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I've just finished converting HK Models' Meteor F.4 to the F.8 version using the Fisher Conversion set. This involved removing the F.4 nose section just forward of the wing and fitting a new resin nose, chopping the tail section off and grafting on a new resin rear end, the forward sections of the intakes were also removed and resin replacements added. A fully detailed cockpit interior including ejection seat was also supplied in the kit, and I also installed a G-Factor brass undercarriage set due the extra weight with Brassin resin wheels. Decals came with the Fisher set, and I used Xtracolour enamels to paint the model. I've completed this as a 63sqn aircraft from RAF Waterbeech in 1956. The conversion parts mated to the HK donor kit very well indeed, as long you followed the guidance to the letter. Some small amounts of filler were all that was needed to blend the resin conversion parts to the airframe. Fisher have just released a T.7 conversion so I'm hoping to complete that in the not-too-distant future. Rob

Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1625691294347156&id=1375731456009809 Time will tell. V.P.

I've decided I would like to join this Group build as I love the Meteor. I have build a Tamiya Meteor F.3 and have several 1:72 Meteors of various marks and a couple of Classic Airframes kits but I have decided to build HK Models 1:32 Meteor F.4. I've been excited about this kit since it came out and have been itching to start it. Here is a box shot along with the contents. I have some Fisher Models air intakes and have ordered some HGW Seat belts and an interior set from Eduard. Markings wise I have yet to decide between a 56 squadron Meteor using Pheon decals or a trainer one using the Kit World decals. After removing the parts from the sprue the first job will be the surgery required to cut out the intakes..... Thanks for looking. Mark

This is the build I was really hoping to do back when I proposed this build a year ago! The HK Models Meteor F Mk 4 converted to an F Mk 8 using Paul Fisher's excellent set and the Zotz Decals sheet with IAF markings. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the money together but I had a good month just after the updated conversion and the decal sheet were released, so I'm set and ready to go! This is going to be great! Michael

I've been working on this project on and off for the last year or so, and finally applied the finishing touches this weekend. The HK Models kit needs no introduction and was for the second time, a joy to build. Having seen a few of these kits made up as war-beaten WWII aircraft, I wanted to do something a little different, and thus decided to build this version as a modern day warbird. Most preserved Forts in natural metal gleam like a mirror - something that terrified me, so I went instead for the Experimental Aircraft Association's 'Aluminum Overcast' which is operated from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which is actually painted silver rather than being in NMF. Being a Vega block 105 aircraft, she never saw combat, as it was actually built too late to see service in WWII, and instead went straight to the boneyard as 'surplus' before being bought in 1946 by Universal Aviation for aerial mapping purposes. It was sold again in 1947, this time as a cargo hauler which required numerous modifications, before once again taking on the role of aerial mapping platform in 1949, spending 12 years in the Middle East. By 1966 another sale ensued and the B-17 was used as a chemical sprayer back in the US, before its final role which began in 1966 as an aerial tanker and fire bomber. After retirement from this role in 1988, she was purchased by the 'B-17s around the World Foundation' and subsequently donated to the EAA, where a thorough restoration to WWII configuration began. She's been touring the US since 1994, and proudly wears the colours of 398th BG which flew from Nuthampstead during the war. Although she's 95% authentic in comparison to her WWII counterparts, she does carry a full, modern avionics suite, as well as extra passenger seats in the rear fuselage, radio room and flightdeck for those lucky enough to enjoy a flight in her. The upper turret is just a dome with dummy barrels fitted to improve access to the flightdeck, but the ball turret is fully operational. I carried out the simple modifications to the HK kit to bring it up to 'warbird' status by scratch-building the passenger seats, removing and filling the radome on the top of the nose compartment, adding the modern aerials seen on the aircraft and leaving out the top turret mechanism. Armour plate was removed from the pilots' seats, and the flightdeck oxygen system was also removed. I painted the interior olive green as the original, as unlike her wartime sisters she's painted internally. Wooden floors and ammo boxes were recreated using the superb HGW decals, and a final touch was a scratch-built rear access door and entry step as well as a ladder stored in the bomb-bay as often seen when these Forts are on tour. Decals came from KitsWorld, and paints were automotive acrylics. Boeing B-17G-105-VE s/n 44-85740, civil reg. N5017N 'Aluminum Overcast' DSC_0058 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0065 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Removing the nose radome: S1030377 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Interior progressing with scratch-built passenger seats etc: DSC_0008 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0082 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0087 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0092 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0094 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0101 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0108 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0117 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0120 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0136 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0147 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0154 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0157 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr DSC_0160 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr And the picture that inspired it all: Srenco-B17 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Thanks for stopping by, Tom

Mosquito Mk.IV (for HK Model) 1:32 Eduard HK Models' new Mossie hit the shelves just before the Tamiya kit, and Eduard have already released these sets to give us some extra detail, added realism and to ease some of the painting tasks that tax us modellers. There are a number of Photo-Etch (PE) sets available to choose from, all of which come in the usual flat-pack with white cardboard protective liner. The bags are self-seal, so you'll still be able to re-pack them once you've had a squint at the instructions, but take care not to get the contents stuck on the adhesive. It doesn't like to let go! Interior (32840) This set that contains a pre-painted and self-adhesive sheet as well as a bare brass sheet of PE is solely concerned with increasing the level of detail within the cockpit, which although cramped is quite visible under the canopy at this scale. It replaces all the moulded-in instrument faces and decals with a set of laminated panels that are pre-printed with dials for your ease. The simple kit rudders are replaced with PE parts that have much better detail, and a backing panel that prevents the see-through look. The throttle quadrant, compass and various other items on the side walls are also upgraded or replaced, resulting in a much improved level of detail. Interior Zoom! (33148) If you'd just like a set of instrument panel faces and control improvements, then this set is for you. You miss out on the skins for the radio boxes, rudder pedals and other parts, because you just get the pre-painted and self-adhesive sheet shown above, with a corresponding reduction in price. Seatbelts (32841) A set of good quality PE seatbelts with pre-painted surfaces are within the bag, with additional details such as loose tabs, extra buckles and a more complete depiction of the whole harness. They are simple to bend, but take care not to bend them too sharply, as the tight radius could bring off the painted surface. A dab of superglue should hold them in place nicely. Seatbelts FABRIC (32839) To me, the fabric belts are the pinnacle of realism in a kit, and are at their best in 1:32. You get a sheet of "material" on a sticky background, which you peel off, scrunch up and then add the nickel-plated PE hooks, buckles and adjusters in the same way as you would on the real thing. They are fiddly at 1:48, and less so at 1:32, but your hard work will be rewarded by a superb set of belts that fall realistically on the seats. Masks (JX182) If you hate masking, or just want to save some time, this pre-cut sheet of yellow kabuki tape is for you. It includes a full set of masks for all canopy components, with the sharper curved areas having the usual framing pieces, with you left to fill-in the highly curved area with scrap tape or masking fluid. You even get a couple of circular masks to cover your wheel hubs. Review sample courtesy of

Hi folks, I'm new here but I've been working on the new Mossie kits since they came out. I was fortunate enough to get the Tamiya kit in early July thanks to them arriving here in Canada so early. I have both kits well under way so the first couple of posts are bringing things up to date. Otherwise I don't build that quickly. Here's the obligatory box shot: This is the HK box on top of the Tamiya one. There is quite a size difference between the two.

de Havilland Mosquito B.Mk.IV Series II 1:32 HK Models The Mosquito was one of the ground-breaking private projects of WWII, and it contributed a significant effort toward victory against Nazi Germany from its introduction in 1941 to the end of the war and beyond. Initially conceived by Geoffrey de Havilland as a fast bomber, it was not intended to carry armament, simply relying on speed to take it out of harm's way. Numerous versions were considered, but a twin engine design with a wooden monocoque fuselage was eventually used, with space for four 20mm cannons in the forward section of the bomb bay. It was initially met with a very lukewarm reception from the Air Ministry, as they still clung to their obsession of turreted aircraft, which became heavy and complex, reducing speed both in the air and through the production line. After some shenanigans that included a mock-up of a turret behind the main canopy, DH were issued with a requirement for a 400mph capable light bomber/reconnaissance aircraft, which solidified as DH.98, and was named Mosquito. Despite having been ordered to stop development work after Dunkirk, DH carried on due to the vagueness of the request, and the prototype flew at the end of 1940. After lengthening the engine nacelles and splitting the flaps to cure poor handling at certain speeds she flew for the ministry and managed to outpace a Spitfire, pulling away with a speed advantage of 20mph. The Mosquito lines were split between bomber/recon variants with glass noses and fighter variants with the four cannon in the belly and four .303 machine guns in the nose. It really was the master of all things, as it showed when it became a night-fighter, torpedo bomber, and even in its dotage it was well-used as a target tug until the early 60s. The Mossie was even converted to carry two bouncing bombs called Highballs, and always gave a good account of itself, striking fear into the hearts of the opposition. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, which was evidenced by the German Focke-Wulf Ta.154 Moskito, which attempted to recreate the success of the Mossie, but failed due largely to inferior construction and glue, which caused delamination of the wings in the air. The Mosquito was mainly constructed by woodworkers that might otherwise have been left idle during the austerity of the war, and it was their skill and ingenuity that contributed to the success of the aircraft, and made it very economical to build using very little in the way of strategic materials. Time is unkind to wood however, and very few Mosquitos have survived in airworthy condition, the last of which was lost in 1998 in a fatal crash. There is hope that the Mosquito will fly again over Britain, as the People's Mosquito group are trying to raise funds to construct a new-build Mossie to entertain a new generation of aviation fans at airshows. The Kit HK Models hit the modelling scene a couple of years ago creating models in 1:32 that a lot of us never expected to see in that scale. Based in Hong Kong, they now have a substantial catalogue of single, twin and four-engined aircraft that cause quite a stir when they are announced. The Mosquito was announced last year to much enthusiasm, and we are now able to get our hands on a sample thanks to our friends at Pocketbond, who are their UK distributors. Since their announcement another company has also announced a 1:32 Mosquito, but thankfully theirs is the fighter, while this is the bomber variant, so unlikely to eat into each other's markets. Who wouldn't want two Mossies? You might have guessed that I love the Mosquito, and it is what brought me back to the hobby when I decided I needed a model of one for my shelf. I also grew up listening to the last flyable Mosquito overhead, as I live close to where she was based, so it is firmly entrenched in my heart as my favourite aircraft of all. The box is long and reasonably narrow, with a dramatic painting of a Mosquito loosing off a Cookie bomb over a smoking landscape during a night raid. Without dragging my Do.335 from the stash, the boxes look to be of a similar size, which is always good news for stacking. Inside there isn't much in the way of wasted space, with styrene parts taking up most of the volume, carefully packaged in re-sealable cellophane bags. The fuselage parts are further protected by some self-cling wrap to stop the parts chaffing against each other in transit, while the glazing parts have been secured to a white backing card with tape to further protect them too. This initial run has a special addition in the shape of a pair of standing crew figures in resin, which were sculpted by Steve Warrilow. If you want these chaps, don't delay in picking up your kit, as the first issue is unlikely to stay on the shelves long once you've seen what's in the box. Inside the box is one large sprue, three medium sprues, three small, and nine small sprues with either a single part, or a small group of similar parts on, all in a mid-grey styrene. There are also two fuselage parts, and one wing part in the same styrene, a gaggle of four clear sprues, a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, a medium sized decal sheet, single sheet paint conversion table, and a large (A3ish in size) glossy covered instruction booklet with the painting and markings guide at the rear in shades of grey. The bonus figures are sealed in an opaque foam envelope, held closed by a sticker that mentions their limited edition status. If you're late to the party and reading this sometime down the line, it's possible you may not have this in your box, so prepare yourself. Some fancy footwork has been utilised to create some very interesting and technically advanced moulds for both the fuselage and wings, which is good to see, especially coming from such a relatively new company. The fuselage is provided in halves, but in the fore/aft fashion, rather than the usual seam that runs along the length of the fuselage. The split is at the fuselage strengthening band over the wing roots, so seam clean-up is minimised if not entirely obviated. The full-width wings caused a little furrowing of the brow, as when they were released from their bag the top and bottom surfaces didn't separate, because they have been moulded as a single part. I'm not 100% certain of how this was done, but I have a few guesses that revolve around styrene remaining quite flexible once cooled. This technique has also been used for the flaps, ailerons and elevators… ok, all the flying surfaces, which saves a lot of mucking about with glue. Construction begins with the important pilot's seat, with its asymmetrical seat back that curves in due to the pilot's proximity to the canopy. The seat bottom and cushion are one part, while the arms and side detail are added to the sides, after which the seat back and PE belts are installed. Note here that seat and seat-back cushions are moulded into the seat, so if you wanted to depict them without, you'll have some work ahead of you with sanding sticks. The cushions are well sculpted though, so I'd imagine most people would stick with them. The cockpit is built up in assemblies that come together at the end, with the rear deck mating with the rest late in the process, as it is attached to the top of the wing that passes through the fuselage. The pilot's seat attaches to a half bulkhead that is actually the front bulkhead of the bomb bay, so has detail on both sides, with small parts added to each for extra detail. The main instrument panel is a single part with moulded-in rudder pedals, behind which a box is added to prevent the see-through look. There is a group of individual decals arranged on the sheet as if they were a single decal containing only instrument faces, which you will apply after painting of the panel, then fix it in place on the cockpit floor, which has a separate access hatch panel fitted to it, plus the single piece control column, after which it is mated with the pilot's bulkhead. The flat deck (or bomb bay roof) that the co-pilot's seat is attached to is next, with his armoured seat back, equipment boxes and PE seatbelts added before it is fixed to the rear of the pilot's bulkhead. The sidewalls then enclose the cockpit, with the circular ferrules (fixing points) standing out from the sides, doing a creditable impression of ejector pin marks if you didn’t know any better, and hiding the presence of a few pin marks that will need removal. The ejector pin marks should be easy to tell apart however, as they have a less refined and sometimes recessed aspect. There is lot of detail moulded into these side panels, and these should look great under a coat of paint, although some of the detail is sloped a little at the edges due to the constraints of injection moulding technology, and the ejector pin marks make extra work. A compass is added to the pilot's side, and on the exposed deck at the front, the bomb-sight is added, while the rear bulkhead that is the leading edge of the wing-root is attached to the back of the cockpit tub, which is then slipped inside the single-piece nose of the beast, with only two small parts added in the very front of the nose, plus the important sides windows. You will have to paint the inside tip of the nose the interior colour, as the side walls stop at the instrument panel bulkhead, which might be best done before installing the windows from the outside. The nose glazing completes the nose, and work turns toward the canopy, which is notable in that it has internal as well as external framing, which is faithfully depicted here is a substantial frame that sits within the canopy parts. There are a couple of ejector pin marks on this part that will need careful fettling to restore the gap between parallel tubing, but you could be forgiven for leaving it as it might well not be seen. The windscreen attaches to the front, with the tapering rear section to the rear of the frame, leaving a gap that is filled by three panels, taking the form of the blistered side windows, and the emergency escape panel on the top. The dingy pack door on the rear is a separate part that is added before you mate the forward and rear sections (there is no interior to this bay). At this stage you'd be forgiven for expecting the fuselage halves to be joined, but instead you will find yourself building the elevator assembly, which starts with the planes moulded in a single part to which you add small fillets to close up the rear of the skin. The tail-wheel structure is then built up in the bay between the planes, with the strut attached to a small bulkhead, which also acts as the hinge-point for the leg to rotate rearwards into its bay. The elevators have also been moulded in one piece, with a curved forward section closing up the skins, after which its hinge-point is clipped into a trough that runs across the rear of the elevator planes. This is in turn glued into the rear fuselage, into the slot in the same manner as the actual aircraft was constructed. The missing lower fuselage panels are then added as a single part, boxing in the bay and leaving an oval(ish) hole through which the tail wheel deploys. Three clear recognition lights are clued into depressions in the fuselage sides, after the depressions have been painted silver to simulate the reflectors. Another hatch in the side of the fuselage covers up its aperture, leaving scope for aftermarket providers to create a set to show off what is inside. The final act before bringing the fuselage halves together is to add the bulkhead and rear end of the bomb bay to the aft fuselage, before the two halves are glued together, with tabs and pins providing clear guidance for correct location. My example was a little tight on the top pin however, so you may want to check yours and ream it out a little to ease fit, without making it so sloppy that it doesn't do its job. The tail and rudder are moulded as one part each, with a blanking piece added to each before you set them to whatever angle you choose. They then fit to the fuselage, and a small blister is placed on a lug on the starboard side to give the actuators room to pivot on the real thing. Finally, a pair of small formation lights on a base fit to the very end of the fuselage. The detail on the fuselage sides is faithful to the original, with no panel lines, just very faintly raised tape marks where the joint between wooden panels have been filled and covered before doping. This also extends to the other major external parts that were constructed using wood, which is almost everything but the engine cowlings where metal was favoured both for strength and its heat resistance. The engine nacelles are then constructed around the substantial twin struts of the gear legs, which have the main retraction jacks held between their halves to give them extra strength, as well as the anti-fouling bars at the bottom of the legs that prevent the gear bay doors from catching on the struts as they rotate. The wheels are built from two part tyres with a circumferential seam across the tyre's tread-blocks to fix, although this isn't likely to be as difficult as it sounds. The hubs are separate parts, and slot into keyed depressions in their respective positions, after which they are trapped between the stub-axles when the two legs are brought together and held there by a top bar and cross-brace, with the mudguard added later. The short bulkhead to which the M-shaped brace attach is added next, and the big tank that is so evident at the top of each leg is installed before it is attached to the bay roof. The nacelle sides are added next with a couple of small parts including bulkhead and strut parts, added to each side before they enclose the upper leg within. There are quite a number of ejector pin marks in these parts, which will need addressing, but they are raised, so no filler will be needed. This build process is repeated for the other leg, after which the Merlin engines are built up using eighteen parts to produce good detail, plus an additional four parts for the five-stack exhausts, and another four for the engine bearers. Add in some wiring and hoses, and you will have a good looking pair of engines to show off later. They are added to the front of the engine nacelles, with the remaining cowlings built up later for installation or otherwise once the wings are completed. The wings are already substantially complete due to the clever moulding techniques used, and after drilling some holes for the optional slipper tanks, for which a measuring guide is included, the rear is closed up by adding the slim bay walls to the flaps and ailerons, as well as the upper cowling for the engine bays. Small inserts are added to the lower wing trailing edges as the basis for the hinges for the flying surfaces, and the upper section of the bomb bay is added from a single part that depicts the twin fuel tanks that take up the remainder of the height within the wing spar box. As mentioned earlier, the flaps and ailerons are hollow moulded as one part each, with the flaps linked by a moulded-in hinge. Their leading edges are closed with aerodynamic profiles, as are the ailerons, after which they are added to the trailing edges of the wings and small hinge-fairings are added on the underside. The wingtips are separate hollow moulded parts into which the forward and rear-facing formation lights are added, with clear green and red paint used on the correct sides. At this point the engine nacelles are glued to the slots on the underside of the wings, and the lower cowling with PE intake mesh is added to leave only the sides uncovered. You can choose to cover up those Merlin engines completely, or leave some or all uncovered to show off your work, although you will need to thin the cowling panels and detail them, as there is none inside. You can also install flame-suppressor covers for the exhausts if you choose, as well as the optional two-part slipper tanks for long-range missions. Adding the props and their spinners is probably not wise if you're clumsy like me, but the prop is a single part, with three tapered blades moulded in, and if you're interested there is a set of three-bladed paddle props included for your convenience. On the top of the wing you will build the last part of the cockpit, so if you remember to make that up before you put away the interior grey-green, you'll be much happier. You might also consider adding the snaking wires that are present on that section of the deck, leading to and from the radio set, but aren't present in the kit parts. The rear bulkhead and radio gear with colourful dials sit behind the co-pilot eventually when the wing is installed, but check how the parts mate up to ensure a good fit before you proceed. The fuselage and wings are mated in the same way as the original 1:1 aircraft, with the fuselage lowered onto the full-width wings, only in our case it'll be held together with model glue, not wood glue, bolts and so forth. Rather than work in a fiddly closed-in bomb bay, the sides are left off until after the bay door actuators and your choice of bomb-load has been made. Let's talk about bombs for a minute, eh? In the box you have a quartet of four short-tailed 500lb bombs that are carried on a rack affixed to the roof of the bomb bay, which would all fit comfortably in the standard bomb bay, with streamlined doors that match the profile of the fuselage. This is the Series II that is mentioned on the box – the Series I carrying four 250lb bombs with room to spare. Your other option is the later 4,000lb Cookie bomb (as it became known), which required a bulged bomb bay that gave the aircraft a slightly pregnant look. Both options are available to you, requiring a different fit of door actuators, different bay doors, and for the Cookie, a fairing fore and aft of the bay doors to smooth the airflow. The bay sides remain the same for both versions, but the bomb rack used for suspending the four three-part 500lb bombs is discarded along with the bombs to be replaced by two separate pegs that project from the top surface of the two-part Cookie bomb canister, requiring you to drill holes of approximately 2.5mm in diameter. Seeing the Cookie in place makes you realise just how powerful the Mossie was in order to carry this thin-cased tube of destruction. Another testament to the de Havilland design team. The gear bay doors are all single parts with moulded-in hinges that locate in depressions on the inside lips of the bays, while the bomb bay doors attach to the fuselage mounted hinges in the same way. Part of the Mosquito's speed was derived from her sleek streamlined appearance, which included burying the radiators within the leading edge of the inner wing, with the air ducted through the cores and out under the wing. The cores fit to the lower wing inserts and have the flap controlling their airflow attached to the rear, with the option of posing them in the open position if you wish. The bomber variant had the crew door on the lower nose due to the lack of cannon bays in the same area, so the crew could enter using a ladder from below. This door is provided separately with two hinges, a clear port-hole and grab-handle on the inside. This can be posed open, but it isn't made clear whether the inner hatch should be left open, and I'm afraid I don't know the answer to this one. Stowed or hinged, and if hinged, which side? It's such a long time since I built my 1:48 Tamiya Highball conversion, I cannot remember. Pop the aerial on top of the fuselage like a candle on a cake, and you're done. Crew Figures – Limited Edition The limited edition crew figures are a good reason to stock up your big Mossie pile early, and this in turn will help secure the release of additional variants, so take heed and get buying! The figures are further protected by a Ziplok bag inside their outer bag, and they are very nicely done. Each pilot is on his own pour block, attached by some rather 70s looking blocks on the soles of his feet. The helmeted pilot has separate arm and hand parts on another smaller moulding block, which fit very well to their intended locations. Glue them with super-glue or epoxy, and it's unlikely you will need to do any seam hiding. My only minor complaint is the size of the bare-headed chap's quiff. It is rather long, and sticking out horizontally as if he is in a stiff breeze. It may be hair envy, but it seems a little exaggerated from some angles, however it is easily trimmed back with the aid of a good hairdresser (or a scalpel). Having handled these figures for a while during the review process, it struck me that they looked a little on the tall side, and after measuring, the helmeted figure scales out at 6', while the chap with the quiff is around 6'5". It would have been very crowded in the confines of the cockpit with those two at the controls, and this is one reason why smaller navigators were preferred. There were of course some tall Mossie pilots, such as Group Captain Pickard who was 6'4", known best for the famous Jericho raid where he lost his life. Markings You are presented with three markings options in the box, each of which is depicted in greyscale over two pages, with colours called out using letters, and decals numbered. There is also a double-page stencil layout diagram that is common to all markings choices. From the box you can build one of the following: DK296, No.305 FTU, Errol, Autumn 1943 – Grey/green camouflage with low demarcation over ocean grey undersides. Roundels painted out and red stars in their place. DZ637 P3-C No.692 Squadron, Graveley, Spring 1944 – Grey/green camouflage with high demarcation over night (black) undersides. DZ627 AZ-X No.627 Squadron, Woodhall Spa, Summer 1944 – Grey/green camouflage with medium demarcation over ocean grey undersides. Black/white invasion stripes on the lower surfaces of the fuselage and wings. The decals are printed by Cartograf, so you can rest assured that register, sharpness and colour density are all up to snuff, and the inclusion of all the stencils is good to see. It would have been nice to see a little more information about the decal options, especially the red star bedecked Mossie, which was actually used in the Soviet Union for tests until it was damaged in a heavy landing, after which it was written off, and for the geographically challenged like myself, a country would have been helpful. The large "Keep Off" warning rectangles that are applied over the radiator have their inner areas covered with carrier film to include the writing, when it would have been better to remove the carrier in the blank areas and add the lettering separately to reduce the likelihood of silvering on a conspicuous area. If you have a sharp scalpel and a steady hand however, you can remove these yourself, and not worry about it. Conclusion This is a welcome kit in the 1:32 scale world, as well as being eagerly awaited by yours truly. Overall the detail is excellent, but the advanced (read anal) modeller will probably look at areas where the detail has been slightly simplified and wish that separate parts had been used, for example in the cockpit sidewalls there are a few controls that are moulded-in and as such their detail is a bit soft. This will undoubtedly be addressed by the aftermarket fraternity, although you could well argue that little will actually be seen once the cockpit is inside the fuselage. These minor niggles aside it is tour-de-force of injection moulding technology, and consigns the Revell/Lodela kit of yore to the recycling bin, or the museum if you prefer. I'm looking forward to other variants and trying not to think about where I'm going to put them. Very highly recommended, and available now from all good model shops. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for

North American B-25H Mitchell 1:32 HK Models History The B-25G (NA-96) was the first version of the Mitchell to introduce the 75-mm cannon. It was intended for use in anti-shipping strikes in the South Pacific. In the B-25G, a standard 75mm Army M4 cannon was mounted to fire forward through the nose. This gun was a revision of the famous French 75 of World War I. The basic concept had been found to be feasible via a series of experiments on a converted Douglas B-18A Bolo. However, since the effects of the heavy muzzle blast on the nose structure of the Mitchell were unknown, a complete forward fuselage section was built and trucked to a secret area in California where firing tests could be conducted out of the way of prying eyes. Guided by these tests, the structure was progressively strengthened until full resistance to prolonged firing of 75mm rounds could be demonstrated. B-25C-1 serial number 41-13296 was modified as the XB-25G prototype. It was fitted with a 75mm M4 cannon which was 9 feet 6 inches long. The bombardier-equipped transparent nose was replaced with a shortened armoured solid nose that reduced overall length to 51 feet. The cannon was mounted in a cradle in the lower left-hand side of the nose. The cradle extended underneath the pilot's seat and a spring mechanism formed part of the gun mounting to take up the 21-inch recoil. The B-25H was an improved version of the B-25G. The fixed nose armament was increased to four nose-mounted .50-cal. machine guns and four more .50-cal. machine guns in fuselage mounted pods. The cannon was changed from the G models M4 to the lighter T13E1. The top turret was moved to the forward fuselage and the lower turret was removed and replaced by a single .50-cal. machine gun in each of the two waist positions. A tail turret housing a pair of .50-cal. machine guns was added bringing the firepower total to 14 .50-cal. machine guns plus the 75mm cannon. The aircraft could also carry up to 3,200 pounds of bombs. The prototype H model was modified from a block 10 B-25C and first flew in May 1943. This aircraft had improved Wright R-2600-20 radial engines, but all production aircraft were completed with the standard Wright R-2600-13 radials used on all B-25s since the -C model. The first of 1,000 production B-25Hs first flight was on July 31, 1943. The five-man crew consisted of the pilot, navigator-cannoneer-radioman, flight engineer-top turret gunner, waist gunner-camera operator and tail gunner. Three of five crew members had multiple jobs; there was no co-pilot or bombardier and only one waist gunner. The last H model built was covered with the signatures of the North American Aviation factory workers and nicknamed "Bones." The aircraft remained this way throughout its combat life while assigned to the 12th Bomb Group in the China-Burma-India Theatre. The Model Since this is the third iteration of the B-25 from HK Models most modellers will be used to the size of these kits. For those who aren’t familiar with them then it should be noted that this kit is big and it comes in a big box. Lifting off the box top, with its dramatic artists impression of the aircraft on a strafing run, reveals the actual box with its tabbed flap which when pulled out allow the lid to be folded open. Finally the model is revealed in all its sizable glory, well packed with the more fragile parts protected in a separate compartment. I may have mentioned how big this kit is, well it seems to be mirrored in the size of the instruction booklet, which is almost A3. Construction begins with the assembly of the interior details, building up the upper turret and tail gun mounts, with some very well moulded .50cal breeches that have slide-moulded slots in the front of the breech to facilitate adding the barrels later in the build which will be very handy. It’s then onto the cockpit assembly, in which the detail is superb. The central control panel is festooned with knobs and levers, all of which are separate, with the pilot and co-pilot's seats being placed on their bases, with a pair of lightening holes in the bottom, and bracing detail added to the rear. There are a couple of ejector pin marks on the backs of the seat that you may want to deal with if you think they'll be seen once the rear bulkhead is in place. A full set of PE seatbelts are included, although their positioning in the instructions looks a little posed, so you might want to alter them to add your personal touch. The twin control columns have separate yokes, which you can pose angled to one side if you're planning on offsetting the controls. The cockpit is finished later with the addition of the rear bulkhead, and the multi-part instrument panel, which has quite an interesting approach to achieving a realistic set of instruments. The main panel has lots of cut-outs for the dials, and a flat backing part affixes behind it. There is a decal that you can apply to the backing part, which should then line up all the instrument faces with their corresponding holes once installed. That also allows you to paint the instrument panel without worry about making a mess of the dials. Just leave them out until the job is done. The next section of the build deals with the bombs and their racks. There are parts for six bombs included, with the main body built up from two halves, as are the rear stabilising fins. Before joining the two, a small and nicely detailed arming vane is added, which improves the realism somewhat. Detail on the fins is nice, because of slide-moulding again, allowing rivet detail to be added where it wouldn't otherwise be possible with traditional moulding. Each trio of bombs attaches to a highly detailed ladder style rack with two pins, which in turn affixes to the inside skin of the bomb bay, along with a few additional detail parts to busy the area up. The bay roof and some really nicely detailed bulkheads finish off the assembly along with a few PE parts, resulting in a really well appointed bomb bay. This is set aside for a few steps while the interior of the fuselage is decked out. The fuselage halves are rather large, and as well as all that detail on the outer surface, there is moulded in cockpit detail in the forward part, and lots of strengthening ribs throughout the rear of the fuselage. It appears that the central portion of the fuselage away from the bomb bay has been left rather bland in order to keep the retail price down, but this area can be completed by the fervent scratch builder, and there are bound to be aftermarket sets released to improve this area. Some boxes adorn the cockpit area on each side, and the waist stations with their .50cal guns and ammo feed chutes are supplied, as well as the ammo boxes. These parts are very nicely moulded, and thankfully the detail will be seen through the window once construction is completed. Before the cheek gun packs can be fitted, their affixing holes need to be drilled out. In order to finally close the fuselage, the cockpit area, with the nose gear leg attached to the underside, the upper turret mechanism, the bomb bay and the rear gunner's position all have to be placed in one fuselage half, and a staggering 80 grams of nose weight to ensure that she doesn't sit on her tail once she's done. Having read a few build logs, it seems that this may not be enough as the balance is still pretty fine, so you may want to try and fit more weight wherever possible. The completion of the rear-gunner's position includes the long lines of ammo that feed from the rear, and a little stool for the gunner to perch on during the active part of the mission. The large H-tail is next, which spans the full length, and incorporates the top of the rear fuselage, including the conical bulge to accommodate the rear gunner. The rudder parts attach using traditional slots and tabs, and the rudders and elevators can be left unglued if you wish but would probably be best glued into the position of your choice, just don’t forget to check how you have the cockpit controls set. Separate trim tab actuators are included to add detail to this area, and once complete it is installed on the top of the rear fuselage along with the glazing and the rear gun's flexible mounting cover. Moving forward, the cockpit glazing is installed here too, and a choice of both the nicely detailed turret interior and glazing for the upper turret, or the blanking plate is made. Aft of the turret there are a pair of bullet fairings, and a choice can be made as to which type to use based upon your references. The next step is to add all of the bay doors and fairings to the underside of the fuselage, but some of this is probably best left off until near the finish of the build. The bomb bay doors are nicely portrayed, with an inner skin perforated with lightening holes sitting within each door to add depth and interest. If you're closing the bomb bay doors, the un-skinned outers are used to cover the area. The crew access ladders can be posed open or closed, although if choosing to leave them open, it invites the viewer to peer inside, which might expose the slightly barren interior. The wings have a full set of poseable flying surfaces, with spoilers and actuator rams includes, which gives plenty of options for posing them at an appropriate angle, as if the crew have just switched off and left the aircraft after a long mission. The leading edge of the wing has a landing light and intake installed, with a clear cover for the landing light that will need careful gluing to avoid fogging of the crystal clear part. The engines are a model in their own right, and are made up of a large number of parts. To do them justice, you'll need to research the colour of each part, as it would be a sin not to paint them well. The Wright R-2600 Cyclones are radial engines, and all 14 pistons are depicted in a very crisp moulding with separate push-rod covers for each one. Once both banks of cylinders are installer, the exhaust manifold and wiring looms are installed, then the aforementioned push-rod covers, where you'll have to be careful to get them correctly oriented. The whole engine then slots inside the skeletal cowling, to which the cowling front is added, and then the individual exhaust stacks are fitted, some of which projected the thunder of the engine into the fuselage, deafening many a crew member. The cowling panels are then installed, again in a specific pattern, and then the props are added, which are supplied as separate blades that glue into a 2-part central boss. The blades are keyed, which is good news, so construction will be fairly straight forward. I'd leave these off until later however, in case you break them during handling. The engine nacelles are next, and they were of a clean design, being very streamlined, even when the gear was down. This is a really odd construction step, which would have you install the landing gear strut directly into a slot in the underside of the wing, and then build up the nacelle, after which the two are brought together in a rotating manner, to enable the strut to pass through the small opening in the nacelle. The larger doors that open during the landing gear cycle are moulded closed, which shouldn't be an issue as it both saves fiddling trying to get the doors on closed, and also saved HK Models from having to detail the wheel bay that would most likely rarely be seen. The small doors are supplied separately, and have nice strengthening detail on the inside skin, and a scale thickness edge to add realism. The sprue gates have been cleverly placed inboard of the thin edge on a flat area of the panel, so that it can be easily be removed without marring the delicate edge of the part. Although adding the landing gear before painting is a little odd in my limited experience, the fact that the parts are sufficiently large to mask properly without risk of breakage makes sense, and also gives you something to perch the model on during painting without scuffing the fresh paintwork. The wheels are provided as halves, with nicely defined diamond tread patterns, which with careful gluing and alignment should survive the seam clean-up process. The main wheels have two inner hub parts that can be seen behind the outer hubs that are moulded into the tyres, and a central boss is applied to the outer hub face. The nose gear wheel is made up from two parts with the hubs moulded in, and an outer hub-cap is added to the assembly once glued together. The wheels should be put to one side until painting has been completed as it will save any further masking. The wings attach to the fuselage by mating with a large stub spar that is moulded into the fuselage sides, before completing the join you have to capture the inner flap section in its pivot points so that it can remain poseable once installed. The joints should be very strong, but I would be tempted to brace the fuselage sides against splitting the fuselage seam under the constant weight of the wings by inserting some rod between the two halves. This might not be necessary as the bomb bay may add sufficient strength to the area, so I would leave any decision until you're at that point of the build. The nose area of the B-25H is not only shorter than a standard B-25; it is also filled with machine guns not to mention the big cannon. The lower section of the nose is fitted with the .50cal gun shelf, followed by the four gun breeches. Above the breeches another shelf is attached and fitted with the ammunition boxes for each gun, with each box attached to the breech by an ammunition belt. Now, the ammunition belts are assembled out of upper and lower halves to enable HK to mould them with the correct shape to fit between the guns and boxes. The upper nose section is fitted with an inner skin which, like the bomb bay doors is nicely detailed with the ribs and stringers. The upper nose can be posed open with the use of two struts should the modeller choose to do so. Before fitting to the front fuselage the cannon muzzle is attached from the inside and an HF aerial mast, with added light fitting is attached to the port underside, just aft of the cannon orifice. There is another HF aerial mast fitted on the underside of the fuselage just aft of the cockpit and two aerial wires will need to be manufactured to fit between each mast. With the nose fitted to the fuselage it’s just a matter of attaching any machine gun barrels left off during the build along with the wheels and the attachment of any further aerial wires. Decals As with the other B-25 kits there are only decals supplied for one aircraft, in Olive Drab over Neutral Grey, and sporting a large gaping mouth emblem, with separate eyes on the nose. The decal sheet is quite small for the size of the kit, and contains only national markings, unit and tail code markings, plus prop markings and two styles of instrument panel decal. Printed by HK Models themselves the decals look to be well printed, in good register and colour density. The only visible carrier film is seen on the tail code numbers, but since it’s not particularly thick it should settle down well on a good gloss coat of Klear or Alclad Gloss. Conclusion I just love these kits and once I get some space at least one will be built. But this is the one I’ve been waiting for, as I’ve always been fascinated with the fitting of large calibre guns to aircraft and it was the B-25H that introduced me to this idea. The kit is a bit of a compromise between detail and cost, but it does give the modeller the choice on whether to build as is, or heap loads more detail on it, especially in the fuselage interior which could certainly do with it. The aftermarket companies have already paid attention to the two earlier releases, with lots of lovely etch and resin, most of which will be just as relevant to this release. I hear there is also a conversion set coming out to enable the modeller to produce a PBJ-1H which would look great. Very highly recommended. The kit can be bought worldwide online, and in the UK from Hannants. Review sample is courtesy of

Gloster Meteor F.4 detail Sets Eduard 1:32 The HK Models Gloster Meteor kit is a bit of a mixed bag, lovely mouldings, but not that much detail as mentioned in the review HERE. There are already some nice resin sets produced for the kit, and now Eduard have released three sets of relief etched brass which should go a long way to helping build a great looking and detailed model. Interior Set (32804) Contained on two sheets of relief etched brass, both of similar size, one is unpainted whereas the other one is not only pre-painted but self adhesive as well. The unpainted sheet contains items such as the a complete replacement seat, with additional side plate detail, a new map pouch with strap, a cable run for the starboard side, new and replacement fittings for the cockpit rear bulkhead and additional fittings not included in the kit. There is also an internal windscreen surround complete with cockpit ledge facings. The pre-painted sheet provides the modeller with a variety of coloured knobs and levers, new auxiliary instrument panels, plus replacement dials for the side panels. The main instrument panel are also pre-painted complete with the instrument faces on the backplate. A little dab of aqua clear will give them the appearance of glass fronts. Although not painted, the useful addition of the pilots rudder pedals, complete with separate straps are also included on this sheet. The most obvious are in the kit that is in dire need of detailing is the prominent gun sight. This receives quite a lot of new parts, including front control panel, sight glass holders, projector holes and the all important clear acetate glass. Interior Zoom Set (33139) This zoom set contains only the above pre-painted sheet and allows the modeller to build a well detailed cockpit without the hassle of getting bogged down with detail that might otherwise be deemed superfluous. External Set (32358) This single sheet set concentrates mostly on the flaps, with completely new flap bays and flaps, with all the associated ribbing and supports included. This will require a bit of surgery to remove the kits flaps bays, plus a lot of patience in building the parts up rib by rib, but it will be well worth it. There is also quite a bit of new detail for the main undercarriage bays, including new ribs, spars and internal panels. The rest of the sheet provides new panels for the lower wings and the large central fuel tank, plus replacement canopy rails and gun port muzzles. Seatbelts (32816) This small fret of brass comes pre-painted for the most part, but with unpainted clasps, buckles etc. Whilst fiddly to make, it will give the cockpit a real boost as there aren’t even moulded belts on the kit seat, so if you buy only one set this should be it. Conclusion Having recently reviewed the HK Models Meteor I would say these sets are a must have, unless of course you’re going the full resin path. Excellently produced as usual you can’t really go wrong with them as long as you take your time and a little bit of care in the folding and fitting, particularly on the flaps and their bays. Highly recommended Review sample courtesy of

Gloster Meteor F.4 1:32 HK Models History The Gloster Meteor was the first British 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. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. Nicknamed the "Meatbox", the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in terms of its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated 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. The Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) provided a significant contribution in the Korean War. Several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in photo-reconnaissance and as night fighters. The next major change was the Meteor F.4 that went into production in 1946, by which time there were 16 RAF squadrons equipped with Meteors. The first F.4 prototype flew on 17 May 1945. The F.4 had the Rolls-Royce Derwent 5 engines (a smaller version of the Nene), wings 86.4 cm shorter than the F.3's and with blunter tips (derived from the world speed record prototypes), a stronger airframe, fully pressurized cockpit, lighter ailerons (to improve manoeuvrability), and rudder trim adjustments to reduce snaking. The F.4 could also be fitted with a drop tank under each wing while experiments were performed with carriage of underwing stores and also in lengthened fuselage models. The F.4 was 170 mph (270 km/h) faster than the F.1 at sea level (585 against 415), although the reduced wings impaired its rate of climb. Because of the increased demand, F.4 production was divided between Gloster and the Armstrong Whitworth factory at Baginton. The majority of early F.4s did not go directly to the RAF: 100 were exported to Argentina (and saw action on both sides in the 1955 revolution, one being lost on 19 September 1955) while in 1947, only RAF Nos. 74 and 222 Squadrons were fully equipped with the F.4. Nine further RAF squadrons were upgraded over 1948. From 1948, 38 F.4s were exported to the Dutch, equipping four squadrons (322, 323, 326 and 327) split between bases in Soesterberg and Leeuwarden until the mid-1950s. In 1949, only two RAF squadrons were converted to the F.4, Belgium was sold 48 aircraft in the same year (going to 349 and 350 Squadrons at Beauvechain) and Denmark received 20 over 1949–50. In 1950, three more RAF squadrons were upgraded, including No. 616 and, in 1951, six more. In 1950, a single order of 20 F.4s was delivered to Egypt. The Model Whilst this kit has been out for a little while, this is the first opportunity we’ve had to review one. The Meteor is a historically important aircraft, particularly to the RAF and as such it is great to see one at last in this scale. The moderately sized box with a fine artists impression of the aircraft in flight on the front isn’t exactly bulging with parts when the lid is lifted off. The parts contained on the three large medium grey sprues are well moulded though, with fine engraved panel lines and riveted areas. There is no sign of flash of imperfections on the review sample and not too many moulding pips, making the clean-up of parts pretty simple. There has been much discussion on the forums about the accuracy and from what I can glean is that the engine intakes are not the correct size, sitting somewhere in-between the narrow and wide intakes that were used on the Meteors. Fortunately there are already aftermarket items available from the likes of Fisher Models, but considering the amount of work done in designing the kit, it would be been preferable to have the correct intakes from the start. That said I’m sure there are a lot of modellers who will build the kit without even noticing the error. The rest of the kit appears to be pretty accurate and I haven’t seen anything to state otherwise. The large instruction booklet is nicely printed and the diagrams would be very clear if they weren’t printed so faintly, making them rather difficult to read properly. It might just be my example, but I’m just glad it isn’t a more complex kit. The build begins, naturally with the cockpit. Now, I’m not familiar with the differences between the various marks of Meteor cockpit, but it seems to me that there should be more “clutter”, certainly after looking at photos online. As nice as the mouldings are and the detail contained on them, British cockpits of the era always seemed to be rather cramped and full of equipment. The throttles are indistinct and the whole area is lacking that certain something that, in this scale is not something even the least discerning modeller would want. Back to the build, the cockpit floor, complete with nose wheel well is fitted with the rear bulkhead, seat, (sans belts), joystick, instrument panel and footboards with rudder bar. To this, the port and starboard cockpit sides are attached, creating a sturdy tub. This is then fitted to one half of the fuselage along with the nose weight thoughtfully provided. Before closing the fuselage up there are several holes that need to be opened up and the nose mounted machine gun barrels glued into the rear of the troughs. The two halves of the rudder are joined together and slotted into position so that it is sandwiched between the fuselage halves. With the fuselage closed up the various aerials can be added, along with the rudder trim tab, extreme nose, upper nose panel and canopy rails. The prominent gunsight is another area that will need detailing, especially the removal of the grey styrene sight glass to be replaced with a clear part. This is another area which is rather strange, given the scale of this kit. The three sections to the canopy are now fitted, with the centre section posed in either the open of closed position. The clear parts are very clear and well moulded, with the exception of the windscreen, which, on this example has a slight ridge, like a very flattened V on the main screen panel, which should of course be flat. It’s barely noticeable and can only be seen at certain angles, but it is there. Before the wing halves can be fitted together the three piece ailerons need to be assembled, each consisting of upper and lower halves and a trim tab. The engine fronts that fit behind the large splitter wedges look more like bulkheads, although once assembled you won’t see too much down there they could do with some extra detailing. With the engine parts and ailerons in position the two upper sections of the wing can be attached to the single piece lower section. The separate flaps can then be attached either in the extended or retracted positions. If the large ventral fuel tank is to be used, the attachment holes will need to be drilled out. Since the model does not come with either engine provided the separate access panels can be glued shut. Alternatively you can now buy an aftermarket set from Profimodeller which includes a very detailed engine, framework, etched brass panels, intake and exhaust, should you wish to give your model the works. The other option is find an old Matchbox 1:32 Sea Venom and nick the engine out of that, it may not be the correct type, but with a little bit of detailing it will look the part. With the wings assembled the intake rings and exhaust nozzles are fitted. The wing can now be joined to the fuselage. The horizontal tailplane is now assembled. Each of the fixed and moving surfaces comes in upper and lower halves with the elevators also having separate trim tabs. With each side assembled they are fitted to their respective positions on the vertical tailplane. These are followed by the four airbrakes fitted above and below the wing between the nacelles and fuselage, which can be posed extended or retracted with a bit of surgery required, and shown in a sketch in the instructions. If the undercarriage is to be displayed in the lowered condition the door retraction arms need to be fitted into the main bays first. Each undercarriage leg comes in two halves, as do the wheels. With the wheels joined together they are sandwiched between the yokes and mudguards of the oleo. Single piece wheels would have been nicer or even single piece tyres with separate hubs, but there you go. There has been some debate about the main wheels, but from pictures seen during the research for this review they appear to be correct. With the undercarriage assembled they are fitted into position, followed by the nose and main undercarriage doors. If the undercarriage is to be posed retracted, then you will need to remove the tabs on each door and glue into place. Decals The decal sheet provides markings for two examples. Meteor F.4 of 600 “City of London” Squadron RAuxAF 1951 Meteor F.4 C_027 ex-EE527. Now housed at the Museo Regional Interfuerzas, Santa Romana, San Luis. It is, apparently, the oldest Meteor airframe surviving anywhere Printed by HK Models themselves the decals look to be well printed, in good register and colour density. Don’t worry about the roundels for the fuselage sides, which are a completely different blue, being a lot lighter than the wings, although the wing roundels do seem a little dark. The Argentine scheme is rather colourful and would certainly stand out from the crowd. The rest of the sheet contains the few stencils and walkways. The only visible carrier film is seen on the code letters for both machines but since it’s not particularly thick it should sttle down well on a good gloss coat of Klear or Alclad Gloss. Conclusion Whilst the kit is a reasonable size, there aren’t that many parts, which would make this a pretty good kit for someone moving up to this scale, although the price might put them off a bit unless they really wanted a big Meteor. That said, there are some good deals around. The trouble is, it’s like HK Models rushed this into production before all the finer details had been completed as it really could have been a stunner with more time and care taken in its design. What it does give you though, is a great blank canvas to detail it to whatever standard you wish. There are also some juicy aftermarket sets being released if you wish to build an F.8, which most forum members would have preferred. Oh! In some of the first released boxes there is a 1:144 mini Meteor desk model, which is a rather odd inclusion, especially as you will need to source some decals for it. Recommended with the provisos mentioned above. The kit can be bought worldwide online, and in the UK from Hannants. Review sample is courtesy of

First off, need to make some qualifications to the above. 1. I am not a Meteor expert and cannot really tell whether or not this kit is accurate, fairly accurate, missed the mark or the dreaded "unbuildable". 2. It appears the kit will be quite buildable and after dry fitting parts seems well engineered. 3. My initial opinion is this is a nice kit. So, what is up with my post? Within the span of 2 weeks I have received 3 kits from HK Models. (Yes, I know I have an addiction and a problem, but they were all so pretty and they called out to me.) The first kit I received was the 1/32 B-17. Then about 4 days later I received the 1/32 Meteor. Today I just received the 1/32 B-25H gunship. Being the unabashed kit fancier I am, I had to open each to go over the instructions, gaze at the decals and fondle the actual plastic. It seems as if the Meteor is the red headed step child that no one wants and loves out of these 3. The parts count for the Meteor is substantially lower than the other two kits, the decals are really not up to snuff and the detail is not even in the same ball park. I just feel a bit let down with the Meteor and I do not know if it is because the other two kits are just substantially better and the three shouldn't be compared; HK just didn't put forth the same effort on this kit as the other two; or, if the other two kits did not exist, would i think this is a great kit? What should be the verdict on this kit? Should I not compare it to the other two? Just am wondering if anyone else feels the same way; that it is a nice kit, but shouldn't there be more to it?

HK Models 1/32nd scale Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress This model represents ‘Skipper’; a Douglas-built B-17G 42-238129 assigned to the 367th Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, based at Thurleigh. This aircraft was one of 234 built by Douglas that had both staggered waist gun positions as well as the factory-fitted Cheyenne tail turret, and were delivered in camouflage finish. This particular aircraft entered service on 25th February 1944, and was still on strength with the 306th on VE-Day. The replacement natural metal starboard stabiliser, fin centre-section, both elevators and tail turret were necessary after the bomber was rammed from behind in a taxiing accident at Thurleigh in November 1944. After repair, ‘Skipper’ went on to complete over 100 missions. After hostilities ended, this veteran was transferred to the 398th BG at Nuthampsted on 28th May 1945, before flying back ‘across the pond’ in January 1945 where it resided at Kingman before succumbing to scrap man’s torch on 28th December of the same year. This model has been built more or less out of the box, with only very minor additions. I made the small 'ice windows' on the pilots' windscreens from careful masking and Archer rivets. Aftermarket seat-belts came from Eduard, and a few additional details were added here and there from Evergreen strip where I felt them necessary, such as under the flightdeck floor. I used Eduard’s exterior set which provided some vents and grills omitted by HK, as well as more detailed fuel filler caps. I didn’t use any interior sets, as I felt that the kit parts were perfectly adequate when painted up, and Eduard have used ‘standard’ US interior green on components rather than ‘bronze green’ used on the B-17. I sprayed on the bomb group markings myself, and used the kit decals for the ‘stars and bars’ etc. The ‘Skipper’ name was printed for me, and I used KitWorld’s excellent stencil set. All paints were from Hannants’ Xtracolour range. All in all a very straightforward and enjoyable build… although it’s an expensive model, if you’re a fan of the B-17 it’s a ‘must have’ kit. Was it worth the money? Roll on the B-17F version would be my answer to that! More detail pictures to follow...

Hi , Just a note to let you know we've got our corrected long-chord intakes for the 1/32 HK Meteor kit ready to go,and the Meteor F.8 conversion will be ready shortly.More to come, please visit us at fishermodels.com for more. Thanks and Happy New Year to all at Britmodeller ! Paul Fisher

I resisted for as long as possible, but upon entering Hannant's warehouse earlier this week I couldn't hold out any longer... for a B-17 nut seeing a pile of the new HK Models' 1/32nd scale kit resistance was futile After all, my 1/32nd B-29 needs some company... Obligatory box shots: I plan to build this pretty much out of the box, with the only enhancements being good old fashioned plastic card and some imagination. Also, after forking out £200+ for a kit, my wallet (or my wife's patience) won't stretch much further - especially when seeing the price of the aftermarket goodies. Although the colour scheme provided in the kit is attractive (the 447th Bomb Group's "Milk Wagon" with the bright yellow tail feathers of the 3rd Combat Wing) I don't fancy natural metal so I am going to do an olive drab over neutral grey aircraft from the 306th Bomb Group based at Thurleigh towards the end of the war. "You can't build a camouflaged B-17 from this kit" I hear you say... well all will be revealed as the build progresses. I'm a teacher on half term next week so stay tuned for some regular updates. I can't wait to get cracking on what seems to be a stunning kit of my favourite aircraft. Tom

Hong Kong Models 1:32 Avro Lancaster MKIII, Catalog # 01E06 My first posting so hope it is of interest to some and in the right place! Here in the USA, Internet Hobbies has the big Lanc on site for advance order at 285 USD with delivery date of November 2013...http://www.internethobbies.com/hkmo1avlamki.html I checked with them and they confirmed the November date. They estimate 15 USD for shipping to me in MA (based on shipping cost of the HK 1:32 B17). I am thinking to recreate the BBMF in 1:32, probably not an original idea, but I visited the flight's hangar in Coningsby in August and it was just so inspiring! With HK Models I found the Lanc - now I need to find some decent spits and hurris in 1:32. The Sptfire PR XIX will be a challenge!

B-17G Updates (for HK Models) 1:32 Eduard HK Models have done a fine job of their new Boeing B-17G kit, and out of the box it's a sight to behold. As I often say though, there's always room for improvement, by using mediums that are more appropriate to the task in hand and that give a better result. These mediums are Photo-Etch (PE) brass, and resin, both of which Eduard excel at now they have their Brassin range of high-quality resin upgrades. These sets are for the dedicated modeller that wants to spend the time and money on improving the level of detail to greater heights than achievable with injection moulded styrene. Today we have the immense Flap set, Engine set, Undercarriage Bay set, and the Brassin wheel set, which is pretty incredible value if the price I've seen online is correct. Flap Set (32337) This arrives in a large flat-packed back containing two sheets of PE measuring 26cm x 20.5cm each, and I have one criticism. The weight of the brass in the bag requires a little better protection than bag and card, because in the event of a corner impact, the PE will buckle, just like my set did. Fortunately, no damage has been done to the parts, but it is a definite issue with larger sets that needs addressing to avoid disappointed customers and additional costs for Eduard in having to replace damaged sets. Moaning aside, these are among some of the largest PE sheets I've seen, and certainly the largest parts I've seen. Don't be too overcome by their size though - all you'll need is a method of folding longer parts, and you'll be ok. The set doesn't look to be too taxing beyond avoiding damaging the large parts during handling. The kit doesn't need too much preparation either, as the flaps are already separate on the wing lowers, so only the oversize hinge parts are surplus to requirements. The flap bay has moulded in ribs, which must be removed and the trailing edge thinned down as much as possible. The bay is then skinned with a single part that has plenty of detail etched in already, and that is augmented by the large number of PE ribs that are double-sided for additional thickness and detail. Actuators and rams are added, and you'll need some of your own 1mm rod to finish the job, as well as some lengths of 3.2mm rod later on. Spanwise ribbing is added using additional parts, with extra parts laid to the sides of the main ribs to give them an L-shaped profile. The flaps are made up from an outer skin that has extra detail etched into both sides, which is folded, or rather curved, to create the leading edge of the flap, supported by a large number of curved formers with a convex trailing edge that butts up against a length of 3.2mm rod supplied from your stock. Another large part is glued to the rear of the rod to form the tapering back section of the ribs, and here you'll have to twist the ribs 90o to get them to stand up. A gaggle of spanwise ribs are added from the ends again, and various small parts installed to complete the details. The flaps should get be able to fix to the wing in the same manner as the real thing, although I suspect they might need to be soldered to get the necessary strength. A trio of scrap diagrams are used to assist in this process, showing you attachment points and the correct angle of the flaps. It goes without saying that you will need to build two of these assemblies in order to complete the job. Engine Set (32338) The kit engines are nicely moulded, and include one set of pistons, with an impression of the rear row, plus the pairs of push rods that are found on the front of each cylinder. The set adds detail in quadruplicate (I wasn't sure that was even a word!) to each engine and engine nacelle. The inner faces of every single cowling flap receives a detail skin made up from a single part folded to shape, and you'll be doing that job 44 times in total. The top and bottom fixed plates on the cowling ring are given detailed skins to improve the look, and the supercharger parts, which are already beautifully detailed are given additional tiny additions in the form of PE brackets and wire from your own stocks. Moving inside the cowling, the front and rear cylinder rows are linked by eight brackets attached close to the centre, and a cowling ring is added to the front of the first row by brackets on the left top of each cylinder. Each rear row also gets a detail plate added to the outer end, and a full wiring harness is added around the centre, wiring up each cylinder, with a scrap diagram showing where each one should go, between the halves of an additional guide attached to the top of each cylinder head. The central bell-housing behind the prop is given a data plate , and a row of small "pips" is removed from the rear lip. Undercarriage Set (32342) The fit of the gear bays was excellent during my tape-up test fit when I reviewed the kit, and detail was good. The parts in this set add to this appreciably in both the main wells and tail wheel well, and include a large number of skinning parts to cover bare styrene. Measuring 14.4cm x 9.2cm, it is a smaller set than the other two, but the additions are worthy. The hose from the supercharger is given more detail, as is the stepped area behind the firewall, and the ridged outer side of the bay is further improved with more parts to the ribs and trunking, all of which should look great when painted. There are also a number of small parts added to the main gear legs, such as brackets, data plates, strengtheners and linkages. The tail wheel also receives a small bracket between the yoke and leg. Wheel Set (632017) Arriving in the Brassin box associated with the larger sets, this one not only improves the wheels immensely, but is also well priced in my estimation. In the box are two huge tyres, plus four outer hubs and four inner hubs. Each one is keyed to fit correctly, and the detail is excellent, even down to the fins within the inner hub. You'll need to drill a hole in the main wheel part of the 3.5mm to 4mm diameter 9I can't get to my kit at the moment to measure the leg), but that shouldn't be too much of a problem unless you don't have any tools! Conclusion These sets are for the detail lover that wants to improve further on what is already a fascinating and well executed kit. You'll need some PE handling skills to do it justice, but at this size that's pretty standard fare. You can pick and choose which sets to buy, or wait for the Big Ed set once they're all out, or just buy a couple to suit your area of interest - entirely up to you! There are more sets coming in September, including the bomb bay and interior, so watch this space Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

After its 1/32nd B-17E/F Flying Fortress, Meteor F.4 & Lancaster Mk.III, Hong Kong Models is now working on a 1/32nd Dornier Do.335B-2 Pfeil kit - ref.01E07. Source: http://modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68170&start=3060 V.P.

Neil @ HK Models has sent me a shot of their latest CAD drawings of this highly anticipated model, which I thought I'd pass on ASAP: The original file is over 2mb, and around 7,000 x 5,000 pixels, allowing you to zoom in to your heart's content. So it doesn't play havoc with the forum software, you can download a copy here. You can see some more here. They are actively looking for comments on the B.I for shape and accuracy, as well as assistance with other variants through to the Grand Slam and Dambusters "specials". If anyone thinks they know enough to help, and are conversent with the internet, email & so forth, please drop me your contact details to pass on to HK. I mention the internet purely because time is of the essence, and any delays may push back the release of this behemoth. We don't want that, do we?

This morning a pleasant gentleman from ParcelFarce dropped off a large cardboard box at my door, and for the few seconds it took me to get some scissors to open up the box, I was confused as to what it could be. Once I'd opened her up however, and been greeted by the biggest styrene wing I have ever seen, there was no doubt that Neil @ HK had been as good as his word and shipped us out a pre-production shot of their new kit by EMS, which must have almost broken the speed of sound to get here in the time it did. I've had a quick look through the sprues (with the able assistance of my enraptured son) and it looks absolutely gorgeous. Anyone with one on pre-order should be getting pretty excited about it... looks like it's worth the wait. Where you'll all put it when it's finished is another matter altogether though, and I'll leave that hanging there for a second to sink in... The box shot: Just a quick snap taken in the bright sunlight this morning, which really doesn't do the surface detail proper justice. If the B-25 has half a million rivets, I suspect this one is closer (or above) the one million mark. Wowzer More news and a full review when I can get my hands on some instructions

Hi Guys I have heard about this in the pipeline but this is the first time i've seen pictures. She looks a beast. http://www.themodellingnews.com/2013/03/now-this-is-large-scale-modelling-folks.html Sorry if this has been posted before...

Available 2Q 2013 - ref. 01E04 - Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress Source: http://www.pacmodels.com/news.php And in German langage (HK Models .de page???) and not yet available in the homepage English version, the first testshot - not prototype - pics! Wingspan: 78,79 cm, Fuselage lenght: 98,80 cm... Don't forget HK Models has a 1/32nd Avro Lancaster and a Gloster Meteor IV in project... V.P.

Last seen when I was about 13 and left a lasting impression - both for the flying - and the Mitchell. Utterly brilliant - has cheered me up after some sad news earlier today... Great inspiration for that HK Models B-25 kit http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PUazQ60utI0 Enjoy! Iain

Source: http://www.merit-int...01E04_01E05.jpg HK Models: http://www.hk-models.com/eng/p2_05.htm V.P.

The former WingScale XL 1/32nd North American B-25J Mitchell kit project ( http://www.hyperscale.com/2011/galleries/b25j32jv_1.htm ) will be edited by HK Models. Source: http://www.primeportal.net/models/thomas_voigt6/hk_models/ And a B-25H is also programmed http://www.hk-models.com/eng/p2_03.htm V.P.