Rob Probert

Cheers! The control surfaces for the flaps etc. are more prominent than the others so I'll likely leave them - they just don't show up all that well in the pictures. The real thing has a very smooth wing surface and panel detail is barely visible - the last thing I want is something resembling a London Tube map with lines all over it that you don't see in the real world. I've been working on the 3D printed parts that come with the kit recently - the flap tracks are on the wings: I've also assembled the engines, refuelling pods and landing gear: The detail is exceptional... ...but sadly the fit to the wing leads a lot to be desired and some re-profiling of the pylon is going to be necessary. The nose gear is also in situ and the doors made from plastic card: Best regards, Rob

Thanks - and yes it has been OK thus far. Plastic is good and as you say, nice and thick. Far better than BroPlan or Combat which is easy to sand through - not the case with this thankfully. Rob

Afternoon everyone, I thought I'd share a project I'm currently working on which is the Titan Models 1/72nd scale Airbus A330 in 1/72nd scale. Titan a relatively new kid on the block and is based in the USA, so import duties are a consideration if buying one! He does a whole range of large 1/72nd scale airliners, and I've got the Boeing 757 and Boeing 777-300ER to do at some point as well. He also does a 1/48th B-2 and has a C-5 Galaxy as well as a 1/72nd Airbus A380 in the works, too - one must resist! The kit has the main airframe parts in excellent quality vacuform (wings and fuselage) with some beautiful 3D printed parts for the cockpit interior, engines, flap tracks, winglets, landing gear and the other detail parts. Two crystal clear vacuform canopies are also provided. Decals come from DrawDecal as part of the package and I've gone for an Australian KC-30 with GE CF6-80 engines, although there are lots of other options including RAF Voyagers with RR Trent 700s as well as lots of civil options. I've made some good progress and have constructed the main airframe which, generally speaking, went together without too much of a fight. The main issue was the size of the thing - it's massive - but the fit was pretty good so long as plenty of care was taken to ensure everything was rubbed down correctly and plnety of tabs were used to help align everything. The plastic is thick enough to support the size and weight without the need for major internal reinforcements, but I did make a couple of hefty spars to support the wings. You can see that all joints have been taken care of and a quick lick of grey applied to check for blemishes, etc, but so far, so good. I'm just hoping the engines fit well - which is the next job. And a pair of specs for some scale - not that you really need them for this thing! I'll add some more pictures as I progress for those interested. Best regards, Rob

Here are two of my recent completions and models not often seen! First up is the 1/48th scale Israeli Isracast Arava 201 which, I believe, is beautifully 3D printed in resin. Levels of detail are superb, and for a limited-run kit it goes together well, using CA glue of course! Paints were Xtracolor enamels and decals came with the kit: Next up is a 1/48th scale Saab 340 from Broplan - these are vacforms with some injection-molded detail parts. Plastic is very thin and they are not the easiest of builds, but with some care they come out OK. Once again Xtracolor enamels and the kit's decals (other than the Swedish insignia) were used: And the pair together: A rare couple of models to add to my collection! Best regards, Rob

I've recently built a 1/48th scale Avro Manchester using the Tamiya kit's fuselage coupled with a set of Sanger vacform wings, engines, tail and landing gear. The Tamiya parts fitted fine as you would expect, but the Sanger parts proved to be a bit of a struggle with poorly fitting parts and the wing profile being totally off. Lots of filling, sanding and perseverance eventually meant I got there, but it was hard graft at times! I used Xtracolor enamels with decals from various sheets I had to hand to complete the markings. This model represents a Manchester MkI from 97 Squadron (5 Group) at Conningsby during the early part of 1941. By January 1942 the Lancaster had come into service with 97 Squadron and they had moved to Woodall Spa, so it was a very short period of service for the ill-fated Manchester. Regards to all, Rob

Thank you - title and text duly corrected! Rob

Good morning all, I thought I'd share a recent model of mine that I've been working on for a while - a conversion of the Tamiya 1:32nd scale F-4J to a UK version with RR Speys. It's a conversion I have long wanted to do, and when I sourced a set of 3D printed Spey cans along with a decal set from Cutting Edge, I was good to go! The conversion is quite involved, and includes widening the intakes as well as dropping the back end a little to accommodate the larger Spey afterburners. I took a couple of pictures of the process when widening the front, but didn't get around to photographing the back end unfortunately! There was also the small doors on the rear fuselage to add, as moving the auxiliary doors on the lower fuselage forward. I also had to source some after market ejection seats the Brit Phantoms used a different seat to the US examples. And here's the finished model, painted as an FGR.2 of 41 Squadron based at RAF Conningsby in the early 1970s: I'm really pleased with how the conversion went and it's nice to now have a very rare model (in this scale!) in my collection. Best regards, Rob

Afternoon all, Here's my latest completion - the LukGraph 1/32nd scale Hawker Nimrod MkI. This is a beautifully cast resin model with some 3D-pronted parts, and was built out of the box. Xtracolor and Humbrol enamel paints were used, along with the kit decals. The only extras was the rigging. Quite a complex but thoroughly enjoyable build! Best regards, Rob

As soon as I had it in my grubby little mitts I got started. It's taken about three months from start to finish so not too bad in regard to the turnaround! Yes indeed - Mach 2 kits have a slightly dubious reputation, but with some forethought and careful planning they can be beaten into submission. I saw one once at a Greenham Common air show - so that's going back a bit! It's not the cheapest of models - when you consider the Britannia, then the conversion plus the decals, it did add up. In regard to the Swordfish badge - I am at the mercy of the decals there - but I won't tell anyone of the error if you don't... Yes it was far from straightforward, but I do like a challenge. I made my life a bit more difficult by adding the bomb bays which took a bit of head-scratching to get installed properly. Thank you for your kind words. Rob

Good afternoon all, Another recent completion of mine is Tamiya's superb 1/32nd scale F-15C finished with Warbird Decals' commemorative scheme for the Oregon-based 173rd FW. The Tamiya kit just needs glue and a shake, but the Warbird Decals were quite tricky to apply being very thin and, in this scale, rather large! Paints were Xtracolur enamels. Regards, Rob

Good afternoon everyone, Here is my recently completed 1/72nd scale Canadair Argus, converted from the Mach 2 Bristol Britannia using the recently-released Aircraft in Miniature conversion set. It was quite a challenging build with the base kit not being the best starting point, but I'm pleased with the end result. Decals came from Belcher and were superb. Regards to all, Rob

Yes indeed - that exact sheet has been used on this build. Yes the landing gear all came from the Mach 2 Britannia. In terms of quality, they are not bad at all. What wonderful memories. I remember seeing one at a Greenham Common airshow back in the day but can't claim to have got inside one! Since the last time I updated this I've finished the model and it's come out well. Unfortunately it's not the weather for photographing it at the moment, although the current snowy conditions would make a realistic backdrop! Rob

Afternoon all, I've been working on the recently released conversion of the Mach 2 Bristol Britannia to a Canadair Argus in 1/72nd scale. This is by Transport Wings and comprises of some hefty resin parts along with some 3D-printed detail parts. I've got the main construction completed now and am almost ready for the painting process to begin - the pictures below will give a good indication into the amount of work done and how little of the Mach 2 Britannia kit is actually used! The white sections are the Mach 2 parts, the grey sections are the resin conversion parts. You get new engines and nacelles with the option of open or closed cowl flaps. There are also new rear sections of the nacelles to replace the Britannia's exhaust system. Clear parts are resin - not completely blemish free but not too bad. The Britannia's windows all needed filling and new windows opened up for the Argus. The enormous MAD boom is well replicated. The Britannia's fin is also modified with a new fillet and leading edge, but the Britannia stabilisers are a drop-fit. I opted for the extra bomb-bay mod on mine. The doors are obviously yet to be fitted. The bays were a bit of a struggle to get integrated into the Britannia's lower fuselage but a dose of good old fashioned modelling and plastic card and filler soon had the problem solved. The Mach 2 main landing gear is used but new Argus nose-gear is supplied in the conversion. The conversion enables you to make a MkI or MkII with the various radar and aerial fits - I've gone for a MkI. Propellers will be added after painting. The conversion captures the look of this graceful aircraft really well and although it's been a lot of work to get to this stage I've really enjoyed it. I'll post some more pictures when it's had some paint applied. All the best, Rob

Thank you - yes the scheme is the US Navy 3-tone version of grey, intermediate and dark blue. Many thanks. The resin looks stunning in the box and the mouldings are beautiful. However in true Anigrand style the fit was not the greatest and it took a lot of work to get together and the model in reasonable shape. I've built a few now and they've all been the same - their subject matter is great, though! Rob

Hi all I hope you’re all keeping well? I thought I’d show you the latest model that has been keeping me amused through lockdown. It’s the Anigrand Craftworks 1/72nd scale Martin 130 Flying Boat. As usual with Anigrand kits it was not an easy build. Paints were from Xtracolor. Best regards to all, Rob

No reverse flying for the Manchester. That was faux pas on my part.

As explained above, these are basically A-Model kits. They are injection moulded but typically limited run. The fit and build wasn’t too bad. The biggest challenge was the fact the fuselage was moulded in four separate parts rather than the traditional two halves. It took a lot of care to get everything aligned properly, but other than that it went together ok. The windscreen took a bit of blending and careful sanding. There were masks provided which was very helpful. The windscreen is fairly large but helpfully a good cockpit interior is provided. These aren’t your typical Tamiya standard kits but shouldn’t pose any major problems to a modeller with a few under his / her belt.

I built this Manchester MkI using various sources - the old-tool Airfix Lancaster, Planet Models as well as Paragon Designs. Decals came form the spares box. Regards, Rob

A recent completion is Sava-M Models' 1/72nd scale Gulfstream 500 "J-Star" which is used by the USAF as a surveillance platform. Quite a nice kit, built straight from the box. Xtracolor enamels used throughout. Regards, Rob

It's about 3 and a half feet wingspan.

Thank you. I found the tolerances very tight and you need to get everything lined up perfectly before joining the fuselage otherwise you'll hear a very unpleasant crunching sound... The engine cowlings again took a lot of careful alignment and are a tight fit to the wing. The transparencies are exceptional and some of the clearest I've seen. The last problem is the sheer size of it and it's a big model to wrestle with! Yes indeed it was - and thank you! The Spit remains on the to-do pile, Frank. I need to summon up the courage to tackle all that resin. Regards to all, Rob

I didn't reinforce the wings and have just relied on the spars provided in the kit. Hopefully the resin engines won't cause it to sag over time. The AMT kit itself wasn't the best fitting model I've ever built, and the resin parts weren't flawless in terms of fit but nothing was unmanageable. The only real challenge was the fact the engines sat too low and I had to do some trimming of the pylons to get the correct ground clearance. It is indeed quite large. I have a purpose built out-building for my collection. All RAF RC-135s appear glossy and spotless, therefore highlighting the panel lines is the last thing a model of this nature needed. Just my opinion of course, but I'm not one to do things just because it's the done-thing. Thanks for the interest, Rob

I completed this huge model a few months ago - it's the stunning HK Models 1/32nd Lancaster combined with Iconic Air's Dambuster Conversion. The conversion set provides the modified bomb bay set up, the bomb itself, as well as a decal sheet for the 617 Squadron aircraft. I have chosen Maltby's aircraft, coded AJ-J. Paints were from Hannants' Xtracolour range of enamels. Regards, Rob

I've recently completed the conversion of an AMT KC-135 into an RAF Airseeker/Rivet Joint. I used the Combat Conversions resin set which provides new CFM-56 engines, new nose, cheek blisters and the various aerials and sensors that adorn the aircraft. The decals were from the Hannants' Xtradecal range. Paints were a mixture of Revell and Xtracolour enamels. Regards, Rob

I've just completed converting the 1/32nd scale HK Models Meteor into a T7 using the Fisher conversion set. The conversion gives a new resin moulded nose section, forward intakes, full interior and of course a new canopy. The new resin parts didn't fit all that well in my experience of this build, but with some careful cutting, trimming and sanding it came together in the end. Paints were Xtracolur enamels and decals came with the kit. Thanks for looking, Rob