FortyEighter

Despite the difficulties you've experienced during the build the final model looks fantastic. Mike

A well finished pair of Airbi, the TAP scheme is a colourful but fairly simple livery. G-EUPJ is still on my "to build sometime" list. Mike

Who doesn't like a tiger design? To be built from the Kinetic "Hellenic Block 52+" kit: with a Reskit exhaust, Eduard cockpit etch and Model Maker decals or masks - for some reason I have both sets 🤔 This one won't get started until late April as there are currently three aircraft to finish from the "Twins" and "Baby Boomer" GBs. I've also got the Model Maker decals for the 2018 Tiger Meet (again an F-16C) and if time permits will think about making that from an Academy Polish F-16D kit and parts from the Viper Spares box ... or perhaps the Italian "Diana" F-16C ... or maybe another Norwegian Viper?? Mike

A very useful thread Ian with plenty of useful "how to do it" photos - your fuselage joints are really neat. The antennae on the Rocast models site provide a perfect solution for those that are moulded and always get damaged when addressing the fuselage seams. Mike

Another update: Firstly the improvised instrument panel in situ and as the model is today..... .....work fettling around the cockpit canopy is in progress. The twin booms were a little tricky to assemble but look passable to me now. Mike

and now part way through applying decals: I'm waiting for the Squadron codes to arrive but may yet try printing the serial number decals myself. The model has now had a different approach to weathering; random patches of dark earth, dark green and dark blue which were then oversprayed lightly with blacks. The surface looks less uniform and this is more noticeable in real life than in the photo especially where gloss has been used where the decals are positioned. Pictures of 23 Squadron Boston III are thin on the ground online and the only place I can match a particular squadron code to a serial number is in a database of aircraft which crashed / were shot down. So this will be YP-F for "Freddy" W8258 which made a crash landing at RAF Tangmere after being damaged on a raid over Evreux on Good Friday April 3rd 1942 - sadly the Bombardier Baron Rene Lunden died of injuries sustained in the crash but the aircraft was back in service in a few weeks.

The camo finish makes a refreshing change from the "three shades of grey"

Try spraying at about 15psi, they are easy to build up in thin layers and (with practice) give a very smooth coat I use Mr Tool Cleaner R first (about half a cup, rubbed round with a Tepe brush) to clean MRP paints out of the airbrush before then using Mr Color Thinner (again about half a cup) followed by IPA. Mike

Despite several issues along the way, you've ended up with two cracking models.

Great work Tom Like many others I was disappointed when BA retired their fleet, my last 747 flight was just over four years ago on CIVT but have flown on your choice CIVM once. Mike

Thanks for the info Selwyn; I'm close to needing to mask and fix the canopy in place but think I'll live with it being incorrect rather than ruin it by trying any corrections. Mike

Thanks, MRP paints give great results Photos of Boston's often show a distressed top surface, so perhaps a bit more to do yet. I did try spraying metalllics before the black and rubbing then but it just looked a mess!

The cockpit is now finished: with two pence worth of the Royal Mint's best ballast (twice that recommended in the instructions). The instrument panel is just lying out of position for photo purposes (dials from Airscale decals are not 100% accurate but it will pass when the canopy is in place). Fuselage halves are now glued and clamped. I also managed to find the Xtradecal Vampire NF10 decals on that well known auction site; these have complete insignia / stencils and also markings for a 23 Squadron aircraft. Mike

Any colour you like, as long as it's black: Painted with a mix of MRP colours (super black primer, matt black, super matt black and night). There is some slight variation in tone that isn't really visible in the photo but some more needs to be done while I wait for some decals to arrive. Mike

Thanks Tim, that's useful info. Like you I'm not worried about the window inserts and will use decals. The Bra.z inserts are cheaper than sacrificing another kit just for some fuselage plugs. At the moment I'm just thinking about possibilities but have recently booked my first ever Dreamliner flight for later this year with BA and at the moment it's due to be a "10". Mike