Smithy

I might be wrong but I thing he might be referring to the photo in front of a hangar at Biggin Hill late '42/early'43. If it's that one, I'm not sure that that airframe has ever been properly matched to a serial. Hopefully though someone might have some new info through matching logbook codes with the ORB's serials.

Stunning work and looks absolutely beautiful.

I still use Humbrol enamels in the tin and much prefer tins. So long as you keep the lip of the tin clean (and it's a darn sight easily to do so than some of those silly bottles) so you can close it properly they will last for absolute decades. Give me tins any day.

I've used Zap-A-Gap for this and it's worked well. A little CA accelerator can help wonders too if you're having trouble getting the things to stick in a short space of time. The thing with the elastic thread method as opposed to the drilled/monofilament, is that you need a very strong and fast curing CA otherwise it would test the patience of a saint! Definitely keep at it as rigging will take it to the next level and with a build as pretty as you've already done, it'll be an absolute stunner.

Well done it looks terrific! Rigging when you start off can be tricky and a Camel isn't the easiest one to try straight off the bat. Try using some elastic thread that they sell in knitting shops as it's probably the easiest method to start with. Cut the thread about a half cm to a cm shorter than what you need, dab of CA on the end, set it where you want it, let dry, using tweezers pull it taut to where the other end will fasten, dab of CA, hold a few seconds to set. All done and onto the next one! Won't give the structural strength that drilling and monofilament will but it works. Once again well done and from having a look at your build thread you did a great job of correcting the problem with the wing angles 👍 👍 HOOO-RAY!!!! as Flashy would say 😉

Thanks for the tip on the dihedral and the wheel well fix for it Ginger, much appreciated. It really is a great kit. The more I've been working on it, the more I like it.

Very small update as I've been very busy with other things and haven't had a lot of time to do any modelling. However I did get the Sutton harness done. It's just strips of Tamiya tape painted and then given a wash to give it a bit of depth. This build will have the canopy closed so I think it should do the job. Even though it'll be closed, I couldn't help giving the cockpit sides a wash. Silly as you really won't see much of them but I always get a buzz out of doing this and the way it makes the cockpit detail "pop" that little bit. Some other little bits and bobs... The instrument panel and gun sight has been painted black and glossed for the instrument decal which I should get on today. The spade grip on the control column has been drilled out using a pin vice drill as it was a solid piece of plastic. The eagle-eyed will notice that one of the prop blades has been removed along with the spinner and back plate. So if I get the time today it would be nice to get the prop unit assembled. Thanks, Tim

Melvyn is spot on and it's a doddle to use. I often use monofilament when I want extra strength on a rather delicate biplane but I've use the knitting elastic before and it works brilliantly where you need rigging but the structure isn't so delicate. It would be perfect for a Walrus. As Melvyn also points out this is the same stuff that some specialised model supply companies have repackaged and whacked a 800% price increase on it. The cuddly old lady in the knitting shop will indeed save you money!

Just depends on how dark and concentrated I want the wash to be. For panel lines I use a very light wash as this looks more realistic and I'm not personally a fan of that so-called "Spanish School" of weathering. For other things like dirty wheel bays I'll use a bit more paint in the wash. The beauty of making them yourself (apart from saving your hard earned cash) is that you can vary the concentration of the washes and obviously the colours. I use a screwtop from a bottle, add thinner and then usually a drop or two of paint. Always start with less paint and work up until you get to what ratio you want because you can always add more paint, you can't however take it out! It's super easy to do and because I use an acrylic clear coat if I make a mistake I can use a cotton bud dipped in clean enamel thinner to remove the wash and then start again. Give it a go as it's a piece of cake!

Thanks guys, much appreciated! I have Airfix's old mould 1/48 Hurricane on the go at the moment but you're seriously on the way to convincing me to make the Fury my next "to do" afterwards

Great work and I was particularly pleased to see one of Fiske's Hurricanes as I have been researching him for nearly 2 decades now, and modelled his most flown and normal mount UF-E P3383 awhile back (the build is on Modelingmadness if you want to have a look). UF-H P3358 was obviously the aircraft he was mortally wounded in. Just one small correction, Billy passed away the next day (the 17th August) and not 48 hours later. Always wonderful to see Billy remembered with a great looking model.

Using that logic, here it would have to be a super speed build to keep the chill at bay! I was actually looking at the Fury the other day and thinking I must pull it off the shelf. It's a great kit and it's gone together well. I used an aftermarket decal set and they don't quite fit so there's quite a bit of touching up with them. Pretty sure I've posted this here on BM before but here she is again anyway as she stands...

More likely to be snow here old boy!

Pleased you liked it Troy. As for the spinner, as you probably know 19 Sqn played around with different colours on them during 1940. This is interesting because of the two tone nature to it. Sadly it's the only photo of a 19 Sqn Ib from the 3 or so weeks they had them.

I have the Lindberg boxing of this kit on the Shelf of Shame sitting half finished. It's a jolly nice kit and I really must pull my finger out and finish it! Definitely worth devoting a weekend to that and sorting out the damage. It actually shouldn't be too much kerfuffle to do it, just will take a little time. Perfect for a rainy weekend.

Here you go, as promised the only known photo of one of the first operational Ibs serving with 19 Sqn. The photo was taken at Fowlmere probably mid to late August. Unfortunately no serial number or coding is visible but of interest is the spinner tip which has been painted a light colour.

Subsequent to the photo of one of the prototypes posted by AltcarBoB above, there is only one known photo of the first operational Spitfire Ibs with 19 Sqn. It was taken at Fowlmere and I'll post it this evening when I can scan it.

Thanks John and it's nice some are interested. The problem is that it doesn't feel worth going through the bother of making a thread, taking the photos, formatting them, etc, for few, if no one to comment. It will be finished I just needed a break to cool down as I was pretty annoyed with dropping it. Oh and I've discussed "that" cowling with many, many people over the years including Alex Revell. There's a few things which have turned up and not been published which I think reinforce the idea that if the cowling did carry the face on the 23rd September then it was almost certainly chrome yellow and not green. But that's probably for another discussion! And apologies @Pauls9cb if I have distracted this thread from your superb Voss builds!

Hi Dennis, Thanks for the interest. My Roden kit came with the white face decal which is actually rather difficult to see on the sheet. Sadly I've had two WWI WIP threads on here, one the Fokker and the other a Roden 1/48 SE5a and neither elicited interest, the Fokker none whatsoever. I think that you're right that there is limited interest in WWI modelling here so a lot of people don't bother to look at, let alone follow, WIP threads for them. It's a little disheartening though to start a thread and go through the trouble of adding photos to feel like you're talking to an empty room. But that's how it is, I'll probably post my WWI stuff over on the WWIaircraftmodels forum from now on and do my WWII modelling here as this seems to be the focal point for here. Here's the most recent photo of the Roden with a Zippo lighter to show scale - it's tiny! This was before attaching the wings and "the accident". And yes I'm in the Alex Imrie camp when it comes to the colour of that cowling!

It is a bit of a nostalgia kick. I'm thoroughly enjoying it so far and it really is surprisingly nice for its age. Still pottering along with the office, making the Sutton harness at the moment and some work on the prop. Hopefully should have some worthwhile progress to show tomorrow in a photo or two.

As they say back home John, sweet as bro Lovely work once again!

Hi all, I thought that I'd start a WIP for my next build, the venerable old mould Airfix 1/48 Hurricane I. I recently dropped a model I was working on and although it's fixable it's very fiddly, and so I wanted something to take my mind off it and which was a fairly straightforward build. I've had this in the stash for quite a few years and although I've got the newer tool Airfix version, I've always found this a charming kit, probably because it's from around when I first started playing around with models as a kid. Sure it's got raised panel lines and doesn't have the finesse of a more modern generation kit but it's actually pretty good. The fabric effect on the fuselage is much better than the Hasegawa version I've made before and after putting it on the Arthur Bentley drawings, the shape looks pretty much spot on. I'm not planning anything fancy with this, just a nice out of the box build and using the canopy included, so she'll be buttoned up. As a result I'm not adding anything to the office except for a Sutton harness. Just started with some preliminary painting in the cockpit, the clear parts have been dunked in Reflex floor polish and are curing. Paints are good old Humbrol 78 and Hobbylack silver. Only a couple of pics, first the obligatory box art and sprue shot of the modest progress so far.

Nice work and well done! I've got Voss' F.I on the go at the moment with Roden's 1/72 kit and have made a WIP thread for it, although I found there wasn't really interest in the thread sadly. It's actually on the backburner now anyway after I dropped it. It's fixable but I just couldn't face the kerfuffle of putting it back together again. I like your streaking on the Fokker too, nicely accomplished.

I'm probably old school and a cheapskate but I make my own using enamel thinner and a drop of paint of whatever colour I need. Usually for a panel line wash, it's a very small amount of black or dark grey, for things like wheel wells I'll often use very dark brown.. I use enamel paints but my clear coats are acrylic. Never had any problems using an enamel wash over the acrylic clear coat.

Thirded. I don't like calling anyone a troll either but when someone just keeps doing this over and over again, you do start to wonder.