Search the Community

Just finished this one build oot of the box, very nice kit fit is super from academy. Brush painted with humbrol, claer and satin from Alclad by airbrush. Cheers Jes

The Academy catalogue 2017 is online here: https://www.facebook.com/academymodeleurope/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1575659209129938 News pages: Just one new aircraft tooling: the 1/72nd McDD F-15E & K Strike/Slam Eagle - ref.12550 & 12554 - thread: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235013557-new-tool-f-15ek-by-academy-in-172/ All the other "new" kits being repop (with new decals) or variants from old kits. Nonetheless interesting is a 1/72nd single seat F/A-18E Super Hornet kit (thread: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235014755-172-boeing-fa-18e-super-hornet-release-in-2017/) a variant from the FA-18F Super Bug - ref. 12535 - released on July 2016 (thread: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234994146-172-boeing-fa-18f-super-hornet-by-academy-released/). Not even a 1/48th F-4E (derived from F-4C/D kit) nor a FA-50 (derived from the T-50 kit)... And a few other "things" V.P.

I shall be joining with the venerable Catalina. Starting with the Academy 1/72 PBY-5A kit I will add the Red Roo PB2B-2 conversion. I would have preferred to start with a PBY-5 kit but the 5A is all that is around and easy to find these days in the LHS They come with locally added RAAF decals, though I will not be using them. The Red Roo conversion includes the resin parts to make a wartime or civil PB2B-2 and the set I have includes decals for an 11SQN RAAF machine among others. Though since it also has the parts for a civil aircraft I could be tempted to build a QANTAS one! Perhaps I could do both as I have another PBY-5A kit and conversion in stash

Hi Guys. Now that I recently finished 2 projects (one Bearcat and one Lavochkin), it's time to move on with another one. My next client will be the Bf109D in 1/48 from Academy. I intend to use the Eduard zoom set for this kit also. Because I want to convert it to a Bf109 A, I bought myself also the Kagero Top Drawings edition dedicated to Bf 109 early (A to D) series. I hope that it will guide me in order to obtain a decent 109 Anton replica. First, I present you the mandatory pics with kit box and its contents. Hope I will be able to finish this one. It will be a long-term project anyway, because I'm such a slow builder... So, I'm thinking about Spain...1937...

Hi Guys, I have got two models in the stash. Both are 1/48 Academy kits( F-15E &F15I). As I have understand is the F-15E more a D version than a E. So for this Groups Build I will build the E into a D. I have got a Blackbox cockpit for a E, b ut that will be no problem as it was intended for the revell kit and they say you use the instrument panels from that kit. I will have a look if I can find a reasonall priced eduard etch set. otherwise I will use the kit parts. As I have got a Cutting edge decal sheet for Israeli F-15's I will use these. O, if you think what a Baz is than that is the name the Israeli's gave the F-15C and D's. It translate into Falcon. I will build the F-15D called "Sky Blazer". It is from 106 squadron and was stationed at Tel Nov in Israel.This airplane hase got downed five Syrian migs and it will be painted in the standard USAF Ghost Gray scheme (FS 36375 and FS 36320). At least I will try. Here are some pictures of what is in the box. The box art The content. As you can see there are some parts from the sprue loose, but it is unstarted. I bought it a few years from a friend and it was already like this. And it was cheap (typical Dutch as I am). The cockpitset from black box. And the nice decals from the Cutting edge set CED48005. And the scheme I will be using. And some books I have from the F-15. It is not much, but I think it will be enough for this build. Otherwise there is always the internet. I hope to start this build soon. Cheers,

Well my Spitfires decals were settling so I was stuck for something to do so I decided I would make a start on one of the builds I would like to do for this GB. This ones just going to be a quick out the box effort on Academys 1/72 MiG-27. I know the kits got its issues, I beleive the nose is wrong for a D and the cockpit detail is almost none existant but I'm just looking for a quick build again at the moment and not get bogged down with corrections and detailing etc on this whilst I'm waiting on parts for a couple of other builds I want to get done for this and another gb so onwards. Obligatory box and sprue shot:

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Academy P-38J Lightning in markings of 20th Fighter Group. Painted with Gunze/Mr.Hobby acrylics and Alclad II lacquers. Add-ons: CMK cockpit & wheels, Quickboost Engine Air intakes, Master gun Barrels. Decals from Tally Ho. Photographed by Wolfgang Rabel of IGM Cars & Bikes. Best wishes from Vienna and thanks for your interest.

Good evening from Germany I`m thinking about buying (and of course building ) the Academy B-29 and got some questions to you: At first should I buy the eduard etched Stuff; I mean is it worth it`s prize? And when building one in silver: is it a natural metal finish, so I can highlight some panels, or is it silver painted? Thank you in advance Levin

Hi all, If anyone remembers this from 2014, I'm doing another one! This time it's a commission build. I'll be using the same kit (Academy Sufa) and the IsraCast Block 60 F conversion for a UAE Air Force bird. Work starts soon, and I'm going to get back to my usual building pace. Al

Hello all i built this as an attempt to get used to 1/72nd scale i am placing it here as it is about 90% complete. I replaced the barrels with hollow micro brass tubing. Which is itself a test of patience. The Star & Bars are kit decals the serial is kit decal. But the codes are from Woodland Scenics Railroad lettering. I think they work very well. However i've been laughed at by some here at Britmodeller for suggesting these. I'll let you decide whether they look good ? Correct ? Or Bad ? It still needs resin exhausts and some weathering. It is also the first model in a pet project that will eventually incorporate 10 more P-51's, 4 P-47's, and 1 P-38 an airfield diorama with a tower and the associated ground equipment. The full size diorama will be built last. Any how heres the Mustang as it sits today. It represents a D model of the 4th Fighter Group. And i hope you like it. Oh and for those of you curious the invasion stripes were handpainted the Aluminum was Tamiya Rattlecan and the Red & Blue are Vallejo. The Red is standard Vallejo & the Blue MA Mediterranean blue and is Airbrushed. The color was pretty close to the colors i could find online. I hope every one likes this. The eagle eyed among you may spot my glaring goof up on this plane.

Well here we go... My first serious foray in to the dark world of WWII German AFV modelling. So to start my 'new direction' I though I'd go with something that everyone has seen before just to try my hand, see where it goes. This is the Academy Tiger IE 'Early Production' kit just falls together no issues whatsoever (yet - not tried to put the running gear on of course), I won't bore you with the build as for me, this is about the 'colouring in'. I started with an overall black shadow coat as usual. Next I undercoated with a very light misted Tamiya flat brown coat followed by 'Deck Tan' for the highlights and just a spot or three of white for the high, highlights. That done I left it for a day to dry thoroughly. For the basic 'Dunkelgelb' I mixed Tamiya XF4 'Yellow Green' and XF60 'Dark Yellow' in roughly 30/70 proportions and thinned it with around 30% Iso - unfortunately when I shot the first coat it spattered intermitently so I added more Iso to my mix and got a much smoother flow. As it's very mild here in NZ just now, the model dried really fast on a sunny window-ledge and was ready for camo in an hour. I had a picture in my head of how I wanted the stripes and 'meandering lines' to look, so took a deep breath thinned some 'Field Grey' and shot it freehand using my trusty Iwata BR with the difuser tip removed to get a very fine line. There are some touch-ups and errors but not too many - for some odd reason I simply cannot get the camo on the barrel to work, but I'll keep plugging-away at it. Once I'm happy with the camouflage I'll shoot a couple of coats of 'Klear' to seal it all in then get the (few) decals on. Please feel free to make any comment, criticism or ask a question. More soon. Ian.

Just finished, Academy M18 Hellcat... Bought as soon as it came out in 1997, started almost as soon as I got it home, finished this morning !! Used about 30% of the Verlinden kit-specific detail set including some 'old skool' etched brass (yes BRASS), resin stowage etc, other stowage from various Tamiya and Academy sets, .50cal is from the old Tamiya US Weapons set. Most of the decals are from the spares box. Really enjoying my AFV modelling at the moment, so much so that I'm even going to try something that isn't Olive Drab in the very near future !! - As ever thanks for taking the time to look and/or comment please feel free to make any comments, criticisms or ask any questions. Stay tuned. Ian.

Hi All, Here is my Academy Merkeva 4 LIC. I added the Legend turret basket but largely used the Academy ball and chain set as I have sausage fingers. The kit is well detailed and goes together well apart from the tracks the individual links of which just don't want to sit together. I got the concrete blocks and wire from FOG models which I'm really pleased with. PLO posters I just printed from the net. I used the AK Sinai Gray which went on like a dream. My whip antenna could have been better I think Couldn't resist a photo with the much more beautiful Nagmachon. Comments welcome as usual.

hi all, This is the 1/48 Academy MH-53E Sea Dragon using Wolfpack decals and after eleven months, it's finally finished. The work in progress is here if you want to see everything that's inside (that you can't really see on the finished thing!). As you can see from the pictures, it's a bit too big to take decent images of, but at least they give you an idea. Hope you like it Andy

hi all, As this is my first WIP report., i thought that i would start with something a little bit different, namely the Academy 1/48 MH-53 Sea Dragon. I managed to pick up the kit itself very cheaply on a trip to Heiden model show in Germany. Then along came some help from an under-the-table Big Ed set from Eduard at a Cosford model show and the update set from Wolfpack, mainly for the seamless exhausts. The only thing that was lacking was some decent markings for a Japanese helicopter based at Iwakuni in the minesweeping role. Wolfpack did an extremely over-priced special edition of the decals and kit (which of course i didn't need), so it was a case of waiting patiently until the decals were released separately, which happened just recently. This event was combined with some fantastic walkaround photos of a JMSDF MH-53 from a Japanese modelling friend and i found myself unable to put off the build any longer. So here goes.................. A very big box The contents The only reference book i could find The decal sheet I had already started the rotor head and added some extra detailing before i decided to do the work in progress report, so here are the photos so far. The kit doesn't include any extra pipework and the rotor head is quite bare, so something needs to be added. All good fun but taxing on the eyes and patience even with a large magnifier and good light. The colours on the rotors are used to code each blade to each arm. The red one has no hydraulics as it doesn't fold, so at least you only have to repeat the pipework six times! A bit more painting and weathering, then it's on to the tail rotor Andy

This thread will document my attempt at the Academy F-15I. I'm not an eagle expert, so I can't speak to the kit's accuracy, but it looks nice and fun. Its been sitting in my stash for a few years, and this seems like a great opportunity to get it built.

To save me from completely losing the will to live from tackling attempting to turn Hobby Boss' Mi-8 actually into an Mi-8 I have decided to pick up what should (hopefully!) be a nice simple build of one of my favourite aircraft of all time, the Mig-21. I have decided to build an old Academy 1/48 Mig-21PF that I have had for a while as it is a fairly simple kit and (to me at least) looks like the plane its supposed to. The one part of the kit which definitely does need improving on is the cockpit as the kit one if rather basic to say the least, and to that end I have bought a resin replacement by Pavla which should hopefully fit better than their Mi-8 bits, I have given it a test fit and all seems well. Anyway here's the usual box and contents shots. The kit instructions and decals. I am not sure at the moment exactly which scheme to do it in but I will most likely not be using the kit decals, I have a few sets for the Mig-21.... Would you believe there isn't a PF on any of them! Obviously I need more decals! Some of the decals can be used on PF's as the national markings are the same. As I said I have a Pavla cockpit, and here are the various bits. Much more detailed than the kit offering but the instructions on what to remove from the kit are non-existent so I will have to give it my best guess, oh dear! I say I don't know exactly which scheme to do but I am leaning towards an Egyptian one such as either of the schemes below. Probably the bottom one. I know one of the kit options is Egyptian and in a very similar scheme but the national markings look too big to my eye, I'm sure I have some more suitable Egyptian markings somewhere in the stash. Thats it for now, thanks for looking in, and wish me luck! Craig.

Hello all, Here is my second entry for this GB - 1/48 Academy F-15C MSIP II, marked as 86-0156 of the 493rd Fighter Squadron 'Grim Reapers' based at Lakenheath. 86-0156 shot down 2 Iraqi Mig-29's during Operation Desert Storm. Kit: Extras: Not much - Caracal decals and Pavla seat. I'll be fully arming this one with 4x AIM-120's, 4x AIM-9x and 2x Fuel tanks - as seen during the Baltic Air Policing mission. F-15C I'm also debating wether to do this one 'in flight' but will cross that bridge when I come to it. Dave

This is my first thread for Britmodeller and I’d like to share a project I carried out last year. As I said in my presentation post,I spend much time in the UK and when I’m in Cambridge or Bury St.Edmunds for work, in the night I like going for some spotting to RAF Lakenheat and Mildenhall. The Eagles of the C version are my favourites and I really lik the two shades of grey camouflage. It was a very welcomed surprise to see on Hannants’ site the new release by Caracal Models. It took not that long to purchase them, together with the Academy F15 1/48 Model. There are several models, including adedicated box for yhe MISP IIversion, but the price was completely different, there were none avaliable and I like a bit of scratch building, so I opted for the basic version. After having seen so many landings ,I decided I would have represented my Eagle in this configuration, with the nose wheel still lifted and the airbrake open. Eduard set for the F15 C exterior will help! To do something different,…I started from the eshausts!I think the kit parts with the help of the PE parts will be quite accurate, once painted! On the main frame, I started by cutting a few thinds off: the hook frame, not present on the MISP II version… …and the ailerons and flaps from the wings, as I wante d to reposition them in the landing configuration. This kit gives the opportunity to build a C exemple (single seater) or D (double seater) and, as well as two different front sections for the fuselage, two sets of intakes are supplied, as they are positioned at a different angle , depending if the engines ON or OFF. I chosed the lower ones, as my aircraft was to be represented while landing. Next I checked the fitting of the different components of the fuselage and found out the junction between the front halves and the back section didn’t pair very well and there werent any good location pins, so I added some strips of sprue to halp a bit. I’ve used the kit cockpit, as I think it’s a nice representation of the real one , if the canopy is closed. It fitted well and could be inserted to the front section from the back .Once it was completed I would have added it and glued the front to the back of the fuselage. Once happy with the dry fit test, I added a few spacers over the nosewheel bay to get the cockpit into the right place.and started adding a bit of detail to the front panel. Added the PE parts to the nose wheel bay…a really useless job, as I later realized all door are normally closed when the landing gears are out!!! I decided to use the seat from an old Italeri F16,which had impressed me for the detail. I needed a pilot and I found it in an old Hasegawa set.Attaboy!!! It fitted well to the seat… They fitted well to the cockpit… …and the cockpit fitted well to the fuselage! The canopy and windscreen didn’t fit so well, but what I wanted to check at this sage was the final shape of the bird.I don’t go crazy if the dimensions aren’t exactly correct, but I want the shape to be right and give theright idea of theaircraft. So this is what my Eagle was going to look like! I then added two strips of plasticard at the sides, where the canopy frame was going to fit and a plate of the right size to produce a good and strong fitting, once glued together. This is what the cockpit assembly in place looked like. It was finally time for some colour!!!The front panel was painted black with a drop of white, washed with black and drybrushed with grey.Same treatment to the seat. A drop of Clearfix was given to the HUD lens. Some more colour and the seat was ready for …the guy!!! The cockpit was painted light grey, masked with Tamiya tape and sprayed black on the panels. Once fully painted, it looked like this. …and this is how it looked once glued to the front fuselage. I glued the canopy frame too... …and then the time came for our guy! His helmet’s was old type and was filed down, to remove the visor’s cover. At this point I needed an oxygen hose for his mask and wires of different sizes resulted very hepful! With the hose in place and free to breathe, our guy felt much better! He started loosing his greyish shade to recover some colour…finally a happy man!!! He sat on his seat… …and jumped into the cockpit, ready to take off… Wait a minute!Don’t you think it’s a bit early??? After some masking of the cockpit area, the canopy frame inside was sprayed black and then I tried to create some shade in a flat area by spraying a lighter colour , then washed. This was the final look with our guy in place. That’s all for now. See you soon for an update!

Hi guys! This time I would like to show you my last model. It´s the simple Academy F4U-1D Corsair in 1/72. It has some Eduard PE and some improvements, like a longer tail gear and navigation lights. Decals are custom made and the bands are painted to represent an aircraft of the USS Intrepid. I hope you like it! Every critics and comments are welcomed! Best regards from Uruguay, Ignacio

I think this is the first new ship kit from Academy in quite a while. Interesting that they are going with 1/700 instead of 1/350: https://www.cybermodeler.com/news/academy.shtml

Academy is to release a - new tool or (most probably) Italeri kit rebox ? - 1/48th Boeing F/A-18E Super Hornet - ref. 12316 This ref. number was not announced in the catalogue 2017: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235014703-academy-catalogue-2017-programme-newsletter-1q-2017/ Source: https://tieba.baidu.com/p/5169820785 V.P.

Hello Modellers, because my wife told me that she's fed up with my airplanes all aorund at home I had to take my latest on to my office at work.... Thank God I have some space and maybe in the near future i will bring also another one. This dauntless is almost OOB with just some details added in the cockpit. Painting has been done with airbrush and Tamiya acrylics. Matt finishing is also a Tamiya but spray can. Any comment and criticism is welcome . Enjoy pictures even if quality is not really the best (I took them with mobile phone...). Cheers Andy

We've got four excellent New Plastic Model Kits From Academy Models to show you, including a 1/72 SR-71 Blackbird with GTD-21 Drone, a Russian T-34/76 Factory No.183 in 1/32 and two Modeller's Edition ship kits: The USS Missouri BB-63 & USS Enterprise CV-6 both in 1/700 Scale. See more details below.

Got this one finished and in the photo booth. It really is a great kit with no major problems, may possibly add a mine detection device when it goes on a diorama eventually. Also might be worth saying that the doors and the rear boot section are only tacked in with a bit of pva in case I have to open them later which is why you might spot a bit of a gap. Kit manufacturer: academy Scale: 1/35 Type: M1151 Humvee Extras used: DEF models resin sagged wheels Paints and colours used: MRP 080 and various tamiya. Weathered with mig pigments and ak washes