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I Hi All, Here’s my latest completion, the new tool Airfix Vulcan. What a joy to build, loved every minute, there was virtually no filler, it went together (with a little care) perfectly. I added some wires and piping in to the bomb bay. I also carved off the bombs on the cradles and reworked them to show her cargo has been delivered. I wanted to replicate Black Buck 1, so after lots of reading, looking over loads of photos I think I’ve done her justice. I also wanted to pay tribute to the heroism of Martin Withers and his crew for their outstanding prosecution of the operation. I hope you enjoy the pics Thank you all for looking, just no idea what to build next. Cheers Si

I had a taster flight out of Duxford a while back with Classic Wings. The aircraft was a Cessna 150L Aerobat. When I got back I had a quick look and found a Bandai kit in 1/48 - my usual scale. So as a change from the usual military jets I would have a go at painting it to look a bit like G-BCDY. This is how she turned out This was the kit The faired over wheels had to be fixed. The wheels in the kit are only half moulded so whole new wheels needed. The colours are not quite right. The blue is too dark. I had to loose some of the engine detail to stuff in enough lead for her to not tail sit. I should have used some fine 1mm tape for the lining but just tried cutting some. And the serial number is in the wrong font and too big. 8mm high letter when I think 6mm would have been better. But she will do to remind me of my first time on the controls! Thanks for looking

Hello again, It's been almost a year since my last aircraft (I'm mostly in to painting mins) but had the itch to do another and so this great kit was completed over the course of two months. It was mostly airbrushed with Vallejo 'Dark Ghost Grey' on the top, with Mission Models 'Light Ghost Grey' on the undersides (more on this in a bit) done in the pre-shade technique on a black spraycan undercoat. The black was a mix of Vallejo gloss black, regular black and black ink to give it a bit of shine. The panel lines on the body were done with Vallejo Dark Grey acrylic model wash (I'm a big fan of their model washes) with enamel washes used on the smaller parts. Other weathering was done mostly with MIG AMMO Oil & Streaking Brushers, and Tamiya weathering powder sets. The decals were all OOTB, and the only third party item was the seat, which is by Eduard. The additional details, particularly the cockpit, were all hand-painted with my occasionally steady hand. I had intended this to be a bit cleaner (I say the same thing with every bloody aircraft! 😂) but as usual got carried away as it's a part of the process I do really enjoy. As such it's probably a bit more weathered than a CAG aircraft should be. Saying that I did spend a fair bit of time looking at photos of F-18's online and in books (the 'F-18 in Detail and Scale' by Haagen Klaus was a very useful purchase) and noticed that there were pics of this particular aircraft having had patch-ups in the opposite colour to what it should be, particularly around the front end and the fold up wings. I thought this looked cool so attempted to replicate it in a few places. Same too with the oily fuel spills on the underside of the aircraft, although I did take this more to extremes. A few things I messed up on; firstly I should have filled in the gap line where the two front halfs come together. Whilst the fit is generally very very good, I didn't notice the middle gap line running up the front and underside of the nose until it was too late. I did attempt to sand down the metallic box thing at the front of the nose (excuse my lack of technical terms) but as this was curved to begin with, it didn't look great. The canopy got a bit messy when masking, painting and sanding (I hate doing canopies) but thankfully it's not too noticeable when in an open position. Finally I decided to paint the red line separating the black and the grey of the jet, as I don't like the faff of using decals that long and thin, however, despite masking this wasn't my neatest work and it shows. Oh well. As mentioned, this is a great kit, and was generally not too painful to put together. The folded wings option wasn't too much of a headache, likewise all the small details around the wheel bays went easier than I expected. There were very few areas that required sanding and filling. The decals were generally decent, it's only on the smaller ones where writing should be (and it's instead just lines) that you might want to consider third party options. The only parts I would consider third party options for other than the seat are the exhaust nozzles and maybe the wheels. When you look at pictures of the exhausts they have much more detail in them than sculpted, particularly on the insides. I have attempted to paint the details in. Trying to add additional bits of card/plastic I think would be too tricky, and way out of my comfort zone. A few other things you may find useful; firstly, Army Painter primer spray cans are fantastic! They are more of a laquer spray than just acrylic, and are of a much larger size than Tamiya/Mr Hobby ones for around the same price. They are available at many indy board game shops so well worth a try. Secondly, as mentioned, Mission Models 'Light Ghost Grey' acrylic was used on the undersides. Now I'm a huge fan of their 'transparent dust' paint, especially when mixed in slightly with other colours to get a dusty/dirty effect, but this one? not so much. It will be still be active days after its been applied, meaning it has to be varnished ASAP in order to protect it. If you get it slightly wet, thats it, your paint job won't be so neat. No issues with Vallejo products doing the same after a couple of hours, let alone days. Finally, although it's barely noticeable here, I created a good textured effect on the bulkier missles using Vallejo 'Rust Texture' acrylic effects. A few coats of that, then spray on your chosen colour and they will look much more realistic than the smooth plastic provided. Oh, and finally, in case anyone says it I started this kit a few weeks before seeing 'Top Gun Maverick' which I highly recommend having been a bit skeptical of it in production! 😂 Thanks for looking, any thoughts or queries let me know!

On the 6th September 1940 there were three large raids by German aircraft with the first of these between 8.30 and 10 am involving 250 aircraft in five formations. At 8.30 am on 6th Fw Erich Braun in Bf109E-4 WNr. 2762 'black 6' and the pilots of 5./JG27 took off from an airfield near St Omer to fly the short distance to Griz Nez on the coast of Pas-de-Calais to collect their bombers. Griz Nez is the closest point on the French coast to England – only 21 miles (34 km) to Dover. At 15,000 feet near Mayfield, just south of Tunbridge Wells, the records of 601 Squadron at RAF Tangmere, state that 50 Bf 109s were attacked by 12 Hurricanes of 601 Sqn. Erich Braun's Black 6 took hits in one wing and in the engine from Hurricane Mk I (P3675) of F/Lt Michael Robinson. As Erich Braun turned for home, loosing coolant, he was attacked again (possibly by Hurricanes from 303 Sqn from Northolt) and bailed out. Black 6 did not survive, ending up in a smoking hole at Bank Farm, Tudeley near Tonbridge, Kent. The slightly wounded Erich Braun became a PoW. I have an interest in 'local' histories of WW2 and with Tonbridge a 40 minute drive for me that pretty much classifies as local. I found this story of Erich Braun and Black 6 in the excellent 'Luftwaffe Crash Archive' by Nigel Parker and, with AeroMaster having decals for this, the choice was made. It seems there are no surviving photos of Black 6 so the scheme by AeroMaster is based on other planes from that unit. This is the Airfix 1:48 Bf 109E kit from 2010 which builds up nicely. The extras were a Yahu instrument panel (one designed for the Eduard kits but it can be made to fit with minor surgery and a little persuasion), Montex canopy masks and those Aeromaster decals which settled down perfectly without any need for added persuasion. I enjoyed the build and am mostly pleased how it turned out. I had some slight difficulty with fitting the leading edge flaps as I wanted them closed which meant some surgery to remove tabs from the inner curve and then I found them a little too large. But I got there in the end. Paints were Ultimate grey primer and xtracrylix for the main colours. I've avoided mottled finishes up to now but decided to take the plunge with this one. I had looked up various methods on Britmodeller (brush painting and some fantastic work with pastels) but decided I needed a new skill so went with the airbrush. The last plane I mottled (around 1969-ish), done with a cut down paint brush, was the Airfix 1:72 109 G-6 from 1965: So, fast-forward to 2022, paint thinned far more than usual, low air pressure and close up work. I tried my new skill on a paint mule first (a rather unhappy Frog Hornet) and then off I went. I stayed on the side of little is better so ended up with a fainter mottle than I would really like but I'm fairly happy with that. A little bit of oils to dirty it up a bit (that yellow nose did look very bright) and some chalk pastels for dirt on the wheels, nose gun troughs and for the exhaust stains. I then added the aerial wires with invisible mending thread. And there I was. Done. Next up I'm probably rather bravely tackling a Special Hobby Anson and also working on my lighting methods - the blue background in these pictures is white in real life. All the best Mark

Hi everyone, I would like to share my latest work, Eduard MiG 21 Bis, finished in syrian scheme with decals from PaulusVictor "Syrian Veterans" PV-001-48. The decals performed excellent and I enthusiastically recommned them. They really are the best there is out there. Cartograf were my preferred decals before, but these are better, hands down.

Hello to you all. This early model from the Lawrence Designs and Models (LDM) range depicts Mew Gull G-AEXF as campaigned by Alex Henshaw in 1937. mgrfi1 by Matt Farmer, on Flickr The airframe was then later modified to win the 1938 King's Cup, and further altered for a record breaking flight to Cape Town in 1939. Those mods are allowed for in the kit, but require some major filework on the fuselage, and I was not going to risk writing off a rare kit, so 1937 it is, At the time of the kits release (1979), G-AEXF had recently been restored to her early appearance, but a later rebuild means she is now in 1939 form, and still flies as part of the Shuttleworth collection. OOB, paint is Halfords Ford Diamond White over yellow primer, and Revell 62 mossy green over black. Race number homemade, other decals are the 43 year old originals, and in a bit of a state, although they applied OK there are plenty of random bits of debris embedded in the varnish. I did scan them, and will probably replace the wing serials if nothing else, but I wanted to give the originals a chance. mgrfi2 by Matt Farmer, on Flickr mgrfi3 by Matt Farmer, on Flickr mgrfi4 by Matt Farmer, on Flickr mgrfi5 by Matt Farmer, on Flickr mgrfi6 by Matt Farmer, on Flickr Brief build notes can be found in my WIP thread which also includes the ASK13 and Christen Eagle from LDM, as well as further information about the company. Thankyou for looking, Matt.

Hi All, I'd like to share my completed Special Hobby 1/48 Focke Achgelis FA 223E-0 Drache. The Drache was the first commercially viable helicopter. The kit was a pleasure to build, but wasn't without it's challenges. The detail in the cockpit is fabulous out of the box. Painted with MRP paints. Thanks for looking Tom

Morning! Hope you all had a good week. It’s Been a fun / busy week at work over the past few days. That married up with a birthday bonanza of three birthdays in four days run has left little time for Tiger months. Slow progress has been made over the week so I thought I’d share while I’m in the eye of the storm. Here goes. First off the screens got unmasked. and tother. I’m really happy and a little bit surprised that they turned out as well as that. They’re so tiny. A word to the wise though DO NOT copy what I did here. Add the glass parts before adding the wings. I test fitted for sure and sanded to suit but “paint” 🥹 paint has closed the gap a little making the fit totally impossible, especially if one is holding a freshly Gators griped screen twixt the jaws of a micro guage set of tweezers. 🤪😫😳🥵 Much Anglo Saxon was uttered under and over one’s breath before deciding to sod it off for a bad job and chop off the connecting pin and file to sit with a top of a sharp blade. 😶‍🌫️ Zero feels my pain and offers sympathy. Eventually we have this. and this. Two look! 👀 Two of the little blighters begging to be pushed over the finish line. I’m a one Aeroplane at a time man after this. It’s like having two wives. Who wants that? 🤣 This helps. 😅 Any hoo. Like baby birds squawking for food I tentatively add the rigging for the nose and canopy. And of course the other. Just remembering I had fitted the soft furnishings around the two/four cockpits I took snaps. They finish it off quite nicely. 😇 A quick dry fit of a prop shows they’re all good and I can yellow top them both. 💛💛 Now just before I leave the comfort of my morning coffee table to clean the house and then get ready for Gemma’s birthday lunch and both my parents birthdays. I’ll share where we are as of now. One half of the wing rigging is sorted on both. And Leaving the second wing wires and the close canopy on both. The doors and engine flap on Custard aaaand the prop tips. After that I thing Robert is your fathers brother. 😍 Hope you all have a splendid weekend chaps. Take care and as always. Happy modelling. Johnny.

Hello all, a complete change for me here is the latest from the shed. This is the first Japanese WW2 aircraft I’ve built since my teens!! And I have to say I had great fun making it. It was bought as a practice piece before I make the main event, a “Pete” on a catapult. Designed as a three-seater deck borne Reconnaissance aircraft the C6N1 entered service after the majority of Japanese carriers had been destroyed, so most were flown from land. It was a very fast aircraft for its time and could outrun most pursuing fighters. The C6N1-S was a modified C6N1. It was developed as a night fighter to counter allied bombers as they came within reach of the Japanese homelands and had a 30mm cannon obliquely mounted in the cockpit area, where the centre seat used to be in the reconnaissance version. Having no radar severely diminished the effectiveness of the aircraft. The Kit provides three options, one of them being the night fighter. A bit reminiscent of the old Frog kits the interior was a bit sparse, so I added stringers and longerons and a few boxes to fill it up. Apart from the wing roots the fit was pretty good and the decals were excellent. The instructions were in Japanese so thank heavens for good diagrams. Its finished with Humbrol and Xtracolor enamels, Flory dark dirt wash and weathered with Tamiya powders. Here’s a few pics. Thanks for looking Pete

Hi everyone, this is another one of my latest, this one has been on the finished shelf for a while, I just now got a chance to take some good photos. This is hobbyboss plastic, decals are italeri, and the colors are hataka's SEA set. I like the tone of the colors, but they are hard to put on freehand, I don't know if I'll be using them again.

Hi everyone. Here are my latest builds, a pair of Eduard dual combo Spitfire XVI. A beautifully produced pair of kits, luckily it came with a Cartograph decal sheet and not the new ones by Eduard. Built oob I only added a Eduard Brassin resin engine to the highback Spit, a kit in it's own right. Thanks for looking. gazza l

Dear all, My latest completed project - the latest 'Weekend Edition' release of Eduard's 72nd scale DV. Being the weekend boxing, means you only get the basic plastic (single) sprue, the instructions and decals. Because this is devoid of any great detail, I added the following details: Built up the cockpit a bit (you only get seat, stick, rubber bar and floor although you get instrument and seat belt decals) and added the missing fuel tank; winscreen; hollowed out exhaust opening; made up the missing radiator to engine pipework; MG08/15 MG feed and extraction chutes added; Elevator control horns and aileron actuator covers added I'm sure others of better ability would be able to add even more detail - however, I am happy with what I have added here. Rigged with nylon smoke coloured 'invisible' mending thread and Oschi elastic thread for elevators. In this new release you get four very colourful DV markings to choose from which are all excellent. I decided to go for this particular one as it seemed a shame not to use the lozenge camo decals and because this was the more demanding paint job for a brush painter like myself so more of a challange to pull off. Model completed in the markings of Albatros DV 2299/17 of Lt. Xaver Dannhuber, Jasta 26, Abeele, Belgium, 1917. I hope there are not too many pictures? Regards Dave

Hi All, Some solid progress on the Glad today, after a morning of lawn mowing, rose pruning and weed spraying - get me! A rather more relaxing afternoon detail painting the cockpit, and assembling. Here's the port framework in position: In the right hands a super detailer could go to town on this cockpit, but I'm happy with the kit detail as presented. Next I started to assemble the painted bits. The Yahu instrument panel included a PE trim wheel - here it is alongside the moulded equivalent: I decided that I preferred the look of the moulded part so elected to go with that. Here's the cockpit floor starting to come together: You can see the compass in position. The face also came from the Yahu set - looks lovely! 🤩 The IP itself is a thing of beauty: Bit of a rubbish photo, but you get the idea. Next the top deck - you can just see the 'other' IP attached to the underside: This is coming together nicely. The kit fit and engineering is superb, as is the detail - ICM are to be congratulated. The final bit of PE was the radio - the instruction places it here: Bit pointless really, as it will be covered over by a bulkhead and never seen! Here's the lovely Eduard Sutton harness in position: And another shot showing some of that detail: After a bit more light drybrushing and an oil wash, it was time to button up. The cockpit is still nice and visible, which is a bonus! Building this kit has been a most enjoyable experience thus far, and even in 1:32 it doesn't build into a large model - highly recommended! That's all until tomorrow, Thanks for looking, Roger

After enjoying the build of my Tiddler so much, I have started, which I didn't intend yet, the Clyde Puffer by NeOmega. It's in the same scale 1/144 which I do like. So, here we go with a few piccy's of parts, as you do. Hull PE The majority of the parts Hatch sides and cover and the wheel and deck house. So far, I've made a start on the sea base and the hull, which I primed and then realised I had not attached the wash port covers. The water is looking ok, but perhaps needs a bit more colour. Anyway, that'll do for now, off to the primer can again. Jon

Good afternoon all! Before I go any further, I know over the last couple of years that a number of people have expressed an interest on here in buying this as a kit, so if you are one of these souls, can I ask you to drop me a PM so that I can start compiling a list of those interested? I've a couple of orders from the States already so once this build is finished, I'll put together a brochure to show people what they'd be getting before anyone needs commit themselves. I've also decided to have the PE done commercially as whatever about the length of time it will take to print the resin, do the vacforming, masks etc., the PE is too labour intensive an item on top of everything else when it comes to quality control. Things have been very slow of late due to a combination of the dreaded long-cv and various family obligations outside of work. but there is at least some progress to report... Comms first though. Are you sure you're not actually a bishop irl Pete? That does sounds uncannily like the sort of thing you'd say to your congregation... (mods: can we have a 'Priest in Lincs' emoji please?) Thanks Terry. That pen does indeed produce great results but I think I'd only use it for the kind of detailing jobs seen here, like the engines and locking pins - I wouldn't trust it interacting with other materials or indeed getting any subsequent handling, based on my own experiences. There seem to be an infinite number of chrome paints out there when you trawl the web looking for inspiration but Jayzus the prices of some of them. The former makes a great reward for the latter Chris! 😁 From you G, those are very heartening sentiments. Thank you! Cheers you two! Thanks David. Can I just remind any Airifx executives reading this on their corporate jet that I have multiple dependents and a modelling habit to support.... 😁 Having just about understood how the various parts of the wingfold mechanism all operate Ian, I'm pretty sure I could make a working version at a larger scale...before the men in white coats were alerted.... I wasn't sure I was doing the right thing at all to begin with Keith when the first coat went down...thankfully it seems to have panned out ok. Chrome and cookery Bill. I can't help thinking there's a TV series in all this somewhere. 'The Model Chef', or some such nonsense... After a sesh at home with friends many years back I got up in the morning and made everyone a huge cooked breakfast that included kidneys. One of those present (originally from Seaford over on the S. Coast) spurned having said items on his plate with a : 'Nah mate - I never eat p*ss filters...', leaving a rather sombre reflective mood amongst those who'd just finished theirs. I shall miss this when it's tucked away in the glass case Roger! Exactement Johnny! This is indeed a most cruel way to discover that I'm the only one of here who licks his shirt after a pie. Apparently. That's actually me and life-in-general Martian... 'I'm a firestarter, twisted firestarter...' I'd submit that we're all in a circle of friendship here, just gazing at the feet of the next person along the ring... 😁 I'm getting more immature Bill. Does that count? One of the reasons delaying my posting anything further was the completely unfounded slur cast by @Fritag a little while ago that I somehow possessed a calm demeanour when accidents happen. For the record, I managed to smash the rear of both fins against the shelf over the bench several days back which unleashed a Holy Feckstorm of Profanity. BTW, am I the only one that giggles in a decidedly juvenile manner each time I see the: thread over in the 'Chat' section, imagining that it's where you go to post loads of cursing when a build goes wrong.... Anyway, yuck: Both top and bottom sections on both sides exhibiting a significant 'scallop' feature not present on the actual aircraft. The sections are très, très thin and blade-like at about 0.04mm thickness so not an easy repair job. More in despair than anything else ai resorted to using Oramask backing in order to use resin and laser to build back the required sections, which worked remarkably well. I knew from past experience that Washi tape always produces a textured surface but using Orasmask here leaves a smooth surface on that side, meaning you only have the front to worry over with a small file and fine W&D. The fragility of these sections is visible in the translucency when light falls through it: - but once painted/varnished to match their surroundings, it's an invisible mend. That took a couple of days to complete due to the limited periods for which I can concentrate at present, but then it was on to finishing the seats prior to installation. I'd already managed to knock the face screen handles off the front of the drogue containers so made and painted some new ones from fuse wire: The overall colours still looked a bit too vivid at this scale so these were muted with a heavily diluted Payne's Grey oil wash on the seat fabrics and webbing: With some further graphite work needed (I thought) to pop out some of the metal detailing on seat backs and sides that will of course be completely hidden once installed: And with nothing further to delay matters, observer and pilot seats are now permanently installed. I used Gator's Grip to stick these into place as the 5-min epoxy I bought recently for such jobs has turned out to be highly unreliable. Getting the angle of the pilot seat correct whilst the adhesive sets required a brute force jig: In the above shot, you can see that I've added the various LABS units behind the pilot's set as well. Labelled respectively, these items are: LABS dummy calibrator. LABS test assembly. LABS dummy relay box. I can't remember had I mentioned previously but the twin holes drilled out immediately aft of the first set of maintenance panels are two accommodate small whip aerials for the VHF system: That seemed to take forever but things are thankfully still moving on. In an effort to mentally push back against the fatigue, Mrs B and self lashed the bikes to the car recently and drove over to a woodland in the neighbouring county for a restorative cycle. Like many so-called forests in Ireland -many of which are little more than bleak forestry industry mono-cultures devoid of living things - this one has a bleak perimeter of sitka, yet unlike many, contains the original deciduous heart of an old 17th century estate, mercifully left as meadow for life to endure: Utter peace lying in the grasses and watching the sky. You forget, so easily forget, to feed the heart. Thanks for dropping by as always all of you. Tony

Hi guys, This is my latest project in 1:48 scale. What a fantastic kit, from probably the best manufacturer of plastic kits.I love that airplane, for me was the best in WW2.The building went very smoothly without any particular issue.As a lot of other modellers, I found the decals a bit too much thick and I was scared to sand them.I used oil to reproduce some weathering effects.I didn't use any aftermarket and as paint, I airsprayed Revell and Vallejo colours. I hope you like it and any comments and tips are highly appreciated. Thanks

Hi all Some more small steps, canopy blended in a bit Fuselage struts added Rudder and tail skid added Upper wing resting in place on the fuselage struts, not long now!!! Thanks for looking in Chris

Calling this one done. Although if anyone knows any special trick that will stop the weathering pigments from covering my hands every time I pick this one up, please let me know! Thanks for looking.

Ah yes, many a school night spent listening to the whistling, phase-shifting Tony Prince and Kid Jensen hamming it up, sponsored by Peter Stuyvesant, flogging cheap coffin-nails.....some nights you could even get through a complete song! Childhood, that time of innocence......mine was Methylated Spirits, bonfires and freshly poured tarmac....not all together you understand, as this could result in chronic indigestion, but rather, each savored (or in the case of meths, drank) individually.

You do get them every now and then, the sort of member that can brighten up an entire forum, just by leaving it.

-I think in "their" community we are considered as a very convinient training ground

He seemed a happy chappy. Open to new ideas and willing to change his mind set. Shame he won't be staying

Aaargh. the classic you went to Tenerife for a holiday and they went to Eleveneriffe....

Completely forgot I'd promised @Uncle Monty to upload a couple of pics of the stormtrooper blaster (the E-11, based on the Stirling submachine gun) which I'd made. Top is the original Hasbro toy (which I managed to find on eBahgum for less than £20), and underneath is the completed conversion, using resin parts from DoopyDoos (for about £20): With the resin bits added, the gun has a fair bit of weight and feels far more authentic than the original light plasticky toy. With a half-decent paintjob I think it looks pretty good.

I’m stuck in hospital at the moment (3 weeks down and hopefully only 2-3 weeks to go) and I’ve been browsing EBay and making odd and varied purchases: Since being admitted: Warbirds Junkers D.1 vacform (ex Rareplane) Joystick Rumpler C.1 vacform Eastern Express Sikorsky S.XVI 2x FROG Wallace (I have a few of these now, but they are a good basis for converting to Wallace and DH-9A, as well as modifying to more accurately represent the aeroplanes that flew over Mt Everest) Valom Boeing XF8B-1 Tamiya Douglas F4D-1 Skyray KP Sopwith Swallow (lowball bid, won unexpectedly! Now I’m thinking about a possible conversion to a Dove, as seen at Shuttleworth) and Flyhawk Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless. Flyhawk make ships and I think this is their first 1/72 aeroplane kit. I’ve only looked at the kit briefly (my daughter brought it in and took it home again) but it looks AMAZING! Sharply moulded, comprehensively detailed and all the flaps even have their full complement of holes sharply moulded (I didn’t count them) …so when I get home I will have some building to do! Regards, Adrian

So what’s wrong with clout nails all of a sudden, eh?? I have to say that Britmodeller is by a large margin the most accepting, supportive and balanced forum I’ve ever dipped into, and there’s room for everyone from master modellers to clout nailing obsolete kit hairy stickers like me (nails are very good for weighting noses and bases - ask me how I know!!). When I come across exclusionary elitists of any variety, I comfort myself with the thought that those people are denying themselves the joy of just having fun. It’s a hobby! On that topic, have you ever seen anyone smiling in a serious model railway shop? Nope, me neither… Regards, Adrian

I think we might have had a close scrape there. Time to close down that account and move on On behalf of happier Mikes, I apologise on his behalf

I found this on eBay half the price of the sevans kits and not as complicated not many parts more clean up than building but builds up into a very nice kit.

Hi guys, next part of my Falklands war collection, this time couple of helicopters. The first one legendary, the second perhaps not so well known for its part in the operation. Wessex HAS.3, Italeri kit: Sea King HC.4, Cyber Hobby kit

Declaring completion for this one. Cannon ports are gelpenned. Flygvapnets F10. Tail painted specially for an air show at Vasteras, 17 June 1990.

First of all, I don't smoke, I don't drink (much), and I don't gamble. Most of my money goes either in to this money pit of a house, or on model building. I say this because mention has been made about how much one can spend on a single model ie; the kit itself, plus any add ons such as etch, resin etc., plus of course, decals. In my case, it can sometimes be two kits are used, each one costing £30-40. The add ons can sometimes double that cost, but it doesn't always stop there. Sometimes, I have no info on what I'm building (usually something IDF), so another $40 gets spent on a book. So worst cast scenario, I spend well in excess on £100 on one model. BUT......so what? Nobody has gone without food because of what I've spent. The money was mine, usually in the form of birthday/Christmas presents from family. I know that some people would throw their hands up in horror at that amount. They are probably the same people who wouldn't think twice about spending a similar sum on a pair of trainers. Which is the whole point, and that is, to each his own. The end result of my mega spend may not be a miniature masterpiece, but the chances are that I got a lot of pleasure from the build. There used to be a bit of snobbery/one upmanship at model shows in the 80's. Competition entries were supposed to be anonymous at one particular show, but it was a widely known thing that certain entrants used to write their entry cards so that they could be easily identified, and lo and behold, they always won. But when I attend the Nationals at Telford now, I don't think that I have ever come across any snobbery. @Mr T I have to take exception with something that you said regarding scratch built models (unless of course, I misunderstood the point that you were making). At SMW, scratch built models are in their own class, so you won't have an OOTB model going up against a scratch built one. But I agree with you about the 80's in general. There were a lot of modellers who thought that the gold medal was theirs by right. I'm glad to say that things have moved on considerably since then. People build models for many reasons, and to my way of thinking, that's how it should be. Whatever floats your boat. I build for the pleasure that it gives me. I enter competitions for the same reason. I also try to make my models as best as they can be. Why? Because sometimes, I have the build published in a magazine. And that also pleases me, because I get paid money. Money which goes into the modelling pot to be spent on more models. And so the carousel continues to turn. John.

Never. I still secretly fly mine around and make airplane noises when I get the basic airframe complete. That exact model stops being a toy as soon as the painting begins. That's ok. I'll just fly the next build when I get to pre-paint. 😆

As both my Mum and my Sensei taught me; balance and restraint in all things. I think there's room for competitive behaviour, but not unbridled and certainly not unprincipled. I can't help thinking that the culture of economic liberalism which is currently predominant in my society is unbalanced, too reliant upon a crude reading of individualism and competitive behaviours that stress superficial, materialist values and perceptions of haves and have nots, winners and losers. Meanwhile, back at the modelling bench... applying some of the knowledge and techniques that others have generously shared with me on this forum...

Cockpits under construction Both pilots being painted, one will go on the Reserve List. AK Interactive AK456 True Metal Dark Aluminium wax for the wheel wells and intake pipes, applied by brush and polished. Assembled and painted the internal components. Surfaces where decals would be placed were prepared with Humbrol Clear. The instrument panel decals were applied using DecalFix. I then washed the tub with Vallejo Game Color 73202 Pale Grey Wash. One model will be mounted in flight and therefore no nose weight is required. The other will be grounded. I added Deluxe Liquid Gravity in the void behind the radome, using PVA to fix it. It was then closed up and the intakes assembled. The office sits atop. Tail pipe assemblies airbrushed with Vallejo Model Air 71072 Gunmetal (Metallic). Assembly moves on. The nose needed holding together while the glue did its work.

A year ago today...

Agreed BM is one the most down to earth modeling sites ! I’m unable to even come close to some of the beautiful works of art that are shown here, but everyone is so accepting. Lots of snobbery in groups I associate with….especially the Porsche 911 group, most of us look for the most practical and sensible approach to working on our cars, there’s some that have the “If you have to ask the price then you shouldn’t ask” group but they make great targets of our collective ire. I was in an RC airplane group that had a fantastic “pilot” that would control his planes like no other, but wouldn’t talk to me as I was a beginner, I forgot to mention to him that I’m a Captain at United Airlines on the 767, but that’s ok 😂

I hope people won't mind them having another quick outing here but these are my armour entries from the recent Matchbox GB. The models and diorama bases were tweaked to varying degrees and a bit of detail added here and there. It was great fun doing these old classics, although all were actually built from Revell boxes. The only thing lacking was the great Roy Huxley artwork! Jagdpanther rearranging the landscape: Captured Wespe: SdKfz 251 Hanomag and crew in action: BMW R75, SdKfz 11 and 7.5cm A/T gun: Jagdpanzer IV:

Picked up this little gem from the Air Trax guys at the GGG show in Borensberg Sweden today.

So, it was you that got the extremely limited edition 1/24 Blackburn Blackburn with gold etch and decals by Banksy?

Good afternoon guys This will be the last post I will do from my workshop here in Bulgaria as I am in the process of moving back to UK...the land of the living and extreme expense!.....I will miss this old office of mine but now all my bits and bobs have been packed up ready for the journey. The continuation and next post on this Spitfire will be done from my little old flat in UK! I have packed most of my stuff up and funnily enough the only checked in baggage for the flight is a suitcase full of modelling equipment!....much more important than clothes and things!....I'm sure you understand!!😉 ....Meanwhile I managed to get this model sprayed before I return as I'm not sure when I'll see my compressor again! So here is the first photo......as you can see I have attached all the necessary bits and bobs before masking and spraying! After masking all the detail the dark green was sprayed on...... .....followed by the dark earth........ I then took the masking off and did a bit of touching up here and there....and on the model!🙄 Here is the starboard side that isn't cut away.... Incidentally my compressor just about finished producing the pressure I wanted for the job as the tube running from the compressor to the tank split!.....first problem I have ever had with it after years of running!...that will be one of the first jobs I do when I arrive in blighty......well I suppose I ought to buy a bed and furniture first! Any way....All the best to you all and this project will continue when I am settled in. Cheers for taking a look Fozzy

I used to be a member of a music production/technology forum a fair old while back, but ending up leaving due to rampant snobbery. If you didn’t have the latest multi-thousand pound microphone preamp or had the temerity to own a synthesiser that wasn’t an actual Moog, you were nobody. One of my friends is a professional musician/producer and he couldn’t stand it either. Nice tools are all well and good, but it’s the results that count, whether it’s the quality of the end product or the enjoyment had in the process.

See Border have not only provided you us all with the opportunity to purchase the best quality made kit to date and in a subject most would like. They’ve also created the anxious disposition of whether your canopy will be cracked/scratched until you open your kit. It’s the whole host of emotional experiences🤪 = the 4 C’s; cash/cracks/conceal from your partner/cannot build it(it’s too nice)

Not so sure, it was the ability of early hominids to pass on information and work with others as a group that enabled humans to develop. A single early hominid, no matter how competitive with his peers would be unlikely to survive, at least until the development of weapons that had a longer reach than the arm. Australopithecines seem to have been a favourite of early leopards judging by the fossil evidence. Competition is all very well, and it has positive effects, but it also has some very negative ones.

Hi Everyone This is the excellent Tamiya 1/48 scale Do-335A Pfeil built out-of-the-box, more or less! I made the crew ladder and nose cowl gun sleeves from stock plastic, other than that I just added the PE seat belts from Eduard. I wanted to recreate a fictitious Bodenplatte type blackened weathering/camo pattern to bring a little more presence to the otherwise tame colour palette usually seen on the Do-335. I’ve also tried a few new techniques to the upper surfaces which I’ve not seen on the usual YouTube channels. I’m trying this on some other kits and hope to share the techniques when I know it wasn’t just a one-off. Anyway enough of the rambling. Kind regards Trace

Dornier Do17 Z10 Nachtjager Always an enjoyable build with ICM. I've presented this aircraft as one that stayed in service far beyond its use by date thus giving me an opportunity to develop my weathering techniques. I hope I've portrayed that in scale.

I thought I'd add a pic of said Gunga Din: What a beauty! I look forward to watching you create the model.

thanks Chaps I may have gone a little too far with the chipping however, some reference photos I've seen... ...suggest to me that these aircraft really did get "lived in" rgds John(shortCummins)

That's it. RFI post up. I have two further Dutch aircraft in the stash, and I plan to acquire a few more - if the kits are available. This thread will live again, as the story of the Dutch air force in 1940 isn't done yet!

, back in the real world......... I have managed to get all the outrigger structures and gondola struts painted on the two Takom kits. Although this was a time consuming process using a good old fashioned hairy stick, I found it both therapeutic and nostalgic. Why? Because I chose to break out some of my original Airfix paint for the job. Partly because the range seemed to have the colours I had in mind and partly because it was a trip down memory lane for me. Once I had cracked open the tin, the smell of my childhood hit me and I was that five year old Martian again. Before starting I made sure that the kittens were asleep as I felt I could do a better job without their "assistance". The P Class is now ready for decaling but there is a small amount of remedial work to be done to the paintwork on the Q Class following the repair to the control surfaces mentioned a few days ago. Thanks for looking. Martian 👽

Hi to everyone! Time for another update on my 1:72 scale Spitfire....... I could have quite easily glued the two fuselage halves together but somehow I knew I couldn't resist having a go at detailing the rear!....I have actually done this before on a 1:24 scale Spit years ago and was very pleased of the out come ,so I just had to see if it was at all possible in such a small scale! If I was to add detail then I had to make it a cutaway model. As I did years ago I cut away some of the port side of the rear of the fuselage leaving the starboard side in tact! Most of the scratch built detail will be on the inside of the starboard fuselage and so it was time to don my big boy strong glasses and get to work...starting with the ribs! With the two halves together...this is what it will look like.... Here is the battery!....... The rest of the detail was then scratch built. All done except for the control cables........ Time to paint the parts. Before painting I added the control cables made from fuse wire.....it was almost a challenge too far!....Aluminum for the interior walls and a few other colours thrown in to bring out the detail! Here's the inside of the port fuselage half showing the oxygen bottles and the teeny TR9D radio....blink and you'll miss it!! Here it all is with the two halves temporarily tacked together....... ......and of course the scale shot! That is as far as I have got so far! I am trying to get it done as far as I can so that I can pack it in a packing case as I am in the process of re locating back to Blighty after years of living in Bulgaria!....I will miss this work shop of mine but as long as I have a work desk plonked somewhere in my flat........model on! Thanks for looking in and see you on the next post! Cheers Fozzy