the Chirper and pivot Most of the thicker pipes that normally got painted during service are in now so I now need to make the little pair of applique windows for the nose Then I'm going to put on a VERY thin coat of Compucolor2 RAF BG Then another, it is so thin it will coat beautifully I do have RAF BG in Sovereign paint but at this stage I'll stick with the Compucolor because I know it better This is not a model I'd be happy dunking in Dettol if it became the shape of a pear Paint on tomorrow possibly. 😀 I'll be adding the flotation gear separately
    6 points
  30. Another completed section of the tail - this time the horizontal stabiliser:
    6 points
  31. Another of my recent 1/72 builds, this time it's old LS Nell. Built basically OOB, with some additions in the cockpit. Painted with spray can silver and Gunze red and black. Wash is Tamiya. Thanks for looking, comments are welcome, as always.
    6 points
  32. Thanks John - Molly says 'Woof!' 🐾 Thanks Johnny - another coat was had tonight: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr Now I have to wait for (thanks Simon) 24 hours, or MORE! I'm with Johnny - acrylics (or two models on the go) are the answer.
    6 points
  33. Hello folks! I wasn't sure if I should post this, but what harm can it do (me, with my reputation, at 3 am.....). Those that know me will know that I returned to the hobby briefly in 2003. At that time I hadn't built anything since a Star Trek Next Generation Enterprise in 1990. Moreover, I knew nothing of advanced or even the more fundamental techniques. Everything was hand painted, I only used enamels, only Humbrol filler, no scribing. At that point the hobby was different. I got back into it to help me through a bereavement, but was saddened when told by a LHS owner that it was 'a dying hobby' . Also told rhat this was the reason that they had hardly any models in stock, just a few dusty paints and no after market transfers. The chance of me getting after market wheels, etch, canopies, anything, seemed grimly remote after that. I didn't really know how to use the internet for my hobby, so just used it to buy a few low cost kits. One of them was the now called 'old tool' Airfix MiG 15. I built it absolutely OOB. I admit this model looks very rough, but I thought, why be embarrassed, just show what things look like when one is floundering, just bashing kits for fun (in my case to try to keep my marbles at the time), with very limited knowledge and resources. I remember that the fuselage halves really didn't go together well at all. The few panel lines there were wouldn't line up if the locating pins were lined up. The halves had slightly different curvatures and sink marks. The cockpit didn't fit well (what there is of it). The airbrakes are too thick for the closed position. The canopy really doesn't fit at all, no matter what one does (or at least, what I did). If left 'as is', looking in from the front intake, the model is completely hollow (no engine). I filled all of the exterior with lashings of Humbrol filler and sanded, filled, sanded....for a couple of evenings. I filled the inner fuselage void with dense kitchen foam pad sponge, dipped in black ink, then also stippled with Humbrol Matt black enamel paint. It is actually painted in the exact colours called out by the instruction sheet, right where the sheet told me to. I'm pretty sure the black bits are all wrong, but I just went with what it advised. This is, indeed, painted in real Airfix 'Silver Fox' and Matt Black . The decals crumbled so I rescued what I could and painted the numbers (is 'Bort' the word?) using the Matt Black and a little masking tape (Halfords car masking tape with a bit of 'tack' taken off, cut into fine strips) to help me. The pilot is improvised a little, I'm not sure they called out for a white helmet, but 'why not' was my attitude at the time. The aerial wire is stretched sprue. A bit of history. Now Airfix, Eduard and Special Hobby all have newer tools of the MiG 15 out. Moreover it seems that back then, a KP kit would have been kinder to me, but this kit cost me 99p, and was painted with enamels I had had since 1975, so overall, great value for money. At the end of these pictures is a link to Flickr, to a recently found set of pictures of nearly all the models I made between 2003 and 2006. They're all rough, but I liked them and thoroughly enjoyed building all of them . After 2006 I had a gap until 2015. Now I'm trying airbrushes, acrylics, after market everything, but haven't finished a thing since I started trying it all. It's a big learning curve. I sometimes wonder if 'basic and rough but completed' was better? I suspect I'm attempting to cop out and avoid the fact that I should get on with these new fangled techniques and finish something again, like everyone else! This model, and all but two others of all the ones I built, were destroyed during a move from England to Australia in 2008, so this RFI is 'virtual' in many ways. A blast from the past. Don't worry, I know it's rough! Best regards TonyT These are in artificial light as I was in a very poorly lit room, in December. The last few are the (dim) natural light: Natural light: Here's a link to some pictures of the others: https://flickr.com/photos/144781950@N05/sets/72157678997310210 I hope you enjoyed this little truly historic build . I may put a bright red Yak here too, if I'm brave enough. Thanks for looking TonyTiger 🐯
    5 points
  34. Everyone at my local IPMS club bought at least one of these kits yet I, the ship modeler, am the first to build one. C'mon aircraft guys!!! The 303 barrels are from Master, the seat harness (unseen) is from HGW(?). A few of the kit details have been reworked as the detail didn't come out of the molds well, most notably in the pictures the engine cover fasteners. And for fun I separated the rear wheel from the mount. Nice build, the easy to fix part fits (fuselage halves, wing halves) were so-so, the hard-to-fix part fits (such as clear parts, undercarriage, flaps & fins, wing roots) were very good.
    5 points
  35. Hi guys, here is one of my latest build i finished a few weeks ago. The Tempest is one of my favourite plane with the Fw 190 D9. The SH kit is magnificent but it's not an easy build because the separate nose does not fit well. The plane i've realized is one of the Clostermann's plane. Thanks for watching, Cheers, Manu.
    5 points
  36. Good day, gentlemen. Let me present you my next model. I spent a lot of time to put in order panels and wing. There was absolutely untrue imitation of fabric.
    5 points
  37. Home this evening pretty much hollowed-out and definitely not in the frame of mind for anything delicate construction-wise. Nonetheless, I haven't touch the Barrabeast in a couple of days and am reluctant to let the pace falter away too much at this later stage. So, idly mixing up some panel washes from oils I decided to try a little experiement. Darker for the top: More subdued on the bottom: The panel wash on the undersides is an ad hoc mixture of flake white, ultramarine, and Payne's grey oil paints. I didn't want any panel wash to be too high-contrast against the Sky scheme. The darker bits are still wet but if you look along the leading edge of the port wing you can get an idea of how light it dries out: The top used the same mixture as the undersides, cut with some umber wash I used previously on the Sea Venom, along with a little more payne's grey to take some of the warmth out of it: I added a little more Payne's grey in again on it's own to do the ailerons and folding seams, to emphasize those regions. That can all dry now as I'm too beat for more tonight and want to assess that tomorrow. I'll do another post tomorrow evening with hopefully as peek at some progress on Maureen. Sorry for the rush... Tony
    5 points
  38. Today I turned my attention to the rescue hoist (aka winch). The kit version is pretty pathetic, frankly - too small, and missing great sections of the apparatus. However, David Parkins at FlightPath should take a huge bow at this point, because the winch in his set is stunning. It's something of a kit in itself; 9 pieces of PE so far (with still a couple more to add): ...plus 8 pieces of white metal (albeit only 7 of them used): After the usual cleaning up, I set to work, and ended up with the support frame - mostly PE, but with a white metal thing on top - and the hoist itself - mostly white petal, but with a PE section inside it: Add them together and you end up with: As you would expect with all that metal, it is quite heavy, so getting the supporting brackets firm is going to be critical. Since the whole thing is black, that can wait - though I will be test fitting the brackets before any paint goes anywhere near anything. Top work, FlightPath peeps; you deserve all the credit today - I merely stuck it together. More later Crisp
    5 points
  39. Polish F-16CJ “Block 52” - 2015 Tiger Meet Tamiya 1/48 F-16CJ Block 50 Paint: Mr Hobby & Ammo MIG Acrylic (main), Tamiya & Mr Hobby Acrylics, Model Master Metalizer Lacquers, Extra stuff: Aries F-16C Block 50/52 Cockpit Aries – F-16C/D Block 52 Exhaust Nozzle Model Maker – Polish F-16CNATO Tiger Meet 2015 Mask set Wolfpack – F-16C Dragchute Housing Tamiya 1/48 F-16CJ Block 32/52 ”Thunderbirds” ……… don’t ask! Build Link: build link
    5 points
  40. Hello everyone. This is my recently finished Fulmar from Eduard/Special Hobby.All national insignias are mask painted, oil paints weathered on a not often seen plane from the FAA, on board HMS Illustrious in 42. Best regards.
    5 points
  41. Vf32 update, Pics in the links of this plane at the start of this particular build show it quite grimy. So onto a bit of extra weathering after the panel line wash. Tried out these new oil brushers - ready to use oil paint. On the sniff test they smell very much like linseed oil. So I assumed they would dry quite greasy and leave tide marks. However this is not the case and they dry very matt. One point to note is they are quite 'wet' and needed to be left on the kit to dry for a while, otherwise when I blended them immediately after application with odourless thinner they pretty much all washed away. Top done with starship filth, lowers with dark brown and lastly the blue areas with medium grey to fade them a touch. Before Applied Blended In Daylight
    5 points
  42. And always will be Hemp...!! Good grief, is PCness now affecting what we call the paint on our aeroplanes?! to the Hemp naysayers, tell them to keep their noses out of our paint...!! Long live Hemp !!! Keith PS I know I've led a sheltered life, but what is Hemp too close too - Bemp, Semp, Temp, Lemp....???
    5 points
  43. Three examples of the De Havilland family ...............Airfix DH88 Comet, Corgi Dragon Rapide and Airfix Dominie.
    5 points
  44. Got the Colourcoats Light Slate grey onto the Sword (edited) AZ 18. It's been faded, not just to simulate variation in the surface, but because this aircraft spent its career in Palestine and Cyprus, and the paint itself would have been quite sun bleached. Masked off the walkway lines on the Eduard 16 with 0.5 mm tape, it's a little too wide, but I still like it better than decals. (Ignore the errant "Sword 18 sign" - Sorry, I really failed in my signage in this update.) The silver finish is a base of Alclad Semi-matt Aluminum with some 'post-shading' of various Vallejo Metal Color Aluminum paints. The underside of the Sword 18 in Lifecolor Medium Sea grey. You can barely discern the use of Procopius' magic 3M 1/4" masking tape for the Sky band. Hmmm, that light box is getting more and more tempting.
    5 points
  45. Hello, here is my latest model. It is OOB. Work in progress here: Thanks for looking. Cheers, Ilan.
    4 points
  46. Hello, everyone. My PZL.37 Łoś 1:72 by “ZTS” after daily flight is on approach now. First of all I want to thank all those who were not indifferent to my idea to restore Polish pride in the aviation phenomenon of the 1930’s. WIP of PZL.37 Łoś (Romanian version) is here: The result is in front of you. p.s. My competitions rank of “MikroModel 2017” 18-09.02.2017 awarded bronze, I'm happy. Thank You.
    4 points
  47. trying out a centre wing section to bond to the bottom of the fuselage. I suspect that the wing sits right up to the bottom of the tube so I tried a recess in the centre - looks ok to me. Plan to put two metal spars running through to fix the outer wing perks to The wing has a large bulge ahead of the wing under the forward fuselage. This is to the plan I have but looks small compared to the real thing. Just a paper template at the moment
    4 points
  48. Cheers giemme, I am rather pleased with how they turned out... I may lighter the internals a bit more and add belts, I will be using a vac form canopy for this so visibility should be good so hopefully having a higher contrast in there and the bomb aimer's dig should make it stand out a bit more. I spent last night flattening lead pellets while watching Gotham.... I have looked at other builds and not enough nose weight has been an issue, I think it was bill @Navy Bird who ended up putting weights in the engines to stop it tail sitting? It's a cracking build if you haven't seen it already, very much worth a look! anyway, I have now made a compartment out of milliput and rammed it full of squashed lead.... however my fear drove me to ad another, probably landing gear shattering, compartment in the furthest forward section of the bomb bay.... I will let this go off all day and then paint it Matt black so it can be hidden in the shadows..... like Batman! Rob
    4 points
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