rob Lyttle

Nice 👍 I like the A6. I got another Hasegawa kit in 1.72, just for the fun. If the finishing flat coat Tamiya stuff is acrylic you could try some alcohol/methylated spirits on a cotton bud. Should remove it unless they have some magic ingredient included

Well, thanks @Ray S. There's nothing overly tricky about the kit, pretty simple really. Sorry about the photo quality, my phone back then was indeed a simple gadget!🤭 Good luck with your build, hope to see it on here ✅️

Lovely to see this in the rfi from some time ago. I've just been brushing the dirt and cobwebs off my old effort from decades ago and wondering if it's a worthy restoration project. Sheds can be a harsh environment 🫢 Your super result has inspired.... I'm thinking I should have a go sometime soon, so thanks for that 👍

Yesterday I had this parked just a few doors away.

Nice. Do you know if it still comes with the floats option?

Afraid I don't have an A10 kit stashed, I'm mostly civil subject matter currently and this thing hasn't got a Civil bone in its body 😎 But I've done a couple in the past, most recent one finished in the Blacksnakes decor of the Indiana ANG. Decals kindly donated by a generous BMer, I spotted them on his sheet going spare 😀 To my mind it's the best nose-art there is for the A10. Just sayin'..... It's kind of noticeable that through all the decades of service, the Americans have never sold even one of these to anyone else

Thinking back, I believe I found I could build the shell, finish and paint it, and then fit the rear springs and then the seat unit, springs put in through the back and the seat down through the cockpit. I may have had to trim it a bit to enable this but worth it to sort the paintwork. Thought it run it past you if it might help with the future makeover 👍

Well, you were ALMOST able to finish this list with 🎼🎶..."and a Partridge in a Pear Tree!..."😊 Just wondering if @Angus Tura could accommodate us with the appropriate species next time around 🤔 ⁉️

My BN Islander in 1.48 is destined to be a Scillies Skybus type but my "25 years" livery option hit a snag and I'm outa time, so I'll pitch her into the gallery as things stand. Finished and awaiting decor. Pleased to say she stands nose-down and it's no easy feat with an Islander. Elevator got a full makeover, flaps deployed and all undercarriage remade in metal to cope with the weight. This is my 1st Valom kit and the plastic is very good to work with. Everything is quite chunky compared to some modern stuff but accurate and fits well. The PE stuff.....I can live without to be honest. Several parts not mentioned in the instructions. Some may be for a different version I guess, but I didn't even know I had a separate pilot's door, or indeed the fin top beacon, until I got the transparency sprue out of its bag for windows. Philippines Coast Guard decal sheet looks great, but not what I'm after right now. Right O, think this is my last one for this epic Group Build. Gallery is still filling up⚠️ 🤩 What an absolute pleasure to watch, read through, and participate 👏 Round of applause for Bianfuxia, and Cliff. 🏆☮️

Right, I've put her into the gallery. Way too much time spent fiddling around with little figures! One thing I did achieve on the plane was a better finish on the prop spinners. I had a little leaky puddle from my chrome pen and like a flash I had a brush in my hand. It brushed on lovely 😍 I got 3 repair and detailing jobs done on various models plus these spinners before the puddle ran out and dried up. Much better than the results I'm getting by using the pen as designed. I also put some blue wash on the water surface. I used Pledge Kleer tinted with acrylic ultramarine blue. I tried some outdoor sunlit photos, not sure about them... Trouble is you can't really see the phone screen outside in the sun. There's a couple of details I could keep fussing over but really, it's time to call a halt and get her in the gallery. I've another one to push over the line yet.

I just saw this in the gallery, and HAD to have a look through here. WOW! Love everything about this. There are a load of great and unusual builds going on in this GB, the whole gallery is brilliant, but THIS one is off the chart 👌 😍

You had me baffled there, @cherry268 until I had a look at mine. The front attachment points for the back axle springs are buried inside the bodywork...! I see your dilemma now. I hope you can sort it, even if not in time for this GB. It's a great looking car when it's done. I can't remember what order I did the painting in,but I know I got the main seam done and sorted beforehand. Good luck with finishing both 👍

My DHC6 Twin Otter float plane has been loitering by the finishing line for a while as I fiddle around with the little figures on the jetty 😋.Then I got sucked into messing about with civilian figures in general! A fellow club member did some 3D printed people in 1.72 and 1.48 for me-- I had said to him that there are soldiers, groundcrew, military and railway workers aplenty but general public civilian figures are hard to come by. So he printed a batch for me Anyway, the deadline is looming and this'un needs to go in. It's the old Matchbox kit of course which is a nice kit to work with. I adjusted the sit of the fuselage to the floats though. The given position seems rather nose-down to me. Passenger door opened and steps made, floor and interior scratched, some extra ladder steps, and the flaps deployed. The elevator got a full makeover too. The jetty is basically some wooden strips and cocktail sticks etc on a ply base covered with packaging plastic over foamboard. And then the job of arranging some figures. Many variations later, I've arrived at some kind of conclusion... I'll probably carry on fiddling around with the crowd scene-- it's a strangely addictive activity 🤩-- but let's get her over the finishing line Ah, here we are, link to the WIP...

3rd of the Airfix Fords is the Focus WRC rally car. Very much a click-together kit, some revision produced a bit of front suspension structure and steering turn on the front wheels. A few internal upgrades too and a thorough weathering. Colin McRae and his navigator Nikki Grist have just completed another rally stage and things got a bit messy 😎 The instructions were sparse and poor, but I took my best shot at the paintwork and decals

This old Airfix 1.32 Ford Escort kit from 1968 came as part of a 3-car collection put together for the British Science Museum. The bodyshell was seriously distorted and the main focus of the build was to try to save it. Emotional at times but it came straight in the end.! There's an engine and gearbox in there but the bonnet is firmly shut as part of the bodywork straightening process. I'm not sure what to do with the number plates, the decal transfers seem wrong in style and size 🤔 This is all 3 Ford cars together, Escort, Model T and the Focus WRC, "automotives through the ages"... Big thanks to @bianfuxia for suggesting they each get a separate gallery entry 🤩 I'll include this pic for your entertainment... 🤭

Well, I think you'd be struggling to get this one past the mods in a "Classic Frog Kits" group build 😀 As for tailplanes first procedure, who knows? I think I may be the same now you mention it 🤔

He's done them already, I just HAD to go get them. Not for this build of course but have a look! Just a bit of white primer applied Just a few of them. And we've got "Big Bob" too,

Right, I think I'm onto the home straight with the Twin Otter. As mentioned previously there's nothing much to do on the aircraft, it's really just the people on the jetty I'm faffing around with. Well, have a look at these... I mentioned at a club meeting a month ago that decent civilian figures in 1.72 are very hard to come by. Soldiers, military crew, railway workers, marching bands... (ha, remember them ⁉️🤭). Some of the Dapol railway figures are pretty good and you can make do and modify with a hiviz waistcoat and baseball cap, but it's a challenge at times. So last meeting,my mate Phil handed me a little container and said see what you think... He's right into the 3D printing, talking filaments and slicing at the drop of a hat 😎😅. He's printed me these, and more!! As I'm priming and painting I realise how good these are. Heights, weights, styles, ages, casual poses, it's all there, and no moulded seams, lumpy bases or that awful bendy polythene plastic. AND he's working on a set in 1.48, seems you can just scale them up and down with these files and printer thingies. I've got a Britten Norman Islander in 1.48 on the go here as well, so....😀😍 Anyway, I'm over the moon with these. I'll make a final decision on the jetty population and wrap this build up, mojo high. Funny thing is, I keep seeing club member likenesses as I work on these... I could make a little table with tiny cars and planes on and everyone standing around chatting about their latest stuff 🤭😅

Nice. So basically you're saying throw the Frog kit away and make your own.... I pretty much came to the same conclusion with mine, and I was only trying to make a Magister, (or whatever a civvy 2seater is called.) Good luck to the finish line 👍 Edit "Hawk Major", would that be right,?

My 2nd Mercedes SSKL from Matchbox is done. This was a Rescue and Rebuild project following on from my 1st SSKL. Several parts scratch built and replaced, and I managed to get some steering deflection on the front axle. It's an advantage having a previous build to refer to. No race numbers yet but I may be able to print something. Headlamps are wearing canvas covers (due to missing lenses), and radiator stay-rods included from the outset. Always worth challenging your abilities, I was pleased to get this'un back looking something like it. Managing a scratch windscreen solution was satisfying 🤩 Final picture is the 2 of them together 💃💃 Here's the WIP This gallery is filling up nicely 👌

Well I'm just about done here. Screen is fitted and some other bits of tidying and finishing done. Green canvas covers on the lamps, and I noticed last minute that there's a missing steering arm,so that was scratched. I have some "87" numbers in an RAF style that is very similar to what I need but too small, they're about ¾ size in comparison. Perhaps I can scan, stretch and print, but no rush. Got a pair of them now... Even better, the whole family. The Three Sisters !!🤩

I can loose my OWN threads never mind everyone else's, @bianfuxia 🤭 I think I've come up with a reasonable windscreen solution in a multi media sort of way, Instead of trying to fix a bottom frame to the transparency, I stretched some sprue over the bodywork to get the profile shape and then glued it on just in front of where the clear will fit, Then it's covered with a strip of Ali tape to get a chromed frame. The clear piece has been improved with little adjustments and then ali tape around the uprights plus a strip up the centre line. Also a little strip of skinny styrene on the "inside" face on the centre line and then the ali tape. That slots into place behind the sprue frame and when all's said and done it looks alright... Getting the bottom frame sorted and chromed in situ before adding the transparency avoids a lot of risk on the clear plastic, gives a tidy line that fits the bodywork shape, and it offers some extra support for the screen 😀 I think it's a win 🏆 My smoothly turning rear wheels and axle siezed up solid after the final mudguard was attached. I finally traced the problem to the front support which had glued itself to the tyre as well as the chassis. Pleased to report that the parts separated without damage, axle turning nicely and the mudguard stay fixed back in place 😊 💃 So, all happy here... The guy who picked this up cheap for spares and then passed it to me should be at the club meet in 2 days time so I'll show him what I've got

Regarding the windscreen situation, here's what I have to work with, at the top, Below is my new effort after a couple of failed attempts at making a repair. I'm now having a go at a one-piece solution in clear styrene, including a decent sized tab on the bottom edge to fit into an enlarged slot in the bodywork. Some refinement is required but the principle seems OK. Having got this far, the protective film had just about had it anyway, so I peeled it. At least I can see what I'm doing now. I'm going to try some framing with skinny plastic... or my sticky back Ali foil in strips. Or I can use the ali foil to mask the clear areas for protection while I do framing with plastic and glue...🤔 Not sure, I'm just pleased to get this far 😀 Other fiddling around has produced a toolbox and a fuel can strapped onto the running board on the mechanic's side. Paint to be applied later

I'm still picking away at this old dear when the mood is right. All 4 wheels are on, and the steering looks OK 👍. 4 mudguards on as well with the assistance of some brass wire replacement legs. And the front frame with headlamps is completed. I have only one lens and it's pretty foggy. It came out alright and I've tried polishing it a bit on the inside face but it's not great. And it's only one. I noticed that the car is sometimes represented with canvas covers over the lamps, presumably for daytime periods of the Mille Miglia race. I think this will be the way to go. I had a missing lens on my first SSKL and fitted a canvas cover, so if this lens does clean up I'll look into the possibility of fitting it on that one. The mudguards need painting, I figured it was better to get the assembly done first and brush on the Humbrol gloss enamel. They were originally painted black and I've done a trial on one with the Humbrol. Front spotlight fitted as well, attached to a wire crossmember and with the tube item underneath (for a starting handle I'm guessing?) So some major snags are sorted but the problem now looming is the half-missing windscreen item. I have half the frame and one screen transparency. Otherwise the building is about done and it's time to get some gloss on the white

For example... THIS ⚠️⬇️ I'm pretty happy with this. Just one of the many posts that would have been accompanied by a chorus of "You're KIDDING me....😲⁉️"