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Finished last month is the Sword 1/72 Gannet. Anyone who has built a recent Sword kit knows what to expect with them...no locating pins but good detail (finer than a lot of Airfix in the same scale but with softer plastic), and the added goodies of an etched brass sheet, resin details and good decals. The instructions, though, do lack sometimes in placement specifics, which can be frustrating. Anyway, here are some pics. I added a pilot figure, raised the undercarriage (which was a job in itself, especially with visible main wheels) and an aerial from EZ Line And here it is in company with another contra bird, the Trumpeter Wyvern

Here is my newest member to my display case. This is the wonderful 1/32 Tamiya p-51d mustang, and my version of Urban Drew's Detroit Miss with a few items added to the build. The few items added were the Barracuda resin tires and barracuda cockpit decals, and a few scratch items around the batteries such as the cables etc. Paints that were used were by alclad spray metals and the rest of the paints were by Mr Color, decals were by Zoukei-Mura and fundekals. I hope you guys like my build here, any comments or suggestions are welcome Jeff

Hi all. I'd like to show you my 1/48 Academy MiG-29. The Neomega cockpit was used, which is not their best btw. I also used the Aires exhausts, Quickboost nose and brake set and Masters' pitot tube. Some detailing was done on the landinggear. The model received a zillion rivets and extra panel lines. After the fuselage was closed I decided to make new louvres next to the cockpit. Not the easiest way to do. I recommend to do this in an earlier stage. The model was painted with Akan paint, which is great to work with. Similar to Gunze. If interested, you can see the wip (in Dutch) at: https://modelbrouwers.nl/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43946#p861164 Enjoy the photo's. I hope you like the result. Thank you for watching. René

Here's an oddball for you- A French Potez XXV in Spanish Republican markings. The Potez XXV was actually built in pretty good numbers in the mid 30s and served with many foreign air forces. Broplan has kits of a couple different versions, this one depicts the A2 I believe. The kit looked great on the sheet and went together nicely. There were no white metal parts included so I scratchbuilt the Scarff ring and landing gear and used the kit moldings for the wheels and propeller. I also built a complete interior just for the fun of it because not much can be seen now! Thanks for looking! Dan

Hi Here is my last build with this Italeri 1/72 Short Stirling B. Mk I N6103 of No 149 Squadron in 1941. Nearly from the box : I've just added some curtains, modified the bottom of the engine nacelles and put the main under-carriage at the end. Soon to be published in Tamiya Model Magazine French Edition. Patrick

Revell’s Gannet AS.1, with AlleyCat resin wingfold, some brass and steel rods and a jar full of lead weight in the nose! Xracrylic paints – my first go, and possibly my last – and CAM decals for the Pirate motif. Only problems were, the canopies were all to narrow for the cockpit openings and all, subsequently, have cracked. Conversely the bomb bay doors were to narrow for the fuselage opening and needed a bit of cut’n’shut to fit. The wings went on OK. Brass rod needed to add a bit of strength to the setup. Alignment was fiddley and I didn’t get it quite right, but overall it looks the part. Any and all comments welcome. cheers Grant

This is the Anigrand 1/72 scale Raytheon Sentinel. Having built quite a few Anigrands, I must say this is one of the better kits, going together quite well indeed. The cockpit is sparse, just being a couple of seats, control columns and console, all enclosed by a canopy section which is made of clear resin, going back to the bulkhead behind the seats. I added two pilot figures made up from the van drivers in the Hasegawa pilots sets, and painted up the instrument panels, though none are now visible! The engines I jazzed up by adding white decal stripe to the intakes, after painting the chrome edges. This was followed by adding two unused Firestreak missile heads to the centres of each intake fan before painting black. The Windows I replaced with Glue n Glaze after painting. The pitot heads are way too big, and only three were supplied (!!) so I had to carve another out of sheet. The chrome leading edges are alclad on a base of gloss black, but even that doesn't seem shiny enough as the real thing. The blade aerials are on the thick side too, and if I did it again I'd replace them with some plastic card ones. Apologies for the dark photos...it was nearly dark when I took them with the phone, but you get the idea And one extra, just to show the size, in company with an Airfix Tucano.

Tamiya 1:48 bf109e-3 Painted using Vallejo model air. And if anyone's interested here is the build log: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234988140-me109-e3-tamiya-148/

Hi All, Here is my recently finished Stratocruiser kit by Academy decals from Flying Colours (Hannants still have stock) a project I have wanted to do for a long time now done! Kit went together very well indeed with only tiny amounts of filler here and there. When I worked out how much noseweight would be required for it to sit on its wheels I attached a small metal rod underneath instead. Paints are Revell Aqua gloss white and Alclad Chrome which has been toned down with varnish which will also protect. Decals were very keen to crack up under movement so much care needed, if I did this one again I would mask and spray the tail at least. Anyway she is done and I for one am happy how she turned out, what do you think? MODeller

Hello Dear Friends One of my last building: Canberra PR.Mk83 from FAV (Venezuelan Air Force) Venezuela was the first foreign country to obtain the formidable English Electra Canberra. Versions of bombers, reconnaissance and interdiction Canberra were used by the Venezuelan Air Force (FAV) for more than 37 years. The first six (6) Canberra B.2 aircrafts bought by the FAV, arrived in Maracay Venezuela in April 1953. In August 1958 they obtained eight (8) Canberra B (I) 8 and three T.4 training. Over the years the FAV acquired new Canberra and upgrade existing ones, taking into service the following versions: B.2 / B.82 / B (I) 82 / B (I) 88 / T.4 / T.84 and PR.3. In 1990 after 37 years of service, the last FAV Canberra were put out of operation. The Canberra Mk.PR.3 that I showing in this post, was bought by the FAV in 1966; originally operated as reconnaissance aircraft, but then in 1971 was overhauled by BE, modernized and converted to PR.Mk83. Canberra FAV No. 2314 and No. 2444, were the only Venezuelan Canberra which have the original British camouflage (dark green and dark gray) used by the RAF. To build Canberra No.2314, I used the Airfix model , English Electra Canberra B.2 / B.20 / B62, scale 1/48 . I used Model Master acrylic paint; decals used are mostly home made, but I also used some of the own model . The armament are from the model . I also built simultaneously B1.8 Canberra 1/48 scale , which will show soon in another post. ThankYou, RSK48 (Rafael) From Venezuela

Soviet ZSU-23-4M/3 1:35 HongModel New company HongModel have been in touch to tell us about their new product that they're launching soon. The Shilka is a Soviet era Self-Propelled Radar-Guided Anti-Aircraft platform that showers its enemy with 23mm shells from four barrels once it has a radar lock. The M was an upgraded system with a new loading system and some improvements in longevity, which seem to have paid off because they are still in use with a great many of their operators, including the Russian Marines, and more germane to current events, Syria. Due to its fearsome rate of fire it garnered the nickname Sewing Machine, or Zeus. Enough of the background waffle, here are a bunch of pictures of a test shot, which promises plenty of detail, and a step up from the old Dragon kit of yore. You can build either the 4M or 4M3, and there is the promise of more to come in due course. You can follow them on Facebook here

Hiya Folks, Well I`ve made a start on the new Revell Halifax Mk.III and the new wings and cowlings look great but I`m not sure about the engine fronts and the propellers,......the front opening could be a bit wide the props a bit too `paddled' if that makes sense with small hubs,....but I think that I can live with it? Compared to other conversions that I`ve made in the past the exhausts and upper air intakes may be a bit small too, but again I think that I can live with them,.....what do you think? Sorry for not including pics of the interior etc but these are just the same as the earlier Mk.II/V kit anyway. Here is the main airframe together with the wings still not attached; As you an see the windows for the earlier variants have been glued into the nose securely, covered with filler and sanded smooth, as have the portholes in the rear fuselage which are not applicable to this later variant; So just a sanding session and then it is time to apply some paint, Cheers Tony

Hello all, Here's my recently finished 1/48 Revell F-84F Thunderstreak. I used the kit decals to do a Luftwaffe jet. Paints used were mostly Xtracolor, Alclad and Revell. After I took the pics, I noticed that I forgot the nosegear light, and the wingtip lights. These have been fixed now. I will add a metal pitot on the left wing at a later point. The kit comes with the pitot in the intake, but on later blocks, this was moved to the left wing. I hope you like it, and thanks for looking. Pete

Several months back I posted this B-17 as a finished model. It is of course the HK models kit. The customer I built it for asked at the time for me to make a diorama for it. Here it is, faults and all. Before you tell me it's not realistic to have things positioned on the diorama like they are, please appreciate I get requested to fit certain things onto a base. This particular customer wanted it very busy, and have certain installations to be present. I have to incorporate them within certain size limitation requirements too. So whilst somewhat unrealistic- the customer wanted it, so the customer got it. The aircraft and a few figures are 1/32, and everything else is 1/35, this was done due to product available to me at the time. A few additions to the model are: -Interior lighting -Exterior lighting -Working engines. There is no sound, however the engines do start in sequence, thanks to my workmate Adam Butler who as done all of the electrical work on it. The electrics make it into the aircraft through the tires, then are disguised as brake lines, before making it to a small circuit board in one of the wings. -Figures are from MasterBox, Italeri and Tamiya. Most of them are custom positioned, with lots of Milliput. -The Tractor is custom built starting with the Tamiya Tilly truck, and plenty of Evergreen. It has been made by my boss Richard Thompson. -The bomb trolleys are scratch built by Adam. Bombs are left overs from the HK B-25 I've previously built. -Bofors gun is the Italeri kit, which comes with the figures included. The sandbags are scratch built from Milliput. -The 'Follow me' Jeep is the Italeri kit, which has had LED lights put in the front of it. The Checker board pattern is a decal which comes in the kit. -The Fuel truck is modified from an Italeri water truck kit, and has custom light boom and fuel line box attached. -All other accessories are from Tamiya and Italeri field accessory sets. There is quite a bit of customising done on a lot of the items. -The grass is a sheet of wargaming grass, which as been sanded with 80 grit to weather it, and then airbrushed to get a more realistic effect. -The tarmac is 360 grit sandpaper, which has been cut into squares then painted. Please excuse the large number of photos, I didn't know which ones to exclude, so put a lot in. Regards, Alan

Hello This is my first project on the Internet This is resin model of the company MMmodels In addition to the resin has a handle and a plurality of metal parts found I am interested ships in 1/72 scale and I bought a curiosity that was used during the war Polish-German Navy Putzig ot the ship's ex. Polish-type "Jaskółka" (Swallow) short story: Six battleships of the type used in the Polish Navy called "Swallow", "crane", "tern", "The Seagull", "Chaika" and "Heron". During World War II, as a result of the war the two of them were destroyed, the remaining four were joined the Navy and have been modified equipment has been changed. They were named "Putizg", "Westerplatte", "Rixhöft", "Oxhoft", and were used as Torpedofangboot naval base in Travemünde. a few pictures duże pole długości 1m, model ma długość około 63 cm, 500 części

Hi folks, Having been a member of this forum a long, long time, it pained me to realise I'd never posted anything in RFI. Although my start rate is phenomenal, my completion rate is glacial, and this is the only one that's made it from the shelf of doom to the "It's got all of the fiddly bits attached" shelf in a loooong time. This was painted with Tamiya acrylics (thinned with Tamiya lacquer thinner, mixed with a couple of drops of X-22 clear gloss, and sprayed through a Badger Renegade Krome), kit transfers, Winsor & Newton Galeria matte varnish, and chalk pastel weathering. Panel lines were emphasised with a wash concocted from Liquitex Matte Medium, distilled water, flow improver and grey ink. The same mix with different coloured ink was used for leaky-type stains. Anyway - enough blather. Hope you like:

HMS Tiger Revell (yes it is the old Matchbox kit)I have been busy with Tiger,with 3D parts by Bogey at Shapeways and new gun parts,The setting is some were in the Far east,Hong Kong in the 1960,s Link for work in progress http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234988504-1700-hms-tiger-revell-gun-version/ Parts Revell 1/700 HMS Tiger Old Matchbox kit . P.E. Atlantic Models HMS Tiger for both Gun and Helicopter version. 3D parts by Bogey at Shapeways Gun Barrels by Master Display case by Master tools Name plate by laserlayers Junks by Rainbow I have put a couple of photo,s with the helicopter version

- As usual 1/48 Airfix with a host of Maestro transkit - And now , I don't want to heard of VIGGEN any more - Next : LANSEN .....with some other between them to avoid being bored......

As in the title, Hobbycraft model toy, like Frog but engraver with a complete lack of detail and lines like Mariana Trench. Unfortunately this is the only Canuck in 48. For my part made from scratch: wheel bay, landing gear, position lights, nozzles, vacu canopy with windshield and smalls. Added resine seats Pavla (the closest to the original MB - probably Mk.2) and PE table clocks with something that I most fit to oryginal. Painted Gunze SM Chrome plus other, decals CanuckModels 024 - 428 "Ghost" Squadron. At the end of a small comparison to A-4. Canuck is really big plane, a long time ago I thought it was a Meteor and here you have to add about 50%. Another curiosity is the version Mk.4 armed with a rocket carriage (70 mm in the tray 48 pieces - fired a salvos) Feel free to ride.

In late 2010 the Canadian military was having problems with survivability,maintenaince and the attack characteristics with its black hawk helicopters. To solve this Ottawa issued an operational requirement for a multirole search and rescue attack helicopter with high survivability. Surprisingly it was a new company named Ranch helicopters Ltd which won the contract for this highly secretive chopper designed for special forces operations in mind. Their solution was a highly modified Sea-King helicopter with new engines, re-engineered canopy, extra hardpoints,new radar and comms systems and a whole host of classified sensors. It had a top speed of 200 mph, it could carry 22 fully armed troops with a crew of 5 including: a captain,pilot,engineer,gunner and a medic. The new helicopter first flew in 2012 under the cover of darkness. These first flights did however highlight a few critical drawbacks, the most crucial caused the lost of a prototype: at full power the blades detached, to solve this a new bolt was introduced and the problem was solved. Apart from this and other small problems the Sea-King entered service in early 2013. It was a hit with the people that flew it, it was comfortable,fast, reliable and VERY durable. However, on the 16th of March 2013 one of these Sea-Kings was flying a covert operation deep in the Helmand province of Afhganistan; the mission didn't go to plan, on the home leg, a lone taliban with an RPG-7 took aim at the mysterious helicopter and fired, the rocket made a full explosion and destroyed the tail and critical-stability gyroscope, the chopper briefly plummeted before the insanely skilled pilot regained control and flew the chopper to a nearby American base. During the devellopement of the new Sea-King it was seen early on that if one was ever to land at an American base the Americans would take great interest in the secret helicopter and the CIA would seize it in the name of customs to copy it. Therefore it was considered illegal to land this helicopter at ANY American base apart from a worst case scenario. It was always advised to pilots of the Sea-King to try and land at a British base, the British had given blueprints and the radar systems for the Sea-king and would not copy it. On that night however, it WAS a worst case scenario, the nearest British base being out of range so they landed right in the middle of the American base. The 4 dead and 5 injured were immediatly evacuated to Bastion, sadly for the Canadians a CIA aeronautical expert happened to be on site. That Sea-King was seized and transported back to Langley for detailed analysis. The Canadians never got it back. The Canadians thought about going to court and even short listed the countries best lawyers for the case, however, because this was a black project they couldn't go to court. There was also a strong possibility that the CIA would bribe the judge, so the case was dropped. One year later, the helicopter is recommissioned at NASA's Dryden base, they claimed it was a 'purpouse built' helicopter for agility trials, however repairs on the tail were clearly visible, Ottawa, realising what had happened immediatly went to court against NASA and the CIA. The international judge found the CIA guilty of illegal weapons proliferation and NASA were found guilty of illegaly buying a military aircraft. The judge ordered all of the American copies of the Sea-King to be incenerated. These were: the original crashed helicopter and 3 reverse engineered prototypes. Sadly for Ottawa Lockheed-Martin had put into production 60 of the type, these weren't declared at court. The US governement hasn't admitted to this but several photos of the type have been put into circulation on the internet by the Taliban through Al-Jazeera. The aircraft picture is one of the 3 reverse engineered prototypes, after operational trials with the 66th rescuer squadron of the USAF in the combat search and rescue role. Thanks to raptormodeller for the awesom backstory. Cheers, K

Almost OOB

Hiya Folks, I mistakenly posted this in WIP here; http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234990193-172nd-british-corsairs-x-3-academy-and-new-revell-sorry-meant-to-post-this-in-rfi/because I`m a dope,..but I`ve re posted it here; Along with the 1/32nd Corsair Mk.I that I finished a few weeks ago I have also been building some 1/72nd Corsair`s too and here are three of them, starting with; The Academy kit built as Mk.II, JT565, 7S, from 1834 NAS aboard HMS Victorious in January 1945,..it was sometimes flown by Canadian ace Sub. Lt. Shepherd RCN. I used a spare Tamiya propeller on this one as the kit one is rather aneamic; The new Revell kit built as Mk.II, JT601, 12V9 from 1848 NAS based in the USA during work up training; Another Revell kit built as Mk.II, JT636, Y2F from 759 NAS based at Yeovilton as part of the Naval Fighter School; The Revell kit is quite a difficult kit to put together and the open cowling gills needs to be sanded shorter and had the gaps between them filled to make them more realistic. The Academy kit is very nice and goes together like a dream. My next ones will be ready soon, this time built from the Tamiya kit! All the best Tony PS- In reply to some very nice and constructive comments on the other thread I posted the following update; Thanks everybody, Glad you like them,.....the decals came from Xtradecals excellent `Yanks with Roundels- Part 2" sheet for `12V9' part of an old Tally Ho sheet combined with a pair of Sky letter `S' codes for `7S' and Sky Decals sheet 72049 for `Y2F'. Nick- I know what you mean about the forward mast,......I`m also building a Mk.III and may have become sidetracked with that! `7S' had the forward mast sawn off to a stump as depicted, I have a photo of a Corsair coded `Y2F' which I only found in my album after the model was finished and if it is the same aircraft then the forward mast is the least of my worries,.....I may have to change the markings on this one! As for 12V9', there is a photo of this aircraft on page 358 of Air-Britain`s FAA Sqns (2nd Ed) and it shows the forward mast in place,..... but it also shows that I`ve miss placed some markings slightly,....oh well! Cheers Tony

Hello! This is one of my tribute builds to salute "The Few" and one man who's story that never fails to touch my heart and inspire me. This is my build of Flying Officer Geoffrey Wellum's Spitfire Mk.Ia, K9998. For those of you who might not know, Geoffrey Wellum DFC was the youngest fighter pilot in the RAF during the Battle of Britain. He was eighteen years old. He flew all the way through the battle and then onto the siege of Malta in 1942. He published his memoir "First Light" when he was 80 years old and it has widely become known as one of the must-read accounts of the battle. I have wanted to build Geoff's 92 Sqn Mk.I a for ages! With the 75th anniversary this year, it seems quite appropriate to dust off Revell's 1/32 Spitfire. M.II. I did a little backdating and a lot of research and I think I have got this one right. (Still not sure though....) We all have our views about this kit, for me it's wonderful. It's a model of a Spitfire! That's all I need! With the kit, I also used Barracuda resin, Eduard PE and Xtradecal codes to make K9998 as there is no sheet with these markings currently available. I used Mr. Hobby RAF Earth/ RAF Dark Green for upper surfaces and Tamiya Sky for the under surfaces. I enjoyed this build immensely and will certainly build another one of these kits in the future, I think they are great! I hope you enjoy my tribute to the "The Few". Geoff Wellum once said: "If you remember one of us, then you must remember all of us"

Hello everybody This is my first posting to Britmeodeller and I am lucky to share a few pictures of my new MIG-29 from G.W.H.. It´s an excellent kit, what is alredy known to most modellers. The model took me almost 11 months and it was enhanced by a Eduard cockpit, Eduard PE, Armory wheels, Northstar Models exhaust and many own improvements.

I am very fortunate to have a model club that host monthly contest for its members and anyone else that wants to enter a model. On a typical month, we have about 30 models on the table that range from Basic modelers who build Snap-Tites to Master Modelers who have won at the national level. Usually four or five times a year, one of the club members will “Sponsor” a special contest where they pick the subject and supply the awards. In this case, the contest was “Any Hawker Aircraft.” I found this model on the “blow-out” shelf at the local hobby shop and since I love FAA aircraft… I couldn’t resist! Of course I waited until a few days before the contest to get serious about the build… The kit is a Hasegawa offering of the Sea Hurricane Mk.IIC “Royal Navy”. It’s Hasegawa’s basic 1/48 Hurricane with a couple of extra resin parts to convert it to the Sea Hurricane. A basic plug aft of the wing that holds the arresting hook and a new gun sight and launch cable hooks. Most notable on the conversion is the lower plug does not go all the way to the transition point between the fabric cover and the lower metal wing. This causes an extra seam on the bottom. If I had a few more days, I might have been able to blend it a little better, but…. Overall it was a quick build but I want to redo the canopy because I’m not real happy with the framing. In the end, it was a fun build. This is the basic profile of the model... One area that is troublesome on this kit is the landing gear axel pins are a bit weak causing the wheels to sit a little funny. Maybe a pin or bushing to make the wheels fit tighter would help. This was the first time I used "Flory Wash" and didn't quite get a good balance between the wash, the smuges and shading on the white... Overall, I think it does a good job representing the aircraft... and my inability to take pictures of my models!

Hello all, Here is my recently finished 1/48 Academy Su-30 Flanker, part of my 'Project Flanker' in the markings of the Vietnamese Air Force. The build thread is here Extras used included a Wolfpack Design Cockpit, Wolfpack Design Su-30 update set, Quickboost corrected nose cone, Master pitot tube, Quickboost F-14 FOD covers (trimmed to fit) and Caracal decals. All ordnance is from the kit, with the additional 2 R-77s pinched from a previous Su-30 build. This is my 4th 1/48 Flanker this year and i'm quite pleased with it. I think the brown/green camouflage suits it. Beside the other part of 'Project Flanker': And beside my other Su-30: Comments welcome, thanks for looking. Dave

Thanks everybody for the encoregment, it's greatly needed at this time. It's been weeks and weeks and I can see a light ... I should be able to start the assembly of all these detail parts by next week. Progress should pick back up again. Hang in there all!! one thousand two hundred ninety six parts for this detail set. Later All.

The prices have been set and Hannants (UK) will set theirs based on MSRP. I cannot disclose this until H decides to publish. I'm sorry, wish I could. What I can say is that we have set the price so (us) modellers are in the driving seat not the sellers. The global price is going to be the same so your own distributor should be the same price as in China for example. If you have a preferred dealer (distributor) NOT in the UK then let me know by PM and I will arrange for them to have the kits. This isn't a sales pitch I am just saying that I want to put you in charge for once.

Hi Giemme and thank you. No problem about the photos - I thought someone might be interested to see the comparison between these two kits. And I know what you mean about the shape - I think overall Airfix have nailed it but, on the other hand, the Tamiya version has more, finer, sharper detail in places - the detail on the Airfix kit is a little too soft in places. I have thoroughly enjoyed building both and would certainly make both kits again. Thank you for the link to the photos - very interesting. Thank you HomerLB. I won't get chance to take an up to date photo of the setup until the weekend but I have a couple of older photos which will hopefully give you an idea of what I use. The first photo shows my Spitfire display shelf behind a diorama I made for the D-Day GB last year. It is basically a long MDF shelf with a thinner piece of MDF attached to the back. On the thinner back I glued on a photo, which I enlarged and blurred slightly from the original - it's actually printed across several sheets of A4 paper, but I laminated them with matt laminating pouches. How it looks in use behind the diorama can be seen here. The second photo shows how it normally looks with my Spitfires on display - although these latest two are not in this photo and I think I can only fit one of them on! When I made it I hadn't realised how obsessed I was going to become with Spitfires!! With regards the camera - at work I'm lucky enough to be lent an iPad Air 2 for my job which I use for all my photos of my models. I'm really lazy and it's very convenient. Let me know if you would like to know any more. Hi John. Thank you - you are very kind. Thank you Nigel for your very kind comments. Next I'm going to concentrate on this over in the Vietnam GB and then it's probably going to be time for the Hurricane STGB, at the start of next year, which I might try and make something for. I'm also going to keep making bits and pieces for my Panther build here, although it's going to only play a minor role for the foreseeable future. Hi Cookenbacher and thank you too for your very kind comments. Hi Rob. You are way too kind. To be fair I sometimes surprise myself with the painting - I can't lay claim to any innovation with the painting - I've learnt everything from the really skilled brush painters here on BM and on YouTube.........and I think I got lucky on a few occasions! Hi Steve. Thank you and you are very kind. Kind regards, Stix

An update at last I have now started detail work on the some of the other parts of the model; this time the hangar superstructure block. For my model of HMS Somerset I need to amend the aft liferaft sponsons as they are smaller, this was a relatively simple operation. For the port sponson I needed to reduce the length and fill in the hole left in the superstructure. I also needed to replace the ladder which has to be moved to align with the reduced sponson size. The starboard sponson also needed to be reduced in size, also a relatively simple operation. Other changes to the aft superstructure revolved around not fitting items, most notably the Bowman antennae and the Merlin Helicopter visual landing aids. The following pictures show progress in the detailing of the hangar superstructure: Progress continues slowly but surely.

Calling it done after 6 months on and of. I'm in no rush to do another. Build thread is Here There are lots of things I don't like about this model but the thing I like most is that it's finished First RNZAF aircraft I flew in and worked on Kit: S & M Decals: Oldmodels and Ventura Paint: Mr Color and Mr Hobby Gloss: Mr Hobby Flat Coat: Dullcoate More photos at my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HamFistedModeller

I know where my towel is.

I know! It's not ideal but the cannon and fairing are all one piece so better they go on before paint. It is a little worrying but so far, touch wood, nothing bad has happened! So I was going along at a cracking pace but then work and life bought things to a crashing halt. Finally had some time to get back on it this week and got the initial coat of paint on. Gone for a slightly irregular finish as by this stage these airframes were a little long in the tooth and were starting to show their age. Using Xtracrylix gloss sea blue with a dash of Tamiya deck tan to lighten it, thinned with water and a drop of Liquitex retarder, essential as we are having a bit of a heatwave here at the moment.

Hello guys, This is my effort with the new 1/48th Italeri Wessex HU5. built as a Falklands war veteran. The references for this actual bird seem to be slim pickings and the Italeri research is questionable. Nevertheless the kit builds nicely and I added a few touches of my own. The main cabin received pipework & cabling as well as seatbelts and some gear to make it look busier. The aerials, tie down rings & hoses were added where I thought necessary and I scratchbuilt something that looks like a cargo sling. The twin aerial lines are EZYline elastic. I hope you like her. Cheers. Andrew

Hi everyone. I present to you my most recent finished kit. The Airfix 1/48 Javelin. With the base kit, I used aftermarket metal pitot tubes by master and Eduard etched interior. Kit was painted with Tamiya XF-81 RAF dark green and XF-54 dark sea grey for the camo and X-11 chrome silver for the undersides. X-22 to gloss and sealed in with X-35 semi gloss to give it a newer look, I wanted a relatively clean looking aircraft. The kit went together like a dream and the only issue I had with fit was the forward undercarriage doors but that was a simple fix. I started the kit on 15th of September and finished today 10th of October, so this went together quick. Please give me your thoughts, good or bad

I was at Brookland yesterday and took the opportunity to get some pics of the interior doping, and some other bits and pieces, on their Wellington: I realise this one is a bit fuzzy but it was awkward to get into a position to look up into the main gear bay...but what struck me also is that there was clearly red lead primer below the upper surface colours, but none under the underside colour: Hope these help Graeme

Here's my second Op Herrick Harrier, this time the GR9, alongside it's older brother.... photos taken indoors, as the days are drawing in... Rob

No worries... it made for interesting reading! I've been busy making a start on the nose section the last couple of evenings, and unfortunately have already run into some quite serious problems. Those who've followed my builds in the past will know I'm not a stickler for accuracy, but I at least like to try and get a reasonable representation of the real aircraft. This nose section, unfortunately wasn't playing ball on this occasion... With the nose rubbed down properly and placed on the plans, an immediate couple of problems became very clear: 1) The nose section is too deep - approx two scale feet. At first I wondered if the plans were out, so measured the Combat parts against the Hasegawa 1/48th kit, and it turns out the plans were spot on: IMG_3642 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr 2) The lower nose of the real aircraft has a pronounced dip where the radome joins the airframe, just forward of the nose wheel bay - the Combat kit doesn't: IMG_3643 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The first task was to reduce the depth of the nose - I placed two strips of tape along its length and removed the area in between. This was made slightly narrower than it needed to be, as it's far easier to sand the excess off than try to add plastic if I'd have cut it in the wrong place: IMG_3645 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_3647 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr These sections were then re-joined, which now gave the nose the correct depth. The short nose cone for the FGR1/2 was then dry-fitted, but the problem with the droop is still apparent: IMG_3649 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr My initial plan was build this up with card inserts and filler... IMG_3650 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr But then an idea struck me - could the other, longer, nose cone for the F-4E be made to work? IMG_3658 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The answer was a resounding 'yes', so I sliced the front off of the nose section, and have grafted on the F-4E nose. Now, it follows the correct profile of the real thing perfectly: IMG_3661 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr It's been a lot of work to get to this stage already, but now I'm happy with the shape of the nose I can get on with blending everything in... happy days! Until next time, Tom

Lets get the BM with no problems out first

The paints I used are coming from differnet brands and were mixed. The underside grey is a mix of Tamiya Sky Grey with White. The camouflage scheme on the top is consisting from different Lifecolor, Agama and GSI Gunze colors, which were freehand sprayed with the lovely H&S Infinity CR. The final finish was done with a 1:1 mix of the nice AMMO of MiG flat and satin varnishes diluted with the original thinner.

A little more progress. Got the underside sprayed with Humbrol 90 enamel; Also used masking fluid to protect some of the Alclad silver around the wing roots to simulate wear in those areas; Next up will be masking the undersurfaces then add the aerial before spraying Dark Earth.

Hmm, I'm a January divorcée. 2001 or so. Can we get back the the big Phantom now? Please.

Just checking because we dislike trolls intensely here... But you can't make people like what you like no matter how much you wish they did. It's a known fact that people of a particular nation seem to gravitate to their own hardware for the most part. Look at American forums - wall to wall F-XX, and I'm sure the same is true of other forii around the world. We like what we like, and before everyone starts with the "But I like...." I'm generalising massively here, and I know we're all at least subtly different in our likes and dislikes in terms of subject matter (and everything else for that matter). Airfix are a business too. They can't afford to pander to requests for kits that might not sell well very often, or they'd go bust. If this means that they do predominantly British subjects, then I'm ok with that. You can get a hell of a lot more variety in kits in this connected world of ours these days anyway, just maybe not at the pocket-money prices Airfix 1:72 single engined prop kits are available in the UK, which I suspect is possibly what's bugging you and your wallet. The Golden Age we all talk of still doesn't seem enough for some folks though - much wants more, I suppose

Cheers Greg, thanks! Thanks, it was fun in fact, but a bit of a PITA in terms of parts fit; this Academy kit is a dream, in comparison. Right, another small update. Last night I prepared the last few bits before priming; pilot's armored plate two nasty sink marks on the backside scraping gizmo to the rescue, sorted: I've also added a few wrinkles to the head cushion (some were already there, how nice from Academy, but I thought I'd spice that up a bit) Two steel rods added, to be used as anchoring points to the canopy; these will be cut to size after painting Pitot tube: I replaced the plastic end with a prescription needle, and pinned the other end just for ease of painting Antenna mast: I replaced the mounting pin with a steel one; again, this will be cut to size after painting Tail wheel; some clean up and it's ready for primer Next will be masking the wheel wells and the cockpit, airbrush some interior color on the transparents and eventually a coat of primer; I'm sure some defect will show up, so a second primer coat is in sight. Comments welcome Ciao

Although the tsr2 designs looked promising the uk government decided not to persue the project before it got off the drawing board due to cost. the project was resurected as a joint anglo french agreement but the french were unhappy with the small wing area and demanded a redesign in this area. unsurprisingly they put forward a delta design which was eventually accepted by the british under the proviso that they keep the blown control surface. the upshot of this was extremely short take off roll and larger payload and fuel.

Some details and a new sprue. Source: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.510275089137323.1073741852.279694855528682&type=3 V.P.

Thanks gents; with regard to the rigging, the bit I do find intimidating is drilling the holes, after that doing the actual rigging with elasticated thread is pretty straightforward and really just a matter of how successfully you cover up the holes afterwards I fitted the undercarriage - at last - and added the wing registration transfers: The transfer is still a bit crumpled from the (Humbrol) Decalfix but the fuselage registration codes settled very well with this stuff, it is the first time I have used it and I can confirm that it has no adverse reaction with Citadel acrylics - I read somewhere on this forum that it does not get on well with certain Tamiya paints. Oh yes, and I realised that I had not fitted the prop when I stuck the cowling on, so I will have to add that on as an afterthought and consequently it will not rotate, thereby rendering this an unsuccessful model by my childhood definition of these things So just a bit more tidying, a coat of satin varnish and the addition of the prop and windscreens and we will be done - I have a day off tomorrow so hopefully I can get this wrapped up then... Cheers, Stew

Fin cap and the first part of the engine are painted. Masking followed the (rather spurious) panel lines on the kit, vice photos of the real thing. Forgive me for this heresy, but I suspect many High Planes (and some early Aeroclub) stuff isn't as accurate shapewise as people say, they just want to feel like they've done all this work to some purpose.

SACRILEGE!!! Get yourself down to the FAAM Wez and gaze in wonder at the awesome power, slowness and abysmal safety record of the mighty beast!!!! Pat

Wessex H(S)AS 3 Kit - Revell 1:48