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Being a CH-53 pilot (now retired), I always wanted to build a decent model of a German CH-53 in 1:48 scale. The Revell kit is from the early 1980s and represents the technology of that time. Revell has researched the newer versions very well, added new parts (new rotor blades, tanks, radar and missile detection system, chaff and flare dispensers) for the CH-53GS and GA editions but the main parts remained unchanged during the many reissues of this kit. Nevertheless, It is worth every cent of it's price, because it offers the opportunity to spend a huge amount of time working on it. How boring is a Tamiya kit compared to that, where everything is correct and fits perfectly? Well, it was more than 10 years ago, when I started this kit and I gave up, when it was already masked, painted and partly decalled, and put it into the so called shelf of doom. I was not in the mood then to correct all the shortcomings and flaws. About one month ago, a former comrade asked me to repair some broken parts from his model, which he had bought somewhere. I did so and remembered my old started model in the basement. And all of a sudden, I enjoyed rediscovering all the missing details and flaws that needed attention and working on it. Here is the result, still far away from being perfect. Some things I haven`t changed, because the model was already airbrushed, but I learned from then for the other two models I am working on right now, a GS and a GA verion. This model had to be one of my former regiment, Heeresfliegeregiment 15 in Rheine-Bentlage (ETHE). The numbers of the decal sheet allowed the 84+75, which was fine. This model represents the aircraft between about 1989 and 1997. About 1989 all the static discharge systems were removed, because it had proved to be ineffective, and 1997 the old Aluminium rotor blades as shown here were replaced by more modern and aerodynamically more effective so called "Improved rotor blades" . Things I have changed or improved: - Remove the part for the air refuelling boom from the glass part and polish it, - shorten all three landing gear legs by 2 mm - add details to the top of the instrument panel like map storage and stand by compass - Remove the crude mechanism of the tail rotor and rebuild it - add hydraulic lines to the main rotor head - reduce the height of the main rotor head above the blades by 2 mm - add yellow stripes to the main rotor blades as forklift markings - add engine front intake covers, as the compressor is nicely modelled, but too far forward - reduce the height of the front wheel cover by 2mm and add a small stripe of plastic on the bottom - add details to the wind shield wipers - add two small pins above the cockpit for the ice detection system and the outside air temperature gauge (which is already gone again) - add the shimmy damper to the the right front wheel (that cylindrical thing) - add various hydraulic lines for the blade fold mechanism at the main rotor head Things that should be done, but that I avoided, because the model was already assembled and painted: remove the premodelled wind shield wipers drill holes for the air intakes in the "dog house" above the cockpit for heating and Auxiliary power plant (APP) rebuild the front landing cover, because it is way too thick Here are the pictures, which I took at Rheine Bentlage airfield, which is still a military installation, but not used for military flying any more. greetings from Germany, Norbert

Good afternoon all, I finally got round to taking some photos of this wee beastie which i finished last November. I purchased this from a club member last September for a bargain sum and had to clear the workbench to make a start! I was impressed at the sheer size of the model as well as the simplicity of the kit. There were no major construction issues to report, the kit practically fell together (any issues i encountered were entirely of my own making - EDIT - the seams on the intake were actually a giant PITA to get looking presentable). I somehow managed to get the tailplane upside down (or so I am told). I elected to build the aircraft in anti-flash white ( i want to build all 3 v-bombers in white to display on the club stand together) and simply had to have the bomb doors open to show off the utterly massive Blue Danube nuclear weapon. Model was painted outside of the spraybooth as it was far too big to fit. Paints used were Mr Surfacer white, followed by Mr Color Gloss off-white, which i think really looks perfect for anti flash white. Weathering was kept to a bare minimum with oils. I also messed up the fin flashes due to the extremely overscale vortex generators, i just trimmed the decal around them. Anyway, enough blabbering, here are the photos: Cheers Ash

I finally finished my Hobby Boss F-105D after probably 8 years. I bought the kit 10 or more years ago and slowly started the build. I wanted to back date the airframe to the Project Look Alike (Lookalike?) overall aluminum lacquer finish, prior to the additions of external armor plates and Vietnam modifications. There were a couple of build articles online where guys had done this for the Monogram and Hobby Boss kits, which were very helpful. I collected my references, located photos online of what I wanted to build, and got to modding the HB kit. I had to fill in a bunch of vents on the nose and tail, sand off the armor plates (but did not do the wing undersides), sand off some antenna fairings, and remove some of the raised spine tunnel forward of the vertical tail. Also made the little intake on the forward base of the vertical tail a little bit bigger. Not really a lot of fun. Overall, I did not like the kit. I didn't mind the rivets, but the overcomplicated build, with many parts where just a couple would work (wings, flaps, spoilers), split fuselage to show the engine, etc. I was warned in the HB build article that the cockpit, especially the instrument panel, were too "tall" and would obstruct the scale pilot's forward vision but chose not to replace it with aftermarket. I should have. I did replace the ejection seat and the rear underside fin with Quickboost parts. I also used the SAC white metal main gear struts since I did not believe that the skinny kit pieces would support the mass of the model. The front plastic gear seems fine. Oh, when I finally attached the gear, I discovered that I had not put enough, or maybe any, weight in the nose. I had a tail dragger! I just glued some weights up in the forward part of the nose gear well. Nobody will look up there anyway. I was planning on painting the 36th TFW stripes on the tail but Caracals recently produced an F-105 set that included these markings. I had an older Super Scale silver F-105 decals sheet for stencils and national markings, so used a combination of kit, Super Scale, and Caracal decals. Paint is Vallejo acrylic Metal Color, and Testors Model Master Olive Drab for the anti-glare top. In pictures I saw that the external fuel tanks could be all silver, just the top forward of the tank in green, or the entire forward portion with the forward part of the pylon in green. Also, the tank green looked OD in some photos, or some other shade in others, so I opted for a deeper green. (Forgot what exactly) I am glad that it is completed. I do have an old Monogram kit that I may build someday. I have lots of decals for it now. Just not a lot of room on the shelves or desire to build it anytime soon. This mostly completes my history of the 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron from the P-36 in 1939 to the F-16 at squadron stand down in 2010. I have a few more F-4s and a Block 50 F-16 to build, but I have 15 aircraft completed for the collection now, representing all of the major types flown by the squadron. I should take a family portrait one of these days. Here are a couple of outdoor pictures in bright Pacific Northwest sunshine. Sorry for the crappy driveway surface.

In the 1980s I stopped building airplanes for a few months and dedicated myself to armored vehicles. This Panzer IV is one of those. Painted exclusively with a brush. Hope you like it. Giampiero Piva

Ok, I'm back with my next project, a scratch built 1:48th scale Flower class corvette, in wood and metal This will be a big model, over 4ft long and 9 inch beam. The case alone is probably my modelling allowance for the year! This is not a project for the faint hearted, the etching work will cost £100's. I estimate 18 months, but I could be wildly wrong. I may squeeze in some other small projects along the way, who knows? I have lots of ideas.... Still, I think I have one large model left in me, and what could be more perfect than a flower. Most importantly, I have a place to put it where it will fill the space and look impressive. The work on this project really started a couple of years ago with research and most importantly, deciding which flower and at what period? When you start to study the class, there are innumerable differences in type, period, duty colour scheme, armament etc that make choosing one extremely difficult. At this scale, every detail matters, each rivet etc. So, I needed a boat that had sufficient information to achieve the level of detail I like and the level of accuracy I aim for. I like the early short foc's'le vessels (really I like ships to be close to originally envisaged rather than later developments) but it has to have the radar so it will have to be post a refit, but not a long foc's'le refit. Getting quite specific now. I also need some very good quality pictures of the vessel at exact period and drawings, lots of drawings. Meeting all these criteria, I ended up with just one out of the nearly 300 built, HMS Alisma. Originally ordered for the French navy she was taken over after France fell and commissioning into the Royal Navy in early 1941 taking the pennant number K185. She survived the war, became a Greek tramp steamer and sunk in 1954, probably due to poor maintenance. The IWM collection has some outstanding pictures of her after her first 1943 refit with the radar and a type B bridge (more of flower bridge type later). Lambert prepared outline drawings of her at this stage (and the other two key stages) which I have and which are reproduced I various books. So, a lot of my criteria are met. I hope this will not be just another flower build. The plan is a wood planked hull, with copper bulwarks, deck and deck houses. The hull will be plated in aluminium with as close as I can get to the right rivet detail and plating joints (flowers used both butt and lap joints depending on position). I have, so far, accumulated nearly 400 relevant files, that will only go up as the build progresses. Most importantly, over 60 pictures of areas of the deck, without even going close to Sackville... A couple of moths ago, I visited the Brass Foundry here in London and viewed their drawings of Alisma and Abelia, her sister ship (see @robgizlu excellent model HMS Abelia). I photographed the docking plan and Abelia's GA and purchased the rigging plan for Alisma. This latter is an incredible drawing, showing each and every rope and its type and size, gold dust... I have it on my plan wall @ 1:48th scale, the size is a little daunting and its only a waterline drawing. I've purchased all the normal reference books. Note, don't buy Man o' war 7 and Ensign 3, they are the same book, very naughty Detail from the rigging plan, what a wonderful resource. However, the IWM collection only contains "as-build" drawings, not post-refit. I may reach out to the Harland and Wolf archivist to see if they can help and the bridge details I need are in outline only and give rise to many questions. I will have to do my own drawings of the type b bridge a non IWM copyright picture of the post-refit vessel I intend to build, April 1943 This is going to be great.... The lines were taken from the anatomy of the ship for Agassiz, however, they needed modifying for the rounded stern, Agassiz had the squarish stern profile while Alisma has a more curving stern. The lines were then turned into frames and a keel profile. The construction will used my normal deckhouse box concept, where the deckhouse assembly is build separately and fits into a box shaped hollow in the hull. The planking will use 1.8 mm thick Obechi timber which sands so nicely, a mix of 10 mm and 6 mm wide planks, lots of them. This boat could easily be made into a working model, but I no longer do that. Here is the frame drawing, after around 100 hours of drawing and working out how to build it, so many check and cross checks. There are 22 frames, set at 4 frame centres and 8 in the centre section where it is relatively parallel The xtool has a capacity of 450 mm so the keel and deckhouse floor are in multiple pieces that lock together. Here they are all cut out, this is what a hull kit would look like when unboxing Let the fun begin Cheers Steve

Hello friends, the type-69 II Takom is done some photos

Photos below of my Tamiya F-4E, based on a Tiger FAC loadout. Completed over about 4 years on and off. I wanted to do more weathering but I lost the enthusiasm and just wanted to finish a model! This was all based off a random picture I saw on twitter one day with a loadout I hadn't seen before Aftermarket: Video Aviation cluster bombs Eduard AIM-7s Dmold seamless intakes QMT exhausts (designed for the Revell kit) Quickboost seats Aerocraft models canopies Zotz decals (got the tail code wrong!) Eduard PE formation lights Master Pitot Speedhunter early F-4 stencils

Many modellers and wargamers of a certain age will recall how the Airfix Churchill instilled a degree of fear with its complex suspension system. In it's catalogue entry, Airfix trumpeted the fact that the kit comprised 'over 100 superbly detailed parts' but failed to mention that most of them were fiddly wheels and bogies. This made for a very tricky assembly and for many youngsters, including me, the results weren't pretty. Many years later, as part of my little 'vintage classics' project re-visiting the tank kits of my youth, I decided it was time to face the Churchill again! I made no attempt to add any detail or correct the flaws with the turret, most notably the lack of the armoured bulge around its base, but I did replace the skinny gun barrel with a metal aftermarket one I found in the spares. Crucially, this time round I actually managed to get the wheels and springs seated correctly. 🙂 I changed the markings too, to depict a tank from 'B' Squadron, 147 Regt RAC, 34th Tank Brigade. So, after several poor or stalled attempts in the past, I'm happy to have put the kit together as Airfix intended. A modelling ghost finally laid to rest! 😀

Hello, I would like to share with you the short serie of captured Heinkel He111 in british markings (1/72 scale). My father has finished two models out of three. 1) 2) Cheers Santiago

Hello all! After a while, I grabbed some time to finish this project. It was totally out of the box Dragon Pz III M, without any additional aftermarket parts. At first, I thought it might look bland, but once the weathering started, it didn't look so bad after all. It was painted in a custom mixed RAL 8020 and 7027 camo, depicting a vehicle of the 3rd SS Pz Grenadier Division Totenkopf during the Kursk offensive. As usual, painted with acrylics, weathered with oils, pastels, enamels and pigments. Thanks for watching!🍺

A lovely kit that went together very nicely and gave me no real issues other than the self inflicted ones. Primed with Tamiya Neutral Grey. Painted with. Hataka Orange Line Gunship Grey, Grey, Light Ghost Grey, International Orange, Golden Yellow and Dark Olive Green, Tamiya Light Sea Grey, Rubber Black, Nato Black, Flat White, Clear Red and Clear Green. Mr Hobby Metallic Dark Iron. Xtreme Metals Steel, Burnt Metal and Jet Exhaust. Colourcoats RLM80. AM used, Quinta Cockpit Decals, Eduard Photo Etch parts and the main and Czech Stencil Decals. Uschi Van der Rosten Standard Rigging. WIP Here. And on with some pics. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alistair. PS. I have now unmasked the cabin windows on the Port and Starboard sides that I'd forgotten about.

Hi All I'm quite behind where I want to be on builds this year, and even further behind on updates here. I completed this one a month or so ago. It's one of my all-time favourite cars, and I'm pretty pleased with how this came out. Never perfect as always, but about as well as I've managed a car kit so far. I've chosen a suitably garish Lotus colour, and went through a lot of photos to find an appropriate interior colour scheme to go with it. Hope you enjoy (I've wiped the excess wash off this after looking at this picture)

The exhaust is now installed. As ever macro photography doesn't do the car any favours. In reality she doesn't have that camber and there is no colour difference between the header and exhaust. In keeping with the Italian Job Coach the lights had to be yellow I did spray the grill chrome, however as its 3d printed the surface is not perfectly flat, so the effect is mot as shiny as I hoped. Finally her rear I've added a photoetch belt to the boot from the spares box. The reflectors on the bottom of the lights was an absolute pain to mask. It was only after I finally painted them I discovered that a decal is included in the kit. Just goes to show even though there is very little of the original kit in the car still read the instructions 😀. Thanks for looking - Andy

Here is the CRM (ex-Eastern Express) A220-300 finished as F-HZUA “Le Bourget” of Air France at the time of delivery in 2021. I know Air France don’t have world’s most exciting airline livery but I wanted to include the current scheme in my European flag carriers project and I also wanted to add an A220 to my collection so it seemed logical to combine the two. I have never been a fan of Eastern Express products following an early encounter with their ghastly A318 and also because of their ridiculous prices. However their A220s are the only game in town and the general consensus seemed to be that they were actually pretty good so when CRM offered the -300 kit at a very reasonable price I decided to give it a go. The kit is a bit of a mixed bag. Detail is OK although the panel lines on the fuselage were inconsistent in their depth and I eventually filled most of them. Some of the fit is indifferent to say the least. In my kit the upper wings were a bit warped and careful work with hot water and a hairdryer was needed to straighten them out. I replaced the kit engine fans and outlet guide vanes with CRM’s resin parts. Like most 3D printed fans it’s difficult to remove them from the frame without damage and I strongly recommend viewing the tutorial on CRM’s website. Once you get them off the frame the CRM parts are definitely worth the cost and effort and allow a realistic “see through” which the kit parts don’t. The radome bump is an adapted BraZ item. (Typically, just after I had started painting the model I discovered that Rocast make the correct Gogo 2KU radome). Painting is nice and easy - overall Halfords Appliance Gloss White with Revell and Tamiya metallics. Livery decals are by 8A supplemented by the excellent (if pricey) detail sheet from Authentic Airliners. I had to lop a bit off the top of the fin decal which was too big but otherwise they went on well. I initially used the 8A cockpit windscreen to give a common appearance with the cabin windows but the more I looked at it the more I became convinced it was too big. Eventually I removed it and replaced it with the AA one which also meant removing and relocating the AF roundels ahead of the front doors. The only spare roundels I could find came from an old F-RSIN Viscount sheet. They aren’t 100% accurate but they’re close enough and a better option than ordering a second decal sheet from Mexico! Thanks for looking and constructive criticism is welcome. Dave G

Dear all, Here's a recent completion from me, the Anigrand 1/72nd scale full resin kit of the KC-10 Extender as a USAF tanker. The build was not the most straightforward, with lots of warped parts that needed straightening and quite a bit of filling being needed. It was painted with Xtracolour enamels and the kit decals were used, which were good. It's a big old beast of a kit - it certainly takes up quite a bit of shelf space! Best regards, Rob So just how big is a 1/72nd KC-10? Here's a 1/72 Spitfire TR9 as a comparison! And alongside a 1/72 KC-30 (Titan Models' Airbus A330-200 tanker) which is also quite a lump!

Another successfully completed model. Italeri model, correct to assemble, very interesting and interesting scheme. Here are the pictures, enjoy.

Right, a couple of weeks on, and some progress has been made. At the moment, I'm wondering which GB ship is going to be the first to fail to be completed by the end of the GB (this or my USS Montana for Project Cancelled). Anyway, here's where I've got to in the last couple of weeks. It's soon going to look a lot closer to being finished than it really will be. First up, all the catwalks are in place, both along the hull sides... and under the deck, albeit not looking like they all fit quite right. All the little supports are on as well now And the colour has started, first off with my signature Brown-red hull (don't ask it's a long boring story). Then, the waterline. I usually do this last, but with the scheme on this one, thought it might be easier to do it first this time. I've put the two halves of the island together to get an idea of how she's shaping up. Finally for today's update, I've put the base together in readiness to attach her to it (it makes handling the ship so much easier once it's done. That's all for now, need to get a wiggle on to get this one over the line in time, then I can panic about Montana. PS, I'm not on the payroll of a well-known drinks brand (other fizzy beverages are available, but rarely on my table), I can promise that it isn't deliberate product placement, its just an insight into my sugar addiction . Matt

A-7E VA-93, USS Midway, CDR Scotty Vaught Old but gold Hasegawa kit, pleasure to build with many options : poseable slats, flaps, open service panels, ladder ,air brake etc...Of course most of work went into sorting the seam for intake trunk, otherwise everything falls into place. I added some aftermarket stuff: Eduard interior PE set, Reskit wheels, Print Scale decals and New ware masks, since the kit comes only with sidewinders and fuel tanks i bought additional armament set with bombs from Hasegawa(weapon set A). Paints used Mr. Color, Tamiya, AK extreme metals, weathering with Flory washes and oils. I was trying to constrain myself from weathering to much, but now i have an itch after i saw some images of Greek air force two seaters which are seriously bleached and hammered...sometimes in the future definitely😉.

A few of my Asian themed builds: F-9F Panther, Korea RAAF F/A-18, Exercise Bushido Guardian 2019, Japan Australian Army Pilatus Turbo Porter, Vietnam MiG-21 North Vietnam RAAF Meteor F8, Korea Mitsubishi A5M Sea Harrier FRS1, Indian Navy Kawanishi N2K Shiden-Kai RAAF Mirage IIIO, Butterworth, Malaysia Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu Corsair nightfighter, Korea F-8 Crusader, Vietnam AW

Calling this one finished for now. Will take some pics and do a write up for the gallery when I can 😀

This is my latest, the Revell boxing of Dragon’s old Ju 88 night-fighter. It’s in the kit markings - 2./NJG2 based in Catania in 1942. Apart from some invisible mending line for aerials, and a Master MG131 in the cockpit, it’s all from the box. the wingtips are notorious for bad fit - yet mine were pretty okay the ailerons were dreadful - I had to remove the hinges to have any hope of fitting them the tailplanes wouldn’t sit flush to the fuselage sides the fin had a wide gap at the root on the right the wing roots needed shims and a lot of filler the nose cone had a radically different profile from the forward fuselage the ventral gondola was slightly twisted when fitted right, and the front end needed a lot of filling to meet the back end. I’ve included a couple of pictures to show much fettling the front end needed the exhaust shrouds with the canted ends refused even to touch the engines, so I shortened them; but the engine nacelles went on easily enough the panel lines around the rear fuselage were around 1mm out of true the canopy … oh dear Apart from all that, it went together fine. I was thinking of using fine wire for the nose antennae but it would have been very tricky to fit, with hardly any mating surface. The much better ones under the wing are from the kit as well, and they came away without any breakage, which is more than the nose managed. Hence it’s all a bit squiffy. The paint is Humbrol enamel, including one of their recent RLM colours for the underside. It’s actually RLM76 Himmelblau in real life. Those paints are so good that I’m planning to rely on them for a lot of future Luftwaffe stuff. Unfortunately, this means grubbing around on the floor in model shops, since some fool discontinued them a couple of years ago and they hide at the bottoms of paint racks as if the shops are embarrassed by them. The decals haven’t exactly silvered - they’re just very, very glossy. Will do better on that front next time.

Airfix ¼8 Bristol Bulldog MkII Oh boy, was this an interesting build, in more ways than one. I thought it was going to be a straightforward build so didn’t put a work in progress together as I went along. It turns out I probably should have! First of all here are the final reveal photos. If you want to find out the issues I had and my further thoughts on the nature of the kit, read on after the pics. When I first opened the kit box, I was impressed with the finely moulded surface details and crispness of the plastic moulding. Being a new tool offering from Airfix, I expected the CAD/CAM used would mean it would go together perfectly and I set about building it with keen anticipation of an easy build. It’s not! My first question was why I was constructing so much of the internal cockpit detail, when most of it would be hidden from view due to the small open cockpit aperture? My second question was why Matt spent so much time on the internal cockpit framing, but failed to provide either moulded on seat belts, or seat belt decals (I know Airfix don’t do PE) which would be in full view? Anyway, I went ahead and assembled, painted and installed the full cockpit, then made some generic seat belts out of some left over PE parts. If you lean in close with a bright light, you can just about see the black painted top horizontal cockpit frame against the silver aluminium painted cockpit side wall in the final model ☺ The engine assembly works quite well, but the positioning and thickness of the sprue gates on the engine parts, and some of the other parts makes clean up before assembly somewhat challenging. Especially as some of the parts are tiny and difficult to handle off the sprue. It quickly became apparent that this was not going to be the expected weekend build. There wasn’t much material on-line to help with the detailed appearance of the kit’s subject matter and the Airfix painting instructions are both sketchy and in my opinion, wrong. Particularly with regard to the engine’s appearance. I’d decided I would build the RAF 17 Sqn variant supplied in th decal sheet (K-1088). I found one fuzzy side view picture on-line of this specific machine sometime after I’d started the build. The engine cylinder heads in the kit do not match those seen in the photo. In the kit there is a single domed rocker(?) cover on each cylinder. The covers appear to be a very different shape in the photo. Well into the build I learnt that there is already a resin aftermarket set available to correct this detail, but decided I’d have to live with it. Fortunately I had not put the gun barrel parts in their fuselage slots before realising that the gun barrels seen on the original had louvred covers over most of their length. However, I’d spotted parts C35 and C36 previously, which aren’t mentioned in the assembly instructions but on closer inspection were obviously the louvered versions. I also spotted some other parts not mentioned in the instructions. I had no idea what C37 could be, until I came across some air to air shots of Bulldogs without the forward conical spinner fitted and the penny dropped. This was intended to complete the propeller assembly sans spinner, with only the bare bones starter spigot projecting from the front of the prop. I might have decided to use this, but unfortunately I’d already cemented together the entire prop assembly!😞 Then there are parts C6 and C7. I could see these were probably the forward fuel tank struts\fuel pipes present on the Bulldog Mk II displayed at RAF Hendon, but couldn’t find evidence they were fitted to K-1088 in the photo above. The fact that there are no mounting holes moulded on either the kit's wing undersides, or the fuselage sides for these parts, plus the fact that the Hendon example is apparently a rebuilt machine heavily modified for test flying resulted in me ignoring them, but I am left wondering why they were included on the sprue? If you carefully remove all excess plastic from sprue gates and use extra thin solvent, it is possible to get a very good fit and avoid any surface detail damage, but I’d recommend not using any other type of adhesive, other than thin CA to assemble the parts. The very fine moulding in the main is however let down by the very crude moulding of the gunsight crosshairs and the presence of a thin septum between the rudder hinge post and the rudder. I opened up the septum in the rudder and made a replacement sight with finer crosshairs made from a circle of thin fuse wire wrapped around the tapered end of a cocktail stick and two cross pieces. I also had to replace the plastic fore sight with a bent thin wire version when I knocked the plastic one off into the carpet pile while rigging around the Cabane struts! I made one final modification, which I felt was a strange omission in the original kit design, which was to separate out and droop the elevators. I can’t quite understand why Matt went to the trouble of including position able ailerons and rudder, but no position able elevators? Overall, I enjoyed a sense of achievement in completing a successful build of this kit, but IMO it ain't for beginners!

Hallo Now I finished my Kitty Hawk Aircobra P-39. This is in detail exactly this P-39Q-5-BE 1st AE, 30th GvIAP, 6th IAK flown by Filatov 1945. Original photos are here: https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/P-39/USSR/pages/42-20414-Bell-P-39Q-Airacobra-30GvIAP-180IAD-Silver-93-on-Belorussian-front-1945-02.html The built was amusing. My hopes were not high, I read about some flaws from the kit. Most of the bad hints are exaggerated. Actually there is just one major thing. I really had to smile about that, since I did not expect it. The late installation of the nose wheel. Here the main part is designed that way that it interferes fully with the drive shaft. I cut it. BTW, the weight was a little bit too less, so I used the nose wheel bay for this additional purpose. In summary the real astonishing flaws made Eduard with his interior set. The trim unit on the left bottom next the seat is fully not understood by Eduard! See pictures in the WIP! Like to buy some aftermarket items to make things worse. Since I never trust, I had just one astonishment more to my amusement! Since I pay and can not use the items, I have fun out of it! In my WIP you can read in detail, what was the subject. One remark to the kit: Decals and stenceling: I sprayed most. All markings as well the big red lines as wlkway limits. The red decals have an awful displacement of red and white! Not to use! I had to correct the 4 tiny ones I used! Have a look: Happy modelling

Just a short update as the good weather is here again, and would you believe it, that damned grass has grown again. Oh, and more importantly, the fosse pump has packed up. Sheesh!! And so the painting begins. I started with my usual primer, namely Halfords Grey Acrylic Auto Primer, and then the next day, it was on with the SCC15. I've actually got a bottle of Vallejo SCC15, but after giving it a good shake, I wasn't very impressed with the colour. It seemed to me to be too dark. So rather than faff around with that one, I resorted to my favourite, which is Mike Starmer's Tamiya mix for SCC15. I think that I've already said what the mix is, earlier in the thread, but here it is again. 5 parts XF61, 2 Parts XF62 and 2 Parts XF3. I thin this 50/50 with Tamiya thinner. This mixture was sprayed all over and left to dry. When I checked it over the next day, there were a couple of areas where the paint had gone on a bit thin, but some of it will disappear with the weathering, and the rest will just get touched in. Thanks for looking. John.

Precious little progress here I'm afraid, got too much on the bench really. Perhaps been a little ambitious trying to commit two ships to overlapping GBs, we'll see I guess. All I've added so far are some little sticky out bits (davits?) to the side of the hull And some detail on one section of the lowest superstructure level That's it I'm afraid, it's going to be a long one (for me anyway). Matt

All masked up and ready for a top coat. Followed by four or five misty coats of Lifecolor Nocciola chiaro 4 Then after a trip to the local cinema. Just a couple of minor touch-ups required. I'll take that. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alistair

This is more of a test build than a straightforward RFI but I thought I'd post a few images of my completed Clear Prop! F-86A (due in stores imminently). Since the kit decals were not available when I received the kit, the scheme is a combination of Fantasy Printshop colour decal sheets, cut to shape etc (lightning bolt and tail insignia) plus various 1/48 F-86 decal sheets for national insignia and stencils (modified). Colour scheme depicts a 91st Fighter Interceptor Sqn aircraft, based at Moses Lake AFB in early 1951 and just prior to the aircraft being sent to Long Beach for upgrade. Thus the gun muzzle doors etc are correct for the period whereas a later UK-based 91st FIS F-86A would feature open gun muzzles, aluminium intake ring etc. The CP kit includes 120-gallon drop tanks but I wanted to model the larger 245-gallon ferry tanks and so those items are plunge-moulded as halves with the flange inserted between the two halves in plastic card. The rest of the model is OOB. It's a lovely kit and though my model isn't perfect, better modellers than I will be able to do truly great things with it

I’m unveiling my next build which will be an Operation Overlord maintenance diorama in 1/48. The following kits will be the highlight of the build: MiniArt P-47D-30RA Advanced Kit Eduard P-51B Supporting kits include: Eduard Brassin P-51B Gun Bays Eduard Brassin P-51B Engine Additional 3D printed engine parts for P-47 MiniArt Field Workshop MiniArt Cable Spools MiniArt Tool Set Tamiya Allied Jerry Can Set Tamiya U.S Army Infantry At Rest Both of the planes will be opened up showing their engine and wing mounted guns. This build will be a mirror image of my recently finished Luftwaffe Maintenance diorama. If you’ve not seen it, here’s a link - Cheers!

I haven't posted in quite a while, though I do visit the forum first thing every day. I was in something of a modeling slump, just couldn't find the motivation to do anything. But, that all changed. Left to Right is the Hobbycraft C-45, you can' tell but I added a floor, rear cabin bulkhead and seats, in bright light you can see through the windows and tell something is there. Next is the old Monogram A-1E (circa 1967) built box stock, including decals, which went on wonderfully. Then we have a E-1 Tracer, using the old Hasegawa kit, the Falcon vacuform and markings that I cobbled together from the leftover bin, so please excuse the 500 series modex. These were all orphans from my friend Dennis, who passed away many years ago, I hope that where he is he approves of how they came out. And the reason that I climbed back into the saddle is... The B-52 is a commission that a friend asked if I would build it for a friend of his and I agreed. The kit is the venerable Monogram kit, built OOB with the exception of opening up the four cabin windows directly over the cockpit, Monogram didn't do that, for some reason. Behind it is my AMT/Ertl KC-135A built many, many years ago, using aftermarket decals for 'Wichita, Center City, USA assigned to the 384th ARW at McConnell AFB in my hometown. I thank you, in advance for looking and I hope you enjoy.

Progress. I've printed the Fenton Gyro wheels ( 3 1/2" and 8 1/2" widths), inner wheels/backing plates (rears not shown) and tyres. Also got the tunnel ram fixed and printed without any thin spots. The engine is set back a little from the stock location; that's mentioned in the Car Craft article and it looks about right here vs. the kit mounting points. Hood scoop is mounted, but still needs some more filling and sanding. 😵‍💫 Lastly, I printed the exhaust system. I might have to redo one of the mufflers if I can't make it look presentable. The car had 3" pipes feeding four Cadillac mufflers. Next job is the rear springs - they need more arch and the axle seems a smidge too far forward, so I'll draw up some Super Stock springs and get the axle centred. Then the headers, which I don't really want to tackle, but the kit ones are wimpy and those in the Dodge Dart kit are no better.

Slow progress on the Puma, I am looking at the dates the GB finish and other builds are going to need to be finished first. I have managed to assemble the main and tail rotor and the paintwork is nearly finished on them. The canopy has been added and the cast metal replacement part for the filter fitted intakes. Finally, the sponsons for the main undercarriage are in place, but need to be faired in. I have shortened the main rotor head, as the kit version looks too long. Beginning to look a bit like a Puma now.

Things move quickly. I’m happy with that, despite not getting high from the enamel fumes any more. I do enjoy a relaxing time with the hairy stick.

Despite the finger being very inconvenient I managed to get the major decals on today. I used part of an excellent set of Altmark Bf109E decals that I buy whenever I can get it at a decent price. They're hard work in that you have to trim the carrier film off yourself and they stick quickly so you don't get a lot of working time, but they go down brilliantly and look the dog's danglies. I built an Emil a few years back and used the same scheme, so the idea is that this would have been a descendent of that airframe in the JG52 family tree. There are stencils, kill markings etc to go on but I like to do those after the main markings etc. I need to get the scalpel out and uncover the cannon ports on the nose, as well as slit the balkenkreutze on the wings to allow them to sit better in the aileron gaps, but otherwise these are done. Cheers, JRK.

Sometime ago I hinted at a secret motive I had that I wasn't sure would work. As I've nearly cracked it now, here's what I was aluding to. Exhibit A - Old Photo so the tiffy and rockets we know about. The olther stuff is the problem. Exhibit B - Fresh Overalls and work boots [/url] Exhibit C - 3D Scanner and laptop more powerful than God Can you see where I'm going with this? Some time later... and heres the photo Not perfect by any means, but for version 1 I don't think its bad. So the idea is, I want to be able to recreate figures in old photos at will in any scale. I Realised its the position and what they are doing that's the problem. Once the scan is done its realively easy to swap heads, add insignia, uniform detail Hats etc, etc its getting the body and clothing creases convincing for the pose that's the hard part. Anyway, watch this space, I have high hopes for this technique. Nick

We definitely need some automotive inspiration here . This is all I can offer - it's the 1/32 Hornby kit of a 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer WRC.

slamming Liberace on canvas (caught him trying to tickle his ivories)

I have slowly been working away on this kit, there were no photos of the cockpit so I just assembled the kit parts and painted them in the suggested colours, the instrument panel decal settled down nicely onto the painted plastic i/p, I just added some gloss varnish over the instrument dials and some generic WW2 US Navy pre-painted seat straps from Eduard to the seat. Here is a photo of the upper and lower body sections ready to be glued together. As can be seen, the wheels have been cleaned up, tyres painted, the hubs and u/c legs will be midnight blue as in the photos of the prototype. The engine cooling intakes had three holes on each inner side for where the .50 machine guns would be, as the prototype did not have any armament fitted I filled them, they weren't realistic anyway, no gun barrels or blast tubes were provided, just open holes into the wing section. The propellers have been assembled, they will take a bit of work to remove the join on the hub section, the blades themselves will be interesting to paint, the outer section was just varnished wood showing the grain, with a black rubber cuff at the hub section and yellow tips they will be quite colourful. One of the things I've been trying to decide on what do with is the arrester hook. The cover parts are not a good fit to add them in the closed position and I'm not sure I want the thing sticking out, though to be fair, it's the only aircraft that I can recall having an arrester hook on the upper surface of the fuselage and hanging out the back. The separate engine panels are not a great fit, it was worse if you followed the instructions, they would have you fit the upper surface panels to the underside and the underside ones to the top, since there is no engine detail, just a big empty void, it seems a strange thing to do. Thanks for looking, any comments or questions are always welcome.

Well, apparently, I just bought it. Will let you know if and when it arrives. Definitely "shelfware" though

And that’s a wrap! This 1/48 Luftwaffe maintenance diorama was by far my largest undertaking to date. It has assets from roughly 17 different kits and various components that I made from scratch. The following brands and kits were used: •Eduard Fw 190 A-7 Kit •Eduard Brassin Fw 190A-7 Engine and Guns •Eduard Brassin Fw 190A landing flaps •Eduard Brassin Fw 190A Wingroot Gun Bays •Eduard Look Fw 190 A-7 •Eduard Fw 190 D-9 Kit •Eduard Brassin Fw 190 A-4 engine •Tamiya Kubelwagen Type 82 •Tamiya German aircraft power supply unit & Kettenkraftrad •Tamiya German tank crew & field maintenance set •Tamiya brick wall, sandbag, & barricade set •ICM Luftwaffe ground personnel •ICM Luftwaffe pilots & ground personnel •MiniArt German fuel drums •MiniArt German Jerry cans •MiniArt Field workshop •MiniArt Wooden barrels Thank you to everyone that followed and supported the build along the way! The WIP thread can be found here - Completed thread for Fw 190A-7 - Completed thread for Fw 190D-9 -

Hello Dear Friends, An outstanding classic from Tamiya. In despite of its rise panels, the kit shine by its own lights. What an iconic and infamous aircraft is the Buffalo! The Finns loved it, but it took a heavy toll during the early days of the war on the South Pacific. I read that the first tool of this kit dated from 1974... it's even older than me! (1977) Completely built OOB, only "add" were the rivets (a video from the Finland Air Museum helped me to look the fuselage and wings rivets). The Colours. Oh, to make short a long story about the colors of the RAF’s Brewster Buffalos 339E: originally painted in the US with colors close to the official ones used by the RAF. Some agreement about the upper cammo colours, with slight variations from the official ones. But things get hairy on the undersurfaces (no pun intended!), and I preferred to follow Nick Millman’s @Nick Millman opinion regarding a more “Duck Egg Blue” starboard color rather than the usual “Sky”. The latter was used for the tip of the propeller hub and the band located aft of the cockpit. Sky and Black were the only colors added by the RAF. This particular aircraft (W8138) was flown by pilot Noel C. Sharp, 488 Sq. RNZAF 🇳🇿 Kallang, Singapore, during early 1942. Sharp scored three kills flying this Buffalo (Ki-27, A6M, Ki-48). The aircraft was fitted with an automotive style rear view mirror. It also carried a four foot long Yellow and Green leaping dragon painted on the port fuselage ahead of the cockpit. All the best from Santiago, Chile. Cris.

This looks like a great sheet, and I hope that Fantasy Printshop releases it in other scales. However, one point stands out - the size of the upper wing roundels. The topic was the subject of a LOT of research leading up to the publication of Southern Cross Mustangs in 2009 - I know, because I was part of it. Long story short - all RAF/RAAF Mustangs used in Europe and the Middle East pre-1945 were painted and marked according to Air Ministry Order (AMO) A.664/42 and D.T.D. 360 initially, and later in accordance with AP2656A. Relevantly, these required upper wing roundels to be of 32"diameter (this changed to 48" in January 1945; irrelevant to the present discussion). However, looking at the profiles in the sheet's instructions it appears that all the upper wing roundels depicted therein and provided on the sheet have a diameter of 40". We were not able to find any photographic evidence at all of ANY RAF/RAAF operated Mustang with 40" diameter upper roundels in the years prior to 1945. We traced the error back to Camouflage and Markings No. 2, N. A. Mustang , RAF Northern Europe 1936-45, published by Ducimus in 1970. It appears that Euro Decals has perpetuated the error yet again, so be warned. Further reading is available in Chapter 4 of SCM, in particular on page 78 in the discussion of RAF MTO insignia pre 1945 (and yes, we know about the typo in the reference to the Ducimus document!) EDIT: I've also posted this on Hyperscale, where a review of the sheet has been posted, in the hope of reaching as many modellers as possible who may be affected.

Hi all, apologies again for absence. The build has however been hurtling forward with the speed of a striking tortoise... Continuing with the underside, the diff unit has been fitted and the exhaust system painted and assembled (not necessarily in that order). Installing it was a joy, everything fitted precisely and aligned perfectly - I'm beginning to think this kit is one of Revell's better ones... Now to return to the interior which I have been working on in tandem with the underside to optimise what little modelling time I have, one assembly setting/drying while the other is worked on. Applying the multifarious decals was next and I'm amazed by the number and quality of them. Every dashboard feature and instrument has it's individual decal, even the steering wheel boss and gear lever knob (which I was delighted to find under extreme magnification had the gear position diagram on it despite it being merely a microdot!) Having completed the decals and given everything a coat of matt clear to tone it down a bit, the dash top was added to the instrument panel... ...and finally the steering column, wheel and pedal assembly, completing the dashboard for now. The camera is it's usual brutal self but when you bear in mind the whole assembly is less than 50mm wide it doesn't look too bad with the naked eye. Honest... Next up will either be carpeting the interior tub and fitting dashboard and seats, or further work on the underside, depending on my mood and available time. Thanks for your patience so far!

Revell 1/72 Eurofighter Typhoon F2, 11 Sqn RAF

What would you say to a little update? Hello little update perhaps? Here's Helmut trying to look all casual and butch next to the sanded down Tilly. This is from before I cut out the back end. I still have tidying up to do here underneath, but it's getting there, I think. All the brown bits were 1/35th truck parts. It did taper in towards the back, but once I cut out the number plate panel it sprang apart and the sides are almost straight now. I still haven't figured out the tailgate. The side panels need to be finessed slightly yet. Oh look, It fits! That should keep @rockpopandchips happy. Thanks for looking, Guys. Keep the comments (and dark chocolate Hob Nobs) coming (Postal address on request)

So the first job will be to try and make this thing fit into the Merit body. First the hole for the engine is a bit too small. I guess this may have varied, but the cars I have seen mostly of have a larger hole all around and much thinner edges. The supports for the engine at the bottom also interferes, at least to some extent. I started removing material inside and cutting the engine supports. Ideally I would like to be able to fit the whole engine unit through the hole at the top with the body fully assembled, so the secondary chain had to go, at least for now. With the bottom of the body being very thick, 30-40 mm in full scale, it’s little wonder some material had to removed at the bottom of the crank case. A 0,4 mm thick Evergreen strip glued inside each side tab centres the engine nicely. There is just enough room for the transmission. With the hole enlarged forward and towards the the sides it's looking better. Maybe the engine need to come up slightly again. The hole should be enlarged a bit backwards, but I discovered I messed up the carburettor model. In my excitement having found a full scale model to work from I failed to notice that its float chamber was placed too far forward, or backwards, compared to what’s seen in the cars. Also the trumpet could be a little shorter. I could have lived with it, but it will never fit as it is. So I had to make a copy of my finished carburettor cad model, cut it up and move the float chambers, and tilt them slightly. The trumpet lost a little length as well. This looks better. The printer is now working...

He will send you half clothed pictures of himself. Which half of him that isn't clothed? Well that's the Russian roulette experience you get in attempting to prod the main admin...

I think you’ll find the demarcation should be hard edged, and the brown should be Middle Stone in that scheme… best, M.

A few, all 1/72 Airfix RB-57E (Vietnam GB) and FineMolds F-4E (Attack...GB) F-4E on its own F-4EJKai (F-4 STGB) FineMolds F-4E 3TFW Philippines (Gulf War GB) Hasegawa F-5E (Interceptors GB) DreamModel

At the request of geedubelyer, I have looked at my images of the two F-15QA "Ababil" airframes from last Thursday and Friday and thought these images may be of use for reference purposes.

Many thanks for your comments. No, all of our models represents real aircrafts. We do not build a model without a photo. My father has finished the third Heinkel He111 and these are the final photos. Here are the final photos. Cheers Santiago