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Showing content with the highest reputation on 31/08/20 in all areas

  1. Hello all, I never knew there was a WW1 Manchester, the original lineage of the Lancaster! The now defunct Ardpol - It’s a beautiful little resin kit, my first all resin and I learnt a lot along the way. Nearly had a disaster with the top wing and struts - my Achilles heel! Other Ardpol kits seem to have PE - this didnt, and the instructions showed turret rings and Lewis guns, but nothing supplied in the kit - again my two other Ardpol kits do have these, so whether they were missing from my kit or just not included I don’t know. The real aircraft was unlikely to have had the guns fitted anyway as it was, in effect, a prototype. Rings made up from bent brass rod. Thanks for looking in, Guy
    34 points
  2. Hi everyone, Not been posting RFIs for a while for various reasons. No time to take photoes, no sunny weather to take good photoes, no time to write articles... Now it's time to change things so I'm presenting here the photoes of my latest model I just finished this week. This is a very well known Jet Provost, but not an Airfix kit which has been invading RFI section recently. I've gone the other way and challenged Sword kit of T.5. Not much aftermarket or scratchbuilding applied. I had Pavla MB mk.4 seats, Reskit wheels (main wheels only as their front wheel is visibly small so I used kit's option), Airdecal sheet is used for The Poachers scheme. Some constuction notes: Canopy requires attention! It is about 1.5 mm too wide at its center. It's okay at both ends though. And more importantly - two canopy parts match each other so this stays usable. My solution was to add plastic stripes to the cockpit insert sides. This made fuselage 'fatter' right where needed. At the same time I hardpressed fuselage at the start and end of the cockpit so no inserts were needed there. On the bottom I did not need an insert either. Exhaust is anemic. It's twice smaller than it should be. Just throw it away and scratchbuild the pipe (so did I) or find a replacement in spares. Resin seats are usable but no harness is provided. So I chose to buy Pavla seats. Also cockpit is too deep. I added quite a bit of plastic to raise seats to appropriate level. For an aerobatic team aircraft you need to cut wingtip tanks and add bare wingtips. Nothing complex. The only nuance - Sword gives us transparent navigation lights but these are useless as they do not fit wingtips at all. I just scratched them myself. Probably single-piece fully transparent wingtips could be a better option for Sword. Instruction sheet is horrible. Sword likes to picture nicer and more detailed parts in the instruction than it gets you for real. For instance, in this kit main undercarriage construction requires photo references. Little transparent navigation lights on top and bottom are provided on the sprue, there are location recesses on the fuselage, but these lights are ignored on the instruction at all! Stencils placing reference is just a puzzle. I used walkaround photoes to put most of the stencils. Techmod decals are thin, nicely printed, very readable. But for some reason they tend to bend over so on my XW360 some inscriptions were painted over by RAFC technicians. Aftermarket Airdecal sheet is superb. I had only couple cracks on a long blue stripes that go from the bottom fuselage and end on the tail. I almost have not torn them and applied almost symmetrically!!! Still makes me think once more whether building civil airliners with their cheatlines is a good idea... Use references for aerials! Looks like these changed over Jet Provost's career. Mine are in line with The Poachers photoes from the 70s but not in line with the instruction sheet. Add enough weight. This is a strong tail sitter! Luckily there is a lot of space in front fuselage. Paints used are Hobby Color FS36440 (H325), Flat Red (H13), white, black etc as appropriate. Blue on the wing tips is mixed from a secret proportion of blues and white which I will never be able to reproduce - seems almost spot on? That is all regarding construction. A bit more photoes: Thank you for watching!!! All the best, Dennis
    30 points
  3. Hi All, This is my attempt at the Chesapeake, as the SB2U-2 Vindicator was called in FAA service. A batch of 50 Vindicators was originally earmarked for the French Navy, but following the fall of France the order was diverted to the FAA. The Chesapeake was modified to FAA standards, including an extra fuel tank, armour for both crew and 4 wing-mounted 0.303 machine guns. The aircraft were delivered to 811 Sqn at RNAS Lee-on-Solent in July 1941, where it quickly became apparent that the modifications to the aircraft had made it even more underpowered for their planned role of anti-submarine patrol. They were replaced within months by Swordfish and relegated to training duties or squadron hacks. Here is the WIP if anyone is interested. Academy's kit is a re-box of the Accurate Miniatures kit, and includes decals for 3 FAA aircraft as well as a French Aeronavale aircraft. The kit is nicely detailed, although the colour schemes are a little spurious, so good references are key - the decals however seem pretty accurate, down to the non-standard font used for the aircraft serial number. I chose to complete as AL924 of 811 Sqn FAA in July 1941. Here's a photo of the actual aircraft: Here's another shot of a sister aircraft which shows the unconventional font used on the serial number, which the kit decals capture correctly: Following @Dana Bell's references I chose to complete the interior in Dull Dark Green (Bronze Green) with natural metal and doped fabric fuselage sides. The pilot's head armour and headrest were scratch built, and holes were drilled in the wings to represent the 4 wing-mounted 0.303" machine guns. The kit was painted in acrylics using a speculative 'Sky' underside, and EDSG/DSG uppers in the standard TSS scheme as noted in the references - I chose to add doped linen patches for the wing guns, as I thought this to be most likely. Anyway, on to the photos: Although this aircraft had a short and undistinguished FAA career, it is certainly an interesting subject. The kit builds up into a lovely representation of the aircraft and those with more skill could go to town on the highly visible interior. I've thoroughly enjoyed building this interesting footnote in aviation history! Thanks for looking, Roger
    27 points
  4. Last weekend I decided to build something "fresh". I've just received a parcel with model of Agusta-Bell 47J with SAR markings so choice was quite easy Very shortly appeared that idea to build something Out-of-the-box is impossible if I'm thinking about something similar to real helicopter... At the end after eight days of work and making many mistakes I can present to you my newest model
    27 points
  5. Hello all. Here's the 1:72 Kunkadlo I managed to put together: It was fun.....but TINY!!! My eyes need a rest!
    24 points
  6. Latest one just finished today. One of my all time favourite aircraft. I was a bit too young to see them in their prime but thankfully did manage to see the blue and white Flight Systems aircraft before they were retired. That 'boom' as the afterburner kicked in was something else! I always see this as the American version of the EE Lightning despite only having a single engine. Something about the shape perhaps. This is the old Esci kit which still holds up well even by today's standards. Fine engraved panel lines and pretty good fit all round. The instructions are a bit vague in places and the decals were completely past it on my example but I was always going to use aftermarket Xtradecals so it was no problem. Finished as a 50th TFW machine based at Hahn in (West) Germany Painted with Vallejo Metal Color silver and dark aluminium with a touch of Tamiya orange weathering powder to try and replicate the burnt effect on the rear of the fuselage. I don't think I went far enough but didn't want to ruin the finish. I may try a different method next time... quite fancy a well worn Danish example 😁 Thanks for looking, comments as always appreciated. 👍
    19 points
  7. Hi all, Here's the 1/48 Airfix Gnat with the markings from the rereleased kit. It was built for the September issue of Airfix Model World magazine, and incorporates aftermarket resin cockpit and seats, wheel wells, and electronics bay. Paint was AK Xtreme Metal Aluminium and Vallejo Fluorescent Fire Orange for the tanks. First, some walk around shots: And a few shots from the magazine article: Cheers, Dean
    19 points
  8. Hi there, the second Nighthawk in this BB. While I had even less parts to put together than @Dave_R I had sime challenging decals to place though.
    19 points
  9. Academy 1/72 P-47D. Sixteen hours ten minutes, Scottish option (had to let the decals dry thoroughly). WIP is here. I’m calling it a score draw with the tail check decals! And thanks to @Enzo Matrix for running a super GB!
    18 points
  10. Airfix boxing of Cromwell and King Tiger Paints a mix of Mr. Hobby, Tamiya and Vallejo.
    18 points
  11. Well, this is not easy, at all, and the results are ok, but not perfect. It's an ok job for the shelf, but very close inspection reveals little things here and there. I am satisfied enough to let it be, in spite of having two more wings I could have resorted to as back ups or second and third tries. I think this solution is adequate, though, for those liveries that have a painted (black or red) leading edge, as it will be the perfect separation line, effectively hiding the step.
    18 points
  12. Updated photos. The updated photos were taken in daylight when I had time to set up the camera and get some proper shots. Two immediate errors leap out at me. I have not 'worn' the track links where they would have run on the ground and I forgot to fill the hole in the wooden jack block on the rear, but in the spirit of the Blitzbuild these are uncorrected and the model is as it was completed for the GB. The last photo shows it on the base I did for the Jagdpanther, just to give it scale and context. Revell rebox of Matchbox's 1/72 Stug IV. Inaccurate in many places, but it's Stug shaped and it was built in two 12 hour time slots.
    17 points
  13. 1/72 Academy A-37B Dragonfly - Supertweet USAF, 8th SOS, 14th SOW, Bien Hoa AB, Vietnam 1970 The fantastic, yet tiny, A-37B from Academy is a cracking build. Loads of fine detail, ordnance options but let down by the lousy decals that Academy own brand are famous for.... Airbrushed using Tamiya colours, little bit of etch thrown in for good measure and some stretched sprue for the wiggly bits. From what I have read, troops in contact loved the Supertweet during CAS missions. Cheers all, Phil
    15 points
  14. Well as a mojo-sapping trial this kit was scoring very high on the whydon'tIjustchuckyouinthebinO'Meter, I had originally planned it as a nice shiny NMF Tengah example. Unfortunately my lack of experience and ham-fistedness with Vallejo and AK metallics caused such a mess that I needed a complete re-strip. Unfortunately the paint-stripper as well as removing the errant paintwork also ate the home-brewed resin cockpit, wheel wells and most of the nose cone in the process. The paint-stripper also made the plastic very brittle, and left a few breaks and cracks on the wings and forward fuselage, especially where the Dali-esque old wheelwells were removed and new ones slotted in through those cracks. Now why did I carry on you may ask? Stubboness and stupidity is all I can offer!! Anyways, the cockpit, wheel wells and nosecone were all inserted into an otherwise complete airframe (it's so much easier if you insert them when the wings and fuselages are in at least 2 pieces I can tell you!), the cracks and breaks were healed as well as I could with gloop and PPP filler, but like even the best of surgeons we did leave a few scars for us to tell tall tales of our war wounds at parties! Now there was no way that I could get the airframe pristine enough for a re-run of the NMF, so I chose to fight another day by going with a final air superiority grey scheme, and chose a 5 Sqn F.6, XS933 from an Xtradecal sheet. Having looked at many many photos of this airframe online, I could see that the finish was looking a little tired without needing to be over-weathered, and there was a variation in panel colours of the supposed same colour, the cockpit canopy was from a previous scheme and there we replacement panels in both NMF and black primer to add visual interest. These photos taken from public images shared on Flikr, to show what I mean. I have attached the links as well as they are not my photos so credit to Phil Bradshaw! https://flic.kr/p/nBm5LN https://flic.kr/p/nG17iV Anyways as I've said, this kit has been through the mill good and proper, and I am just happy to see it out of the other side looking as much like a lightning as it does! Now bearing in mind that this kit was a real save, and it doesn't come up too high on my top 10 list, it does however serve to highlight the improvement in skills that I have gained since discovering first Brett Green and the Brit Modeller. I'm sure like so many good folk of this Parish, many moons ago I made my kits with solid colours, no pre-or post shading, no washes, no AM parts or decals and less technique and products to deal with seam joins, so as a compare and contrast, here is my previous 5 Sqn F.6 from pre-BM days. It's still good enough to sit on the shelf, but I'm pleased with the progress I have made over the intervening years! Anyways stay safe out there!
    15 points
  15. Revell 1/76 Chaffee - nice little kit from the Matchbox moulds. I took 11:25 + 7:16 + 4:25 = 23:06, and so snuck in using the 'Scottish Option'. 😄 Cheers!
    15 points
  16. Kit: Airfix DH.88 Comet Took the 2 x 12hr option. Finished with less than 10 minutes to spare. Painted with Tamiya Red rattlecan. Kit is 1950's. Decals 2010's. Decals by far the best part of the kit! Actually really nice decals that would go well with a new tool DH.88!
    14 points
  17. H Builds an RAF C17, Meng models version of the C17, RAF decals,
    14 points
  18. Mark1 models 1/144 Hawker Hunter, painted as an Oman Air Force jet in 1979, this particular one having previously been XG255 with the RAF. The RAF one is from the previous blitzbuild
    14 points
  19. LOCKHEED F-117 NIGHTHAWK 37th TFW, Tonopah AFB, 1990 Italeri 1/72
    14 points
  20. The small matter of detailing the inside of the nose cone on the T4 has been nagging away in the background ever since a certain muppet of this parish decided that it would be a cunning plan to cut the nose off of the model and display it open. Today I decided that it was time to deal with this issue. After some deliberation, I decided on the following plan of action. I began by marking and very carefully cutting the nose cone into three parts. You can see what I mean here: Next up I glued three frames to the sections of the nose. This was done by cementing a disc of .20 'thou plastic card, one to each section and then Dremmeling out their centres. It was then a straightforward albeit, lengthy, task to add stringers from .20 x .20 and .10 x .10 'thou plastic strip. This done, it was a simple matter to reassemble the parts of the nose, fill any gaps with CA and sand and polish the exterior until I was happy with the finish. Thanks for looking Martian 👽
    14 points
  21. https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235079047-m151a2-tow-tamiya-135/
    14 points
  22. 1/48 Revell Phantom FGR.2 British legends Kit (reboxed Hasegawa). Pretty much out of the box build extras are just the sidewinders which are spares from a Tamiya f-16 Kit. Stencils are from the box and markings are from Xtradecal. The only modification I made was the navigators periscope. I tried to find something similar in shape to what i have seen in pictures and videos. This piece came with the kit, I think it was the bottom of a strut for the landing gear which I cut and glued into place prior to painting. I think it works well. This is my second of these kits and I am looking forward to building many more. Always a fun build despite the age of the mold. The British Phantom is becoming a quick favorite of mine. Great looking aircraft with some amazing options for markings. I would build more of this kit but supplies are rare in the US. so I have to wait for shipping from the UK to get more! Thanks for looking! 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr 92 SQN fgr.2 by Reginaldo Reyes, on Flickr
    13 points
  23. I got a couple of this series released by Aurora back in the 60's (63 to be exact for this one) and decided to do it as a nice desk model. It doesn't come with any landing gear, so that was actually and easy decision. Of course, in 1/175 this was a very basic kit with rather large trenches for panel lines. I filled all those and sanded everything smooth.The finish is Alclad polished aluminum. The decal were a total loss, so I just cobbled some together from my spares. I dressed up the base a bit in the hopes that it will be a bit more stable as it's pretty wobbly on it's own. I included a shot including the box top and the box end with the price tag of $.39. I have no idea what that would convert to in 1963 shillings and pence, but I would wager not a lot.
    13 points
  24. Almost completely out of the box. The build thread is here... That was fun. Thanks Mods! I think I built this in a little over 4 hours building time...using the Scottish Method. 😉 --John
    13 points
  25. Hi all - This is the old Eduard La-7 in 1/48 - I struggled a fair bit with this one - I think it's been my longest build to date, not helped by my attempted modifications - adding extended landing flaps and few others additions. I had a few fitting problems which required many hours of filling and sanding, especially around the wing roots. I attempted to create a fabric wing effect with paint and weathering which I'm more or less happy with. I also needed to grind down the sides of the canopy to allow an open cockpit which I'd never attempted before - this came out quite nicely I think. I also tried a few new weathering techniques and feel like I'm getting better with oil paint weathering. Areas where I failed was a few ghost seams making appearances in a few places - also I mucked up on the decals with some visible silvering and carrier film. But all up, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. Thanks for looking John
    12 points
  26. Hi all - this is the Eduard E-3 - a very nice kit if a little tricky in places - I did make a few little little mistakes during the construction but nothing I wasn't able to sand and fill my way out of. I replaced the gun barrels with some turned brass aftermarket but otherwise it was all out of the box - though being a profipack, it came with masks and some PE. Painted with Mr Color Lacquers and weathered with Mig Washes and Oil paint - it was an enjoyable build. Battle of Britain scheme. This build kind of brings me full circle - the first model I posted in Britmodeller was a 109E - posted just under 2 years ago. I still love that little E but this is certainly a nice upgrade. My skill level has improved since then and hopefully will continue to improve, 2 years in and I feel like I've just touched the tip of the iceburg Thanks for looking John
    12 points
  27. The Eduard Bristol Fighter F2b was started over a year ago before two house moves. It really dragged as a build nothing wrong with the kit, in fact I would do it again minus some of the mistakes. The rigging instructions weren't' that good using WnW website for more detail. The Airfix Fury was started to get my model making mojo up and running. The kit was none too good massively raised detail and the top engine cowling was hideous to try and fit with out an obvious join. I like my kits with pilots so I purchased a Model Cellar Productions WW1 airman and pilot for the Bristol and used the modern pilot supplied in the Airfix kit(flying from Duxford maybe). The silver fabric paint was a car rattle can and the Chrome??? Alclad which always gave a better finish on the blue tac or masks! Paints used on the Bristol was the AK range of WW1 PC10/12 early and late with the clear doped linen, ver 2 and bleached. I found this paint none to hard wearing a lovely finish but this was rubbed away in places with the constant handling in the rigging phase. Turnbuckles on the Fury were portions of a PE fret N gauge railings. I tried this so I could bend the turnbuckle in line with the run of the rigging for the most part it worked well. The Bristol, I went down the GasPatch route although they are beautifully made are not easy to align. We all have our bete noirs and one of mine is turnbuckles out of alignment with the run of the rigging. Now onto my first WingNut Wing Models...
    12 points
  28. 1/72 Airfix Zero Here is the lovely little Zero kit from Airfix. A very quick build as I was building wheels up for display alongside an F-14. This is a gentlemanly nod towards the movie The Final Countdown which had such an impact on me as a young lad. The F-14 is actually die-cast metal by Century Wings. Airbrushed using Tamiya white as a base and then Tamiya deck tan as the main colour. Up until I built this I thought that early Zero's were actually white all over....!! I also used the Eduard canopy mask due to the very complex framing on the kit. A panel line wash with Flory grey and sealed using flat varnish. Oops, as I was editing the photos I've noticed that I forgot to paint the gun barrels.... It is in our living room alongside a few other precious items that mean a lot to me. Cheers all, Phil
    12 points
  29. H Builds Meteor Mk4 Tamiya rattle cans gloss aluminium and silver leaf.
    12 points
  30. Hi It is my first build (of planned four) done within STGB Heinkel He 111. Model presents variant E-3, kit by Roden, scheme almost from box (V4+BH instead of V4+AB). Machine was from I./KG 1 Hindenburg, used in invasion on Poland in September 1939. It is exactly 81 years ago... Comments welcome Regards Jerzy-Wojtek
    11 points
  31. Hi All As I eventually realised from t'Interweb, this kit offers an almost unlimited opportunity for improvement, and the Airwaves etch only adds another dimension of approximation. These are more mugshots than portraits. Fun while it lasted! WIP here Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve🍷
    11 points
  32. BlitzBuilding Little H Style
    11 points
  33. Triumph TR2 finished in approx 17 hours and a very enjoyable kit to build 🙂
    11 points
  34. First things, first. I'd like to thank Andreas Rousounelis for inspiring me with his many awesome frame dioramas. He is a master with these kinds of dioramas. Giving this is my first try, I decided to go with another loading bay theme for trucks. It was the simplest idea, since I like trucks, and had built a similar scene before. The scale is 1/24 using scratch built materials. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Side by side comparison. The photo on the right is the photo that inspired me to make the photo on the left:
    10 points
  35. Hellos, This hot Summer has been the occasion to assemble a... naked aircraft. Here is my build of a 1:72 scale Messerchmitt Bf-109 E-4 from Jasmine Models of China. This is a full photo etched and resin kit which only displays the frame and structure. No covering, no decals, no weathering. Two years ago I did a 1:48 scale Hellcat from this brand: And 22 years ago I'd made a 1:72 Eduard Fokker D-VIII the same style: So I wanted to try another 1:72 build. The kit includes a single large stainless photoetch sheet with about 60 parts and some metalized resin accessories. The assembly instruction sheet is very small, cramped and difficult to read, but can be downloaded with high resolution from the maker's website. So let's start: First the cockpit. This is a real pleasure to assemble. Folds come naturally as they're very well designed. No bending tool required, just fingers and twizzers. Assembly is easy with plenty of microscopic pins which go into microscopic holes. I use CA glue: The resin seat is glued. I had to anneal the stainless belts so they come easy to shape in the seat. To anneal, just heat the part red hot with a lighter and let cool slowly. Cockpit finished: Main girder: The two wings: Fitting secondary girders, wheel wells and wing coolers: Not forgetting the instrument panel: The engine (main part in resin): Assembling the aft fuselage and tail: Let's not forget the case collector under fuselage guns: Glueing the wing guns: Undercarriage: At last, Emil stands on its legs: Fitting the resin propeller: And the canopy: Finished! Emil will get a light coat of Alclad2 to mask glueing points before final photo show. Thanks for watching! _Bruno
    10 points
  36. Dear All, Britmodeller is basically me, an individual, plus a couple of lovely willing helpers that assist when they can. We're not a corporation, a limited company or any kind of official body. We asked for help to keep the forum online because it has grown so much that it was costing a fortune to keep it running. I'm not a rich man, neither are the others; so we put out the cap asking for assistance, that generous members have provided in spades, and for which we're eternally grateful and are mindful of what we have been entrusted with. Thanks to those donations we've now got a healthy float and a reasonable amount coming in each month that helps towards covering the costs of the server and associated expenses such as domain names, SSL certificates etc. The float is kept securely with two people responsible for making sure that everything is above board, records kept, and that's that. Unfortunately we have not been yet been able to justify spending the donations on: Caribbean Holidays Superfast PCs for the Mod Team Supermodels (nope, not the Airfix type) If we reach the size of Facebook, we may consider it. But only if Julien promises not to wear his budgie smugglers on the Caribbean beach as it frightens the Supermodels..... Or we may of course really waste the money and engage Airfix to produce a 1/24 Scale Vulcan However, this diatribe about transparency is sounding awfully familiar, and I can guess where it's coming from by both past history and by past and present company kept by those attempting to grind this particular axe. Anyway, if anyone isn't happy with the way the site is run, they can do one of two things. Leave and never come back, or refrain from donating and accept the status quo Trouble-making is not an option. We have patience, but that has its limits, just like welcomes.
    10 points
  37. Bean counter man: "We need more parts in order to justify the price." Resin kit design engineer: "Split the tiny practice bombs in two." Marketing dude (with certificate!): "Raise the difficulty level! Raise the price!" I mean, really, why would you do such a thing? Cheers, Bill
    10 points
  38. My early Monogram P40N is as done as it's going to be, the transfers put up a fight, but I beat them into submission in the end. Here's the model... Tony.
    10 points
  39. Plans and Boats Something I forgot to mention in my previous post 'A Trip to Albany' is that Ross very kindly lent four books to me that are proving absolutely invaluable. Here are they are... Steam Coasters and Short Sea Traders, by Charles Waine - excellent general arrangement drawings throughout and rich in technical detail. British Steam Tugs by PN Thomas - again excellent technical drawings and lots of surprisingly pertinent material, especially since the earliest steam tugs were not highly specialized vessels and shared many features common to smaller coastal vessels of the era. Ships from the Archives of Harland and Wolff by Tom McCluskie. We all know that Xantho was not built by Harland and Wolff but this book contains numerous large and detailed construction / general arrangement drawings that give a great insight into the deck fittings of contemporary ships. Perhaps best of all 'The Denny List' by the National Maritime Museum at Greenich. A directory of all ships built by Denny Brothers from 1844 (Loch Lomond) to 1886 (Aurora) & including Xantho - but alas with no plans. Here are just a few of the more relevant drawings from these books... So, soon after getting back from Albany, and before @Dave Swindell recent posts I decided to get busy and start drafting my fourth attempt. As there seems to be a reasonable consensus that the hull shape is close to right (although in fact it probably needs to be about 2 feet deeper in the draft as I have overlooked the thickness of the bilge when plotting 'depth molded') This time my plan was to simply revisit my previous set of drawings, rub out bits that I don't like anymore, and draft in alterations with a red pen. As you can see, I have added a substantial break in the deck just ahead of the boiler room, added a (perhaps too tall?) boiler house ahead of which sits the ship’s primary wheel and a pole compass (that looks a bit too tight for easy access ahead of the wheel?) I've added a small galley immediately behind the funnel. This little galley looks a bit too high perhaps? but would have to be this tall to allow the cook to stand while working. interestingly the ship's original builder's specifications require 'Cooking apparatus to cook for 8 men' . (Note also that the registration papers specify 'Deck Houses' - plural so one housing over the boiler and a seperate galley seems reasonable). I've added a stern wheel and two covered access ways to below deck spaces, one for the ship's crew just behind the forecastle and one for passengers just ahead of the stern wheel. At this point I was tossing up whether-or-not to squeeze in a small rear cargo hatch (it's included in these drawings) but if it was there, there would have been not much space left for the passengers and it would have meant that the stoker would have had to squeeze past it to get to work. At this point I have not moved the mizzen mast forward - but that needs to happen. I'm now convinced that it's currently in the wrong place, almost all of the drawings in the books above tie in with Dave's comments that the mast would be positioned to maximize sail area and hence must be as close as practical to the funnel. So the red pen is stuff that I'm generally pretty happy with. It's the blue pen - stuff to do with the ship's boats that I'm not sure about. Boats... What to say? On the one hand we now know that there was only one boat at the auction - a 13 foot Dingy - and "two boat's davits" and "two boats covers". So a straightforward reading of that would indicate that this ship had just one 13 foot Dingy mounted on a single set of two davits with one boat's cover deployed and one cover held as a spare. If so - all we need to do is make our best guess as to where the Davits were mounted and all is good. On the other hand... Xantho was a vessel capable of long oceanic voyages - she had already completed a half circumnavigation of the globe - and regularly carried up to 16 passengers. She was therefore capable of carrying up to 24 people. This was a period when shipwrecks were quite commonplace and operating in a remote area like Western Australia there would be little chance of assistance in an emergency. So it could be argued that she would have carried dedicated lifeboats since fitting 24 people in a 13 foot dingy does not seem like a very satisfactory survival strategy. Ross Shardlow is adamant in his view that she would have carried 'at least' two lifeboats... When I asked him where they were at the auction - he (quite reasonably) just stated that he did not know but it was irrelevant as this ship would have required them. Perhaps - as highly desirable items - they were sold prior to auction. Note also that the term "two boat's davits" (note the apostrophe) could - perhaps - mean 'davits for two boats' rather than two individual davits. So It is possible that Xantho actually had two sets of davits each associated with a lifeboat and a 13 foot dingy for everyday work that was manhandled as required. But then again... after a fair bit of thought here's what I reckon... (note this interpretation is not reflected in the drawings above) Perhaps since the working dingy would have been handled often and the ship only had a crew of 8 or 9 then wouldn't it make sense for the davits to be used to handle the dingy? I can understand one lifeboat 'going missing' or being sold prior to the auction - perhaps even sold to the fishermen at Port Gregory? but two being sold in advance seems like 'special pleading'. One lifeboat does not seem like a good number to carry in such circumstances but as events have shown, Charles Broadhurst was not flush with cash and he was certainly happy to take a calculated risk when needed. Most of Xantho's operations within Western Australia would have been conducted within sight of land, so two lifeboats might have seemed a bit excessive to Charles. Peoples' and governments' attitudes to risk in those days were very different to those of today - it is interesting to note that at no point do the registration papers make any notes regarding safety equipment. So, I am currently undecided, but at this point I'm thinking of positioning a single lifeboat - centrally mounted on a 'stand' (if that's the correct term) just behind the mizzen mast and positioning a single set of davits on one side of the boiler house with a 13 foot dingy hanging off them. I'm interested in any thoughts anyone may have on that interpretation. Here's draft 4 of the thing (yet to have the boats sorted out) reduced to 1/144 scale. It shows the ship being buzzed by an incomplete 1/144 scale RAAF F/A18 B (Twin seater) Hornet. Xantho may have been somewhere near Pearce Air Force base at the moment illustrated! 😜 Bandsaw Steve
    9 points
  40. And yet more pulleys and more rigging: May be tomorrow it will be the landing gear and nose rigging.
    9 points
  41. Stop that clock - finished! 16 hours 10 minutes. Quite long but I’ve done everything I want to do to this model, even if I had a month, so I’m happy. Gallery tomorrow, I have an He-70 to build! Thanks everyone for the support along the way.
    9 points
  42. Hi All, This is my first modern tank and the first one that I took more seriously. I added Eduard's PE parts, Eureka XXL towing cables, RB Model antenna with a litlle modification and some copper wire as cables on the turret. I redone the texture and welds on the turret. I also modified the optics in the commander's cupola and put a piece of DVD inside the Shtora emitters to reflect the light. I had a lot of fun putting this things together and I hope you will enjoy watching the final result
    8 points
  43. Hi all. A Sunday arvo session done and a model is complete. This is the 1/48th Airfix P-51D Mustang. I wanted a non-silver finished Mustang so I grabbed the OD/NG Rovin' Rhoda/4 Bolts scheme from my Eduard Mustang. There's lots of variation in the colour achieved using lots of thin, layered greens and greys and everything in between. The exhausts, props and spinner are courtesy of Eduard. I need to source some long rang tanks as the kit ones are pretty crap. I'm really happy to have this one finished, dare I say my favourite for the year?!! Almost forgot, I painted the nose checkers ans spinner to match ..never again! I had a lot of fun with this one. Cheers, Mick Some info, the aircraft was flown by Lt. Irvine Snedecker during April 1945. The aircraft was with the 364th FS, 357th FG, 8th AF at Leiston.
    8 points
  44. CMP 15cwt GS Truck, Transport Troop, Squadron HQ, Olistan Defence Forces. Kit by The Plastic Soldier Company, built with tongue firmly in cheek using glue, paint, exotic food and dodgy music videos. Andy
    8 points
  45. More rigging added. It seems endless! The engine is glued in place, as well as the engine front, and the decals that simulate the air vents in the nose: Some more rigging, the prop, and we may be done:
    8 points
  46. Hello everyone that participated in the build. I along with @modelling minion And @Col. would like to thank you for joining us here in the Vought giggling academy. I will get the poll up and running in a day or two so please be patient with me on that. Dennis
    8 points
  47. And after fitting the decals and swearing at the undercarriage, the Comet is finished, just in time! I'll add pictures to the gallery when I can take some photo's in daylight.
    8 points
  48. Ryan BQM-34A Firebee Kit: plusmodel 1/72 PMAL7035 Build thread: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235079071-ryan-bqm-34a-firebee/
    8 points
  49. Hi folk's,Hobbyboss 1/48 Mustang in SAAF colours.about five hours in total over the two time slot's left off a lot of the small stencils for the build.
    8 points
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