nimrod54

I thought that I would kick off the GB with this pair of Masterbox figures from their US Civil War Series. Since returning to the hobby I have had a few attempts at painting figures with mixed results and not really feeling satisfied with my achievements at the end - let's see if I can create a nice vignette with this group of figures. by John L, on Flickr A large frame holds most of the parts for this group wth a smaller section accoutrements for the Scout. by John L, on Flickr Here are a few of my previous efforts. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr And this poor chap ended up looking like he had a bad skin condition. by John L, on Flickr But the Spaniel looked OK. by John L, on Flickr John

I have a couple of candidates for the GB, option one would be this set of figures. I have put a few of Verlinden's larger Napoleonic models together since returning but I have never been completely satisfied with the result, particularly when it comes to getting realistic skin tones and shadows looking right. I have chosen this small scale Yankee Scout and Tracker boxing from MB because I thought that the variation in the figures skin tones would be challenge and, looking to the future, I would like to try my hand at a larger horse mounted figure at some point. by John L, on Flickr The second option would be this Tamiya Tiger I tank. Again, I have had about five or six attempts at Tank building since my return, but by the time I have I have assembled and painted the wheels and tracks I am usually starting to run out of steam and looking to move on to something else or I begin to rush the project in an effort to get it completed which more often than not sees it in a half-finished state. by John L, on Flickr I know @Enzo the Magnificent would say 'build em both' - but I would like to get one finished to a decent standard, let's see how things go. John

Just a brief update, the walkways and anti-glare panel have been masked and brush painted with Citadel Abaddon Black. Once that had dried the intakes were masked up and painted red and I have fixed the undercarriage in place - I know that's a bit of a risky move, hopefully it will survive. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr And a quick look at the Panther shows that it is almost finished. by John L, on Flickr Thanks for checking in. John

Thanks for your comments Roberto and Thom. I haven't moved this on much since the last update. All of the components are ready for fixing in place, but I have taken advantage of a dry spell to do a spot of tidying up around the garden, as well as painting up a couple of other models of course. John.

Great progress JB. Figures not being a strong point of mine led to me buying this set for the Not in my Comfort Zone GB, so I am interested to see how things turn out. Keep up the good work. John

I masked off the orange this morning and then sprayed the remaining areas over with a light grey to act as primer coat. by John L, on Flickr Then, taking advantage of the dry weather it was off outside to airbrush on the white, here she is unmasked. The next job will be to mask up for the black wing walkways and anti-glare panel. by John L, on Flickr Cheers for now. John

That's what I like to see, a man who doesn't muck about with poxy little screws to ensure this is not a tail sitter. A neat bit of over engineering there good buddy, something that Eggembard Kingdom Brunel would be really proud of.

Painting is now underway and I thought that I kick things off with some Orange, so after a coat of white primer on went a few thin coats of International Orange for the VT-26 option given in this boxing. I have been unable to find images of this aircraft other than in a Dark Sea Blue Gloss finish, and those that I have come across for VT-26 have been of a two seater. My copy of Detail & Scale states that single seat F9F's were used as Advanced Trainers, so I guess that this was used by VT-26 at some point, anyway that's what I am going for. by John L, on Flickr I will mask up the orange areas tomorrow, then after another coat of primer to cover the overspray I can apply the white. Oh! and this is on the QT so don't let @Hockeyboy76 know, I had to use some pink stuff on the Panther. John

The Cougar is almost ready for paint. The forward section of the canopy has been masked up and glued in place but I want to try tacking the the rear canopy section in place with some PVA so that I can open it up later, I haven't done that before so we will see how that goes. by John L, on Flickr The Panther is coming along too, I decided to pop a pilot in this one and close the canopy up, here he is painted up. by John L, on Flickr And fixed in place. by John L, on Flickr But as this build is about the Cougar, the F9F-2 may not put in another appearance until the end now. Cheers. John

I thought that would bring a reaction. I don't want to waste it on small bits of orange, I might need it for a big red bus or a 🚒 one day. 😄

You're welcome Dave, the decals were rediscovered in a previously started kit and the Greek markings are 'surplus to requirements'. Enjoy making memories at the GP this weekend. John

Thanks Pat. H will be (un)happy to learn that there may be some orange involved but my precious can of the pink stuff will be staying firmly on the shelf. The Panther needs a bit more sanding to get that ready for paint. Cheers John

Well Dennis, should you ever have need of a set of markings for a Greek A-7 drop me a line. John

My second build for the GB is this F-8E Crusader from Hasegawa no goodies discovered this time though, so it's straight into the box and content shots for this one. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr John

First entry for the GB is this Hasegawa boxing of the A-7 Corsair. There were a few extra goodies when I opened the box, an etch set from Eduard and a metal seat which includes etch straps. I also found a set of decals by Albatros in a Heller A-7 kit which has a commemerative set of markings for a Portugese aircraft, but I would have to check on the type differences between A-7A and P before I commit to using them. Included in the set are markings for a Greek A-7H, so if you think that you can make use of them @Rabbit Leader just drop me a PM with address details and I will pop those in the post for you (and yes I know you live in Aus - but I won't hold that against you ). Here are the box and its content shots along with the extra goodies. 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 by John L, on Flickr Cheers. John

After finishing the intake asssembly yeasterday, the wings and fuselage went together with little issue, there were just a couple of small gaps that required a smear of filler and that was it job done. A spot of rescribing and some further assembly and painting around the cockpit to do today and it should be ready for some paint. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Thanks for dropping in. John

Not too much progress to see on this one over the previous update, the stencils are on and everything has been sealed in with a couple of coats of a satin varnish. I have also repainted the spinner with two of layers of red as per the AWM's example of VX730, which is quite an interesting story in itself see here for more on this, and I have also drilled and pinned the drop tanks and these are ready for fixing in place along with undercarriage doors, prop blades and all of the other miscellaneous bits to finish this one off. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr John

Fresh from a weekend away celebrating the Memsahib's birthday (21... again!!), I thought that it was time for a progress update. I left things with the fuselage having been glued together and this had the joins cleaned up. I have also fitted the intake parts to the starboard side and the wings have been glued up ready for fitting. The nosecone was filled with Liquid Gravity and glue, then everything was sealed in with a layer of blu-tack, taking extra care to keep that away from the glueing surface. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr I hope to fit the port intake parts later then, after checking the nose weight to avoid tail sitting, I can complete the wing/fuselage assembly. John

Can't stop singing this for some reason S&G Cloudy, will there be "a Chance of Meatballs" too? Looking good mate, keep up the egg-cellant work.

Really nice detailing work Adrian. Not overly complicated but just enough to hint at what should be there.

Here is my 1/48 Hasegawa A-7E which was built for the Gulf War 30th Anniv. GB a couple of years ago. This was to be a 'Last Hurrah' for the Corsair, this one was finished in VA-72 Blue Hawk colours. I wanted to depict an aircraft that was coming to the end of its career so the paint was given a faded and weathered appearance. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr I hope to join in with the fun this time with a 1/72 Crusader and if there is time another Corsair. John

I didn't make as much progress as I had expected to over the last week, but all of the main decals are now in place and I have made a start on adding the stencil data. My subject of choice is Sea Fury FB.11 VX730 85 (RAN) Squadron HMAS Sydney, Korea 1952. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Back with more soon. John

I've spent the past few days painting/adding some of the details along with the wing fold area and the stripes, I completed the last of the stripes earlier this evening and have called it a day. There are still a few details like covers and the outboard flap of the Stbd. wing that need some further painting, but I should be able to push on with the decals over the next week now. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Cheers. John

And here she is after her unmasking earlier today, a bit more detail painting with chromate yellow around the wing folds and opened cannon/ammunition bays, along with some black stripes for those white areas, and she should be ready for decals. by John L, on Flickr Thanks for checking in. John.

I started to mask up for the EDSG paint last night and finished that off this morning, then after lunch I was able to take advantage of a break in the weather to get the grey on - it was bloomin' chilly though. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr John