Richard B.

I just finished the Airfix Golden Hind. There are no pulley blocks supplied, no belaying points/pins, and the rigging diagram supplied is very rudimentary. More research is needed, and blocks and belaying pins will need to be sourced. However, the triangle designs to be painted on the upper hull and cabin fronts now have very fine lines engraved on them to guide painting ( which I suspect weren't on the original moulds). Builds up to a very impressive model. Lot of bang for the buck (or Pound or Euro)

I haven't built any WNW kits, but other 1/32 biplanes - If you're used to building monoplanes there are a few things different. 1. Building sequence for biplanes is different, fuselage is painted as are upper surafce of lower wing and undersurface of upper wing. i always mount the upper wing by eye but this is frustrating - try to find a jigging system for this. 2. much more paint is used on biplanes than monoplanes, in 1/32 scale moreso. 3. Rigging - go slowly with patience - there a re a number of methods and materials that can be used - lots of tutorials on the interweb. 4. clearcoat with semi- gloss. 5. re PC 10 – you'll find a lot of opinions about what this looks like. Don't worry too much about getting the 'exact' colour. Just not too green, not too bright, not too dark, not too brown (that would be straying into PC 12 territory, such as used on Sopwith Triplanes.) enjoy, don't sweat it. Happy landings. 😎

I'm thinking of a 1/32 scale Lindberg Laird-Turner Meteor, or the new just relased Revell (ICM) Heinkel 70, or a Revell 1/48 Ryan NYP. I just recently completed an AMT Stinson Reliant and a Lockheed Vega, an Italeri Ju 52, and a Travel-Air Mystery Ship, Lots of good subjects available.

Count me in!

I've also built both Roden's and Pyro's Gladiators. The Roden's was difficult (the engine and cowling), but is more refined. On the otherhand, Pyro's did build faster and got me to the part i like best - the painting. I wish there was more interest in so called Golden Age kits - Racers like the GeeBee and so on, and civil aircraft generally (hey somebody, how about a new Ford trinotor) The Stinson Reliant gullwing was a beautiful aircraft, likewise the Staggerwing. The Lockheed Vega was a beast, but very fast and revolutionary for its time (monocoque plywood fuselage). I hear what you're saying about over-engineering (hello Hasegawa), not all of us want to win big prizes for our builds - we build for ourselves, or other like minded enthusiasts, and for the love of aviation.

I'm looking forward to see how this turns out. The Staggerwing is a beautiful aircraft. Incidentally, I've just finished an AMT 1/48 Stinson Reliant, of probably the same vintage as your Staggerwing, and am still working on an AMT 1/48 Lockheed Vega. Both old, both sets of decals were unuseable. Nice kits but need extra work to put together - a little more shaping, sanding and filling. PS - I think the Stinson has been re-released on 'Round 2 Models.' PPS - perhaps what caught your eye was the thinness of the wing and tail trailing edges - on both my kits they are razor sharp.. Nice interiors too - just like AMT's automobile kits.

You've turned a sow's ear into a silk purse. very nice. Having just finished one (in SAAF camo) I know what you had to deal with. My hat is off to you! I read somewhere that the kit is actually an original un-released Merit kit from the dark ages, touched up a bit and released by Airfix in the the not quite so long ago. It would be nice if Airfix did a retouch again - the basics are there but there are areas that need work - you know what I mean. Kudos for a suprlative build.

It's really coming along well . The engine - very impressive. Be prepred to be let down by the quality of the kit decals. I hope I'm wrong, but i've built 3 Academy kits, all of the decals were extremely difficult to work with, one set was un-usable.

I've built the Roden 1/48 kit and found it very good. the only downside is the engine cowl which is in two pieces making it awkward t put together. The engine cowl is a little soft on detail - the bulges are a little soft. I'v also built the Pyro/Life-Like/Lindberg 1/48 kit which is also very good. On balance, i'd give the nod to the Roden.

This is a great kit to build and enjoy. I built the Revell re-release last year. 1/32 is just the right size. I made my own markimngs and built it as a What-if.

How about a new tool 1/72 Ford Trimotor? I wish there was kit of a WW2 era british Submarine. I know there are some very small scale ones, but something in a 1/144 scale. Revell will be releasing a 1/144 scale Flower Class Corvette this year. 1/48 Hawker Tempest?

Once the EZ Line is in the CA glue, hit it with a drop of accelerant. it works, but takes a bit of practice - one of the times when another arm would be handy.

I have problems with white, yellow and red as well. Light coats are the way to go I guess.

Very Nice. My motto re:weathering and panel lines is "Less is more" Subtle and understated paint job, again, very nicce.

Interesting article. How about if Airfix re-tooled some artillery models from the 1/76 and 1/35 scales to 1/72 and 1/48. These could easily be incorporated into dioramas.