Leaderboard

Hi all – I’m on a bit of a ‘bent’ for older kits at the moment. As such, I present my first completion of 2022 - the 1/48 Monogram Bf-109G-10. This one was released by Monogram around 1991 and traces its origins back to the Revell release of 1978 (indeed you can still find this release available today; Revell has been releasing this kit on and off again, most recently in 2016). The kit still holds up well today; it has generally accurate lines, recessed panels, is an easy build. Sure it’s no Eduard super kit, but it sure passes quite nicely for a 109G-10 to my somewhat uneducated eye. I picked this one up for somewhere around $5-10 at a swap and sell some years back. I picked this boxing because I have very vivid memories of buying this boxing as a kid, getting my hands on the dark green plastic, and building the kit in a hurry. Whilst I don't remember how I painted it, I do remember re-painting it a year or two later in a blotchy 'Africa' scheme, similar to that painted on 109Es (totally not accurate... but hey, I was maybe 13 years old, so accuracy wasn't a real focus back then). No idea what happened to it, but pretty sure it didn't survive the 'Cancian turkey shoot' in the backyard some time later... ahem. Given the kit’s simplicity, I did make a few modifications. I replaced the cockpit with some random 109G cockpit bits and seat belts that I had in the spares box. I replaced the kit exhausts and wheels with resin aftermarket items, added mesh to the radiators and ribs to the radiator flaps, I added a new pitot from brass tube, and I cut and repositioned the flaps, elevators, and rudder. The rest was all stock kit. I painted this one up in fairly bland POA markings, based on one of the schemes from the Eduard kit. I had a set of Eduard decals for the tail shield, Wrk number and stencils, but all other markings were masked and sprayed. Some progress pics: All in all this was a fun build. Thanks for looking, and as always, comments, criticisms and tips for improvement are always welcome! Cheers, BC

Hello all, Here is my recently completed 1/48 Tamiya F-14D Tomcat, converted to a B model of VF-102 'DIamondbacks' during Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001/2002. BuNo 163225 was built in early 1989 and delivered to VF-124, before being assigned to VF-101 and VF-103 before eventually serving with VF-102 from 1998 until May 2002, when it was transferred to VF-101 and finally disposed of in August 2004. During OEF, VF-102 would drop a total of 450,000lbs of ordnance while logging 5000+ hours of flight time over Afghanistan. Squadron aircrew were awarded a number of Distinguished Flying Crosses for their actions during the cruise. Extras used included Phase Hanger resin B model conversion set, Phase Hanger seats, Quickboost TCS pod, New Ware masks, Tamiya etched canopy mirrors and metal pitot tube along with Fightertown decals. The build thread is below. Paints are form MRP and the weathering is a mixture of Abteilung oils, Flory wash and Tamiya weathering sets. Thanks for looking and stay safe Dave

Hello Folks, I finshed my F14A and wanna show you the result. My Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAjm2GwS9LzaM7oGt0tt5Og Materials: Mr. Colour Mr. Paint Vallejo Model Air Tamiya Quick Setting Micro Set /Sol Vallejo Putty Acrylic Rod Acryl Tube White OSB Board Base Kit: Thanks for watching!!!

So the first finish of the year is Airfix's Bristol Beaufort, a very nice kit that built up well except the mistake I made using the wrong turret fairing so my turret is a bit lower than it should be and I separated the clear parts from the sprue several months before fitting and I had problems getting a good fit. Made as a Malta based Mk1A circa 1942 using the Xrtadecal sheet and 2 resin guns added. Painted with Tamiya, Mr hobby and Vallejo acrylics, weathered with Flory Dark Dirt wash and Mig Ammo powders. There has been some comment on the WIP that these particular colours may be incorrect but I like the look. As usual all comments welcome. Beaufort is slightly smaller than the Beaufighter.

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Kovozávody Prostějov Ilyushin Il-2M, built with the addition of Quickboost guns and pitot tube. Painted with Mr.Hobby acrylics. Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. This is a re-box of the Smer kit with new fuselage and some small parts. Parts are well cast with good engravings, and fit is okay. I replaced the kit's gun barrels with resin parts from Quickboost (QB72182). The QB set also includes the pitot tube, which is missing on the sprue. KP also overlooked the prominent rudder horn on the fin. I made a replacement from stretched sprue, dipped in white glue to form a 'drop' shape. I fabricated a sling seat for the rear gunner from a piece of photo-etch. It's barely visible behind the defense gun: I was not too happy with the kit's decals. Maybe I should have stored them in a cooler place (my flat gets hot in summer). Silvering is evident on close-ups. The delicate aiming device in front of the canopy is a photo-etch piece stolen from an Eduard Set for the Tamiya kit (there's two included!). Here's my home-made rudder balance which is missing in the kit. In this close-up, you can see the Red Star decal broke when I gently pressed it into the recess. Weathering on the undersides was done with artist oils from Winsor & Newton. ... and here's his squadron mate from Black See Fleet, which I built in 2019 when the KP kit was released: Thank you for your interest! Best greetings from Vienna, Roman

I would like to show you two F-4EJs that I have recently finished. The first one is a F-4EJ of the Air Development and Test Wing in Gifu. They painted it 2017 in a digital or pixel camouflage. When I first came across a photo of this aircraft, I immediately started looking for decals. At that time, there was only this Fujimi boxing available for a lot of money. But I bought it anyway and after a closer inspection decided just to use the decals and build the model using the Hasegawa kit. Here is now the finished model: It is an F-4EJ (without the "kai"), although it features the antenna on top of the spine. But the very small backward facing sensors on top of the rudder are missing. Applying the decals was fun. Fujimi provided large connected areas like one wing = one decal, but I decided to divide them into smaller areas for better handling. I strongly recommend this procedure. As a basic color I chose Revell Seegrün Aqua colours which fits perfectly. The Hasegawa kit is nice, but I added some details like instruments and wiring to the area between the two seats. Also the triangular shaped reinforcement plates on the stabilizers have to be removed from the top and added to the bottom. Check your references, when building a Phantom.... A lot of stencils are provided for the underside, too: The second model shows a F-4EJkai (improved) that can be recognized by the two small sensors and the big antenna on the spine. Also it features a slightly bigger radome, but Hasegawa ignored this difference. Fine molds however have reproduced it their new range of F-4EJs. The JASDF 302 Sq have painted two of their F-4 in a special scheme for the retirement of the type, one white and the other one black. Hasegawa have released them both. The decals are nicely done but of course they need some touch up especially in the area around the intakes. I will build the black one using the Fine Molds kit. Here the reinforcement plates are correct as they are in the kit. Hope you like the models. greetings from Germany, Norbert

#2/2022 After the P-40K, my dad has already finished the next bird in 2022. Revell boxing of the Hasegawa F4U-7 kit, decals from MDC(Model Design Constructions) and the kit, wheels from Reskit, camo done with Gunze H54 Navy Blue mixed with a touch of blue, EZ line for antenna wires and brake lines, scratchbuilt weapon switches on the IB cover, late style K-14 gunsight taken from a Hobbycraft F8F, "T" shaped antenna on the belly from the sparesbox, triangle antenna on the spine done with plastic sheet because the kit´s one was too small, belly whip antennas with plastic rods. The French Corsairs in the Maghreb usually had a bomb rack on the belly too. But didn´t find a good close-up pic to recreate it. Build thread here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235101163-guerre-dalgérie148-vought-au-1-corsair-aviation-navale/ The French navy made some good post WW2 use of the Corsair, AU-1 and F4U-7, using them in Indochina and North Africa. Model shows an aircraft that served with Flotille 17F during the Algerian War from 1954 to 1962 and the Tunisian conflict in July 1961. DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0004 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0005 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0006 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0009 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0010 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0011 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0012 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0015 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0002 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0020 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0021 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0022 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0003 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

The Short 184 is an iconic aircraft from the First World War, being the first to attack and sink a ship with a torpedo attack. As far as I know the only kit is this Aeroclub short run kit from many years ago. It's been in the stash for a long time and last year I decided to pull it out and have a go at it. The airframe and floats are injection moulded and struts, prop, seats, radiator and some other parts are in white metal. Overall it is a straightforward although intricate build, the fit is generally good though some scratchbuilding of parts from provided material and plastic rod is needed. It does build up well and despite the fragile look it is pretty robust. Finished as Number 842 from HMS Ben-my-Chree, this was the first aircraft to sink a ship with a torpedo attack. As outlined it's a mixed media kit mainly injection with white metal. The transfers although the original and therefore a few years old performed beautifully. Brush painted Citadel Bleached Bone for the overall clear doped linen, Akan Dark Admiralty Grey for the grey metalwork and Tamiya Clear Orange over Akan Aged Wood for the varnished wood. It is a bit of a beast in size. I appreciate a Bristol Scout is small but it was a contemporary.

Hi all, it the third time if doing this kit - it is my favourite although it needs the Edvard PE. I always loved the Warrior after spending a week in the back of a 511 bouncing around Salisbury Plain. Paints are Mig - NATO green (with a few drops of oily ochre) and black lighted with white. Apart from the Edvard etch, I drilled out the lights (head and side), filled them with resin, and used stick on mirrors for the drivers mirrors.

I picked this up at SMW back in November so it's a quick build for me getting a biplane done so quickly. I didn't think the RNAS had Dolphins but there are two mentioned in Sturtivant and Page's Royal Navy Aircraft Serials and Unit 1911 -1919 and this is one of them. Finished as C3785 based at RNAS Dover in 1918. Completed out of the box and brush painted with Hu103 Cream for the doped linen and Revell Olivgrun for the PC10. The grey is Xtracrylix Camouflage Grey. Transfers, including the sharkmouth from the kit. Nice build and nice detail on one of the first multi gun fighters.

Finally my (for now) last batch of Boeing 767s are off the production line. It took a bit longer than planned as life got in the way. Now here we are again and I continue my Boeing 767 parade. This is the very good Zvezda 767-300 kit,which in comparison to the Revell version,is more detailed,esp. the landing gear and engines. The fit overall is very good,although for some reason the kit I used for the Qantas version suffered from a seriously warped fuselage. It took quite a while to straighten it out. The other Zvezda 767s were fine,so I assume this was an isolated incident. Qantas had often painted some of their aircraft in special liveries,so this came probably not by surprise when they promoted Disney's animation hit "Planes" The decals come from PAS decals and are of very good quality. The kangaroo logo is a white printed decal which is surprisingly opaque on the red paint. The decal sheet itself has many details but as they have no white backing,some of the details or the windows are useless as they will either disappear or become too dark on surfaces that are not white. Another note to be taken ,is to use any solvents sparringly or not at all ,while applying the decals.Much better to use only enough water to slide the decals into position. The paints are Gunze,the white for the fuselage was done with Gunze white surfacer 1500,gloss coated with Gunze Premium Gloss prior and after decalling. The windows are from Authentic Airliners. Cheers Alex

This was one of those projects I've wanted to do for a long time and finally got around to it. I got the Milicast kit of the Carrier Ambulance, but quite frankly it stunk. Terrible casting, voids, bubbles, blobs, etc. Pretty much unbuildable. However, the tilt was ok and some of the detail parts were alright. I just needed to get the Universal carrier. Well, there's only one in 1/76, which was the scale of the Milicast kit, and that's the venerable Airfix with 6 pdr. Most of this kit's shortcomings would be hidden under the tilt, so that was no problem. The only major modification is that the back wall of the 'fighting compartment', has to be taken off, the sides extended and a box of some sort put in the middle. Interior rails for the stretchers were added and I built a stretcher to fit. Some other detail parts from the Milicast kit were added and then the tilt fixed in place. I have found that one of the hardest finishes to weather effectively is white. I gave it my best shot, but it still doesn't look as I would have liked, but it does fit in nicely in with my other vehicles of mercy.

Hello everyone, Here's my take on Churchill Mk.III. This is the first time I am building Churchill, and it was quite fun. It is 6 pdr armed Churchill Mk.III tank, member of the experimental "Kingforce" unit, named by its commander, Major King. Here's some history about the unit and tank and it's crew. Small number of Mk.III Churchills were sent to the Middle East for trials. Six reworked Mk.IIIs were shipped to Egypt where they arrived on 1 October 1942. They were dispatched by rail to the Mechanisation Experimental Establishment at Cairo where they were immediately prepared for service. Some field modifications were applied: side rails to carry ‘Sunshield’ frames were fitted, stowage bins fitted to the rear of the turret, canvas screen known as a ‘dodger’ was fitted between the front track-guards, and the tanks were then painted with a disruptive camouflage pattern. Tanks arrived painted in Lightstone No.61, while the disruptive camouflage was orange/chocolate paint (from witness accounts), probably locally produced Camcolour, A/19 Chocolate Brown. Special Tank Squadron to operate these Churchills was formed on 14 October 1942, commanded by Major Norris King M.C. with Lt. Deans as 2IC of the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars whose administration the unit came under. The unit was known as ‘Kingforce’. Most of the men newly arrived from the U.K. with very little experience of Churchills. There was now time for any rehearsal and very few 6 pdr rounds were fired before the unit was deployed. The unit left Cairo by rail to Burg El Arab by the 20 October, then by tank transporter to Tel El Aisa, then on their tracks forward to the HQ of 7th Motor Brigade to which it was attached arriving by the 23 rd October when the battle started. The 7th Motor Brigade was at this time part of the 1st Armoured Division. Thank I am building is representing one of them, commanded by 2/ Lt. Appleby, T31665R. On 26 October, three tanks, T68189R, T31665R, and T68186R moved forward in support of the Queens Bay’s Shermans assaulting Kidney Ridge and they soon came under fire. T31665R under 2/ Lt. Appleby advanced over a ridge and immediately came under intense enemy fire. The tank then reversed smoking slightly, stopped, and then burned intensely with only one wounded crewman surviving. Later examination revealed 38 frontal hits, some from 75mm, one of which had penetrated the turret front. This had done the main damage, with two 50mm penetrating hits elsewhere. There were 8 hits on the rear of the tank from British 6 pdr guns, 4 of which had penetrated, as a result of the Australian anti-tank gunners not recognizing an unfamiliar tank approaching them covered in smoke. On the other hand, Major King’s tank had more luck. It took 8 non-penetrating hits and claimed 4 hits on enemy tanks with 45 rounds expended. The objective was not taken and during the night of 26/27 October, the Motor Brigade including ‘Kingforce’ was withdrawn into reserve for a week. The unit participated in one more action, on 3rd November to support the 2nd Armoured Brigade Shermans. After this action, tanks returned to Alexandria, and the unit was disbanded. The test showed that Churchills IIIs were formidable and reliable tanks, able to take a tremendous amount of punishment, and at that point in time, they were the safest Allied tanks to be in. It is not known what happened with Kingforce Churchills after the Second El Alamein battle, but additional Churchill IIIs were deployed later during Tunisian Campaign. The kit is AFV club No. AF35153, with an addition of E.T. Model No. C35-006 PE set and TMD Matilda auxiliary fuel tank. Even though the box art shows Kingforce Churchill, kit itself need some changes in order to represent this particular tanks accurately. You can find out more about the changes needed in WIP section. The kit itself is really great, I have no complains whatsoever except some changes needed to accurately represent Kingforce Churchills, although, this does not even qualify as complain This is maybe the best AFV Club kit I built so far. Model is painted with MRP Light Stone and Gunze mix for A/19 Chocolate Brown camcolour disruptive paint. Weathered with pigments and MIG's nature effects. Cheers, Nenad

The name plate has arrived from Name It http://www.nameitplates.co.uk/ so I can now say this build is FINISHED. It has been an interesting voyage, during which I have gained lots of pictures of River Class Frigates, thanks @socjo1. And learnt a lot about this class of ship. Now, there is no name in the title as the parts and decals supplied allow you to make many of the 151 ships built, these little ships served in many navies, but mine, I decided early on was going to be an HMS. But what to name her ? As a local river to me is called the Parret, this was going to be her name, until..... I had a fellow BMer Neil @npb748r post in my WIP that his uncle had served on HMS Mourne and was lost when she was sunk. Well, that clinched it. My model, as best I could, become a tribute to him, the men who died with him and HMS Mourne. So, first a bit of background. HMS Mourne was torpedoed by U767 using a GNAT torpedo on 15th June 1944 just off The Lizard Cornwall, at 49 degrees 35 minutes North & 05 degrees 30 minutes West. This attack resulted in the lose of the ship along with 111 crew, 27 survived. One the 111 souls lost was Neils uncle, Lesley Barnes, Stoker First Class, he was 19 at the time. RIP That's him, writing in the note book, photo from The Imperial War Museum and was taken on board HMS Mourne on 5th July 1943. The paint I used was the excellent Colourcoats from @Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies and unusually for me no extra parts were needed. Black Cat Models included everything you could possibly need, and that includes some of the best decals I have ever used, got to be the first time I've not had to varnish prior putting on the decals, as they had no carrier film, so no danger of the dreaded 'silvering'. Here a few pictures, (please excuse the quality, photos are not my strong point) I hope you enjoy them and I hope my model is good enough to be a memorial to her and her crew. Jon

Fw190 A6 Red 21 6/JG300 Here is a Eduards 1:72 A8 converted to A6 to represent Red 21 of 6/300 which had a mishap on the night of the 6/7 February 1944. The decals are Eagle Cals, the figures are Prieser and diorama is me ! Regards Brian

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Italeri IS-2 Stalin, with tracks from OKB Grigorov, towing cable from Eureka, figures from CMK and stowage from Blackdog. Decals are from Colibri. Painted with Mr.Hobby acrylics, weathered with graphite pen, artist oils and real mud from the garden, mixed with white glue and pigments. Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. The Italeri kit was released in 2006 and has been sleeping in my stash for many years. The recently released Blackdog stowage set inspired me to complete this build. It's designed for the 1/72 Zvezda kit, and not all parts fit the Italeri model, there seem to be some differences. I used OKB Grigorov resin tracks to replicate the characteristic 'sagging'. Thank you for your interest, best greetings from Vienna! Roman

Hello Folks, I finshed my Tonka and wanna show you the result. Building Thread Video: https://youtu.be/J1jg-gT6iOU Materials: Mr. Colour Mr. Paint Vallejo Model Air Tamiya Quick Setting Micro Set /Sol Vallejo Putty Kit:

The last of the batch. The decals for the Gulf Air version also come from an older Revell 767 release. Their 1992 kit with British Airways/Gulf Air decals and RR engine option. These decals were in similar condition as the Lauda ones,but at least they stayed on the model. Utmost TLC was necessary to get the decals layed down and around the nose.They were quite stiff and brittle in some places,even after the application of liquid decal film. Some touch ups with paint were unavoidable but it came out better than I expected. Same paints used on this as on my previous 767s. It was quite a task working on 6 767s simultaneously but also fun and I learned a lot about the type.The many door and window layouts in particular,which lead to careful research of the subject.A good thing that I have a very informative book about the 767,it was a massive help during those builds. Thats it for now with this type,3 more Revell 767s are in my stash,but they will be done another time. Now I am off to my 777s and 787s that are in production. Stay tuned Alex

I started this kit for the Bristol GB along with 2 others, thinking as the part numbers were small, I would easily finish them in time. In reality the kit was a real challenge, nearly every part needed trimmed to fit. I spent loads of time fettling small parts and in the end I failed to finish even one. The other two are still sitting in their boxes with paint on but still on the sprues. There's lot of extra parts and options in the kit and things are nicely and finely moulded it's just most take work to get them to fit. Anyway here is Bristol Scout C number 1250 based at Royal Naval Air Station Eastchurch in June 1915. Brush painted with Citadel Bleached Bone. Ends up as a nice little aircraft. It is small, here with. £1 coin to show the size.

Droop stops to stop Crisp nagging Well OK that does not show droop stops but does describe the almost hopeless and feeble attempts I made at the job. Poor but look up there on the evergreen packet, three little t shapes which will be my last attempt on this model. This is it. This will go down into the paint shop for its coats of Medium Sea Grey , Dark Green and Black then I will mask up the tail rotor and get on with the next stumbling block. Namely the main undercart rear legs which give Whirly a very squatassed stance. In the mean time here is today's lack of progress shot Cabin access now provided Colin. Minor tidying of the Light Aircraft Grey edges will ensue, shout if I forget please. SIHRSC scars, They have to go dont they? Doh, they hardly show in plein aire but on a photograph WHAMMMMMMY Better to find that before I waste very expensive decal sheets on the model. Droop stops look OK though, phew. I do have to evaluate whether the little counter stop doofers need to go in there, with their little dayglo warnings. Probably going to have to aren't I Crisp? Just spotted the location point for the rear starboard cable of the underslung load gear is missing, that can be attacked too. Oh well, busy day again...

May I present the only 3 Ford GT’s that I’ve completed so far. The no.1 car with the fins front and back is a Metal kit by Marsh Models from Le Mans 1965. Drivers were Bruce McLaren and the equally great Ken Miles. The other white car is actually called a Ford GTP J car,this was never raced but appeared at Le Mans in 1966 at the pre race testing. This is the car that Ken Miles was killed in while testing in the USA at I think Riverside racetrack,but not sure exactly. This car was then replaced by the For GT mklV . Kit is by Sapphire Modelcraft,resin body,everything else is white metal. The Gulf car is the 1968 winning car,the first resin kit that I made back in about 1984! It’s a Starter kit,and still stands up quite well today apart from solid headlamps! Chris.

I spent some time in Roskilde, Denmark last summer, and as well as discovering that all Danish women are supermodels, I was lucky enough to have the RDAF flying their Merlins overhead 2-3 times a day, all week. Obviously, I fell in love (with the helicopters... I swear!) and vowed that I would try to model one when I return. Well, it took some time, but here it is! My humble attempt at a Danish SAR Merlin Mk.512. It started life as the Skyfall boxing of Italeri's 1/72 Merlin (HC.3?) The kit itself isn't too bad. As much detail in a kit as you would expect from a 1/72 helo. There were a few fit issues that i found. The sides of the fuselage that come separate weren't great, as was the main canopy/windscreen. The tail was a nightmare. I don't know if it was a moulding error, but there were no tabs to insert to add stability to the join. I knocked it off about 3 times before I ended up fabricating supports internally for it myself. Other than that, the kit seems pretty well designed. I used the Eduard PE set for cockpit detail & seatbelts, and was very happy with the outcome. To turn it into a Mk. 512, I used Heritage's Danish Merlin conversion set. Being both my first experience with resin and with converting a model, I can't really compare it to anything... I was pleased with the conversion set... the moulding seemed decent and it had everything I needed (I think...) For decals, the only option I really had was the Model Alliance World Air Power set 1. The decals themselves were great. They went on perfectly, and were really crisp in detail. The problem with the set, however, was the actual decal set. I had heard before that they weren't great, but didn't really think they would be as disappointing as they were. As well as being very incomprehensive, there were also some pretty epic mess-ups. The danger stencil for the rear rotor, for example, read 'Fare - Avle Lys.' Now, my Danish isn't great (Kamelålså?) but I'm sure any Dane will tell you that that is a load of rubbish. I managed to find the correct 'Fare - Pas På' stencil from the HobbyBoss Danish Lynx, but unless you are desperate, I wouldn't recommend the Model Alliance set to anyone thinking of using it. Other than that, any extra detail was scratchbuilt. Well, attempted, anyway. My scratchbuilding skill leaves a lot to be desired. I used Revell & Tamiya Acrylics, and was my first attempt using my new Testors Aztek airbrush. Although I'm very far from mastering it, it makes a huge difference over my dodgy £15 Humbrol Airbrush. The end result is far from perfect - Maskol buggered up my clear parts in a few places, and I think I was a bit hasty to get it finished, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome. It's difficult to do such a pretty piece of kit justice, but hopefully I've not done too bad! I'm operating a don't ask, don't tell policy on all the mistakes and inaccuracies, but I'm sure some of you can pick them out. Maybe it's one I don't know about, so comments and criticism is more than welcomed. Sorry about the pic quality too. Maybe now I have a new airbrush, I can save for a new camera! Anyway, that's my essay done. Hope you enjoy, and thanks for looking! Daryl.

Not much I can add to all that's been written or all the builds that have been shared of this amazing kit. Even if the mandibles don't sit at the right angle, it's still a majestic piece of engineering; nearly a thousand parts - from the hull halves to a greeblie smaller than a nail paring - all of it fitting perfectly. It's a hypnotizing process to watch the layers and layers of detail build across the hull, and an epic process to paint it all. I learned more building and painting this one several years ago than I have on any other kit. My addiction to WW2 planes started here, which is perhaps the best tribute I can pay to the geniuses who designed the original.

This was a fun kit and I enjoyed building it. Some different plumage than the usual US, which I also like to do--different plumage, that is. Paints were all Vallejo and Vallejo Air...oil paint pinwash...Decals are from the superb Xtradecal Sheet for 19 Squadron. This is the fifth 19 Sq aircraft I have built so far. Some aircraft are in the queue for assorted GB this year and I will be building others along the way. Next up is a Phantom, the last aircraft to be officially used by 19 Sq before they disbanded in 1992 and became a reserve unit. Don't worry folks...I have at least 2 Spitfires lined up...😄 Here's some Mustang pics... --John

And one for fun

I would like to show you two F-4EJs that I have recently finished. The first one is a F-4EJ of the Air Developmant and Test Wing in Gifu. They painted it 2017 in a digital or pixel camouflage. When I first came across the photo of this aircraft, I immediately started looking for decals. At that time, there was only this Fujimi boxing available for a lot of money. But I bought it anyway and after a closer inspection decided just to use the decals and build the model using the Hasegawa kit. Here is now the finished model: It is an F-4EJ (without the "kai"), although it features the antenna on top of the spine. But the very small backward facing sensors on top of the rudder are missing. Applying the decals was fun. Fujimi provided large connected areas like one wing = one decal, but I decided to divide them into smaller areas for better handling. I strongly recommend this procedure. As a basic color I chose Revell Seegrün Aqua colours which fits perfectly. The Hasegawa kit is nice, but I added some details like instruments and wiring to the area between the two seats. Also the triangular shaped reinforcement plates on the stabilizers have to be removed from the top and added to the bottom. Check your references, when building a Phantom.... A lot of stencils are provided for the underside, too: The second model shows a F-4EJkai (improved) that can be recognized by the two small sensors and the big antenna on the spine. Also it features a slightly bigger radome, but Hasegawa ignored this difference. Fine molds however have reproduced it in their new range of F-4EJs. The JASDF 302 Sq have painted two of their F-4 in a special scheme for the retirement of the type, one white and the other one black. Hasegawa have released them both. The decals are nicely done but of course they need some touch up especially in the area around the intakes. I will build the black one using the Fine Molds kit. Here the reinforcement plates are correct as they are in the kit. Hope you like the models. greetings from Germany, Norbert

Afternoon all, As I mentioned earlier I felt that the steering wheel assembly could be improved on so I had a go at modelling and printing an upgrade. It occurred to me that I could model the whole steering, rudder assembly as one. I also refined the engine cowlings and they now fit much better around the collector ring. Additionally I saw a build where someone had scratch built the glazing frame for the cockpit. the kit clear part is not badly moulded at all but the 'clear' parts are very thick and really don't work for showing the interior very well at all so I'm experimenting with a all in one piece print which can be 'glazed' with some thin packaging plastic which is much more transparent than the kit part. the print below is a bit wobbly so further strengthening is required an easy enough fix. A trial run with the steering assembly, unfortunately my measurements were slightly out and the whole thing is 2mm too wide but again, an easy enough fix but overall much better than the rather blobby kit part. Cheers, Mark.

Ah, Friday again and here is a small update again. Moving on After finishing that splinter cammo one would think that the model is all but finished but no. Now it's about making the canvas ready.... everything up to this has been a transport distance and there are more to do before it is time to breath life to the model and give it a soul. It's a serene moment when you move on to the small stuff. First off is to paint the regulator and you also see the edge of the cover that shuts the reverser slits in supersonic flight. I begun with masking I masked the fin tip as well. Then I shot Alclad Gloss Black Base I use Alclad Airframe Aluminium to get that shiny base that I can work with The next step was to shoot Alclad steel and then remove the mask. I shot Alclad Gloss Black Base on the fintip and the nose cone. Then I bettered the intake lips with Alclad white aluminium I'm thinking of leaving this beauty spot as is in fact you will find lots of these on real Viggens too....the paint shop wasn´t manned with modellers There you go Next on my to do-list are the black edges on the wings and fins, fix the forward radarsensors, do some bettering painting here and there and from there move on to the wheels and struts. Cheers!

Well, call me old-fashioned, but my car gets 20,000 furlongs to the hogshead.* Regards, Jason *With apologies to Abe Simpson.

Completed model. Rigged with filaments of stretched Uhu glue. And showing the radar, and RP3 rocket armament.

I'm building the Kinetic kit as a NASA F/A-18B using Fightertown decals. Apart from the decals the only aftermarket I'm using will be Eduard seat belts and masks but I'm also going to 3D-print a QTEP (Quick Test Experimental Pod) to go under the wing. I'm also going to need to print decals for the QTEP and for the serials and codes for the specific aircraft that carried it, as it's not on the Fightertown sheet. This is the QTEP: and in action over the Mojave desert: I've made a start today - done some basic assembly of seats and cockpit and sprayed some primer at a few parts. I'll post photos when there's more to see. I might also get a test print of the QTEP done this weekend. cheers Julian

I'd been waiting for a new tool Vulcan for a long time so snapped this up as soon as it came out and got it built. Here are some photos of the result. Vulcan B2 by Phillip Loughlin, on Flickr Vulcan B2 by Phillip Loughlin, on Flickr Vulcan B2 by Phillip Loughlin, on Flickr Vulcan B2 by Phillip Loughlin, on Flickr Vulcan B2 by Phillip Loughlin, on Flickr Hope you like it.

Here is my version of Fantasy Flight Games Star Wars Legion 74-Z speeder bikes. As there are two speeders in the set I decided to paint one as it appeared in “Return on the Jedi” and the other as in “the Mandalorian”. This was the first time that I’ve attempted any kind of “base”, both speeders sit on a transparent peg giving the appearance of them hovering above the ground. Each speeder has a different terrain base, I’ll be looking to do more of these in the future! Here are the photos: “Endor” “Mando” Both speeders together… …and with the AT-RT. To give an idea of the size of these figures here is one next to a Tamiya paint. You can see my build log here… until next time as always, any suggestions, criticisms or comments will be gratefully received. rgds John(shortCummins)

Apologies I have a bit of a session last night and forgot to take any pictures. Anyway everything went together nicely. The only issue was my own stupidity. I was using a rattle can undercoat. I must have forgot to shake it enough because on one pass it left a grainy finish. Anyway I polished out most and the residual looks like wear and tear to me....😃 As always all comments welcome. Dave

This I had originally planned to finish in the old Lauda colors by using the decals from the 1991 Revell first release. But unfortunately the decals were beyond use,even after clear coating them prior to application. They simply would not stay on the model or were silvering very badly. So I had to use plan b and repaint the whole model and finish it in its last scheme. I had a decal set from BRAZIL decals,which offers a selection of different 767 liveries,among them this Lauda CS and the Lauda Air Italy. Those decals worked well and the project was solved. After completing I came to the conclusion that this livery is actually more elegant than the earlier variant. Windows are again from AA. The most complicated part on each 767 was their respective door and windows arrangement used by airlines.During my builds I came across 4 !! different layouts🤪 All paints come from Gunze,the numbers I dont have in mind right now,but if anyone has questions about them,I can certainly recheck the exact Gunze paints I used.😉 Cheers, Alex

That's a bit better, one seat almost modified and the other part way through, quite pleased with that. Sliced yonder the belts and used plasticard slid underneath the now liberated belts.just got to round off the edges a bit and can paint up and add the front belt. Thanks for looking in Chris

My current entries in this GB are proceeding well. I've probably jinxed it now! @Rabbit Leader is a bit concerned that I am going to leave the GB early once they are finished, so I'm going to put his mind at rest. My next entry is PK-129 Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF11/12/14. However, this will be the more recent Xtrakits boxing. This seems to be a very popular kit in this GB. The original Matchbox kit is from 1987. This boxing is from 2007, which means that even this modern release has been in The Stash for fifteen years!!! Doesn't time fly? The original Matchbox kit provided two choices for 85 Sqn RAF and one for the Belgian Air Force. This Xtrakits box provides two choices for 64 Sqn and a French aircraft. I will be building the Special Hobby NF11 and NF14 in RAF markings in the forthcoming Meteor STGB, so this one will be finished in the French scheme. 🇫🇷

This is the model i built a few years ago. Some of you have seen this, watching my Remora build thread. Construction was a series of failures. Initially i wanted to build a 1:12 hover bike but I didn't manage to create a rider figure. So i changed the plan and finished it as a 1:35 scale sci-fi fighter. Then everything went wrong while painting: the paint layer was terribly grainy. I decided that only heavy weathering can save it. This way a clean star fighter became a planetary fighter (from a planet with a very harsh climate) 🤣

Hello again. After taking a few days off for the Holidays, here we go again! After completing the XP-80 last year, I determined that I needed a P-80A to round out the collection. So, I picked up a Sword P-80 A/B kit like so: A relatively new tool kit, optional parts for A vs B model -- good to go, right? Not so fast. While researching the build, once again, the Spectre of Tommy Thomason's Tailhook Topics blog reaches out to crush simplicity. See the link HERE In it is various quite useful information, along with one single "Dag Nab It!"; the cockpit for the A model is in the same location as on the XP-80, which means that the windscreen (not the whole cockpit) needs to be moved back around 1/8 inch, and the canopy needs shortening by a scale 6 - 7 inched, or a tad less than 1/8 inch. There goes the easy day, so let's get on with it. Below, the red lines indicate where the cuts need ti be made in each fuselage half: Above right, the cackpit wall is moved aft and glued onto the fuselage side in it's new position. It seemed a lot more simple to shorten here, since all the parts fit well. The mods being done on the fuse, the next step is to paint all needed interior parts with Interior Green (FS 34151), and add around 3 grams lead weight to the nose. The nose gear well fit to the fuselage is really poor, so a LOT of sanding and test fitting is required here: Above right, the intakes are fitted before the fuselage is closed up. The drill here is to try and get the best seam possible at the leading edge of the splitter plate (shiny white spot). Additional sanding will be needed at the rear as well as the splitter plate, which I will show later on. Meanwhile, the cockpit is painted. Fortunately the cockpit can be inserted from the bottom, after the fuselage halves are assembled, which makes life much easier: Above right, note that the cockpit has not yet been inserted. The gap in front of the windscreen is filled with scrap plastic sheet, which is much easier to manage than filler, and also adds strength to the structure. I use Weld-ON #3 for the construction. User's of other types of glue may have their mileage vary. While this dries, I'll step away and ponder steps to follow. Be well, Ed,

Good morning. I finished the construction of a B17F Revell whose assembly is here: This is my latest diorama, which is also a bit of a way to remember all the airmen who have been shot down. This B17 bomber was shot down on February 21, 1944. His pilot belly landed his plane because he was injured, his co-pilot and upper turret gunner KIA, two engines out , a destroyed oxygen system and a ragged rudder (among other battle damage!). The victorious hunter, Heinrich "Heinz" Bär, came the next day with other pilots to inspect the wreckage. A Propaganda Staffel team was also there to film the scene. Figs are Preiser's ones. I dressed the Germans with paper coats The pilots came in a Kubelwagen (Italeri): and the kriegberichter in a Kfz15 Horsch (ACE) The German pilots unpacked the rescue kit consisting of a dinghy: I made this raft with paper tubes, which I covered with Mister Surfacer and which I painted in Humbrol Matt24: I crushed the paper dinghy to make it look deflated To furnish the boat, I made the "Gibson Girl": This radio transmitter is so called because of its shapes, of course! Some battle damages: I like the funny details: The Luftwaffe technicians thought they could recover the wreckage, but a flight of P51 strafed it. The unfortunate Miss Ouachita found herself in aluminum ingots to supply the German factories. Here is a new B17 in my collection. Well, I think that I will run out of space soon!: Thanks for watching. Regards from France, Eric-Snafu35

These are aircraft modified to bring the fleet up to 'F-86D-45' standard; the most obvious change in this process was the addition of a brake 'chute and its associated housing at the base of the tail. After conversion all aircraft changed their block numbers to indicate this so that a pre-conversion F-86D-25 became an F-86D-26 after conversion and so on. So the designation for JASDF F-86Ds is correct. EDIT: as an example, F-86D-20 51-3008 shown below in its factory state (left) and post-conversion to become an F-86D-21 at right:

Thanks Gents.........and yes Stef, I switched away from Aber and Eduard and mostly go for Voyager and Griffon now. I find them overall better and more comprehensive. As regards the KT, here is where it stands at present prior to weld beads which I am working on at present on the turret. Should be able to pop up some pics later in the week on that stage. Anyway, off out for the day. Cheers all...

Haha, to be fair gingerbob, I am not far from that myself. Give it a few years and I will have to trade in all of my 1/144 models for 1/32's! So while I was listening to a very *interesting* meeting at work today, I decided to do some work on the Bugs... who said that working from home was hard? First thing I decided to do was tackle the slats, flaps and wing fold for the C model. So we take one perfectly good model, like the one below and mark out what needs to go. In this case, pretty much all of it. Then using a new sharp blade, you score along the area you need to cut a few times until it pops off, being careful not to let the blade slip and ruin the bits you are keeping or those things called fingers, apparently you need them. No turning back now, bit of a drastic change huh? Here we have one Bug minus it's wings. It has had the spine for the canopy put on however. I need to tidy the wing stubs up a bit but we are getting there. The tub on the right is the C Bug's cockpit and the left one id the D Bug's cockpit. The resin IP's will go in the D Bug and the PE IP will go into the C Bug, looking forward to painting that and then never seeing it again. The C Bug's pit is a combination of Revell plastic, Retrowings resin and PE from Brengun. Hopefully I will get some paint thrown on these on the next meeting. Kind regards, Dazz

Well the cutters hit the sprue, hair and paint touched plastic tonight. A start has been made 👍

The cockpit is far enough along that it can be added to the fuselage. The instrument panels are a combination of film/photoetch and decals, whilst the side panels, walls, and other gubbins are hand painted. I'm glad I have a detail brush with only two hairs on it. Everything also has a black Future wash applied. The ejection seats are just posing for the photo - they will be added at the end of the build along with the control column. The top half of the front instrument panel is part of the coaming, so you won't see that until the coaming is added. The CMK photoetch details for the ejection seats are unusual - the harnesses look somewhat underscale and the face curtain handles somewhat overscale. Law of averages applies in such a case. The silly yellow and black stripes are also hand painted. The jumble of doodads on top of the rear instrument panel was augmented with extra bits of resin and styrene. What was provided with the CMK set did not match the drawing I have. Of course what I created doesn't match the drawing either but we're not telling anyone, OK? The fuselage halves are glued together - the cockpit slides in nicely from underneath. First though, I have to cut off the radome so I can replace it with the special A&AEE version. Too much fun for an old man, especially when I slip with the razor saw. Cheers, Bill

Time for a bit of an update to show the position of the Hornet at the minute and I think a couple of pictures say it better than I could; I am quite happy with how the slats and flaps have turned out, with the way some of this kit has gone I was worried about the flaps in particular and how they would work out. The only issue with this part of the build is the fact that the locating holes in both the flap and wing surfaces for the locating pins on the actuators are about three times the size of the pins and will need some filling as can be seen in the picture below; The next job to be tackled is the vertical tails and these look to be very nicely moulded and capture the look of the A's fins very well, Kinetic do supply the fins for both the A/B and C/D but once again don't tell you which ones to use for which version, in fact they don't mention the ones for the C/D at all! Here's a look at the outer face of on of the tails; The inside of the tail does need a little corrective work doing though. Fairly early on in the Hornet;s career it was discovered that they suffered from fatigue cracks caused by the buffeting of air from the LEX so to help prevent this some strengthening plates were added to the joint of the inside of the fin and the fuselage. On the C these were replaced by smaller plates during production. The issue here is that Kinetic have the smaller plates moulded on them, marked in red in the picture below; Shouldn't take long to sort, and Kinetic do supply the correct plates for an A too, and they actually tell you to fit them! So that is how she looks at the minute, I had planned more progress but feel like today, hopefully I will get the tails sorted and fitted tomorrow. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig.

I'm expecting my son shortly for tea so I'll have to pause the sprint finishing for a while. I got the masking done though. I used to find masking really hard work and very frustrating until I discovered the trick of using lots of tiny pieces instead of trying to do it in one go. I lay a length of tape on my desk and then chop it up with a scalpel, moving the small pieces with a pair of very needle nosed tweezers and pressing them down with a cocktail stick. Easy. (And I notice from the small square dent next to the nose wheel bay that I forgot the tiny part C51, which is so small I didn't notice it when I threw the 'empty' sprue away. Fortunately, I haven't emptied the bin since and have now found the little blighter!) I brush painted the coaming and HUD brackets. I didn't mess with primer so I used enamels and this was good because... Blending the greys was very easy with slow-drying paint. Did you notice the different colours in the first photo? I hope not because that's how it's supposed to happen. When the enamel has dried I'll brush some ink over it for the full effect. I know it looks a bit scruffy but it will be under glass so I should get away with it. Than I stuck it all together. Normally, I'd paint something like this in pieces but for what I'm attempting I'll have to do it all in one go, just like the old days. Once it's had a chance to dry I'll flip it and add the pylons and aerials and part C51 and then flip it back over for the canopy and another aerial and a little more masking, then I think I'm ready for primer. (I'm writing this plan down mostly for my benefit in case I forget where I am in the morning!) My son just arrives and brought me a little present. It's a decal solution cruet hand made from spalted beech. Cool eh?

I don't have any etched brass for the rear track guards, and I wasn't overly impressed with the Airfix offerings. The steps in each one and the side pieces are a little on the thick side, so I had a go at altering them. Using a chisel blade, I cut the steps out and tidied up the surface with some wet and dry, and then I scraped the sides with a blade to thin them down. Next, using the other track guard as a guide, I cut pieces of 10thou card for the steps and glued them in place. Whilst I was reasonably happy with the result, I decided to have a look at the Tamiya ones. I can always use the Airfix items in a future project. The Tamiya ones are a better prospect and just needed the sides to be rubbed down a little, and with a little persuasion, they can be made to fit....et voila! In the photos which I have of Bromovice, the side parts of the rear track guards are missing, so what's left requires some drilling to represent where the attachment rivets were. While I was in track guard mode, I thought that I would do the front as well. There's not a lot to do as only the right front tack guard was showing in the photos. Once again, I had a go at the kit part, and this is much easier job, just requiring the leading and side edges to be scraped to an acceptable thickness. BUT,on the Aber etched set, it provides the forward track guards. (It provides the rear ones as well, but I'd already used them in another build). So the right one was bent to shape and soldered, and I decided to use it because being brass, I was able to tweak it slightly with some pliers to show some mild damage. I glued a small strip of card to the forward edge of the side track guard so that the etched piece would have something to attach to, and then it was super glued in place. The side parts of the track guards should extend downwards, so I cut some thin card to shape and glued it in place. That's it for now for a couple of days until I can get some more done to this. Thanks for watching. John.

Couldn’t sleep, sick of SPADs, wanted some nocturnal modelling: This kit is pretty much building itself. I just wave glue at it now and then. I remember on my Airfix Grant build for the MTO GB I spent ages trying to work out what was sprocket and what was sprue, and even then had to whittle everything to get the tracks to fit. Not so here. Matchbox provided really delicate sprue gates between the teeth, which fit perfectly into the holes in the track. The track joining mechanism is really neat, and the bodywork pretty much clicks together. I am very impressed with it all so far. I clearly haven’t built enough Matchbox armour!

First attempt at a model aircraft, I usually build cars or help my children with their Warhammer. lots of mistakes along the way but happy enough with the completed model. Vallejo paints used throughout.