rob Lyttle

Okay, I think I may have modelled you, a similar time ago, while doing the Airfix Bloodhound missile kit, incl Landrover, launcher, and the wee figures.... That musta been you and your dog 🤭👍 It's good here.... 😇

A Vickers Viscount in 1.72, on the other hand, that's going to prove tricky! There is something from the past, by a company called Mach 2 I think..... But it's obscure - I've never seen it - and riddled with difficulties, I'm led to believe. 1.144

...... and you paste links as you type, and the pictures appear automatically in your thread. Once you've got it, it's a simple process, just takes that Breakthrough moment!

The Airfix Heron kit has been released again in the Vintage Classic range, so it should be easily available, it'll get there eventually. And still very affordable. The kit shows its age for sure, but certainly for a man on a galloping horse...... 😎 For photos you need to have them on a 3rd party host site like Flickr etc and then make them "public", and you

This looks great!! The desert pink is a real challenge and you've pulled it off nicely and well weathered in. I did Miss Jolly Roger too, but it wasn't this kit. You might be amused that it was a revell rebox of the ancient Frog kit! Took a bit of scratch work 😎 Is the wing fold OK for Op Granby, or a display choice? Which ever, the model looks superb 👍

Ref. Keith's bike, that's another great Suzuki build, and I love the Brut 33 stickers! Barry Sheene doused in Brut wearing his faberge shirt and a gold medallion.... I just can't shift the image 😆

Very nice!! although it looks like we have missed most of the build action.... 🤭! Never mind, this is a great looking result. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a couple of Protar bikes, and I've done the Gilera 500 4cyl. They have a good presence at this scale. State of the art kits in their day, I guess, but Protar leave plenty of scope for scratch improvements, don't they? I'm looking forward to the finishing touches here, and I'll be interested to see what they, or Italieri have given you for the final drive chain. (I got an ancient and perished rubber band for the Gilera.... ⁉️😲)

Must admit I didn't know too much about the La5, until I saw an outstanding, large r/c model featured in rcme mag. Wow, I thought, that's a great looking plane!! So I tracked down a 1.48 model - but I don't think it was this'un by Zvesda. This one looks terrific, well done 👍

You're talking like a darned beatnik now, Johnny 😎 I reckon with a dose of ipa you could get that dip a bit thinner and airbrush your tofu with it...... Maybe mask some camo patterns?

Alright....! That's looking like a viable plan of action 😎👍

I definitely need an extension on the front of the prop hubs. (have these things got an actual name?? They're not really Spinners as such, are they? Control mechanism domes..... Bet there's an American name for them. After a couple of half-asked attempts at sticking something on the front, I realised a more competent solution was required.... and fairly clear. The prop hubs are already drilled for the wire, you may recall. The wire just needs to protrude out the front a bit to give something to work with. Starting with a new piece of wire, a 5mm piece of Ali tube is added to the end. Then a 5mm piece of the bigger Ali tube is slieved over that, all C Aed and a dome shape is filed on the tip. The wire then goes through the hub from the front and the Ali tube propshaft is added.... Slide them up together with a dot of glue and the job's done. I started attaching the little roof vents and the 2nd one was well underway when I realised they were back to front. The intake scoop faces the rear. The 2nd one got turned OK but I'll need to take a blade or something to get the 1st one off and rotated. I've made a couple of wingtip nav lights as per my 3view drawing. A "ding" was filed on the edge of the wing, and a pinhole drilled in the middle of it to take some stretched sprue. That was clipped back to leave just a bulbs worth protruding, this was touched with appropriate paint and then a blob of krystal kleer white glue dabbed on and left to dry clear. So, little by little...... 😎 *(d'you wanna laugh?? I have finally got myself an Airfix Vintage Classics edition of the madcap Handley Page HP 42 airliner.... 🤭😲 Several times I've had the box in my hand, thought better of it and put it back. I saw a real nice example on here in the rfi, proving that it CAN be done, so...... I've got one....)

Aha...! Thanks for that. It's a Moa project, so that'll do for me ‼️😎 I did try, honest. 😋Maybe I didn't put full stops between the H and the P or some such triviality Anyway, cheers @Pin👍

I finally overcame my fearful trepidation and got an Airfix Vintage Classics edition of this madcap blast from the past. I've found much helpful information on here - colours of Imperial Airlines, blue versus black, etc And none of it so easy as it is derived from interpretation of black and white photos, memoirs and press coverage. Am I right in thinking that nothing of these airframes survives for posterity (ie, us)?? My enquiry is about the structure, the materials and the finish of the plane, for it's clearly a multimedia assemblage of many parts. Here's my first take on it, what I can see in the pictures.... The fuselage is for the main part corrugated metal - I'll say aluminium - very much in the Junkers style, and flat metal along the window lines. This area looks shiny like bare metal. Is all the corrugated area bare metal too? The cockpit area is shiny metal, and a band around the fuselage aft of the passenger door often looks shiny bare metal. But to the rear of this feature the structure changes. Are we now looking at doped linen fabric? Wings and tailplanes I'm taking to be fabric over ribs and frameworks, all silver painted /doped, but obvs I stand to be corrected on any of my estimations. Main struts often appear shiny, and engine nacelles would be metal. I even found an enquiry relating to the props, whether they be hardwood or metal fabrication. Has the lowdown on these stately old airliners already been dealt with on here?, because if it has, I can't find it. There again that's no surprise - I just spent over an hour trying to find one of my OWN previous topics in the WIP section 🤭😋 I'd be glad to read the BM thinking on the appearance of these old girls 👍

OK Al, I finally found the old WIP of my Jetstream. Fact is I only started documenting the build halfway through, as I got to the engine modifications. I didn't photo the inside of the fuselage construction, or some of the other challenges. So not much there probably that's of use to your build. But I'll stick a link on anyway in case you want a read. Some info on leg length, gear doors mod., and so on. My main undercarriage outer doors required a fair bit of work but may not apply to your type. Good luck 👍

Yay... Finally found this old WIP for the Airfix Jetstream. Just want to make a comment to put it back on the WIP list for another builder's reference . Quite entertaining to read through the past build challenges 😎

That would be a pity though.... 🤭 Before you throw the towel in, consider the option of doing half the floor lengthways in each fuselage side plus the entrance floor added later. I've been searching the forum for my Jetstream build to lift a couple of pictures for you to see what I did. Darned if I can find it.... I made seating etc but I think consoles and equipment would work OK too. And bear in mind that even with the double doors open, visibility and light is poor esp further forward. If you do have a go this way, just make sure the floor structure does not interfere with the fuselage assembly 👍

Well would you look at that, Britmodeller has it's very own Irish diaspora 😎🍀so it has.... 🤭 And I'm from the North That's a great looking little Spitfire into the bargain.

Nice.... Several times I've found that location lugs, pins and rebated edges are the CAUSE of a bad fit, as opposed to being the solution to a good fit. Looks like you have the measure of that one on the tailpipe 👍 All in all this will be a great canvas for your next piece of fine art 🎨🧚‍♂️

I have this.... Checking off some details when I have time to settle to it. A couple of the tiny roof vents are attached and foiled. The choice was between CA superglue and peeling a little section of the foil for styrene cement. I hate working with CA and took the 2nd option. And I decided to try foil on the prop blades, A lot of the reference material shows an extension on the front of each prop hub, presumably a pitch control mechanism. These kit parts don't have it, and it's something I'll have to look into. Also a couple of antennas underneath the nose, in brass wire. I tried bending the wire but at this size even my best bend is way too curved. So I soldered a pair of 2part aerials. The solder still needs a bit of tidying And the nose landing light glazed with a short length of clear sprue in the reemed out hole. So, not a lot, but it's progress 😎

Cornish granite looks great. Lichen colouration is spot on. Used to live in Newlyn for 40 years and more, this little build is giving me a comfy warm feeling. RIDON, Beauty 👍🐟🐟🐟

A very unfortunate publication link that I wouldn't even consider clicking, but I'm sure the story will be covered elsewhere by, as you say, a reputable source. This story isn't gone away then....

I'm just tagging along for the recipes.... 😋 Have you ever thought of being a "Food Stylist"?? It's a real job and I think you're a natural

It's the best way! Boldly going where no modeller has gone before.... 😎 I had some fun with this kit, and ended up with a floor and passenger seats. I recall I did it in the 2 separate halves for most of the cabin length. My floor centre line joint can't be seen as I reduced the entrance door to the single style rather than your big double doors. And finished with a floor inside the entrance. So, whatever works for you is the way to go. Great project with a nice old Airfix moulding. One thing I ought to mention is, I made some effort to refine the outlet exhausts with drills and needle files etc. Much improved but in the process I had wiped out the main legs attachment points thoroughly! 🤭 Had to scratch an alternative. So mind out for that if you try finessing the chunky outlets 👍 Looking forward to seeing this develop

My goodness, Louis, what an excellent and extraordinary build project!! 👍 The research, the concept, the superb figures, the 3D design, everything is just outstanding. I regret the loss of your associate and friend, but you are doing fine here, so carry on with this. 🍀

Brilliant!! I love it I also promise not to steal your idea...... reluctantly! 😇 (so, not the Romania airforce decal option, eh? 🙄What on earth were they thinking?) Quickly then, here's the polishing process, This is one of the advantages of fitting a metal main bearing tube, but any slight deviation from true dead centre makes itself known at this point. The props have a little stub on the rear of the hub that would glue to the resin engine. It is pretty much the same diameter as the shaft I want to fit, which slides into the bearing tube. So that's no help at all. The stub is clipped off and a small hole drilled through to take a brass wire. The wire in turn can slide into the tube shaft. I find it easier to do the work with the props still on the frame. Kit original on the left, wire fitting and tube shaft on the right. And with the shaft fitted.... You can see there that drilling the prop hub to actually take the shaft would be structurally "hazardous" to the integrity of the prop hub. So now I can fit them, remove them for cleaning and polishing, I can spin 'em like beauties with a mere blow, and keep the props safe in transportation. Win-win, I'd say. I nearly always fit props in this way. 😎