Colin W

Main undercarriage now set and wings level with all 4 wheels on the ground! Dolly wheels next.

Since it's taken @Corsairfoxfouruncle a few years to get this underway I think I should do more than a single quick build. So following on from my Curtiss RX-3-2 I have obtained the kit for my favourite of the Schneider racers, the Macchi 72. This unique machine used 2 engines in tandem to increase the power with each driving a separate propeller in a contrarotating set up. This matches the Fairey Gannet and the Cessna 0-2 as twin engine aircraft retaining the non asymetric single eingine layout. While a couple examples for the others I think this was unique to the Macchi. I was privaleged to have the opportunity to visit the excellent Italian Airforce museum in Rome a few years ago where all the Scheneider racers are togather in a single gallery. Great stuff! Here she is. The kit from SMER is quite old but the only real issue is that the twin propellers are handed to spin in the same rotation! This will require a bit of attention. Here's the contents of the box. The parts have quite a bit of flash and ejector pin marks, especially inside the floats and fuselage so needed a good sanding down on the mating surfaces..... This wont be a blitz build like the Curtiss, I'll take my time with this one. To be continued....

Many thanks @Marlin. I hadnt interpreted it that way but it makes sense. Armed with Marlins expertise I have now fitted the main bicycle landing gear using my trusty jig. As I was working on this I dropped it upside down and it landed on the canopy. Fortunately I had taped a coverover the canopy to protect it from such an event. When I peled off the tape the copy was OK but the painting had all flaked off and came away with the tape. This is easily replaced but demonstrates how thin the plastic is! Decals and dolly wheels next

Hi, did you manage to work out how the front undercarriage works? The assembly drawing is meaningless as the depicted hydraulic ram is shown connected to both front and rear. If you figured it out then I'd appreciate if you could share a picture of your build or the image you used. Thanks.

These old Airfix kits take a bit of work but I'm sure you'll have a good model at the end.

Lots more slow progress. As noted above these limited production kits need a lot of tidying up and when the aim is a natural metal finish then a LOT of tidying up is needed. I did find a picture of one actually painted silver but this was in a museum so decided I should go with the NMF. I did several rounds of fill sand and paint Halfords grey then used a couple of rounds with silver paint before deciding it was good enough and putting on the Alclad. This is mainly Aluminium but with steel around the engines and duralumin for the darker wing section. No decal provided for the Tricolour rudder so I painted this while the other parts were masked.

I decided to use some heavy weaponry to drill the hole for mounting the model to the stand. Best done before the wings added.

Hi, This is kit number 48008 and the newest kit is the Super Mystere number 48230. Scalemates says it was a 2001 release so 22 years in the stash!

I missed this as it's a bit early in the year to think about next years builds but I'm sure I'll be joining in this.

While the Vatour languishes after another coat of silver, filler, sanding and grey, the X-15 is rocketing ahead. Fuselage joined, cockpit cover assembled and fitted and upper and lower fins attached. Not too much to this so it might get finished first.

I'll support this. I have a few planes (BAC111, Catalina, B-25) and cars (Toyta Celica, E Type Jag, etc) to fit the bill. Count me in!

Several applications of bog later its ready for a coat of Halfords grey. A few bits need some more attention but getting there fast!

Rather than start with the cockpit like normal people I decided to start with the display stand. Inside the fuselage I have fitted the nose gear bay door closed. I backed it up with some plasic to prevent it keep falling through. Rocket exhaust and a block of wood epoxied into the rear to give me something to drill into for the stand. I'm actually surprised about how big this is. I saw the real thing during a visit to Wright Patterson and really remember the cockpit was low enough to look in a bit like a Vampire. This convinced me it was a small plane but I didn't appreciate how long it is.

My 2nd contribution to this GB is a real Boom Boom, the North American X-15-2 research plane. This will keep me occupied while the filler is drying on the Vatour! Most if not all will know this plane and its exploits so no need for more info here. Suffice to say only 3 X-15s were Built with the 2nd being involved in a landing accident early in the program. This plane was rebuilt 28" longer for more fuel capacity and the kit is of this longer plane meaning only #2 can be built from the box. Number 2 was the record breaking plane so the preferred subject. I bought this kit a while ago and think it will fit well here as a Baby Boomer. The kit looks fairly basic although there is a lot of superbly detailed resin. Since the plane dropped its lower fin on landing to reveal a flimsy undercarriage I'll build it in flight. This will avoid most of the resin which is a shame. The actual record of the fastest manned aircraft at Mach 6.7 was made with the plane in a while ablative coating which was designed to melt off the plane as part of the cooling process. I quite like the appeal but think I'll stick to a more traditional black scheme expecially with the very excellent looking decal sheet. Colin

To quote your HS748 build "It just exudes quality ." This is the other end of the spectrum!