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Many thanks...I am pleased with how it's turned out. The fit of the parts was excellent....Airfix have done a superb job in my opinion. I would highly recommend the kit....go for it!

Many thanks, Dave. Go for it....you definitely won't be disappointed!

Brilliant....a fitting tribute! I love the steely eyed look of determination on the Spit pilot's face!

Many thanks, Pete. The kit is so nice I'd happily build another in a different scheme.....with wings folded next time.

Many thanks....thought it must be something like that. Is there any information anywhere about how many posts are needed to move through the various levels of member status?

I've been a member of Britmodeller since 2011 but I'm still described as a "new member", which time-wise I definitely am not. Is there a way for a user to change that or does it depend on something other than length of membership e.g. the number of posts or community reputation that each member makes?

I've finally finished it! Here's a link to it in the "Ready for inspection" section: Thanks for looking!

Here's my attempt at the 1/24 Hellcat by Airfix. Apologies for the photos but as you'd expect this is a big beast so it's very difficult to get the whole thing in shot. It's built out of the box except for a set of HGW seatbelts and some in-wing resin fuel tanks (to avoid seeing empty space inside the wings when looking up through the undercarriage) and a resin engine core, both from Nigel's Modelling Bench. I've built it so that the upper and bottom engine panels are removable so as to see all that lovely detail that Airfix have included. If you're wondering how the unattached panels in front of the cockpit are able to stay in place you can see the complex technical solution I devised in the last photo. I really enjoyed building this kit and the detail that airfix have incorporated is amazing. I didn't use any filler other than to fix a few sink marks in a small number of parts and to smooth the joints on the propeller blades. I did a brief work-in-progress report of the latter stages of the build here: Thanks for looking....stay safe, keep calm....and build models! Next on the bench for me is Trumpeter's 1/32 A-7E Corsair

Right-ho, I'm calling the airframe basically done now. In these final few w.i.p. photos everything is attached except the canopy and propeller. The upper engine panels are removable but shown in place in these photos. I'm currently just finishing off the missiles and bombs and they will be attached when she appears in the "ready for inspection" forum....I'll include a link below when that's done. I'll also be adding the aerial wires. This has been a very enjoyable build...the detail is superb. I don't think I've used any filler other than to sort just a few small sink marks and around the blade joints on the prop. I highly recommend this kit, although it is enormous....remember that is an A2 cutting mat!

Well, I'm onto the final furlong with the Hellcat now. Undercarriage struts, doors and wheels added, canopy masked and painted, engine panels painted, all decals applied to the aircraft, control surfaces attached, most weathering done. Really just a matter of assembling everything and then turning my attention to the ordnance.

Can you fit / buy extra shelves to / for the Detolf? Can't see any mention of such on the Ikea site.

Configuration will probably be one on the ground with everything hanging out and the other kneeling ready for launch. Really tricky to decide on the schemes, but at this point I'm thinking Grim Reapers (can't resist the shark's mouth) and Bounty Hunters. Regarding loadout, really not decided on that yet!

Many thanks, Peter, you won't be disappointed. The attention to detail on this kit is top notch in my opinion. Mind you, because of that it does take a long time to put together, at least in my case!

A really nice start, Peter. I've had 2 of these on pre-order with Hannants for nearly 3 years and they've just arrived, so I'll be following this with interest!

I couldn't resist a quick dry fit of the various components. Tailplanes, wheels, canopy and propeller aren't fixed yet, but hopefully this will give you (and me) an idea of how big this thing is! That's an A2 sized cutting mat that it's sitting on.

A few weeks later and more work has been done on the Hellcat, although, as always, not as quickly as I would like! I've managed to attach the engine. This was not as easy as I expected, since the engine and all of the panels had to be dry-fitted in order to get the angles right and try to eliminate any gaps etc. Holding the engine and then individually the many panels in place, without moving the engine too much took a lot of trial and error. I more or less managed it but it isn't perfect. I also added some "mesh" to the front of the air intakes to hide the ugly seam and locating pins. This was sourced from a Tamiya 1/35 tank left-overs. I also added some copper wire to simulate hydraulic brake lines over the "silver bit" (not sure of correct terminology) of the undercarriage leg, having first sanded off the moulded lines in that area. I masked off and painted the cowl for the "Paper Doll" variant I've also started to apply the decals. I haven't used any clear coat, just sanded things down first using Flory polishing sticks. The decals have gone on very well. I've used the standard process of applying Microset and Microsol. Then applied Flory "Dark" wash.... To end up with this effect, which I think looks quite good. Applying the Paper Doll "face decals" to the cowl and panels is a bit of a challenge, given the curved surfaces. The bottom engine panel in this photo is now glued on, whereas the upper panel is held on with Blutak just while I apply the decals, since I intend to display the engine when the kit is complete. This is how they look when first applied.....not looking good! However with copious amounts of Microsol they did eventually settle down. Some more "Dark" wash has been applied, which will need a tidy up. Propeller isn't glued yet. I've also started applying some "Grey" wash to the wings ..with this result.... More to follow........

I'm now quite well into my build of the 1/24 Hellcat by Airfix, but I thought I'd share some pictures of where I've got to plus some brief thoughts on the build to date. The only after market additions I've used are (1) a pair of resin wing tanks produced by Nigel's Modelling Bench (in order to avoid seeing an empty space inside the wings) and (2) a set of fabric seat belts by HGW. I'll also be using the Eduard canopy mask set (I'm useless at masking canopies!) I've used Mr Color number 365 gloss sea blue for the outside and as you can see I've also started weathering by very gentle use of some ultra fine Flory polishing sanders. In summary, I highly recommend this kit. The fit of the parts so far has been excellent - I've only used tiny amounts of filler in a few small places along the top and bottom seams. There are a few areas of burring here and there (unlike the 1/24 Typhoon, which requires a serious amount of clean-up) but so far this has been very easily sorted with a sanding stick or blade. Two areas that could be improved - the kit seat belts are too thick for the scale - they can be used but the HGW belts are sublime. Secondly the machine gun barrels have very soft detail. I see that Master have subsequently released a set of brass barrels and I would certainly have purchased a set had I not sealed up the wings by now. Otherwise I can't really fault the kit. The engine and cockpit are mini-kits in themselves and the detail is superb. I added ignition leads by using copper wire to my engine. This was extremely fiddly and time consuming but definitely worth it in my opinion. The kit instructions are a great help in showing where the wires should go. On the subject of the instructions, they are generally excellent but I have noticed just a couple of incorrect part number call-outs and some missing colour instructions on a handful of parts. So far I haven't used many decals other than those supplied for the instruments and placards, but they have been fine so far. I'll post up a few more photos as the kit nears completion. If you've been wondering whether to buy this kit then I would say definitely don't hesitate - its too good to miss!

I'm building Revell's 1/48 B-17F Memphis Belle and I wanted to improve the cockpit area with some Eduard colour photoetch. As far as I can see Eduard don't make such a cockpit set for the 1/48 B-17F but they do for the 1/48 B-17G. Could I use the latter with the B-17F kit or were the cockpits different? Thanks in anticipation.

I wish I could say the same! Sadly I've had to pay some sort of fee every time I've imported a kit to the UK from outside of Europe. It depends on the country it's coming from and cost of the kit. I've always had to pay 20% VAT plus £8 handling fee levied by Royal Mail. If it's an expensive kit I've occasionally also had to pay import fees.

Also, whether you had to pay import duty, VAT and Royal Mail handling charges and if so how much? Cheers.

I emailed Hannants UK about likely delivery times and got the following response from them: "According to an email from AMK I received this morning, they are still awaiting instructions and boxes. Hopefully, they will ship within the next 2 weeks or so. As regards actual receipt of the consignment, I normally allow about 4 weeks for the container to arrive so we are looking at end of October/early November" ......Maybe in time for collection at Telford??

That would be good news.....hope you're right!

Just checking on my Hannants UK backorder status for two of these kits, I see that Hannants are now quoting a price of £49.49 each for them......a bargain if you ask me. However, sadly I assume that won't include the ordnance.

Ditto...I also ordered my two from Hannants 2 years ago. Could you let the forum know if you hear anything from them please and I'll do the same.

Absolutely! Looks good to me!