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Hi guys after 18 months work I got the B-17 diorama finished a couple of weeks ago, just in time for the IPMS UK Nationals at Telford this weekend - I was going to wait until the last minute to post in 'Ready For Inspection' but I don't think I'll get a spare moment before I head off down South on friday, so here are some photos of the finished diorama. You can find the build thread here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234919436-132-scratchbuilt-b-17-fortress-diorama-update-1009-995-complete/ Without getting all mushy about it, I would like to thank everyone who has helped out and more importantly kept me going on this project! If you're going to Telford, I hope to see you there Rich

Hi, Just finished the Airfix Vampire. Went together pretty well.The decals are from Xtradecal which are really well printed and thin but need care to apply as they can fold over themselves and come off with handling. A bit of microsol gets them into place but it can float them off again for small stencils. The only area that needed attention was the sink marks on top of the flaps due to their thickness. Since I took the photos, I noticed a mistake when viewing another build of the same aircraft - Missing the leading edge black markings on the tail plane.This is now fixed. The markings are for a RAN aircraft of VT724 Sqn based in Nowra in the late 50's. I might do another one, especially if I can swap the rest of my Xtradecal sheet for the RAAF example on one of the other Xtradecal sheets (Look for a trade post soon!) Cheers Michael

Removed at author's request.

I'll lay good odds it will be a plastic kit of some sort . Andrew

Hi Here is my OOB Sea Harrier FA.2 from Airfix. It is built as Airfix intended and finished with box decals. Paints are all Vallejo. I have added the intake guards which are inflatable on the real aircraft with blutac and plasticard. Weathering is just a wash with Vallejo washes. I hope you like...

Here is my first attempt at 1/48 scale with Academy's P40 Tomahawk IIb. The kit is an OOB build with a bit of detail added to the cockpit, wheels, etc. The paints used were Tamiya and Vallejo. The kit was a straight forward build costing only £7.99. Cheers Ian

Howdy Everyone, Finally finished my, not as quick as it was meant to be, Hobbycraft boxing of AMT`s 1/48 P-40F Done as an aircraft of the 68th F.S., Guadalcanal, 1943 I was looking at it after building it up ready for paint when I suddenly thought that I couldnt live with the nose as it was, so out came the razor saw, drill, sheet plastic and filler and I widened the nose, deepened the rear underside of the cowling and added the slots behind the cooling flaps I had already added the carburettor intake and butterfly prior to butchering the kit. Otherwise it`s as Mr AMT intended with a few wire embellishments and the decals are the kits. Hopefully I`ve made a presentable rendition of the `F` version out of it all. Thanks for looking, Have a good weekend, Cheers Russ

AA = Attitude Adjuster, the name of my Dalek. Get with the programme Kev.

If new modellers are put off by old kits from tired moulds, this is not the fault of the retailer. It is the fault of the manufacturers who do not accept - if they even consider the idea - that pushing out poor quality kits reflects badly upon themselves. Yes they bring in the money but (as suggested above) run the risk of turning away potential future modellers, and spoils the companies' reputations amongst other buyers. Anything that widens the market should be beneficial: these old kits are found on dedicated model shop shelves too.

This was an all-weather fighter produced first flown in 1958 and was turning out to be a very fine a/c when it was cancelled in 1959 for budgetary reasons. However the cold war never did turn hot so maybe Mr Diefenbaker ( the Canadian PM) was right! After building a 1/72 scale Hobbycraft CF 105 Arrow and discovering at the end that the decals were not too good I posted a question on Britmodeller asking if anybody made a decent set. This opened a ‘can of worms’ as the discussion shifted to the kit itself and the lack of accuracy thereof. I had corrected what I believed to be the only major error, the actuators being on the topside of the wing instead of the underside, but it turned out that almost nothing about the kit was correct. This is my attempt at producing a reasonably accurate version. The decals are by Arrow Graphics. whilst these were far superior to the kit version they did have a few problems of their own, being rather thin and the less said about my efforts to get the walkway lines straight and stuck down the better! At the moment it still requires a few tweaks, especially the nose u/c leg, but as Telford is in a few days time and I have to ‘get a life’ after it is over I don’t know when it will be complete so here it is. The WIP thread tells the story and this has links back to the original thread. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234940353-avro-arrow-a-correct-version-of-the-hobbycraft-172-kit-i-hope/ Below are some pictures of it alongside the original version. They don't, to my mind, look much different so if you have the original and are not stickler for accuracy then use it. My advice would be to swap the ailerons to get the jacks underneath and to very carefully sand the top of the canopy to round it off to stop it looking like an F106. The exhaust behind the canopy should also be modified. Those were the only modifications I made to my original version. Many thanks to Chris Tyler, who donated the kit, Scott Hemsley, who donated the decals and Navy Bird for a set of drawings Arrow left side rear by johnrieley, on Flickr Arrow left side by johnrieley, on Flickr Arrow lfront by johnrieley, on Flickr Some comparisons with the original version. Two Arrows rear right by johnrieley, on Flickr Two Arrows side by johnrieley, on Flickr What the Canadians wanted and what they ended up with Arrow and Voodoo by johnrieley, on Flickr Three of a kind La 250 - mid fifties Arrow late fifties Tu 128 'Fiddler' early sixties Three of a kind by johnrieley, on Flickr John

I have just finished my Spitfire Vb in 1/48 scale from Tamiya. Cockpit is from Aires, propeller and exhaust pipes are from Quickboost and wheels are from Barracudacast. The model represents Spitfire Mk Vb, AB184 "Joe II" which was with 332 Squadron in 1942. Decals are from Vingtor. I have used Xtracolor, Tamiya and Vallejo paint for airbrushing. Humbrol enamels are used for painting details.

Hello again . This is my latest build . The kit comes from Eduard , i used Gunze paintings , and for the weathering , oil paintings and Flory models washes Hope you like it ....

Well i have stepped away from my usual 1/32 comfort zone and delving into the smaller scale of 1/48 , specifically the 1/48 Testors YF-12A I bought this kit about 6 years ago and it was pretty rare then but you can not accurately turn the standard SR-71 into a YF-12A, there are too many differences in contour and shape in the forward fuselage section alone. I have to admit this it was with some reservation I broke the sealing film on the box as there is no way back then. I could hear the collectors cries from my study, I calmed myself with the knowledge I buy models to build not to horde in an impossible stash. The only extras for the kit would be the Afterburner decal sets, True Details wheels and Cockpit Set. Considering the many changes made to the airframes and the fact that many bits where removed and spurious bits added before they were taken to the museums makes fact a dubious area indeed for these planes . The plan was to lightly sand all the raised panel lines so they are not quite so pronounced, leaving just a trace of them that will show through the gloss black undercoat. From there I can spray an overall Titanium finish Tamiya X-32 then mask individual panels and alter the shades of titanium to give it some depth. the Chines will be finished in Tamiya black, German Grey and Nato black as the black surfaces didnt stay that way for long. No specific Metalizer paints, I have done quite well with the Tamiya Metallic paint in the past. From my own Titanium Bike exhausts I have had over the years I know that Titanium does not polish up like Chrome or Aluminium, It has a dull finish so I think the Metalizers would be wasted here. 2 weeks to complete, finished mid March 2013, also completed recently my A-12, http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234938133-lockheed-a-12-oxcart/ Regards Danny Attree

New Decal Range In response to demand OLDMODELS DECALS is proud to announce an expansion of some of its high quality range into a new Digital Print format. Oldmodels Decals current inkjet range are known for their accuracy and attention to detail – this will continue with the new Digital range. What is Digital print? In essence it is a commercially printed decal utilising modern digital printing processes. This is the same process as used by a number of larger decal producers such as DRAW and TWOSIX DECALS. The end product is a continuous sheet decal printed on stock decal sheet which behaves for the modeller the same way as silk screen produced decals. This process differs from silk screen in that whilst it will print white, it cannot print metallic. It is also vastly cheaper than silk screen production as it is without the need for large print runs per subject to cover the expensive silk screen master costs which in turn result in high inventory costs and capital outlay which is simply unaffordable for me. This allows much smaller runs more suited to more esoteric subjects. What is being released in this new format? New Items RNZAF Boeing 727-022C early and late schemes in 1/72, 1/144 and 1/200 Re-release of existing range in new format RNZAF: McDonell Douglas T/A-4K Skyhawk in SEA, Euro1 and last schemes in 1/48 and 1/72 Lockheed P-3K/K-2 Orion current scheme in 1/72, 1/144 Lockheed C-130H(NZ) current scheme in 1/48, 1/72 and 1/144 Boeing 757-2K2 current scheme in 1/144 NHIndustries NH90 current scheme in 1/72 Kaman SH-2G(NZ) current scheme in 1/48 and 1/72 Bell UH-1H Iroquois current grey scheme in 1/35, 1/48 and 1/72 BAC167 Strikemaster early and late schemes in 1/48 and 1/72 Aermacchi MB339CB in 1/48 and 1/72 Beechcraft B200 King Air in 1/72 Civil schemes FlyDC3 Trust’s DC-3 Warbird in 1/48 and 1/72 As always these are available from my website www.oldmodelsdecals.com Many more are under preparation. Oldmodels Decals is happy to receive suggestions in terms of which decals to convert to the new format next. Release Timetable Tranche 2 of Digital decals will be released within the next two weeks and will contain many civil schemes including the new scheme on the Air NZ A320s, the black ATR72, first NAC B737-200 scheme and five 1/144th Viscount schemes (for the new plastic F-RSIN kits) as well as C130 Euro1, P-3B/K, and the Vampire schemes. Will everything be converted to the new format or issued in the new format? No. Very deliberately my range includes many esoteric NZ subjects and schemes within subjects – to give the modeller the widest possible choice. However this often means low, or in some cases, no sales. The costs of producing a sheet of decals of each and every esoteric subject in the Digital format is fixed, up front capital and expensive. On the other hand the inkjet method provides me with the ability to print part sheets to order – meaning I do not have the crippling inventory costs that other methods require. This also applies to esoteric scales within individual subjects. For example, some subjects have kits available in as many as six scales, however experience has shown that 95% of the sales occur in just two or three of those scales. Where this applies the low volume scales will continue to be available in Inkjet format. For these reasons many current schemes and possibly some yet to be released schemes will remain Inkjet unless I receive a commercial sized order for them. Quality In general the digital decals are less sharp than the photo quality inkjet decals but are of a comparable quality to the decal sheets provided in the kits. This generally shows up in the readability of small writing and general “crispness”. A combo photo of a kit decal, my inkjet decal and my digital decal of the RNZAF NH90 is posted on the website on both the digital and inkjet explanation pages. Digital Decal Costs Most of the subjects being converted will be priced the same or marginally above the old price for Inkjet decals. This mainly happens because of the printing method needs much smaller print margins meaning more decals per sheet, and the removal of the backgrounds from light colours means each decal needs slightly less space. In these cases the Inkjet decals will be withdrawn. However if you prefer inkjet they will be available on request at the same price. However for some larger subjects and scales it is less easy to take advantage of the improvements mentioned. This results in large increases in costs. In most cases this is where the decal occupies an entire sheet to itself. When I choose to offer the Digital format for these schemes, I will also offer separately the cheaper Inkjet format. It also means there are a small number of scale/subject combinations that I will not offer in Digital format except as a special order, or unless a retailer funds a production run. These include the 1/48 RNZAF C130 High Viz schemes (delivery and 70s-80s schemes), and the James Aviation and MOT 1/48th DC-3 schemes. All of these are very full double sheet sized schemes. The indicative price for these schemes in Digital format would be NZ$48 plus P&P which I currently consider to be too high to be commercially viable. There may also be a wait time of up to a month to get these printed – unless you are prepared to fund an even higher price for a special run. Even then the turn round from the printer is proving to be around two weeks. The reality is that I have no real leverage with the Printers who see even a “big” order from me as a small filler run to be fitted in around their core business. Why am I not converting everything suitable for conversion in one go? There are several factors at play here. The first is the upfront cost to what is a small business. The income from the first sales will fund the next rounds. The second is that creating the digital master from an inkjet master or two masters (clear/white) is a time consuming and not simple task. This is partially exacerbated by the need to upgrade some of the older masters to the standards of my more recent issues. The third is that the order size I am currently using with the printers is a sweet spot in terms of do-ability on their side whilst being large enough to keep costs down it is not so big that I can’t handle it on my side of the equation. Can I suggest subjects for (re-)release in Digital format? By all means please do. If I get sufficient demand for a subject or scale I will action it. The number needed will vary by subject and scale and will primarily be based on the size of the resultant decal. Remember however the likely costs of larger decals (full sheet or larger). A new decal has only been released only in Digital – can I get a cheaper Inkjet version? In general – yes. Please use the custom query form and I will assess the option for you. What does this move to Digital mean for custom decal requests? The options will be discussed with you at the time. The inkjet format will generally be both cheaper and faster to produce – there is a significant wait factor with getting digital decals printed. Doing the set up work is also keeping me rather busy in the short term. John Oldmodels Decals www.oldmodelsdecals.com

Hi Folks Recently finished anther Tamiya Spitfire, Eduard etch in cockpit, finished using Xtracylics and finished in the markings of 66Sqn X4321 Plt Off C 'Bogle' Bodie Sept 1940 Hope you like her.

Greetings peeps. Not been on for a while, so got a few recent builds to post. Start off with this pair of Gulf War birdies. Buccaneer S.2 and Jaguar Gr.1a, both 1/48 Airfix.

There seems to be a run on P-40s here at the moment! This is Hasegawa's P-40N, which is a nice little kit but not without the need for a bit of filler here and there, completed straight from the box. It was airbrushed using Xtracolour enamels and rolled Blu-Tack to mask the camouflage. National marking decals came from a generic sheet (sorry, can't remember which manufacturer), yellow stripes likewise and the white 'R' from spares suitably spliced to get the right shape. Unfortunately I haven't got round to finding or adding a serial, but I will do. Eventually. The subject is a South African Air Force machine as illustrated in the late, great Ron Belling's book 'A Portrait of Military Aviation in South Africa'. My personal opinion is that it looks too clean and should have been weathered a bit more, especially in terms of fading the paintwork and making it seem more 'patchy'. Jon

Can I cut through all of the arguments and suggest a 1/48 Scimitar to refuel the Sea Vixen? Dave

This posting brings me up to date, i did it directly after the YF-12A, it was finished last week. Well after just over two weeks pretty solid work she is now done, got to say I am happy with the result. Model is sprayed with Tamiya acrylics the same as the YF-12A. I have another one on the shelf but that will be built as the standard SR-71, I do not think I have it in me to build 3 on trot, another year I think :-) There have been some real challenges along the way especially with the assembly and finish of the resin, but I cannot grumble about that, patience, hot water and plenty of Tea. Model is depicted as an early A-12, very few decals, no national insignia, just a few pilot extraction decals around the canopy and that is it. I have included some example images. Testors 1/48 SR-71 Kit. Kiwi Resin A-12 Conversion True details cockpit and seat, modified cockpit panel to suit the A-12 True Details Wheels. Spare Afterburner Decals from the YF-12A All finished with Tamiya Metallic Acrylics. Nothing left other than a few pictures. Regards Danny Attree With the YF-12A, Please see the following link. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234938130-1st-post-testors-148-yf-12a/

Airfix have finally realised that the entire world's modelling community is desperately waiting for a 1/12 Chilton DW1.

Cheers Enzo love to see your build of it mate. well i am wet and drying the 1st coat and about to do the second cheers Rob

A Phantom FG1/FGR2 would be nice. They would sell rather well. A new mould Tornado F3 or a VC10 would do nicely. Hopefully scaling down some of their 1/48 stuff to 1/72.

It's box art. Who cares?

want one (nine), want one (all nine), waaaannnnnt !!

A 1/12th scale Underwater Buffalo with Aqualung and Flippers? No? It's bound to be a 1/24th Hawker Tempest or Typhoon or Gloster Gladiator... ...please? Wez

Thanks V-P, glad you are enjoying it, plenty more to be done but I'm constantly looking forward to my next session with it. THanks Neil, hope this thread is helpful, be a change to see you build a jet. Now wish I'd made a template of the main cockpit parts for future use in my own and others models. Got the front bulkhead for the nose undercarriage bay formed and detailed last night along with a little more detail added to the rear; , a couple more items to add then splash some paint on so the forward fuselage halves can come together. At last!

Umm....it's box ART.

I have been following this thread with some interest, as now I live in a country, (Kenya), that has 2, (thats right, two), toy shops that sell a very limited range of Airfix, none more recent than a year ago, and three Revell models. Paints, glue, aftermarket....none, nien, niet, nada,... As far as I have been able to elucidate the nearest hobby shops to me are in South Africa and Israel, opposite ends of, (and in Israel's case just out), of Africa. For those who will think, great internet and mail order, think again. Revenue and customs charge what they think is the value, which usually works out at 100% of the value of the contents or more... Not forgetting the 'security' search that packages have to undergo. A more euphemistic description would be what looks bright, shiney, useful, interesting, will fit in my pocket?, etc. In the first world it would be called theft. I would not like to get into all the pros and cons: It was sad to see Modelzone close and I think it is great that there is the promise of a revival, of sorts, under the aegis of WH Smiths. Ok, it will not be in all shops, but it will be around and visible, and hopefully attract some with a vague interest that might grow. For the more specialist requirements, (i.e. most of us), there are the few remaining professional model shops and internet/mail order with the likes of Hannants etc. The days of model shops on the high street of most towns and cities are, for now at least, fading. If WH Smiths can keep a viable footprint in some town and city centers then that has to be a good thing. Well, at least it seems to me, being stuck in the modelling third, (if not fourth), world. Now lets get back to some plastic fondling! Christian the Married and exiled to africa and dreaming of any model shop closer than a four week drive (one way) ...

...as the Bishop said to the actress...

The tail's wrong on the drawing. Fin's too tall - you need to cut out the section between the rudder and the first horizontal panel line. The contraprop 21s had the rudder of the 18 - the contra eliminated the torque but introduced critical trim instability which the Z tabs of the 18 rudder cured. Aeroclub and Freightdog do some very nice Spitfire contraprops at fairly reasonable rates. Failing that, nick it from an AZ/Admiral 22 kit - the sprues for the 22/24/46 are identical.

Modelmaking is a hobby, plain and simple....much as it might upset people on here, so called 'serious modellers' (and I include myself in that description) are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to kit sales in the UK or, for that matter, the rest of the world. By far the biggest market share goes to buyers who are happy to buy a kit, some glue and a few paints and put the thing together....these modellers will buy kit after kit and assemble them straight from the box and are happy to do so. They might buy the odd magazine or look on the web but by and large are happy to just build kits as they come. It's these people that WHS and Hobbycraft cater for and will do good business from, just the same as it's these same people that Airfix and Revell do good business from. I'd love a shop where I could buy any kit or modelling product that was available but those shops don't exist anywhere outside of Japan because the demand just doesn't exist. Also, the idea that a first time modeller would be put off by a kit's supposed shortcomings is total nonsense....kids building kits from fifty year old moulds just see a Spitfire or a Sherman tank, they don't see raised panel lines or seams or even that they left a couple of smaller bits in the box. That's why Airfix and Revell keep selling them....

Hiya Folks, Here is my 1/32nd scale Hobbycraft Sea Fury finished in the silver and red scheme worn by the Aerobatics Flight of the Royal Australian Navy`s 805 NAS, circa 1958. Some nice photos of the real aircraft including three in colour appear on pages 70-72 of Tony Butlers Sea Fury book by Dalrymple & Verdun and my built thread is here; http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234948523-silver-sea-fury-132nd-hobbycraft-kit-in-aussie-markings/?p=1433498 Anyway, here is the model, Tamiya silver spray paint, with Humrol enamel gloss red and varnish applied by brush; I`d like to say a very big thank you to Peter for helping me out with the vacuformed canopy and his fantastic 1/32nd scale land based Hawker Fury model, based on the Hobbycraft kit can be found here; http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=40054 Cheers mate!! All the best Tony O

As promised, and without any further ado I give to you....

You seem to be missing the point completely , WH Smith will have no intention of catering to the "serious modeller" and if they did they probably wouldn't be in the model business for very long. They will cater to the saturday afternoon shopper who will enter their stores to buy a magazine or a book and come away with a model because they fancied it. They are interested in volume sales not the specialist niche markets and will leave this to specialist shops / online retailers, so if you expect WHS to stock Eduard or resin or aftermarket decals then you will be very dissappointed. Airfix , Revell, Tamiya and basic paint ranges will be their bread and butter sales , they will only be in the model business to make a profit, so stocks will be fast moving "everyday" items only. Andrew

Hi Folks, Made good progress with painting dock side.... Started off spraying a couple of acrylics and then set to work with chewed brushes and six tins of Humbrol. Light, Medium and dark stone, Nat. wood, cream and white. Voila as they say this is the result. Well pleased with results LEDs/resistors have arrived .... managed to wire one up with blowing it up, now that is impressive. No excuse now have to get on with internal lighting Thanks for stopping by, Cheers Kev

African or European?

No long backstory for this one so clear your mind and lets imagine `What If` the Sea Vixen had gone into service on time with the USN showing an interest and purchasing it as a stop gap prior to the F-4 Phantom. VF-112 took the Vixen into combat in the last few months of the Korean War. Ok.., a bit of a long shot, but perhaps she may have looked like this? Straight out the box build, just shortened the booms at the leading edges.

Que, sera, sera. John

I have used Alclad2 white primer before. However, I have recently been advised to use auto paint from a rattle can. I've tried it. It works. Mist it on in very thin coats, making sure there is no build up against any masking tape. When you have a decent body of colour, spray the actual yellow colour you intend to use over it.

Nah, It's a pair of 6' Bullfinches! Scare the heck out the kids...... Rick.

Thanks guys. Yeah, I'm happy with the lines now, although I did slip with the knife while cleaning sanding debris out of one of them, so the resulting scratch now need some correction. Cockpit, wings and tailplanes assembled tonight. Wohoo. I think tomorow evening I'll...do some more filling.

It's the 1/24th Colditz Cock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Always tidy up before photos are taken

'Interior module' is in and pulling the shoulder straps in place was easier than I expected, Windscreen has had a second dip in perfumed clear and is drying. Black markings are to help aligning the windscreen centre pillar with when I fit it.

It depends what we are talking about as a sale. If I buy 36 of Airfix's new 1/24 Scruggs Wonderfighter MkI at say £20 each plus VAT, either from Airfix or from a wholesaler, then Airfix will have made their money on those 36 kits. It is then up to me to sell them on at a price to my customers, whether that is the recommended retail price or just enough to cover my costs without making a profit or at any point in between. Airfix does still have an interest in how many of those 36 kits I sell, because they will hope that I will come back to them to get the Wonderfighter MkII when they bring it out next year. To that end they put plenty of money into researching and designing a superb model that will sell. However, I may only sell two of them for any number of reasons (too expensive, poor kit reviews, business closed etc), though as far as Airfix is concerned 36 of their Wonderfighter MkI kits have been sold. They will get informal feedback as to how well the kits are selling, but no company I've ever traded with asks for specific sales info regarding their products. As to heavy discounting on release, it is purely to get a large volume of sales. I know how much other retailers have had to pay for them (give or take a few percent), and I can't see them making much profit on them. In fact, some are making a loss, and if the gamble does not pay off they're left with a lot of stock that they still need to pay for.

Finally some time to get more done

Or worst-case scenario, a harbinger of very serious shape issues with the new Beaufighter.

'Evening All. Here's a couple of (bad) shots of my first chopper, a 1/48 Italeri Iroquois modified and dressed up as NZ3808 of the RNZAF when serving in East Timor. It's taken about 18 months to finish and had some Eduard PE thrown at it as well. It's taken so long to finish I can hardly remember everything I've done to it except to say that most of the sticky out bits have had to be re-attached to it at some point or other. I had my only Huey flight in and under '08'. Comments good and bad welcome. Cheers Gaz

I suppose an A37 'Tweet' and Avro 748 'Budgie' would not be eligible?! Trevor

Some more.