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In September 2023, Airfix researchers visited Flysamlingen at Gardermoen (at Oslo airport) for another scanning session. Previous visits have resulted in kits like Heinkel He 111P (1:72); F-86F and Vampire Mk.III (both in 1:48). I don`t know what aircraft they scanned - and the ones who know won`t tell. Personally, I would really like to see a Ju 52/3m done by the current Airfix team. On display are: https://flysamlingen.no/utstillingen/flyene/ Rumpler Taube Farman F.46 BE. 2f - can use parts from Airfix BE 2c Auster J/1 Autocrat Fairchild M-62 (PT-19 and PT-26B) Interstate S.1A Cadet Northrop N-3PB kitted by MPM Noorduyn Norseman Mk.IV coming from Ukraine Lockheed C-60A Lodestar kitted by MPM Douglas C-47A Skytrain (Dakota) recently kitted by Airfix. Junkers Ju 88A-1 is still undergoing restoration and not assembled. Junkers Ju 52/3m missing a decent Ju 52/3m, the aircraft in Flysamlingen is an original German built example. Heinkel He 111P-2 scanned and kitted by Airfix Supermarine Spitfire PR XI - easily available to scan in England. Piper L-18C Super Cub SAAB 91B-2 Safir Cessna O-1A Birddog De Havilland Vampire F.3 scanned and kitted by Airfix De Havilland Vampire T.55 getting kitted by Pilot Replicas Lockheed T-33A Republic F-84G Thunderjet Republic RF-84F Thunderflash North American F-86F Sabre scanned and kitted by Airfix North American F-86K Sabre Canadair CF-104 Starfighter Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter Northrop F-5A(G) Freedom Fighter Northrop RF-5A(G) Freedom Fighter Northrop F-5B(G) Freedom Fighter General Dynamics / Lockheed Martin F-16 AM De Havilland of Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Lockheed C-130H Hercules also available at Cosford. Bell 47D-1 Sikorsky H-19D-4 Chickasaw Bell UH-1B Iroquois Westland Lynx Mk. 86 Westland Sea King Mk.43 recently done by Airfix in 1:48 & 1:72.

I have been eying on an A-4 for long time, not sure which brand and scale to start. And when I came across the Airfix 1/72 A-4B, I think it is the ONE ! If you are interested on the build process, please refer to here : and here is the final outcome after quite some months of work, total about 21 hours spent. The only upgrade part is the resin ejection seat. Hope you like it and as usual, welcome for comments and suggestions. Thanks for reading A little video :

Evening all. I'd like to join in with Airfix's recent small-scale Mossie in its bomber guise. I'm going for the airframe on the box art because 1) I don't need any AM decals but mainly 2) Its the subject of a big poster I had on my bedroom wall when I was a model-mad teenager. Of course at the time, I dearly wanted to build a model of it so its great to now have that chance. Thanks Airfix! Here's the usual box & sprue shots. Here's the poster which I bought from the RAF Museum shop in the late '70s. It is, of course, one of Charles E Brown's wonderful wartime air to air photos. At the time, my friends all seemed to have rather different posters on their bedroom walls. Many involved models but were definitely not de Havilland or Airfix products! I'm planning to build this one out of the box but we'll see how that goes when I get to the bomb bay doors/fairing and the tailwheel. Here's hoping this thread gets further than my last one. I posted the same sort of photos for an Airfix 1/48 Chippy in the last DH GB then found out later the same day that we were moving house imminently. That stalled my modelling until now. That move went well so I'm confident I can actually start building this time. All the best, Phil.

Hi! Let me present you my latest completed tank - the Churchill Crocodile. The kit is contains two different aged part spues, the older one dates back to 1961 (!) and the "Crocodile" trailer is from the year 2005 (taken fron Scalemates). It was a fast fun build, with intention to commemorate the D-Day 80th Anniversary. I added up many small photoetched, resin and 3D print details, just to improve the overall impresion. I hope you'll like it Have a nice week!

My Meteor is going okay so, in a burst of enthusiasm and ignoring all the nearly finished kits littering my workdesk, I've started another kit. I've had this one in the stash for years, not entirely sure why because I don't make Axis stuff. Anyway, I'm going to avoid my no-Axis rule and make it as a Bf-110 C-5. I took a photo of the sprues... But promptly forgot to take any more photos until I'll try to take more photos as the build progresses.

This is my finished 1/72 Avro Shackleton MR2 from Airfix. I built the AEW2 version in 2019 and had been looking for this version for some time as a companion build. It was a pre-owned kit which I picked up at the recent Scale Model Show in Canberra. The box was in good nick and all the contents were still in their sealed bags. It was built OOB as version A with the gun turret as shown on the box art. The undersides have been painted with XF-2 White and the upper surfaces painted with XF-83 Medium Sea Grey. Various blacks, metals etc for smaller parts. Weathering was done with Flory dark dirt wash and Abteilung oils. I took a modular approach when building this. I painted, applied the decals and weathered the fuselage, wings, stabilisors and fins separately and only assembled the whole the thing near the end of the build. It was too big to comfortably fit in my spray booth. It all fitted quite well except for fixing the engine pods to the leading edges of the wings. I had the same problem when I built the AEW version and it took a fair bit of filling and sanding to get an acceptable, but far from perfect fit. Apart from this one issue, it was a thoroughly enjoyable build. It has a lovely, detailed interior which will never be seen again, but we all know it's there. The two Shackletons together. Cheers

Having just finished Airfix’s superb Royal Navy Buccaneer, I couldn’t wait to start an even newer kit, of the 1/48 RAF’s S.2B version. The sprues are pretty much the same but with a bulged bomb bay (that I won’t use as this one will be open too) and handily an ECM pod, AIM-9 and Paveway LGB as used in Operation Pulsator, the deployment of six RAF Buccaneers to Akrotiri in 1983 to support the British Army peacekeeping force based in Beirut. These jets flew at ultra low level through (rather than ‘over’!) the streets of Beirut to deter terrorist attacks on the UK contingent. There’s a fascinating account of this deployment here: http://www.naval8-208-association.com/NewsArticlesOpPULSATOR01.html This will be my chosen aircraft; XX901 of 208 Sqn: I’ll need some aftermarket decals for this one, plus an extra Paveway LGB from somewhere (only seems to be one in the kit that I can see). I’m also going to stick four 1,000lb bombs in the open bomb bay. I bought an Xtradecal sheet for the underwing serial. I need two yellow ‘0’s for the tail fin but I’ll worry about that later! This will come in handy, particularly for the Pulsator weapons loadout. Tally ho! …

My first attempt at one of the new-tool Airfix 1/48 Buccaneers, and I thought I’d start with the Royal Navy version. I have to say it’s an absolutely superb kit, Airfix’s engineering is brilliant and required only a few areas of filler. The fit is excellent with many parts just dropping into place. I didn’t need to use any aftermarket as the cockpit, decals, undercarriage, etc are all great out of the box. XV340 was delivered to the Fleet Air Arm in April 1967, and served on board HMS Eagle and Ark Royal as well as at Lossiemouth. It was transferred to the RAF in May 1973 but was grounded following the Buccaneer fleet inspection in 1980 and allocated the maintenance serial 8659M, seeing out its days on Pendine Ranges. The model shows XV340 in its heyday as a front line Royal Navy strike jet based at Lossiemouth in 1970. All comments, constructive or otherwise very welcome!

Hi Everyone, I've only just got into modelling and this I would call my first real build. I did a Euro fighter from Airfix first but it was more just to see if I enjoyed it, which I did, so I'm going to try and do justice to this historic plane. Here's my progress so far... Any help or advice is gratefully received!

Greetings, and welcome to part 2 of my contribution to this GB. [The GB is amazing. I just can't keep up with all the different threads. So much industry and good modelling going on. And how the guys looking after it all manage to encourage everyone is almost super-human. Well done chaps and thanks. ] Anyway, to reprise the initial photo in the first part and set the scene, I am doing 2 older Airfix twins; and doing both as the big gun variants sort of balances things out I think. I started the Hs 129 thinking it was a lot simpler and hence quicker build. It's not bad but my penchant for being a little ambitious compared to my skills led to a few pensive moments, shall we say. Anyway, it's almost finished but as I'm awaiting some paint to dry I thought I'd fire up this second thread. (First one here if you haven't seen it https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235134900-flying-artillery-part-1-hs-129/) Since I first saw this picture in a book (included here from the IWM collection (© IWM CH 14113)) I've wanted to build it. So when I saw a re-boxing of the Airfix Mk II/VI/XVIII in 1982, although I'd almost given up modelling by then due to career/family etc, I couldn't not buy it. But it's lain dormant in the loft for 40 yrs, so now's the time to do it. I believe it's the 1972 mould standard. I will be leaning very heavily upon the excellent restoration build by Charlie @Johnson which is here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235131297-freemans-folly-mossie-restoration-2/ a Master-class in my opinion. Hope you don't mind Charlie, but I will be borrowing a heck of a lot from you on this. Unlike Charlie who built his 50 yrs ago then totally restored it very recently, I will be trying to to start the kit from original bits and then use his modern input as well and compress the build time down to a few weeks. Well that seemed to make sense when I was typing it .... I'm, starting here It doesn't seem bad in outline but there is a gaping void under the canopy behind some dodgy looking seats. At least there's an IP of sorts but I think I will cheat and make use of some of these bits I know the Eduard set is for the bomber variant but sure I can make the cockpit look a bit more busy than it would be OOB, if not entirely accurate. And it hopefully saves me printing too many of my own decals as Charlie did. Whilst I can do them I find them a challange, so I swapped the decal challenge for the PE challenge instead . I couldn't get the same set of wheels that Charlie used but taking a hint about the hub (spoked vs solid) issue I found this set from Brengun that gives the option of either, as well as having the block tread. I am in no way comparing my skills with Charlie's but I hope to get something that looks about right and if I do so I'll be well pleased. But the fun is in the trying. Will just go and give the sprues a bath. Thanks for looking. Rob

Hi All, My next project will be Airfix new-tool Mossie. This kit has received a bit of a bashing due to the fact that the aircraft used for scanning was a target tug variant, and the bomb doors are therefore incorrect. Whatever the case I thought I'd give it a go! Here's the box art: The sprues: The transparencies: The decals: They look rather lovely. I've added an Eduard mask set, but this will be otherwise mostly OOB: I say mostly, because I do have an extra sprue from another kit: It's a 4000lb cookie! From the Airfix WWII RAF Bomber Re-supply Set, I thought it would be rather rude not to, given that this was pretty much the raison d'etre of these aircraft. The kit provides for a couple of schemes: Neither of these really floated my boat, so I've decided to model MM199 of 128 Sqn RAF, which was based at RAF Wyton in 1945. This aircraft was piloted by an Australian, Flt Lt James Wood, whom along with his navigator FO Raymond Poole RAFVR were shot down and killed by flak on a mission to Hanover on 4th February 1945. Here's a photo of the aircraft and the inspiration for the build: This scheme is a little unusual in that the squadron and aircraft codes appear in a non-standard font and colour (dark blue). Here's how they are represented in an Xtradecal set: The scheme is also represented in HK Models' 1:32 version: In this scheme the codes are shown with a yellow outline, which seems a little more plausible (in fact closer examination of the above photo does show an outline to the 'Q'). Anyway, on with the build! Thanks for looking, Roger

Morning folk's,built for the perfectly timed WW2 twins GB as it was a Christmas present is the new tool Airfix 410.Well a lot has been said already about this kit so I'll leave it to those with more Knowledge and skills on that matter all I can say is personally it's one of the finest kits I have had the pleasure of building over these many years and if we didn't already know it confirms Airfix can go toe to toe with those companies we set as the benchmarks in the Hobby,as I said during the build if this kit was presented to you in a plain box the look of the plastic and finesse of the moulding would scream Tamiya,

Hello. When my 1/24 scale FW190 build hit a snag (should be recoverable), I didn't want to stop building - so I embarked on the classic Airfix 1/24 Scale Hawker Hurricane. One of my all time favourite aircraft. I originally built this kit as an over excited prepubescent kid during the 1970's and of course, as delighted as I was with it, it obviously looked like it had been built by an over excited prepubescent kid - with little glue control, his sisters nail sanders and over sized paint brushes. This time I hoped to do it more justice. The subject of my build is P3803 of 501 Squadron. This aircraft was lost off the coast near Ramsgate on 12th August 1940 with F/O Kazimierz Lukaszewicz (Polish) at the controls. Sadly neither he nor his aircraft were ever found. The build is mostly out of the box - except for the Yahu Instrument Panel, Barracuda Studios Resin tyres, and RB Productions Sutton Harness. The decals were to my own design and printed by https://www.custom-model-decals.com/. All paints and varnishes are Vallejo. One modification I did make was to the (in my opinion) over-sized nose. After looking at different options I eventually stuffed it with milliput and then sanded it down to reduce the base diameter by a small margin. As you can tell... I'm not a photographer! I am pleased with how it has turned out. As with all models there are a few places I think could do with more work - but in reality I think I'm going to call this one done. Maybe time to get back to the FW190 . Thanks for looking.

Another little 'Spider Crab'. It's not until one makes one of these that its small size actually becomes very apparent... This is Airfix's Vampire F.3 released in 2021 with very little added. Just PE seatbelts, a scratch built cockpit entry peg extended and home made decals. Oh, and a lot of lead! Even after filling the nose, I found I needed to add the wing fuel tanks to make use of additional weight added forward of the main gear - more lead stuffed into the nose of each tank! Even so, the model is still a bit nose light. I prefer aeroplanes clean of dangly bits, but I needed the extra lead. The Vampire's tanks, in my view, do look particularly ugly. Hay-ho. The model represents Vampire F.3 VF344 of 247 Squadron based at Odiham in 1949. The airframe scheme is the RAF's post war (and pre-war) High Speed Silver colour all over, or rather my own mix of Tamiya LP-11 and several splashes of matt white. In my view, HSS is more of a dull-ish metallic grey than something looking like polished aluminium so the white just takes the edge off the LP-11 (the fuselage pod is clad in wood, it's not metal skinned!). I took reference from several aeroplanes that looked filthy in order to make the model look more interesting but ended up not taking the weathering as far as the photos showed. The clear coat is mainly light coats of Future rubbed back with a very fine polishing grit. Weathering is mainly with oils of different consistencies. Since the kit is a bit heavy-handed with panel line detail, only panel lines for removable panels were pin-washed. The kit goes together fairly well, except for that horizontal joint around the nose. Some filler and sanding was required here, after some swearing to get a reasonable fit. The gear is fiddly too - it works, it just needs care. 'Test fit' is a good watch word with this one. Here's a reference photo... Photos of the model... And some in colour... And next to a Meteor... Cheers, Paul.

The Airfix Blenheim has been built a few times in BM and I previously built a both a MkI and a MkIV of 771 NAS based at RNAS Twatt. So a quick look in the stash revealed this one as well. I had laid down some paint previously but that’s all. I have some aftermarket, the masks are vital for the Blenheim’s glass house and turret, while I’ve got a selection of transfers. I’ll use the markings for 787 NAS the Naval Air Fighting Development Unit. I’ll add in some etch seat belts but otherwise OOB.

It's been some time since I posted a build on here, even longer since I took part in a Group Build but this one has tickled my fancy so, I hope no-one minds me joining with this old kit. The sprues: Should be a simple build, even if I add some bits'n'bobs in the driver's compartment. I may rescribe the panel lines, or I may not. Scalemates tells me this is the 1986 boxing of a kit originally released in 1970. The last 37 years certainly haven't been kind to the stickers (even if they were in register and the tail stripes weren't wrong). No matter, I have plenty in the decals box. I've got some Hurricanes to finish but should start this one at the weekend.

Gloster Meteor F.8 (A09182A) 1:48 Airfix The Gloster Meteor was the first British active-service jet fighter, and the Allies' first operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft itself began in 1940, although work on the engines had been underway since 1936 using the diminutive E.28/39 Pioneer airframe. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27th July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF, although it was initially forbidden from operating over enemy territory for fear of a downed aircraft giving away precious secrets. Nicknamed the "Meatbox", the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in terms of its aerodynamics or engines, but proved to be a successful combat fighter through successive upgrades of the basic design, with several major variants incorporating rapid technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces, and remained in use for several decades overseas. The Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War, primarily intercepting V-1 ‘Buzz Bombs’ as they flew over the British coast, which was a task they were well-suited to. The F.4 was the first major variant after the initial wartime variant, and by the time the F.8, which is considered by many to be the definitive variant, came into service the airframe had been subject to substantial upgrades, shortening the wings that mounted more powerful Derwent 8 engines, lengthening the fuselage by over 30 inches, greater capacity fuel load, and a new tail to improve aerodynamics and prevent instability when ammunition was fully expended. It was also fitted with a Martin-Baker ejection seat, starting with a Mk.1 that was superseded by the Mk.2 later in production. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) provided a significant contribution in the Korean War, flying many sorties against Mig-15s that were superior in most respects, suffering mounting losses before they were re-tasked with ground attack roles where they excelled due to their ruggedness. Several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts with variable success dependent upon the opponents that they flew against. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in photo-reconnaissance and as night fighters before they became too slow and vulnerable to the more modern, swept-wing aircraft that were coming into service. The Kit This is a reboxing of the new tooling that was initially released in 2016, and is the third boxing of the F.8, with another boxing adding parts to make an armed-recon variant of the F.8 called the FR.9. The kit arrives in Arfix’s red-themed top-opening box, and inside are five sprues in dark grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, decal sheet, instruction booklet with greyscale stencil diagrams on the rear page, and a separate folded A4 sheet of profiles in full colour that has been printed on both sides of the glossy paper. Detail is good, with the mouldings crisp, extending into the usual focal-points of cockpit and gear bays, plus cannon installations in the cheeks of the nose, and a pair of Rolls Royce engines that can either be fitted into position in the nacelles, or mounted on a trestle that is included in the kit. Construction begins with the cockpit, although it isn’t based around the usual tub, but is instead made from a floor with two holes moulded-in, plus two sidewalls that are loaded with detail. The two walls and floor are joined together to make a tub of sorts, and have the gun bays installed on the outer faces, followed by a detailed rear deck, and the nose wheel well under the floor. The supplied seat is a Mk.2, and is built from two halves that make up the chassis, adding the launch rail behind, and a choice of seat pads with or without moulded-in belts. The top of the headbox is separate, and has the pull-handle moulded-in, plus a pair of stencil decals on either side of the box that will be seen through the cockpit glazing. It is fixed into position on the sloped rear of the cockpit, locating on a pair of tabs, then adding the control column and the instrument panel to the front, including another decal to depict the dials. A bulkhead is inserted into the front of the cockpit assembly to complete the interior, with a side-view showing how it fits to the sidewalls. If you plan to cover the gun bays with panels, you can skip building the guns, but if you intend to depict them, each one is made from a breech with barrel, and a two-part drum magazine on the top, fitting cartridge ejector chutes over them once they are embedded in the bays. The gear-up option couldn’t be simpler, inserting the bay doors with lips into the full-span lower wing part before proceeding to installation of the forward spar, then the rear spar, which has an engine nacelle bulkhead at each end. If you plan on mounting your model on an Airfix stand, there are two 2mm holes to be drilled in the centreline, with four more holes if you plan on using the belly tank instead, and two more under each wing for the drop tanks. The gear bays are then boxed-in for the gear-down option in by adding side walls between the spars, and dropping a roof over them after painting everything aluminium and weathering it as you see fit. Two exhaust tubes are fabricated from halves and are painted gun-metal, mounting in the rear of the nacelles on two pegs in the spar and a lug under the end of the tubes. A small part is fitted inside the outer wing panels in a raised bracket, adding a landing light in a hole under the port side, closing the assembly by adding the upper wings. At this stage the fuselage is still open, which is unusual for your average fighter model, but we go back to that now to complete that task, starting with a clear part in the left side. The cockpit/nose-wheel assembly is shown in a scrap diagram to assist with painting the interior with more aluminium, cutting a small notch in both sides at the bottom, and drilling out a 0.8mm hole if you intend to deploy the crew foot-step. You are instructed to add 15g of weight into a cubby under the rear of the cockpit, so use your favourite heavy thing here, although you might want to first perform an internet search on the dangers of using lead in models, and their reactions with some glues, so I’m told. The fuselage halves are then brought together, cutting another nick in the starboard spine before you apply glue, and dealing with the seams in your preferred manner, followed by two root fairings to the rear of the wing cut-outs, with a scrap diagram showing the correct angle to set them from the front. The lower wing can then be mated to the fuselage underside, starting with the leading-edge and lowering the trailing edges onto the root-fairings to ensure a good fit, so it’s crucial that the glue has set properly on those fairings before you apply any pressure. The rudder is in two halves due to the unusual tail design, and the lower panel is made from two halves and installed without glue, the single-part upper panel is then lowered into position, gluing the two assemblies together via the long peg moulded into the upper section, which should result in them pivoting in unison. The elevators are each made from two halves, with a single-part flying surface glued to the trailing edge once they are plugged into the slots in the bullet fairing on the fin. The ailerons are also made from two halves, and like the elevators, can be posed deflected if you wish. Now that the wings are together, the intakes are each built from an inner and outer surface before they are slotted over the leading edge of the wing, painting the inner face gun metal. You now have three choices of how to pose the engine nacelle covers and the engines within. The sleek covered look just involves the two curved cowlings and engines painted at the front, taking care to align the panels carefully to minimise clean-up later. The next option is to expose the engines in position within the nacelles, while the final option is to have one engine out and on a stand that can be posed near the aircraft. Two engines must be built first unless you are going off-piste and combining some of the options, each one is made from eight parts, depicting the scaled-down Nene that was known as the Derwent, still utilising centrifugal technology while the rest of the world was working on axial flow. The trestle is made from a further five parts, and the external engine is then fitted with the prominent ancillary pack that fixes to a lug on the front of the assembly. To mount the engines in the airframe, the accessory pack is left off while the engines are inserted into their nacelles, fixing the pack in the front once they are glued down. The nacelles are then either closed with the panels, or if you plan on leaving them open, a hoop and two snaking hoses are added over the engine, cutting the small section of sprue between the hoses once it is in place, cleaning up the gate, and touching in the paint. Flipping the model over, the gear bays are detailed with hoses that cross the front of the bay, and have small details moulded into them. While the model is inverted you can fit the centreline tank on the four holes that were drilled earlier, then work can begin on the main gear. The wheels are supplied as two halves each, with a flat-spot moulded into the bottom to depict the aircraft’s weight on the rubber. It’s best to deal with the seams and paint them before you join the two halves of the gear legs with their integral mudguards around them, painting the insides of the guards aluminium at the same time. The completed gear legs are then inserted into their respective bays, and an X-shaped pair of retraction jacks, the uppermost jack opening and closing the inner gear bay door, which is fitted next, and is accompanied by the outer door that fixed next to the engine nacelle. The nose cone is made from two parts, and is set aside while the glue dries, and if you have chosen the gear-up option, the nose gear bay is closed by inserting the rear door insert into the fuselage, slipping the front door into the nose cone before it is glued to the front of the fuselage. For the wheels-down option, the forward section of the bay isn’t a bay at all, it’s a hollow nose cone that contains a two-part gear leg and its retraction mechanism mounted to the bulkhead at the front of the fuselage. The lower section of the nose gear leg closes around a single-part wheel, and inserts into the upper leg, fixing it in place on the bulkhead before putting the nose cone into place, taking care with the alignment. The two rear bay doors fit on either side of the part of the bay where the wheel is stowed in flight. While the model is upside down, you can fit the air-brake panels deployed or flush, painting the undersides gun-metal if you pose them open. There is another pair on the upper wings with the same paint used as on the undersides. The engines are completed by installing two short cylindrical exhausts in the rear of the nacelles, fitting the gun bay doors if you need them, and adding a clear gunsight into the front of the cockpit. There is still a little work left to do, first on the underside, where the shell-ejector ports are installed in recesses under the cockpit, plus a few small aerials and the wing drop-tanks, which the instructions advise to glue in place after applying the underwing serial decals. The crew step is inserted into the hole drilled earlier if you are building your model on the ground. Flipping the airframe over, there is a blade aerial on the spine, plus a pitot probe inserted into the port wingtip, after which the canopy parts are prepared for installation. The windscreen has a frame inserted into the base, which includes de-misting tubes and other parts, while the canopy has a stiffening floor fixed to the rear portion, remembering to paint it black before you install it. The windscreen is glued into the front of the cockpit with your favourite non-fogging glue, and the canopy can be closed by butting it up against the screen, or pushed back to admit the pilot, with a pair of scrap diagrams showing the correct positions. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, and each wears a substantially different scheme of an acrobatic team from the period, for a nice change from the norm. As already mentioned, the stencils are covered on the rear page of the instruction booklet, and there are quite a few of them, which is a minor surprise for a first generation jet. From the box you can build one of the following: Evergreen Display Team, College of Air Warfare, RAF, 1963-64 The Meteorites Acrobatic Team, RAAF Williamstown, 1956 Decals are by Airfix’s usual partners Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s a welcome re-release of this recent tooling, and has some interesting decal options, which although they won’t appeal to everyone, broadens the range available, and there are plenty of aftermarket options out there if you feel the urge. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Airfix 1/76 Zoo Animals Set 1 (01724) Airfix 1/76 Zoo Animals Set 2 (01725)

For the masochist that lurks deep within all of us:

Expected in Spring (May ?) 2024 - ref. A09010 - Consolidated B-24H Liberator https://uk.airfix.com/products/consolidated-b-24h-liberator-a09010 V.P.

Expected in Spring (May ?) 2024 - ref. A06023 - Boeing Chinook HC.1 Source: https://uk.airfix.com/products/boeing-chinook-hc1-a06023 V.P.

Release expected in Spring (April) 2024 - ref. A05141 - Bristol Bulldog Mk.II https://uk.airfix.com/products/bristol-bulldog-mkii-a05141 V.P.

Hi All. This is my first post after years of just reading and picking up info from the site. This is my Airfix Scammell Tank Transporter and IBG Models Crusader Mk3. Supposed to represent circa 1943 scene. Crusader painted to represent a Polish Army example with SCC2 and SCC1A in an MTP 20 pattern. Reference mainly Mike Starmers guides. Ultimate aim is to include in a diorama. All finished with Humbrol enamels. A few little additions here and there - glazing to the tractor cab, a few tools etc. Weathered with a combination of acrylic paints and pastels. Hope you like.https://photos.app.goo.gl/vjqATNmFNs1tD1SUA

Mosquito Mk.XVIII NT225 'O' 248 Sqn flown by Flying Officer William Cosman, DFC, (RCAF) and Flying Officer L. M. Freedman, navigator. Kit - Airfix 1/72 'new tool' 399 released in 1972 Flying Officer Cosman and Flying Officer Freedman flew this plane in Ops during 1944 and were sadly lost in an engagement with Fw 190s near Gossen on 7 December 1944. A fuller account of their Ops in NT225, and details of the Mk.XVIII, is included in an article published in 2016 in THE OBSERVAIR (newsletter of the Ottawa Chapter, Canadian Aviation Historical Society). Above is the finished article. This is how it looked last October when retrieved from the 'box of doom' in the loft; The kit I made in 1972, The WIP of the rebuild is here; Thanks for looking, Charlie

Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B in RAF Service (A12014) 1:48 Airfix The Buccaneer needs little introduction to most British aviation enthusiasts, as it was in service for a long time, first in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, and latterly with the RAF after remaining airframes were handed-over, performing a similar strike role in both branches of the British armed forces. The Buccaneer was originally designed by Blackburn for the Royal Navy, which is why even the RAF aircraft retained their folding wings and arrestor hooks. Blackburn was later rolled into Hawker Siddeley, hiding away its lengthy heritage. It was designed to be a rugged low-level attacker that was to approach below the enemy’s radar horizon, and had a reputation as a highly-stable weapons platform that although it was just subsonic could leave other more modern aircraft in its wake in the turbulent air close to the ground. After the last British aircraft carriers were retired at the end of the 70s, the hand-over to the RAF was completed, and older airframes were scrapped due to safety concerns after an accident, leaving them with a fleet of around 60 aircraft that served until 1994 when the Tornado took over the tasks it had been carrying out. The type progressed from initial S.1 variant to S.2, replacing the underpowered De Havilland engines with the powerful Spey engines that were also used in the Nimrod and British Phantoms amongst others. This required a larger intake to ingest sufficient air to feed the engines’ voracious appetite, and later the S.2B was further upgraded to carry Martel missiles. The S.2A moniker was reserved for former FAA airframes after they had been converted for use by the RAF, while the C was the Navy’s name for the S.2A, and the D were former Naval airframes upgraded to S.2B standards. The last hurrah of the Buccaneer was during the first Gulf War that the British called Operation Granby, laser designating targets for the Tornados that it accompanied in the event they encountered problems with their own pods. They were instrumental in the destruction of many bridges in Iraq, and they were also sent to dive-bomb airfields and bunkers either solo, or with lasing provided by other aircraft. On its return from the Gulf, it was decided that they were no-longer needed, and were retired early, despite having been substantially upgraded at great cost just a few years earlier, which is typical of British Defence decisions. Their role was taken over by the Tornados after they had been upgraded to operate the Sea Eagle anti-shipping missiles that the Buccaneers had been carrying before they were retired. The Kit This is a fresh reboxing of the still brand-new tooling of the venerable Buccaneer from Airfix, adding RAF decals and a new sprue of parts that contains many parts common to the previous version, reorganised to accommodate the new missiles etc. The kit arrives in a large top-opening box, and if you consider part count to be a value indicator, you’re getting almost 300 of them on the seven sprues that are in a darker grey styrene than usual, reminiscent of the Extra Dark Sea Grey scheme that it often wore in service. There is a single sprue of clear parts, a large decal sheet and a thick instruction booklet that has three glossy colour and markings profiles inside. First impressions are excellent, with lots of delightfully fine detail that includes panel lines and rivets, as well as raised details where appropriate, at odds with the jest that the Bucc was hewn from one huge billet of airframe aluminium. Amongst the parts you get a very detailed cockpit, gear bays, engines, boarding ladders, an open port engine bay that even includes a handy styrene mask for painting, a contoured box inside the nose for the nose-weight, detailed bomb bay, air-brake in the tail and a broad weapons load, plus a set of FOD guards for the intakes and exhausts. That’s an impressive list of features that even includes two pilot figures, although they are sadly still suffering from the hands-on-laps pose that dates back to the 80s and beyond. Such a minor gripe that it’s hardly worth mentioning, especially as many folks don’t use pilot figures anyway. Now that my two old Airfix Buccs have been firmly pushed right to the back of the stash, let’s move on. It’s of no concern to this modeller though, because this kit and its siblings are already doing roaring trade at model shops, and is firmly in the realms of the de facto standard for 1:48 scale. Having since watched the Hornby TV show where Paramjit worked upon this project, it’s clear that he and the team have put in a lot of effort to create a model kit that trumps their old tooling by a substantial margin, which is honestly a huge understatement. The decal sheet is similarly well-detailed with lots of stencils, seat belt decals, and dials for the instrument panels that should add to the realism of the cockpit without stressing your bank account further. Before you break out the tools, you need to decide which of four weapons loud-outs you are planning to deploy on the wings and in the belly of your Bucc. Decal Option A 4 x Sea Eagle Anti-Shipping Missile Decal Option B 4 x Empty Underwing Pylons 4 x 1,000lb Bombs in Bay Decal Option C 2 x Slipper Tanks on Inner Pylons 2 x Empty Outer Pylons Decal Option D 1 x AIM-9 Sidewinder Missile or 1 x 1,000lb Paveway II Laser Guided bombs 1 x AN/ALQ-101 ECM Pod 1 x AN/AVQ-23 Pave Spike laser designator pod 1 x Empty Inner Pylon Construction begins with drilling the necessary holes for your chosen weapons scheme, which takes up four pages with various diagrams used to assist you with the decision. A further page shows the location of the various internal decals that are used throughout the build, although they aren’t mentioned on the actual instruction steps, so a bit of cross-referencing and pencil markings might be wise to prevent missing some out. They are all within the cockpit however, so that shouldn’t take long. We finally get to cut some parts off the sprues to make up the two Mk.6 Martin Baker ejection seats, which consist of six parts each, with large multi-part cushions and the overhead pull-handles that initiates the ejection process in the event of an emergency. The seat building process is carried out twice, then the rear-seater’s instrument panel is made up with a recess on the front mating with a block on the back of the pilot’s launch rail, adding decals to the panel and the headbox of both the seats. The cockpit tub has the nose gear bay glued under it, needing just the aft end cap adding to box it in, then the side consoles are detailed with top surfaces that lock in place on shaped depressions, and accepting decals later to improve the detail. The pilot’s instrument panel is started by adding rudder pedals behind the centre, and adding the short L-shaped control column into the slot in the front of the panel, before it and the rear bulkhead are joined to the rest of the cockpit, followed by the two seats, the forward one also holding the rear instrument panel. In preparation for the closing up of the separate nose portion of the fuselage, a container is made up from two halves, which has large I-shaped bars running down the sides, and inside you are told to put 15 grammes of nose weight before closing the lid on it. It’s a fancy feature that should make the sometimes fraught task of avoiding a tail-sitter model a thing of the past, cramming lead shot into available spaces to your best guess and hoping it won’t cause problems when you close the fuselage halves. The nose sides have cockpit sidewall detail moulded-in, which is improved further by adding seven extra parts, and if you are planning on using the included boarding ladders, you should drill some holes where indicated, ensuring they are horizontal to the finish aircraft’s line of flight. The nose weight fits into the port half of the nose on its I-tab, taking care to glue it home fully. The cockpit slides into the port nose half, and should click into position thanks to a tab on each side of the rear bulkhead that clips in place on a shape secreted in the rear of the nose halves. Gone are the days of inexact cockpit positioning, which is another welcome improvement. The nose is glued together and allowed to set up, then the pilot’s coaming and clear HUD are popped on top, finishing off the work in that area for now. As mentioned, there are detailed engine fronts included, plus their trunking that penetrates deep into the fuselage and out the other end, with an almost full engine in the port side nacelle that can be displayed. The first parts are the exhaust trunking halves that are paired on a cross-brace and the halves fit together using four circular depressions, and includes some framework for the main gear bays, which is painted a different colour. A bulkhead straddles the two tubes and incorporates the rear walls of the main bays, with another at the forward side that clips onto a large tab. Another bulkhead slides into the rear of the exhaust trunking tubes, and two perpendicular panels slide in between the two aft-most bulkheads to strengthen the assembly, and provide surface detail for the inner walls of the main gear bays. This part of the assembly can then be inserted into the lower fuselage half, which has the rotating bomb-bay roof moulded into it. Before proceeding, two raised panels and square blocks should be removed by sanding back to the correct profile of the engine nacelles. The intake trunking is mounted on a similar cross-brace with two circular alignment pins, then is butted up against another bulkhead that has engine front-faces moulded into them. You are incited to build the next few steps whether you intend to display the engine or not, as it will make aligning the parts much easier down the line, and I’m not going to argue. The shell of the port engine is made up from two halves, and attaches to the rear of the forward bulkhead behind the intake trunks, with some detail painting necessary before you insert them into the fuselage in front of the aft assembly. Some additional tubing is laid over the top of the engine as it will appear through the hatch if you are leaving it off, but omit these parts if you are modelling it closed. A curved plastic part is included with the word ‘MASK’ etched on it is surfaces that can be used to protect your hard work on the engine during the painting of the exterior of the model. Paramjit is clearly demonstrating his devotion to modelling and modellers there, as masking a recessed area can be tricky. If you are displaying the engine, the upper fuselage needs a little work, removing the access panel that has been helpfully part chain-drilled for you from the inside, making the task simply a case of attacking it (carefully) with a scalpel, and a scrap diagram shows the correct angles to cut through the thickness of the fuselage. A side wall is glued in place in preparation, then the fuselage is left to one side for a moment, before it is shown again over the page, where you are incited to paint the main gear bay rooves and drill out some holes in the spine if you are folding the wings. The fuselage halves are then joined only if you are folding the wings, where you are advised not to glue the aft bulkhead as it will help ease the alignment of the two halves. The decision of whether to fold the wings or not is down to you, but bear in mind that RAF aircraft retained their wing-fold mechanisms, and there are photos of them with wings folded on airfields, despite their original reason being to save space below deck on a carrier. The folded option involves inserting ribs into the wing roots that have spikes projecting from the top to receive the outer wing panels, which are next to be put together. Two decal options involve making up fairings that project from under the leading edge of the wing outer panel, then the ailerons, all of which are made from two parts each, then adding a choice of different shaped clear wingtips, depending on the decal option you have chosen, stopping the inner ends with a rib that accepts the fold mechanism later. You are told to remove the fifth vortex generator from the inside edge, and the port wing also has a long pitot probe mounted on a fairing below. For unfolded wings, a spur on the outer panel is removed, and so is the fifth vortex generator as for the folded option, then an A-frame with insert is placed in the recesses inside the wings before they are joined. The wings are glued into the lower wing roots within the raised guides, then the upper fuselage skin can be glued down, again without gluing the aft bulkhead. The same painting and drilling is done before the two halves are glued, as per the repeated scrap diagram. If you have elected to expose the engine, a brace is glued across the bay, then the bay door and a small part are fixed in place on four hinges that slip under the edge of the bay. Again, the mask part is included for your convenience during exterior painting. The Bucc has an area-rule era coke-bottle shaped fuselage, so has a bit of a wide rear, which is made from a separate section to the main fuselage and incorporates the tail fin. The tail is split vertically into two parts, and has an aft bulkhead inserted during closure, after which the tail-hook insert is glued into the gap in the underside of the assembly, followed by gluing of the tail and the nose assemblies to the fuselage, taking care to align everything neatly to remove or reduce any remedial work. The larger S.2 intake trunks are slotted over the interior trunk surface, and are topped off by a handed lip, but as usual, it’s best to ensure a good fit here before applying glue. The exhausts have inner and outer skins too, and these slide on inside the other before being attached to the rear of the fuselage either side of the tail, with the short flap-sections made up from top and bottom halves and fixed next to the exhausts either flush, or dropped to 40°, next to the ailerons that can be offset to 30° by swapping the actuator part out. The final flying surface is the prominent T-tail, which starts with the main surface that’s made from top and bottom halves, mated with the now usual circular locating tabs, then it’s glued onto the moulded-in tail fin. The fairing on top is two more parts, with a choice of forward and rear bullet fairings, separate elevators (one of which is arrowed to the rudder position incorrectly) and rudder panel, all of which are single parts each and can be deflected as you wish. The Buccaneer has a long tail cone fairing that splits vertically and hinges out into the airflow to act as the air-brake, which was a definite weak-point of the old kit in terms of detail and fit, but doesn’t seem like that’s going to be the case with the new tool. To display it open, you begin by assembling two outer skins on a W-shaped support, then inserting the three peaks into the rear of the brake surfaces, which are moulded as one, and have some nice rivet detail moulded into them. The surfaces are boxed in at the rear by the fairings that give it the tapering profile it achieves when stashed away, adding a short bulkhead and a triple-linked tube before sliding the air-brake assembly into position, with a scrap diagram showing the correct orientation of the tubes diagonally within the assembly. The closed air-brakes are simple by comparison, comprising two halves and a central bulkhead that creates the vanes at the top and bottom of the fairing. It slots straight into the rear of the fuselage, so is quite the appealing option if you’re intrinsically lazy, in a hurry, or just don’t like masking. The arrestor hook is added later by choosing a deployed or stowed Y-shaped base, actuator to get the correct angle, and the hook itself with a small blade aerial next to it. A pair of blade antennae and two probes are also fixed under the nose while the airframe is inverted, with a tubular aux-intake further back on the fuselage. Under the belly of the Bucc is an innovative rotating bomb bay that you can either pop the lid onto and carry on with the rest of the build, or put the effort in and detail it further. The process begins by adding an insert forward of the bay, with another insert with clear light at the rear, and a detail insert in the front of the bay that is used for both options. The closed bomb bay can then be covered up and you can move on, but if you plan on showing off that nice detail within, there are five lengths of hose/cable bundles fitted within, plus two thick pipes added into the main gear bays nearby. The bombs are fitted later if you plan on using them. The gear of the Bucc was sturdy to cope with constant hard landings and catapult launches from the deck of a carrier, so all the struts are moulded in halves with some of the wider sections hollow inside to reduce the likelihood of sink-marks. Some bright spark will probably make metal inserts to toughen those up further. The three wheels are each moulded in halves, with a flat-spot on the bottom to simulate weighting, although all the wheels are shown as not glued in place yet, presumably so you get the flat spot on the bottom consistently. There is also a scrap diagram showing the diameter of the hub, which should allow the deft modeller to create their own punch-out masks to ease painting of the wheels, choosing a diameter of 7.6mm. Once the gear is done, flooding the wheel centres with glue should prevent them moving again if you don’t want to faff about every time you move it in the future. The nose gear leg slots into the bay with a retraction jack behind it, and a single bay door running down the side of it. The main gear legs fit into a hole in a rib and on top of another rib, making for a strong bond, then they have their curved doors fixed to the edge of the bay with three hinges that slot under the side. A decal of a data-plate is applied to both the main gear legs at front and rear, which is good to see, as stencils make models look much more detailed IMHO. Before applying the glazing to the cockpit, you should choose whether to install the pilots, which have a detailed painting guide next to them, then a blast-shield is placed between the two pilots, and a choice of two windscreens, only one of which has a wiper, so you can use aftermarket Photo-Etch (PE) wipers if you’re an inveterate detail upgrader. This is certainly a model designed by modellers with modellers in mind, and watching the episode where Paramjit is working on the design is well-recommended. The main canopy also has two parts, one with the det-cord breaker moulded-in and the other without it, so you can use alternative methods such as PE or decals to replicate the det-cord that shatters the canopy in advance of the pilots punching out. Yet another helpful addition. You can close the canopy or depict it pushed back to just over the rear pilot’s seat using either of the two parts, either option showing off the detailed cockpit within. The Bucc’s prominent L-shaped refuelling probe is inserted into a recess on the nose in front of the canopy, and the spine is decorated with blade antennae and lights depending on which decal option you have chosen. The weapons included in the box are well-detailed, and have inserts for the Sea Eagle missiles to give them more realistic thickness fins. The weapons set includes the following: 2 x TV Martel Anti-Shipping Missile 4 x Sea Eagle Anti-Shipping Missile 1 x Martel TV Guidance Data Link Pod (left over from the C/D boxing) 2 x handed slipper tanks 1 x 1,000lb Paveway II Laser Guided bombs (the instructions mark this as a 10,000lb bomb due to a typo) 8 x 1,000lb Iron Bombs 2 x AIM-9 Sidewinder Missiles 1 x AN/ALQ-101 ECM Pod 1 x AN/AVQ-23 Pave Spike laser designator pod All the weapons have handed pylons that are suitable to their station, some of which have additional parts to thicken their mounting-points, and the bombs have either pylons for wing-mounting, or cleats for mounting inside the bomb bay. All the weapons and fuel tanks have stencils and a painting guide included on the main sheets. The model is complete now, but Airfix have helpfully included several extras that will give your model some additional visual interest. There are two crew ladders with separate stand-off brackets, one for each pilot that are fixed side-by-side to the nose using the holes drilled initially before the model was completed or even begun if you’re prepared. There are also Foreign Object Debris (FOD) guards for the intakes and exhausts, which have nice engraved detail, and the exhaust blanks have a T-shaped handle that is fitted to the centre of the part. Markings The Bucc didn’t wear too many schemes during its long and illustrious career, but Airfix have managed to include four different options on the sheet, each of which has a side of glossy A3 in full colour devoted to it to assist you with painting and decaling. An additional four pages in the instruction booklet shows where all the many stencil decals are placed for each decal option, avoiding duplication and over-complication of the other sheets of diagrams. From the box you can build one of the following: XW527/527, No.12 Sqn., RAF Lossiemouth, Scotland, 1993 XW544, No.15 Sqn., RAF Laarbruch, Germany, 1971 XV352, No.208 Sqn., Operation Red Flag, 1977 XW547/R, Guinness Girl/Pauline, Operation Granby/Desert Storm, Muharraq Airport, Bahrain, 1991 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion I’m still excited of course, but I’ve calmed down a little bit since the initial release. It’s an exceptionally well-detailed replacement for the old tooling, and the engineering that has gone into the making of the kit is first-rate. Add to this the useful extras such as the ladder and FOD guards, and we’re onto a winner. It’s a Buccaneer too, and we’ve waited SO long for a new one. Extremely highly recommended. Kit Only Kit & Coin Review sample courtesy of