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Hi - I decided that never having built a helicopter kit I would remedy that by pulling the Italeri 1/48 WESSEX HAS1 out of my stash. I had a search on Britmodeller and found several builds of 1/72 & 1/48 kits as RAN HAS31's so that firmed up my decision to make the kit as a RAN HAS 31B. I took the photos below in the late 80's at Cooma Airport NSW when two Wessex were on exercise transporting soldiers from the airport to various spots in the local countryside. Some good RAN Wessex walkarounds here http://www.grubby-fingers-aircraft-illustration.com/wessex_walkaround.html - just follow link HELICOPTERS>WESTLAND for three different aircraft. I'm not sure if the HAS31A was purely in an antisubmarine role & the 31B utility as in the photo but I leaned toward modelling it in the utility role - maybe someone could clarify on that? So armed with the 4PLUS book and referring to the Grubby Fingers Wessex walkarounds I took the plunge. I also found references on BM in the various builds on here including some with useful photos from Navy870 with of things like the main rotor fold jig in place on the aircraft. When I opened the box, I found that I had luckily purchased a Scale Warship Rotor Fold etch & a Rotor Craft folded tail rotor resin upgrade for the kit - other purchases lurking at the bottom of the box were two Wessex HAS31 decal sheets & a Scale Warship Helicopter Deck Grill & tiedowns. Sooo I plan to make the Wessex all folded up with the cabin door open & I wanted to make the cabin interior detailed - the kit does not have the "dog box" on the Beetleback fairing for this version so whether the build would go ahead depended on whether I could scratch build a passable "dog box" I started by making a mould for the dog box from a piece of pine & then vacuformed it from some 40thou plastic sheet - I then had to carve a recess in the beetle back to accept the shape of the dog box fairing & remake some of the beetleback fins I had been a bit heavy handed with. I decided the fairing was good enough to keep going & would largely be tucked in behind the folded rotor blades, so I turned my attention to the cabin interior. I made use of the RP Tools strip cutter which was very handy when you need to cut several strips the same length. I decided to make the cabin interior framework more prominent by overlaying the frames in the kit with Evergreen 20thou square strip. Various gussets & boxes were represented by its of Evergreen plastic, pipes with fine lead wire & electrical cables from electrical wiring with insulation stripped off & teased out into bundles At this point after studying the RAN Wessex walkarounds I noted that the cabin roof extended only about halfway along the cabin and from there back the curved roof structure of the airframe is visible so I decided to try & incorporate this feature. I wrapped a piece of 40thou sheet around a metal tube with copper wire to hold it in place & plunged it into a cup of boiling water - after a few minutes it had taken up the curve I needed. Next step was to shape it to fit the rear cabin - photo below shows it glued in & frames added - the square of white plastic is there temporarily to help align it. The cabin roof part was cut so that it stopped between the two port windows & then the quilting was sanded back & filled with Vallejo putty followed by sanding. The forward bulkhead was detailed with plastic card & wire to make it look a bit more like the walkaround photos - I note the fire extinguisher should sit in a recess & I may or may not fix that - a piece of 5mm plastic tube was filed flat one side, cut to fit into the framework & added to the rear cabin roof to represent the tail rotor shaft housing. The fuselage halves were masked along the mating surfaces prior to painting of the cabin interior. Having done all that the following shows the glimpses of the interior when closed up temporarily. I'm still thinking about the "troop seating"? that fits along the cabin wall but just noticed that the new Airfix Sea King has them on the sprues for one of the kit versions - the other option is to scratch build them. Thats it for now! CJP

My 2nd contribution to this GB is a real Boom Boom, the North American X-15-2 research plane. This will keep me occupied while the filler is drying on the Vatour! Most if not all will know this plane and its exploits so no need for more info here. Suffice to say only 3 X-15s were Built with the 2nd being involved in a landing accident early in the program. This plane was rebuilt 28" longer for more fuel capacity and the kit is of this longer plane meaning only #2 can be built from the box. Number 2 was the record breaking plane so the preferred subject. I bought this kit a while ago and think it will fit well here as a Baby Boomer. The kit looks fairly basic although there is a lot of superbly detailed resin. Since the plane dropped its lower fin on landing to reveal a flimsy undercarriage I'll build it in flight. This will avoid most of the resin which is a shame. The actual record of the fastest manned aircraft at Mach 6.7 was made with the plane in a while ablative coating which was designed to melt off the plane as part of the cooling process. I quite like the appeal but think I'll stick to a more traditional black scheme expecially with the very excellent looking decal sheet. Colin

Hi, Now that I have cleared the last troublesome kit I will build from my stash (AMT P-40N), it's time to get to the Corsairs. It started with the F4U-5, then I found an AU-1 (F4U-6) kit I didn't know existed, and recently I found an F4U-7. I thought I'd work on them all together since they are all related. As everything will be in triplicate this will be a slow build. Cheers, Wlad

I have been avoiding the big Sanger 1/48 Avro Shackleton in my stash for a while now. I picked it up on eBay a few years back & then realised it was an MR2 version and I wanted the AEW2. So some great service from Sanger provided me with the correct bits to build the one I wanted. The Martine Reconnaissance version had been retired before I started going to airshows, although I think the Duxford one had not long arrived when I first went around 1976. The AEW2 all over grey Shackletons were still sometimes seen around airshows until the late 80s. I can remember the sound of those 4 Griffons, and one memorable time seeing one flying with the BBMF Lanc. Anyway, the kit. These are the two fuselages and wings with a 1/48 Airfix Lightning for scale The detail isn’t actually too bad And the white metal parts. As I said I have both MR and AEW parts. So 24 separate prop blades & vacform hubs. Nice and easy then! This is not going to fall together over night! I usually do lights & motors but even though technically a modified rc helicopter would give contra rotating props, I think the white metal blades would fly around the room! Might still squeeze in some lights though

I know, I know…….I am getting into this ‘let’s start another build….’ when I have (last count) 6 in progress models in various stages. I was taken aback last week when I moved my stash to clean the floor. I have amassed a lot of kits since restarted in 2022. So, finding the reason to reduce the boxes. I have decided to tackle this fat, unglamorous plane in a big box. Here’s my modest stash in a small apartment. I think it’s an old age thing. I am attracted to planes with props now and I have been building these since coming back; Lancaster, Skyvan, Twin otter, Atlantic and now Greyhound. In the stash are Mosquito, Storch, Anson, An-2, Skyraider, B25 and the 1/24 Spitfire……all props. This is my first 1/48 scale plane since coming back. I shall do my most enjoyable part of detailing the cabin a bit and possibly put in some carrier crews showing what’s cod.

I'm quite excited to start this! Here's a box shot - I'll be building Eduard's 1/48 P-51D, in markings of an aircraft flown by Lt James Hickey, out of Martlesham Heath. My late father was RAF groundcrew, and based at Martlesham until it became an American base in 1943, when he was transferred to work on Wellington bombers at Chipping Warden. So, a family connection, albeit a slightly tenuous one!

Thought I would start a Work in Progress post for my new project - concurrent Italeri and Revell 1/48 Blackbird builds. When I say new, I actually started the Italeri SR71 about 20 years ago, and therefore before YouTube even existed. Without any access to the plethora of modelling tips now available on the Interweb, my initial attempts at this difficult kit were a bit feeble, and it sat in a box 90% incomplete and 10% in disaster for a long time. I've kept the thing all these years, as I'm loathe to throw anything away, and I'm a sucker for a lost cause. Since I took up modelling again a few years ago, I've been collecting a few aftermarket bits for it, and last year bought the Revell kit also, along with more aftermarket parts. (I tend to limit my 'stash' to aftermarket goodies rather than kits, as they take up less space and are easier to hide, thus avoiding awkward questions) So I've now got two different kits and a load of bits to make the same aircraft, but have decided that I don't want two big black aircraft, and plan to do one in the early black/titanium two tone scheme that I like. Therefore, the Italeri kit is to be converted to an early A12 Oxcart. The reason this is a bit of a 'Frankenstein' build is because I plan to use some aftermarket bits on the Revell kit, and some of the spare parts from it will then be allocated to the Italeri A12. My list of bits includes: A very warped Italeri Kit A new Revell Blackbird kit (it may not be the perfect kit, but compared to the Italeri one, its fantastic!) Some Afterburner Decals Armory resin wheels, early and late types Metallic Details 3D printed Cockpit. Metallic Details grills and jet nozzles photo etch Reskit nozzles Eduard Undercarriage photoetch Eduard Interior photoetch Redfox 3D instruments Master pitot tubes x 2 New Ware kabuki mask There's a lot of excellent information available on this Forum on both these kits, which I think I have read most of, and this is an enormous help in hopefully completing the builds. I'm afraid my A12 conversion (or SR71 for that matter) are never going to compete in terms of accuracy and finish to many that have gone before me, but there are two other criteria for me that are more important; 'Have Fun', and 'Get It Finished!'

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.

I'm pleased to present my most recent build, the 1/48 Hasegawa A-4F, wearing the colorful test livery of BuNo 154175, assigned to the Naval Air Test Center at NAS Patuxent River, circa July 1969 (reference photo). Decals come from the Caracal Models' A-4E/F Skyhawk sheet, and a handful of aftermarket rounds out the presentation. The build itself was mostly pleasant. The Hasegawa A-4 tooling as been around for almost twenty-five years, so it's strengths and weaknesses are well-defined at this point. I opted not to fix the step at the back of the slat wells; any scratch repair job on my part would have been far more noticeable than a subtle geometry error you have to know to look for. The only really iffy issues for me were with the engine intakes and the rear fuselage air brakes. The intakes are a bit of a mini-model in their own right; I had to paint, assemble, and mask them prior to fairing them into the fuselage. Because my reference aircraft didn't have the stiffening plate, I was able to remove it, which let me line up the intake to the fuselage without much bother -- otherwise, the two halves of the stiffening plate weren't going to match up no matter how much I sanded or prayed. It's an adage that if a part can be opened, the kit maker probably expects you're going to pose it open, and the air brakes are no different here. It took some (mostly) judicious sanding to get them basically flush with the surrounding fuselage area. Full marks for any kit maker that includes a bespoke closed part for anything that can be opened! The aftermarket for this one includes an engine exhaust plug from Phase Hangar Resin; intake FOD covers from Quickboost; and most notably, brand new Aero 1D 300-gallon drop tanks from Flying Leatherneck. The kit drop tanks are frightfully basic, lacking any detail whatsoever. These tanks have detail to spare, particularly with the characteristic fuel-filler cap towards the left front of the tanks. I fumbled a bit with the tank assembly, thinking the joins where the nose and fin attach were meant to have a visible seam; they were most decidedly not, and much filling, sanding, and swearing ensued, but the final result isn't too bad. They required a bit of surgery to fit on the kit pylons, but nothing too radical, and they don't affect the center of gravity sufficiently to turn a properly-weighted Hasegawa A-4 into a tail-sitter. (I did manage to drop one and snap off the fin, alas, after painting, so the starboard tank has a slightly cracked fin.) I tried to use a LP Models crew ladder, but I just couldn't get the mounting rod to match up with the matching hole I drilled before I bought it. Shame, because it's very nice. The ladder on the ground in some of the pictures is the LP version; the mounted ladder is from the kit. The figures are from the very nice ICM US Pilots and Ground Personnel (Vietnam War) set, and the base is a pre-made Zoukei-Mura model, which remains the best $20 I've ever spent in the hobby. Decals went down like a dream, just as you'd expect from Caracal and Cartograf. The only iffy decal issue arose when it came time to place the US insignia over the wing vortex generators on the port wing, the bane of any US Navy or Marine Skyhawk build. I erred on the side of caution and hoped that prodigious applications of MicroSol would get the decal to conform, but I needed to have been more aggressive with actually pressing down on the decal during the initial application, I think, as it's not a "painted on" look, with slight bumpy contours visible between the strakes. To their credit, the Cartograf/Caracal decals held up to the MicroSol, only tearing when I tried to force the issue (literally). A tiny piece of white decal from a spare on the sheet covered most of my sins, but it's the one weak point with the decals on the build, all due to the user. Paints are a mixture of Mr. Paint and Mr. Color lacquers, laid down over black and pink Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500. The red landing gear bay door outlines were applied with a red paint pen. I went for a black-basing technique on the light gull grey uppers and white lowers, and I opted against a glossy finish. I really wanted a worn-down aircraft in this one, so I used an off-white instead of an insignia white and put down a final dull coat using Winsor & Newton Galeria Matt. Indeed, it's a heavily weathered bird, probably not to everyone's taste, but I wanted to work on my weathering skills. I went for an overall uniformity of grub, using a warm grey oil wash. Though I'm sure no crew chief would let his or her aircraft out of the hangar quite so scuffed up, I'm envisioning the end of a series of grueling test flights in the frankly oppressive summer humidity of southern Maryland, as well as claiming a bit of artistic license. This particular airframe went through so many changes of scheme that I wager it was repainted as often as it was scrubbed down. On the whole, this was an enjoyable project, one that really stretched my skills. Thanks for reading and for taking a look.

G'day All This was a thoroughly enjoyable build, the fit for the most part being excellent, although the fuselage centreline seam was quite stubborn to get rid of, followed by all the replacement of the lost detail, which would have needed doing regardless, the rivets tending too fade out towards the centreline. The only weaknesses of the model were the silly engineering that has you install the landing gear early on, and the exaggerated fabric effect on the ailerons, which I corrected by spraying several coats of primer, before sanding. Markings aside from the nose art were sprayed on through masks . The nose art came from ASK RAAF Mitchell's Part 2. For my money, the HKM Mitchell renders the old Monogram kit obsolete. I cant wait for them to released the solid nose versions in 48 scale. Eduard wheels and karaya metal gun barrels were used on the build. It represents a machine of 2 SQN Royal Australian Air Force 1944 Regards Bruce

Hi to all. A few weeks ago I finished this kit, AMK's MiG-31BM. I Painted the entire kit with AK real Color RC336 MiG-25/31 grey. The dielecrtic panels of rhe nose cone , front fuselage and vertical fins with dark grey from Tamiya's acrylic, XF-24. I decided to use the kit's decals. I hope you like it. Best regards, Pablo

Su-25, Peruvian Air Force 2005, no. 071 in 1/48. Made from an old OEZ Letohrad (Czechoslovakia) kit. I used photoetched parts from Eduard and Part. The rest is self-made (for example flaps, slots, airbrakes etc.). Decals are from Authentic Decals 4847 set. Miss of stencils is not a mistake in this case.

Hi, I am giving up Ebay, I am glad that I stashed all I wanted in 2020, because that site is unusable now. The prices in shipping are a joke, as everyone is trying to avoid Ebay fees. 50 USD for shipping? Yeah right. I would rather print one. I was looking at a Eduard 1/48 DFW T.28 Floh, this guy: but it is just not worth it. For the joke, I checked if someone have it as a model, and here it is: So, I downloaded the pieces, and used a Ultimaker 2+ Connect printer I have access to. Happy with my first piece, but I realised that the orientation was not the best. Back to the printer, and this time printing it on a way that the fuselage curves are one in the xy-axis, not in the z-axis which will always be "pixelated" Much better now. Also, since the Floh pictures I see do not have exhaust pipes, I decided to print two "port" pieces, one mirrored so I can do my own exhaust holes. The rest of the pieces were mashed together on a single session. I am not sure if I will use the 3D printed struts, but at least they are useful for measurements. The wing was also an experiment, to see how the rib indents would print out. Yeah, it looks terrible. Printing the wings with the leading edge down. They look thin, strong and retain the airfoil curve. The only con is that they do not have the rib indentations, but that is not a big deal. Adding a tail for the second prototype using sprue sheet. This is going to be a quick kit only to test the 3D printing capabilities. So far I am enjoying a lot, this kit looks doable in an acceptable way, although I will skip most of the cockpit details. Plastic is harder and more annoying to work with (and probably glue), but that also comes with the benefits of thinner pieces.

My first build of the new year will be the Dora Wings 1/48 Curtiss-Wright AT-9 Jeep. A bit of an intriguing aeroplane - it doesn't look quite right to me, it's a bit oddly proportioned, and maybe that's because it was apparently deliberately designed to be difficult to fly (an unusual attribute for a trainer!), so much so that it wasn't offered for sale to civilians at the end of WWII. Box and sprues: It's a nice-looking kit, crisply moulded with some nice detail, although it relies on PE for some smaller details. I'm going to get cracking tomorrow. cheers Julian

Morning folk's,built for the Mustang GB I thought as Lou IV is being built exactly as it should be by others taking part mine would be based on a restored Warbird in the colours we'd really like to think she was in,all brush painted and the rear cockpit removed for the second seat for the paying passengers! Many thanks for looking in.

On signing up, my original plan was an Airfix 1/48 Hunter in Dutch markings. On looking at the original sign up list, I saw that drew the Romanian flag. Knowing knext to nothing about the Romanian armed forces, but being that my sister-in-law’s brother’s wife is Romanian, this got me thinking, so I went off to do some research and some shopping followed. Romania became a member on the 29th March 2004. Having a look on Scalemates I came across the 1/48 Wolfpack MiG-21 LanceR with schemes from 2007 and 2009. Result. The Mig 21 officially was retired from the Romanian Airforce on the 15th May 2023 The Wolfpack LanceR is based on the Academy plastic with added resin from Wolfpack. Don’t know much about the Academy plastic, having only built Eduard MiG-21s to date. So what do you get in the box? Academy Plastic Lots of nice resin.

Hi folks,third and final build for this GB is an early version of the Wildcat in a late 30's yellow wings scheme fits in nicely with the other two builds. picked up for a tenner today.

Wasn’t planning on entering this groupbuild but came across this when tidying up the stash. Always like the look of the Mustang with the Malcolm Hood, so I will be aiming for a quick OOB build.

Lets see how this goes........ The kit does not have the side camera window... i am wondering if i'm brave enough to drill a hole and give it a go ..... Anyway started ... with a few other things... lights under the wing. painted silver apart from the centre. Filled that with ""Looks like Glass" ..seems to look like a bulb a drop of "Looks like Glass" on the front. Part II soon......

While we all know the VK45.02 (P) that begot the engineering abomination that was the Ferdinand/Elefant the story of the Henschel move from the boxy Tiger I to the sleek and malevolent Tiger II has been little studied, although there have been many discussions and electrons have suffered in their uncounted billions because of it. I have been researching this vehicle since this GB got scheduled and I've listed most of the better sites/pages to avoid unnecessary suffering among the BM Massive. You are welcome - this is my act of random kindness for today. So; Listing of Tank Museum articles - some are very good indeed and they all have decent and useful photographs. Those concerning the real story of Tiger 131 are most interesting. Withinamnesia summary and armour supposition - From 2016 a good summary of what was known at the time and a decent stab at the new armour layout which resembles the first, short lived, iteration of the design conceived on 15-16 April 1942. The hull mg position was to be a 'parallel' design to that of the Panther AusfD pending development of a better mount for the thicker plate used. Stunning Swiss Museum Restoration The photo coverage of the restoration alone makes this site worthwhile but there is much more there. An 'interesting' WoT discussion and Another one and a slightly better blog post Starts well but well.... WWII Forum post with info regarding upgunning the Tiger I Axis History Discussion on upgunning the Tiger I Warthunder Discussion on upgunning the Tiger I - if you think you know something a look through these may help you understand Finally a Mythological Blueprint emerges... nearly Andrew Hills (author of a very good book on the Tanks of TOG although I gave him a hard time about the drawing reproduction in it) sums up the current state of play. The linked video is worth a watch as well. So finally starting from (some of) this And guided by and the Tank Encyclopedia article linked above I'm going to aim at the VK 45.02(H) if the design had been frozen, well as near as any WW2 tank design was frozen, in October 1942 allowing deliveries to start April/May 1943 running the assembly line onto the new vehicle as Tiger I production was adjusted to allow the new vehicle to start ASAP. With the VK 45.03 design really starting around 12 October 1942 and first acceptance in January 1944 I feel this is reasonable. With the VK 45.02 design being less of a stretch it could have been with combat units far quicker than the six months the VK 45.03/ Tiger II took to master. As a new project when Speer became Reich Minister of Armaments and War Production on 8 February 1942 it is possible that production could have started a little sooner if he saw this as a reputation establishing project - I think he would certainly have done so. So I'll start with a Skybow Tiger I early and a Tamiya Tiger II turret but first I'll do a bit of digging to see who might have got them, with the VK 45.01(P) originally earmarked for Rommel in N. Africa I fancy doing the desert scheme as used in the southern front of Russia on other types. Your opinions, engagement and questions are always welcome so no need to be shy.

Hello, I will start a build of this gem, a 1996 Eduard 1/48 Sopwith Triplane. Got it from a connection during the pandemic. With my luck, Eduard will retool it and sell a Profipack version after I finish this one, on half the price I paid for this one (without shipping and custom fees). At least it will have some people interested in this amazing plane. I went to London in April, and I manage to visit the RAF museum and take a good look at the one of the only two surviving Triplanes, and document it a little. This will be a Collinshaw's "Black Maria", by the way. The kit itself is very simple with two sprues, details are average, decals are impeccable. Comes with a photo etch, but not as detailed as the profipack version, so I bought a photo etch detail that is intimidatingly damn small. Now, this will be a very slow build, as I do not have much time left, and I want to make justice to this gem, so I do not want to rush things. Let's see how this will turn out, wish me luck.

Its been a while since I last posted anything here, but have just finished Academy's lovely new-tool 1/48 A-10C Thunderbolt, and thought I'd share some photo's. Kit: Academy 1/48 A-10C Thunderbolt "75th FS Flying Tigers" - Kit no.12348 Additions: Phase Hangar Resin corrected inlet/fan, some Tamiya tape seatbelts and a JDAM pinched from a Tamiya F-14D kit Paints: Mr Hobby, Tamiya and Vallejo Decals: TwoBob's "Hoosier Hogs" sheet for main markings and kit decals (which are excellent!) Weathering: Flory Models Grime wash, Windsor and Newton oils, and Daler Rowney pastels, graphite pencil Will I build another one? Absolutely, I loved this kit, went together incredibly well and the detail is superb. Personally I think this is an absolute steal for the retail price. All comments, good and bad, more than welcome. Enjoy, Eng

I would have swore I started a post on this but could not find it to save my life. This is Tamiya's 1/48th P-47 I'm planning to use Cutting Edge decal sheet. I've been wanting to do a P-47 marked as Eileen since seeing the Academy box art years and years ago on the store shelves. Doing the checkered nose had been giving me anxiety so in a rush of inspiration, I paused another build to tackle them back in June 2022. The Cutting Edge sheet provided the checkers but so did Tamiya and I felt I was going to have better luck with Tami's decals. They were in three parts compared to CE's 2 piece. I started out painting the cowl gloss white as a base. Then came the moment of truth.... There's some wrinkles but I got them mostly out with a healthy dose of Solvaset. Not too shabby, and I like that some of the black squares "chipped" as I'm sure they wouldn't have stayed perfect with use. From there, I started in the normal spot, the cockpit. Paints are Model Master, the green is Euro Green which I like as a match for "P-47 cockpit green". The black is just MM black. I did lay down a base of Alclad aluminum before the green for the chipping effects. I used the kit decals for the instruments and I'm very happy with the way it looks. They conform really well considering Tamiya's decals reputation for being thick, same with the cowl checks. There's some wrinkles but they're really only visible in this photo. I also added some aftermarket cockpit stencils which aren't really visible in these shots. I used a resin seat with molded belts from a company whose name escapes me, but I didn't manage to get a shot of it. 🫤 That's all for now, more to come.

Hi all! One aspect of modern warfare I find fascinating is Electronic Warfare. Now I don't have the first clue how any of it works but I do know you'll have to train people to conduct and counter EW. And that's where this specialised Skyhawk comes in! Four TA-4Fs were converted to EA-4Fs and fitted with electronic equipment for fleet training. These were operated by VAQ-33 'Firebirds', who would simulate electronic threats during fleet training. The kit will be Hasegawa's TA-4J in 1/48, with Caracal decals for the VAQ-33 Skyhawk. There's a handful of photos of these Skyhawks floating around, including on of this specific EA-4F at NAS Norfolk in 1975, courtesy of AirHistory.net. Big fan of Hasegawa and the A-4 is one of my favourite aircraft so this should be a fun build. Thanks for looking in!

Hi All, after a lot of indecision, I've finally settled on what was my originally-intended subject, that of 44-72199/G4*A flown by Capt Charles Edward Weaver of the 362nd Fighter Squadron out of Leiston. This particular aircraft has a very striking reclining nude for its nose art, although strangely there's no actual name. I had set out to model this aircraft a few years back with Airfix's 1/72 offering and KitsWorld decals, but as so often happens with me and products from Margate, it died a death. So here I am again! This time the kit is Eduard's 1/48 Weekend boxing, which has Chuck Weaver's mount (fnaar!) as one of its provided schemes. This will be a mostly-OOB build (provisos as below), and as such I'll be relying on Eduard's researches for colours and fixtures/fittings. Having said that, I'm not entirely convinced by the reproduction of the voluptuous lady and so I may well fork out for Pyn-Up's set which appears to be much nicer (although check out her shoes!). The KitsWorld set is available in 1/48, too, but also seems slightly "off" with herself's ribcage resembling a toastrack. Anyway, to the pics (as if we don't know what it looks like!): Box art: Instructions: Very useful, looking at all those tiny pieces! My subject: Kit-supplied tiny PE fret and decals, plus a couple of bits of AM: Sprues: Transparencies: I'm slightly disturbed that all three canopies have detached from their feeds.....which is which??? I've assembled the seat, but as it's just a seat, I'll save pics of it till there's something else to show as well Cheers, Mark