Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/08/18 in all areas

  1. I have always been fascinated with the looks of this beast, and it was indeed a challenge to complete it. Ancient, outdated kit but with enough material to get it finished. A new softer, light gray plastic, made rear fuselage swung a bit, but I can live with it. Wings canvas structure looked cartoonish, it had to be almost sand off. Used 0.73mm fishing nylon for rigging, Front machine gun is Eduard’s excellent photoetch Scarff gun ring which sits prominently at the front of the plane and is good investment (thanks @warhawk). PC-10 green is Humbrol's Hu 163. A few in progress pics: A sofisticated 4o dihedral jig. It is quite big actually: Paper clips were use to keep rig lines tight during gluing.
    47 points
  2. So this was nearly the build that didn't make it through frustration but I battled through to create something that resembles a Ju-52. So the kit itself is not too bad and end result I am pleased with. Plastic and indeed the whole Heller package certainly not up to say Eduard or Tamiya standards. I left this build thinking I would not be hugely keen to build another Heller kit to be honest. Biggest problems? Instructions were terrible, vague pictures and bad print quality, flimsy box - the whole thing feels very low budget. Decals were unusable, especially given the nature of the Ju-52's skin. So I adapted and went after market, sadly this was after I had finished painting the model as per kit instructions. So its not really historically accurate but represents an eastern front Ju-52 in winter camo, so its not far off. Anyway, here she is:
    27 points
  3. Another recent finish. Great kit from Revell, its built OOB - I can't think of anything that didn't fit well and I don't remember using any filler at all. Tiny bit of silvering on the decals I might try and fix at later date if I can. Masking the splinter pattern was not fun. Very enjoyable build, only think that worries is the amount of stuff sticking out of it...only a matter of time before they get broken
    27 points
  4. In early 1944, Norwegian resistance reported that the Germans had set up a rocket fuel plant for their new wonder weapon, which, if allowed to be deployed, could devastate troops landing during the planned invasion. As this was, at the time, the only place the fuel was being manufactured, it was imperative that it be destroyed as soon as possible. The only issue being its location, at the base of a cliff in the end of a Fjord. One of the top Mosquito squadrons was chosen to carry out the job, but they only had 17 days to train. After intense training, and some unfortunate losses, the raid took place, resulting in, not only the destruction of the factory, but, unfortunately, the loss of the entire squadron. In honour of their sacrifice, I have built a replica of their aircraft. 633 Sqn Mosquito. 633 by Paul Carter, on Flickr 633 by Paul Carter, on Flickr 633 by Paul Carter, on Flickr 633 by Paul Carter, on Flickr 633 by Paul Carter, on Flickr 633 by Paul Carter, on Flickr For those of you who haven't yet twigged, or don't know, "633 Sqn" is a movie, made in the 60's about a fictitious raid. The aircraft used were ex-RAF TT.35s, repainted with guns stuck on the Perspex bomb aimers nose. The plane was based on the Airfix Mosssie PRXVIXXIVVI, whatever it is, lol This represented the quickest and easiest method, as it has the right engines and a bulged bomb bay. The "guns" were fitted to the painted over nose, and decals found in my spares. Of course, I had to watch the movie a couple of times for "research"
    19 points
  5. Thanks Tony - no rats here... at least I don't think so. They say you're only ever six feet away from a rat... but of course they're wrong. BBC's 'More or Less' (a favourite radio programme for me) did an analysis and calculated that it's more like 164 feet, but "Saying you're always 164ft away from a rat doesn't have quite as much of a fear factor as 6ft away, but it's much more of a realistic estimate." You may wonder why my mind is spinning this morning. The next step(ish) is to assemble the spinner. It's not on the sprue. Rats (there's another one!) It's not on the bench. When I took the sprue shots, look: That white circle (how do you change a shape colour in Flickr Editor?) shows where the spinner should be. It's an Eduard kit so I'm loathe to think it was missing. The sprues were in a sealed bag. I put the bag in the bin: (It's got its top off - like me in this weather) Is this the bag? It is. Is there a spinner in it? There is. Phew. With luck like that, maybe I should buy a Lottery ticket today...
    16 points
  6. Last one of this batch and one I've wanted to do for a while. The Italeri kit is fairly straight forward, even more so as I built it with the landing gear up and cockpit closed. It is basically painted gloss white then covered in decals. Two A4 size sheets of them. Fortunately they were very good and only a little over-size, requiring minimal touching up. Anyway, here is. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
    15 points
  7. I already posted photos of this build at HyperScale, but I hope people will forgive my posting them here as well -- I figured it being a British subject ... Anyway, I've had the Tamiya kit for a long time and wanted to build it as a nightfighter using decals from a Techmod sheet covering several planes, most of them serving with RAF Polish 307 Sqn. X8005 had non-dihedral tail planes, so I used a Red Roo resin set. Other aftermarket items include parts from a True Details resin cockpit as well as Ultracast seats, wheels and hedgehog exhaust stacks. The starboard wing vertical plane radar dipoles are pieces of .017 guitar string with the teardrop fairing carved/cut from a piece of sprue. Paints are Model Master enamels and various Alclad shades for the exhaust collectors and stacks. Cheers, Pip
    15 points
  8. Ladies and gentlemen! Let me introduce you to my next work. This is a long-range bomber built in the USSR and participated in the bombing of Germany during WWII.
    14 points
  9. Hi all, as a change from my usual warships I was asked by Airfix Model World to build something a bit orf piste, (well for me anyway) namely Revells diminutive 1/1200th QM2. When the editor asked me to do this for last months issue as a last minute job, I was thinking along the lines of the 1/400th behemoth and cleared the bench pending its arrival. Imagine my horror when a box measuring 0" x 0" fell through the letterbox and clattered across the floor almost snapped up by the ever hungry hound! Upon opening the blighter I was immediately impressed and dismayed in equal order The mouldings were excellent but the soft, oversized detail was going to need some severe elbow grease. Luckily a thoroughly decent gent, Bill Gilpin who resides on the wonderful Isle of Cumbrae kindly sent me a set of his fantastic 1/1200th scale Clydeside Models ships railings, (opened and covered) which replaced the kit's solid plastic 'walls' that wouldn't have looked out of place at the Grand National. The model represents the original ship's design prior to the 2016 refit. Stephen Payne, the real ship's designer got in touch with the magazine and wrote a piece on her history and specs...a very interesting, knowledgeable chap and keen modeller so we had everything we needed directly from the horse's mouth! Modifications made to the kit included: To simplify deck painting appropriately shaped strips of 0.5mm Plastic card were cut and shaped, airbrushed and then fitted over the moulded parts (similar to commercially available pre-cut wooden decking). All aerials and arrays were replaced with scratch build parts, Satellite comms 'balls' were replaced with ball bearings as the kit parts were misshapen and oversized. Portholes and viewing windows were opened up with a square micro-file. Wall-like 'railings', and pool surrounds were replaced with PE. The orange lifeboat tops were replaced with plastic card and appropriate details added. Rear lower pool deck light poles were replaced with pinheads. Small pieces of Black Solar film was used to replicate the library/stateroom windows and spare PE used for the bridge roof. Scratch-built cranes, (kits are just 'blobs') and air conditioning plant stacks added, (the kits are too short) and an anchor added, between the cranes, courtesy of the spares bin. Forward mast scratch built and heated 'sprue' used for aerial arrays. The four lower hull stabilisers added from Contrail aerofoil rod. In all the model took about a week to complete due to the additional work needed. Paints were supplied by Lifecolor and Mission Models. This kit was a lot of fun, just what this modelling lark is all about! Thanks for looking and cheers Melchie
    13 points
  10. Morning Chaps Yep, bet ya nearly fell off your chair when you saw that title Monograms Triumph TR7!! The kit, according to the box, is from 1977, and the box art really is quite, well.... If you are one of those, I want super duper detail kits and all the add on bits and I want it NOW modeller, I have a feeling you might be a bit disappointed. But for me that loves the classics and am revisiting the kits built in my youth, its a joy to behold. Not a very difficult kit, its only got about 30 pieces, and its a typical monogram kit of the time. Interior has a mind numbing 5 pieces, not that you can actually see any of it, but I added some instrument decals and a new gear knob. Finished in Tamiya Camel Yellow (TS 47) and Semi Gloss Black Vinyl Roof and then the body was sealed in Tamiya Clear. Just a bit unfortunate that its a left hand drive. The instructions say that it is a 'Victory Edition' that comes with the specific decals seen on the box, but my decals had a complete thromby when they hit water and turned into 37 separate decals. Not surprising as they are 40 odd years old. Thankfully the ones that did manage to make it were the TR7 decal on the front and the Triumph badge on the back. A nice simple kit, to get the mojo mojoing again. Absolutely love it. Think it looks a bit better than the last time I built it in the late 70's Thanks for looking MadSteve
    10 points
  11. Hi people, this is the nice Tamiya kit with Aires cockpit and Voyager photoetched nozzle. Hope you like it. More pics: Scaleworks Q
    10 points
  12. Well it had to be done. Everyone else has one. Don't you? Have to fish out the typhoon and tempest out the roof sometime for a family portrait. Just need a MkII tempest and I'd be a very happy camper. Enough has been said about the Airfix Sea Fury, so I wont repeat details. I enlarged the cowling by putting a 15 thou plastic card shim on each side. That just about makes it fit. I added a gun sight from an Eduard Spitfire that I had spare (not that you can really see it). The decals are from an AeroMaster sheet as I wanted one with the black and white stripes. The photos show a couple of areas I need to touch up. Oh well. Its not like I have other kits to build 😉 Enough waffle, on with the pics. Tim
    9 points
  13. The ex-bomber TB-1 was transferred to Polar Aviation. It was used until the middle of 1946.
    9 points
  14. I'd read that! Health and Safety gone mad of course.... That was indeed my mission earlier. Cynics may by now have assumed that I've based this paint scheme upon one of our bedroom rugs. Such scurrilous rumours are, of course, balderdash.. Mixing paints straight onto the aircraft is effectively process of sketching with hue to develop something that works to your eye and like all such processes, if you see something you don't think is working, remove it and begin afresh. I'd noticed for example that some of my yellow underpainting had been too intense, with lines a little too prominent through the subsequent layers. This would have given a linear appearance to effects that I wanted to be non-geometric, so I sanded off the offending regions: I'm calling the resulting paint effect above 'Damaged Freighter from Babylon 5 #3'. As long as you take your time, you can knock back these mistakes and begin afresh with a polished surface. No harm done: With a mental picture of how I wanted the final appearance to look, I started out by misting on some khaki (about 40/60 dilution) to block in highlights: Less intense and more diffuse for lateral sides more often at an angle to strong overhead sunlight: Don't worry about the kind of damage you see at the root of the starboard fin - even damage of that visibility can be easily blended away using this approach. Same thing for errant paint splashes (ask me how I know...). Khaki over black gives a slightly flourescent-looking green in places - not what I want in this instance but you want to log any chance effects such as this for later possible use: Then a misting of Tamiya's 'Flat Flesh' to start to give some muted warmth across surfaces: What I'm trying with these pale warm 'mists' of colour is to get rid of any extreme underlying tonal contrasts and start bring out colour variations with as much subtlety as possible across surfaces: You don't so much want the 'right' colour (s) at this stage as a narrow range of varying tones to the colour base: By 'you want' of course, what I mean in this instance is to produce something plausible in the way of sunfade on fluorescent orange, where the paint is still on the aircraft but starting to discolour from prolonged exposure to UV and salt-laden air. After applying the flesh I experimented by knocking together a fluorescenty-looking 'glaze' layer from Tamiya's Clear Red, Clear Orange and flat yellow, thinned heavily for application: This was really getting close to what I saw in my mind's eye as a faded fluorescent orange so I had to force myself to slow down and take these last stages slowly and carefully - not just overdoing it but also making sure to keep the effects of a consistent extremity around the different surface of the aircraft: The initial application consisted of painting small areas close-up to add variation where required: Before the last two passes being lighlty misted coats sprayed on higher pressure from a distance: As with the flesh tones, here at the final orange stage it was a case of trying to tie variations together into believable regions: Interestingly enough, I found that pausing to take photographs periodically made for a good method of critical scrutiny before proceeding to the next stages. That's enough I think. Or at least as close as I'll get to a faded version of ANA 634. When moving that around in the light now there's a nice feeling of life and variation to those surfaces, without it looking too stylized. Actually, when you move the aircraft out from under the bright bench lighting so that just indirect diffuse light is falling on it, the present orange has a real nice - slightly fluorescent believe it or not - radiance to it that I think the final glaze layers helped punch out. Either that or Tamiya's Clear Red has radioactive materials in it.... I think I worked out why I was getting paint running back down the needle shaft into the air valve region earlier too; the teflon needle seal up front on the Iwata was loose and needed a slight tighten to grip the needle a little more firmly. Another learning experience working out howto access that.... Right. I hope you like what you're seeing now; a bit of a rollercoaster in the last 24 hours getting here. Thanks as ever for the advice and support that got us to this particular plateau. Tony
    9 points
  15. Grumman A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder was an American, twin jet-engine, mid-wing all-weather attack aircraft built by Grumman Aerospace. In service with the United States Navy and Marine Corps between 1963 and 1997, the Intruder was designed as an all-weather medium attack aircraft to replace the piston-engined Douglas A-1 Skyraider. As the A-6E was slated for retirement, its precision strike mission was taken over by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat equipped with a LANTIRN pod. From the A-6, a specialized electronic warfare derivative, the EA-6, was developed. Following the good showing of the propeller-driven Skyraider in the Korean War, the United States Navy issued preliminary requirements in 1955 for an all-weather carrier-based attack aircraft. The U.S. Navy published an operational requirement document for it in October 1956. It released a request for proposals (RFP) in February 1957.Proposals were submitted by Bell, Boeing, Douglas, Grumman, Lockheed, Martin, North American, and Vought.Following evaluation of the bids, the U.S. Navy announced the selection of Grumman on 2 January 1958. The company was awarded a contract for the development of the A2F-1 in February 1958.The A-6's design team was led by Lawrence Mead, Jr. He later played a lead role in the design of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat and the Lunar Excursion Module. The first prototype YA2F-1, lacking radar and the navigational and attack avionics, made the Intruder's first flight on 19 April 1960, with the second prototype flying on 28 July 1960. In general, development flying went well,[with the major problem encountered being handling problems associated with the aircraft's air brakes mounted on the rear fuselage. In an attempt to solve this, the third prototype had its horizontal tailplane moved rearwards by 16 inches (41 cm), but this did not completely solve the handling problems, which were resolved by fitting split-hinged speed-brakes on the aircraft's wing-tips. Early production aircraft were fitted with both the fuselage and wingtip air brakes, although the fuselage-mounted items were soon bolted shut, and were removed from later aircraft. This is the trumpeter 1/32 sauce kit, and apart from a few issues a dream to build, the cockpit had the Eduard PE added, with a few other bits of Eduard to enhance the other bland items. All the figures are from Reedoak ( amazing figures) and the base is scratch built, using flight path tie downs. all painted using a combination of Mr Hobby, Tamiyia, and Vallejo air
    8 points
  16. Hello, No subtle message, Greg, Just a coat of Tamiya TS44, TS15 is too dark.....😎 but TS44 would be good for a Caudron, no? not perfect, but I let this as it is.
    8 points
  17. Buccaneer S2A, XV339, afternoon of Friday 6th October 1972, before a test flight out of RNAY/RAF Sydenham, Belfast, during which it crashed. The crash was non-fatal but XV339 was totally destroyed. Yours truly witnessed the canopy being blown off, the two seats ejecting and the Bucc disappearing down behind the buildings. By the time I had run the 1/2 mile to the crash site the RUC had already cordoned it off.
    7 points
  18. my last built : not a easy kit voila voila
    7 points
  19. The ex-bomber TB-1 was transferred to Polar Aviation. Crashed in the July 1941 accident.
    7 points
  20. I recently completed this model and its construction appeared in Aircraft Work In Progress here on Britmodeller. This is what I started with. A challenging but enjoyable build. The only transparency that I replaced was the dorsal turret which came from my spares. I scratchbuilt a flight deck and sanded and polished the kit's glazing. All brush painted in Revell and Humbrol enamels. The kit's decals were superb. BMW badges between the lower engine cylinders Thank you for looking. regards, adey
    7 points
  21. Ha ha, hope you're well mate, give you a call later Hi Horatio, I certainly look forwards to seeing your build if you share it here. If this goes t*ts up, the crash position might be my only option for Telford 😂 What will you be considering in terms of damage and display for your build? Sounds like a great idea and tribute. Been plodding on this week with the tail feathers. Needless to say, more filler and heavy sanding was required to remove the trench like panel lines and redo everything. The rudder ribs are yet to go on and one of the tail planes isn't detailed yet, but pleased with how they look....a little less vac formy!
    7 points
  22. On three days leave from work after spending a week photographing and tweeting about the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, a former Attorney General of the USA, the mayor of Chicago, a few federal court judges and law school deans and other assorted minor lights in the American firmament. All of this in the midst of Lollapalooza, wherein 100,000 scantily clad and largely intoxicated teens and twentysomethings descended upon Chicago to hear various assorted big and small names in the music world, sucking up every form of transport in the city into a gaping maw and ensuring that after working a 14-hour day on Saturday, my normal one-hour trainride became a three-hour look into Boccacio's Decameron by way of Dante's Inferno, with the unwelcome addition of Bacardi being vomited regularly as if by ornamental fountains. I'm also pretty sure two of Tomorrow's Leaders had sex a few seats behind me, but I didn't dare turn my head. Rough week! I also ran into one of my counterparts who works for a smaller association and who it turns out makes 10% more, which was terrific for my morale. I'm off now, though, for three hopefully productive days. I did the fuel tank and added it to the kit: 20180807_204236 by Edward IX, on Flickr And used a prismacolor pencil and a very thinned bit of black acrylic paint to tart up the cockpit a bit. 20180807_204528 by Edward IX, on Flickr It's not going to win any awards, not even from my mom (who criticized her two daughters into eating disorders in any case), but I think it's an improvement.
    7 points
  23. Hi! This is a somewhat modified 1/35 Junk Tank Rock model (removed the gas tank, added a floating sensor array, changed the "feet", replaced the arms of the figure and added a 3D monitor helmet) into a futuristic Long Range Desert Group member, spying on some ennemy troops incognito. I treated it like a tank in the way I painted/weathered it. Hope you like it. ciao Iwik
    6 points
  24. Thanks for all the help and comments guys. You know how to keep a Lanc build going, that’s for sure. 😊 I got some info from @isaneng about the Cable Cutters. This first pic shows the four cutters on the inside of the first two engines. ( you can only see three ) the blanked off vent on the left hand side too. basically it goes like this. There are seven on each wing if you look from the front working your way out from the fuselage there are four then an engine, two more then another engine, then one more close to the engine. Does that make sense? @isaneng said. “Each set normally has 2 cutters, both angled so that if a cable contacts anywhere between them, it will slide left or right, contact a cutter and be severed. I have no idea why there are 2 sets on the little bit of wing between the fuselage and the first engine, they obviously thought it was important! Only 1 cutter outside the last engine, obviously if the cable slid one way, it would fall off the wing anyway!” Then added. Quote: The cable cutter on the Lancaster and other aircraft was developed by Martin Baker of ejector seat fame. It was powered by the cable entering a groove in the wing and then the cable would force a safety catch over and then as the cable moved further into the device a explosive cartridge went off forcing the chisel to cut the cable. Here are some pics showing positions. phew!!! Glad we got that cleared up then. 😀 I wish I had first hand help like this on all my builds but you know what ? The BM hive mind is worth its weight in gold. You guys rock.😘 in between life stuff and getting ready for holiday No.2 (Caravaning in Church Stretton from this Friday) I managed a few bits and bobs. The masking came off the UC at last. A few touch ups on the rims, you can see them in this pic. Some of the under side stiles got added. I noticed that Daco “medium” did quite well on the Tamiya decals withat melting them to a blob. Must remember to do those two lights on the under side of the wing. I think I’ll employ some trusty Quiche foil to blank off the holes then use milliput to add the rim on the right hand side one. ......erm and that’s it. I have found some bits in the well, the “bits” box to use as the Cable Cutters. I just need to get ‘em into shape. I’m doubtful if I’ll get any more done now until I get back next week so as always thanks for your help and warm responses to my frankly over indulgent but I love it anyway, lancaster. Take care, hope you’re all having a splendid week, and as always. Happy Modelling. Johnny Sprite Alpine.
    6 points
  25. I never did get to wander into Hobbycraft, probably a 'good thing' a'cos they can be maddening sometimes in there I did mention, did I not the detailing in the Number one machines wingfold pieces? Here is as far as I intend pushing these particular boundaries Some slight additions as the folds go together will do for me T'other side There is still much to do in losing the bad paint coats on both machines And the recce pack This one shows how much the pen nib fairing has had to be reduced for the Gyron Junior tailpipes, I reckon Thanks for Crisp for pointing that out at the outset, might have been a bit of a sod getting rid of that later The Pitot You might think the pitot is a little over agressive, more like a length of telegraph pole hanging off the leading edge Fear not, this piece of Aeroclub tube has the sole purpose of preventing the skinny little precision turning work of art from Master Models becoming banana shaped, only held on with a splodge of Maskol Oh well On with the heavy duty sanding task...
    6 points
  26. I'm completely confused as to what is going on at the moment but I have complete confidence that it will all turn out splendidly. Confused of Mars 👾
    6 points
  27. Thanks Martian, really appreciated Thanks Hendie No cowling (??) braces in this kit (ahem), move along there... Rats. I suppose you want me to scratch those now... Thanks Chris, kind of you References (and Hendie's build) say that cowlings got bashed a bit. Looks like Eduard represented this with the seams (joke) so I've put some aluminium on the seam ready for some chipping later (if I remember): Now the brass intakes. OOB they sit too close to the cowling IMHO: … pushed out by the fit in the back: So a bit chopped off and the end 'sharpened': … and they fit a lot better: That done the cowling / engine could be fitted - note how the kit represents the gaps at the back nicely: Next job is the prop with three separate blades and a two part hub. Doesn't worry me with the PropMasterTM: Great tool.
    6 points
  28. Hi everyone, I haven't been posting very much lately due to the fact that my mother was terminally ill and, naturally, I didn't feel like doing so. Sadly I have to report that my mother died this Saturday past so things have very hectic helping my Dad with sorting everything out. Now that things have calmed down slightly I feel I can now post what was the last kit I completed before my Mum died. So, in memory of my Mum here's "White 5" from 13 Letka of the Slovenské Zzdušné Zbrane, or SVZ. This aircraft was flown by Rotnik (Staff Sergeant) Stefan Ocvirk during the disastrous 26th June 1944 engagement between 13 Letka and USAAF fighters defending a bomb group heading towards targets in the Vienna area. Although heavily damaged, "White 5" survived the engagement, making a wheels up landing at 13 Letka's base at Piešťany in Western Slovakia. Here's a shot with the Croat 109G-14/AS I completed back in June: Although I've been under a lot of stress, building things has been a good way of coping with the situation so I actually have two more kits under construction: AZ Model 1/72 Bf 109G-2 which will be Ilmari Juutilainen's MT-222: HPM 1/72 Cheetah D, not a kit I've seen built very often: Comments welcome! Mike.
    5 points
  29. Thanks Alan I have a 'no throw' policy for sprue and they ALL stay in the box, 'empty' or not, until I've finished the model. I'll now check the bags, twice, before throwing them out! Thanks Bill I did think about how I might fashion a new spinner... thankfully not needed as most ideas were potty. Thanks John - nice to know I'm not the only one! I'll check the structs later and post the results. Tailplanes. The fuselage won't rest on the bench flat so a Lego wedge was inserted under the front and some BluTak used to hold it upright: Tailplanes inserted with tube glue and propped appropriately: Those can dry while I'm off blood doning. Orange Club biscuits here I come!
    5 points
  30. I finished the Meng kit Fiat G.91R this morning around 08:00... Here it is...the Fiat G.91R, 51a Squadriglia, 14º Gruppo, Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Istrana, 1962. It was a fun and lovely little kit to build. Some good exterior detail, not too much else. Well moulded, no flash, nice plastic, and I used the Xtradecal set to portray this specific aircraft. All the paints are Vallejo--either Air or standard (black). In the end I had to add some weight to the nose but it was very slight. In the underside photo you can see it crammed in the wheel well. Not much, maybe .25gm? I liked it so much I have another one coming from the Big Yellow Store. I want to make the German model, or maybe the Greek...not sure. Entered into service in 1961 and remained in service for 35 years. I'm impressed. I kept it pretty clean, with little wear and tear, as I imagine they were well taken care of. For the era in which it was designed (1950s) I found it to be quite modern and sleek. Is it wrong to say it has a very stylish look? I think not... Starboard... Port... The Spider Veloce of fighter planes, I think...sweet little thing. And with some of her cousins...looking rather sexy... https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=639 That's a fun link. Imagine...dropping into Venice for some grilled razor clams and a glass of Pinot Grigio! Va bene! --John
    5 points
  31. Don't know where to start with this last set of updates Ced - like watching a film speeded up so that I had to go back and push the pause button several times. The intakes look particularly spiffy now: is there any metal paste you don't possess? On the first speed-read through I saw this: as: 'rats poked around with small brush' and heard Penelope Keith's voice saying: 'How positively west-country....' That engine looks well motivational in its shroud now; you should rightly be feeling pleased with yourself.
    5 points
  32. Belated Update #4 !! Apologies for the long delay. I'll be honest, I got sidetracked with other modelling projects and a few small household reno jobs. The young fella is also in his last year of High School so we've been visiting all the Career Expos and local Universities for a few weekends now. They've been long days that's for sure. Anyway, back to the Beaver. I had the opportunity to sit down for a few hours yesterday and contemplate this build a little. When I last left it, I was kinda stuck with the fuselage transparencies as they had some minor scratches that annoyed me a bit. Once cemented in place, I decided to take to them with a few grades of Wet n Dry, Micromesh and then a quick coat of Clear. The end result is what you see here. Prior to all this, I painted the window edges black, so that I would not be left with an unpainted white rim once the clear parts were glued in. It looks a little messy now, however this will all be primed in one universal colour prior to the application of the top coat. I've now got a vision of what I want the end model and display to look like, so hopefully this recent spate of enthusiasm will accelerate this build to the finish line. Cheers.. Dave
    5 points
  33. Hello, restart of my Speed spitfire..... ready to paint... ...and painted.
    5 points
  34. We've written a brief paper on the 1943-1945 paint colours G5, G10, B15, G20, B20, B30, G45 and B55. It's available for free download here (file size 0.97Mb): https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0730/0927/files/Royal_Navy_colours_of_World_War_Two_-_B_G_Series_Camouflage_Colours_1943_to_1945.pdf?2533840718009684560
    4 points
  35. It's been quite a while since I finished an airplane & this one was put on the shelf for 10 months after the rigging started to become a chore rather than fun. Thankfully my modelling mojo returned at the weekend & I managed a final push to finish. This is by far the best Revell model I have built (yes, I know it is really an Eduard moulding). There is a WIP here, which shows most of the build, including my search for the right colour to use for the nose. I didn't fit the supplied bombs underneath - I didn't think they'd look right. Anyway, here are some pictures, including an arty one at the end - I've just got Photoshop & couldn't help myself! Thanks for looking
    4 points
  36. Hi. Yes I am afraid so. We need to send the kits out and prove the fact before we can claim the preorder monies. This is why we have all invested heavily in the kit - blood tears sweat and emotion not to mention the financial aspect of it. I think Sio will be ok with me telling you had to buy another injection machine. This has been in for a couple of weeks now and they are all working 24 hours a day. I'll see if Sio will post a couple of pics of the machines. I know he gets a kick out of that. So do the people in the factory - yes we have women too
    4 points
  37. Oh all right! Always have need of galley slaves or at least someone to put the kettle on (or whistle up a wind! Some would say (not me of course) that there is enough hot air …………. Well I've been wrestling with how to do the sails Rejects I think I've found a way for a reasonable reproduction at this scale Mainsail and Topsail and jib & staysail The guy on the jib sheet needs a poke but then we don't want everything perfect do we? I reckon I'm going to need five boats. You know what's going to happen …. I'll get to the fifth boat and the first wont be good enough and that way lies maddness Thumb included to try and convince Keith Thanks for stopping by Kev
    4 points
  38. Oh, I thought you were talking about the cows!
    4 points
  39. What a sweet little aircraft this Italians designed! It's on the shelf...I think you can pick it out from the rest. Hint: It's not a Mig...😉 More images in the gallery... --John
    4 points
  40. The vacuformed shell now meets the fuselage front, so the latter will be slightly sanded (we know there is plenty of surplus wall there) to make for a pleasant overlap: If you would like to have in one kit all the problems you can encounter as a modeler in a lifetime of modeling, this is it. In fact, this is the kit they give you to build as the Last Trial in the Shaolin Modeling Monastery. If you can build it, you graduate as a Modeling Monk. "-Little Grasshopper" -used to say Master Sprue- "When the cranes fly towards Middle Earth, it will be time for you to look at the mirrored image of the Styrene Moon on the Liquid Cement lake" Only now I understand.
    4 points
  41. And if nothing of the above convinced you that this is a shameful pretension of a kit, here is what the plane looked like (pay attention to how the cowl is slightly bigger than the fuselage front): And now look at how the cowl is smaller than the fuselage front that it is supposed to overlap: A possible remedy will be to use the cowl as a master and vacuform a bigger shell. We'll see. And more sighs.....
    4 points
  42. Cutting the tiny slots in the cowling is tricky business. Before anyone says the pair of rear ones are off centre, the pup has the rear pair of slots off to the right side slightly for ease of priming each cylinder before starting.
    4 points
  43. Progress on the weathering - Here is what the nose area and a wing looks like after the medium grey overall base wash has been removed. The nose was fairly clean in the pics but the wings and uppers very patchy and dirty. So glad that the black basing is still quite visible on the wings. On the back you can just see where I have started to apply a darker wash to areas to increase the contrast with the maskol post shade ‘touch ups’ and add dirt. Here is a close up of the darker wash being applied as mentioned above, concentrating on the back. Also things like sparrow belly slots and grills/vents were darkened too to add depth. And here it is removed. Wings on for overall effect. Needs a satin coat now. The wing sweeps need more work but they are most likely going to be swept back in the vignette I have planned for it. And the real thing : https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/5615347 Also U\C bits been done - a light grey overall, then a darker grey on the bolts of the legs and for the doors - black on the red to add depth/ dirt and also a cheat to tidy up the borders between the white and red. Also the still undecided tps finemolds hull is being used to start posing the crew. No advance on the RIO since he was used as a master to make more, but the pilot (a recast) has now had his left arm on the sill as best as I could get to match the pic where the RIO is waving the flag. The shoulder was cut back and the forearm/hand had some hot water to manipulate it. It’s drying now then his armpit needs packing out tomorrow. Bye for now and thanks for looking.
    4 points
  44. The wing requires a lot of attention, and it's the worst part of this spawn from modelling hell: The interior is secured: And the beast clamped securely:
    4 points
  45. Wonderful build! Yes! A very interesting Squadron history there. I seem to recall one of the training losses had a happy outcome as the pilot survived flying into the side of a mountain and post war opened a lingerie factory in the greater Manchester area. I also understand that one of the navigators ended up working as a chef in a Birmingham motel despite being killed by guards at Stalag Luft III a year before his participation in 633 Squadron's daring Fjord raid. He was also awarded the CPM (Cycling Proficiency Medal) with Ballcock and Cluster for pulling his C.O. from the burning wreck of his Mosquito after the raid. Top Chap.
    4 points
  46. Another update for the day. Decals on. Getting the deck '130' decal on was a bit of a pain, mainly because I had to make some small holes so that I could get the mushroom vents through the decal. Stuart
    4 points
  47. Starting to to look a bit more like a He 111, she's big, well bigger than the others on my shelf. I've never wired up an instrument panel before, I thought I would give it a go as there is quite a bit of glass to see it through. I found some pictures on the net of the cockpit IP layout.
    4 points
  48. So here we are, almost completed the decals, just a whole bunch of tiny ones to go. Made a rather large boo boo early on, the 'roundel' on the top side.........got some Tamiya panel line wash on it and when I went to remove it with thinners I found that I also remove part of the white star..........never knew that would happen. Guess I learnt something new that day. There is no 'spare' so will have to patch it up and live with the result. I have seen that some people spray these roundels on but I do not think my masking skills are up to it and also worried I will make a bad situation worse by damaging the decal even more with the tape. Guess it will just have to be "battle damage". Once I've got the rest of the decals on, then I will try weathering. I have been using Tamiya Panel Line Accent so far, but that requires X20 (which I cannot get) or thinners/turpentine to remove excess . This also removes the varnish and I'm not so happy with that, although that's no great issue. What varnish do you guys use? An enamel varnish? (I currently use Windsor & Newton in satin / matt/ gloss). I have ordered Flory washes which are due for delivery in the next day or so, so I'm going to switch to those as it appears they are water based so will not damage anything. Once the weathering is done I can then add all those little bits which I normally break off (antennas, wheel wheel doors etc)......I'm way too clumsy when there are little 'break off'able bits.........lessons learnt the hard way so leaving them til the absolute end 😉 So here she is as things currently stand
    4 points
  49. After another tedious (I do hate the fiddle faddle of self imposed duty) round of detail adding I have the pitot and nose gear doors added as are the tiny rad alt antennae under the tailplanes with the coat hanger antenna that sits under the port bomb bay door I need to add the main gear doors (awaiting a coat of Colourcoats RAF BG) that I made to suit the openings I cut out and then add the stores pylons Starb'd pylon gets the baggage carrier and the port one gets its own little Palouste, it'ld be a sin not to add one after the input I've had from the local Naviators so I will OK? I notice from many of the colour photos we have had accessed that Paloustes can be White or Sky Ive gone for White, right We were talking about the Gannet, here she is with her tail on the ground awaiting the resolution to the tail draggation situation I intended filling some of her nose area with the tiny lead pieces from Prestige Products but if that isnt enough you will note that the tail hook is still to be added, this may provide a decent solution to the dilemma We'll see As you will see the long wave/HF wire aerial needs adding too, to the masts located all around the airframe Fun huh? So weight needs adding inside, I am dribbling the little shot into the jetpipes And catching it where it comes out of the front intake area, I didnt sufficiently 'blind' the fore end when I was planning this Chicanery and shenanigans were needed pronto, so I dabbed Cockpit glue in and around the intake area and brushed water in to catch the errant weighty masses and wash the glue into the spaces viola! Behold - she sits Now I need to finish tidying the prop paint jobs and decide where to set the blades Then glue 'em in So, a kind of ground level look under her The coat rail thingy does miss the nose wheel door when it opens , phew So until the main gear doors go on and the long wire antenna gets added I cant put the stores on This is where they will go Time to begin tidying the Buccaneers now... Ciao baby
    4 points
  50. For those whose memory of & interest in this build has not completely diminished .. I can report opportunity has allowed for it to be brought interstate with me & onto my current workbench. I’m looking forward to moving this along in parallel with my Curtiss CR-3: Taped to those jigs they’re looking like two sorry patients in traction in hospital .. I hope to have a further update of substance soon !
    4 points
×
×
  • Create New...