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Been busy this week clearing the bench. This is the last for a while. It's the old Fujimi kit of many years ago. Goes together really well...………………. NOT !!! Very simple and basic, but looks like a Wasp. The markings are for 706 NAS. July 1971. Hope you like and please feel free to comment etc. Thanks for looking Dick

Finished it - after a short (for me) WIP: the Matchbox kit plus Small Stuff resin engine + Starfighter Decals: And this chap muscled in too: prospective pilot maybe? Not sure if he's a Gnat T.1 or a Mosquito B.35.

This is the Accurate Miniatures kit in the markings of 811 NAS. , at RNAS Donibristle ,1941. A bit of a pig to put together, but something a bit different. Hope you like. Please feel free to comment etc. Thanks for looking Dick

Latest build. Mark DSCN3271 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3272 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3273 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3274 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3276 (4) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3277 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3278 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3280 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickrjk6T]DSCN3279 (3)[/url] by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3281 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3282 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3283 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3287 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr Thanks for looking. Mark

Hi all, Here is my 1/72 Airfix Spitfire Ia which I've converted to a IIa using the 3D-Kits conversion set. Markings are for 485(NZ) Sqn in the summer 1941 and this was the usual mount of Battle of Britain veteran Athol Gordon MacIntyre. This was a great fun build and one of the best Airfix models I've made, a real delight. There's photographic and anecdotal evidence to suggest that 485s Spit IIs and Vs may have carried white spinners so that was the choice for me and it made for a slightly different appearance from the norm which I really like. Two things, it needs the IFF antennae but I can't find the smoke coloured invisible thread. Once I do I'll add them. The photos have also shown that the starboard stabiliser needs a little extra matt varnish as it's picking up the light a little too much. Paints are Humbrol enamels, gloss coat is Pledge, matt varnish Humbrol, decals are a mix of kit, 3D-Kits, Carpena and Xtradecal. The lighting is not the best so I'll endeavour to take so better lit ones tomorrow but I was just so chuffed to finish I thought I'd share some quick snaps. Build thread is here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235044844-airfix-172-spitfire-iia-485nz-sqn/ It's by no means perfect and there's a few things which in hindsight I could have done better but then, that's what the next model is for! Anyway I hope you enjoy the pics.

Hello, I have a pleasure to present a collection of planes from the period of the fights for Polish independence, made by the participants of the Modeling Studio MDK Świdnica, that is Jakub Gotfried, Arkadiusz Walerowicz, Mateusz Zapotoczny, Szymon Mazur and Mateusz Grzelak. All models are made of Eduard's sets with various additions in the form of decals, machine guns or turnbuckles in a 1:48 scale. The collection was made in connection with the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Poland's independence, and the work on it took a year. As you can see, it is composed of machines used on both sides during World War I, because immediately after the war Poland needed every plane, tank or rifle in order to hold its independence. I hope you will enjoy these models Photo of the collection with authors: Collection in museum: Fokker E.V, 183/18, captain pilot Stefana Bastyr, 7th Air Escadrille, Lwów 1919 Fokker D.VII (Alb), 502/18, personal aircraft of the commander of III Dyonu, cpt. pil. Stefan Bastyr, Lwów 1920 Albatros D.III(Oef) 253.218, captain Merian Cooper, 7th Air Escadrille , Kijów, May 1920 Albatros D.III(OAW) 2586/17, instructor Adam Haber-Włyński, Flight Academy in Ławica, 1919 Albatros D.Va(OAW), Lt. pil. Adolf Stępkowski, Naval Aviation base in Puck, 1921 SPAD XIII, 24.25, 19th Air Escadrille, Lithuanian-Belarusian Front, 1920

Ok. Another Spitfire. Airfix, with markings for Squadron Leader Brian Lane. Hope you like. Please feel free to comment etc. Thanks for looking Dick

One S61N build a while ago prompted a discussion between Colin and I in which I mentioned preparing to get a S61N build going He offered me a build he'd stalled on to continue for myself I nigh on tore his hand off, so here is our view of The Queen Of The Skies out of Africa Sister mail delivered via the Post Office this bag of build, postage from darkest Africa being quite expensive and his sister being on her way home that month A picture of the bag's contents Android isn't very helpful is it I'll post some more later but here we have started The work I am picking up on is fabulous, I couldn't get a better start place More later folks

Hi all. Please, let me show you my lastest finished kit. It's the old Italeri's Junkers Ju52/3m, in airliner colours. It's actually a comission build, ordered by a gent whose father used to fly these planes regularly. He wanted an OOB kit, with no weathering at all. I've finally managed to build it in a few evenings. He's going to take it away next friday morning. I hope you'll l IMGP0001 by Arturo Navarro, en Flickr IMGP0005 by Arturo Navarro, en Flickr IMGP0002 by Arturo Navarro, en Flickr IMGP0004 by Arturo Navarro, en Flickr

Hi Guys, This kit was with me for some time but never able to make it as I was confused btw, the gray, impulse blue and red dolphin. Finally decided to do the Red Dolphin, painting white was little tricky and little sprayed or leaked from red and it was whole section masking, phew phew it was little daunting and fun painting it, The kit was satisfactory the cockpit detail was minimal but it was joy building it. Thank for viewing, cheers

My daughter's B-17 is done! It was started October 2017 and finished today after school. A couple of days ago, at her request, I fitted some brass rod for all the guns rather than the over thick and fragile plastic barrels. Today she got the landing gear attached, then the props and the astrodome fitted. The only other thing I might do for her is to paint the cockpit roof windows. She's done pretty much everything herself. I did a little sanding on the bottom wing tip joint when she got bogged down by the boredom of filling and sanding to correct the poor fit of the wing halves. I also masked the glare panels for her to paint, made the props, fitted the guns and painted the non-glazed windows. The rest of my input was advice and holding things for her when needed. She's very pleased with the finished result and we hope to take some better and possibly flying pose pictures on Friday after school or Saturday when we have some decent daylight and hopefully a blue sky. Here's a few build pictures.

Figures are various from Tamiya from my spares box. The chaplain was built using various parts from my spares. The wall is scratch built using a form u lay mould to cast the wall. Various scenic materials used and the tree scratch built, boxes, crates, pamphlets etc. along with the animals are all from my spares box Inspired from the book with the same title by Rev Tom Wilson I have tried to represent a scene showing a short service by the padre, just behind the front line 1/35 scale I I

My first Eduard kit, and probably my last until the Tempest V Series 2 comes out. The aircraft was easy to build, but the decals (specially the wing´s Iron Crosses) sticked as soon as they touched the surface. I ended up replacing the crosses on the wings with spares from a Cartograf printed decal sheet, since I broke one. I also almost break one of the tulips that went over the engine scoops, but I saved it. Spinner spiral was painted. Here´re the photos:

https://www.facebook.com/pg/Clearpropmodels/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2310938175855335

I’ve been really busy with work and private life lately, but things have settled down a bit so I finally managed to find some time to finish this model. My latest build is the A320-200 from Zvezda in the colours of Amsterdam Airlines. This short-lived Dutch airline operated from 2008 until 2011. As most of you know this model kit is really great, although I struggled a bit to get the engines attached in a straight way. Also the red is a bit too dark (I used gray primer, but should have used white instead) and the windows on the left side are a bit too low. Other than that I'm pleased with the way she turned out. Decals are from Flevo Decals. Cockpit, window and door outlines decals are from Authentic Airliner Decals. Corogard and cargo door decals from 8A Decs. The display bases are all 80 x 80 cm and made by myself. My next build will be the 1:144 PS-84 / Li-2 in Aeroflot colours from Eastern Express, which (just as my DC-2) is part of a Dutch Group Build effort. Anyway, thanks for looking and see you next time!

I've started surgery on the crew this morning: Here's a close up showing the last of the PJ civilian pilots (ooh look Keith, Ray Bans!) that I think I'll use to keep Keith happy. Or at least amused. The kit pilot has had some work to remove his bone dome: Getting there. Heads are a weird shape aren't they, but of course they vary from person to person... Note the pathetic attempt to prepare for a disappointing result later. I'm nothing if not devious…

I've recently made a start on this kit, doing a little bit while working on the Hobby Boss Typhoon. I'll be building the 175 Sqn. aircraft depicted on the boxart, a decision solely based on the fact it was called Dirty Dora. 😁 A couple of additions to what is in the box. Some masks... Cockpit assembled and painted...

Thanks for watch !!!

Supermarine S-5. Decals and painting

@woody37 - Neil good to catch up on the Saturday, shame I could only be there 40-50 minutes... but that's life. I was there Sunday most of the day, left around 1500.. I came over to the BC table twice and no one was about so I just grabbed the one photo of the Manchester and Stirling. Are you doing Bolton? Be good to see both again and have a proper look and photo them! From what I saw, they are absolutely stunning. Hats off to you!

Another one of those builds making it over from the the 11th Hour GB. From what I understand, these third series of cars where specifically built for Russia - though that does not aid in the matters of trying to determine what colour they were finished in. This particular build represents a vehicle captured by the Austro-Hungarians. Their plan was to utilize a mixed platoon of vehicles collected from both captured and their own designs, and to be utilized in the breakthrough created on the Italian front. Time ran out though for the chance to finally realize the potential of the armoured car. regards, Jack

All finished in time for SMW Telford (actually finished Wednesday 7th). Paints used are Hataka Orange Line, and Vallejo Metal Colours, along with Hataka gloss and matt varnishes. Weathering is Ammo by Mig washes, and AK Interactive pigments. Display base from Gary Morton, at Coastal Kits Display Bases. I also entered it into the Asian Air Arms Special Interest Group's Trophy competition, at Telford. I won my Class, and judged Best in Show too. untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr untitled shoot-3220 by ian gaskell, on Flickr Ian G-3239 by ian gaskell, on Flickr Ian G-3239 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

A build from 6 years ago. You youngsters have it easy now, with new 1/72 and 1/48 Ryan NYPs at you disposal. We used to have to distill petroleum, make our own plastic, build our own presses, fabricate our own tools, and build a kit in a life time, IF WE WERE LUCKY! After much debate, it is still undetermined when the first 1/72 kit of the Ryan NYP was issued. Although the later incarnations are known, in the form of kits from Frog, Hawk, Airlines, Novo, and the like, the first fossil kits clearly show up in the Cambrian strata, together with trilobites and algae, before even the most primitive dinosaur dared to show its ugly snout. Some scholars go as far as placing them as contemporaries of the first stromatolites. We may never know; but what we do know is that they survived al the cataclysmic extinction events that wiped out other kits, and we know too that in these, our times, the kit re-popped under the Testors brand. I hear you, in all those eons the kit did NOT evolve: the same recessed engraved lettering, the same chunky engine, the same strange prop blades, the recessed ribbing on all surfaces, the even more mysterious interior filled with the horror of nothingness... BUT, is there any other, more evolved 1/72 kit specimen around? Nope. There is no other contemporary kit in the market of one of the most iconic planes of all times. The scholars found out that most of the kit manufacturers are too busy churning out infinite versions of the same warplanes. Talk about dinosaurs... The kit: you will need only your fingers to count the kit’s parts. Scale-Master decals are included, as well as a clear base, which is something like your appendix, still there after all those millennia, just in case, but of no real use. Attached to the clear base, by the way, are the not-so-transparent transparencies. The word “HAWK” in tiny font can still be seen under the base. One of the photos shows an obscure statement engraved inside the fuselage sides: "Made in USA". Archeologists and paleontologists are still debating about what that could possibly mean. So, what do you do with your Testors kit? Well, it is long list. First, forget about that tail skid and the anemometer post protruding from the fuselage halves, they will be inexorably obliterated anyway during construction when you try to smooth the fuselage joint. Second, get out the putty and cover that hideous, unsightly recessed lettering –and the ejector pin marks under the wing since you are at it-. Third, get another, better engine, chop the cylinders and replace the kit’s ones. Fourth, figure a way to produce a credible fuselage and flying surfaces ribbing. You may replace the sort of chunky tail feathers if you feel like. Fifth: hey, scratch some interior. Not much can be seen of it, but you can cut and pose the door open to help with that. Do not fill the recessed lines on the nose when you deal with the lettering there, those are panel lines and are sort of OK. And, did you know that a second machine (Ryan NYP-2) was built and sold to Japan? Aha. It was registered J-BACC and went through a few color changes. There, another option for your frozen-in-time, primeval Testors kit. Now, a confession. Long, long time ago when I was young-er, naive and inexperienced, I built the thing, out of the box, in all its tragic crudity. I know. So as said before the stringers and ribbing effects were dealt with, a nice interior fabricated for it to show through the open door and windows, and a few external details prepared for later addition. The engine was replaced by an Aeroclub white metal item and the kit's "engine" reworked and used as a master for a vacuformed part . Holes were drilled for the control cables, fuselage handles and stab struts (all missing in the kit). Other details that may be added are the fairings of the wheel hubs, the carburetor intake, a better representation of the anemometer, control horns and cables, the periscope, etc. Different shades of metal paint were used, and a combination of home-made and the kit's decals applied. Beware -to add insult to injury- that the kit's decals' instructions have the position of the rudder ones (3 and 4) reversed. Besides the other mentioned details, the kit is missing a diagonal brace strut that bridges the rear leg attachment of the LG to the fuselage and the top of the suspension mechanism. So, can you build a decent, accurate replica from this kit? only if you commit a great deal of time to research and fabrication, and you become a Shaolin modeling monk.. Can a 10 year old have fun with this simple kit without any kind of accuracy concerns? you betcha. But if you are a serious modeler, you know what you are up for. I would not hesitate to scratch-build this one, since the time involved should be actually less than the time I employed here in accurization and detailing. As long as the results are good, then is all fun.

A convoluted build from 4 years ago of a very philosophical plane. Long ago I saw a scratchbuilt model of the Capelis built by Jim Lund that sparked my interest and led me to contact Mike Herrill of Execuform to see if he was willing to pull vac copies from the wood masters I carved, in order to create a sort of kit for me to work from. He pulled the copies and so this project could see the light of day. The main reference was the Skyways magazine article on the Capelis found on the October 1995 issue (#36) But first, what was the Capelis? Some scholars state that occidental culture as we know it was born in Greece, a well of knowledge that still today feeds psychology, philosophy, mythology and modeling (just remember the great Greek philosopher, modeler and olive pitter Styrenides (V century B.S.). The Capelis started as a transport project of the Capelis Corporation, whose president, of course, was no other than Socrates Capelis. The Greek community backed the project and by 1933 the plane was ready. Modern for the time (all metal construction) sported nevertheless a forward leaning canopy and a biplane tail, which some say was an outdated feature, but nobody will dare to deny that confers the plane its remarkable aesthetics (aesthetics as a science, by the way, is another Greek legacy). Things weren’t peachy, though, an after some inauspicious beginnings the whole thing was prematurely and unfortunately dropped. But the Capelis kept going, this time re-incarnated as a movie prop. It endured some modifications and went on for many movies bathing on the golden glory of Hollywood, featuring in many films, the most famous, arguably, being “Five Came Back”, with –among many other movie stars- Lucille Ball, and “Flying Tigers” with John Wayne. The above-mentioned masters were very simple, on the vein of those vacuformed kits that provide the general shapes. Details, accessories, decals and the like are provided by the modeler, as well as surface detail. Once I got my vacuformed parts from Mike, I started building the model. There were some minor and major modifications done to the Capelis over time. This model represents the plane as it flew, with its forward-raking canopy. Another nose was later mastered to allow the building of the movie versions, which has a more conventional canopy arrangement. Another copy -from my masters- by Execuform was built and presented at Telford by another modeller, where you may have seen it, this and the past year. As a mythological metallic bird coming from Mount Olympus, the Capelis extends its wings over the modeling world. See you soon.

Well there's no doubt it was about time, is there If I've clobbered up any of the narrative please kickass remind me The contents of the bag are brilliant

This build has been blogged over on WIP here. This is Medium A Whippet A347 "Gofasta" from the Takom kit with various after-market parts as shown and described in the build blog. The name is stenciled with a DN Models vinyl mask. At least, I believe A347 was "Gofasta". DN provide no guide to using the stencils and were unable to confirm the name-number match "as they no longer had the research material". And you can't see the number in any photo I found. I chose that tank because it had the red/white engine cover and front markings I wanted. The kit instructions suggest that "Golikell", for which they give decals, had exactly the same markings, but photos I found suggested otherwise. And I thought a different name would be, well, different. My avatar is a black sheep after all.......... Whippets were only really used after most of the muddy fighting had ended, in the final pursuit of the retreating German army. So rather than lots of mud I just stuck with some dust and dry mud around the tracks. All flavours of comment appreciated.

This is Meng's M747 trailer, which is the first half of their M911 C-HET and trailer combo. I've finished it as an army surplus unit in private hands, and in a rather dilapidated state. The kit's very nice, although the size of the thing (about 14 ½ inches long) makes it a little unwieldy while painting and weathering. The only real weak parts are the rubber tyres. They're not terrible, but the fit on the rims isn't great. It's finished in a heavily faded NATO green using AK real color lacquers. The M911 itself is currently on the bench, and will hopefully be finished before the end of the year. Thanks for looking Andy

Here's my 1/72 scale David type torpedo boat from the War of Northern Aggression. She's based on the old Lone Star Models vacuform kit. I promptly destroyed the vac hull and replaced it with the fuel tank from a B-58 from the spares box. I hope you enjoy. As always any and all comments are most welcomed and appreciated. Highest Regards, Gregory Jouette

Hi y'all! Here are some pics of my build. Sorry, I don't feel like commenting them tonight, but if you have any questions concerning the built, please feel free to ask...🤗 Ciao Iwik

Hello everyone. This is my recently finished MiG-31 Foxhound, 1/48 scale from Hobby Boss. Didn't encounter major problems throughout the build. Hope you like it.

Hawker Hunter F6 56 Squadron 1960 Built for the 60s NATO vs Warsaw pact GB It is the Academy 1/48 kit built OOB except for the SBS cockpit set as the kit one is totally wrong in size and scale etc. and it also has a metal pitot tube of an F6 Lightning as the kit plastic one was way too flimsy. Paints are Tamiya with MR Super clear coats, gloss for decalling then a satin mist to dull it down a bit with the gloss still showing as they would have been fairly clean and shiny.

While I think about how to resolve the nose I have been building wings using a new method. I am either a genius or lost the plot! One irritating issue with vacs is building internal wing structures, it's time consuming and frustrating so what if you could fill the void with something that goes off and stiffens the wing...something like builders foam for instance! As long as there is a way for the excess to escape and you are happy with the profile in the first place it should work. One builders foam gun and an assembled wing, note the cut out for the landing flaps making a good access point to spray the foam in. Allow excess to foam out, leave to set over night and then trim. One foam filled and rigid wing. I suppose one flaw in this approach is that not everyone has a foam gun!

BREWSTER BUFFALO BURMA, 1941.

Hi, My first armored vehicle in 1/72 scale, it was pleasure to build this ... pure imagination.

Got the cockpit tub together and have to say its one impressive assembly straight from the box, superdetailers could go mad adding cables n bits and bobs but very little will be visible through that teeny little opening..... radiator tommorow then I can think of getting the fuselage joined and the airframe put together.

A vac from 4 years ago, for a special occasion. This 1/72 scale model was commissioned for the 85th Anniversary of Hawaiian Airlines, to be presented to the owner, being Inter Island Airways the direct predecessor from which Hawaiian Airlines came to be, and this Bellanca the very first plane Inter Islands used. There is an actual flying restoration of this plane, which due to technical aspects had some changes and slightly departs from the original plane in a few aspects. This model is an exact replica of the original, historical plane. It was made from a Khee-Kha Art Products vacuum-formed kit, with some additions and home-made decals. I had a good time researching even further and building this commission, and it helped that I had built another model of this very same plane some time ago (NE: soon to be also re-posted here at BM) I truly enjoy going to Hawaii on vacations, and I was happy to honor part of its past.

Landing gear and prop on. I'm touching up the canopy trim at the moment. Just the rockets to add and a little bit more weathering should just about do it.

Over weekend test shots are expected. We are very excited! Here is assembly instruction sneak peek.

Over the past couple of evenings I have painted a bit of the detail on the parts for the cockpit and added the decals: Once the decals had been given a coat of thinned Humbrol matt varnish I started assembling the cockpit tub - I left the Instrument Panel unit off for this photo: Then a few photos with everything in place: It is quite nicely detailed for 1/72 but I do wish Airfix would make a bit more effort with the design of their cockpit decals. I know they're not going to be seen that much but the blobby white dials and buttons don't look great. The decals themselves do conform well to the raised detail on the plastic with the addition of some Decalfix. I was also thinking I might add a few cables here and there but, once the pilot is in place, I know even less is going to be visible - so I dididn't bother. I'm aiming to try and have the fuselage sealed up by the weekend. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix

A few more pictures to whet the wheestle The prep work he'd done already makes this akin to a kit build rather than a taxing problematic chaotic one like my usuals Its going to be fun As usual I can't just pick up and place pictures on this tablet, so only that pic until this afternoon Terry Anything can happen in...

I have realised that all my photos of the finished article were from the port side and therefore there isn't a decent shot of the buddy pod. So here's a couple to rectify it.

A deep conversion from 5 years ago, backdating the kit to the first machine. A Staggering Endeavor The Prolific and unusual family of Beech Staggerwing aircraft evolved through several incarnations. Its elegant and unorthodox lines have the unmistakable appeal of the Golden Age of aviation. Less known, though, are the first pre-production machines, which differed from the production design and ulterior developments quite a lot. The Kit: Good news: we have a kit of the Staggerwing released in two boxings by two manufacturers, even with a floaty version. Not so good news: it is not the version I want to model. Even less good news: being a fairly decent kit with many pros, it is not the best technology around (short run, meaning some butt-joins, somewhat thick parts, you know already, you have built some of those). The two things that gave me a lot of headaches and produced a lot of frustration were the two-part windshield and the struts. The struts as molded have tiny locating protrusions which you are at risk to confuse with the leftovers of the gates, a couple millimeters apart. If you have managed to spot that with a “phew!”, you are not yet off the hook. The curve of the upper part of the strut will not match that of the upper wing which it supports, nor will the little pip align with the faint hole in the said wing. Good luck with that. I did not have any. The early Staggs –just to start with- had more span and less length, so you will have to slice and splice one set of wings. The upper –longer- wing panels in your kit number one will do now as lower wing panels for your prototype model. The lower wing panels of both kits will have to be hacked and re-hashed as the upper wings. Afraid of loosing detail? Don’t be, for two reasons: the upper wing in the early machines had no ailerons (fill the engraved aileron line and the seam where you attached the extension since you are at it) and the prototype used a slimmer airfoil, so some little sanding-down won’t hurt. Now your “new” lower wing (former upper wing of your kit) will need its aileron line continued to the edge (root) fill and scribe accordingly. Confused? And we are just getting started. Get the right engine from another kit or as an after market item; you need a Wright Whirlwind instead of the P&W R985 in your kits. To help you sorting out, here some pointers about the prototype 17R compared to your kit (which is a D-17): Had larger span Had two doors Bump underneath aileron hinge No upper wing ailerons Different engine The rudder split open and acted as an airbrake Had fixed LG (will have to glue all retractable gear parts closed, smooth out the area, scratchbuild the wheel pants) The fuselage was shorter and the aft shape concurrently varied The tail feathers were different (larger horizontal stab and differently-contoured vertical stab) The baggage door was on the other side (right) It had landing lights Tail wheel wasn’t retractable Had slightly more dihedral –even more on lower panel- Different nose and surface details AND of course some other details. Elated already? So am I. With another stagg in pants, soon to be posted as a separate RFI:

Today’s focus was the main landing gear. I had heard that the kit wheels and tires would be better off if replaced by a resin set (the ones I saw online did look FANTASTIC) but I wanted to give the kit parts a chance before ordering anything extra. Glad I did. By nipping off the alignment pins I was able to sand the mating parts nice and smooth and was actually very satisfied with the results. The tread looks OK to me, or at least passable considering they do not require an extra outlay of funds. I added a bit of thin insulated wire from an old computer cable and a few lengths of very thin brass wire to represent the various hydraulic lines that are visible along the main gear. The wheels have only been placed on the gear legs (the fit is snug) so I can still remove them if needed. - My only regret on the legs is that I splashed on a little AK oil before doing the normal thinned black wash… The places that didn’t get “oil” looked so different that I ended up pretty much coating the legs to avoid having bare spots. My ground crew chief would not be happy with Ol' Scrapiron's condition if she were due for a mission tomorrow. Worse than that, the black wash wouldn’t bite into the slick oil-covered areas. Lesson learned: do things in the correct order!!! - - Anyway, I’m pleased with the overall look (even if a wee bit oily) of the legs and tires. I’m holding off on mounting the tailwheel to the fuselage until I decide if that area needs to get some special love. The kit part is definitely on the basic side… but does look sturdy. Still thinking about it.

I bought this one as a treat for myself around Christmas 2016 I think; recently I was working on it in the 737 group build but for various reasons didn't get it finished. A while back I did get around to finishing it off - pretty quickly in the end as it is really just one colour and pretty simple decals. Apologies for the photos. Something about white balance, blah blah. It's a good kit though - I recommend it if you like this type. I don't know how it stacks up for accuracy but in 1/200 I think it probably meets the needs of most people. The only thing I don't like is the windscreen decal - seems a bit blue for me particularly against some of my other 737s in the same scale. Anyway, here it is:

Finished! Pics in RFI

Hi all I am enjoying this! cockpits painted and ready for assembly, got the wing together and started tidying up the awkward seams along the flaps. Decided to try and make an intake cowl for the radiator (not a dust filter) as i've found a few pics of early tempests with them installed also made a start painting the undercarriage and doors, few more observations of the build so far. I used the plastic rudder pedals suitably thinned as they include the top bar and I couldn't be bothered to add this to the brass ones, anyway they are deep in the cockpit and unlikly to be too visible. I've already noticed that the bar accross part F8 wont allow it to drop in place now that ive added part E9 and the seat belts, it did fit previously in dry runs, no big issue I will seperate it and replace it once F8 is in place, strange how it got past the design stage however? I know i've mentioned this once already but the tubular side frames are very fragile, managed to snap a few more tubes through clumsy handling...... I've removed the hydraulic rams from parts E79 as I am convinced they would otherwise get snapped during the build, no problems painting these seperatly and adding them at the end. There are a couple of nasty ejection pin marks on the main U/C doors, awkard to easily fill these and they will be visible once assembled so bit more mr surfacer work me thinks. You need to do a little fettling along the flap line to get a better fit between wing halves before joining otherwise theres a little step which would just make the los of surface detail to sanding even more noticable. Plan to work on the radiator and its cowling next to get it ready for installation with the cockpit and hoping to get the fuselage joined up tomorrow, ohh and just spotted that the top inner cowling piece E45 looks like it should have two holes drilled in it! Overall I think the cockpit is first rate for a kit and personally don't see the need for a resin update even ignoring the solid nature of part of E46, the only thing I could be tempted to add is a brass or resin seat which would be a bit thinner and more detailed than the kit part though to be honest it does paint up very nicely and with a bit of creatice paintwork the quilted backpad dosn't look too bad. Well done Eduard!

Thanks Rich, trouble is I'm running out of aircraft to do... I may have to make an order from Hannants soon. Anyway, transfers on: (Yes, I did notice that the bomb-carrying insect is in the wrong place, it's now being rectified but I've learnt not to slavishly follow Airfix's instructions.) Thanks for looking.

Hi all, here my latest model; Kitty Hawk`s nice F-101C in 1:48. Add the Aires speed brakes (those a bad quality!!), some Eduard RBF tags and two differend Eduard etched sets.Decals are by Caracal showing off an aircraft of the 81st TFW. Hobe you like it!