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I always liked the simple and almost "dainty" A4 and the early 'no hump' versions really show off 1950's design. Take that tiny aircraft on it's spindly legs and throw on enormous fuel tanks and you have a bit of a contrast. I also like the 1960's USN bright colours although this scheme is quite understated. It is the Airfix kit out of the box except for tape seat harnesses and a wire ejection handle. Tamiya laquer paints, kit decals.

Hi all Here is my RAN A4G Skyhawk finally finished 4 months after my last post -it is a shelf of doom rebuild. WIP link here - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235027738-ran-a4g-skyhawk/ The main list of parts used and some of the detailing as follows - Avionix A4E resin cockpit Aires resin Wheel bays and white metal landing gear set AMS resin wheels Eduard slat and vortex generators etch SAC Buddy Pod Master refuelling probe and cannon barrels Flight Path USN Carrier Deck set provided the ladder and wheels chocks Maketar paint mask for RAN roundels - - fin checks masked by hand - very fiddly AOA A4 airframe stencil decal sheet Scratch intake and exhaust blanks push moulded wing navigation lights & hazard beacons scratch built forward engine bay door port scratch built detailing added to landing gear & wing pylons various Quickboost bits and pieces like scoops a generous donation of spare Hasegawa A4 sprues from a fellow modeller Finally allocated a spot in the display case thanks for looking CJP

Hi All Welcome to Part 2 of my Chu Lai build. Those of you that followed my Cougar build you will know that I found out that the Cougar was the FAC aircraft for MAG 13 based at Chu Lai between 1966 and 68. A bit of research showed that between MAG 12 and 13 all the main Marine combat aircraft types used in Vietnam were based there around that time. I am going to stretch the "around that time " a bit as I really like the A4E when it is fitted with the extra Avionics /ECM "Hump". While there were A4E's based at Chu Lai in 68 it is a tad of a stretch to include the hump. Kit wise I settled on the Hobbyboss kit mainly due to the extensive ordinance included in the kit. I looked at the Hasegawa, but by the time I had bombed it up it was going to be a very expensive build. I wanted to try etch seatbelts rather than a resin seat this time and after my detail painting issues on the Cougar I opted for the prepared etch for the A4 to bling the cockpit up a bit. I know not much was going to be visible, but it is partially a practice for my next build which is going to be an F4B in Black Knights livery that was also at Chu Lai at the time. The other issue that is a bit of a first is going to be dropping the front slats on the wings. Its something new, and was a good excuse to buy some tiny razor saws from RB Productions. These are really nice little saws, and they worked well on some practice cuts. We'll see how I get on on the real thing, but having a go is the only way to learn new skills. Enough chat here are the obligatory box and sprue shots. Wings - Razor saw practice for the use of- It looks like Hobbyboss expect people to make this mod as the leading edge of the wing is folded as part of the upper wing, so should be the right shape when it is removed from the rest of the wing. There is a nice panel line that should be a good guide for the saw, and I will tape a ruler to the wing to act as a further guide. We'll see how the practice matches up to the theory. On to the aftermarket. First the Etch The gorgeous AOA decals I am going for the VMA 311 Tomcats with the hump. The decals are printed by Cartograph, are awesome. Any problems will definitely be pilot error. Into the build. The kit has some nice raised details, but they have to go so the etch can go on. Smoothed off Etch on I also added some tissue soaked in PVA to provide a bit of texture to the seat cushions. It looks a bit rough, but hopefully it will look ok under the paint. Primer on I dug around in my paint box and turned up some Hataka Dark Gull Grey. It turns out I actually have all the paint I need for this build, which makes a nice change. The Hataka is nice painting goes down very smoothly, but I do get a bit of tip drying. I am going to use their Insignia White, so I will have a play around with some flow improver and thinners to see if I can sort it out. Stage 1 etch is on the main IP and the sides of the tub. Finished IP Bang seat ready for the belts and a wash to tone it all down. I think the seat looks ok but the cushion is a bit on the dark side, so I will probably give it a dry brush with something a bit lighter. Thats about it for tonight. Tomorrow I'll get the pit finished off and the fuselage closed up. If that goes well its on to the wings. Thanks for looking in and apologies for the large number of images. Yeoman

Hello, Finally I had some time to finish anything. This time I was working on a car. Quite a nice kit to build, straight forward with good fit. But as usual I had some problems on the way. Starting with lack of instructions on how to paint the interior, aluminium roof was a bit of a pain, I couldn't achieve smooth surface, tried Mr. color metal paints, AK true Metal wax, finally used old good Alclad2. I thought, that will be my try with high gloss Halfords laquers, Audi real colour. But then, I looked in the instructions, and bang - this car has a satin finish.. I used it anyway and to be honest it looks way better satin than gloss. Some parts were meant to be gloss, like chassis. I guess that's because they used the same chassis for different variants on the track. Decals were a dream to work with, no big issues with the kit. Pictures: Now back to tanksThanks,Bart

Hi all this is my first railway related post. I have just gloss varnished one of my Hornby A4's 4903 Peregrine in the gorgeous LNER blue livery. She might be a railroad loco but she looks the business. I have swapped out the motion set for finer super detail versions and Glossed her up so she looks to me more "real" like shes made out of metal. I am very happy with how she now looks and thought I would share her with you. I hope you like her. Here she is outside curing off in the afternoon sun. Cheers Rob So there she is thanks for looking. Rob

Hi everyone, With the 'Obsolete Kits GB' underway (and quietly calling me!), Is it possible to convert the old Airfix A4... into a US Navy Aggressor model like the following? http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/0/7/7/1995770.jpg Or is it nose-reshaping, kit-converting utter madness?! Thanks in advance! Dermot

First time I've done this and I'm reluctant to post lots of detailed CU pics because I'm really not a good modeller - and this one proved very difficult. I got back into modelling a few years ago largely inspired by the thought of reproducing some aircraft of the Falklands War, of which I was an interested spectator in the UK at the time. Thought I'd concentrate on Argentine aircraft since they employed a greater variety of types than our forces, and although I have always been a huge fan of the Harrier, I was put off doing one of those in 1/48 (my chosen scale) after reading lots about the difficulties the few available kits presented. Anyway, I ended up building a few other things instead, and this is my first Falklands War model! (My build rate is incredibly slow - I'm busy, and I have other recreations.) I acquired the Hasegawa kits on Ebay for the A4B and A4C Skyhawks, plus the Hobbycraft "Falklands" A4Q kit which I plundered for [1] some of its rather good decals and [2] the bomb, which is a good rendition of the 250kg EXPAL bomb carried by FAA A4C and other aircraft - this is intended for my A4C[P] when I get round to it. As a relative beginner, not very skilled, I made life even more difficult by trying paint masks for the first time - I wanted to do my A4Q as 0660/3-A-307 as piloted by Capitan de Corbeta Alberto Jorge Philippi in the May 21st attack on HMS Ardent, and wasn't aware of any suitable decals. Ian at Adastramasks.com was very helpful, and masks were neither as expensive as i'd feared nor as difficult to use - though I was nervous at first. The masks proved especially good for the main serials, and those anchor symbols on the wings - the Hobbycraft decals proved tricky to get lying flat. (The Hobbycraft decal for the blue/white tail flash was also too awkward, wouldn't lie down: I airbrushed the blue and white, then used a cutout "sun" symbol decal.) The kit in general I found a bit of a bugger! Hasegawa's reputation notwithstanding, the fit of some parts was not perfect; and this plane in 1/48 has lots of bits hanging off it that are difficult not to knock off, damage, lose (and so on) despite arranging the workflow carefully so the awkward tiny bits go on last... I destroyed the refuelling probe! Fortunately I was able to cut off the tip and epoxy it onto some very fine alloy tube I found, just the right size. These A4s have a distinctive dorsal radome: I made mine from Milliput, moulded and sanded to shape, then stuck the red nav light on top made with a scrap bit of clear plastic. The ring antenna on the vertical stabiliser is fine lead wire. I might have overdone the weathering: I consulted various reference photos very carefully and sought to reproduce stains, dirt etc religiously; and I thought that with lots of intensive flying in bad conditions, those planes would be dirty. This aircraft and its mission. HMS Ardent was on isolated picket duty in Falkland Sound and had already been damaged by FAA planes that day when Philippi's trio of Escuadrilla 3 Skyhawks arrived: these guys were more skilled than their Air Force colleagues at attacking ships and they had the correct weapons, US Mk82 snakeyes. (Burden et al in "Falklands - The Air War" say four of these bombs - Luis "Der Grunepunkt" on here says three bombs and I suspect he's correct.) Philippi and his wingman Jose Arca hit Ardent a fatal blow and she sank later. Coming off the target, they were spotted by two Sea Harrier patrols, one from 801 Squadron that had insufficient fuel to engage, and another from 800 Squadron. The latter destroyed all three Skyhawks, Capt. Philippi's aircraft being hit by an AIM9-L fired by Lt Clive Morrel in XZ457; Philippi ejected and survived. This engagement appears to have taken place in late afternoon (-ish) so my "dawn raid" pic showing 0660 bombed up and ready to go is probably a romantic misconception! I'll try to make a better job of my FAA A4C/P, with the experience gained from this sometimes vexing build.