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OOB, except for the clear dome on the spine, which was scratchbuilt. Xtradecals.

Another pioneer that I scratchbuilt some time ago, for the collection or aeronautic relics and your (hopefully) pleasure: The dream of getting into the blue yonder wasn't born in a specific place. Almost every man through history longed for wings. By the end of the XIX century, Alexander Mozhaisky, a Russian national, built and tested a steam powered monoplane that basically had the right stuff. It is arguable that he achieved a great degree of success, although the machine made a promising hop. Bureaucracy, lack of support, lack of funds, his own death, the usual things, prevented what could have had the chance to really make history, a fate many other pioneers would share. I will humbly dispute the numbers almost universally given for the size of this plane, which, if made with the given span and length, would be almost ridiculous. Fortunately, and after a certain time spent researching, an unexpected text (The Naval Institute Guide to the Soviet Navy by Norman Polmar) provided with the much more credible span of 12.2 meters. Why the other sources state, for example, that the main propeller was 28.7' (almost 9 meters) the span 74' (more than 22 meters) and so forth, seems to escape common sense; perhaps the common mistake of confusing metric and imperial? some other contemporary Russian measure system? Time will tell. Or Won't. What can I say, give me a glass of vodka and a balalaika (or better an Xacto)

Another oldie for the pioneer thread, made twelve years ago. Talk about "modern", in 1911!! This was to be the future, and almost nobody saw it. Aviation insisted with triplanes and biplanes for decades after. The Antoinette-Latham Monobloc of 1911 produced a very elegant, retro-futuristic shape that resembles an old refrigerator mated with an ocean liner. Essentially another canoe-shaped fuselage flying machine –well, may be not that flying- from the popular Antoinette stables. Exceptionally clean for the times but not very fortunate, the general configuration had to wait still a very long time to become what we now perceive as the standard, conventional shape for a plane. What a wasted opportunity to advance aviation by 30 years or so. I repeat: this was 1911, THREE YEARS BEFORE WWI. Compare it with the typical plane flown after it.

The Vuia I, another machine of the pioneer period from Rumania, built -as the rest of this series- some time ago. Hope fellow BModellers are enjoying this "pioneers" thread. A kit sold at a Romanian museum were the replica is, that has its shortcomings too, thus requiring replacements and scrathbuilding to render a decent result. The flying surfaces, as presented in the kit, are not realistic at all and were replaced; besides the wing being not totally accurate. Some photoetched items were again not accurate or two bi-dimensional and were replaced too. A "stitching" seam was created using "stitches" from an aftermarket detail set. The wing in the original plane was held in place by two structural members on top of it, and other two under it; the latter absent from the kit. Bear in mind that this machine was modified a number of times and the kit describes a particular one (although in general and vague terms and not accurately). So here is yet another pterodactyl (or Archaeopterix Styrenoides):

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my latest, the new Airfix B-25 C/D built in RAF colors with the addition Model Alliance Decals “2nd Tactical Air Force 1944-1945” (MA72204). I used Eduard pre-cut masks (CX507) and painted with Gunze/Mr.Hobby acrylics (H52 Olive Drab/H53 Grey). D-Day stripes are airbrushed. I added a small 'A' letter (individual aircraft code) to the tail fin, according to original photos. Period photographs also show different size of roundels on the upper wing, not mentioned on the Model Alliance sheet. I replaced the left RAF roundel for a slightly bigger size, covering the overpainted US insignia. All photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. Best greetings from Vienna, thanks for your interest.

Dear fellow Britmodellers, this is my 1/72 Tamyia Il-2M built from the box, painted with Gunze/Mr.Hobby acrylics. Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. I forgot to peel off the mask from the right canopy front - and only realized after taking the photos!

SNAP! I did mine for he Mitchell GB,...... you`ve done a fantastic job on yours, Cheers Tony

This is not a kit for the beginner, which is a shame as I don't know of any other small scale 2 seat zero kits around. The injected molded parts suffer from severe mold misalignment to the point where manufacturers had to include resin tail plane and other small pieces as the injected parts were junk. What they should have done was retooled the kit and made sure the parts were molded better. I built this model for a friend and fortunately he didn't want the aircraft in a target towing set up, because much of the tow gear was so badly molded it was unusable. Even so, the rear fuselage insert doesn't fit and that was built up with super glue and sprue. The nose and cowling are a mess, but I managed to carve out something that looks like a zero nose from the globs of plastic. The photo etch for the gear bays had to be trimmed to fit, but it wasn't too bad. Fortunately the vac formed canopy is nicely done and the decals are quite good. If you really want a 2 seat Zero in 1/72, I would suggest buying this kit and taking out the canopy, second cockpit, decals and if you must some of the towing and winch gear and grafting it onto the Airfix Zero. That said, I'm quite pleased with the end result of my hacking and sanding!

Mikr mir 1/48 provost T1 Very nice kit, but it needs alot of care, every part needs cleaning up, treated the wings like a vacform and sanded flat. Detailed the cockpit, the etched instrument panel and shroud don't fit, needed some 'hacking about' to fit!! painted with xtracrylix and vallajo, had problems with my airbrush so i had to repaint it. Will get another one, will rescribe it, as alot of the panel lines are in the wrong place. thanks for looking

Postwar Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, who served in the Moscow Aviation Department of the Polar Aviation Administration.

I don't do a lot of aircraft, but with all the buzz about the new high quality Airfix 1/72 airplane kits I just had to give one of my favorite aircraft, the P-39 Airacobra, a try. Imagine my surprise when I opened up the new red box and saw before me not one of the recent Airfix wunderkits, but what is obviously a repop of their old 1960s molding! This ancient kit is a bit of a challenge to build as the fit isn’t very good - the top of the aft canopy is too short to reach the frame, and the forward windscreen doesn’t reach back quite far enough. Not only that, true to its 1960s vintage, it is covered in heavy rivets! Still, it looks like a Bellochka… I decided to just have fun and build it as is. Initial assembly completed, it’s time to do a little filling. Since I was building my Airacobra as in Soviet service, the underwing .50 cal gun pods wouldn’t be used. Unfortunately, Airfix chose to mount the pod parts in deep troughs cut into the wings. I filled these in with cyanoacrylate (super glue) and sanded them smooth. The old girl takes a lot of shimming and filling, but in the end the sleek lines of the ‘Cobra come through… At least the decals on the recent re-release are of excellent quality! Airfix’s P-39Q is a typical kit of its era, but it's definitely not the best 1/72 Airacobra available today. The upgraded decals provided with the current issue are an improvement, but this venerable kit should really be retired. Still, I had fun with it!

It is my last finished model. This MPM model has bad fitting. It is not easy model. I used Mr Hobby colors. Cheers.

Hello Everyone Hope the modelling gods are smiling and that builds are going well Have finally got round to some pictures of the completed 'pod racing bomber' which I hope the group will enjoy, and 'Yes' it is quite large!. Special thanks to Special Hobby for the replacement canopies - in fact two full sets of vac formed prices arrived, giving plenty of opportunity for failure and repair; great service and support from SH on that score. The model is finished with Tamiya rattle cans, Vallejo Model Air and old Humbrol acrylic paints with a covering of Klear to finish it all off. Overall the resin went together pretty well - unfortunate cackhandedness in the build notwithstanding - but I could certainly have done better with the topside canopies despite SH's generosity. Still live and learn and improve next time. For those who were interested in other Luft 46 builds, some shots of the 3 BV models I now have; Thats the trio of P170 (Planet), Ae607 (Unicraft) and P178 (Bronco) completed as a torpedo bomber under Romanian colours Enjoy - many thanks for all the support, critiques and comments welcome 'Til the next time Regards Andrew

This is the Modelcollect 1/72 scale kit. It was an enjoyable week's build based on a couple of photos of a vehicle that also formed the basis for the kit's box-art. The tank is a bit unusual in that it has two styles of front-mudguard (I had to scratch-build the right-side one), and an asymmetrical arrangement of ERA brick on its side-skirts, plus side-skirt damage and some metal plates. This all too a bit of thinning, scraping and cutting to duplicate. It was only after painting that I became aware that the tank was also missing its external fuel tanks and stowage panniers from atop the track-guards, but by then it was too late to replicate this feature. I note from the photos that I still have to paint in the driver's vision bloc - doh! Here's a link to my build-log over on Missing Lynx: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/syrian-t-72bm-t316369.html Thanks for looking.

Here's the other plane I built in a week for the local RAFA's centenary event. A straight build of the Frog Meteor from the late 60s. The decals laid down superbly, the silver finish is Tamiya Matt aluminium with Klear over. The walkways were set out on black paint with 0.7mm tape before spraying the silver. Obviously with more time I would have attacked the seams a bit more rigorously but overall I'm quite pleased with the first Frog I've built straight. The only problem that came up was that I didn't clean the airbrush properly after the silver so ended up with sparkly camouflage when vanishing my Spitfire Vb! Subsequently I threw the somewhat battered box in the recycling. My wife rescued it to decorate the kitchen! Cheers Will

Hello,friends! Here`s another my finished model,this time an early jet,wonderful Me-262. hobby boss is very nice kit,so, i only add seatbelts,scratched gun muzzle and few wires to landing gears.Opened engine is from Dragon. Hope you like it!

Hi all, Our IPMS group was invited to show our models at the local RAFA's RAF100 event. With a week to go I realised I needed more than Spitfires and one Sunderland. With a week to go, I grabbed this starter set JP from the stash, mainly on the grounds that a single colour would be quicker...obviously red not a brilliant choice. I also built a Frog Meteor during the week, as well as completing the Spitfire Vb in the Classic Airfix GB. Built in flight for ease, hence the small 1/16" square hole in the underside for the stand. The RAFA and their guests were impressed and complimentary about our models, although various people kept pointing out rather obvious gaps in our selection...we also got to speak to two WW2 pilots, one whose time was spent flying rhubarbs and circuses in Spitfires, whilst the other had chosen Thunderbolts over Spitfires in Burma. He said that when he was given that choice, he fancied something bigger and tougher around him! Cheers Will

OK, moving swiftly on, all the windows have been cut out including the door which will be left in the open position, the hatch at the front will also be open, I have modified the wheel wells as these were not very well detailed, so I cut these out completely and scratch built them again, the small vents at the bottom will be filled in as looking at photos the RAF version it did not seem to have these, maybe something that was added on later models Some detail added to the interior, not much will be seen so not worried about accuracy or neatness, I had to cut areas out on the interior floor so that it would fit properly around the wheel well

A late entry from me! I've had very little time this year for modelling but hopefully this month I can get this done. Going for the Westland Whirlwind, always wanted this kit when I was a kid and never got it. This will be built OOB, wheels up and on a stand. Actually the stand is not in the box and will be using a spare from the box of bits, but other than that it's OOB. Managed to paint the pilot, he's a little smaller than the figures I normally paint but think he came out ok

Hawker Siddeley Trident 1/144 1C to 1E conversion Northeast Airlines (UK) RESTORATION Kit: Airfix Scale: 1/144 Decals: Classic Airlines (by Nick Webb) Windows: Authentic Airliners Work in progress thread can be found here Thanks for looking!

Here are my first ever completed builds on Britmodeller, not only that they are the first aircraft built by me in at least 20 years, like a lot of fella`s in their 50`s I cut my eye teeth on Airfix, Revel and Frog kits in my youth, I have learned a lot with these two, I`ve got more tools and "Stuff" than I had in my youth, and there is a whole world of AM stuff that wasn't around back then, there`s the internet too, but it`s finding the old Mojo that made the difference! These two were deposited in my lap by my Son when he was in junior school asking me if I would build them for him, well he`s almost 15 now and I finally got around to it................. Ta for lookin` no "G" Granto

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! It's my next model from Italeri. The set just seemed easy. But in fact, it has a nasty docking of the details. It has excess panel lines and many other inaccuracies, which I no longer began to eliminate.

It's nearly there! Yet more paint touch ups required, plus the addition of the nose gun barrels and I'll be calling this one done. The chances of this model staying in one bit for long are pretty slim. The plastic is like glass. The undercarriage looked terrific all built up, but fitting it was a nightmare. Despite warnings here about the fit problems and me taking steps to minimise them it turned into the fitting job from hell. Here's the plane as of about five minutes ago... Tony.

That doesn't narrow it down very much..... Ian

I seem to have accidentally... …done the transfers! Just some detail painting to do, then a coat of varnish. I’m still thinking about whether to weather.

Oh boy! That's bright, isn’t it! I think the recent hot spell has affected my paint stocks. I generally use enamels for the railway models. This yellow is normally used for the warning panels on diesel locos, and should be matt in finish. I cracked the tin open yesterday, to find a thin dried crust. I mixed the paint thoroughly, and airbrushed it on the model, expecting to have to gloss coat varnish for transfers. Imagine my surprise to find the paint had dried gloss. i expect my mixing hadn’t been as thorough as I thought, and the matting agent hadn’t dispersed into the paint properly. Oh well, serendipity strikes again.

Oh my has it really been this long since and update … well we have had a splendid summer, and I’ve had a brief sabbatical away on the allotment and holiday’s during the fine weather given the frequency of a good British summer rivals that of Hailey’s Comet. Oh erm yes Johnny it is the kitchen variety, better late than never eh mate... Anyroad I’m back at the bench and have finally been working on the Lanc. First up was to get the wings finished off: As you can see a reasonable amount of clamping was required. Only a modicum of filler along the edges was required – gloop being my favourite medium. This was duly sanded back. Then it was on to the navigation and formation lights. You don’t get them in the kit so it’s a matter of utilising a piece of clear sprue – drilling out a small hole (or three), a blob of paint, supergluing in place, and then sanding back like thus: Now I’m not sure if the Dambuster Lanc had the later type formation lights as per those in the bottom right of the diagram in the left. I seriously suspect they did and I’ve got it wrong. However, I couldn’t find a reliable source so plumped for the early version. Amidst all the sanding I managed to pop one of the windows…grr. Fortunately I was able to glue it back in place with lashings of Tamiya thin. Fingers crossed it won’t pop when I come to mask it as remedial action will be a lot harder which will necessitate a lot more swearing. Next up were the engine nacelles and their innards. The call out doesn’t specify a colour for the tanks, but from what references I’ve seen and other modeller’s builds, they’ve gone for a red so I followed suit. A bit of black and silver here and there plus a light wash to bring out the detail to add a little interest to something that won’t be seen – but we all know it’s there! On assembling the nacelles I drilled out the intakes. Not as good as the aftermarket goods available, but a slight improvement on the kit offering. Despite fettling and numerous dry fits, there was quite a noticeable gap which required a smear of filler – Mr Dissolved Putty sorted it out. Here they are in place: I mentioned way back that there are quite a few imperfections in the plastic: These have been filled with gloop and sanded back. This is where I’m up to. Wings sorted and engine nacelles in place plus the other bits n bobs. Not quite ready for running around the room making aeroplane noises yet, but not far off.

Update #8 I'm starting to get a little envious of everyone's excellent progress and finished results over the last week. I too was slowly hacking away at my build, however after a little momentum I had to stop as my four day block of work kicked in and it's so hard to fit anything else in when things get busy. The Beaver is very close to priming and painting, so I'll just add a couple of photos to show where it's at. Once again, engine cowl, engine, prop and skis have not been cemented in just as yet. Cheers and thanks to all for the additional inspiration.. Dave

Just got a few more markings to add and to make some custom decals. Keith

Hello everybody, I think I call this one done ... Hope that you like it! Cheers Micha

Thanks Johnny Progress has been made... eventually! That's the end of the mojo killing walkway masking so, hopefully, paint on the wings tomorrow!

could have arrived weeks ago!

I'm not one to spread gossip... ...but I've heard he's messing around with a big American bird.

All together now:- " Why are we waiting, whyiy are we waiting " etc. Anonimouse

This is another Rareplane kit I done many years ago 1/72 Learjet, another fairly easy building in vac form terms

Wow the end of the GB is coming upfast for some reason I thought it was Qctober! Friday's my day off this week so I'm putting everything else to one side and push to complete her to be honest there's very little to do.

Home straight now: decals on but I needed t finish the cockpit and then do the undercarriage. Putting-together a few spares, I built a harness out of marking tape, decorated with a few spare etched parts, while I also built-up a gunsight from a piece of carved sprue and an etched part to represent the lenses. A piece of clear plastic attached using Kristal Kleer completed the work. Then the undercarriage. My first reaction was 'Oh just buy another Aeroclub whitemetal one like back in the day". Bit of a problem: Aeroclub aren't with us and although Czech Master produce some useful replacement parts, there isn't a complete Meteor replacement set available. Now, looking through my spares box from 35 years ago, this was my last experience of a Frog Meteor undercarriage: So, I wasn't feeling too confident but taking the Czech Master replacement wheels, I realised that I could make them look pretty good: I wasn't taken with the Frog nosewheel, so I butchered a Matchbox nosewheel assembly that I had discarded when building the Matchbox NF.11. I carved-off the mudflap and attached the Czech Master replacement before attaching it to the fuselage and adding the Czech Master undercarriage doors. Add a few more bits and hey presto - I'm calling it finished! And a couple of comparisons. The first is with the Mk.III I completed last month and the second is with an original Frog F.8 that I purchased - previously assembled - off eBay earlier this year. It would probably have fetched a great deal more ha it still been unassembled and in its box. And finally, a little vanity shot: Well that is all for now, I much appreciate your kind comments and support. Next will be a rather less exciting MPM / Airfix Mk.8. With best wishes, Neil

I've got tired of playing with the wings so have made a start on the fuselage. Due to it size, it's molded in four sections: IMG_0239 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr A nice blank canvass for some interior detailing: IMG_0242 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The join in the middle looks to be ok but will need plenty of reinforcing: IMG_0243 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Obviously the wheel bays need opening up and I need to remove the area for the cockpit glazing. As you can see from the above image, the nose is the incorrect shape for an H model so there'll need to be some remedial work done here. Now it'll be a case of busying myself with internal bulkheads to add some much needed strength. And the question of whether to open up the bomb bay or not will need answering soon... Until next time, Tom

I've recently been cleaning out the spare room and stumbled on a storage box containing a few old builds from the '90's. Technically, I didn't do any modelling from the very early '90's up until I returned to the hobby in 2012, but there were some exceptions, all of which being AMT/ERTL Star Trek kits including this one of everyone's favourite Deep Space 9 character, Quark. I picked this up at the time (probably around 1996) at The Works for about 2 or 3 pounds. AMT had released Quark and another figure of Odo presumably to jump on the Horizon/Screamin' vinyl figure bandwagon that was popular at the time. They'd clearly not sold well though, hence ending up in discount bookstores. When I pulled him out of the bubble wrap he'd been stored in for the last 20 odd years he'd stood the test of time remarkably well. The paint was still clean and fresh and the vinyl hadn't warped or distorted in any way. The paint finish I'd given him at the time though was pretty basic, to say the least. No airbrushes back them. Just Halfords rattle cans and some old Humbol enamels left over from my modelling days in the 80's. The jacket, trousers and boots had been sprayed in different black tones and the shirt picked out in a dark red enamel. Although the finish was reasonable, I thought he needed some freshening up so I've given all the clothing a re-paint. There's not a lot of detail in the body sculpt, so I've not added much in the way of shading/highlighting. It's really just a slightly refined (and a little more colourful) version of what it was like originally. The head and hands though are still in the original paint job from when I build him. Like the rest of the original detail painting, the skin tones were done with Humbrol enamels over a Halfords grey primer coat and, although there's a little roughness to the finish now, it's held up pretty well and I didn't see any need to risk spoiling the finish by trying to re-work it. He originally held a drinks glass in his right hand but that seems to have disappeared over the years, so I'll probably scratch build a replacement when I get a moment. It's been good to get him out of storage and he's now taken up residence in the display cabinet, looming ominously over the 1/12 Bandai Star Wars figures. Thanks for looking Andy

Can't win with you lot So I bain't a trying Red lines easy if fiddly, Microscale parallel lines in black, yellow, white and red at 1/64th of a ninch no more than a tedious exercise I feel Miss Otis regrets, no I mean I regrets that there is ONLY going to be the mod'dery already proclaimed as I would like this one on the club table at Telford which of course precludes extrabuggeryaboutery from now on Mayhaps, Christer will grace us with a fully disclosed engine bay in 1/48 scale on his Vixenlady I have been adding more than perhaps is wise anyway New looker's vision aid, vis: one new larger window, in discarded CD case plastic Awaiting shaping to size When it is flush to the fuselage I intend masking the two clear bits then painting the rest in the clear state I realise the real window is slightly inset on the fuselage but I intend a sleight of eye and hand later when it is painted The intake face plates and their the boundary layer ports will be filled, filed and enhanced later (this week I think) Apologies to all you lucky geezers that can blithely drop a dash of black into a cup and spray willynilly inside these places with your airbrushes Some of us have to use misused, abused painty brushes to darken up the insides And non-smelly Vallejo paint to do it with Here is the inside of the clear piece before I took off the anti-cyano tape coating And here with the first clean up under way + As you read this (Tuesday evening-ish) this is being polished in the way of guru Martian and has already had a rendered smooth shine that has been recut back to get the profile better aligned and I used cyano as filler where necessary and have been repolishing that in with the clear poly Other little stuff has included fitting out the MB seat for the pilot with strappings I am not happy with the ride height, stuff to do there And the tape straps just refuse to let go when they get embarrassing Still, that ainta gonna take rocket science to solve is it? There WAS a separate seat in the hole for the looker but frankly it was a waste of resin so I extracted it (for a rainyer day) As you can see SIHRSC and her slimmer cousin are very prominently involved in this build

Attached the etched belts, and applied a couple of decals, from the Airscale labels/placards decal sheet, to the headrest sides. Then finished off with a dry-brush of aluminium. Also made a start on the instrument panels. The main IP’s are done. The PE panels are a very good fit. DSC_2862 by ian gaskell, on Flickr DSC_2862 by ian gaskell, on Flickr DSC_2864 by ian gaskell, on Flickr DSC_2864 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

...oops - nearly forgot about the washes for the stowage... I'm loving this comedy woodgrain - it might be made from driftwood I suppose.

Sorry I have to remove my posts Good Bye Gabor

Note.... Tamiya didn’t go wrong on the guns. Total user error, Someone stuck them on upside down.🤣 stupid someone. fixed late last night. now where did I put that ammo. Jont

Hello again. It would appear I have missed a few updates but here is the latest. Sorry for the lack of updates but I have been otherwise occupied for about a month. First going to Vietnam and then having my parents stay with us. There is not going to be much text in this update but lots of piccies. First up are some of the PE wind deflectors around the bridge .. Then more shots showing the superstructure under construction.. And a structure with a platform that goes on top of the bridge area.. This is actually completely different to the one supplied in the kit. Then another view of the slowly growing Walrii.. A signaling light Some binoculars (just squint a bit) One of the radars.. Detail inside the funnel.. More funnel.. A gun director Some structures on the base of the funnel Nav lights on the funnel The superstructure base finished.. And that's it for the moment. Will post more frequent updates from now on.. I hope! Cheers Warren

Thanks Tomo, coming from you sir that means a great deal. 😃 a little more done tonight. Tail wheel fitted with its PE parts. And she’s up on her wheels for the first time. I just have to tidy up the break lines. Then I decided to do the flat coat. I might add exhaust marks but part of me wants to leave her clean. I wanted to get this bit done and dusted so I can remove the masking to check all is well and add the last few bits and bobs. Initially I was a bit reluctant to do matte but it seems at this scale to be just about right. not too shiny and not overly matte either. I’m letting that dry now. masking off tomorrow. Thanks for dropping by you lot. Take it easy y’all. Johnny.

Another session of cutting folding and exceedingly careful filing (plus a lot of measuring in this instance) gives us 6 liferaft racks on the starboard side: Futher aft - blurrily in view in the liferaft shot - is the starboard whip aerial gantry: Too hot & tired to wear my Optivisor for longer than an hour or so, and you definitely don’t want to be messing about with PE when knackered! So that’s all for this evening; more soon Crisp

Cheers Johnny, thank you Glad you like it, and yes, Master did a great job with that nose gun. Time for a WE progress report: there's been a lot of painting. Pitot first: brush painted Pylons: airbrushed in the relevant camo colors, with a final Future protective coat Bombs airbrushed Tamiya Olive Drab, and off-white (Flat White+Sky Grey) and then white for the bands. The yellow is Lifecolor, brush painted. The Future coat turned them into a very dark color; I hope the flat coats sets them back to a lighter shade, otherwise I'll have to do some more painting on them Mavericks and Sidewinders: same sequence for the white as above, first with a mix of Tamiya Sky Grey and Flat White, then pure Flat White And after all this painting ... decalling has started! I started from the shark mouth, because I knew it would be the hardest part of this task - and I was right Still some persuasion and a bit of touch up to do here More touch up here You've probably noticed that I managed to cut of one of the bulb sensors while trying to "shave" the decal. I was luckily able to recover the missing part, and glue it back in place Needs repainting, but I'll do that once finished with the decals. I left it overnight with a good amount of decal setting solution for the bottom black part, as it had to conform to a quite complex geometry. Tonight I'll take care of the rest, then it should all be downhill Comments welcome, as ever Ciao

Hawker Typhoon 1B Well thankfully I managed to get the new tool clear parts fitted (although I think I may remove them and put on the original part as otherwise I'd be left with a kit with no canopy ). Rockets and rails from the new tool kit. Rest OOB (with the addition of the V's thanks to @stevej60 ) so it could be done as a rocket carrier. Some VERY basic scratching but overall I'm fairly happy with the result. Would I build another? TOO RIGHT!!! (apologies for the terrible photos!)

1/144 Airfix 'Sky King' Series De Havilland Comet 4B finished and in the Gallery at last. Looking at the instructions for this kit, what impressed me was that this beauty was actually in service when the kit was originally issued in 1961. Quote: 'The current Comet 4B, now in service with British European Airways, is one of the latest developments of the original De Haviland Comet of 1949, the world's first passenger jet aircraft. British European Airways now operate Comet 4B's on their longer stages, such as those from London to Athens, Copenhagen and Moscow, the shorter high density routes now being taken over by the Vickers Vanguard'. So, this was not a rendition of a museum piece but was at the cutting edge of civil aviation. Just exactly what a twelve-year old wanted to fly round the room! (From Wiki): The Comet 4 first flew on 27 April 1958 and received its Certificate of Airworthiness on 24 September 1958; the first was delivered to BOAC the next day. The Comet 4 enabled BOAC to inaugurate the first regular jet-powered transatlantic services on 4 October 1958 between London and New York (albeit still requiring a fuel stop at Gander International Airport, Newfoundland, on westward North Atlantic crossings). While BOAC gained publicity as the first to provide transatlantic jet service, by the end of the month rival Pan American World Airways was flying the Boeing 707 on the same route, The Comet 4 was ordered by two other airlines: Aerolíneas Argentinas took delivery of six Comet 4s from 1959 to 1960, using them between Buenos Aires and Santiago, New York and Europe, while East African Airways received three new Comet 4s from 1960 to 1962 and operated them to the United Kingdom and to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. The Comet 4A ordered by Capital Airlines was instead built for BEA as the Comet 4B with a further fuselage stretch of 38 in (97 cm) and seating for 99 passengers. The first Comet 4B flew on 27 June 1959 and BEA began Tel Aviv to London-Heathrow services on 1 April 1960. Olympic Airways was the only other customer to order the type. An Airwaves 1/144 detailing set was used and I 'procured' the BOAC decals from the US boxing and my imagined scenario was that it was painted up in BOAC colours in error before this 4B ended up with BEA. Quote from BEA Plans 6 Nov 1959, 'B.E.A. are due to take delivery of their first jet airliner, de Havilland Comet 4B G-APMB, the first of a fleet of seven. Like B.O.A.C.'s Comet 4s, deliveries are ahead of the contract schedule; original 4B delivery date was January 1, 1960' So I did a little forgery to change G-APMF into G-APMB. Build thread is here: Many thanks to all you modellers who commented and supported during the build - onwards and upwards!