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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/12/19 in Posts

  1. This is my 1/72 Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint STARS build using the Heller E-3 Sentry kit and the Flightpath (David Parkins) E-8 conversion. May of 2018 I build the Heller kit as an E-3 and my opinion of the kit has not improved; very poor fit and finish almost as bad as Mach 2. But the decals were excellent. The Flightpath conversion contains a resin canoe,etched metal antennas and templates for the added doors and windows, and some white metal parts. No decals are included. The instruction are OK, but they make no mentions about marking so I used this picture from Wikipedia as my guide I had used the Flightpath TF-33 engines on the E-3, but based on this picture the housing shape is different and more closely resemble the kit parts so I decided to use them. You will notice from the picture that all 4 engines have a hood on top of them that goes from the front of the pylon to the front of the engine. I got half way through the build when I discovered that the Heller kit had that hood on only 3 of the engines but not the left outboard one . I am told that is correct for the KC-135 and maybe some E-3s, but not the E-8, at least not this one. I was a bit of a loose how to fix this and went on Ebay to see if I could get another kit for cheap to use one of the engines when miraculously I found someone in the UK selling just the engine sprue from the kit. So I bought that immediately. Unfortunately it had to be shipped from the UK to the US so while I was waiting I built the Monogram F-16XL kit. Once the new sprue came work proceeded fairly quickly. Wolfpak made a decal sheet (72-077) that included E-8 markings but unfortunately I did not have the foresight to buy it when it was available and it is now out of production. Fortunately the markings for the E-3 and E-8 are mostly the same so I was able to use the kit ones and only had to cobble together the tail markings from bit and pieces from other sheets. I rushed the final completion so I could get it finished in time to bring it to my local club's meeting tonight. That worked out and it won the monthly contest 🏆. So here are the pictures. And here it is in its new home. It is pretty big and takes up a whole shelf to itself Next up is the Hasegawa F-G Wild Weasel. Enjoy.
    31 points
  2. Hi folks, this is new addition in my IAF collection. Special Hobby made a fine job on this elegant French fighter and it is excellent kit just of ouf the box; in addition I used Eduard etched mainly for the flaps air brakes. This re-engined Sambad flew with no.105 Scorpion squadron in early 1970's. Cheers Libor
    25 points
  3. Hi every body, this will be my last post for ´19. Its the Fw190A-4 Würger of Anton Döbele, one member of Walter Nowotnys Devils Chain "Teufelskette". Hope you will enjoy!
    22 points
  4. This is one of the venerable old Aurora WW I aircraft kits. Goes together well, but, of course, not up to what most would expect today. I added a basic interior and had to replace the decals because they had gone beyond yellow to brown.
    21 points
  5. Swoon! So anyway, in the spirit of needlessly complicating this build, I began the process of masking and spraying the underside roundels tonight: Colourcoats RAF Wartime Roundel Blue, a colour so lovely it would almost be a crime to not use it. Lining the damned vinyl masks up is a tediously frustrating exercise, I might add. This should make the build take, bare minimum, three more days that it otherwise would, as I wait for each layer of the roundel to dry and then do the next one. And that's just for the underside. We could easily be adding a week to the time this will take by doing this. But I do it for you, my reading public.
    15 points
  6. Hello all, This is my recently built 1/72 Hasegawa RF-101C Voodoo. I used a Pavla aftermarket ejection seat as the kit's ejection seat is pretty basic. The wheels and gear doors are from a Valom F-101 kit, which I never finished. The model was painted with Vallejo Metal Colors. A final coat of Model Master semi-gloss was applied to dull down the finish a bit. The decals are from the both the Valom kit and the Hasegawa kit. The Valom decals are nice and thin, but they are fragile. Although the Hasegawa kit is quite old (released 1969), it does go together nicely. Cheers, Mark Pavla ejection seat
    14 points
  7. Hi all here is my Tamiya Spitfire MK1a (61119) I finished this back May/June and only just got round to posting here I decided before starting this kit that I wanted to do something different and try new things I finished it as a 19 Squadron spit serial N3200 code QV using Topnotch Cammo and insignia Masks ( a first for me ) Ive tried to replicate it as close as possible when it was lost on operations on 26th May 1940 having been shot down but not before it brought down a Junkers Ju87 Tamiya paints used throughout the build figures from Tamiya and ICM (another first in doing figures) Thanks for looking and enjoy Happy modelling Photo credit unknown
    13 points
  8. Thanks Keith - more below! Thanks Steve. Sun? What sun? Thanks Alan - 'method' below Sausages in the thread again? How did we get back to sausages? We should be told! When I asked my first wife's father for her hand he said "Are you sure you want to do this?". Should have listened… Bit of mojo and enthusiasm this morning so I started by drilling a hole under the hedgehog (that was tacked in with Copydex): …glued in a piece of wire with CA gel: …bent the wire, trimmed it and drilled another hole. This one with a smaller drill to get a tight fit: Lots of pinging, cursing, tool grabbing and pinging but, with blowing on the CA to dry it: The result? Good enough for the ceiling. My idea of making a template for the other three has gone but at least I can measure stuff for the others. I guess they won't all be perfectly the same anyway? More later.
    13 points
  9. We're going with a contemporary theme this year Giorgio if that suits? Well Bill, they do say if you want to get to know someone, sit down to eat with them! 🍽️ Or is that 'if you want to get to gnaw someone, sit down to eat them'? (It's a while since I read any anthropology and it shows....) I added a laugh emoji along with the others so that no-one would clock I haven't a clue what that means! Thanks Ian! Great to see you've been wading out into the 3D ocean as well! (Surprised that Shapeways stuff isn't as smooth tbh) All four of them were drooping? I'll have to Citizen's Arrest you another time then... I suspect that they themselves are on a learning curve with the software Alan, given how the product has taken off so suddenly. Good omen that they were so responsive - Adobe lost that a long time ago. Some people have had babies that grew up and started walking faster than this build has progressed, but I'm determined to get it finished this weekend. Really, really determined. But if you can believe it, I'm also scared about it finishing. I know. Silly right? Oh well. I knew today would be a fiddly start, largely consisting as it does of various engreeblifying and aerialating tasks. Particularly during the windscreen wiper passages I ran out of Anglo-Saxon and had to fall back on some guttural Goidelic Ur-curses. This seemed to help. Lots of this then this morning: Gator's Grip some bits. Leave on warm stove to cure. Pet a rotating cast of cats. Back to bench for more gluing. In other times this would have been characterized as a religious ritual no doubt... Corrected Cheetah repainted without any overspray (thankfully I saved all the surrounds of the masks frot painting the fuselage roundels and one of these provided good cover: Pitot on: Then it was time to confront the Jules Verne reality of the windscreen wiper components. I'd ditched my original plan of using annealed thin brass rod to form the flexible drive shaft that provides motive power for them as too impractical at this scale. Truth be told the priority here was accuracy - rather than strength - as they are a prominent feature of the aircraft, yet one which sits on the upper surface of the nose with no risk of gravity letting them drop off: There was some minor bending required to angle the wiper blades back to meet the plane of the windscreen but aside from the fiddliness of trying to get everything held in place long enough for the glue to start to firm up, this seemed an effective enough operation. Just don't ask me how many times I dropped the port wiper engine and had to go groping for it in the Styigan recesses under the bench... The flexible stalk is made from 0.4mm coated wire that proved far more effective at being shaped than the rod would have done. The hole in the top of the nose forward of the wipers is for the bead sight, which had been added (from0.3mm brass rod) but I forgot to take a shot of: Nestled away in the gun embayment you can see that a Browning barrel has been added now as well. The replacement stbd aileron hinge, along with the upper control lever/mass balance now in place: The latter I'd made about a mm too tall so had to grind down before installing. Both sides went on without a fight. Aerials: And that - as someone once said - brings us up to now: Leaving that there for a few hours the glue to cure before wicking some more GG around the interfaces of today's additions. Rudder and cabin door I'll add on right at the end. All of today's pieces will either need painting or touching up, so have put aside a few hours to camo those in to match the aircraft tomorrow - an ingtense bit of concentration today and don't trust my powers to handle delicate painting all in the one session. If that works out then and RFI during the week: there's some beautiful winter lights here at the moment and as I prefer to shoot the RFI in daylight these days, am going to wait for the right moment. Luckily I'm writing out research stuff and assessments from home all week so should be able to keep an eye on the shifting sun. I forget to mention previously that I'd used the Mr.Metal Primer brushed on to the windscreen and turret framing and how well-behave it was - really nice stuff to use and even on the metal foil, had a good 'bite' into the surface to give a stable foundation for painting on. Must find out if you can airbrush it. You've been a most patient lot over the course of this endeavour. Nearly home now. Tony
    12 points
  10. 11 points
  11. After some light chores I was released on parole back to the bench. A little trimming later: I’m very pleased with that! Now I can start my build... Thanks for looking, Adrian
    9 points
  12. Thanks Adrian - very kind Thanks Tony Ming or minging? Anyway, my nerves are shot now having completed four supports AND glued in the top counterbalance weight PE on the ailerons: Can anyone recommend some tweezers that the PE won't stick to? I'm fed up with carefully positioning a piece only to have it come away with the tool
    9 points
  13. Thanks Ian, Stew, PC, Jason, Bill, Rob and Steve The pub visit was a great success and I had a few Butcombes, as usual, along with some lively conversation. Bit slow this morning for some reason and had to get the puppy back to Lottie this afternoon so not much done. Thanks Alan - phew, saved from some scratching! You're right about the supports though (see below) Thanks Johnny - nice to see you're keeping busy; not long now and it'll all be over Right, which one of these is not the same: Alan's right and it's been bothering me all day so tonight I tried this: I've had this wire for about fifty years - I knew it would come in. Which gauge is better: I think the thinner one, the one that I used for the 'prototype' support. For the real ones I'll just bend a 'V' and stick another bit behind I think. At least the blobs of CA will look like mountings - honest Looks OK?
    9 points
  14. I've been flying back and forward between Bristol and Amsterdam regularly in these little Embraer beauties over the last year and thus felt the need to model one. Jadlam's recent clearance sale of this kit was the catalyst required. They do remind me more of a sports car than an airliner, and indeed the pilots seem to fly them in a slightly more aggressive manner than the Airbuses. Plus, they are much more comfortable than Easyjet's A319s and A320s - and they feed & water you during the flight! Although I previously built a Revell E195 a few years back, this is their recent E-Jet issue, featuring the shorter fuselage of the 190. It comes with rather plain Lufthansa decals in the box, so for this one I used the superb 26 Decals KLM Cityhopper set and selected a serial for one I know flies out of Bristol. Mind you, literally minutes after I ordered these, I found another vendor in the US selling a set that included the current colourful KLM 100 yrs markings, but these still met the bill perfectly! The kit is a fairly easy build with no vices. I added a little weight in the nose and had to fill and sand a few blemishes on the top of the fuselage where the sprue didn't detach cleanly. Unlike my previous build, in this case I managed to keep the tiny antennae intact despite my sanding! My kit was crisply moulded with little flash, although I have heard this is not always the case. For the KLM blue I used Revell 50 gloss enamel. The wings are Humbrol US Medium grey, which in retrospect is a little dark, but it all depends on the lighting of course!!!! As always the kit was hand brush painted enamel, with Klear and Micro Satin acrylic top coats to finish. FredT
    8 points
  15. Hi all here is my recently finished 1:48 Italeri F-16 (2786) I finished it in the markings of a Portuguese Air Force F-16AM markings are 20 Years of F-16 in Portuguese Service by Model Maker Decals Mr Hobby Color paints used H305,H306,H307 and H308 For main colours plus Tamiya paints for minor parts An enjoyable build despite some fit issues with the undercarriage Thank you for looking and enjoy Happy Modelling
    8 points
  16. Hi all, here are some pics of two 1/48 scale Eduard kits I completed lately. Originally I got my hands on the Reichsverteidigung special boxing, which allows to build one FW 190 A8-R2 and one Bf 109 G14, with plenty of nice marking options. After building one FW 190, I really wanted to make another with the extra glass armor plates on the side of the canopy, so I purchased an extra Overtree kit. The build went very easily (much easier than the earlier FW190 A8 release, which was tricky to assemble). As usual I painted the kits with Gunze Aqueous Hobby colors. I used H 317 and H 68 for the RLM 76 and RLM 74. To add variety I used the recommended H 69 for the Grauviolet RLM 75 on one kit and H 305 on the other. The H 305 has a less violet and more gray shade. The weathering was done with oil washes, acrylic ink pencils, pigments, and chipping done with foam. have a nice day, Christian.
    8 points
  17. Restoration of the top fuselage continues adding styrene sheet and then puttying and blending-in. The foremost section had a complex shape, and eventually a wood master will be carved to vacuum-form the needed part:
    8 points
  18. Spent the evening cleaning up the Mr Surfacer and re-establishing pointy aileron tips with cyano. Mixed flour with cyano as Giorgio mentioned above and as I’ve seen him do on his builds, and I found that a good filler. I think it dries a bit softer than neat cyano (although I’ve not left it several hours to see if it hardens just as hard) and so I used tiny blobs of neat cyano at the very tips of the ailerons. Jobs to do before main painting (I think) are: (1) Fit the Instrument panels and coamings (2) Attach the windscreen and blend it in to the fuselage (probably the biggest job) (3) Attach the airbrakes and fuselage strakes. (4) Attach the flaps (or I may paint them separately and attach them later) (5) Attach the tailplane [all of these sub assemblies have more or less been made/got ready for fitting] (6) Touch up the primer and micro mesh....I’ve tried to keep it neat as I’ve been going along so as to keep the work needed at that stage to a minimum - but I ‘spect some horrors will be revealed. Then polish....and polish.....and polish.... PS. Added by Edit. I’ll try Tony’s (allegedly simple ) brass ailerons on my next build..........Oh wait; the Jag didn’t have ailerons......shame...
    8 points
  19. After several months in the wilderness I'm back, after helping to restart the Churchill tank SIG and building several kits for Telford. So, after the tank commander I swore I'd never try planar painting again, but guess what, I'm a glutton for punishment. So I bought a few busts from Steve Kirtley at SK Miniatures, 3 of them being from Life Miniatures, the tank girl, Rommel and Che Guevara. So, I didnt manage to do a SBS yet yet yet again, just a few pick of the WIP. As ever all paints are Vallejo and I followed the free painting pdf from Life Miniatures. https://e3a83318-d450-4630-b85d-f878b028bce8.filesusr.com/ugd/3a901f_38612196af014e29ac5f68dcbca93b64.pdf The face took two days in total, following the pdf, ensuring paint layers were dry before adding more. Blending the blocks of colour then reworking the face before starting on the helmet and goggles. So once I was happy with the face and helmet it was time to start the tunic. The difference between the above and below, blocks of colour, base for the tunic then darker for shadows, then blur the edges with a mix of the two using tiny dots of thinned paint. And before you know it she was done lol. I think she's the best work I've done and as she looks like Milla Jovovich I'm well happy. Even happier after scale model world this year. And a couple of weeks later at Bugle Call. She also got best in show. Rommel and the desert nomad are mine as well, incredible end to the year. It's good to be back. Regards. Mick
    7 points
  20. Evening all, Being new around here and fresh from my thread saying hello, I thought I could start by posting up some of my previous builds from when I picked up the glue pot again in 2018. I used to build 1/24 and 1/43 cars when I was a child but then discovered other things and then had go and do dull things like getting a job and being an adult. A couple of years ago I did wonder if I would be able to pick it up again and 1/24 cars are cheaper than 1/1 scale, so I bought a Revell Mustang as an experiment. I chose that kit as it was quite cheap and came with a detailed engine, and I always think curbside kits are somehow incomplete. I knew I would probably need an airbrush to make a good job of it but I didn't want to commit to that (and still haven't) so I bought a rattle can of Ford Cayman Blue from Halfords and got stuck in. I toiled for a few weeks and glued myself to the desk a few times but the resulting Mustang turned out reasonably ok. If anything though I just found it a little plain so I weathered it a bit and made it look a bit scruffy which was a good way of hiding my shortcomings on the paint front. I didn't use a clearcoat and should have cut and polished more but metallic is always tricky because the flakes are not scale correct and it often looks more like custom car metalflake to me. My slightly flat Cayman Blue therefore was good enough to get any with it. I mean, there's only me who would see it anyway, right...? Hotfooting from the Mustang I figured I would get ambitious and try some minor kitbashing, as I was never any good at sticking religiously to instructions. I bought a Fujimi Datsun Fairlady 432z and decided to build it as a period rally car, particularly as it had full engine detail. Weirdly though, the bonnet has to be cut open manually and there are no proper inner wings or engine bay so I had to make all that. The paint worked better on this one - it's Nissan Flame Red and non metallic. I was quite pleased I managed to mask reasonably accurately for the matt black bonnet and wing tops as I historically made a complete dog's breakfast of that. I returned to this model a few times to add finishing touches like making kill switches, putting a spare wheel and extinguisher in the boot, adding some suitable decals and such. It eventually gained a door mirror from a BMW 2002. It's far from perfect but looks ok to a blind man on a flying horse. The Datsun was a good learning curve so I quickly bought another one in 240ZL flavour. I did this one as worn out road car ready for the breakers or restoration, and had fun putting rust holes in the wings and a dent in the door. The cabin was filled with spare parts and such. The colour is Ford Roman Bronze which really does look metalflake, but hey-ho. Here it is in all it's glory, and lurking in a dark workshop whilst the evening sun goes down... Ignore the BMW, that's for a future instalment. The last pair for now are Italeri Escorts. I had built the Esci British Airways one with the Crystal shell back in the day and still had it. It was, shall we say, rough. I was quite excited when Italeri re-issued it (considering I am an adult) but I soon remembered what a product of it's time it really was. The kit loosely resembles a Group 4 car I suppose but there was a lot of faffing about to get it anywhere near reasonable. I couldn't live with the awful wheels and slicks though so bought some gravel tyres and minilites from Motobitz and got the blue forest car sitting higher. I seem to do things in pairs so the white car was slammed down to the tarmac but I chose the wrong wheels and tyres, left over from the 240ZL. The white one is a bit confused of purpose... I may do something else with it at some point. Anyway... Escorts... That'll do for now. I may be back with more. You may interpret that as either a threat or a promise. Anteater out.
    7 points
  21. Ced said: " Can anyone recommend some tweezers that the PE won't stick to? " Ooh! You just gave me an idea. I used some thin rubber gasket material ( liberated from the old electrical/instrumentation shop at work ) that I superglued to these clamps so they would grip onto various kit surfaces. I could do the same thing with my tweezers! That would help eliminate some of the ping risk. Chris
    7 points
  22. Thanks Giorgio Ah, more hands needed eh! Thanks hendie Thanks Ian - enjoy the beer! Thanks Bill, helpful. So what about ceramic tweezers then? Will CA stick to that? Anyway, in an attempt to avoid all the fiddly bits I found some stands to hold things on and, hopefully, avoid knocking off the soon-to-come sticky out bits: Note I also painted the prop tips - sprayed H24 after Bill's recent escapades. With Cookie's thinner seemed to go on OK. The stand for the fuselage: …is another thing I've had hanging around. I think it's from the Wii? Tomorrow I'll look at all the missing bits, decide what needs to be on after the transfers and stick the rest on. Probably. Then it's time for some proper paint.
    7 points
  23. And here are some more photographs of the details I love this anchor, all scratch made from bits of brass, the flukes fold and the cross bar slides to it fully folds per full scale practice These leather cushions are made from brown fimo, can't remember how many failed attempts it took to get them right Underneath the seat is the silencer and exhaust, with a grill to protect the passenger's legs The engine room bulkhead with fire extinguisher, great graphic made by Nigel at Flightline Graphics. The rev counter image came from an illustration I found on line. You can see the lifebouy rope well in this shot, made on a rope-walk I used to have. My Christmas Break project is to make another, better one The steering wheel was etched (4 pieces), is works with a servo controlling the bowden cables The hand operated light works if a battery is installed. Checker plate is diagonal mesh soldered to copper plate, centre section lifts out Beautiful arrangement of the rudder and propeller bushing. Exhaust in the background Steve
    7 points
  24. This is a much more interesting thread when I don’t post! Thank you for all the feedback, information and advice. After the first round of vacforming I had to make some running repairs to the mould and re-primed it. Today I managed to be at home and to sneak into the kitchen this morning. I wiped the masters lightly with peanut oil, filled in the canopy with balsa and raised the masters a bit higher by 2mm this time (Thanks @PeterB and @John Aero for the advice). The first one was a bit of a disaster. I skimped on the staples and relied on the tape. It didn’t hold and the plastic fell down onto the oven shelf, hence the ripples and “fabric effect”. Despite all that, one of them came out OK and the plastic bedded down in the corners pretty well: The second one was stapled with no tape. I think I took this one out too soon. It didn’t bed well so I used a heat stripper gun to encourage it at the nose and along the top. This got everything too hot and I damaged the paintwork and the mould: This is the inside of the moulding, so you can see where the paint has gone: That said, I think I have two workable halves: I need to to repair and re-prime the masters. I need to use lots of staples and tape around the edges and make sure the staples are bedded down well to prevent leaks, which is why the noses didn’t bed down. I also need to accept that if I don’t get the temperature right I need to let it go. The A3 plastic costs £3-odd a sheet, but it costs me a lot more in time and effort and materials to recover from bad moulding. Living and learning! Thanks for looking, Adrian
    7 points
  25. The decalling of the aircraft was completed yesterday: Pic 326: The sharp end of the ship. A bit of touching up of the Flight Deck grey is required but it is looking okay: Pic 327: The aft end: Pic 328: A view from the other side: Pic 329: The rudders were fitted and I now need to make good the damage around them and the 'A' brackets. Unfortunately, I have almost run out of red paint but luckily I have an order of fresh paint on the way: Pic 330: I wasn't happy with the striped decalling on the Flight Deck so I removed it all. Here I have masked off the yellow area so that I can sand it back before repainting it and applying new decals: Pic 331: Here I am decalling the Lift warning lines and I have fitted a pair of HF Loop antennae aft of the AS6000s. HMS Queen Elizabeth was built with a pair of Cobham Type HF Loop antenna aft of the AS6000s and when I built my QE model they were taken from the Airfix HMS Illustrious. HMS Prince of Wales has been fitted with a different type of annenae (Comrod NVIS HF230L-N) and HMS Queen Elizabeth will be getting her Cobham Type antennae replaced by HF230L-N during her first refit. Despite this, I used the Cobham Type from HMS Illustrious again as the difference is minimal and only noticeable to nerds: Pic 332: Nearly completed: Pic 333: The Forward Lift and it’s chains need to be fitted. Pic 334: Everything has been glued on now, including aircraft and the ship has been mounted on it’s proper base: Pic 335: Pic 336: Pic 337: Pic 338: Pic 339: Pic 340: Pic 341: Pic 342: The handover of the model to Darrell Burge (Head of Brand for Airfix at Hornby Hobbies): Pic 343: As I said at the start of this build thread, this model was commissioned by Airfix for display at SMW 2019 (where the last six pictures were taken) and it's final home will be the Hornby Hobbies Visitor Centre in Margate. If you have managed to read through this whole thread or even followed me through the build on the ATF, I thank you all for your staying power. Hope you enjoyed the journey that began with a single step (or a single sheet of plastic card). Dave
    7 points
  26. Not just good but very very good Ced. Much better than the PE. Hugh Scully: 'Can you tell us how you came by this unusual item?' Antiques Roadshow Guest: 'Well Hugh, I'm a modeller you see, and-' Hugh Scully (agitated): 'It's Ming! Everything old is Ming Dynasty!!' Producer on intercom: 'Condition Red. Repeat. Condition Red. Cut to the Negus on something Edwardian.' Antiques Roadshow Guest: 'Hugh, I can't breathe....'
    7 points
  27. Another post of a model I complete some time ago. This was a departure for me in terms of scale as this is built to 1:12th scale and was intended to be a working model, though in the end I didn't fit the motor. I completed is around 2010 and it languished on a shelf looking a bit rough. In 2015, I re-worked it and these pictures are of it as it is today. The boat was entered into the 2016 Model Engineering Exhibition where I was fortunate to be awarded a Silver medal, I'm not really sure why. Below are the notes I prepared for the exhibition: Overview I found drawings of this boat in a book written by Uffa Fox, first published in 1937 titled Racing Cruising and Design and as Uffa himself says, what appealed to me was the hull shape which I quote as I couldn’t write it better: “The flare off forward, throwing the sea away from her decks, is washed out amidships, where her side is plumb, while aft the tumblehome takes any heavy look away from her transom, and besides this cuts down on the wind suction from the stern by that much” Studying the drawings (reproduced below) I could see that it needed to be a largish model, so I chose 1:12 scale, a departure from my normal 1:48th scale. Seaplane tenders were designed to transfer passengers and crew from the shore to seaplanes. This tender, designed, built and operated by Saunders (later Saunders Roe) was used in the Solent between 1920 and WW2, I have not been able to find out and operational history other that which Uffa describes. He says it operated for 25 years (before 1937) but as Saunders only entered the seaplane business in 1920, I have dated it from then. The tender dimensions were: Length overall: 36ft Beam: 6ft 6in Draught: 2ft 5in Displacement: 2.43 tons Max Speed: 15 knots The model is 3 feet long Sources As can be seen from the drawings, there is very little true detail and searching the internet, the only photograph I could find is reproduced on the cover. Again, this shows very little detail, but I did find photographs of a similar seaplane tender, fully restored and for sale, plus drawings of many components in a copy of Davey & Co’s fittings catalogue from 1961 (most fittings had not changed since WW1). The model was built using the following sources: The plan in Uffa’s book Various illustrations of boat and ship fittings from Davy’s catalogue Some additional detail from the photographs found on the internet Conjecture Originally, the model was intended as a working model and still contains a motor, battery pack and servo, however, I have completed it as a static model, supported on an acrylic stand so the lines can be seen unencumbered and surrounded by the inter-war seaplanes Saunders-Roe produced. The image below is the only one I could find that shows the launch, in action... For interest, I include below a drawing of a fast motor launch (found on-line) which is clearly different to this one and the one in the photographs but showing a distinct family resemblance (dated 1920) Construction notes The hull was a major challenge and the real reason I built the model. There is no parallel section, it changes continually. Because if this, it is planked with double layer of diagonally laid 1/32nd balsa strips, bending across the grain, glued to thin open frames to produce a strong, very light hull. The hull was then coated, inside and out, with clear epoxy to both strengthen the balsa and render it water-tight. It has a single bulkhead at the front of the cockpit for added strength as I guess you would see in full scale practice. A 1/16th inch ply sub-deck was then attached (to deck beams forward) to further reinforce the construction and the deck planked in lime-wood with calking from black card. The passenger area was then also planked on the inside and the crew seat built up to act as a storage place for the battery box (see picture below). Finally, the framing for the passenger deck and rear seat (which all comes out to allow access to the rudder servo) was built up. The gratings were home-made to be the right size, being such a prominent aspect of the passenger area, as was the engineering plate in the crew space (etching glued to aluminium). The column throttle was turned and capped with an etched ring. The silencer and exhaust are modelled as shown on the drawing, the engine would have been water cooled via the exhaust and so I added a water intake on the port side below the water line and a heat shield where the passengers sit. I added the lifebuoy as it seemed strange she could have operated without one and the Saunders-Roe logo because I wanted it represented on the model. Other Fittings The fittings were primarily made of brass, with some help from custom etchings (wheel frame and rudder top pulley). The seat cushions were made from Fimo. The rev counter was modelled on this photograph of another seaplane tender (further pictures in appendix). Mostly the details were scaled up from the drawing above but the following fittings were added from Davey’s catalogue illustrations: The anchor I chose was a folding one (built up from brass) all of which works and certainly looks the part in its galvanised finish (Davey's illustration below) Commercial Fittings The only commercial components used were: The propeller and shaft The anchor chain and rudder chain All other components were scratch built. The name plate was custom etched to my drawings and the ensign hand-painted. And here is it at rest in its case, the pictures under the perspex base are Sunders-Roe flying boats of the 20's and 30's
    6 points
  28. I'm going to build L.E. Curdes' Bad Angel. Let's start with a contemporaneous photo. Notice the kill markings? German, Italian, Japanese, and, um, American! Wikipedia has this to say: And here's a photo of Curdes and his bride, Svetlana Valeria Shostakovich Brownell. How many husbands can claim they shot their future bride out of the sky? I'll be using the Airfix A05106 North American F-51D Mustang boxing and CAM 48-115 Mustang Thoroughbreds
    6 points
  29. As Patrice approved my so far done work on this kit, I'm pleased to join my first 'regular' GB (I don't count KUTA as so much regular GB due to open rules). Like I explained in GB chat, this P-51D is started ages ago, last steps done in 2011 to be precise... Photos were made on 05.11.2019, but last steps are done 8 years ago... Cockpit is painted, but etched walls are to be assembled ... Italeri missed to engrave panel lines on join of wings and fuselage so I made them with masks and spraying of few layers of Mr. Surfacer. I've planned to make this Mustang as Guatemalan machine... Everything ready for next weekend's official start of GB! Cheers, S.
    6 points
  30. It'll be another 1/100 scale Eldon Match Kit from me. Having built a few Match Kits, I know exactly what to expect: rivets to sand off, decal placement marks to fill and a finished result that will bear little resemblance to the real thing! Nevertheless, I do find them quite fun. The kit includes decals for rather a plain looking post war Mustang - just don't use the cover photo as a placement guide! The more you look, the worse it gets. Maybe the moulded-in placement marks should've been made even deeper . Fortunately, the instructions get it right. When released in 1967, these kits cost 39 cents in the US. I know this, because it's printed on the box! That's not something you see nowadays. Rather than use the kit's scheme, I'm going finish my Mustang as 'Weary Willie', after it had fallen into Yugoslav Partisan hands. I don't know much about the background, other than that the plane made a forced landing due to battle damage and was abandoned. Subsequently, the Partisan's repaired the plane and started to use it. The new ownership was advertised by re-painting the white stars to red. Lift Here! do a set of decals in 1/72 (here's their artwork), but I'll have to make my own. I'm looking forward to it. Cheers.
    6 points
  31. Hi guys, I have finally finished my first 1/48 build, Tamiya's A6M2 Zeke, OOB. The kit was ok, old and did not have much detail, but it was cheap and that suited me because I wanted to experiment on it. As some of you out there know I tested my complementary pre-shading technique for the first time on this little guy (dark yellow primer followed by purple pre-shading before IJN Ash Gray base coat), as well as first time salt technique for color variation (slightly overdone in my opinion). As I said, the kit is poor in detail and there were some fitting issues (canopy, landing gear and the cowling) but nothing that put me off. I also lost the small bit on the right aileron. Never to be seen again. I am satisfied with the result. You be the judges. Comments and criticism are much appreciated! Thanks for looking guys! Cheers, Nikola
    6 points
  32. And as soon as the female Russian tank crew was finished I started Rommel, not wanting to try planar again blah blah😁. So hes painted with Vallejo acrylics following the Life Miniatures free pdf. https://e3a83318-d450-4630-b85d-f878b028bce8.filesusr.com/ugd/3a901f_98370232f04f45979f5ac57c978b70ea.pdf I painted the torso first, that's the easier bit, had to repaint the scarf as I mucked up the highlights, then the cap, then finally tackled the face, a lot harder this time with 6 colours. Again I had a great result at Telford. Then silver at Bugle call Regards. Mick
    6 points
  33. Apart from playing catch up (and pulling my cat's whiskers) I have actually got some useful work done today - weekends are so precious... In my attempt to build a model without breakable parts I turned to the wing mirror AND more pins... The kit comes with 2 identical sprues - mainly of parts that need duplicating - but also with some unique parts - like the wing mirror for the left hand door. Again it is very fragile - so I made a 'facsimile' with a pin and made a duplicate for the other door... It looks like most Opels only had the one mirror - but if you can make 2 - why not??? I'm quite pleased with the result... They look pretty good and won't snap off when I'm assing around with her later on. The City v Utd match is about to start coverage on SKY Wish me & @Avereda luck - who knows what could happen - lets have another 6-1 - in our favour of course
    6 points
  34. It's the jungle animals' World Cup Final - the Elephants versus the Ants. It's two goals each with just seconds to go before the end of extra time. It looks like it's going to penalties. And then suddenly, the Ants' star striker makes a break for it - he's on the edge of the box and the only thing between him and the goal is the Elephant goalkeeper. The goalie doesn't hesitate - he knows what has to done. Splat! He stamps on Ant striker, who's squashed flat. The referee blows his whistle and rushes over to the Elephant goalie, red card in hand. The Elephant is standing there distraught, in floods of tears. He's inconsolable. 'Why are you so upset?' asks the ref. 'It was a professional foul, you must expect a red card' 'I know' sobs the Elephant goalie, 'but I only meant to trip him up'.
    6 points
  35. not in Scotland! What's the law that states when you are using very, very sharp tweezers that you have to impale yourself at least twice drawing substantial amounts of blood ? Are tweezers like Kukri's? You're not allowed to put them back until you have drawn blood? If they're missing, how can you look at them? this forum has gets me all confused at times
    6 points
  36. This is my Heller E-3A Sentry AKA AWACS. I started this back in the beginning of March, but after getting part way through I realized that I had not ordered aftermarket accurate TF-33 engines, so I put it aside and ordered a set of David Parkin's Flightpath engines and worked on the Italeri F-21A kit while I waited for them to arrive. While I was waiting I also ordered the Contrail's antenna upgrade kit. After the upgrades arrived and I finished the F-21A, I returned to this the beginning of this month and finally finished it. This is the first Heller kit I have worked on in a while and based on this one example I would rank then somewhere between Mach 2 and Italeri as far as fit and finish goes. The fuselage went together well, but there were major fit issues with the wings. If it wasn't that they were the only game in town I would not recommend the Contrail antenna upgrade which includes chin, cheek and tail antennas. The parts were very crude, and they were not shaped to fit against the fuselage well so took a lot of work and filling to get them to blend in. I also think their shape is suspect. On the other hand the Flightpath engines were very good to excellent. My only complaint is that the rear of the forward fan part of the engines are molded solid while they should be open, something the Heller engines got right. I tried to simulate the openness by painting the area black. The shear size of this made construction difficult and I can't count the number of times I broke off the wing tip antennas, including while giving it a final finishing coat, but it is finished and on to the pictures. And here it is on its display shelf Next up is the Italeri AC-119 Stinger. Enjoy
    6 points
  37. Happy Saturday Folks - it's been a busy week and I've just noticed I haven't actually commented on anything ALL WEEK. I have got a few things done - a little each night, so it's time for an update. The Mr Surfacer had time to dry and harden on all the ejector marks. What I did notice was these slots though on 'what I thought was the rear of the truck bed'. I considered using filler on them after putting the bed together - but figured it might be a lot of work - so I went down another track. I found some 'C' section in the spares box - like this... So I chopped it and popped it on... As you can see I started 'scoring' the sanded filler to try and regain the wood grain too. I spent the middle of the week attaching the supports and mud guards to the underside of the bed... ...it was a tad fiddly to say the least - but kept me occupied in a positive way. Now the hilarious bit was when I came to pop the bed onto the chassis... I realised the slots on the bed would have been hidden by the cab - as it was the front of the bed and not the back as I had thought... ...I guess I should have had more faith in Tamiya - but it doesn't look too bad.
    6 points
  38. Nice A couple of tips if I may. Put a strip of tape over the masks like this: …and it helps keep the circles aligned. Hold down the bits you want on the model as you, carefully, peel the tape back then burnish down. Leave the tape stuck to the model dangling over the edge ready for the next set. I would like to say I do this all the time, but a browse through my photos show I normally take the lazy route and use transfers Secondly, use Jamie's thinned paint technique: … and it'll be touch dry in minutes!
    6 points
  39. Berievs are progressing. On Be-2 I applied decals (stars by Techmod, "4" from A-model UTI-4, only small star on frontt from original set. The colour was to brick-like, orange and general sharpnes was not perfect in original set. I also added some details like beech wheels, gun sight, mirrors and riging cable fairing near fuselage With Be-4 I sanded added height of fin and junction of fuselage halves, and put seats in cockpit (scratchwork) I finished MBR-2 M 17, which I stsrated in early summer, so is outside our GB but I hope some of you like flying boats more then others More photos on RFI already: The second of MBR-2s (also outside GB), a "bis" (or M-34) variant is also advanced Best regards, I will continue Jerzy-Wojtek
    6 points
  40. Ok...a flurry of activity today has gleaned some solid results. First off...wings are on, struts are on, etc...looks quite good. Fit is perfect, no complaints. A few bits of touch-ups with some paint when all is done... And not to let sleeping dogs lie, I tackled the decals after coming home from dinner with friends...Note: the decals took a long time to release from the backing are are relatively thick. Not as thick as they new Airfix decals, but close. They needed time to release and plenty of solvent. They went on fine in the end. I think she is looking pretty snazzy so far. Sorry for the focus! Next up: The rigging! --John
    6 points
  41. Here's my 1/48 Spitfire Mk XIVe highback completed as 'Blackie' MacConnell's mount at the end of the war. I believe he was flying this aircraft when he downed an Arado AR-234 in April, 1945. It started life as an Airfix PR XIX, and was modified extensively to become a Mk XIVe. Decals are from XtraDecal, and Aviaeology stencils. Paints are Tamiya acrylic's, with weathering using Humbrol enamels and pastel chalk. Hope you like, Colin Build log -
    5 points
  42. OK, doors are painted, and I've put on all the decals and didn't even damage one! Must be very good decals. I'm now moving on to the inside of the doors, some small stuff like handles and such. With the help of Tamiya Extra Thin I bent the hinges on one of the doors so it can be placed in the opened position. Well, not all the way open but still, a bit more interesting than closed.
    5 points
  43. Gravity Gravity makes tiny stuff stick to tweezers Its the law...
    5 points
  44. While we're awaiting the green flare, here are my previous Mustangs. From the 2018SKGB, my Debden Pony From the 2017STGB my Korean War F-51D. And from 2014STGB my RAF Mustang4 with the firewall scheme Making this thread my 4th build of the new Airfix kit. And now for other 1/72 P-51 Mustangs. Italeri P-51A with Allison engine. And the razorback Bs Airfix. Academy Hasegawa and two by Revell Followed by the bubbtop Ds Ancient Airfix Hasegawa And an older Hasegawa kit Matchbox
    5 points
  45. What a great idea, love this! Most surprising for me was how small France's strategic bomber was. I always thought the Mirage IV was almost Vulcan sized. Here's a few of my RAF comparisons. Halcyon days; when we had a fast jet fleet. I wish all these were still in service. Canberra with little buddies ... Three generations of air defenders: Spitfire F22 and Hawk T1A.
    5 points
  46. Hi clogged I have indeed tried to add a shell hole but it didnt turn out quite as I hoped. I kind of wanted the look when you dig a hole on a wet beach and it fills straight back up with water. It's on the right near the guy with one arm. I've also added a water explosion too. I think it looks ok. They are hard to try and get right. Excuse the waves they are really white but the water effects take an age to dry when applied so thick. The foam around the landing craft will still be that white though. I've now realised why the water looks so red/brown. I added a games workshop wash to is as blood thinking it would kinda stay put and look like it was flowing into the water. Turns out it just blended with it far too well and made the resin go a pinker tinge but worst case I will cover up the sides and put a blue wash over the water surface to hopefully get rid of it. But I still think it looks ok as is. It's my 3rd resin pour and Its very much alearning curve. Like most things the camera doesnt do it justice. I think I'm going to present it like the first image now too. It shows alot more of the action than a side on view as I originally thought. Thanks for the feedback Simon
    5 points
  47. so, that thing is really massive, especially when it comes to polish. Landing gear is also done. will post some pics next few days. Added some hydraulic lines and used molotov chrome for the shock struts. i ll have to make some pics at daylight where the polishing is present. i m quite happy, allthough i messed the Nr2 intake a bit, have to repaint it in white, which is fine, cause i ll do the antennas as well in white. also Authentic airliners PE arrived, so these will be attached at the very last step. things to do now: - repaint Nr2 intake - mask and paint all leading edges with Mr Hobby Super silver - washing and post shading - attachment of gears and engines - attachment of antennas and pitots will see what i forgot 😄
    5 points
  48. Hiya Folks,.... another update,....... I`ve expended copious amounts of elbow grease while sanding the fuselage!!! The wings are now fitted too but need the seams along the roots filling and sanding yet. The resin engine nacelles have been dry fitted and slot superbly into place,...... the inboard left engine nacelle section of the wing has been sanded back to make the engines level,... while the right hand nacelle has been left untouched for now just to show how the engine incorrectly sits forward; Cheers for now, Tony
    5 points
  49. Hello Everyone May I introduce a very rare breed of Martin Marlin, the Marline Cyclops, an experimental model without a forward eye, a slighter higher top speed due to less drag, asymmetric nacelles and a host of other small idiosyncrasies which never made it into production. The full SP-5B is so much better! Enjoy Regards Andrew
    5 points
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