Search the Community

48N6E of 5P85S TEL S-300PMU SA-10 Gumble (82929) 1/72 HOBBYBOSS via Creative Models The S300 Missile System (NATO codename SA-10 Grumble) is a Russian developed long range Surface to Air Missile System. The 48N6E part designates the missile which is a newer one doubling the range of the older system. This is a 1500kg missile with an 143 Kgs warhead. The missile has a range of upto 150 kms up to 32000 feet. The 5P85S designates the TEL (Transport erector launcher). This carries 4 missiles. Form stop to ready takes 5 minutes then there is a 22 second reaction time. The system can work with the 64N6 Big Bird target acquisition radar, the 30N6E1 Tomb Stone target tracking radar; and the 5N66M/76N6E Clam Shell height finding radar. The vehicle chassis is the same across the Radar, command centre, and launcher vehicles. The Kit This is a brand new tool kit from HobbyBoss, first inspection reveals some very finely moulded parts in the box. The vehicle chassis is moulded as one part, and all the missile tubes are single piece hollow moulded. As well as the single chassis part the Cab & rear command module are single part mouldings, there are a further 4 spures, a clear sprue; and 8 rubber tyres. Construction starts with the chassis, even though the single part moulding is impressive it still needs the drive train and cross bracings to be attached. Once these are on the rest f the axles, suspension units and wheels can be fitted. The rubber tyres fit straight to the wheels. Next the storage boxes afix to the chassis and the hydraulic levellers for when the TEL is active. Once the chassis is complete we move onto the cab. The internal structure for the driving position is assembled and fitted into the single part cab moulding with the glass going in first. The underside parts can now be fitted. A frame is attached to the chassis and the Cab unit fits onto this Next u the module behind the cab is assembled and attached to the same frame. The TEL part of the unit is next to be assembled. Care must be taken with this in order for it to move. The main rear floor is then built up with mud guards being added along with tool lockers between the rear axles. The TEL mechanism then fits under and through the flooring so that the supporting parts are under the floor, the mount for the missile tubes is a above the floor and the raising hydraulic jack goes through the cut out and joins them both. The four single part missile tubes have their end caps attached and then can be mounted to the launcher. In front of the tubes the missile control module is then built up and attached. Once this is done the rear parts are then attached to the chassis. Decals Decals are provided for 9 different launchers, all with differing camo schemes. There is no information whatever about these schemes which is disappointment given the quality of the kit. Conclusion This is a great looking kit from HobbyBoss and their attention to detail is to be commended, only let down is no information for the decals. Overall high;y recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Leopard C2 MEXAS With TWMP (Track Width Mine Plough) 1/35 HOBBYBOSS via Creative Models In 1978 the Canadian Army selected the Leopard 1A3 to be its new Main Battle Tank. These would be called the Leopard C1 in service. In 2000 it was decided to upgrade these tanks with the fitment of surplus German Leopard 1A5 turrets. At the same time armour protection was increased, and a new fire control system was added. In 2006 some of these tanks were sent to Afghanistan where they would be fitted with an additional upgrade, the MEXAS system. This stands for Modular Expandable Armour System which was developed n=by IBD Deisenroth Engineering in Germany. This is a new composite armour system which can be added to many vehicles include tanks to increase survivability in these modern conflicts where IEDs and RPGs feature heavily. The Canadians also fit a version to their LAVs. The TWMP unit for Canada was developed by RAMTA a division of Israel Aircraft Industries. The unit clears a path for the width of both tracks (1m) to 200, 250 or 300mm by moving the mines aside. A "dog bone" is dragged over the uncleared 1.5m central lane to detonate any tilt road mines. The unit fits to the front of the tank via an Engineer Equipment Interface Kit developed by Krauss-Maffei. This allows the plough or a dozer blade to be fitted. The Kit This kit from HobbyBoss is a re-boxing of the standard Leopard 1 with different parts for the Canadian Leopard C2, and additional sprues for the TWMP. Its worth noting the kit does not feature the thermal blanket and cooler fitted at a later date by the Canadians in Afghanistan. The kit looks good on the sprues with lots of detail parts. Moulding is first rate. Construction starts lower hull. Various suspension components are fitted, and the ends of the main torsion bar system and its arms are fitted. The wheels can then be built up and attached, followed by the tracks which are individual links. While at first glance thy look good and there is a jig provided in the kit to make short runs of track however it will take some work to get them right; and the end connectors are moulded to the links so will not articulate like the real ones when the runs go round the end sprockets. The next step is a surprising one in that it looks like a full power pack is provided. While the engine has many parts and looks quite detailed there is no detailing for the engine bay, and the actual block is missing all of its hoses and connector, though there is nothing stopping the modeller going to town here if they want to do an open engine bay. Then the rear bulkhead is made up. There is virtually no moulded on parts here with a lot of small detail parts making up this bulkhead. The rear mud flaps are fitted to the bulkhead at this point. The bulkhead can then be fitted. Moving to the top main hull the engine deck hatch is added, along with some side parts and the drivers vision blocks, the rear exhausts are then added along with quite a few detailed parts such as tools , mirrors etc. The lower and upper hulls can now be joined and the rear bulkhead fitted. PE parts for the engine deck are then fitted. The additional MEXAS armour packs are added to the sides of the hull and the front. The rear tow cables are then added. Work now moves to the turret which has good casting detail moulded in. The mounting points for the MEXAS armour are all moulded to the turret. After the turret is together the large rear mounted turret storage bin is made up and added to the turret, Next up the roof mounted machine gun and its mount can be added. The ECM system and MEXAS armour units can then be assembled and added to the turret. Next up the hatches and aerial mounts are added. The gun and its additional armoured mantlet are built up, There are two guns in the kit and the one with the mounting straps for the muzzle referent mirror on it. These are then added to the turret after it is assembled There is a canvas mantlet cover to add, this is a basic representative of the real thing and aftermarket detailed one are available to replace this one, in addition to would seem the Canadian's replaced the original covers with one of their own making. Like a lot of Leopard kits the kit barrel is not entirely accurate due to the complexities of the real thing and the limits of plastic moulding technology. The smoke dischargers are added to the turret and its then ready to be mounted to the hull TWMP There is one main sprue of parts for the Mine Plough and a smaller on for all of the hull fittings and additional parts. The central mount is first built up along with the ground riding skis. The side plough units are then assembled and the three parts joined. A small lenth of chain is provided for the tilt mine system between the loughs. Once assembled the unit can be mounted to the tank. Decals Decals are provided for 1 tank, though there in usual HB style there is no information on these provided at all in the instructions. Conclusion This is a great looking kit from HobbyBoss and their attention to detail is to be commended. Overall Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I haven't abandoned the M1 Sherman, in fact I'm hoping to build the two in tandem. I just decided that I wanted to build something different at the same time. Two or three years ago, I built one of these, the Type 4. There were basically four types of A/C based on the White M3 Scout car, types 1 – 4. The Type 4 which I built was one of the most common and was the easiest to construct, as it used the entire bodywork of the M3, with the addition of the added armour. From a modelling point of view, it was also the easiest to convert. So this time, I thought that I would attempt one of the more difficult conversions, namely the Type 1. The Type 1 retained the bonnet and mudguards of the M3, in fact, everything forward of the firewall. So that means the entire rear portion will have to be built from scratch. Last time, I used the old Italeri kit, which has done the rounds for many years under many guises. This time I will be using the Hobbyboss kit which will make life a bit easier. For a start, the wheels won't need changing as they were for the Italeri, as they are quite good. As with the Type 4, I won't be opening up any doors/windows, so there'll be no need for interior detail.......life's too short! I'll need to source a couple of MG34's, but my usual go to manufacturer, RB Models doesn't seem to have any in stock. In fact, they don't seem to have very much in stock according to their website. So I'll have to pick up a couple from Aber. The only other AM item that I can think of are a couple of sand channels, which I have already, courtesy of Hauler. I have an Eduard set for the M3, and although most of it won't be of any use, the headlamp brush guards will. The majority of M3's that Israel got hold of had their headlamps removed and replaced with a single one on the left mudguard, but I have a photo of a Type 1 with both headlamps in place, complete with brush guards. This is the kit which I will be using this time.......... …....and the Eduard etched set for the M3......... …....and my go to book for everything Israeli improvised, the Mouse House publication on the early Israeli Improvised Armoured Cars. So enough of the waffle, and on with the build. First up is the engine, although once in place, not much will be seen. Hobbyboss do a nice representation of the engine, and it deserves to be in a vehicle with an open bonnet.....but not this one! The rest of the chassis/drive train/suspension went together with no problems. The majority of photos that I have of the four types of A/C based on the M3, show that the roller at the front and the headlamps were removed. But there are a couple of photos in the book of Type 1's which show both still fitted. So that's the one that I I'll be building. As always, thanks for looking and for any comments. John.

This was a pretty easy build, with the overall level of detail and fit being quite good on this kit. I just added an instrument panel and PE seatbelts in the cockpit, connected a few cables to the winch and added some other small exterior details. I cut out one of the cockpit windows as well and mounted it in the opened position. The camo colour was built up with different tones of green, tan and grey (Gunze/Tamiya) and weathered with oils, a light drybrushing and some pigment dusting. Decals are from the kit: nicely printed but terribly brittle, causing them to break up easily. They settled well on flat surfaces, but getting the large ones to conform to the curved nose and tailboom required quite a bit of work (and touch-ups with paint afterwards). The very nice Heller Jeep received some parts of a Brengun PE set and I also added a scratch-built antenna/radio unit. Figures are from CMK/Hasegawa, with some ValueGear items and Eduard’s PSP base completing the little scene. Hope you enjoy the pictures: thanks for looking! Comments always welcome, Patrick P.S. For those interested in the subject, I came across this YouTube video with interesting footage of VNAF UH-34D's operating from a.o. Da Nang AB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D228_1s5zaU Credits background picture: designed by Freepik, photo by jannoon028: https://www.freepik.com/free-photo/tourism-flight-stratosphere-scenic-cloud_1048502.htm#page=1&query=stratosphere tourism&position=44&from_view=search

This kit I started middle of this year, and hit a slump in motivation at the priming/blemish fixing stage. And since then it's been sitting on my shelf in full view, pestering my sanity like only an ex could. No more. Want this guy done. Overall this was a bit of a mixed bag from HB. First time in absolute ages I could actually see the mold release on the plastic, but finely scribed and mostly a pleasure to build. The WTF parts were a rather pathetic instrument panel (raised detail measured in micrometers, but a rather solid side console detailing) and some rather odd damage to the rear airbrake wall, looked serated like a pliers jaws. Weird. Anyway. This is where things stand. Need to finish the surface prep and maybe give the intake masking another go. More updates to follow later this week hopefully.

Hobby Boss is to release in late June 2020 a (ex-Merit) 1/18th Bell UH-1B Huey - ref. 81806 Source: http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=article&a=show&id=159&l=en Test model V.P.

Another future Hobby Boss 1/48th Fw.190 announced, the Focke Wulf Fw.190V-18 - ref.81747 Test build at the 55th All Japan Model & Hobby Show. Source: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/blog/1509254 V.P.

Good morning I participate in this group build with a 1/72 scale F14A from the Hobby boss The kit is halfway between a normal kit and an easy kit and I chose it among the many I have for its supposed ease of assembly. I will make a CAG example of the VF-1 Wolfpack (BuNo 162597/NE-100) dated in 1991 returning from Desert Storm where it was boarded on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger I will not use the kit decals because they are wrong for both the high visibility version and the later low visibility version I will use decals from an Academy kit (old mould) instead To improve the cockpit I will use an Eduard PE set and the True Detail resin seats

A glimpse into the HobbyBoss catalogue 2022-2023. For the aircraft programme, nothing really new compared to the previous edition - 2020-2021 (link). Source: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/7598881472 1/144 - ref. 83901 - Antonov An-12 "Cub" - - ref. 83904 - Shaanxi KJ-500 - link - ref. 83905 - Shaanxi GX-6 - link - ref. 83906 - Shaanxi Y9 - link 1/72 - ref. 80294 - Dewoitine D.510C - link - ref. 80295 - Dewoitine D.510TH - link - ref. 87256 - Douglas A-4M Skyhawk - link - ref. 87265 - Douglas C-48C Skytrain - link - ref. 87269 - Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat - link 1/48 - ref. 80383 - Chance-Vought F4U-1A Corsair - - ref. 80384 - Chance-Vought F4U-1D Corsair - - ref. 80385 - Chance-Vought F4U-2 Corsair - - ref. 80391 - Chance-Vought F4U-5N Corsair (late version) - link - ref. 80393 - Chance-Vought AU-1 Corsair - - ref. 80394 - Chance-Vought Corsair Mk.I - - ref. 80396 - Brewster Corsair Mk.III - - ref. 81740 - Lockheed U-2R Dragon Lady - link - ref. 81761 - Sukhoi Su-33 "Flanker–D" - link - ref. 81762 - Shenyang J-15 "Flanker–X2" - link - ref. 81773 - Boeing CH-47D Chinook - link - ref. 85810 - McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet - released - link - ref. 85813 - Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet - released - link - ref. 85814 - Boeing EA-18G Growler - released - link 1/18 - ref. 81809 - Messerschmitt Bf.109E "Emil" - released - link V.P.

Soviet BT-2 Light tank Hobbyboss 1:35 History The KhPZ design bureau headed by Morozov barely changed any features of the original BT-1 chassis and Christie design, concentrating instead on the engine, transmission, turret and weaponry. The turret was of the simple “barrel type”, a cylinder made of several layers of steel, 5-6 mm (0.2-0.24 in) in all, which was designed to house a 37 mm (1.46 in) long barrel, high velocity AT gun. It was not ready for production at the time and was later in chronically short supply. Because of this, many BT-2s were delivered with a mixed armament of DP-DT machines guns only or a 37 mm (1.46 in) gun with or without a single coaxial DT machine-gun. The standard configuration included the gun and a coaxial DT machine-gun mounted in an oblique fixed position, in the Japanese style. Its traverse depended on the turret. The “full machine gun” version consisted of a single coaxial DT machine-gun and a twin DP-28 (Degtyaryov model 1928) light machine gun mount replacing the gun. The other important point was the engine. The Soviets imported a licence for the American Liberty L12, a water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine capable of 400 hp (300 kW), built as the M5-400. This first model, although powerful and light, was also found difficult to maintain and unpredictable. The power-to-weight ratio meant excellent performance, although less impressive than the original Christie M1931, mostly because of the added weight of the turret and all the military equipment. The first run and trials of the BT-2 were successful and showcased a road speed of 100 km/h (62 mph), with an off-road speed of 60-70 km/h (37-43.5 mph) depending of the terrain. They were largely showcased for propaganda purposes and featured in movies throughout the thirties. In 1933, it was a completely new and unrivalled concept in the world, allowing “true” cavalry tactics built on speed, mostly for breakthrough exploitation and advanced reconnaissance missions. This emphasis on speed over protection also reflected the confidence in the naval “battlecruiser” concept, traduced in land warfare. The speed acted like an active protection on its own, since a target moving so fast was more difficult to hit. The M5 engine gave a 39 hp/t power-to-weight ratio and a 400 litre tank allowed a 300 km (186 mi) range at cruising road speed, with a tactical range of just 100 km (62 mi). This was impressive for the time, giving that it was at an average off-road 60 km/h (37 mph). The Kharkov Komintern Locomotive Plant delivered 620 BT-2 until 1935. Most were equipped with the 37 mm (1.46 in) model 30 gun, provisioned with 96 rounds. Some also received a radio “horseshoe” antenna fixed on the turret. The latter had only two side small vision slits. The gun mantlet also varied slightly in shape during the production run. Another external modification included the front mudguards, not mounted on the earliest model, and headlights. The Model The kit comes in a fairly small top opening box with an artists representation of the tank in the field. Inside there are five sprues and two separate parts in the standard tan styrene, two sprues of grey styrene, a small clear sprue, a very small sheet of etched brass and a decal sheet. This si one of those models that you just know is going to be a nice, quick build, until you get to the tracks. The thinness of the instruction sheet tells you that it is a fairly simple kit. The mouldings though are up to the usual standard with some fine detail, including the prominent rivets. There is no sign of flash or other imperfections, but a fair few moulding pips. Construction begins with the drilling out of various holes before the upper hull section is glued to the lower hull, along with the rear mounted drive covers, towing hooks, drive shaft cover and suspension bump stops, three per side. The five external beams either side are then glued into position, followed by the drivers hatch, suspension units and the eight piece front steering arms. The side plates are the attached, covering all the suspension detail, and the front wheels are attached along with their hub caps. On the hull roof there are six PE grab handles that will need to be carefully folded to shape before fitting. The two piece idler, and road wheels are joined together and glued to the their respective axle, as are the rear mounted drive sprockets. Now comes the fun bit, the tracks. The 48 individual links per side are quite small with the hinge parts moulded into them, these are glued together making up the track run, there’s not a lot of surface to glue so be careful, and they look to be particularly fiddly to drape over the wheels. Fortunately there was very little sag on the tracks of these vehicles so it may be best to make the top and bottom runs to length, glued them onto the wheels, then add the sections that go round the idler wheels and drive sprockets separately so that they can be curved to shape before the glue sets. The track guards are then attached, as is a large aerial looking item. These are followed by the exhaust silencer, engine hatch and engine grille. Finally the single main turret part is fitted with the lower turret ring, commander’s hatch and four piece gun/mantle. The turret is then fitted to the hull completing the build Decals The small decal sheet is sparse to say the least. What there are, are nicely printed and if previous experience has taught me, quite thin. All the sheet includes are two sets of numbers from 0 to 9 so you can choose whichever tank ID you like. There two colour schemes on the paint guide, Russian green overall or a mixture of red brown and flat black over flat white. Conclusion There is something about these inter-war tanks. It was a time of great experimentation throughout the world and while this was a quick tank it wasn’t a great success, but still is an interesting subject for your collection. There can’t be too many more Soviet inter-war tanks left to kit now. Review sample courtesy of

Greetings all, This rather large box somehow appeared on my doorstep this week - how these things happen I shall never understand... I love the 8th Air Force and the B-17 and B-24 in particular, so decided to have a go at the recent HobbyBoss release of the B-24, or the 'crate the B-17 was delivered in' if you spoke a B-17 crew. Not very fair really, especially when you consider it could fly farther, faster and with a greater bombload than the Fort. The kit looks fairly simple in places as has been discussed at length elsewhere, but that's just what I'm after at the moment - something nice and straightforward but with an imposing end product. We shall see... Customary box shots: IMG_0197 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0199 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr And progress so far... I thought I'd ignore the instructions and start with the main undercarriage bays. First up was a spraying of aluminium and a grey Flory wash to bring out some of the lovely detailing: IMG_0195 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Following by it all slotting together rather nicely into a very sturdy box-structure: IMG_0200 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0201 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr All that only took a couple of hours in total - lovely! Take care all, Tom

Hi folk's in what is turning out the least productive year since joining the ranks here in 2013 I may have reached double figures at last in finished kits for the year.Bought on a whim as modern grays really put me off reasonably happy with this easy kit.as usual no ordinance is supplied and as the Blue Angel scheme was not inspiring me a set of Italeri decals were used to represent a Finnish operated machine,thanks for looking in.

Quite a few of these on the go I see. I started these two in four tank parallel build as I needed a break from another couple of projects as they were doing my nut in. Both used the Trumpeter kits for the hulls. Everything else was binned. InAccuate Armour upgrades have been extensively used and the tracks are from HobbyBoss. Figures are Valkyrie and MiniArt with Hornet Heads. Both sets of figures are a huge disappointment as they are incorrectly dressed and will need to be corrected. The Berlin Chally is current from the Ajax Squadron who have been experimenting with urban cam schemes. The NATO Chally is circa 2002 and is still carrying Clansman kit and the old wheels, which were replaced in late 2002 around the time Bowman came in. Both Chally's are ready for gloss varnish then weathering, which I will post progress on in this thread. Here goes! Yes I know the viewing ports need completing.... NATO Chally 2 Not done armour for years, so weathering should be interesting! GPMG and viewing ports need sorting yet also.

Hobby Boss has just re-released its Tomcat kit (link) as 1/72nd Grumman F-14A Tomcat "VF-1 Wolf Pack"- ref. 80279 Source: http://www.hobbyboss.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=1445&l=en V.P.

Hi All, this is my latest offering the Black Widow. Another aircraft I've been wanting to build for some time and the first time I've built a kit by HobbyBoss. Got to say I was quietly impressed, the kit is well engineered with little or very little flash, so well engineered that I found even a coat of paint can affect the fit as I found when I tried to fit the engine into the nacelles and got into a bit of a mess. Built out of the box apart from some Tamiya tape seat belts and I fashioned together some different antennae as I didn't like the photo etch supplied with kit, painted with Tamiya acrylics but I think the colour on the upper surfaces may be a bit dark. Anyway here she is and as usual all comments and criticisms are welcome. Thanks for looking

Hi all. Here is my latest finished model: Hobbyboss' beautiful 1/48 A-10A Thunderbolt. Several aftermarket sets were used: Eduard pe exterior, Master gun and pitot tube, Aires cockpit and Maverick missiles and Print Scale decals. I painted the model with MrHobby acrylics over Alclad black primer. Weathering was done with Abteilung 502 oilpaint. Thank you for watching. René van der Hart

So hopefully this will be a fairly short KUTA build. I originally started it back in the "Journey's End" GB - build thread can be found here. Since it's last outing the window masks went on and it got a coat of Alclad II Black Primer (or maybe it was Vallejo, it's a long time since I did it). At that point she was left to gather dust for some time. So after rescue it's been given a coat of Alclad II Gloss Black Base, but unfortunately this didn't come out as expected... As can hopefully be seen - there's a lot of texturing, now I'm not entirely sure what went on there - failure to clean the surface and it being dust and crud? The primer being textured (and the gloss just highlighting it)? Bad airbrushing technique/paint - I've, as always, been having issues with my airbrush and I wonder if it's being 'splatty' rather than a fine mist? Or an issue with the paint being a bit thick (maybe I could have thinned with self levelling thinner)? It's probably a combination of issues though. Once it dried - I tried in spots to remove the texture by giving it a going over with some fine sanding sponge (2000 grit) but it didn't seem to work well (just dulled the paint). I'll dull coat it once finished, so I'm hopeful that will hide a multitude of sins! Anyhow on with the decals - which seemed to conform well (both the aftermarket nose art and numbers and kit ones), though the aftermarket ones had red stripes to go around the engine cowlings but they weren't long enough to go all the way around (I'm not sure if there should be a break somewhere, there was scant info), so I've painted those on - need a little tidy up. I used the kit supplied USAF identification and walkway(?) markings - though these did rip a few times but I managed to get them pretty much lined back together. I have to say though they appear somewhat out of scale - I can't imagine they'd be painted about a foot wide on the actual aircraft! Once the decals were conformed with decal solvent, I've given them a quick going over with some heavily thinned Vallejo gloss varnish with a brush (to hopefully stop them silvering with the flat clear coat which will be next).

Hi all This is yet another Hobbyboss D-9, finished in the colours of W.Nr 213097 'white 11', a JG51 aircraft which was photographed at Flensburg towards the end of the war. Notable mainly for its un-painted gun covers on both fuselage top and wings. As I understand it, 213097 was from one of the last production blocks, supposedly built in March 45. It's not immediately obvious why these covers were either stripped or left unpainted - 'unfinished' replacement parts is a possibility, or maybe it was for ID purposes - who knows - it certainly wouldn't have helped ground concealment - but at least it makes for an interesting topic. Painted with Vallejo and Mig 'late-war green' RLM colours, paint masks for the markings and decals (nicked from the Eduard 'D-9 late' profipack) for the WNr and octane triangles.

So, with my P-39N nearing completion it is decision time on the next version. As the P-39Q is virtually identical ot the P-39N, particularly when in Russian service with the gondola mounted 50cal mg not fitted, and as it will require some work to make it accurate for the US version that HB provide decs for, I thought I would convert it to either the RAF Airacobra I or maybe one of the ones "repossessed" from the British order by the USAAC who called them P-400. I will have to replace the entire prop anyway as it is far too small, and while I am at it I will fit a longer and slightly thinner 20mm cannon in the spinner. I need to remove the two triangular vents on the nose which were fitted to help stop the cockpit being filled with cordite fumes when the guns were fired as these did not appear until the later P-39L version, and at the same time make gun troughs for the nose 50cal which HB missed out. As with the N, I will also have to fill in the mounting slots for the underwing guns but unlike the N I can leave the wing mg in place - they are supposedly 30cal and the RAF used 0.303 Brownings but they are close enough I guess. The RAF machines had a radio mast behind the cockpit but most P-400 did not, and I need to check which versions used the belly drop tank. The only other modification will be fitting the resin 12 stack exhausts which arrived today - they cost me £2.60 so I am still under a tenner even at todays prices! Now all I have to do is decide on the paint scheme and markings. Following on from my history up to the P-39N which is on that build thread, here is a bit more. The P-39Q was the final version of the Airacobra and was produced in far larger numbers than any of the others – 4905 in total. Essentially it was the same as the P-39N and was made in a number of blocks, with detailed changes such as reducing then increasing both armour weight and fuel capacity and incorporating some strengthening to the fuselage. The only noticeable difference on the outside was the deletion of the 4 wing mounted 30cal mg and replacing them with a pair of gondola mounted 50cal, though these were not always fitted in US service and probably never by the Russians. Most went to Russia but some did serve in the Pacific theatre. As I mentioned earlier, when the YP-39 prototype first flew in April 1939 it had excellent performance and so in October of that year the French ordered 200 of the so called model 14 export version. The Brits followed with an order for 475 in April 1940, and also picked up the French order after that country surrendered. Sources differ as to how many they actually received but they seem to have first had 3 P-39C which they were going to call “Caribou” but decided to call Airacobra I. The main batch, which may therefore have been Airacobra Ia's depending on which book I read were about the equivalent of the P-39D model ordered by the USAAC, but with a slightly different engine which had 12 exhaust ports a side instead of the usual 6. In terms of armament they asked for the 37mm cannon to be replaced with a 20mm one which had a higher rate of fire and twice as much ammunition. They were happy with the 50cal mg above the nose, but specified 2 x 0.303 Browning mg in each wing. They might have retained the 2 x 30cal alongside the 50cal on the nose though probably not – again sources vary. To be continued! Pete

As my builds in 2 other GB are in the painting stage I thought I might as well make a start with this. I doubt any of the 109 kits I intend to build are anywhere near 100% accurate, particularly the Italeri ones by all accounts, and this one is no exception. To start with the canopy, both open and closed options are provided but the G-2 had an armoured plate behind the pilot's head and that is missing, whilst the radio mast is moulded as part of the canopy and is rather short. Hobbyboss also want you to fit the D/F loop behind it but I doubt that is right according to the pics I have seen. Moving on to the undercarriage, like the G-12 the G-2 initially had a retractable tailwheel but later it was fixed. However it was also bigger as were the main wheels, and that in turn required bulges on top of the wings, which are missing from the kit. HB do provide 3 types of main wheel and 2 types of tailwheel besides the one moulded on the fuslelage, presumably for other versions of the 109G they make, as they also include "bulges" to go over the breeches of the larger MG131 carried by the G-6 and later models. According to one of my books the G-2/Trop was a late version with the fixed tail wheel and larger wheels/bulges, but HB have modelled this as an early version but with a fixed tailwheel so that leaves me with two options - fit the larger main and tailwheels and then try and fabricate bulges, or leave it as an early version and make a well for the tailwheel! They also intend you to build it as a "cannonboat" with the R6 option of a pair of MG151/20 cannon under the wings, which is certainly correct for some G-2/Trop. Failing that it means filling in the mounting slots under the wings. I will have to have a think about this - may end up as a normal early G-2 in another theatre! Cheers Pete

Hi, I am thinking of doing one of these. Spot the difference! As with their Ju-87 D/G, Hobbyboss have produced two boxings with what I suspect is exactly the same plastic. They claim the Ju-87D is a D-3, but it has the long wing and cannon of the D-5, together with the 37mm cannon of the G on the sprues. Here they say they have boxed a P-39N and a P-39Q but as the boxart shows both have the twin 30cal wing guns and the 50cal gondola mounted ones! There were also a number of minor differences between the 2 models, depending on which batch they were from, for example different propellors I believe, but I will have to do a bit more research. There is also a little uncertainty with the colouring of the Russian ones. Most if not all retained the OD paint on top that they were delivered with, but if the Osprey Aces illustrations are correct many of them had the undersides repainted in a Russian Blue. Then of course the Russians modified the armament, seldom if ever using the wing 50cal on the Q, and also removing or replacing the wing guns on the N I think. As I said - more research needed but if I do have time to do one of these it will probably be the N. Both are currently on sale at £6.99 with Hannants and I suspect that they were somewhat less when I bought them getting on for 10 years ago. And yes, I know Enzo would say do both - we will see. The P-39 is one of those strange planes where opinions differ considerably as to its worth, which gives me an excuse to bore you with a bit of background (as if I ever need an excuse)😆! Cheers Pete

Morning all! My less than a tenner entry is the Hobbyboss Sturmovick from their easy build range. I picked this up from the closing down sale at my local Toymaster store. Everything was 50% off and the model section had been almost picked clean when i arrived. So this one was available and at around a £5er i couldn't say no. I haven't built many Hobbyboss kits and this one was purchased purely down to the price. As you will see from the photos theres not many parts. The wings and fuselage are ready assembled but theres a reasonable bit of cockpit to be added and some underwing cannon and rockets. Hopefully i can reignite some of the enthusiasm thats been lacking of late with this very simple build. Lets hope the fit is reasonable, i think these are intended as snap together but i will be splashing on liquid poly as required. Some photos for your perusal...... TFL, Cheers Greg

Kit - Hobbyboss AMX A11 / Ghibli Paint - Tamiya acrylics Decals - Gekko Graphics & Kit Extras - Brengun LAU-131 pods, Revell Iris-T AAM's, 'unknown' resin designator pod. Scratchbuilt radar nose & RWR. AMX Kaitiaki (Defender) 2 Sqn Afghanistan 2012 Ok, I know that there's often been some erm... 'resistance' to What If modelling in the past and that used to bother me, but I'm too middle-aged to care nowadays so here's my plastic model of an aircraft that doesn't actually exist in this form and let's move-on. I cannot prove it, but I've had this idea bubbling since before we decided to move to NZ in 2012, the fact that we did move here, simply made the the idea even more real, just a case of when not if I was going to do it. The kit is not great, but I couldn't find a Kinetic kit at a reasonable (to me) price, so you work with what you have, right ?. I made three or four experiments with old drop-tank noses and putty to get the radar nose but ended-up by using the kit nose that I'd removed and changing the length and rear contours with plastic card discs - odd isn't it how sometimes it's the simplest 'fixes' that solve the problem. The RWR pod at the bottom of the fin is plastic card and an old Sparrow missile head cut and shaped to how I wanted it to look. I did think about adding some 'warts' to the ECM bar at the top of the fin and may still do this in the future. The designator pod is an anonymous resin one was in a kit I bought off eBay a few years back, I cut down an old pylon from something I couldn't Identify from the spares box as HB doesn't provide one in the kit - strangely tho' it does provide FOUR droptanks for some reason. The LAU-131's were an indulgence, but they aren't expensive and were exactly what I needed for the 'Armed Recce' / FAC feel I was aiming for. For the paint scheme, I tried as hard as I could to NOT think about [other] contemporary aircraft and just go-my-own-way, now that It's done, it does seem to owe a lot to the CAF & RAAF Hawk 127 scheme, (again) I cannot prove it, but that is entirely coincidental. I've used Tamiya Ocean Grey & Medium Sea Grey with a lot of post-shading and XF-24 Dark Grey for the radome, RWR and fin tip. I have a whole back-story to go with the build but I'm not going to bore folks here with all of that. It's 'just a model' as mein Frau says, it was a great fun project that had a few hiccups along the way, but was definitely a shed-load of fun... pretty sure that's what the hobby is supposed to be about, right ? - Feel free to make any comments, ask any questions or hurl any abuse. All the best from NZ. Ian.

Hi all This is the HobbyBoss Fw190D-11, built OOB, although I used paint masks for the national markings. This is the 'alternative' scheme offered in the kit, with little or no information to support it, as far as I can tell. Basically, it is one of the D-11 prototypes (V57 to be exact), but in the colours and markings of a staff Major at JV44 in Munchen Riem. There doesn't seem to be any evidence of this a/c ever serving with JV44 - but then there's no evidence that it didn't, either . Painted in a fairly typical late war mashup of colours and tones. The Hobbyboss D-9/11/13 kits are great kits, btw - cheap, simple and easy to build. Hope you like

Hi all, Since I built my Defiant I’m now on a turret roll, so I’m going to drag myself kicking & screaming from my OOB comfort zone and attempt to build Hobby Boss’ “British Fleet Air Arm Avenger MkI” as an FAA Tarpon. From what I can tell, Hobby Boss have taken their “standard” US Avenger kit, sourced a new set of decals, made up a couple of paint schemes and issued it as an FAA version. All of the shortcomings and errors of this version of the kit have been well documented – thanks to @tonyot, @85sqn, @trickyrich and others for easing my journey of discovery with their excellent and insightful information (see below). Armed with that rapidly assimilated wisdom here is the kit box: Shots of the sprues – the detail level and crispness of the parts all bode pretty well: Transparencies – again, very nice: Kit decals – not so nice. Not convinced of the accuracy of these – the red of the national insignia alone is quite hallucinogenic. They’ll go straight into the dodgy pile… I’ve sourced a couple of extras for the build; Eduard instrument panel (which is intended for the Accurate Miniatures kit, so we’ll see how that goes), Eduard masks (a must for all that glazing!) and Eduard harnesses. So Eduard everything, basically. I’ve been hankering after a BPF build, so I’ve decided to model this aircraft; JZ257 of 849 Sqn, HMS Victorious, January 1945. I believe that this aircraft would have taken part in the Operation Meridian raid on the Palembang oil refinery in January 1945 (849 Sqn was certainly involved). Here’s a shot of Tarpons on that raid (albeit from a different squadron flying off HMS Illustrious): From what I can tell, JZ257 was one of the second batch of 200 Avenger MkIs delivered to the FAA. The aircraft would therefore have been equivalent to a Grumman-manufactured TBF-1C. This aircraft would have had the following configuration: - 2 x 0.50” machine guns mounted in the wing roots, as opposed to the single cowling-mounted gun of the earlier batch. The kit has these gun ports - ü. - Observer’s position in the central cockpit, including radar scope and plotting table. The kit as it stands is configured as a ‘standard’ US aircraft with electronics in place of the Observer position, so this is where the major surgery needs to happen. This will be my first real attempt at scratch building, so I’ll give it my best shot! Grumman-built aircraft had the cockpit, Observer’s position and turret interior painted in Bronze-Green. - The remainder of the aircraft interior including the bomb bay was painted Interior Green (with the exception of the cowling interior, which was Light Grey). - I have seen varying claims that the undercarriage and bays were painted Insignia White, the underside colour or even Zinc Chromate Yellow. The colour photo showing the faded paintwork a bit later looks to me like white might be the go – it’s definitely not ZCY (although other Eastern-manufactured aircraft could have had this configuration). - There is varying information around the ventral 0.3” gun (and whether it was replaced with an F24 camera). I’m going to stick with the gun – the decal sheet shows it in place so it must be right, right? - Round blister windows over the original window cavities. These provided significant improvements in visibility – they’re nicely shown in the shot below (forward of the access door): The kit windows are as fitted to the original batch of MkIs so are incorrect. I’m going to try crash-moulding these blisters, which could be interesting (think I’ll leave that til last) In terms of paint finish, from what I can tell the Grumman aircraft would have been finished in ‘standard’ FAA colours i.e. Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky – I will be using these colours as opposed to those recommended on the Xtradecals ‘Yanks with Roundels’ sheet (although the decals look to be excellent otherwise). I also see a Corsair and Hellcat somewhere in my future 😉 It’s well documented that most BPF aircraft were heavily weathered and faded so I’ll push my weathering skills to the limit. The shot below is a great guide as to the level of fading of the paintwork, as well as being a very evocative shot of the conditions in which the aircraft (and crews) operated from temporary land bases (Ceylon, I’m guessing?). Another one (showing a Hellcat, but you get the general idea). It’s interesting to note that there’s very little bare metal on show, though the paint has worn through to the zinc chromate primer in heavy-wear areas. I might try and replicate that effect. And a couple of nice reference shots: The camo demarcation looks to be pretty hard from the above shot, so no freestylie on the airbrush… The kit contains a number of ordnance options including rockets, torpedo, depth charges and 500lb bombs. I’m guessing the Tarpons on the Palembang raid would have used the latter (and the kit rockets are bobbins), so I intend to do the same as shown above. From what I have read Hellcats & Corsairs took the role of combat air patrol and ground attack on that raid, so it kind of makes sense that the Tarpons would be bombing (along with Barracudas, if memory serves). The raid is detailed in the excellent ‘Carrier Pilot’ by Norman Hanson, which is well worth a read. So with all that under my belt I shall gird my loins and crack on with the build! Thanks for looking – until next time, Roger