Leaderboard

Most of construction accomplish by a friend, Bill Ritter Moving on from D-Day to Philippines ,but staying with natural metal: Academy B-17D from Iba Airfield, Philippines December 1941. Destroyed on ground December 8th 1941. Such a Pretty plane Alclad over gloss black, Starfighter decals (which were Great) Completes Group of aircraft for Museum donation B-17,B-18,P-35 and P-40E Thanks for Looking Comments Always welcome Cheers BillD

With thanks to tomthounaojam for inspiring me to break out my ancient Hasegawa A-4E Skyhawk kit (which I had first built as a college student in the early 1970s), and to tc2324 for his excellent "Sundown Launch" build, I present to you my VFA-203 "Blue Dolphins" A-4L in-flight action build. Thanks for viewing! (My WIP can be found here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235060938-nostalgia-build-172-hasegawa-a-4-skyhawk/ )

Bristol Blenheim MkIV, R3744 BL-K, No 40 Squadron, RAF Bomber Command, Wyton, Cambridgeshire, July 1940 Originally formed in February 1916, No 40 Squadron RFC was disbanded in 1919. In April 1931 it was reformed as a bomber squadron flying Fairey Gordons. At the outbreak of the Second Word War, the squadron was equipped with Fairey Battles and was sent to France as part of the BEF's Advanced Air Striking Force. In December 1939, the squadron was returned to the UK, at RAF Wyton, where it was converted to the Blenheim MkIV. The unit continued daylight operations over France, flying from its UK base, through the Phoney War, the Battle of France, and during the Battle of Britain to attack the invasion barges being assembled by the German forces. The squadron converted to Vickers Wellingtons in November 1940, flying night bombing missions. In late 1941 a detachment was sent to Malta, the whole squadron following in early 1942. No 40 Squadron was disbanded in February 1957. Interestingly, it was slated for reformation as the first operational BAC TSR2 squadron, or to fly the General Dynamics F-111. As both types were cancelled, the unit remained out of service. The kit was built more or less out of the box, as has been seen many times before, to give me a Blenheim MkIV in day bomber form for my 1940 collection. Markings were cobbled together from the kit sheet and generic aftermarket sheets. The squadron codes are not quite correct in size, but I couldn’t find any suitable letters. I think it's good enough for my display cabinet. No 40 Squadron liked to outline each aircraft letter in white, which I did with a bow pen and white paint. The model was brush painted with Xtracrylix, Humbrol and Revell acrylics, with some enamels used for detailing. Perhaps it’s time I considered making my own decals! The vehicles used are from Airfix and Flightpath. WIP thread here. A short thread, with nothing out of the ordinary. Thanks for looking!

I present my Revell A320 in 1/144 and wearing the Etihad Livery. The build was OOB and even using the kit decals (it can happen sometimes 😂) with the Sharklets from Braz. It was what you’d expect from a Revell kit, it goes together ok but does require trimming around the wingbox to ensure it sits flush with the fuselage section. The only thing I had to do was use some V2500s from my spares as Etihad A6-EJA is powered by them and also has the Sharklets fitted. The Etihad kit, as @Viking excellent review mentions, only comes with the CFM engine options but with the V2500 engine decals. I hadn’t ever used filler before (amateur mistake when I had already put this kit together and had painted it), so I didn’t get round to using it here which can be seen in places ☹️. Lesson learnt and now using it for my future builds. The colour is a difficult one, as again like most aircraft, it looks so different under so many lighting conditions. I followed the Revell paint guide included in the kits instructions. The paints used were Revell Aqua colours White Gloss 04, Aluminium 99 and Orange Klear 730. It’s not brilliant, and I much prefer the ‘Nail Polish’ option, but being limited to brush painting this was my final result. The wings and horizontal stabs are Revell 371 and Revell 374 for coroguard section (until I can track down a Holts supplier locally). The decals are excellent quality from Daco, and fit to the model excellently... if not like completing a jigsaw puzzle. I have recently used AA Decals for my Qatar 787 and am in love with them. I would have used them for this had I known before. I have an ‘Egyptair A321’ that’s virtually finished (I am going to go over the blacked out windows with some AA Decals I have on order). I also am going to be shortly building a ‘Thomas Cook’ A320 in the old light blue bottom scheme for which I have some AA decals on order for as well. As always thank you for looking and any constructive feedback is welcomed and appreciated. Regards, Alistair

Given the number of questions that have come up, I'll put this here for general reference. Feel free to chime in with corrections or anything I miss and I will edit this post accordingly. All of this is from memory so please correct me as needed. The variant designations - S.2, S.2A, S.2B, S.2C, & S.2D - denote Martel capability. The pre-Martel era Mk.2 Buccaneer, the S.2A and S.2C are not Martel capable and the S.2B and S.2D are. S.2As and S.2Bs were RAF aircraft and S.2Cs and S.2Ds were FAA aircraft. Before the RAF had Buccaneers, there was just the Mk.2 Buccaneer. The changes required for Martel involved longer, more widely spaced pylons, the control unit, tv display and the removal of the fifth from inboard vortex generator which was over the outboard pylon in its new location. Some pictures to illustrate: The black controller and arm rest on the right and screen in the middle of this picture of the Nav's office are for the Martel system. An illustration showing different pylon spacing. Long chord pylons for Martel And the pre-Martel short chord pylon. Now that about does it for the variant specific differences. The many other variations of equipment were associated with upgrades and modification programs over the years. Many of these differences apply to As, Bs, Cs, and Ds. Examples of each of these modifications can be seen on different aircraft at the same time. The OCU for example had S.2As in its inventory right up to the end. So there are no bright line rules and, as is the usually the case with these things, you should try to find some photos of the subject you wish to replicate. 1) The airbrake petals. The kit comes with pre-Mod 1503 air brakes. There is a substantial reinforcement plate on the outside. This would have been applicable to ex-FAA aircraft in the XN, XT and XV serial range. The XWs, XXs and XZs were post-Mod 1503. The XKs were converted S.1s and had a different type of stiffening panel. I don't think we will see new air brake petals in any future releases so I think we will likely be on our own here. This is a post-Mod 1503 air brake. And this illustration shows stiffening plate which is depicted in the kit. 2) Nose gear light. This is an easy one. The RAF adopted a head light for the nose gear. One is in the kit. 3) Tail fin bullets. RWR gear was installed in the mid 70s. This is the old style. The light is located on the point of the rear bullet. This is offered as an optional part in the kit but the bits for the later version are not included in this release. This is the RWR installed on the tail fin bullet. Note the light relocated to the rear of the cap above the bullet. I am not sure what the second bump is. And the front bullet with RWR. Also note here the base of the antenna that was installed on either side of the fin. 4) Aerial on either side of the fin. This was an early to mid 70s modification. This was a bolt on piece. Sometimes it was not installed but the base was visible (see picture above). 5) Intake fairing. Installed from the mid/late 60s on. Applicable to most RAF examples. Without fairing And with the fairing. 6) Antenna on spine. From the early/mid 70s onward the antennas were different. Before After 7) Anti-collision beacon. They were changed to a pointed style late in life. I think this started appearing sometime in the late 80s. 8 ) Wide band homer. These were attached to the wings but were removable and not always carried. This is the older round style. And this is the newer version which has a flattened oval cross section and stepped point. 9) Wing fold inspection panels. This is not so much a modification but just something that varied over the years and in different contexts. There are photos of Buccs from the late 60s onward with open hatches, closed hatches or just the front one open. The FAA seemed to have the panels on more often than not which makes sense I suppose with the potential for corrosion. Both front and back panels are removed here. It looks like the kit provides an option for this although the current release is silent on the subject. 10) Slipper tanks. I don't intend to address payloads in this post but the slipper tanks were carried so often that I tend to think of them more as part of the airplane than an external store. These were revised in the mid 70s. The new style had a sharper edge on the fairing on the top of the tank. The current release of the kit has parts for the older style. This Bucc has the older style tank as provided in the current release of the new Airfix kit. Another example of the old style tank. This is the newer version. 11) The seat. The older style is offered in the kit. The older seat had a D pull handle and the newer version had a B handle. Older version Newer version. The parachute pack was revised in addition to the different pull handle. Note also the splayed thigh guards. This is a rear seat; the front seat was not splayed. The splayed thigh guard was to allow some room for the Martel tv display between the navigator's legs. 12) Under water ejection system. This was deleted in the 70s. Buccs that had it fitted had a third red triangle on the port side. Not a great shot - it is a still from an old 8mm film - but it shows the shape to good effect. 13) Canopy MDC. This upgrade happened in the 70s. 13) Blade aerial/light on belly. A blade aerial was placed where the strobe ahead of the bomb bay was formerly located. The strobe was relocated to the electronics bay access door. This happened in the mid 70s. The electronics bay hatch is hanging open in this picture. You can see the relocated light well in this picture. The light is flashing in this picture. The aerial is visible just ahead of the bomb door. It is black with a white dot on the front. The profile is clear in these pictures. Another view of its position. In this picture the 2nd and 3rd Buccs have the new blade aerial and the 1st and 4th do not. Note also that the light has been relocated to the electronics bay door on all four examples. This picture is from mid 1973. The picture of XT270 above with the older style slipper tanks also has the relocated light but no blade aerial as of yet; that picture is from the same time period. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Please post corrections and additions if you think of any. - Jack

Model F-86D from Kitty Hawk scale 1:32. In terms of the model itself, I can write one I don't like KH models. In my opinion KH it is a desire to show on the box that there are many parts, so it makes to divide the hair into four. The plane itself is beautiful to me so this model could not be missing on my shelf. Model as always made straight from the box.

Привет. Он давно закончен незаконченным, но очень хотелось дождаться «золотой осени». Так первая версия с ракетной моделью была сфотографирована в мае, а вторая - «Борис Веремей» в начале октября. И теперь это все. Это две разновидности Ту-160 на одной плате. Согласно хронологии, в честь Бориса Ивановича Веремея, первым летавшего на Ту-160, борт 342 был переименован. Расположен в Жуковском. Легко читать о самолете где угодно. О проекте Бурлак-Диана, например, здесь: https://pikabu.ru/story/tu160sk_i_kompleks_burlakdiana__dlinnopost_3670963 Из улучшений, конечно же - это макет ракеты, выполненный на заказ и напечатанный на 3d принтере. Из особенностей конструкции - переделать самолет, его надписи, немного изменить ретушь, снять ракету, приклеить новую наклейку - это было не очень просто. Большое спасибо за надписи и номера Алексею Буцкому. В целом я остался доволен работой, хотя, конечно, не мог избежать ошибок. Всем нравится смотреть.

'Every good Battle deserves blobs...' Covert ops H. I can't tell you where the lamp is. Giorgio & hendie: Always cut just outside the actual line you want, in order to allow for any 'lip curl' from the heated edges. ( I can't type 'lip curl' without seeing this bloke...) Exactement! I've even purchased Nick Milman's exquisite 'MAP/RAF Colours 1939-45' from his blog to help keep me on the straight and narrow, especially with the Night underside.... No worries Chris. Always nice to hear from you sir and hope the GBs are going well. I just don't have time to keep up with what everyone's doing across the forum these days myself! I'm afraid you missed it Simon but given the spectacle of Famille Baron at the trough, you've been spared the worst.... Nothing's too good for this crowd Crisp! (Actually it's 2Tb Seagate that I salvaged from an old LaCie external drive thinking that it was just a dead circuit board and I could use the drive in a SATA caddy. Of course the drive itself then decided to start that 'tick of infinite death' every time it spooled up and was in turn u/s. Luckily I've recently discovered the 'Adverts.ie' app and found someone 20 mins away selling identical drives salvaged from a server farm that were dirt cheap.) If it's Mexican, Indian, or Middle Eastern food Johnny, the appetite of my family would shame a Viking feast so I know exactly what you mean. Just had Romy Gill's: arrive last week as - despite appearance to the contrary - we've cut back heavily on meat consumption since the start of the year. Absolutely right Benedikt - I don't know what kind of half-life we used to lead here before discovering the pleasures of the slow cooker. Working through lunch let me knock-off work early and attend to the handful of remaining tasks from the snag list. With the Aeroclub canopy safely re-attached using GG, there was still a slight trough between it and the fuselage arounf the front of the windshield, so this was masked off and some Milliput added and shaped with some water and sculpting tools: Once dried this will have a going over with the W&D: There is of course some side framing for the sliding windows to add on either side but prudence dictates this is added at the end after the main painting is done as it will be too fragile to withstand distracted handling whilst airbrushing all around the place. The fuel tank covers had some of their prominent rivet lines added, along with the resin 'pips' for the tiny teardrop fairing that site outboard of the access panels: They're actually double rivet lines but I don't have a double-rivetter and at this scale I'm not chancing my arm any further down that rabbit hole. (Please, nobody mention Archers. I will one day of course but there's enough to deal with here at this point! ) And that is by-and-large the building work done now. Sill need to attach the aileron hinges to the wings (there bonding areas are so small that I don't want to risk excess glue-staining if attaching them after paint) and a number of items like windscreen wipers, sunshield &etc. but otherwise, only remaining task is to mask off the windows and get the primer out! Oh, I've no doubt I'll still find the odd piece that needs to be added that I've forgotten about but as far as wholesale building goes, we're done. Infernum diu. Tony

Evening all. I built this Phantom for the Phantom GB here on Britmodeller and thought I'd put it into RFI for wider perusal. This one is a bit rough round the edges but all the mistakes are mine alone and not the kit. Cheers Allan

Fate can go...well, you get the idea. I've had quite enough of fate recently. It owes me a really good turn or three. All-weather tires, so sort of? They've always been sufficient here. My advice is just run the car off an embankment and claim the insurance money. Eek! Anyway, more decals on. All the main markings but the fin flashes are done now:

Hi all I hope this is not too cheeky as it was built as part of the Fabulous Frog Group Build. There have been may beautiful kits built in that group build. I am very pleased and proud of this build. I hope the GB mods and participants don't mind. The Cockpit is pretty much scratch built as there is not much in the kit and there are the radio sets in the rear although they can't be seen when assembled . The seat is part of an Airwaves Photo etch set for Spitfire and hurricanes and therefore is not correct but it was all I could find at the time. IP is scratch built as is the floors, side frames, rear seats etc. The raised panel lines were scraped off and rescribed leaving the lovely rivet details . The engine was replaced by an Aeroclub AW Tiger engine in white metal and the moulded pushrod tubes were scraped off and replaced with brass rod. The Aeroclub engine comes with a lovely exhaust collector ring and propeller and so the kit exhausts were cut and bent to connect to it. The kit was missing a couple of struts, one of which was scratched and the other was built from one of the Float struts was used with some modification. Various parts such as hinge covers for the ailerons were made along with their actuators and the elevator actuators were also made. Rigging is from Invisible thread along with the aerial wires. the Vickers K gun is a lovely bit of kit from Miniworld . Navigation lights were made from Lazer bond UV glue and plastrut and the bomb rack mounts were made from the an Airwaves PE fret inserted into holes drilled in the wing and then CA'd into place. There are other bits I have forgotten to mention I'm sure. The initial decals failed me and a new set was kindly sent by @PeterB and they went down effortlessly again a real testament to Frog, thanks Pete. Also a big thank you the Moderators on the forum @Rabbit Leader and @JOCKNEY and to all who have offered encouragement along the way. I hope they don't mind me posting this here, but I am very proud of this kit. There are many kits built in the GB and they are all wonderful and there are loads of kits that I had not realized Frog had made, check them out you will be amazed at the beautiful results. I have really enjoyed making this and the Kit actually fitted together beautifully and is a testament to the wonderful world of Frog Kits. Thanks for looking in All the best Chris

I’m dragging three reluctant shelf queens along with the XIV in a race for quadruple Griffon engined glory! They’re all at the same stage and will get similar treatment (although the 46 will be clean as a whistle and semi-glossy), namely seal coat, filter, oil dots etc, before I move on to an FR. Mk 47. I love this (1996) kit!! first up - Planet Models Seafire f.mk 45 This was a pricey kit when I bought it (£45-odd iirc!) Must have been ten years ago, too - I remember warping the wings to the right angle and heating up a baby bottle for number 2 son in the warmer gizmo -worked a treat! That canopy masking’s been on there for a decade though. May have to re-glaze this one - but I can do that sort of thing these days, right? Of similar vintage, and inspired by Desmojen’s one on this very site, you’ve seen it all before, Mk 46. Bit more optimistic about the canopy mask on this one! I can’t help thinking the LM on the tail of this should have the black outline too. The hook wasn’t fitted to this plane. Number 3 - Contra-Prop Mk. 45 Aeroclub Mk 21 fuselage, Airfix 46 wings and prop. This mark was the longest of all of the Spitfire line - a two stage Griffon, contra-prop, broad rudder and hook, meant it was too long for the deck lifts on the Pretoria Castle, where Eric Brown did the deck landing trials. It still needed more rudder area as was unstable - it had sacrificed some area for the sting hook. Even with the contra-prop it was a bit of a pig to fly, so for the mk.46 the tail grew in height instead, borrowing the spiteful/seafang tail unit. What an awesome machine, I love it -Joe Smith and his team really knew how to wring out the spitfire airframe. You’d be pleased as these two if one was parked on your lawn, wouldn’t you? TTFN, Matt

Hi everyone, After a bit of a break from modelling and concenttrating on a 'real' car project, I got back on it and have jus tcompleted the Belkits Mk1 Escort. I however chose to do the very distinctive Gold and Red scheme of the Alan Mann racing cars. The kit went together really well and was painted using Zero Paints. The decals came from the excellent Motobitz decal kit along with the correct Resin Weels. All in all I really enjoyed building this one and it looks great in the cabinet with my other builds!! Anyway a few photos: Thanks for looking! Cheers Matt

Evening all, just finished this one. Revell's Hawker Hurricane IIc modified to represent one of the IId's supplied to Stalin as a sweetner after Churchill told him he couldn't have any Typhoons. I used the AML decal for Hurricane in Soviet service part 1 as the set came with the cannon required to make the flying tin opener! The Revell kit is not to bad for its age but the panel lines are a bit vague in places and the cockpit doesn't resemble the real aircraft. I removed the 20mm cannons and the bulges on the upper surface and filed the spent case ports on the under side and positioned the cannons over the bomb rack mounting holes. Finished with Tamiya acrylics with a basic oil wash on the panel lines. As always all comments welcome. A quick size comparison against its replacement. The decal set came with 2 pairs of 40mm cannon so I can build a second Hurricane, I was think about Johnny Reds Hurricane with cannon and rockets as featured in the Battle comics.

Hi Guys, Firstly for this project, I want to thanks two people who helped on the way, my fellow modelers Ratish and Sanjay, for their inputs which were valuable. There are no Mig-21 Bison kits in 72 scales as of now and for that, I use the closes I could get my hand on which is the Condor Mig-21-93, the less I said about the kit it is better. Its crude, simple, details non-existence but the price was it biggest drawer. The cockpit tub had zero details, what I did was I had some resin seat so attached it and borrowed some decals from elsewhere to make a make-believe cockpit. Once the cockpit was done I started on the body, painting the exhaust and masking it, for exhaust I use Tamiya hull red, black, and silver to make that burnt effect. Once that is done I started with the body and need some love and dedications since Indian bison has their own RW and antenna and I need to remove which is not there, I use a thin plastic card to make the necessary parts. Also, the wing flare which the kit came was just too flat and doesn't look alright so I use plastic foam and made a pair of it. For painting I use Tamiya neutral grey add white and pinch of black to get that Tipnis Grey, and quite happy with what I have done. The kit didn't have any stencils so I borrowed from elsewhere and put it there and apply a clear coat, I have to really careful cause a little coat of paint will hide the nearly invisible details on the wings and other parts. Once I m done with that the aircraft was looking a bit empty I didn't paint the drop tanks to grey instead of silver to break the monotonous grey and the kit came with R77 but pylons were missing so I scratch built it and here it is. The Mig-21 Bison 1/72 scale of the Indian Air Force. Thank you for looking, Cheers

Hi All Although I've been very quiet on the forum over the last month or two due in part to work being manic, but also partly due to a "blip" in my motivation, I've not been entirely idle. This is the forgeworld hobbit hole set which out of the packet consists of the front wall, two windows and two chimneys. The main structure is built from blue foam offcuts skimmed with cheap ready mix plaster before being covered with my usual sand and shot blasting powder mix. Once painted I covered it in static grass using my machine. Foliage was a mix of model railway packs (mostly woodland scenics) with some grass clumps and flowers I bought from Ebay. The fence, runner bean frame and log rack were all scratch built from bass wood or cut down matchsticks. Logs were dried dandelion roots. Cabbages, broccoli, and the runner beans were model railway accessories. Apples were balls of green stuff on a scratch built tree. All in all it's taken about a month of work on and off and has been the most fun model I've made in a long time. Was really pleased when forgeworld contacted me to see if they could use my photos on their website. Can you spot the apple stealing hobbit under the tree that the others are shouting out to get back to chopping logs? All the best Ben

With the exception of the inner gear door swing arms, I call this one finished. Kit is Eduard’s weekend box OOB with the seat belts exception and the swastika decal that came from spares. Hope you enjoy cheers

Well its finished, it took two month's to build and paint. It was good fun to make as the fit was generally very good all round. The kit is inaccurate in the shape of the canopy and a few other parts which were pointed out to me. I would build another as it's a good kit to build but I would get corrections. There were no decals for the harpoon which was strange so I have attached them with no markings I'm personally happy with it, I think this is my best effort on a kit yet, I think I may have over done the panel lines but I like it. Anyway the base needs to be painted to look like an airfield but for now it will sit alongside my small but growing collection. Hope you guys enjoy the pics. The paints used were mr hobby and Tamiya, I mixed my own colours and used a mixture of Flory Models dark dirt wash and Vallejo pigments to highlight the detail. The pilots are PJ Productions 1/48th scale NATO pilots other then those the rest is OOB.

It's getting closer now, with the Commer van now painted and decaled. Humbrol grey for the lower bodywork, a Lancaster wing walk decal for the demarcation stripe, as all attempts at masking a thin blue line failed, and BOAC script taken from an aftermarket diecast restoration sheet. I like the BOAC script, I'm less happy with the Speedbirds on the doors. The colour scheme is correct, the scripts are a bit generic but the overall effect is fine by me. A coat or two of clear varnish will be added as soon as the decals have dried off. Then I can glaze the windows and the thing is finished. Next job is to paint up some of the 1.100 scale figures and try out a few setups on the hardstanding. The bigger display base might not get done in time for the end of the GB. I don't want to rush that one, so my gallery entry might be the just the plane and van sat on the hardstanding.

After seeing this jet at Riat and finding the stand, they had the decals for sale, and knowing i already had the kit I got some Now i finished this about a month ago, took about 3 weeks to do,quite pleased with it tbh DSC_9612 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9605 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9613 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9620 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9618 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9621 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr

Hi all! My job will be a fantastic model of the Gloster Meteor from Arfix ( new tool) in the 1/48 scale. I´ll make it with Brazilian markings. The decals are from a Brazilian manufacturer, FCM, btw, excelent! Take from Wikipedia : "The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to achieve combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. The Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Gloster's 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator G-AIDC was the first civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world.[1] Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decades. The Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) fought in the Korean War. Several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in photographic aerial reconnaissance and as night fighters. The Meteor was also used for research and development purposes and to break several aviation records. Brazil Brazilian Air Force received 62 aircraft in F.8 and TF.7 variants. 2°/1°GAvCa 1°/1°GAvCa 1°/14°GAv See you soon! Luiz.

I'm pleased to present the very first completed build by my oldest son, Winston, aged 4 as of this Wednesday. He built and painted the whole thing all by himself, with my only assistance being drawing guidelines to show where to apply the wood glue and laying out paper for his workspace, as well as acting as a human version of those alligator-clip helping hands tools. It was brushpainted in a scheme of Winston's own devising, which can truly be said to be a WHIF, since it's for the fire station he intends to run when he's big. It was a delight to watch him work on it. Winston was nearly expelled from preschool last year for disruptive behaviour, and subsequent testing revealed he's alarmingly, profoundly gifted, with an IQ of 136 on the standard 140-point scale used when testing children. Coupled with his very average level of emotional maturity, it means this mighty cranial engine oftentimes drives him at breakneck speed down the road to perdition, but for forty-five minutes, he was totally focused and completely calm and happy as he built this model. Perhaps it's because I'm a modeller myself, but this was a really special, moving experience for me as a parent.

I have taken this Eduard weekend edition kit as far as I wish. The purpose of the build was to try an idea I had to emulate the uneven surfaces seen on stressed skin aircraft, and chose this particular aircraft as I'd already built an Eduard Hellcat and knew how it went together, but this overall Glossy Sea Blue aircraft would particularly benefit from something to add visual appeal to an otherwise featureless finish. If interested in the experiment itself, here is the Work in Progress thread: The kit is close to being Out-Of-the-Box, but did receive Airscale cockpit instrument decals to improve the panel, and substantial improvements to the cockpit purely from adding an Ultracast resin seat with seatbelts, new wheels and Ultracast's much improved Hamilton Standard propeller. In addition, Master brass barrels were added. All paints are Colourcoats enamels, and the antenna is Infini Model 40 denier (0.068mm) lycra rigging line. The base is Eduard's injection moulded Essex class aircraft carrier deck section, although strictly speaking the aircraft was from USS Enterprise CV-6, a Yorktown class. If anyone made it this far and is remotely curious to see how ACUS34 - ANA623 Glossy Sea Blue compares to our parallel paints ACUS07 - ANA606 Semi-Gloss Sea Blue and ACUS33 - ANA607 Non-Specular Sea Blue, often all claiming to be matched simultaneously and/or referenced to FSx5042 which matches none of them, here's the GSB Hellcat and my earlier "by the book" tricolor F6F-3 together: Thanks for looking in!

The pictures in your link are the same that were on the Ebay auctions. Here there are in higher resolution. Laurent

Hi all Just finished my first attempt an at AFV and I chose to kick off with my favourite tank-the Matilda. Really find the early war tanks interesting compared to the late war stuff- thinking of attempting an A13 MkIV next so if anyone has any recommendations for a good kit then please let me know. So after watching lots of YouTube videos, buying a few books and visiting this site, I've tried all sorts of techniques for the first time including using pigments, hairspray chipping, oil streaks/washes, pin washes. Big learning curve but I'm very pleased with the result. Picked up plenty of learning points, like I should have clear coated the rust/chipping layer before applying the hairspray as I've rubbed too hard in a few places and revealed the base coat, and if anyone has any advice for my next project I'd be grateful. I also think I was a bit too heavy on the final spray of buff and toned things down a bit too much. I'm just starting on the diorama for it now, so I'll post more pictures of the finished piece when I'm done.

ZY-Y - 247 Sqn. France, June 1944 This was part of my project for the D-Day GB. The kit is by Hasegawa but re-boxed by Italeri with new decals. There are some fit issues with the kit in a couple of places but other than those it was a fun build. As can be seen from the photos I decided, as it was going to be part of a small diorama, that I would have the prop motorised. The motor I used was from Airfix. I also used the PE set for this kit from Eduard. Kit: 1/48 Italeri/Hasegawa Hawker Typhoon Mk.Ib Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel and Railmatch Acrylics all applied by brush Extras: Eduard PE set, Airfix motor and Airfix pilot The WIP can be found: Here The diorama can be found: Here The Tiger 1 RFI can be found: Here Please excuse the blue colour of the support as these were taken before I knew how the final appearance needed to look. Before fitting to the base the blue was toned down a lot! With a sky background: One over the base

I know a fair few like to follow my 1/72nd scale builds on a theme of 1940. While I’ve posted RFI threads on most of the models I’ve build so far, and made oblique references to the display cabinet, I haven’t really shown everything all together before. I thought it might be fun to show how crammed the display is getting, which might explain why I’m actively seeking bigger and display options at the moment. The top shelf is the "reserve collection". TSR2 is destined for greater things, one day, so lives on the top shelf as it really doesn’t fit in the 1940 theme. Several odd vehicles are at the back, accompanied by a Pegasus Miles Master, a superannuated and now replaced by a much better tooling DH Tiger Moth, a Hasegawa Bf109E and a High Planes Beaufighter MkI. The Emil might be resurrected to the main collection, but the Beau has been superseded by a better kit. I can’t bear to get rid, though, as it caused me a lot of angst while building it. The next shelf down holds a Revell Dornier Do17Z, an old and new tool Airfix Junkers Ju87, Westland Whirlwind, Matchbox Gloster Gladiator, RS Models Avro C.30 Rota, and 1970s tool Airfix Hurricane and Spitfire. The latter, with the Whirlwind, were built for the Airfix Classic GB in 2018. Down another shelf, and we find an Italeri Ju88A-5, bashed from an A-4 kit. An Airfix new tool Do17Z site with a kit-bashed Opel Blitz refueller, Airfix Bf110 and 109, and then the might of the French air force's single engined fighters: Morane Saulnier MS406, Caudron CR714, Dewoitine D520, Bloch MB152 and Curtiss Hawk 75. Next, the RAF get another look in. Blenheims are represented by the MkIF and MkIVF, Matchbox Westland Lysander, Special Hobby Blackburn Roc, an Airfix new tool Gladiator, new tool Airfix Hurricane and Spitfire, and an MPM Defiant. The final two shelves have the trainer section and Bomber Command so far. Pavla Airspeed Oxford, a pair of Miles Magisters, one RS and one Frog, an Eastern Express/Frog Master MkII, reworked Airfix HP Hampden and Blenheim MkIV. On the shelf below, all it’s lonesome, is the Airfix Whitley. The shelf below that contains all the set dressing vehicles I use to make photos look interesting. As you can see, space is tight now, and with at least as many kits again waiting in the stash I need to upgrade the display space soon. Hope you enjoyed that!

So this build was more emotional than trying to make a great model. I even remember a little squabble with my older brother over this kit as kids. Back in the early 80s this was the second kit I ever built. Revisiting this kit now I just wanted to do a decent job of building it again the way the younger me could not. I tried my best to stay true to a straight OOB build including the decals. The underside of the fuselage however is just too bare and I added bits and bobs from the spares box - mainly leftovers from Airfix and Italeri SHAR builds. Enjoy and comments are always welcome Paints are all Tamiya. I also took a picture of it next to my last Airfix SHAR build to compare experimenting with Tamiya field blue for this build vs gunship grey used on the Airfix. I added the Aden gun pods (Airfix) from the spares box as the underside was too bare and the strakes made it look more so. And one with the Airfix Thank you for looking

A sympathetic/pathetic (whichever you choose) rigging and railing job, (kriegsmarine modellers may recognise the railings) and a bit of a wash and flat coat , i may leave the etch unpainted i reckon, the beastys tenticles will be thoroughly mauling it anyway, I'm calling the steamer finished for now, its bound to need fettling later, and I'll move on to the fun part ,the creature,i recieved my model clay sculpting tool set from of the tinternet today, so i don't have to roll pork sausage sized tenticles and it "might" get a bit more detail Cheers all

The kittens are down at the vets being neutered, poor little souls, so I have taken advantage of a "hairy hooligan free" house to get the decs on. I can now fit the gear doors, belly and wing tanks, aerial and pitot tube. I will also add a whip aerial behind the mast type one. The kit decs looked good but as a precaution I tried one of the spare Dutch ones on an old gash kit. It was showing no signs of sliding off the paper after 5 minutes soaking so I went and got one of the sheets from my stash, and had that dec on the plane before the other one finally decided to slide off. Both went on fine and the kit ones have a slightly better colour, but are slightly “see through” so I stuck with my spare ones. Once we get the kittens back this afternoon we are going to have fun. They have not eaten since 7pm last night so they are going to be ravenous but we will have to feed them little and often to reduce the risk of them being sick. In all probability they will have to wear plastic conical "Elizibethan collars" for a couple of days to stop them pulling out the stitches, particularly as they groom each other. The only time we have had to fit one of those collars to a cat, it decided to walk backwards around the house to avoid banging it into doors which was hilarious to watch. It also freaked out the other cats. Also, they are not supposed to go out for a while, which will be tricky as they have a built in compulsion to go out, particularly at night - they may be domesticated but there is still a lot of wild cat in them, which is why my daughter calls them "our house panthers"! Trying to stop one "escaping" is difficult enough but with two working as a team it is almost impossible. Wish me luck! Pete

Airfix FGR2 XV408 92sqn, painted with Hataka Roundel Blue and finished with Winsor and Newton “Matt”

Hi everybody, here's WE progress report for your consideration Last touch ups before priming: blade antennae refined same for the bottom vents/intakes plastic shims inserted to fill the gap on the drop tanks Here's the underwing load for this Typhoon: It's one of the possible Interceptor configuration I saw on pics: two 1000lt tanks, two AIM-120B AMRAAM to be loaded on the front bays, one Sidewinder and one IRIS-T As I said, I based this payload on pictures I saw on the 'net; my only doubt is about the IRIS-T, since it was first delivered in 2005 to the German Air Force. I have no info about when it was delivered to the AMI, and the airframe I'm representing is as of 2006 - so likely to already have carried that missile, but I'm not 100% sure. If anybody knows any better, please let me know, still plenty of time to fix this. It was then time for masking: cockpit exhausts and air intakes Once that was done, I rubbed some IPA all over the model surface, followed by a polish with the specific Dremel tool I normally use for canopies. Here she is, ready for primer: Next time, though; meanwhile, all comments welcome Ciao

Thanks chaps! Aside from weathering, which needs fresh eyes, I'm calling this done. I will sort out proper piccies and get an RFI done during the week. Thanks for all the comments and help - especially @Selwyn for the bomb bay info, although I didn’t use it in the end: it might prove useful if I ever build the 1/48th Blenheim . I wonder what will fall off the stash shelf next…

Having always been a fan of this aircraft at many many airshows i just hope i could do it justice in making a model of it Airfix kit, did use a canopy mask kit to help, using a mix of tamiya and Mr hobby paints DSC_9549 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9559 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9561 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9558 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9554 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr DSC_9560 by Thomas Gotobed, on Flickr

Having received an Airfix Skyhawk as thank you from @stevej60, seemed a shame that it wouldn’t be high on my build list but sure painting it in fleet air arm colours with some spare Harrier decals will change that

Hi James, I do the Mk.20 in my Freightdog range for the old kit, it has been re-worked and will be released at Telford along with a few other Buccaneer sets that don't clash with Air-Graphics ones so far announced. Thanks, Colin

Thinking of going with the EDSG over white scheme with markings from the SHAR2, though I have to use xtradecals to get black serials, rather not paint the white but I think it likely had the RN got skyhawks they would have updated to the longer nosed marks by the time the white was deleted

I've done two actually And with the probe stuck to the helicopter, and the drogue hose fed through the refuelling pod (it had two holes drilled to meet each other - the cable needed some careful manipulation to feed it through), we can sort of imagine how this should pan out...

Finally I can put this one to bed and call it finished. The decals pulled down and got rid of the wrinkles eventually, but I decided against putting a clear coat on as I didn't know how they would react. The eagle eyed will think they can see blutac under the front wheels and think that I've forgotten to put nose weight in, but I couldn't possibly own up to that Not my best model, but it's another to add to the GB tally Hopefully more free time will be delivered soon as I've had it on order for ages, then I can get some modelling done

Kobuz! P-50B! P-62! Mis! … Go Poland '46.... Sorry, must have had too much coffee. I shall go lie down for a while. or at least feed the cat, to stop him staring down at me balefully.

I braved the wind and cold to drill out the 3 remaining resin engine nacelles Whilst in there, I raided my old R/C stash which hasn't been touched since I moved house in spring 2014 when I was taking home almost 3 times as much money and found some brass tube in larger sizes than my Albion Alloy stuff, and also pilfered a drogue from a Revell issue of Matchbox's old HP Victor kit.

Very interesting- but what is it there for, and why only on Fs? (I'm no Sabre savant, but I don't recall ever noticing such a prominent "scab"!) By the way, I just checked in on page 5, which had only two posts at the time, then got sidetracked by the above on page 4, so I guess now I've got to return to start (and collect $200?) bob

The vote has now closed - 32 members voted which suggests people were holding off until nearer the close. Thank-you to the people who voted. @PlaStix has come out top in both polls with his “Achtung Raketen!” – Tiger 1 and Typhoon Mk.Ib In the aircraft group @Wdedig (P-38, 394th FS, 367FG) and @modelling minion (P-47D Razorback, Col Morton Magoffin, 362nd Fighter Group) came equal second. In the everything else group @Hewy's Bedford QLB took 6 votes for second place. @Ozzy's 2nd Platoon, 506 Regiment, 101 Airborne Division had 5 votes for third place. Well done all of you and congratulations.

Hard to believe that I haven't updated (or worked on) this for over 7 weeks. Even harder to believe that not one mod has come near me in that time to find out what I've been up to, how does that make me feel. Anyway, I had the Dark Sea grey on about the time I did likewise with my Sharkmouth build & then I parked this to finish that, & then....life has been just bloody unco-operative. Since then have marked up for some green, which I now have on it too after my thread about Vampire camo patterns. Luckily I recalled some Modeldecals I had, originally bought for the Belgian Avro markings but also containing some Vampire markings & a camo layout. Its near enough to my mind. Steve.

Mark I'd start a shop, you've got more than I have. John

Here's part one of my dual build, 69-0280 in the markings it wore during the begin and the end of its career in USAFE. This is how it looked as an F-4E with the 613th TFS, 401st TFW based at Torrejon AB in Spain in the early 1970's: Hasegawa kit, with Wolfpak, Hasegawa and Microscale decals, painted with Gunze paints

Here is the port side of current model: Also some test shots to compare with real aircraft: In overall the model looks fine. Some improvements on nose chine is still required. Serkan

It's neither ideal nor insurmountable but it needs doing... With the wings out of game whilst the Milliput cures, I resumed work on the chopper. As the S-61 family all (with exceptions) have a boat hull I made a hard balsa wedge This was intended to serve as a mounting block. The top was faced with plasticard ...and the floor drilled as can be seen. I soldered the positive cable to an M3 nut and glued this to the top of the mounting block. An M3 screw had its head ground down until it was a good press fit into the carbon fibre tube to get a good electrical connection the it was secured in the threaded section with some CA wicked in. And thus, I have a helicopter on a stick. Also, my modelling table has been taken over by children, and I'm hungry so this is enough for now. I don't think I have any more excuses for not cracking on and finishing the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant now.

The Fujimi FG.1 was the subject of a BM review just a few years back. Not long thereafter, I purchased a Fujimi kit direct from Japan and can honestly say that the mould's finesse has not deteriorated over time. I was tempted to buy the Airfix kit, however once I saw a few finished examples decided that (IMO) Fujimi's example still looked the better of the two. I would say the Airfix kit scores points when one considers the range of options and excellent decal sheet(s), whilst the Fujimi kit wins out in overall mould quality. Both have their small issues, however will result in great Phantoms once built so it's horses for courses between the two. Now I find Italeri's pricing a little perplexing, however will probably get another one of these (my 4th) when they hit the local shelves. Cheers.. Dave

Not done much on the Twin Pin for the last month with Holidays and some other stuff, but now all the major parts have been cleaned up and some paint has been slapped on. I did think about buying one of the Valom interiors but the thought of even more resin and fettling to fit made me see sense. Also I doubt much will be seen inside as the windows are small and most underneath the wing anyway. I've used matt black as my research suggests that for the interior of military Twin Pins; usually I would have used something a little lighter such as Revell's Anthracite but I'll use it along with some Aluminium dry brushing to highlight the cockpit. There's a bit more preparation needed (and I'll have to find the epoxy. I think it's too heavy for cyano for many parts) but should be able to start putting bits together soon.