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  1. This is my number 3 so I thought I'd go for a traditional RAF colour scheme this time. Decals are from sheet 4 of the new Xtracolor ones. Including all the dayglo markings. What made life a little easier this time was the new set of canopy masks from ArtScale. So its just a red white and grey one to go, plus G-BXGL off the forthcoming Xtradecal 'civil schemes' sheet. Thanks for looking again. 1 2 3 4 5
    33 points
  2. I have had the Eduard 1/48 Messerschmitt Me110G-2 in my stash since its initial release, I have been intending to build the R2 version since then, I purchased over the years, the Eduard photoetch set, the Brassin wheels and the Master metal BK37mm Kanone barrel, even then I didn't get around to building this kit. Then AIMs released a resin 'conversion' kit which renewed my interest in building this kit. The AIMs set provides a more accurate gun pod, the Nitrous Oxide tank (carried in the rear of the cockpit) transparent cowling covers, the ammunition plus holders, transparent wing lights, a brass gun barrel and upper nose cover. Nearly forgot 2x W.Gr.21 rockets. Build was fairly straightforward plenty has been written about Eduard's 1/48 Me110s, especially the cowling fit! I did find the wing to fuselage joint rather poor requiring plastic card fillers to fill the gaps. I was a little concerned about using the AIMS resin cowling replacements but they were a very good fit. I cut out the leading edge slats to show them in the extended position. The canopy required the rear gun opening being filled in with a piece of transparent plastic and also the centre piece of the canopy was replaced with a spare from another 110 kit. This was necessary as this part of the canopy in the G-2 kit has a bulged fairing on it, which this version does not luckily I had several spares from other kits. I chose this particular version of the G-2 not just for the Kanone but also because of the tank for the Nitrous Oxide system, which was something out of the ordinary. It shows the desperate measures the Luftwaffe were driven to combat the B-17s and B-24s of the US Air Force. I painted the 110 using a combination of Vallejo & AK Real colour 74/75/76, the W.Gr.21s were painted a different shade of 76 to make them appear newer than the airframe they were attached to. When it came to the markings I really wanted to find a different machine to M8+KM which appears in most photos of this version, I was going to go for the machine shown flying in formation with KM which was SM, but could I find the correct style white S in my decal bank, of course not!!!! These machines were not photographed very often, however in a Classic Publication of the Me110 I found a photo of a line up of ZG.76 G-2s all of which appeared to be the R2 version. One of these machines was coded M8+F? so correctly or not chose to mark my kit M8+FM!! Decals used were all from Eduard Me 110 decal sheets. This machine represents one of 4./ ZG.76 in Czechoslovakia 1944 :- Cheers Andy
    27 points
  3. Hello to all.I present you my quick harrier build.I built this kit in a week.I am pretty pleasently surprised by the quality.Despite its lack of cockpit details and trench like panelisation this one is a really nice kit to work on.I will get the gr.5 and FA2 at the first chance I get.I upgraded the instrument panel and seat.Also I made a new pittotube because I broke the old one like 15 times.The model is painted in gunze and tamiya acrylics.I just love all types of harriers.I made a youtube build video - Removed. Read the thread in announcements regards,Dragan
    24 points
  4. Hi Everyone This is the Tamiya 1/48 Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah which has been lurking unfinished for ages and collecting dust. I finally decided to give it the extra push and consider it to be finished now. Hope you enjoy and thanks for looking. Trace
    24 points
  5. Hi All, My latest completion is Tamiya's beautiful 1:32 Spitfire Mk.IXc. As many of you know this is a superb kit, and it's out of my normal 1:48 comfort zone. Although I was severely tempted to model the kit scheme EN398 JE*J, as flown by Wg Cdr Johnnie Johnson, I ended up modelling as MJ586, as flown by P/O Pierre Clostermann, whilst he was part of 602 (City of Glasgow) Sqn, which formed part of 2 TAF based at Longues sur Mer during July 1944. Here's a couple of pics of the aircraft: And here's Clostermann in the cockpit: Here is the WIP thread if anyone is interested: I added a few extras for this build: The Montex mask set depicts another of Clostermann's aircraft MH526, so I had to be a little creative in cobbling together the aircraft serial number! Anyway, on with the pics: Here's a couple of the engine from the WIP: I'm glad to have finally got this one over the line - it's a superb kit and I really don't feel that I've done it justice, but it's turned out all right! Thanks for looking, Roger
    23 points
  6. Fairey Swordfish MkI, K8393/E5A flown by Captain Oliver Patch RM and Lieutenant David G Goodwin RN, No 824 Naval Air Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, HMS Eagle. No 824 Squadron was originally part of HMS Eagle's air group in the Mediterranean, and was transferred to HMS Illustrious just before taking part in Operation Judgement, the attack against the Italian fleet at Taranto, Italy, 11/12 November 1940. Operation Judgement was itself part of a larger series of operations under the codename Operation MB8. It's a complex story, best read on the Wikipedia page. The Swordfish, nicknamed the Stringbag for its ability to carry almost anything rather like the 1940s housewives' string bag, really needs no introduction. If you are unfamiliar with the aircraft, perhaps a start with the Wikipedia entry would be a good primer for you. The new tool (albeit nearly a decade old now!) Airfix kit needs some effort, but makes up into a tidy scale representation of the classic biplane. I was lucky to acquire this particular boxing containing the Taranto raid markings as a secondhand purchase from a fellow Britmodeller. I added a photo etched rigging set from SBS Models, but otherwise the kit is built out of the box. I had been anticipating this build for some time, being a bit worried at the parts count and, well, it's a biplane. I felt it would make a good entry into the High Wing Group Build, and so the die was cast. I needn't have worried, as the kit was well thought through, and built up with very little trouble if you take your time over it. If you want to see the WIP thread, the link is below. As well as the aftermarket rigging set, I used the kit transfers, ColourCoats enamels for the main camouflage, and Humbrol acrylics and enamels for the detail painting. I have one or two more models to build to complete this part of my Fleet Air Arm 1940 collection, though I have yet to acquire a Sea Gladiator.
    16 points
  7. The heavy autumnal dews have arrived again as silver: Let's see what those notes tucked under the windscreen say: 'Try leaving it parallel to the kerb next time dickh' ......Errr..... 'If your other car's a Porsche how come you dress like sh-' ..Really! The gob on some people... Ah, this is better: Didn't Kris Kristofferson say that in the dubbed Hindi version of Convoy Pete? I'll try to advance matters in the stores dept. as soon as poss; looking forward to seeing that bit happen myself tbh! Your role as Jester in the Wareham Players' panto this year is safe Terry. 😁 And gone backwards Giorgio! Sob story to follow.... His mum and sister nab all the warm spots though Keith! 😸 The rest of today's update is a tawdry tail of betrayal and redemption, brought to you by those deceptively kind people at the Sacher-Masoch Foundation. Let us begin. When last we spoke exactly a week ago all was looking acceptable in the paint department; I was optimistic about moving quickly through painting the airframe and into finalizing the decals. Oh was I wrong. A quick gander at said airframe prior to heading off to work on Monday revealed a ghastly flaking (and I don't mean Cadbury's) on the rear engine bay and stbd wing: Quelle horreur Hastings, mon ami. (The visible grey of the resin is visible above is the result me having rubbed down the affected areas btw, not the fact that said flaking was due to lack of primer.) We all know that sinking feeling when something like this happens and as a result, Monday was not spent in the best of moods as I mentally ransacked the grey cells as to what might have caused this. That Tamiya white used here was well diluted and wafted on in thin layers so not the kind of craquelure that you get when paint has been applied either too thickly or without the individual layers given enough time to dry between applications. The only too factors I could think of in the end were that either the paint was too old (probably a minimum of 3 years in age, dating from the Iron Chicken days), ore else something to do with humidity as said levels have routinely remained around 85-90% levels over the last fortnight. Either way it was clear that I couldn't trust this white not to continue to cause issues further along, so with bullet firmly gnashed upon, I stripped the entire white side of the airframe back to its bare bones, seen here midway through the process: I was sorely tempted to leave it in its stripped 'Sea Vixen by Anselm Kiefer' state as the ghost markings were rather lovely in a Gothic kind of way: At some point by Tues/Weds, that side of the airframe was prepped for re-priming, as well as which I also took the opportunity to re-shape the brasswork for the fences to their correct length: Masked and freshly primed on Thursday last: The wierd thing was that I wasn't particularly angry/angsty at this occurrence: I've had a lot of good luck on this build so far so was probably due a major setback at some point to balance the karmic forces. Also whilst I was was working away of an evening I had on in the background this 1981 classic from the BBC, which I was delighted to rediscovered on the media drive: I'm pretty sure that the plot line of this serial is the real reason that @Fritag keeps disappearing up to Shetland, where the locals refer to him as 'The Colonel'... Also back on Monday I'd binned both jars of the Tamiya white and decided to switch brands. I know many people get on fine with it, but I'd always felt it a little 'chalky' and decided it was time probably time to experiment with other brands so ordered up a couple of bottles of Vallejo Premium 'Blanco', of which I'd read one or two salutary reviews here on the forum. It did indeed behave very nicely, misted on here in about 4-5 thin coats: Paint's a hugely personal and subjective thing for everyone in their own methodologies ( as it should be for creative individuals) of course; in my case here I just found a really nice smoothness to the way it lays down onto a surface in fine layers (your Martel again Terry): I know it's comes diluted ready to spray but I added about 20% water to the mix to thin it further. On something of a roll by yesterday then, I masked up to spray stbd aileron and top/leading edge of the tailplane with EDSG, as appropriate for post-1970: This was an EDSG mix I'd made myself some time back and thankfully kept sealed airtight. Also received said colour was the rear of the the pilot's canopy: it needs a little tidy along the edges with a cocktail stick and I also need to brush-paint some EDSG over that central frame (which I forgot in the heat of the moment), but otherwise I'm quite happy with the visuals on it for the scale: I mustn't forget to that there's a PE demister 'ridge' and front fairing to add to the central windshield area after the canopy is finally in place. Finally this morning I got up early and started work on masking and painting the wing and nose roundels: My method for colour work like this these days has kind of settled on mixing roughly the right hue in thin layers directly onto the aircraft (rather than a couple of opaque layers), constantly taking it across to the window to assess the results in daylight before proceeding further. As visual references I had a number of daylight roundel shots up on the computer screen whilst doing this so that I could flick the eyes back and forth between photos and paint job. Once I think the hue is right-ish for bright daylight, I'll adjust the tone if required with a heavily diluted filter layer of something black/dark. I used NATO black here on this occassion. This is the dog's dinner that I dignify with the term 'mixing process': Thinking ahead for once, I sealed up the excess roundel mixes to use later on XN708: The Vallejo white behaved itself impeccably in terms of both coverage and interacting with both Oramask and Washi tape: I've some touchups to do on the black in one or two places up front, which was not unexpected with the masking having been left in situ on those parts for several days and had been subjected to much finger pressure during stripping and repainting. The underside was another matter as when peeling the remaining Oramasking off of the topside wing, I didn't realize that it had gotten tangled at the wingtip with some Washi tape holding the masking for the serial letters in place on the underside; triumphantly whipping it away resulted in tearing that underside masking off unintentionally fast, with the entirely predictable damage to the lettering: I'll cut some more letter masks and do a white respray as penance during the week, at the same time adjusting that 'bulge' in the black/white demarcation across the aircraft's belly. Nose markings worked out fine though, including the white backgrounds for the red triangle decals: Going to be a another busy week so the next installment will likely be next weekend again. This has been quietly growing on the kitchen windowsill, some kind of Iris I think silently making a miracle out of soil and water: Tony
    14 points
  8. ZA613 was the 152nd Tornado delivered to the RAF, entering service in August 1982. It was one of the initial batch to serve with 27 squadron at Marham and remained with the unit until it relinquished Tornados in 1993. The aircraft was later converted to a GR4, and survives to this day at RAF Honington as a ground instructional airframe. This model depicts the Tornado in its heyday of the mid 1980s, as flown from Marham by 27 squadron. WIP here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235096658-old-school-tornado/
    13 points
  9. The still very good Tamiya FBVI in the markings of the Canadian squadron N°418 mount of Flight Lt Lr A Kipp RCAF April 44. I have used the old CMK cockpit, not so good, Ultracast exhausts and mudguards, Master 3,03 Browning and Verlinden ammo boxes. The inside tubular structure of the canopy was made from scratch with evergreen rods. Apart from the character, no decals were used, home made masks did the job. Colors are Mr Color RAF set range, lacquers. A very pleasant project. Thanks for watching, and any comments are welcome of course! F3A8CF2E-9D64-48C2-A67D-C75859B7FF04 by jean Barby, sur Flickr 3ADA3A0E-2794-48F2-B00A-510A91EA0026_1_201_a by jean Barby, sur Flickr CBCC64E9-10B7-4F96-85C5-40B13CF5E4A5_1_201_a by jean Barby, sur Flickr 2FDD295D-6F31-4E2F-BB9C-5DE4CF107BD3_1_201_a by jean Barby, sur Flickr 1D17FE69-82C9-492C-99B1-378D02B2B0B3_1_201_a by jean Barby, sur Flickr A20606FD-6DC4-492B-95D9-A56D0D0A9B6B_1_201_a by jean Barby, sur Flickr 1FE0AC32-FA61-4AC1-9392-C96C736ED8E0_1_201_a by jean Barby, sur Flickr
    13 points
  10. Hi folks, it's been a bit of a weird summer, so I hope you are all keeping well. Here is a beech and mahogany Bf109 G-6 in 1/48 scale. Took me quite a while to do this one, I started full of enthusiasm then quickly lost my way as I got the underside of the nose wrong. It languished on the table in a pile of sawdust and despair for a few months while I gathered the momentum to finish it. For a plane that looks like it was designed only with straight edges it was surprisingly hard to get it to look correct; the machine gun blisters were also a right pain to get symmetrical. Anyway, I'm glad I persevered as I think it came out OK in the end. Thanks for viewing, hope you like it Nick
    13 points
  11. Latest off the bench is the venerable Tamiya Mosquito. Armament removed and decals by Freightdog. What can I say other than it doesn't get any easier than this. Nice take your brain out build. Please feel free to comment etc. Many thanks for looking. Dick
    12 points
  12. Airfix's 1/144 Boeing 737-200 with some fairly ancient Ebay-sourced MicroScale decals. With a liberal application of Micro-Film, the decals mostly held together - just a few touch-ups needed around cracks and splinters around the tail. But I couldn't resist the gorgeous tropical scheme!
    12 points
  13. Here's a little gem that's been in my stash for a decade or more. It's the Miles M.77 Sparrowjet in 1/72 by Jean-Pierre Dujin in resin format. It took so long because of the research required to be sure it is accurate. This model was from when the resin was still in the thin wafers. I made the nose from brass tubing and rod. The tail wheel is from a round toothpick with piano wire to connect it to the fuselage. It came together pretty well! The Miles M.77 Sparrowjet was a modification from the Miles M.5 Sparrowhawk, a piston engine airplane. In the late 1940s an owner of a Sparrowhawk, Mr. Fred Dunkerley, asked F G Miles, Ltd. to see if a jet version was feasible. To make this happen, the piston-propeller engine was removed from the front, the cockpit moved forward, and two Turbomeca Palas turbojet engines were installed in the wings, one on each side near the fuselage. This new aircraft took flight in 1953. The Sparrowjet went on to win two air races in the United Kingdom, including the SBAC Challenge Cup, and the King's Cup Race. After setting some new speed records, the Sparrowjet was stored at RAF Upton until a fire broke out in 1964. Fortunately, the airframe was salvaged and components saved. Currently, I've read that the Sparrowjet is undergoing restoration by an aviation enthusiast group near Bristol, England. Anyone know how close it is to completion?
    12 points
  14. And finally.... We had an idea to model the first three cars in time for the 60th anniversary of the win in June 2016. Well... the last one is finished, so here - at last - are 1-2-3 all built from the Trumpeter kit.
    12 points
  15. Evening all. Autumn may be approaching but it's still bloomin hot here. On the bright side though, I have passed a major hurdle in this build and the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel even if it's a bit dim at this early stage. The time is fast approaching to start some of yer actual assembly type stuff on this build so, taking Tony's advice, in preparation for the ritual sticking of bits, I went ahead and ordered a lightsaber Now being a bit new to this sci-fi gadgetry I thought it only prudent to go ahead and try the technology on some spare parts - of which I have plenty. Looks like I went a bit heavy on the lightsaber and we have a bit of singeing going on. Okay, I can dial that back a bit. Even though I cooked it way too long, it works and I appear to have a good solid joint. If you've been paying attention, or have a remarkably long memory you shall recall that it was the upper wing that was fighting back like nobody's business and giving me all the hassle. This time it was the turn of the lower wing. Rejoiceth at the law of Sod. I printed the lower wing center section in two orientations. I had found that when I printed the wing with the leading edge facing downwards, that the wing ends warped upwards slightly. I also printed the section with the leading edge vertical. Printing the upper wing center section in the vertical orientation had given me success after many failed attempts so I thought it may be a good bet for the lower wing. Nope! On both prints, the end of the wing section had a bend - you can see the gap between the white straight edge and the wing here. It was a bit of a surprise because that is the end nearest the build plate and that end section is parallel to the build plate and the first section of wing should print vertically until it hits the fuselage and then take a 6 degree cant as the wing grows out of the fuselage. I don't have a good reason for this yet. Luckily, the two wing sections I had printed on the other orientation came out fine. To prevent the warping, I added a small rib along the leading edge, and at the outer end I placed three heavy duty supports very close together so they printed as oen large support, thus anchoring it to the build plate. That worked. Bottom right - you can see the rib along the port wing, and I have already removed most of the rib from the starboard wing. Anyways, time to test the lightsaber in anger. I have to admit to being filled with a certain degree of trepidation as I painted some resin on the join and put the wing together. This time I went much faster with the saber and avoided making charcoal at the seam. Both sides done - and feeling mighty good with myself. Tony - I owe you an immense thank you for coming up with that idea of 'gluing' parts together with the UV resin. Wonderful! I even managed to keep the dihedral. All I need to do now is to start sorting through my box of Wapiti bits and figure out what to use and what to reprint. I think there should be a full Wapiti hiding in there somewhere. After that little exciting diversion, it was back to business - I grabbed all new internals and had them painted up and got the second wing glued, all ready to be assembled when the paint dries. Before I closed up shop for the evening I threw some primer on the wings joints to see how much clean up I'm going to have in front of me. Some seams are reasonable and others will take a bit of effort, but nothing unmanageable. After this shot was taken, I did some remedial work on the seams and was surprised at just how easy it was. Once again the resin and saber were brought into play, this time as a filler, and sanding sticks (must get more) made the job about as easy as it could be. I may even get this thing finished before the year is out. No promises though.
    12 points
  16. A 1990 kit in a 2012 boxing and it was a bit of a battle. I managed to lose the air-brake part but as I was building it closed I just filled the space. The fuselage was significantly warped and the wings were squint. Filler and clamps were used. In saying that It was still fun. Decals from Xtradecal X72216 Royal Air Force Update 2013-14. I had used stuff from this set for my 617 GR4 and thought I might as well use them on this as it was an interesting scheme. Primed with Tamiya Neutral Grey. Painted with Tamiya Light Grey, Nato Black, Nato Green, Rubber Black, Flat Yellow, Italian Red and Flat White Mr. Color Gloss Black ColourCoats Light Aircraft Grey. Finished with Mr. Color Super Clear III Gloss. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alistair
    11 points
  17. A regular build I am sure and oft seen here so nothing new and too interesting guys 😛 After 35 years absence, this is the first aircraft to inhabit the upcoming BoB shelf/s in display cabinet. Many things have changed, when I was a young fella we had never heard of such things as panel & pin washes, weathering, detailing etc. Still, I am loving the 'learning curve' though God, it takes far longer now than when I was a young fella! I knocked them out at the rate of one or more a week then! It is all Out of the Box (OoB) except for the aftermarket 5 spokes. The aircraft has recently landed and the Ground Crew have not yet attended. It was built as open cockpit since I needed the handsome pilot to replace the Orc (see my Avatar) of the upcoming Airfix Spitfire Mk1a! The weathering has been kept light since as has been stated by your good selves, most BoB aircraft just didn't survive for very long. There are many bits I am not happy with but I am sure we all feel the same of every model we build. A perfect model is unattainable, at 1:72 even more so I feel. It has been slow progress and the poor thing too often handled, being used as mule to a fair extent and being the first built in so long a time, whilst trying to learn new skills. Hence the slight, odd visit by a very drunk 'Rosy the Riveter'! You can play 'Where's Wally' there guys if you know the kit 🤣 Big thanks go out to @fishplanebeer (Colin), @Black Knight, @noelh, @vildebeest, @Fukuryu & @Werdna for all their help along the way and special thanks to @Troy Smith for my now much improved knowledge of Mk1 Hurry's and Mk1a Spitfires and the wealth of knowledge and images supplied 👌 Anyway, here goes: I scratch built some wing tip lights from clear sprue. Much nicer than just a drop of paint. 🙂 I placed the Gas Detection Patch where Airfix show it and everybody else puts it but I would have thought it should be inboard of the port upper wing roundel? For interest, the elevators were down as seen on many images (Mk1's anyway) and the rudder turned (pilot may have been desperate for the bathroom?) Sutton Harness is made from brown envelope paper. It is far more 3d than decals. There is also a scratch built mirror and gun sight 🙂 The aftermarket 5 spokes as replacement for the incorrect (and too large a diameter) 4 spokes. I can't stop myself drilling out the exhausts! They don't look right without a hole and a dot of Matt black isn't very convincing or 3D to my mind 🤣 Thanks for all the help guys from what is a great forum👍 Regards, Lindsey
    11 points
  18. Sorry for no updates lately, my in-laws have showed up and so a lot of my time had been spoken for. I also started the diet program Noom, in a desparate attempt to lose about fifty pounds -- as opposed to my normal method of losing fifty pounds, which is browsing Hannants. With any luck, you folks won't be able to keep your hands off me the next time I go to Telford. I applied the cockpit placard stencils today: Then, overcome by fumes, I decided to get cute. I took some lead wire and bent it into shape, glued it together at the ends, and painted it yellow: You see where I'm going with this, don't you? I then glued it into the cockpit and trimmed it a bit: I think it should look okay once closed up:
    11 points
  19. Hi all, back again with another fighter build I've been after an F-22 kit for some time, having previously owned an Italeri from back in the early 2000s. Needless to say, the outcome on it wasn't stupendous, lol So, having seen some decent reviews about the Academy entry, I managed to snag one for a birthday. After much research into how to paint the thing, and an attempt to get the scheme as real as possible, I finally took the dive into building and painting it. The build itself wasn't too bad, although there were some very minor fit issues. Primarily in the weapon bays, which frustrated me enough that I just decided to close them up. That of course resulted in a bit of a fitting problem with making the bay doors flush with the fuselage, and a significant amount of sanding. Unfortunately, it wasn't flawless, but worked well enough. Painting instructions were mostly straight forward but the intakes and the sizing of the Light Ghost Grey around them was left ambiguous, resulting in a little bit of a cramped decal placement on the port side. Overall, I'm pleased with how the paint scheme came out. The Raptor seems to be notoriously difficult to match up with the real thing in colours and finish. My research led to me applying a combo of Aggressor Grey and Mod Eagle grey, mixed with Aluminium, for the camo. Initially, this didn't look correct. The aggressor looked too warm a colour, and the mod eagle was barely discernible. So I made an adjusted top mix of Mod Eagle + Aluminium + 2 drops of Gun Metal + 2 drops of Flat Blue. Initially I thought it would come out a little too blue, but by gently applying it over the mod eagle camo patches, it worked out better than expected. It even had some metallic sheen, although the varnish layers knocked this down a little. Strangely, a small amount of crazing appeared around the edges of the intakes after the Light Ghost Grey was applied over some Ultimate Primer that had dried. Bit confused about that. Overall, happy with the result, even if the upper roundel silvered a little (not entirely sure how it happened on the gloss surface on only one half of it). The panel wash of medium grey worked out nicely in giving it a bit of a brownish tint, which shows up on the real planes when they look a little worse for wear. Biggest annoyance was realising I'd left out the ejection handle after installing the canopy, despite having put a piece of tape next to the handle on the sprue to remind myself. Anyway, enough muttering, time for pics Thanks for looking Gaz
    10 points
  20. A project that was a germ of an idea 40 years ago when I was an ATC at Nadzab Papua New Guinea. Tranamerica operated out of there for a few months hauling mining equipment up into the Highlands , I was quite taken with the scheme and hankered to make a model of it. Two years ago I bought an original Airfix kit complete with Bloodhound and 11 months ago I started the conversion. I sourced an old built model wreck that was the source for the fore and aft fuselage plugs that were needed to stretch the model. Bit of filling and sanding (a bit! jeez heaps!) masking and decal design and production was required, Construction was completed today, I just have to dirty her up a little and of course finish the stand.. I took just one pic before the battery went flat.
    10 points
  21. Hi, We no longer present the Mirage IIIE, flagship of French aeronautics from the 60s to the 80s which equipped many air forces around the world. The plane presented here has a rather particular history because it is one of the two planes which took part in the operation Tamara in July 1973. This secret operation at the time consisted in dropping on the atoll of Mururoa on August 28, 1973 a 6KT nuclear bomb AN52. The decoration of the plane corresponds to the standard scheme of the time but with some markings specific to this event, in particular the pennant of the C46 on the left fin, emblem of the EM 85 "Loire" based in Mururoa. The model used is that of Modelsvit.. The decoration is also from the box. The model is excellent. Detailed in every nook and cranny with high quality engraving, even if some are skeptical about riveting. In addition to its extreme details, the model is also very precise with high quality of all the assemblies. The whole is at the price of a sometimes a little high complexity and an equally important number of parts. This is the brand's first Mirage III box. The few defects of this box (seal on the rudder, lower surface seal, fixed elevons, dimensions of some cans a bit too short) are all corrected in the following boxes. Well done to Modelsvit for this quality. Make way for photos. Complete set of photos can be find here and the work in progress there. Hope you will like it. Alain.
    9 points
  22. Thanks very much James 👍 Amazing, but I think this will be finished by the deadline... Engine and wheels attached (prop just placed for show!) Some remedial painting required by the wing roots - the panel cover parts didn't fit as well as I hoped... Drop tank added, paint touch up complete, antenna masts and ammo/gun bay doors added. (Antenna masts still need painting, I didn't forget ) Not much left to do now. Can't believe how quickly it all went together once the engine was finished. Just looking at it, not going to do any weathering or paint effects. The surface texturing and detail does it all as far as I'm concerned. Cheers, Alan
    9 points
  23. Here's mine, Zeus II demo scheme of the Hellenic Air Force. Build thread is here but to recap: Kit: 1/72 Revell F-16C kit 04844 Build: OOB Extras: Conformal fuel tanks from Hasegawa F-16 Paints: Tamiya Acrylics, Flory Models Wash, Klear, W&N satin varnish Decals: F-16 Zeus II by Procal Revell_1_72_F-16C_Zeus II (2) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell_1_72_F-16C_Zeus II (3) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell_1_72_F-16C_Zeus II (4) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell_1_72_F-16C_Zeus II (8) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Revell_1_72_F-16C_Zeus II (1) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Thanks for looking, happy modelling. Dermot
    9 points
  24. Hi all Been to another Retros meet at Headcorn Aerodrome. A cracking morning, of cars and planes, Had a lovely Spitfire and Tiggie flying today amongst the light aircraft. A lovely Jag , roundels were signed and looked absolutely awesome, lovely Fastback too Ultra cool Ford pickup camper. Lovely Lotuses Wonderful Splitty Mexivan Nice XR3i Cool Radio truck??? One for @andyj Lovely Amazon Cool Uraco, speaking with the owner, he advised this car was Chris Godleys at one time, of Godley and Cream. Chris
    9 points
  25. Hi all, First off - congratulations to @Torbjorn and @CliffB for gaining the most votes in the two initial polls. Now it's time for the final! Thank you to all the modellers who voted in the initial polls. @wimbledon99, @Hockeyboy76, @GREG DESTEC, @Adam Poultney, @jackroadkill, @TonyW, @AdrianMF, @Jb65rams, @Black Knight, @airfixpeter, @nimrod54, @theplasticsurgeon, @stevej60, @moviedrone, @PeterB, @modelling minion, @John Masters, @Bodmin, @Ned, @Ozzy, @825, @Icarus, @DaveyGair, @fmichelsen, @TonyOD, @Alex Gordon, @Marklo, @Muchmirth, @JOCKNEY, @Troy Smith, @Ray S, @sardaukar, @stevehed, @Ravnos, @PhantomBigStu, @Torbjorn, @stevehnz, @srkirad, @Avereda, @HoolioPaulio, @Dave_R, @bianfuxia, @CliffB, @Natter, @2996 Victor, @Mjwomack, @JeroenS, @Prenton, @Ventora3300 and @heloman1. The poll for the final voting is now open. Please make sure you vote for your favourite build before mid day next Sunday - 26th September. Kind regards, Stix
    9 points
  26. Kit: 1/48 Revell F16 Air Team Subject: General Dynamics F-16C Block 32 of the USAF Air Demonstration Squadron 'Thunderbirds' Details: Modelled as per reference pics from interweb - pic of a dirty jet a bit unusual! Misc: Spare pilot. Mr Paint paints, Mr Color paints, Vallejo paints, Floreys Dark Dirt Wash Build Thread:
    8 points
  27. Thursday night I painted the control surfaces. I used Alclad's dull aluminum, mainly because I couldn't see much of a color contrast in all the photos I looked at to support the idea of using the light gray green. It was hard to tell, but it just seemed right. After that was all the tedious masking for the Mr. Color Super Stainless Steel. I decided to use the same color combination on the Tojo as I did the Frank I built last November. Looking at historical photos, the contrast between panels seemed about the same between the Frank and the Tojo, and they were the same manufacturer, so I figured it was a good bet. Notice just behind where the cowl flaps will be, there are 6 rectangles. I don't know what these are from, but they were on most of the Tojos I looked at in historical photos and on some they were quite prominent. If anyone knows the story behind that, I'd love to know! After the Super Stainless was applied I toned it down with a misting of Alclad's white aluminum. On my natural metal Frank build last November, I discovered that the Super Stainless by itself was too much contrast (too dark). All the masking was taken off and new masking applied for the panels I wanted to highlight with Alclad White Aluminum. A quick blast of that (applied carefully so it doesn't go on too thick and repeat my mishap from last November!) and I removed the masking. I was very happy with the result. The contrast between panels is very subtle and varies depending upon which way you look at it, which is just like a real airplane. Now the tough part is trying to photograph it! I made the exposure darker to play up the contrast between panels. Keep in mind that the contrast is not this strong in real life! I sure like how shiny it is, but I'm afraid that most of that shine will go away when I apply the Metallizer sealer to it. The Frank from last November is not nearly as reflective. Next up are decals -- there are only a few -- and then the really difficult task of figuring out how to weather it. I was able to weather my natural metal Frank to my liking (which was a first), so I'll try to remember exactly what I did!
    8 points
  28. Hello, Here's my just finished 1/72 Special Hobby AH-1S Cobra. I did mine as 71-21024 of the 503rd Aviation Company, based just outside Hanau in (West) Germany in around 1980. Lovely little kit, just a little fiddly. Painted with MRP's Helo Drab. Thanks for looking, Pete
    7 points
  29. Breguet Br693AB.2, Aircraft No93, 1 Escadrille G8A I/54, Toulouse Francazal airbase, 25 June 1940. The commander of 1 Escadrille used this machine to attack advancing German forces on 6 June. In 1934, the French government issued a specification for a strategic fighter. It was to be twin-engined and a crew of two. Breguet and Potez submitted proposals, with Potez being chosen to develop what became the 630 family. Breguet thought their design still had merit as a low-level ground attack aircraft, and developed a prototype using their own time and money. Happily, the French air ministry saw potential in the new fighter bomber, and placed orders with Breguet in 1938. The first variant, the Br691AB.2, was powered by Hispano-Suiza radial engines, was armed with a single 20mm cannon and two 7.5mm machine guns in the nose. It also had an internal bomb bay that could carry eight 50kg bombs. For rear defence, a flexible mounting carried a single 7.5mm machine gun in the rear cockpit, with a fixed machine gun facing down and rearwards in the belly, with the intention of deterring low-flying fighters. While the crew was protected by armour, it was expected the high speed and manoeuvrability would help the aircraft escape ground fire. The Hispano engines proved unreliable, so Breguet adopted the more reliable Gnome-Rhône 14M radials, giving a total of 1,400hp. The airframe, now designated Br693 was otherwise unchanged from the previous version. The Br693 was designed as a fast, low-level attack aircraft, strafing ground targets and delivering time-delayed bombs. Operational training of two units began in late 1939, initially equipped with Potez 633 aircraft until the BR691s could be delivered. The earlier aircraft were later replaced by the Br693s from March 1940, and by June some 200 had entered service. Unfortunately, due to the late delivery, crews were still working up to operation readiness as the German forces invaded in May. The first operational sorties on 12 May were disastrous. German anti-aircraft artillery was far superior to anything the designers had expected. Tactics were reviewed, with attacks taking place from a higher altitude using a shallow dive to deliver the bomb load. Lack of accurate bombing sights meant many attacks were unsuccessful, and the fast low-level attacks were resumed but using fewer aircraft per sortie. By this time, the situation was becoming desperate. The fate of France could not be changed by the few aircraft in service. The Br693s had a short operational range, and were not capable of flying across the Mediterranean to North Africa, where the French government hoped to regroup the remains of the air force. By the time of the armistice in June, 119 of the 200 Br693s had been lost to accident and enemy action. Surviving aircraft were used for training purposes by the Vichy regime. After Germany occupied Vichy France in 1942, some aircraft were sent to Italy for use as operational trainers. The kit is pretty standard Azur fare, with resin parts for engines, a small PE fret for various details, and the usual medium grey styrene. Fit was pretty good for a short-run kit, and I only added brake lines to the undercarriage, and replaced some small parts like pitot tubes and nose machine guns with brass rod. Painting was using ColourCoats enamels, freehand airbrushed to give the camouflage pattern. Detail painting with Humbrol acrylics and enamels. This kit was built as an entry in the French Fancies 2 Group Build. I have also made a shorter WIP post in my ongoing France 1940 thread. I'll share the latter here for your entertainment.
    7 points
  30. Here is my Danish double-seated viking. The model is Hasegawa 1/48 with Aires cockpit and Stoppel decals. WIP thread:
    7 points
  31. My entries into this Group Build are Hellcats flown by two Fleet Air Arm Aces; Sub Lieutenant Edward Wilson SANF(V) & Sub Lieutenant William Atkinson RCN Grumman Hellcat MkI FN411 / 5°E. 1844 NAS HMS Indomitable October 1944. Edward Taylor (Tug) Wilson SANF (V). 3 Confirmed Aerial Victories, 3 shared Destroyed. “In the meantime the enemy made an appearance over the fleet, but were met by our Hellcats and Vics’s Corsairs. The Corsairs shot down four and the Hellcats three, all Oscars. Tug Wilson destroyed two and (John) Smithwick one. They were flying with Bing (John Hawkins) and Claude (Lt RC Westfield), who was just about to press the ‘tit’ when Tug nipped in before him and shot it down. Bing got on a Jap, but his electrics failed so his guns failed to fire”. SLt R McKenzie 19.10.44 (1010) 2 x Ki-43 ‘Oscar’ Destroyed 3m S of Car Nicobar. Hellcat I FN411/5*E Grumman Hellcat MkII JW867 / W116. 1844 NAS HMS Indomitable, May 1944. William “Bill” Henry Isaac Atkinson RCN 4 Confirmed Aerial Victories, 3 shared destroyed, 1 probably destroyed “21st May The one success had been when Hellcats from Indomitable on a CAP, had been vectored out to investigate a radar plot at about 30,000 feet, 36 miles from the fleet. They found a Myrt shadowing the task force and after a brief fight it was shot down.” 21.05.45 Nakajima C6N ‘Myrt’ Shared destroyed Grumman Hellcat II JW867/W116 Thanks to everyone You is in this GB there has been some very informed chat going on and some superb modelling. Thanks @Col. for running the GB. Thanks for looking in, now to ponder what to build next, Fulmars, Corsairs or Wildcats?
    7 points
  32. It’s still blue so it’s still a Wasp. The fact that Hendie is going to do unspeakable things to it and turn it into a Scout is just something he’s going to have to place before his conscience. I mean, painting it green; the horror!
    7 points
  33. After not having done much modelling lately due to work being unbelievably busy (and also moving house) I've decided to try to make more time for modelling. I had made this kit several years ago when I was much less patient (and skilled probably) but wanted to revisit it as I wanted to do it justice. I adore complex decals: naturally, race cars fit nicely into this. I have also ordered Scale Motorsport's carbon decal and photoetch sets and I'm also a few button clicks away from ordering a whole plethora of detailing parts from spotmodel in order to go to town on the cockpit and engine detailing. I still have a half finished Moto GP bike to finish before I begin this one but hopefully this shouldn't take too long before I get started!
    7 points
  34. These pictures are a bit late - I'd almost forgotten that I went to Brands Hatch two weeks ago! It was the Porsche club GB meeting,quite a big event with obviously a hell of a lot of Porsche cars on show. I only took these few pics of the racecars as to be honest I'm not really a fan of Porsche roadcars and there were a lot of them...A small selection below. Porsche tractor,apparently there are three different tractor varieties. The black 956 Swap shop car is as raced at Le Mans in 1984. Chris.
    7 points
  35. A little, but a huge step forward. The build sort of stalled when I hit problems trying to print the upper wing center section. I must have printed half a dozen and each one had issues with the wing profile. Here's three samples and you can see that the cross section at the wing joint is just not up to scratch. It's all over the place. Now here's my latest print that I ran off this week. On the left we have the upper wing outer section, and on the right we have the upper wing center section. I'm very happy with how this has turned out now. It was all down to print orientation. Previously I had always tried printing the wing from the leading edge rearwards, and changing the upright angle to try and get it to print better. The reason I did it that way is because I wanted to avoid having to sand/file the wing joints if at all possible. As you are all probably well aware, it is very difficult to file a perfectly flat edge especially perpendicular to a given surface. In the end I decided to print the wing section from port to starboard instead of leading edge to trailing edge. That was what made all the difference. After filing - I made up a fixture to help keep the file straight and perpendicular, and this is the resultant joint. Not perfect, but I'll be joining the wings using Tony's recommended Light Saber and Goo method so I think it will turn good in the end. This is the full upper wing just dry fitted, but the dihedral is there and I don't think it will take much work to knock that into shape. I lost some of the location holes for things like the struts etc. due to the print orientation, but there's enough of a mark for me to see the positions clearly so I'll just manually drill those later. I have been fretting over this issue for months so really glad I finally have it resolved, as without wings it wasn't going to be much of a Wapiti. Now here's something interesting. This is a test section of wing I printed way back at the beginning - note how the thin section have started cracking. It should be no surprise really as I had never actually cured this part with UV, so over all those months it's been continuously drying out until it reached the point where the material started breaking itself up. When I was actively working on this build I purposely did not cure the parts as I wanted the fuselage complete before I hit it with UV's to avoid any fit problems with shrinkage/warping of the separate components. I can see a little bit of shrinkage going on so... I think I may reprint these when I'm ready and get them assembled and cured in a reasonable timeframe instead of leaving them for months. It won't take long to catch back up to where I left off, and now that I have the wing profile issues resolved I feel a renewed enthusiasm for this build, so I think this may be next on the agenda after the Whirlwind.
    7 points
  36. Hi everyone. This is my Trumpeter Hood finished this month after 10 months on the bench. It has the Pontos detail set and Micromaster HACs, Quads, Searchlights, 4" secondary guns, and 4" ready use lockers. There's a full 50 part Vlog at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWLcXWGXVcO3LZEJiwETkJ9eY_GZJBfI2 Hope you enjoy. Steve
    6 points
  37. I originally purchased this for the "Less than a Tenner" group build but I put it together that quickly without any WIP photos that I didn't bother entering it. As I have now completed it I thought I would share it on here anyway. It was an interesting and fun build to be honest. Bags of parts with quite a bit of detail in my opinion. Made some mistakes along the way, namely fitting the crew equipment to the turret before applying the decals. Still, it appears to have turned out pretty well. More practice needed on the weathering needed perhaps. Anyway, here are some pics.
    6 points
  38. Some years ago I decided to build the very interesting looking Westland Wyvern S.4 which was a British carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft. The plane saw active service during the Suez crisis in 1956 in the Anglo-French Operation Musketeer whose aim was to capture the Suez canal from Egypt (who had nationalized that vital sea route). The Wyverns engaged in 82 missions, both in fighter-bomber as well as reconnaissance roles and black- yellow identification stripes were painted to the planes during the crisis. The Wyverns were powered by a turboprop engine driving eight large counter rotating propellers. Only a total of 127 Wyverns were built. I built my model from a 1/48 scale Classic Airframes kit which in my opinion was the best quality CA kit I have so far come across. The fit was very good and for instance the engraved panel lines were very fine and accurate. The model depicts the Westland Wyvern of the 830 Naval Air Squadron that operated from HMS Eagle in 1956 during the Suez crisis. Unfortunately I don't anymore remember the number of the paints but the colours were Extra Dark Sea Grey, Sky and Maroon.
    6 points
  39. Hi Saw at Porcheville Renault 4CV Mustang Cabriolet 66 Morris Minor Corvette C3
    6 points
  40. Another Revell 1/144 F16c in Arctic aggressor camouflage, more an homage than a specific aircraft.
    6 points
  41. Revell 1/144 F16c pretty much oob.
    6 points
  42. Here you go: It's quite hard to get the white balance to show the purple in the right hue, but this is fairly close. It looks close enough to the real thing (or at least photos of it) to my eye. The purple is Tamiya X-16. I'm also feeling pretty happy with the decision to paint the yellow and red bands. I've got the decals on this evening. These are mostly RJS decals, the de-icer boots are from the PAS decals included in the kit. Somehow much harder to get the purple to look right this evening - this looks too blue - must be the lack of natural light coming into the room. thanks for looking Julian
    6 points
  43. The long black thin side panels clamp some glass in place, but they are fiddly to install. Nose goes on. I've added the rear wheel arches - the front ones are part of the upper body, and added the wheels. Centre lock wheel nuts are separate parts so easy to paint first and the McLaren decals for the centres are attached in place with a bit of thinned PVA. Like so many parts on this kit, the wheel nuts were just itching to twang off the tweezers and into the mouth of the carpet monster. One did, but I found it, but of course it landed black side up not orange side up. Some idea of what the completed kit will look like, body panels placed roughly in position. It's been three weeks to this point but it feels like a lot of work.
    6 points
  44. The wing rigging completed. I had some trouble with the lines pulling out and realised I had used the wrong drill bit resulting in holes that are a little too big Filled with CA. Now I can move on the undercarriage and tail. Thanks for looking. AW
    6 points
  45. Instrument panels are done. I looked at a lot of Jenny cockpits on-line and no two had the same instrument layout. So, I designed a representative layout of my own. I used styrene sheet for the panels, which got the oil paint treatment to simulate wood. Instrument faces are from my decal box, bezels are PE, and for the clear face I used UV activated acrylic. Forward cockpit (top), rear cockpit (bottom): (The "white spots" on the wood are reflections off the glossy surface. I may need to go over the wood areas with a satin or matt coat.) I also added a compass in the rear cockpit: I was so impressed with Clive's technique for replicating surface textures that I ordered a batch of Siligum off Amazon. It arrived today, so of course I had to give it a try. My goal was to fix this disaster: Following Clive's approach, I mixed up a batch of Siligum and pressed a piece of metal mesh onto the surface, then let the Siligum set up: My first attempt was a abject failure -- I had pressed the mesh too hard and the Siligum had extruded through the openings. Consequently, the Siligum tore when I removed the mesh. Having learned how NOT to do it, my second try came through like a champ: I layered sprue gloop onto the Siligum mold, let it set up, and cut out a piece to fit the radiator face: Here it is test-fitted to the radiator. I've painted the face piece black in preparation for "dry-brushing" with powdered metallic pigment to bring out the mesh texture. Not bad for a day's work!
    6 points
  46. I see this everytime the MPM/SH Boston is raised as a topic. If one thinks about it instead of assuming a "shake n' bake" kit, the cause and the solution to the issue of fit between the nose and the fuselage becomes a non-issue. I don't have experience with this specific kit, but I did build the original MPM release of the Boston III and quite enjoyed it, contrary to all the negative posts the kit got. It got to the point where I wondered if they even tried building the kit? I've downloaded the SH instructions, so I'll be referring to them. So, as a suggestion and assuming the basic plastic is identical between the MPM and SH kits (I see by the parts layout, the SH release has additional parts) -a) do not dry-fit the nose (part K1) to the fuselage with just the bare halves taped together! All you'll see to the 'horrid' step Dunny alluded to, earlier. Most of the posts re the MPM Boston III reached the conclusion that it was 'unbuildable' because of that 'step'. Instead.... - assemble the 'foundations' for the cockpit interior (parts A16, A18 and D21) and at the same time dry-fit the cockpit sidewalls (parts A19 and A20). - thin parts A19/A20 thickness if necessary and glue them in place (might as well, eh?) - now, dry-fit the assembled cockpit 'foundations' into the taped fuselage halves. As Dunny found out, the fit of the nose is much improved once the interior is fitted. I found out that a thin shim between A18 and the cockpit was required to widen the fuselage a tad to match the width of the cockpit transparency (part K6). That shim also proved to aid in the eventual fit of the nose piece. - upon examining the plastic nose glazing (part K6), one realizes it's rather flexible due to the thickness of the plastic. Left to it's own natural shape, the nose does indeed appear to be mis-matched to the fuselage, but if slight pressure is applied to the top and the bottom of the nose, essentially aligning those edges with the fuselage, one notices that the sides also slightly bulge out, thus bringing them into alignment with the fuselage sides. - again drawing from experience with the MPM issue of the Boston III, I fashioned a 360 degree 'lip' of thin styrene strip (10-thou?) to the inside of the fuselage (I can't recall if I sanded part A18 down a bit or that it wasn't the tightest fit to begin with), then when it came time to mate the nose and the fuselage, there was a nice lip to not only assist in mating the nose piece to the fuselage, but also result in it retaining the correct x-section for a good fit to the fuselage. Hope that helps with any concerns about the fit of the nose. Some other points to consider: If one wants to do TH-O (W8268) in the earlier overall black cam ('cam-b' in the instructions), profile in-flight photos of the starboard side of TH-O show conclusively that the "Ottawa Ontario" script was carried on both sides. Naming their aircraft after Canadian Cities (depending in the individual code letter) with the script on both sides was the norm and in the absence of photos of the second TH-O (AL468), I wouldn't have any reason to doubt that they didn't retain the practice of repeating the script on both sides, given they went through the trouble of restoring it to the port-side after the repaint. One other point .... if one chooses to model the original TH-O (W8268) in its overall black night intruder cam, note that it NEVER carried the belly gun-pack. W8268 was lost on ops prior to the squadron undertaking trials with the belly pack - that according to the publication "418 Squadron History" (my copy's inaccessible in storage so I can't furnish publication details, sorry). The presence of the belly-pack as 'seen' in an in-flight PR photo of W8268 has been shown that the 'belly-pack' is actually the lower portion of the nacelle, given the angle of the photo. That one statement from the 418 publication, makes any reference/profile drawing or whatever, showing the belly pack fitted - incorrect. OTOH, the gun-pack was a standard fit for the squadron's Boston's by the time the second TH-O (AL468) arrived on the scene. Dunny was correct to include it in his build. Adding nose-weight as Dunny did, behind the cockpit - is the most logical place for it. I seem to recall that I added up to 1oz. (about 28+ grams), with the result that it's not a tail-sitter and there was never a need to add an external support under the tail. Finally, when fitting the tail light (K4) to the fuselage, keep in mind that it is molded to the contours of the fuselage. If when dry-fitting it, it doesn't appear to line up, just twist it around until it does. Scott
    6 points
  47. Just in case this one didn't do the rounds here last year! Nick
    6 points
  48. Time for an update...warning, picture heavy... First off, exhausts. Couple of pics following application of Tamiya burnt powders and gloss varnish: It's subtle but I like it. We then continued with bodywork : Cut nose off, fitted Top Studio bulkheads??. Decided to add magnets to aid supporting front wing to chassis. Then noticed crap joint due to my over eager use of sanding sticks. This was rectified using epoxy putty which appears quite strong and easy to use. I know these look dodgy, but the end result was good enough for me following more filing, sanding and filling...bodywork was then primered with white primer...note to self...don't use white primer on a white body. Blood impossible to see where you've been and where you need to go. This was my first, real use of an airbrush and struggled with thinning of primer, in hindsight I would use pre-thinnned stuff, but its all a learning curve at present. Rubbed down with 1500 and 3000 grit stuff. Primer (AK Acrylic) was followed by Zero paints Williams colour set, white first. Note to self, don't use white primer for white cars...should have learnt by now!!! Moving up the colour chart, the yellow was next... So naturally, next colour was blue...again from Zero Paint. Each application done using three to four light coats, building up colour gradually...I am hoping to avoid using Tamiya decals as much as possible due to mine being a right pain due to old age, both mine and the decals. They are very brittle, crack and disintegrate with just a hard stare...so am trying to do solid colours with airbrush and use just stripes for lines...so the blue was applied following careful masking. Once masks were removed this is the result... Not perfect, but for my first adventure with an airbrush I am very pleased. Some yellow sneaked in on one side pod, most of which then went under the blue section, and on unmasking, some yellow lifted. These will be easily remedied when time permits. Under the cowls on the chassis I shall be spraying some black, and inside the cockpit, though I have textured carbon fibre for that area. The Zero paints dry in a satin but these will lift once decals are applied and clear coat is on. Hope to get this completed in next couple of weeks which will allow cockpit to be started... I am really enjoying it, had sooo much anxiety about nose joint and use of airbrush and am pleased with my work to correct those mistakes. The old adage of check, check, check. The Zero paints have been flawless and easy to use. I use an electric stirrer thing and am being careful to avoid heavy, wety coats. Colours in natural light appear uniform and very good. Not convinced they match the Tamiya decal colours but that remains to be seen, apparently they are supposed to. Till next update...
    6 points
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