nimrod54

Terrific looking model Dave, beautifully finished as per your usual high standard. Well done mate.

The paint arrived on Friday and I have been pushing this one along over the past couple of days, completing most of the chassis assembly a short while ago. There are still a couple of small details to add before it is finished, but the next stage of the instructions calls for assembly of the wheels and following that the drive trains which will take care of all of the etch parts supplied. Here are some photos of the work so far. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr I decided to paint the centre of the flywheel a reddish-purple just to break up the black a little, though the kit instructions do give this colour as an alternative option, matched with the same colour on the engine cylinder. The drivebelt can either be scratch built or the alternative parts can be fitted, which is the option I chose to go with. A bit of a heads up for anyone chosing to go along this route, I would deviate from the kit instructions here and leave off the footboard until after the drivebelt assembly is complete, I found it quite tricky trying to fit the belt sections between the drive-pullies and whilst it is possible it would be easier without the board in place. Whilst waiting for the paint to arrive I decided to tackle the front wheel halves using the etch spokes and jig supplied in this boxing. Here is how they turned out. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr It is now a matter of painting then gluing the two halves together to complete the assembly. That's all for now, back with more soon. John

I can't think why I did not sign up for this first time around Dennis, but please add me to the list. I don't know what is involved in being a co-host, however if you need some assistance I'll step up for that role too. John

Cheers Chris, I have had to send for some paint for a couple of the details, so depending on how long it takes for those to arrive could mean that the wheels are in work sooner than expected. John

Thanks Col,. I've decided to check the door decals too, I have had cases in the past where they haven't matched the kit outlines so I may need to fill those as well. John

Some good progress made with this one. Most of the chassis has been assembled and painted, a number of the smaller sub-assemblies have also been put together. They still have to be cleaned up and then I can start to paint those details before I fix them to the chassis. by John L, on Flickr And here are a couple shots with some of the sub-assemblies loosely placed in position. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Back with more soon. John

A bit more progress made dueing the week, the windows have been filled with Perfect Plastic Putty. which took a couple of sessions to sortI, and once it had dried I sanded back then removed the tape before I polished those areas up. A quick tickle with a scriber sorted out the panel lines and that finished the job. Assembling the wings was the next task followed by a test fit to check the wing/fuselage join, there are a couple of small gaps but overall it looked OK. The edges of the fuselage halve join are quite thin and as a result leaves little gluing area, I might need to add some plastic strips to stregthen that join a little. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Cheers for now. John

This forerunner of the modern car will be my second choice for the GB and hopefully Mrs Benz and her sons will make an appearance too, though I must warn you that my figure painting skills are not that good but we will how they turn out. Here are the box and content shots. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr

It probably was this aircraft Chris. I am pretty sure BA did a single Airbus in the Red Square scheme and a 747 in BOAC Speedbird scheme. John Me too Dennis. I enjoyed seeing BEA's colours during days spent spotting at Ringway in the late 60's/early 70's. John I made a start on the fuselage today, blanking off the windows on the inside with some strips of plastic sheet and masking off the outside ready for some filler. by John L, on Flickr

I hope that this is a suitable subject for this GB, but if @Col. or one of the other hosts could confirm if that is the case before I post a topic, that would be great. According to that font of all knowledge (Wiki) "Widely regarded as the world's first practical modern automobile, and first car put into series production, it was patented and unveiled in 1886". Arguably it could fall under the Prototype, Research or Racer categories (well it would be quick for its day 0-60 in about a week ). John by John L, on Flickr

My apologies for being late on parade chaps, I have been wrapping up a build for the Century Fighters GB (finished yesterday). My first entry for the GB is this Revell Airbus A319 which will be finished in British Airways centenary markings when sporting BEA's Red Square retro scheme. Here are the box and contents photos along with the 26Decals sheet. 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 Time to get on with it now. Cheers. John

Thanks again Craig and for all of your comments along the way through this prolonged build. It was a pleasure to be able take part in this GB mate, things just seemed to tick along nicely and I've had a great deal of fun along the way. I look forward to joining you in future group builds. Cheers. John Cheers buddy, and my thanks to you for also taking the time to drop by and pass comment on progress. I hope that you have enjoyed tagging along and that you are able to have another chance to acquire this kit. Regards. John Here are a few more photos of my second build F-105D Thunderchief - Memphis Belle II USAF, 357TFS, RU-504, 60-0504 Mark 1 Models 1/144 Brush painted with MIG Ammo Acrylic and Citadel paints Replacement pitot Master turned brass by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr and a final shot alondside her stablemate. by John L, on Flickr Well, that's it for this one folks. Thanks again to everyone involved in making this such an enjoyable group build, and a special thankyou to my modelling buddy and fellow Britmodeller @Hockeyboy76 for donating these kits, hope that like what I have done with them mate. John

Thanks Craig. I finally wrapped this one up this afternoon after fixing the drop tanks in place. I have just grabbed a couple of quick photos but I'll take some more and post them here later. John by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr

Thanks for retaining interest chaps, and cheers to @dnl42 for confirming build 1 airframe details. My apologies for the slow progress on build #2, I am busy with a family matter which is taking longer to sort than expected and keeps eating into my modelling hours. That said, I have snatched enough time to wrap up the painting and add a gloss coat, the plan is to get the decals on over the next week, then I should be able to get the last of the details like the replacement pitot and drop tanks sorted. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Cheers for now John

We are surrounded by fixtures and fittings for the bathroom here, but I have snatched some time over the past couple of weekends to progress the painting on my second 105. I brushed on the grey and tan colours last weekend and made a start on the lighter of the two greens today, as you can see, I still have some more to map out before I can start adding a second coat. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Normal service should be resumed next week. John

Well done Paul, you have been nominated for the job of explaining to SWMBO the reasons for me carrying on with my plastic welding. Now where did I put my tin hat.

Fabulous job buddy. That orange really pops out.

I'm sure that the superglue will sort things out Craig, the shallow cuts should give the 'Wafferr Thin' tip enough flex to straighten it. The other option, one that I am hoping to avoid, is to make a replacement from plastic sheet, which won't be easy now that I have glued the wings in place. I won't be rushing to get it finished now though mate, if I get the tip sorted I may get some primer on tomorrow, but that will be about it. I'll just sit back and watch for the other great builds to make it into one of the galleries. John

The second Thud is ticking along but it is looking as though it will not be finished before the deadline now. Work on our bathroom starts on Monday and Mrs N has one or two things for me to sort out before they come. The major part of the assembly work is done, though the wing tip of the starboard wing seems to want to curl upwards. I have tried repositioning it after dipping in hot water but an hour or so later it returns to the previous state. My final effort to try and resolve the issue will be add to add some relief cuts on the opposite side with a scribing tool and fill the grooves with super glue, hopefully that will hold it. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Cheers for now. John

Starfighters in Japan - Part 2 Lockheed F-104DJ Starfighter 018/36-5018, No.202 FIS, 5 Air Wing, JASDF Niyutabaru Air Base, Miyazaki during ACM training, November 1980 1/144 - Mark 1 Models 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 Link to build

Having come across photos of other Japanese single seat 104's displayed as gate guardians, I decided to see if I could do something similar with this build, so I scratch built a pedestal, formed some eyelets for anchor points around the shank of a small drill and fixed everything to a based covered with static grass. As I said in the build thread, I have no evidence that this airframe was a gate guardian but thought that it would be a nice way to display this little model. Starfighters in Japan - Part 1 Lockheed (Mitsubishi-built) F-104J Starfighter 700/76-8700, No.207 FIS, 83 Air Wing, JASDF Naha Air Base, Okinawa 1/144 Mark 1 Models 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 Build thread here

I finished the last couple of jobs this afternoon to wrap up the two seater and complete my two Japanese Starfighter builds. I am not too happy with canopy framing, but I can neaten things up with some thin silver decal if it bothers me too much. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Thanks to all for checking in and taking the time to comment. John

@modelling minion, @Dansk, @Enzo Matrix Hey guys, I don't know if you have noticed that the F-104 Gallery has locked. I have a couple of builds to pop in over the weekend if someone could arrange for it to be opened up. Cheers, John

Splendid looking pitot H - even through the blurry specs.

Cheers chaps. I did a bit of prep on the second kit this afternoon, assembly should be easy but with a complex camo scheme for 'Memphis Belle II' lets hope that I can get it over the line. by John L, on Flickr