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.....the RED ARROWS would have had the phantom as there display aircraft, imaging the noise as they tore across the sky in formation. Just a bit of a fun build to use seasonal colours! BIG thanks to stevej60 who interupted his holiday to send me decals for the fin and RAF lettering, top man. Good kit, any mistakes down to me, main colour is Xtra color red arrows red with everything else either humrol or vallejo. Stencils all from the kit. Merry Christmas everybody!. Red Arrows what if! by peter crossman, on Flickr Red Arrows what if! by peter crossman, on Flickr Red Arrows what if! by peter crossman, on Flickr Red Arrows what if! by peter crossman, on Flickr Red Arrows what if! by peter crossman, on Flickr

Here is my latest completion, about 6 months' worth of effort in total. Tamiya 1/32 kit with some 1/35 figures, mostly from the Tamiya reboxing of the Italieri german field maintenance set. I've made a little vignette with a couple of figures before, but I would consider this project to be my first proper diorama. I maintained my work in progress thread over on LSP. I'm not sure of the rules here for linking to other forums, so I'll leave it off. Thanks for looking, comments and criticisms welcome!

Good evening everyone, This is Tamiya’s superb IL2. I had previously built Eduards kit and really enjoyed that, to the extent that I didn’t really see how it could be improved . However having heard good things about this particular kit, I decided to give it a go. What a blast. People have said that it’s a well engineered kit. No kidding. As ever, everything fell together, tolerances were precise and everything just clicked into place. Amendments to the kit included putting flat spots on the tyres, replacing the wing cannon and machine guns with hollow tube and aerial wire from Uschi. The paints are a mixture of Mr Hobby and Tamiya, with fine details picked out with Vallejo. There is some shading and chipping on. Tamiya supply a set of masks for the windows that you need to cut yourself. They worked really well and I was more than satisfied. They also provide a decal for the seat harness but I went with an Eduard belt for a more 3D look. Nothing beats Eduards buckles for setting of a cockpit. The decals were a mixture of out of the box and the remainder of the Cartograph sheet from the Eduard boxing. Fair to say that I was pleased with this. Thanks for looking. Rick

Hello fellow modellers, this is my recently finished Clear Prop kit. In past years I somehow ignored the Japanese subjects, except excellent Tamiya or Model Graphic A6M's, but this year this my third Japanese kit so obviously something has changed:-) Yes, that was the entry of the Clear Prop kits on the market, which quickly jumped in my personal ranking on the top amongst 1/72 manufacturers. The level of details and moulding quality is simply amazing. This Ki-51 builds nicely and perhaps some of the smallest etched details are redundant, even in the plastic they look sufficient. I tried to model one of the machines operated in China with 6th Hikosentai. Built out of the box except the canopy masks which I replaced for Dead Design product as those in the kit are rather thick and not very precise - at least something what could be improved. Looking forward now for their next WWII fighter kit! P.S. A big thanks to Valerij! Cheers, Libor

Have a nice day, ladies and gentlemen. Today I want to introduce you the model of very unusual aircraft. Judging by the unusual appearance of this apparatus, the French also smoked something very strong))).

Hello folks, For my second "ready for inspection" post, here is my 1/48 Kitty Hawk Mig-25 finished in the lovely Ukrainian Air Force deco. All Barracuda resin sets have been used, namely exhausts, corrected nose and wheels, as well as Eduard sets for the intakes and cockpit. A lot has been said about KH kits and this kit in particular. True it's not an easy one but very rewarding when finished. Paints from MRP range, decals from the box and Flory models washes as a finish (I just love that stuff!). Hope you'll enjoy Phil

I finished the Roden C-123 today. While it is rewarding to have it done and ready for the display case, it made me work for it, because of all the little details and the decals. The only way I could get the decals to settle down was to use a Top Flight heat gun that I normally use to shrink mylar film on my R/C models, but they still did not adhere well so I applied a clear coat of Alclad Matt. It gives the airplane the look of an older oxidized skin, and I think I like it. Not going to trap myself with Roden decals again anytime soon. I am pretty sure I used the kit decals on my Roden Sea Gladiator, maybe they had a different maker then. The fiddley bits have been added, on to the pictures. If you look close you may be able to see that I painted the rubber surrounds on the windows that had them, that's what I remember most about the first time I saw a C-123, windows held in like the back window on a 53 Ford Pickup. And next to a C-46. Both had Pratt and Whitney R-2800's, but the C-123 had 300 more horsepower per side. Cruise speeds are about the same according to the usual sources.

The final Luftwaffe subject in my stash (for now) has just been completed - FineMolds Me410. A nice kit that went together well with some fine detail. Finished with Vallejo Model Air over grey Stynylrez primer and sealed with Winsor & Newton matt varnish. PJ Productions crew look happy with it: Bombs posed with wire: From the WiP, showing the details of the kit internals: WiP thread:

Used the last day of my chrismas holidays to complete these 2 planes, I have use decals from Super Scale, otherwise build out of box, and it is nice set fit is good goes nicely together. Cheers Jes

Here's my rendition of Tamiya's recent iteration of the iconic P-38 Lightning. I dressed mine up to represent "Miss Virginia" which was involved in Operation Vengeance; the aerial assassination of Admiral Yamamoto who was the mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The kit fell together really well with minimal filler used for seam lines. However, the kit decals were a tad thick. For aftermarket, I used PE seatbelts by Eduard and metal gun barrels by Master Models. The wire antenna was done using 0.1mm copper wire, brass tubing and rigging fibre by Infini. The kit was painted with Mr Color lacquers and weathered with oils, enamels and pencils. All in all, the kit was a pleasure to build. Looking forward to Tamiya releasing other variants! Mark

I was away all summer and got home at the end of October. This is my first completion since. It's the old 1/72 Airfix GR1 kit with Modeldecals. The bombs are from the Mbox Phantom. Not the most accurate kit of a Tornado but really looks the part to my eyes. ZA586 was the first Tornado delivered to an operational squadron. She was delivered on 6 January 1982. Sadly she experienced total electrical failure and crashed on Wolferton Marsh in Norfolk during a night training sortie on 27 September 1983. Navigator Flt.Lt. N. Nickles ejected safely but pilot Sqn.Ldr. Michael Stephens was killed. I don't know if ZA586 ever carried this loadout of 8 x 1000lb bombs for a 'bomb toss' or 'loft' delivery but IX Squadron did while based in Germany a couple of years later. To me, it just emphasizes what a total bruiser the Tonka was for ground attacks. Comments and criticisms welcomed. David

This is the Battle of Britain Buchon I have made for the Film, Fictional and Speculative GB. This is a model of the Hispano HA-1112 “Buchon” which was used as a stand in for the Bf 109 in the Battle of Britain movie. The plane number “5” is more than likely in the movie, but not featured like the others. However, it is featured in a documentary that uses a lot of shots made for the film. The model is weathered to look as if it had done a lot of flights for the camera. The last photo I took the other day shows it with the real Bf 109 for comparison. It is an old Hobbycraft kit re-issued by Academy. The kit has the usual fit issues and needed some filling here and there. The worst area was the back of the cockpit. The canopy was about half a mill to small on both sides, which is why the canopy area on my model isn’t as good as I would like. I added detail to the wheel wells and drilled out the exhausts and the spinner. There is no aerial because I couldn’t see one in any of the photos taken during the filming. I used the Tamiya weathering master set to do the weathering. I may have over done it a bit on the fuselage joints, but this was an experiment so I’m not concerned about it. The dark green is my own mix because the film planes used a darker green than the normal Bf 109E-3. The decals come from two sources. The Main decals are from a Bf109 set and the badge is from a paint on mask marking set that wasn’t in good order when I got it. All in all it wasn’t a bad build.

This was meant to be a quick out of the box build - which then sat on my bench for months. With the start of the holidays I managed to get it finished - my first completed kit since February Completed straight from the box with the kit decals, brush painted with Tamiya acrylics. Minimal weathering as I gather they kept these aircraft very clean in the 1930’s. Thanks for looking.

Cavalier F-51D 67-22581, c. 1968 Airfix 1/72 F-51D kit, with scratchbuilt addition of second seat in place of rear fuel tank, and extended fin. Overall Xtracrylix ADC Grey, and decals from the spares box. Justin

Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu (Rex), Hasegawa, 1/72 Enjoy!

I Made this 1/32 italian Air Force F-104s maintenance diorama starting from the Italeri model, I added a lot of detail using commercial add-ons but also a lot of scratchbuilt ones, expecially inside the plane. All was made using real pictures and books as reference. You will find the RAT, and the fuel pipes on the back of the plane and many other all around the plane you can find in the detail pic. I've made new carts and ladders and other details around the diorama. The scenery was made using photo-paint and printer.

Here is my latest project in 1/72 Basic details regarding what the build represents have been added to the name plate: This particular aircraft did not survive the month and thus that is why it has an almost pristine look Total time spent on this work was 1 month here are some pictures: The Aircraft is an Italeri kit in 1/72 The aircraft was first painted in desert scheme and the lighter parts of it was painted in blue, in order to get out the base colors, salt technique weathering was used, thus it gives that bit of usage to the buld. Some of the ground crew had to be converted, basically here some heads were chopped of from 1/76s Airfix RAF Ground Crew and added to bodies belonging to Airfix 1/76 8th. Infantry soldiers. The Austin Tilly and the Motorcycle are part of an Airfix Bomber set in 1/72, they were painted in Malta Camo (this is not probable, as there are still some examples around, see later pictures) BR 323 decals where printed at home while the blast pen was constructed out of foam cardboard for the stone walls and clay for the sand bags, In Malta during the war you had three types of blast pens; in sand bags or in used petrol cans (since in '42 petrol was given by hand) or in stone walls, at times a mix of the above mentioned materials was used, like in my diorama. Some scratch building also went into the cockpit area. Stone walls, sand bags, soldiers, dio base and vehicles were then oil dot weathered In the second picture of the aircraft, one can still see the salt attached before it was removed, near the cockpit area. Inspirational photos: Hope you enjoy

Wingnut Wings Fokker E.II Eindecker. This particular machine was flown by Ernst Udet, and belonged to KeK Habsheim in 1916. The model is painted using Tamiya and Vallejo colors. Best regards Rune, Norway

I retired in October last year (2018) which meant more time to devote to 1/144 civil aviation although as it turned out I wasn’t as productive in 2019 as some previous years. In the normal way of modelling, a few builds I was confident I’d finish have been delayed for a variety of reasons and won’t make their debuts until next year. All the models featured here were finished in 2019 although several were started in 2018 and the Austrian A319, which was going to be finished in a completely different livery, actually dates back to 2017. All are new builds except the Finnair A319 which is an old model refurbished and re-finished. More information about the individual models can be found in the RFI threads which I have linked. Hope you like the collection of civilians. See you in 2020. Dave G Iberia Airbus A321-212 - Revell kit with 8A Decs decals. In RFI here Air China Airbus A350-941 - Revell kit with TwoSix decals. In RFI here Austrian Airlines Airbus A319-112 - Revell kit and decals. In RFI here Thomas Cook A321-211 - Revell kit with RJS decals. In RFI here. When I posted it in RFI I didn’t expect the model to become of historical interest in a matter of weeks Finnair Airbus A319-112 - Refurbished Revell kit with F-DCAL decals, (Not in RFI) Malev Boeing 737-8Q8 - Zvezda kit with Drawdecal decals. In RFI here British United Bristol Type 170 Freighter Mk31 - Ozmods kit and decals. (Not in RFI) Aeroflot Ilyushin IL-18V “Salon” - RusAir (resin) kit and decals. In RFI here Alitalia Caravelle VI-N - modified Airfix kit with Two Six decals. In RFI here LOT Embraer 170-100ST - Hasegawa kit with mixed Nazca and BOA decals. In RFI here Air Koryo Tupolev Tu-204-100V - Zvezda kit with 8A Decs decals. In RFI here

Hello all, Here are my completed builds for 2019, some better than others. All are 1/48 except the vehicles which are 1/35. I started using Mr Paint this year and I'm hooked! First up was an example of the best fitting kit I've ever made, the Tamiya F-14D, this one marked as a machine from VF-213 'Blacklions' during their last cruise with the jet in 2005/6. More pictures here ...and another Tamiya F-14, this time an A model in the markings of VF-41 'Black Aces' during Operation 'Enduring Freedom' in 2001. More pictures here First armour build of the year was the old but enjoyable Tamiya Stug IV. More pictures here Next was ICMs Mig-25PD, a kit I was very much looking forward to for a while. Wasn't the easiest to put together but was very pleased with the final product. More pictures here Hasegawa EA-18G Growler - this was my first experience with Mr Paint. Sold! More pictures here Tamiya's wonderful new Spitfire was the first part of my RAF 'QRA through the years' project. An absolute gem of a kit. More pictures here Another Tamiya kit in the form of the F-16C was next. More pictures here Another completion from my RAF QRA project was Airfix's Lightning, the first model of this jet that I've built. More pictures here Tamiya King Tiger. More pictures here Penultimate build of the year was one that had been sitting in the stash for years; glad to get it done and really pleased with how it went - F-4F from JG-71 'Richthofen'. More pictures here Finally and probably my favourite build of the year, Hobbyboss Su-27 Flanker of the Ukrainian Air Force. More pictures here As always, a big thanks to all those who have helped, followed and commented on my builds throughout the year and thanks to those who keep the forum running! Cheers Dave

Hi, gentlemen, "Zvezda" has issued the most impressive model of the MiG-29 Fulcrum C in 1/72. It was powered by Aires resin (nozzles, cockpit) Eduard resin wheels, Part photoetched and Pavla canopy. And of course some details are from scretch. The main challenge is how to build in the Aires resin parts, which have been produced for the old Italery model. So, it is possible and for the Zvezda kit as well. With regards,

I've not made as many models as I usually do but I have had fun making all the ones I have made. As usual all of these builds have been completed in GBs and all have been painted with brushes. Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D and crew Kit: 1/35 Dragon/Platz Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.D Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch Acrylic paints all applied by brushes Figures: MiniArt Special Edition German Tank Crew Base: 3mm MDF, Wilko picture frame, Household Filler, Vallejo European Mud, Woodlands Scenics Blended and other turfs, Army Painter tufts and grasses WIP: Here Lots more photos of the Pz.IV and crew: Here Vignette style photos: Here Panzer IV Ausf. J Sd.Kfz.161/2 1 SS Pz. Div. 723 Normandy 1944 Kit: Tamiya 1/48 Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch acrylics all applied by brush Extras: Tamiya Zimmerit stickers (the set for the H version - which fit fine), Vallejo European Thick Mud Build thread: Here Ready For Inspection photos: Here T26E4 Super Pershing Pilot #1 - HobbyBoss 1/35 Kit: HobbyBoss 1/35 T26E4 Super Pershing Pilot #1 Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch - all applied by brush Extras: Tamiya Tank Crew, Italeri Tools, Slater's Plasticard, Academy ammo crate and jerrycan. WIP: Here RFI: Here Vignette photos: Here King Tiger - Porsche Turret - s.Pz.Abt.506 Arnhem 1944 Toon Version Kit: Meng Toon Kit (no scale given) Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch Acrylics applied by brush Extras: No More Nails Zimmerit (thank you to @MarkSH for the idea), lead wire and Vallejo Mud products WIP: Here RFI: Here Tiger 1 Ausf.E (Late Production) Turret Number 313 of 3./s.Pz.Abt. 503 (3rd Company 503rd Heavy Tank Battalion) This is the Tiger 1 that would become famous as the one which was overturned at Manneville during the Allied heavy bombing at the start of Operation 'Goodwood' on the 18 July 1944. Three of the crew actually survived that bombing. My version is modelled before that date while the detachment was still fighting against Allied tank forces during the battles around Caen. My finished kit will be seen in action next against a Typhoon Mk.1b in the D-Day STGB. Kit: 1/48 Skybow Tiger 1 Ausf.E (Late Production) Paints; Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch Acrylics all applied by brush Extras: Stetched Sprue arial and Vallejo Mud The W.I.P. can be found: Here Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib - 1/48 Hasegawa/Italeri - motorised prop ZY-Y - 247 Sqn. France, June 1944 This was part of my project for the D-Day GB. The kit is by Hasegawa but re-boxed by Italeri with new decals. There are some fit issues with the kit in a couple of places but other than those it was a fun build. As can be seen from the photos I decided, as it was going to be part of a small diorama, that I would have the prop motorised. The motor I used was from Airfix. I also used the PE set for this kit from Eduard. Kit: 1/48 Italeri/Hasegawa Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch Acrylics all applied by brush Extras: Eduard PE set, Airfix motor and Airfix pilot The WIP can be found: Here The RFI can be found: Here The two previous builds were built to be part of the vignette below: All the photos of the above scene can be found: Here Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment or make suggestions in my build threads - it’s the support from fellow modellers that have helped make my models what they are. There may be one more build to go into this Yearbook if I get it finished before the end of the year. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix

This is the Pearl Harbor version of Hasegawa's Kate, but since they don't include the right torpedo fins, I went looking for another colour scheme. I stumbled upon pictures of this surrendered Kate in green cross markings and well, why not? I left out the rear gun but apart from that it's OOB. It's a very nice fitting model. I did paint the camouflage under the white, which is applied patchy intentionally. It also looked as though they had really roughly painted the spinner and prop with a brush, so I tried to recreate that look as well. I'm not sure the aircraft ever flew, but it did look scruffy around the engine cowlings with the rest of the aircraft fairly clean. Green crosses were painted on and the '2' on the tail was from the spares box.

Hi A tiny tiny model from five star model. Very funny and agreeable to build. have a nice day Pierre

Hi all, this is wrapping up the build of MiniArt's GAZ-AA cargo truck. It was my first MiniArt kit and they do live up to the name. The kit has a huge amount of parts for something this size, and is very detailed. The only thing I added were some wires and such on the engine. I enjoyed myself immensely and feel that my skills have improved just by building this kit. The fit of the parts is excellent, but the truck does not exactly fall together, you really have to work it. This has nothing to do with the quality of the parts but rather that there are so much of them ... Also, cleanup takes quite a bit of time because you really have to be careful with these small bits of plastic (and PE). I can certainly recommend the kit to anyone who has a love for this type of trucks. It's well worth the effort. You can do 8 different versions, 7 of which are green so I chose the odd one out. The paint for cab and loadbed is Vallejo's Green Ochre, the chassis and running boards are Vallejo Black. German Grey for the tyres. For weathering I only used paint, again Vallejo, gun metal, alu, light grey, orange brown, medium brown and such. All paints applied with brushes. You can find the build here: Anyway here are some pics. I struggled a bit to get some decent ones, it's a bit dark and I need better (brighter) lamps (or just better skills, could be that) so some are better than others. Well, the first one is pretty good but that's thanks to Flickr's photo editor, it didn't work for all of them. Full album here Thanks for watching!

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my latest, the 1/72 KORA Fw-190 F9 Panzerblitz. This version was the last variant of the famous "Butcher Bird", armed with unguided anti-tank aerial rockets. These rockets were similar to the R4M Orkan air-to-air rocket used by the Messerschmitt Me 262. The kit contains the well-known Eduard sprues (for the A-8 version), some resin and photo-etch add-ons plus a decal sheet for 4 marking options. I painted with Gunze/Mr.Hobby acrylics, according to instructions, as I could not find an original photograph of this particular aircraft. The pitot tube is a metal item from Master. All photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. Thank you for your interest and comments, best greetings from Vienna Roman

FM Models 1/48 Breguet Alize I commenced the build in March 2018 and have just completed it - as I said in the WIP it is an older limited run kit so you need to be prepared to put a bit of work into it to get a nice model but saying that it is the only 1/48 Alize available although pretty hard to find one now.. I have always found the Alize an interesting aircraft and this kit sat in my stash for years until I saw an excellent build by Mssr Gaudart on a French website Master194.com - unfortunately the build has disappeared from that website which is a shame as it had a lot of useful reference photos as well as informative build of his model. I did a lot of modifications to the kit and scratch built the wing fold rather than use the resin wing folds that came with the kit - all detailed in the WIP. BERNA decals were used to finish her as number 17 of Flottille 4F in the type A camouflage scheme Alize service history & information on the aircraft can be found here - http://www.ffaa.net/aircraft/alize/alize.htm Happily there is still an airworthy Alize in France & plenty of photos of the aircraft easily found on the internet via Google - there are several preserved examples in various museums. The Alize model photos are the best I could do on my iPhone. WIP LINK - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235035388-fm-breguet-alize-the-gallic-gannet-rfi-posted/ CJP

Just finished - the excellent 1/72 scale T10-10 Flanker prototype from Modelsvit....... This really is the best yet from Modelsvit - crisp moulding with nice engraved panel detail, etched brass parts, self adhesive masks - a complete package. The anti-FOD guard on the nosewheel is realistically done - with a separate wheel and the guard in two halves - unlike the one-piece moulding on some Flanker kits. Spot the difference - first and latest Flankers - T10-10 and Su-35S........ More photos - build and finished model - here. WIP thread - here. Ken

Hi guys railgun now finished, for anyone who did not catch my buildup I have reposted details about model and full size gun. this is a model of the German Theodor Kanone (E). Three of these were built using plans of w w 1 mountings and barrels from pre-dreadnoughts they were built in 1936 and in service 1937 to 1945,two guns were used during the French campaign. I have had a number of guys ask for a rundown of the builds so have included a few photos during build, the barrel is turned in aluminium and the wheels are from oo gauge railway stock ...will be glad to answer any other questions on build, figs are Ceaser.

Dear all. I'd like to present my recent adventures with the character-full old Airfix kit of 'Faithful Annie'. I made a lot of changes - as you might have anticipated for a kit this old - but belly aside, I was impressed by how accurate Airfix caught the proportions and outline of both fuselage and wings. There was much scratch-building from brass & plastic, which I won't bore you by listing again as the cumulative list of tasks and rationales can be found over here: The aircraft is the one that famously discovered the Knickebein beams being used to guide the Luftwaffe to targets over Britain in 1940 - a list of historical refs. are given over on the build thread. Aside from the Hallicrafters set used to detect the beams and the need to alter the electricity supply of the aircraft in order to power it, any further detail regarding the installation of any different aerials &etc. seems now lost in historical mists. Not surprising given the jeopardy of that period in the war. I was lucky however to be in correspondence with the son of the pilot - Flight Lt. (as he then was) H. E. Bufton - who generously sent me copies of the pages from his father's log book for that night, confirming both the serial number of the aircraft and timings of the flight. Aside from log book entries, I was able to cross reference with a copy of BAT&DU (later 109 Sqn) Operations Record Book (AIR 27/852), obtained from the National Archives. I hope that Hal Bufton's son is pleased at how his father's aircraft has turned out. All camouflage and national marking are painted with Tamiya acrylics: detailed discussion over colour schemes and why there are no squadron codes on the fuselage are contained in the latter part of the WIP so I don't propose repeating these at length again here. Main technical reference for buildings and alterations (aside from contemporary IWM photographs) of the aircraft was the Anson parts & maintenance AP.1525A,D,E&F. A general walkaround first then: Some closer-ins.... The insides had a makeover too: I hope you like the results. It was a lovely kit to be working on and I was blessed - as always - with a kind and knowledgable bunch of companions on the 18 months it took. Tony

Hi all. After some problems with the snow used in this small scene (that of AK) and changing the base for a larger one, I can show the work completely finished. For those who want to see the work done on the ships the links are: I have finished it in a month and a half, without messing with any other model in between which is a double achievement on my part. For the short time that I took to do it and because between the beginning and the end I have not taken a different model. Bandai kits related to the Star Wars saga totally and absolutely recommended. I have done some more and I have many others. From the first I can say the same and from the second I can say that the detail is equally impressive. The only but is its price. Even on the other side of the world it is high, here it is simply prohibitive for a normal pocket. Regards.

Hi all Just two little jets to slip in under the wire for 2019. Bit late as I had a bit of an issue with Flickr, but all good now - my finger trouble! Doh! Both models are the lovely little 737-300 kits from Daco under their Skyline range. The decals are also Daco, These are numbers 3 & 4 in my production line of WestPac LogoJets, Western Pacific was a Colorado based airline that operated in the mid 90s for 4~5 years and became well known for turning their jets over to advertisers. Normally it was a Colorado based sponsor, in this case the Crested Butte winter resort and the rather upmarket Broadmoor Hotel. For the fuselage colours I used Daco's own paints (produced by Xtracolor), purple for the Crested Butte and Peach and Maroon for the Broadmoor machine. Build was exactly as per the previous 2, but with the advantage of lessons learned, as they do have a couple of quirks. They will now join my Simpson's and Colorado Springs jets from last year. Two more in the programme for next year! Comments and critique welcome in equal measure! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Thanks for looking! IMG_4911 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_4913 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_4916 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_4915 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_4930 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_4927 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_4928 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_4929 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Happy New Year all! ATB Rick

Hi there! This year I re-started my modelling and was to do all of the century series jet fighters. Now, I didn't quite got there as I got sidetracked every now and then But I still got nice collection of cold war era jets in my shelf - plus some extra WW2 stuff mostly for my dad's collection. January 2019 1. Italeri 1/72 F-100D Super Sabre My first model I've finished since I was a kid. I started this summer 2018 but finally finished it early 2019. February 2019 2. Revell 1/72 F-84G Thunderstreak Model was pretty bad as was my building & painting of it. Did it really fast. Move on... March 2019 3. Airfix 1/72 A-4B Skyhawk Was pretty happy about this, model went together really nicely. Forgot nose weight, so it's standing on it's tail hook... April 2019 4. Hasegawa 1/72 Saab 37 Viggen Was pretty unhappy to find out that the model was actually based on the prototype - not the actual production plane. But I made the best out of it, made it look like the prototype. Not a very good kit. April 2019 5. Hasegawa 1/72 RF-101C Voodoo While both are old Hasegawa - liked this a lot more than the Viggen. Was bit of a work though, but I put my best effort on this one. 13.5. 2019 6. Trumpeter 1/72 F-105D Thunderchief Was pretty nice & detailed kit. Definitely want to do more vietnam-builds - it was my ambition as a kid to collect vietnam-era planes but I never got around actually building many of the kits back then. 14.5.2019 7. Hawk 1/72 Javelin Very old & basic model based on a prototype Javelin as far as I know. I just built the model as-is straight from the box not worrying much about references & such. Such a cool plane, need to do a 'proper' build of it someday. 31.5.2019 8. Monogram 1/48 F-102A Delta Dagger Such a cool & big plane. This one goes to my dad's collection - I picked this up from his stash. He does WW2 stuff only but has few others in the mix that I can pretty freely pick up as long as I return the finished product in his shelf 30.6.2019 9. Meng Models 1/72 F-102A Delta Dagger Now I did enjoy this - such a nice model with nice details. 19.7.2019 10. Trumpeter 1/72 Su-15TM Flagon I think interceptors are cool - and wanted a 'red' Delta Dagger on my shelf, so I did the Flagon. 19.7.2019 11. KP 1/72 MiG-23M Flogger Bit light on the 'red' planes, Flogger joined the party. Not particularly fond of the model or my make of it. But it will do. 24.7.2019 12. Special Hobby 1/72 Vampire Mk.52 I'm a finn but it took me this long to do a finnish air force plane. Have many on my stash but somehow something else always found it's way on the table. Such a nice kit this Special Hobby! 11.8.2019 13. Italeri 1/72 F-104C Starfighter Was just continuing my Century Series builds - but this was such a cool plane with interesting history that I got stuck with it and wanted to do more! 21.8.2019 14. Airfix 1/72 Buccaneer This was long in the making - but I took my time with it. Was my first plane with some after market parts (resin nose & tail, cockpit etch etc.). I am pretty happy about the end result even if the details are not quite up to par with modern models. 21.8.2019 15. Revel 1/72 F-104G Starfighter Another Starfighter! This time by Revell. Bit more detailed than the Italeri - but I think I enjoyed building the Italeri more. 28.8.2019 16. Hobbycraft 1/48 F7U Cutlass This was such a painful build where everything seemed to go wrong and I just wanted it off my build table as fast as possible. Honestly, the kit was not that bad but things just didn't work out this time 17.9.2019 17. Hasegawa 1/72 F-104S Starfighter Another Starfighter, this time by Hasegawa and finished in Italian colours. Will be my go-to kit once I start building more 1/72 Starfighters (which will happen ). 15.9.2019 18. Accurate Miniatures 1/48 A-36 Apache Dive bomber Mustang. I started this kit maybe 5 years ago when I was about to start modelling again but it not quite stick that time. Was waiting around with it's primier on - was nice to finish this after such a long time. And this was my first airbrushed model - all before this are finished with a hairy stick. 20.9.2019 19. Monogram 1/48 B-24 Liberator My wife suggested that I could build something for the living room - but it couldn't be anything small or modern (as in the things I normally do - jet fighter=too modern ) . So I picked old Monogram Liberator from my dad's stash and it's hanging from our living room ceiling as we speak. My wife got a say in the decals & paintjob - wouldn't want it to clash with the decor! 1.10.2019 20. Eduard 1/72 MiG-21MF Fishbed Probably my favourite build of the year - both how the kit was to build and the actual finished product. Nice adversary for the Starfighter too, have couple more MiG-21's in my stash waiting. 15.10.2019 21. Revell 1/48 F-89D Scorpion This big Scorpion was not a problem free build but still very enjoyable anyways. 14.11.2019 22. 1/72 Airacobra Do not know the manufacturer. I picked this up from my kits that I built as a kit and broke it down a bit more. Just a fun & quick build and playing around with all kinds of stuff making the plane look like it's made a crash landing in a jungle. ... maybe couple more this year? We will see It's been a good modelling year so far!

As finished in the 1/72 "Lift Here" Models Piper Enforcer build, here are the final pics: Thanks for looking. Ed

OOB, except for Xtradecals.

Hi guys Here i want share to you my MRC Gallery Sikorsky HH-34 G of the german Navy in the 60th. I used also the great EDUARD photo etch parts which are much more better than the PE parts of the kit. I have liked this version from first sight because of the dayglow paint which is a nice contrast to the silver body of the helicopter. I paint it with Vallejo aluminium and the panel lines i airbrush it with Tamiya X-19 smoke to get a worn effect. For the pictures i drove together with my wife more than one hour through the country side to find a fitting location and my wish was to get a special lights, so we had waited till 3.30pm in winter 2017 when the sun setting already Cheers Werner

I thought I would post this again- Not sure if this is the most appropriate forum, but it seems most of you hang out in WW2- Mike or Julien, if this is not appropriate, feel free to move it as you see fit. I want to wish all of my new friends and fellow styrene surgeons on Britmodeller a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season. Hoping your filler never shrinks and your decals never silver in the new year! Thank you so much for all of the knowledge, references, and modeling techniques you have so generously shared all year long. Mike A Modeler's Night Before Christmas T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the pad, I was sneaking new kits in so the Missus wouldn't get mad. The stockings were all hung on the mantle in a row- Hoping for goodies from Airfix or John Aero! The children were all nestled all snug in their beds While visions of Airfix starter sets danced in their heads. When up on the rooftop there arose such a clatter That I sprang up from my workbench to see what was the matter. When, what to my wondering eyes should appear But a Short Skyvan pulled by eight tiny reindeer! With a little old driver dressed up in red velvet, I knew in an instant it must be General Melchett! More rapid than a Hunter, his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name. "Now ToT; now Sabrejet; now Moa and Ridgerunner; Now Giorgio; now Replicant!" (Whose builds are all stunners!) As I drew back my head and was turning around, Down the chimney came General Melchett with a bound. He was dressed in an old flight suit from his head to his toes, And each panel was inked in. (You know how THAT goes!) He spoke not a word, but to my surprise, He filled all the stockings with kits and supplies! And, laying an airbrush aside of his nose, He gave me a smile and up the chimney he rose! He boarded the Skyvan and gave his team a shrill tweet, And away they all flew like a Lightning F6 in reheat! And I heard him exclaim as they chandelled out of sight, "Merry Christmas to all- how about finishing a model tonight?"

Hiya Folks, These models and most of my research have recently appeared in Scale Aircraft Modelling but the model pics don`t show up all that well so I thought that I`d put a few on here in case anybody is interested,; Here is the Valom Marauder Mk.I, built as FK375/D which was refinished from the desert scheme into Temperate Sea Scheme after the intended role of light bomber was changed during work up training to maritime recce/strike. The original Middle Stone can still be seen behind the scroll under the cockpit containing the name `Dominion Revenge', which was applied by famous modeller and historian Dick Ward during his RAF service; 32 by Tony OToole, on Flickr 31 by Tony OToole, on Flickr 30n finished by Tony OToole, on Flickr 34 by Tony OToole, on Flickr 30e finished by Tony OToole, on Flickr 38 by Tony OToole, on Flickr And here is the Monogram snap tite kit (with engines and interior added from a scrapped Airfix kit!) built as 41-17978 `Flak Eater' which was one of the ex USAAF B-26B handed over `in theatre' by the 320 BG to 14 Sqn mainly for the in house training flight although some were also used for operations; b20 FINISHED by Tony OToole, on Flickr b27 by Tony OToole, on Flickr b28 by Tony OToole, on Flickr b22 by Tony OToole, on Flickr Both models are based on photographs which appear in my article and although the paintwork on the Mk.I appears quite stark in the pics, in reality the grey and green really merge into each other. The B-26B has the two toned Olive Drab seen on many Marauder`s but whether this was caused by different paint which has weathed differently or the thickness of the metal causing this effect,..I don`t know! Cheers Tony Edit- I cannot post any reference photos here but many of them appear on the excellent 14 Sqn Association website, follow this link; http://www.14sqn-association.org.uk/14_Squadron_Association/Marauder.html Edit,...edit,.... I have re posted the photos here after they went missing following the Photobucket disaster! I have also added some pics of my 1/48th Marauder Mk.I, converted from the Monogram kit using the Lone Star conversion set, lots of filler and tennis elbow!! DSCF9349 by Tony OToole, on Flickr DSCF9357 by Tony OToole, on Flickr and here are the 1/72nd and 1/48th scale Marauder Mk.I models together; DSCF9363 by Tony OToole, on Flickr

Hi, My second for 2020, the Focke Wulf FW 44 Stieglitz by Huma in 1/72/ Buiild is almost OOB, I added only some structure inside. I was inspired by recent show in RFI of FW 44 in 1/32 by @galgos (thanks ) and started build right in New Year day. I realized that from few years I have already chosen the scheme and I have everything to go on with it. The scheme followas one given by Kora in a decal set, however I hav used decals from drawer. It is FW 44 of Finnish AF during spring 1944. Her she is: As you can see there was a disaster of decay of "11" on bottom of wing, one day I will correct it.... Comments welcome Regards J-W

Disappointing, I was hoping to avoid having to add that. Tonight I picked up this memoir on Kindle, which will hopefully prove an informative read. Here's where we are on the internals: And how they more or less should look when together: You'll also note I managed to prise the cowl open by main force alone (emitting a suitably herculean grunt as I did so), and got the exhaust collector piping in there after some sanding. Sanding, in fact, was the name of the game tonight. The so far great fit of the kit was revealed to evapourate once one attempted to close things up, as I discovered when test-fitting the cockpit framing into the fuselage tonight, and vigourous sanding and usage of my micro-chisel set were required to widen the various channels and narrow the framing to ensure something like a decent fit. The engine also required sanding down to fit in the cowl. I also dunked the clear parts in Future, since there's going to be some glue/plastic interactions for sure when the wings go on and I want them to be well cured by then.

Hi all, here my latest build: Eduard`s Bf 109 G-10 in 1:48. Built it OOB with included JG 51 markings. Only the pitot is by Brassin.

Not the most productive year, but I had a couple of bumps in the road along the way... which are thankfully behind me now. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! Aoshima Lamborghini Huracan Performante in 1/24 Airfix Triumph TR4A, 1/32 Airfix Austin Healey Sprite 1/32 Airfix Ford Escort, 1/32 Matchbox Bugatti Type 59, 1/32 Arii Porsche 911S, 1/32 Matchbox Porsche 935, 1/32 Airfix Little Owl, 1/1 (ish) Gunze Sangyo Lamborghini Silhouette, 1/24 Union/IMC Lola T70 Mk1 Spyder 1/25(ish) Here's hoping for a (at least slightly) more productive year next year! best, M.

This is the Battle of Britain movie stand in for the Bf 109E. It is a Spanish Buchon dressed up to look like a German plane. This particular plane also features in a Documentary about BOB that used a lot of unseen footage from the movie. The scale is 1/48

History: Launched in 1900 at the Vickers yard in Barrow-in-Furness, the battleship Mikasa was a pre-Dreadnought built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Similar in design to the Royal Navy's Formidable Class her layout was typical of the penultimate pre-dreadnought classes, with main armament consisting of two twin-turrets located fore and aft, and secondary guns housed in main deck box batteries. Mikasa served as Vice-Admiral Togo's flagship and had an eventful career, seeing action in the battles of Port Arthur, Yellow Sea and the decisive Battle of Tsushima. A magazine explosion caused her to sink at anchor, but was eventually re-floated and returned to service as a coastal defence ship. Her eventual fate was to be preserved as a museum ship - the only surviving ship of her class, and can be visited at Yokosuka in Japan. The Model: The 1/350 scale Hasegawa kit builds up into a nicely detailed model, and the special edition comes with two metal figures (of a different scale) of Heihachiro Togo and Akiyama Saneyuki, but I've yet to assemble and paint these. I added a PE set by Lion Roar which includes brass barrels and a more finely detailed stern-walk platform among other things. A wooden deck was also added, and climbers utility cord was used to represent the anti-torpedo netting. Although the model depicts the ship in her 1905 'Battle of Japan Sea' configuration I couldn't resist painting her in her earlier black and white scheme instead of grey as she would have appeared int he battle, so the two fighting tops are absent from the masts and other minor details may be off. Thanks for looking in, Ross.

It's been a good year for building again. Last year went well, with the Classic Airfix GB giving my building no end of a boost. This year has seen an even bigger shove in the right direction with the Classic FROG GB turning out to be a real corker. The B17 Group Build saw two entries from me, Lassie and her Lads and an old Airfix B17 kit backdated as a tribute to 1940's wartime wooden kit building. The FROG GB saw me hit high gear for a while, builds came together at a very pleasing rate. During the GB I restored an original, 1939 FROG Penguin Spitfire, one of the years highlights for me... Using the same build style used on the 1940's B17 above, I backdated a Frogspawn Whitley in a similar fashion. The new Airfix kit has seen the old FROG kit relegated to the dusty end of the stash now, but building it like this gave it a chance for a bit of glory! Another build that probably would not have happened without the generosity of another GB regular, Heather in this case, who gave me the kit. A rather beaten up FROG Hunter got refinished as a desktop model of the speed record plane. Very bright! Also from the FROG GB came this Comet airliner. This one was one of those kits that just went together well throughout the build. The sum is greater than the parts here, but I'm not complaining! Everything about this build made me feel good. The kit itself was offered up by Cliff to anyone who fancied building it, Charlie donated the polishing powder that really makes the build stand out and Mike Dean pointed me towards the support van that helps the overall look of the build no end. S'n J polishing powder got the metalwork buffed up to a high shine. The BOAC van is a refinished Matchbox one and the base is a bit of card with primer applied and a grid added with a marker pen. Car models are never far away from my bench although this years output was tempered a bit by the Group Builds going on. A Monogram PC1 Midget Racer got finished. Monograms very first plastic kit, no less. This ones a later issue, finished as the original acetate kit. Another Monogram, this time the Hurst Hairy Olds twin engined show car/dragster. The base was built from the kit box. The tire smoke in the second shot is cushion stuffing! Yet another Monogram build got a bit of renovation. I built the stand years ago to show off the options available in the original Model A kit, and it needed a freshen up along with the models needing all kinds of repairs. A couple of days got things back as they should be. I think there's a couple more I've missed, but the threads getting a bit drawn out as it is. Best call it quits at this point. All in all, a very good year on the plastic front. I'm looking forward to next years Group Builds builds already. Tony.

Thanks Simon - if you thought that was fiddly, read on! Thanks Mike for the info on the aerials - very useful references in those links too, great stuff More fiddly PE! Like these: Can you see them? Two little red things near the tip of the blade. I guess they're grab handles or something? I thought it best to glue in the i/p before trying to stick on anything that would get knocked off so: Oooh look, new tweezers, as recommended by John L here. I like 'em After lots more fiddling and Anglo-Saxon we have: You can see the map box in that first shot, yet to be painted, bottom right. Madness. Yes, I did lose one of the levers. it's gone. I'm over it.

I'm free Captain Peacock! Best line of the festive period! for you mister! Had to stop and think that it was actually going to be a new decade in a few days time! #lunchtime doubly so Here. (an old meme but a good meme...) That's an awful way to talk about socially challenged misfits Keith. It's not our fault we're not Welsh. Oi! It took me ages to get the hems sewn! I like that idea very much Serge! Cheers Ced. Hope you dipped your beak in some prime vino. 'et al'. My surname for tax purposes from now on.... Cheers Chris - hope you had a good one. Yup - it's a good point Johnny. Actually played around with Reality Capture a while back for film work but in this instance with so many Sea Vixen photos taken from different focal lengths and in varying directional lighting conditions to contend with, it'd be a nightmare trying to match focal lengths &etc. in order to compensate for optical distortions and related errors across the frames. Sadly Father Christmas didn't bring me a LIDAR setup (but trying to get work to buy one, if I can conjure a valid reason). I actually had a kind invite just prior to Christmas from those lovely people over at Navy Wings to come and photograph XP924 whilst she was being repaired in the hangar, but time and finances just won't allow a trip across the water at present. I've decided to leave out the entire Frog Steve, this I know is called being 'less than helpful'... Drove over to Galway this morning as one of Mrs B's oldest schoolfriends was back over visiting her family and she related something disgusting that had happened to her. She's a specialist in a well known London hospital, worked there for years and before that in the mental health sector in England under enormously stressful circumstances due to continual cuts in staffing. Conscientious, self-effacing and compassionate like most people in the medical profession. She had an email from their HR department recently telling her (in terms intended to inspire gratitude) that she'd be able to keep her job as she 'wasn't on the list' i.e., of those nationals under threat of being forced to lose their positions under Brexit. Think about that what it feels like to be one of those people on the receiving end of language like that for a moment: 'On a list.' What were those countries in the past where people were put on lists again? Funny how often it started with people being booted out of professions. You can no doubt hear the fury in my words tonight at a good woman being made to feel as if she's merely being tolerated by a society that she's done so much to care for. I honestly don't care at this point if I'm kicked off the forum for posting politics - I care about what happens in the country of my birth but I know poison when I see it.

#30/2019 Most probably the last new one by my dad for 2019. Started with an ICM kit but switched to a Hasegawa kit with decals from AML, superfabric seatbelts from Eduard, painted with Gunze H306 FS36270 for the underside and Tamiya XF-82 RAF Ocean Gray 2 and XF-81 RAF Dark Green 2. Used darker shades of these colours to simulate freshly overpainted RAF roundels on the wings. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235061874-lend-lease148-supermarine-spitfire-lfixe-soviet-airforcepvo/page/2/ The model shows an aircraft of 26 GIAP PVO, Leningrad 1944-45. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0006 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0008 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0015 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0017 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Thanks Simon - me too. Sad really Well Giorgio, see the thing is about heavy weathering… a) I don't like bashing up a model I've spent ages on b) I should have thought about it earlier and c) I'm lazy I shall be gloss coating soon though to 'protect' the finish (after a bit more touching up and Micromeshing) - see, I do listen! Thanks Bill - timely reminders I know Ben, I'm usually with you on 'cleaner' finishes but this one… er, got messed up with the aged white so something needed to be done Thanks Stew, good to hear Thanks Tomo - No danger of 'the dance' - too cold! Quite right Bill, leave it the young 'uns! Thanks Cookie and Bill I'm thinking some kind of light grey wash and then sponged algae. Not real algae, just paint… oh, you know what I mean. Thanks Tony - great pics! They certainly took a beating eh? Wait until the Summer Solstice? Hmmm. I could do with some healing crystals hung from some bits though …and a bigger boat wire brush. Now there's an idea… This morning I didn't feel like more sanding so I thought 'How about 'dry brushing' some matt white'? Actually I just wiped the brush on the side of the pot and then dragged it out a lot until it seemed thinned enough. Far easier than sanding around the rigging. Getting there: