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Showing content with the highest reputation on 21/07/21 in all areas

  1. Waaay back in the 1980's a scrapped English Electric Lightning was bought as an attention getter for a scrap dealer/lorry park/advertising location (?) close to the A1 Great North Road near Grantham (The A1 was a kind of early British motorway which connects London with the North and still carries a lot of traffic). It had been chopped up, wings and tail cut off but the new owner splinted it back together with blooming great steel fishplates. This crude method wasn't strong enough to allow the main undercarriage to take the weight, as the legs were outboard of the weak joints. Accordingly, a framework was fabricated to hold it all up from under the belly. It was a good plan but not well executed and with each stormy night, the sharp edges of the cradle cut into the soft aluminium alloys of the Lightning's belly, rather as the eagles tore into Prometheus' liver (Look him up in Greek Myths if you have the time and curiosity). Slowly, the Lightning sank back onto its haunches and pointed its nose at the sky as if trying to rise once again into its natural element, a process greatly accelerated by the removal of the nose radar. Well, it sat there for years, fading and rotting away (much like your author - lol). The souvenir vultures arrived and pinched anything that they could remove, and the scribblers vomited their graffiti all over the airframe. By the nineties it looked like this... Eventually, it dropped from sight and fell to bits and I thought that was the end of it. But to my amazement, I discovered while researching this little essay last night, someone is actually restoring the nose/cockpit section of it right now. Here's a link to their website where you'll find much more of the story: https://www.key.aero/forum/historic-aviation/144402-the-ongoing-restoration-of-the-a1-lightning-xn728 And here's my version using the Airfix 1:48 kit. I intended to build a scrapyard diorama but then I always INTEND to build a diorama, and seldom do. Some things went well; I think I was close to nailing the faded, chalky look of the paintwork. Some things were rushed and unsatisfactory; the chipping, for example, and the improvised interior details seen through the purloined panels. But, I still like it, and I'll concentrate on the bits I am proud of and leave you to suggest things that I could have done to improve it. Note that it's not a faithful replica of the original but rather 'based on real events' as Hollywood would put it. Disembowled! Robbed blind! Pinioned to the ground! And pinioned as in wings clipped too! Weathering and oil staining was fun. The original might have risen but my version was determined to fall on its nose. I had to pack the jetpipes with lead to deliberately make it a tail sitter. That was a first! "So where's the graffiti then?" I hear you asking, "Was it too difficult for you?" Yes, it was way too difficult. This model made me sadder with every detail I added, and when it came to scribbling all over it as well, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Fancy me getting emotional over a few tons of scrap metal; I must be getting soft. Well I how you like it and all comments, + and -, are welcome.
    22 points
  2. Hello all, Here is my latest project: HobbyBoss' 1/48 Grumman F8F-1 Bearcat. This is from the F8F-1B boxing and with decals by Superscale. In the end, most of the markings were masked and painted and only the stencils on the rudder are from that sheet. The wheels are by BarracudaCast. My additions were seatbelts (Eduard generic set), the whip antenna, underwing pitot, small pylons (from Hasegawa late F4U kits) and the light on the top fuselage. Paint is Mr Color 365 Gross (sic) Sea Blue. A write up of making this kit is available here: https://jonbryon.com/hobbyboss-1-48-grumman-f8f-1-bearcat/ Thanks for looking Jon
    21 points
  3. Hello Guys, The kit is a generic Hasegawa kit, which is no problem in the building except for some minor parts which require little filling and sanding. But what strikes me or what is conspicuous is the marking when I saw this aircraft 2 years ago I wish someone did it and Hasegawa came out and I just bought it. Yeah, the decals were just awesome and blown me away. So here it is my favorite aircraft in my collections. The F-15J Eagle `305SQ 40th Anniversary' special markings. Cheers
    19 points
  4. Hi all I have been working on this kit. I have modelled DK438 a Mk1 of 1771 Squadron, HMS Implacable, task force 37.1 Pacific Ocean 1945. The Sqadron carried out strikes over the Japanese Mainland at the end of the war. The Grand Phoenix model is a limited run kit and has some astonishing detailing in the cockpits, undercarriage bays and radiator in the form of resin parts and although it is a limited run kit, goes together quite well. The model was brush painted in Humbrol enamels . I had a bit of Loss of Mojo early on in the build but overall it was an enjoyable build. I also used some aftermarket parts, a less bulbus spinnered prop, wheels cannons from Barracuda and also the rear cockpit glazing was a vacform part, but I couldn't get the windscreen right so used the kit front canopy parts. Anyway enough waffle here's the link to the WIP and some photos. A look through the arched window Some cruelly close Macro shots Thanks for looking in and thanks fofcyhe support along the way. Chris
    17 points
  5. Afternoon all, Here is the Mach 2 1/72nd DC-8-50 that rolled off the production line this very afternoon. Released at the end of last year, I was really keen to get my hands on one of these kits as I love the DC-8 and this is the first injection-moulded kit in 1/72nd scale of an important piece of civil aviation history. Unfortunately Mach 2 kits don't come with the best reputation, but I'd never built one before so threw caution to the wind. I'm used to dealing with 'difficult' kits and I'm pleased to say this one didn't pose too many problems at all - it is just like you'd expect from a short-run injection moulded kit. I thought it might be useful for fellow builders to have a quick summary of my findings below: Cons: Typical short-run kit with no locating tabs and plenty of flash on the smaller parts; I found that the right stabiliser was 3mm too high on the starboard side and needed lowering - a quick an easy fix; The engine pylons were too deep on my example and the inboard engines almost touched the ground - 3mm was removed from each pylon and now the nacelles sit at the correct height; Transparencies needed a lot of work to get them clear; Fit was a bit dodgy in places, and don't expect to build this kit without the use of fillers. Pros: Panel detail appears accurate and well moulded; Shapes seem pretty good to my eye; Nicely detailed landing gear; Overall the build was fairly painless and it went together well; Nicely detailed flightdeck area; Engines are nicely done and look the part once assembled; Plastic is nice and thick and there's no need to additional interior bracing or the like; It's a 1/72nd scale injection-moulded DC-8! I used Halfords' automotive paints and has a custom set of decals printed by 8A decals to complete the build. All in all I really enjoyed this model and am pleased to finally have a decent DC-8 in my civvie collection. All the best, Tom
    16 points
  6. Latest off the bench......... without an upgrade in progress Eduard Profipack P51 D Mustang Iwo Jima. This kit gets all the thumbs up for quality and fit. So it must be me as I give it the thumbs down. Where do I start .... Flaps can only be in the down position. The undercarriage location is worse than the Airfix Mk5, decals are Ok apart from the excessive carrier film that curls when you take it off the backing paper. I wo's not a happy bunny with this kit so much I did the Airfix version along side. Airfix won by a mile. I do question the profipacks as the basic kit needs very little added. The weekend edition is better value. Any way it all turned out OK On to the photos. Please feel free to comment etc. Thanks for looking Cheers Dick
    15 points
  7. Yesterday was the 68th anniversary of the first flight on the Martin B.57A Canberra. This is my little tribute to that event. The Alpha and Omega of the Martin B.57 Canberra. EE. B.2 WD932, the first pattern aircraft for the B.57 development program. Alongside Martin B.57G Canberra, the ultimate expression on the Canberra bomber design. The B.57G was perhaps after 21 years finally what Teddy Petter had in mind for the Canberra. Both models are based on the Airfix 1/48 Canberra kits, the B.57G less so as it has the more accurate cockpit section from the Classic Airframes B.57B. John
    14 points
  8. Hello Here are a couple of 1/72 Grumman Hellcats from Italeri. This is not the best kit of this aircraft but I bought some of them when the price was very cheap. First is the F6F-5 of VBF-20 CO's aircraft in 1946. The decals came from the Blackbird BMD72012 sheet. Next is an F6F-5K from VU-1 with many colours on. When the decals were in place I discovered a nice picture of this aircraft and I saw that the wing tips were deeper. I could not modified the kit. Decals came from an old Hasegawa box. I started building both kits last year and this is the reason why I did not insert them in the Hellcat GB. Patrick
    13 points
  9. My second Hastings submission, a "Cod War" T5 to follow my previous C1. This is a Welsh Models solid resin kit whilst the C1 was a vacuun formed kit. It is 1/144 scale and the markings are my own productions. Little more to say. The kit goes together nicely, taking care in mating the flying surfaces to the fuselage. I drill and insert brass rod rather than depend upon a straight butt joint. Some filling with Milliput to blend it all together and make ready for painting the scheme that you see below. A lot quicker to build than the vacform but not as versatile for doing modifications. Vincent
    13 points
  10. Hey all. Big thanks to @Pete in Lincs for letting me have this one from the stash. My first Japanese aircraft. I'm planning on building a few more. Then onto Russian stuff. The build was lovely, managed to build most of it within one night. Then last night fiddling around with something else I managed to get a blob of poly cement on the canopy. In my frustration I then managed to snap a landing gear off. I forgot to put weight in the nose, but this actually stands by itself. On its very spindly fragile landing gear. So here it is. Apologies for the terrible photography too. I haven't fashioned a spinner, but a jet version was also on the drawing board for this aircraft. All in all a very pleasant build untill I lost my way after the little conopy accident. Thanks for looking 🐧
    10 points
  11. Hiya Folks, Another one of my 45 Sqn Op Firedog builds,.... this is the 1/72nd Valom Bristol Buckmaster T,1,...... representing RP198 which was used to help convert 45 Sqn from the Beaufighter to the Brigand and then retained as a continuaton trainer. Like the Brigand, the Buckmaster is a brute of an aeroplane and like the Valom Brigand,.... this one needed some alterations to the engine cowlings too in order to better represent the rel thing! Here is the WIP; The Brigand was indeed a brute of an aeroplane, as this photo depicts; And here is RP198 soon after arrival at Tengah, before it adopted the OB-Z codes with 45 Sqn; An here is the model; Here are the Buckmaster and Brigand that I have been building alongside ech other,..... both wearing 45 Sqn markings; Here they are with the 45 Sqn Beaufighter and Hornet for comparison; And here is my 45 Sqn collection so far,..... Mosquito, Beaufighters, Brigand, Buckmaster and Hornet; Sorry for so many photos,.... hope you stuck with it!! Cheers Tony
    9 points
  12. Hi There, This one wasn't even planned in the queue. There was a question in another thread about Storch kits which I chipped in to. I got the kit out took some photos and suddenly the build was on. I certainly wasn't planning a WIP but I was talked into that as well. WIP Here Primed with Tamiya Flat White. Painted with Colourcoats FAA/RAF Yellow, Dark Earth, Dark Green, RLM 02, Tamiya Dark Iron, Rubber Black. Finished with Windsor & Newton Matt Varnish. Another enjoyable build and considering the age of the moulding it went together like a dream. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alistair
    9 points
  13. 9 points
  14. Well thought out Airfix kit, Thanks for looking .
    8 points
  15. Hi there, This one was sitting in the stash for quite some time and I decided to go for it despite it probably being a bit more than my skill level could cope with. A challenging kit that repays careful preparation and patience along with sanding and reshaping various parts. It's been a really enjoyable build. WIP Here Primed with Tamiya Neutral Grey Painted with Colourcoats Night Bomber Black, Medium Sea Grey, Dark Green, Interior Grey Green, Tamiya Flat Aluminium and Rubber Black. Finished with Windsor & Newton Matt and Satin Varnish. Transfers from the Kit and DK Decals No.161 (SD) Sqn. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alistair
    8 points
  16. Hi Andy. I'm using a Flory wash (dark dirt to be specific) to pick out the details - photos coming up... If you don't have that, you can used thinned paint of the appropriate colour to make your own wash, just make sure the original paint is completely dry before trying this, otherwise you will probably cause the original paint to come off... Thanks Tony. Photography in those conditions is never easy - too much contrast is often an issue... Thanks for the info about the tan coloured panel too.👍 Cheers Paul. I was intending to go with the camouflage scheme, but reserve the right to go all white at a later stage! Thanks very much for the offer - I might take you up on that!😀 Armed with Tony's pictures, work on the u/c bays has continued. Firstly a dark wash, as mentioned above, to pick out the recessed detail: It looks awful at this stage, but once wiped clean I picked out some other details and brush painted those: The bays were then assembled: And clamped into place: The nose gear did not fit desperately well, needing three clamps and a shim to fill a gap: Work on the intakes is next, then I can get the top of the wing glued into place and see how it looks.
    7 points
  17. Kind regards to yourself and family on the recent wedding Ced, and glad to hear that the hound is on the mend. Your software/AI talk sounded most interesting; did you discuss the possible effects that AI might have on modelling forums? 😱 Modelbot 05731: Here is my latest 1/1552nd scale Spitfire build. Modelbot 91167: 0010011001110 Modelbot 82291: 01001001110 Modelbot 05731: Thanks for all the kind comments chaps.
    7 points
  18. Firefly finished Pleased with the way this has turned out. Will try and progress the Flycatcher engine then that will be finished and will also crack on with the yellow Anson. Corsair and Sea Gladiator are coming next hopefully. Chris
    7 points
  19. Hello my modeling friends. 4th build this year and I think I wasted too much time on this one as I took nearly 4 months! Anyway, I was satisfied with the result although far from perfect. Got many experience handling the resin parts as they have to be cut and glued precisely. The fit and detail of the kit is excellent. Eduard's Brassin resin engine has the best details and enjoyed every moment assembling and painting it. The Variant of this Spit is Mk.VIII and the markings were the one flown by the Canadian pilot Paul Ostrander over Burmese skies. That's what pushed me to the finish line! Hope you like it. Enjoy and stay safe! TZW.
    6 points
  20. Not a lot happening on the Hertz twins recently, but I've not been slacking. My modelling shed gets a fair bit of use and I'm not exactly the worlds tidiest in there. Every now and then, it gets a re-vamp in the endless search to find the perfect building environment. This time around I decided that the workbench I use the most was a bit dark, what with a shelf running side to side just above the work area. The back of the bench, against the wall always seemed a bit gloomy somehow. It's worked OK for a year or two now, but it's time to have a change around. Here's the old set up, full of early Airfix refurbs. Perfectly useable, but room for improvement. I've removed the shelf and painted the whole area lemon yellow. All the tools and supplies I use on a constant basis are now right in front of me and it all feels good. I might need a welding helmet for modelling now, but it's lovely and bright to work there. Loosing 5ft of shelf space was a bit of a loss, but a re-arrange of the rest of the shed somehow sorted that out without too much hassle. Here's the new layout. No doubt things will get a bit of fine tuning, but that sort of thing goes on all the time here. As can be seen, the Mustangs are at the front of the queue for attention and they will be getting a bit of that tomorrow. Tony.
    6 points
  21. Slow progress due to the heat recently, its still just over 30°C in my little hobby cave at midnight. But I have slowly prepped and primed the chassis and wheel parts, hopefully get them painted tomorrow.
    6 points
  22. Transport aircraft design can throw up some of the most dreary and downright ugly aircraft but I think the dolphin-backed Constellation has to be the most elegant and graceful - even with a beer belly and shark fin! This is the naval version of the early-warning Connie, the WV-2 Warning Star. These aircraft ploughed up and down each American coastline for up to 20 hours at a time, usually below 6,000 feet (very much 'in the weather'), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This helped provide a radar barrier or 'picket line' to warn of incoming Soviet bombers or - as was feared at the time - paratroopers. Missiles weren't so much of a bother just yet. These missions could be anything but pedestrian. Take this (actual) flight report from a Willy Victor commander: Proper pilot stuff that - love it. The commander was part of VW-13 - this model represents an example from this squadron. VW-13 was established in 1955 and helped comprise the Atlantic Barrier (BARLANT) force. It was based formally at NAS Patuxent River in the late-1950s and early-1960s, but in reality it often called NAS Argentia in Newfoundland home, and roamed to and fro across the Atlantic fairly frequently (there are some great photographs taken in Glasgow). Weather in Newfoundland was diabolical - the norm in winter was a 600' ceiling and visibility less than 1.5 miles. Argentia itself is very exposed, and colossal near hurricane-force crosswinds could often be expected on landing (many of which were made on instruments almost the whole way down). The accounts of the ice build up are astonishing - on a 15 hour barrier flight, one Connie staggered home with ice on the underside of the wings one foot thick in places! Fascinating, gutsy flyer stuff - shot through with skill and courage. Anyway. This is the Revell kit, kitbashed with a Minicraft Connie picked up for a fiver on eBay. I know some on here have been able to fashion great things from the Minicraft Connie. Alas I did once try to build a Minicraft constellation but found the experience so miserable and unrewarding I promised myself never to do it again. After plundering the parts I needed for this build from the Minicraft kit and using a few spares on other projects, I'm afraid I just binned the rest of it. The Revell kit is superb. The fit is basically really good (wing fuselage join needs a bit of attention) and detail is excellent (yes, panel lines are a little deep, but I'll forgive that given the lack of alternatives). The only problem with the Revell kit is that it is the passenger transport version - so you have to fill, sand and rescribe a fair bit to lose the passenger windows. Not as big a chore as I feared, but the first time I've done this. The Minicraft radomes fit fine with no real problem - the bottom one is a bit tricky to get right. The top radome is actually much too thin in plan, but I didn't amend this. I just won't look at it from directly ahead! Paint was Hataka as usual. I have the Caracal Decals sheet which offers lots of enticing EC-121 and WV-2 schemes. I went for this fairly plain WV-2 scheme as I want ultimately to do all of these schemes (yup - yet another ludicrously ambitious plan). This being the first conversion I'm doing, I wanted a fairly simple and forgiving scheme to learn the pitfalls for something more complex next time. Still, it's pretty handsome, I think, and the scheme is faintly nostalgic for me as the Minicraft kit I did build before was a VW-13 aircraft. Oddly the Caracal decals, which are otherwise excellent, only offer one set of the three white stripes on the nose - but I did manage to find some others from the Minicraft decals. Also the wing walkway is incorrect. I made half an attempt to correct it but it should have another box towards the leading edge between the nacelles. But they behave superbly and couldn't be recommended more highly. These got very worn-looking towards the end of their life in service (see the aerial photo above). I did some weathering with pastels and pencils, but tried to keep myself under control. I don't know what it is about transport aircraft from this period but painting the props is always a royal pain! Anyway - glad I made the effort. (By the way I went for yellow tips for an early WV-2 - in the late-1950s these were repainted with red-white-red tips as you can see on most photos in this post). I also added a multitude of tiny aerials which was quite satisfying actually. Unsurprisingly the radio antenna locations changed quite a lot so it's worth checking your references quite carefully if you're into getting this more or less right. I think what impresses me about the Constellation is its size. It was designed to be high off the ground so that its engines could turn massive propellers at fairly low revs giving it superb range and fuel economy (relatively speaking - it's hardly a Prius...). I've seen one flying at Duxford and they are much bigger than they look from a distance. And finally with something almost completely unrelated - but a transport. Thanks very much for looking. Angus Niche side note: the USN vs. USAF naming is confusing and took me a little while to decypher. The WV-2 (or Willy Victor) was the same as the USAF's EC-121D, but later versions of the WV-2 were fitted with a more sophisticated radar, making them the equivalent of the EC-121K even if the naval name didn't change. Just on the off chance anyone is taking part in an aircraft designation pub quiz over the weekend.
    6 points
  23. At the risk of muddying the waters, there isn't a straight forward answer to this. The characteristics of different aerofoil sections are all different and what may appear to be a geometric chord line isn't necessarily the aerodynamic one, and by that I mean there are numerous aerofoil sections which still provide positive lift with the geometric angle of incidence negative by a couple of degrees. Add in to this the fact that to make stall characteristics of the whole aircraft better, many straight wings will have either geometric washout (i.e. a physical twist along the span placing the tips at a lower geometric incidence than the roots so the root will tend to begin to stall first), or aerodynamic washout - that is a deliberate choice of aerofoil section change from root to tip with the tip sections having characteristics of keeping upper surface flow attached at higher angles of attack than the root sections, again so the roots begin to stall first, or a combination of both. Geometric washout illustrated nicely here: For that reason it's tricky to draw a red line through most illustrations of aircraft and determine much that's definitive - you need the real datum lines the designers worked to which they write down in the engineering manuals for the maintenance engineers to work to.
    6 points
  24. Thanks @Thom216! Finally, the painting and sticking has commenced! I first thinned the seat sides and back. Looking over the cockpit after it was assembled, I should have rounded off the back vertical sides of the seat... Here's the cockpit. Quite a few very small bits in this, which is good, but a Very Bad(TM) interior green color match. The final cockpit, with most of the small bits still attached. And here's the fuselage closed up
    6 points
  25. I completed the headers today! I've posted a few pics below showing roughly the evolution of the process I use with the solder and styrene tube and sheet - it's really just a lot of cutting and drilling and fitting and bending and eyeballing and....rinse & repeat....if anyone's interested, let me know and I'll post a recipe for how I make these. I believe there's also several tutorials for this method on the web. I also drilled out the vent holes in the resin teardrop hood, added spacers to the engine mounts and added a rear 1/16" styrene dowel to the underside of the transmission to locate the engine in the existing chassis, removed a 1/4" section of the drive shaft and added a splice tube, bonded the lower front and rear body pieces (splash guards?) to the main body, shaved and sanded the four molded-in emblems on the body and primed all the parts (Tamiya fine light grey rattle can primer). This car is going to be somewhat monochrome (sliver exterior/ black interior) so I've ordered some orange plug wire and am thinking of adding some red harnesses and maybe a red extinguisher to the interior to give it a little color. The decals should also help. I have not done much in the way of posting WIP's of my builds on this or other forums due to concerns with putting a build aside for a while (or taking a hammer to it in mid-build!). I must say this WIP has not only been enjoyable but I think has an added sense of urgency for me (I don't want to let you guys down!).
    6 points
  26. Morning all, Despite the heat - we're aaalmost the hottest point in Ireland at present - I thought I should bash out another quick update lest people think I've wilted away again. Let's loosen the sealing wax on a few documents firstly however: If you struggled with such matters Steve then I don't feel quite the dunce I did. I can't and won't claim utter gin-like clarity on the vacform transparencies when they are fresh off the resin buck, but the small remaining, well, clouding is too extreme a description, more like a slight residual mistiness along the top of the canopy visible in one or two places when viewed with strong light behind it - disappears easily after a dip in varnish. To be definitive on the matter, as well as my current favourite Aqua Clear, I did one in the old perennial Klear as well with equably favourable results. You sure Steve? I mean it's in pretty used condition at this stage tbh and got all this stuff in the back of it that would give William Burroughs the heebie-jeebies.... 😁 You're on the list my friend, doubt it not. 😁 Only my wife's allowed to call it that Crisp. What was it Cicero said about a man who has a garden and a library needing nothing else Johnny? 🏡 😁 Don't think I hadn't looked into the practicality of the notion Alan! 🤪 . Isn't that always the way with this game, the avenue that opens up to solve one problem in turn throws up new ones of its own in a kind of fractal-practical progression.... 🙃 Although I forgot to take any pics of the work in progress I did spend a few hours over the weekend getting the pilot's canopy masked inside and out, and in the process making a few tweaks to the mask designs along the way. Whilst no perfect at this scale due the tight asymmetrical curvatures of the Vixen, they only need a small sliver of tape in one or two places to hold the Oramask in place around the tighter curves involved. As I've noted on other commercial masks addressing similar problems, a judicious slit in the masking here and there is required to help conform the flat design to a shape curving in three dimensions. Before the heat of the day could build up then this morning to levels impractical for painting, I got out the primer and lashed some around those areas involved in the next phase of building the aircraft: With the upper cockpit opening masked, the area around the pilot's side that will be visible under the canopy was attended to: along with the canopy itself inside: and out (I'll add the PE divider down the middle of the windshield at a later date once the canopy is mounted to the fuselage: You've probably noticed at this point that I'm missing something else in the above shot with regard to XJ481 having one of the early canopies with a much smaller fairing area around the front and port side. Some time back when struggling with the original 3d printed bucks I was using I realized that although I didn't like the trough in the vacform between fariring and windshield (it looked unrealistic), if I kept one or two of the clouded vacforms back I could cut offthe fairing part and mount it separately around the base of the new windshield in order to maintain a more pleasing and accurate-looking gap between the two, hence the primer on the part in question below: In terms of planning for paint, I've a decent slew of photographic references for XJ481 on the mood board by this stage; with the diagonal demarcation of the trials colour scheme ensuring that this nose section (including the cockpit surround under the canopy) is handily entirely black. There are, however, some anomalies with matters like aileron and tailplane colours within the overall scheme that were eventually clarified by a learned colleague sending me a photo of a section of the Alleycat painting notes for '481. These indicated that some control surfaces like those mentioned, along with pilot's canopy and observer's door, had revised (EDSG) colours by 1970. The notation on the paint instructions are so detailed and specific that they must have come from official records and I will accordingly take them as such. As this aircraft was allotted to trials for the TV version of the Martel in September of 1973, I will clearly need to include these modifications to the overall B/W diagonal scheme in order to be considered authentic for the period. These paint notes also explicitly identify the purpose of the truncated nose as that of a camera port, confirming that it would have been used for such at some point in the decade prior to 1973 for filming missile trials - the aircraft reported as being employed for such starting in 1963. If this included filming for the radar version of the Martel as well prior to 1973, I've yet to discover historical documentation that would decide the question one way or the other and so it remains currently open to debate more learned than mine as to whether or not this was the case. Myself and Mrs B took yesterday off and went upcountry for a picnic with some old friends from Belfast that we hadn't been able to see for 19 months - I don't know what was more stunning, seeing people again that you really care about or eating in the shade of a lake shore and watching an island castle ripple in the heathaze... Stay cool/safe/hydrated until next time all of you. Tony
    6 points
  27. Hi all May I present the latest off the bench and into the cabinet- Tamyia's 1/48 T-34/76. Built oob but apart from some small details like the headlight wires, antennae and some battle damage to the turret. Typical Tamiya fit, only wish there was a bit of sag in the tracks! I finished the tank quite a while ago now but the scene took a while to finish. I chose to try and replicate a scene from one of the bridgeheads on the Dnieper crossing in 1943 after the Battle of Kursk. A bit of history- In a risky move, Vatutin chose to reinforce a bridgehead held by a rifle division by sending in the 5th Guards Tank Corps to cross the Dneiper in the marshy area around Litezh (I added a raft and a discarded maxim to hint of the rifle divisions previous crossing). Many T-34s were lost in the bogs but some managed to forced their way through by keeping their speed up. My intention was to leave the sides of the resin free to see through the marsh a bit, but it was in such a mess after I removed the walls that I then boxed it all off with balsa. The marsh vegetation was a mix of home made and shop bought. All in all pretty happy with it.
    5 points
  28. Good evening, dears I would like to show you my model Trumpeter 1/32 EF-2000 eurofighter typhoon Royal Saudi Air Force 3 Squadron enjoy
    5 points
  29. The model represents a Fieseler Fi 156 C-3/Trop of the Wüstennotstaffel 1 (SAR squadron). The plane is in the basic scheme 70/71/65, with a narrow 'wawe mirror' in sand RLM 79 superimposed on it. The painting, as my habit, was made entirely by brush. This scheme was not applied in Africa, as in the case of many other airplanes, but made directly in the factory, before the transfer for operational use. The codes, printed by me, are, as often happened for this unit, the factory ones (Stammkennzeichen). Some photos illustrating various details Finally an image of the lower surfaces. Note that the lower wingtips are not painted in white. Hope you like it Criticism and suggestions as always welcome Thanks for viewing Giampiero Piva
    5 points
  30. These are a mix of Kinetic, Hasegawa and a Tamiya 1/48 kits. I'll post a few more if thats ok?
    5 points
  31. Hi all. Here are some pictures of my latest build. Just finished today. This is Supermarine S.5 N220. Winner of the 1927 Schneider trophy race in Venice. Scratchbuilt from plastic card with struts from sterling silver sheet and rigged with 0.07mm nickel silver wire. Paints are from the Mr Color range of lacquers, and the decals are a mix of hand cut and home printed. For those across the pond who are wondering: the shilling is about the same size as a modern 10 cent piece. While the matchstick is actual size. So am I for that matter... Thanks for looking. I've made a link to the build thread at the bottom. Hope you like it!
    5 points
  32. Thanks mate! Had a bit of a marathon painting session today; the warm weather has sped up the already quick drying time of the MRP colours. The blue went on first thing this morning and left to dry (for a couple of hours I admit as I was out with the dog before 10am to keep him cool!). Once back, masked up the relevant areas and on went the Sandgelb. Only two light coats were needed and it dried rock hard in about 20 minutes. I had planned to use a mottling mask for the blobs of green but decided to spray them freehand using a new 0.15 needle and a PSI of 10-12. Worked well! Once that was done, more masking was needed for the yellow nose and white fuselage band. Gun barrels, tail wheel, nav lights etc all painted. I've surprised myself how quickly this came together, must be a new record for me Will try and get the exhausts painted tomorrow then it's ready for gloss and decals. More soon and stay safe. Dave
    5 points
  33. I would like to show you the model of the jet that I love. A-6E Intruder from Trumpeter 1:32 scale as always, a model made straight out of the box. Therefore, some of the decals don't match the original. The Trumpeter A-6 model is one of the best models of this company in the 1:32 scale. Unfortunately, model it's quite complicated and demanding to build. However, this is one of those jets that you must have on your shelf. 1:1 And 1:32
    5 points
  34. I put on a gloss coat of Gunze GX-100 thinned with Mr Color Leveling Thinner. No issues with the MRP. All has went on nicely. I really like this stage. Starts to tie all the paints together for a oneness without losing the variation. As usual, the gloss coat is more for protection with some enamel pin wash in certain areas to be applied. Only decals I have to apply are the White "30"'s. I am nervous about these. I will be using the same decal sheet as those that put me on a steep learning curve earlier this year for my Bulgarian MiG-21. Now they worked out OK in the end, on the third (or was it fourth attempt). One good thing about Britmodeller is I can actually go back and read what I did. I have to use the "3"'s again, modified this time, need to cut and drop the horizontal portion to centre. Wish me luck. One good thing about spraying your markings is less decals to apply. Decals are, after all these years of modelling, for me, still, the greatest variable in the hobby. At least the painted markings are now under a gloss coat. Ray
    5 points
  35. Threw some paint at it: Tamiya AS-9 RAF Dark Green = RLM71 Tamiya AS-29 IJN Gray Green = RLM02 Tamiya AS-5 Luftwaffe LightBlue = RLM65 I think the RLM02 on the topsides looks a little too pale, but really happy with the finish & the masking so may not mess with it.
    5 points
  36. Give him …… The Comfy Chair!!!
    5 points
  37. Thank you @shortCummins I have since removed the roof of the tail wheel bay. I won't be worrying about detail in there, and will just paint it the same as the exterior color. And I decided to skip ahead a wee bit to the cowl. Pics show a metal screen across the lower, center inlet, so I raided the PE stash for something 'appropriate.' I 'measured' it to shape and made sure it was oriented correctly. And then glued it in place with 60Sec super glue. I'll spritz the rear gear well and then get the 'fuse together, and the engine is the next stop. Model on! Thom
    5 points
  38. This is making me grumpy, just seen one of those adverts for people who bought or leased Diesel cars and them nor being as clean as they thought, why would buy a Diesel car for it's cleanliness??? They are and always have been dirty horrible things ? Why should they get money back off the manufacturers and line their own and the claims companies pockets, when it affected everyone and should be going to some green projects. Sorry but this is really making me angry. Although I feel better now Chris
    5 points
  39. Release on August 6th 2021 - ref. FP43S - McDD F-4J Phantom II - US Navy - VF-114 "Aardvark" https://www.finemolds.co.jp/FP/FP43S.html V.P.
    5 points
  40. A few things to tidy up but we're getting close to a gloss coat. I had the port fuselage side image and a hint of the top of the port wing and tail plane to copy. The rest is speculation. The canopy framing seems a shade darker so I finished it in RLM 74. That isn't a hole in the rear canopy section. A small piece of masking I added to hold down a lifting edge has fallen off. I really enjoyed the MRP paint - one problem - what do you do if you want the paint slightly thicker? I found the AMT-12 too thin. Great for general spraying and mottle. If you want a single pass squiggle then what to do. So I swapped that out to a Tamiya mix. It is certainly a different looking creature. I am happy with how the Republican OF markings turned out. Again some small tidy up - can't complain. Ray
    5 points
  41. It was! Commendable confidence Matt! Now that's a thought 🤔 Yes a bit of a hiccup, and my afternoon definitely sounded preferable to yours! Fortunately Keith, the jig was only actually designed that afternoon with a brief proof of concept following. Here is the general drift : Wing supports are old paper binding plastic "tubes". They are sort of tear drop shaped in cross section.Lines drawn on the old cutting mat are all perpendicular. The picture is a shot before I secure everything. I plan to stick more masking tape to the mat, below the white supports, then superglue the supports in place onto just the tape - That way I can get them off the mat easily for re-use as the multifunctional, all size glider wing jig. Maybe I could market these ........... 🤔 There is a leading edge line you can't see, to help alignment. There is also a small white fillet of plastic at the rear of the port wing root, that helped correct the leading edge alignment. Brass pin is in there somewhere. When I'm happy with the lineup, I'll use superglue, then milliput to join/fill the root in place. I may need some trailing edge support at the inner root, just to make sure both wings have same chord incline. Simples! Will report back when all is fixed. Terry
    5 points
  42. Gluing some bits onto the fuselage. I'm a bit suspicious of the butt joints for the horizontal stabilisers and wings, but we'll see how it goes. Also have got some paint on the engine - Alclad dark aluminium, black for the push rods, and a dark wash followed by dry brushing with Humbrol polished aluminium on the cylinders. I've used Humbrol brass and copper on the ignition rings and intra-cylinder tubes - possibly a bit bright but I'll tone it down with some satin varnish, and it'll probably all get a very light misting with black/brown at the end. Now steeling myself for the wiring!
    5 points
  43. Just what are those blue and red things that give you your 'rank' supposed to be?! I'm with Terry - can we please have the ability to get rid of them and change back to something of our choice? As it is it's confusing, impersonal and looks fairly naff intruding onto our avatars....!! I know, first world problems..... Keith
    4 points
  44. Fairly slow progress but I think the main Hull is now complete pre painting. There’ll be a few bits of PE to add to the deck, but getting a coat of primer on isn’t too far away. I used Gators thin blend white glue for the portholes. I’ve just noticed I’m missing one already, which doesn’t bode well, but superglue would be too messy here. They are very fine viewed with the Mk1 eyeball. Obviously, I’ll have to be very careful masking but I certainly don’t fancy applying them post paint, so lesser of two evils… Stern : Port Bow Swing Boom: I’d have liked to display these swung open, but zero chance of them still being there come model completion! In other news, Peddinghaus, who do the oversize decal sheet, got back to me offering a refund if I send the sheet back, and will resize one for me if I tell them the size I want. Can’t say fairer than that! However, in the mean time I have found a company in the States that do a set for $3.50! So I’ve ordered those too. If I can still find a set of the Pontos decals (anyone?) I’ll be using them as they look the best quality. And finally, I sent another email to Scaledecks (I did wait another 8 days tbf), they responded with try matt varnishing the decks first, if that doesn’t work we’ll replace them. Rather surprisingly, it did work! I can hardly make out the marks now, so I’m happy to make do. Still thinking on ideas for the stand if anyone has any input? I could do with it to protect the Hull finish in the not too distant future. I don’t know if I can get some thick enough, but I quite fancy a black perspex base. Guy
    4 points
  45. I would like to join in with an S-tank (which autocorrects to 'stank'. I do hope my model wont be a stinker!). Amazing looking thing, which wouldn't be out of place in the Star Wars universe. Photo from Wikipedia
    4 points
  46. Hi all Been working on this little beauty as a distraction build whilst I complete some FAA projects. A lovely little kit that was purchased on eBay very cheaply and it came with a resin cockpit and engine I didn't use the resin engine as it is meant for the cowling less aircraft and the kit engine is actually very good. Brush painted using Humbrol enamels and rigged with Prym Knitting elastic. Anyway enough of the twoddle here is yhe model. If interested here's the link with some build pics A couple of pics of the kit engine Thanks for your support during the builds and thanks for looking in. Chris
    4 points
  47. Just about ready for primer. I had to replace the bar between the tail planes and also managed to break/loose the tail skid components so replaced those too.
    4 points
  48. Another black Ferrari here too, this time a GT4c Lusso. Also, on the back of a truck, a pre-restoration Lotus Eclat. But best spot today wasn't a car, or even a vehicle, but karma in action. Cyclist, on the pavement and with his mobile phone to his ear collided with a road sign...
    4 points
  49. @BillF67 I assume you are thinking 1/72 scale? AtoZee Alycat do a resin conversion in 1/48. or you could do it the old way with a fuselage plug and some chopping and filling like I did with my two. If it's 1/72 then what's needed is one B.2 kit and one B.6 kit with a small amount of forethought in the breakdown of the kit you could get a PR.3 from the B.2 kit and a PR.7 from the B.6 kit. All you need is to do it the way Preston did the real thing. I say two separate kits as there are significant differences between the the B.2 and B.6 which most if not all manufacturers have missed or chosen to ignorer? Though the PR.3 was a development of the B.2 other than the obvious length difference and bomb bay/flair bay configuration there were also other details that were diferant between the two, the same goes for the B.6/PR.7, but given the fact that no one is likely to be bothered to get the small details right then one of each as a generic representation would be the most cost effective solution. The two kits could then form the base for the other variants of the two types. Other than FROG ( B(I)8) and High Planes no one has come close to an accurate Canberra in 1/72, the over priced under researched S&M kit was a big let down and the Italeri B.57B is an even bigger travesty! Aerocub did produce a full vac-form PR, Canberra fuselage in 1/72. I live in hope that some day some one will get around to producing a good accurate B.2 type Canberra in 1/72 John John
    4 points
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