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Showing content with the highest reputation on 27/12/15 in all areas

  1. Hello! Here's one of my kitl. It consists of two sets. The main part is Hasegawa kit, The weapons, landing gears and decals from Italeri kit. The cockpit is Ne Omega, wheels- Eduard. Weathering- oil dots and pigments, salt dots. Scratches and chipped paint - salt dots.
    25 points
  2. Hello! The model is easy and pleasant in the assembly. In the assembly used a of photo-etching set, wheels, ejection seat and bombs from other kit Paint- Tamiya and hobby Color. Weathering- oil dots and pigments, salt dots. Scratches and chipped paint - salt dots.
    17 points
  3. Hi, Hawker Hector - the number fourth (of planned five) belonging to my "mass production" of Hart family. The only one known combat scheme from 613 Squadron, May 1940, France. Finally this is almost OOB work. Besides resin wheels from AZ Hart B4 (cause I like the rivets on them), some small scratch additions (edit: like gun sight or second air intake on top on engine) and small modification of painting scheme - I do not belive in code white letters (see photo of "Hart Family" Mushroom book on p. 99 where letters are darker than white on roundel). I do not belived in white undersurface and stabilizers - so I propose bottom like on photos below. The grey letters come from Techmod Fairey Battle set no 7212. R is from GR, Z and X from NZ-x. I still fighting with some silvering of decals, thou I would like to show it already. Comments welcome Regards and post-Xmass greetings to all. Jerzy-Wojtek
    15 points
  4. Hello modellers, Today I would like to show my Italeri B-58A. Convair´s B-58 has been one of the backbones of western nuclear deterrence in the sixties and because of it´s performance, regarded by many as the successor of the B-52. Ironically it only served about ten years in the Strategic Air Command until phased out because of high operating costs and changes in air war doctrines. Nevertheless it set several speed records and won for example the Bendix Trophy. The new release of the Italeri kit includes a very nice decal sheet for several of these record setters. B-58s were never used conventionally, although there were some plans to use it in Vietnam. I built this model about twenty years ago and refurbished it recently to present here on BM. Restauration consisted of a partly repaint, removing nacelles and undercarriage. As the undercarriage, especially the nose landing gear, is a flaw of the Italeri kit, I decided to add some details to it, using metal pins from LEDs and scratchbuilt some better landing lights. Also replaced the small windows with clear styrene as the original parts had been spoiled with glue. Paints used were Revell Airbrush Enamels consisting of aluminium, steel and silver and also Humbrol polished aluminium. After reprinting some of the missing decals, added a wash and sealed with Emsal floor finish. BTW: Found out that gift ribbon is very good for navigation lights Hope you like the B-58 Mario
    15 points
  5. Merry Christmas to all B.M. members and their family Final build of the year for me and quite a productive one with this making number 14 Cant go into too much details as this will feature in a future issue of SAM, so only posting a few teaser shots for you. Aircraft depicted is from the Slovakian Air force and uses the kit Decals. Finished with Gunze and Tamiya paints. Weathering was kept to a minimum as reference photos seem to suggest a clean appearance of these airframes even after retirement. Seems there might be a problem with some not being able to see the photo's just in case here are the direct links, http://imageshack.com/a/img903/811/kwOpHe.jpg http://imageshack.com/a/img908/7597/FuFcSy.jpg As usual comments welcome, Thanks for Looking Rick G.
    12 points
  6. Probably my last completion of 2015. Built straight from the box and painted with Tamiya acrylics. The finish is Alclad Satin klear. Decalling was a bit of a marathon with so many decals even though it's only 1/72. Required the use of softener though and for this i used the Micro Scale offerings which performed really well. Hope you like. Thanks for looking
    12 points
  7. Hi everybody. I finished this one a while ago. Proud to say it was published in Meng Air modeller no.62. Enjoy the pics and Happy new year to all of you. (Photos taken by my friend Aleš D.)
    10 points
  8. Hello again. Second AFV RFI in a day from me. Something's wrong!! TAKOMs eagerly awaited Chieftain was a fun build. The only thing that annoyed me were the overly bit, thick, tough and intrusive sprue gates. The modifications I made to this kit were electrical wire added to the headlights and horn, spotlight friction handle removed and replaced with a brass spoked one, and the wading gear attachment removed and replaced with more accurate U shaped channel around the hull. I have also removed the moulded-on handle to the spotlight and replaced it with a strip of brass etch. The light also has an electrical lead. Little Car headlights have been used front and rear. All the grab handles have been replaced with fuse wire. Painted masking strip has been added to the barrel blanket to represent the loose ends of the retaining straps. Weathering has been kept to a minimum as photos of these tanks in Berlin were kept pretty clean. Used mainly on the streets, I have not seen any evidence of them being dirtied uop from off road use. But I know next to nothing about tanks and I am sure I will be proved wrong.
    10 points
  9. Here my last build in 2015. Airfix new Hurricane MK.I in 1:48. Just a nice Kit. Add Brassin exhausts and tyres and some Eduard etched parts. Decals are out of the Box.
    10 points
  10. My theme this year was very similar to all my years OOB (poorly)
    10 points
  11. Hey, everyone, Quite a broad range of subjects this year; armour, aircraft, SF, gaming, even maritime which is a first for me. So, in no particular order... Mil Mi-4 Hound - HobbyBoss 1/72 Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 - Eduard 1/48 Mig-15 - Eduard 1/72 2S3 Akatsiya SPG - Trumpeter 1/35 SS-23 Spider - HobbyBoss 1/35 (wip here) Krupp 21cm Morser - Takom 1/35 Mk.A Whippet (Red Army) - Takom 1/35 Mk.A Whippet (White Army) - Meng 1/35 Abandoned Vorne - HobbyBoss 1/35 (wip here) Chieftain Mk.5 BATUS - Takom 1/35 Seehund XXVII B5 Midget Submarine - Bronco 1/35 Champion of Pestilence - Avatars of War 28mm Arthyen of Carn Maen - Mierce Miniatures 28mm Sydonian Dragoon - Games Workshop 28mm Ma.K. LUM-168 Camel - Hasegawa 1/20 T-70 X-Wing (Ralph McQuarrie Concept Scheme) - Bandai 1/72 (wip here) R2-D2 - Bandai 1/12 (wip here) U9-C4 (The Clone Wars) - Bandai 1/12 (wip here) T-47 Snowspeeder - Bandai 1/48 (wip here) Aratech 74-Z Speederbike - Bandai 1/12 (wip here) Imperial AT-ST Walker - Bandai 1/48 (wip here) Thanks for looking Andy
    8 points
  12. Hello All, My last completion of 2015 (unless I get very lucky indeed!), garnished with a figure from the Revell RAF aircrew set: It's a nice "not-quite-new-Airfix" kit, bought for pennies on Ebay and mostly finished in a weekend, with some final touches this morning. I closed up the undercarriage well, added some cameras (sprue), opened up exhausts and inlets, added wing tip lights, removed the fabric effect from the trim tabs, and made some new lower camera windows using a film of Clearfix. I also ran a wash of acrylic putty over all the panel lines except the engine covers just to tone them down a bit. Paint is brushed Humbrol 230 acrylic with some Hu64 to add some fading and patchiness. I wanted a wartime example with "B" type roundels and used generic Xtradecal roundels and a hand-painted serial number. The one I wanted to do originally didn't have a pressurised cabin, so I ended up doing a very late war Benson wing example from a photo in the Morgan and Shacklady tome. I used the smaller wheels from the kit (which are not mentioned in the instructions) too. I also ummed and ahhhed a lot over adding stencils, but decided in the end to keep it clean. Thanks for looking, Adrian
    8 points
  13. Cheers Col, the Christmas holiday has speeded things up, although the new painting technique is something I want to use more often, its yet another thing I've learned to slow the build rate down! Got some of the fiddly bits on today. Only the turrets to do. The rear turret that comes with the conversion is quite narrow, so I'm going to have a go at crash forming a replacement. I made a former of the right size, so I'll see how that goes tomorrow. I'll get some pics tomorrow of these bits to show you what I mean. In the mean time, she's now sat on her own boots with the wings glued on...
    8 points
  14. Managed to get plenty of time at the bench today, so weathering done and masks off!
    8 points
  15. My latest AFV project - newest Russian tank, shown on the Victory Day Parade on 9 May 2015.
    7 points
  16. Well another year ends, 2015 was a year of many first's for me as a modeller, my first Phantom kit and even model vehicles, I will let the photos speak for them selves. All the best for 2016 Rick G. First of the bench the Airfix 1/48th scale Gnat in Jan Followed by another Airfix offering this time the 1/72nd scale Harrier GR1 Feb also saw the completion of my first none aircraft kit the 1/48th Tamiya Fuel truck Next in April saw another non aircraft type the Tamiya Tilly in 1/48th Next again in April was Kinetic's new Mirage III April was a busy month with an Airfix 1/48th Mk1 Hurricane also being completed Kinetic's 1/48th AMK came off the bench in May June and my First ever F-4 kit was the Hase 1/48th F-4J in RAF markings August and another F-4J this time Academy's new 1/72nd scale kit September and another Airfix kit in the 1/72nd scale Swift October and another 1/72nd scale Airfix offering the Wildcat October again with the Trumpeter 1/48th Scale Sea Hornet November saw the TAmiya 1/72nd scale Zero another first in kit form for me December finsihing off the year with the AMK L-29 On refelction not a bad year and who would have thought a decade ago I would have had this many new airfix kits! they seem to have had a fair share of my modelling ££'s this year Thats if from me, Hope you all have a wonderful 2016, Rick G
    7 points
  17. The last completed model of 2015. Represented as an F-84F from 311 squadron of the Royal Neterlands Air Force. The model is completed with the massive 450 gallon fuel tanks. The Royal Neterlands Air Force acquired a total of 180 F-84F Thunderstreaks. The kit is from Hobby Boss, the decals came from Dutch Decal F-84F Thunderstreak (48052) and colors used are from Vallejo Dark Sea Green (71.053), P.R.U Blue (71.109) and Dark Green (71.012). Thanks for looking. Jan Remco
    7 points
  18. May I show you my latest build. It's the 1:48th Eduard Me 109E-1 in the JG 52 markings from the kit. The figures are ICM drawn from their two sets of Luftwaffe ground-crew. I've added some extra pipe work to the engine and a few oil drums etc. from a Tamiya set. Base is a Wilko's picture frame with evidence of my Costa coffee habit used for the deck work... Sorry things are a bit dusty in some of the pictures - the flock is still a bit fresh! Best wishes, Matthew
    7 points
  19. Having recently returned to modelling after many years my first couple of builds were of nice clean shiny display aircraft (Red Arrows Hawk and Yellowjacks Gnat). I thought it was time to get out of my comfort zone and tackle something a bit more 'operational', so picked up Academy's new 1/72 F-4J. 20151227_Acad_72_F-4J-4.jpg by Simon Bradshaw, on Flickr Build pretty much OOB, except that the loadout is amended to reflect what the aircraft was carrying on its final mission on 10th May 1972, when Cunningham and Driscoll became the US Navy's only aces of the Vietnam War. Changes from the basic kit were as follows: - 6 x iron bombs replaced with 4 x Rockeye CBU (Eduard) - No wing tanks, just pylons - 2 rather than 4 x AIM-7E Sparrow, carried in rear wells The pylon was moulded as part of the wing tank, but it was easy to use a scriber to part it free. I also added seat upper handles by using the parts left over from the Airfix Gnat after I'd used the cockpit detailing set on that. Pitot tubes are metal tubing because the original ones, moulded onto the fin, are very easily knocked off. (Ahem.) 20151227_Acad_72_F-4J-11.jpg by Simon Bradshaw, on Flickr Despite being sold as 'snap together' the kit is very detailed, with nice fine engraved lines and a comprehensive decal sheet (although the registration on mine wasn't too great). Nonetheless it was a bit of a learning curve for me in terms of trying to do a 'proper' build and both the bare metal areas and the canopy could have been a lot better. I also wish I'd had the chance to read the build article on this kit in the latest Airfix Model World as there are some very useful hints and tips there I could have done with! 20151227_Acad_72_F-4J-15.jpg by Simon Bradshaw, on Flickr This was my first attempt at pre-shading and weathering and I'm tolerably happy with the outcome. Photos seem to show that the original aircraft didn't have excessive panel delineation anyway although the wings could have come out better; the lines could probably have done with deepening a bit first. I also probably underdid the dirt on the underside, but I thought better to be cautious than go overboard. I'd certainly recommend this kit. You could put it together quickly without painting or glue and with the supplied stickers and get an OK desk model of a Phantom, but it's very amenable to traditional modelling as well. There's a minor error in the instructions but it's pretty obvious as you'll wonder why you have bits of the cockpit left over. I found a corrected version of the manual here and there don't seem to be any other errors other than that sometimes the wrong sprue is referred to (albeit with the right part number and again it's very obvious what the mistake is). The decal guide is very comprehensive but printed rather small and some of the smaller decals are little more than dots on it with not much clue as to which way up they go. Also, Academy seem less forthcoming than, say, Airfix as to information on painting detail parts and if I built this again I'd try to get hold of a decent photo-reference book. 20151227_Acad_72_F-4J-8.jpg by Simon Bradshaw, on Flickr Overall though a nice kit and despite the 'snap-together' description it's definitely a proper model kit and not a toy. I'm more than a bit tempted to get another, learn from my experience this time round, and do it as an F-4J(UK).
    6 points
  20. Just finished a 1/24th scale model of an S.M.Hudson 60 foot modern leisure narrowboat. Made essentially of thin ply with brass, aluminium and styrene detailing. Measured off the real boat. Painted with specially matched Hiro paints which are superb in every way and well recommended. Cheers, Martin
    6 points
  21. Been quite nice to go back and review this year. Don't know about anyone else, but I think I've made real progress with my builds this year. I've also very much enjoyed seeing everyone's builds and taking inspiration from the outstanding skills displayed on here on a daily basis. This is such a welcoming place and its great that everyone works so hard to keep it that way. 10 on the scorecard this year. Finished this very early January so I guess it counts. Falklands Dogfight Double Airfix Defiant, because you had to this year. Got a couple of cheap Spitfires in a sale. A couple of cheap kits and a stand I had lying around. My favourite build of this year, 1/48 Spitfire that I dirtied up big style. And finally a quickie I threw together for my nephew. Sadly lost the pitot and I'm putting it up here with out a replacement so I can meet the deadline. It comes from a story I was telling him. Back in the 80s and early 90s when there was a big exercise on at RAF Leuchars we used to get some of these up from Valley to fly point defence against anything that slipped the net. One afternoon my geography class was interrupted by a Hawk intercepting a US Navy Corsair over the school playing field. Best class ever. Onwards and upwards for next year! Thanks for anyone who has supported me or offered advice or just left something on here from years ago offering tips.
    6 points
  22. Hello! it's one of the simplest models in my life. Assembly is easy - pour glue into the box. the hardest part of this kit is application of decals. Paint- Tamiya and hobby Color. Weathering- oil dots and pigments.
    6 points
  23. Hi Brit Modellers as usual, lack of time reduced my work a little; 1 Mustang Mk III Tamiya was under work almost a year RFI 2. Mustang P51 D ICM cost me some nerves RFI 3. Hurricane Mk 1 Airfix sheer pleasure to build RFI All 1:48
    6 points
  24. Hello! It is another my kit. In the assembly did not have any problems. The model is very high quality and pleasant. Painting- MR Hobby paint, heat-resistant panels- Super metallic MR hobby. Weathering- oil dots and tamiyas pigment.
    6 points
  25. I have a soft spot for Grumman's cats. From the cute Wildcat, to the butch Hellcat and all the way to the flashy Tomcat, I think the company has built some of the best looking fighter aircraft in history. Over the summer I started a double-build of the venerable Hasegawa kits of both these planes. It's taken quite some time to finish them, but here they are. Both kits are built straight out of the box, apart from the Sidewinders, which come from the Hasegawa Weapons Set III. Colors are Gunze acrylics and Tamiya white primer. In particular the Tiger is really a candidate for a new tooling, it has raised panel lines, most of which disappear after you have taken care of the fuselage seams. Apart from that it goes together very well, I only needed some filler on the intakes, which are a slightly dubious fit. The main landing gear is a bit of a vague fit, but doable with some trail and error. The decals had yellowed but I was lucky to get another set from a fellow BM-er. Unfortunately no aftermarket decals are available for this kit. It's decidedly underrepresented by both kit manufacturers and aftermarket companies. The Cougar is slightly newer and has the traditional Hasegawa panel lines, very fine, a bit too fine on the underside, I struggled to get the wash to adhere to them. This kit also needed some filler around the intakes and the rear wing to fuselage joint, which requires quite a lot of filler to smooth out. Apart from that, it's an easy build. This was also an older boxing and in this case the decals had both yellowed and cracked. The Cougar also isn't a popular aftermarket subject, but PrintScale do a nice sheet with some Panthers and Cougars, which I used. I believe Sword do a modern tooling of the Cougar but as far as I'm aware not the fighter version. I'm very happy to have these lovely 50s cats in my collection. Hopefully we'll get some modern toolings of both, which will be the perfect excuse to build some more of them.
    5 points
  26. A little something I finished earlier this Fall, but struggled with since Spring of 2014. Lost interest for awhile, then ran into many problems during the paint phase. Basic kit is the ancient FROG double offering of the Spit XIV with V-1 and the special 'double stand' to display them. The Buzz was somewhat heavily modified, as what FROG offered did not match drawings of the production/armed V-1's (more the unarmed prototypes) and had some shape errors especially around the pulse jet. The Spittie was not modified much other than scratching up a pit (populated with an Airfix Johnnie) with a vac'd canopy replacement, rescribing the entire airframe, and substituting the molded exhausts for a donated spare set from I believe a newer Airfix Spitfire XIX. Paints for both were Vallejo throughout. And with a little bit of prop action haha The biggest struggles were with paint and the decals. The Spit was painted THREE TIMES. First time I used the color call-outs that Vallejo gave with their 16-bottle RAF set....these, aside from the Dark Green and Sky, were dismally inaccurate. I'm mostly satisfied with my final mix of Ocean Grey, but still don't think it is 'correct'. The kit decals were a chore to use this time, unlike with a FROG Javelin I built a few years ago, and I did end up having to create masks to spray the Sky codes on the fuselage as the first one piece code/roundel/code decal I tried to apply strenuously objected to working whatsoever though I did manage to save the actual roundel. By the time I got to weathering, I had just about reached my wits end and only wanted it to be over, so stuck with a simple wing root chipping exercise and an oil wash/filter session. While most certainly not a very accurate rendition of a Spitfire, IMHO it still looks good and has the cachet of being a good old nostalgia build. Not completely unhappy with the outcome, but not overjoyed either. Cheers, and Happy Holidays! Erik the H in sunny Florida
    5 points
  27. Hello all Not only my first RFi, but my first AFV WIP (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234978946-as90-from-a-complete-tank-novice-paint-on/) Any constructive comments gratefully received as AFVs are not my normal subject. Thanks
    5 points
  28. Hi everybody; I hope you all had a great Christmas! After some very interesting posts about seats, pins and other "real" things (thanks everybody for that, I'll never get tired of saying so ), here we go with a bit of a progress report about the model. I airbrushed the interior color, FS36231, using the corresponding Lifecolor pot, plus a bit of Matt White for scale effect. That was used as a base coat; I then sprayed over it the same mix with the addition of a smear of Light Blue, as all the F4 interiors I've seen in pictures have that kind of nuance under a direct light. Both mixes were thinned using Future Then I airbrushed some Matt Black (again, Lifecolor thinned with Future) on the seats parts and canopy sills and then started the detail painting job by brush; I've only painted the Matt Black areas so far: Still lots to do here. In between painting stages, I started working on the boarding ladder: first off, I printed and taped the template to a wood block: then put some nails in it to help bending the steel rods (paper clips, exactly the right diameter for the job): Then with a cutting disc and my Dremel, I sawed the short end at 45° and attached the corresponding "hooks" with CA. I'll let them harden before refining them. More tomorrow, hopefully. Ciao
    5 points
  29. the first part of the decal. Meanwhile, top side
    5 points
  30. s'been pretty quiet on BM for the last couple of days - must be summat goin' on somewhere. Special occasion or something no doubt. Cracking on with the houchin.... or more like cracking up because of it! This little brake assembly cost me about two or three hours of my life! I know it's not right but it really is the best I could achieve given the relative finger to PE ratio. I must have had to redo the thing 5 or 6 times. (I HATE SUPERGLUE - I really do) - after this debacle I am definitely going to look into UV curing adhesive - it can't be any worse than ca. Although it's not absolutely correct, I believe once it's all painted up and in position it should be passable (remembering that the Wessex is supposed to be the focus of attention). I did scratch a couple of parts on top of the houchin. When I tried fitting the fuel filler cap (?) on top, it interfered with the center light fitting so I made one from a couple of pieces of styrene rod. I also replaced the kit exhausty thing with some brass rod/tube. To be honest, I couldn't determine which of the white metal parts was supposed to be the one to use - just my own ineptness - so I scratched one instead. Everything together now. I'm not sure if I should have added the cable tray at this point - getting the paint down into the angled recess behind the lid will be a challenge without the paint pooling and running. It may have been wiser to paint it separately then add it later. I did think about cutting off the top of the lights and crash molding some the same way I did the BIM's but decided to stick with the kit parts after debating the issue with myself for a few minutes. The toggle clamps have been a continuing nightmare. I keep knocking them off when handling it. - To the point that I am now missing a couple (used up all the spares now) Xmas morning was spent getting to this point. Alclad primer - I have to say that I do like the alclad primer. I love the fact that you can just shake and use - none of this thinning and getting the right consistency phaffing about. For some reason the primer decided to act up on the houchin itself. The other parts were fine, no problem whatsoever, but the finish on the houchin was pretty awful. I assume it was down to my prep work - I cleaned the houchin with acetone, dried it all off and brushed it clean, but the paint seemed to go on really really rough. So much so that I tried to clean it up with micromesh - did the best I could then had to prime it again. It still wasn't perfect (or even all that good) but I did the best I could getting rid of the worst of the roughness but the thing is so fragile (toggle clamps!) that I could only do so much without causing more damage. I mentioned a few posts ago that I thought it might be a good idea to try and weather this with some paint chipping etc. As I discovered just how fragile it was while handling it, I had to seriously reconsider whether I should attempt such a feat. I went back and forth... yes... no.... NO!... maybe... before finally arriving at a reluctant yes. If I don't do it now, I'll probably never try it so what the hell! So, the whole caboodle was given a base coat of yellow enamel. This was the only yellow enamel I had and while I thought it was just a tad too dark, in the end I think it will do the job. As I have reconsidered the paint chipping, and studied a few photo's I think I am going to attempt a really fine, hopefully subtle effect in a few select areas. The chosen method will be salt weathering - mainly because I have the necessary materials in-house. I have a test mule all yellowed up to trial on. Wish me luck.... One question - the paint I have used here is yellow matt enamel - should I clear coat that before salting ? or will it be okay to proceed without a protective layer ? oh, and any idea how long to leave the humbrol enamel before I attempt anything ? I assume a few days at least ?
    5 points
  31. Hi my Friends...This is my first work post here in Britmodeller. Good kit a very easy assembly....I used paints of Gunze and Humbrol.. I hope you like.
    4 points
  32. Hiya Folks, I`ve not posted for a while but here is my latest effort,........a B-17F which was among six E & F variants transferred from Stateside training duties with the USAAF to the Royal Canadian Air Force who used them as Mail Plane`s by 168 (Heavy Transport) Sqn RCAF based at Rockcliffe, Ontario to carry Canadian Forces mail and other urgent supplies on behald of the RCAF Overseas Air Mail Service between Canada, the UK, Gibraltar, the Azores,North Africa and Italy. The B-17`s began to arrive in Canada during December 1943 and the first trans Atlantic sorties were to have been flown by 9202 & 9204 on the 14th December 1943 carrying Christmas mail to the UK but both aircraft went u/s. Fortress 9204 flew the inaugural sortie to the UK next day on the 15th December 1943 but only just made it to the coast of Northern Ireland as the long range `Tokyo Tanks' in the outer wings had been disconnected by the USAAF and the Canadian`s did not have time to check these out properly as they were being pushed by higher authorities to get the mail overseas before Christmas! The subject of this model, 9202 made the second flight to the UK on the 22nd December 1943 and it must be mentioned that many of the crews from 168 (HT) Sqn RCAF were highly experienced Canadian veterans of Bomber Command undertaking a break from operations! The subject of this model was B-17F-30-DL, 42-3160 which received the RCAF serial 9202 and after flying its initial sorties wearing a patched up Olive Drab and Neutral Grey scheme this was later removed in favour of a nice shiny bare metal finish. Unfortunately it was lost post war with all of its 5 man crew when it crashed in Germany on 4.11.45 while flying Penicillin and other medical supplies from Canada to Warsaw. Here is the model, built from the Academy 1/72nd scale kit with some modifications including blanked off turrets, gun mounting framework in the nose glazing and a set of wheels from an old Hasegawa B-17G and the air intakes in the wing leading edges were opened up. Most of the decals came from the excellent DK Decals Commonwealth Fortresses sheet but the fin flashes were larger and came from the spares box, as did the smaller upper wing roundels and the wing walk markings; The Canadian Fortresses featured a floored over bomb bay and the crew were all concentrated on the flight deck with the navigator and wireless operator situated behind the pilots, although until all of them were standardised with an astrodome in the old mid upper gun position the navifator would use the astrodome in the nose, an area which was usually stacked with mail bags! Here are some mail bags made from painted Milliput ready to fit into the nose alongside a section of painted plastic rod which was used to construct the framework for the deleted twin gun nose mounting;A pair of windows were also cut into the nose of the model alongside the astrodome while the single window towards the front of the upper nose was covered over and painted using darker Olive Drab as per the real aircraft; Here is the finished model; Hopefully this model should appear in a magazine article sometime soon along with a historical feature on the RCAF Fortresses containing lots of rare period photos, I enjoyed building and researching this model so much that I`ve started another depicting the same aircraft in its later bare metal finish, although I`m a bit stuck as to how I`m going to depict the larger mail bag sortie tally and the 168 (HT) Sqn insignia which was usually applied to the nose of the silver Fortresses! Merry Christmas everybody and all the best for 2016, Cheers Tony
    4 points
  33. Hi guys! it's nice to be with you all second year. Here is what I have done. This year was good for me and I hope that was good for you as well. I saw here a lot of great builds. Cheers 1. Avro Lancaster Mk3 Revell 1/72 2 Boulton Paul Defiant 1/72 Airfix 3 Pz Kpfw III Ausf J 1/35 Dragon 4 Pz Kpfw II Ausf G 1/35 Tamiya 5 Hawker Hurricane mk1 1/48 Airfix 6 Pz Kpfw I Ausf B 1/35 Revell 7 Mig 21MF Eduard 1/48 Ok So it is not many builds but I was enjoying them all cheers and Happy New Year!! Pawel
    4 points
  34. Now the hurly-burly of Xmas is out the way, I managed to sneak a couple of hours at the bench. Some chipping added with silver enamel paint, and softened with a stiff brush... A very thin oil wash, applied with a thin brush and left for half an hour before wiping off... And she has her legs on at last.. That's all for now, hopefully I'll get the canopy on and a flay coat done tomorrow.. Thanks for looking, Steve
    4 points
  35. It must be Xmas or something... someone left me a present on the doorstep.... I wonder what it can be ? oh ho.... it's one of these! Yup my display case finally arrived. btw, that's not a pint mug sitting by the case - that's a liter mug ! (yes, they even spell litre differently over here) Same thing in slightly better lighting. I'm not taking the cling film wrapping off the clear polycarbonate until the last moment because every minute speck of dust for miles around is going to think Xmas has come early and they're going to get attracted, get in there, and multiply, propagate, procreate, and any other ate they can think of. However I had to unwrap the base so I can trim the pans down to size. In the photo above, the case isn't sitting correctly because of the cling film. - It actually sits down on the flange that you see around the base - that'll stop the dust getting in. hmmmnnnn... shiny! For those wondering, the inside dimensions of the case are 18" x 18" (450mm x 450mm in new money) by about 9" (225mm) tall. Time to do some trimming.... all done! Well, so much for the dark grey portions! When I think about it, the case would have needed at least another 6 inches towards the rear to include any decent portion of the dark grey - and it's already hmmnnn shall we say... fairly large., and I don't have anywhere to put it yet. Ignore the crappy edges that you can see. Originally it was about 1+ inches thick so I had to reduce the thickness. Well, I didn't have to, but thought it would look better. The plan is to use aluminum "U" channel around the edges to finish off the display. I went out and bought some last night from the local DIY store, but as is always the case, it got all scratched up in the store so I picked the best one and tried polishing it up with wire wool but I wasn't happy with the result. So, I bought some satin anodized aluminum on line last night and will use that to complete the edges. Oh, the houchin got a clear coat today, but it looks exactly the same as it did yesterday so wasn't worth taking any photo's. Well, it looks like I can't do any more on the Wessex/Houchin today so I can start getting my head around that train again!
    4 points
  36. " Those steps inside the wheelhouse look like they need the Longshanks treatment! " Martin given the time of year I feel my reply should be............... Oh no it doesn't !! Just to keep you quiet Kev
    4 points
  37. I know right...? My ability to just be there and take pictures.... Mayhap I lost my calling...
    4 points
  38. Probably not the best place to have posted this but I couldn't find another spot!!! After some great times on here, I've just posted my 5000th post, what a milestone! What I'd like to do is thanks everyone who has responded to my post be it negaive or posative. I've enjoyed the banter and hopefully, I'll be around for a lot more. Thanks to Amin and the Mods for their help and question answering to my proposed GB threads. where would we be without them???? Thanks everyone for some great times and to all the new aquaintances I've made. OK, though I'm not going anywhere... Colin
    4 points
  39. Just completed this Revell 1/72 Flower Class Corvette, based on HMS Bluebell. Well its a big piece of kit. And I knew this model would require a big commitment. Not just in time but also in expense. The basic kit is basic and poorly scaled. If you were to assemble the model straight from the box you would get an out of scale bath tub toy. There is is a distinct lack of detail, and the plastic parts are far too thick for the 1/72 scale. Having searched the internet for build logs for this model I quickly discovered that there were a number of ways of approaching the build. Some people just enjoyed creating an out of the box ship model. Some people wanted to create a remotely controlled craft, and finally some would opt for the improved fully detailed version. This is what I did. Photoetch parts for this kit are available from David Parkins. Figures are available from Gunthwaite and cloth flags from BECC scale model flags. I used Humbrol enamel paints for the body work, oil paints for the wooden decking, and vallejo acrylics for the figures. A lot of superglue, plastic glue, epoxy resin and soldering was used to put the whole thing together. Plus a variety of brass wires and EZ Line and suture materials were used for the railings, rigging and main structure supports(eg the pom pom gun stand). Finally a piece of MDF was used for the stand that replicated the plastic stand provided. Eventually I'll build a Jarrah glass case. The biggest challenge was the photo etch assembly. Each PE part was a little project in itself. The instructions were sometimes difficult to interpret as they would lack a picture of the desired end result. Hence the need for good references from books such as Anatomy of the Ship Agassiz, and Flower Class Corvettes by John Lambert, and the internet. On occasion I would in fact re order a photoetch part from D Parkins and remake the item in question. It was a challenging and satisfying build. Having so many sub assemblies it was more like making a lot of smaller models that all came together on one ship. You have to be prepared for the long haul. Finally if you can, check out the article in Fine Scale Modeler and the corvette build by Kevin Wenker published in April 2012.
    3 points
  40. Hi all, Some of you may have followed the WiP I did for this little Spit way back in late September, I managed to complete it in October, however I have been so busy with uni I haven't had time to get back home to get my camera. I just got back from uni today and I used the remaining sunlight to capture a few pictures! This build was bought about because I decided that I had built all the significant marks of Spitfire, except the first. I picked up an Airfix 1/72 Mk.I and simply went about rescribing and reshaping, that's all there is to it really. My thanks to the late great Edgar for providing me with information on this build (and all my other Spitfire builds for that matter). This one's for you Edgar! IMG_2905_zpszx14v1cl by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_2906_zps3hcdmy84 by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_2907_zpsbmu8fxq2 by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_2908_zps8qrzyeef by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_2909_zps5fvgepuz by Ben Standen, on Flickr IMG_2910_zpsmet7arl3 by Ben Standen, on Flickr Thanks for looking! Ben
    3 points
  41. Hi all, this is the second of four Valiants I'm building for our Bomber Command sig by way of a tribute to the mighty V-Force. Basically the plan is to build four of each of the V-Bombers and display each mark along with their different colour schemes and individual markings, (next will be an anti flash, low viz B(PR).1 followed by an early High Speed Silver B.1). This one was built last November for the Telford show but I've only just got around to putting the finishing touches to it so now I can finally call it finished ! Of course it's the Airfix kit, this one being a camouflaged B.1 of 207 squadron based at RAF Marham in 1964 shortly before the types withdrawal from service due to the well documented fatigue problems with the main spars. Personally I think all the V-Bombers look great in camo the Valiant being no exception. The weathering has been kept down to a minimum as they weren't in the scheme long enough to get really dirty, (other than the engine undersides)... The model incorporates all the corrections outlined in my Valiant build thread, plus a few more.. Basically, Re-profiled fin tip, Full interior, Aeroclub Mk 3 seats added Re-positioned external supply and mic/tel plug in points Aluminium tubing used for exhaust pipes Alleycat single piece resin replacement intakes Extended wingtip fuel dump pipes and reshaped wing tips re-scribed panel lines and adjusted radome line PE vortex generators, (four added to each tail plane topsides) Undercarriage bay detail and missing braces added Scratch-built outer main gear doors Various intakes and outlets added to tail fin Anti flash curtains added to the interior of the bomb aimers position Roundels courtesy of Xtradecals set 72041 and black serials Freightdog FDS72014 Paints used: Gunze H330 RAF Dark Green mixed with 20% Gunze H52 Olive Drab Gunze H335 RAF Medium Sea Grey Undersides decanted Halfords Appliance White. Varnish being Alclad's ALC-312 Klear Kote Semi-Matte thinned with clear lacquer Anyway, hope you like it. The next one, a 543 squadron B(PR).1 should be ready quite soon, (this one is using the Alleycat Maxi set which I had some input into which saves a lot of the faffing around associated with correcting the kit).....then it's on to the 10 squadron Victor B.1 Cheers all, Happy Christmas and all that...oh and top bombing ! Melchie...
    3 points
  42. quick photo, more with words tomorrow. john
    3 points
  43. Ooh, my eyes hurt. Time to stop! While the oil paints dry fully, I have turned back to the island, and am gradually working my way aft from the bridge (which is now essentially finished bar the painting and one pair of sights on the roof). This is about the only place where my references have really let me down - apart, that is, from the epic Jecobin 1/192 plans, which I would put into the 100% essential category for anyone contemplating anything daft like converting one CVS to another. They are utterly superb, and without them I would already have made a number of irrecoverable howlers. Anyway, I have now reached something that used to sit between the back of the bridge "tower" and the front of the for'd funnel. It was something to do with ?HF radio communications, because the large cage aerials fed from it, but beyond that I am pretty clueless. More of a point, I have not been able to find a single clear photograph of it anywhere, despite extensive searching - by the time the pictures of that area of Ark Royal 5 start to be digital and clear, the thing had been removed. So Jecobin and blurred pictures are all I have - meaning a certain amount of imagination (aka making it up). I am talking about this: ...which seems to be some sort of pillar thing inside a cage, with a locker on the near side and handrails on the for'd end of a supporting platform. A bit of measuring on my 55% size copies (which makes them 1/350) and the design of the cage comes out thus: The pillar was built from a bit of spare plastic (the unused support of one of her lifts, since you ask), and detailed with 0.2mm lead wire to give it a kind of ribbed appearance (which you can see on the real thing in some pictures). In order to give the "cage" a bit of structural strength, I decided to solder the top rectangular section, and thus got to try my new toy. I cannot recall who, but some BM person recommended solder paint as being really good for soldering PE. This made perfect sense to me, so an order was immediately placed and my pot arrived just before Xmas. Here is the result of my first use of it, in the foreground - slightly out of focus!: The paint takes just the merest touch of the soldering iron, but the result seems to be pretty strong (that's 0.2mm nickel silver rod, which I use quite a lot). Then some micro drilling (including the statutory broken drill bit) to give the verticals something to grip, and as I stop this evening we have: Once the verticals are dry I will add the other two legs (which are at an angle so won't add anything by way of rigidity) and the soldered frame. In due course two cage aerials are going to come down from the foremast to this thing, so it is important - but scratch building on this tiny scale is not something you can do for very long at a sitting without going completely nuts! Once it is complete I do not intend to fit the thingy onto the island until Iater in the build, because this thing is not exactly going to be able to withstand very much handling! I am off up to Notts to see my ageing Mum tomorrow, so more later in the week (I am not back to work until 4 January). Crisp
    3 points
  44. Right, just in the nick of time I've managed to get this build finished on the deadline day so here it is! (along with a couple more WIP shots) Painted the other bits on the fuselage and wings, put the landing gear on and started to climb the huge but rewarding mountain of decals: Pretty happy with the way the cockpit turned out in the end, shows that it can look passable without spending loads of time detailing/ buying aftermarket: Wish I'd not forgotten to do scratch seatbelts though. Finished product- Phantom F4B of VF-111 Sundowners for the 2015 Britmodeller Vietnam Group Build: And with my only other 1/48 build, the old Airfix EA6B Prowler: Am overall very happy with how it turned out, one or two errors here and there but I think I did OK! Cheers to everyone that had been watching the build. Have pretty much chosen my next one and hope to start tomorrow so watch Work in Progress to maybe see something large and shiny... -Flash
    3 points
  45. 27/12 update: Making the engines look a bit used. Also messing with how to fit out the engine room. A catwalk in between the two engines is probable. Also assembled one crewman to get an idea of how it will look with some figures manning the ship:
    3 points
  46. Thank you Gents for comments and likes. "Trauma after doing Azur Vildebeest" - this is still ahead of me.... EDIT: The decals were not bad themselvs, I thought that they are very thin and I skip painting gloss under them - so mostly my fault... Few more shots:
    3 points
  47. Low flying? Nope, never happens. Any flying which appears to be low is merely a figment of the observer's imagination, or can be put down to optical distortion of the atmosphere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6m5KkcKJmk
    3 points
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