Pappy

It had to come out sooner or later, Pappy

Kalispera megale, ti kaneis? Efharisto poli O papathis

G'day all, This the Italeri' 1/35 S.L.C "Maiale", a submersible used by the Italian special forces during WWII. They managed to sink a few ships using the sub. The idea was that once launched from the mother ship(or sub), the two man crew would sling a cable between the target ship's bilge keels, then detach the nose of the sub (which was actually the explosive)and attach it to the cable before making their escape. This is a really nice kit and includes photo-etch bits for the stirrups, instrument panel, prop, prop guard and control linkages. It also includes a reference booklet with walkaround pictures of the real item. I spent two days building and one day painting it.The only addition that I made was to use some fine copper wire to simulate the control cables. The kit includes the two figures and the display stand, but you will have to make your own starfish! Merry (insert your racially specific festivity) Pappy

G'day all, Thanks very much for the kind words. People are usually surprised when I let them know that the kit is actually the Hobbycraft kit and not Hasegawa. I actually have a 1/48 Hasegawa kit and it is worth the money based on what I have seen in the box. In fact, I actually used many of the Hasegawa parts as a guide to fabricate/improve the Hobbycraft items that were required. Hasegawa also issued a limited edition A-4K boxing, however the instrument panel was not altered, a key feature of the "Kahu" modification programme. The NZ A-4K's were refitted with the AN/APG-66 radar (as fitted to the F-16) and their cockpit instrument panels had two MFD's (TV screens) to facilitate the transition of NZ Air Force pilots to the Skyhawk's replacement aircraft (F-16's). Unfortunately, their govt decided to scrap the deal, and all fast jet capability with it. I bought the kit at a club swap for about 1/10 of the price of the Has kit. Bearing this in mind, I was happy to be a little adventurous. In choosing to build the kit in flight, I didn't have to worry about detailing the kit cockpit and undercarriage, which are the kits weakest points detail wise. Also, the kit does not have separate slats, so again, the in-flight display avoided the issue of the 'relaxed' slats when on the ground. cheers, Pappy

G'day Andrew, I can't give you a better answer I am afraid, all I have is what is in the decal notes. I assume though, that since the wire struck the fin, the jet was actually flying below the level of the power lines. I have seen these boys in action (before the New Zealand govt disposed of their fighter aircraft assets) and they did practice flying very, very low, cheers, Pappy

Um, who is Steve? Pappy

G'day people, Here are some pics of my 1/48 Hobby Craft A-4 Skyhawk converted to A-4K standard. There were lots of small changes carried out as per my reference pictures (new antennas etc) but no major surgery required. I painted the kit using the Gunze Sanyo acrylics and then base shade was lightened by varying amounts to depict a heavily weathered aircraft. According to the decal painting instructions, this aircraft also sported an aileron and nosewheel door that were painted in the previous three tone colour scheme, possibly scavenged from another airframe.The various stains were achieved using Windsor and Newton artist oils.The kit is finished using the excellent Gekko Graphics A-4Kiwi Skyhawk sheets. The pilot is from one of the Hasegawa spares sets. The aircraft is depicted in-flight. The jet is mounted using a short length of acrylic rod that is keyed to fit into the exhaust pipe. The rod then fits into another piece of acrylic sheet that is screwed to a simple wooded base. The subject chosen was involved in a wire strike. Whilst undertaking a low-level sortie, the aircraft struck a power line. The impact nearly severed the fin cap off, however there was just enough metal remaining to retain the fin cap. The aircraft recovered to a nearby airfield (Woodburn) where the pilot was able to safely recover the aircraft without further damage. The details are explained in the decal painting guide. cheers, Pappy

G'day John, If you are building from a picture, fair enough. The Aussie Pigs had a very distinct difference in hue, but as you say, this will very much depend upon local paint specs and conditions. I noticed that on the F-111C's, the tan would fade to a very light shade. I would love a scaled up 1/48 Hasegawa Pig, it would immediately cancel all other builds and I would buy about 6 of them!! A 1/32 Pig, well that would mean a new house, the thing would be massive! I hope you enjoy your time 'down under', the beer is probably a little stronger than what you are used to;P, but the seafood is great! cheers, Pappy

G'day all, I have this little gem of a kit underway. I am a little puzzled by one of the colour call-outs though. Airfix state the lower entry hatchway and other interior bits of the aft cabin are '28' which I think is a light aircraft grey of some sort (Fs36622 or equivalent?), basically a very light grey. I have been doing some web surfing and to my eyes, the interior of the aft cabin and its fittings appear white to my eyes. Can someone confirm the colour one way or the other? cheers, Pappy

G'day John, Great work. I have a very soft spot fro the 'Vark (or "Pig" as it is known down-under) I have been following this thread with interest. I have a question though. What paint (brand) did you use? The reason I ask is that there is not much contrast between the two greens (FS 34079 and FS34102), I can make it out, just. Perhaps the pictures don't bear the contrast out, but there should be a marked tonal variation between them. I really like the work you have done to the landing gear as well. I have made a start on my own Academy kit. I have attached some progress pictures. It has the verlinden cockpit as well, but I also managed to get a hold of the Scaledown undercarriage set as well. cheers, Pappy

G'day people, I am looking for a 1/72 "disco ball" IR jammer from an AH-764 Apache kit. I am building a 1/72 Mk.8 Lynx and I was hoping someone might have one that they could spare? cheers, Pappy

Thanks Gary, Another mystery solved! cheers, Pappy

G'day Gary, Very, very nice Jag! I have a question though, where/how did you source the practice bomb dispenser? cheers, Pappy

G'day all! Sorry 'bout the long delay in replying. I have just returned from a work related trip. Just prior to leaving, I thougt that I should tidy up my photobucket account and place all my pics into sub-folders. I didn't realise that this would break the links. Anyhow, I have re-posted the pics cheers, Pappy!

G'day Neil, Very nice work so far. The servicing stencils on the undercarriage components caught my eye. Where did these come from? cheers, Pappy

Agreed, England was the better team on the field today and deserved to win. Who won the ashes again?

G'day all, This is the Italeri 1/72 Wessex HAS.3 kit in the guise of "Humphrey", a well documented participant of the Falklands War campaign. "Humphrey's" duties included leading a flight of three helicopters which were removing a SAS patrol, which went a little pair shaped. During the extraction mission,"Humphrey" had to rescue the crew of the other two Wessex (in effect rescuing the rescuers!) and the SAS patrol, some of whom had in turn been rescued when the first Wessex crashed. The pilot was awarded a DFC for his efforts. "Humphrey" was also involved in an attack on the Argentinian submarine 'Santa Fe', which resulted in the sub limping back to its port, whereupon it was further damaged by RN Wasp helicopters. I have depicted "Humphrey" in fighting trim. This included scratch building the weapons pylons and making moulds to cast a pair of the Mk.11 Mod.3 depth charges. The belly details are the Ron's Resins HAS.3 resin detail set. I have also made many small detail improvements. To see the full build, head on over to the ARC>Forums>Group Builds> VTOL, Naval Helicopters thread under Here's Humphrey, Pappy ps Go the Wallabies, Aussie Aussie Aussie!!!!

Thanks for the offer Paul, I have the decals that I need now,m cheers, Pappy

G'day all, I will go with blue grey for the main rotor but I am leaning towards black for the tail rotor. Incidentally, I have noticed another anomaly between "Humphrey" in FAA Museum trim and in service. The pictures that I have of the aircraft during the Falklands War show the tail rotor to have the red/white/red bands. I don't know at what point the tail rotor bands changed to solid red, but during 'Corporate, the tail rotor definitely had the red/white/red bands, cheers, Pappy

G'day people, I am nearing the completion of my 1/72 Wessex HAS.3 "Humphrey" of the Falklands War fame. I need to know what colour the rotor hubs for the main and tail rotors are. I cannot tell if it is the fuselage blue/grey colour or black? cheers, Pappy

G'day Fred! Wow!! That is pure gold. What an absolute wealth of detail, perfik! cheers, Pappy

G'day! That seems to answer my question pretty nicely! "bouncy castle" it s then. It looks like I will have to scratch up a pair of Stingers instead. Fred can you tell me what colour the cabin is? Does the floor have a black matting/anti skid paint?,is it painted the same medium grey as the front etc. Also, what does the rear bulkhead look like? cheers, Pappy

G'day people, I am looking for cockpit and cabin pictures of a Mk.8 Lynx. I am building the 1/72 Airfix offering with the Airwaves detail set. I also have a few more questions. Is the 'inflatable' rear seat fitted when ordnance is loaded, and when the inflatable seat is fitted, can any other seats be fitted? I want to have the inflatable seat fitted as well as a row of bench seats along the rear cabin. I also want to have a couple of Mk.46 torpedoes loaded as well, does that sound feasible? cheers, Pappy

G'day Ponti, I think that Trumpeter have recently issued a U.S 1/32 weapons set, which includes the ALQ-131. I also think Cutting edge make a 1/32 dual rail adapter (DRA) for the twin AIM-9 set up. I am not 100% but I think that all the AGM-65 Maverick's in your pic are the IR version as the scene-mag (TV) version don't have orange lenses, but a clear bue/black lens. The load-out in the pic would not be a typical load-out, in fact I don't think they are allowed to carry the Mavericks in triples, but usually carry them in a 'slant two' config, so that the outer shoulder and bottom centre stations are loaded but the inner shoulder station is empty. The Maverick is also typically carried singly on a different adapter. Still, if you want to build it exactly as in the pic, it is possible to physically load them, cheers, Pappy

G'day people, I have just started using Xtracolor paints. I have sprayed on a couple of coats of Xtracolor X-13 RAF blue grey and I have a very glossy, hard coat that dried in 24 hrs. I used the Xtracolor quick dry thinners, and the paint was thinned 50% with thinners. My question is: What is a good matt and semi-gloss varnish to use with the Xtracolor paint range, I am assuming they they are an enamel, but I am not familiar with this brand, cheers, Pappy