Leaderboard

Hi all, here my new build: Airfix Buccaneer S.2, built as an early RAF aircraft of No 12 Sqn. According to a post here in Britmodeller one can build XV356 in RAF colors (about 1973) without any major changes from the box, that offers only RN aircrafts. Add some Eduard parts like the Space cockpit, Brassin wheels, seatbelts and some exterior. For the markings I used differnt sheets: Xtardecal 48228 and 48229 as well as Kitsworld KW148184. The walkways are out of my spare box. Painting was done with Mr Hobby Acrylics. Hope you like it.

An assortment of shots (DSLR and iPhone) of my completed Sea King HAR3 from the Airfix starter set. Generally pretty good fit and detail although that canopy assembly and masking is never going to be easy on a 1:72 Sea King!!! Mostly build o.o.b. but a bit of Eduard etch used (notably the wipers and that front door / steps), plus a bit of scratchbuilding: plasticard antennae, the wire aerial and handrails, and some small pieces of wire and plastic rod to better represent the really complex rotor head engineering of the real one. It's not perfect but certainly better than the kit version. Bit more info: painted with Vallejo Air yellow acylic, which in itself is a decent paint... but I didn't realise until too late, just how hard it is to cover anything with yellow! Especially as I'd pre-shaded over the grey primer with black panel lines... about eight coats of yellow later, and pre-shading still dark as anything, I gave up and put another thin primer layer over it all before starting again with the yellow! Lesson learned though. (I subsequently read a great tip on here: prime with pink if you're going to paint yellow. Will definitely try that next time). I tried to keep the weathering really subtle, as these helicopters were generally kept very clean (although there are some images out there of quite dirty ones..). Assorted diorama bits include Noy's Miniatures modern aircraft hangar and ReedOak groundcrew figures (amazing quality). Thanks for looking!

Hello! To conclude (temporarily) my Korean War/USAF series, a little diorama with two F-51D from Tamiya I did a while ago. Nothing to say about those kits, well known from Mustang fans. To add a bit of fun I put the AIRES engine set on one of them, quite a challenge at that scale... I also added a fair amount of resin/enhanced kits (Eduard set and canopy from Squadron, as the one given in both kits are odd) to correct the kits mistakes. Painting was done with AlcladII various shades of silver, to reflect (I hope) the worn out aspect of these airplanes. Marking are self made for "FF-382" and for "FF-412" - which is famous and well documented in "Ospey Frontline color 1" - I used a Printscale decal sheet which was very disappointing from all aspects (quality, markings too small, inaccuracy etc...). Finally I painted the sharkmouth and used my spare part decals for the rest. Annoying ! Vehicles (CCKW 353 and the bomb trailer) come from the "Tracks & Troops" artisan, very fine and not so difficult to build. Here are the photos: The real bird: Mine: And "Butchie": Hope you will enjoy the photos, have fun!

This is Tamiya's aging 1/48 "Rufe",(released in 1973!) Its a nice, simple build out of the box, and with a little help, can look quite presentable. I tweaked it with lots of weight in the front of the float, added Eduard's photoetch in the cockpit, along with some scratch building and detailing, wired the engine, riveted the airframe, and replaced the antenna, pitot, and cowl guns with brass pieces. Paints are Tamiya acrylics, and decals are a mix of kit (yes, 50 year old decals!) and Techmod nationality markings. Hope you like, Colin

The build of the mid 1990s released Airfix kit started out as something of a crusade for me after I'd been banging on, to anyone who would listen, about the price of the upcoming new release. I was, and still am, convinced that £70.00 for a 1/48 scale kit is over the top and I was therefore determined to have a crack at making the old version into an acceptable model. I'd been warned by many that the fit and finish of the old kit was at best poor and at worst diabolical. I discovered that it actually fell somewhere between the two. I set out to build pretty much from the box but that plan soon changed when assembling the cockpit. The ejector seats had to go followed by much of the instrumentation. The airbrake detail needed some enhancement and a new set of wheels seemed like a good idea. As the build progressed, I also decided to replace the flight refuelling probe and the pitot tube with metal parts. I always like my models to have a "parked " look so I also bought crew access ladders and FOD guards. Finally I invested in paint masks for the canopy and wheels. The bottom line is that with the cost of the original kit (bought second-hand under the table at some model show several years ago for about thirty quid) plus the extras and replacements, It's actually cost me just short of £95.00. So a valuable lesson learnt by this modeller. Don't shout too loud about the exorbitant price of new models unless you can prove the old "pocket money" kits are up to standard. By the way. I visited the Fleet Air Arm Museum a few days ago to check the details of my latest build against the real thing. Guess what? It ain't there. In their wisdom the museum have chosen to remove a surprising number of aircraft from display. The S2 Buccaneer on the Carrier section has gone together with the Sea Hawk, Scimitar, Sea Venom and Gannet leaving a yawning gap on the flight deck presumably to give a clearer view of a rather disappointing animated video. In other halls the two seat Hunter has vanished and also the Firefly is missing. I assume someone has a master plan to improve the visitor experience but at the moment it's not working. So, if you intended a visit to take some reference photos, don't bother if your next build is of a subject that has been relegated to the reserve collection. Enough of my rant, here are some photos of the finished Airfix circa 1995 Buccaneer S2D.

This my second from the superb “Southern Star” Dual Combo boxing after my 92 squadron Mk.Vb - I always wanted to build an Aussie spit but every time I have nearly got to it - something came up to put me off. So now I have done it and I am reasonably pleased with the result - though I should learn my lesson and do ALL of my research before I start. Based on research carried out by the genius Peter Malone and some self interpretation of pictures found on the net, I modified the Eduard colour scheme and made a couple of minor mods to the kit. Basic plan was for a standard Tropical RAF colour scheme of Dark Earth/Mid-Stone over Azure Blue but with the Mid-stone overpainted with Foliage Green. The white tail and wing leading edges were apparently (I hope) added shortly before the squadron moved north to Kiriwina Island for operations. Also at this time it appears that the Mk.II IFF was replaced by the Mk.III IFF which dispensed with the wires from the fuselage to tail to be replaced by a dipole aerial under the starboard wing. I hate those wires so a dipole was dutifully and gratefully added. Also, the pipes for the gun heating system were removed from the rear of the exhaust leaving unfilled holes in the cowling - suitable holes were duly drilled (Well after painting - should have done my research earlier!)In all the pictures I could find - none showed any stencilling so I was lazy and left them out - I can feel a rash of pictures coming along to prove this wrong now! I wasn’t happy with the Eduard suggestion for the colours of the Votes filter sides and the spinner. They both look like similar but slightly different greens from the Foliage Green to me and my interpretation of the pictures. I tried to make the whole thing look a little but scruffy and dusty but as I noted to a friend - that often makes it look not so well done! There was one howler which was too late to correct but no model is perfect so it will have to stay as it is. Anyway - again a super kit from Eduard and again the removal of the carrier film from the decals was fairly easy and effective. Will definitely be building more! Cheers Malcolm

Just finished the Buccaneer last night . Started on this beginning of last November . Really great kit and fit . Built out of the box for the first build . For paints i used Mr color , Ak real colors and Tamiya LP . Only areas i did light wash was the cockpit and whheel wells . One thing i really liked about the kit was the FOD colors and crew ladders . I plan on another Navy one and RAF one when it comes out . 76ED9994-DDA8-49DB-B4B0-12D40D54FFD5 by b007scott, on Flickr 29079EB7-EAE2-46A1-B351-04C0D3D0B15D by b007scott, on Flickr 3D6DBEFF-2CE0-416E-B661-21214B9FA67F by b007scott, on Flickr 5D5921D2-9E73-4611-89FF-5B87E4B8852C by b007scott, on Flickr 6810BFB5-2BC1-4789-AF6C-DDB1DFAF1803 by b007scott, on Flickr 4204CAA9-0C59-487B-837B-4244A4850FC1 by b007scott, on Flickr 2972B03D-6B5C-4C14-A2E4-1FEA0B35F208 by b007scott, on Flickr B8923050-8903-4CF7-9438-02F7BB69A18A by b007scott, on Flickr 13D889C8-E677-4192-88E4-505EF50D4B7D by b007scott, on Flickr 13689D10-369A-4B03-B143-0EA10ABCF65A by b007scott, on Flickr 13D694F6-03DD-47E1-879E-4753B781578F by b007scott, on Flickr D290A29A-3F79-4390-A852-37D72A250D24 by b007scott, on Flickr A9FB398D-D4CB-48CB-8BFC-D953429808B0 by b007scott, on Flickr 92C7B4C3-288D-430C-A250-45F749B8C364 by b007scott, on Flickr CDA57349-FDCC-430C-ABFD-BBB103FE2D08 by b007scott, on Flickr Brian

My first completion of the Year (started last year). Subject:- Grumman Avenger MkIIJZ186/Q*4P. 854 NAS HMS Illustrious. Operation Meridian II Jan-1945. On 29 January, Operation Meridian II, an air strike against the oil refinery at Soengei Gerong, Sumatra, was undertaken. Having dropped their bombs on the target the Avengers escaped at low level. On escape they were attacked by the defending fighters. The squadron CO was attacked by Japanese fighters, following behind Lt GJ Connolly fired his forward firing machine guns destroying one Ki-44 'Tojo' and damaging another. Lt GJ Connolly (pilot), Lt RE Jess (Observer), Unknown (TAG). Model:- Hobby Boss Fleet Air Arm Avenger MkI/II. 1/48. Observers cockpit is scratch built (inc seats and panels). Pilots cockpit detailed out. Lower cabin is detailed (torch, and magnifier is required). Scratched up some machine gun barrels. Extra bombs provided. Wing fold mechanism scratch built. Observers domed windows crash moulded (best not really studied). Paint - Xtracrylics. Markings - Various Generic. Some photos Its not medal winning - but I hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by:-

This is another build from a while back. It's Eduard's 1:48 Lysander (I think originally a Gavia kit). I added a lot of scratchbuilt details, as well as photo-etch and some resin bits. I think The upper parts of the pilot's side windows should be fixed, but...I have a rule where I never fiddle with a model once I've called it finished! Not the most detailed or best fitting kit, but the Lysander is always a favourite. The model won the IPMS Czech Republic Award (Aircraft), and a Silver Medal at SMW 2021. Thanks. Here it is with my 1:72 Matchbox version, built sometime in the '80's: I scratch-built a cockpit floor, and added a lot of scratch-built detail to the cockpit; it's all very visible once completed: The fit of the wings to the greenhouse was almost totally random, so I made some modifications to the kit to improve the chances of getting everything to fit:

Latest off the bench and ready for the North Surrey show is the great Kinetic F-104 Starfighter. OOB. Markings for 20 Gruppo, OCU/4 Stormo, Grosetto Air Base. This really is a great kit. BUT the instructions are crap. The designer of them had a dose of NFI. (no flippin idea) You actually start beginning to challenge your sanity. Hey ho. References are essential .... be warned. Any way on to the pic's. Please feel free to comment etc. Thanks for looking Cheers Dick

Hi everyone, just before my recent hand surgery I was able to make the new Eduard Sopwith Camel 'Suds' and finished it with my AIMS stainless bracing wire set 48PE014. In the last month with my hand strong enough to hold a very light model I was curious if the wires also fitted the earlier Eduard release from 2003 and I also wanted to use PC 12 colour for the first time in my life as I was curious about it and wanted two very different Camels. There was another dominating factor in that I am just not a WW I modeller and these two 1/48 kits make a grand total of 'four' WWI subjects I have made as an adult and I just did not want to dive into my hard to get and expensive WnW Camel kit without having a little bit more practice. If it is not a Ju 88 I am out of my comfort zone haha! Anyway thanks for looking. I used MRP paints on the whole and love them. I used Eduard decal options from their Duel Combo kit and hate them but that is another story! Best wishes - John PS No idea when my next operation is for the nerve damage but want to try and get some more models made first if I can.

I recently decided to build my first jet model and went with the YF-23. The YF-23 was designed by Northrop/McDonnell Douglas when the USAF began looking for a replacement for its fighter aircraft. The USAF chose proposals from two companies Northrop and Lockheed. Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas to develop the YF-23, while Lockheed, Boeing, and General Dynamics developed the YF-22. Ultimately the YF-22 was announced the winner and entered production as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. Northrop developed two test planes known as the PAV1 and PAV2. This model depicts the PAV1 which was later referred to by the Northrop development team as the Black Widow due to it's spider like appearance when seen on radar. Overall I enjoyed building this kit, but it did offer a hefty amount of obstacles. First off, HobbyBoss includes theoretical decals which do not depict markings of either the PAV1 or PAV2. To remedy this, I purchased a decal set from Caracal models. This set has the correct markings for both the PAV1/PAV2. The exhaust area of this kit is semi-accurate. There are heat-ablating tiles which are used to shield a heat signature from infrared detection. Both PAV1 and PAV2 had square shaped tiles, where HobbyBoss chose to use rectangular tiles. I could have fixed this issue, but was a bit lazy and didn't realize it until I had already done multiple layers of paint/varnish. My next issue was the fitting of the fuselage and wings. After gluing it all up, there were large gaps which needed to be corrected. I used both Tamiya gray putty as well as Vallejo white putty. This step was followed by sanding and re-scribing of panel lines. Lastly one major issue of this kit is the landing gear. They are very fragile. Fragile to the point to where I had to install metal pints in both the wheel connection, and one other area. Even after the metal pins, the right set of gear still kept breaking under the weight of the model. The only way to remedy this without ordering an aftermarket set of gear was to cut 2 pieces of sprue from the runners and add more structural support. Cheers!

The second one of Ju 88 build within the STGB Ju 88 II - this time it is the Ju 88 S1, a late the most fast variant used for night raids over Britain in 1944, The kit is by AMT (1/72) with some modifications (enlarged wheel bays, shorted u/c legs (or rather deeper situated), new spinners and engine inlets fans added, bomb and tank from Hasegawa He 111 Z2... Decals partially from drawer, partially from kit. The WIP is here: This machine (Z6+LH - small code above the swastika) belonged to 1//KG66. it was seen in Montdidier (France), at late September 1944. Comments welcome Regards J-W

Hello my friends, now i will let see you my latest model. This is a Mirage 2000 from Hasegawa/Italeri. Additionally I used a ejectionseat from Pavla, etched parts from Eduard and a wheelset and exhaust nozzle from Reskit. The look is the first time a "The Idolm@ster 2". The designe are a little different to my previous "The Idolm@ster". The Color are again from MRP, Jägermeister Orange. The Matra-Rockets are from a kit of a Mirage F.1 from Special Hobby. I hope you like it.

Hi guys , Italian WW II aircrafts, are one of my favorite topics, love their shapes and camos. The MC 202 was one of the more elegant one out of them ( in my opinion). Adding DB 601 engine ( made under licence) to part of MC 200 design , produce a very efficient plane which was more than needed by Italian pilots at that time. regarding what they were facing . Mc 202 could be considered as standard " work horse " fighter for RA between End of 1941 and middle of 1943. Thus, numerous camos schemes, depending on areas use, and also different building lines Macchi, Breda ..) . I have chosen to represent one of the first operational MC 202's by the RA. This unit was the first one to be fully equipped by the new fighter. On pictures ,these planes looked pretty new and cleaned up ( with slight exhaust stains) , ready to go on Malta operation area. Main features of Mc 202 first batches were : short antenna mast, slim compressor intake ( means without sand filter) and specific tailwheel end . Regarding camo, we are on a classical one for that period ie : verde mimetico 2 with gallio mimetico 3 and marrone mimetico 2 blotches . If I'm wrong on that, forgive me and correct it if needed. 😉 ( anyway I'm not sure to re-paint it !! 😄) I used Aeromaster paints,( yes Still have some !! 😁) and Airone hobby undercarriage set , which is quite nice indeed. ok guys enough talk, let's go on to pics ! Hope you'll like them ! best regards ! cheers !

Indian Navy Sea Harrier FRS.51 INS Viraat (ex HMS Hermes). Hasegawa 1/72 kit with CtA Decals, Master pitot, Matra Magic missiles pinched from a Modelsvit Mirage IIIE in the stash. Thanks for looking. AW

Hi All, My second build for 2023 is Asuka's Sherman III with deep-wading trunks as supplied by Asuka. The decals are from Star Decals. The conversion set was very well made, with the only issues being from trying to make the rigging for the release mechanism to drop the trunks once no longer needed as there was a risk of the engine overheating if left on for an extended time. The Rigging was made from 1mm plastic rod supplied with the conversion set, and was glued to turnbuckles to create the articulation of the mechanism. The trunks themselves were folded photoech, with the covers over the exahust being supplied in resin. It was refereshing to use an otherwise drop-in conversion set with the only actual kit modification being the fact that i needed to drill a slight indentation into the extractor fan cover to accept the main wire for the trunks. Otherwise everything else was a drop-in or straight replacement. The only other modification was the rear deck bustle, made from brass rod. The vehicle was painted using Thinned Humbrol Enamel 155 Olive drab, which was then drybrushed and washed with oils. Following this the vehicle was weathered furhter with oils and enamels. The stowage is mainly from Tamiya and Blackdog Models. The Track is AFV Club rubber-band style, as i'd already commandeered the kit track for another project. The vehicle is finished in the markings for the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry, which is the subject of a number of books such as James Holland's excellent 'Brothers in Arms', David Render's 'Tank Action' and Stuart Hill's 'By Tank into Normandy', which for all i couldn't recommend highly enough if you want inspiration for British Subjects in the 1944-45 NWE theatre. Thanks for looking, Sam

Hi All, Here's my first one off the bench for 2023, Tamiya's M4 Early in 1/35. I bought the accurate armour conversion set to provide the various parts to complete a british fit vehicle. I additionally added a decal set from Star Decals. I painted the vehicle using Humbrol Enamels, thinned and sprayed. I then drybrushed the finish back, before using ochre oil paints, thinned down as a filter. I then used raw umber oil paints, thinned, to make a pin wash. The decals as mentioned were from Star Decals, and whilst they were excellent subject choices and added a good level of visual interest, i felt the carrier film was slightly thick. Though this doesnt detract from the fact that the company offers an incredible range of british subjects as well as others. The stowage is mainly from the spares box, consisting of Tamiya's allied accessory set, and boxes/crates from blackdog models. The track is nicked out of an Asuka Sherman III kit. The whole finish was matted down using Xtracolour Enamel Matte Varnish Thanks for looking, Sam

Ok so this is only my 2nd model after a 23 year hiatus from the hobby. One of my brothers in my MC is a dedicated crew chief on the ospreys and since he is close to retiring from the USAF I wanted to recreate his bird as a gift. He sent me a lot of reference photos so I hope he likes it. This is the MV-22 kit converted to the CV-22. I used the Red Fox 3d cockpit details, scratch-built the cargo area, used various PE from Eduard and used the Black Dog CV conversion kit. Decals were mixed from the kit and from Caracal but I had to custom make the numbers for the tail (#0051, which is his birds tail number). I also installed red LEDs in the cockpit and cargo area to simulate an "operational" status and added blinking navigation lights to the engine nacelles. The Ospreys used to have a 2 toned scheme but the Air Force recently went to a 1 color paint job so he asked me to use that instead. Painted with a mixture of Tamiya acrylics and lacquers.

Well, I had signed up with the I Love Kit 1/350 Enterprise, but as you can see from my last post in that thread, ran into a roadblock that will prevent my finishing in time. So, here goes my second choice. My ultimate plan is the Enterprise in 1/350 with the three aircraft types (F4F, SBD, and TBD) in 1/48, all from the Battle of Midway. Since the Big E is stalled, herewith the TBD: For those who have the original release of the kit, or have read about it, this pic has some interesting points to it: Note that the footholds are now filled in rather than open all the way through, as they were before. From pictures I've seen, this is correct. If there ever were spring-loaded doors flush with the aircraft's skin (and I don't believe there were), they were gone by Midway. Also note that this sprue includes the bombs from the Wake Island boxing, so you now have the option of bombs or a torpedo from one box. Another big change is the landing gear. A big complaint about the original release was that it only had fully extended gear legs, so the model sat too high. I think someone at GWH made an error blocking those off the sprue in the first edition, since the instructions show both. They've happily fixed it now. Also missing from this release are the masks for the canopy. But from everything I've read, they didn't fit or stick, so no big loss. On with the show! Michael

FROG kits certainly had their fair share of issues, but they also had some great engineering, like these foolproof tailplane tabs: (Well, almost foolproof:)

Hi folks. Some kits make for lots of 'in box' reviews but fall off a cliff when it comes to turning them into finished lumps. MiniArt's Avro 671 seems to be one of those. Whether MiniArt's scheme colours are hysterically accurate I don't know - there's debate about this elsewhere on BM. I ran with MiniArt's version anyway as I just liked the 'look'. Delicate in places, even in 1/35, it's been a bit of a 'bucket lister' since this RAF version was released. The modelling market is fairly well flooded with targeted finishing products these days and while I usually opt for brewing my own I have to say AMMO's black Shader was an extremely pleasant surprise. Weathering over yellow is particularly tricky, at least as I've found - easy to overdo, underdo and look out of place. I confess, I didn't use the Shader exactly as Mig intended but I'm an inveterate anarchic fiddler, so lightly sprayed it on and wiped vertically with a gloved finger. The nature of the material is so forgiving and easy to manipulate and remove that I bought five more colours. Really excellent stuff that suits my 'opps, wrong again, back to square one' m/o. Happy days. TTFN Steve

A bit of sanding this morning and I've got my gull wing:

That remark could be a candidate for the modellers' collective noun. In addition to your kind contribution, I was mostly honoured by his use of the full spelling, obvs. I did it by eye using vinyl tape. I masked the centre with a circle cut of tamiya tape and chamfered the start of the vinyl (which didn't quite work, hence the requirement for a little touch up). The vinyl tape confirms to the curves very well. It's funny how little details catch one's eye - I like the wheels too, probably my favourite bit. By way of ending a chapter, I finished the underside with a coat of clear flat on which to apply some chalk staining and then a final coat of equal parts Windex, Clear Gloss and Clear Flat. As I rarely take photos of the underside once the model is finished - far too much chance of DSDTM (Doing Something Dumb) and damaging it, here's the finish pics for the 410's bottom. The next chapter is the uppers. The final chapter is the radar - another opportunity to procrastinate... Cheers.

Background: The Abu Dhabi Citroen DS3 would be in my personal top 10 rally car livery/car shape combos, even though it's not an especially well remembered one and lost in the long Sebastian period of the WRC. At the time I bought this Heller kit it was long out of production but eventually the 2012 Red Bull version cropped up on Ebay from a seller in France (appropriatly for a French kit of a French car), auctioned along with the 2013 Abu Dhabi decals. Heller have since decided to reissue the kit, sans decals. Certainly for less than I paid. 3 sets of number and driver/co-driver decals are included but given the overall French-ness of the thing, it would be wrong to give it to anyone except Loeb, so number 1 it is. Pros: It's a good shape and for the most part fits together very well. The glass parts are very good: thin and shiny. The wheel arches and underbody entirely fit the upper body with none of the gaps you get on most models. The decals are also of good quality, necessary since there are so many and so many that are large. The rollcage is very comprehensive. For a Heller kit, it's a bonus that it steers and that it has door cards. Seats and door mirrors have good positive mountings. Cons: The kit lacks a lot of detail - in particular the underbody and suspension is very very simplified and anything related to engine or transmission is absent. The fit and assembly of the roll cage is poor though buildable with some hassle. There's some moulding cleanup to be done and some ugly ejector pin marks on the seats. The instructions are not very clear in parts and do have some errors in both painting and decal numbering. The wheels and tyres seem not wide enough to the real car, and the tyres are a little plasticky. The flappy box is kind of annoying. And then there's the decals.. which are good decals and go on well. But there are a lot of them and there's a lot of decal softener and patience involved. Not Hellers fault but it's a con if you don't like that kind of thing. Verdict: It's a good starting point for either a simple or detailed build. Aside from the roll cage, it's great that it all fits together easily. However the complex decalling requires a lot of prior experience. Build notes: Built over the course of 6 weeks in December 2022-February 2023. A lot of extra detail has been added to this kit, most of which is in the interior and too numerous to list out entirely. Amongst other things (interior): Seatbelts, wiring, Air-con hose, extra boxes, cables, straps. Exterior: those small black domes on the roof, PE pins and aerials. Also the bonnet and grille meshes were opened up from the original kit (which took ages, it's thick plastic) and replaced with real mesh.

I don't have the enthusiasm to finish my current projects, but I'm tempted by the workbench (apparently I'm best at doing rather than finishing 😉). So I started another project. The intention is to build an armed low-wing hover/jet with a vertical profile (height greater than length). The shape on the front is supposed to roughly resemble an inverted T). It will be a combination of trashbash kitbash and scratchbuild, because I want to use scrap and spare parts, but to compose it well I also need a lot of styrene constructions. A few days ago I was cleaning my room and found two things. First was an old Dell PC mouse (which I kept because it has a great shape). Second was the Academy MiG-29 1:48 kit (scrap I got from a friend). It occurred to me to combine these two things. Or at least to use some parts from the MiG. The model is in bad condition: missing parts, no decals, poorly glued elements. I decided to use the wings pictured in the middle and a few other parts. At this stage, I also gave up using black mouse overlays (clicking element). The easiest way would be to glue the wings to the mouse but I don't think it would look good. So I needed connecting elements. As it is not easy to combine a rounded mouse to flat sheets of styrene, this "connector" is constantly growing and becoming more and more complicated This part is an extended wing attachment at the initial stage. It has a sandwich form to make it look better. The hole in the center is the landing gear section. The triangular structure on top is the lower fuselage element. The mouse will be angled approximately 30-40 degrees to the wings to add dynamism to the ship's outline. Here you can see the next stage of building the fuselage. I glued a styrene wheel to the lower section, and on it I started to build the middle section (where the mouse will be placed). The ribbed gray elements are the air outlets from MiG (only one is visible here). The styrene rods are matched to the screw holes in the mouse, which makes it easy to fit and remove. Other gray elements are parts of some plane or helicopter from my resources. I put the cable cover only for the photo, I will glue it after painting the cables. The Fulcrum's air outlets are clearly visible here. On the right: part of the fuselage of another unidentified plane. Attaching the engine nozzle caused me the most problems. First I had to make the bottom part of the mouse. It only worked the second time. I used another styrene wheel but the mouse is not completely flat so it didn't fit perfectly (there were gaps). I masked them with a narrow strip of styrene. Around the mouse there is a groove for attaching the lower part, which greatly facilitated the attachment of the strap. Then I glued a nozzle to the wheel. As you can see: it doesn't fit well either, but it's the only part of this nozzle I have, so I had to use styrene again. I decided that I could not make a cylinder of such a complex shape so I decided to go a different way. It took me about a week to build so far. The fuselage is basically ready for the applying details (kitbash phase). The two big tasks for the near future are landing gear and cockpit. Especially the cockpit can be problematic, because I would like it to be glazed. I have some canopies but it will be difficult to fit them to the mouse. Cheers. Wiesiek.

The Buc stops here. 😜 Well actually the Buccaneer is complete. The final bits and pieces have been added and overall I'm happy with the result. It was always going to be a tricky build, as everyone told me, but at least I think it looks like a Buccaneer. I'll add my final thoughts and more pictures of the finished result to the RFI section.

And the chipping has started..... Some grime and dirt was added with enamel from AK for desert vehicles. When the chipping is done i'll add some streaking and rust. It is starting to look like a battle worn Crusader..... me like 😀

The end is in sight. I finished the roof rack with some more cans and the spare wheel. It's not glued in place yet, that will be that last thing to do, but I think it looks good like this. I may be able to finish it this weekend.

Hi All, Some progress on the Beau after what has been a rather busy week of preparation and job interviews (which will hopefully bear fruit!) First job of the day was the instrument panel. I'd fluffed up applying the decal yesterday, so I repainted the base colour black, dry-brushed with white and then applied gloss coat to the instrument faces: I reckon that'll do seeing as it won't be seen! Here's the cockpit starting to come together: And here we are mostly completed after an oil wash: Before joining the fuselage halves I added the beam hatch (on my previous Mk.I build I'd left this hatch open), and added the tail wheel bay, central bulkhead and Elsan. Here's the lot ready to go together: Aaand all buttoned up: Not looking too bad! Next I thought I'd better double check the fit of the turret in the Mk.Ia fairing (which is not noted in the instructions). Here it is: It all seems to fit okay, but I did need to remove a small pip at the base of the turret structure in order for it to sit down on the mounting ring: You can see that I've chosen to paint the entire turret black (the glazing will also be this colour). No doubt someone will now pipe up and prove me wrong, so there's still time to correct it! The last thing I've done today is apply the glazing, and Airfix really are to be congratulated on the fit of these components - a lovely, vice free operation for a complex glass house! Tomorrow I'll get on to the wings and empennage, Thanks for looking, Roger

My second MFH made a few years ago. I love him. I love Fangio...;) IMAG4165 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4163 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4158 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4151 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4138 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4133 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4129 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4127 by Tomasz, on Flickr IMAG4124 by Tomasz, on Flickr

I was very tempted to have a go at a metal model after a break of about 35 years. One of last ones I built was a HiFi 1:43 Ferrari 156/85, when I was 15: My Dad got it me for Christmas after going to Silverstone for the tyre tests and Grand Prix in the summer of ‘85. Despite going to Grands Prix since I was less than a year old, that ‘85 Ferrari was really the first time I’d got to see and appreciate an F1 car up close, so it’ll always be a special car for me. Here are a couple of pics I took at the time with my Dad’s Olympus Trip: Anyway, despite really wanting to build another, I quickly put the thought of yet another kit to the back of my mind, considering the load of other half finished projects I’ve got. I did mention it to a like-minded friend at work though... Fast forward a few weeks to my birthday, and to my amazement, my work colleagues had had a whip round and presented me with this; the latest iteration of the kit. Beautifully presented in a neat box, it’s almost too nice to open, but when you do, it’s a treat: these days you get photo-etch, coil springs and pre-printed tyres, as well as crisply moulded white metal: So here's the finished model - really nice build, only additions were p/e rivets for the engine cover fasteners and tin foil for the mirrors. Photos are a bit blotchy for some reason, but, here they are anyway:

Hi, Within a Ju 88 STGB II I am trying to fit in time (a little more then a week left) with construction of five Ju 88s... Just to make a comment on side - on my shelves I have now 480 models and no single Ju 88 among them. Many times ago, in a middle of 70s., I build an Airfix A4 but it went to people... So now I am trying the fill up this apparent gap! The first one finished is G6 night fighter in colors of 12./NJG 6. BTW - the construction, which was not heat simple as it seems, is described here The main change is the extension of the fin by some 3 mm in height. Here it is: (there is a reflection of the direct sunlight on tail and shadow from wing on above photo) Comments welcome Regards J-W

For many many years this one was on my wishlist, the Revell Convair 990 Coronado. Out of production since the 70s and hard to get. Until.. Atlantis Models got hold of the moulds and released it with a brand new boxing in 2021! The reboxing comes with a large high quality decal sheet covering all Convair 990s operated by NASA. The original kit is from 1961 and 60 years (!!) after the initial release it still looks good! I wanted to stay close to the original kit so I did not do any major modifications. As the cabin windows are moulded recessed I filled them as the decals would cover them anyway. The cockpit windows are moulded "open" and no transparent piece is provided (nor was that in the original release) so I filled that with Clearfix. Fit and details is excellent for a 60 year old kit and I am happy with my result and finally could add the Revell Convair to my collection: Peter

Hello to all of you guys and girls.I want to present you my 1:72 Scale Hobbyboss Indian Air Force rafale E.The kit is built pretty much oob.The only thing added are a noseweight,home made seatbelts and the great caracal decals for the Indian version.I painted the kit in gunze acrylics and weathered it with oil colors. Enjoy the photos

Here is the second of three P-47 Thunderbolts that I am building as a project -- Robert S. Johnson's "Lucky", in which he made most of his kills. Whereas I used the old Monogram "Jug" for Francis Gabreski's plane, here I've gone with the excellent Tamiya Razorback kit. To make it even more interesting, I "electrified" it using a motor and sound kit from Magic Scale Modeling, and added LED/fiber-optic lighting for the wingtip and tail position lights. Let's get straight to the photos! First, Robert Johnson's "Jug": plus, a short newsreel video: And, my representation: I used HGW resin rivet decals on my Monogram build, but they were lost under the camo paint. For this build, I applied the rivets after the main color coat was on, and followed a highly-thinned final color to "blend" them in to the surface. I'm very happy with the result! Rivets going on: and after blending-in: Position, Identification, and Landing lights: The three position lights are illuminated by LEDs, which attach to fiber-optic cables that run to the wingtips and tail: The Magic Scale Modeling kit includes a circuit board, motor for the prop, and speaker for engine sounds. The circuit board is programmed to go through an engine startup, runup, and shutdown sequence. Power is provided by external batteries and is run through spring-loaded contacts inserted into the main landing gear: Here's a short video of the engine startup sequence (click to play video, and turn up your sound): That about wraps it up for Jug #2. For more details, check out my WIP here: More photos of my build for Francis Gabreski's P-47 can be found here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235119866-francis-gabreskis-p-47-thunderbolt/

OK, I have been following this thread for some time now, and cannot hold this in any more. Sorry, now that is cleaned-up I will begin. I am building one these aeroplanes contrivances over on another forums (they don’t appear to have spotted me yet, can’t be long before the brush comes out and ‘shoo’ shouted to accompany it), mine won’t be as ‘interesting’ as those to be viewed in these esteemed manufacturing premises, it being the ‘standard’ production-model, albeit fitted with those spectacular ‘sport’ model wheels from Gaspatch. I am at the point or joining the wings to the fuselage. This is proving somewhat ‘interesting’ Fit here appears to not brilliant -although this might be down to a manufacturing process error; well, the assembly staff are the cheapest available, previously seen picking over the rubbish tips around Crewe and begging outside of poundland, might be something needing addressing there perhaps. I think we have a solution to this and this weekend hope to have them affixed and the wheels fitted, then, to the skies and beyond! I am mightily impressed with the 2 builds here, they far exceed even modern-day executive transport operated for such luminaries as oil-magnates and Saudi-royalty and such like. You're bound to corner the executive market! I do, however, have serious concerns regarding the incomplete ‘business-model’ of this venture; what about the necessary changes required to aerodromes to facilitate the possible mass-use of these machines when -as is likely, they ‘take-off!?’ I have sorted this myself at the Crewe International aerodrome, where at this minute adjacent to the Chapel, there is being constructed a life-insurance office, this will be next to the funeral directors. I will report back on how far this device flies, when it actually gets airborne.

The putty is all sanded an I have added the flaps, stabs and rudder.

Well, its done. I was looking through my references and stumbled upon two colour photos in the Warpaint book of MSG Indian Sea Harriers which showed the fuselage walk (dont walk?) way markings, warning triangles and some other stencils in red not grey as CtA have them so I was able to use some of my spare decals for those markings. That only left the aircraft number. I obtained a couple of fine tip paint markers, waterproof and permanent with the idea of adapting the CtA decals. I tested the markers on my paint mule, dried quickly, no smudging. So I carefully applied the black over the light grey CtA decals and left them for 24 hours to set. 24 hours later, tested them and the black rubbed right off. Seems it wouldn’t take to the shiny decal surface. So I applied the decals, sprayed the model with matt varnish and left it to dry. Next day I used the markers again over the grey numbers. This time it dried properly and set, only drawing in curved numbers over a curving surface with a not too steady hand results in a finish not as neat as I would like. Still, its what it is and with a bit of touching up is better than nothing. Undercarriage, pylons, tanks etc attached, a pair of Matra Magic missiles borrowed from the stash and the Master pitot attached, canopy unmasked, and replaced in the open position and its finished. More in the gallery. Thanks for following along. AW

After building the RML out of the box I fancied cutting one up.This is my effort.A Edinburgh open top tourist Royal Britannia tour RM. The start kit was of course the Revell 1 24th scale London Bus

I think I've got an opening canopy: So far, the windscreen has been cut downwards by running the new scalpel blade in parallel to the windscreen facets. I think i need to flatten off the bottom to make it fit a bit better, but I might do that tomorrow when I'm feeling a bit fresher!

My Wee Warrior 72nd scale Copper State Models autoblinda Lancia 1ZM "Lampo" is finito. I have been messing around with making better bases or my builds. In the past usually nothing, sometimes something very simple. With my ongoing adventure in following new and different paths, I have embarked on having a go a creating simple bases to create a simple vignette or small diorama. Following that theme I took some time made a very simple base for this model. Nothing overly inspirational, just something simple using simple materials that seemed appropriate. This is a very nice kit with much fine detail. I build the 1ZM out of the box and greatly resisted trying to tart it up a bit. For example I could have thinned or replace the foot steps with something more to scale size but resisted and left it as it. Also, the Maxi guns were a bit delicate, especially the join between the breach end of the gun and the cooling jacket. I broke two cutting them from the sprue, lost another and broke yet another on the finished turret. That is why the model only has one Maxim mounted and visible. I enjoyed this group built quite a bit. I followed a path that took me into the realm of Wee Warrior 72nd scale and making a simple display base. The jury is still out with respect to how far I will follow the path in this scale. I have several more kits and they do present their own set of challenges. For now I will follow that path to see where it might lead. cheers, Graham

#5/2021 My dad´s latest completion. Hasegawa kit, painted with AK Real Color IJN Amber Grey and IJN Green Black, EZ Line for antenna and Eduard seatbelts. Build thread here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235086644-aquatic-guns-in-the-sky148-nakajima-a6m2-n-type-2-rufe-imperial-japanese-navy/ Aircraft of Takuma Flying Group 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_0007 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0008 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_0013 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0014 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0015 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0016 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0017 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0018 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0019 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr DSC_0001 by grimreaper110, auf Flickr

No modelling for me this weekend shipmates… today, trains instead of planes! 🚂 Back on duty Monday…

Finished painting the Fw 190 in the standard scheme. Very tempting to choose another subject, stick on some decals, and call it done. But no, let's push on and make it green. First of all corrected the aileron yellow per @Sanjuro 's earlier post. Also photographed it on a white background to try and capture the actual colours. Then into the RLM 70 and 71 finish. All paints are Gunze's Mr Color. I wanted to breathe a little life into the surface finish with thin and variable coats. Trying to achieve a field applied and weathered finish. A good basis for later. And I am happy with the result. Well on its way. A little more detail painting to come. Ray

I suspect that the limited forward view may have had something to do with the original machines "heavy landing". Either that or the "genius" who got Baldrick to pilot the thing. I think you have missed the point here Ian. The bog is just there for form's sake, a cunning disguise for what is really the General's airborne "Rumpus Room". Martian 👽

Time for an update... I got eh cockpit assembly painted and the fuselage halves together with the tail boom added Some minimal filling was required around the joint where the tail boom fillet attaches to the fuselage and on top behind the main rotorhead where the anti collision beacon was removed. I've added a little extra detail in the fork of the main undercarriage trunnion plates and the battery bay access door. Barely visible ids the alteration to the base of the tailboom fillet. Otherwise the kit is well detailed. On the early versions of the S-55, there was no rooftop glazing, this was filed off but there is a step in the roof and the cockpit glazing, that is currently being filled Until the next time, that's all folks...

OK, time for an update. I got the fuselage buttoned up and the underside inserted. The latter didn't fit too well, so there was plenty of filling, filling and sanding! I then shot some Tamiya primer over the sanded filler. I also removed the SONAR dunker cover plate, a little more filler was require and then the engine cover needed some attention too, as did the tail rotor transmission tunnel. I removed the forward portion of the tail boom strake and replaced it with some plasticard. Next time I post, I'll show some of the extra detail I've added to the fuselage. Plates and brackets that Airfix missed! That's all folks for the present...

UPDATE 04: Hi Pals, Some more work with the model, in this advance, I have already begun to add the color that it is going to have. I have tried with an AK modulation set for Dünkelgelb, and I have been doing some shadows and lights. Then once dry, some chipping, trying not to overdo it, with the subsequent weathering, some will possibly disappear or be attenuated, with the idea of a vehicle with a short use in time, but in terrible conditions (end of conflict and subsequent defeat )... The parts that will have another color (such as tracks, tools...), later I will paint them as they should, I'm not worried that something has been stained, it seems somewhat rough, but it's easy to fix and it helps me move forward.🙃 I like the aspect that it is taking on, it is still somewhat raw, and its square shapes are not very aesthetic, but I believe that when you add all the small pieces and start with the weathering with a brush, it will begin to take interest and break the linearity of one single color.🤔 Thanks for watch and comments as always. Cheers and TC Francis.👍

Deck cut and dry fitted There seem to be several styles of interior for longships. I’ve decided that this is the setup I’m going to follow, not sure it’s completely correct but it is something I’m capable of building.