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  1. This is my Airfix 1/48th scale finished in Irish Air Corps markings. I found the kit to be very well engineered and particularly strong when assembled. The plastic is somewhat soft and tolerances are quite tight so a bit of fettling of the mating surfaces was required. I used the Eduard interior set, some of the exterior set too, particularly the engine parts, tie down eyes and the control surface linkages and the Brassin wheels set. Although I believe guns were never carried by IAC Walrus's I added them anyway using artistic licence. Rigging is a mixture of EZ line, Wingnuts rigging elastic, USCHI and rolled wire. Decals are of course from Max. Thanks for looking. IMG_2776 by Keith Sherwood, on Flickr IMG_2778 by Keith Sherwood, on Flickr IMG_2784 by Keith Sherwood, on Flickr IMG_2779 by Keith Sherwood, on Flickr IMG_2782 by Keith Sherwood, on Flickr
    37 points
  2. Hello All After 11 months, I have completed the conversion of the Monogram B-36 to the YB-60 Jet engined prototype. It has been a long slog, with the USAF SIG's anniversary show at Telford as the must do by date. The easiest part of the conversion was the fuselage with small changes on the nose and tail being required. The wings and tail empennage not so simple. I think I used 5 or 6 tubes of Milliput for that. The engines were donated by an old B-52 kit. The engine pylons were adapted B-52 pylons as well. The wings were kit wings modified by removing the original engines and a lot of filling. Undercarriage is the SAC metal legs for added strength (it is kind of heavy). A new leg at the rear was fashioned from brass tube. Without that it would be a tail sitter, so thank you Convair for adding that. Paint is Halfords Aluminium, with various other paints for contrast. The markings are hand painted with decals for national markings. I hope you like it. Ted
    20 points
  3. Hi all, I've just completed the another Airfix Mig, this time from the club kit that came with a sabre (Will be uploading a RFI soonish) Once again criticism welcome
    20 points
  4. Hello, This T-33 is the reproduction of the jet flown by Tanguy & Laverdure. Heroes French comic strip. For the metal I used the Rub'N Buff Best Regards, Michel
    16 points
  5. So where was I? Been preoccupied with work and stuff for several days...... I've been storing the waste in plastic bottles with a view to taking them to the local tip Tomo. I'm only using very small quantities so it's not been a bother so far. This is clearly a very important variable. I've acquired a few sheets of inkjet OHP transparency film from a local stationer that is much better quality than the stuff I already had - and I have a few sheets of (allegedly) premium inkjet transparency film on order from a silk screen printing website which will be interesting to compare. That's certainly true in the sense that you can't create surface detail without double sided etching. But the etching process is much faster (obviously) with double sided etching and this has a benefit even if you aren't trying to create surface detail. The longer the brass is in the etching solution the more chance there is that the etching solution will undercut the resist, and if you're trying to produce a very fine line as I am with the MDC the danger is that the etching solution will completely undercut the resist and etch away the line. This happened to me the first time I tried single sided etching viz: Achieving a more even etch (say as produced by an aerating system or closer attention to agitating the etch solution to achieve the same) will no doubt reduce the likelihood of this happening but even so the longer the etching process the more chance of undercutting occurring. Ha. Now we have an engineer's brain on the task it'll properly be made to look easy and I'll wonder why I faffed about so much.......... In between working I sneakily stole time (on the train back from a conference in London as it happens) to redo the MDC Artwork and make the zig zags more rounded in the hope of getting a better etched result: As originally drafted: And as modified (note the nice fine (0.2pt) registration crosses and squares hendie ). The differences are hopefully subtle enough so that the proper Hawk MDC look is retained. I printed the modified artwork onto the better quality OHP slides - but still felt the need to sandwich 2 films together to get adequate opaqueness (I've yet to test printing in dark green or other colours). And I also followed the advice in the tutorial Bill spotted and hendie highlighted to use the artwork inside against the resist when exposing it to UV. The result was a noticeably more faithful reproduction of the artwork and specifically the corners of the (more rounded) zig zags were nicely captured: And the product was an etch that absolutely captured the fine detail of the Zig Zags.: The question now is whether this is a bit too delicate to use
    16 points
  6. Hello Guys. I Just finished this 1/48 Texan. It was a long term project, not necessarily because of the kit, but because my limited spare time and very slow building pace:) The kit itself is ok, but it is showing its age...is not up to the standard of modern kits. Many areas are grossly under-represented and had to be improved....a lot of scratch building was necessary, mostly in the cockpit, flaps and landing gear area. But I think that with a little love & tenderness it still can be transformed into a representation of this beautiful bird. You can see the WIP here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234981747-north-american-t6g-texan/& Thanks for looking and regards.
    14 points
  7. I think I've probably achieved a reasonable and reasonably reproducible system for etching the MDC now. In one of the videos hendie posted the author used notched strips of plastic to hold the brass horizontal in the etching solution to give the best chance of even etching and and as a bonus to provide some hand hold. It's a good system which I've adopted. Holding the brass flat and agitating the etching solution seems to work well in giving pretty even etching on small frets like this - so I don't think I'll acquire a cheap aquarium aeration system unless or until I need to etch larger frets. In the picture below you can just see a few small brownish patches of residual brass that still need to be etched away. They actually fell away with a further dip and a quick sloosh around in the solution. This time I kept a closer eye on the etching process and removed it at just about the optimum time - as I got a really nice clean, consistent result without any undercutting of the resist at what I think is just about the right compromise thickness for the MDC so that it will be nice and visible whilst still robust enough to work with and without looking too overscale. I'll do 2 or 3 more and then choose the best 2 for use on the models with a spare or two. I'll use some of my earlier test pieces to perfect the best way of moulding them to fit and attaching them to the canopies. Right - I think that's probably about the right time for me to stop boring everyone with posts dedicated to etching and to turn my attention back to some other aspects of the poor old Hawks. 101 pages in the thread and still lots to do - how embarrassing
    14 points
  8. Thanks Bill, Giorgio & Ced, BTW. This is it compared with my first effort: First: Now: Its taken a bit of thinking, testing and input from you chaps to work out how better to produce a finer and less crude result. But I'm nearly there. I think I left latest effort just a few minutes too long in the etching solution as it's a millitad too thin - but otherwise I'm very pleased with it and I reckon I can go ahead and produce a couple of sets (plus a spare!) for use........
    13 points
  9. Hello all, I thought I might post these few older builds. They are Airfix 1/72 Douglas A-4B Skyhawk and an Italeri 1/72 OAM Skyhawk 11, hope you like, all comments very welcome. DSCF9388 by john dann, on Flickr DSCF9388 by john dann, on Flickr DSCF9386 by john dann, on Flickr DSCF9389 by john dann, on Flickr DSCF9390 by john dann, on Flickr DSCF9383 by john dann, on Flickr
    12 points
  10. Following on from my post with the Airfix NA39, built oldee stylee, I thought I could get away with elaborating a bit as to how I build and collect. I'm a bit odd in that I model the model, rather than the real thing. My ideal build is one you might have seen in a model shop window when you were a kid. Following that logic to its natural conclusion, a Model Shop would be nice as well! I model the nostalgic side of the hobby. It takes all sorts... Here's my old hobby room. It was the spare bedroom in the flat I lived in. I built it to work in and display my kits and builds. The room was about 12x8 with a full length window along one long wall. The shelving and storage underneath was built by me out of old sheets of shuttering ply. Pegboard laid over stringers on the walls gave it a nice old feel. The display here was set up to show the guy who organised the Airfix exhibition at the RAF Museum at Hendon a while back. I told him this lot was a sample and could be expanded in any direction if needed. Get me and my showing off! He left and never got back to me. The display above was a general Airfix one, these two shots show a more Type 3 setup, circa 1968 or so... The room did sterling duty for the ten years we lived there. Recently we moved to Cambridgeshire, loosing the room. I now have to build a Hobby Room Shed in the garden of our new place. I intend it to look like a full on Model Shop inside. If your gonna dream, dream big! The downside is that most of my stash is stored away in the loft, awaiting the new shed. That should happen next summer if I get my finger out. Enough waffle, here's a few more vintage builds... Thanks for indulging me, Tony.
    10 points
  11. "First Gulf War - escape to Iran" - battle history of Iraq Fencers. Trumpeter model with many details, EduardPE, resin - KomplektZip, Armory, AM, Aires etc
    10 points
  12. G – GDOG 1976 Piper PA-28R-200 Cherokee Arrow C/N 28R-7635227 For this I paid the Princely sum of £4.00 and this is my attempt at reproducing an aircraft that flew from my local airfield, Sywell Aerodrome.
    10 points
  13. All done Some details The Kit Kinetic 1/48 Mirage IIIE/O/R/RD/EE/EA Kt No 48050 Aftermarket Eduard Mirage IIIE PE set Bombs from Hasegawa Weapons set A Edaurd Fabric RBF's Decals Carcal decals Kit Decals Paint Mr Color Lacquers for dark grey and underside grey Mr Hobby H73 for the olive drab/green Tamiya NATO Black/ semi gloss black Vallejo Acrylics for details Tamiya Olive Drab for the base for the bombs, Mr Color Olive Drab (No 304) for the tails with other shades of OD/green. Gaianotes for the Gloss coat Gaianotes and Dullcoate for the flat coat Weathering Artist Oils for the wash Coloured pencils, pigments, pastels and Tamiya Weathering sets for the various streaking / grime marks More details and images on the above at my blog
    10 points
  14. Thanks Guys and apologies - I thought 'Private' meant I could post a link but it should have been 'Unlisted'; corrected at about 2:30 here. Ooops. I'm being very disciplined and finishing the Gosling before starting the TR.9. Goodness knows why. I may allow myself to fondle the sprues tomorrow. This looks like a Gosling: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr ... but the wings aren't fixed. You can see the sihrsc treatment it got in the background, trying to settle the 'step' into the fuselage opening which is, for some reason, curved: As you can probably see there was blood, sweat and tears, mainly caused by trying to Dexter the front part. After some time I was happy enough (although my standards are slipping). Now you all know how much I love my Bernas for gently holding parts together, or even applying a slight pressure, but sometimes things need CLAMPING: Hopefully that'll teach it!
    10 points
  15. Thanks Joe I must admit I panicked and just grabbed something! Thanks Chris - I'm not sure about the filler, hence the CA. It is quite solid when cured but I haven't tried its strength. Great for filling though! Thanks John Onwards. Holes drilled for the rigging that I'll do at the end: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr Slaters rod used for the inter-strut wires: Fixed using CA and zapped - hairy stuff! Suddenly she's ready for primer: Surprise!
    9 points
  16. Thanks Chris You're right, best not to go there until the Gosling is finished... Milliput on the step: I do like this stuff for this sort of job. Press it on, smooth a bit, wet your tool (stop it!) and shape, then over the join with a moist finger (a la mode de Rob) and then final clean up with a wet, then dry Tamiya fine cotton bud. Final step is, of course, to throw the excess in the bin. One day I will judge the quantity, just right. We must all have our dreams... Tailplane struts. Shall I use these? Struts? by Ced Bufton, on Flickr I think not. Out with the Slaters rod, carefully cutting a little bit off the end for a good fit, then flood the locating holes with Contacta: They're not aerofoil shaped but frankly at this stage I've stopped caring about small details like that. Mainly because I've looked at mounting the floats. Here's a small example of the problem: Hardly 'precision locating points' are they? At first I tried using Humbrol filler as a 'glue' but it's useless - the struts just slide up and down. Time to fill the holes and start again: I think attaching the floats is going to be the Achilles Heel of this GB... hopefully some kit makers will make it easier. I'm still thinking of rigging them too
    8 points
  17. With much swearing and a couple of walkouts, I've made some decent progress. With the hull and main sub assemblies put together, I then moved onto finishing the water, then masts and am now mid way through my least favourite part of the whole process - rigging. Here are a few quick iPhone shots so sorry about them being a bit harsh. I've also tweaked the water on my Jamaica and Sheffield to match Belfast ready to photograph the full set together.
    8 points
  18. Hi all well its finished and i really enjoyed this little kit, it's well worth the money.
    7 points
  19. Only finished a couple this year as I am working on my railway as well, Thoroughly enjoyed this one, thumbnail_20170913_164918 by Steve Scanlon, on Flickr thumbnail_20170913_164907 by Steve Scanlon, on Flickr thumbnail_20170913_164802 by Steve Scanlon, on Flickr thumbnail_20170913_164856 by Steve Scanlon, on Flickr
    7 points
  20. Hello all, My first post which is also my first completed project since returning to the hobby of my childhood. Hoping for some constructive criticism if the photos adequately display the finished build. Cheers, Charles
    7 points
  21. while on image searching, found this it's linked to @Etiennedup , he did a very good model of it, but couldn't find the details of where/when the photo is from. @FalkeEins maybe would know as well? Not one I remember seeing, without the background I'd have guessed a winter scheme, but this looks mediterranean, and in allied hands, so I presume this is some maritime scheme? I'm sure it'sold news to some, hope of interest. T
    7 points
  22. Thanks Simon and Chris - both good ideas Pity I didn't read them before I pressed on... I drilled holes in the filler, inserted the strut bottoms and then offered up the assembly to the precision jig: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr The plan is to glue the struts into the float, use Slaters rod for the 'inner rigging' to add some more strength and then fix the float to the wing (later) and hope the rigging holds it in place on the ceiling. Just to be sure the bottom of the struts got blobs of CA gel: I'll take it apart and see what we have later.
    7 points
  23. Thanks, nothing too technical just a small brush and a gentle touch. Sometimes when space allows for it I lie the brush down at 90 degrees to the plastic so it just touches the raised detail. Some of the smaller details, like the buttons arround the LCD displays, are dry brushed. The cockpit is together now and ready to be fitted to the upper fuselage.
    7 points
  24. I had to take a break from this as the Alclad kept attacking itself and the black base coat despite following the instructions to the letter and leaving everything to dry for 3-4 days before re-spraying. It's taken quite a while to get to this stage but I'm pleased with it now as there are some very subtle panel shade variations and good reflections without it looking like a mirror. Next step will be the decals and luckily there's not many of them so this might be finished by tomorrow. Steve
    7 points
  25. OK, just to prove that I haven't somehow melted it by mistake, or similar, here she is as of this evening: As for the next build, I actually made my mind up some time ago - I have even made a small start, and here's a clue: In due course a separate build thread will be laid down - but not until I have finished off her older sister. Fitting the Aires Griffon does require some pretty drastic kit-cutting: But I think it will be worth it: I am still waiting for a parcel to arrive from Lowestoft with a few Walrus goodies in it. It is by no means impossible that I will work on both manifestations of R J Mitchell's genius at the same time! More soon Crisp
    6 points
  26. In the beginning, I wasn't too enthousiastic about the camouflage you chose, but I was wrong!!! It underlines perfectly the elegant shape of this aircraft!!! As you mentioned you have to choose between the Walrus and the FR47, it reminded me I built the Grand Phoenix reboxing a few years ago and that was real fun!!! I love the detail of this model, so...it may be the best option as you're still hot!!! I'd go for this one!!! Ciao Massimo
    6 points
  27. Right chaps moving ever closer to the finish. Last couple of nights had me on a go slow with the Blenheim as it was an evening of final touch ups and getting the matt coat on. I used vallejo matt varnish which was thinned down so it would flow smoother and passed over in several light layers to create an even finish. Here is how she was looking. And a view from the side. And one on the top. Until the matt varnish had set for long enough i left it for the night came back to it again last night. It was time to get the masking off, the part i had been waiting for. I used my knife to go around to break any paint joining the masking to the model and set about clearing the windows. First one off and looked good. After about half an hour they were all off 😁😁. And yes i was pleased. I cleaned all the dges with a cocktail stick and and a damp cotton bud to clean the windows from the masking glue. At this point i left it as it was and finished off a few small bits. All that is left now is the top turret and the ariel on the bottom. More soon and close to the finish. Thanks for looking in 😁😁😁
    6 points
  28. Dear all - Apologies, but not been on the forum for quite a while........... Therefore, posting up some pictures of my recently completed Wingnut Wings Sopwith Ship's Camel which was quite a long build for me. This is the second WNW Camel I have built and did learn a few lessons from that first build. That said, I think this is one of Wingnut's more trickier kits and the decals don't seem as good (a bit thin and brittle) as normally supplied - perhaps it's just me though. Decided to add a bit of interest this time round by displaying on base representing a wood deck from a towed lighter (well that was the idea anyway!) with a RNAS resin pilot figure. I'm generally pleased how this one turned out as I found it quite an involved build. This also took gold (together with one other of mine) yesterday at my local model club internal competition for aircraft. As always, built OOB and brush painted. Rigged with combination of 2lb fishing line (wings, undercarriage and tailplane) and Pryme (ailerons, rudder and elevators) elastic thread. Regards Dave
    6 points
  29. To be honest Pete, I can't remember much about it at all. I'm just going by whatever photo's are available. I'm pretty certain that what I am making is not an accurate HC2 from Sek Kong, but it does have dollops of (sort of) accuracy from a number of HC2's somewhere. So, the other evening I tried a quick dry fit of the fuselage sides to make sure that the bulkhead still fitted... looks okay from this angle, but... What's this I spy? There's something not quite right here. Well, that's what you get for following the instructions darnit. Yuppers, I followed the instructions locating ribs where the kit instructions instructed me to construct the construction. I thought it was quite nice of Fly to have a line on the inside of the kit where each rib went, though it would have been nice if they had defined where the rib actually sat in relation to said line. But it appears they missed one - right at the back, just on front of the bulkhead. Strictly speaking, on the 1:1 I guess there isn't actually a rib in that location, well, not one that can be see as the rear bulkhead will be mounted to it. However, the kit ribs are the only real locating feature for the bulkhead so they are going in. Ribs, stringers and fish plates glued in place, paint and other gunge to come later. I had a nice little surprise waiting for me in the mail... cables. This was the smallest diameter wire I could find that was color coded - 30 AWG. Unfortunately it is still a bit over scale, but better than nothing. I might try spraying individual strands of wire as that's the only way I can think of getting a more in scale look - but the paint always flakes off very easily when I have tried that before. The "white" cable was a nice off-white though, and not too stark. I also added a couple of generic transfers to the two red electrical boxes just to add a bit of interest to something that will never ever be seen once it's all closed up. Prior to all that happening I managed to glue the rear bulkhead in position on the port side. The ceiling panel is just dry fitted for alignment purposes. S'looking a bit more Wessex like. and lastly, a better shot of the comms cable hanging off the rear bulkhead. The weathering looks vastly overdone in these photo's. I'm blaming the flash and pretending that it doesn't look anywhere near as bad in the flesh. I might have a bash at mixing up some of that apple green color for the soundproofing later. Or try to make a smaller scale cable.
    6 points
  30. Hiya Folks,..... Hopefully I`ll be starting another model soon in the form of the wonderful old Wellesley, here is the boxart from Scalemates, while I get the missus to dig my kit out of the loft; I fancy doing it in a slightly different scheme,.....either the pre war desert scheme; Also depicted on the box art of this Valom kit; OR; The mid war Temperate Sea Scheme painted aircraft circa 1943 when the surviving aircraft were used for anti sub duties; This is L2712 from 47 Sqn which was one of the last two still flying on the 3rd March 1943, note the side gun positions and the open bomb doors on the sponsons; Here is one of the long canopy variants with twin Vickers K Guns fitted and positions in the side windows too, also thought to belong to 47 Sqn for ASW duties; A rather escoteric Wellesley which I don`t know much about is this Polish marked aircraft, thought to belong to a maintenance training unit in the Middle East; Re the Polish Wellesley,......I have found another pic,..captioned,......Henryk Radecki, leaning on a Vickers Wellesley during his training at the Polish Air Force Academy (the Polish Air Force emblem may be seen to the right of Mr. Radecki) in Heliopolis, Egypt, 1945. EDIT,..EDIT,...EDIT,.....Here is another photo of the `Polish' Wellesley,... I am getting closer!! This is an excellent reference too,.....one of the better Warpaint books;
    5 points
  31. Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 Eduard 1/48 I don't often post in the aircraft section, as I'm usually an armour and SF builder, but I've been sorting through the photos of some of my older builds on Flickr, and came across this I-16 I built back in 2015. I didn't get around to posting it at the time, so I thought I may as well do so now. It's a strait OOB build of Eduard's excellent Polikarpov, and the third one I've built over the years, painted with Gunze Aqueous and weathered with various AK pigments and washes. Thanks for looking Andy
    5 points
  32. Todays instalment brings yet another dose of memories... If I had to have only one kit out of the whole lot, it would probably be the B17 Flying Fortress. Getting the Roy Cross artwork model for Christmas way back in time is one of those memories that just won't fade. I must have built the kit a dozen times over the years yet I could quite happily do another next week. When the Dogfight Doubles came out, I lost no time at all in getting them. A series one and series two kit in the same box got you a sensible discount on the price charged. That left a bit over for a tube of glue or some Humbrol paints. The A Frame stand that held the pair was a nice bonus as well. I have pictures of the series built up somewhere. I'll add them as and when I turn them up. Lastly, how about these two? Not built by me, they came with a collection I bought ages ago. Both built to a very high standard, without a drop of paint on the airframes! A bit of detail finishing here and there, but no more than that. Modelling as it was back then. There's so many different angles to this collecting malarky, I never get bored by it all.
    5 points
  33. This kind of paint scheme always amazes me. We go the extra mile to be as neat as our ability allows - and they go and do this Pass the Tippex please Smashing picture though Troy.
    5 points
  34. I don't recall a scramble for them new either
    5 points
  35. Like the Stranraer, I started this one early this year. The kit / aircraft always attracted me since it came out in the 70s but I never picked one up until a bargain offer .. 25 bucks from memory...I couldnt refuse came up at an Expo swap and sell last year. One of the reasons I didnt get one before was that it was a one operator machine.. Japan (though India is getting a few soon) and I just didn't fancy doing one of them. I thought I might try a civil WIFFer but thought that a bit silly and shelved the problem till later, then when in the UK last year the refugee avalanche into Europe with all the associated boat sinkings and drownings were raging headlines, with vision of search aircraft and rescues. Hmmm I thought, here was a job for a capable amphibian! So this Wiffer was born... It took me ages, I spent hours tooling around trying to come up with a believable / appropriate colour scheme and came up with this..I like it. The pics are not great, I will do better after make a stand to pose the model in a flight mode.
    5 points
  36. Just to reassure you that there is nothing sinister in the lack of progress on the Seafire; I have simply been away for a few days. Back now, so hoping to get her over the line this week. I have enjoyed this build so much that I have acquired a second kit (this time the more recent re-box; different markings, but same moulds), with a view to building a Mk47 (with folded wings, obviously). Having also acquired the new Airfix Walrus at the same time, I am torn about which to do next; still not quite ready to go back to miniscule soldering tasks on the Sea King. Only two things have happened since you last saw the 46; the side numbers are now painted, and for some strange reason [it’s never happened to me before, darling] the fuselage roundels peeled off. No lifting paint or other damage of any kind; the transfers just parted company with the airframe. I used a mixture of sources for the markings - some unused Eduard transfers, some generic Xtradecals, some Airfix - and to be honest I can’t remember which these were. I’ll put up a picture later. Anyway; no harm done.
    5 points
  37. Late night update… …well I am on holiday don’t you know Doing two different builds – this one and the halftrack, isn’t quite the same as doing 2 identical BF109’s. It is proving to be fun and is definitely getting my interest going again though. With the interior green finished I have given the cockpit components a gloss coat – in preparation for my first go at using Flory black wash – to ‘highlight’ things… Please ignore the injector marks - you'll never see them. I have gone for a quite a heavy wash – as once it’s ‘buttoned up’ you won’t actually see it – but it’s good to experiment… …leave it a few minutes and a quick wipe with a soft tissue gave me this – very dirty… Now here’s an observation – my 1/48 109’s didn’t come with a decal for the IP – yet this tiny little beauty does??? – go figure… …oh well it looks really nice – I guess we had better use it hadn’t we… Looks good to me – gunsight painted black and chrome pen used to mimic the glass – though you can’t really see it here. That only leaves this little guy – I need to get him painted in the morning – as he is holding the build up now… I think painting 1/48 pilots is challenging and to be honest I’m never ‘really’ happy with them so it will be interesting to see how this chap turns out. I do have to paint the halftrack crew too – so it might be a long morning – with plenty of eye straining and if the pictures turn out a little blurred – you’ll know I’ve not done too well
    5 points
  38. Looks like we have a plan. a lot of firsts going on. Johnny mask
    5 points
  39. Hi Guys, well what I suspected regards the tail repaint on the slugger and correlated by @Andrew with the Bu.No via that site is true. Below here is the same plane 2 or so years earlier, different wheel hubs but same insignia and warning/rescue data. So the squadron markings/rudder & modex were overpainted and then 104 of vf143 becomes 212 of vf103. This pic helped confirm gun gas vents and curve of antiglare. Looks in semi storage with its taped up vents. Perhaps even waiting to be handed over to the sluggers cause it looks fairly tatty like its done a cruise already... Anyways, out with the maskol and a paintbrush... Postshaded... followed the panel lines on top carefully, whereas the undersides were more of an overall filter of the greyish brown mix. Maskol being Rubbed off - effect quite strong initially and given it a brownish hue... So the post shade was blended with some straight gull grey misted overall to reduce the contrast and knock back some of the brownish tinge. Much better now, Compare with above. The money shot... seems to have worked? Thanks for looking...
    5 points
  40. Massimo wanted an update and seeing as how visible progress has been made, who am I to refuse? I have got the engine bay doors detail painted and following the debacle where I managed to lose one of the transmission bay doors, I permanently attached these to the fuselage. A broken tail rotor blade reminded me of something I should have done much earlier in the build, namely to pin the blades to the hub with brass rod. this has now been done and the tail rotor assembly painted. For the moment, this is just push fitted to the model. I have also begun to mask up the main rotor assembly in preparation for painting. Thanks for looking Martian
    5 points
  41. This one is now in the poll for 2018.
    5 points
  42. Another Bradley, but not in the same league as Gremlin's recent effort. I wasn't sure whether I'd bother putting this up and considered waiting until I'd finished and then gently prod it round the door with a long stick and leave quietly hoping that nobody would notice. Before this I'd just finished the Meng Abrams which, in my opinion, is a bit of a dog. I wasn't sure if this was going to be the same in which case I'd probably not bother and kick it into the stash somewhere but I thought it would be fair to give Meng a second chance. I'm happy to report that apart from a couple of minor niggles its going together rather well with the parts fitting like they belong to the same kit. Here's the start. There's an M113 from Tamiya on the bench as well as the Bradley hull on its back waving its legs in the air. The Tamiya kit was an old moulding with a couple of extra sprue thrown in which are basically bergens, ammo and jerry cans and a dog to hang around the external parts of the vehicle. Although the Bradley has an interior I'm not sure how much will be visible once I'm finished. Thought I'd start on the wheely bits first as well as the track assembly. The wheels have separate tyres which I thought was to make painting easier (see later). Being Meng the fit between the road wheel and tyre is so tight that no adhesive was necessary. They're on for good! I've seen various negative comments about the tracks but with me being cheap I thought I'd give them a go. I can always bin them later if it goes wrong and order up some of the ones that Gremlin used in his build. Thankfully there are enough links in the bag to compensate for the ones that don't fit or are too loose. I might need to glue a few links before this is over just for some additional strength. Time to get them into paint along with the rubbers from the M113. As most of the M113 track is hidden under the side skirts the rubbers will be adequate enough. My choice of track may yet be my undoing. Here's the start to the hull interior. Time to add some grease an overall wear and tear before I go any further. Next steps is the engine, oh, one has just been delivered. Of course it wouldn't be one of my models if I hadn't screwed up somewhere. Thought I'd completed the wheel assemblies but that wasn't the case. At the bottom of the box was a piece of brass that the helpful people at Meng thoughtfully included for use as a mask for defining the extent of the rubber. Pity they didn't mention this in the instructions which were rather unclear about the extend of the rubber. I did have my reservations when I was putting them together. Oh well back to wheel painting. I've now discovered that there is a considerable warp on the lower half of the hull. With the back plate and some tensioning I should be able to fix it. I ran into a similar problem with the Meng Cougar when closing it up. This time I'll make sure the hull fits together before fitting the interior. That way I should be able to use the necessary clamps without damaging parts. I'd say with Meng it pays to build sub assemblies, continually checking for fit, before discovering that that serious fettling is required once everything has been glued down.
    4 points
  43. Here it is, pretty much complete . Beat up winter camo but otherwise not too dirty and the interior is spotless, tidy boys those Germans.
    4 points
  44. Mengs 1/35 scale King tiger or Bengal tiger as the correct translation from German word Königstiger. And that animal name was the reason to start this. As “Beast of Nature” was the subject for a scale modelling show in Friesland and also for the upcoming IPMS euro scale modelling on 25 November. However my last tank build experience was over 25 years back. Thought it would be an relative easy build. I was totally wrong! By that I meant the painting and weathering job. Not the superb plastic fit. Only one intervention was needed to align the suspension (those axis were the wheels are mounted on). From late 1944 the Tigers camouflage scheme were (factory dilivered) hard edged patterns. At SennelÄger (Germany) Schwere Panzer-Abteilung 509 (sPzAbt 509) received their new Tigers ausf. B in the last months of 44 till January 45. It was then hastily send to Hungary where they were partly white painted for the operations in winter conditions. From 18 January to 9 May 1945, sPzAbt 509 was continuously involved in offensive fighting in Hungary and (until the surrender to Americans) in Austria. So instead of using simple hand airbrush spay technics a lot of effort was done to simulate the hard edge pattern. To give the model more colour appealing I did not paint the tooling on the hull sides white. But I suspect that in real those tools were also white. The tracks are from Dragons mini tracks series and the tank crew figures from MiniArt. The display is made from wood, filler and bakers flour. Some steps from the construction process followed with final outdoor photographs . Thank you for watching.
    4 points
  45. Blimey that's proper bostin' Steve. Prototyped, tested, improved, retested and perfected. You could start a sideline making incandescent light bulb filaments!
    4 points
  46. At the risk of being perceived as a truly sad case who continually replies to his own posts, I discovered another detail today that may be of interest to those wishing to model an Endau Raid 'Beest. According to the Vildebeest Erection Manual (no, that's not rude!), when bombs were carried, 2 extra bracing wires were installed on each side, running one each from the top of the front and rear cabane struts down to the corresponding lower wing spars midway between the fuselage and the interplane struts. These extra wires are just visible on this image (if you zoom in a little): (Source: Wikipedia) This pic shows the additional bracing wires a little better: (Source: IWM) The extra bracing wires are also visible in this nice image of a Vincent in flight (sadly the website won't let me post the image...but the link should get you there): http://www.aviationphotocompany.com/p306067835/h51C4D0EA#h51c4d0ea Thought this small extra detail might be of interest...or maybe not. I'll go away now.... Cheers, Mark
    4 points
  47. Evening all....just did a dry fit of the sub components......all coming together. Well, off to bed Nite all
    4 points
  48. Hello chap's. Didn't manage to do as much as I hoped today. But thought I'd post the progress to date. I managed to do the right side gun shield strut and the "jerry" can rack I saw on a destroyed Wespe.....that took some doing... Started the right cabin detail also. The Eduard PE is a dream...all except the fire extinguisher frame....made for a very, very thin extinguisher, that Tamiya didn't include at all...so tough I imagine for Eduard to make their's fit something not supplied in the kit. In looking at the radio, I think this will have to considered another sub component as I'm using the parts supplied by Eduard and have to added after painting. So I'll do it separately and install in the final fit together. Here's a pic of the sub components Badder I intend to do (plus radio). And here's some additional shots. This is the rack I saw Anyway, cheers all. Regards Simon
    4 points
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