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Showing content with the highest reputation on 13/10/13 in all areas

  1. Well this is my latest build completed, another commission and a very challenging one at that. This is the Stargazer Models 1/144 scale Discovery 1 from 2001/2010, the kit has a total length of 30"+. One of the biggest challenges was making the modifications for the bespoke lighting rig as there are no resin spares so I could not afford to make any mistakes. I was not going to light the engine bells as I thought it was too risky but I gave it a great deal of thought and took the chance. Back to year one apprentice bench fitting and my trusty Tamiya razor saw. The lighting in the Command Module was a challenge too as there is not much space to work with and you need to light the Pod Bay and CM Flight Deck independently. Lastly was the application of the JBOT Decals to the flight deck, this did make my head spin a bit as there is no real useful guidance so I spent a great deal of time looking at on line images. I finally managed to get some additional guidance from a JBOT decals pdf I found for it on line. The finish was done as usual with Tamiya Acrylic as always, XF-01 Mat White with a small amount of XF-19 Sky Grey mixed in to take the edge of the white as a very light grey finish was required. Variation of panels was done with a various mixes of light grey, these were still too dark so I applied a base colour filter over the top to lighten and blend. The model really came to life with the application of a much diluted grey wash, especially on the spine and Reactor Unit. Power is supplied via a 12v DC Outlet that i fitted into the base to keep things nice and neat. Overall I am very happy with the result, this is one I would like to keep myself Danny
    4 points
  2. Another quick build was the new Atlantic Models HMS Leeds castle, I've made a few detail changes to backdate the shiip to her 1982 South Atlantic fit. Whilst not having an embarked helicopter, the ships have a large helicopter deck and were used as fuel stops by helicopters transfering stores between larger ships at South Georgia. This is the new Atlantic models kit and is one of the easiest ship kits I've built - the hull was ready to paint after about 3 hours work, and the superstructure wasn't much longer. Andrew
    3 points
  3. A rather quick build, I always wanted to build a Danish Starfighter, they have at wonderful, weathered look! This is mostly a painting Project, so building will be almost OOB. This is of course Hasegawa´s great Starfighter, so even a OOB build will be rather detailed. Building was trouble-free, almost no filler was required. A few cockpit shots: The only addition is seatbelts. And so the fun begins! More pics will follow soon...I hope! My aim is to finish it to the C4 Open show in Malmö, Sweden, in two weeks...
    3 points
  4. After spending the best part of 5 months building this I am quite pleased with how it's finally turned out. During my time on the 'Junglie Circuit' I cut my engineering teeth on this airframe: ZF121 from 772 Squadron then I met her up again on 846 Squadron. Where I worked with it in Northern Ireland I hope you like her There are more images but didn't want to swamp all the bandwidth hehe
    3 points
  5. I've been taking a break from the Hermes build with a few simpler ships from the stash. This the the WEM HMS Ledbury with a few updates to represent a more current fit for the class. It's a really nice little kit but for a small ship, there's a lot of detail packed in, mostly around the working deck and boat deck. Andrew
    3 points
  6. Hello everyone I've been away for sometime and I just wanted to try and upload some pictures to see I could still remember how to do it? I hope you don't mind.
    3 points
  7. Finally completed with the undercarriage, doors, hook and bombs on. I have to say it's not been an easy build - it's a true short-run kit but it's an unusual subject and I'm pleased with how she turned out! I therefore present BuNo 104595, White 109, VF-41 "Firebirds" Thanks for looking and on with Number Two - the FR-1!
    3 points
  8. Well I could not sleep so I started on some more details. The Nav instrumentation and various boxes and stick are all moulded as 3 simple pieces but it quite 2D in nature. I started by cutting and separating the 2d representation of the Nav stick. Apologies for the crappy photographs. Then whilst I was at it I cut the rest of the panel up - no going back! I then moved on and rebuilt that area and glued into behind the front of the rear panel as it should be. This is were I have gotten to. Some wiring to add etc and needs painting and glueing together. I also added some very prominent cabling that you can see in photo and pilot notes. And I added the rudder pedal straps that were missing.
    3 points
  9. Good afternoon everybody. Hope we are all having a pleasant weekend This is my build of Combrigs Indefatigable class battlecruiser HMAS Australia in 1/700 I think the history of the ship is fairly well known but a brief overview. She joined the newly formed Royal Australian Navy in 1913 as Flagship. Started WW1 in Australian waters conducting operations against German assets in the Pacific before being moved to the UK as part of the Grand Fleets Battlecruiser Squadron. Managed to miss all the fleet actions of the war which with the fates of some of the other battlecruisers, was probably a good thing. Returned to Australia after the war and was decommissioned and scuttled off Sydney Heads as a result of the Washington Naval treaty. Heres a link to to report done on the wreck recently for a bit of interest http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/heritagebranch/heritage/media/hmasaustraliawreckinspectionrpt.pdf The kit itself is good starting point and I've run a work in progress on it here http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234944212-1700-hmas-australia/ But on with the pics Bit pic heavy sorry, I got a bit carried away. She's not perfect but I have learned a lot building her. Thanks once again for everyones help with the build and I hope you like the finished product. Cheers Callum
    2 points
  10. Well I've been making the most of being stuck inside because of the rain... This is the obsolete Airfix Spitfire Mk.I (old tool ofc) and I had a bash at converting it. I admit, it is some what crude, however, it looks the part Modifications; Sanded all the raised panel lines and filled the panel trenches around the engine, The curved front canopy came from Airfix's XIX, the "un-blown" slidey bit and the rear bit (very technical) were thermoformed, The two blade prop was built from scratch, The rudder was altered, Undercarriage legs from the Heller XVI and the wheels had the spokes filled in, Scratch built tail skid, Cockpit interior had a control column and belts added, Pitot tubes came from bit of metal. Paint; Overall Hu90 after which I blended in various shades of greens and yellows to give the dirty zinc chromate look, Control surfaces painted with Hu11 for aluminium dope, The airscrew was painted with Citadel Snakebite Leather and given and oil wash, The cowl was painted with Citadel Chainmail Decals all came from spares other than the exhausts which were printed by myself (My thanks to Rick Brown for the jpeg). I think thats enough talking... Cheers, Ben.
    2 points
  11. Built OOB, Testors MM paints. Build thread: http://www.zone-five.net/showthread.php?t=24706
    2 points
  12. So your plan is to wait until you have proved that aircraft is outdated, then fob off the Navy with it? You weren't part of the Air Ministry in the mid-30s, were you? Joking aside, the FAA already had their own dog of a turret fighter (the Blackburn Roc), which made the Defiant look like an F-16. I doubt they'd have been too interested in another go!
    2 points
  13. Sprayed the boot topping and masked off, then got into building the bridge and funnel. Painted the funnel stripe and cap then masked them off. I've got some more etch to add before the grey can be sprayed, then it's a lot of careful cutting off of the flightdeck netting in prep for the etched parts. Just had to do a quick dry fit to see how big this thing is going to be, Oh yeah, I've also built up the 8" turrets in prep for the fitting of the Master gun barrels.
    2 points
  14. Here she is, my second build completed. Despite the often frustrating fit and the amount of fettling that needed doing it looks pretty good to me. There were mistakes made along the way, some were fixed, some weren't. At times I wished I hadn't started it but in the end it was a very positive experience. Would I make another one? Definately, but not yet, I have to get started on the Mig 15 to go with it. Thanks to all who watched and commented.
    2 points
  15. You're getting the hang of this Seafire lark Col. She's another good'un mate. Hey Beard,a Griffon VI with a Mk.V rudder at the other end of it?,that would be a real handful. I doubt that it'd have anywhere near enough authority for yaw control,the "pointy" was only just enough.
    2 points
  16. Finished the Revell P-26a - build thread here - http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234946388-172-revell-boeing-p-26a-peashooter/page-1
    2 points
  17. AFAIK, all the XIIs had pointy rudders, the V based airframes had fixed tail wheels, the VIII based ones had retractable tail wheels. Nice job on the XV Col, theres a lot to like about this, I need to get off my backside & get one of these as I already have the Almark decals & I like that scheme, especially now I've seen it on yours. Steve.
    2 points
  18. My old man gave me one crucial piece of advice..."Never ask, boy. The xxxxxxxx always tell you no". That's been my mantra all my 61 years! Martin
    2 points
  19. Yes please.The Spitfire is for conversion to a Seafire 1b.
    2 points
  20. Hello, I have just finished building German Railway Gun "Dora" , It took me long time to finish it but it is worth the time , here are some pictures for the finished model & link for video clip , your opinion highly appreciated , thanks for watching. Video clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx2aImChiPo
    1 point
  21. Hi there! Here's my latest model, finished last Friday! It's a Revell Tornado ECR built straight from the box. Only adds were the FOD cover made with tissue paper. Finished with Gunze (camo) and Model Master (whells, landing gear, ect) paints. Great kit, very well detailed and no big fitting issues! Easy and nice built! To the pictures: Feel free to comment! Cheers Serelle
    1 point
  22. I picked this kit up about 5 years ago from my local model shop, rapidly followed by the MDC update set for this kit....... .....and there it sat for 5 years being intermittently pulled out of the stash with the intention of starting it, but that other kit always seemed to get in the way. Anyway, having reached an impasse on my Revell Ju 88 C-6, I decided I needed a quick project to restore my modelling mojo, so exhumed the Wurger from the stash and set to. There's not a lot you can say about the Tamiya Fw 190, it's a nice little kit, but it does suffer from a few failings, not least the enclosed wheel bay beneath the engine, and the slightly short undercarriage, both of which are addressed by the MDC correction kit, as is the gun deck cover which Tamiya have moulded too bulbous. First up was the wheel bay, which is completely replaced with MDC's delicate resin item. What's needed next is the engine itself which will be visible through the new wheel bay. Here they are all tucked into the fuselage. This took a bit more effort than I expected with a bit of fettling required in order to get everything to fit properly, however this may well have been as a result of my ham fistedness rather than due to the MDC kit itself. The end result represents a late war machine II./JG6 surrendered to the Allies at Furth in May 1945. What appealed to me about this machine was it real bitsa look with regard the camo. I was going to use the MDC gun deck replacement, but the fit was a bit so so, and to be honest I'm not that offended by the kit part, so went with the kit item. Paints are my usual; selection Gunze Luftwaffe acrylics applied with my trusty Badger 100s, and followed up with a watercolour wash sealed with a couple of coat of Klear. This was followed by an oil dot wash to give the airframe that used look. Decals are AeroMaster, from their Too Little Too Late Part II Fw 190D-9's pack. The decals went down without a hitch over the obligatory coat of Klear and with a little help from Gunze's Mr Setter & Softener, and AeroMaster even include the primer red circles around the rear fuselage lifting holes. Along with the MDC gun deck I was going to use the MDC wheels which are very nice affairs, slightly larger than the kit items which help address the short gear stance of the kit, however I ended going with a pair of resin wheels from the spares box of indeterminate origin as they were already painted and ready to go. The finish on this aircraft is open to interpretation, and mine doesn't necessarily agree with that given by AeroMaster, however I've really enjoyed this build, and love the look of this very unique machine. Karl
    1 point
  23. Hi Everyone, Here is my finished effort on the Dragon Iron Man Mark VII Armour from Avengers Assemble. This kit was given a complete undercoat of Tamiya Titanium Silver, then painted over with 2 coats of Tamiya Clear Red and 2 coats of Tamiya Gold Leaf on all Gold parts and then Revell Acrylic Silver on the few Silver parts that are on it. Overall this kit was a great project and I am looking to finding more kits like this and doing them as well. Maybe have a full collection of the Avengers. Comments welcome. Anyway onto the photo. Thanks for looking. Rick
    1 point
  24. Hey folks, this is the new Brengun kits that is based on AZ Model Spitfire Mk.V tooling and injection molded conversion parts as floats, fin, propeller plus some smaller etched details. However, I built this kit using some leftovers, e.g. Tamiya fuselage that matched the AZ wings pretty good. Cheers Libor
    1 point
  25. Nigey's Amazing Fact of the Day On my woodland excursion today I learnt that mushrooms are amazing creatures (and they are creatures, more closely related to us than plants). The mushrooms we eat are of course just the fruiting bodies, the true organism consists of a mass of microscopic filaments filling the soil. It is estimated that each cubic centimetre of healthy woodland soil contains an incredible 8km of such filaments. Quite extraordinary. Even AA is impressed, and that is not easy to do.
    1 point
  26. She's really coming together quickly and looking lovely to boot. Keep it coming mate Cheers Callum
    1 point
  27. I've taken a break from the interior and have had a play with the flightdeck transparencies today. It's really important when building vacforms to build the fuselage to the width of the transparent parts rather than the other way round. It's far easier to remove excess plastic from the fuselage halves if they're too wide, rather than try to add extra clear plastic to the transparent part! I wanted to ensure the glazing fitted before going any further with the interior as this would avoid major surgery later on in the build... Here's what you get in the kit. The blue protective film will stay on until it's fitted to the fuselage later in the build: Here's a test fit. After carefully cutting around the cockpit and removing excess plastic, you can see a major problem - the pilot's windows don't extend far enough down the fuselage sides and are too shallow. A major rethink needed! As you can see on the real aircraft, the windows extend below the line of the windscreen, unlike the kit part. This photo of Hendon's MkI shows what I mean. The small window directly below the windscreen wasn't present on the later marks of Halifax, and the MkII Series IA I am building wouldn't have this glazing present (picture used for illustrative purposes only): This is my solution - to remove the window parts on the kit's transparency and make my own version. Evergreen strip was used, bent to shape, and then the new framework was blended in with filler: The starboard side had a similar problem but the window arrangement is different here, as the right side has a much deeper windscreen. Here I have added the shallow window below, and have also had to build up the fuselage slightly as the kit part wasn't quite deep enough. In reality the windscreen sits slightly deeper, but the simply wasn't enough clear plastic left to get this completely correct: The cockpit now sits much better, and looks a lot more like a Halifax: It now matches the plans far better, too: Right side: Once the filler has been sanded and everything is blended in I think it'll just about pass... I'll now have to do the same with the clear nose and rear turret. I can't do the mid-upper as there isn't one in the kit... I'll be vacforming my own further along the way. That's the joy of builds such as this... each new day brings a different challenge to overcome Thanks for stopping by, Tom
    1 point
  28. Been working on weathering and detailing the tug. Additional detail has been added to create a busy look, with crates, timber, oil drums, and some rope on the main deck area (similar to as seen on photos of Woban class tugs). The rope was made from reeled cotton out of the wife's sewing basket, covered in PVA and formed into lengths laid flat on the deck, and painted to look like old natural fibre rope. The other items mostly sourced from the L'Arsenal sets below, along with timber planks from some left over wooden deck from my last ship build. Now working on a few crew members, updated photos to follow soon.
    1 point
  29. That is looking grand. Good luck Mish, we are rooting for you
    1 point
  30. 1 point
  31. She's looking great Mish. Keep going, you're nearly there.
    1 point
  32. Right I'm in on the previso that we can waive the 20% rule. I have two Ducati kits on the shelf of dooooooooom, which i'd like to finish. The first the one I started ealier this year as a conversion, when Mad Steve donated a 900 NCR kit and will end up as the Mike Hailwood TT bike. The other is the Stoner GP4 bike with all the AM decals and goodies, which has languished for far too long in it's box. I'm not trying to steal a march here just trying to get something completed but then hasn't everyone said that before. Clemency your honour, clemenecy. Colin
    1 point
  33. 1 point
  34. Well the build go`s on Well that's it so far thanks for looking Les
    1 point
  35. Thanks for the comment nimrod54. For painting the gun ports I used Humbrol Gloss Red and darkened it with their Gloss Black, adding a little at a time until it looks similar to the real thing. Hope this helps....Brian
    1 point
  36. Carts Have a look at this site. http://electronicsclub.info/leds.htm I used led's, have a look at Jabberwockys w.i.p on Britmodeller for some tips etc Colin
    1 point
  37. Both of the craft shops I visited were knee deep in Swann Morton No. 3 handles but totally bereft of the No. 4 variety I sought. As a compromise I bought some curved blades for the No. 3 handle I already owned. I have never used this handle and how I acquired it is lost in the mists of time, I certainly didn't buy it. I also returned with some liquid poly as the sprue infilling had taken a heavy toll on my existing stocks: During the manual clean up phase I hit sealant by the socket: Here I have finished the top two sections with the bottom one still to go, shown so you can see the difference: In the end I managed the operation with just these two blades quite happily: The ruler was useful for checking I had achieved the correct profile. In a couple of places I used this burr tool to cut down on manual labour: Here it is with the job completed: In the end, a job I had been putting off turned out to be quite enjoyable and satisfying. I now had to make the packing pieces, using 30thou plasticard. This half width one is for the middle section: I tapered the ends like this: As the neck drum had a steep conical profile I cut off shallow triangles off the botoom edge to approximate to a very shallow curve, then glued on one end with liquid poly: I finished glueing that on and then marked out for the bottom, full width packer: I then cut out free hand with scissors to an approximate curve: A bit crude but it is a hidden, uncritical thing. Here is the middle packer and Milliput applied to the cavities: Here is the bottom packer. I used up the surplus Milliput to further feather out the ends of the packers: I used up all the white Milliput. I don't mind having a little left over at it lets you check on the hardening progress: A few further cosmetic filler additions were made: Other than sanding the filler later I don't think I can do any more on the neck until the mesh arrives, and then not much after that until the long drillls arrive. I checked the total length of the neck bars, almost exactly 50mm: The total length required comes out to an incredible 1.2m. Worriedly I checked on my stocks of 1.25mm rod: Some of these were only of approximately the correct diameter but I think they are close enough to fool the eye and provide more then enough. I also had some of this red stuff mixed in with my secret knitting needle stash, so I actually had plenty: By now the light was fading but I thought I had enough time to airbrush some primer on this lot: After weeks of no attention whatsoever my normally charming airbrush was in a very huffy mood and the session was not pleasant with spatters, bubbles in the cup and an asthmatic output. In the end I sprayed the dome with this cheap and cheerful aerosol can: For more normal models I would use Tamiya cans but this model does not have fine surface detail and this product is more then good enough for the job. To make amends with my airbrush I gave his vital parts a relaxing dip in some cellulose thinners, he likes this and it usually brings him back on side: That is as far as I have got tonight but this is still only and interim update, expect yet more later. Bye, Nigel
    1 point
  38. 1 point
  39. Looks like this will get the go-ahead by the amount in.. Just trying to think of unusual ideas............Will see what I can pick up at Telford to modify
    1 point
  40. Thanks for this comprehensive review and sprue shots. Although Shinden is widely translated as "Magnificent Lightning" it has always puzzled me as the first character 'Shin' (震) actually means to shake, tremble, excite or terrify. There is a brief article on Shinden colours on my blog which might be useful for those building this kit:- http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2008/10/nasm-shinden-colours.html Nick
    1 point
  41. Exactly my thoughts too when I saw the issue. It is more work, but will be worth the extra effort.
    1 point
  42. With the wings folded it doesn't take up much space.
    1 point
  43. Thanks for your comments. Some more photos now, with the main colours on. This is the clean version, before any weathering or extra details have been added. I had to check the colour schemes. This particular little tug featured in a famous photo in a Life magazine shortly before the war, with what appeared to be a black hull and light grey vertical surfaces above (which is the photo used on the box). Photo above linked courtesy of NavSource.org I would have liked this scheme, but it seems to have gone by 1942. The scheme for coastal craft was then Ocean Grey (5-O) sides and Deck Blue (20-B ) decks, and photos (and a great colour video fond on You-Tube) backed this up. Added the Deck Blue to the decks in this photo, also slightly lightened up in the middle with a spray of a slightly lighter shade (where working and sunlight may have faded the colour). And below with the Ocean Grey added to the sides, mostly airbrushed on but touched up at the edges by brush, and other colour details added. The fun bit starts from here on in!!!
    1 point
  44. I had an idea few years ago when I first joined this site to do an anti flash white tornado with a nuclear payload... Hmmmmmmmmm. Always knew I'd get another opportunity
    1 point
  45. it geting there and the decals are fine no probs with them.
    1 point
  46. Wow Wafu! Check them babies out! Lovely stuff, thank you and thanks for sharing. @ Tim, Norman and Matt. Thanks for your kind words. So as a little treat (I hope) here's 1 image of the finished article (Left to do: flot bottles and TR gust lock) Thank you all for following I shall post more images in completed builds as soon as I've obtained some proper lighting and backdrop. I will then report back here with the link too. Thanks all again for following and/or commenting
    1 point
  47. Trumpeter 1/48 Westland Wyvern S.4 WIP HERE
    1 point
  48. Do you really want to go here and ask about a particular color like night? I'm going to go out on a limb here and just state it is the opposite color of Sky. I anticipate you will get as many interpretations of night as you will of sky. Not to mention the finishes, flat or gloss. This will rapidly become a hot topic with no definitive answer. My answer is come close to what you think it is and then chalk up any differences to the weathering effect you were going for. Good luck.
    1 point
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