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Showing content with the highest reputation on 29/09/15 in all areas

  1. Hi All, Just completed this one and very pleased with the result. It needs careful fitting together especially the canopy fit but no real nasties! The decals went on well and settled down with no assistance, there is even a set of canopy masks that are not mentioned in the instructions! Paints used were Revell Aqua, Humbrol and Xtracrylics with an overall coat Satin varnish. Shame I have a yesterdays wallet trying to compete with todays spiralling prices as I would like to do a four ship line up, yours MODeller ​
    22 points
  2. Here we have my completed American "A" collection (in as much as I don't have an A-29 at the moment!) took the best part of a year to plod through them. Airfix A-1 with Superscale decals Mach 2 A-2 with Xtradecal decals Hasegawa A-3 Airfix A-4 Trumpeter A-5 Italeri A-6 HobbyBoss A-7 Anigrand A-9 Italeri A-10 Anigrand A-12 Italeri A-26 Academy A-37 Now some may say why isn't a Hornet in there too. I have that in my F collection (plus there's not a lot of room !). The Mach 2 Savage was....fun....to build, but I didn't fancy spending a wad on the Anigrand version having just bought the A-9 and 12. I added pilots to all kits, as well as obviously retracting undercarriage and adding the bases (one of my pet hates is manufacturers who assume we only ever build stuff with the wheels down and thus provide no alternative!)
    18 points
  3. Hi all Here's my attempt at the venerable Bravo November in it's Iraq/Afghan guise. I'm in the process of scratch building some 'dustbin' sand filters in case the lack of them offends! Otherwise, suitably dusty/sandy, I hope. It's an Italeri CH-47D with scratch built IR jammers, and flare/chaff launchers adapted from the Yankee ones in the kit. Towards the bottom of the post it's posed with my previous RFI, an Army Air Corps Apache. Comments and critique welcome Rob
    15 points
  4. Heller's 1/72 kit of the DC-6 is a very nice kit. The fit is overall pretty good and it has nice details given the kits age. The build was very straight forward with absolutely no issues.Almost no filler was needed and sanding was at a surprisingly low minimum. This build has a special story behind it;My mom often told me about her very first flight and that was on the DC-6B of former Swiss charter airline Balair,a subsidiary of Swissair.It was a flight from Zurich to Ibiza in 1969 with over 3 hours flight time. So I decided to build this as a diorama as a birthday gift for her. The search for the Balair decals was on and I found one last sheet at a online retailer.The decal set was produced by 26decals. Some research for decent pics of that very airliner was needed to get a good painting guide as the info on the decal set as well as on the instructions are very basic. This was also my first prop-liner that I built and also the techniques I used on this build was a first. All the metallic parts were done with Alclad Aluminium and Duraluminium,then shaded with a very thin mix of iron. First time also was the weathering which was done with make up colors obtained from my wife . To my surprise it came out well for my first attempt on weathering an airliner and I am quite pleased with the results. The base for the model to stay was taken from my TV table as this had a good size for presentation. First painted the whole base in dark grey by using Tamyia spray can and then I applied a white stripe and the black lines.Then again weathering with a make up pen and some dry painting to make the tarmac a bit worn out and dirty. The bus I found a t a local antique toy shop which,to my surprise,came in 1/72 scale.The passenger ladder I took from my Mach2 Caravelle kit. All in all a very interesting building experience for me as I used a lot of things for the first time and I am happy that everything came out as I hoped for. Now I need a place to hide this diorama first until moms b-day Thanks for looking
    13 points
  5. Haven't built a spitfire in years so here's my build of the gorgeous 1/72 scale MK22 from Airfix. Tailplane flaps and rudder were cut and re-positioned and since the canopy was to be modeled open the cockpit door was cut out too. Cockpit was detailed too but its not evident much in the photo. there is only very subtle weathering done to the exhausts and undercarriage. The fit issue with the nose was solved by trimming the sides of the front cockpit bulkhead a little.
    11 points
  6. Moving on with the flight crew. I needed to start making copies of the parts that I have modified to make my job of filling the cockpit with crew figures a bit easier. I made a small plinth from Modelers clay. Boxed it in with the Gunze Sangyo casting block set. Filled it with de-gassed moulding silicone Here is the resulting part cast with pressurised resin. Here are 2 identical copies. Here is where I am at with the flight crew. The captain and copilot are pretty well complete and now work has started on the flight engineer. The mixmatch of parts may change in the future depending on how they all integrate with each other. I still need to add some details and tidy up each figure, plus I am having a go at adding some weight to the flight engineer Here is a test fit of the three flight crew in a mock up of the cockpit. Details to note: the captain is pilot flying, the First Officer is pilot monitoring. I have studying various cockpit footage of Concorde taking off and think that this might be an appropriate set up. Considering that the aircraft has just rotated, the Captain is looking outside. The first officer is looking at the instruments and has his mouth open calling V2. The Flight Engineer has his chair swung towards the front and is monitoring the instruments and is prepared to activate the throttles etc. I know most of this wont be seen, but I feel that I may as well do this sort of stuff considering that it is a learning process for me and will also slow me down on the project somewhat. I am still considering who to put in the jump seat. Maybe a check captain? Eric.
    11 points
  7. Hi everyone and as promised here are some pics from this finished build. I've included a link to the WIP thread if you hadn't seen it before and to recap, this all started with me asking fellow modeller and all-round good bloke Chief Wiggum if he considered building his Trumpeter TU-95 Bear as an in-flight intercept diorama. After almost 10 months and a lot of modelling heartache later (99% for Chief), here it is. We were absolutely thrilled and stunned to win Silver in the Diorama class at the IPMS Ireland Nationals with it as well as the 'People's Choice' Award as voted for by the public at the show... Honestly, we were deligthed! (I'm the one not smiling) While neither of us can make Telford this year, we're hoping to get the diorama there somehow for the IPMS Ireland Club table.....gonna need a big roof box Thanks for looking and any questions, will try to answer them! Cheers, Dermot and Barry (aka Chief Wiggum)
    10 points
  8. Austro-Hungarian Navy fighter. Kit from Special Hobby....
    10 points
  9. This has got to be one of the best threads ever..... Given some of the comments on here I could totally understand if Airfix decided to throw in the towel and start making plastic dog xxxx. I only hope that their staff have broad shoulders and see their job as a means to an end and not a 'do the best for the customer' vocation. After all they give us a variety of models which have been on numerous wants lists for many years and it seems like we turn into an ungrateful and demanding mob complaining about this or that. Sometimes I think that we don't recognise how fortunate we really are. Peter
    10 points
  10. Here's my latest effort. Found the kit cheap on ebay so vowed not to spend a fortune on barrels,tracks etc so is completely OOB apart from the tow cables. The decals are from the Tamiya elefant and I've moved the gun cleaning container to the rear deck as seemed to be popular on these later versions. The exhaust flame guards didn't seem to last long in the field but I left them on as I liked the look of them. I'm still learning with pigments but was pleased with the generally dusty look but the rain streaks were less successful. I used AK washes but thinned with normal white spirit which I think has made for a slightly silvery effect. I think a crew member would be great but I can't do figures for toffee unfortunately... Any feedback appreciated Thanks All l
    9 points
  11. Picked this up last year at Telford. Almost missed it as it was tucked away in the corner. Dug out an old Hasegawa kit I'd finished years ago that was sat in the loft. No real issues other than finding a couple of pics on line that seem to indicate that the wings and elevators were finished in a camouflage pattern, not the RLM02 as advertised. Still, fun to build.
    8 points
  12. Hey ho, soldiering on, or should that be soldering on I have done a bit more tonight, first starting to create the blocky thing that most intrigued Ced B from a bit of 2.5mm square section of Evergreen strip: That was attached along with the remaining swaged pipes on the sand filter: Here is how the pipes look in plan view: The drilled holes are for some wire pipes that I will add later, I think they may be lubricating lines for the filter bearings. I also made a second base for the missiles: I know it looks a bit melty there but after bit of clean up there were two nearly matching parts: There was a truly amazing sunset over Aberdeen this evening: Oops, slight distraction there folks. The arms for the missile rails need to be trimmed but first I had to fill the ejector marks: To get the diameter of the actual missiles I had to snip one of them off: OK, I know it looks a bit drastic but they are basically scrap anyway. So it looks like 2.5mm to me. I wonder if I have any suitable tubing in the Modeling Storage Facility? Bye for now, Nigel
    8 points
  13. I promised Edgar that I would post my build here after he shared his Supermarine factory drawing information on the Spitfire PR.XIII that hints at Sea Grey Medium and Dark Green as the proper colors. I did my best to match the underside PRU Mauve to the Munsell matches quoted elsewhere in these forums. I hope you enjoy! - David PS: I still have to mix up another batch of Mauve for the pitot...
    7 points
  14. Hi there, here I want to show another one of my models. It is Special Hobby's "Supermarine Seafire FR 47" in 1/72 scale. I built it in 2014. Kit: The Special Hobby kit is a wonderful short-run kit. A single-engine fighter aircraft in 1/72 with more than 100 parts, that's smashing! Original Aircraft: The Seafire 47 was the last produced version of the long line of Spitfire / Seafire versions of the legendary designer RJ Mitchell. The aircraft itself was put into service after the Second World War 1946-47 and saw except for the UN missions at the beginning of the Korean War no active hostilities. My model: My model representing airplane 178 operating aboard HMS Triumph (800° Squadron), coded VP461, during the korean war. "FR" in the model designation of the Seafire 47 stands for Fighter / Reconnaissance. Because my kit contains except fueltanks no wing loads (Special Hobby offers a separate Seafire-Kit with additional bombs and missiles), I decided to build up my kit as an aircraft in the photo reconnaissance role. Most delivered Seafire 47 were equipped with a photo compartment in the rear fuselage. One camera was looking horizonal slightly downward to the left or right side of the aircraft (the viewing direction has been set before the flight), another one vertically downwards. With built-in cameras, the aircraft wore basically no external loads with the exception of fueltanks. Construction: The Special hobby kit is not easy to build. Scratch were built: - cameras and compartment - landing flaps and wing structure - thermoformed rear canopy and many other small parts. The kit was painted with Gunze acrylics. Weathering: Preshading, postlighting, Tamiya Smoke for traces of oil and gas plume, various oil and pastell colors for dirt and wear. Top view: Bottom view: Details: I hope you like this model. Criticism, notes, and comments are gladly welcome. Best regards. Kai
    6 points
  15. I've tried to make pictures in a descriptive way. Thus, very little text. In case of questions, just let me know! For future builders of this kit, here’s a list of improvement- and awareness points regarding the Airfix- and Eduard-parts. Safe a few exceptions, this advice merely regards the Airfix Dornier 17z + aftermarket specifically. The mentioned numbers are the paragraphs in this topic where the issues are discussed. Everything is treated chronologically, in the order of my findings. Please note that every modeller is in charge of his or her own build; everything is possible, nothing is obligatory... the hereunder is solely meant as help for those modellers who want to build this magnificently moulded Airfix-set. #0: plan well ahead. Personally I don't follow the instructions' order. Biggest deviations except those discussed hereunder: picture 32 -> exhaust will be fixed only after airbrushing and decalling the plane. Pictures 34-37: the engine will only be fixed after airbrushing & decalling. Picture 38: first, sand thin and prepare for priming. Eventually, the engine will be pushed inside those and the subassembly will be fixed to the wing. It's absolutely necessary though to fix the engines. Pictures 69-74: the glass and the MG15s are fixed before airbrushing the body. #2: the ribs of the upper flaps are best broken off and then glued in place. #4: mind that the upper flap is fitted perfectly, it's a very tight fit. Take great attention when using CA, something I really don't advice. #19: remove inexplicably moulded plastic from the MG15s. #23: put photo etch on, and paint, all MG15-cartridges. In Airfix' instructions, no less than 21 are forgotten... same with Eduard, most cartridges are forgotten. #25: mind a possibly twisted beam near the pilot seat, correct this before you won't be able to reach it. #29: before curving the oxygen pressure thingy, make the fold first. #36: on this picture you see that I ignored picture 6 of the Airfix-manual. This is not my original idea; I read it in another build report of this model. Picture 6 is utopia. position part C8 as a sandwich, whilst combining the two fuselage halves... #43: dryfit everything thoroughly, especially the rear seat. With my Dornier the legs weren't far enough apart. #45: thin the instrument panel. #46-49: make the instrument clock housings, in case you want to 'busify' the front side (those housings will be very well visible from the front). #71-74 (after #52-61): make a step plan before tackling a bomb rack. And do yourself a favor purchasing a bottle of Gator Glue (not being "Gator's Grip glue"). #67: with the 50KG-bombs: make slits into the plastic, don't stick the PE fins toegether. Alternatively: soldering. #69: connect wires to the instrument clocks. #75: thin the bomb bay doors (even if you won't use photo etch). #78: consider removing the ejector pin marks in the bomb bay (especially if the bomb racks are not used). #80: with the pilot's seatbelts, ignore the fold lines of the upper buckles. #85: mind the ejector pin marks topside of the bomb bay. #90: the MG15s are opportunely replaced by metal or resin upgrades. #90: choose well if the cockpit should be painted in RLM02 or RLM66. See the discussion about this at the beginning of this topic. #104: don't trust the stickiness of self-adhesive Eduard photo etch parts. Always add glue, to prevent parts from sagging of falling off after six months. You won't be able to repair it then. #106: use oil paint to improve realism of the Eduard panels (glittering + color) within seconds. #107: the front side seat can't be fixed on the attachment points. Use CA-glue as a bridge. #112: I found out the fuselage was warped. It's so important to check this out, the whole build success depends on straightness of the fuselage. Warped fuselage = wrongly placed wings etc. etc. #127: nacelles PE: glue 'the lid' together with a small L-piece. #129: nacelles PE: sand 'the lid' at the front, otherwise it won't fit. #130: nacelles PE: ignore the gap. #132: thin the walls. #136: nacelles PE: do a lot of dryfitting, don't use CA for fixing. The positions as suggested by Eduard, are incorrect. #140: thin the side walls of the engine. Not only because it's more realistic, also because otherwise the engine won't fit. #146: be extremely careful when cleaning the plastic of the landing gear. #152: don't glue the PE-doors of the landing gear houses to the plastic. Instead, throw the plastic in the spare box. Scratch some brass 'hinges'. Just as easy, much more realistic. #155: drill the exhausts. #171-182: consider vacuforming the glazing. #189-191: make the hinges for the landing gear doors. #196: prime + RLM02 attention point! #198: prime + RLM02 attention point! #200-202: make up your own mind as to what kind of weathering is realistic and desirable on 1/72 scale. #211: priming + RLM02 attention point! #212: priming + RLM02 attention point! #213: use the Eduard-mask as template for an inside-mask. #216: priming + RLM66 (or RLM02) attention point! #219-220: add wire for operating the bomb bay doors, e.g. Uschi van der Rosten wire + Gator's Grip glue. #238: correct a moulding deficiency to the vertical stabilizers by some simple sanding. #239-245: correct the position of the landing gear, using a small intervention. #246: place and remove the landing gear parts by only touching the three spots mentioned in this paragraph, to prevent fracture. #Future: add hinges to the flaps, so that they can be connected to the wings. #Future: airbrush glass beneath gondola RLM66 internally. #Future: airbrush front RLM66. #Future: airbrush glazing above bomb bay RLM02 (from above). #Future: thin mudguards. #Future: resin wheels. #Future: thin pitot tube. #Future: scratch FuG12 dipolar antennas. #Future: covers for side-MG15s. #Future: antenna wire with ceramic insulators. Really enjoying this build thus far. Airfix's kit is of great quality. Eduard's photoetch is not the easiest I've done but is, eventually, doable. Bit of scratch involved but not much. Should be a moderately fast build, especially compared to my other builds. A lot of pictures in this first post, follow-ups will be less picture-heavy. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 11. 12. The parts to the right of the arrow will all be positioned within the green circle. 13. 14. 15. 16. The strength of Gator Glue (not Gator's Grip, which is sometimes incorrectly referred to as Gator Glue): 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Airfix as well as Eduard's instructions feature way too few MG15 drum lids & ties to be positioned. Fortunately there are reasonably enough specimens on the fret. The arrows point out the positions of all the drums. They are not equally easily recognizable as such in plastic. 25. Repairing deformation of a port side part: 26. 27. 28. 29. 29. 31. 32. 33. Scratching one of 3 oxygen regulator boxes, after having spent an hour looking for a finished PE version: 34. 35. 36. After glueing in place the scratched oxygen regulator, guess what I see... probably had been stuck underneath something. Quickly swapped pieces. 37. 38. 39. 40. Dryfit is always important... 41. Impressive, Airfix! 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. Template for making instrument houses: 48. 49. 50. Macro pictures are often very handy to correct my work. Such as the instrument house lower left corner, 2nd from the right. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. Difficult to bend photo etch part. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. Don't follow Eduard's instructions re. the bomb rack. In a further post I'll specify a better order. 62. And don't follow Eduard's dreamy bomb construction philosophy either. First I'll show a few failed specimens. Changes: don't glue the fins to each other + use a knife + razor saw to make 4 incisions into the plastic. Put Gator Glue in those slits and then clean with thumb (except the slits). Put the photo etch in place and use Eduard's cross template. 63. 64. 65. 66. Even after taping... ugly glue residue. 67. Finally! Revenge on Eduard! 68. 69. 70. Dryfit: click this short vid. Total spent time till now: 32 hours.
    6 points
  16. Tonight I have managed to get some pre-tea time modelling done. I located some suitable tube for the missiles and thought this would be a good opportunity to try out a new modelling tool for the first time - this guillotine contraption from Micro-Mark: The stop was set using the kit part as a guide and the cut made: As I sort of expected the results were OKish, the tube squashed a bit and the cut was at a slight angle: My verdict is that this tool is worth having - just about. I was soon in mass production mode and four tubes were made with just a bit of fettling on the ends required. Now, I know we said we were only going to have two launcher tubes, and I'm still leaning that way, but making all four means I will have the option to decide later on adding two or four (such as if the rails are not up to the glare of full public exposure). Note that the kit parts are not terribly circular in section and this was one of the several reasons for electing to go down the scratch building route: I found some 1.5mm diameter rod to close off the tube ends but it was a slightly lose fit so packed it out with some short lengths of clear tape: Those were cropped to length with my guillotine tool (which worked rather better on solid material). Oblique lighting was essential to get the rod positioned correctly in the tubes: A touch of liquid poly permanently fixed things in position. Although my researches have shown there are several designs of tube and rails, this is the sort I am aiming for: Now I have to add some flat strips to the undersides I think. Bye for now, Nigel
    6 points
  17. Hi, My latest builds, three Az model kits. The AZ model kit is excellent, apart from the "skinny nose" . The "in progress" here : http://www.cartula.ro/forum/topic/13705-serbanescu/
    6 points
  18. The Base: Subject Tempest will be from the FIU squadron based at Newchurch ( ZQ codes ) on anti-diver ops.
    6 points
  19. Another pair of Spitfires. Firstly the new Airfix Vb with the Silver Cloud floatplane conversion. Finished with Xtracrylix and a brush. Next the new tool Airfix Mk.I. Lovely kit albeit a bit complex.
    5 points
  20. This kit was initially started by a fellow Aberdeen Modeller Society club member who sadly passed away before he could complete it. With the airframe substantially completed by John straight from the box I did a few small additions to the cockpit by way of a throttle and its operating cables, some seatbelts, then added a gunsight which was missing from the remaining parts. John had built it with the intentions of folding the wings so I honoured his intentions but added a slight twist by setting one wing in a partially unfolded position with the stay scratch-built from brass tube, piano wire, then some plastic rod details. The decals were also missing so I used those from my own kit; must remember to request a new sheet from the Airfix parts department. The kit is now finished but that's only half the story as I'm currently trying to modify some figures from Airfix's RAF ground crew into the Royal Navy deck crew who will be unfolding the wings. The two characters on the upper line go above the wing while those on the lower line will be arranged below the wing. Still plenty to do to correct their uniforms and position arms, heads, hands etc but hopefully you get the idea.
    5 points
  21. Thanks for that, Steve. So, without any "modesty panel" covering up the wing fold jack, that means I will have to scratch some details to put in that spot! Whose idea was it to fold the wings on this model again? I'm not too worried about making a wing fold jack, as it's a pretty basic shape. Here is my concern though - it seems to me that this is a hydraulic ram of some sort. There is a larger diameter than is attached to the fuselage, and a smaller diameter, movable shaft that protrudes out and connects to the wing. At this stage in the build, I don't have a good sense of how long the smaller diameter shaft needs to be (since I don't know where the wing will be just yet). So what I'd like to do is make the smaller shaft adjustable so it can set its length later on when the wing is attached. (Granted, the length of the smaller diameter shaft is quite small, going by the photo in Steve's preceding post. But a small error down here will make a much bigger shift in the position of the wingtip.) So here is the idea. I'll use two different diameter hypo needles, carefully chosen so that the smaller will slide inside the larger. And, of course, because they're the only two sizes I have. What's shown in the photo is way more than is necessary - the actual pieces will be very short. Just the larger diameter will be mounted for now. When I'm ready to mount the wings, then I can add the smaller shaft and adjust as necessary. I think I'll need to make a jig of sorts to hold the wing in the proper folded position, which I can use for measurements like this but also to hold it while the glue sets. I blended the carburettor intake into the fuselage with my standard red putty. We'll see how good this is once there is some primer or paint on this beastie. I managed to lose the cooling louvers that are on the bottom of the nose, but these were very weakly engraved to begin with. Some of them would have disappeared under the first coat of paint. These will need to be recreated somehow, they're very obvious under the nose. I also heard the pleas for more white plastic. Well, I was able to add some more, but it wasn't much! Maybe there will be a need for more when I get to the wings. In the meantime, I used 0.5mm strips to add some structural members that kinda sorta follow the pattern in the photos. Then, I used some 0.3mm solder to make some small cables (wires?) followed by 2.6mm solder to form the most obvious detail here which is a large hose or conduit of some kind. Next up I'll add the top of the wing roots, and take care of the filler that will be necessary around the radiator intakes. Speaking of which, I need to add the two vanes in each radiator that didn't survive the process up to this point. I think that needs to be done before the top of the wing roots goes on. Now let's see, what else am I forgetting? Cheers, Bill
    5 points
  22. Thanks Simon, Airfix really attained some impressive quality indeed! 77. 78. 79. After using Gator Glue on the bomb door strips, the ends are glued by Zap medium. 80. Shaping the belts before painting, to prevent damage to the paintwork later. 81. 82. Eduard says the other seats' belts need to be bent; this is not true. Should be something like this: 83. 84. 85. Using the primer phase for small corrections! 86. 87. 88. Last-minute removal of dust and sanding residue (brush / knife). 89. Priming is done by means of the great combination of Alclad II + Mr Color Thinner. Cleaning up work desk is a good thing before transporting the parts to it. Totally spent time: 45 hours.
    5 points
  23. Good day, jentlemen! Let me present my next model "just from box".
    4 points
  24. Hi all well its done (just hope Rolf likes it)after all he's paid for it.
    4 points
  25. Just a quick post to gauge opinions on my latest modelling work. They are three 1/72 revell red arrows hawks. They went together with no trouble at all. The only issue I had was with some gloss varnish turning the paint pink. I put some all pupose cleaner on it and it cleaned it up for more coats of the humbrol arrow red. The smoke trails are cotton wool glued to some acrylic rods. Let me know your thoughts! EDIT: wow didn't realise how bad my phone camera was up on a laptop screen! Here are some better pictures! and next to the 1/72 A400M..
    4 points
  26. Morning folk,s,got the underside colour on and brush painted the dark sea gray (3 thin coat,s) so she's coming together nicely so just a little photo update.
    4 points
  27. Hello All, Just finished another one, WIP here. This was on the shelf of doom for a few years after I realised that the wings were not going to fit in flying position. So I'm glad to get it out somehow, and I had fun on the second leg. It's not the greatest kit in the world but if you want a Shark, that's it! Thanks for looking, Adrian
    4 points
  28. The Andover got a bit of time spent on it over the weekend. Lots of putty and paint touch ups. Mask, paint and repeat. Hopefully this will be it and I can get onto the landing gear etc.
    4 points
  29. hi Perdu et al, if you think about making this in plasticard, then try to consider making pilots and US navy carrier deck crew in 1;144! which is exactly what I tried lately. Using a pilot 3D model, I isolated the limbs and added som 'ball joints' in between, so that I am able to manipulate a figure as I please: putting the whole thing together, this is what I decided to have printed: due to the fixed cost of each 3D print I decided to have a whole bunch (15) of them in one go. So this is how that turned out: And I must say the level of detail is INCREDIBLE. one figure is only 12 mm high but you can still see that the fingers and oxigen mask are separate features. Also notice that, due to the transparency of the resin, some features do not stand out well. Same goes for the vizor on the helmet which has a bit white surface sheen to it, making it look a bit misshaped, but it really isn't. I will make a photo of them with some surface primer on, I am sure that even more details will become visible. This is probably the smallest scale and the smallest features that I will make for now because even smaller features will probably get lost under the paint! In the mean time I published the print on the Shapeways site, together with another set of pilots with different poses: https://www.shapeways.com/product/HBKBB34WK/15-fighter-pilots-in-5-positions-scale-1-144?li=shop-inventory&optionId=57755132 https://www.shapeways.com/product/UJ2R2LLW6/16-modern-fighter-pilots-sitting-1-144-scale Now that this went well, I am planning also to print these guys in 1:144, 1:72, 1:48 and 1:32: Can't wait to see these!
    4 points
  30. 4 points
  31. Imminently, by the sound of things... I'm sure you will be a good parent PC, millions of people do it every day, some are better than others but I think you and Mrs P will, by instinct, be amongst the better ones. Cheers, Stew
    4 points
  32. Thanks for the good wishes, everyone. He'll be our first. I won't lie that I'm very nervous about it; I had a weird upbringing and ended up running away from home (as did one of my two sisters, so it isn't just me), and while I am now on pretty good terms with my parents, this weighs pretty heavily on me of late. One hopes to do the best one can, but I certainly know from my own experience that there are things that I can never be fully prepared for or hope to catch. It's incredibly frightening. What would I do to protect this person who I helped to make, and who I've never met? What wouldn't I do? Just watch me, I guess. I am excited for some things, but they're so far in the future it seems almost unfair to have expectations: watching bad movies together; showing him Star Wars (the real ones only, thanks, none of this new crap) for the first time; building a model with him; showing the film Battle of Britain; watching him discover history and hoping he'll feel the same deep love for it that I do, or even if he doesn't, that something bigger than he is will still catch his breath and move him with its power and beauty some day, and being there to see it. It's a lot of work to do, and he's a limited-run kit, short mold. Only one in the world, you know. Hopefully I get to meet him soon.
    4 points
  33. Vickers Supermarine Sceptre F.1 74 (Tiger) Squadron RAF Coltishall 1961 Developed from the much larger Vickers Supermarine 559 proposal from 1955, the Vickers Supermarine Sceptre F.1 was born from the 1957 Defence White Paper and entered service in 1959 as a point defence fighter. It`s role was very much influenced from the theories and thinking of the day in that nuclear missile technology was expected deliver a knock out blow to the infrastructure of NATO and it`s airfields. The design team at Vickers Supermarine looked at way`s in which the RAF could launch a defensive response without the need for a long runway to launch and recover. Finally, very much like the Luftwaffe had adopted at the end of the Second World War, a ZELL, (Zero Launch Length), system was incorporated into the design with a cockpit capsule `ejecting` the pilot from the rest of the aircraft once the mission was completed and it had returned to friendly airspace. (Again, the thinking was that no airfields would be available upon return). The launching system and cradle were set upon an upgraded and modified Churchill tank chassis and during times of tension the aircraft would be deployed into the field's and wooded areas of Western Germany and the United Kingdom. The system was operational for a short period and was withdrawn from use in 1963 when the English Electric Lightning was available in larger numbers to replace it. While the Sceptre was just a minor foot note in British Aviation history, it is believed to be responsible and strongly influenced the creative thinking behind Sci Fi shows like Fireball XL 5 and Thunderbirds. Only one example survives and is being restored behind closed doors at the RAF museum at Cosford. Crew - One Length - 58 ft 3 in Wingspan - 39 ft Powerplants - Two Reheated De Havilland Gyron Engines each with 20,000 pounds of thrust Max Speed - 2.5 Mach Service Ceiling - 61,000 ft Endurance - 45 minutes Armament - 4 Air to Air Missiles
    4 points
  34. Hi all, A few photos of my latest project. I used the Monogram F-8E as the basis of this conversion into a 'Charlie'. The only aftermarket items were the seat (Aires), decals (Furball), 'Remove Before Flight' tags and a couple of AIM-9Ds from the Academy F-4B. regards Andrew
    3 points
  35. The first part of my space:1999 project is complete; the Hawk is ready to fly! One of my main but not altogether difficult decision when deciding how to finish the Hawk was what scheme should I do it in. Given that I was never very keen on the orange and white scheme as seen on the TV, I went straight for the original scheme the Hawk was initially delivered in - all white. Apparently someone at the studio decided that the all white Hawk was too similar to the all white Eagles so they hand painted some areas orange to make it stand out from the Eagles. The only orange on mine are the warning bands around some of the frame areas. The white has been toned down with a bit of dark chalk pastel (although the camera flash has bleached this out on the photos) to grubby it up a bit. The tips of the cannon pod are dark grey. The glazed area has been coated in a couple of layers of Klear to make is look like glass. Other details and panels have been picked out in various shades of grey mixed up on the fly and the underside vertical lift engines painted in Duralumin. The original Airfix stand has been long lost so I made up a new one from sheet styrene in the style of the one I did for my Thunderbird One model. I painted this with Halford Satin Black bumper paint. Hope you like it!! Finally, the Hawk in it's natural habitat - in Space! - a big thank you to my son James for arranging this one for me. Cheers. Karl
    3 points
  36. ..and that my friend hits the nail on the head, in our hobby in general too... We've got so much choice now in a vast range of scales, if the odd screw, bolt or panel line is a bit skewiff, then so be it, be a modeller and modify it, if it doesn't bother you and you don't lose sleep, then just build it out the box. Who'd have thought by the end of this year, we would have two Shackleton new tool kits, IM B-17 in 32nd(!) & two 32nd new tool Mosquito's.... need I go on? They might not all be perfect, but at least we have them. Quite looking forward to Airfix's offering after seeing the Whitley recently... lovely job!
    3 points
  37. Thanks Jaime Those wire stretchers look tiny... I'll watch your use with interest and may order some for my Rapide if you get on with them (promised to build this with 06/24 and PC after the ride at Duxford). "I don't like the idea of drilling through the wings, as the holes need to be filled, followed by sanding and repainting" and sanding and repainting again. And again. I'll put this on the tip list... although after the Rapide I hope to avoid rigging in the future! Thanks Max. I hope you enjoy your golfing while we're all slaving away on the GB. Please don't feel guilty... much! I am indeed learning lessons the hard way - is there an easy way then? The holes are the smallest I thought I could cope with given my eyes (not bad, just old), especially as some of them have to take two lines. Anyway, enough of my moaning. Does my bum look big in this? by Ced Bufton, on Flickr Do you know that you can't fit the pilot once the top wing's fitted? Well, you do now. As you know I'm not averse to a bit of pilot surgery so this one's had his bottom sanded. I hope his student is competent because he no longer has a parachute. Ha! Ready for transfers by Ced Bufton, on Flickr So, as the title says I'm stopping the fiddling here and leaving it to dry ready for the transfers tomorrow. I'll take a view on the matt coat after that and then fit the windscreens. Nearly there. Finally!
    3 points
  38. I call it done...I will post more photos later on Thanks for watching
    3 points
  39. There's more! Tim has sent a link to a speech given my his dad, which you can view below:
    3 points
  40. Сontinue. TCP. Two component pod is made as a single component pod. This must be corrected!
    3 points
  41. Thanks guys I'm glad you're enjoying it, I have to say it's a bit of a love/hate relationship for me. I'm hoping to get a little more done this morning as SWMBO has taken out visitor to a market, but I'm also waiting for a phone call to go and collect some horse food, so we'll see. Bye for now John
    3 points
  42. Hiya Folks, I`ve wanted to build a model of a Greek Hurricane for a long time so as I had an Airfix special set which included a Hurricane Mk.IIb with Soviet markings I thought that I`d give it a go. This kit is the recent`ish' Airfix Hurricane Mk.IIc kit with an additional 12 gun Mk.IIb wing in the box but it still has the tiny tailplane, box like forward fuselage, shape issues and short propeller! The spares box was raided for a set of larger tailplanes and the propeller came from a very old Matchbox Hurricane while the forward fuselage was sanded like mad to reduce the box like look and the windscreen was also sanded and polished back again to improve the shape. Despite all of this the wing still looks too thin and I`m not happy with the shape of the model in general but here it is anyway,...come on Airfix, please replace this duffer of a kit with a new one!; Cheers Tony
    3 points
  43. 'Tea' brown colour was officially # 31 (Cha Kasshoku - 茶褐色), used for camouflage, and the prop blades were painted # 37 dark brown colour (An Kasshoku - 暗褐色), although confusingly they are often described as being 'tea colour'. Gunze's prop colour paint is close to # 37 - unsurprisingly - whereas there are no close paints or even FS matches for # 31. The spinners were usually painted the same colour or similar over a red-oxide primer (which has also been confused as the prop colour). When factory painting was introduced the # 7 colour was supposed to be applied to props and spinners as well. Although the Ki-100 has almost always been depicted in references as having dark brown spinners and prop blades an extant Ki-61- I Tei spinner is painted in the # 7 colour. However the University of Illinois (Urbana Campus) Kawasaki K-100 (bubbletop) appears to have had a dark brown prop. How consistently that was being applied is unknown but most people will still expect to see dark brown spinners and blades on a Ki-100! Nick
    3 points
  44. Painting/Decal - Part Four Over the weekend I got the M51 gloss coated with Pledge (low pressure with 0.4 needle works for me). Then the kit decals were applied with Micro set and sol. Once the decals were dry, I used some enamels thinners and cotton buds to remove the carrier film and then a stiff paint brush to chip the decals away for the worn look. Decals were then sealed with another coat of pledge. Weathering - Part One I decided to start the weathering off with a pin wash of Raw Umber oil paint thinned with low odour thinners.
    3 points
  45. Last update for the day,......here are the undercarriage parts and flaps; A close up of the wheels including the info panels attached to the rear of each main leg; While this was being done the model received a single brushed coat of Humbrol enamel gloss varnish, ready for the decals; And here is the model with the undercarriage, flaps, propeller etc all test fitted into place; With a bit of luck I`ll get the decals on tonight! Cheers for now, Tony
    3 points
  46. Hi folk,s,nearly there with this build just a few bits and pieces to add and a little flexi filler around the rear superstructure to hull join then a spray of matt coat,I,ve managed to loose the very rear railing,s so scratch building some new.Thank's for looking in.
    3 points
  47. Got the last parts added by way of the spine aerials and a pitot probe made from brass tube sleeved over piano wire and the detail painting done last night; A little light weathering and she's done
    3 points
  48. 27/9 update: More decals. The air-brake decals needed some care and the cross needed careful alignment: A very enjoyable Japanese Grand Prix this morning
    3 points
  49. Most of the decals are on now, but there are still a few more details to add including the pitot tube, whip ariel and wing blisters. I used the Hornet Xtradecal sheet as a basis, and added the black numbers and letters from another sheet. This pretty much did the basics, but I wanted to try to add the smaller ones too. For these, until someone produces another decal sheet with them on, I looked through my collection of used sheets and found some good sources that I will list here for reference: 1/48 Airfix F22/24 Spitfire (Fuel/Electrical) 1/48 Xtradecal Vampire (Hood release/emergency) 1/48 Tamiya Mosquito (Sling/tether) 1/48 Eduard Tempest (DTD/Jack/Tether) On the underside you can see the auxiliary air intake vents just behind the main leading edge ducts. I've marked on the cannon shell ejector holes, three ID lamps in the belly, and the drift sight aperture in the belly door.
    3 points
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