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  1. Kinetic 1/48 Harrier GR3 finished. Out of the box except a resin seat and resin exhausts. Really enjoyed this kit. I lost the probe on the nose, so I raided the missus' needle box.
    106 points
  2. Hello, Here is the first production of the year (although it started well in 2024) – the A-6E Intruder from Trumpeter. The kit is full of factual errors, glaring simplifications and poor design solutions. At the same time, it could be a fun base for a personal struggle with the subject, depending of how much of a masochist you are The presented model bears serial number 159906 and depicts the aircraft from 1980 when it served in VA-35 squadron (Black Panthers) as a part of CVW-8 attached to the USS Nimitz. This aircraft has a Hollywood episode appearing in the movie "The Final Countdown" (along with many other fine machines from CVW-8). To improve the out-of-the-box solution, I used: 3D decals in the cockpit (Quinta) a few PE elements here and there (Eduard) wheels (Reskit) MERs and bombs (Reskit) Pitot tube, refuelling probe, AOA probe (Master) ejection seats (Aires) decals (HAD Models) Please enjoy and comment at will. Cheers, Marcin
    105 points
  3. Hi all. I started the first model of this year in December 2023: Hurricane MK I 1/72 scale from Arma Hobby. Overall I thought it was a very good kit, however, and although the cockpit is very detailed, I thought that the assembly of the different pieces was complicated. And even after painting the entire model, once the panel lines were marked, I noticed that the lines on the top were somewhat thicker than those on the bottom. But overall it is a very detailed kit with a very good fit between pieces. The decals, from Techmod, seemed very good to me, well printed and with a good grip on the surface of the model, although somewhat hard and for which I had to use more adapter liquid than I usually do. As extras to the kit I used a reflector sight offered by Quickbost and the figure of an RAF pilot from White Storck Miniatures whose good and very fine detail exceeds the painting skills of this humble modeler. Both extras are highly recommended. I have another Hurricane from Arma Hobby, the MK IIc also in 1/72 scale. I'm sure it won't be long before I open the box... Without further ado, I'd like to thank all the forum members who followed the build of this model. I would like to expressly thank NZThyphoon for his kind help in providing information on the colours I should use for the pilot figure, providing photographs of inestimable importance. Below are photos of the finished model. If you are interested in seeing the build process you can do so at the following link. Andrés.
    97 points
  4. Brewster 339C piloted by Guus Deibel of 2. VLG V. group, Royal Netherland East Indies Air Force 1941. Hasegawa kit with a Quickboost tail cone, Eduard PE details and Master pitot tube, Flevo Decals. The paints are Tamiya Silver Leaf bottom and AK Real Colors upper - Oudblad "old leaf" is FS 34 102, Jongblad "young leaf is FS 34079. Uschi "Fine" thread was used for the aerials.
    96 points
  5. Hi all I have just finished the Special Hobby 48th Firefly Mk.5, with the Wolfpack resin and photo etch folded wings conversion. This one hs taken a while but I am very pleased to have a folded Firefly in the display. WT488 R-205 of HMS Glory, Korea 1953, Pilotcwas Lt, JFK "Sean" McGrail, who according to the instructions had flown 118 combst missions between November 1952 and March 1953, wow. Some parts were replaced by brass such as the jury struts and the fronts of the Fold mechanism with a home made rods used and the ropes on the end are lead wire. I also added some plasticard to the spinner behind each blade as thus was not provided in the kit. The model was brush painted with Humbrol enamels and washed with Oil paint I won't add a link to the WIP as it is part of my 126 page FAA multiple build thread so I am sure you have probably all seen it and thought crikey 126 pages, not looking at that😄 I'd like to thank those who offered support and encouragement along the way, always very much appreciated and thanks for looking in. All the best Chris
    94 points
  6. Hi All, My first completion for 2025, and it's a big one! For the last couple of months I have been working on designing, 3D printing and finishing a conversion of the Airfix Lancaster (A08013A) to the earlier Avro Manchester Mk.I. This is the base kit: This is the aircraft I have chosen to model: L7427 was part of 83 Sqn, based at RAF Scampton in April 1942. The aircraft was lost on its 15th mission to attack the Blohm und Voss shipyards in Hamburg on 8th April - all crew perished. The aircraft had completed 10 missions at the time this photo was taken, denoted by the mission tally on the side of the nose. This is an extensive conversion, which has entailed the design and 3D printing of the following: - Wings at 90' wingspan - Nacelles for the twin RR Vultures along with propellers - Empennage at 28' span, with smaller vertical stabilisers and central fin - Main and tail wheels - Bomb bay doors - Control column and Mk.IX bombsight - Mast - Vacuum formed FN7 dorsal and FN4 rear turrets, along with landing light cover Here's the WIP if anybody is interested: All the printed parts were produced on an Elegoo Saturn 3 Ultra using water-soluble resin. This is the final result: Here's a shot showing the kit of parts with the finished article: Here's a final shot with another unusual Lanc derivative: This has been an ambitious project (for me), and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. I have had much assistance along the way - @Walter Lindekens and @brewerjerry were most generous in supplying information on the type. @AdrianMF, @Marklo and @TeeELL were all most generous in offering vacuum forming advice to a noob. Thanks to everybody else who has added kind words and encouragement along the way - it has been much appreciated! For those who are interested, I will be making this kit available for sale in due course, Thanks for looking, Roger
    93 points
  7. I always wanted to build a grey British Sea King in 1/48, but could not find any of Hasegawa's releases. Finally, I found that the Japanese "Antarctica Ship Shirase" release included at least most parts necessary to build a Westland Sea King. I also found the Flightpath conversion set. A couple of months later, Airfix suddenly released everything that I had searched for... I decided that if I did not build this one now, I probably would never do it. So here it is: Those of you that know British Sea Kings better than I do, will found plenty of errors. But at least it looks like a Westland one to me, especially regarding what I had to start with, I was pretty pleased with the result. All decals came from my spares box. I never managed to find the correct squadron badge, so I used the one that was closest to the real thing. Painting was made partly with salt to achieve a worn look. I used Mr. Paint colours. The winch and rotor hub was detailed a little extra: Thanks for watching!
    92 points
  8. Hello, I am sending my reproduction of the Starfighter TF-104G AMI coloring, -Hasegawa 1/48 kit -Aires cabin interior -addition of wing tanks Italian Kits -SKY Models decals -AMI Tauro Model stencil decals scanned, thinned and reprinted Thanks for viewing Slimmed down engine exhaust modification Trolley Leg Improvements
    91 points
  9. Here is my attempt at the Airfix 1/48 scale Bristol Bulldog. The kit is one of Airfix's best in my opinion, this was the easiest bi-plane kit I have ever built. The only issues I had were with aftermarket parts and even then they were only really niggles. The main colours were painted with AK Xtreme Metals Polished Aluminium and White Aluminium. The top wing markings were painted with Mr Color Red Madder and Mr Paint RAF Oxford Blue after I made a mess of the decals. I used the SBS 3D printed engine parts which gave me the correct rocker covers for the aircraft I was modelling and added a little more detail. I also used Xtradecal markings for the 23 Sqn. Bulldog that P/O Douglas Bader had the misfortune of crashing and seriously injuring himself in (not that he ever let a little thing like losing both his legs get in the way of his ambition). I really enjoyed building the Airfix Bulldog and if the quality and engineering of this kit is an indicator of things to come from Airfix then we are all in for happy days to come. Duncan B p.s. thanks to the members from the BM Interwar section that answered my many questions.
    91 points
  10. I was delighted when the 1/48 Airfix Gannet was announced and immediately acquired one. The AS1 and AS4 versions in the standard colour schemes didn't appeal so I decided to convert my build into a COD in the later RAF Blue Grey scheme. The conversion would entail no great changes with the removal of the rear cockpit equipment and a few minor alterations to the observers cockpit. The underbelly radome would have to be removed and I new I could fashion some underwing pylons and stores. I had previously bought some after market replacement decals. The attached photos show the final result with a couple of the build. I write this a few days after Airfix have announced the release of their COD variant..... GREAT! Just as a post script, I have to say what a superb kit Airfix have produced and I'm sure the new release COD variant will be equally well received. Thanks for looking. Ian
    89 points
  11. XM607 created from the original Airfix kit (I bought the kit and extra decals long before Airfix brought out their own Blackbuck version!) Extra details in the bomb bay and crew access are loosely based on XJ823 at Duxford. The bombs hide most of the extra detail so may just leave them out. Just the Valiant to do...
    86 points
  12. The first of 2025, this build was an impulse buy having picked up the Wingleader book on RAF Boston's & Havocs at Telford last year that created the inspiration. I was drawn to the heavily weathered night fighter scheme where much of the night black paint had worn off as this would be a great experiment in weathering and something a bit different. The assumption was that this amongst other similarly weathered aircraft weren't prepped adequately before the paint job. There are a few tricky areas that probably led to some self induced cock-ups along the way, and so it needs a little care along the way. The paint job was tackled in the following way: 1. Black primer using thinned Mr Surfacer 1500 2. MRP dark earth & dark green rough camouflage application 3. Hairspray decanted into the airbrush for finer application 4. Tamiya XF-85 Rubber black sprayed over the camo - important to use acrylic here rather than lacquer to be able to get it off again 5. The black was rubbed off using moist ear buds and cocktail sticks 6. Gloss coat ready for decals and oil weathering Unfortunately, I didn't get enough weight up front so a brass rod was fitted to keep it from sitting on its tail. More info on the build can be seen here: Firstly, the real aircraft courtesy of the Wingleader book to show the effect I was aiming for: And the result. I've varied some of the patches on the paintwork using artistic licence in the absence of a colour photo. Definitely a fun build and one that I didn't want to spend too much time on. Certainly want to build a few other Havoc / Boston's to go with it at some point. Thanks for looking Neil
    86 points
  13. Dear ladies and gentlemen! I present to your attention the latest model from a well-known Ukrainian manufacturer - Dora Wings. The model was a pleasure to assemble. It has not yet gone into production and this is the first assembled model of the float version.
    85 points
  14. Hi all. Second model completed this year. Hobby 2000 decided some time ago to repackage moulds from various manufacturers for who knows what reasons but which seems to have been successful. Among them is the Dewoitine D.520 that Hasegawa first released in 1997. It is made up of Hasegawa plastic parts, a set of Cartograf decals and a set of vinyl masks which in my opinion are the worst quality. The construction was not a problem for me. The parts fit together very well with sufficient exterior detail for me although, as I have done recently, I riveted the surface of the model using a 0.40 mm Rossie riveter. I consider the cockpit to be spartan today, although at the time 28 years ago it was suitable for the kits that were on the market. For this reason I have used a photo-etch from the Zoom series to detail it. In addition to this, the extra detailing consisted of replacing the tube pitot with one made from Albion Alloys microtubes and the upper and lower antennas made from plasticard sheet. The paints used are described, along with the build process, in the link below. I would like to thank all the members of the forum who have accompanied me during this build, encouraging me with their comments and reactions. I usually set my models on a base with a small piece of land and this time I have left out the electrostatic grass and used another type (microfoam) to try to simulate the sparse grass, which is short in size as it is relatively new. If you are interested in seeing the build process of this model, you can do so by clicking on the following link. Andrés.
    81 points
  15. Hi all, This is my first RFI since June last year when I completed my 1/48 Sea Harrier FRS.1 of the Falklands War. I've been interested in the Fuerza Aerea Argentina Skyhawk, since building the Airfix Falklands War 25 year anniversary set in 2007. Having watched period footage of the Skyhawks flying at ultra-low level, taking anti-aircraft fire from the British warships they were targeting, I can't help but have a massive amount of respect for the pilots' courage in carrying out their missions at long range, through foul weather, with the Harrier threat - 17 Argentine Skyhawk pilots died during the Falklands war. Skyhawks damaged or destroyed multiple Royal Navy warships, which destroyed (with the British personnel losses in brackets); HMS Ardent (22 killed), HMS Antelope (1 killed), HMS Coventry (19 killed), as well as being responsible for the Bluff Cove air attacks (56 killed). A small jet, with a very large impact. When Hobby2000 re-released Hasegawas 1/48 Skyhawk A-4B and A-4C I immediately bought one of each, to convert to FAA examples. I made the following upgrades to both aircraft; CAD modelled and 3D printed full-length intakes, with corrected splitter vane and fan face, CAD modelled and 3D printed FAA antennas (nose, upper dorsal, lower rear Omega, VOR fin), Eduard ejection seat, Nose oleo and the smaller linking strut were replaced with aluminium tube, Quickboost resin cannon barrels, Refuelling probe replaced with brass tube, AK Interactive lens for the landing lamp, Aero 1D tanks were replaced with ResKit 3D printed tanks, Weathered with AK oils and MIG Panel Line Wash, Finish sprayed with Winsor and Newton satin acrylic. To finish the A-4C Painted with Mr Color FS36495 and FS34079 over FS36622, Decals from Aztec Models, CAD modelled and 3D printed 1000lb bomb. To finish the A-4P Painted with Mr Color FS34087 and Dark Earth over FS35622, Decals from FCM, Triple Ejector Rack from @Stephen (thanks!) CAD modelled and 3D printed Expal 250 bomb. A-4C Skyhawk C-313 - Destroyed on 9th May 1982 when it crashed into high ground on South Jason island with the loss of Teniente Casco (whose body was found in the wreckage). A-4P Skyhawk C-236 Thanks for looking I hope to eventually get around to building all Argentine combat aircraft of the Falklands war! Cheers Ben
    81 points
  16. This is my first proper model build since the 1970s and with hindsight choosing the largest British aircraft of WW2 that I could think of was probably not my brightest idea! But, almost two years after starting, with a lot of lessons learned and I like to think some new model building friends acquired along the way, here we are. WiP, if anyone is interested: On 18th December 1941 Short Stirling L6086, named MacRobert's Reply and coded LS.F of XV Squadron, based at RAF Wyton, was loaded with four 2000lb AP bombs and a single 250lb GP bomb to mark their fall, for a daylight raid against the German warships Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen in the harbour at Brest. The crew were credited with a near miss on the Gneisenau and with downing a defending Bf109 fighter. For this the pilot, PO Peter Boggis, received the DFC. Here is my depiction of their aircraft about to be bombed up. Unfortunately the corner of the house with the least background clutter also has the worst light and my photographic skills are not great. But I could not resist... Thanks for looking. Onwards and Upwards! Murray
    80 points
  17. Hi all 👋 There is always a first - this is the first kit I’ve ever completed without using any putty. Beautifully engineered and everything just fits perfectly, including the canopy. Since this is the first release of the kit, flaps and slats are KASL Hobby. Apart from that I used Eduard bang seats, nozzles and wheels. The (superb) decals are from Furball Aero-design and HaD Models. Thanks for looking 😀 Cheeers! /Fred
    80 points
  18. Howdy all Thought you wouldn`t mind me bothering you with some photo`s of my latest addition to the `Nam collection My latest go at Academy`s 1/48 Phantom kit Finished to represent a `B` model in the markings of VF-51 `Screaming Eagles` or unofficially `Supersonic Can-openers` As usual, nothing fancy and apart from some home made seat belts, rear view mirrors and decals, is from the box contents Decals from Furball set 48011 `Bravo Mig Killers Pt 1` Which went on beautifully One thing I had to look up was the lack of stencils on the mainplanes, but I read that these aircraft were repainted after refurbishment and that many of the...... ......stencils were not re-instated afterwards, so I went with the Furball instructions and also kept the weathering to a minimum ( for me 🙂 ). Hope you enjoy the pic`s, thanks for looking Cheers Russ
    78 points
  19. Hello Here is my finished 1/72 Airfix Chinook HC.1. I chose to make Bravo November as this is a very iconic British Chinook. I remember well the time of the Falklands "special operation". The kit is easy to assemble and I added just a few things like a roof above the cargo inside, the electric leads of the winch and the antennae in front of the cockpit. Actually this is my third H-47/Chinook as in the past I built a U.S. MH-47E and a Libyan CH-47D, both of them were the Italeri kit which is less detailed. Patrick
    76 points
  20. The F-94 Starfire was Lockheed's first-generation all-weather day/night interceptor. Developed from the basic design of the T-33/P-80, it was the first operational USAF fighter with an afterburner. I believe it was credited with the first jet vs jet night victory in Korea against a MiG-15. Anyway, you guys can read Wikipedia as well as I can. This is the old Emhar kit which first saw the light of day in 1993 - that's 32 years ago. And, of course, it shows it. It lacks some detail, has at least one gaping error but, hey, it's a C model of the Starfire and those are hard to come by in this scale. So I built it. I've built an Emhar kit before (my F3H-2 Demon) so I kinda knew what I was getting into. Here is my usual silly summary: Project: Lockheed F-94C Starfire Kit: Emhar Kit No. EM3004 Scale: 1:72 (preferred by Australopithecus and Homo Habilis alike) Decals: Wolfpak 72-108, and a few stencils from the kit Resin: True Details 72-452 cockpit and ejection seat set Photoetch: Just a few scrap bits from the spares box Masks: Made by hand! With a pencil and a pair of scissors! Paint: Alclad ALC101 Aluminum, ALC103 Dark Aluminum, ALC102 Duraluminum, ALC111 Magnesium, ALC119 Airframe Aluminum; Gunze H58 Interior Green, H11 Flat White, H12 Flat Black, H318 Radome Tan, H8 Gold, H21 Off-White; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black; Testors Green Drab FS34086; MRP 048 Super Clear Gloss Improvements/Corrections Corrected wing dihedral to the correct 8 degrees (it was around 2 degrees) Replaced kit cockpit, coaming, and seats with True Details resin set Added photoetch igniter ring to afterburner Thinned the walls of the intake housing to better match the real thing Replaced boundary layer splitter plate with card stock Thinned the fins on the wing tanks Added detail to the main gear bays and fuselage air brakes with card stock and styrene rod (but forgot the nose gear bay! Ugh!) Added photoetch detail to inside of fuselage air brakes (lower and side) Added actuators to main gear struts Markings from Wolfpak sheet (kit decals printed in wrong colours and fonts) Red stripes on walkways, canopy sills and de-icer boots are individual pieces from the spares box Added a single photoetch mirror to the windscreen Added central canopy brace with AN/ARN-16 radio compass loop antenna dome Added photoetch pitot under the forward fuselage So that's it. You can see the WIP thread here. Now, on to the pics! And a nice combo shot for Emhar to use in their marketing promotions: Cheers, Bill
    75 points
  21. Built in only ten examples, the Ju88 H was conceived as a long-range reconnaissance aircraft. By combining the Hasegawa kit with the resin parts of the AIMS 72007 set (intended for the Italeri model), with a lot of patience and modifications (including the self-construction of auxiliary tanks), I obtained this kind of ‘monster’. The model represents an H-1 of the 3.(F)/AGr. 123, perhaps operational from Rennes in May 1944. The camo is obtained with Gloy colors, RLM 70,71 and 65, as always applied with a brush. The model was completed in 2007. Finally, the undersurfaces. Hope you like it. Thanks for your interest Giampiero Piva
    75 points
  22. 1/48 GWH MiG-29 9-13 Ukranian air force with two Us Made HARM missiles and its adaptors.
    74 points
  23. Greetings fellow modellers. I've been building models since the 70's, so that puts me in with the elderly mob. This is only my second B17 build, the last build was in '78. I spent some 10 years in London (Sunbury-on-Thames) working for a US Defence firm but now reside on the beach in Australia. Anyway the last four months I've been building my vision of a flying B17 dropping its load of bombs and this week have just added the final touches. I usually limit myself to one big build a year as they take a bit of mental planning, and I'm still working. The model is a HK Models 1:48th scale B17. The motors used were 12mm drone motors rated at 10,000 rpm, which i had to reduce the speed so the engine housings wouldn't melt. I'm not really a super accurate model builder, just after the quickest way to get a decent result. I tried some new pre-shading techniques (new for me) for this model which seemed to pay off. Anyway, here's some finished pics as well as some build pics. Plus I've added a quick video of operation.
    73 points
  24. Good evening all, Here is my latest model: Kinetic's 1/48 Harrier GR.3. The decals are mostly from the kit but the scheme and relevant markings are from Xtradecals. The pitot is by Master and the inner pylons by Blackdog. The pylons have all been relocated as per information from the Harrier SIG and the fuselage fuel dump vent reshaped a little. The wing fuel dump pipes have been replaced with Albion Alloys brass tube and the APU intake and exhaust sections rebuilt. The guns have been modified, but not to the extent they could have been. I found the kit to be a pain, to be honest, but I still intend to make the Kinetic FA.2, T.2 and AV-8A I have in my stash. I became aware when taking the photos that one of the rear main gear wheels doesn't touch the ground. This is because Kinetic hubs don't fit in the tyres centrally. The leg is held in place with a pin, so I can try and pull it out tomorrow and sand the lower wheel down so both touch the ground. There are some strange mist-like deposits on the inside of the windscreen as well, and it was unfortunate the the airbrake didn't slot in easily at the end and fractured the plastic around the slots the arms fit into. Many thanks to Nick Greenall from the Harrier SIG for his input. There are still various errors and omissions, but it's more accurate than it otherwise would have been. An article on this should appear in SAM in due course. In the meantime, comments are welcome. Jon
    69 points
  25. Just finished. Tamiya 1/48 F-14B VF-102 Diamondbacks OEF. Thanks for watching. Thanks for watching
    69 points
  26. Here my first completed built of 2025 (and last build of 2024), the Italeri 1/48 Westland Wessex HAS.1, belonging to 845 Naval Air Squadron, during the Malaysia/Indonesia confrontation, Borneo, 1962. Paints are Tamiya and AK Real colors acrylics and the kit is build straight from the box. The main point of attention is the setting and masking of the clear parts, which are quite challenging (and not my greatest capacity as well). According to the very valuable intel collected on this forum, I will modify the kit with a General Purpose Machine Gun installed at rear window, aft of the cargo bay door. Hope you'll like her, and as usual fee free to comment or add informations. Best, Stef (#6)
    69 points
  27. My first finished kit in the new year is Hasegawa’s 1/48 A-7D Corsair II. Seeing some great builds of the Corsair II on this forum finally inspired me to do my own take on this kit, and I went for one of the not-so-often seen late grey schemes. I want to point out that the surface detail on this 30+ year old kit is superb, as is the fit for the most part. The wing part needs some work blending it to the fuselage, and the intake duct is a humbling challenge of putty & sanding cycles. But all the access panels and landing gear doors fit seamlessly. The kit comes with a nice pilot, which got a new head from a Tamiya figure to bring the helmet up to date. I added some details to the ejection seat, bombs are leftovers from a Trumpeter Intruder (which were a nightmare to align on the Hase MERs without matching guidance pins), and the ECM pod and the modern missiles were sourced from a Tamiya F-16. Decals are straight from the Hase kit, so they’re not strictly accurate for this scheme. I took extra care to blend in the gun housing. The original kit part sticks out like a wart (which can in part be tactfully hidden behind the boarding ladder if you build a plane on the ground). I removed about 1.5 mm at the base before glueing it to the hull, then used putty for a seamless transition like on the real thing. IMO this is a significant upgrade in appearance. Painted with the usual custom mixed Tamiya acrylics in a spotty panel-by-panel fashion over a base of Dark Sea Grey, blu-tac worms for the camo demarcation, watered-down black gouache for the panel lines. Thank you for watching & the inspiration!
    68 points
  28. Made using Modelsvit's excellent Mirage 2000C (72073) boxing with small modifications to represent the 2000P version used in Peru. I made some additional details in the wheel bays, as well as added brake lines for landing gear legs. I also added canopy seal from stretched sprue and some spare photoetch to create canopy locking mechanism. Aftermarket items by Master (pitot tube), Reskit (ejection seat, exhaust nozzle) and MH models (Matra Magic training missiles), decals by Syhart + Decograf (OOB). This special tail art was presented in 2010 to mark the 25th anniversary of the type in service in Peru with the 412 air squadron - named "Falcons" or "Halcónes". More recently, all Peruvian Mirage 2000s were repainted in a rather boring uniform grey "air superiority" scheme with low-viz markings. I welcome comments and suggestions on how to try and improve the model and my photography. Thank you for watching.
    66 points
  29. Ki-43 from the last release from Arma Hobby. Quick job, oob, airbrush random stencils have been used.
    65 points
  30. So following from my initial B17 post here are a few finished and build pics of my 1/48th Osprey. I build these models with a vision in mind and then it's just a matter of figuring out how to re-engineer the model to make it all work. Most ideas come when the the model is half complete. I just build my models for fun and they're not entirely accurate when finished. But if I give some others motivation to try something a little different (by different paint methods or adding electrics) then my job here is done. 🙂 The Italeri Osprey is an old kit, which has many build issues, but its the overall finished look that counts. The motor installation was a night mare, trying to fit and centralise the motors - Ahhhhhhh. I had many motor failures where the motor would come loose inside the finished housing. Many dis-assemblies and rebuilds. Other than that, lighting install was simple enough, and this was the first model where I added my own bespoke sound module to the base. I design and build my own lighting/strobe circuits. Costs me around Au$15 for a complete nav lighting and strobe fitout. I try to make things difficult for myself sometimes. For this model I wanted to try and hide the electrical cabling, so decided to run it via a power cart, but then I wanted extra lighting on the cart (why not). All worked out in the end. My greatest accomplishment on this model, apart from the contra rotating rotors was the addition of the light up rotor tips. As with everything I do I have to find the 'cheap and cheerful' method to a problem. This time it was just a roll of luminescent tape from Ebay. Just cut and stick on - Voila - Job done. It worked so well that I'll be using it on some future big builds that I have in storage (1/32 RAAF Hornet and a 1/32 RAAF F35). Modelling is my Happy Place 🙂
    65 points
  31. This is my favourite build from last year. ICM have really pulled this one out of the bag. The detail and engineering is off the chart! Helped a little with some photo etch from Eduard. Paints for this one are from ICM's own range released for this kit. The aircaft is from No22 Squadron RAF https://m.facebook.com/Mancavemodelsathome/
    65 points
  32. Hello everyone, My most recently completed project is Eduard's FW190 A-5 from the Grünherz boxing. This is the first Eduard kit I have done that contains their old decals, and whilst I actually quite like their new style, I can see why people miss the old type. Built OOB apart from a pitot tube crafted from albion brass tubing. I had a lot of fun with the paint scheme, using Mr Color and Aqueous colours on the topside and MRP RLM 76 underneath. The camouflage was painted freehand with my new Harder and Steenbeck Infinity. Thanks for looking!
    64 points
  33. My next project is Buccaneer. I chose the XX900 as a prototype at the time of its retirement. Judging by the numerous photos of this side in different periods, it was not very clear what it did to deserve this 100500-fold repainting in all sorts of different colors)) Apparently, when it was repainted in the desert for the RedFlag exercises in Nevada, some kind of curse fell on it))) In general, it looks quite interesting. Here, too, the interior is from Quinta. Rivets from Quinta in the places where they should be convex - these are all the control surfaces and the air brake, plus in the area of the brake hook niche. Well, I rolled a little rivet on it. Of the extras, there is also a metal PVD and a tip of the refueling rod from Master, a set of antennas and plugs from Quickboost. Decal from the Airfix set, only the numbers XX900 and 900 on the vertical stabilizer had to be ordered printed. Album progress https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54310360768_ced14efd16_o_d.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54310113116_4f2111b7dc_o_d.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54310360768_ced14efd16_o_d.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54 310343979_4ab030c1d6_o_d.jpghttps://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54310343709_62f3f5b78e_o_d.jpg https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54310360373_febaf8eebd_o_d.jpg
    63 points
  34. Afternoon everyone.. finally finished my AMK F-14D that has been in the stash for a while and only took me six months to build !! , due to my work commitments. Been putting this one off due to the expected difficult weathering techniques that I wanted to try but in the end, pretty pleased with the results. The kit itself is straight OOB and it is huge. I thought this kit had the ability to vary the wing geomatry but you can't. What you can do is choose which position you want and go with that. I chose fully swept due to display issues, or lack of space !! The kit itself goes together very well apart from where the fuselage slots into the body, take your time and be prepared to use some filler. Nice quality of plastics. Weathering was what I wanted to experiment with so I tried a black primer and mucked about with some pre weathering effects ( below ). Good fun and I used AK interactive paints. Note though that I had to use their own brand of thinner as everything else just reacted badly. Once I knew this, the paint went on well After this stage, I just took time and some patience to get the desired results. Decals were nice and crisp but didn't get a lot of time from laying them down to them setting or indeed splitting. May have been my usual heavy handedness or not enough gloss coat on the model prior to decal application. Anyway, here she is.. photos just taken on iPhone , indoors and outdoors . Always wanted an F-14 on the shelf and this just fits the bill nicely !! All the best, aye !! ... thanks for looking in. Best wishes all !!
    63 points
  35. Hi Folks, some pics below of my recently completed Airfix Meteor FR9. A very nice little kit, but rather fiddly in the undercarriage department which caused a bit of a fight at the end. Basically built straight out of the box with a couple of tiny embellishments to the seat, and addition of the access step. I thought that the camera windows were a bit too big so I made them slightly smaller with Mr Surfacer 500 and then filled them with Krystal Klear at the end. I find the 79 Squadron markings very attractive, and there's a personal connection too as my old dad used to work on these as an armourer at Gutersloh in the 50s (see last pic - that could actually be him...). The Airfix decals didn't include the 79 Squadron salamander badge that was present on the fin by this time - I used a pair from the newish Eurodecals Meteor FR9 sheet. The B&W photo below just hints at its presence. The big red arrows are slight the wrong shape, but I decided I could live with them. I also painted the fin bullet in quartered yellow and black as was the 79 Sqn vogue on these. And I dug out a Sqn Leader pennant and a nose door letter M for the boss's aircraft, Sqn Ldr NK McCallum. Many thanks to @Dave Fleming for his wisdom on the colour scheme. I've got a conversion set to make a PR10 using one of these as the basis. Once the memories fade of putting on all those stencils, and fighting with the fiddly undercarriage, I might give it a go. In the meantime enjoy the pics - and comments very welcome. Justin
    63 points
  36. Hi everyone and a very Happy New Year! Well, I'm actually posting something in RFI for the first time in years!! It's definitely my first of 2025, but probably also 2024, 2023 and 2022! 🤣 I have seen someone doing this before and thought that it was such a cool idea. So armed with a Tamiya 1/48 P-51D, lots of masking tape and loads of patience, I made this specifically for the office at home. It's a bit difficult to get some decent shots without the reflections on the glass, but I'm so happy with this and as a piece of art for the office wall it really defines me and what I love doing! She definitely needs a brother and sister though, so I'll be doing the same with a Tamiya 1/48 Spitfire and a Messerschmitt Bf-109E. Hope you like!
    63 points
  37. I have not posted on here for far too long. So I thought I would start off 25, with a pair of SeaKings that now sit in the conference room at Heli-Operations, Portland, Dorset, Airfix has done an outstanding job with fine detail on the 1:48 Seaking. Both aircaft were painted with MRP paints, with the brief that they should be clean, with little or no weathering.
    63 points
  38. Hello everyone! So I finished my big project. The main thing I did here was replace the internal rivets with external ones. For which I had to putty all the surfaces with internal rivets and glue rivets from Quinta Studio. I also used an interior from Quinta Studio. Other additions are air intakes from Quickboost and wheels from Resarm. Construction stages can be viewed in the Work in progress section
    62 points
  39. This was built for a friend of a friend. This was mostly finished before christmas and was built for a friend of a friend. all I had left to do was to try and replicate the moisture staining on the panel lines (google Greek Corsairs - there are some wildly weathered aircraft!!) as this was the finish the gent I was building it for wanted. This model was also my first time using oils to weather (not wholely sold, as I felt I could reproduce similar results with panel washes). The moisture staining was replicated with oils (this is why i didnt finish it over christmas as I was a bit intimidated as the staining had to be done on a matt finish. there was no way to remove it if it went horribly wrong. So it was with some trepidation I applied the oils yesterday and today. I found that a dry brushing consistency worked best (almost no paint at all on the brush). Am happy with the Result and Hope that the gent who asked me to build it likes it when he receives it later this week. The cockpit was a resin replacement provided by the gent and the decals were an aftermarket set also provided by the gent) I did find it interesting that the moisture staining looks lighter or heavier depending on what angle you are looking at the model,
    62 points
  40. Hi gents, First of all: Happy new year !! The ki-84 issued by Arma Hobby is really a pleasure to build; no traps and perfect fit. The model has been riveted. Painted with MR Color Super metallic SM01. Representation of an aircraft belonging to the 10 Rensei Hikotai (Operational Training Unit), Spring 1945. Salutations Pierre
    62 points
  41. Hi modellers. My latest build - The Fly 1/48 BAC Strikemaster mk. 82, from the Omani Air Force. My fascination with the Omani Air Force started years ago as a kid at the local library. I came by a page with an Omani Strikie in one of those books aimed for younger people with pictures and drawings of military aircrafts. Since then i have build a few Strikies in 1/72 scale (along with many other planes from the Omani Air Force). The 1/48 Fly kit has been in my stash for a long time and i started the build in january 2024. It is not an easy kit to put together but the detail of the kit is very good. I worked on it, on and off for almost a year, taking breaks when struggles lowered my motivation. The painting and weathering was a big challenge. I find it really difficult to weather a glossy finnish. I wanted a subtle sandy look over the glossy two tone camo scheme. After a few trial and errors i ended up with something acceptable. The weapons are some very pricy 3D printed Sura rockets and bombs from the spares box. The whole scenery is made on an inverted Ikea wood tray, with the improvised blast wall made of Miniart oil barrels with heavy rust effect, and finally a CMK accumulator trolley. During the Oman/Dhofar war, the Strikies were often dispersed like that. It was a long and challenging build, but here it is. Thanks for stopping by.
    61 points
  42. Hello! This is my recent project: a 1/48 GWH F-15C. I’ve been planning this combination, a top-tier kit paired with a nice set of aggressor desert paint schemes, for quite some time. After the 65th Aggressor Squadron was disbanded, its aircraft were distributed among various units. One recipient was the 194th Fighter Squadron in Fresno, California. They transitioned from F-16Cs to F-15s, which initially retained their aggressor paint schemes before eventually being repainted in the Mod Eagle design. Having previously built GWH’s excellent SU-35, I had high expectations for their F-15C. While this kit is still above average, it doesn’t quite reach the same standard. It has some minor issues, including a bit of flash and a few fitting problems, particularly in the air intake areas. The instructions also contain some errors, for example, they incorrectly depict the main wheels facing the fuselage centerline, when the opposite is true. For this build, I used Eduard PE and masks for both interior and exterior details, as well as a resin ejection seat. The kit’s included seat, though detailed, is significantly oversized. I also incorporated a KA Models exhaust nozzle set, though in hindsight, the Reskit set would have been a better choice due to its easier installation. Additionally, to address the gaps and steps inside the air intake areas, I opted for resin F.O.D. covers, with some improvement, a much simpler solution. Of course, I used the always nice aggressor decal set from Two Bobs. The paints were all polyester-based and sourced from a local supplier. Hope you enjoy the results! Cheers!
    61 points
  43. It's been a while since I finished an airliner, although started several including this one last year! Using 26 Decals lovely decal sheet, this is the second Monarch 720 I've built, inspired by a trip on one as a nipper. I struggled getting the cheat line around the forward fuselage double compound curves (something I've never really mastered) so chose to paint them instead. It was doing this where the build stalled as on the first attempt, the yellow strip was too thin and so a kilometre of masking tape later this week, it's more accurate! MRP Signal yellow is a pretty good match for the Monarch colour, so this was used along with their black primer for the black cheat line, white and light aircraft grey. Photo's of these aircraft often showed them to be quite dirty, so this is the look I tried to create using pastels. Cheers Neil
    59 points
  44. My build of the old Airfix 1/72 Scout kit, which features a resin engine, bulged cabin windows and tail rotor all from Air Graphics. Not many parts to this one but the resin windows needed a bit of fettling to get them to fit. Added a few more bits of piping to the engine using lead wire and some bits of scrap plastic to busy up the engine decking area a little, and some brass rod to the rotor head. As much tungsten putty as could be crammed under the cabin floor was added, and we have thus managed to avoid this being a tail sitter!! Paints were Gunze Aqueous RAF Dark Earth and Dark Green and the decals were mostly sourced from generic RAF letter/ number sheets. Hope you like!! Pat
    59 points
  45. Hi modellers. This is another one from my Omani Air Force collection - The Jaguar OS, in the newer three tone camo scheme from just before the Jags retired in 2014. It was a bit of a strange project. It started started with me reading a post here on BM regarding the new Omani three tone camo scheme. I thought i would give this paint scheme a go and initially my plan was to repaint an Italeri Jag that i was not satisfied with. But the kit was in too bad a stage, so i took a two seat Hasegawa kit from the stash and kit bashed with the nose section of the old Italeri kit to make it into a one seater. I riveted a little on the wings and made some antennas from styrene. There is not much in the way of decals on the aircraft, but the fuel tanks is littered with markings - so i did my best to try to replicate this with help from the spares box. The colors used are: Sand is a mix of Hataka desert pink and Vallejo sand primer 50/50 mix. The light grey-green is Hataka raf sky and interior green 50/50 mix. The darker green is Vallejo fs 34102 Anyway, here it is.
    59 points
  46. First of two models completed in the past few days. This model had been on the shelf of doom for about 12 years. When I started I got as far as completing the, wings, the fuselage (cockpit painted - I didnt touch the cockpit this time as I was please with how it looked already) and building the floats. I also had built and painted the engine - all I added this time was a wash as it looked quite good already). It had been moved around the house, shed, new house, garage and finally my modelling room in a plastic tub and I was amazed when I came to build it, that all the bits were still there. I had also painted the underside of the wings and the body and the floats with German blue. I believe that at the time I decided to join the floats to the fuselage and at some point over the past 12 years the struts between the fuselage and the floats had got broken. I didn't realise how badly they were damaged until after I had completed the painting and decals. If I had, it could have ended up back on the shelf of doom. But as I had got so far with it since retrieving it from the shelf of doom, I decided that I wanted to see it completed and worked on a solution for the broken struts. I ended up drilling a hole in each broken end and put a bit of wire in to strenghen the join. Thankfully this has seemed to work (and the worse of the joins are hidden behind the wings). Am really pleased with getting this off the shelf of doom and am pleased with how it came out (I think it has come out a lot better than I would have manged 12 years ago). The canopy is a mess as I tried to dip the clear pieces first time around and made a mess of it. I did consider writing to Revell to get a replacement sprue, but decided to leave it as it is. Not often you build a model and curse yourself from over a decade ago!! Hope you like the finished result.
    59 points
  47. This is my latest completion, the Tamiya 1/72 P-47D Razorback, built using Xtradecal decals as an RAF Thunderbolt Mk I of 135 Squadron, Chittagong, India 1944. It was started for the P-47 GB way back in 2023, then sat on the shelf of doom until a couple of days ago. Turns out it only needed a couple of minor bits and finally assembly. Pretty much OOB, I’ve added PE belts and a set of Quickboost guns. Paint is MRP lacquers and Tamiya acrylics, and weathering was done with oil paints. The WIP is here: James
    59 points
  48. Hi everyone, With Nuremberg Toy Fair officially underway, I've been given the go ahead by Luke at Revell to share this top secret project! I was honoured to be given the opportunity by Luke, to build the very first test build of the new Meteor in 32nd by Revell. This is the first full 3D printed build up of what will become the kit later in the year, hence why the surface may look a little rough, as it is 3D printed and not plastic injection moulded yet. Luke was over the moon when he collected it as this is the culmination of hundreds, if not thousands of hours of work, to finally be able to see it built up for the first time. This is now on display at Nuremberg Toy Festival over the next few days for the modelling world's eyes to view. I'll post some more detailed photos in the coming days on my Facebook page linked below so that people can see the amazing detail on the engine, wheels bays and more. Thanks again to Luke and Revell for this and I can't wait to crack on with the other builds that will soon fly my way! Disclaimer - This is as finished as Revell wanted it... in Primer to show overall shape, size and details only. This is the very first full 3D print with no plastic parts and so surface detail is not final. https://www.facebook.com/jamesbuildsandmore/
    58 points
  49. 1/48 Airfix Sea Fury with Barracuda Studios Engine, engine cowl, exhausts and Spinner plus diamond and block threaded wheels and the sublime Gear bay. Model is finished in MRP paints and Barracuda Studios decals. Also included in the build - Eduard Exterior PE, Aims Oleo locks and FAA wheel Chocks and finally the CMK 500 Lb bombs (long tail) and racks designed for the Eduard Tempest kits. Oriental Stork is from a company called Evemodel. Note: the kit comes with main gear bay covers with the tear-drop fairing molded on; I have yet to see such an example in Korean war photos. The gear cover is also provided without this detail - obviously - in the Eduard exterior PE set however the inner frame work does not come with the front shield that you will never see missing from an in-service aircraft - so remove kit teardrop or add shield to the inside of the PE - one or the other! Thanks
    58 points
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