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I don't remember exactly when i started this model, but i was definitely working on it in the 2019-2020 time frame. I consider it however, a Shelf of Doom project. Let's get the "Navy Bird Briefing" out of the way, shall we? Kit: Hasegawa A-1H, kit number 51406/ BP6 Scale: 1/72 (because reasons.) Aftermarket Products Used: Reskit A-1 Skyraider wheels, part no. RSK-72-0166 Quickboost A-1 weapons pylons, part no. QUB 72291, A-1 Horizontal Tailplanes and elevators, part no. QUB 72238 Master brass pitot tube and 20MM cannon barrels, part no. MAS-AM-72-111 New Ware models Skyraider canopy mask set, part no. NWR-AM0502 Eduard USAF and USN WWII Seatbelts, part no. 73004 Eagle Strike Decals sheet 72-030 Paints used: AK, Tamiya, Mr Color If you want the nitty gritty on the construction (to the extent that i documented it)- it can be found here: I didn't start off this project with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm; i probably wouldn't have built an AD (now) were it not for the colourful markings i found in Angelo Romano's NAVA1: Naval Air Weapons Meet 1956-1959. However, i did need a Skyraider to fill a missing gap in my Douglas attack aircraft collection and by extension attack aircraft in general. The kit was originally issued in 1996, same year as the A-3 Skywarrior. Fundamentally it's a nice model and definitely head and shoulders above the Airfix, Fujimi and Tsukuda Hobby offerings. Fit is generally good, recessed detail is nice and the basics are there for a good cockpit and landing gear. The main drawbacks of the kit are your typical spartan Hasegawa wheel well detail, decals for the instrument panel and side consoles, and a very basic seat. These shortcoming are not too difficult to overcome. I evaluated several aftermarket products, and my opinions are rather mixed. I got the KMC Skyraider detail set and i didn't use it. The Quickboost wing pylons, while detailed, were not that big of an improvement over the Hasegawa pylons. Cutting the pylons off the casting block resulted in many snapped off sway braces; the locator pins tended to shear off; the gaps where the pylon joined the wing undersurfaces were pretty bad. I got around the gaps by using white acrylic glue to fill them, and then disguised the dried clear glue with a wash of Future/water, and Tamiya flat black. I used the Quickboost elevator set because i liked the option to position the elevators in the parked, "Up" position. They fit fine, though the elevators are so thin that they tend to warp a little. It is nice to be able to paint the elevators separately from the stabs. One thing i did really like were the Reskit wheels. The multipart construction made painting and weathering easy. Also, the New Ware canopy masking set fit very well and helped a lot with painting. I didn't use the Master 20MM cannon barrels (yet), but i did use the Static Mast, which also served as a convenient attachment for the antenna wire which was made using Uschi "Rig this Thing" elastic thread. I'll say here that you want to think this step through before paint goes on the model, and not after the landing gear bombs, propeller and such sundries go on. Aside from the Eduard belts that i added, i also installed an LSO line up light in the left wing leading edge, plus i installed the forward inlet flap position indicator... Late in the game, i changed my mind, went ahead and added the centerline station, mainly to keep the option open to add a drop tank or a practice "Special Weapon" down the road if i find something i like. With this model finally done, i can turn to my Wyvern, a project that goes way back, plus other projects that go back even further in time (727, F-104A, etc.). However, the Big Corsair is not far off from being done so, naturally it kind of goes to the head of the line. Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement. Until next time- Keep your knots up, and your powder dry. Fly Navy!!

Good day to all! I present to you my next model. This is already the eighth Bf 109 in my collection in 1/48 and I am sure that it is not the last (just like my beloved Spitfires, Mustangs and Thunderbolts).

This one is pretty much OOB.Painted in gunze acrylics and the decals came from a lindenhill sheet.

My latest completion. Fortieth in my Fleet Air Arm and now RNAS collection and my third completion this year!! Sopwith Camel F1 B6390. No 13(N) Squadron RNAS. France. December 1917 Flown by Raymond Collishaw December 1917 Victories number 19 & 20 (of 60). 09.12.17 1520) Albatros D.V (OOC) Ostend Sopwith Camel B6390 10.12.17 Two Seater (OOC) Sopwith Camel B6390 Kit Revell 1/48 Sopwith Camel F1 (Old mould Eduard re-boxed). After market Look Instrument Panel Eduard 'Big Sin' Bentley Engine upgrade set (Bentley engine, wheels, seat, Vickers Mk.I gun, Rotherham air pumps, (not used; 20lb bomb carrier, 20lb bomb). Paint Colourcoats enamels. Tamiya, AK, Life Colour and Hataka Acrylics Decals Box Home Printed. Rigging EZ Line. Reasonably straight forward model to build. Beware though that the after market is designed for the new mould Eduard model. Some trimming is required... Pictures Now, what to plunder from the stash next… Thanks for stopping by..

Just finished this Dragon Type 95 Ha Go. Generally went together well. Putting track sag into the DS rubber tracks was a bit challenging. Still work to do with my figure painting as far as skin tones. Might move on to an aircraft next. Hope you like.

Just finished this row of Bf 109's. Decals are from Topcolors no. 17 No. 243-248 in my collection. Cheer Jes

Bought earlier during 2025. Great plastic, let down with poor decals. Mine broke up.

Good day, Here is my third submission for the year. Highlights of this kit are as follows…………. 1. Fuselage : Tamiya Flat Black ( XF-1 ), Flat White ( XF-2 ), Life Color Flat Red ( UA616 ), Ammo Light Grey panel wash. 2. Rotor Blades : Tamiya German Grey ( XF-63 ), AK Pale Grey dry brush highlights on leading edges 3. Rotor Hubs : Tamiya Gun Metal ( X-10 ), Metallic Grey ( XF-56 ), Black panel line wash 4. Landing gear and wheels / tires : Life Color Flat Red, Tamiya Titanium Silver ( X-32 ), Flat Black, Black Panel line wash. 5. Yellow Frog Tape for the hard edge lines between the colors. I built this in large part for an upcoming contest focused on First Responders ( police, fire, EMS, USCG, etc ) and the vehicles they operate while conducting their assigned tasks. I felt this Jayhawk helicopter would be a perfect representative. The kit was simple and straightforward with a surprising amount of detail given the scope of the kit. Recessed panel lines highlight the surface across the Jayhawk. I built this entirely out of the box including the provided decals. I opted to close the main access door but it can be posed in the opened position and the inside cabin is nicely detailed. The decals are excellent with zero problems and adhered well to setting solution. Helicopters are a somewhat unique subject but something representing the United States Coast Guard appear to be even rarer. My colleagues have commented that they enjoy the colorful appearance of the Jayhawk in USCG service and I would agree. Self inflicted wounds only added time to this kit and even with some very tiny parts, I can recommend this outstanding helicopter of the Jayhawk in USCG livery to most every skill level. Thank you in advance. Respectfully submitted, Mike And here is the instruction sheet in it`s entirety. Just one page and that is it. Simple and easy. I`m certain many would enjoy this 72nd scale kit of the Jayhawk.

486 Bomb Group 384 Squadron out of Sudbury. This aircraft survived the war to be broken up in Kingman AZ. After waiting a few months finally got some green grass and an overcast day. Hope you like. Products used Paint: Ak Real color, Model master and Alclad Aftermarket: Eduard wooden floors and ammo boxes set Eduard Zoom cockpit Eduard engine set Eduard Radio Compartment Eduard masks Master gun Barrels Thanks for looking Rod

Just acquired this rarity via eBay, collected from the seller earlier today... Apparently he bought it new back in the 1970s and has kept it stored ever since. Everyone seems to go for the much more plentiful DB5 but I've always preferred the earlier, more classic look of the DB4. Should make an interesting build.

Time has flown (again) and I'm overdue an update (again). I've actually been very busy filling, sanding and painting, but sadly not related to this build. SWMBO unfortunately decided that the hallway just had to be redecorated, and when The Boss gets into DIY mode everything else takes a back seat. Not all bad news though, as whilst ensconced in the garage sawing dado rails and paneling stuff I cheekily sneaked knocked up something that is kind of related to the build, but more on that later... Thanks, and it's not daft at all John, it often being the little enhancements that are the most satisfying. You can spend ages on a complex thing and once done you think 'Meh, it's OK I guess', but something silly that took a couple of moments to knock up makes a real difference. Go figure Cheers echen, thanks for the encouragement.👍 Thanks Roger. I agree that sometimes 'less is more' when it come to exhaust rusting, and it's a good suggestion on the mud buildup. Looking at the pictures of overturned trucks things look surprisingly clean, but some splatters of mud here and there will certainly be in order (when the chassis is finally done). Cheers szeregowy, much appreciated. 👍 Thanks Keith. Funny you should mention crawling under your van. A chap up the road drives an old Land Rover so I strolled up to have a quick peek at his exhaust system. I thought it may look a bit odd if I scrambled under it for a good look, but I managed to get a couple of pictures while 'tying my shoelaces'. Blimey Jochen, you have a very good memory my friend, I'd forgotten all about those posts! With the chassis nearing completion, I pulled the bed out of storage just the other day to remind myself where I'd got to. There's some great reference material there - thank you.👍 Thanks Ross. Not sure if it's ghasting your flabber, or flabbering you ghast, but you can probably get some cream for it. I feel a bit of a fraud with the following update to be honest, 'cos although I've been doing some scratch building, it's only loosely related to the build. Let me explain... As you know we've been working on the chassis for some time now, this not being the easiest thing to work on as there's nothing to really hold on to, and there a multitude of 'sticky out' bits to get in the way. A home made 'handle' has served us very well up to now, this being bolted through a handy hole in a cross-member halfway along the chassis. All good things must come to an end though. We can no longer use the 'handle' as the next job is the drivetrain, and the transfer box mounts on that central cross member: We need an alternative way of holding the chassis while it is worked on. Taking inspiration from the maritime community I thought a posable platform might be useful. A root around in the garage turned up some raw materials and we ended up with a base. No, don't laugh, it's a quality bit of engineering For the platform, a lid from an old, cheap airbrush box was repurposed. I though a transparent platform would be a good idea, but the plastic was horrible to work with, having a tendency to 'melt' when sawed/drilled (and this was when using hand not power tools). A trip to a hardware store for some bolts and wingnuts and we end up with this: So far, so good, but how do we mount the chassis to the platform? The only real option was to mount through the wheels, so they were drilled to accept some M1.6 nuts (a job that should have been done long before the wheels added to the axles). The transparent platform made it easy to see where holes should be drilled to accept the bolts: Eventually, we end up with this: The platform can be moved through around 170o to allow some jaunty angles to be achieved: Critically, the platform can be moved enough to access the 'innards' of the chassis, which is where we want to be next: And that's as far as we've got I'm afraid. Apologies for this rather tenuous update. Hopefully normal service will be resumed shortly, although there have been mutterings along the lines of 'now the hallway has been decorated the utility room looks a bit tired'. Sigh Cheers, and thanks for looking, Paul.

gonzo

Hello All. Since I've been commenting on all of your wonderful builds, I thought I should open myself up to some critique. Here is a build from about a year ago. I was still very new to airbrushing and metallic paints, so please try to forgive the bad quality of the finish (I promise it gets better (; ).

Hi All, Thanks to everyone about their comments on our upcoming Hurricane but this is an update on the 109 K-4. The second test shots arrived from China on Monday. Darren and Richard in Wellington have already been through them and are very impressed. I received mine yesterday and started building it last night and I’m also very pleased with the refinements and changes made, none of which were major but all of which have been achieved in quick time by our Chinese moulding partner. We could certainly release these parts now as a kit and I think they would get a good reception but we’re going to go all out for the ever elusive "perfect" model and do one more round of very minor changes which won’t take long. The decals are almost complete after much debate, the box art is almost done and the profiles are largely done. The instructions are in my hands. This is the first one I’ve coordinated myself and I admit that my full-time vet job has made this a bit of a slow process but I’ll call for help from Darren and Richard if the instructions are going to delay the project down. I’m an eternal optimist and I think we’ll be shipping pre-sales by the end of April with distributor shipments following thereafter. Richard would probably say May On the subject of pre-orders I do apologise for the trouble that people have had with the New Zealand Post website. Like a lot of big organisations their IT people insist they are right no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary. They think their software knows every single address in the world and just because you’ve lived in your house for 30 years doesn’t mean you know its correct address if New Zealand Post's E-Ship software thinks differently! Richard has helped many modellers work their way through this issue and usually what happens is that once you’ve learned the trick, you won’t have any issues in the future. We are grateful to all of those who pre-order, obviously that helps the balance sheet of the company and will help us to hire new designers to make more models. Would also like to point out that the free box art print that goes to every pre-order customer is never going to be available for sale. It is solely used as a way of saying thank you to those who trust us with their money before the kitset is released. I am getting really excited about the buzz you are all contributing to around this model, so thank you! Of course it WON'T be perfect and many of you will disagree with our colour and marking choices but that’s all part of the fun. Cheers Mark Robson Owner Kotare Models

Cue Matt Monro...

Well at last it's time to stand on our own two feet Mmm Time to fit out the base coat and fittings

Hi all Crikey, the Whirlwind is finished. thamks to all that have offered support and encouragement along the way. Really pleased with the way it turned out Thanks for looking in Chris

My second build for this GB is a fighter-bomber version, again using the Tamiya kit. However, I'm going to convert it to an FB XVIII, nicknamed the Tsetse. This was a version intended specifically for attacking surfaced U-Boats. The 20mm cannons were replaced with a single 6 pounder Molins gun. Let's put things into context. The 6 pdr had a 57mm calibre! 😮 The gun had an autoloader with 25 rounds and it could be fired in automatic mode. That's some horrendous firepower! The Mk.XVIII also had 900 pounds of armour added to the cockpit and engine nacelles to protect it from AA fire from U-boats. The autoloader tended to jam up if the gun was fired while the aircraft was manoeuvering so attacks had to be made in a dive from 5000 ft with no jinking. You can see why the extra armour would be needed. Here are the sprues. Sets A, B and C are common to all the Tamiya 1/72 Mosquitos. There are two of Sprue C. Sprue D is specific to the fighter nose boxing.

Built in Iraqi markings using Linden Hill Decals sheet No LHD72019. A very simple kit this one, so building wasn't hard. However, the kit decals did not work. Colours used were SMS PL81 sand, SMS PL152 olive drab and SMS PL101 blue. The smoke effects were done by brushing on Tamiya X-20 smoke. Build progress video

Hi all I have just finished the Special Hobby 48th Firefly Mk.5, with the Wolfpack resin and photo etch folded wings conversion. This one hs taken a while but I am very pleased to have a folded Firefly in the display. WT488 R-205 of HMS Glory, Korea 1953, Pilotcwas Lt, JFK "Sean" McGrail, who according to the instructions had flown 118 combst missions between November 1952 and March 1953, wow. Some parts were replaced by brass such as the jury struts and the fronts of the Fold mechanism with a home made rods used and the ropes on the end are lead wire. I also added some plasticard to the spinner behind each blade as thus was not provided in the kit. The model was brush painted with Humbrol enamels and washed with Oil paint I won't add a link to the WIP as it is part of my 126 page FAA multiple build thread so I am sure you have probably all seen it and thought crikey 126 pages, not looking at that😄 I'd like to thank those who offered support and encouragement along the way, always very much appreciated and thanks for looking in. All the best Chris

Hello fellow britmodellers, Long time since I’ve posted here but finally my hands were free enough to create this post and show you my project from last year. Eduard 1:48 FM-1 in Atlantic scheme. The wildcat line from this manufacturer is well known for its excellent quality and engineering. I’ve also bought some aftermarket goodies (wheels, wheel bay and the cockpit) to test 3D print upgrades and was weary satisfied with the result. Also I wanted to try folded wing configuration. My soon to be wife was very interested in the grey coloured version so the choice landed on VC-1 squadron which operated in south Atlantic in 1943-1944 from USS "Block Island". When I was trying to find any information regarding this squadron I found reports from 28 of October, 1943 where another wildcat from VC-1 piloted by Ensign Harold L. Handshuh together with TBF-1C Avenger successfully destroyed one U-220 submarine. Link to the report for all interested: https://www.uboatarchive.net/U-220A/U-220ASW6.htm Unfortunately H. Handshuh went MIA and I’ve decided to honour this pilot’s sacrifice by recreating his plane. The only difference from the basic Eduard VC-1 scheme was the plane number so it was easy task. The model is a pleasure to work with. The only little problem was with the folded wings as the contact area to glue was very small for such a big wing. Coloured by mix of Tamiya and gunze acrylics, then enamel wash for panels, salt method for weathering and enamels for leakages and stains. Thank you very much for your attention! Enjoy modelling! Alex

Welcome to Kendari Airport. The plane is ready, take your seat please. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was first used in combat in August 1940 in China and accompanied Japanese pilots throughout the Second World War until its last day. It was the navy's primary fighter and not only, as it also surpassed the army's aviation machines with its performance. Even after the start of the war against the USA, it performed very well against American fighters. Excellent flying qualities such as fast climb, high manoeuvrability, long range and good visibility from the cockpit, together with experienced pilots, meant that their crews achieved great success over the Americans. This gave rise to the myth of the super fighter, which ultimately turned against the Japanese because the belief in the invincible Zeros caused delays in the development of their more modern successors. Many of the aircraft's advantages were due to its light weight, which was also bought with disadvantages such as poor armour, lack of self-sealing fuel tanks and low firepower. As time went on, the design from the beginning of the war did not stand up to competition to the increasingly modern american planes. The American tactic of using speed and altitude and not engaging in manoeuvring combat also did its part. In addition, the Japanese began to run out of experienced pilots. All this meant that the A6Ms was no longer a challenge to enemy planes and they began to be used more and more for suicide kamikaze attacks. This does not change the fact that the Zero fighter became legendary and remains to this day an icon of Japanese aviation and air operations in the Pacific during the Second World War. The model was made from Eduard's Profipack kit and depicts Lieutenant Kunio Kanzaki's plane from 1944 stationed at Kendari Airfield on Celebes Island. I also used Eduard's flaps, wheels and machineguns, EMP3D's valorisation kit and HGW's seatbelts for the build. This is my first finished aircraft model and I invite you to see the end result of my work with this kit.

Well, while hosting the "Give Peace a Chance" GB at the moment, and another one last year, I've also been diligently chipping away at my (groaning under its weight) Shelf of Doom. I started this Hasegawa Strike Eagle in mid-22 in an F-15 group build and I finished it ...last night 😅 In the pics, all I can see are errors, blemishes and "room for improvement". But on the shelf (of Display, not Doom) I think it looks pretty good. Having now sent three Hasegawa F-15s from Doom to Display since the beginning of 2025 I am confident in saying I'm done with Hasegawa F-15s for a good while. The nosewheel door is AWOL but I'm calling it done for psychological reasons! This is the more modern Hasegawa F-15E - it's not the original very inaccurate and raised-lines edition from the 80s. It's spray painted with Tamiya "Gunship Grey 2" AS-27 and armed with bombs and missiles from Hasegawa sets. The two pods came with the kit. The loadout was taken from a diagram on a website about F-15E combat loads in the early part of the Iraq Forever War. (The shelves of Doom and Display are both in my garage which gets pretty hot in the Aussie summer - I think it's affected the decals on this and other models) It also has Quick Boost resin seats but to be honest they're not really any better than the kit seats and a lot more hassle. I know that an unpowered jet wouldn't have its screens on, but the cockpit decals are nice: Anyway - there it is, finally finished thank goodness.

Thanks very much CC, Just because you asked, Once they've settled I'll get the drop tanks stickered, fit the undercarriage doors, wheels and then it should be time for final assembly and a satin coat. Thanks for looking, Cheers, Alistair

I got some of the decals on today. Thanks for looking Gary.

I was going to say they were busy playing over on Thunderbirds, but James beat me to the punchline Moving on. A small but very pucker filled update this evening folks. I left you the other day on tenterhooks after failing miserably with two attempts at transfer sticking. My plan going forward from there was to use the transfer as a template and cut the reverse Bat symbol out of masking tape and spray black on top of the Italian Red. Then I changed my mind. I wondered if I could salvage just the Bat portion of the transfer cos I quite liked the quaintness of the "Batboat" font. Luckily I had two decals to play with. On my first attempt at Bat removal I tried cutting right on the edge of the black bat. Stupid idea! One decal left - this time I tried cutting while staying on the red but cutting as close to the black as I could without actually touching it. Pucker factor 6 out of 10. Success though. As it turned out, the red of the decal is very close to my choice of paint. Would it release from the backing paper yet again? Would it break up? Would it stick to the base? Pucker factor 8 out of 10. It took a while but it did release... mostly. There was one small tear and one stubborn crease, but worth a bat-chance. On placing the transfer into the oval recess I discovered that Polar Lights didn't even bother to make the darned Bat symmetrical. Placing an asymmetric Bat inside an oval with no location references was a bit traumatic. Whatever will be, will be. Then, as I was patting everything down... Holy Pucker Batman! Pucker factor off the bat-chart! Will our dynamic dunderheid pull the bat out of the hat and save the day? Or will our ornery heid-the-baw spit the dummy and let the Batboat sink into batblivion? Will our one winged bat spiral from the sky and splash down in ignominy? Stay tuned in the hope that something goes right for once. Well, after a few curses and some other persuasive language, we managed to bring the injured bat wing home to the lop sided bat. We still have that stubborn crease on the left as we look at it (just above the "B"), but I can (almost) live with that. I was a bit reticent about flooding the sticker with MicroSet as the last transfer was a bit scary, so I applied it sparingly a couple of times and have now left it to see what happens overnight. If this works, there's just a few paint touchups on the base to go, followed by the ceremonial clear coating to finish it all off. If not, it is a whole other plan to be conjured up and executed.

Thanks Terry, Alex and Giorgio Nearly there indeed! I must admit my love for this kit has withered, especially after seeing a 'proper model' in the display cases at the Midlands museum I think @The Spadgent or @81-er took some photos for me - feel free to post them here Johnny / James and you'll see the difference between a proper modeller and kit builders like me. Has to be finished though. After drying overnight she's on her legs: This has allowed me to test the ramps: The wing roots aren't as good as I thought: …so that's had some filler and the ramps have been glued: I've also redone the internals: Better.

Airfix Workbench - New Airfix Jaguar makes final approach https://uk.airfix.com/community/blog-and-news/workbench/new-airfix-jaguar-makes-final-approach https://uk.airfix.com/products/sepecat-jaguar-gr1gr1a-a11010 Scheme A – SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1 XX724, No.54(F) Squadron, Royal Air Force Lossiemouth, Scotland, 1974. Scheme B - SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1A XX741, No.6 Squadron, Royal Air Force Coltishall, Norfolk, England, 1990-1994. Scheme C - SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1A XZ118/Y ‘Buster Gonad’, Operation Granby/Desert Storm, Muharraq Airport, Bahrain, October 1990 – March 1991. Scheme D - SEPECAT Jaguar GR.1 XZ101 No.II(AC) Squadron, Royal Air Force Laarbruch, West Germany, 1976. V.P.

Greetings! After collecting and analyzing all errors, we made a correction. Below we want to demonstrate the corrected options. Mig-19PM: Mig-19P: In the near future we plan to print the decals.

Hello, just finished my Ki-51 from Ukrainian company Wingsy Kits. OOB build but with metal exhausts from RexX have been used. Hope you like it.

Thanks Chris, given what I've seen of your work, I'll take that. My point re kits was that such a large model mustn't sacrifice tiny details as you well know. I've said before, the measure of a good model is that it gets better as you look closer, simple. Anyway, this little update is just for you. I'd been giving some thoughts to the mooring pipes when I stumbled on a YouTube video of a guy making the flared cowl for an early Victorian steam engine, of course a curved outer mould is the answer 5 minutes on the lathe got me this With a short length of annealed brass tube and a few taps from a doming punch, then flattened slightly in the vice Perfect Funny how little things can make you happy Cheers Steve

More: Here's the low-down. The shape of the side window for the front canopy, as supplied in the kit, is wrong. My intent was to sand the canopy completely smooth, polish everything back up and let my masking fix that. But, the panel lines for the canopy are engraved - so much for that plan (I don't have any clear putty). I decided to just mask everything (to the correct shape), paint it and see how it goes. And the answer is - meh. The engraved lines that ended up being painted over are still quite visible and just look weird. The canopy is not attached yet, so if I get another brainstorm it will be accessible. I suppose I'll have to strip the paint, fill the panel lines and find someone to vacform a copy or two. If I can get that far, I can cut things open and display the canopy open in all its silly design. It's a thought anyway. In the meantime, I think there is just the nose probe and weather vanes to finish. I can still do the FOD covers, of course, but I'm not sure they're needed. The interior of the intakes is very dark - you can't see anything in there. You may recall that I cut out the bulkhead that was close to the front of the intakes - that really helped. Cheers, Bill PS. The boarding ladder is just about done. I thought about using the PE as a template and making the ladder from styrene rod, as someone suggested, but the actual ladder was made from flat tubing so the PE is more accurate. Whew - saves me from some more work!

I know what you’re thinking. Another? Maybe we’ve had enough. Well, after my Fairmile D, which had me from hello with its shark mouth, I had a completely different new project in mind. But at @robgizlu’s suggestion, I bought Coastal Craft History Volume 4, based upon his cluing me into ML 231’s crazy disruptive camo scheme on p. 28. I was smitten. Mindful of copyright concerns, I’ll not post a scan from the book, but I believe the pics upon which Mark Smith based his colors and drawings are in the public domain: I can’t resist. I am now in receipt of Gord’s ( NeOmega) fine Fairmile B offering. @Faraway gave a most thorough rundown of the kit’s content, so I will not go over that. ML 231 had an entirely different armament suite from the kit, so I have a Micro Master Hotchkiss 3 pdr (if you know, you know) and will scratch a Holman Projector, following @Ngantek’s superb lead. I have some Lambert drawings. What an awkward, gangly, ungainly piece of kit Pneumatic? I guess it looked good on paper. Going to have to add a twin Lewis mount aft as well. I have commissioned some bespoke hull pennant numbers and draft marking decals from the most excellent Canadian outfit, Above and Below Graphics. Canadian postal costs are eye watering, but Andrew’s products are astounding and worth it. So off we go . . . Best, Jeff Sent from my iPhone

Just completed my Monogram ProModeler F-4E. It is the Hasegawa E with the J kit "hard wings", i.e. no leading edge slats. Overall not a bad kit for its age, but the Hasegawa molds were getting old by the time these kits were produced. Here is the build thread: The inspiration for the build was this photo, posted on the F-4 google group that I frequent. It is also on the Phantom (or maybe the 388th TFW) Wikipedia page, so not copywrited I guess. Here is my interpretation in 1/48th. Paints are a mix of different brands because I didn't have all of the colors in one brand. FS 34079 dark green and 34102 medium green are Hataka lacquers. FS 30219 tan is a mix of Testors Model Master enamel FS 30219 and ~40% flat white to lighten it up. The underside FS 36622 light gray is Vallejo White Gray acrylic. The Hataka lacquers are easy to work with and cover very well, but I didn't have the tan or light gray that I liked. Metal areas on the tail are Vallejo metal color acrylics. Decals are likewise a mix of kit decals, which worked ok, Caracal star and bar insignia, and on the tail Aeromaster "JV", Detail & Scale "AF 70" and another white number set for the "301". If the weather was better here in the Pacific Northwest today I would have taken some photos outside, but we have low overcast and steady rain. Maybe next week I can take it outside. External stores are the kit AIM-7 in the left forward missile well, Royal Jet 600 gal centerline tank, Hasegawa weapons set AGM-112 Bullpups on the wing inboard pylons and outboard MERs with Eduard SUU-30 cluster bomb units. The CBUs aren't actually correct per the source photo, but as close as I could find last year. I just saw a couple of weeks ago the 48ers had a set that were correct, with the flat plates on the tips of the tail fins. Forgot who makes them... A couple of notes on the above photo: The camo on some of the USAF jets wrapped around the leading edge of the wings a bit. I opted for that here. Also, since the Hasegawa intakes just end, rather than paint them black I went with white and made some engine compressor face drawings on the computer and glued them inside against the back wall. Almost looks like engines back there. I did this on a Hasegawa F-16 several years ago and it looked ok. In the real world the engines put out a lot of black smoke and the soot blanketed the tail. I just sprayed some diluted flat black behind and under the nozzles and stabs. No need to fancy it up with heat-stressed metallic golds and blues. Questions and comments welcome. Thanks for following along.

Spitfire L1070. XT-A, 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron, somewhere over the Firth of Forth, 16 October 1939… After about a year on-and-off I finally called her finished, appropriately it was on St Andrew’s Day! Stickleback is the first half of my 1/32 ‘Dogfight Double’. See link: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235027828-ju88-dora-heinrich/ …but there’s one GLARING omission, something missing from L1070, which I hope fellow Britmodeller Members’ may help rectify. Please see below* But first - the Spitty piccys!

Thanks to you all for looking in, liking and commenting! Portholes are drilled And details added to the bridge superstructure piece Some of the inner recesses were sprayed with a Grey-black before arriving at this.. Railings were added to the quarterdeck And whilst being built I used the kit base which is entirely acceptable... The hangar structure was assembled and the folding door was cut so as to appear half open I would characterize general fit as being good rather than excellent - some of the locating lugs are a tad too big and need reducing and some filler seems necessary though this might just reflect my clunky build I received deliveries from Starling and Swordfish yesterday all relevant to the Type 42 builds... The Starling Mk 8 turret is really nicely done... And some Flight deck crew The Swordfish boats are an improvement on the kit offerings but were a mild disapointment in terms of fine detail - certainly nowhere near Micromaster/BC level. However they are at least are producing parts for modern RN subjects so beggars most definitely cannot be choosers Once the deck is fitted to the hull access to the quarter deck will be denied so there's no option but to finish this first. I primed with Mr Surfacer 1500 - at the suggestion of @Dads203 Dan. And an excellent suggestion too - I thinned near 50 : 50 with Mr Hobby levelling thinners and airbrush cleaned with Cellulose thinners. It laid very nicely, at least as nicely as Mig A Stand with possibly better coverage and less smell. Prop shaft fit was not perfect and needed some fettling So this is where I'm at currently... This site has proved Very useful for it's info and analysis: https://www.hmscoventry.co.uk/d118/modelling-hms-coventry/ After a lot of online rooting and research - I've reached some conclusions: - Glasgow had her hull pennants painted over as per general Falklands Type 42 practice. It's uncertain whether her Stern numer was like-wise treated - The Black ID band reached down to the boot topping contradictory to the Foreart instructions and decals. We must Remember that Argentina had 2 Type 42s in her fleet!!! - Glasgow had her Flight deck marking s painted out - likely painted over in Dark Sea Grey. Interestingly shots of Sheffield after her exocet hit show that she retained hers. - It is highly likely that she carried a bridge roof Union Jack - I have found no information or photos that give clue to what colour her anti-fouling was. Coventry had Black-Grey and FWIW Nottingham as a Batch 2 had red. In the absence of any further info, I'll be using Red - Her ship's boats were painted Light Weatherworks Grey - Her Lynx appears to have been in Oxford Blue - it seems that only after the war were the lynxes repainted Dark Sea Grey. @Ex-FAAWAFU Crisp - does this seem correct by your recollection? Thanks for any info and direction on this. Certainly the You tube video dealing with Glasgow during the conflict shows her Lynx armed with Sea Skua in Oxford Blue with "dulled down" Blue/Red roundels. My understanding is that Sea Skua had not been officialy cleared for carriage prior to the conflict so it seems compelling that these photos do show the Glasgow "cab" in Blue during the conflict. Thanks for looking - more soon Rob

After an excessive dry time ( o assume to some ) I had the nerve to mask the body and shoot two coats of XF-69 Nato Black thinned with MLT. I was on and done in one sitting, tape went off after 15 minutes without a hiccup. I’m happy with the finish, the masking and the colour.

And there is more......

phasers set to kill

Wow! So very close to a Batabort! If all else fails, A large home made POW! decal should do the job. And then onto the BatWessex?

like, about 80 grit

Oh come onnn. That looks beautiful. Not a proper model. Pfft. Yeah right. I didn’t realise everything went in through the nose though. 🤥 Bonkers. Looks ace with the ramps too. Much better internal doors also. more of the same please. Johnny.

Little bit of progress on various bits. Sprayed gear bay last week. Put the various small bits in place, and added a bit of dirty staining to the bay. Bay tested in place after more detail painting. Radiator assy in work, Did a little more work on the engine cowling panels. Erased the bracket you use if you don't install the engine. Panels are fitting even better. Will get these smoothed out and cleaned up. Back to work tomorrow thru Monday. Then hopefully 5 days off.

Hi all Now that the Whirlwind is finished and after a day of 1:1 modelling on the 914, I thought I could spend some time on the Nimrod. Undercarrige rigging added Rudder and elevator control lines added as well as the underwing struts Tailplane rigging added on one side at the mo, using Bob's Buckles eyelets and brass tube. I have used invisible thread, not prototypical but the Uschi rigging I have was too thin and the Prym Knitting in Elastic is too big to get through the tubes Quite leased with that so far. I am knackered though so off for a kip before painting the inside of the car tomorrow. Thanks for looking in. Chris

A typical desk of a 'creative' ... New desk organiser by Mike, on Flickr So I was very happy when my neighbour handed this over the fence! He printed it himself. It's got a few skateboard bearings in it so it's like a Lazy Susan. I'm very happy with it! New desk organiser by Mike, on Flickr

My latest completion, an A-10 in one of the many JAWS schemes. Decals are from the "A 10 Early Years" sheet from Caracal. And a few of his friends

Started to do some weathering, oil wash and an experiment with a bit of toothbrush flicking of some various earthy shades, try to replicate mud flicking up off the road wheels, does that work? Going to add some pigments to beef up the mud.

Giorgio, their highlight is getting to sit in the Batboat. I'll bet that's one riddle that even Batman couldn't get. Holy Polar Lights Batman, looks like you're gubbed! Well I'll be darned if this thing isn't putting up a fight right to the very end. I was hoping to get this out of the way to start a new project, but alas, 'tis not to be. Like all of you who have commented, I'm liking the kit stand. I think it compliments the Batboat nicely and is very much of it's era. Kitsch but classy kitsch. So it was off to the paint shop with it and it got some primer, some coats of many blacks and lashings of clear gloss, which didn't seem to gloss very well for some reason. Nevermind and on with the show anyway. I have two chances at this. though I do have a backup plan if it all goes south. But jumping right in and things aren't looking promising. Holy jumping ovals Batman. Why didn't they make the transfer the same size as the big bloomin' dimple they molded in to the base? Not only is the transfer big enough to climb up the sides but it also folds over the top rim as well as having to confirm to the big compound curves of the base itself. The transfer started breaking up so before things got too out of hand, I removed it and stuck it back on the decal paper... just in case, you understand. Then I had a go at transfer number two. You can guess how that went, so that now brings us to this point... which should put a smile on that Italian fellows face. ...and Italian Red. Getting that paint into the corners (do curves have corners?) proved troublesome and I think I stopped just short of having runs everywhere. Despite metric furlongs of tape, and a small acreage of polystuff, I still managed to get some red on where no red stuff should be. Touch ups will be easy so no big problem. However, I'd had enough of that for one day, and sought excitement elsewhere. Like drilling throttle holes for throttle levers. In case you were wondering, I find that adding a piece of plastic tube to the carbide drills makes them much easier to handle and less likely to misalign, and thus break the tip. Throttle made up from 0.8mm brass rod, soldered, chromed up,and fitted. Dunno wot the dynamic duo were up to in the background but they don't seem at all happy. To ease their pain I stuck some blue-tac on their bums and stuck them in their seats. As luck would have it, Batman can actually grasp the steering wheel... just. While Robin just sits looking out over the waves trying hard not to remember what just happened back there. I'm going to try and finish off the base this week but in the meantime here are a few shots of the finished boat That has been a relatively quick build for me and while not as much fun as I originally anticipated it was still an enjoyable build, and I'm glad I've breathed some life into an otherwise rather mundane and dare I say, another poor kit from Polar Lights. Just the stand to finish now. Just the stand...

Hahaha....sounds like the perfect place to nap....unless you snore really loudly LOL Thanks mate...good to be going again! Thank you.....good to be back again on this! Thanks! Shhhhhhhhh https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/101711-spitfire-vc-johnny-checketts-tamiya-and-lfd-conversion/ Chrome silver, black base and white layering going on.... Cheers Anthony