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Morning all, Bringing my finished total for the year into double figures is the wonderful Eduard Hellcat. One of my favourite kits, this has been finished as a Mk II in the colours of 808 NAS from the dual profipack boxing. Hataka Orange Line paints were used throughout bar a touch of Alclad on the engine, with a light coat of W&N Galeria Matt varnish to finish for that satin sheen. 1/72 Eduard Grumman Hellcat II by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Eduard Grumman Hellcat II by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Eduard Grumman Hellcat II by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Eduard Grumman Hellcat II by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr 1/72 Eduard Grumman Hellcat II by Shaun Schofield, on Flickr Thanks for looking, comments welcomed as ever Shaun

Bought at IPMS Avon model show 2017, built 2020. 49 Sqdn RAF. Hampden P4403, "EA-M", flown by Flight Lieutenant Learoyd VC.

Here are a few views of my recently completed Airfix Swift. Out of the box with the addition of a pull chord at the top of the seat. Straight forward build once all the internal ejector pin pads had been sanded down.

Good evening All, here's my latest off the bench. No lockdown for me, I am still in to work as normal. Two weekends and a couple of evenings was all this took to complete this model, and if you went for it you could do this in a blitzbuild it is so easy to make. The only additions were the sutton harness from Yahu and the gunsights from an Eduard set. The aerial is ezline. As usual there were a few firsts as I tried new things to see if they are something I would like to try again. Most of all this was really fun to make. The Yahu harness: The black basing, a first for me: Paints used were Mr Color for the Light Stone, the Azure and the interior colour (US Marine Green), another first for me as I have never used them before; Xtracrylix for the Dark Earth; Tamiya for the blacks; Vallejo Model Color for the red spinner. I followed the Airfix instructions and painted the spinner black - error; it should be red. I had to mask up the propeller blades and respray. I have dusted it over with Tamiya buff as the desert aircraft got very dusty, and there are lots of photos of P-40s generally with oil and fuel stains down the port side, some of them quite significant stains. I used Lifecolor Tensacrom for these stains on the model. I have overdone the exhaust stains a little but it is what it is. It looks like this: Thank you very much for stopping by to look. Keep safe.

This collection has taken around two years to complete due to only having access to a workshop on an irregular basis. Each kit took just under a week. German Fighters: Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-8 Anton Focke-Wulf Fw 190D-9 Dora Messerschmitt Bf 109G-10 Gustav Messerschmitt Me 262A-1 Schwalbe American Fighters: North American P-51D Mustang Republic P-47M Thunderbolt British Fighters: Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XVI Supermarine Spitfire Mk.XIV Hawker Tempest Mk.V Bonus Russian Fighter: Yakovlev Yak-3 All the aircraft are in 1/48 scale and are primarily by Eduard and Tamiya, with Airfix supplying parts for the Spitfire XIV.

Hello good people, Here are a few pictures of my just-completed 1:72 Sea Hurricane MK Ia by Arma Hobby. Its a pretty nice kit, well detailed, and pretty forgiving to build. I built mine to represent a machine from Royal Navy's training squadron No. 760, stationed at Yeovilton, England in early 1942. I'm not entirely sure if I'm correct, but I believe no. 760 was the unit where pilots trained for hurricat duty. Hurricats were hurricanes modified for catapult launch from modified transport ships sailing in the North Atlantic convoys. In case of air attack or snooping from FW Condors, a hurricat would be launched to intercept. The plane would then either be flown to land, or ditched in the water. Sound's like a cold and horrible way to die, to me. Photos of no. 760's aircraft show that they were pretty worn out, with lots of paint patches, and in some cases, whole sections of different aircraft frankensteined together into a flying machine. Here is a photo of the actual plane. And here is my interpretation. I found this model incredibly difficult to photograph, the FAA camouflage seems to absorb light. I'm too lazy to reset my photo booth, so these will have to do. and here is the Arma Hobby kit with its Airfix stablemate, built about 6 years ago, My model was painted with Hataka Red line paints. I found these to be pretty easy to use, but I thinned them with windshield wiper fluid. They are far more robust than Vallejo acrylics, but don't spray as well as Gunze and Tamiya, my typical go-to paints. Like Vallejo paints, though, the Hataka paint was great for hand brushing, and due to their robustness, I will be getting more for detail painting. Weathering was done primarily with oil dot filters. Thanks for looking.

Morning All Built OOB, I went with this scheme to avoid all the stencils. Wings folded to save display space. Thanks for looking J.A.

Something a little different from me - as normal it has a Sywell connnection but a personal one too! Also I think I deserve an 'I built a Pavla kit without being sectioned' badge. So this is the 1/72 Pavla Messenger - pretty much the only game in town if you want one of FG's lovely aeroplanes. I picked this up cheap at Newark - a paltry couple of quid - mainly because it has the markings of G-AKIN - a 1947 Messenger 2A which has been based at Sywell since 1951 - and which I helped form a Trust to preserve - so I guess as a Trustee I own it! Fairly crude IJ parts, some nice etch and resin. LOTS of scraping on the sides of the fuse to let the cockpit fit (detail of which was very nice) then lots of filler for the mainplanes. The central fin is way too tall and needs filing down. One of the UC legs was short shot - so I had to scratch another from the spares box, not entirely successfully. You are told to make UC leg braces from wire and an exhaust pipe. Then to the elephant in the room - the Vac Canopy. You get two - one military (square windows) and one civillian (with teardrop window) both were crushed in Pavla's crap box. Ulp. With KIN - the whole cockpit is canopy so I carefully trimmed and masked it - it didnt fit too well but some filler helped. On the fullsize the door bottoms are pronounced. I replaced the prop which was crap in the box and added a pilot. sprayed Rustoleum plastic primer (which is superb) with a couple of thick coats which had the benefit of giving depth to the window frames - on KIN the inside is white so this helped then three coats of Humbrol Matt 73 Wine - applied by brush. decals were very good indeed - they were too wide for the fins and their size is wrong (I have the advantage of being able to look at the fullsize) for her current scheme and because of this when the central fin is shortened they are incorrect in number (3 not 4) -( NB I've since spotted that prior to her recovering about 20 years ago she did have four on the outers and three on the inner so its right for then!) as they are the same size on all fins I overlooked this..... but they were opaque and settled well with no silvering over two coats of Klear. The finish on KIN is patchy and semi-matt, we should wax her more often...! Made in memory of Norman Spiller. For more on the Sywell Messenger Trust see here: http://www.sywellaerodrome.co.uk/messenger.php The build... The cockpit - very nice once fuse sides thinned to fit. Had to built up sides so canopy had something to fit to. The IP is correct - there are two cubby holes to lose your maps in Two very delicate sticks are provided - the spur on which it fits is shown here - mine was missing on the port side. This didn't bother me as a) I was going to fit a pilot and b) KIN doesn't have dual controls which is a pain when we convert pilots on her. DE33F2A4-E1FE-4FF1-AED5-0388993B2EEC by Ben Brown, on Flickr 25965887-6D37-435C-B09E-DE080E21D292 by Ben Brown, on Flickr Pavla would have you use some tiny wedge shaped PE brackets folding in half to fit the flaps. As I am not mental I pinned them instead. That canopy. GULP. Don't screw it up - there's only one! 98BFB33B-32AC-4966-BDC2-089370C9837B by Ben Brown, on Flickr Much filling and sanding later... can't speak too highly of Rustoleum Plastic Primer Brushing the Humbrol Matt - I used matt cos its easier to paint and after a couple of coats of Klear at the end looks very accurate as a semi-matt doped finish. B0E7D623-A3BC-4C0A-A755-B8206082C882 by Ben Brown, on Flickr And then the decals and final bits! 50A2B96B-3391-4E45-95F0-188F337E0BAB by Ben Brown, on Flickr F44D5A87-79BC-4F89-B348-1BF7CDF71C08 by Ben Brown, on Flickr I added the race numbers we put on her for an Old Warden Race Day the other year ... And here is 'KIN in the flesh. After Richard Shuttleworth's Moth, she holds the UK record for being the aircraft based continuously at one airfield for the longest period 1951-2020 10390282_10152110084805976_1092956175561772979_n by Ben Brown, on Flickr Note - post late 90s resto she grew an extra white stripe on each fin - 5 outer 4 inner - but before that she had 4 outer and 3 inner - in writing this I've only just noticed this..! 10352258_10152110084980976_1559766768748324998_n by Ben Brown, on Flickr 10425368_10152110085505976_4589336758239176169_n by Ben Brown, on Flickr Thanks for looking - I now need to build her sister racer Proctor III G-AHFK also raced by Johnny and Norman Spiller.... ATB TT

This is my latest creation based on the Roden 144th Britannia. All Cargo Airlines 5y-ayr was painted by my father and me in the hangar at Manston in the middle of winter giving us a hard time! Hope you like it. 1

Hi everyone this is my Italeri Tomcat in 1/48 scale. I bought this online for £20 and a Tomcat in that scale at that price I figured I can't lose, if it's a bad kit then so what? I thought it would have raised detail etc but it didn't, and for the price it's decent. Not a bad fit either. I got decals to make it the blue splinter scheme for the Top Gun school but the decals arrived and they had Iranian Tomcats as well so it looked a bit different and I'm pleased with the results. I have to add the weapons still but the plane is done. I have to say I think it's my best effort with a desert camouflage which has a faded/used look. I hope you guys enjoy and if you've tips etc please share! I've the Hobbyboss Tomcat D in my stash so I'll be doing a USN one next with the dirty grey.

Here are two new "lockdown" builds, both Fireflies, but in the opposite colour schemes from normal: Firefly FR.1, 766 Naval Air Sqn, RNAS Lossiemouth 1949 (FROG/Novo with own decals). Firefly Mk.IV, 814 Naval Air Sqn, HMS VENGEANCE, 1949 (Airfix, with own decals and Airwaves wing fold) Enjoy and stay safe everyone! FredT

Latest off the bench is the Hasegawa 1/72 F/A-18F Super Hornet. I built this kit using an Eduard detail set and RAAF decals from Ronin, as well as some bombs from the Hasegawa 1/72 U.S. Bombs and Rocket Launcher kit. This was my first time using an extensive PE detail set, which included cockpit, canopy and external details. I particularly struggled with the external details and canopy PE. If anyone has some tips for handling PE during the build process, please let me know. Whilst I think the results look good, I think my next few kits will be purely OOB for a breather. This particular scheme and loadout was based on a few photos of this particular aircraft on Operation Okra in the Middle East in 2017 (see below). Cheers First, the references: And my version:

Hi all. Just finished my second "Corona-Lock-Down-Modell"😁. I´m in my 7th week at home now and just started kit no. 3. It´s the nice 1/72 scale Airfix kit with only little extras. A seat from CMK, BL755 from ResKit and the nozzles were taken from the CMK engine set. Paints are mainly from Tamiya and Alclad II. I used the decal version from the kit for XZ133 of No.1 Squadron onbord HMS Hermes. So long... Daniel

Fifth finish of the year is one I started back in July last year, I had no idea that it would take as much filler or how long it would take. So the premise for this is that the TSR2 project wasn't meddled with by the UK government of the day and became a successful airframe for the RAF and export customers such as the US, being used instead of F111 on OP Combat Lancer hence the bomb load as per the F111's preferred sortie configuration. Built OOB less the pylons taken from a Trumpter RA5C Vigilante kit, bombs and MER's from 2 Hasegawa weapons sets and Printscale F111 decals. Painted with Tamiya acrylics and a 1 1/2 tubes of Sqn green filler used during the build. I know the under carriage doors are not in the correct position but the Airfix instructions have them all open. As usual all comment welcome. And just to show the size of the TSR2 for those not familiar, with an AV8A

Hi all. This is the 3rd completed one for the year. It's the Weekend edition of the Eduard 1/48 L-29 Delfin which is the AMK kit in disguise. The markings are one of the options in the box and I can assure that all 184 decals that make up the tiger stripes are present, count 'em! It was bare plastic a week and a half ago so approximately 10 days to complete it. Four of those were dedicated to decaling. The paint is Mr Color #4 yellow. The changes I made are the Master pitot probes and the Quickboost seats. I also replaced the braces behind the front seat with wire. I kept the canopy closed as the open canopy would ruin the simple lines of the airframe. So, interesting airframe...no. Interesting decals scheme...yes. Would I recommend the kit...yes, but a different scheme. Hope you like it. Mick

Hello folks, Just completed my latest work on the table, a 1/48 J8M Shūsui rocket interceptor. As a Japanese copy of the German Me-163 Komet it was a less known topic, and Finemolds is the only game in town. The limited version I bought comes with a pair of cannon barrels so I made my Shūsui into a "what-if" combat ready model (The real one didn't pass beyond unarmed prototype stage). For a kit originally released in the 90's the assembly is super straightforward, apart from the built-in PE set I just replaced the plastic pitot tube on the left wing with brass, and it was ready for painting. I used the sole surviving Shūsui from the Planes of Fame Air Museum as a camouflage reference, but used green instead of orange (the colour for trainer/prototype aircraft). The upper was painted with dark green from AK interactive's WW2 IJN Aircraft Colours set. After masking I painted the bared lower using Gaia Colour's star bright duralumin. The roundels were painted too, after finding out the decals have become unusable after decades. The plane was weathered using MIG (filtering and washing), AK (panelining) and oil paints (color modulation and fake shadows) before a protective semigloss coating. I made a small round base using rigid foam covered with Tamiya's weathering paste. To better reflect the name of the aircraft (Shūsui means "Autumn Water" literally in Japanese) as well as the time it would've seen combat (Autumn 1945), I planted some yellow autum grass onto the base. Hope you enjoy the pictures. Some WIP pics: Cheers.

As something of a Coronavirus lockdown special effort, I recently did something I’ve been thinking about attempting for months: A Mk.XIV high-back conversion kit bash. I built this Mk.XIVe high-backed Spitfire in 1/48 scale using Eduard’s Mk.VIII kit as the base fuselage, Airfix’s new FR Mk.XIV bubble-top kit for the Griffon engine, tail and radiators, and Eduard’s Mk.XVI bubble top kit for an ‘e’ wing to complete Spitfire MN-F (tail number RB169) as flown by 350 Squadron, RAF from October 1944. Decals were from Xtradecal and the Mk.VIII and Mk.XIV kits. This was a really in depth effort and I’m really not confident with filler, putty and rescribing but was surprised and delighted by how nice she looks in the end result! I’ve wanted to do a Griffon Spitfire for ages but wanted a proper wartime bird that saw large scale service and don’t really like the bubble-canopy and cut down fuselage look of Airfix’s fighter-reconaissance Mk.XIV. There are some older Mk.XIV kits out there (e.g Academy) but they are extremely inaccurate shape-wise so I didn’t want to go for any of them. The Eduard Spitfires are the best out there in terms of shape and surface detail (at least in my opinion) in 1/48 scale – hence the approach chosen here to use as much Eduard plastic as possible and take what parts I needed from the Airfix FR Mk.XIV bubble canopy kit. For those wondering about the wastefulness implied – the Mk.XVI kit comes with two different ‘e’ wing sprues representing early and late modifications so I was able to take one for this project and will still be able to build the Mk.XVI in full later on.

Here's my Airfix JP. This kit was done for RAF 100yrs, but I'm using it for picture posting practice, so here we go.... Cheers, DaveH

My output has doubled recently, after three in March I built another three in April. Quick and dirty. First is Trumpy`s F100. OOB, only Eduard masks: Next is the old SU-7 kit, built from the Revell boxing. Some AM used: New Ware masks, Master tubes, QB air scoops, Hi Line decals. Wheel well covers scratch built. I am no so content with the nile valley camo, the earth tone should be darker: Finally Eduard`s Shachak. Completely OOB. I am not good at free-hand spraying, especially the brown should have been done better: Thanks for looking! Stay healthy and well and keep on modelling. Volker

I would like to present my MPM 1/48 Fairey Fulmar in the markings of Stan Orr, the leading fighter pilot for the FAA during WW11. This represents N1884 - 6K from 806 Squadron, HMS Illustrious, Eastern Mediterranian in late 1940. This is 'modified' from the kit by folding the wings, this is not a standard 'option'. The wing fold is cut from the kit parts and the sections reassembled in the new locations. No aftermarket was used, only some brass rod to support the wing folds and plastic card & rod to close in the fuel cells and provide detail. The fold was not difficult and was helped a lot by the FAA museum example having folded wings. This represents a rare opportunity to do the 'sand and spinach and spaghetti' leading edge camouflage invented by 806 by 'copying' the similar Italian scheme. This was hand painted over the underside colour. Serials were home printed. Diorama aboard HMS Illustrious as the 'Navy Brass' debate the new 'sand and spinach and spaghetti' leading edge camouflage invented by 806 in theatre. The complete diodama Early phase of construction. All parts cut from the kit wings. Note the Alerons both droop to clear the fuselage. Hope you enjoyed the finished article. More pictures and the build thread is in the 'In the Navy' Group Build here. 1/48 Fulmar wing fold Colin

Following on from last month's Revell 1/72 Vampire FB.5, I carried on and have just finished a second one. Mainly because I don't like Vampires, or models of them, so the sooner it was out of the way the better! For this model I used one of the decal options from the Modeldecal Vampire sheet. VZ305, RLS, 607 & 608 Sqdns, Ouston, 1954-5 (11) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr VZ305, RLS, 607 & 608 Sqdns, Ouston, 1954-5 (14) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr VZ305, RLS, 607 & 608 Sqdns, Ouston, 1954-5 (15) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr VZ305, RLS, 607 & 608 Sqdns, Ouston, 1954-5 (17) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr VZ305, RLS, 607 & 608 Sqdns, Ouston, 1954-5 (10) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr VZ305, RLS, 607 & 608 Sqdns, Ouston, 1954-5 (8) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr This is a DH Vampire FB.5, VZ305, of 607 Squadron at RAF Ouston, Northumberland in 1954-55. It was flown by Wing Commander R.L.Smith, and Wing Commanders were allowed to use their initials in place of normal code letters, thus 'RLS'. He was also in charge of 608 Squadron at RAF Thornaby-on-Tees, so their colours were painted on the starboard side, and the aircraft was further embellished with painted rudders. The aircraft was also unusual in having PRU blue undersides, which would normally indicate that it had previously seen service with the 2nd TAF in Germany. However VZ305 only ever served with UK based squadrons, so perhaps at some point it had been earmarked for Germany, but never made it? There is a Vampire "VZ305" flying today - the airworthy Norwegian example - but it carries spurious marks and the original VZ305 was scrapped after RAF service. Thanks again for looking.

This is my (very) recently finished model of a Sabre F.4, using the Hasegawa F-86-40 as a starting point. I reduced the wingspan, closed up the leading edge slats and added the fence. I also moved the location of the drop tanks to the correct locations, as well as modified the fins to the correct triangular shape, as the kit did not come with the style of drop tanks needed for a RAF machine. The ejection seat is an aftermarket item, actually intended for the Kinetic kit, I talked with the maker of the seats and he sent me one to try, I made the shoulder harness and lap belts from lead foil and some buckles I had in my spares box. I also replaced the solid cast fuel dump in the kit with one that I made by smashing some tubing to a oval cross section.The markings were donated to me by fellow BM member 'Tony Edmunston'. He advised me that they reversed the colors on the Italeri kit decal sheet, the pupils of the eyes being black and the mouth red, which I was able to mostly deal with, the mouth should be edged in red, however that was beyond my capabilities, sadly. They also used an incorrect font on the B in the serial number, that I was able to deal with, though. I used soft wire for the plumbing on the engine, much easier to manipulate that the vinyl tubing that came in the kit, the heat blanket was approximated by the use of aluminum foil, I also scratchbuilt the engine stand. Regrettably I didn't have much in the way of stencils that I could use, most importantly the prominent identiplate stencils under the windscreen on both sides of the nose. All things considered I am mostly happy with the end result.

AP 10778 (March 1938) records in Section V: General Handling Notes: 'ground crew are to be issued with paper bags to wear over their heads during routine maintenance work in order to avoid the stigma of being seen in proximity to the aircraft.' I expect yours is bigger than mine Martian.... ---------------------------------------------- This space reserved for @CedB's inevitable response. ---------------------------------------------- Taking off some brain-health time today away from meetings and project assessments; early into the studio after a swish of Oolong to be confronted by this unpleasant surprise after loading the intake section up into Fusion: Apparently an I Ching sequence loosely interpreting as 'You're screwed if you think there's a Vixen in here sunshine.' Something clearly went horribly awry during the previous project-saving and I've no notion (aside from an overnight software update) as to what might have caused such an outbreak of Abstract Expressionism on the timeline. Mercifully I'm a paranoid creature when it comes to backing-up so was able retrace the missing steps from my design (pompous-sounding I know but necessary at this stage) journal: A perfect instance of how having to go back to a tabula rasa helps you come up with a newer version much improving upon the original missing one: In this case I managed the curves better through redesigning as a more precise series of patches and then stitching them together in order to form a continuous whole - akin to what Michael said above in his analogy about working sheet metal. The reverse view from behind this shape, looking out: Some further patching of the rear section finally to turns thi surface into a solid form: Now need to look at continuing this section inboard to where it meets the saide fairing. A singularly magical dusk here at the wekend w/ Venus and Luna caught dancing: That tangerine luminance along the western horizon is pretty much as it looked to the naked-eye: Just a hint of Earthshine visible in the crescent: Tony

Guess which box art is my favorite... best, M.

Note: New decals applied further down the page.

Coming soon Ciao Massimo

Here is this wonderful piece of transportation history, an iconic early double-decker of undeniable British pedigree. Roden has done a truly magnificent job producing this fairly priced, highly-detailed kit. If you would like to have a glimpse at some notes and follow the building sequence, please go here: I had a great time building this minuscule jewel, with a high number of parts and -mostly- sound engineering. There are a few things that may need your attention, and they are all pointed out in the step-by-step building post. The instructions are clear enough, but have some errors -again, check the build post-. Parts will need careful separation and delicate handling, since many are small and/or fragile. Some clean-up will be needed, but the fit in general is very good. The key to this build is a sound sequence (not the one suggested by the kit, which I didn't follow) that contemplates painting the parts and sub-assemblies in the necessary several colors, as well as a practical assembly. Keeping things neat will be of great help and will render a clean model. The kit's decoration is based on a circulating bus, I couldn't find an original (era) photo of it anywhere, but there are plenty of images on the Net of this "modern", still serviceable bus. This bus doesn't have the side guardrails provided in the kit (which is good for me, since I find them chunky and heavily rendered, unlike the rest of the finely molded parts in the kit). A very beautiful subject and a nicely crafted kit are always a delight for the modeler.

Good day friends! Here is my latest work, Oldie goldie P-47D Razorback from Tamiya. Superb kit, no major fit issues. This is the first time I've used HGW positive rivets and although they demand some extra work (filling already made rivetholes on the kit), the result is well worth it in my opinion. I used Eduard PE set, Quickboost engine, CMK resin wheels, HGW seatbelts, stencils and positive rivets. Decals are from Kitsworld, although the insignias were airbrushed. All the paints used are from MRP, weathering was Ammo affair (oilbrushers, washes, dust effects etc.) I hope you like it, enjoy the pics!

This is the second on my projected three Japanese builds, as usual with Hasegawa kits it was a really nice build, the only part that I was not sure about was the fit of the engine cowling but with some fiddling that went on fine. Paints used were Sovereign Colourcoats, with detail painting done with Humbrol paints. All markings were painted on with masks by Mal of Miracle Paint Masks fame. The only decals were the data plate on the aft fuselage and the wing fuel filler points. The pilots harness was the superb RB IJN Products set, which although fiddley came out great. Nick Millman's "Raiden Colour Notes" put me on the right track as far as colours are concerned as my knowledge on all thing Japanese is very limited. The rest was Hasegawa, and it built up into a fine if portly looking beast.. On with the photos, after I had taken them I realised that I had not finished the tail light, this will be done shortly before it is popped into the display cabinet. Cheers Dennis

Thanks, everyone. And then there were three... The masts are held into the brackets by a crude piece of bent 0.2mm rod just to keep it all safe. In due course the brackets will be fitted to the hull and painted, but I suspect the masts will be added very late indeed; sticky-out bits par excellence, just begging to be bashed, bent, damaged and knocked into oblivion! More soon Crisp

Are you suggesting that Ced should acquire a plastic injection moulding machine and a new quarter ton mould that needs a Catalina-shaped hole in it? If he can get the machine and a block of steel then I guess all he needs is a CAD wizard with an interest in aeroplanes

Thanks Bill, carrying on! Another Ponytail eh Paul? Thanks Adrian I've bookmarked your great work on taping the wings for your biplanes but I agree that it doesn't show on the Cat. Sometimes. Thanks Simon - done! Thanks Bill - great pics and very useful! Ta matey Don't worry johnny - the ribs do show up in quite a few pictures so I think you're safe! So I've made some progress starting at step 1: Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr I've also glued the wings together in preparation for more sanding. Don't forget to put these in first: Even if they don't fit very well; I think the idea is that you can move them up and down, hence the gap. Yuk. Just to show I'm not afraid off tape: I needed that to close the edges! I had told Rob that there wasn't much warpage, but I've discovered that's not quite the case. The wings seemed to have lots of little warps, and then there's this: Double yuk. Moving on, here's the control diagram from the Pilot's Notes: …and here are the bits from the kit: Erm… These go together like this: Errrrmmmmm… I did look for the i/p on the transfer sheet but oh no, you're supposed to cut out that part of the instructions. Laugh? I nearly cried. In fact I did have a bit of a tear… Looking at Bill and Johnny's builds they both spent a lot of time on the internals and most of it can't be seen after close up. Now you know I normally enjoy internals, but even I have my limits. So I'm going with the kit parts and concentrating on the outsides… I'm not very good at silk purses…

Well it looks like I might be getting somewhere now started building up the main deck level of the superstructures and removed the molded upper forward gun shields ready for the PE. Stay Safe beefy

This summary is a touch 'broad brush' and the last sentence incorrect, although I believe Terry is referring to the outburst of colour on 2ndTAF Typhoons in the summer of 1945. True, these were exceptional but there were coloured spinners and undercarriage doors in 1944. I wrote the C&M chapter in '2nd TAF Vol 4' and included the following in the section on spinner colours. The colour of spinners was decreed as part of the colour scheme; for day fighters it was Sky, night fighters Medium Sea Grey. In theory that should account for the spinners of all 2nd TAF aircraft until 3 January 1945 when they all ordered to be painted Night. However, while the majority of aircraft, for most of the time carried the spinner colours decreed in orders, there were significant exceptions. Information on these non-standard colours is difficult to clarify and apart from the recollections of pilots and groundcrew, the few ‘spotters’ who recorded such things and the occasional note in unit ORBs, we are left with the inexact science of interpretation of monochrome photographs. Many observers are tempted to quote traditional flight colours (red for A flight, blue for B flight) for spinners that appear to be tones other than those expected for Sky, Medium Sea Grey or Night. However some squadrons are thought to have had a squadron colour (e.g. 65 Sqn’s red-spinnered Mustang IIIs and 438 Sqn’s black/white eccentric markings) and some squadron commanders picked a particularly obvious colour or distinctive marking (e.g. spirals) for their own aircraft. Spitfires seem to have kept the official line, Sky, almost without exception, but it was a different matter with Typhoons and Mustangs. Photographs of Typhoons at the Gloster factory in the autumn of 1943 and early 1944 show new-built aircraft with Night spinners, yet photographs of 2nd TAF Typhoons at this time invariably show Sky spinners, suggesting that they were repainted in line with ADGB/2ndTAF requirements at the receiving Maintenance Unit or Group Support Unit. By the spring of 1944, when new Typhoons were pouring into the 2nd TAF squadrons, other shades are evident; certainly some are Night - others a middle shade. 266 Squadron’s Typhoons photographed at Needs Oar Point in April have spinners which seem close to the Dark Green in the camouflage. Evidence to support this suggestion was forthcoming from the wreck of MN175 recovered in Normandy a few years ago. Pieces of the spinner showed it to have been Night, painted over in Sky, painted over in Dark Green. - it was a 198 Squadron aircraft which had previously been with 266 Squadron. Just how far this practice extended remains obscure. A photograph of 121 Wing Typhoons on B.3 (I/139), on or about 15 June 1944, shows a mix of dark and light spinners, as does film of this Wing at B.5 in early and mid-July. However in film shot a few weeks later, early in August, nearly all the Typhoons shown have (apparently) Night spinners. The well-known film of 198 and 609 Squadrons at Thorney Island on D-Day (I/136-7) shows predominantly dark-toned spinners, as does the photograph on this page of 164 Squadron aircraft taking off at Thorney - but were they Night, upper surface camouflage colours or flight colours? Photographs and film of 609’s PR-L strongly suggest a red spinner - in line with flight colours but other evidence is inconclusive (to these authors at least). For the other Typhoon wings during the Normandy campaign there is insufficient evidence from which to draw definite conclusions, however, what there is, does suggest that 124 Wing retained Sky spinners on most of their Typhoons, as did 143 (RCAF) Wing - with the exception of 439 Squadron, which favoured eccentric (in both senses of the word) blotches on their spinners - White on Night or Night on Sky. The intention was, apparently, that the flickering effect would distract the flak gunners - a split second could make all the difference. 123 Wing (which included 198 and 609 as above) spinners were predominantly dark as were those of 146 Wing. After this was written I had access to a spotter's notebook from 1944. He was active in Hampshire during the invasion period and had notes on the Typhoons at Hurn. Mostly these recorded serials and/or codes but some (presumably what he saw as non-standard) spinner colours were noted. 183 Sqn (HF) with grey spinners and 263 Sqn (HE) some black and some blue. I do not know how much Jack G is concerned with accuracy for his model but in its unaltered form the kit presents an impossible variant - ie. a combination of 4-blade propeller with the small original tailplane. It also features faired exhausts which abandoned just as the 4-blader was entering service. And if the kit RP are used they need to be rotated through 45 degrees on the rails. CT

Hey! happy hump day. 🤩 Thanks for all the lovey comments. Decided to do a spot of painting after work. It was light when I started, I looked up and it was dark. 😳🤪 I have a base colour coat on the rest of the pit parts. The decals went on too, not initially happy as there were a lot of white edges that made them look toy like. There was some to and fro with dark paint and different dot colours but I think I’m happy now. let’s start with the seats. And As a flat coat I’m happy with that. Lots of weathering to go to pick out highs and lows. The control stick got some pin points. Here’s the IP. I cut the dials and popped them on. The radar got blanks added and the decals added with a clear Tamiya paint pass. You can see where the white rims got painted out. I think with some touches the original decals are pretty good. 😇 colours dotted on too. Overall happy. The side buttons got a few colours. And a bit of colour on the back buttons. After a bit of a wobble and the touch ups on the IP I decided to add a bit of pre depth before I do the weather and am wash pass. I used a citadel wash I bought ages ago to settle the creases. That’s better. Now I just have to make the belts, straps, clasps and handles. 🤓I’ll try and find some decals too. as you can see through the window it’s gone dark. 🤯 so I’ll leave it there for now. Last lot of goodies turned up today. Can’t wait to use those masks. 🤩🤩🤩 Thanks for dropping buy. Hope you’re all having a splendid week. Take care and a always, Happy modelling. Johnny. 🙃

Hi all, herewith, at last, my RFI for the Revell 1:350 Type VIIC/41 in its seascape 'crash surface' setting - or rather my interpretation of it. The WIP thread is here for those interested. In some (not all!) of my past RFIs I have endeavoured to come up with some kind of interesting back-story about the real thing on which my model was based. My initial interest in building this kit was based on my reading of the exploits of U-570 (later HMS Graph), which was attacked and ultimately captured by the Royal Navy after an ill-judged decision by her skipper to surface more-or-less right under the nose of a patrolling Lockheed Hudson. That story is related elsewhere in this forum I believe, and in any case U-570 was apparently found to be a Type VIIC, not a Type VIIC/41 as depicted by the kit. However, during the build I happened across the rather sorry tale of another Type VIIC, U-1206; with your indulgence I would share it with you, told in my own words. I'll put in the post immediately after this one, just in case people aren't into too much background info - I will be honest and say the only thing that links my model to this back-story is the probable sense of urgency regarding surfacing! OK first off, here's the photos - I hope you enjoy them: Comments and criticisms, as ever, all welcome. ** Edited to correct incorrect reference to U-505 - should have been U-530, thanks to whitestar12chris ** Edited to correct incorrect reference to U-530 - should have been U-570, apologies to whitestar12chris and thanks to Alan P - I'm going back to bed now!

Presenting my go at Academy's new-tool 1/72 F-14A Tomcat built for the "In The Navy" Group Build here on BM. Overall it was a decent build with good detail. Aftermarket used were Fine Molds plastic seatbelts and decals from a re-boxing of their old-tool Tomcat. She is built as Fast Eagle 107 of VF-41 "Black Aces" just after the infamous 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident in which this jet and another VF-41 Tomcat, Fast Eagle 102, shot down a pair of Libyan Su-22 Fitter attack aircraft. Mark

Hello Fellow modelers One of the most elegant vehicle of reconnaissance French Panhard Ebr-10. Defmodels wheels highly recommended instead the vinyl ones provided by Hobby Boss. No traps with this kit except the bad location of one headlight (the larger headlight located front right side should be at the rear). A really pleasant kit to build. Ideal for beginners Take care Cheers Pierre

Hi everyone. Here's another from the shoebox of doom, the Dragon StuG IV Early Production - a kit I was glad to get finished as it proved a very fiddly and time-consuming build. I think I prefer Tamiya engineering and simplicity these days! I used Tamiya and Vallejo paints followed by an oil pin-wash and some weathering with AK pigments and a silver pencil. All the best, Ian

Fuselage joined up but unfortunately I think I made things a bit of a problem for me by overdoing it on the plasticard tabs along the fuselage joins to help align the halves up. It ended up with requiring filler along the seams to match things up. I masked off eitrher side of the seams so as not to damage the lovely fabric effect either side. All fuselage openings have been sealed with tape to stop filler dust getting inside. I have assembled the three turrets, which were very fiddly indeed, and painted the interiors of the nose and tail turrets green. Fuselage joins filled and sanded. Portholes in roof behind cabin have been drilled out. A few of my sketches help me understand what I need to do or consider. Front and rear turrets and cockpit glazing now attached. I used white PVA wood glue to attach the turrets and cockpit glazing, it is water-based, does no damage to the clear parts, holds them sufficiently in place allowing final adjustments to be made, and any gaps can be sealed with it too and smoothed with a wet finger. It dries clear and glazing can be removed later if required with no damage. The brand I used was Gorilla wood glue, if gorillas use it then it must be strong enough. Other major components now assembled. The fuselage, wings and spats have been brush painted with Humbrol Matt 119 Light Earth. The resin engines have been assembled and painted. Each of the nine cylinders on each engine required a valve sleeve adding from fine plastic rod. The propellers have a brass rod shaft installed to the hub which then push fits into a hole drilled in each engine centre. As I did with the Heyford I have made sure that the wheels are free to rotate and I have filed a flat into each tyre. And then that exciting stage arrived, the fitting of the wings. I would recommend that the wing spar that is provided is not glued to the fuselage before fitting the wings, then any loose play in the spar will make it easier to match up the wings to the fuselage ( guess who did not do this ) mmmm . The fit and dihedral was excellent with hardly any fettling required ............. EXCEPT that the wing root is slightly too long at the rear fillet, but a small bit of carving sorted that out.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk 1 603 Squadron RAF 1940, Tamiya 1/48 Just missed ANZAC Day but here is Brian Carburys', Spitfire. Brian was a New Zealander and one of very few 'Aces in a day', having downed 5 ac on 31 August 1940 in XTW. Model built from the box with only additional seat belts. Serials and codes home printed, codes in grey onto white flim then cut out before application. Serials and remaining decals from kit. Very pleasant quick build. Meanwhile at RAF Hornchurch, R6835 basks in the August sun waiting for the 'Scramble'. Build thread and more pictures here Colins Spitfire R6835 Cheers Colin

Greetings Brits... Here is another kit done by lockdown... This is a Tamiya 1/48 Beaufighter... Its a really nice kit and this one is build out of the box... with kit decals... I had some help on this forum for a better appearance for the nacelle lips other than the copper called out in the kit. I decided on a testors 'jet exhaust' color which is like burned steel which was one of the options postulated. I think it looks good, some day I may overspray some light burned iron, but this looks good under my display case lighting... Here it is on the workbench when I just finished it...

Here I have lowered the cabin floor and extended it back to the bomb bay. Resin pilot's seat in position. Kit's plastic cockpit floor and throttle quadrant, and etched brass rudder pedals, trim wheel and gear change lever, parking brake or whatever it is. Note that the tab for glueing the instrument panel onto is correctly angled for tilt........ thumbs up to Valom. Who's left the door open............... To help ease construction I built up the cabin interior as a module that slots into place in the fuselage. Matchbox wireless operator sat at scratchbuilt wireless equipment and table, navigator's table and co-pilot's folding seat, and tubular structure made from Aeroclub plastic rod. Pilot is from a 1960s Airfix kit. I made throttle levers from plastic instead of using the microscopic etched brass ones. Etched brass control wheel from kit. It's okay, don't worry, I will be able to paint it once it is assembled ....................mmmmmm Better make sure it fits. Fuselage fuel tank in foreground. And better fit the fuel tank in place. Instrument panel now in place too. Note instrument panel angled correctly. Wish somebody would close that door ..................... Some basic fuselage structure has been added around the mid upper turret area. I think " view to the cockpit " is a lot less of a mouthful than " pohled do pilotni kabiny ", unless your Czech of course ....... " What are you swearing at love .....? " " Nothing dear "............. Social distancing and wearing of face masks compulsory .................. Now painted and in place. How thoughtful to give the wireless operator a nice big window through which to watch the scenery drift slowly by. The final photo I took before closing up the fuselage. A bit of structure and panel added just forward of rear turret. Okay, need to go and get another coat of black on the undersides, see you later.

I got my Wildcat home and dived straight in. I was more than impressed. It was a nice size and the folding wing mechanism could actually be made to work, which was more than I had managed on the Airfix Firefly. Because it didn't have a display stand it was one of the few aircraft kits I built wheels down. It occupied pride of place on my model shelf. Fast forward to Christmas of that year or possibly the next - 1973 or 1974. Santa delivered Airfix Flight Deck. If you haven't seen this before, it was a type of controlled flight toy that allowed you to approach and land a Phantom on a card aircraft carrier deck. There's more information here: http://www.stuffwelove.co.uk/flightdeck.htm It worked, after a fashion, but in the house there was no way of getting enough height on the top pulley to get a good turn of speed. The Phantom often stalled on approach. Come the Summer, dad bolted the top pulley 15 feet up the side of the house. The line could then run towards a concrete pad that sat in our garden, which the flight deck and control column could be set up on. This pad was a substantial cover over an inspection shaft for a natural spring. It was several feet square and about 4 inches high. A perfect set-up. The extra height gave the Phantom a fair turn of speed and much fun was had trying to catch the wire - until the day I misjudged my approach and smacked the Phantom into the vertical side of the concrete pad. It had never been designed to cope with that sort of deceleration and promptly fell to bits. Dad came out and surveyed the carnage. Why not just modify one of your models, he mused? The Wildcat was the only one with wheels down, so it was retrieved and some modifications were undertaken. Dad drilled through the fin and bolted on a piece of Meccano to tie the line to. Another bit was added in front of the cockpit. The still foldable wings were straightened and glued in place. A piece of wire was bent and attached to the rear fuselage to act as a more sturdy arrestor hook. The Wildcat undertook it's maiden flight. Propeller spinning in the slipstream, it hurtled towards deck and made a successful landing. It was even better than the Phantom. Great fun, until a few days later when the bracket in front of the cockpit tore off and the Wildcat plummeted about 10 feet onto the garden path where it disintegrated into a shower of blue plastic parts. The remains were scooped up and consigned to the bin. It's aviation career had been short but glorious. The rest of the Flight Deck set was deposited in the hut, and was no doubt disposed of in one of our occasional clear outs. A couple of years ago, during renovation work to some of the buildings in Falkirk High Street, a ghost from my childhood reappeared. The old model shop frontage had been covered over but had actually been preserved underneath the more recent work: artsandcrafts by John Walker, on Flickr In memory of Mr Gibb, my fellow kit contemplators and the Wildcat's aviation achievements, I've ordered another one. I'll try not to wreck it. John

The old kit Junkers is ready for a first session of priming:

Started tonight on the first (of eight) W/T aerial masts - the ones so characteristic of RN carriers in that era, that lowered to the horizontal during flying ops. You’re doubtless bored with hearing me say this, but Tetra have done a great job; things like the ladder and the visible gearing are lovely touches: More soon Crisp

Here's my first covid build.... really done for Wirral IPMS 'Red Star' club build. Lovely kit, got another on order... I'm having some issues embeding me pics... will get better (I hope !!}

Hello everyone, since I have been locked down for another month, due to COVID-19, I have been reducing my back log of kits that I wanted to build. This effort was the old AH-56 resurrected by Atlantis Models who acquired the molds from Revell-Monogram, who acquired them from Aurora. This was a lot of fun! But for the exception of new decals, the kit is the same from 1967. So lots of scratch building, new cockpit with some old photo etch, new weapons lay out including a new 30mm gun and turret, 7.62 Cal minigun, 500 lbs. Snakeye bombs and 19 shot 2.75 inch rockets and pods. This bird had a lot of stenciling, so into the decal spares box I went. In real life, this was the best Army Aircraft the US Army never bought. Mainly due to cost overruns and extreme political pressure from The USAF, the project died in 1972. This bird gave birth to the AH-64 Apache, however. The USAF felt this compound helicopter was getting too close to a fix winged attack aircraft. On to the pics! Real one!

Grabbed this kit to practice my airbrushing. Made up markings for a late war 219. Earlier Tamiya mold from the mid-90's...good kit with just a few little areas to watch out for. Fun build of a cool looking aircraft that was before it's time. Cheers Collin

Subject: Supermarine Spitfire LFMk.IXc – MJ250, No. 601 Sqn, Italy, Summer 1944 Model: Eduard 1/144th Spitfire Mk.IX Dual Combo (second one coming when those lovely people at Eduard send me the missing second canopy) Paint: Tamiya Gloss Aluminium laquer, Tamiya acrylics Extras: none (apart from a somewhat superfluous gloss varnish that my 4-year old daughter insisted on adding!) What a fun kit! Icarus