Jump to content

Adrian Hills

Gold Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    951

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Adrian Hills

  1. Adrian Hills
    Alex, a two from a five. Brilliant lateral thinking. I am now considering matt or gloss finishes when all I really want is subdued satin/matt. Will do the white on the little one first as that can be repainted more easily.
  2. Adrian Hills
    There has been much discussion elsewhere about the fact that Airfix got their British Rail symbol the wrong way round. Below is an image of the hovercraft I will be modelling and below that a comparison of the decal sheets from Airfix and Kelloggs !
  3. Adrian Hills
    Playing with SRN4 Hovercrafts doing such things as making the Airfix 1/144 Princess Margaret to look like it was when I flew in it in 1999 (see my other build in this group) and buying a set of seats from the now scrapped hovercraft I thought I'd go a bit further. On ebay a chap was selling the "Six inch" snaptite kit which was released by Kelloggs and could be purchased if you saved enough cereal box tops. My brother and I had the hydrofoil and the oil rig, but I didn't know they did an SRN4 !! So here it is. I will be doing this also as the Princess Margaret but when it was operated by Seaspeed in their white and blue livery. As you can see it is quite basic but I'm sure with a lick of paint it will be quite presentable 🙂
  4. Adrian Hills
    What has been exercising my mind is the decalling. I played with the computer and found Calibri bold font wasn't too far from that used by Hoverspeed. I have some clear printable decal film so when I have worked out all sizes by printing on plain paper will have a go at making decals !
  5. Adrian Hills
    I have now bit the bullet and attended to the misfitting skirt bits. Actually it wasn't that difficult as I just used plasticard, superglue and a modified wheel to fill the biggest gap on the back. An aircraft wheel was plugged in here and then another little bit of plasticard I then masked the top and hosed the entire underside and skirt in Gunze flat black
  6. Adrian Hills
    It has turned July so it is time to get my skates on. Had a very zenlike afternoon fitting the skirt and enjoying just how interestingly the kit is designed. I'm sure those that have built this kit will say "Yes, but what about the back end?" My theory is the kit designer spent his genius on the front and side and then - quite rightly - his brain exploded. Nothing a half decent modeller can't fudge 🙂 Those that have seen my stuff on here before will realise what an obsessive nutter I am. Perhaps I have already proved it by buying three seats from the Princess Margaret ! However, I saw on ebay that a chap is selling the "Six inch" Kellogs snaptite kit. Just couldn't resist (He has another one up for sale). I reckon it is about 1/397 scale and might be fun to put it alongside the bigger one, both Princess Margarets but I think the little one could be done in the blue Seaspeed livery - it comes with the decals !
  7. Adrian Hills
    Chin up mate. I have just got back to the modelling bench to fit the skirt. It seems each part needs to be adjusted- but then again that is why we are plastic modellers. 😊
  8. Adrian Hills
    Hi AirfixPeter, Not sure if you have come across this : Builds - Airfix 1/144 scale SR.N4 Hovercraft | Army Rumour Service (arrse.co.uk). Most useful.
  9. Adrian Hills
    Was hoping you would have got a bit more done. I’m sparking up again so let’s get these both done for the deadline 😊
  10. Adrian Hills
    Dave, I’m in the same position as you. Busy. But let’s make an effort to get these ones wrapped up by the end of this group build 😊
  11. Adrian Hills
    In the summer I do get rather busy with other things. Here you have a little visual story of me picking up 1/1 scale colour reference for the seats for the actual hovercraft I am building. The seats were so cheap and as they 'could' be the ones I sat in I couldn't resist buying some. These chaps at the hovercraft museum loaded the seats into the back of my car
  12. Adrian Hills
    Brad, Excellent choice. Have been obsessed with the Ju F13 recently and have built five, from 1/87 Roskopf kit in Canadian ski plane livery (JBot decals), to 1/72 Leudemann resin conversion for the Belgian pigeon loft. The Revell kit is a good 'un and builds well. No real vices as fit is excellent. Your EAM books reference is exemplary and one of the reasons I built so many (more in the pipeline including the Danzige Luftpost yellow job and the Fiat engined sexy Transadriatica job). As with any ribbed fuselage use your favourite method to get the decals to lay flat. Do not be scared of glossing it heavily as you can flatten the surface when all is secure. Happy modelling
  13. Adrian Hills
    I will be going to see Princess Anne on Saturday 22nd of this month. It is the re-opening of the hovercraft museum. 😊
  14. Adrian Hills
    What is wonderful about this kit is that practically all the parts are numbered, on the piece. This made it very easy to do an inventory and find out what parts were missing. I am sure Airfixpeter and myself will have a lot to discuss 🙂
  15. Adrian Hills
    Finally got around to starting. For this build I have chosen my Airfix SRN4 kit that I bought shortly after 1973. It has been with me ever since, moving from house to house and even to Canada and back. As a result the box got battered and it lost a few parts. Getting on for 20 years ago I bought another kit as it was re-release. I am using both kits for this build as some of the early parts, such as the main base and the hanger floor are warped and 'if I was going there I wouldn't start here ! When they were going to discontinue use of these hovering behemoths I took a flight on one, just to Calais and back. Mobile phones had come in, but I hated them. However, I borrowed a phone just so my first call was "Hello Mum, I am on the hovercraft". I saw this same machine, Princess Margaret, a few months later looking very sorry for itself - now just a museum piece. My original box, released 1973 below and above it the 2002 release. This fuzzy picture illustrates the warping of the hanger deck Not all the old stuff is bad. The 1973 roof is the clear one on the left whereas the 2002 one has already yellowed. I will be choosing the clear roof option. And here you see the start of my build. 'Eee lad, for forty seven years I have dreamed of painting the hanger deck floor that particular brick red'
  16. Adrian Hills
    Do it, AirfixPeter. I haven’t started my build yet, hopefully tomorrow, as I will be doing an SRN4 I have had since 1973. I have a ‘donor’ kit as my original has been through a few house moves including going to Canada and back have distorted some of the original parts. I will be trying to depict “Princess Maragaret” as she was when I travelled on her in 1999. I visited her as a museum piece the following March. The Hovercraft Museum is opening on May 22nd. I’ll be there As an aside i have some “Hoverspeed” Letraset, leant to me by the museum 20 years ago. Useful for letter artwork. cheers Adrian question is “Glass roof or solid” 😊
  17. Adrian Hills
    If this build does get through the Bunfight I will go under the name CanAdrian 🇨🇦
  18. Adrian Hills
    Yes, I’m a Canuk by naturalisation. I emigrated there in ‘89, got Citizenship and the back to Britain in ‘96. It was in Canada that I got a real thirst modelling as an adult. I was in a club in Waterloo, Ontario that met every Wednesday evening and Sunday. Good way to get through the Canadian winters 😊
  19. Adrian Hills
    Pat, good subject. It might amuse you that I made this kit once but converted it into the Miles M24 - a prototype ‘panic’ fighter. Whatever you do don’t do the same as it won’t be eligible 🤪
  20. Adrian Hills
    Dermot, you are a brave man to use the Airfix kit. Might I suggest the fastest way to take the dots off is with a hand held Stanley knife blade - ie not in the holder. It is reasonably quick, I use this method on all old Airfix. The surface then cleans up nicely with wet and dry. Hope I’m of help 😊
  21. Adrian Hills
    As a Canadian citizen I think I should look into this one and vote for it in the bunfight. I have a Junkers 52 (single engine and J Bot decals) and a Canuck Junkers W34 - So count me in 🙂
  22. Adrian Hills
    It is really nice to hear so many good words on my build. Makes me want to build more. Cheers Adrian
  23. Adrian Hills
    Vickers 432 high altitude interceptor. 1/72 Kora resin kit. Out of the box with various aftermarket decals . The 432 was designed as a high altitude interceptor to combat the intruding Luftwaffe high altitude reconnaissance and bomber aircraft such as the diesel engined Junkers 86s. The prototype aircraft, which was to be pressurised, had various problems with both stability and engines. Vickers had a lot on their plate at this time in both production and development and decided not to pursue the project. The Kora kit was reasonable with the usual drawbacks of resin manufacture. A struggle, but an enjoyable struggle 🙂
  24. Adrian Hills
    That'll do.
  25. Adrian Hills
    Had a go at the quick and dirty solution by refining a bit of cured Milliput. I always have a bit left over so form the scrap into a shape 'that might be useful one day'. Here you see the bench vice holding the bit I have shaped for pull moulding. This is an example of what it looks like. I do multiple pulls and use the best one. This was a very quickly produced first pull to see if I was going in the right direction. I then refined the plug twice more to get a lower profile but with slightly wider base. Cutting canopies at each step. The plastic was taken out of the recycling bin and the unused bits are returned there. In the end I wasn't happy with anything that I produced and started getting frustrated. In a sh*t or bust move I decided to use the original undersize canopy and tack it into place with superglue. NEVER do this as it is easy to fog a canopy and destroy it. I glued one edge and held it in place - when glue was stiff I then used superglue to bridge the gap on the other side. after a few more tacks. Going away and breathing steadily I returned to it and saw it hadn't fogged - Hallelujah !! the rest was filled in with Humbrol clear. Time to leave it for tonight. It needs to be 'on the table', ie photographed for my IPMS Mid Sussex virtual club night tomorrow.
×
×
  • Create New...