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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/04/21 in all areas

  1. Hi mates, Raspberry Ripple time! This is the Sword kit of the Hawker Harrier T.4 in the scheme used by QinetiQ during some of the VAAC research. When I first saw photos of this aircraft I knew I had to make a model someday. So here she is! I won't go into the story of this research as it's widely available online. Some of it is highly technical (with graphs!) and it was beyond my classically trained brain. As usual, here's my summary: Project: QinetiQ Hawker Harrier T.4 Kit: Sword Kit No. SW72062 Scale: 1:72 Decals: Vingtor sheet 72-118 for Harrier Test & Demonstration Aircraft (thanks Nils!). Some stencils from the kit. Resin: Freightdog FDR72021 Harrier T.2/T.4/GR.3 and FRS.1 dropped door intakes; Pavla U72-118 Exhaust Nozzles Photoetch: Main fret included with kit; some parts from Eduard 73386 Harrier FA.2 Paint: Floquil 110015 Flat Finish; MRP-183 Oxford Blue, MRP-184 Signal Red; Testors Model Master 2143 Semi-gloss White; Hataka Light Admiralty Grey; GSI Creos GX112 UV Cut Gloss, H12 Flat Black, H11 Flat White, H331 Dark Sea Grey, H23 Shine Red, H90 Clear Red, H94 Clear Green, SM203 Super Iron II, SM206 Super Chrome 2; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black Improvements/Corrections Made two underside instrument pods using drop tank bits Master AM-72-131 Pitot Tube and AOA Probe Added front canopy brace Added canopy retention cables Scratchbuilt front instrument panel coaming Tailplanes, main landing gear strut and tyres, and outriggers are leftovers from Hasegawa Sea Harrier kit WIP can be found here. Now for some pix: Some in-process shots - here is the belly of the beast: Raw materials - ejection seats: After a bit of tarting up: A bit of my famous red filler "here and there": But at the end of the day, she looks pretty good to me. Now it's off to review the stash and agonize for days over what to build next. Cheers, Bill
    51 points
  2. Well, I enjoyed that. Been waiting for these for what seems like ages now and pleased to say I wasn't dissapointed. Typical Airfix plastic which is rather soft but nicely engraved. The construction is very tight with regards to parts tolerance so make sure you clean off any paint from the edges of parts' particularly the engines and cowlings. Cockpit and fuselage detail is adequate for the scale and the clear parts will show it off nicely. I did invest in the 2 Eduard sets but only really used the seat ( the kit one is very thick and chunky and is easily seen) and some side placards. On my next one I'll try to use the weapons bay set and the instrument panel. The one item I will recommend tho' is the Eduard canopy masking set. It was a godsend and makes all the difference. Oh, and I used some Eduard wheels too. Only one thing concerns me and its too late to do anything about it now and that is the camouflage pattern. Bear with me on this. I had originally intended to build one of the aircraft from the Xtradecal sheet simply because it was based at Thorney Island. Same squadron just earlier. When I went to apply the decals I noticed the markings were on the wrong colours (ie the green and brown). I used the kit pattern assuming it was standard. However looking at the Xtradecal sheet and the caption of that aircraft (and the kit one) in the Warpaint they say it's the B scheme. You can tell the difference from photos as there is brown on the front port fuselage and the colours slope in the opposite direction.. Unfortunately I can't find a photo of the kit subject to prove it? Anyway, its too late now I'm not repainting it even if it is wrong! I just hope Airfix have got it right? So other than that, a most enjoyable build and I look forward to building my next one. Thanks for looking. B2 B1 B3 B4 B5
    33 points
  3. Announced on Facebook this AM.
    21 points
  4. Silver Beau,..... another one from the Australia/New Zealand GB,...... this 1/72nd Hasegawa Beaufighter Mk.21 has been built as A8-196, EH-D of 31 Sqn, RAAF, Morotai, 1945 using DK Decals, although the MPM boxing of the Hasegawa kit did include this scheme too. The model was painted using a Tamiya rattle can, the WIP is here; And the model; And here it is with some of my other Aussie Beau`s! Cheers Tony
    17 points
  5. .....and another HMS HERMES aircraft, from the same era as my recent Wessex update. This one is the Fujimi Sea King HAS.1 in markings for 814 Sqn, onboard during the Cyprus emergency in 1974. HERMES' Sea Kings, along with Wessex Vs and at least one Wessex 3 (from HMS DEVONSHIRE) first landed 41 Commando Royal Marines at RAF Akrotiri to reinforce and defend the Sovereign Base Areas, then evacuated UK and other civilians from the beaches of northern Cyprus whilst the Turkish invasion was proceeding around them. It was hoped that the large Union Flag on the door would reduce the possibility of either side firing at them. This Fujimi kit fought me most of the way, but almost entirely my fault for trying to re-arrange the interior layout to reflect an RN ASW aircraft. I've built quite a few now and it is generally an easy build. My rotor blade fold also started to sag even after 2 days immobilised with a jig holding it in place. Decals are a mix, including from the kit, which is also a HERMES aircraft but with boring markings!, the Revell kit (for the serials), and a couple of Modeldecal sets for generic markings and the 814 crest. The Union Flag came from an Airfix Lynx ICE kit. Other than the blade fold and markings, the only thing not "as per the box" is the port side wire aerial, which is stretched sprue and lycra thread. Paint is mainly Xtracolour X13 RAF Blue-Grey. So, with a Scimitar, Buccaneer, Wessex V, three Sea Harriers and a Sea King all built, my lockdown HERMES/VIRAAT Air Group is forming up nicely. I hope to do an 893 Sqn Sea Vixen next (the Xtrakit one); the box is out the stash and sitting beside me as I type.....
    16 points
  6. Canopy masks arrive - Steps 59 to 63 The Eduard canopy masks arrived soon enough so it was back to the main construction following Airfix’s well laid out instructions. Now I’m sure I’m not the only one who gets nervous when handling clear parts and some how I stupidly managed to crack the lower nose bomb aiming clear part (F14) whilst removing it from the sprue. I thought a dip in Clear may sort out the issue, however it didn’t and there’s no way to fix it. Once again, I robbed the part from my second kit and dropped an unlikely email to Airfix Spares to see what they could possibly do. To my utter surprise I received a positive email within a day, however the Spares department have asked for a GBP 9.00 payment to ship this to me in Australia! Now I’m always prepared to pay a nominal fee and did explain to Airfix that it was all my fault, however I’m not prepared to pay 45% of the whole kit’s normal retail price for the sake of just a single (albeit important) part?? I’ll have to think of something for this 2nd kit a little later, however have never struck this type of response from Airfix before.. (mmm. and how many short shot parts have I fixed rather then complained about?). Anyway, Rant over.. let’s move on.. The Beaufort’s nose glazing is a real stand out, so it pays handsomely to get this right - proof of my success will be known at the end! Although the parts are very clear, I decided to ‘Clear’ them to avoid any potential ‘fogging’ when the four pieces are cemented together. Once dry I applied Eduard’s canopy masks which although expensive are indispensable to getting the canopy masking process right. Like most Eduard masks I’ve used, they tend to be just a smidgen oversize in some places, however are so much better than what I could have done by hand. So here’s a few photos of my slow construction with the clear nose glazing in place. These parts seem to fit quite well, however some minor sanding may be required where the glass does not exactly line up with the nose plastic. So far, this step has been the least enjoyable part of the build so far. I recommend you take your time, don’t crack any clear parts and good luck when you tackle this delicate stage. Cheers.. Dave
    15 points
  7. Hi guys! Continuing with my discovery of old photos in a hard drive, here's another kit I build more or less 10 years ago. It's the Academy T-33 with a KCM (?) resin cockpit and True Details resin wheels. It was painted with Alclad colors and Model Master Enamels. Decals are from an Icarus sheet. From my memory, this is a nice kit to build. The only real problem I found was trying to put the resin cockpit inside the fuselage, but after that was done, the rest of the build was trouble free. Hope you like it! P.S: Sorry about the lighting in the photos! Take care! Regards, Tato
    14 points
  8. Morning all, Just finished yesterday, Airfix's 1/48 Gnat which I actually started back last summer for our club's September competition - better late than never! Not a build I particularly enjoyed, lots of fit issues and I had a bit of a job getting it to sit square as the port wing needed quite a bit of shimming to get it level with the starboard. This is in marked contrast to a couple of other club members who had no problems with the kit! I then tried to destroy it when it came to painting as I used Zero paints McLaren Orange for the first attempt at dayglo. Now I've used Zero paints for years on car models and have learnt how to apply it, but like a numpty completly forgot all that when it came to the Gnat, spraying it on far too wet. Inevitably this crazed the plastic - and to make it worse I'd decided to spray the whole thing orange and then mask off for the silver bits - so I had crazing all over the airframe! A week or so of sanding it down sort of rescued the kit and although I rescribed some of the lost panel lines, I lost interest in doing them all so some ended up too shallow to take a wash or missing altogether. Resprayed in Revell enamel dayglo orange with Humrol enamel 11 for the High Speed Silver. Chose the latter as it was what Airfix recommended and I guessed it should therefore match the silver in the decals. It did, but I don't like it for HSS as it's too dark and dull. Anyway, here it is, Folland Gnat T1, C.F.S., R.A.F. Little Rissington, 1964. Thanks for looking Keith
    13 points
  9. I'm going to point out some facts about real-life paint manufacture and either the reader will understand and "get it" or will not understand and are in no position to contradict me. 1) Usually camouflage colours are fairly low saturation colours because these blend in better with nature. They're seldom bright and bold. Low saturation colours are normally manufactured by adding coloured pigments to a base made from inexpensive white or white and black pigments. 2) Colour pigments are expensive. The expense varies depending on the specific pigment, but they're expensive. 3) The only way to over-saturate a colour so much is to substantially over-dose your base with the expensive colour pigments. I'm not talking about a few percent more or less - that causes minor differences which you only confirm the presence of with one swatch adjacent to another - I'm talking more in the order of a double dose to get something you obviously look at and think "woah". 4) In the case of colours like dark olive, these are mostly white, black and ochre (which is relatively inexpensive for a colour pigment) sometimes further tinted with a bit of red or green (which are often very expensive). 5) There can certainly be variances in a manufactured paint, but these tend to be greatly overstated, i.e. used as a ready made excuse for all sorts of mistakes. Ultimately, the only way a manufactured paint can end up so oversaturated is to have dumped in a vast amount of the expensive pigments, if not adding in new additional pigments in large quantities not expected in the recipe. Frankly, it's difficult to see how any manufactured paint could end up so drastically off target, particularly in the over-saturated sense, by any business that wasn't actively trying to bankrupt itself by roasting through obscene quantities of pigments like chrome green which were already expensive at the start of the war and in particularly short supply during. 6) I'd venture that most of the "there was a war on, you know" type apologists for such spectacular errors probably don't have any actual experience of what is and isn't possible when mixing different proportions of 2,3 or 4 pigments when 2 of those are usually black and white just to make your base to tint. You simply cannot end up with a Humbrol 30-esque bluish green using only the ingredients to make olive - i.e. you'd actually have to sabotage it by introducing if not blue then an obviously bluish green. Same goes for that bright green Spitfire above - you can't achieve that with black, white, ochre and a touch of red - you'd need to fire in a lot of bright green pigment in to get that saturated on an overly-light base. It would be more tan-like just using the basic olive green ingredients which only turns obviously olive when tinted enough with black. Put another way, with a fixed number of pigments in various ratios you WILL end up somewhere within a certain envelope, and usually when colours like this bright green are discussed it's because it's well outside that envelope. The point of all the above? In essence it's harder to make a credible explanation for how such a colour might have been arrived at in a real-life paint manufacturing environment than it is to demonstrate that someone would have had to go to a lot of trouble to get it so far wrong. That is harder to rationalise than just getting it closer to correct.
    13 points
  10. Hi Guys, My latest work, not the best kit need to do some extra work but a fun kit to build. Will keep it short, made glass panels in the nose as it didn't come with clear parts and painted using Mr. color and Tamiya Regards
    12 points
  11. Good morning. I present you my first model on this forum and it is a Revell B17. I wanted to represent a particular version: Enjoy. Regards from France, Eric-Snafu35
    11 points
  12. #9/2021 And my dad´s next model is finished. Wanted to avoid one of the usual blue schemes so we chose a French one in an atlantic scheme. Revell USA kit with Berna decals. Painted with Tamiya XF-2 White and Gunze H317 FS36231. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235088144-aeronautique-navale148-lockheed-pv-1-ventura-french-navy/ (Free)France operated the PV-1 and also the PV-2 from 1944 to 1961. The model shows an aircraft with Flotille 6F, which used only PV-1s from 1944 to 1947, stationed at BAN Agadir/Morocco in 1946. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0006 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0008 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0012 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0017 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0019 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0020 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0021 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0022 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0024 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0025 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0026 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr
    11 points
  13. Hello everyone ... Id like to present my third and final build from the ANZAC group build. Ive used the old Matchbox 1/72 kit for this. Not too bad overall, but definitely a case of trying to get too many types from one mould. If Matchbox had designed the kit with two separate fuselages. They could easily have improved the kit, one version for the 11,12, & 13. They other for the 14 with the different spine, longer nose, and blown canopy. Oh well back to the build, Ive done it as WM373 which started as a N.F.11 but depending on which source is either still an 11 or a T.T.20 ? It is in the Red/White markings of the Woomera test range South Australia 1964. Please feel free to ask questions or post comments. Feel free to visit the ANZAC group build to see all the great work being done, or visit the build thread. Dennis
    11 points
  14. Happy Birthday Royal Australian Air Force Today is the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Royal Australian Air Force. I am not going to write much about the history the of the RAAF because I am no expert. Suffice to say that on this day 100 years ago this service was formed as an independent air-arm and it has strong claim to be the second such service formed anywhere in the world. It has been a cornerstone of Australia's security and this region's stability ever since. The RAAF played an active and effective role in the Second World War as well as numerous 'smaller' but still very significant conflicts, including Korea, Vietnam, the two Gulf Wars and Afghanistan. It has assisted in many peacekeeping and security operations around the globe and has played an important humanitarian role in innumerable civil defence emergencies. At one stage, immediately after World War Two, the RAAF gave Australia the fourth largest national air arm (by number of operational aircraft) in the world. We Australians, and our various allies should be most grateful for the service that the RAAF has provided over the last century. Three years ago I started my build of an Avro 504 to mark the occasion of the formation of the Royal Air Force. Now, it would seem wrong of me not to do something similar for the Air Force of my adoptive homeland. I've been planning for this for a while and was hoping to have at least one of my three other threads on Britmodeller closed by now, but that has not happened. Time waits for no-one and if I'm going to do this to mark the anniversary then I have to start today; ready or not. If we are going to 'do' the RAAF - let's pick a good subject. Let's look at something fast... perhaps even supersonic. Hmmmm... how about a swing-wing thing...? 🤔 Nice idea! But do you know how big one of those things is in 1/32 scale? My display cabinet is only so large. What about something American with a big droopy nose, two big burner cans tucked in under a single swept back tail and tailplanes set an an outrageous angle of anhedral..... 😀 Again, Nice! But that's a very complex shape and I want to finish this before the next 100 years passes. What about something French and triangular that I once saw when I was a lad at an airshow at RNZAF Wigram... Yes! Now we are talking... Let's do one of these! If you have seen my work before you know what comes next. Get a bunch of drawings together - in this case downloaded as PDF's from the internet - and get them printed to an exact 1/32 scale. In this case there are three 'master' sheets. Get one of each laminated and half a dozen copies of each printed out. Just use everyday copying paper, no need for anything special. Don't worry about the radar under the chin folks - I know that's not an RAAF thing. Here is the compulsory 'sprue shot after opening the box' photo. A fair bit of plywood will be used but most of the parts are jarrah, the same stuff I used on the Avro 504. Jarrah is grown right here in Western Australia, is beautiful to carve and strong as anything. This will be important since there's a good chance this thing will have gear down and once the forward undercarriage bay is cut and the cockpit hollowed out there will be very little remaining intact wood to hold the nose in place. Now we do some dry fitting. Yep - the major fuselage pieces fit together without any gap at all. Note also how there's no ejector pin marks or other blemishes. Tamiya quality fit - although lacking some detail at this point. 🧐 Now I sat down and had a think. How was I actually going to make this thing? Carve the fuselage out of a single block? Or break it into multiple more manageable components. Overall this shape is a bit more complex than, say the Mig-15 that I built in 2016, and requires a bit more thought. Once some decisions are made we can start marking out the cuts. This is the first cut line marked up for the entire project. This is the moment I consider that work actually began - 8.02 PM 31 March 2021 (WA time)...100 years to the day. 👍 Like I say - initially there's a bit of planning and marking up required. Some of the decisions might be a bit counterintuitive, but I've learned a lot over the course of my last few projects and I think there's method in my madness. Who knows though, maybe there's just madness in my method? I've decided that there will be a separate central 'fuselage and cockpit' section cut out that will nestle between the air intakes and the rest of the fuselage assembly. This component is defined at this point by the red ink. Somehow the wing will also need to be accommodated, but for now it's one thing at a time. Now grab two lumps of wood and cut them longer than the section just marked out. One thing I have learned is that surplus wood is not generally a problem - insufficient wood is. Hold the two pieces of wood in a vice and drill a series of holes (four in this case two on either side) clear of the planned cut area. Drill each hole about 3/4 of the way through the entire thickness. I guess it's harmless to go all the way through but this time I chose not to. Now slip a dowel into each of the holes and cut off the surplus. In this case the dowel fitted into the holes perfectly so no glue was required at all! This is a bonus because, although I want these two bits of wood to stick together and stay nicely aligned, fairly soon I'm going to need to pull them apart splitting the fuselage in two again in preparation for hollowing out the cockpit and UC bay. Now cut out the paper plans and spray some cheap photo adhesive onto one side of the prepared wooden block. (No photos this time sorry, I forgot). Cut out the pattern with the bandsaw. It was now getting late at night and this was after Mrs Bandsaw's 'powertool noise curfew' so I left a full 5mm clear from the pattern and just raced through the cut as quickly as possible to get the noisy bit over and done with. This is the birthday of the RAAF, so noise curfew or not, there has to bandsaw action! This is the result so far. There's a long way to go... I hope that some of you come along for the ride. Per ardua ad astra Bandsaw Steve
    10 points
  15. Airfix kit, built OOB. Nah - only joking. Body cut mid-door and at the boot lid, sectioned and re-glued. Wire wheels by Pendle Slot Racing, decals by Le Mans Decals. Various other scratch-built additions such as scoops, headlamp covers, seats, bug deflector etc. Panel lines scribed, painted Zero Paints Aston Le Mans '59 Green.
    10 points
  16. I have been building a diorama (well a few I guess) for some time now to display my built 1/48 Cold War jets. It centres mainly around a hardened concrete shelter (a HAS - Hardened Aircraft Shelter) and the things you would find in or around one. In its US form the options for support equipment & vehicles can be a bit limited. One option is the Skunkworks 1/48 R-11 refueler truck. I got this kit & built it but ideas spread from this. I wanted a pickup, a step van and, wasn’t the R-11 only introduced in 1989, so really a bit late for any 80s scenes. So I looked at the various diecast that would pass for scale. A 1/46 pickup with a pull back & go action from Maisto - tricky to get in the UK! An old ERTL van being driven by the Joker from Batman. And a Corgi Majors Mack truck tractor unit. With a bit of work this is how they turned out. And separately All are intended to be scene accessories rather than the stars of the show, but as they all came together recently I thought they were worth a mention. Thanks for looking
    10 points
  17. Hi All This is the old 1980s boxing of the F-4E Phantom which although quite basic has a good shape and goes together pretty well. Built completely OOB apart from pinching a canopy and wheels from a Fujimi F-4K/M. I used the kit decals which held up surprisingly well. Paints are Mr Hobby and Vallejo for a 52nd TFW machine based at Spangdahlem in the 1980s. The build brought back happy memories of when these aircraft were regular airshow participants in the UK at that time. Thanks for looking. Comments as always much appreciated Cheers!
    10 points
  18. This is my first WWII kit after primary school. I always loved the design of the 262, but never found the regular mottle camo even remotely attractive, so I was happy to learn at some point that there were more uniform schemes available. The inspiration for this particular paint job came from a build by the great Chris Wauchop; I hope the enthusiasts here will forgive me that I just slapped the kit's incorrect aircraft numbers on it. I chose the Tamiya kit over the Hobby Boss offering simply because it comes with a pilot. Beware that the kit will totally spoil you with it's meticulous details and great fit (though I can't attest to it's accuracy) As for the painting process (all colors are Tamiya acrylics), the whole kit was primed with Dark Sea Grey, the underside then was irregularly painted inside the panels with a mix of 2 x Sky Grey - 3 x Light Blue - 7 x White. The top received an overall misting of pure Field Grey, then the light green was applied in a 1:1:1 mix of Sky Grey, Flat Green and White. Finally, a 1:1 mix of Field Grey and White was used to live up the dark areas and to blend between the colors. Since the panel lines are molded pretty sharp, no panel wash was used. The decals were misted with the camo colors to tie them in. Some more pics in my Flickr album.
    10 points
  19. Ok, need to have a rant here.....Yes, there were many factories and different paint manufacturers and depends on the guy who mixes the paint and so on and so on and this and that and the other... But when it comes to new production stuff the term "close enough for government work" does not equate to "give them any s..t you can make and they'll be happy with it". There are standards and there are rules, and whenever a company does not supply a product conforming to the requirements, they are not paid the full amount... and companies do not like to be paid less than expected, reason why they generally try to supply stuff that respects the specifications. With some exceptions... Were all batches of paint identical ? Sure not, but they would have been "identical" within the specified tolerances. Same for the all the variables that may occurr during the painting process: no two aircraft may have shown the same identical finish but they would have all been within a certain tolerated variation spectrum. Afterall all aircraft factories in WW2 Britain had representatives of the Air Ministry assigned to verify that the finished products satisfied the requirements, I doubt that any of them would have accepted a Spitfire in light brown and pea green... The reality is that yes, there were variations but these were small and really most of us would not even be able to tell one from the other unless they could see one paint right beside the other.. and maybe many of us would not even be able to notice that. Again with some exceptions that are however generally known, like US Olive Drab in WW2. Just to prove this, a few months ago I posted a colour picture of the wreck of a Macchi MC.202. This featured the fuselage from a Breda built aircraft and a replacement wing from another aircraft, this time built by Macchi... try look for it and then see if you can tell the difference between the base brown used on these parts. To me they look the same and yet we're talking of parts from two different aircraft, made by two different companies at different times, so for sure using paint from different batches and probably even paints from different manufacturers. Now someone will say "just look at pictures, they show all kind of tints....". Problem is: how much of the variation is in the actual colour and how much is in the picture ? The fact is that the variables that can affect the colours in a picture of the time are even more than the ones that could have affected the colour on the real thing ! I've seen different copies of the same picture where the colours were all different from the other, which one should I trust ? The above applies to aircraft off the production line, once a type is in service dirt, weathering and other elements can change the finish... at least if the aircraft had time to suffer from such effects, considering that many of our beloved subjects only served for a few months before being lost or replaced. Another aspect to consider is the effect of repaints after the entry into service, as local MUs did not always get all paints exactly as they should have been. Again though, many of these exceptions are known. So what do I mean in the end ? The hobby is one thing, and we can all enjoy it as we like. Someone wants to paint a Spitfire with a certain green because he likes it ? Go for it, your model your choice. Someone follows the "scale effect" philosophy ? Not a problem, he'll lighten the paint. Others will do something different again, great. The way aircraft production worked however was a different thing and I struggle to see why we should try and justify personal choices by bending the truth to give us an aura of "credibility" that nobody asked for. Someonw wants to paint their brand new Spitfire in puke yellow and pea green ? Not a problem, it's just a hobby, but don't try and apply the "paints are never exactly identical to the standard specified.." logic, makes no sense. Ok, rant over, I feel a bit lighter now... even if I'll see this again and again and again....
    10 points
  20. Hiya Folks, My second 1/72nd scale Ventura from the Australia/New Zealand GB,..... this aircraft represents a B-34 Lexington/Ventura Mk.IIa from 13 Sqn RAAF, based in Australia during 1942. Now 13 Sqn is better known for operating the later PV-1 Ventura but it also operated some of the 20 B-34`s sent from the USAAF to Australia, all equipped with ASV radar with its Yagi antennae. Here is the subject of the model, SF-J,.... which I have made an educated guess at being A59-11, And some other RAAF B-34`s, to help illustrate the radar etc; A59-4 seen below was being used for trials work; The cockpit interior was scratch built to better represent the early Ventura variants, additional windows for the beam gun positions were cut out and guns added while the other windows were also increased in size, the under wing ASV antenna came from an Academy Catalina, the fuselage side antennae are etched and came from a High Planes Beaufort and the model was brush painted with decals coming from the spares box with codes from Fantasy Prinshop,....., here is the WIP; And here is the model; Thanks to Bill (Navy Bird) for the kit and to Chris (bigbadbadge) for sending me an RAF style canopy,.....cheers fella`s, Tony
    9 points
  21. Hello A couple of photos with one of my my latest kit. Arma Hobby 1/72nd Hawker Hurricane Mk.Ia - Eastern Front limited edition. Almost OOB. Painted old roundels under the decal crosses (as on the real machines) and painted tactical numbers. Vallejo Model Air paints. Comments are welcome 210 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 209 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 208 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 207 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 206 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 205 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 204 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 203 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 202 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr 201 by Iulian Macovei, on Flickr
    9 points
  22. Hello everyone ... One of three builds done for the ANZAC group build. It is the 1/72 Hasegawa kit of the P-40N. It represents A29-1021 “Hep-Cat” of 75 Squadron circa 1945. Please feel free to ask questions or post comments. Please feel free to visit the group build and see all of the work, or my build thread. Dennis
    9 points
  23. So while listening to Tigers in the mud by Otto Carius i thought it might be time to whitewash the outer wheels and turret of 100..........again as i did with the hull the grey on the turret was protected with a light coat of Humbrol matt enamel clear coat as were the wheels......then heavy chipping fluid after 25 mins drying time the washable whitewash was applied this was allowed to get touch dry and then with a damp brush i started straight away with the removal of the wash in some key areas............ this technique has been very predictable and fairly precise and have to say looking forward to doing another winter subject........tracks have had a going over ..these are mirror tracks as Tiger 100 was one of a very few Tigers to wear mirrors....more pigments to be added and i'm currently thinking about how to do a little snow as this Tiger will go on a small base...........any recommendations for an effective snow product or home brew solution welcome.....something that won't turn yellow
    9 points
  24. I resemble that comment half-heartedly! aboard Eric. Most of the members here are harmless, and thanks to their advancing age, when they do bite, it's mostly just gums
    9 points
  25. My second Italeri build and to be honest not been overly impressed with Italeri so far. Problems being parts not fitting well, details missing from instructions for colours and decals too big for the location specified eg. Warning decal is too big to fit on the air brake. Despite the issues it is a good looking model with a nice range of squadron options. Those of you who have made more Italeri builds, do they get better or have I just been unlucky with the F100 and Viggen? And the current century series
    8 points
  26. Here is the other Miles Magister Mk.I of Heroes Models in 1:144 scale that I finished this week. It represents R1918 of 312 (Czechoslovak) Sqn, RAF, UK, 1941. This is a delightful resin kit with the windscreens made from thin plastic sheet and the exhaust pipe from plastic rod. Obviously some work is involved and for more information see my WIP in the Kampfgruppe144 forum: http://www.kampfgruppe144.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=7326. As with the other kit, it was built OOB with my only addition being the underwing pitot. I'm aware the main legs are in the extended position but I realised too late. The kit was fully painted and varnished with brush. Thanks for looking and, as always, all comments are welcome. Miguel
    8 points
  27. Just finished after a late disaster
    8 points
  28. This is a bit later than I hoped, because I was having problems with my photo hosting service. The idea was to build the kit just using the supplied paint, brushes and glue (plus a few basic tools) in the Airfix starter set, which is something Airfix itself promotes as the Starter Set Challenge. Pure adherence to the challenge lasted about as long as it took to apply the thick, toothpaste-like gloop that masquerades as white paint. The model itself is really sweet, I'm not the biggest Triumph Herald fan but there is something about the kit that just made me smile. Most of the details are done with the standard kit paint, hence the silver paint clogging the grille (despite using a pin to try and open up the holes. Also there was no orange paint for the indicators. Also note that the person who produced the number plate decals had no idea about the correct size, letter type or the fact that (IIRC) Z wasn't commonly used on mainland British plates. You do get a reasonable level of under bonnet detail although the wheels and the hub caps in particular are nothing like the ones Triumph fitted (which are shown on the box art). Paint was Tamiy Racing Red and Halfords Appliance White. The bonnet fit isn't great and I wonder if the windscreen is a bit too shallow? Because there is no clear red or orange supplied I had to make do for the tail lamps, when viewed directly from behind the use of red paint on the back of the clear part is quite convincing although it is less so when seen from the side. Detail on the underside isn't bad, but you can see how the back axle doesn't quite line up properly. Overall this was a fun build and I'm happy with the results given the self-imposed constraints. It was also probably the quickest build I've completed in a while, taking about a week from start to finish. Not quite as speedy as the good old days where you'd buy one of these as a weekend project that you start on a Saturday morning and finish by Sunday teatime, but the models I produced back then were seldom as good either. Of the AIrfix car kits I've worked on, this is probably my favourite to date, although the Maserati Indy may turn out to be better. This is certainly the first Airfix starter set that I would actually recommend to a novice modeller although I would advise them to invest in some decent paint.
    8 points
  29. ....... well, go on then, l don't mind because l'm sat here eating a large slice of humble pie! I build aircraft with all that cockpit detail, super smooth joint lines, intricate paint jobs with lots of masking of canopies and camoflage schemes to say nothing of the thousands of decals that need applying and to be honest l had got bored. So l thought why not build a Tank, easy-peasy, slap it together, does'nt matter about bad fit or joint lines showing( battle damage), easy freehand paint job ( no masking) and next to no decals, whats not to like! Well for a start what smarty pants thought individual tank links was a good idea, that stalled the build for awhile, and it is apparent that fit does matter and l also learnt that l have the free hand painting skills of a man with jelly fingers. As for weathering how do you do that stuff? l feel l will need a whole new workbench full of new products from messers Ammo, mig, etc. So much respect to all you Armour boys and girls out there, and yes l am going to build some more, one day, after that very nice P51 thats calling to me from the stash. Respect FB Tiger by Tiger 1 by Tiger by Tiger by
    7 points
  30. Hi all ! Thanks very much for my acceptance in this group build . As discussed with modelling minion , I'll start posting my WIP today but I actually started my build a few months ago. So , don't think I'm a fast builder since I'm a very slow builder indeed . The model : As usual for most of our kits , let's start with the bang seat . My A-4F his equipped with an Escapac IC-3 ( black in this case ) and I will represent it with it's security on ( pilots call it the headknocker !!!! ) in other words with it's headknocker out ! Details of the seat : The headknocker : Since I'm a DIY adept and , that I'm quite found of some scratch building , I started from the Hasegawa seat . Some more details of the top part of the seat with the security stuff hidden behind the head knocker . That's all for tonight !!! Thank's for passing by . See you soon for the next step .
    7 points
  31. Hi Friends, I finished 3 from 5 Spitfire Vb and will present they. I used from after market following parts: canon barrels from Master seat belts from Eduard decals for WX-C - Kager "Polish Spitfires2, for YO-A - Exito "Sexy Spitfires", JH-T diverse sets, RAF markings from Tamiya - Cocarde Typ C1 looks a bit to small propeller for WX-C from Sword kit, YO-A from Quickboost, JH-T OOB exhaust all kits from Quickboost is a bit to small mirror and IFF antennas from scratch Happy Easter! Wesolych Swiat Wielkanocnych! Joyeuses Pâques! Frohe Ostern!
    7 points
  32. Finally finished my A-4K . It's depicted as NZ6201 from No 75 Squadron RNZAF when it was passing through HMAS Albatross, NSW. Australia in 1993. At that time I was working on No 2. Sqn RNZAF and we (for reasons I can't remember) referred to 75 Sqn as the gumboot squadron. 75 Sqn's aircraft had stopped at Nowra for fuel on the way back to New Zealand. Whilst they were there some mates and I took the opportunity to alter the Squadron crest on a number of the aircraft. I tried to add a lot of the little details that were specific to the A-4K and I'm pretty happy with how that worked out. That said there are plenty of things I wish I'd done better. Anyway enough waffling here;s some images. There are more images and details at my blog
    7 points
  33. Finally, I got to the finish flag with my LeO! 😊 The slow progress has been predominantly something that I’ve allowed while my over enthusiastic brain has concentrated on other projects. Note to self: limit my number of concurrent builds! A GB build thread here: As you can see, and you will all know by now, she is a LeO 453S (“S” for sauvetage, safety/rescue in English), modelled as one of the machines of the SASM99 unit based in Maison Blanche, Algeria, in the 1950s. This air unit emerged from the air sea rescue sections created after WW2 when France, signatory to the O.A.C.I. (International Civil Aviation Organization) acquired the necessary means to meet its international commitments. Consequently, the Superior Council of French Aviation Safety requested the attachment of the SAR to the Civil and Commercial Aviation Secretariat (SGACC). The military maintained operational control. It had the necessary materials and crews to immediately undertake any research within the areas for which it is responsible, including those located in French Africa. At the end of WW2, the Armee de l’air (the air force) therefore set up an air-sea rescue service (SAMAR) subsequently reinforced by an air-land search and rescue organization (SATER). This service was initially based in Provence (Salon de Provence) then in Algeria in Blida under the name of SASM in February 1946. It was placed under the dependence of the Air Defense Zone 903 having three Vickers Wellington as its fleet. A HP Halifax, detached from Bordeaux, then took over the interim while waiting for the provision of aircraft of the LeO 453. Three aircraft were first used and in 1953 the unit grew to six aircraft, enabling it to operate and fulfill its mission. The SASM. was then transferred to Algiers-Maison Blanche and, in March 1954, to Boufarik where it merged with the GLA 45 liaison group which included two squadrons; one for transport and another for sea rescue made up of eight LeO 453s. A re-organisation gave birth to GLA 45 and a new SASM99. In February 1955, SASM saw the replacement of the LeO 453, by four-engine Bloch SE 161 Languedoc which belonged to Air France. Ten aircraft were specially fitted out at Toulouse-Montaudran. Still in Boufarik, this formation again changed its name, to the EARS99 (Air Search and Rescue Squadron). In February 1956, it moved again to Algiers. Many problems were encountered with the Blochs. The squadron was reinforced by a Noratlas N 2501, loaned by the GMMTA (Groupement des Means Militaires du Transport Air). On a weekly basis, an aircraft (generally N 2501) was dispatched. By 1960 the Lockheed L-749 Constellation gradually replaced the Languedoc. Ultimately the unit went through more changes and new types. The unit eventually dissolved in 1969. The subject of this build, using the Heller kit (the only kit!), is No.21, coded 99-JC. Ten LeO 453Ss (Nos. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 35 and 38) were operated by SASM99, some coming from the disbanded SASM98 and GLA45. No. 38 was lost in an accident near Mallorca in 1954. Specifically, No.21 was converted from LeO 451 No.457. She hadn’t been without incident as she had an engine issue over France in 1952. Finally she was retired with the remainder of the fleet in 1956. The only photo I have found of her is this tail-on shot. Therefore I post below a shot of the scrap yard at Blida where they all sadly passed on. Note that some of the fleet had de-icing boots, others didn't. No.21 was in the latter group. The LeO 453S was a heavily modified version of the versatile LeO 45 design, having a passenger compartment and observer positions. The upper gun “turret” was deleted. A number of aerials and antennas were added too. The biggest change was the change to R1830-43 (or 67) engines, driving Hamilton props. What did I use?: 1. Kit – Heller LeO 45 1/72 (80389) 2. Decals – Kit rudder stripes, Berna Decals roundels, and the remainder drawn by Giorgio @Giorgio N and printed by Arctic Decals. 3. Aftermarket & other bits – Renaissance Models main undercarriage assemblies and wheels (RF72064), DF loop bullet from a Heller T-6, Engines (with cowlings and props) from an Airfix C-47 (thanks @1903flight), EZ Line for the aerials. Various bits of Plastruct rod. I used a drop tank from a Special Hobby Super Mystere as the basis for the dorsal turret mods. I made the engine intakes from Mk82 bombs. The exhausts were made from sprue, bent over a flame and drilled out. The tail cone was extended with card. 4. Paints – overall Humbrol Polished Aluminium (27002), 33 Matt Black, 60 Scarlet, and others here and there. She was finished with Humbrol Satincote. 5. Weathering – Flory Wash (Dirt), Tamiya Weathering Powders, Prismacolor Silver pencil I must also acknowledge the help I got from Scott @Jinxman, James @1903flight, Wez @Wez, Mike @Michou, Tony @TonyOD, Martin @Lightningboy2000 and others. Thanks everyone. So here she is: There are a few glitches. I'm just glad to get her to RFI! Martin
    7 points
  34. a bit late in posting this, finished already in december in the great and inspiring Tornado GB a classic German green green black Tornado (Norm 83) .... with the new MW-1 by Aerocraft models and @Christer A Aires whellbays and nozzles Eduuard ZOOM IP and Brassing Seats, ; POZ pod and wheels Master Pitot Quickboost gun barrels AMK Sidewinders WIP me getting facinated with the Tornado ~20 years ago, a Luftwaffe Tornado doing a full display at Airpower airshow in Zeltweg / Austria (heavy analogues gear back then!) not the easiest build, but not following the instructions definetely helps here, actually maybe is the only chance to close the fuselage... JaboG 33 Büchel in this case, markings from the kit and another Italeri kit.... the green camo looks different depending on the lighting.... very hard to get right when mising yourself! the wing mechanismen actually works.... but only on one side one locator hole lost a pin....... not worth the effort! the MW-1 by the way is massive! and together with its quickbuild GB friend hope you like it! cheers, Werner
    7 points
  35. Hello, gentlemen. My name is Eric, callsign Snafu35, aka Bob C on Utube ( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcEdaxcpWySA0CQKp2fZSww ) I am a french modeler (Nobody's perfect ), and I happily fill 57 years. I have been building models since ... ( prescription! ) and if my stock of planes to do at 1/48 is around a hundred - I think I am a small player compared to some of you -, I have been on a 1/72 trip for a few years. This scale allows me to make scenes that mix airplanes and vehicles. I fell in love with the flying fortress. I collect models of four-engined aircraft and I put them in situation on dioramas ( B24s too). Finally, everything that comes close to the Mighty Eighth. But I do not disdain other planes, like those of the Battle of the Pacific, and the French aviation of the 80s. The battle of Normandy, in particular the American front in the Cotentin, on land and in the air, is also one of my hobbies. Maybe it's because I lived in Cherbourg, and now I still live nearby. I decided to subscribe because Britmodellers community seems to be international, and also because I fear to bore my compatriots on our French forum with my delirium! A forum is for me a way to share and to motivate myself. Is it serious, doc'?. Thank you for welcoming me. Regards, Eric-Snafu35
    7 points
  36. Looking good Dave,.... that mask looks just the job. Your photography is awesome too.... really clear and close up too! My pair are coming along,..... decided to built them both as Mk.Ia`s,..... one RAF & one SAAF,...... having got the engines done on both models I have drilled holes in the nose glazing `very carefully' to mount a pair of forward firing Vickers K Guns,.... using the spare ones for the kit as I`m going with the later style turret, using spares box Brownings. I`ve also dug out a part started High Planes Beaufort too which has been lying around painted for years!; Glazing test fitted; Cheers Tony
    7 points
  37. Hello again Another finished build from the workbench is the Academy F/A-18D USMC boxing. Built OOB with the kit decals being particularly excellent with 4 great choices and all of a high quality. I chose VMFA (AW) -533 I tried a few new things on this build, Xtracrylix airbrushed for the first time which despite hearing horror stories went on surprisingly well. I thinned 50/50 with Vallejo Thinners with a few drops of their own flow improver, and had no problems even through a 0.2 nozzle. Will definitely be using again as their paint matches are some of the best. I attempted to replicate the worn paint and subtle variation between the two greys by spraying very thin coats so as to lesson the contrast that you see on the real thing. Not sure if I'm completely happy but anyway it's done now. I also tried W&N Galleria satin varnish for the first time too.... and really impressed so well be using that again no doubt. The eagle eyed will spot my mistake on the canopy as I forgot to paint the interior framing black before spraying the top colour! Too late now.... oh well! Thanks for looking.
    6 points
  38. Hi! The model represents the Vickers Vimy in October 1918. It is the fourth prototype of this aircraft and the first to have new Rolls-Royce Eagle engines. The tail section is still old, it only has two larger rudders. At the end of October of the same year, it was used in France. The model is made by Eastern Express, very old casting by Frog. There is almost nothing left of the set in the box, used parts are completely processed, all other parts are scratch-built. I show the construction from beginning to end so that at least a part of the work invested in the model can be seen. The model is 1/72 scale. I used Windsock Datafile Special - Vickers Vimy (J M Bruce) and internet resources. Greetings [/quote]
    6 points
  39. As I said in my Seiran build thread I "accidently" ended up with a ero kit just to get some figures. Since I am waiting for materials anyway I figured I would do a quick build. I plan to do this one in flight so gear up and canopy closed but it will wear the rather battered late war paint job seen in almost every single picture of these aircraft. All the reviews rave about this kit as being on of the best of any aircraft ever so it should be a pretty straight forward event. In case anybody doesn't know what a new(ish) Tamiya kit looks like it is indeed beautiful even on the sprues. It is however also one of the few where there is no gear up optional parts so I am going to have to do some alterations to close it all up.
    6 points
  40. Hello everyone... Id like to present my 1/72 Hasegawa A-4K. I used the A-4E kit and did some slight modifications to achieve the look of the K. Namely the taller tail, ECM blisters, and drogue chute housing. It is NZ6201 from 75 squadron. I built this along with an RNZAF P-40E to honor a fellow forum member that passed away. SILVER FOX this ones for you. Posed with P-40E NZ3036 from 1943. Please feel free to visit the build thread if you would like. Also please ask questions or post comnents. Dennis
    6 points
  41. Looks good doesn't it? We shall see Thanks Ian - I'll be pinching your wood effect method later so thanks for that too Thanks alt It looks like my plans will be fooled too Rob - see below What does 'the correct turret' look like? Did you find any pictures please? Thanks John Ah, thanks Tom. I've spoken to Jim about this - see below A bit at a time Convair, that's the way to do it - I think! Thanks Eric, very useful information Thanks Bill Cheers Ben Thanks Geoff Retired, so I have little else to do, usually! So, discussions required. You can see the problem here: The starboard waist gun opening is too far back. Rats. I had considered cutting things up but the panel lines make it tricky. Emailed Jim. As Eric pointed out the Academy kit has you cut the opening in the appropriate location. Jim responded saying that he has a Hasegawa kit with staggered windows: …and would I like him to send it to me? I've suggested we choose another scheme for the kit and I'll think about the Hase kit when I've finished these. If I'm still sane… Jim also replied "I shall consult the B17G Serial Number and Modification Oracle, (Cheyenne Tail Guns and unmodified Waist Gun Position)" and he'll find some suitable decals. So, I can do the insides can't I? Wood floors Tom says. Ian posted his 1/72 wood effect method some time ago but I bookmarked it. Looks good to me. I also have some oils to try. Maybe. On with the base: Have I missed a bit? I think the bomb bay walkway is a black floor?
    6 points
  42. Never mind after repairing windscreen frame & making new glazing & various other repairs I am still quite pleased with the resulting effort
    6 points
  43. 6 points
  44. I have left my brain cell mulling how on earth I can create a convincing scale version of this - twice. It will keep me occupied while Best Beloved and I finally get hitched. 👰+🤵 We’ve been an item now for over thirty years, so we thought it was probably time we made it official. We are just having a small ceremony at our local register office, us, two witnesses and the officials. The pandemic has seen off anything larger for now, but we hope it might be possible to have a family celebration later in the summer. We shall see.
    6 points
  45. Hi guys, a little while since the last update, not had much time to progress this build, plus the fact that tonight I have been unable to embed photo's from Microsoft onedrive, so have had to use Flickr for now, not sure why, I can embed older photo's but not these... So back to the build, I have now added the top of the body to the base..... Hopefully the idea of this build is to show as much as possible of the interior, the fit of parts is lovely so, to that end I intend not to glue the front plate or the top of the engine cover, so it should look like this.... For the rear plate of the tank, Miniart give you an option to have the plate open or closed, but I want both so I have drilled through the hinge and added 0.4mm copper wire so that I can have this open or closed at will... Now this brings a further problem in that the construction of the exhausts mean that I cannot have the plate movable so I will need to do a little mod to fix that. The front plate may also be an issue with the mud guards but that should be ok... that's all for now, thanks for looking in.. Ed
    6 points
  46. Hi Chaps, For your viewing pleasure I am please to present my Aeromaster 1/48 Mig 17 Fresco F. 'Somewhere near Cairo West AFB" 1984. The scheme is defined as a 'Home brewed camouflage of 2 shades of Green over a sand base with a blue underside'. No FS number here... The kit is a rebox of the SMER offering from many years ago along with lots of lovely resin for the cockpit, flying surfaces and wheels. A nice vacform canopy and a fine set of Aeromaster decals completes the offering. My undercarriage legs were short shot so had to be fixed with brass rod but came out OK. There is quite a lot of lead in this to hold the nose down so probably no bad thing really. Base coat of sand is Mr Colour 318 'Radome Tan', overlayed with Pale Green defined as "no reference available", I took as a dead ringer for Mr Colour 127 'cockpit Nakajima' and Black Green became Mr Colour 18 'RLM Black Green'. The Blue is a home brew mix of 323 and white. Overall quite a poor kit really and one which benefits from the resin and some good decals. I bought this about 20 years ago so hard to think a better kit is not around for one of the world's most produced jets Build article is Here Thanks to @Col. for organising another very interesting Group Build. Thanks to @RidgeRunner, @Wez and @Foxbat for the info regarding the strange 'windows'. Colin
    6 points
  47. VH-101 - first captured I-153 during the Winter War - spring 1940 Utti Air Base. Many things corrected: landing gear bay, protruding panels, engine cover, exhaust ... Invite..
    5 points
  48. To make better side windows a missing thin edge of bodywork needs to be added first. I glued 0,25 mm sheet styrene on the inside. Then I cut the openings out, saving a thin edge. Now I can fit new windows from clear flat sheet, fitting from the inside. Looking at the rear window once again it no longer passed inspection. I had to lower the top edge and modify the roof to fit. We'll see how long this will survive. Having gone round all the windows there was little point in pretending the front windscreen would be OK. I changed the shape of the opening, mostly in the top corners, then I cut a new window from a piece with a better fitting curvature, a 1/24 Tamiya Alpine A110 rear screen, and glued the edge made from shaped 0,5x0,5 Evergreen strip.
    5 points
  49. 5 points
  50. And it is done; Will make some better pictures for the gallery soon.
    5 points
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