nimrod54

Thanks for all of your comments and support guys. I have tried to stay as positive as I can over the last 18 months, pushed on by the the arrival of our first grandchild in January last year. As Dave says it is important to keep your family and friends close at times like this, they can quite often give you lift when you most need it, by reminding you of just how far you have come. My wife has been a rock during the time, and the people here on Britmodeller are great when you need to vent, with one fellow modeller in particular having kept in touch on a regular basis through what I admit is a worry at times. I consider my self lucky to be surrounded by some great people. Time now to start my next project. Kind Regards John

B.Ae. 146-200 (Manuf. Set E2038) Ansett Airlines VH-JJQ Revell 1/144 and Authentic Airliner Decals by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Regards. John

I painted the line around the nose earlier today and took a few photos tonight to wrap this one up. I'll pop a few more over in the gallery shortly. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Thanks to all those who have dropped in to watch progress and those of you who have taken the time to pass comment. I would also like to thank Dennis @Corsairfoxfouruncle and Pat @JOCKNEY for hosting the GB and for allowing my late entry. Having had a cancer diagnosis at the back end of 2023 things haven't been easy over the last 18 months and whilst my last scan results were favourable, it is still a concern, I have an appointment to discuss my latest scan results next week. That is why I haven't committed to taking part in any group builds, but if I feel up to it I may ask if I can join in as a late entrant. Cheers. John

Cheers Dennis. The aerial wires came as a surprise to me too, but they can be seen in the photo linked below, and further searches of VH-JJQ show that they are still in place on a later Ansett Scheme. Development of the 146 started in the early 1970's but was placed on a back-burner due to the oil crisis, British Aerospace relaunched the project in 1978. This airframe, Manuf. Set E2038, was quite an early production build so maybe some of the later modifications were not fitted at the time of delivery to the customer. British Aerospace BAe-146-200A - Ansett WA VH-JJQ Regards John Thanks very much Ray. I am pleased with the way this scheme has turned out. Cheers John.

I have been plugging away at this over the past couple of days and after adding the last few stencils before fitting the engines, I fixed the aerial wires in position as a final job to wrap things up, or so I thought. When I checked the reference photos for VH-JJQ I could see that I had missed a black line which runs around the nose, so here are a couple of photos of the almost completed model, I'll sort out the black line tomorrow and post the final shots when I'm done. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Back with more soon. John

Absolutely stunning collection of models Jorgen, I love the 1955 Cooper. Great job. John.

Thanks for the link to your build, I 'm sure that I will find some useful tips in there. Regards John

I did it on a 1/144 Hawker Hunter a few years ago too, Martin. I put the correct registration on the underside and then the wrong one on the fuselage. Thanks a lot Julien. I saw a lovely photograph of a 748 in this scheme surrounded by snow and mountains in the background. That was enough inspiration for me to build this and apart from my faux pas and the absence of snowy peaks, it's turned out well. John

I got started on the decals today, beginning with the cockpit decals, and following that by adding the window decals to the Port side. Next job was to add the registration code and the correct Ansett title for my chosen code VH-JJQ. Previously I said that I would have a look at the metallic details and make a decision about whether to use them or not, in the end I thought I would see how they went on and put those for the port side of the fin on using a little heat from Mrs N's hairdryer to settle them down, in the end I was impresssed with the result so added the Southern Cross decal to finish the port side. Then it was a case of repeating the whole process for the Starboard side, and I also added a few of the kit stencil decals to finish things off. I will leave everything overnight, then open the holes that are presently covered over with decal. This is how things look at present. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Next job for this will be to press on with assembly of the engines and then get those fixed to the wings. I will also complete the undercarriage doors and wheels, along with the other small details that I can add to the fuselage before fixing the wings in place. Cheers for now. John

That looks like a nice kit Kev, it will look great once completed. I am sure that you have plenty on the go at present, but good luck with your build when you get around to this one. Regards John

Here is my entry for the GB, which I bought when I returned to the hobby in the 80's-90's. You may well ask why - I have asked myself the same question, but hey, we all have an urge to splurge sometimes. Manufacturer - Merit Reference code - 4745 Scale - 1/48 Subject - Avro 504K First released - 1958 by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr One of the options with this kit is that you can paint the markings on if you don't want to use decals, though due to the rough texture I am not sure how good a result would be achieved in either case. by John L, on Flickr This leaflet of other models in the range is also in the box and you can see there is a short list of Merit's planned releases for the 1st January 1958. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr And finally the glue that was included. I can remember these being included in some of the models that I bought before tube cement was in vogue. by John L, on Flickr Regards. John

You're not responsible MJ, I bought this at one of the first model shows that I went to when I got back into the hobby in the late eighties/ early nineties. It looks to be complete but some of the parts are off the main sprues, it even has the glue in the box - though having gone hard in the rubberised tube I suspect it will be past the use by date. I'll start a thread with photos of the box contents. Thanks. John

Not being one of the original signatories for this GB, I wondered if I could be considered as a late entrant with what is the oldest kit in my stash - a 1/48 Avro 504K by Merit. If that is OK, I will start a build thread. by John L, on Flickr Regards John

It's easy to do Dennis, especially when you have the thing on its back and the port wing switches to the starboard side. You just merrily plod along and think what a grand job you've made of putting those on. 😃 John

Mount Cook Airlines HS 748 Srs. 2A/242 ZK-MCA 'Rangitoto' 1/144 Mark1 Models with Classic-Airlines Decals by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Regards. John