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  1. Afternoon all, Latest completion from me - Revell’s 1/144th scale Boeing 747-400 with DrawDecal’s British Airways decals. It’s been built out of the box, other than my usual mod to these kits in adding some height on the cockpit crown area with some Milliput to correct the profile. Although it’s getting a little long in the tooth now, the kit still builds reasonably well once excess flash is removed! I was really sad when BA retired the 747 - not only is it one of my favourite commercial aircraft but I’d flown on them more than any other type and thought I’d do my own little tribute to ‘The Queen of the Skies’. The real thing was my last 747 flight when she brought me back from Australia once… the ‘Kangaroo Route’ is now 777 or 787 and it’s not quite the same. Long live the Queen! All the best, Tom
  2. Normally I am not such a great fan of presenting somewhat botched models, but here we go in the name of complete honesty (after all, not all kits come out perfect, don't they?): As mentioned in a previous post, I am in quite a spare with my race car models since some years. Suddently it 2eemed, as if I could do nothing right anymore. Consequently, I had like 5 unfinished kits sitting around, where I got stuck because of some flaw or the other. And a stack of about 30 kits which I didn't even dared to start. Recently I decided to just go ahead again ... I went with the "easier" Revell 1/24 kits before trying my hand again at my stack of 1/20 F1 cars. So, after completing one of the unfinished cars, I wanted to do this little kit as a "weekend edition" out of box (I even left the engine completly out). It went pretty well in the beginning, until I decided to use the kit provided decals for the yellow parts of the livery. The decals either would really bend in all the right directions or, with the help of softener, dissolve nearly instantly. As a result, some of the not dissolved pieces dry on wrongly and partly scaled of afterwards, while the dissolved sections looked like anything but the original. To add to the insult, I also had massive problems with the fitting of the rear wing. Which, honesty - remember - started with me glueing the wings to the endplates forward side backwards. It didn't get better after that .... I tried to correct some parts with paint but then just went ahead and finished the build without too much care for covering all mishaps or any more details (as one result, there are no exhaust pipes within the "chimneys"). I tried the pictures from the best angles and actually the car sitting in my shelf on a not too prominent spot, it is - let's say - OK. (here you can spot some of the damage, especially around the front suspension and near the "E" / "elf" on the engine cover) Thanks for looking and coments welcome as always. Cheers
  3. Following my comment on @John Masters's thread, I realised that I had not shared that build that I completed at the end of 2020. If my memory is any good, this aircraft is an F.6 that received the rear part of an FGA.9 with the parachute housing and not an FGA.9 as Revell state on the box. Final pictures: The build: Moulding: This picture is typical of what was in my box: Flash, heavy sink marks and soft surface details caused by the moulding issues. Nothing major but frustrating nonetheless when it comes to a kit that is not supposed to be short run... Having said that, a fired of mine who had acquired several boxes right after the kit was released did not have the same issues. Cockpit: The cockpit tub is very nice OOB and the seat was improved using my usual process (lead wire, Tamiya masking tape strips, plasticard, aluminium foil, Magic Sculp and stretched sprue): The cockpit sides were detailed using plasticard and a punch-and-die: The backplate was the area that needed more improvements: I also added a collimator before gluing the windshield: Once painted, it looks really nice. I did not use the decals but painted everything by hand using a sharpened toothpick and Vallejo acrylics: Air inlets: It is advisable to add a shim of plasticard where the wings meet the fuselage around the air inlets. Otherwise you will be left wth a nasty gap at the top and bottom junctions: The air inlet cone is missing and the resulting empty space is quite noticeable. I made some off 0,2mm plasticard sheet: Painted white at the front and going black at the back to give an impression of depth: Parachute housing: It had a very nasty sink mark and the panel lines had nearly disappeared. It took quite a bit of time and effort to bring it back to a decent condition: I had to rescribe and add missing rivets to quite a few hatches / covers, mostly on the wings. Overall fit: In spite of the moudling issues, the overall fit was good and little filler was needed: Painting and weathering: The model was painted using Mr Hobby Aqueous over an Ammo One Shot black primer: Grey: I sprayed a highly thinned H331 DSG in a mottling fashion, building up slowly the coverage and letting the black show through around the panel lines. Then, I made some highlights using H337, insisiting on raised details and the centre of the panels. I finished with some post-shading using Panzegrau. Green: I used H73 DG follosing the same process and made highlights by adding H313 sand to the dark green. I toned down the effect with several light mists of H73. Red: I primed the area in white, then applied a coat of yellow and finally the red base coat (H13). I applied some shadows using a highly thinned dark brown. I then applied the decals, though most roundels , the code and fin flash were painted using masks cut with my Silohouette: I like to get the landing gear and weapons out of the way as quickly as possible, as I consider them as a chore: Then, I applied the washes: I used True Earth Neutral brown on the underside, Black on the camouflage and Dark Brown on the red. The weathering was done using mostly felt tip pens and aluminium and dust weathering pencils: Finally I applied a light coat of VMS matt varnish. In hindsight, I probably should have been more restrained on the weathering. But at the time, I wanted to give it a worn out look. On some pictures, they are in a worse condition than shown here with large patches of white showing underneath the red on the wings, for instance.
  4. Golden Age of Transport is an interesting subject for a GB, certainly something that is on my mind every now and then - but I haven't actually built any kits for. So I searched for a kit that would suit this GB and came across a Dornier Do X. The biggest and heaviest of it's kind that made world records that lasted past WW2 - and made a transatlantic test flight that lasted almost two years! It's almost as much as a boat as it's a plane. Pilot controlled two 'throttles' - left and right. But they were not really throttles, they simply signalled the engineers inside the wing - and they made the adjustments to the twelve engines, much like in ships. All in all, certainly a worthy subject of this GB!
  5. Hi all, Here’s my entry for the GB, it’s the Revell 1/48 Beaufighter TF.X. It will be in the markings of 144 Squadron based at RAF Dallachy in 1945. This aircraft (NE831) was damaged in the disastrous Black Friday raid on the 9th February 1945 when 9 Beaus were lost to flak and fighters during a raid on Norway. She ended the day with a belly landing back at Dallachy and never flew again. Fortunately there are a lot of photos of this aircraft showing some interesting variations and weathering of the finish which should make for a satisfying modelling challenge! The markings will come from Aviaeology, in addition I have an Eduard etched set, the Aerocraft cowling correction plus a stack of bits taken from an old Tamiya kit that recently went to the scrapyard. So far I’ve cleaned the parts up and got rid of some of the flash. More updates to follow in due course! Chris
  6. The Northrop F-89 Scorpion is an all weather twin-engined interceptor designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop. It was the first jet powered aircraft to be designed for the Interceptor role from the outset to enter service,as well as the first combat aircraft to be armed with air-to-air nuclear weapons in the form of the unguided Genie rocket. First flew in 1948 and entered service in 1950. For this GB, I plan to build Revell’s 1/72 F-89D/J kit. I will be finishing it as the aircraft shown on the boxart, a F-89D from 61st Fighter Interceptor Squadron from Ernest Harmon AFB, New Foundland, 1957. Why this one? I like the look of the aircraft with the large wingtip rocket pods (containing a 104 ‘mighty mouse’ FFAR rockets) and more importantly it has a big smiley face on it.
  7. With the Jet provost done and the other activities out of the way, it’s time to get back in the saddle and do some more modelling. For a bit of a mojo boost, I watched Top Gun, Top Gun Maverick and The Final Countdown on DVD’s. So tonight, out came the Airfix F-14A Tomcat (blueprint box) and the Revell F-14D Super Tomcat from the stash - both 1/72. I’m going to try to build them both together stage by stage (rather than build one and then the other). The Revell is better in detail as it’s a much later kit, but the Airfix one still has a certain charm to it - even with the raised panel lines which I’ve decided to leave to see how it turns out. So, the first stage was to build the two cockpit tubs. The Airfix one is much longer then the Revell and both have raised detailing in the some consoles in roughly the same depth. The ejection seats are worlds apart in detail, so I might see if I can 3D print something a little more interesting for the Airfix kit. Otherwise the offices are fairly well detailed considering….. Both tubs were painted with Tamiya XF-19 Light Grey (as it’s what I had to hand) and are drying off. They will both receive other colours to highlight the consoles and IP’s. I’ve also bought an extra set of Airfix F-14A decals which offers two options - TopHatters and the Black Aces - to go with the Bounty Hunter and Grim Reaper options for the kits.
  8. It's that time of year again when I find all sorts of new projects making their way towards the workbench...! I know I have plenty on the go already, but most of these are awaiting paint which requires better weather - I spray outdoors and need warmer, drier conditions. As @Paulaero will understand, these other models are generally at least 95% built, which qualifies me to start on something new in the meantime! 😁 This build is partly a new challenge and a bit of repetition too. The new bit is refurbishing one of my older models and this will form the bulk of this thread. The repetition part is concurrently building two untouched Revell 767-300 kits, which I did here a couple of years ago and I don't see any point in documenting it here again! However, these kits will throw up a few challenges along the way (more on this when I get to those parts!), hence their inclusion into this thread. Let's start with the model to be refurbished. I would guess that I built it around 20 years ago, when my modelling skill set was rather more limited than it is now. It is the Revell 767-300, with RR engines and built to depict G-BNWA which I flew regularly at back in 2003. The model has been in the attic for years and I think it must have been dropped at some point too - luckily I still have most of the pieces: It's certainly been neglected and the attic did it no favours - it's covered in grime: The refurbishment will consist of the following tasks- 1. Open the fuselage up and fill the windows with Milliput 2. Removal of the damaged undercarriage and rebuild the model with the gear doors closed 3. Replacement of the missing windscreen (the only piece that I cannot find!) 4. Removal of the old paint and re-spraying with an accurate demarcation line and correct shade of blue 5. Production of custom decals to give the model a new identity To complete this introduction, the other two models in this build were purchased cheaply but with a few pieces missing. More importantly though, they both have the sprues for the RR engine option, so these will be built as BA aircraft. Here are the sprues: And another shot, showing the first task completed - Milliput is applied: It is well past its 'use by' date and quite dry and crumbly, but perfectly good enough for this job!
  9. Revell Chinook HC.Mk.1 1/48 Model kit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Something of a departure from my normal builds, but one I’ve been promising to get done for a year or two for a friend who had the model sat under his desk in the office for about ten years and wondered if he’d ever find the courage (as a non-modeler) to tackle it; we’ve worked together for about twenty years, so I offered to build it for him. It will essentially be an out of the box build but with a few changes to decals to represent the first aircraft he worked on (so many) years ago. I was quite surprised to see that there were very few articles on the build of the Revell kit (a few of the Italeri version – which I think is the same kit) and hadn’t realised that the kit had become a little scarce. As I said, it’s a bit of a departure for me, as I usually build aeroplanes and in 1/72… so to tackle a 1/48 Helicopter (pronounced heli-co-peter) 😊 is putting me somewhat outside my comfort zone, but we’ll give it a go. I started with some kit familiarisation of the sprues and the instructions, and looking at where all the painting instructions were hidden. Ok, confession… I’m not much of a fan of Revell instructions, which seem a bit random and basic. I spent quite some time marking up the sheets with colour annotations, but realised that using the instructions alone was never going to tell me everything I needed to know. More of that to come. Anyway… the sprues A first look at sprues by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr An article on the Italeri kit that I’d read about in Phoenix Aviation Modelling suggested the need to “droop” the rotor blades. I took a close look at the rotor blades on the sprue and noticed that these ones are least are pre-drooped. Poor photo but shows blade curvature (droop) by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I appreciate that when parked, the blades (or some of them at least) can look even more drooped that this. The day before IPMS SMW at Telford I meet up with some good mates at RAF Museum Cosford for a wander around (well… what else would you do?) and I took a good look at their HC.Mk.1 that they have (Bravo November)… including some studying of the rotor blades, and whilst the blades on the front rotor do exhibit more of a droop, they’re drooped at the root and not along the blade length. I’m no Chinook expert so I presume this is something to do with Parking of the blades… I’ll need to look at the photos I took when I get to this stage… but I was left with the impression of not needing to bend the blades at least. Another aspect that the article I’d read had left me with the impression of was that the overall fit of the model was less than ideal. To be honest, this is the first model I’ve made with both an inner and outer fuselage, so I was interested in doing a little test-fitting to see how all the parts went together, to see what I’d need to face later on. To be honest… “false alarm”… as having taped the inner sections together, I cocooned it in the outer shell and, despite some slight warping or the under-side, it seemed to go together “ok”…. Yes, a little disobedient along the top section, but some strong tape as glue dries will sort that (I hope). One impression I was left with was the “heft” that this model had. I’m not used to such large models or ones that are dual skinned… it was quite impressive. Inner and outer fuselage components taped together for fit check by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I was interested to see how much would be visible inside… always good to know; this test assembly helped the understanding. Looking to see what will be visible inside by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The glazing and nose cover were added and despite a few gaps, I hope these will be treatable with a little persuasion of the parts when them need to be glued. The glazing did have a few scratches, possibly due to having broken loose of its sprue when in the bag/box… so I spent an evening polishing these out. There are still a few imperfections, but these look to be in the material, so we’ll need to live with these. A little clamping and filler will hopefully sort these gaps by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr This is the interior all taped up for the just-described test-fit. Interior fuselage components test fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr So… getting back to the dearth of detail in the instructions, I’d spent some time searching for a useful book to refer to for this build. There really are not many books on the chinook. I found WWP Chinook In Detail and thought that it might help (yes it will) It’s a bit like the Danny Coremans “Daco” books that I use for reference in other builds, but getting a copy took some doing, what with it being out of print. Yes, a Japanese site said they had several copies… but that copies would be dispatched once in stock (suspicious!) so I eventually paid a little more from a UK second-hand book supplier and it arrived a few days later. This has interior and exterior details of US and UK examples, so has proven very useful. Useful reference by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr With the photographic reference book in hand, I could start painting with a little more confidence. I started with the interior as this needed doing first (of course). I used Halfords primer on everything, then applied a few light coats of a light grey (matched to photos – noting that floor, panels and padded walls and roof are not all quite the same shade). I mixed some Tamiya grey shades with white to get the colour I sought… adding more white where it was needed. Once good and dry, I masked off the grey sections so that I could apply a dirty-black (a very dark grey) Floor painted and masked for "black" areas by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Once airbrushed some variations in tone, the floor was unmasked looking ok. Once hard, I applied a few light coats of Aqua Gloss to seal everything for weathering. Floor section black areas applied by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr A similar approach was taken for the walls and ceiling, albeit with rear sections given a few coats of “interior green”, which I mixed using about 10 to 12 drops of yellow to 1 drop of black.. which with some experimentation seemed about right… mission models paints being used here. The seats had also been primed, and then given a light coat of Tamiya white… followed by a few light layers of Mission Models Insignia red. Once dry, I added a couple of coats of aqua gloss to seal it in, then painted the silver/grey sections by hand using Mig Ammo Bare Metal Matt Aluminium which went on with a small brush excellently. Finally, I made a few variations of light grey or hemp colour (using mission models paints) to brush-on the seat belts. Photos show these to be a bit of a mix of colours on any particular aircraft, so that’s what I did. The end result was sealed with some more aqua gloss and looked a bit “bright” but would tone-back a little with some weathering. Seats, painted by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr On to that weathering I mentioned; I took an easy route of using Tamiya panel liner brushed on liberally and then wiped off… which worked ok. Weathering interior sections by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The bulkheads and cockpit panels that lacked transfers (overhead panel and cockpit entry sides) were all painted up (using photographic references). There are a few issues here as the kit parts are a bit “hybrid” in some areas – or rather nothing like any photos I could see… so some artistic licence was needed in places, but I think they look ok… given how much will be visible afterwards. Interior painted by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Cockpit and bulkhead sections by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Although not shown, I later painted in the details in the rear fuselage "green" sections, and transfers were added to the fuselage sides (prior to weathering) I assembled the cockpit and test-fitted the seats to just take a look. It was only after the cockpit panel transfers had been added and sealed with a matt coat that I noticed that the HSI colours are upside down… at least, I presume the aircraft isn’t flying through a brown sky over water… hmmm. But it was too late to rectify that. Thanks, Revell. Before everything was assembled, I applied a unifying flat coat to everything. I don’t usually do anything flatter than semi-gloss (or satin) coats for exteriors, but for interiors, especially where there’s lots of soft coverings such as the insulation on the walls and seats) a flat coat seemed to be better. This tones everything back a bit and worked quite well for the interior floor, walls and ceiling. I’d do the same for the ramp later in the build. Cockpit assembled and seats test-fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Front section fwd-view by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Realising that before I could close the interior and exterior fuselage, I’d need to assemble the rear ramp… and thus paint it too. The kit provides for this to be fitted early in build, and has two brackets to attach it to the rear of the floor section. So, I assembled the rear ramp sections as shown. Now… here I have a bit of a gripe with the kit as the attachment brackets are angled and you need to take care which way they’re attached. Here’s where I feel-down a bit. Following the instructions, I added them one way… and when doing a test fit with the fuselage, found that the whole ramp sat a bit low… with a big step-up to the cabin floor level (which could not have been right). I looked at the instructions again … no, that’ the way the brackets are shown attaching… look at a later step in the instructions and it shows them the other way up. It’s not the part flipped… the brackets are reversed. So. I opened the ramp up and managed to remove the brackets and added them the other way up... packing them out a bit with plasticard to strengthen the whole thing. Initial ramp assembly by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr When I then tried to fit these, I found that it would not close-up properly at all, I was a bit peeved! Having slept on it, I decided to go for a different approach and make some forks that could slot into the rear fuselage once complete... and thus not need to be fitted until final assembly (much easier) I disassembled the rear ramp.. which took a little doing Ramp disassembly and bracket removal by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I then made the two forks from four laminates of plasticard, and cut a wedge from each end so that the fork would be angled forward of the ramp, to allow a dropped angle for the ramp at the end. The reinforcing just beefed up the structure given that it would now be a separate part. Shown on test fit (for test fitting to the fuselage) and after gluing Revised fitting for ramp... test fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Fettling the ramp to work with attachment "forks" by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr In the latter photo above, the two chamfers are evident in the outer shell, allowing the forks to sit close to the outer skin once assembled. The ramp was assembled, some details added with a pin-vice and Rosie-Rivetter and primed. A shade of grey similar to the interior was added (as close as I could get it) and then this was masked for the back sections. Masked and black areas applied to ramps by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Notable in the above shot are the two ramp sections that sit atop (or down from) the main ramp. To sit these parts flush on the main ramp, they were sanded flat on their undersides. Once finished, these will just sit on top of the main ramp... ready for use if needed. Once finished and weathered, the ramp looked ok. The upper clamshell section for the rear fuselage opening sits inside the ramp when open; it is visible sticking-out of the main ramp here. Ramp completed, with weathering by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr That was 2023… it’s now 2024… so back to it. Happy New Year all. The seats were glued in place and I set about taping up the fuselage interior sections for gluing. Interior assembly stage by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I used plenty of masking tape to hold it all together then glued everything using Tamiya thin. Once dry, I beefed this up with my sprue-goo mix (Tamiya thin and sprues) along the seams. Interior taped up whilst glue dries #1 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Interior taped up whilst glue dries #2 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr One thing that may be noticeable from that last photo is that there’s a gap between the rear undercarriage bay plate and the fuselage walls… I therefore cut out a couple of sections of plasticard and glued these into the gap, using tape again to hold it all together. Added "packing" to rear undercarriage bay assembly by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Whilst all of the glue was drying overnight, I wrapped the outer fuselage sections around the outside, to keep everything true or square whilst it set hard. That gap by the rear undercarriage part being very evident here (prior to fixing) Outer fuselage added to keep interior "square" by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr And finally…. after a good 24 hours, all tape was removed and some final check made. I re-clamped the rear section and added some more glue, along with some more sprue-goo to bolster the grip, and then used this on all slightly open seams (although they’ll all be covered by the outer skin once added. Final clamping and glue and some sprue goo. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr So that’s it for now. Not my normal type of build but another case of learning as I go. Thanks for reading… Jonathan.
  10. As part of my effort to clear my backlog of started kits I have dug out my Matchbox Spitfire. I started this literaly decades ago, but didn’t get far. I have looked at it occasionally, but no action. Then I bought some Xtradecal decals for it, SAC MkIX undercarriage legs, MasterCasters interior, Master gun barrels. Finally I found out about the Grey Matter correction set for the nose, which of course I immediately ordered on a wim. Having now spent about ten times what the original kit cost, guilt has led me to this, my first WIP. It will not be a tutorial, I am not that good, it will not be a guide to the ultimate accurate Matchbox Spitfire, but posting about it will serve to prod me to get it built. With a little luck, at about the halfway point, somebody will announce a new accurate Mk 22/24 for you guys waiting for one. We will start with the nose, the Grey Matter nose is one seriously large accurate lump of resin. I may scratchbuild the u/c legs out of brass because even the SAC legs might fold under the weight! It also might be the first Spitfire build to need weight in the tail to prevent it becoming a nose sitter. You can see the difference with the kit item. The panel lines look much more to scale than the Matchbox lines-lol.
  11. While working on Vc from Malta, I pulled out "Spitfire Mk.V" by Revell - the well known 1996 boxing featuring some nice looking details and some massive blunders. I actually thought it is mk.Vc so I started it planning to build it with Xtradecal decals I used for the other Spitfire. But as you may be aware, it is in fact mk.Vb. Oh well. At this point I decided to build it as LF version as I do not have clipped Spitfire in my collection. Kit has decals for it - AEoE, EP120 (boxart plane). So I built model with clipped wings. And then I learned Revell idea of "Sky" as used on code letters and band is too dark. I looked through my spares box but haven't found any decals for LF version of mk.Vb. I do have some nice ones for full span wings. Sigh. Now I am not sure how I will paint it. Either I will stay with AEoE and ignore that letters are too dark. Or I will make undocumented plane from 303 Squadron that operated some LF Mk.Vb from late 1943 to June 1944 using RFoD codes from well known Zumbach's plane from the period when 303 first operated ordinary Mk.Vb (Oct'41-June'43). Cockpit is one of the weakest parts of this model that would require complete rebuilding. On the other hand, transparencies are so terrible, you will not see much of this. So, as I started this model with attitude "I have it so I will build it" I decided to paint what little there is and hide it under the glass. The other major problem is obviously lack of gull wing. I decided to check if I can do something about it. Using rotary tool and sandpaper and copious amounts of putty and surfacer plus actual forcibly bending the plastic parts I managed to get some promising results. During this process I learned changed shapes interfere with cockpit floor. This plus the fact that this "flat" part has no panel lines (despite model having very nice panel detail overall) got me thinking and I believe this may be actual reason why they flattened this piece - they could have discovered that there is a problem when building test shots and at this point the only way to make body buildable was to carve into mould to flatten it. At some point (I have this model for a long time so box was opened numerous times) I managed to lose kit spinner so I fitted Rotol prop from Airfix. Is it acceptable? If the shape is bad I may print new one as I got the files when building Malta Spitfire.
  12. Hi all, I seem to be making good time with my main GB build (1/32 Arado Ar 234) so I am risking all and putting in a second build in true WWEMD style The box is a bit beaten up but packied with goodies! Thanks go to Britmodeller @BushBrit66 for the kit and accessories. As this is a Revell rebox (it's the Dragon kit) all the sprues are packed together in one big bag. The build also includes the very nice Verlinden cockpit and engine set. Although it doesn't include a full engine, the exposed detail is very nice. And obviously the cockpit is completely overhauled. There's also a cornucopia of reference material which should make this a cinch. I rarely build in this scale so it all feels rather fine and little, so this will be a nice side-build I can keep busy with while struggling with the resin MDC Ar 234! Thanks for looking, Alan
  13. Having just started one build in the WWII Twins GB, why not start another one here? I'll be building a Luftwaffe-operated F-104G 23+92, construction number 683D-8102, in the colors of JaboG 34, out of this Revell kit (currently OOB, no extras.) According to 916-Starfighter.de this plane had its first flight on May 30, 1963 so it should be good to go. /Jari
  14. A more recent completion this time; I had finished this one up just this past September and I was very please with the end result. This was from an old Revell kit containing three models, each one with only a small amount of pieces to construct. I painted the whole thing in AK Real Colors' No.6 Earth Yellow, then covered that with tiny balls of stick-tac all over. Once covered, I sprayed the plane again with IJN Deep Green and removed the tac. Once removed, I brush painted spots of Rotbraun within the yellow spots, giving this cheetah-print camo. The results were better than I expected, and this is still one of the most unique and visually appealing camouflage patterns in my collection. There were a couple major downsides to this kit: the first being the complete lack of any wheel wells. Looking back, I probably could have put some card-stock in there at the very least for something, and that would have been better than the empty recess that is currently there. The second issue was the discolouring of the decals, most notable on the underside of the wings. But, this was a free kit and very old, so some imperfections are acceptable to me. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The C.200 Saetta (Lightning) was an Italian-made fighter aircraft used by the Regia Aeronautica throughout the Second World War. It saw more operations than any other Italian aircraft and was noted for its agility, climbing and diving capabilities. The C.200 was the first all-metal monoplane produced by Italy and led to the developments of the C.202 Fulgore and C.205 Ventro (the latter of which I did a model of earlier this year). In its initial design, the C.200 had stability issues and was prone to spinning due to an imbalance in the wing, but these were later rectified with changes based on studies by Willy Messerschmidt and NACA (later to become NASA). The service history of the C.200 is long; they didn't see service in the Battle for France, but they were used extensively in the Mediterranean, especially after Britain's heightened involvement and introduction of the Hurricane. While the Hurricane was faster than the C.200, the latter was found to be superior in terms of manoeuvrability, turn radius, and climb rate. The C.200s were also used during the Italian efforts in Yugoslavia and, more than anywhere else, North Africa, providing cover for the retreating Axis forces after the Allied victory at El Alamein (a battle at which my grandfather on my mum's side fought for the Allies). After Fascist Italy's surrender in September 1943, many remaining C.200s still in operational condition were used by the Allied Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force.
  15. Precision Scraper Revell (39083) We all need tools in modelling for various things, generally for scraping we use the back or front of a knife blade, and while that works sometimes it is not the best. Tool makers have come forward with solutions to this and now Revell bring us their version. The scraper is made from high carbon steel the head is about an inch long and tapers to a point. The blade is substantial about 3mm at the handle end, but this also tapers down to the point. The scraper is very sharp and looks like it will keep its edge very well (so sharp I actually stabbed myself with it, but thats a story for a different time!). This should be useful for a number of modelling tasks including scraping, and reaming out holes to name a couple. Conclusion A good looking tool which is of good quality and should last. Recommended Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  16. First serious bit of modelling I've attempted in about forty years – so guess that makes me a newbie! My first experience of photoetch, acrylics, airbrush... you name it. So I wanted to do a subject I felt a connection to, and something that would stretch me to the max. So it's Revell's 1/32 Schnellbomber which will assume the guise of 4D+DH 'Dora Heinrich' of 1.KG30.
 This Ju 88A-1 fell to the guns of 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron on 16/10/39 during a Luftwaffe raid on RN ships in the Firth of Forth. 'Dora' was the first enemy bomber downed by the RAF over the British mainland in WWII, and was on the receiving end of the first ever Spitfire victory.
 I was born by the Forth, and have lived half my life on its banks, my family have worked for generations on its waters and in its docks and I live just a few miles from where 'Dora' ditched almost eighty years ago. So I thought I'd make her the first half of a 1/32 'Dogfight Double'. Eventually I'll get around to tackling her nemesis – XT-A 'Stickleback' a MkI Spit of 603 Squadron. Over a year in, having too much fun, here's some (unfinished) pit shots. Apologise for quality – taken with an iPhone4 Cockpit side walls, still needs wiring/some piping added Eduard PE, Aims and homemade decals Floor and curtains printed on inkjet Pilot seat, control column and BZG2 Bombsight
  17. Hi, Here's my Revell F-84E with Aeromaster decals. That 86th FBW must have been quite a sight, I hope to reproduce a little of that magic. After years of looking for the F-84E and only seeing F-84G's, I finally found several last year at a modelling festival and from an estate sale. The one from the estate sale (a modeller named Jean-Claude of the Amay Models Club) had a bit of work done on it. He removed what looks like external reinforcement plates around the Main Landing Gear wells. I've circled the areas in red on the picture below. The shape of the ones in front of the wells reminded me a bit of the compressibility flaps on late P-38's and I noticed that there was a stencil with quite a bit of text on them. Stencils 40 and 41 on the Revell kit sheet. Fearing that the stencil might mean "stay away from this flap!" I looked at it with a magnifier. The stencil is about electrical plugs. I plan to use Jean-Claude's lower wings on this build as this will be the earliest F-84E that I'd want to build and thus the best one to do without external reinforcements. Cheers, Stefan.
  18. My entry for the group build will be Revell's 1/48 F-84E, and as the title suggests, the markings I decided on are the colorful markings for Col. Robert Scott's thunderjet he flew when he took command of the 36th Fighter Bomber Wing in Furstenfeldbruck, Germany in 1951. Scott gained fame as the highest scoring ace of the CBI theater in WWII with 10 kills. As the commander of the brand new 23rd FG, he flew hand-me-down AVG P-40s adorned with leftover Flying Tiger decals, so when he was assigned F-84E-10-RE 49-2299 as his personal aircraft with the 36th FBW, he figured it appropriate to pay homage to his WWII days and applied several Flying Tiger motifs to the aircraft. Decals are from an excellent Cutting Edge sheet, although the national insignia and stenciling will need to come from elsewhere, likely a newer boxing of a Revell F-84G in the stash since the decals in the E box have started to yellow. The only AM I plan to add at the moment is a resin seat from Quickboost.
  19. Hi All, Here is my effort on the ICM kit but Revell boxing of the Gloster Gladiator an absolute joy to put together even if the instructions would have you put the lower instrument panel on the rear bulkhead! Only aftermarket used is the seat belts although a decal is supplied in the boxing. I have rigged this one in "stretchy beading thread" bought of off ebay and very cheap compared to the "modelling" alternatives. The lower upper wing had the holes drilled and the treads were super glued into them and left to fully harden . The inner fuselage strut holes were drilled right through the top mainplane and those wires glued into the fuselage. The lower wing holes were drilled right through and once the upper wing was attached I pulled the wires through, tensioned them and held in position with tape. when all were secured I then glued each wire to the wing and trimmed the excess off. I found this method worked very well using this 0.4 mm beading thread. paints used were from Mr Hobby Aqueous , Revell Aqua and Tamiya acrylics first time I've used the Pledge alternative to Klear as a decal setting solution and found it works fine but is not so aggressive to the decals as Klear. I can fully recommend this ICM kit only downside I missed getting another for £25 in the Jadlam spring sale they are now out of stock! Looks like I need to trim that aerial wire! MODeller
  20. Phew, broke my duck for 2024. I was very pleased to finish this one, not least because it was an xmas present from my Dad. The kit was pre-owned and included quite a lot of aftermarket – the Ali Cat canopy set, Quickboost propeller and exhausts and the Master brass gun barrels set (this being particularly appreciated as the forward-firing MG17 in the kit seems to be a 30mm upgrade from the diameter of the barrel). I had another beef with the kit, in that it seems to be designed to be built with the wings folded and all the engine panels open... as a result the wings seem to be lacking the wing-root fillet at the top if you build them unfolded (it could have been me, but I couldn't find any such part or any part that looked like it might fit the bill) and the engine cowling panels don't fit at all well if closed up. Still, I made it in the end and as it's unlikely anyone else will produce an injection-moulded Ar 196A then you either build this one or you don't build any. I did add the HGW resin seat and fabric seatbelt set, and the Quinta instruments sets, as the kit's moulded seat belts weren't all that impressive and there were no decals for the instrument panel. The model was finished in the Maritime Scheme, with Colourcoats ACLW04 - Grun RLM 72 & ACLW05 - Grun RLM 73 over ACLW03 - Hellblau RLM 65, with the interior in ACLW12 - RLM Grau RLM 02, the propeller blades in ACLW02 – Schwarzgrun RLM70 and the bombs in ACLW11 - Dunkelgrun RLM71. Detail painting was mostly Vallejo acrylics with Tamiya Clear Red and Green for the navigation lights. I used the kit transfers, they were good but I did ditch the large stencilled laurel wreath marking which commemorated 100 catapult launches from Tirpitz – I didn't like the way it was sprayed over the hand-hold ropes and there must have been a time when it didn't have that marking applied (the first 99 launches, for example). I finished it with a mix of satin and matt varnishes, it still came out shinier than I expected but them's the breaks. Thanks for your patience, apologies for the verbiage Cheers, Stew
  21. This was a problem child of mine. Not because the kit is bad ... it is actually a pretty well made kit with a huge potential for detailing. I got it on sale to add to my already too high stack of racing cars. When I finally started it about 5 years ago, I ran into a lot of troubles, mostly of my own making. I had bad luck with a few race carkits over the last years, someone must have put some bad voodoo on me. So, the car went half build into the closet (together with a few others). As I always was feeling bad for not having finished it whenever I saw the box (always), I manned up and finished it as a quick "weekend build" without any details or attention to parts you anyhow hardly see. So, not my best work, but finally complete and out of the closet and out of my mind 🏁 Thanks for looking, any comments welcome. Cheers here are my other racing models: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3R7EApxULTfrgsPu6
  22. Few months ago, i started to built this seaplane, one of my favorite. I used all Eduard photoetch kits. Arado 196 B-0: Pre-series with central float, 5 aircrafts delivered at the end of 1938 for evaluation by coastal reconnaissance units, 10 in total built. I began by the BMW engine. Wiki: The BMW 132 is a radial aircraft engine, which was produced by BMW from 1933 onwards. It was the German version of the American Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet. On January 3, 1928, BMW bought the manufacturing license for the Pratt & Whitney nine-cylinder air-cooled radial engine. The manufacture started with an almost unchanged version, called BMW Hornet. Soon, BMW began to develop its own version. The result was the BMW 132, an improved version whose production began in 1933. It was built in many different versions. In addition to the carburettor versions used mainly in civil aviation, versions with direct fuel injection were produced for the air force created by the National Socialist regime, the Luftwaffe. The BMW 132 was widely used to power transport aircraft. Thus, it was the main engine of the Junkers Ju 52 for most of its career, making the BMW 132 one of the most important engines for civil aircraft during the 1930s. Many aeronautical feats were accomplished with the BMW 132. The most impressive performance was the first direct flight between Berlin and New York, made on August 10, 1938 by a four-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 200 S-1 Condor. This aircraft linked the two cities in 24 hours and 57 minutes non-stop. Aircraft equipped with this engine: Arado Ar 196 Arado Ar 197 Blohm & Voss Ha 137 Blohm & Voss Ha 140 Blohm & Voss BV 142 Dornier Do 17P Fieseler Fi 98 Focke-Wulf Fw 62 Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor Gotha Go 244 Heinkel He 114 Heinkel He 115 Henschel Hs 123 Henschel Hs 124 Junkers Ju 160 Junkers Ju 52 Junkers Ju 90 Junkers W 34
  23. Hi guys, my first kit finished this year, and my first post here on Britmodeller. This is a Revell kit with some scratches to make it look more like the real thing. I will explain each of these changes better in the photos below. For the paint, I found a lot of paint schemes for these shelters, so I took one from reference and make only a few changes. The Kit: Revell 1/72 Shelter and ground plate I thought the dome was not very stable so as a first step I reinforced it. There were many ejection marks as well to cover. The shape of the kit is very far from the real thing, so I superimposed a photo of the piece in photoshop with the photo of the real shelter, printed it out and used it as a template to make a new facade with a 5mm sheet of styrene. The dome of the shelter is warped so it was necessary to hold it in shape with tape. I tried soaking it in hot water to get the right shape, but I wasn't successful. The solution I found was to put some nails in the base to hold the dome in the right shape. The kit is very poor in details, so I wanted to do some to make it more interesting. Scribbed some panel lines scratch those boxes added some wires and some interior stuff for the front lowering I used zipaline and kombifiller for the painting I made a mixture of paints to try to match the tone of the reference photos
  24. My first builds for this GB. These are both based on the old 1967 tooling, updated in 1982 to cover the P-70 night fighter. As I wanted to build both, and they have 90% commonality, it makes sense to have just the one build thread. I bought both of these kits in 1996 a few weeks apart, probably in different cities. Combined cost: < 10 Irish Pounds (c. 12.70 Euro in today's money). The P-70 is in a Matchbox box, which in those days was just another way of selling any mold owned by Revell. Because I dislike painting black on black plastic, I have swapped around most of the parts. The basic tooling includes the drill-out holes for the P-70 ventral gun pack, and for the dipole aerials on the port wing. There is one missing main undercarriage door (easy to replace), and one missing tiny oval side window (Clearfix to the rescue). I have nothing fancy planned for either kit. The bomber kit has the option to build a USAAF A-20C, but the SAAF Boston III was always my first choice.
  25. Aston Martin DB5 007 Goldfinger (05653) Easy-Click System 1:24 Carrera Revell Aston Martin’s Grand Tourer, the DB5 rose to prominence above almost anything they had produced to that date or since, when it won a starring role in the James Bond film Goldfinger, driven by Sean Connery as the eponymous hero, fitted with guns, oil-slick dispensers, bullet-screen and an ejector seat to name but a few of the gadgets used. Like all of Jimmy’s cars, it ended up in a tangled heap, crashed into a building, and JB in the hands of the bad guys, which is a surprisingly common outcome for such a supposedly accomplished spy, although he always manages to escape. Developed from its predecessor the DB4, the DB5 was so named after the owner of the company David Brown. The engine was a light-weight aluminium straight-six block with three carburettors that propelled it to over 140mph thanks to its 280bhp output that was sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed gearbox that was bought in from a third-party to solve previous problems that their home-grown box had encountered, although a four-speed box was used in early editions. It was also available with a 3-speed automatic box, but who’d want that unless they had leg issues? Like modern Astons, it was lavishly appointed, with leather trim, thick luxurious carpeting, and traditional chrome wire-wheels with knock-on/off nuts. The magnesium alloy body had two doors, and could seat two comfortably, with additional space for children or adults with no legs, and luggage in the boot. It was initially launched in 1963, and the production run included a small number of custom-built cabriolets, some of which had more powerful Vantage engines, and at the very end of production some were kitted out with the upcoming DB6’s engine. During its last year of production in 1965 they released the Vantage option with an extra 40+bhp of power squeezed out of the engine thanks to improved carburettors and more aggressively profiled camshafts, with only 65 being made before the DB6 replaced it in their line-up. The DB6 was an evolution of its forerunner, with improved aerodynamics and luxury, developing into a closer representation of the later DB series cars that we’re probably familiar with from our childhood and beyond. The Kit This is a new tool Easy-Click System kit from Revell, designed to be built by novices or experts alike, requiring no glue unless you feel the urge, and including a set of five thumb-pots of acrylic paint and a two-ended paint brush. You also receive a folded A3 poster of the box art without the trappings required for the packaging, which you can hang on the wall if you wish. Inside the end-opening box are four sprues in black styrene, three sprues and the bodyshell in muted silver, one in dark grey, two chromed sprues, a clear sprue, four flexible black tyres, decal sheet, sticker sheet, and instruction booklet that is printed in colour, and has the painting and markings guide on the rear pages. Though this is a snap-together kit and comes with both decals or stickers for the younger audience, detail is good for a kerbside model, and it includes some of the gadgets that Mr Connery used in the movie, such as the bullet-screen, ejection seat opening in the roof, and the extendible axles that tore the side out of the baddie’s car during a frenetic chase. Construction begins with the floor pan, which has a silver insert that depicts the underside of the engine and transmission using two parts, over which the suspension struts are added, pivoting the front axles with moulded-in brake disks and their connecting arm, then layering a sub-frame over it before moving on to the rear axle. The back axle is bulked out with an insert in the centre that creates the differential housing, fitting suspension struts and dampers into the rear of the floor pan. The twin down-pipes from the engine are placed side-by-side along the centre of the floor pan, then attention turns to the interior. The front seats are each made from an L-shaped part with pencil quilting that has a rear panel inserted, while the dashboard has the steering column and wheel inserted into the right side, adding eight decals or stickers to the dials, and another to the centre of the steering wheel and centre console. The interior floor is a grey part that receives the rest of the internal assemblies, starting with the gear stick, which has a choice of standard or 007 variants with the cap open displaying the red button. A choice of centre armrest with alternative open rest that has gadget buttons in it is made next, then the driver’s foot pedals are snapped into the right footwell, popping the front and rear seats in behind. The door cards are both fitted with inner handle, while the driver’s side has another secret pocket that can be fitted open to display more gadgets. They have a decal applied, and are clipped into the sides of the floor, held vertically by the dash that is installed at the same time. The completed interior is inserted into the bodyshell after adding a rear-view mirror above the windscreen, and if you’re going for realism, there are quite a few ejection-pin marks around the perimeter of the roof liner that you may wish to hide with filler. A black inner wheel well insert is added forward of the interior while the body is inverted, and at the rear, three clear lenses are clipped into the corners to create the light clusters, painting the lenses the appropriate clear colour. Naturally, there are alternate bottom lenses depicted flipped open to display the barrels of the rear machine guns. The front and rear number plate holders are built with a rotating prism held inside a frame, adding the bumper and boot handle at the rear, plus slide-out over-riders that are held in place by a pair of washers inside. The front bumper is installed after the bodyshell and floor pan are mated, fitting a front valance to the rear of the bumper, and adding the same kind of slide-out over-riders either side of the rotating number plate holder before fixing them under the front of the vehicle, and slotting the distinctive chromed Aston Martin grille into the centre. Side lights or machine guns are fitted into the front wings, and the headlight lenses are too, once the inner lens and chromed reflector are fixed into the recess. The wheel hubs are built from three layers, the rear of the hub in black, and the wire wheels in chrome, trapping a top-hat washer in the centre that friction-fits on the axles. The flexible tyres are slipped over the hubs and attached to the model, one per corner as you’d expect. The windscreen is carefully inserted from outside, helping it along by inserting your index finger (other fingers are available) through the ejection seat hatch to ensure it doesn’t fall inside. The rear screen can be inserted similarly, adding the side windows from the outside. It’s worth noting that the side windows are supplied as a single part, including both the door window and the quarter-light, and locating on a pair of tabs that clip into the sills of the bodyshell. External chromed door handles and the wing detail inserts are applied to the exterior side, and you have a choice of installing standard knock-off wheel nuts, or the 007 weaponised versions that project from the centre of the wheel on a tubular support, by using different chromed parts. More chromed parts follow, including the aerial base, a pair of windscreen wipers, and wing mirrors, not forgetting the hatch through which your unfortunate front seat passenger would be ejected should the need arise. You can pose it closed by using the part, or leave it off to show off the interior better. The last standard parts are the twin exhausts that have the back box moulded in, clipping to the end of the down-pipes under the body. The 007 specific gear is finalised by sliding the bullet screen behind the rear window, which slots into the rear bodywork, and can be fitted with a decal or sticker that portrays some bullet damage for a little movie frivolity. Next to the exhausts, a black tube is inserted into a hole in the valance, and if memory serves, this is the oil dispenser. It’s a while since I’ve seen Goldfinger. Markings This is a special edition, so there is only one option on the decal sheet, although there are alternative number plate options for those rotating plate holders. From the box you can build the following: Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. It’s not clear who printed the stickers, but they seem well-done and fit for purpose. Conclusion Sean Connery played a colder and cooler Bond (controversial!) than his replacement, and the DB5 cemented its place in motoring and movie history by appearing in Goldfinger. It’s a good-looking model of the car, and should provide some fun for the novice and expert alike, choosing which of the gadgets to deploy on your model. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
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