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Hi all! Now a domestic project ... Smoke Squadron is the popular name of the "Air Demonstration Squadron" (EDA), [2] a group of pilots and mechanics from the Brazilian Air Force that perform aerobatic demonstrations around Brazil and around the world. The origins of the Smoke Squadron date back to the early 1940s, when the Aeronautics School was founded at the Afonsos Air Base in Rio de Janeiro. The first official air demonstration of the group that would form the Smoke Squadron took place in May 1952 for a foreign entourage visiting the School. The squadron embryo was formed there, inside the School of Aeronautics. In 1969, the Aeronautics School was renamed the Air Force Academy Aeronautics School (AFA) remaining at Afonsos Air Base until 1971, when it was moved to the city of Pirassununga, in the state of Sao Paulo. In 1982, after six years of inactivity, the Smoke Squadron was reactivated as the new name of the Air Demonstration Squadron (EDA). Its mission, as defined by the EDA, is "to conduct air demonstrations in order to disseminate, at national and international level, the institutional image of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB)". [3] [2] North-American T-6 Texan (1952 - 1976): North-American T-6 aircraft, manufactured under license in Brazil during World War II, had a cruising speed of 240 km / h with a range of 750 km. They carried out a total of 1225 demonstrations and were deactivated in 1976 due to the high cost of maintenance. The activities of the Squadron were interrupted until 1982, when the Neiva T-25 began operations. I used in this project four NaT6, from Academy in the 1/72 scale...an OTB project...the pictures tell all the story, hope you like it ...it took me one month and a half to finish it... Regards for all! Luiz.

Calling it done after 18 days of feeling the need for speed. Mostly OOB with resin wheel sets from Def.Model and pilot/AoA from MASTER. Going to add some figures later but I need to get some good sleep first. Fitting is ok - some parts are perfect but some parts you need to sand & putty. Decals are good - thin and touch, just make sure you put more water before you slide them onto your kit. More options - 3 wing options + 3 tailplane position options + open/close spoilers + 3 intake ramp options + 2 nozzle options + 2 nose landing gear options Canopy - choose between Pikachu and Bulbasaur, of course no I am joking. Just choose between 1-pieced molded clear canopy or, clear part with plastic frame which you really save a lot of time on masking. Wide range of ordnance - AIM-54C, AIM-7M, AIM-9M, GBU-12, GBU-16, GBU-38 JDAM, GBU-31 JDAM, LANTIRN pod and TARPS. Sleep time, baby! 💣🐱 You can check out the W.I.P. post here:

Hi folks - so this is my latest - The Revell boxing of the Special hobby de Havilland Vampire - Mk4. I did this as another experiment with Alclad paints - I wanted to see if I could recreate a version of High speed silver by starting with a high sheen finish and winding it down to a more accurate portrayal with weathering - The experiment ultimately failed with the finish ending up basically as NMF which wasn't ideal - but it was still fun to do - Saying that, under some light conditions it does work - but fails as soon as you shine a light on it... as with the images below. Painted with Alclad - with Mr Hobby GX2 for the gloss black base - Weathered with oils and AK emamel washes - added Eduard interior PE set and modified the engine nozzle with some evergreen plastic tubing. Put in the rivets with the Rosie the riveter tool. RNZAF decals from Old Model Decals here in NZ. Here's a shot I did outside, just to show how the light changes the finish quite dramatically: WIP is here if you're interested: Thanks for looking

Hi all This is my latest production and last of the backlog for RFI. Back in 1983 I had a flight in a DC3 at an airshow at Dyce, Aberdeen. The aircraft was G-AMPO of Air Atlantique in their, then new, Green Stripe livery. I loved the look of this livery and the memory of the flight has lasted. When I returned to modelling I was browsing through BM and found an example of G-AMHJ in the Air Atlantique blue stripe livery, That set me looking for a set of the green stripe decals by 26decals. I then looked for a suitable kit of the DC3, winning an old ESCI kit on eBay for a very good price. Nice to see that the image on the box was the aircraft I intended to build, albeit in an older scheme, and with a previous owner. The build was fairly straightforward with good fit of the kit. I did some alterations to make the kit as close to the plane I flew in as possible. I cut and glazed some extra cabin windows and scratched some extra seats in the cabin so that it was the 32 seater I was in. In hindsight that seemed a waste of time because you can't see in the cabin. The 26Decals were excellent and easy to work with although there were a coupled of errors; the emergency exit marks for the cabin roof say 'EXIT HERE IN EMERGENCY' when it should be 'CUT HERE IN EMERGENCY'. I have left these as they were. The other issue with the decals was the plane has three emergency exits through windows but there is only 2 on the decals sheet. I resolved this by painting a red square onto the decal film, seems to work ok. While the plane I flew in was basically out of the paint-shop I have chosen to present my interpretation as G-AMPO appeared in 1985, looking quite grubby and bearing recently added Air Luton titles. My presentation is just before the new titles were added. On to the pictures. Thanks for looking. Graeme

Hi there. This is my 20th model I have completed since the beginning of this year, after I restarted this hobby after putting it on hold all those years ago. And I've had a blast ever since. I've been building mostly cold war jets in 1/72 scale. So about the model: Model: Eduard MiG-21MF (Royal Class Combo, No. R0017) Scale: 1/72 Paints: Vallejo Model & Air Aftermarket: None (kit was supplied with resin & etch parts) Weathering: Vallejo Weathering Effects, Flory Models Wash Decals: Techmod TM72070 Eduard kit is simply but brilliant. Not a bad word I can say about it. Word of caution of the photography - I'm trying to get better photos but I'm not quite there yet. Especially the colours are bit off but anyway, I hope you can see enough. Comments & constructive criticism is welcomed.

Dullcoat's on, masks are off: I have terrible luck with canopies, and there was some glue fouling on the interior: But once again Colourcoats came through for me: the last Lancaster I built had a load of paint lift off with the mask. Here? Almost none. I had to scrub the interior rear windows off with a Q-tip dipped in IPA after seeing them unmasked: All in all, I fear this is turning out to be a C build, rather than the B- or solid B I was hoping for. Oh well. Onward!

Here is my completed Zvezda Boeing 777-31H/ER "Big Foot" wearing 26Decals Emirates colours. Built as a commission for a happy Emirates frequent flyer who wants to remember her most recent voyage in 1/144 scale. Not show standards, and quickly assembled in less than 7 nights. The kit is very well engineered, made better than the normal civil kit with a sensibly designed 2 piece whole wing assembly that can be plugged straight into the completed fuselage - ideal for shipping to the customer and reduces masking and filling by many hours. I'm not sure if Zvezda or 26Decals are at fault but the kits window spacing does not match the decals so the window decals had to be added in batches of 2's and 3's to marry up with the kits windows. Not really a problem but a big time waster. Having built the Minicraft 777-200 years back with costly Braz resin add-on parts, Zvezda's kit really does shame the alternative. Those whopping big Genny-Lec's (GE's) are a mini kit in themselves with superbly engineering forward and rear turbine blades. Minus the "Big Foot's" undercarriage, this model has been assembled as a ceiling hanging display. Having just built the same customer a 1/144 Emirates a380, the 777-3ER certainly is a true Boeing giant. and the previous commission for the same client Thanks for dropping in John

Hi folks! I finally managed to paint the Elan13 figures to complement the wonderfull WNW Sopwith Camel. The WIP: It is OOB, except for the seat belt. Rigging was done with EZ Line and Prym knitting elastic. The grass mat is from Polak models. Here it is in all its glory: Cheers, Markus

I don't post all that frequently here, but I've had a pretty good year and a bit as far as modelling goes, so I thought I'd post up some photos of my recent builds... In chronological order, starting from last September - Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane Mk IID (I'm aware the tail wheel is the wrong way round, it won't actually fit the correct way round, Hasegawa's error in making that part, although I suppose I could have cut it and sanded it and forced it to fit correctly). Xtrakit 1/72 DH Vampire Italeri 1/72 F-117 Nighthawk (unfortunately the kit decals for the underside cracked on me during the build) Revell 1/72 Tornado GR1 (I had a problem with the decals, they're by Printscale, and were very thin, the "Mig Eater" decal rolled up irreparably, hence why it's missing) Revell 1/72 Mig-21 Airfix 1/72 C-47 (my D-Day commemoration build) Airfix 1/72 A-4 Skyhawk (unfortunately the canopy fogged on me, Mk.82 Snakeyes are from Hasegawa)

Hi, here I'm sharing with you my Vampire in the RNZAF colors! It's the 1/72nd Airfix vampire starter kit. Little bit of a back story, I chose a started kit because it's the first aircraft kit I've done, and the first time I weathered (washes only), and also the first time I used acrylics extensively (used a lot of lacquers and enamels on my ships), and also the first time i have to mask that many things (canopy and all). So first of a few things, I'm quite happy with it, please be frank and full of tips, I'd love to learn new things for my next model (1/72 AB-212). I initially wanted to dive in a big-ish project with a flanker is a special livery but decided onto something simpler (and cheaper) to learn. As you can see here, I started the wash on the right wing but ended up leaving it too long, forcing me to scrape the excess, and chipping a bit of pain... Well, I learnt my lesson. Overall I'm really happy with it, I love the real paintjob, learnt a lot of things along the way, and It doesn't look too bad on my shelf!

A very enjoyable build only made tricky by me making a bit of a mistake under the front panels. This lead in turn to some difficulty in fitting them.

Scratchbuilt a 1/48 Mars Exploration Vehicle (not to be confused with the ZERO X MEV) and rendered Valles Marineris in Terragen. Keith More here:

I built this kit a while ago just after I got back into modelling. As with all Tamiya kits it's a joy to build. The only minor issue was keeping the shape of the clamshell halves accurate. Even had go at a bit of oil wash. Airbrushed with Ultimate primer and finished with Tamiya acrylics. Apologies for the over the top wiring on the engine but I had a bit of fun. Thanks.

The MiniArt T-60 kits are pretty close to perfect. I will echo 4bo’s sentiment about some of the small parts being difficult to remove from sprue attachments intact, but most of the parts that got really mangled were easily replaced with wire, tubing, etc. Kit was largely out-of-the-box, but a Minimeca barrel, Friul tracks and some assorted PE were added.

Finished this fantastic little vignette from Elan13 Models. The seat is from a 75mm Dolls house furniture set, stripped and repainted. Cocker Spaniel is based on my own cocker called Louis. Painting thread Here

#23/2019 The sexy beast from the east is done. Hobby Boss kit built oob, only some stencils came from Hi-Decal because the kit decals aren´t the best. Camo painted with AK Real Color Air Supperiority Blue for the lighter blue. For the darker blue my dad mixed Tamiya XF-18 Medium Blue with XF-23 Light Blue and XF-2 White in approx. 4:1:1. The grey was done with Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey. Exhaust area painted with Gunze H63 Mettalic Blue Green, H76 Burnt Iron and Tamiya X-13 Metallic Blue. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235057810-guardian-of-the-east148-sukhoi-su-27-flanker-b-russian-airforce/ DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0006 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0008 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0012 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0015 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0017 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0019 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0020 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0021 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0022 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0023 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0024 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0025 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

Hi This is the third of my backlog of models for RFI. I needed something 'easy' after building the Revell Inc MIG-21 so opted for a Hurricane IIC from Academy. This is my first Academy kit and I found it an enjoyable build. I built this straight OOB, only correcting the serial number. The decal for the 3 Squadron RAF example is shown as ZB464, but should be Z3464. I am a long way from mastering weathering so this Hurricane looks as if it has been in hard battle for some time and not been subject to any cleaning. Thanks for looking. Graeme

Hi all, So this one started life as my build for an online 'Matchbox GB' elsewhere. My plan was to build an Irish Air Corps machine, mid- 1990s. But then I came across a picture of one them before they were (controversially) retired in late 2005. So I thought I'd give that a go instead. Not really "scratchbuilt" in the true modelling-sense of the word but bodged together from different plastic spares, sprue, plasticard, wire, etc. The build WIP is here if you're interested. Close up of up top.. I thought I would give it a go and enter her in the Helicopter class at the IPMS Ireland Nationals last weekend - and was gobsmacked to win a Bronze in Class and Best Irish Aviation subject. More than a bit shocked as the standard of builds was unbelievable again this year. Thanks for looking and enjoy your modelling. Cheers, Dermot

Afternoon folk's,built for the year I was born GB as the lightning entered squadron service in 1960.I've always loved the Lightning but not silver finishes so this late scheme really appealed as I built the F6 in the Sharkmouth GB,thanks for looking in.

Which, seeing as Mrs Martian refers to me as her very own personal Space Sloth, can be very slow indeed! For me the banter is all part of the attraction of a thread. Even the good natured abuse keeps the spirits up when a build gets bogged down. Usually my fault as I have a tendency to get carried away. Before @corsaircorp gets his three Euros in, I am well aware that there are many who think I should be carried away. Silence Mrs Martian! Martian 👽

This was a shelf of doom rescue. I can't remember how long ago it was started, but it must have been when my mind was elsewhere--there were a number of self inflicted problems that could have been avoided had more care been taken during construction. Some minor surgery and generous slatherings of putty fixed the worst of them. In the end, it felt very good to get this finished. I hate to give up on a kit. There's a build video on my YouTube channel should you be interested.

Was it something you said?

A video add on to earlier posting of props running.Thoughts. Mark DSCN3529 video by mwsfly9, on Flickr

I've been to the Biograph theatre (where I saw 'Something about Mary') and stood on the spot where Dillinger was killed. Odd Chicago laws include it being illegal to dine in a restaurant which is on fire. It is also illegal to fish while seated on a giraffes neck. Of course this means that someone has done both of these things...

My paternal grandfather was at a couple of the nastiest battles of WWI. He used to shake hands with a hand sticking out of the trench side whenever he went out on a trip into no-man's land. He also told my dad about the foul language (whispered) that erupted from his officer when he stumbled hands-first into a dead body while crawling about out there We just don't know we're born, do we? We're so lucky not to have to undergo this kind of thing. Sorry for the serious bit again

I know one thing - this needs more coats of paint!

Morning all Its been a while, work and life getting in the way as usual so its time for an update; Time to start with the fine details.....started applying different sizes of aluminium squares to the tail crossmember IMG_20191007_231528075 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr and completed....nice rough build look IMG_20191008_154138401 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr IMG_20191008_154224174 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr now I must admit being a little concerned about engines for the dirty ….but on a visit to a car boot I stumbled across this IMG_20191010_113822898 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr which contained this IMG_20191010_113843981 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr which looks like this when test fitted IMG_20191010_114150744 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr which looks pretty good to me,not bad for a fiver....a quick search on King Kit and a suitable engine for the other side is winging its way to me as we speak. Next up those nose cannons IMG_20191010_114135289 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr aluminium and copper tube from B+Q IMG_20191010_141829804 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr IMG_20191010_141840082 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr next IMG_20191010_152327854 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr IMG_20191010_154905953 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr so heres where we stand IMG_20191010_155056715 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr IMG_20191011_003204615 by Tim Dyson, on Flickr Thanks to fubar57 for planting the engine size into my head👍 Im still having immense fun building this comments welcome as usual Tim

Stand 48 or 72 feet back from a real airplane and tell me what you see. That's all I have to say on the subject. Mike

In my humble opinion - absolutely and totally not. Aircraft generally do not have dark lines where the panels meet. Surfaces are relatively smooth and panels are close butted, overlapped or whatever to reduce any gaps. Panel washes on aircraft models are most unrealistic, and a modelling fashion accessory. But each to his own. If you want to emphasise something that at say 1/72 or 1/48 scale should hardly be seen, go ahead, it's your model.

Why? Heinkel certainly didn’t apply a panel line wash when they built the real aeroplane, the panels of which would either be lapped, or butted together if they met over a major structural member or a doubler plate. In the first case you’d see a shadow which, obviously, would vary with lighting conditions rather than appearing as a permanent fixture (as a wash is) and in the second any gap on the full sized aeroplane would be narrower than the panel line on your model. Most ‘219s didn’t survive long enough to accumulate vast quantities of crud and grot so, apart from exhaust staining, gun blast residues and mud or dirty water thrown up from contaminated runway or taxiway surfaces they’d be reasonably clean. I know it’s a museum exhibit but have a look at any images you can find of the only surviving ‘219 in America and see how conspicuous the panel joints are. I also know that it’s your model, but I’d suggest that “less is more” and that any wash is a slightly darkened (or lightened for black areas) mix of the base camouflage colour and not applied to every panel line, stick to those where grot can be seen to accumulate or frequently-removed access panels.

Latest build. 1/72 Revell kit. Bit of a challenge. Mark DSCN3508 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3507 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3510 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3512 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3513 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3515 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3516 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3518 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3519 (3) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3521 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3522 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3523 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3524 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3525 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3526 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr DSCN3527 (2) by mwsfly9, on Flickr

Heinkel He 111H-24 AEW "Blue A", the first of the H-24 series, Erprobungskommando Bremen, Luftwaffe, Germany (fictitious). Once the go-ahead was given for project Obertasse with the FuG 244 Berlin N-4 (later Bremen) rotating dish radar, it was proposed to use surplus He 111H aircraft as proof-of-concept machines due to the then unavailability of Ar 234s (the type chosen for the project) due to their need as bombers and reconnaissance aircraft. Three He 111s were converted to the new H-24 sub-type with all weapons removed, the Bremen radar in a rotating dish on a pylon on top of the fuselage, and several other detection and communications systems installed, the most noticeable being the thimble nose attached to the forward turret. All windows were covered and the top radio mast moved back. The aircraft were flown by Erprobungskommando (operational test detachment) Bremen. At first they flew only at night under He 219 fighter cover and although several problems were encountered, these were solved in over a month and the concept proved a success. Seven more conversions were made before the concept was finally applied to Ar 234s and other aircraft. Only one was shot down and two were destroyed on the ground. The survivors were later used for tests. (This history is, of course, fictitious. Project Obertasse was real though, but it was never built). Once I learnt of the Obertasse project in the third book of the "Luftwaffe Secret Projects" I always had the idea of making an Ar 234 in this configuration but without a readily available 1:144 kit I haven't yet been able to. The idea for this He 111 "what-if?" came when I fouled up the clear parts for a previous Minicraft 1/144th kit. I could restore clarity to the two main parts but not to the nose turret. It hit me that the He 111, having been designed also as a transport plane, would also be an ideal AEW platform, and like this recover what could have been a lost kit. Thus, I made up a non-exitant final sub-type. The kit was fully painted and varnished with brush. Decals came from spares. Thanks for looking and, as always, all comments are welcome. Miguel

A group build on A FB page got me started looking at the stash & eyeing a TR-1 kit I picked up a while back. I saw a U-2R take off & display at Mildenhall in the 80s (could well be 85) so I needed to make her a serial number who had at least visited the UK, even if they were never officially assigned to RAF Alconbury. Just to prove a point a U-2S visited a Mildenhall today. Anyway I got the HAS out at the weekend and tried to get some shots as the sun went down & cast long shadows. Hope you like them. And a couple on her own

I’ve no idea, but the temptation to do one in Temperate Sea Scheme may yet prove too much

Thank you all for the comments and likes, not had much time this week for bench time so a small update, I say small but the painting for this little part took a while. Its the rear fuel tank. I'll let you enjoy the pictures. Please enjoy Dan

Well done to everyone who got a build into the Gallery and if you are still building - keep going!! Thank you to @Robert Stuart for his great hosting of this GB and to everyone who took the time to comment in my build thread. Finally - thank you to anyone who voted for my project. I thoroughly enjoyed making all the elements. This GB got me building what is likely to be my one aircraft build of the year. I must make more aircraft next year - I have at least one aircraft build planned at the moment. Kind regards, Stix

The M62 has the honour of being the highest motorway in the UK - at 1,221 feet (372 metres), the section of the motorway at Junction 22 is the highest point of the UK's motorway network. The section is located at Windy Hill close to Saddleworth Moor. It is also home to the 'the little house on the prairie' - which is a small farm that nestles in the middle of the motorway...

Working with the engines... Now , working with the wings and fuse : The next step : starting with the painting job... Regards! Luiz.

A famous Mississippi Steamboat called the Delta Queen and her sister ship the Delta King were built at Dumbarton Scotland (hulls, first two decks and steam engines) and then shipped in pieces to the USA. Funny to think that something so very 'American' was built in Scotland. I particularly get a kick out of this fact as I am a fan of the late John Hartford (he wrote the famous song 'Gentle on my Mind') who wrote a song called the Delta Queen Waltz and was a licenced River Boat captain.

The XIVe Highback is getting close, and I've started on the FR XIVe Bubbletop. I want them to arrive at the paint shop together. Once again, Ultracast's late style seat, Quickboost's gyro gunsight, and mike Grant's instrument decals. The FR XIVe cockpit ... The pair as they are now ...

Looking something like a bad acid-trip with a grinning barracuda's mouth, I couldn't resist doing Special Hobby's 1/72 Biber midget submarine in this riotous crazy-quilt camouflage scheme. Pattern and colors are based on the kit instruction sheet, which says it served with K-Flottille 263 (3. Biber Flottille) based at Høllen in Norway in the Spring of 1945. As far as I can recall, this was my first Special Hobby kit, and I was quite pleased. A limited parts count, but fit and engineering were good with nice surface detail. The small decal sheet was well-printed and in excellent register, with markings options for five different craft. Enjoy!

Hey guys. Not planning on much tonight but the weekend looks likely. I did indeed remove the masks. With some slight errors that you can see. 🙃 I should have seen that coming. 🤨 no worries. a bit of hairy stick work put paid to that. And a slightly different angle. 🤪 Before I do owt I’d like to see if this looks right. I did measurements based on @Troy Smith ‘s post and pics he supplied and pics from the net. Gloss coated so excuse the excessive shine. top roundels. bottom roundels I’m looking at you @Troy Smith 🧐 look about right? Thanks for your help on this by the way. 😍 more when I get the all clear. 🤩🤩🥳 Johnny Friday.

On a similar note, is someone from Goole known as a Goolie? Sorry, that may not travel across the pond!

My paternal grandfather witnessed the shooting down of John Dillinger outside the Biograph Theatre. He also installed some of the kitchen fittings in the Pentagon when it was being built

Cheers Mike. A relatively slow week just doing odds-n-sods. Wheel bays painted an interior green, washed with Nuln oil and dry-brushed with interior green and Humbrol 11 Silver. Glazing added to front end and when dry, I'm sure a little filler and sanding will be required. Fuel pylons attached to tanks. Tanks, pylons and stabilizers painted with Tamiya AS-12. Brake lines added to main legs. Legs and doors painted with Tamiya AS-12, washed with Nuln oil and dry-brushed with Humbrol 11 Silver. Next week will be making good the front windscreen area and then it'll be a paint job...possibly. Stuart

Calling all Buccaneers, The 'Brick' has finally emerged in its pre-production guise with all the usual problems associated with production problems, its as per normal (SNAFU). Now before I sink my jaws into the main topic, I can hear voices in the ether, commenting on the shape of things and that this and that is wrong, well if it is, then fix it; I can assure you all that this Buccaneer is pretty much representative in outline as the real thing. The design and parts are basic and it is up to the modeller to detail them; I think you will find the cockpit is more detailed than one would find in an IM kit of any scale, bar none. As this is an old design, the backseat is not offset to give the Nav a better view as it was originally intended; I was not aware of this information until late in the day. Anyway the full bathtub with bang seats, super detailed, control column and dials and side panels with full details. The user will need to further consult reference material to complete this as I am a little rusty on the full bathtub setup, especially as this Bucc is 20 years, my memory has faded. One can always consult John T who knows where a good Buccaneer is located. The clear transparency, canopy is still under development but it looks very good; there is a clear casting for the Navigator's station, which is not shown in the photo. Now onto some of the main issues: firstly, the tail cone on the airframe as seen is incorrect in shape and profile, which is why an extra set of tail cones are provided so that the user can saw off the offending articles and replace them with the better shaped parts. One of the problems I encountered which I had compensated for, was excessive shrinkage, it is simply unavoidable on a casting of this size but one must still do the calculations to satisfy the requirements; so consequently the model is a few millimetres shorter than originally calculated; that being said, the airframe lines up ok, the only real issue is the underneath where the panel lines are out of alignment; they will have to be re-scribed and filled to bring them up to standard. As you all know by now, the main airframe and wings are made out of Aluminium resin matrix, that is essentially an isocyanate polyol polymer, which is a long chain molecule made up of shorter molecular chains; now the logic behind this is to impart dimensional stability and rigidity, so in theory it does not twist or warp but it also has some disadvantages, which I will explain later. The important point is, in order to maintain the directional stability of the airframe, I recommend keeping the two halves taped together with a low tack tape, to reduce unwanted movement. Now one of the minor disadvantages is there is a small gap of about 2mm behind the forward undercarriage bay but it is easily corrected. Also, the ends, nose and tail tends to flare out a little but nothing a little tape won't solve. Now let me explain the science behind polymers, they form the basis of plastics and resins; with resins, they are basically isocyanates with a polyol base and together they form a long chain molecule called a polymer; these polymer chains move about when they solidify and cause warping and twisting, now the reason the aluminium is used, is to impart mechanical and dimensional stability. However, aluminium by itself is a weak material but when alloyed with other materials and in the correct proportion, it imparts great strength and structural integrity. It basically resists movement by forcing the polymer chain to move in only one direction and not in all directions. Alignment problems can still be addressed by heating the parts and gently easing the parts into shape. If one polishes or scrapes the surface, a metallic appearance becomes apparent. It can be painted as per normal. Now as Bentwaters (Frank) has already explained, it comes with a Palouste and probe and drogue pod and Martel missiles; a word about the Martels, they are not incorrect the way they look, they are designed to a general standard, so that they can be shortened and the fins reshaped to the correct shape; the front part of the nose can be cut down to make a shorter version, so don't flood my email box with complaints! There are scribed panel lines throughout, which are not visible in the photos. The air intakes go back further than required, so the user will have to find out how far back the turbine blades are located; again one can consult references or find somebody with a long arm. There are guide rails in the cockpit that allow the bathtub to fit into it; the user may have to shave off some material from the sidewalls in order to get the wall panels to fit. If the modeller wants display the cockpit open, mark and tape the separation line on the canopy and saw off, restoring the lost material with some filler. These canopies are very expensive to make, so I was not able to supply a separate section, even though I have the master for one. I am in the process of compiling hundreds of pages of drawings, diagrams and notes on the technical aspects of the Bucc; I have finally managed to get it down to 64 pages! These are the most comprehensive set of drawings ever comprised for such a project. A word about the undercarriage, it is designed to take the weight of the Bucc, I have done all the calculations, so before one decides to flood my email box with recommendations on the use of titanium and other fancy metals, remember the costs have been kept down so that all you Brick fanatics can get your hands on one. It will come with laser decals for FAA only and with the bare minimum, I am not a multi-million dollar empire, I am one man, with limited resources. That's about as much as I can think of right now and, remember, if you as modellers think this is a poor effort on my part, bare in mind, it has taken 20 years of my life to get this far! The likely date that this will be released is around November some time but production will be slow, due to the labour intensive nature of it. Kind regards Alan Icelandic Fine Art

Terrible weather outside at the moment, cold and very windy. The garage foundations I'm digging out can wait a bit! Instead, a couple of constructive hours were spent out in the shed. Result! First job was to have a good clear up. I'm not exactly the worlds neatest when it comes to just about anything, modelling is no exception. Now the four remaining GB builds that should get done have a bit of room to breathe. There's also an early Blenheim that's looking a bit unlikely, but you never know. The Emily needs the most work, so best I get on with it. The wing to fuselage joint got masked at the wing and milliput smoothed into the wing root and fuselage. Removing the tape mask left the milliput very slightly proud at the wing edge and ready for a bit of sanding once the putty has hardened. The tail got similar treatment. The side blisters needed attention as well, as one is missing. A bit of smash moulding got me three good canopies to play with, after six or so attempts. The candle worked as well as the blowtorch I used for the big canopy, The heat took a bit longer to soften the plastic, which is both good and bad. The job got done, that's the important thing. And to finish for today, I sprayed the base I built yet again, this time it's back to red! The trial in Photoshop yesterday looked better than the blue, so I did it for real this morning. The hardstanding I tried earlier wasn't big enough so a bit of card got cut an inch smaller than three sides of the base, leaving room at the front for a bit of script. The card was black, so I masked the edge and hit the centre with sand coloured primer in a patchy pattern. Spray glue at the top end got a bit of scenic rock and rubble added, then a very thick coat of clear had sand sprinkled over it and then shook off the board, leaving my beach behind. A bit of railway scenic foliage finished the base off. Removing the tape left me with a black border all round. It's a bit cheesy, but I think it suits the period feel I like The FROG script up front needs printing, the one in the picture is a Photoshop enlargement to see how it looks. I might also add script or maybe pictures to the base edges or possibly lower it a bit. I'll have a think on it. Nine more days to get it done. That sounds like all the time in the world to me, let's see how I feel about that after the weekend! Tony.

Define “irrelevant”, especially in the context of a Martian build... [P.S. Edit - for the avoidance of doubt, I meant that Martian’s builds are among those that attract a high level of tangential discussion; NOT that Martian is inherently irrelevant! See also builds by The Baron, Hendie, Perdu, Fridag (occasional visitor of this Parish) and yours truly!]

Same formula as last night; an additional 30 or so scuttles added, plus some other details added and/or sketched in. First close up: Then a bit further back, to show how we’re edging closer to the stern: By the way, just in case anyone has started to think I’m close to finishing the starboard side, this evening I worked out that I’m going to need over 70 ladder rungs (aka 2.5mm lengths of 0.2mm nickel-silver rod) on this side alone. That’s in addition to the 15 or so already fitted. [If you’re wondering, that’s what the new pencil marks are about] More after the weekend Crisp-the-Scuttler