Okay - I've been decidedly slack in actually building anything around here, so it's time I finally got up off my arse and started my entry for the cold War Group Build - a Hunter in 208 Squadron (kit markings). I'm going to build it completely OOB, (boring, I know, but aftermarket and hours of scratchbuilding are wasted on me until I get the basics mastered).

It will also be my first 1/32 aircraft build, and this thing looks impressively big!

Anyway, enough boring dribble - I've cut some bits off the sprues and started (barely).

Here's an obligatory box shot



Cockpit and front fuselage pieces ready for me to start working on them.



Here's the IP and Cockpit tub - nice molded on detail that should come up nicely under a drybrushing.





I'll try and update this regularly as I go along, and here's to hoping I don't screw this thing up!

Nice (if belated) start Mr Badcop sir, and if I may say so, and excellent choice

Keep those photos coming, or the budgie gets it

Excellent choice - classic subject, brilliant kit

Well now Mike, In all good conscience I can't have any innocent birds suffering for my failings, so I've been right at it and started painting the cockpit. An overall colour of Tamiya NATO Black, then a dry brushing of Gunship grey. Instrument faces have been painted Citadel Black, then a dry brushing of white for dial details. After that a few details picked out in citadel Grey, Red and Yellow, loosely based on some ref pics that I was able to dig up after 5 minutes of googling. and then a few drops of future to make the Dials glossy to represent the glass.

It's nothing compared to the work of some of the masters here, but okay for a mug like me!

Looks good to me!

Well that maybe your opinion but it looks just right to me, fail to see how it could look much better.

Looks great from here

Cant wait to see more BadCop

Thanks for the compliments everyone! I've done quite a bit more work and have the fuselage and wings attached. The Hunter is such a great and elegant looking aircraft that I feel compelled to keep building! The kit is going together very well, and with only a bit of seam clean up remaining before moving on with construction.

Its like a message from the dark side.......................


Looking good I have one, nay, two of these in the stash I really must whip one out. Steady!!!!!!

Pity there aren't more pics of the construction I really would have liked to have seen it go together. None the lees looking good.

Nige.

Here's a question from another Hunter stash-holder, triggered by Nige's comments on the build. How did the intake trunking go together? Looks fairly tricky from the quick flick through the instructions I did when I got it a couple of months ago.

Thats a NICE panel, very impressive work - looking excellent so far !

Before Mike decides to do in the Budgie, I'd better add some more info about the build.

Despite being distracted with a rather enjoyable Tamiya Tiger Tank build, I have actually made some more progress on this build. I've added most of the little thingamies on the airframe and them pre shaded and started painted the undersides in Tamiya XF-20 to represent the Light Aircraft Grey undersides. I'm still a little undecided if I like the Pre shading effect (I think it's a little overdone) I'm more of a post shading fan, but the cure is only another coat of paint away! Here are some pics





Skii, thanks for the compliments on the IP!

Mike, the fit around the intakes was actually pretty good. There is a little bit of a step inside the intakes, but it's really quite hard to see. The only thing I might do differently, should I build another, is how I placed the inner 'sides' of the intake. I placed them with the locating tab to the back, and the end result is a bit of a gap between the wall and fuselage side as you can see here:





Perhaps if you placed the locating tab on the front of the intake wall, it might end up with the little connecty bits on the back of the side walls touching the fuselage sides and looking a bit neater, but I think I can live with it as it is for now. Should that change, intake covers will do nicely.

Nige, you're right, I really should do more in progress pics, but I have this damnable tendancy to just glue one more piece before I take a break and a photo, then just one more, one more and so on and before I know it's 4am and I'm holding a fully completed fuselage together just waiting for the glue to dry. It's crazy I tell you!