obdl3945

Smart work... very neat and tidy. The rigging is really great, too. Well done... ;-).

Well, a dark green faded scheme, a pale grey-green tail and NMF undersides... what's to like about this? Absolutely everything, actually... 😉. No matter what photo I look at, it just gets more and more interesting; it certainly looks as though it means business, and was always one of my favourite Japanese designs. Very well built and a beautifully executed colour scheme.

Angelo... a lovely piece of work with this kit. I really llike the splinter scheme and the mottled finish. One small point, if I may... if the underwing weapons are supposed to be Fritz X missiles, then their wings are on the wrong way round. I know, it's confusing... you would think the swept-back edge would be at the front to make it more streamlined, but the straight edge was actually the leading edge, and the trailing edge was swept forwards. Still, wonderful work nonetheless and an excellent outcome... a very smart '177' 😉.

Alex, a superb '262'... it really looks the part, and the colour scheme and subtle highlighting is excellent; the engine detail is exceptional. Very well done... ;-). Regards, Paul

Well, that's smart... very smart. Excellent build and paint work. Well done... ;-).

Exquisite work, Neil, on both kits, but the 48 scale offering ticks every box. It was worth channeling all your skills, time and effort for a result like this. Very well done... ;-).

Lovely work, really smart. The last Airfix Anson I built was their old 1/72 scale kit, and that was 50 years ago... yup, I suddenly feel very old! 😟🤣🤣

Andrew, a really nice finish on this kit. In answer to the issue about the four small windows on the upper wing, it's maybe something to consider fitting them into position before painting. If you think they're unlikely to fit properly, then you have two options. I hasten to add the information below can be applied to any kit, and also it's a good habit to get in to by checking through the instruction sheet first to see what stage any smaller transparencies should go in. If they're in a difficult-to-access-later-in-the-build location, they should perhaps be the first thing to address before doing anything else. Doing that will ensure you're not doing an awkward workaround of your paintwork. 1) Carefully sand them to within an inch of their lives and blend them smooth with their surrounding surface. Don't worry about the scratches, if you use progressively fine wet and dry paper, that will smooth them out, albeit the clear parts will be opaque. Then build and paint the kit as normal, working carefully round the windows and masking them off to be safe. Once everything is done and the paint/varnish has dried at the end of the build, go over the windows with a little Revell paint remover - I stress a little - on a cotton bud and dab the cotton bud until most of the fluid is off before you start. You're effectively 'dry-brushing' it on; just apply the paint remover lightly. If your paint/varnish is properly dry it shouldn't be a problem as you need to put a degree of exertion in to the process if you're genuinely trying to remove paint with this product. The remover dries extremely quickly. It'll help remove any debris that remains on the surface of the windows although they will turn opaque again. After ten minutes, use Pledge/Future or whatever the current similar - and suitable - preferred product is these days (thankfully, I still have a bottle and a half of Pledge left to work with), and coat the windows, slowly and carefully, with a thin pointed brush. As it dries, it will bring the clarity back to the transparencies. 2) If you feel you have to discard the windows, try and shape a piece of scrap clear plastic to carefully insert into the relevant space(s). Trim off any excess, and repeat the above process. I've used this routine several times with the Airfix He111 kit; the side windows are the only issue I have with that model - they just don't fit. Fortunately, I found this out early, as I wanted to put those windows in before doing anything else. It took a bit of elbow grease as there are four transparencies on each side, but things came up well. I just had to be careful not to erase any surface detail around the area I was working at. Obviously, engraved detail is a bit easier to clean out if debris accumulates, but if there is any raised detail, then be extra careful when sanding so as to avoid removing the detail completely. As with everything, please test on an old kit before trying this out on your latest opus. If you have old kits with very dusty canopies, gently remove the dust with a soft brush, apply the paint remover, then recoat with Pledge as detailed above. If you've never done this before, I think you maybe surprised at how much of an improvement this brings to transparencies. Happy modelling... ;-).

Perfection... no other comment needed ;-).

A really good outcome on this build, and nice to see an alternative weapons option on the wing racks... the MG pods aren't often seen on these Ju87 models. I also like the 'de-spatted' wheels, showing the undercarriage in more detail, and of course, the engine as well. All in all, excellent work; very well done... ;-).

Lovely kit and a beautiful finish. Yes, this old Airfix kit certainly does have a reputation, but I think we can safely say you've rescued it, big time. Very well done, and congratulaions on the winning the gong - well deserved... ;-).

Great work, Raphael... I always liked this kit when I was a youngster. It went together well and was certainly a different choice of subject back then. I never made the seaplane version, but your finish and colour scheme are both of a very high standard. Nice to see this 'oldie' kit still turning heads... ;-).

Wonderful work, Goran... you got a really good finish on this one. Well done... ;-). Regards, Paul

Thanks for your comments, Miguel... much appreciated :-). Regards, Paul

Hi, John... thanks for your comments. Your own build was very helpful, and it's nice to get this one into my collection, as it's been a favourite of mine for many a long year... ;-). Regards, Paul

Kevin/Joachim/Matt... Thanks to you all for looking in, and your comments. Much appreciated... ;-).

Fernando... thanks for your comment ;-).

Thank you... ;-).

Exceptional work... very well done ;-). Regards, Paul

Gents, you are all very kind with your comments... my sincere thanks to you once again ;-).

Hi, guys... thank you for your comments. I appreciate them very much... ;-).

Thanks, Dave... yes, the camouflage scheme came up well and it's a bit dfferent, too. Glad you like the outcome, and thanks for looking in... :-).

Hi, guys... this is my recent conversion build of Trumpeter's 1/32 scale Me262, from the fighter variant to the reconnaissance version. A good kit to build, although most of the parts have a very tight fit. The conversion set is from AIMS, which provides resin and PE parts. With a little care, everything goes togther well with few issues. The biggest problem I had was of my own making... messing up the underside colour paint work, and had to spend a few days reviving it. Paints were Humbrol enamels and the wave-pattern was applied in both variations of the late-war RLM83 Green shade. Some small access hatches were opened up and new access panels for these were made from plastic card and attached with Tamiya tape using Krystal Klear so as to avoid getting adhesive on the paintwork. All of the additional wiring behind the instrument panel, on the engine, in the wheel and camera bays was made from various thicknesses of fuse wire. None of the detail is intended to be 100% perfect, but I wanted to make it a bit more interesting than just OOB. There are no plastic wheels with this model, only black rubber ones, although having said that, they're probably some of the better offerings I've encountered. I scuffed them up and took the glaring black shade away by applying a cream shade oil paint mixed with a little pale grey onto the tyres and into the tread detail. I left this for 10/15 minutes, then removed the excess, which gave the desired effect. The finished kit, showing 'White 29', was supplied direct to III./EJG2 in early 1945 for training purposes; a small batch of similarly-painted 262s had been delivered to the reconnaissance unit NAGr6, but were almost immediately passed to III./EJG2 for their pilots to get familiarised on the type. I hope you like the images below, and if you want to see the YouTube video build instalments, then the last of four is available here and you can navigate backwards from there to the earlier episodes if you choose. Thanks for looking in... ;-). Paul

Great work and a superb colour scheme, even though it is a single colour. Very well done... ;-).

Lovely work... I like it all, but the rib detail and painting on the undersides of the wings is first class... well done.