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I'll just leave this here for now 😁 Andrew

On 16th June 1945, Squadron Leader Clifford Grainger Andrews DFC with 684 Sqn. made the first of two flights over Mt. Everest to help survey a second route to the summit. There’s an excellent article on the website of the New Zealand Airforce Museum. From his logbook, it’s evident that he flew a Mosquito XVI coded ‘O’ for the mission- although the serial is too small to read in photos. The June ORBs aren’t in the archive, but thankfully the May records are, and Mosquito ‘O’ appears as NS704. NS704 is a PR.XVI from the same contract and delivery dates (Between 24-3-1944 and 31-12-1944) as NS787, the aircraft illustrated in the photo below. Source: IWM Source: IWM This means an overall High Speed Silver finish, with SEAC roundels and ID bands in the same dark blue. The PRU Blue slipper tanks are noteworthy too. I plan to cut masks for all markings, although may use some of the kit stencils where necessary. As always, a little inventory to start with.

When Airfix released their "new" kit back in 2021 I put it on my list of things to buy when I had the cash available and this GB has finally given me an excuse I guess.😄 I have previously built 9 Mossies, starting with the original Airfix release way back in 1957, which I remember well as it had a part missing so I sent off the complaint slip and promptly received a complete replacement kit - no messing about with just sending the missing part in those days! That was followed by the Frog B.IV about 10 years later, and then 3 of the second Airfix multi-version release from 1972 onwards. After that came the Matchbox B.IX/NF 30 which I built as the night fighter version but attempted a "conversion" on a second old moulding Airfix one using the spare bomber parts. More recently I built the Tamiya B.IV to replace the inaccurate Frog one, and also the 2005 reboxing of the Airfix second moulding as an NFXIX. Over the years I have scrapped 3 models but I still have the NFII, B.IV,FBVI, FBXVIII, NFXIX and NF30 though the latter has been stripped ready for a complete refurbishment which I will do in parallel with this new build, though it won't be eligible for the GB as it is over the 25% limit. I was tempted to build a recce version for a change but then saw the bomber at a reasonable price so here it is. I won't bother with sprue shots as they are pretty well known by now. I was intending to build OOB but it seems the initial reports of how accurate the kit was were not entirely correct. Together with a few inaccuracies in the undercarriage assembly, the main problem seems to be with the bomb bay doors where Airfix have I gather inadvertently scanned those of a target towing plane pretending to represent a bomber, due perhaps to a lack of research. As the Freightdog replacement doors are not currently available I will have to modify the kit ones it seems. At least I will have the example of several other modellers builds to study as I go! Pete

Hello All Here is my take on the well known Airfix Folland Gnat T.1 in the Yellowjacks Aerobatics Team colours, c1964. Overall, it's a lovely little kit except for the panel lines which, like a lot of the newer 1/72 Airfix kits, are far too wide and deep. I decided to try a new method (to me)and filled them with 3D, UV cured resin, then, instead of re-scribing, I drew them on with a 0.3mm pencil after painting. The access panels (of which there are many !), were created as svgs and printed onto clear decal paper. The only add ons used were Wolfpack Resin seats and SBS resin wheels, although to be honest, the kit's wheels aren't too bad and could have been used. I decided not to use gloss yellow as I felt that I wouldn't get a realistic finish. Instead I opted for a matt yellow finish, then built up the gloss gradually with multiple coats of Johnson's Pledge. Being all yellow, I thought that the end result may end up looking a bit bland and toyish in the small scale, so to give it a bit of character, and after looking at some online photos, I decided to spray the upper wings and rear fuselage a slightly different shade of yellow. Paints used were predominately Vallejo Model Air with some Tamiya and Mig Ammo. Decals were OOB. The more observant will notice a lack of rear seat windshield. This is not a kit part and something that I did try to scratch-build. However, the actual item is made up of multiple compound curves and I just couldn't get it to sit properly, so gave up ! Thanks for reading and taking the time to look. Comments and critiques will be most welcome. Gary

Here we go again, my friends. First some history. On the night of 2nd May 1945 Bomber Command performed their last raid of the Second World War, against Kiel and the surrounding area. Included in the operation were twelve Mosquito B.XVI aircraft of 608 Squadron and it is generally accepted that the last aircraft to bomb was PF505, 6T-D, flown by the CO of 608, W/Cdr Gray, with Capt Mehre as navigator and bomb-aimer. But the aircraft that interests me more is Mosquito RV347, 6T-A, flown by F/Lt Hobbs with P/O Dennis. Facing no lesser dangers than any other crew that night they carried their 4000lb bomb all the way to Kiel, only to have the release mechanism hang up. Apparently unknowingly, they then flew all the way home and landed safely with the fully armed weapon still on board. No mean feat and, in my mind at least, that means they had The Last Cookie Left in the Jar. So, in honour of all unsung heroes everywhere, let us begin.

I originally had the idea of doing a Whatif Lightning FGR.7 with ALL the weapons mounted to it with some trumped up idea of Jaguar and MRCA being delayed or cancelled or whatever other politically expedient excuse would pass muster. Then I decided I had enough on the go without spending ages umming and ahhing over whether something should be an FGx, or an FRSx, or a BRx etc etc. So, because I want to model a Lightning in Beast Mode, I've decided to do an F.53 diorama based on the numerous photos from 1967-1969 of the BAC display at various Airshows (exhibit A & B below courtesy of the internet). I'll be starting with the Airfix Lightning F.6 kit (for obvious reasons), and generally 3d printing the various bits that can't be bought or found for love nor money. As I've only recently bought a 3d printer this promises to be a doddle painful learning experience that I'm sure I'll regret ever embarking upon. So, onto the obligatory box shot... Fabulous artwork, note the inspired use of colour palette and copious amounts of alcohol leading to forgetting to finish the image.... (or whatever the excuse was)... For the F.53 specific weaponry I managed to obtain the Odds & Ordnance underwing stores kit from rossm on here. The CBLS is available though Air-Graphics, but the rest I can't find anywhere, so the list of bits to 3d print (as seen in photos above) is as follows: - JL100 double stack with overwing pylons - Matra 155 double mount (OAO kit is single mount only) - Matra 155 open cones (i.e. without frangible cover. These will be to modify the resin ones I already have which are too fiddly to paint!) - Ventral rocket pack (how has this never been available?) - 540lb bombs - Drop tanks (from a Strikemaster but I'm not buying a whole kit just for 2 of these) - RAE Universal Twin 7.62mm Gun Pod - Firestreak ventral pack - Red Top ventral pack - Reconnaissance ventral pack - 1000lb retarded bomb with semi-deployed parachute (still scratching my head over how to do justice with this one) - Aden cannons in a naked state - A multitude of 2" and 3" rockets..... painting 188 of these promises to be (insert expletive here) delightful The vast majority of the above don't have easily accessible drawings (and I'm not willing to join a billion sites and get spammed for the rest of my life just for some blueprints), so I'll mostly be working from a handful of reference books, photos and whatever Google shows me. I intend for things to be detailed enough that an armourer would recognise what they are supposed to be, but I'm not going to model every rivet and safety catch, mainly because my printer won't do that level of detail, but also because I want to finish this before the apocalypse. As far as the airframe goes, unless someone can direct me to some 1/72 Queen's Award roundels I'll likely be doing the G-AXEE Kuwaiti scheme from the Paris Airshow rather than the G-AWON scheme seen in most other photos from the period. Either that or I need to get creative with Microsoft Paint and some waterslide paper. I've already made some reasonable headway with design & print loops to refine some of the parts, but its late, I've been gardening ALL weekend and I really need a shower, so a progress-so-far-post will have to wait until tomorrow. Stuart

The workbench has recently looked like a hand grenade was dropped on it, 3 builds on the go with similar parts, the perfect recipe for a cock-up! Really enjoyed doing them though, Airfix really hit the mark with my aviation interests, although the Blenheim's fought a little at times. There is some speculation over colours on the Beaufort and Blenheim Mk.I, and I've mixed some of my own shades on the light Mediterranean blue and light earth, but not too bothered as long as they look about right. All paintwork is MRP lacquers. The builds are here: With 3 builds, I've not included all the pics, but there are a few more in the link below: Bristol Builds I haven't fitted the ASV aerials yet, but need to either get some or make some. Thanks for looking

Before XM607 became famous by bombing the runway at Port Stanley on the Black Buck missions she was flown to the US on the Red Flag 77, were she had a middle stone/dark earth underside paint scheme. Unfortunately this was unsuccessful as the pilots reported they couldn't really hide the Vulcan massive shadow when flying over the Arizona dessert at 500 feet above ground level so they were authorized to fly as low as 300 feet agl. Due to waiting for a new nozzle for my airbrush (coming from Germany) and after speaking with Tom Probert at the last club meet I decide I would finally start the Vulcan that been sat in the stash for nearly 2 and 1/2 years, I'd already goth old of the Kits World decals which has the right sqn and serial number marking (I think you can model any B2 variant) to do the Red Flag 77 scheme when I received the kit. Must say I'm impressed how quickly such a large amount of plastic can go together My intent is to position the nose up 20-30 degrees as if on climb after take off so I built a plastic block and drilled through a 10mm hole for the acrylic rod and then used another block to prevent the rod from rotating. Its a bit rough but I made it oversize so I can file to fit inside the bomb bay. Next thing to do is find a lump of real wood for the base, don't want MDF this time.

Expected in Spring (May ?) 2024 - ref. A09010 - Consolidated B-24H Liberator https://uk.airfix.com/products/consolidated-b-24h-liberator-a09010 V.P.

I did promise @Johnson to do another Mosquito and I did promise to treat myself to a new tool kit this time - so I'm in with the Airfix B.XVI. I chose this kit as it has the fuel tanks provided, which you can see from the bomb bay (the newer PR.XVI kit does not!) I like bombers in black so I'm going to do the 109 Squadron option. I'm looking forward to this and everyone else's builds.

Hello, Here's my next project, a dual build which will carry me through most of the year. I'm continuing the trend of building my oldest kits first, in case I can still use the decals 🙂. One of the kits is a newer repop I purchased in 2019 in Airfix's soft light grey plastic. The other was purchased in 2004, and it's the harder dark grey plastic. They will be a Seafire FR.47 and a Seafire F.46 respectively. I've seen build reports outlining fit issues with the FR.47 and I know the soft plastic works well with TET and may make the build easier. I'll also use a bunch of goodies, like the Barracuda propeller blades and the requisite Rob Taurus canopies. I also got miscellaneous bits (flying surfaces, exhausts, wheels, cockpit bits) from Hi-Tech which I'll put to use on one of them, likely the F.46. I'll have to check my "Spitfire Goodies" box as well to see if there is anything else there worth using. Here is the start. The newer decal sheet is much crisper in printing though I'm not sure if there will be a difference in behaviour. And the first challenge has raised its head: the instrument panel. It's molded in three levels, and I doubt any decal sheet would conform to all of them. The panel in the older sheet is also useless. IMG_5089 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr Unfortunately Airfix moulded all but one instrument face as flat discs, so my usual method of painting white first, then flat black and scratching the instrument details won't work here. I thought of punching out the individual instruments from the decal sheet, yet with only one usable sheet that's not a good plan. I've painted the panels with Tamiya LP-2 White for now while I figure something out. The other challenge is the control column with a solid spade grip. What was Airfix thinking? I'll scratch build the grips as the Mk 47 has a differently shaped grip. IMG_5090 by Wlad Franco-Valias, on Flickr While the kit is good, there are many things to correct and enhance which can make the build interesting. I've just completed a shake and bake kit, now it's time to get creative again. This may be it for a while. Cheers, Wlad PS - I recognize beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so please don't be offended if you prefer the Mk.47 over the Mk.46. 🙂

Hi All, After a very difficult and stressful few weeks (which has included 3 unscheduled weeks in the UK), I am back on home soil jet-lagged and in need of some plastic relief. I must praise the modelling (and sleep) gods that tomorrow is a public holiday here due to the Monarch's Birthday (although it is not, but who am I to complain?!). Although I have built a couple of boxings of Auntie's Wimpy over the past few years, I feel like I have never quite 'nailed' it. This then is the perfect opportunity to rectify this situation. This time around I shall be building a Mk.Ic from this boxing: From memory, previous boxings were in Airfix' light grey, soft styrene, whereas this newer boxing uses the 'new' harder mid-grey plastic. Here's the sprues: The transfer to the newer plastic certainly does not appear to have done any harm, with the mouldings beautifully crisp. Here's the decals along with the only after-market addition: Although the boxing allows for an attractive early war scheme (a 9 Sqn aircraft based at Honington in December 1939), a bit of research turned up this rather attractive scheme: I have chosen to model R1378, the middle of this trio. 311 (Czechoslovak) Sqn were based at Honington when first formed, but by the time of this photograph in March 1941 they had moved to RAF East Wretham. There is a little information regarding the aircraft on this website: https://fcafa.com/2012/01/19/wellington-aircraft-of-311-sqn/ According to this R1378 crash landed at East Wretham after a starboard engine fire on 18th May 1941 following a raid on Bremen - the aircraft was piloted by Sgt Leo Anderle. Of note with the scheme are the high wavy camouflage demarcation, the non-standard roundel with the white overpainted with black, and the lack of beam gun positions - squadron, aircraft and serial codes are all in MSG. All make for a most pleasing scheme, so I shall look forward to some plastic butchery occurring soon! Thanks for looking, Roger

So currently in the final stages of this Hellcat build which has gone remarkably well considering the kits aged provenance. Decals not so good ...should have used decal varnish (no idea what the correct name is)first ...so I lost a mainplane roundel ....round two with the decal varnish worked...although the decals are still bedding down with the red micro sol....we shall see. Anyway because im a piso git,I dont really want to stump up 12 quid for basically one decal. So an appeal to anyone who might have a spare FAA SEAC roundel or maybe a pair because you can guarantee they will be different ...anyone please ?

My entry will be this old Hasegawa Harrier: which will be built in the interests of stash reduction with a few minor improvements. Here are the sprues: usual crisp moulding in the hard, light grey Hasegawa plastic. I won’t be using the kit decals, but instead will use these from CtA to represent an aircraft from VMA 513 “Nightmares” operating from USS Tarawa in 1981. As I will be away from home from Monday touring New Zealand until the middle of April, I will miss the start and first few weeks of the group build. I have therefore made a bit of an early start, but well below the 25% mark. I have boxed in the nose gear bay and modified the nose to take a spare Airfix cockpit to replace the virtually non-existent Hasegawa one. I also sourced a bang seat from the spares box, not an accurate one, but better than the seat Hasegawa provide that looks more like one of those chairs used in nail salons where women get their toenails painted in pretty colours. seriously? Also sprayed a little primer. I’ll be back around Easter time to get properly stuck into it. AW

Airfix is to release in Spring 2025 a 1/48th Supermarine Spitfire Tr.9 kit - ref. A05143 Sources: https://uk.airfix.com/products/supermarine-spitfire-tr9-a05143 https://www.facebook.com/officialairfix/posts/pfbid025p67UbcHsaGw31NDoe757dbq3zNoCCjaBeD3xiQDTzuaV8uEVZgyzCLcr7R7SJg5l Introducing the NEW MOULD 1:48 scale Supermarine Spitfire Tr.9! Arguably the most famous fighting aeroplane in history, with over 20,000 aircraft eventually produced, the Spitfire Tr.9 is a two-seater trainer aircraft. This highly detailed kit includes: • 128 parts • Two scheme options • Unique subject not previously available in injection moulded kit form • Fine rivet detail and slide moulded engine cowling • Specific post-war wing parts • Both canopies can be posed closed or open to reveal the detail in both cockpits • Decal options for an Irish Air Corps Spitfire Tr.9 and a famous post-war camouflage scheme Test build Schemes V.P.

Looking at the box cover for this kit, the Spitfire has the elliptical wings, yet in the pictures supplied of the built kit (unpainted, etc.), the wings have been clipped. A photo of a MK.IX on Wikipedia (BS456 UZ-Z of 306 (Polish) Toruński Squadron, RAF Northolt, November 1942), does not show the wings clipped, neither does ICM's 1/48 model of a MK.IX (#48061). As there were many stop-gap variants of Spitfires built to combat the latest Luftwaffe fighters, was this the only visible difference between the Mk.IX and the MK.IXe? Thanks in advance

Oh look, another Airfix PR.XVI kit! 😅 In October 2021, I used the excuse of going on vacation to make a stop in Dayton, Ohio to visit the National Museum of the United States Airforce. I had been wanting to visit this museum for years, as it hosts an enormous collection of extremely rare and valuable airframes. While going through the WWII gallery, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Mosquito tucked behind a famous B-24 Liberator. Their Mosquito had been modified to depict NS519, which was used in service of the USAAF. I made sure to snag a few photos, making plans to eventually build one. Then in 2023, Airfix puts out kit A04065, which has the very decals needed to depict NS519. That made for an easy purchase. I'll be building this one OOB , and will look nice next to my Revell Ju-88, also depicted as in the NMUSAF collection. Going over the instructions, it looks like an excellent kit. This will be a slightly delayed start, due to prepping for our annual IPMS show.

Real life and the big yellow thing in the sky has kept me away from the bench over the last few months. Several kits were placed on it with the view to starting, but then removed, but I've finally made a start on 3 parallel builds. The bench looks like a plastic explosion! Several years ago, I did a twin Blenheim build before the new Airfix kit came out, so used the old Mk.IV and the Frog Mk.I: I have recently been refurbishing some bases and took the opportunity to get the Frog one out for a picture This latest endeavour started out as twin build of the Blenheim I and Beaufort Ia and I was rather excited at being able to call the thread 'A lovely pair of Bristol's', but managed to get a copy of the Blenheim IV with the 'Lorraine' markings on and had to include that too. This is one of my favourite schemes, inspired by the original Airfix box top. So, the plan is this: Some pics of the bare plastic with internal sub assemblies done: The engines look a little basic on the Blenheim, so are being replaced by some resin ones and props too Painting has begun. The green looks dark here, but looks fine in real life I've got some seatbelts on order, but apart from that, I'm not adding any further detail inside as there is enough Really need to get some kind of working method to doing these three to keep some kind of sanity on the bench! Cheers Neil

Fairey Gannet COD.4 (A11009) 1:48 Airfix The Gannet was another great British aircraft that began development while the fires of WWII still burned, and was specifically designed to take advantage of new radar technologies that had been developed during wartime to perform the complete anti-submarine warfare task, taking the role of both the hunter and the killer. Early design work experimented with the use of a single turboprop engine for fuel economy to allow the aircraft a long loiter time, but this was found to be sub-standard, and Rolls-Royce cancelled the engine design to concentrate on more pressing wartime needs. The Armstrong Siddeley Mamba engine was considered as an alternative, and it was decided that two of these engines with a common intake and gearbox would be suitable. Known as the Double or Twin Mamba, that gave the design a wide ‘chin’ and twin exhausts. The engine would power two contra-rotating props that had dual roles, eliminating any torque steer effect on take-off and landing, and giving the crew the option of shutting one engine down to save fuel and extend loiter, as there was enough power in a single engine to keep the aircraft aloft. By 1946 Fairey had been given a contract to produce two prototypes, which first flew toward the end of 1949, and the testing programme ironed out the bugs, which included a crash-landing that damaged one of the prototypes and caused some delays. By 1950 the testing process had progressed to the carrier trials portion, carrying out the world’s first carrier deck landing by a turboprop aircraft. The second prototype was completed later, and had benefited from changes to the design based upon experience with the first airframe, which had now racked up two crash-landings. Other changes to the specification were forced upon them too, including a larger bomb bay, an additional crew seat and canopy, and relocation of the radome, all of which was mirrored on the first prototype to ensure its ongoing usefulness to the testing programme. Successful completion and the increasing likelihood of war in Korea led to an order of 100 AS.1 airframes, reaching service by 1954 after resolving a compressor stall issue that had grounded the first production batch for two months. The AS.4 was created later in the 50s, with better engines and avionics, then to replace the ageing Skyraiders in the AEW role, a fundamental re-design of the fuselage was made to accommodate the large radome centrally mounted under the wings, which was designated AEW.3, and was fitted with a new variant of the Double Mamba, which can be easily differentiated from the earlier marks by the fuselage design and the heavyweight radome underneath. Export customers included Germany, Indonesia, and Australia, where they stayed in service for a long time. In the 1960s the Royal Navy transitioned the ASW role to helicopters, effectively making a proportion of the Gannet fleet redundant, but they were found alternative employment with a few alterations, some performing the Electronic Warfare role, and others converted to mail delivery and communications aircraft, travelling between the carriers and shore establishments. These were designated Carrier Onboard Delivery, or COD.4, and were generally converted from AS.4 airframes. By the late 70s, the British Government had mandated a retirement of the Navy’s last carriers, which it was assured were unnecessary, and the Gannets were retired at around the same time, leaving the fleet with a capability gap just in time to make protecting the “through-deck cruisers” that definitely weren’t carriers, and the rest of the Task Force ships that much more difficult during the Falklands War. The Kit Until last year, modellers in 1:48 had never been well-served with Gannet models, although for years the best choice was the Dynavector vacformed kit, with the Classic Airframes coming second, despite being at least partly injection moulded. Both required more modelling skill than your average injection-moulded kit, and both are long extinct, although I still have one of the Dynavector kits in my stash. This second boxing arrives in a large top-opening box that is filled with seven sprues in Airfix’s recent dark grey styrene, one of which is new to provide the COD.4 specific parts, plus a single sprue of clear parts, finishing off with a large decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour and has two separate A4 sheets of glossy white paper depicting the markings options and stencil locations. If you have seen the first boxing, or newly tooled 1:48 Buccaneer or Sea King, you will know exactly what to expect, which is a ton of detail, clever engineering, and multiple options that give you flexibility of completion of your model without the results looking toy-like. The surface detail is excellent, covering the skin with engraved panel lines and fine rivets, plus deeply recessed detail in the bomb bay, cockpit and landing gear areas, which are the focal points of any aircraft model that carries a pilot. The front page of the instruction booklet carries an emboldened note about nose-weight, as the Gannet was a tail-heavy aircraft in real life, a trait that also extends to the model. You are advised to add 12g to the purpose-made box under the cockpit floor, and a further 55g in the nose area, with a cut-off line shown on the instructions to avoid baulking the prop insert and intake fairings. That’s a lot of weight, so ensure you have plenty to hand, and weigh it accurately beforehand, as once you close the fuselage there will be little opportunity to add more. Remember that if you are planning on installing any aftermarket, the balance may change, and you may have to increase the amount of weight to compensate. Construction begins with the bomb bay for a change. The main length of the bay is moulded as a single well-detailed part, which is completed by adding the front and rear bulkheads, both of which have a gaggle of stencil decals applied to create some additional visual interest. The nose gear bay roof is fitted to the front, and a large H-shaped twin spar unit is laid over the exterior of the bay roof, adding a support on the aft faceted segment, then gluing the first nose weight box over the front of the bomb bay, inserting 12g of nose weight inside. It’s advisable to glue the nose weight in firmly to prevent rattling, and if you use lead shot, it’s possible some may escape if you invert the model, unless you add a lid to the box using styrene sheet. The cockpit floor is a long part that covers the entire length of the existing assembly, overhanging to the rear, and at this early stage only a circular decal is applied to the pilot’s side consoles. The model is flipped onto its back to add the tapered side walls to the nose gear bay, inserting a detailed rear wall flat against the front bomb bay bulkhead to give it some visual impact. Another 180° roll is needed to begin adding detail into the cockpit, starting with a three-part assembly that includes decals for the 2nd crewman’s instrument panel, mounting over a raised block on the cockpit floor. The bulkhead behind the pilot is applied to the other side of the separator, with a curved part linking it to the instrument panel, adding another bulkhead with added seat backrest for crewman no.2, followed by the seat base with recessed pan to accommodate the operator’s parachute pack. The pilot’s seat is a single part, and a short control-column is fitted in front of this, creating his instrument panel and decals to depict the dials, which is attached to the side consoles in his cockpit. Another bulkhead is built with two equipment racks, and a bulkhead with two large equipment boxes mounted within it, behind which the rear seat is fitted, comprising two parts. The fuselage halves are prepared for use by removing a small piece of the aft cockpit coaming, adding cockpit side wall interiors at the front and rear of the compartment, painting the rest of the area in grey, and adding stencil and dial decals to the inserts to add more interest for the intrepid viewer, and a small window under the tail on the starboard side. The starboard fuselage half is then slid into position over the two spars of the cockpit assembly, and at this point the large 55g of nose weight can be added under the cockpit, but taking care not to let it creep forward and baulk completion of the nose. The port fuselage half is slid over the opposite ends of the spars, permitting closure of the fuselage and the hiding of seams in your preferred manner. Once the glue is dry and the seams dealt with, you can choose to depict the rear radome under the fuselage retracted for one decal option, or faired over after removal with a new part. The main gear bays are built up inside the lower halves of the wings, and are just one of three rectangular(ish) spacers that set the distance between the upper and lower skins. The innermost spacer has bay wall detail inserts applied all round its inner face, with a small fire extinguisher installed in the starboard bay, and remembering to test-fit the inner bay doors so that they fit easily into their slots, saving anguish later if you find that they don’t fit. Someone has clearly test-built this model, which is good to know. The ailerons are made from upper and lower halves, as are the inner flap sections, the outer flap panel are single parts that have two fairing bumps inserted into recesses, putting them all to one side until near completion of the wings. You have the choice of building the Gannet with its wings folded for storage below decks, or deployed for flight, with different parts included for both options so that there is no fiddling with wing sections to align them in relation to each other and the ground. To build her ready for flight, the full wing halves are prepared by drilling out flashed-over holes in the lower surface for rockets and pylons if you are using them, then gluing the three internal supports into position on their raised brackets, the innermost one being the gear bay with inserts applied earlier. The roof of the bay is detailed with moulded-in ribbing, and should be painted at the same time as the rest of the gear bay, closing the wing halves and installing them over the spars once the glue is fully cured. The ailerons are then inserted into their cut-outs at the ends of the wings, and a clear wingtip insert is slotted in, masking the tip lights off so that they remain clear after painting. Building your Gannet with its wings folded is a necessarily more complex affair that will result in a more impressive model that will take up less space in your cabinet, but will take more care when building and painting, so it’s a two-edged sword. The only way to get around this thorny decision is to buy two, which is a tempting prospect. The fixed inner wing portion is built first, fitting the already assembled bay inserts into the lower inner wing panel, adding the fold mechanism, then applying the upper wing surface, and installing the flaps into their tracks in the retracted position. Both the inner wing sections are then slipped over the twin spars and glued into position. The central section has holes drilled out for rockets if you plan to use them, adding the inner support box and a two-part fold mechanism to the outboard edge, the outer flap panel (retracted again), and a rib is inserted into the inner edge. The wingtip panel is joined around its support box, adding a clear wingtip to the outer end, a landing light in the leading edge, and fitting a rib into the inboard end. They aren’t added to the model at this stage however, instead putting them to one side while you build the rudder from two halves, the two elevators from two halves each, and the flying surfaces, again from two halves. The fins are inserted into slots in the tail, gluing their flying surfaces to the rear, and adding the little finlets into sockets above and below the elevators, taking care to align them with each other. The version with extended wings can be modelled with the flaps deployed for landing and take-off or flush for normal flight. To pose them flush, they are glued into position without further parts needed, while the deployed option adds two actuator arms inserted into notches in their thick leading edges, which have extra plastic moulded into the forward mounting point, which should be removed after painting and before installation, presumably to aid handling during this process. They are glued into position in their tracks, taking care to have everything painted and weathered to your liking before you do. In case you were wondering, the installation of the mid and outer panels for the wings-folded option are left until much later in the build. The nose of this turboprop is a particular curved shape with a twin bulge in the lower half, and the exterior is moulded as a single part, into which you slide a long prop shaft without glue, instead gluing a washer over it, taking care not to flood the area with too much that may seize the prop shaft inside. A pair of conjoined cylindrical inserts are glued behind the intakes that add extra strakes and some depth to the intake, with a scrap diagram showing how it looks from behind. The completed insert is then offered up to the front of the fuselage, which is when you will find whether you left enough space between the nose weight and the fuselage front. If you can’t fit the part as it stands due to the nose weight taking up too much room, my callipers suggest that there is around 2mm of styrene at the base of the trunking part that could be removed if necessary. Sand and check as you go however, or be prepared to paint the front of the nose weight black if you accidentally break through. This short diversion leads us to the landing gear, which can be portrayed retracted or deployed for landing by using certain parts and omitting others. As you’d imagine, the retracted gear option is the easiest, first building up the main wheels from two halves plus two hubs, which will be used for both options. They are attached to their respective retracted legs that creates enough of the structure to pass inspection once the outer bay doors are installed over them. The nose gear bay is a single part that covers the whole bay. To deploy the gear, the outer main bay doors are slotted into the grooves that you test-fitted earlier, then the gear legs are built from three parts and inserted into the bays, plugging into sockets moulded into the roof, ensuring that the scissor-links point aft. The nose gear bay is prepared by installing a retraction base in the roof, then building up the leg from three parts, plugging it into the bay roof, and fitting the retraction jack frame at the ends of the base and to the forward face of the strut, which requires the jack to be slipped over the leg, and must be done before installing both two-part wheels on the axles, adding another part to the axle between the wheels. The bay doors are split into two sections per side, and they open at the centreline, hinging down at slightly different angles, the large doors supported by retraction jacks near their forward edge. I do love a contra-prop, and have a few in my cabinet already. Each prop has four blades moulded into a central boss, which mounts on a plate behind it. The rear prop has a tapered spinner portion fixed to the front, while the front prop has the tip of the spinner glued to it. The rear prop is pushed over the axle without glue, fixing the front prop in position with a little glue on the tip of the axle. If you used too much glue when securing the prop shaft earlier, the front blades won’t be movable once glued in place, so take care. The next choice is to have the bomb bay open or closed, with a choice of two sensor fits for both options, requiring holes to be drilled out from inside, adding towel-rail and blade antennae, plus a circular sensor near the front of the bay doors. Again, the closed option is simpler, requiring one part with an engraved join line moulded into it and the sensors, sealing the bay detail away forever. The open doors are made from two layers for each side, adding the sensors as above, then installing the bays, using four actuator jacks in each corner to secure it at the right angle, scrap diagrams reminding you of the stencil decals on the bulkheads at the same time. It's now time for some small parts, starting with a pair of two-part empty pylons under the wing outboard of the main gear bays, followed by a sensor that needs two holes drilled in the spine for two decal options, one each side of the centre, which sounds a terrifying prospect until you see the jig that is included. This curved jig has a pair of lumps on the inside, which should marry up with two depressions behind the second cockpit, and the two holes in the rear should allow you to drill two 0.8mm holes accurately to fit the antenna into position. An antenna glues to the fixed portion of the canopy between the front two cockpits, which is next to be glued into place. Most of this will be painted, leaving just two small windows on each side of the part. The windscreen gives you options too, supplying parts with and without a moulded-in wiper blade, catering to those that purchase aftermarket sets that include replacement wipers, saving you some time removing the moulded-in blades and polishing the screen back to clarity. That’s very thoughtful of them, and an option we’re starting to see more frequently in new Airfix kits. There are a trio of pilots in the hands-on-knees pose if you wanted to fill the cockpits, and they’re all moulded identically with bone dome helmets and oxygen masks, unlike the guy pictured in the instructions, who has a WWII era leather helmet. There are three individual canopies for each crew member, and they can all be posed open or closed, as you prefer. Just when you think it’s safe to put the glue away, you need to flip the model onto its back to install the retracted radome for one decal option. While the model is inverted, the arrestor hook is inserted into the step under the tail, fitting a small T-antenna under the port elevator, a small light under the starboard wingtip, and a pitot under the port wing. Lugs are attached under the wing roots to hold the looped ends of the catapult strop, and the tubular exhausts with angled tips are inserted into their fairings on the fuselage sides, the longer edge closest to the fuselage. A pair of two-part cargo pods are made to be mounted under the wings on the pylons made earlier, with two small antennae under the wing tips, and a tiny light under the belly behind the stores bay. You were probably thinking we’d forgotten the folded wing panels, but they’re on the very last pages of the instructions, starting by adding long pivots to the fixed inner panels to mount the centre panel, helped by a scrap diagram. The outer panel is attached to the centre panel via a hook-shaped pivot, adding the ailerons to the rear edge, so that the wing forms a Z-shape when viewed from the front. A rod is used to prop the wings when folded, fitting into the inner rib of the centre section, and a hole under the wingtip, as shown by a silhouette drawing in the top corner of the step. The port centre section has the pitot probe inserted, adding the same short antennae to the outer wing panels as the straight-winged option. Markings There are three decal options included in this COD.4 boxing, two wearing a fetching dark blue scheme over all surfaces, and one in the period’s Royal Navy scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey over what Airfix calls Beige Green, or Sky if you prefer. From the box you can build one of the following: Fairey Gannet COD.4, 849 Naval Air Squadron, HMS Hermes, 1969.(A) Fairey Gannet COD.4, 849 Naval Air Squadron, B Flight, HMS Ark Royal, 1970. (B) Fairey Gannet AS.4/COD.4, Flag Officer Aircraft Carriers (F.O.A.C.), RAF Changhi, 1965. (C) 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. Conclusion It’s a fine model of a superbly ugly aircraft that was also very cool (IMHO), and performed a thankless task of vigilance through the deepest period of the Cold War, then was relegated to the task of postman. It’s well worth picking one up in addition to the more warlike AS.4, and for that matter, any of the boxes that might follow. Show the Gannet more love! Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Supermarine Spitfire TR.9 (A05143) Two-Seat Trainer 1:48 Airfix The Supermarine Spitfire was the mainstay of British Fighter Command for the majority of WWII, in conjunction with the Hurricane during the Battle of Britain, with the Mk.IX being the most popular (with many) throughout the war, seeing extended periods of production with only minor alterations for the role for which it was intended differentiating between the sub-variants. Originally requested to counter the superiority of the then-new Fw.190, a two-stage supercharged Merlin designated type 61 provided performance in spades, and the fitting of twin wing-mounted cannons with accommodating blisters gave it enough punch to take down its diminutive Butcher-Bird prey. The suffix following the mark number relates to the wings fitted to the aircraft, as they could vary. The C wing was also known as the Universal Wing, and saw extensive use because it mounted two 20mm cannon in each wing, the outer barrel usually covered by a rubber plug. The main gear was adjusted in an effort to give it more stable landing characteristics, and bowed gear bays removed the need for blisters on the upper wing surface, helping aerodynamics. The Mk.IX is considered by many to be the definitive variant of the Merlin-engined Spitfire, and over 5,600 of this type were made during WWII, the majority built at Castle Bromwich. Although there were two known two-seat two-seat Spitfire conversions during the war, one of a Mk.V by a British squadron, and one Mk.IX by the Soviets for training their pilots, it wasn’t until after the war that it became official, starting with one Mk.VIII that was built by Vickers as a demonstrator. Ten T.Mk.IX trainers were exported to India for their training needs, with a further six sold to the Irish Air Force for their training and conversion requirements in 1951, converted from redundant Mk.IXs. The Irish airframes were also able to be used for gunnery training thanks to the retention of two .303 machine guns in the outer wing stations, one in each side, that allowed novice pilots to engage in target practice with the security of knowing that they had a tutor in the back seat in case of issues. Of those six, four survived retirement and went into service in the warbird community, taking paying passengers on pleasure rides that are still ongoing at time of writing, despite a recent forced belly landing by one of the small fleet that was light enough for the pilot and passenger to walk away almost unscathed. Hopefully that airframe will be back in the skies once repaired and its engine has been rebuilt after the shock-load imparted by the prop when it impacted the ground. The Kit This is the first boxing of a new tooling from Airfix, one of the first to have the exterior fully riveted, which is bound to split opinion, as usual. Speaking personally, I like them, as they add extra visual interest in areas that might otherwise look bland, and although we all know that rivets aren’t generally holes in the skin, we also know that windscreens aren’t 6” thick, and that modelling is always a compromise in some shape or form. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get on with looking at the model. The kit arrives in a top-opening red-themed box, with a painting of an Irish TR.9 in green with their orange/green yin-yang meatball roundel on the wings and fuselage. Inside the box are four large sprues and a smaller one in dark grey styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in spot colour on white paper, with full colour profiles of the decal options on the rearmost pages. Detail is excellent, extending to the usual points of interest that include the cockpit, gear bays, plus other exterior features both raised and engraved. The inclusion of a fully riveted and panel lined exterior skin is a new feature for Airfix, and adds to the appeal for many modellers, as above, which coupled with Airfix’s clever engineering of their kits and excellent marketing and distribution network, makes for a better product for us modeller. Construction begins with the dual cockpit, and while the component parts will be very familiar to anyone that has built a Spitfire before, the unusual aspect is the provision of another seat and controls in the rear. Because the front cockpit has been moved forward to accommodate the extra seat, the bulkhead with the pilot’s instrument panel has a shallower profile than the norm, attaching the compass mount in the footwell hole, and adding this and the forward spar to the port sidewall insert. The forward floor has a pair of pegs removed from underneath, fitting rudder pedals, then sliding it into the cockpit from the front via the footwell cut-out, and securing the rear through the spar before adding a cross-bar to the seat frame and putting it into the slot that marks the rear of the first cockpit. A short bulkhead is set behind the front cockpit, making up another floor section with rudders, and sliding that carefully into place, taking care not to bend the narrow areas that project into the front cockpit and through the rear bulkhead. A narrow port side console is made from two parts plus a decal, fixing it to the cockpit side straddling both compartment, locating it on the recesses moulded into the wall. The front seat will be very familiar, consisting of the pan plus two sides, and an adjustment lever on the starboard side, attaching the support frame to the rear, then fixing it in the cockpit after the glue has cured. The starboard cockpit wall has three pegs removed from the rear, and a wiring loom fitted before it is joined to the growing assembly, adding another slim console with throttle quadrant and decal to the starboard side after the two walls are in position. The tutor’s control column is a two-part assembly, fitting a ledge to the starboard footwell before it is closed in with a shaped bulkhead, then sills are fixed to the top of the cockpit assembly, and another two-part control column for the trainee is added. The tutor’s seat is made in the same manner as the front seat, attaching it to another seat frame with rail glued across the top, sliding the completed assembly into the rear of the cockpit assembly, then fitting the front and rear instrument panels after painting and decaling them with dials and other details. The trainee’s sidewalls receive a throttle quadrant and landing gear control assembly, the former on the port side, the latter on the starboard. A support is fixed between the top of the tutor’s panel and the roll-over behind the trainee’s head, then you have the choice of whether to populate the cockpit with pilots or not. Two crew members are included on the smallest sprue, and the pilot in control has separate arms to allow for a more realistic pose than the old hands-on-lap chaps of yesteryear. Both pilots are inserted into the cockpit at this stage, adding the arms to the pilot once they are in position, but if you don’t feel the need, you can leave one or both in the box. Before the fuselage can be closed around the cockpit, you should make the decision whether to pose the canopies open or closed, as the sills need to be removed for the closed option. Fortunately, Airfix have included two jigs for the sides that allow you to cut the forward sills off without issue, providing you don’t forget yourself and glue the jigs in place in a moment of madness. To pose the canopies open, the access doors are cut out along the thinned edges, as shown on the instructions, with replacement parts provided on the sprue, noting that the aft door is much shallower than the pilot’s, and as it is post-WWII, you can paint the diagonal crowbar bright red without risking pillory from the purists. Another piece of equipment is added to the moulded-in ribbing in the top of the fuselage on the starboard side, a filler cap is inserted in front of the windscreen, and a platform is installed in the belly aft of the wings, ready to receive the two relocated oxygen bottles that usually stand upright behind the pilot seat. The completed cockpit can then be trapped between the two fuselage halves, which is where we can see a new engineering decision that will lead to a better joint on the cowling over the Merlin engine. Instead of moulding half the cowling into each fuselage half, it has been created as a separate part that is given the correct shape and form by using sliding moulds, which results in fine seamlines that need little clean-up, and shouldn’t reappear like many Spitfire cowling seams have in the past, which I’m sure many of us can attest. Each elevator panel is made from upper and lower skins, slotting into the tail on either side, adding a full-span flying surface across the concave trailing edge, and trapping it in position with an insert in the centre. This allows the modeller to deflect it as they wish, adding the rudder behind, which can also be deflected for a more candid look to the finished model. The lower wings are full-span out to the tip-joints, and have a pair of radiator housings inserted after fixing the cores front and rear inside them, and gluing the cooling flap to the rear, which can be set open or closed. Flipping the lower wing over, a pair of circular bay walls are added to the cut-outs, linking them with a pair of parts that perform the dual task of bay sides and also act as spars to keep the dihedral of the wings from sagging. A circular light is embedded in the lower wing toward the trailing edge, then it can be mated to the fuselage, gluing the upper wings over the top, and installing the ailerons in their cut-outs near the tips. You have the option for wheels-up or down with this kit, the easiest option being in-flight, requiring the installation of the fixed tail-wheel under the rudder, and a custom set of main bay doors that have spacers moulded-in, which prevent the parts from dropping into the bays, and give enough space for the simplified wheels to attach to the integrated axles. To model the TR.9 on the ground, a pair of struts are made with separate scissor-links and captive bay doors, both inserting into the bays and locating securely in position with the help of some sensible engineering. The wheels are moulded as tyres that have block tread (typical of post-war use) moulded-in along with the rear hub, adding the front hub before installing them on the stub axles at the lower end of the leg. While the model is inverted, an L-shaped pitot probe it glued under the port wing, and a pair of small hooks are installed between the radiator housings. Attention moves back to the fuselage, concentrating on the nose and cockpit to finish off. The six-stack fishtail exhausts are moulded on the same sprue as a set of tubular stacks, so ensure you fit the correct option before proceeding. Each set comprises two parts that hold three stacks each for extra detail, hiding the mating surfaces inside the cowling after they have been inserted into the slots in the sides of the nose. The four-bladed prop is moulded as a single part that is bracketed by the spinner and back-plate, which is placed against another plate that is skewered by a stepped pin that should allow the blades to spin if you are careful with the glue. The assembly is then glued into a cup that slides into an oversized hole in the front of the nose, again being careful with the glue to keep the blades moving. As mentioned earlier, the canopies can be posed open or closed, and by now the decision should have been made. To have the canopies open, the windscreen, aft section of the forward cockpit and the windscreen/spoiler for the aft cockpit are glued in place, fitting the two openers in the retracted position as shown on the diagrams, fixing the open doors in the down position on the port side of the fuselage that should have been cut out earlier. If closing the cockpit, a small section of the front cockpit sill should have been removed using the jigs supplied, allowing the combined opener and fixed aft section to be glued in place over the cut-out. The same aft opener is used for both options in this kit. Markings There are two decal options in this kit, one in service with the Irish Air Corps, the other in civil service as a warbird. From the box you can build one of the following: Spitfire TR.9, B Flight, Irish Air Corps/An tAerchór, Baldonnel Aerodrome, Dublin, Republic of Ireland/Poblacht na hÉireann, 1951 Spitfire TR.9, Iver, Buckinghamshire, England, 1969 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. For the Irish option, the widths of the orange/white/green stripes under the wings are shown for those that prefer to paint larger markings to avoid carrier-film steps, and separate Trestle-Here markings are thoughtfully included on the decal sheet. Conclusion While the TR.9 Spitfire played no part in the Battle of Britain or the rest of the war, it was an interesting bit-part player post war, and is a familiar sight in the skies around Britain and at airshows. It’s also about the only way any of us will ever get to fly in a Spitfire without using a time machine. Airfix have done a great job of tooling this kit using modern techniques, and the upgrade of detail levels really shows. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

This will be my contribution to this particular party. Yes it’ll be another Airfix Mosquito, along with a selection of after-market bits to slow me down even further. The Xtradecal sheet has one particularly intriguing option, shown below. It’s KC-L allocated to 617 squadron - a Dambusters Mosquito. This looks to be unusual as although 617 squadron used a number of Mosquitos in the pathfinder role in the latter stages of WW2, I gather that these were loaned from other squadrons and usually didn’t spend long enough with 617 to get their codes repainted. I’m guessing that 617 would have been using the borrowed Mosquitos very much in the ‘master bomber’ role, which I need to read up more about during the build. For inspiration I have these ‘Mosquito Pathfinder’ I am finding virtually un-putdownable, a first hand account of flying pathfinder missions. A definately recommended read. For now I’ll shuffle nervously towards the start line and wait for the starting gun.

Hi All, My latest completion is Airfix' lovely Wellington, completed as a Mk.Ic R1378 of 311 (Czechoslovak) Sqn, based at RAF East Wretham in 1941. Here's a photo of the aircraft (the middle of the 3): As you can see the scheme is quite unusual, with the wavy camouflage demarcation, the blacked out roundel and the lack of beam windows. The build was pretty much OOB, albeit with an Eduard mask set. The markings were cut using a Silhouette Portrait 3. Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: Anyway, on with the photos! Here's a couple of shots with another twin-engined Bomber Command stalwart from the early war years: And with a couple of accessories from the Bomber Command resupply set: This has been a thoroughly enjoyable, straightforward build and I am pleased with the outcome. Thanks to all who have added kind words along the way - it has been much appreciated! Thanks for looking, Roger

Here I go again, over-committing to a GB 🙄 But who can resist a Mosquito? This is one of my all time favourite kits and I've built a few of them over the years. I got my first one from a model shop in Ayr during the Summer holidays in 1973 and built it as the MkII. This one will be a Banff-based MkVI using the Xtradecal sheet. Placeholder for now, but we'll be back shortly. John

Mozambique Air Force "MiG 21" Story goes Lt Adriano Bomba, a Portuguese speaking MiG pilot, was recruited to defect a MiG-21 to South Africa. What might have been a case of error in translation - on Wednesday, 8th of July 1981 it was not a MiG-21 that entered South African airspace but a MiG-17 with registration number "21". Lt Bomba was intercepted and escorted by two SAAF Mirage F1AZ's to a local air base where the "21" made a succesfull landing. SAAF did not really have a reason to evaluate MiG-17 but was test flown few times anyway before returned to Mozambique. Thanks again @Avgas for bringing this story to my attention, it's interesting stuff and certainly made the build even more interesting And it's just not a story, a MiG-17 "Fresco-A" registration number "21" did defect to South Africa 8th of July 1981 and was flown by Lt Adriano Bomba - but of course the other details are debatable. There are quite a few pics to be found from the internet about this plane and also - what appears to be - somekind of TV news videoy which shows Lt Bomba in the cockpit of this plane and keeping a press conference. Kit: Airfix Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F 'Fresco' (Shenyang J-5) (A03091) Scale: 1/72 Paints: Vallejo Model Air, Vallejo Metal Colour Aftermarket: Berna & Print Scale decals, Eduard Brassin wheels, Eduard PE set, Master pitot tubes & guns Weathering: Oil paints, Tamiya weathering products, Ammo Mig weathering products, A lovely kit by Airfix, the best MiG-17 around in this scale. Second one I built, first one was OOB, this with some aftermarket stuff. The intake ring can give you some trouble but other than that it should be quite hassle free build. This Airfix kit offers the MiG-17F "Fresco-C" while the subject was MiG-17 "Fresco-A". Biggest difference is the tail shape around the exhaust and the shape and size of the air brakes. So this part of the build was scratch built/altered. Also added few of the antennas that were missing, mainly the T-shaped antennas under the wings and small (what must be a) aux pitot tube on the right side of the nose. Also added nose wheel down indictator rod on the left side of the nose as the main wheel indicators were already included on the wings. Also some panel line/detail changes such as moving the signal flare launchers from the tail to the rear of the fuselage. (Thank you @RidgeRunner for mentioning few of the details that needed to be changed, I hope I remembered them all ) It was quite PE heavy build with the air brakes (which had to be cut open), wheel well covers (which ended up looking real good) and cockpit details. Berna decals were pretty thick and awful but offered better details (mainly on the insgnia) than Print Scale so they were used instead. "21" is from the Print Scale sheet. You can see more of the actual build process here:

My 8th Harrier in 1:72 is finished - this time BAe Harrier GR.7A, ZD404, 33A "Lucy", Harrier Detachment, Kandahar 2006. Airfix kit + Pavla resin cockpit, exhausts and ailerons + Eduard TIALD pod + some scratch. Bombs are from Revell's Tornado and TACTS pod is from Hasegawa set. And here is an image of "Lucy" and "Michelle" Harriers in Kandahar. From the markings of the completed missions I guessed that these planes flew their missions in pair, with "Lucy" carrying guided bombs, while "Michelle" carried unguided weapons. I don't know if my conclusion is correct, but that was the reason why I decided on this weapon configuration for my "Lucy". And here is actress and model Lucy Pinder, after whom Harrier ZD404 was named in Afghanistan: 😎 Thanks for watching!