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  1. I don't often post finished builds in RFI if they're part of an ongoing group build. In this case, for a change, I'm really chuffed at how they came out, and wanted to share them further. As you know, as if I haven't mentioned it one or three times, I have an obsession about 1940. It sprang from an interest in the Battle of Britain itself, and a desire to try and build an example of every aircraft that took part in that epic struggle. Good histories of the Battle mention the part played by the Italian Air Force. More often, the Corpo Aereo Italiano is conveniently forgotten, or simply classed as a side show or footnote, perhaps because the German authorities effectively wanted nothing to do with it and didn't involve the force in any strategic planning. Italy declared war on Britain in June 1940, siding with Germany. Most of the aggressive activity took place around the Mediterranean, but Benito Mussolini persuaded Hitler to let an element of the Regia Aeronautica take part in what was the Battle of Britain. Consequently, an expeditionary force was formed, the Corpo Aereo Italiano, on 10 September 1940. Aircraft were despatched to autumnal Belgium post haste. Some failed to make it across the Alps, for various technical reasons I shan't go into here. Eventually, Fiat CR.42 and G.50 fighters and BR.20 bombers, were set up in three Belgian bases. They were to remain in Belgium until mid-April 1941, when the aircraft that had survived were redeployed back to warmer climes. It is often thought the Italian entry into the Battle of Britain was inconsequential. The fighter pilots, it is true, suffered from poor experience in bad weather flying, and the fighters themselves were desperately short of range and armament. The bombers, however, when working well, were more than capable of the task set them. The reaction, from both the German and British perspectives, to these brightly coloured aircraft arriving in the late summer of 1940 can be guessed at. Chapter and verse on the CAI and its exploits can be found on this Wikipedia page. This page gives a good account of the CAI, and how well (or not) the various aircraft did. For the purposes of this RFI post, the three main aircraft types are shown, representing the CAI itself, rather than individual posts for each plane. * * * Fiat BR.20M Cicogna, 4 Squadriglia, 11° Gruppo, 13° Stormo, Corpo Aereo Italiano, Melsbroek, Belgium, September 1940. 1/72nd scale Italeri with Eduard PE interior and exterior details, LF Models resin wheels, painted with ColourCoats enamels, Humbrol acrylics and enamels for detail work. [ The Fiat BR.20M Cicogna - the name means "stork" in English - was the mainstay of the Italian bomber fleet at the outset of World War 2. The first all-metal bomber to enter Italian service in 1936, it was already becoming obsolescent by 1940. That said, the type had seen service in the Spanish Civil War, had been sold to Japan where it was flown in support of their occupation of China, and when compared with its contemporaries from other countries it actually stacked up quite well. A twin-engined design, powered by a pair of Fiat A.80 R.C.41 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, driving 3-bladed all metal variable pitch propellers, the BR.20M was capable of carrying a 1,600kg bomb load nearly 3,000km. The crew of five consisted of pilot, co-pilot, bomb aimer and front gunner, radio operator/navigator and upper gunner and a belly gun position. Self defence was in the form of three 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, and sometimes a pair of guns could be fitted into side windows. The kit is of its age. First released in 1972, it carries the full complement of raised panel and rivet lines. I decided not to erase the latter, which perhaps was a mistake as the areas where filling and sanding have taken place have shown the remaining rivets up quite nicely. The transparent parts were quite thick, and had ejector pins and other impedimenta in awkward places. Modifications, outlined in the WIP thread, were needed to let the aftermarket internal detail set to fit properly. Although the parts count was quite low, the overall shape of the model looks about right, and I liked having the separate control surfaces so they could be offset a little to give some life to the model. I enjoyed learning to paint the random mottle camouflage, and I think the finished model has turned out well enough to find a place in my 1940 cabinet. My thanks to everyone who pitched in with their knowledge of the Italian air force and with ideas to overcome issues during the build. * * * Fiat CR.42 Falco MM 5668, 83a Sqd, 18° Gruppo, 56° Stormo, Corpo Aereo Italiano, Ursel, Belgium, October 1940. 1/72nd scale plastic, resin and photo etch kit from Mister Kit. Painted with ColourCoats enamels for the main camouflage colours, Humbrol and Xtracrylix acrylics for detailing. The Fiat CR.42, a single-seat sesquiplane, was a development of the CR.32, fitted with a more powerful Fiat air-cooled radial engine. It proved agile, but was technically outclassed by faster and more heavily armed monoplanes of the period. Armament consisted of a pair of 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, mounted in front of the pilot and synchronised to fire through the propeller. CR.42s were also capable of carrying a pair of 200kg bombs on hard points under the lower wing. Falco means falcon, as in the raptor species. This model was built from a Mister Kit limited run kit. At about the same time I brought it down from the shelf to build for the Group Build, Italeri announced a new kit for the CR.42. If you plan to add this little Fiat to your collection, my advice would be head that way, and not from where I came. Still, it turned out adequately in the end, and I even learned how to drive my airbrush for the camouflage! * * * Fiat G.50 Freccia MM 5403, 352 Squadriglia, 20° Gruppo, 56° Stormo, Corpo Aereo Italiano, Flugplatz Maldegem, Belgium, October 1940. 1/72nd scale limited run kit from AML, in plastic, resin and photo etch metal. Painted with ColourCoats enamels for the main camouflage colours, Humbrol and Xtracrylix acrylics for detailing. The Fiat G.50 was a rather dumpy looking low-wing monoplane. It entered RAI service in 1938, also serving with the expeditionary force in Spain. Early models of the G.50 Freccia (it means arrow) had a fully enclosed cockpit. Pilots, however, disliked this feature, claiming the perspex scratched easily in the dry and dusty operating environments they flew from. The open cockpit was adopted, and even hinged clear panels added to give a little more protection from the slipstream. Powered by the same air-cooled radial of its sesquiplane brother the CR.42, and armed with just two 12.7mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, mounted on the nose and firing through the propeller, the G.50 was capable of a maximum speed of 470kph, and a maximum range of 445km. The planes deployed to Belgium were hampered by poor range, no cockpit heating - so who likes an open cockpit now, eh? - and, when fitted, wireless sets that failed regularly. Like the rest of the CAI, redeployment to Italy and North Africa couldn't come soon enough. Photos of the period show the camouflage applied did not survive the colder and wetter climate in north-western Europe, and many planes ended up looking particularly scabby. I've aimed at a little chipping, just for fun. I guess Italeri have one in their range, and Airfix has an elderly kit of the type, so unless you really enjoy trying to make silk purses from sow's ears, pass over this kit if you find one. WIP thread here for all three builds:
    31 points
  2. Enjoyable kit. Straight OOB but added a few details to the cockpit and added my own stand using a wine cork, acrylic rod and MDF base. Full build here Enjoy ...
    21 points
  3. The Airspeed Horsa assault glider could carry 28 troops (including the two pilots who were also trained as fighting soldiers), or cargo such as a Jeep towing an anti-tank gun. It was made entirely of wood, with a wingspan of 88 feet and a length of 67 feet. 3,793 Horsas were built in total. Some aircraft were built by Airspeed at Christchurch, but the majority were assembled at RAF stations from sections produced by a large number of sub-contractors, including furniture manufacturers, motor works and railway workshops. About 1,400 Horsas were used on operations, chiefly at Normandy, Arnhem and the crossing of the Rhine. The original kit dates from the mid-1970s. It was going to be a simple out-of-box build, and is all right in overall shape, but the more I compared it to photos of the real glider, the more details I found that could do with improvement. The most serious problem is the cockpit, as it is going to be very visible under the large canopy. The entire cockpit floor was raised by attaching it to the rear bulkhead about 4mm higher than the official locating tab. The seats and control columns were also moved further inboard and the control console modified. Other bits were made from odd scraps of plastic. The result is far from perfect but at least it now bears a passing resemblance to the real thing. Another advantage of raising the cockpit is that it now leaves enough space under the floor for all the ballast that is needed to keep the nosewheel on the ground. Not much can be seen of the interior of the cabin when it is closed up. The sides and bulkheads were painted to represent plywood (50/50 Dark Earth + Dunkelgelb), with darker lines to simulate stringers, and the floor and seats in light green. The doors are provided with built-in steps, but this is completely wrong, so I instead made a couple of separate ladders from stretched sprue. There are two odd bulges above each tailplane: these were removed, and the tailplane struts were moved closer together. There seem to be some serious discrepancies in the positioning of the doors and windows in relation to the wing and undercarriage, but trying to fix this would need major surgery, and I think the overall proportions look right. The kit is described as a 'Horsa Mk.I/Mk.II', and for the Mk.II version with a hinged nose section some extra parts are provided such as twin nosewheels, but the nose should have flattened sides and be more pointed in plan view. The Mk.I also has two extra glazing bars down the windscreen. The handle for swinging open the nose should be on the port side. There would not be much point in having it between the hinges on the starboard side, as shown in the instructions. The instructions also have the aileron mass balances, tail skid and pitot head all facing backwards instead of forwards. The main skid under the fuselage appears to be based on a type used on some Mk.IIs, but looks nothing like the real glider. It was greatly reduced in width and the large shock absorber and bracing struts added. Aerial masts were omitted as they don't seem to have normally been used on British Horsas on operations. The main decals in the kit are all right, but not the serial numbers. Two of the three options are fictitious and all are too large. I instead found an old decal sheet for Lancaster LM220 which could easily be amended to LH220, a Horsa Mk.I used at Arnhem in September 1944. By this time gliders were having invasion stripes painted only on the underside of the wings; some already had them above the wings but attempts to remove these were often half-hearted. The end result is a bit rough round the edges but I hope it now looks a bit more like a Horsa than one built straight from the kit. . .
    17 points
  4. Well, I think I might have finished this. I could add some (a lot of?) damp mud to the lower hull, suspension, and tracks, and some rain-staining to the upper surfaces, but right now, I'm fairly happy with it 'as is'. It needs a figure, because otherwise the diminutive size isn't apparent, but I don't like the poses of the kit figures. I think I've seen the figure I want to use (with a bit of green-stuff to mod one or two areas), but haven't purchased it yet.
    17 points
  5. I finished this yesterday afternoon for the Buccaneer STGB. I used the old Airfix S.2B boxing and decided to improve the cockpit, wheel bays and intakes with with Neomega resin sets that I had bought several years ago. I also removed the raised panel lines and rescribed the kit, added etch details from an Airwaves set to the airbrakes, and replaced the pitot with a Master brass item. The decals are from a Kits World Buccaneer Trials Aircraft set and the scheme is based on a photograph that I found in Wings of Fame Vol.14, Pg.100. Buccaneer S.2 XN975 RAE and RRE Trials Aircraft by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr
    16 points
  6. Hello, I had a long journey with that kit - it's easier than mk.I, however my low skills caused several problems on various steps. I cannot wait for 1/48 kit which should look as 1/24 in the box. 😀
    16 points
  7. Just finished RNLI Severn Class & RAF Rescue on sea with stretcher rescue. Great kit but decals to thin on the lines. Had to cut templates and hand paint.
    14 points
  8. Hi Guys, Will keep it short, May I present you Dassault Ouragan/Toofani in 1/72 scale, wanted to put a black archer sq marking sadly no decals, will put in the future. Thanks for watching regards
    14 points
  9. Were do i star. I went little wild on modifications and scratch building that almost took the fun out of the build. Seats scratchbuild, cockpit mods suing some Eduard photoetch, wing gloves scratch made by necessity, slats, spoilers flaps aaanddd speed brakes. There are a lot of flaws , the list is long so ill let you look for them, being the obvious the mix up with the top colors, i managed to apply them reversed. Well, this is my very personal interpretation of a Lutwaffe TornadoECR.
    14 points
  10. Case VAI Tractor Thunder Models 1/35 I've had this little Case tractor sitting on the shelf, built up and in primer, for a couple of years, but I've never seemed to find the time to get it finished. I've currently got a short gap between bigger projects, so I thought it was high time I got it out of the box and done. Another reason for the long delay in getting it done was that I wasn't sure what to do with it. I'd originally primed it in rust with the view to finishing it as rusted out wreck, but when it came to it I decided to go for a heavily worn but still working machine finished in the original Case orangey red, albeit with a heavy dose of chipping. The kit itself is very nice, with some lovely detailing. Some of the parts, such as the steering linkage, are a little fragile but everything goes together very easily. The only additions are a bit of wiring on the engine. As well as the original Thunder release, the kit's now been re-boxed by Airfix. (for the observant out there, yes, I did put one of the rear tyres on backwards) Thanks for looking Andy
    14 points
  11. Hello everyone, I had some time to spare while waiting for the posty so I thought I would repaint an older model as practice for a build I plan to do in the future. Just a bit of fun and paint practice. Here's the original in part strip down. And her new assignment with Jg300 Thanks for coming by.
    13 points
  12. Here is my RFI of my Corsair STGB entry. Built completely OOB, the stripes on the rudder and the black/yellow stripes were painted. All paints Vallejo, mostly airbrushed with odd details brushed. Its not perfect, some areas to improve but I've learnt some extra skill to try and get better at so not all bad. WiP thread Thanks for looking, constructive criticism always welcome, otherwise how will things get better Paul
    13 points
  13. Hi all Here is Tamiya’s 1/35 M41 “Walker Bulldog”, which I originally built 8 years ago (and recently made into a diorama) to represent a vehicle operated by the IV Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Armour School, Thu Duc, South Vietnam 1971. In 1964 the M41 light tank was selected to replace the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) M24 Chaffe light tank, which they had inherited from the French (who originally got them from the U.S.) The first M41A3s arrived in January 1965, equipping five ARVN squadrons by the end of the year. Apparently the M41 was an instant success with South Vietnamese armour crewmen, who found its interior to be just perfect for their stature, which had been a principal criticism by US crewmen who had been assigned to the vehicle. Scratch built items included: - Mantlet cover made from a piece of cloth - soaked in pva glue / water mix. - Ancillary generator exhaust system (brass tubing & card board) - Kit’s plastic grab handles replaced with wire - Tow cable made from string - Aerials made from round styrene rod - Jerry’s, water bottle and Ammo liners were from my spares box. It was painted with Italeri acrylics (O.D & Medium Green II) and weathered with oils and MIG pigment. Vehicle decals were from ‘Decalcomaniacs’ and .30 cal liner markings from ‘Arms Corps Models’ References Dunstan, Simon. Vietnam Tracks-Armor In Battle 1945–75. 1982 edition, Osprey Publications Various info I stumbled across on the net. Thanks for looking Greg
    13 points
  14. Fiat BR.20M Cicogna, 4 Squadriglia, 11° Gruppo, 13° Stormo, Corpo Aereo Italiano, Melsbroek, Belgium, September 1940. 1/72nd scale Italeri with Eduard PE interior and exterior details, LF Models resin wheels, painted with ColourCoats enamels, Humbrol acrylics and enamels for detail work. The Fiat BR.20M Cicogna was the mainstay of the Italian bomber fleet at the outset of World War 2. The first all-metal bomber to enter Italian service in 1936, it was already becoming obsolescent by 1940. That said, the type had seen service in the Spanish Civil War, had been sold to Japan where it flown in support of their occupation of China, and when compared with its contemporaries from other countries it actually stacked up quite well. A twin-engined design, powered by a pair of Fiat A.80 R.C.41 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, driving 3-bladed all metal variable pitch propellers, the BR.20M was capable of carrying a 1,600kg bomb load nearly 3,000km. The crew of five consisted of pilot, co-pilot, bomb aimer and front gunner, radio operator/navigator and upper gunner and a belly gun position. Self defence was in the form of three 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns, and sometimes a pair of guns could be fitted into side windows. The kit is of its age. First released in 1972, it carries the full complement of raised panel and rivet lines. I decided not to erase the latter, which perhaps was a mistake as the areas where filling and sanding have taken place have shown the remaining rivets up quite nicely. The transparent parts were quite thick, and had ejector pins and other impedimenta in awkward places. Modifications, outlined in the WIP thread, were needed to let the aftermarket internal detail set to fit properly. Although the parts count was quite low, the overall shape of the model looks about right, and I liked having the separate control surfaces so they could be offset a little to give some life to the model. I enjoyed learning to paint the random mottle camouflage, and I think the finished model has turned out well enough to find a place in my 1940 cabinet. My thanks to everyone who pitched in with their knowledge of the Italian air force and with ideas to overcome issues during the build. A full history and specification of the Cicogna (Stork) can be found on Wikipedia. A fair summary of the CAI's efforts during late 1940 and early 1941 can be found on this clicky-linky thingy. WIP thread here, complete with the other CAI builds:
    13 points
  15. I think that’s a wrap for this build thread. The Fiat triplets pose for the official photographer. The BR.20M gallery entry will be posted once I’ve edited the images. Thanks to everyone for the help and encouragement through my Italian adventure. It has been something of a learning curve as far as painting these models, which I think was worth the effort. There will be a pause for medical and work things to take precedence for a while. I shall return for a further out-of-the-ordinary Battle of Britain build soon.
    13 points
  16. Hi this is the second eduard bf 109 g-6, I have built this year. This time its eduard weekend bf 109 g-6 Erla kit. The markings are Hptm Heinrich Erla. Alakurtti Finland 1943. This aircraft was one of the first batch of bf 109 g-6 s built by Erla w. Nr 15206 - 16000 built between 03. 43 - 08.43. Heinrich received this aircraft June 43. He was scapegoated for the lose of the Turpitz. He was courtmartialled and was strip of his command & 3 years Festungshaft ( honorable imprisonment). This was later commuted and his rank rescinded. He was killed on 04/04/45 aged 27, after ramming a b 24. With a final score of 208 kills. Extras added Airies cockpit. True details wheels Masters mg 131 barrels. Eduard bf 109 g-6 prop. Eduard Erla comouflarge masks Thank you for looking. Comments & feed back is welcomed. Nick
    13 points
  17. Satin coat goes on. Note the paint mule at the back. It’s an old Frog Blenheim, which is doing sterling work as I try new ideas out. This time, it was testing Humbrol acrylic Satin Cote through my airbrush. It actually did what it said on the bottle, so a swift coat has been applied to the Fiat. Things still to do: paint and fit the auxiliary generator fit a gun sight to the nose gun extract the glazing masks (not a fan of the P-mask stuff: it’s very recalcitrant to come off the glazing after a few days being stuck on) fit a wireless aerial check for anything blooming obvious I’ve missed remember to add exhaust stains after previous point sort out RFI and gallery images Finally, sit back and wonder where the heck this is going to live as the cabinet is chocker!
    12 points
  18. Continued work on the base.... Acrylic gel slapped on the lumps will be formed into the larger waqves 8-10 colours/shades and I'm happy with the base colour and the lifeboats in their natural enviroment I have now slapped a further coat of transparent acrylic gel over the whole. I can then begin to further enhance the colours, spray/foam and waves ..... I hope you like it Stay safe Kev
    11 points
  19. Hi There, I bought this at Scale Scotland Murrayfield last year and have been scared stiff to cut the wings ever since. I finally stuck my courage to the sticking place and got on with it. This one is a little personal as the home base for 809 NAS was HMS Fulmar and as it's close to Dingwall this makes her one of mine. Primed with UMP Grey Painted with Colourcoats Extra Dark Sea Grey, Light Aircraft Grey and Light Admiralty Grey, AK Xtreme Metals Aluminium, Lifecolor Dark Admiralty Grey, Tamiya Rubber Black and Desert Yellow. Washed with Citadel Nuln Oil and Flory Dark Dirt. Finished with Windsor & Newton Satin Varnish. I really enjoyed this one but didn't plan it very well, when I build the next one it will be better. As always, Thanks for looking and all comments and criticism are welcome. Cheers, Alistair
    9 points
  20. After the detailed (and it must be said enjoyable) build which was the Fiesta, time for something a little simpler. Or a lot simpler to be exact - as I understand it Tamiya's Porsche 961 started life as a radio-controlled car before becoming this snap-fit model. Probably simpler that I would buy nowadays, but this one left the shop and was originally built by my younger self somewhere in the very early '90s or possibly very late '80s. The car itself is the one which ran at Le Mans in (if memory serves correctly) 1986, and has one of the simplest racing liveries you're likely to come across on a modern racing car. So it's another restoration job which I can just relax with before going onto the next new-build. If I'm honest, I wasn't planning to do this one just yet, but I came across a set of decals in Switzerland on ebay during the depths of lockdown and that gave me the impetus to get it started. This is what I started with: As you can see, it's a bit grubby and the decals are past their best (actually, the decals are much worse than the photo implies). So, into some water and the ultrasonic bath went the body, and before long the old decals were removed. Of course, that revealed just how much the plastic has yellowed where it was exposed to the sun when I displayed it all those years ago. One thing which gives away it's R/C heritage is that the windows are firmly attached to the body in the factory, so I've had to mask them over to (hopefully!) avoid overspray. Running a scalpel around the edge of the windows allowed me to shape the window masks, fingers crossed I didn't dig into the plastic. Having cleaned up the mould lines and fitted the clips to the inside of the body (not sure why they needed to have separate clips to connect to the chassis, but I presume it was for added robusteness when used as an R/C car), it got a layer of Halfords White primer. This time around, I tried putting the panel wash on after the primer rather than the colour coat: The panel lines don't look as obvious after the colour coat (Halfords Nissan Arctic White) is added, but I don't feel that they're as consistent this way. It's not that they look bad, more that I prefer the look when the panel lines have gone on after the colour. Obviously, it's not just the body which needs painting, so does the chassis. And this one has the potential to be a pain since it's black on the underside and white on top. First of all I painted the chassis Halfords Satin Black, then masked off the underside ready for the white. Having sprayed that, I was pleased to see that there wasn't much in the way of overspray, and nothing of any importance. And then I noticed I'd completely missed a strip on the front left wheel well Yesterday, that white was sanded off and had the first brush coat applied (not bothering about spraying as it's not going to be noticeable when finished, just need to get near). So that's where I got in the pre-build preparation for this one. Going to be quite simple, and relatively quick one for me, but hope someone likes it.
    9 points
  21. Well, I think it's done: I'll put some more pictures in the Gallery.
    9 points
  22. Another Golden Oldie joins the Gallery, that's the kit, although the builder falls under the same category 😉 This is the Airfix World War II, Aircraft of the Aces Hawker Hurricane Mark 1 flown by Squadron Leader, R.R. Stanford Tuck DSO, DFC at 257 Squadron in 1940, he finished his service with a total of 28 combat victories. Paintwork corrected to be applicable to the Battle of Britain, I hope you like it. Cheers Pat
    9 points
  23. This is truer than anyone will ever know..... Good, the plan worked, if I can catch the villainous martian totally orf guard then we can go on to win the greatest victory since the Earth Eleven beat Mars, twelve sore tentacles to one... I had something similar happen to me at the last regimental Highland Games although that was more a case of receiving an Ecclefechan in the neeps and tatties... Ahem....Pot, kettle...kettle, pot..
    9 points
  24. Yay! Progress at last: The Max Decals arrived today, and jolly fine decals they are too! None of the problems that I had with the Print Scale ones. They are a bit thicker and behave themselves properly when you put them onto the model. So here is where we are now: I put Microsol on them and will let that dry till tomorrow, then I'll give it a coat of semi-gloss varnish. Matt will look too dull I think. After that just some bits and bobs to add, a bit of panel line wash, and we might see a completed heli
    9 points
  25. 8 points
  26. Background: Japanese 4 door saloons are one of my favourite sub-genres and the chance to build a Tamiya one is too good to pass up. Eventually one came up on Ebay at a price I was happy with, I built it within a month of it arriving in the post. It's an unusual choice for Tamiya - by this point they'd almost stopped doing JDM-only vehicles (more's the pity). I do wonder if the impetus for this kit came about because like the real car - the kit shares it's entire chassis/suspension parts and door mirrors with the Celica 165, an earlier Tamiya model - so saving on tooling costs. Pros: The usual Tamiya quality and moulded in white so you can easily make it any colour you want. Nice detail on the interior and cool Autopista period decals for the seat fabric. With only 7 steps in the instructions it's an easy build. Cons: No engine and the wheels don't steer - and the wheels have no brakes either. The glass doesn't easily stay in place without help from additional glued plasticard. Verdict: Great effort from Tamiya in their group of simple quick build models. Builds easily, looks good - a sporty and elegant model. Build notes: Completed during July/August 2020 and painted with Ford Ginger Ale paint from my local Ford Dealer which is a pretty good fit for the Carina Autopista green-gold on the box art. It's clearcoated with Mr. Hobby Gloss, which I knew chemically would not upset the Ford paint below it. I've changed the wheels for Fujimi Hartge ones as I didn't care for the boxed wheels, and I've added some brake discs/calipers from the spare parts box. I also added some extra plasticard width to the inner wheel arches as there was a fair gap. The rest is all what's in the box. Interior is matt black and gunship grey.
    8 points
  27. Here's my rendition of VMF-512 White 21 "Brooklyn Butcher" using the 1/48 Tamiya F4U-1D kit with Montex masks and decals, Brengun wheels and bomb and Eduard HVAR's. I had a lot of fun trying to replicate a late war faded Glossy Sea Blue using Gunze H55 "Midnight Blue" as the base colour. This is what I was trying to achieve. And this is the result: I've added some photos taken in natural light to try and capture the subtle blue you see with the naked eye: Full build is here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235075763-vmf-512-f4u-id-tamiya-148-finished/#comments Hope you like it. Ray
    8 points
  28. Final checks... … and the official photographer will be wheeled in shortly.
    8 points
  29. Well seeing as I'm co-hosting I thought I had better declare my intention build wise for what promises to be another very popular and very enjoyable GB. As I mentioned in Dennis' ( @Corsairfoxfouruncle ) Bird Dog thread I have had an interest in the secret war in Laos ever since reading a truly fantastic book called "The Ravens" by Christoper Robbins which tells the tale of a group of American airmen and CIA operators who fought against overwhelming odds to support the local Hmong population in their struggle against the Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese using nothing more than light aircraft and helicopters with the hottest ship available to them being the T-28. Armed with machine guns, rockets and bombs these armed trainers waged their own war against the fairly sophisticated weapons of the North Vietnamese, and not without success either. As it stands at the minute I am unsure as whether to build a T-28 flown by the Ravens or by the best pilot the Laotians had, a Hmong pilot by the name of Lee Lue who had an uncanny ability to place ordnance with pin point accuracy and had to show the USAF fast movers how to do things on several occasions when they had whizzed over a target in their multi million Dollar hi tech aircraft and missed the target and the Lee Lue would come along and roll his little T-28 into a dive pickle off one bomb and flatten the target. On to the kit. I will be building Roden's 1/48 T-28D Trojan which was released a few years ago and seems to be nicely moulded and perfectly adequately detailed for me, it actually comes with markings for the 606th Special Operations Squadron of the USAF based at Nakhom Phanom in Thailand used over "the trail" in the late 60's but I will leave that for someone else to build. Anyway here are the obligatory box and contents shots; The contents; The kit options; I do like the idea of that CIA one from the Congo but that is for another GB. My laptop is currently moving at the pace of an asthmatic snail with heavy shopping so updates might be a while in coming but don't worry I am really looking forward to getting started on this one as I have been wanting to do it for a long time. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig.
    7 points
  30. Gday All Only my second completed build for the year. The infamous Revell 48 scale Tornado. I followed Nathan Robinson's suggested build sequence in his series of videos and the build seemed to progress relatively trouble free apart from the known trouble spots like the intakes. I used Eduard PE seat belts and wheels Shaun's resin wing seals F4Dable Models BOL rails Eduard ASRAAMs Xtradecals I cut the cogged sections off the wings so I could fit them after painting, although I think Ive added too much anhedral. I also need to glue that canopy down Thanks for looking. All comments welcome Bruce
    7 points
  31. That's it, keep up with the suggestions Cheers Ced. Looking into it along with the latest idea, an old but full bottle of Tamiya Flat Brown in which the entire contents have settled out with the brown tinted carrier at the top and the heavy pigments all settled to the bottom. This bottle came into my possession the first year Tamiya Acrylics hit the British shelves, seventies some time and has never been opened for painting since it did my old horse in the Collecting The Empties diorama back then-a-day.
    7 points
  32. The landing gear is being readied, the water tank in the cabane added, reinforcement rods to the nose glued on, vertical rigging masts on the wing in position, and decals to represent stitching on the fuselage side applied:
    7 points
  33. Progress has been slow, but transfers went on without any problems. They’ve even settled nicely over the rivets. I really should have carved off the control levers on the flying surfaces, since Eduard had provided etched replacements. Let’s just say I was lazy. It would have been beneficial on the rudders when it came to fitting the national marking… Still, some judicious sharp blade action, a fair splash of setting solution, followed by a dab or two of white paint and it doesn’t look too bad. If my brain had been in gear, I would also have removed them from the model to apply the transfers. As it was, one came away in my hand, and the other soon joined it. Exhausts need the little forward-facing pipe fitted, then painting. I spent a while carefully opening the large ends so they look a bit more like a tube. The engines, props and undercarriage is in, just waiting for the glue to set. Getting there. Satin varnish next, a little bit of exhaust staining, and that will be it for weathering. I think these planes were essentially brand new when the arrived in Belgium.
    7 points
  34. PK553 of No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, RAF Ouston, 1948. From the Airfix website: Spitfire PK553 was produced at the Castle Bromwich factory as part of contract B981687/39 and issued to No.607 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force. The RAuxAF was a force of paid volunteers who acted as a reinforcement reserve force for the Royal Air Force, giving up their evenings, weekends and holidays to train and serve in this essential force, following the end of the Second World War. RAF No 607 Squadron reformed on 10th May 1946 as a RAuxAF day fighter squadron at Ouston, in Northumberland, initially flying the Spitfire Mk.XIV and later the Mk.22, before eventually entering the jet age with the de Havilland Vampire. This was my build for the Spitfire/Seafire STGB. I originally bought the kit for £6.99 from a toyshop when I was in there and just wanted to buy a kit. If it hadn't been for me not having much time for the Spitfire GB, I probably wouldn't have made it for quite a while yet. When I saw the box in the stash I thought it would be a suitable kit - in that it would be very quick to build. But, when I opened the box, I realised I had forgotten that I had bought the Eduard etch set for it. This would obviously make it longer to build but I decided to go for it anyway - and I'm glad I did. I actually enjoyed the build despite a few 'operator error' issues!! I can certainly recommend it as a nice, cheap kit. I did originally plan on making it as the aircraft that took part in the Cooper Trophy Air Race in 1948. However, when I started looking online for information about it, I realised that most of the models from this kit were based on that version (with the big, white number 4s and red tailband) with others based on the all over silver version, from 603 Squadron. The silver version was going to be a lot harder for me to do as a brush painter but, luckily, Airfix does provide the decals in the box to make the 'vanilla' version of the aircraft which took part in the Cooper Air Race aircraft - I presume pre-race. I rather liked the idea of doing the less popular version. The photos of it can be found below. The WIP can be found: HERE Kit: Airfix A02033 1/72 Supermarine Spitfire F Mk.22 Extras: Eduard 73436 Photoetch set Paints: Humbrol, Revell, Citadel, Railmatch acrylics all applied by brush Hopefully you will be able to see some of the cockpit detail here - it's not easy to see into a 1/72 cockpit with an iPad camera! Same views as the first ones above, but with the Spitfire on my Spitfire display base. I also used a small cut-off section of slabbed area, from a previous base I had made, for it to sit on The background is a copyright free photo I found a long time ago on the internet. I really enjoy working on the cockpits of aircraft, but of course, a lot of the work gets hidden inside the fuselage once the model is complete. So here are a few photos of the cockpit before it was sealed away: A few in black and white: Thank you to everyone who commented and offered suggestions in my build thread. Thanks also to Patrice @TEMPESTMK5 for hosting the STGB so well. Comments and suggestions welcome. Kind regards, Stix
    6 points
  35. Seeing some of these great kits that are going to be built in this gb shortly has spurred me on to participate, I'll be building the roden 1/144 ac-119 k stinger , i have the gunships raining fire decal sheet from aoa decals ,and a little mask set,no othe bits as i aim to mount it in flight wheels up,
    6 points
  36. At the requests made in one of the threads, here are some images of the models (all 1/72nd) I still have with me. I am not very fond of doing this, because handling such an amount of models (three tables full) unavoidably produces mishaps. Needless to say, some way or another, I damaged several models: a wheel here, a tailskid there, a Pitot somewhere, many an antenna and so on and so forth. Darn! These are the images of those three tables, from different sides. TABLE ONE: TABLE TWO: TABLE THREE:
    6 points
  37. Author Carl Vincent has sent me some photos of Hampdens, from 32 OTU. They were used for torpedo dropping training. The first six: Chris
    6 points
  38. Considering its age, the fit has not been bad so far. There is a little flash, and the soft grey plastic is easily damaged - one fuselage half "fell off" the sprue on its own, leaving a scar I had to fill. Anyway. the fuselage is closed up and filled and I have made a start on the tail unit. The good old Airfix moveable control surfaces are as ever a poor fit so I will have to reduce the gaps a little with filler. The undercarriage is on and painted and can be swung partially up out of the way but the legs are actually too wide to go all the way into the nacelles without a bit of work. I remember reading years ago that the wing tips were not quite the right shape so I will square them off once dry. There are a few small problems I need to resolve - Airfix offer optional plain short exhaust pipes and also long "hedgehog" muffled exhausts, spinners and also both a plain D/F loop and a streamlined "rugby ball" one, but give no explanation as to which to use. In this boxing you get a choice of 3 builds - an early one of 106 Squadron in April 1940 which seems to have no D/F loop at all, no spinners, and short exhausts, Learoyd's slightly later machine of 49 Squadron with spinners and an open D/F loop, but still short exhausts, and a Swedish P5 with D/F loop, no spinners and again short exhausts. Pictures and profiles show that the plain D/F loop was fitted to some aircraft and the "football" type seems to have arrived much later than the period I am modelling. The same seems to be the case with the longer muffled exhausts (though not according to my ancient "Profile Publications" book), whereas spinners seem to have been introduced fairly early. The profile of Hannah's plane in Warpaint suggests spinners, short exhausts and no D/F loop so I will go with that unless anybody can prove differently. I notice that the one I built from the original release has spinners and long exhausts, but the D/F loop has broken off so I cannot be sure which type I fitted - it certainly had one, and I would suspect I used the streamlined one as I would have had no idea what exactly it was back then! So a bit of fiddling and it should be ready for a spray of rattle can primer by the end of the week, weather permitting. Cheers Pete . Later, I have just looked at the instructions issued with the original release on Scalemates. They tell you to use the streamlined D/F loop, the spinners and long exhausts for the "Popeye" version but not for "the earlier one" whatever that was - they only show the Popeye version in the paint scheme unless the other never got copied to Scalemates, and that is coded EA*P in the fairly early camo scheme. Seems I would have known it was a D/F loop after all as in those days Airfix told you what the parts were!
    6 points
  39. Hello, I would like to share with you the short serie of captured Heinkel He111 in british markings (1/72 scale). My father has finished two models out of three. 1) 2) Cheers Santiago
    6 points
  40. Hi all. Here's my latest excursion - Airfix's venerable Morris 'Bullnose' Cowley. To be more precise, it's their 1926 Cowley (Airfix also did a 1923 version, with same chassis but a different body). I built it pretty much straight out of the bag, with just a few additions like glazing and some stays for the dickey seat. I particularly enjoyed the old 'locate and cement' written instructions! I used Humbrol enamels for the glossy bits and Alclad for the metallics. Cheers
    6 points
  41. Hi All, The decals are on. I've made a start on the weathering, but there's a bit more to do. Dave.
    6 points
  42. A quote from a test pilot I came across recently about the Seamew just about sums it up. ”Access to the cockpit is difficult. It should be made impossible.” XE179 507/FD is one of the aircraft with 700 Sqn.
    6 points
  43. That what has been seen, cannot be unseen! As an observer at Telford last year....... Pete M.
    6 points
  44. Let me offer another perspective. A lot of modellers use photographs all the time to determine details for further detailing/correction of a kit. There is no problem using lines or arrows to highlight certain features for comparison and encourage discussion which may draw other, more knowledgeable people into the topic. And while I agree that photos alone are not sufficent as research (as a base for creating a kit as a whole) it certainly is a good way to start a discussion about certain features of a kit as most modellers don't have access to the real thing to measure it (and even there we have the problem if restaurations are "accurate" in all details) or factory drawings. It really depends how the individual brings across his findings. "Hey this kit is xxxx, look at this curve I've highlighted here. Totally mishaped." comes across much different than "Hey, I've noticed this bump here which don't seems to be present on various photos. I've tried to highlight it using some lines, what do you think?" Unfortunately, accuracy discussions seem to be quite heated lately (maybe a result of the current lockdowns many of us are experiencing?) and many people seem to take an extreme stance ("sxxx up and build as is" vs "rivet is off by 0,003in" crowd). A pity, I really enjoy such discussions as I like to know what could be improved on a kit. This helps me not only to learn something about the subject at hand but also to decide if I want to buy a certain kit and what features I want to improve or not. And while some are more passionate than others we are all here because of our common interest in scale modelling. So can we not have a objective and civil discussion about accuracy without constantly judging others opinion as "nitpicking" or "irrelevant", which is quite subjective anyway, and take it as a opportunity to discuss, research and maybe learn something? Com'on, group hug everybody Peace, Markus
    6 points
  45. Well it turns out I was worrying too much. With another couple of blasts from the rattle can the green has almost disappeard and I decided to leave it. Unpeeling the masks showed that it was mostly good with only a few tiny specks to be touched up. Here I put the thing together for fitting, wing and engine are still loose. It is very shiny so I will tone it down with some semi-gloss varnish before final fitment. I primed the stand gloss black because I may apply Vallejo aluminium colour but perhaps I'll leave it black as it is. I said earlier that I sprayed it with Tamiya TS8, actually it is TS49 Bright Red. Looking good either way.
    6 points
  46. Got the fuselage masked up this evening, thank god for Eduard masks! They save so much time. I'm going to paint it using MRP lacquers so got several colours that I can experiment mixing with the olive green to see what works. This is one of those colours that's difficult to get right due to the fading so it's a but of an experiment.
    6 points
  47. Wow... Fishamatician that's not so good mate. White metal has a lower melting point than most solders depending on the amounts of alloys used so a heat gun is nothing that I would let near a set of tracks fella, which burnishing fluid did you use as I'm not aware of any that require heat to dry off the tracks mate? Been a while since my last up date chaps, so sorry for the delay. I've managed a bit more, this scratch building is taking some time and I'm not rushing this one. So I've been working on the welds on the roof around the armoured boxes and I've started on the exhaust guard over the SRBB box. This is to stop the expensive Ptarmigan 7 Quad cables from melting after a move. Aber mesh and plastic card used to form the guard, lots of angle iron to add yet so its not finished. Both tracks are now on for the first time, not permanently yet but just to check tension and link length. Welds were done using Magic Sculpt. Enjoy Dan
    6 points
  48. Good evening Today I prepared the seat and glued it on the left half fuselage I placed the PE parts and decals on a support (I keep the kit part for latter ) And I glued the 2 half wings together Patrice
    6 points
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