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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/11/22 in Posts

  1. Tamiya did a great job with the phantom model. For me, this is their best model in 48. The decals are Bullseye Model Aviation Decals and they are excellent. I used 3D decals for the cockpit and belts from Quinta Studio and it's a great thing. Eduard F-4B F-4J Academy
    35 points
  2. Last night I glossed the Kittyhawk, and it looked very fine indeed. Today I began to apply the decals, and it went really well. Until I realized I was applying the wrong ones. I had begun to apply the codes for ET861/HS-V, a Kittyhawk Ia flown by another member of the Squadron in August of 1942. Quite aside from the fact it was the wrong aircraft, it was the wrong type of aircraft: a Kittyhawk Ia is a P-40E, and a Kittyhawk I is a P-40D. More or less. These are the markings I was supposed to use: As you can see, the HS is rendered in a different font, so I couldn't even just carry on slightly chastened. However, it turns out that DK Decals settle very, very nicely. Too nicely. My attempt to remove them resulted in disaster. For a moment, I was overcome by despair. To have come this far and failed almost at the final hurdle. To have wasted my time so comprehensively. To have failed at the most minor, most stupid tribute to the memory of a man who literally killed to make my life and the life of every person living in freedom and peace today possible. And then I was overcome by a furious cold rage. Clemenceau, speaking in 1914, said "There come times, in the lives of peoples, when there passes over them a tempest of heroic action." I normally use this only in connection with my ability to eat an entire pan pizza of any size in a sitting, but now again it applied to something equally prosaic. I modelled as I have never modelled before. Not a moment was wasted. I got out my 0.2mm Procon Boy airbrush, which I have mainly for show, and freehanded that paint right back on. It's not perfect, but I was not beaten. I did not fail. The build continues. And! I added the dark green areas the serial number goes over, so bonus. I also "weathered" the existing paintwork, we'll see how bad of an idea that was in the fullness. In other news, my baby-stoperation is happening December 2, just under the wire to write it off on my insurance (if we spend more than $8,000 on medical care in a year, the insurance picks up the tab for the overage -- hang on to the NHS, folks). More later.
    24 points
  3. Hi all, its been a while since I’ve posted any build related things, so thought it would be good to show you all my latest build of the somewhat lovely Kinetic Harrier GR.1. Standard box pic with some added goodies: I utilised the build notes and resources from the Harrier Sig, kindly sent over to me by @Ozzy . Thanks Mate! The kit itself was a strange juxtaposition of nice detail with some poor fit and soft detail. Some of the fuselage panel lines for example were very soft and didn’t line up. Somewhat reminiscent of some more recent Revell kits. However for the most part this kit was a very enjoyable build. One annoyance was the SNEB pods which are modelled with the rockets protruding, the instructions advise you to sand these off but it looks very naff, so had to fill and sand and make masks for the rocket covers on the nose of the launcher. PITA! Unfortunately I had to make life hard for myself by attempting to fit an Aries cockpit, which caused me endless hours of fun/pain . Eventually got it to sort of fit by removing as much plastic as I dared but in doing so it caused the from fuselage to bow out a bit which caused problems later down the line with the windscreen. Ended up screwing up the first part and had to order a replacement from Kinetic which turned up as reasonably quickly as one can expect from Hong Kong ( in standard British fashion it took as long to make it the 50 miles from Heathrow to central Bedfordshire as it did from Hong Kong to the UK). Other aftermarket was a dream to use, namely the Reskit wheels which were fantastic, especially as the hub and tyre are moulded seperately, very thoughtful when it comes to painting! Enough waffle from me anyway, kit is an early GR.1 of 1(F) Sqn in the early gloss scheme of Dark Green / Dark Sea Grey over Light Aircraft Grey, all paints were MRP, except the varnish which is Alclad Klear Kote 50/50 with MLT (somehow this is still a tiny bit tacky a week after spraying 🤦🏻‍♂️). Decals provided are by Cartograph and were perhaps the nicest I’ve ever used. Anyway, some photos! Cheers! Ash
    21 points
  4. What side of a dog has the most fur? The outside An atheist was walking through the woods. 'What majestic trees! 'What powerful rivers! 'What beautiful animals!', he said to himself. As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him. He looked over his shoulder again and the bear was even closer. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him... At that instant the atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!' Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky. 'You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don't exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.' 'Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? 'Am I to count you as a believer?' The atheist looked directly into the light, 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?' 'Very well,' said the voice. The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke: 'For what I am about to receive, may the Lord make me truly thankful, amen.'
    19 points
  5. Mrs F is in London at the mo’, staying at the RAF club for a few nights to meet up with a friend who’s over from Chicago. And seeing as It’s ages since our last hols , I’m off down to join her tomorrow for a couple of nights followed by a few nights in Paris, at a club that has a reciprocal arrangement with the RAF club Haven’t been back to Paris for at least 10 years, so it’s well overdue. In other news, I’ve finally decalled both the bl**dy Hawks and given them a coat of shiny Tamiya clear lacquer in readiness for some oil work. This is the state of play prior to weathering: The decalling’s been more than a bit tedious; but I’m looking forward to some subtle oil work rather more.
    18 points
  6. Another off the bench. OOB Airfix. Just loved the markings. No real problems. Just a case of take your time and double check everything. Please feel free to comment etc. Thanks for looking Dick
    16 points
  7. ok, I just realised ever strong alcohol won't remove those images......... Right update time, and it's interesting, first up I discovered an error in my prediction charts........probably due to all the soap bubbles overflowing from those boys Spa........ gosh I hope it was bubbles!!! Anyway, all sorted now and I can start to see what is currently happening, though still early days. So we've had 11 new votes to the poll and you can see where their interests lie! Things are starting to settle down the initial rush is over and I should start to see some trends (oh God please make those images go away!!!), in the next few days I'll have a good idea of who the top 4 will be, joining Salty Sea Dog next year (I've called the one!). Plus who the unfortunates are.......currently if your fav GB hasn't made it into the high 20's then I'd be worried! So on Sunday I'll give you my predictions for the top 5 builds so far that'll be in next years builds. Then the fun begins, any build currently in the 30's - 40's....well I hear the knives being sharpened as we read, there will be serious carnage, especially those currently in the 30's. --------------------------------- I brought my grandmother to one of those fish spa centres where the little fish eat your dead skin, only cost $45. Was way cheaper than having her buried in the cemetery! A brunette, redhead and blond went to a remote fitness spa deep in the mountains for some fun and relaxation. After a stimulating healthy lunch, all three decided to visit the ladies room and found a strange-looking woman sitting at the entrance who said, "Welcome to the ladies room. Be sure to check out our newest feature: a mirror which, if you look into it and say something truthful, you will be awarded with a wish. But, be warned, for if you say something false, you will be sucked into the mirror to live in a void of nothingness for all eternity!" The three women quickly entered and upon finding the mirror, the brunette said, "I think I'm the most beautiful of us three" and in an instant she was surrounded by a pile of money which she had wished for. The redhead stepped up and said "I think I'm the most talented of us three" and she suddenly found the keys to a brand new Lexus in her hands which she too had wished for. Excited over the possibility of having a wish come true, the blond looked into the mirror and said, "I think..." and was promptly sucked into the mirror. For Sale: Dwarf Jacuzzi Can also be used as a foot spa. How do you call an area populated by run-down Italian beauty salons? A spa-ghetto interviewer: what was your last job me: health angel interviewer: oh so you worked at like a spa me: no thilly, I drove a motorthycle Wife's just back from the spa, says she feels like a new woman Apparently "Me too" wasn't the right response.
    15 points
  8. ....well l don't know about you lot but mine would be (front and back) if 9 of these had just taken off in a rolling formation, gone vertical, on full afterburner to 20,000 feet at mach 1.2. The noise and vibration would have felt like the end of the earth, Birds would have fallen from the sky. Women would have fainted in there thousands. Hard men with daggers tattoed to there foreheads would have cowered on the floor crying for mummy. It would have been FANTASTIC !!! Big thanks to @Dr. Quack for sending me the RAF decals. @Courageous @Wolfman @Terry1954 @Lightningboy2000 suggested l built this after l presented a Phantom Red Arrows in RFI back in 2019, it's taken a while so l hope it does'nt dissapoint. Suprised how big the Lightning is along side the Phantom. and NO l am not going to build a Vulcan Whif next!!!!
    14 points
  9. What did the drummer call his twin daughters? Anna one, Anna two… Did you hear about the man who accidentally handed his wife super glue instead of her lipstick? She still isn’t talking to him. AW
    12 points
  10. Spitfire Mk VIII of 43 Squadron, Southern France, August 1944. Painted with Stynylrez primer & Tamiya acrylics.
    11 points
  11. Today's work from home tip Blowing on the booze in the mug will help convince your colleagues on the Zoom call that your coffee is hot
    11 points
  12. Not content with having two seemingly never-ending builds on the go (well, one on the go and the other on the Shelf of Eternal Damnation) and despite only recently finishing what was going to be my last Revell dog's breakfast -sorry, kit- for a long time due to the trauma it caused me, I seem to be building another Revell kit. Given that my knowledge of Cold War naval types is pretty limited, it makes perfect sense to build a 1/72 Gannet. This is the kit: I must have been feeling charitable towards it as I bought it some AM, proof that I will insist on rolling these things in glitter in an attempt to enjoy building them. So far (and I'm only a couple of steps in) these are my impressions: For a 2008 tooling there's a shedload of flash decorating the sprues, so that's fun; Some of the detail is good, some / most (especially the interior) is very bad. Things don't fit very well All in all it's a Revell kit, so I know what I'm letting myself in for. I'll be showing it in the FAA scheme, assuming I don't lose my mind before then. Here's what I've done so far. Like I said, not much but it's a start. Now I've finished working out the positively unhinged paint calls I might actually get some colour on it soon. In this picture you can see both the generous amounts of flash I'll have to crave my way through and the general shonkiness of the moulding. Happy days! In my stash I have some really nice kits. One day I might build one. Cheers, JRK
    10 points
  13. This is the brand new Pilot Replicas SK 60B (Saab 105) in Swedish Air Force livery. Didn't add any extras apart from what comes in the box. A truly excellent kit with excellent decals. I just replaced the numbers with my own, to make an aircraft I've flown in myself. I aimed for that truly weather beaten look of the main camouflage colours, and I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out. It's also featured in a build article in the December issue of Airfix Model World.
    10 points
  14. A quickie build for the long weekend. It's the Italeri kit which is surprisingly good, I picked it up second hand for a couple of bucks without knowing much about it. About the worst I can say is the canopy is a bit thick and required some thinning on the inside to fit and it would probably require a vac replacement to pose open. Other than that this is a decent kit. Decals were reasonably good, I did have one shatter but that might have been because of age. I did make a couple of errors, but for a quick build I'm not too bothered. Note also I only roughly painted over the spinner and white cap to the radome, they appear to have been roughly painted over in reality to dull them down, unlike the markings which were very nicely toned down. The model represents the aircraft flown by Guy Bordelon. Bordelon earned his wings in 1943 but did not see combat in WW2, posted state side as an instructor. Having various positions post war, he ended up taking charge of a detachment of all weather interceptor F4Us in 1952. He flew 41 low level interdiction missions against communist supply lines earning 3 Air Medals. In the summer of 1953, Fifth Air Force required help in dealing with North Korean night time nuisance raids, as several jet fighters had been lost trying to intercept Bed Check Charlies. VC3 post 3 aircraft to Pyongtaek on June 28th. They were immediately in action with Bordelon inception and shooting down two La 11s and two Yak 18s over the following 2 nights. On the 17th July he shot down another La 11, making him the only piston engine and only night fighter ace of the Korean War. He is also the last man to become an ace in a piston engine fighter. Post war he stayed in the Navy, being a part of, among other things, the recovery of Apollo astronauts. As for Annie-Mo, the Corsair in which he claimed his 5 kills, she was less lucky, being written off a week after the final victory by another pilot.
    10 points
  15. They weren't both drinking beer: craig always has a cosmoplitan with a pink umbrella (to match his speedos). we do all our gb planning here. i'm here now with craig's wife, I expect the guys will join later for more gb discussion.
    10 points
  16. Hello all! With this model I ended my exploration of the Tamiya superb "Lightning". It depicts the plane of Lt Ladd when based in Nadzab,New Guinea, late Feb 44 when already an ace. His final tally was 12 victories the last two gained just before his death on a mission to Balikpapan, Borneo, during a combat with a large force of "Oscars". Decals are from KitsWorld and set on perfectly. As usual, the plane is riveted and wheels and turbo chargers are from the Brassin range. Guns are from Master and they make a difference. Best regards. DSC_0010 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0009 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0003 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0004 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0005 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0006 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0007 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0011 by jean Barby, sur Flickr DSC_0008 by jean Barby, sur Flickr
    9 points
  17. I visited the Jobcentre today to see what job opportunities there were. They advised me to apply to the local Search and Rescue Team. Apparently they're always looking for someone.
    9 points
  18. Hi everybody, It's another one! Here we have ICM's popular 'Ghost of Kyiv' kit in 1:72. This is built out of the box, with masking tape harnesses being the only addition extra this time. It was a straightforward build with no fit issues and the decals behaved way better than expected with only a couple of minor tears and fold backs. This was my first attempt at using an airbrush to complete a model and I'm thankful to the decals for covering up the splodges (there's never a splodge on the practice run, it seems to wait until it's aimed at plastic!). Definitely more practice, skill, patience and possibly a better airbrush required. I don't usually model current inventory but this was an enjoyable build. Thanks for looking and happy modelling!
    8 points
  19. Following from Lützow we have something a bit bigger and a bit newer, specifically a subject rendered necessary for building due to this year's vacation. One of the better ship museums I've been to. Anyway... as for the kit itself it's rather unsurprising Tamiya 1/700 fare. Goes together nicely but well short of Flyhawk in detailing. Gold medal Models go to help a bit with that. Two different mask sets were looked at, both covered the wooden deck parts and completely ignored everything else despite even the painting instructions making it clear most horizontal surfaces were a different hue than the vertical ones. All done. Not a lot of rigging on modern(ish) ships, but some did pop up. With some company... Yes, I did visit Intrepid as well while I was at it. And if we add roughly half of her displacement to New Jersey... The wrestler and the sumo?
    8 points
  20. Second addition to my Battle of Midway 80th anniversary build. After some excellent 1:700 ships (and supposedly 1:72 armor), Flyhawk released their first 1:72 aircraft and they nailed it the first time. There are a few minor things like open dive flaps (upper part should be closed), wrong stencils font and supposedly slightly wrong shape of the upper cowling transition towards the windshield, this is still an excellent first effort and just yesterday SBD-2 was announced. The model represents Richard Best's aircraft just before flying to his first mission of the day, when his bomb doomed the Akagi carrier. Mostly out of the box model, with just PE seatbelts added from a generic set.
    8 points
  21. You sure that was an accident ? My Ex certainly thinks we’re still married the way she tries to nag me still !
    8 points
  22. I'm in the picture too. That's me in the spotlight.
    8 points
  23. Hey wait a minute, this is my jacuzzi ……. 😲 ….. and my wife 😡 (before she had the kids 🤣)
    8 points
  24. Well some of the ones I voted for are going strong, and I particularly want not my comfort zone, small scale and above the Karmin line to get through, none of my proposals are above the line but at least none of the proposals that I am ambivalent or completely disinterested in are there either Now back to the terrible jokes. What do you call a man with a spade in his head… Doug What’s brown and sticky… a stick A dog goes into a post office to send a telegram. Can you get the telegram to read ‘woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof’ says the dog. The assistant types in the message and turns back to the dog and says, for the same price you could add two more woofs. To which the dog replies ‘don’t be ridiculous that makes no sense at all…’ A 999 (911 for all you Americans) ‘Hello I’m out in the woods with my friend hunting and hes had an accident I’m not sure he’s breathing’ to which the emergency operator replies ‘ can you make sure he’s not breathing sir’ there is the sound of a scuffle followed by a shot, ‘ right he’s definitely not breathing, what do I do next …..’
    8 points
  25. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
    8 points
  26. Yesterday @nimrod54 & I, had a rather enjoyable afternoon chat, sat in our wingback chairs with a glass of brandy each, using our Smoking pipes to punctuate the most important parts of our devious plans to derail the GB poll, by means of tactical voting and distraction. With the eventual outcome of @trickyrich blowing his lid and @Rabbit Leader finally succeeding in his yearly coup attempt. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Craig @modelling minion, My £20 bribe arrived previously for my tactical vote, but rather than these dodgy £20’s he’s commissioned to be printed on loo roll, mine was a 1/144 Puma kit & an exemption pass for the windy jacuzzi party that is currently in session. There must be a lot of wrinkley modellers around Nuneaton. @nimrod54 Stage 1 is go go go…..
    8 points
  27. A Budweiser, a Miller and a Guiness salesman walk into a bar the first orders a Budweiser, the second a Miller and the third a coffee. The first two look at him sharply, and he replies ‘ well if you two aren’t drinking I don’t see why I should’ A piece of string goes into a bar, ‘id like a pint of beer’ says the string, ‘we don’t serve string says the barman, you’ll have to leave’. Not much later a tangled mess of string walks in. ‘You’re not another one of those pieces of string says the barman. No I’m a frayed knot’ replies the string…. What do you call a man with a seagull on his head? Cliff.
    8 points
  28. Thanks - Big Mouth Bass it is. Of course, the decal application page of the Airfix instructions show a drawing with the small opening. Good thing I don't trust instructions. Say, what book is that photo from? ***** Here is the tarted up kit seat for now: Any good? I'm not sold on it yet. I cut the foot rests off of the resin seat and stuck them on the kit seat. Here are some shots of the pit: Maybe this will work as I think I've leave the canopy closed. Let's face it, this isn't anything at all like a Meteor cockpit. Best to hide it. The instructions call for 3g of weight up front, and that is exactly what is in the nose. I don't trust the instructions nor my "never mind the thumb" postal scale. I'll add more weight behind the tub. Cheers, Bill
    8 points
  29. After a (little) bit of research it seems that the cab interior would have been white like the interior of a tank and the rear section the same as the exterior colour with a hard demarcation line. Now just need to decide on Dunkergelb or Dunklegrau.. I’m edging towards the bottom scheme.
    8 points
  30. Howdy all, Finished this one and managed to get some photo`s between the showers yesterday My latest attempt at the Accurate Minature`s 1/48 Mitchell kit, this time from the Academy re-box Done as an Air Apaches Strafer based in New Guinea, 1944 Mostly out of the box but with a few tweaks The big one was to graft a Monogram forward glazing to improve the nose profile, which always looked a bit off to me in the A/M kit Replaced the nose guns with metal tube and added flash suppressors to the package guns Added guns and wind deflectors to the rear side windows, replaced the kits double machine gun with a single in the rear position and usual brake pipes, seat belts and headrest armour for pilot and co-pilot The decals were the kits and went on a lot better that usual Academy ones. ( I had an aftermarket set lined up just in case ) Hope you enjoy, thanks for looking Cheers Russ
    7 points
  31. Hello Everybody! Newcomer in this category, I take the risk to put my work on the Academy M-35 cargo truck. 1/72eme. I am not on specialist on military vehicles, I did a few of them to enrich dioramas, with the same aim with this little truck. The kit doesn't look too bad considering the scale, but I though it could be a good bases for some fun... I tried to put as much as enhancements I could, thanks to photos grabbed from the net. Most of the work was done on the front gril which I found not realistic, so I re-did it completely. To put the truck in a dynamic context, I opened the driver door and put some stuff inside the cabin. Front wheels were also oriented. Compared to photos, I think the chassis is way too short but I figured out this after when adding the mudguards but I didn't bother deconstructing the model to correct it. However may be I am wrong... I will not bother the audience with all enhancement I made, but feel free to ask if needed... I painted the model used on a photo showing a Tinker AFB M35, sporting an attractive NATO style 3-tone camouflage. Hope the colors are correct! Markings are few and from the spare decals box. Here are the pix: The real stuff: My model: That's it, thank you for watching!
    7 points
  32. This is my most challenging build to date. The kit itself is easily Matchbox's greatest achievement in terms of detail and finesse, and from when the masters where probably carved in wood. It suffers though from the the near non-existent or vague attachment points everywhere. A more modern kit would solve these issues but even then the subject is just very demanding as a build due to it's complexity. There just isn't a easy way to handle the model while its being built and it was tempting to stick wings on it just so I could hold it. Finally the extensive chrome work was very challenging - I used Alcad as that's what I had but the finish is just too delicate, clear coating helps but you lose that sheen. I will explore newer alternatives such s the Molotow pen refills and Green Stuff World Chrome but I don't want to got near another metal finish for a quite a while! I re-spoked the wheels with florist's wire and insulation stripped from fine wire. The kit's seat position was lowered to the correct height. Like my other Matchbox builds this year it will be on show at SMW on the Classic British Kits SIG table.
    7 points
  33. Copper State Models has been releasing some interesting Great War armoured car kits, this is the most interesting one for me. I have a couple of their airplane kits too and they are all really nice. The instruction book is so good, a few pages of history and information and then shaded 3D similar to Wingnut Wings instructions. If all goes well I'll make a base and add a couple figures, one is a new CSM resin crew figure and the other an old Warriors resin fellow who has been waiting 20 years for a suitable diorama.
    7 points
  34. A project that took a little longer than expected, mainly due to a warm summer in the UK and model making in the loft. here’s my build of the old but nicely detailed Tamiya Goulash cannon with horses, I used the Dragon pontoon bridge with an enhancement from Costa Coffee with figures from Dragon and Miniart. I used woodland scenics realistic water for the water. IPMS Salisbury had an A4 diorama group build, I decided to do an early war diorama with the cooks bring up the rear. [/url
    7 points
  35. Hi all, My latest build. Out of the box except for the decals and home made pitot and AOA covers.
    7 points
  36. Where does Phil Collins record his songs The stu-stu-studio My wife asked me to name Meatloaf’s top 3 songs… I named “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “I’d do anything for love”… but then couldn’t come up with another one. But hey, two out of three ain’t bad.
    7 points
  37. Bloody hell, I must have two wives!!!!!!! Where's that one been hiding? Other than in the jacuzzi obviously. 🇺🇦
    7 points
  38. 40 people in one social group is hardly credible as a market analysis. As for the above, it's widely acknowledged that strong sales of Spitfires, Messerschmitt Bf109s and P-51D Mustangs allows larger companies the occasional indulgence in something esoteric. For a new entrant into the market, that would be financially crippling. The consumer should recognise that they have knowledge of their subject but not of running a business within this industry. They should also recognise, but often don't, that people who run modelling businesses are almost always very enthusiastic and knowledgeable too. The people running all of these businesses are equally capable as you of compiling a list of planes which are not represented as kits. That none of these businesses seems to arrive at a product catalogue equalling your wishlist is more a reflection of your lack of experience of running a model manufacturing business than their lack of knowledge of which planes aren't available as state of the art injection moulded kits. This would be like giving credence to a pet cat which presumed its humans were too untrainable to comprehend it wanted fed again rather than recognising that human knows exactly what the cat wants but it's already been fed and isn't getting more food until later.
    7 points
  39. Courtesy of a diet of baked beans and mushy peas.😁 🇺🇦
    7 points
  40. Is @modelling minion providing the bubbles for the luxury jacuzzi as well? A well known side effect from his special blue pills Thank god it wasn’t an attempt to “Dutch oven” @Enzo the Magnificent Most people are shocked when they find out how bad I am as an electrician.
    7 points
  41. Hi All, Some good progress has occurred across this week on the Blenheim! Here's the state of play before primer - you can see that the nacelles have been cobbled together rather than masking and painting the lot: The first coat of primer showed up a few areas needing attention, such as this: That was soon filled with a smear of good ol' Krystal Kleer wiped away with a moist cotton bud. There was also this prominent seam on the underside: Also easily dispatched and re-scribed. The final coat of primer thus: I completely forgot to take a photo of pre-shading, which was done as usual with Nato Black. I also forgot to take a photo of the undersides, but here we are in the process of masking. I've gone with a considerably lightened version of Azure Blue, as this was allegedly not adopted for these aircraft, rather a generic Sky-type blue: Looks alright to me! Here's the masking completed: The flap areas are already masked, before you ask! Next I started work on the upper surfaces with the Light Earth - again, Auntie calls out mid-stone but the consensus seems to be LE. Here's the start of the process: And after lots more mist coats: I think that looks rather splendid! The preshading is not quite so stark to the naked eye - in fact 👀 rather like it! 🤣. I've not been my best at taking stage photos, so here's after masking and an application of Dark Earth: I used my usual method of a coat lightened with Mid-Stone for some tonal variation. Here's after the grand unmasking: A few oversprays to deal with, particularly on the LE sections, but soon dispatched. Now if you've followed the thread you'll know that I'm now the proud owner of a mask cutter, but I am not yet the proud owner of the correct media (fear not @mark.au, the correct stuff is winging its way from Canada - thanks for the advice!). I therefore elected to use the kit decals, so laid down a gloss coat in preparation: The kit decals went down mostly without incident: I say mostly because the aircraft serial on the port side did misbehave: No drama - I'll paint that in later. Here's a final shot with another gloss coat: I'll let that settle down overnight before going out in a blaze of Flory tomorrow! Thanks for looking, Roger
    7 points
  42. And we're off and running. The fit is great and the design makes for easy assembly. Nothing like the brutally complicated Bronco Humber armoured car which was my previous build. The mold lines are worse than I thought they'd be for such a nice kit, cleaning up the parts I felt like I was working on an old Peerless/Italeri CMP. Not whinging, just a bit surprised.
    7 points
  43. Now why did I read all of this just before going to bed …
    7 points
  44. The Meng RR Armoured car has often been featured on modelling forums including this one, most notably the excellent build by @Andy Moore, so it will be difficult not to repeat what has done before especially as the build process itself is quite straight forward. Therefore I have decided to skip the vehicle history and sprue shots and put more emphasis on my painting and weathering processes. The part count of the kit is quite low especially compared to Miniart and Gecko, and to be honest that's quite a relief. A demonstration of that is the construction of the chassis, which is where assembly begins. Although it maybe a little simplified it really is all you need, The centre section being one piece means that there shouldn't be any issues with alignment. Judging by their B Type bus that I built last year Miniart would of made this chassis out of at least 50 separate parts. The front axle is moulded as one piece with the wheels straight ahead but I thought the model would look better with the wheels steering to one side a little. This was simple enough. I just cut the hubs and arm off and glued them back on at a slight angle. I replaced the tie rod as I cut the original one a tad short. The end of the exhaust needs a little work to improve it's appearance... so using the same method that Andy did on his build, I set about improving it. First I cut out a semi circular section using a bur in a rotary tool, I then cut two semi circular pieces of plastic card and glued them in place leaving a smell gap between them. I then filled the join with some Tamiya filler. This was then sanded to regain the shape and thin the edges of the plastic. I then stippled some diluted putty over the entire exhaust to give it some texture. The end result maybe a little over scale but I feel it's a worthwhile modification. I am finding it difficult to find photos of the exhaust outlet on the Pattern 1914 cars and I'm wondering if the fishtail was used then or was a latter addition for the Pattern 1920 cars. Once the exhaust and rear axle are added the chassis is complete. Now I shall do it all over again for the second kit before moving on to the body work. Wayne
    7 points
  45. Good evening fellow GBers. I can finally start this properly now that I am reasonably settled and have everything unpacked. The kit seems frugal by Dragon standards. I can even repack the box without having to leave bits out. But it looks nice and clean, well detailed and they must have had so many complaints about DS rubber that I have vinyl ones. I will have to check the tread to see if it viable, but they look good. Anyway, a few sprue shots to get this build thread started. Knife, glue, files and sundries are ready and waiting. Cheers all.👍
    7 points
  46. Have you got your jacuzzi Gerbil? A creature of charm is the gerbil. Its diet's exclusively herbal. It grazes all day On bunches of hay, Passing gas with an elegant burble.
    6 points
  47. A bit more done... Everything was primed before a coat of AS-12 Tamiya silver. I now foresee a problem as the decaling looms, namely the spinner colour as it has to match(ish) to the 'go faster' stripes and roundels. Instructions call for Mr Hobby H327, so I've ordered a pot and we'll see. Gloss coat tonight prior to decals. Stuart
    6 points
  48. I completed the .30 caliber bow turret machine gun, .50 caliber port and starboard waist machine guns, and vertical and horizontal stabilizer deicing boots. All that remains now is three antennas and a midships radio antenna mast plus the wing supports and yellow propeller tips. This will be my first time entering a model in the Ready for Inspection area, is there anything I need to know before I do that? Harold
    6 points
  49. I've generally refrained from commenting, instead chipping in with those occasional mute passive aggressive 'likes'. Mostly this is because, being relatively new here, I figured the last thing you'd want is some random stranger butting in and telling you how great everything is going to be! But I did want to say thanks for sharing, beyond just the fantastic build, the realities of everyday life with disarming honesty. My situation being rather similar to yours (albeit managed so far to stave off that dreaded shift into the 3rd gear of child maintenance related despair), I find it cathartic following your posts; so from an entirely selfish point of view, I really appreciate that you've taken the time to, frankly, say what we're all thinking. I suppose we'll have to make do with the knowledge or just hope that the family, if they don't now, will one day appreciate the fantastic job you're doing, no doubt at much personal cost, to keep the circus running. Yep this bit it strikingly familiar. Being a serial procrastinator, the perceived pressure of 'not having enough time to take for myself' tends to have this effect on me too. Anyway enough of my guff, the build is turning out great. I particularly applaud that quick save on the decal repair. All too easily does that get cast to the shelf of shame and leave a lingering whiff of bitterness over all subsequent modelling until it is finally repaired. Sharp work on the freehand demarcation. Cheers, Andy
    6 points
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