Julien

John I have removed it as it is not suitable for the forum, I will also be having a word. As a draughtsman I can can see those drawings are the same, Julien ps Good to see you back, are you ok now?

From their facebook page;

M18 Hellcat pics added today. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235023270-m18-hellcat-76-mm-gun-motor-carriage-m18/ Julien

Hi, with help from Mike, the other mods and the review team I have been working on getting a walkaround section here on Britmodeller. This will hopefully contain the sort of detail shots only modellers need. ie the left handed widget on the Blackburn Wurlitzer etc. We are aiming for Aircraft, helicopters, Tanks, Softskins, airliners, Ships, Subs, Weapons, Ejection seats, ground equipment. Basically anything of interest to the modeller. Guys & gals this section will only be as good as the info we can get and post up. If you would like to contribute then please let me know. many thanks Julien

The M18 Hellcat or officially the 76mm Gun Motor Carriage M18. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

It looks like a couple of lowlifes broke into East Midlands Aero Park 25th June and did £5000 worth of damage to the museum shop and hanger. Now the guys up there run a good museum and were very helpful to me when I went up there to shoot some walkaround pictures. They are crowdfunding to get the money to repair everything; https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/eastmidlands-aeropark?utm_source=facebook Julien

Box art up from Takom Cracking box art, especially the Grant.

Slybirds A Photographic Odyssey of the 353rd Fighter Group During the Second World War Fighting High Publishing - Via Casemate UK With their black and yellow chequered markings the 353rd Fighter Group was one of the Eighth's more colourful groups. They were assigned to the Eighth Air Force on 7 June 1943. The group flew P-47 Thunderbolts, and from October 1944, P-51 Mustangs; as escorts for bombing missions across occupied Europe, and to strafe targets on the ground. Tactical missions included strafing and dive-bombing targets during the Allied invasion of Normandy, and also during the airborne assault of Holland. For these latter missions, between 17 and 23 September 1944, the Group was awarded a Distinguished Unit Citation .They were based first at Goxhill, then Metfield and finally Raydon. The group consisted of; 350th Fighter Squadron 351st Fighter Squadron 352nd Fighter Squadron Headquarters (353rd Fighter Group) 2125th Engineer Fire Fighting Platoon The book features over 450 photographs, many unpublished, and some in colour. It features not only the Aircraft, pilots and ground crew, but how they lived, spent their free time, and even pets they had. The book shows aerial victories, aces, and those pilots who were shot down. There is a list of POWs and a roll of honour for those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. The book has been written by renowned Eighth Air Force Historian Graham Cross and is A4 Landscape in format with a quality printed feel. . Conclusion. The book gives a comprehensive look at the 353rd Group, and a unique look at the men and machines which made up this formidable fighting force, Highly recommended Review sample courtesy of

now it takes 6 weeks and £780,000 to clean up after all those save the environment types! https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3883718/glastonbury-2017-clean-up-pictures-rubbish-after-festival/

Git !!! at half the prices I paid for one the other week, still sealed as well Today picked up the new Airfix Swordfish, a sheet of P-51 Decals and a couple of bases.

FV432 fitted with a Peak Engineering turret pics added today. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235023181-gkn-sankey-fv432-armoured-personnel-carrier-peak-engineering-turret/ Julien

FV432 fitted with a Peak Engineering turret with the L37A1 variant of the 7.62mm GPMG, replacing the roof hatch. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

Fokker F.1 Eduard 1:48 Weekend Edition With the introduction of the Sopwith Tri-plane and its appearance over the Western Front at the beginning of 1917, the Allies found themselves an aircraft that proved itself superior to the Albatros fighters then in use by the German forces. The Fokker company responded by converting an unfinished biplane prototype into the V.4, a small, rotary-powered triplane with a steel tube fuselage and thick cantilever wings, first developed during Fokker's government-mandated collaboration with Hugo Junkers. Initial tests revealed that the V.4 had unacceptably high control forces resulting from the use of unbalanced ailerons and elevators. Fokker produced a revised prototype designated V.5. The most notable changes were the introduction of horn-balanced ailerons and elevators, as well as longer-span wings. The V.5 also featured interplane struts, which were not necessary from a structural standpoint, but which minimised wing flexing. Fokker produced two pre-production triplanes, designated F.I, which could be distinguished from production Dr.I aircraft by a slight curve to the tailplane leading edge. These aircraft, serials 102/17 and 103/17, were the only machines to receive the F.I designation. They were sent to Jastas 10 and 11 for combat evaluation, arriving at Markebeeke, Belgium on 28 August 1917. Compared with the Albatros and Pfalz fighters, the Dr.I offered exceptional manoeuvrability. Though the ailerons were not very effective, the rudder and elevator controls were light and powerful. Rapid turns, especially to the right, were facilitated by the tri-planes marked directional instability. It was noted that the Dr.I was considerably slower than contemporary Allied fighters in level flight and in a dive. While initial rate of climb was excellent, performance fell off dramatically at higher altitudes due to the low compression of the Oberursel Ur.II, a clone of the Le Rhône 9J rotary engine. Only 171 Dr-1s reached the front line by the end of the war. Whilst the aircraft was manoeuvrable it had many weak points in its design and numbers of aircraft were lost through high wing loading of the upper wing resulting in damage to the spar and ribs. The Kit The kit is packaged in the usual and very recognisable blue, white and yellow top opening box of Weekend Editions. Inside are three sprues of beige styrene. All parts are nicely moulded with no sign of flash and only a few moulding pips. Due to the small size, even in this scale there aren't too many parts, but in the areas that matter, i.e. the cockpit, there is plenty of detail for all but the superdetailer to be happy with. Construction starts with said cockpit which consists of the footboard control column, rudder pedals and compass. On the rear bulkhead the seat, seat supports and cushion are fitted. To the interior of each of the fuselage halves the internal framework can be added, followed by the two cockpit assemblies and the ammunition box. Before closing the fuselage there is a small bulkhead to be added to the rear, near the tail skid, and what looks like either an oil or fuel tank in front of the ammunition tanks. Once the fuselage has been buttoned up its on with the centre wing, upper coaming, horizontal tailplane and outer wing struts. Turning the fuselage over the bottom wing is fitted along with the wing/fuselage fairing. Still upside down the outer wing ground handling handles can be fitted in addition to the tail skid and central fuselage strake. The elevators and rudder, with their associated control horns can be attached. With the fuselage the right side up, the engine assembly, consisting of the pistons and ignition harness is fitted along with the cowling. With the two machine guns and their ammunition chutes attached the interplane struts are fitted, after which the upper wing can be glued into position, with the ailerons fitted to their respective positions. The main undercarriage, consisting of a three part inter wheel aerodynamic fairing, four individual struts and the wheels themselves can be attached to the bottom of the fuselage. The final parts to be fitted are the two grab handles on the lower rear fuselage and the horizontal tailplane struts, and the propeller. Decals For a weekend edition surprisingly two decal options are supplied for F.1s supplied to the two Jastas to have the F.1 103/17 Lt Werner Voss, Commanding officer Jasta 10, Marckebeke, Belgium Sept 1917. 102/17 Oblt Kurt Wolff, Commanding offer Jasta 11, Marckebeke, Belgium Sept 1917. Conclusion This is a lovely little model of a very famous aircraft type. There is enough detail for most people and would make a great kit to keep the mojo a kick start if in a rut or just as a fun build over a weekend. The previous weekend edition of the DR.1 had fabric seatbelts included though it seems Eduard have no dropped this idea, to include them as decals. It still looks like the value for money from Eduard, something we can all applaud. Overall highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

If you are thinking of getting the new release of the Revell F-102 with decals by Detail & Scale it appears the company Revell contracted to press the plastic made the kit with the Case XX wing not the case X wing

If anyone wants further details please message me. Julien

ICM kits now come in a fully closing cardbox with a hinged lid, a flimsy outer covering goes on top of this. The new boxes are really sturdy. As said with kits, boxes, decals, instructions they are well ahead of where they were. Julien

There is nothing wrong with ethier the decals, or instructions from ICM. As for price point they come in £5 to £7 less than the Eduard kits at a full price online retailer. A good package all round I think. Julien

Some pictures on google if you look. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=uh-1+dustoff&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi49fO0ttLUAhUsKcAKHfa8DTQQsAQIIw&biw=1920&bih=950#q=uh-1+dustoff&tbm=isch&tbs=rimg:CWOfLu7kbYpKIjjWrYEjkLl5zQOeKj6tYZFdY2ZfiNiUV8EnlIjGNvYUTNFo2-swMHKeQlBtmKGBxkM4Klk-ECb_1WioSCdatgSOQuXnNEfgopkHNrctCKhIJA54qPq1hkV0RM_1YRNRqdMx8qEgljZl-I2JRXwRHF_1HSH2aDnmyoSCSeUiMY29hRMEapKAHa0EQ-jKhIJ0Wjb6zAwcp4RlkCwR5WiQPEqEglCUG2YoYHGQxG69lwIKQmsTSoSCTgqWT4QJv9aEaQTVFUnp0_16 Julien

The thing with the BL755 I am told was that it was a sealed unit until it needed to be loaded which is why you dont see many pictures. TBH there are not even many pictures of the drill rounds for loding, and I have only ever seen one picture of an inert training round designed to be dropped filled with inert bomblets. Julien

The 100 Hour War The conflict between Honduras & El Salvador 1969 Helion & Company - Via Casemate UK In July of 1969 while most of the world was looking to the upcoming moon landings the Central American States of Honduras and El Salvador would go to war in what the media would coin "The Soccer War" due to hostilities coinciding with rioting at a World Cup qualifying match between the two countries. On the 14th of July 1969 El Salvador invaded its neighbour Honduras. This was the culmination of long standing land reform in Honduras effecting immigration and demographic issues with El Salvador; there being some 300,00 Salvadorans living in Honduras by this time. Neither side had what could be called a "modern" military at the time with civilian aircraft being used to carry explosives and an assortment of ex US military aircraft being used by both sides such as F4U Corsairs and P-51 Mustangs. After only 100 hours the Organisation of American States negotiated a ceasefire between the two sides. In the 100 hours El Salvador lost over 900 dead most of which were civilians, and Honduras would loose 250 combat troops and over 2000 civilians. The 300,000 Salvadorans living in Honduras would be displaced. Despite peace treaty in 1980 the dispute continues on with further sabre rattling as late as 2013. This book is the culmination of 20 years of research into this little know conflict. As well as the complicated background the book explores the military actions in the air, and on the ground taken by both sides. This was the last time the world would see dog fights between WWII era piston aircraft. As well as an impressive collection of photographs the book features colour profiles and markings of the aircraft used along with maps of the region to show how the fighting progressed. Conclusion. The book does concentrate on the air war, however the ground operations are covered along with the build up, and reasons for the conflict. Recommended if you like researching & modelling the smaller conflicts of the world. Review sample courtesy of

Yes, review now edited. The decal instructions are in English and Cyrillic and I duplicated one of the Hungarian examples. Thx Julien

FW 189A-1 Axis Air Forces 1:72 ICM The Fw189 was created by legendary Focke Wulf designer Kurt Tank prior to WWII. Its intended role was as a short range observation and reconnaissance aircraft, with the requirement for excellent all-round visibility giving rise to the distinctive shape and extensive cockpit glazing. It won the contract by beating off competition from Arado and Blohm & Voss (the latter with their asymmetrical Bv. 141). It entered service in 1940, and production continued until 1944. The aircraft was popular with crews due to its manoeuvrability; it could often out turn fighters to escape destruction. It was tough as well, and there are stories of 189s returning from missions with parts of the tail and boom blown away. The Kit The Fw 189 is the latest all-new tooling from Kiev-based outfit ICM. Inside the very sturdy top-opening box are two largish sprues of light grey plastic and one clear sprue which together hold a total of 170 parts. The airframe is covered in crisp, recessed panel lines which look very good indeed, and the mouldings are crisp and clean. The instructions are an A4 stapled booklet which has been printed in colour and the decal sheet is clear and well printed. The overall impression is of a well-executed kit which looks as though it should be enjoyable to build. Construction begins with the central wing section and cockpit. The lower part of the central wing is moulded as a single span, complete with recesses for the main landing gear bays. Onto this part, the flaps, cockpit floor and fuselage sidewalls can all be added. The cockpit itself is nicely detailed, which is just as well as a lot of it will be on show under that greenhouse canopy. Interior detail includes the crew seats, rudder pedals, control column (moulded in two parts), radio gear and a large number of spare magazines for the defensive machine guns. The instrument panel fits to the top of the frontal canopy glazing, which is itself made up of four parts. It's inevitable with a model like this, but great care will need to be taken when assembling both this and the remaining eight parts of the canopy so as not to get messy glue smears over the clear plastic. Your patience will be tested to the limit when it comes to masking the expansive canopy, but there is good news in the form of a set of pre-cut masks on the way from Eduard. Look out for our review soon. Once cockpit/fuselage has been assembled, the upper panels for the inner wing can be fitted. The remaining steps in the construction process are essentially a sequence of sub-assemblies, starting with the landing gear bays. These areas behind the engine nacelles but ahead of the tail booms are separate parts, which makes for more complex construction but better detail. The tail booms themselves are split vertically and benefit from separately moulded rudders, while the tailplane has a separately moulded elevator and a neat tail wheel assembly. The engine nacelles are another sub-assembly, and are made up of two main parts, split vertically, with a separate radiator face, exhaust, frontal cowling, propeller and hub. As with the rest of the flying surfaces, the outer wings feature separate control surfaces. The landing gear is next, and is just as nicely detailed as the rest of the model. Each of the main gear legs is comprised four parts, while the wheels are split vertically and have separate mud guards. Step 63 in the instructions brings the fuselage/centre wing section together with the engine nacelles, tail booms and outer wings, leaving you with a more-or-less complete Fw189. All that remains to do then is add the finishing touches, such as the landing gear doors, the odd antenna mast or pitot tube and the four bombs and bomb shackles that fit under the outer wings. Decals This boxing deals with aircraft operated by The Hungarian Air Force. Three options are provided on the decal sheet: • Fw 189A-1 4/1 Reconnaissance Sqn, Ukraine Summer 1943 Hungarian Air Force • Fw 189A-1 4/1 Reconnaissance Sqn, Poland Summer 1944 Hungarian Air Force. • Fw 189A-1 344th Jato, Summer 1944, Bulgarian Air Force. All three aircraft are finished in RLM 70/71 over RLM 65. The decals look excellent and include a smattering of stencils. The Red/White/Green tails will need to be pained by the modeller for the Hungarian examples. Conclusion There haven't been all that many kits of the distinctive FW189 over the years, but ICM's new effort looks to be the best of them by quite some way. The mouldings are high quality, there is plenty of detail and surface structures are fine and crisp. Overall this is a well executed and carefully designed kit which is rich in detail. The only real drawback is the complexity of the clear parts, but there is no way around this if the desired outcome is an accurate and well detailed model. It is good to see this boxing with other markings apart from the Luftwaffe. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Fw 190A-8/R2 1:72 Eduard profiPACK Edition The Focke-Wulf Fw190 was designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. His aim was to create a fighter that was not only fast and agile, but also reliable. It had a wide track undercarriage to improve ground handling and also utilised electric rather than hydraulic controls to reduce the risk of system loss in combat. The Fw190 also marked a departure from aircraft like the Bf109 and Spitfire as it combined a 14 cylinder radial engine with a development of the NACA cowling system. This choice was crucial as it meant that the Fw190 would not create additional demand for DB 601 liquid cooled engines. It also allowed a low drag profile for such a powerful engine. Despite early teething problems, the Fw190 first entered operational service over France in August 1941. It proved to be quite a shock for the RAF whose 1440hp Spitfire Mk.V, the best fighter available at the time, was outclassed in terms of firepower and all round performance, particularly at lower and medium altitudes. The Fw190A-8 was the ultimate evolution of the radial-engined fw190s and entered service in 1944. It featured improvements such as extra fuel, improved armour and nearly 2000hp output with emergency boost. The A-8/R2 replaced the outer 20mm cannon in the wings with Mk.108 30mm cannons. The Kit These new Fw 190 kits from Eduard are setting a new standard in 1.72 for excellence. The kit itself is made up of 92 plastic parts spread across of two sprues of dark blue-grey plastic and a single clear sprue with the now-familiar circular layout. The instruction book is a glossy, stapled booklet with full-colour painting diagrams. The profipack boxing adds photo-etch, masks (not shown) and 5 decal options. The quality of the plastic parts is second to none. The mouldings are clean and crisp and there are no traces of flash and no sink marks. The surface detail on the outside of the airframe comprises recessed panel lines and delicately engraved rivet and fastener detail. It looks absolutely superb. Eduard haven't skimped on the detail elsewhere, with sub-assemblies such as the cockpit being up there with high end resin items when it comes to the quality and quantity of detail. The cockpit is made up of over thirty parts (including photo etched details), which is a truly phenomenal for a kit of this size. Once assembled, the whole thing can be sandwiched inside the fuselage halves along with the firewall and the basic-but-good-enough-in-this-scale engine face. Setting the semi-completed fuselage to one side for a moment, construction turns to the wing. The lower wing is moulded as a single span, to which the main spar (which also forms the rear wall of the main landing gear bays) must be added. The other parts which form the structures and details of the landing gear bays must be added at this point, prior to everything being fixed in place by the addition of the upper wing surfaces. The ailerons are moulded separately to the rest of the wing, which opens up some possibilities for the diorama builder, as well as enhancing the level of realism. Turning back to the fuselage, the rudder is also moulded as a separate part, although the tail planes are solid lumps. In common with other kits of the type, the upper fuselage forward of the cockpit is moulded separately (in this case as two parts with a third for the cannon barrels). Once the basic airframe is together, its time to fit the undercarriage and other finishing details. Each of the main gear legs is made up of two parts, although you have the option of removing the plastic torque links and replacing them with photo etched versions. The wheels themselves are made up of nicely moulded tyres and separate hubs. This should make painting them much easier. Ordnance is taken care of with a drop tank and a single bomb, along with the associated racks and shackles. There are a number of small parts included to cover the final details, including the aileron balance weights and various aerials and antennae. The canopy deserves a special mention as there are four rear sections included; blown and unblown, with different parts for closed and open options. Two propellers are included as well, although only one is needed for the included options. Decals There is one sheet of stencil decals and one for the aircraft markings. Decals are printed in house by Eduard and look to be good, in register and colour dense. 5 options are provided; Aircraft flown by Hptm W Moritz CO of IV.(Strum)/JG 3, Memmingen, Germany July 1944. W Nr. 682958 flown by Uffz P Lixfeld, 6.(Strum)/JG 300, Lobnitz, Germany Dec 1944. W Nr. 682989, 5./JG 301, Germany May 1945. W Nr. 681424 flown by Obt H G von Kornatzki, CO II./JG 4, Welzow, Germany Sept 1944. W Nr. 682204 Flown By Lt. K Bretschnieder, 5./JG 200, Lobnitz, Germany Dec 1944. Each option is illustrated with a four-view profile as well as detailed illustrations of the propellers or drop tanks where appropriate. Conclusion This is a great kit from Eduard and it is good to see it released in a PROFIpack boxing. Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Meng BMR-3 arrived, man its ugly, but my kind of ugly!