Jump to content

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/07/2025 in all areas

  1. As everyone knows by now, the Eduard kit is very good, so, after some small modification work, here is Maj. Gordon Mac Gollob's, Kommodore of JG 77, plane, operating from Oktoberfeld in June 1942. The aircraft was delivered to the unit in the tropical livery in RLM 78/79, but the side and upper surfaces were draped in a green color no better defined (70 or 71 or a Russian green or a field mix). The mobile part of the rudder and the left tailplane were instead in 74/75/76, the result of cannibalization. The colors I used are partly Gloy and partly Humbrol, applied exclusively with a brush. The decals are Exito 72010 and Eduard. Note: Exito crosses are slightly undersized, it is better to replace them with Eduard ones. The undersides. Hope you like. Thanks for viewing Giampiero Piva
    28 points
  2. My first completion of 2025. 207 Squadron RAF. And the fearless crew. First the pilot, sat behind his flyscreen. Then a gunner firing the Start Mission pistol. Whilst the other prepaers his gun.
    22 points
  3. I share with you a Academy La-5, in 1/48 scale, as it probably would have looked on the assembly line at Lavochkin in 1942, before wood coatings and final painting.
    21 points
  4. Hi there, Its been a while since I posted anything on this site. I've joined a modelling club earlier last year, they are part of IPMS and I've been busy doing stuff with them. Throughout the year they do different challenges, In November we had to do a Beermat challenge, which was to do a diorama no bigger than the size of a beermat and no taller than 400mm I think. So I started to look at my cupboard to see If I could find something. I found an old Tamiya Panzer IV, most of the bits missing, just the turret and some wheels present so I did a bit of surgery and decided to make a little scene. Here are a few pictures, hope you like it... all the best Ed
    19 points
  5. My first build since April 2023, just too many things going on especially with my job. Anyway, my take on a fairly common subject here, its only my 6th model in the last 4 years! I think I got the basic colour wrong for a start, used Vallejo Portland Stone, could never work out what it actually should be as other similar colours always seemed too dark. Also I haven't put the white identity panels on as I just couldn't make them look convincing and preferred them off. might yet change my mind and put them on.
    16 points
  6. Hello Everyone Here’s my latest project, I had a great time building this Airfix kit, and here’s my newest addition—The Enchantress. The antenna was scratch-built because the kit’s version was poorly molded, broke off, and was nowhere to be found. For painting, I used my go-to silver, Mr. Color Silver 8, and added modulations by mixing in other colors. I also did some post-shading to give the aircraft a dirty, weathered look. It’s a bright, sunny day here, so I thought it’d be a great opportunity to capture the natural metal finish under natural sunlight. Thanks for checking it out! Cheers!
    16 points
  7. I succeeded in making it a quick, simple build! WIP thread here: Started it on the weekend of December 21st-22nd and finished on January 5th, the last day of my Christmas/New Year break. Painted with Tamiya TS-35 Park Green straight from the can onto grey Halfords primer, no clearcoat. Polished with Micromesh 3600-12000 then Zero Paints fine compound and Autoglym resin polish. Looks like a decent approximation of the original Java Green. Panel lines and vents given a wash of AK Dark Green Grey acrylic. Initially I thought it might be a little too light, but once dry it looked about right. Black trim and bumpers Revell #SM302, vinyl roof Revell #9 matt. BMF windscreen trim. Wheels from a 1980s MPC Dodge Daytona with centres painted Humbroll #55 and tyres from an Aoshima Nissan Pulsar EXA. And that's pretty much it! Drilled out the exhaust tip and painted the tailpipe with Gundam Chrome Marker. I wasn't brave enough to clean up the rear marker lights before taking photos but it looks like a bit of gentle scraping will sort them out. When I started my days as a draughtsman I worked on tracing paper on a drawing board, and using a knife to tidy up overpainting reminds me of scraping away with a razor blade when something needed changing/correcting on a drawing. This is definitely its better side. The LH side window has a flatter top to it. The black 'eye-liner' to the pop-up headlights was a bit of a fiddle, Never been so keen on the back end, there's something about the lights and forwards slope that doesn;t look quite right to me. Both front and rear bumpers are separate mouldings - the former fits nicely, barelyneeding any glue, but the attachement of the latter is a bit vague. The early-ish car I used as my inspiration had a fairly plain black interior. I'm aware it's not a perfect build, it was never meant to be and I wouldn't be capable of it! The idea was to have fun with something straightforward and that would look good in cabinet once finished without taking too long. If I do say so myself I did a better job than when I first built one around 1982. It's also helped to confirm what I find an enjoyable build and I might avoid anything as detailed as the recently completed Tamiya 240ZG for a while. Thanks for looking.
    14 points
  8. This was built mainly because it was a gift and also because it fits in with the theme of building every 1/72 Gladiator available. The others are either built or waiting except the ATO Modelcraft and Skybirds kits! (Anyone got one?) This kit was released in 2012 to far from universal acclaim – the most common comment was “Wait for the new Airfix kit!” There have been a couple of builds here most of which regard it as sort of okay, taking into account its easy build. Unfortunately, its shape errors and starved-cow wings and rear fuselage make it only a marginal improvement on the 1956 Airfix kit. It was obviously designed by someone from Hobby Botch’s B-team who had never seen a fabric covered aeroplane, let alone a Gladiator. The decals are technically well printed but the colours are all over the shop. It can’t be made OOB as the instruction sheet Sea Gladiator as it lacks the Fairey Reed propeller (although some N-series Sea Gladiators may well have had a 2-blade prop at some stage of their life)) and the recessed hook. From a dozen years ago, it can be excused as an early attempt in plastic modelling but to re-release it unaltered is pretty poor form. The shape errors – canopy too shallow, fuselage too deep and cowling wrong shape – are not worth fixing but a bit of sanding improved the fabric surfaces. The main things modified were a scratch built hook and the addition of resin cast Airfix gondolas and machine guns to replace the 40mm cannons it comes with. It does build up easily enough and maybe some pretty clothes will disguise its fabric deficiencies. The scheme comes from Print Scale sheet 72-062 and depicts the aircraft of Sub Lt JW Sleigh https://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Sleigh.htm Print Scale give two (handed) decals for Sleigh’s personal marking. Given the complexity of the marking, that only one side is shown in pictures and that a single side one is the most common personal art, only one was used. The reference photo appears multiple times on the net as a 600 x 633 jpg, usually with the same caption. In the recent Sea Gladiator thread here @detail is everything proposes that the prop was most likely to be a two bladed one and the codes are most likely yellow. Looking at as many pictures as I can find, I am inclined to agree with him on the first and have replaced my scratch built Fairey-Reed prop with an Airfix 2 blade. However, looking at the reference photo somewhat enlarged, I think the code matches the blue in the roundel more than yellow, so in the absence of better information it stays black. I assume there must be some documentation that it is G (and not C, O, Q or U) somewhere. If this can be found it might help the colour question (or maybe not).
    14 points
  9. I give up. I can't find any more parts. It will have to do. The last few fiddly bits included the airbrakes (with purloined PE on the inside surfaces) and actuators (entirely PE), canopy with central brace and gold gumball machine (AN/ARN-6 loop antenna), seats, mirror, control stick, gear doors, wheels, wing-mounted rocket pods, and under-nose pitot. I applied the wing decals according to some very nice Lockheed drawings and I positioned the rocket pods at the appropriate location according to those drawings. The only decal I had to add to the aft of the pods was a wee bit of the national insignia, which was quite easy to do. That said, it doesn't seem to be the same as some photos. Happy New Year and all that jazz. 🎉 Cheers, Bill PS. My car is repaired (looks new!) and the combination of cortisone injection and physio has my wrist just about back to normal. Whew!
    14 points
  10. This is a very nice Tamiya, but with an awful decals. It would be unusable without Microscale Liquid Decal Film or something similar. Build is quite simple, with few addons - wheels from ResKit and pitot tube from Master. Cheers!
    13 points
  11. Those who have looked at my build threads in the Made in Ukraine GB will know what I mean by The Wop-wops, it's Kiwi slang for the Back of Beyond, the Boonies, the Cuds & any other off the beaten track places. In our case, it is about 30 kms from the nearest small town, about 20 km up a river valley with about 5 crossings, depending on the moods of the last floods. Normally, these are of little issue this time of year, much of the flow is beneath the gravels of the braided river bed, however, a wetter than usual summer has seen higher than normal flows though getting in was no problem to the wee 'Zuki. This was Monday 29 Dec. It rained steadily for the next day & a bit so my anticipated hunting opportunities were severely curtailed but I did get a lot of my Barbarossa book read. A trip down to the first crossing on the Thursday didn't look good & another guest with a large 80 series Land Cruiser had a struggle picking someone up from the end of the normal road. There were compensations, a couple of walks between showers & a glorious night sky one night without any light pollution was pretty awesome & this guy/girl (?) paid us a visit looking for a feed of the resident sparrows on New Years day. This one is for you @Karearea A New Zealand Falcon, looking very regal here, not so much with it's head upside down under the roof edge. I never saw it with more than feathers in it's beak though. Resigning ourselves to stay an extra day was rewarded with a feed of slow cooked beef cheeks that night & then on Friday, it was a bit do or die, with more rain forecaste for that night. The wee 'Zuki performed in fine style, much to the amazement of the others in the convoy who did have their doubts. The Land Cruiser driver looking on anxiously. He did get his own back on the last crossing when the current took the tail sideways as we climbed out onto a mid stream gravel bar which was about 30 % water & I lost cross axle traction. A pre rigged strop around his rear recovery hook & we were through & free. Happy New Year to all I haven't wished thus yet. Steve.
    13 points
  12. I must admit these aren't my usual subect but I couldn't help myself as they are such an iconic aircraft and look, well, a little strange but I suppose its the design of the cockpit openings which to my mind look just like eyes.. Anyway, a little bit like comparing the two Wildcats on my previous post one can't help comparing the two kits even though they are a different variant with the Mikro Mir one having larger wings. The Mikro Mir one is also a much more difficult build as regards to fit and quality of some of the smaller parts. It was a bit of a tussle I must admit. The Miniart one though was a joy to build and also features better detailing throughout. The corrogation effect is also much better represented than the Mikro Mir one. It was fiddly at times particularly the engine and cockpit with a myriad of tiny photoetch parts and despite the complexities of the structure, parts fitted together perfectly. I'm certainly looking forward to the floatplane version. The Mikro Mir one is the yellow one and the Miniart one is silver. Thanks for looking. 20241020_193238 by 20241020_193249 by 20241126_192757 by 20241126_192616 by 20241126_192632 by 20241126_192719 by 20241126_192603 by 20241126_192951 by
    11 points
  13. Hello everyone, I’d like to share my attempt at a race weathered Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes AMG GT3 after a 24hr race. I made a WIP post here for anyone interested, and also <REMOVED>. This was my first attempt at race weathering a car so I hope it comes across alright. And a couple of shots before it was dirtied up. Thanks for looking, Tom
    11 points
  14. Hi, The Lynx is pretty much finished. Temporarily fixed the rotor blades, so when the enthousiasme returns I can convert them to the folded position. Still needs an antenna wire and some minute details and some slight weathering and decals on blades. It is also very fragile. Not sure if it will survive a planned house move currently on the drawing board in a couple of months time. Think I may take a little break for now. Thank you for following and reading about this build and the comments, likes and suggestions along the way. Think I will wait with a RFI post until I am totally satisfied with the model when the time comes. Below the result (for now): Thank you for watching. Regards, Rob
    10 points
  15. Here are most of the other body shell parts... Bottom right of the left hand door you can see a small white dot. This is a small bit of missing blue paint... But there was no sign of it on the masking tape! *sigh*...more masking and spraying to do!
    10 points
  16. Someone recently mentioned getting kits at a decent price off Dave Coley, I couldn't resist these:
    10 points
  17. Another amazing model from the range available from Bulkamancer, I hope I did it justice.
    9 points
  18. It's a pretty big box... 198 parts and 40 cm long when finished.
    9 points
  19. L-20A/U-6A Beaver (DW48059) 1:48 Dora Wings via Albion Alloys The Beaver was a creation of De Havilland Canada (DHC) that was designed for use in Post War Canada as a Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) “bush plane” that could be flown into rugged areas of the country, and quickly adapted to land on skis or floats as the need arose. It first flew in 1947, and entered service in the following year, initially in Canada, but soon found favour with other operators such as the military, who used it as a utility aircraft. The US bought a substantial fleet of almost 1,000 airframes that were initially designated as L-20A, but were re-named U-6A in 1962, with a small number of almost identical L-20Bs becoming U-6Bs at the same time. They served in all arms of the US military, with Army, Air Force and Navy, the latter having a pair that remain in service at time of writing, used as training airframes for glider-towing and other techniques appropriate to light-weight prop-engined types. There were fewer than 2,000 airframes built by DHC before the production line was closed, and although propositions have been made to recommence production of this well-regarded type using new engines and other modern equipment and materials, nothing has yet come to fruition, and the fleet is reducing through attrition despite the efforts of repair and renovation specialists such as Kenmore Air, who can return an airframe to zero-hours if you have deep enough pockets. The original Wasp Junior engine has been out of production for many years, and spares are naturally becoming harder to source, which has led some owners to consider a turboprop alternative that offers more power, wider availability of fuel, and lighter empty weight, but with a commensurately higher initial outlay. Many retired US airframes were restored and put on the civil register where they found a ready source of customers for their many talents, from sky-diving to scientific endeavours, with no sign of them being retired or replaced by a more capable aircraft. The Kit This new tool from Dora Wings (how do they do it?) is the first boxing from them of this delightful aircraft, and arrives in their now-familiar top-opening box with glossy over-printing on the subject of the box art, which adds an air of quality to the package. Inside the box are ten sprues in grey styrene, a large clear sprue, an extensive Photo-Etch (PE) brass fret, a sheet of pre-cut vinyl masks, two decal sheets, and an A5 instruction booklet that is printed in colour on glossy paper, with decaling profiles on the rearmost pages, and a paint chart on the rear cover that uses letter codes that are seen throughout the instructions, with codes for Mr. Hobby, Tamiya, AMMO, Hatak, Lifecolor, and generic colour names to assist you with picking your colours. Whenever we receive a Dora Wings kit, we know we’re in for a treat of detail and comprehensive instructions that hold our hands during the build process, including almost everything you need to build a compelling replica of your chosen subject. The sprues are full of parts with excellent levels of detail that includes finely engraved panel lines and rivets where appropriate, in addition to raised and recessed features inside and out that should please anyone looking over the sprues. Construction begins with the instrument panel, which is built from a flat styrene backdrop onto which three decals are applied, followed by three PE parts with the dials cut out, which is probably best glued in place after painting by using clear varnish that will also give the dial decals a sheen akin to glass. An alternative panel with engraved detail is also included, although it isn’t mentioned on the instruction page, but it can be used with the decals instead if you don’t enjoy working with PE. Extra PE levers are added in the next step along with a coaming, mounting the completed assembly on the cockpit floor along with two types of rudder pedals, the more substantial two-part units on the left side. A pivoting control column with simple yoke at the top is inserted into the centre in front of the panel, fitting a two-part lever further aft on the port side. Two seat base frames are each made from four parts, adding a cylinder under the pilot’s base, then fixing the L-shaped seat on top, and installing PE four-point belts for both crew, locating the legs in four holes each that are moulded into the floor. The rear seats are of the bench-type, supported by a triple-box frame with angled legs, fitting the seat cushion and back-rest from one part each, and inserting twin lap-belts into slots in the back of the cushions. They are installed in the next row on a set of raised adjuster rails, adding a two-seat canvas row behind that’s made from three parts with no belts, then bracketing the cockpit with a front and aft bulkhead to complete the assembly, which is then glued onto the fuselage floor, adding the sides after inserting small triangular parts on both sides at around head height. Sections of head-lining are fitted over the crew compartment at the front, choosing either one with roof-light cut-outs or without, depending on your decal option, attaching the fuselage sides beforehand. The fuselage roof is fitted over a short length of spar, adding a separate clear windscreen with integral nose cowling at the front, plus four roof-lights, and a two-part engine firewall that closes the fuselage. Crew doors and main cabin doors are both clear parts, with a smaller window further aft in the fuselage, repeating the layout on both sides. The elevators are made from a single upper surface, adding two lower skins, then the flying surfaces that are each two parts with ribbing moulded into them. They can be posed deflected if you wish, with rounded leading edges, and are mated with the fuselage later in the build, along with the tail fin and rudder panel, both made from two halves, the latter ribbed to match the elevators. Typically of Dora Wings kits, the engine is supplied as a well-detailed model in itself, starting with the intake spider, which has a central boss and nine separate L-shaped tubes, fitting an accessory pack to the rear, then gluing the growing assembly to the rear of the piston bank, which has a reduction bell-housing with integral push-rods applied to the front, and a thick exhaust collector ring at the rear, fitting it to the central ring in the nose after making the main landing gear struts from three parts each, plus two small wedge-steps near the top. The engine cowling is made from two halves with an optional intake at the bottom and matching cowling lip with the front of the intake moulded-in, or if not fitting the intake, a smooth cowling lip is used instead, slipping your choice of cowling over the engine, and adding a two-part D-intake to the cut-out near the top of the intake-less cowling. There is a choice of installations for the antenna and other equipment on the fuselage roof, the instructions advising you to refer to the painting profiles to decide which parts are appropriate to your decal choice. Unlike it’s namesake, this Beaver has wings that are separate assemblies made from upper and lower surfaces, with separate flaps and elevators made from two parts each, and a landing light installed flush with the leading edge of the port wing, adding small clear lights below and at the ends of the wingtips, then fitting the completed wings to the sides of the fuselage, and bracing them with a single strut beneath each one, with square pegs holding them in place at each end. The flying surfaces have five actuators fixed in slots along their lower lengths, adding a combined actuator/horn balance in the centre of the elevators, a pitot probe in the port wing, and a tubular crew step on each side beneath the cabin doors, each one made from three parts. While the model is still inverted, an exhaust with hollow tip insert at the end is fitted under the cowling, and a two-port cooler is mounted under the fuselage with a PE mesh fixed inside. The tail-wheel is made from two parts and fitted to a yoke mounted on a lightened strut, with three PE parts and a support, plus a T-shaped assembly in front that is made from PE and styrene parts. The main gear wheels are moulded in two halves, with a brake-hub, and a styrene washer in the centre so they can be left to rotate, with a stub axle holding them in place on the struts and optional PE hubs fitted to the outer face, again depending on your decal option. A tiny formation light is inserted into the tip of the tail fairing, and the final choice of two-bladed prop is made, sharing the same blade and axle parts, but choosing either a three-part boss or two-part spinner fairing to finish the assembly. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, all wearing US Stars & Bars, but with differing colour schemes that depict three USAF and one Army bird. From the box you can build one of the following: L-20A Beaver (52-6138), 81st TFW, RAF Bentwaters, 1960 L-20A Beaver (55-0681), US Army #1583, L-20 No.584, Command A-7, Dusseldorf-Lohausen, Germany, 1962 L-20A beaver (51-6487), USAF #1064, Command AF-1, 5th Air Force, Seoul, 1953 U-6A Beaver (52-6092), 539th FIS, McGuire AFB, New Jersey, 1965 Decals are by Dora Wings’ usual partner, DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A well-detailed model of this long-serving and much-loved light aircraft that got to see the world in the service of many Air Forces, Navies and civil operators. The build should proceed without pitfalls, and the detail will look good under a coat of paint with your choice of decals. It’s going to be the hi-viz orange one though, isn’t it? Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Distributed in the UK by
    9 points
  20. Will be watching,thanks for the tip on the port funnel and already fixed,plus the LCU's. I'm leaning more to have after her last refit with the phalanx fitted.See how that works out.I tried two displays cases ,one from trumpeter(also called Mastertools )Fearless fits ,but can't have the ramp down.the other she sits in now can, I bought for another project opps ! I have found this site (link below) and bought two so far for HMS Cumberland and HMS Edinburgh both 1/350 .They make made to measure and I have bought so far and only £40, come flat packed,even comes with its own screw driver and with free postage.Highly recommended. https://boxxco.co.uk/
    9 points
  21. In a follow up to my Alfa decal purchases, I snapped these two up from Kingkit: I haven't got a problem, honest
    9 points
  22. I've wanted to build one of these for a long time and the reissue of the ancient Airfix P.1127 rekindled my aspirations over the Xmas period ! The Kestrel had a lot of differences from the P.1127 and from the later P.1127(RAF) or Harrier; it's kind of a half-way house between the two. So, my first major project of 2025 is a conversion of the Fujimi AV-8A into a Kestrel FGA.1 of the Tripartite Evaluation Sqn at RAF West Raynham, by altering the nose, intakes, undercarriage and air brake, wings, fin, nozzles & nozzle fairings (amongst other things). Decals are home-made inkjet printed. The rocket powered Martin Baker Mk.6 ejection seat (a first) is from Aeroclub. I was quite pleased with the way the conversion turned out, but the metallic finish and the decals gave me a lot of trouble. I went for the very first Kestrel, XS688, because it initially carried the rubber intake lips plus the original un-cranked tailplanes (albeit with anhedral). Athough it eventually wore side number "8" along with the TES markings, I've done it as it first appeared, with Hawker Siddeley P.1127 titles on the nose. I hacked out the main gear bay and filled the Harrier air-brake on the donor kit as well as adding the Ram Air Turbine that always seemed to be extended when the Kestrels were on the ground. Next up, the Airfix P.1127 with a set of Harrier wings to represent XP984, the last P.1127 !
    9 points
  23. Tiny triangles Followed by red paint And then.................... It's not as good as I'd like, bit shaky this morning, but viewed with the naked eye, it'll do. Jon
    9 points
  24. Oh boy, am I a melted sprue fan now. As usual, the macro lens is not friendly, but the halyards (with some nice slack) and the 291U antennae are perfectly in scale and the right colors. Not to blow my own horn, but, to the naked eye at this scale, it works very well. All I can say is give it a try when scratching fine diameter work. Just have to add the topping lifts (reverting to my wooden-build rigging terminology) and ready to mount this baby. Not sure how to drill the mounting hole into the resin superstructure. Will have to give that some thought. I’m thinking a pilot hole with my Dremel tool and then just carefully reaming out the hole with circular hand files. I’ll use a dummy mast shape to fit so as not to ham-hand damage to the real mast. We’ll see . . . Best, Jeff
    9 points
  25. The F-94 Starfire was Lockheed's first-generation all-weather day/night interceptor. Developed from the basic design of the T-33/P-80, it was the first operational USAF fighter with an afterburner. I believe it was credited with the first jet vs jet night victory in Korea against a MiG-15. Anyway, you guys can read Wikipedia as well as I can. This is the old Emhar kit which first saw the light of day in 1993 - that's 32 years ago. And, of course, it shows it. It lacks some detail, has at least one gaping error but, hey, it's a C model of the Starfire and those are hard to come by in this scale. So I built it. I've built an Emhar kit before (my F3H-2 Demon) so I kinda knew what I was getting into. Here is my usual silly summary: Project: Lockheed F-94C Starfire Kit: Emhar Kit No. EM3004 Scale: 1:72 (preferred by Australopithecus and Homo Habilis alike) Decals: Wolfpak 72-108, and a few stencils from the kit Resin: True Details 72-452 cockpit and ejection seat set Photoetch: Just a few scrap bits from the spares box Masks: Made by hand! With a pencil and a pair of scissors! Paint: Alclad ALC101 Aluminum, ALC103 Dark Aluminum, ALC102 Duraluminum, ALC111 Magnesium, ALC119 Airframe Aluminum; Gunze H58 Interior Green, H11 Flat White, H12 Flat Black, H318 Radome Tan, H8 Gold, H21 Off-White; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black; Testors Green Drab FS34086; MRP 048 Super Clear Gloss Improvements/Corrections Corrected wing dihedral to the correct 8 degrees (it was around 2 degrees) Replaced kit cockpit, coaming, and seats with True Details resin set Added photoetch igniter ring to afterburner Thinned the walls of the intake housing to better match the real thing Replaced boundary layer splitter plate with card stock Thinned the fins on the wing tanks Added detail to the main gear bays and fuselage air brakes with card stock and styrene rod (but forgot the nose gear bay! Ugh!) Added photoetch detail to inside of fuselage air brakes (lower and side) Added actuators to main gear struts Markings from Wolfpak sheet (kit decals printed in wrong colours and fonts) Red stripes on walkways, canopy sills and de-icer boots are individual pieces from the spares box Added a single photoetch mirror to the windscreen Added central canopy brace with AN/ARN-16 radio compass loop antenna dome Added photoetch pitot under the forward fuselage So that's it. You can see the WIP thread here. Now, on to the pics! And a nice combo shot for Emhar to use in their marketing promotions: Cheers, Bill
    8 points
  26. I build this little kit as I got a taste for 1/35 maritime subjects when building the Italeri Schnellboot. So it doesn't feel too alone, I got htis little companion ... Some little issues, but nothing really to worry about. (see my VERY short WIP here: Out of the box, with a little bit added detail for the cockpit and deviating from the painting instructions for the torpedoes. and the added cammo on the periscope iaw an original photo I found ... The two Navy guys came with the kit ... and the details to the cockpit ... As always, thanks for looking and all comments welcome. Cheers
    8 points
  27. I started this ICM 1/72 Do17Z-7 in 2019. Unfortunately I made a mess of the canopy and lost motivation to finish the build. Prompted by acquiring an ICM 1/72 Do215B-5, I decided to finish this model that has been sitting unfinished for over five years. This is what I was working with at the start of the revived build: Lots of damage and parts scattered around various shelves and boxes that had to be located. This kit has a number of small inaccuracies, but one glaring error I didn't want to leave uncorrected. This is what the front of the engine looks like using kit parts: It's a complete fabrication. I don't know what happened at ICM when this was designed. The rest of the kit is generally good, this is very out of place. My correction, using Airfix's kit and original photos as reference: Anyway, the model only took a few days to complete. Here's the final result: The original WIP thread: The WIP thread in the KUTA group build:
    8 points
  28. In quick succession after the Challenger, a T-14 Armata from Trumpeter. I bought this model four years ago, I wouldn't have bought one now since Feb 2022 happened, and due to the fact that the Armata is now regarded as a failed project. So it sat on the shelf until November when completing the Challenger, and resigning from my job 😄 gave me a little bit of mojo back. BUT.... I didn't like this kit, far too many tiny pieces which my eyes and fingers just cannot cope with - why are so many modern kits so over-engineered? from me the pleasure in modelling is mainly in painting and weathering, I don't want a lot of fussy detail of 15 parts where 3 could do it just as well! And then - the sprues. It wasn't a case of cutting the parts off the sprues as much as carving them OUT of the sprues.... every single part had major remediation to do in trimming and cleanup, it was soul sapping. Think I'm sticking to Tamiya after this! (though I've got an RFM Challenger still to do). The camo scheme is loosely based on one of the colour schemes in the kit, but I airbrushed it without masking mainly due to laziness - and also because the Mr Hobby masking fluid I had tried to use always gives me problems by refusing to be removed cleanly. So here it is, engaged in a Special Military Operation on my study desk, as it will probably never be seen in the wild.
    8 points
  29. Good afternoon. This is my version of Italeries Mirage IIIC 1/32 It’s a BIG kit and was a really fun build. I decided to go for the Djibouti scheme as it allowed me to have the most fun with weathering and general grittiness overall. There were quite a few new techniques employed along with some good old fashioned scratch building. As it was a sunny day yesterday I decided to get her out in the stunning weather that is her natural habitat! ☀️🤩 If you followed the WIP thanks for tagging along, if not and should you wish to see how this beast goes together then here’s the thread. Thanks to all the Britmodellers who helped along the way, especially @Brandy whose pilot friend helped answering some of the more obscure questions about this aeroplane. Man I love BM for that level of knowledge and help. ❤️ Hope you like the pics. Not as many of the underside as I’d have liked but it’s an awkward fish to balance the wrong way up. 🤪 Here we go. Sun bleached and beaten. And here’s the ladder!! 🪜 And rested just for kicks. Hope you like her, she was great fun to build and paint. 🖤 Phew I think we’re up to date. Take care and as always Happy modelling. Comments and questions welcomed. Johnny
    8 points
  30. Worked late to get a deliverable out tonight. Also got news we have a conference with the heart surgeon Friday for the wife. She's fine, but I'm quite anxious 😬 Whenever this happens... maybe I should have some kit ready to lose myself in 🤔 Intended to do the pipe struts tonight but checked photos of the Norseman and realized the kit strut notches were fictional. So I applied cement to free them... Here you see the notches... I glued in bits of styrene to fill the gaps, and filed and sanded. Also removed the masking tape from the control surfaces. When I spray primer, should look like ribs. Also marked where to drill holes on the horizontal stabilizers... and stripped some fine wire from dollar store headphones. Tiny steps... hopefully moving forward. I broke off a venturi (again)... they were not great anyway so maybe I will remake them.
    8 points
  31. hi all, Happy New Year. This is my first completed model of 2025 although it was started last year. It's the Platz 1/72 Fuji T-1 and it's an excellent little kit, having great detail and good fit all round. The decals are superb and fit all of the contours very well indeed but i chose to paint the dayglo orange areas. The only issue i had was with nose weight. The kit comes with a plastic weight but it isn't enough (therefore why bother?). I had to add around 4g into the intake and fashion a FOD cover from metal foil. Not hard to do but annoying that no mention of extra weight was given in the instructions. Hope you like it, Andy
    7 points
  32. Hi all, this has Friu track and an aluminium/brass barrel. Spares box aerial mount and light, aerial from steel rod. Tamiya and Vallejo paints used, AK pens, Flory wash, AB oils, Mr Metal Color, 3rd Gen varnish, Flory pigments, ttfn 😇
    7 points
  33. One of the first kits i thought I'd Try!! Seems Fun enough!! The "engine" Thats as far as i got So far, So any tips i Will sure take them onboard!!!
    7 points
  34. This kit was built for our club Model Expo display. I've always thought the Arado 196 was a nifty plane and remember reading numerous Air Ace comics where it was a protagonist including "King's Messenger" where 2 have a duel with a Vickers Wellesley . 😄 I started off building my 196A-3 kit when I realised Sword had made a major error in their decal sheet. The markings for the aircraft based on Tirpitz did not have handed markings for the Seahorse emblem for the scheme. I wasn't keen on the 2nd scheme in the kit as I've seen it used on a lot of builds and I was quite keen to build a plane based on one of the Kreigsmarine ships. I found that Sword had just reissued their kit as a dogfight double with a Sea Gladiator (but as an A-2) which had correct markings for a plane based on Scharnhorst. This suited me fine as I've always considered Scharnhorst as one the prettiest capital ships built and she had a very extensive battle history. Sadly she met a sad end against HMS Duke of York trying to battle a british escort fleet basically single handedly. Very few of her crew survived the freezing sea at North Cape. The kit builds quite well for a short run kit. I had a bit of trouble getting the floats and struts right as I'd added weights to the floats and this caused issues getting the whole assembly aligned. I ended up using the 2nd set of floats I had without weights to complete the kit. (I plan to use the remaining kit with a conversion kit to do the single float version). I think the propeller looks a bit clunky and have bought an aftermarket Quickboost part which I may cut the props off to replace the kit ones.
    7 points
  35. I've had this in the stash a looong time, so this GB is the perfect time to build it. Box is a little squashed, but everything still good.
    7 points
  36. @Bobby No Mac , @Spottedlaurel I've used Dave Coley before and his prices are very reasonable. I've just got this from him for £40 - that's cheap compared to the others on sale on d bay . Gary .
    7 points
  37. Carbs fitted and painted. I've test fitted the engine in the car and to my relief, the bonnet closes without hitting the air filter. 😌 Exhaust manifolds need to be fitted now, so I can finish wiring it.
    7 points
  38. So on with the dreaded zim. My tools of choice: the putty as you can see is magic sculpt. I love this stuff, it’s quite tacky, reasonably long working time (about 90 mins but I was t counting.), smooth and easy mix. I used the rolled up tin foil ball and sanding pad to ingrain a rough concrete like texture. The metal croc clip I used as a roller and Stanley blade as a smoother. The card board tile I used as a template. I looked a ref photo and counted the tiles in a section and then measured that section on the model and divided the tile square by this: measured to 3.3 mm by 3.3mm. I lined up the card tile and used a short ruler (from a cracker!) to impress the tiles. Finally I’m pretty happy with this. Definitely think the magic sculpt and easier pattern helped. I could only work on one section at a time as not to press my fingers in to a drying side. Then I did the upper hull The The below are the steps I took on the front glacis: I pressed/smeared the putty on and used Vaseline for the tools, to stop them sticking and to make it even-ish: This is pretty thin or as thin as I’d like it before it begins to tear or lift. As you can see I also did the weld seams from green stuff: Then I used my sanding pad to make the texture: I think this looks rough like zimmerit. I stuffed up the pattern on this section as you can see the tiles in the center are mis shaped and unequal so I’ll try hack it off from where I went wrong and try correct it. But again that’s the beauty of the square tile pattern. It’s easier to start from where you left it. I picked a few tiles out as if they were damaged. Then I moved on to the last section left untouched whist theses sections dried: the turret: The air bumps settled down overnight and it actually looks better now. So this section is ok. I’m leaving the hardest to last to try and get the hang first. The hardest I think will be the gun mantlet and rear panel. Lots of niggles and bumps. Once the zimmerit is on I can start hanging some of the greeblies but so far I’m glad I left them off as leaves my hard pressing free hands to reign without knocking a machine gun barrel or equipment hanger off. With this moving along I started on the base. Well the grass for the base. I want to try something different: A A4 size sample of chestnut coloured fake fur. I’ve seen this look quite effective once painted so I’m going to use the Vallejo colours golden olive and olive green to colour it. But first it needs a trim: Using the scissors I cut random clumps out of this, as it’s to represent wild meadow grass. I’ve used the pictured steel comb to try get out the loose fibres and ragged parts. The top section is uncut and the bottom section is cut and combed. I’ll try add the paint at a later time and see how it turns out. That’s all for now folks, Thanks for looking in. Paul
    7 points
  39. Ach well, no going back now Revell Sea King (I have other plans for the Fujimi baby) with the first irreparable steps taken to S-61N it. Front cabin door in the process of being eradicated and ECM stuff taken off the rear fuselage and leg brace point excised. New tail rotor upstand to make and similar work to do for the starb'd side too. Onwards, 'til Big H delivers the add-ons for the HC4.
    7 points
  40. & dog named "shark" (dunno why, whenver I'm walking lovely Shark, calling his name out quite loudly, all the swimmers at the beach get out of the water. Really odd)
    7 points
  41. Thanks for that Neil. Looking at pics of them on Salisbury Plain they appear the same colour though this would be post-withdrawl and they might have been repainted. The vehicle will have crew - if only to give a sense of scale as it's a comparatively small armour piece. Modern British figures remain pretty thin on the ground - even thinner now that AA has gone. So it's out with the Miniart figures and on with the Red Zebra heads. The head will need to have some earphones fitted later This will mean attempting MTP camo. There's not really a good tutorial that I can find so again, more on this later. The other consideration is that the driver figure will need to be "planted" within the model early on before the hull is joined to the running gear, as this needs to happen before attaching all the supports for the bar armour. As there is no interior and not much will be visible anyway, accordingly ........ The working plan will be to paint figure without the head - Stick figure down adjusting height so that he can see over, then glue hull down to bottom hull/running gear. Then cover with cotton wool whilst spraying and add head when all painting is done - well that's the theory anyway Next order of business is the tracks and I know you all know - the diagrams show them fitted wrongways in the instructions They come as part "link and length tracks with 14 separate pieces each side to accomodate the drive and roller wheels. They needed some clean up at the link ends from the sprue but fitting and "sit" was painless I presume that Gecko will actually release a Spartan or other sub-types - it would be extremely rude not to......... Next up is priming engine grills and interior and painting (or trying to ) MTP - yum yum More soon - Thanks for looking Rob
    7 points
  42. Joining as promised, with this Messerschmitt Bf 109.
    6 points
  43. Hi all, First time I have had a proper go at a tailor made racing car, and this kit was an impulse buy in a location I did not expect to see it - a happy accident if you will - and since time is currently allowing some model building to happen, here's some in progress shots. Everything is OOB, no extras of any kind. So far I'm really enjoying it. There is a lot of colour mixing for the interior, and the engine straight out of the box looks really good all painted up. Not too difficult, and the instructions are pretty well thought out. I plan on making a diorama with a small crowd of people viewing the car. Still early stages of developing that idea, but to help speed things along, does anyone know of a kit of modern civilian people? Perhaps taking a photo on their phones kind of pose?
    6 points
  44. I found some time to do a bit more on this. I'd printed a boom a while ago, but it was way too flimsy, so it's been beefed up. I also drew up a push bumper.
    6 points
  45. 2024 was not my most productive year but at least I managed to finish four modell kits, all in 1/72 scale. First one was another Viggen from Special Hobby, my third one so far. Next came a Fennek from Trumpeter in Netherlands service. The third one was a commission built, the C-130H from Zvezda in Austrian colors. Finally, end of december, I got the AH-1G Cobra from Kovozávody Prostějovs off the work bench. Cheers Daniel
    6 points
  46. Beautiful work on the Manchester! Right, now with one recently finished (Heather's fine model) and another Manchester conversion nearly complete, what more do you want, Airfix? The proper offerings have been made to the Modelling Gods - time to get off your bums and give us a kit of the Manchester! (And a Lincoln whilst you're at it.) Regards, Jason
    6 points
  47. Thank you, Alan! (feel free to translate it in whatever language that one above is... ) Cheers Dennis, much obliged! Thanks Keith, glad you like it! Welsh praise well accepted! Thanks Stefano, and I see your point. I did check once more the pictures I have, and I have toned down the chipping on the flaps. I left the rest as it was because it was actually copied from wartime pics of different airframes - being B&W, it's hard to tell where YZC only showed through and where it went down to bare aluminium. I'm gonna call it "modeller's license" and leave it as it is, I fear bigger touch ups would leed to disaster here... You are way too kind, Bill, thank you! Thank you, Terry! Much appreciated! As for your question: AFV never appealed me - don't get me wrong, I very much admire everyone modelling them, it's weathering reign and I love it, but I just don't feel up it Cheers Alain, glad you like it! Thanks you guys, you are far too kind Johnny @The Spadgent, I hope you won't be disappointed in me toning down the chipping on the flaps.... Thanks Ian! I should have started with this, but anyway: HAPPY 2025, EVERYBODY! I managed to complete the model during this holidays, except for the base and pilots, so here's a recap of the last steps: I completed the assembly of all the parts underneath the beast: tailwheel and doors main struts, wheels and doors about the outer doors on the main u/c bays: the instructions show them the wrong way round, check reference pics for tech correct installation. Exhaust pipes in place and weathered lights retractable landing light Poor picture, and it doesn't show the clear resin I used to reproduce it, rather than the kit plastic - sorry the silver dollar (punched out alu tape disc) was glued in place on the engine and there she is , standing on her legs! As you can see from the next pic, I stippled some paint over the flaps to tone down the chipping then I followed Cookie's @Cookenbacher suggestion and used the protective sheet you can find on Tamiya decals to reproduce the tape used for the gun troughs glued in place with Gator's Grip (having previously been brush painted white) I did the same for the spent cases holes on the bottom side: Once the underside was complete, I added the last bits on the upper side: pitot pipe, canopy, antenna mast, antenna wire and propeller For the antenna wire, I used some elastic thread (I think from AK) and the thinnest brass pipe I had in my supply, to reproduce both the rubber connector and the insulator, brush painting the black and light grey respectively CA glue work a treat with this, so the installation was very quick. Well, that's it for this update and for the model - I still have the two pilots to paint and the base to put together, though. Meanwhile, all comments welcome! Ciao
    6 points
×
×
  • Create New...