Adrian Hills

I think I’ll go for the ‘other option’. Having done a 12 hour build before, I know that by the end I was so full of pizza that I couldn’t get my wings straight! Having a second 12 hours will certainly help! Have been thinking of my subject from kits from my stash. Matchbox Seafox or Walrus. Both good kits and build well. But couldn’t do rigging in that time as I find it stressful. Or Old kits, Frog 1/79 scale Blenheim mk1 or Kader 1/152 Sunderland ! Choices, choices

Hmmm, might be an excuse to build my Antares conversion for the Heinkel 177 to the He 274. An interesting high altitude bomber ‘overrun’ by the French when they took back their own airfield and the aircraft was left. The French completed it and flew it - even piggybacked experimental aircraft for aerodynamic testing. Hmmmm !!

I’m up for it. Subject to be announced closer to the time 😊

For me it could be three kits. An Airfix SRN4, which to be honest I never got round to building. I still have the kit !!! Jacque Cousteau’s Calypso, complete with submarine and helicopter. Re bought that kit recently. Or the one I really lusted after but could never afford - The BIG Airfix Bentley.

Things are easy when they are fun to do. I find the most important thing is to have the attitude ‘that looks about right’. Lets face it, its not going to be perfect, but at least with my attitude I get things done. I find ‘rivet counters’ are too busy just doing that, and become scared to do anything.

Second batch of Milliput for morning. Hope this cleans up ok !

A morning of Milliputting. It was going off after the first one so had to get best shape possible. Hope to thin porky one down (nearest camera) - if possible !

Well Bob, you’ve got your head above the parapet. I hope you have plans to build one for this group build. 😊😊

Now refined lower section of nacelle, compared it in dimension and positioning with 1/72 nacelle and fitted air intakes (bits of straw). Since the photo below I have added a centre divide. Tomorrow will coat in Milliput.

In the lovely sun a bit of al fresco modelling. Fortunately the light wind blew away the Milliput dust. I now have shapes about right (nothing is perfect with me). Next stage will be to add air intakes.

Splendid job, very clean. Also well photographed 🙂

Shortened pressure vessel section slightly. Grafted on a specially selected section of lower nose to get a better profile for the massive forward air intake. Nothing like a bit of al fresco modelling. Now time for my daily exercise.

Hi Troy, Apart from the fact I don’t have a scrap Stirling kit I looked at the distance and didn’t think a Stirling undercart would be long enough. I have an Italeri mk V that I wasn’t prepared to rob for this model. Being a big four engine it also gives more space in my display cabinet as it is on a stand. 😊

Lets see 😊

I have now seen the film Nebesti Jezdci. First I must point out that I have a degree in Film Studies, and have taught it at Uni. I therefore spent four hours watching the 91 minute film as I did lots of rewinding. I viewed the film in 16 X 9 aspect ratio but I suspect it is 14 X 9, I had to use the wider format as subtitles disappeared in the latter. Below are some basic pictures taken with my phone from the screen. Certain interesting things came to light ! Firstly, I think the fuselage of the Lisunov was decked out with geodesic webbing and formers. Note, these formers are round like a Lisunov, nothing like the more oblong shape seen in a real Wellington (I visited Brooklands last year were I walked inside a Wimpy). Rather than use the converted Lisunov they may have of course built a special set - if so why not make it more Wellington rather than Lisunov shape ? There are three interesting ventral lights behind the bomb aimer's window only seen in this shot. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me was the possible writing off of a real aircraft !! Unlike various commentaries of the film the Lisunov is NOT crashed into water. The non-flying prop is seen to crash into bushes as it goes along the ground. This is clearly recognised in the film as the crew are injured - badly. After recovery some of the crew fly in a second aircraft (E 2169 not Lisunov P 2469). This aircraft is shot down and is seen, in a continuous sequence, crashing into water ! Either it is a real aircraft or a large scale flying model. I will leave you to decide - See below

Had a bit of 'sort of' success with my 'pressure vessel nose'. After doing more pull moulding I finally got enough good shapes to cut and join. The first glue I used was from Hobbycraft and NOT superglue, it was crap. I used a new tube which I bought from a local shop and this bonded the clear bits to plasticard. I don't expect the sides to be perfect but hope to disguise the join with Milliput like I did on my Wellington twenty odd years ago. I took a saw to the fuselage and blended the shape to fit curvature The diameter looks about right -phew ! The nose looks a little long. I'll sleep on it and tomorrow may shorten it a little.

The 1/48 Zwilling is from ICM and has a 740mm wingspan !!

A friend in my model club, IPMS Mid-Sussex, has just received a 1/48 Zwilling. I’m now trying to persuade him to join our group build. He’s good in 1/48 and has done an excellent Manchester using a Paragon conversion so the German behemoth should be a piece of cake 😊

Build it, you know you want to ! 🙂

Yes. Simple google search will show it is still available for about £15 😊

Today we were lucky enough, and live close enough, to take the puppy out for a walk by the Long Man IMG_0898 by arhills, on Flickr

Empirical research, just arrived from Prague 🙂 IMG_0896 by arhills, on Flickr IMG_0897 by arhills, on Flickr

Manuel, You will note I didn’t confront this problem by making the kit ‘wheels up’ 😉 I did read once that experiments were done with the Albermarle tricycle undercart with ‘12ft’ oleo legs. However, in this circumstance that wouldn’t be enough. Shortening the ventral ‘tail’ section, which would shorten the oleo legs, would have put the tops of the tail endplates in the rear turret firing line. So all in all it was a bit of a pig in a poke ! I especially like the Halifax undercarriage doors which allow the tyre to protrude in case of a carriage up landing - totally useless on an aircraft like this. However, building it was a lot of fun and taught me a lot about grafting shapes together 😊😊

More pics IMG_0870 by arhills, on Flickr IMG_0879 by arhills, on Flickr

At last, Done it !! IMG_0873 by arhills, on Flickr IMG_0881 by arhills, on Flickr IMG_0888 by arhills, on Flickr IMG_0883 by arhills, on Flickr