theplasticsurgeon

And now for my previous P-38 Lightning form in chronological order: First a Revell 1/32 Droopsnoot Pathfinder - built whilst I was still at school. The rest will all be 1/72 scale. First there's and old Airfix P-38J. Next a Matchbox model - with Hasegawa decals. Then the Hasegawa model - I think this one is Superscale decals. The newer Airfix model - converted to a P-322 Castrated Lightning, without turbo-superchargers The Dragon P-38M Nightfighter. And most recently a Revell, converted to an F-5B recon-Lightning. That's my interpretation of Synthetic Haze Blue at very high altitude.

Well thanks for the great welcome - and the escape hatch info. Something to scribe onto the model. Here are the parts: And I'm planning on building the boxart option:

Will be built here. This kit cost me 5.01 plus 3.0 postage on Ebay in 2011. This P-38L is a radar Pathfinder, based with 654th BS at Watton. These Pathfinders had radars with 210 degrees sweep, and were quickly withdrawn in favour of B-17s and B-24s with 360 degrees coverage. My first question is how did the radar operator get in and out? did he have a proper seat - the kit looks awfully cramped? And could he bail out in an emergency?

Nice Javelin - Jet Age has just acquired anFAW4 - our came from RAF Leeming. I can't get closer than about a quarter of a mile from it yet :-( We've also got an FAW9 - so here goes. Boat-tail rear fuselage, non afterburner jet nozzles. No cannons in wings. No vortex generators on outer wings. No air scoops atop the fuselage.

Superstructure fitted. Sideplates and now for camouflage. and the plates.

Should have posted this a last week, but 24 March 2015 was the 70th aniversary of Operation Varsity, the Rhine crossing. As some will know I'm a volunteer at Jet Age Museum, Staverton - one of the ongoing projects there is a replica Horsa cockpit, as a celebration of participation of local industry. http://www.jetagemuseum.org/Horsa.aspx And we're in the fortunate position to have 2 former Horsa pilots as members - both participated in Operation Varsity. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-32008966 I met Ken Plowman at Jet Age, and asked him to autograph the box of my Airfix Horsa kit. He told me the story of - well a crash rather than a landing arrival in Germany. Later Ken presented his story for a Museum Club night. This is where I'll share the notes I took then. Ken flew an AS58 Horsa II glider for Varsity, his cargo was a Land Rover, a 4.2 inch artillery piece, 220 rounds of ammo, and a motorbike. The Airfix kit originated from Italeri, and has options to enable both versions. As a Horsa I it could look pretty good (without me getting rulers out), just a bit of cockpit frame to add. Kit has necessary parts for single nosewheel, twin towpoints, and detachable tail. However the Horsa II had a different cockpit section rendering an accurate copy impossible from this kit. It does have the hinged nose, twin nosewheels, and single towpoint features as options - so that's what I built. My work in progress - well painting photos. I built this model at the same time as my Lancaster II - both being painted at the same time. Ken told me that he joined the RAF and was trained as a pilot for single engined aircraft. The RAF expected higher loss than actually occurred - hence he was never converted onto fighter. Without multi-enging training he never moved towards bombers either. He spent a lot of the war instructing in Canada. Offered the opportunity to fly gliders for the Army, he jumped at an opportunity to get into action. Ken described how his glider cost about one tenth the cost of a transport aircraft - hence was regarded as disposable. We've asked about marking and number for his aircraft, but they're mostly forgotten. Operation Varsity involved 440 Horsa Gliders, launching from bases in the West Country, the Midlands, and East Anglia. These streams converged over London, and set off for an area north of Cologne. Varsity was a daylight landing, with the objective of securing the far bank of the Rhine, holding it until reinforcements could cross by pontoon bridge, and preventing German interference. The stuff of assault troops - gliders carried their heavy firepower. Ken's towplane was a Short Stirling, towspeed 110-120kts. He described how the air became dark with gunsmoke on approach to the landing zone. Somewhere near landing his aircraft probably took a hit. He lost air pressure and was unable to lower the flaps - thus reduce speed for landing. Ken mentioned having 170kts on the clock at one point. Without flaps the glider hit the ground at 70kts, and bounced on its skid. At this point the nose broke off at the hinge point. Ken described coming to a standstill upside down. Releasing his straps he fell to the ground. Fortunately both pilots were uninjured. The rest of their glider was about 3-400 yards away, embedded in the bank of a small stream. Nobody inside was injured, so the troops had driven straight out without need of their ramps. Ken remained in Germany for 2 more days before being evacuated back to Britain. One detail about which Ken was adamant - was that his glider had 2 TAF stripes. Jed our Jet Age Horsa researcher has confirmed that there are photos of some Horsas still with D-day stripes during Varsity. Probability is that stripes were applied prior to D-Day, but that glider wasn't actually used until Varsity. I've obscured the white stripes on my glider with dark grey - again this was the probable practice. I've mounted the model on an aluminium tube (formerly an arrow) at a steep approach - about to hit the ground.

V6799 exists in replica form at Jet Age Museum, Staverton - a prop from the Battle of Britain film http://www.jetagemuseum.btck.co.uk/Aircraft/HawkerHurricane Pilot Ken MacKenzie was a Jet Age patron until his death in 2009, so members are very proud of this legacy. The MacKenzie break is depicted on Airfix boxart, a scene which I'd like to depict in plastic. I recently saw a TV program Battle of Britain, I was there, in it Ken described this incident. Having never met Ken, I was absolutely riveted to his account.

Hoping to be back with you tomorrow, with progress photos. Sideplates are now added.

Well that covers both the late RAF options in the 1/72 kit.

Thanks David, now I've found a photo of a PR9 with those.

I'm about to start building the Airfix 1/72 Canberra PR9 kit, and am curious about the underwing payload. Can anybody identify the dart shaped things in instruction stages 28 &29??? Are they weapons, for trials, decoys, targets, drones or something else? Very unlikely to be fitted to my model.

I'm still here, hoping to find a way to post more photos. Most of the superstructure is built and I assembled the skirts yesterday.

Back on track again! Problems appear to have been from a corrupt browser. Anyway more model time - so Left track: Right track:

Revisiting to share my previous Sea King related models. First the Airfix Westland Sea King 3. Next the Starfix Jolly Green Giant. Not eligable - but clearly related, the bigger Airfix HH-53C Super Jolly And the even bigger Italeri MH-53E Sea Dragon.

OMG what was I thinking when I let Hepster talk me into squandering 50 whole pence on the tracks set! A kit with 224 indentical pieces - this is mind numbing, and I'm only half way through.

Yea, nice restoration of a Vanguard. Minor point, but you may want to consider plastic disks for the propellors on your in-flight model: These were food packaging in a former life.

I've got the Italeri kit in my stash. My only ever helicopter flight with 18 Squadron, 11 August 1978 on ATC camp at Gutersloh, in XR519/BD. I have acquired 18 Sqdn decals for this one - so count me in.

Well today I prepared the chassis, apart from the tracks. Planning to keep weathering light - this will be a fairly new Stug. I have to say those single link tracks are the reason this build wasn't started ages ago.

Well I aerosoled the parts Tamiya desert sand a couple of years ago, and painted the tyres probably a year ago - so they should be well set by now. I've just assembled the wheels, each contains a poly-cap.

A colleage has just asked to to build this kit. His father flew WT307 (examine boxart) during RAF service, and stashed away two copies to build sometime. Then he discovered he rubs shoulders with theplasticsurgeon, thought I'd build a better model, so asked me to build it for him. I'd never got my hands on the actual kit before, but have built 2 Martin B-57s - but he gave it to me about a month ago. Price for this commission - the other copy. His grandfather had been shot down and survived the disastrous Sedan bridge raid in France - so that's another Airfix tribute that turned up for me to build. You're likely to see these builds on BM.

Ultimate intent is to build a scene something like this - though mine won't be Winter.

Fujimi 1/72 Sikorsky SH-3D Sea King. Build thread http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234975262-tims-sh-3d-us-navy-build/

Intent to build this kit This kit has lurked in my stash since I bought it at the tank museum in 2003. More into planes than tanks, I'd seen a program about Stugs just before I went, when I saw this kit in the gift-shop, well you can guess. Here are the parts: Instructions: I've got the individual link track set - thanks Hepster.

And I bought the new Airfix Defiant yesterday - this would be the DayFighter option.

Respectfully - the answer is no. I've got no other qualifying kit in my stash - and a plan to move onto Achtung Panzer GB now. This is my my first helicopter since 2011, and I have to admit that they're not really my thing, so I won't be buying a new Airfix Sea King. I do thoroughly enjoy GBs, and see them as a way to reduce my stash - whilst sharing that fun. If there's ever a ChinookGB, BellGB or WestlandGB, I've got stashstock to participate. I will re-appear, when I've photographed my existing SeaKing/Sikorsky models.