Graham T

What I'm taking away from this is that apparently Venezuela operated Fulmars! Never knew this!

Yes I think it's to avoid "conflict" if the crew have to eject.

Well, not (currently) my era of interest but I'll imagine a LOT of modellers will be excited! Apart from this I am "underwhelmed" by the new range.

It's a "no" from me as I prefer operational machines but I dare say others would be keen!

Mine's on order from Hornby but nothing heard

Superb! Can I ask about SMS paints? Are they acrylic or enamel? Decal ready gloss finish or do you have to apply a varnish? Currently using Xtracolour enamels & have an aversion to acrylics but an alternative would be handy!

Superb!!

You CAN fit the nozzles after assembly, as long as you're not bother about them rotating like a toy!

Yes, I'm with you on this!

Tbf, that IS a bit grubby underneath!

Lovely job! Tbh, although the Academy kit has several issues with accuracy (easily rectified), I actually think it looks better than the Airfix kit (of which I've built several & am coincidentally working on the FGA9 at the moment) on which there seems to be something wrong with the nose profile although I can't put my finger on exactly what it is!

Agree. the technique is brilliant & well executed but I sincerely doubt the RAF would allow any a/c to accumulate that amount of muck in a peacetime environment!

I've decided to give these a go so bought a couple of Tamiya panel line enhancing pigments. Tried it out on one wing of an old an old Sea Harrier kit. The finish of the kit is very matt & I'm fairly happy with the effect but is this stuff best used on a gloss finish? I'd like to enhance the panel lines without staining the surrounding paint (although that in itself adds to the effect - just not one I was looking for).

And my mistake, yes 801 (although 803 decals ARE included)

Blanks come with the kit!

Just completed & frankly a joy from start to finish! Fit & detail are superb; the only issue I had was that the wings are very difficult to fit corredcly on the pivots & quite a bit of filing & sanding were needed to get them to slide home fully & "sit" right. Also the decals which adhered as soon as they touched the surface & seemed prone to curling up so care was required! Decals are provided for the seat belts & are "ok" but next time I'll try & source some etched belts. I went with the 803 NAS markings as I hadn't seen many in this guise & I thought the 809 "Firebird a little "garish"! Just waiting for a carrier base on which to display her properly. Hope you like it!

Quick question - thinking of MSG for the legs, wheels, bays & door interiors AND airbrake interior. Is that right?

Many years ago I built the Accurate Armour 1/35 resin kit of this monster!!

Bit of a struggle but finally nailed together! Nice surface detail, reasonably cockpit although the seat looks a bit suspect. Assembly of the cockpit itself & front fuselage is poorly engineered imho. Also the instructions are poor with incorrect part number call outs here & there & confusing location diagrams. The small vanes inside the intakes "magically' appear in the diagrams but at no point are you told to attach them. I searched for them on the parts diagram - no luck, so examined the sprues themselves - not there! Easy enough to fabricate from card though. Underwing missile rails are strange but I'm told they're the Swiss pattern, as are the underwing tanks. I "robbed' the spares box for rails & 3" rockets from an Airfix Vampire. Presumable MM used a Swiss example as their pattern! Not a cheap model so all in all a bit annoying. I know they were probably getting bombed at the time they designed this kit so I HOPE I'm not being churlish! Decals are thin which is good but the colours in the roundels look insufficiently bright! Anyway here it is, in company with a CA example from a few years ago. If I'm honest, I preferred that one.

Love the Gnat. A shame you had issues with the fit on this 1/72 kit - the 1/48 Gnat is an absolute beauty!

Thanks all. I'm not afraid of limited run kits so I think I'll give it a go.

Does anyone have this model? Is it worth a punt?

Was very excited about this when it was announced as the Venom is a favourite of mine & the CA kit is very hard to find nowadays. Sadly it's a bit of a struggle & has taken me weeks to get to this stage! Poor, misleading instructions, locating tabs that are best removed, over complicated engineering around the cockpit/front fuselage (poss two seat NF or Sea Venom versions in the offing?) Swiss pattern rocket rails & tanks (presumably MM used a Swiss example as their pattern?) which led me to rob an Airfix Vampire for the former. That said it sure looks like a Venom & is worth persevering with. Decals today - not sure about the colour of the national markings & those no step areas curl up so easily are a nightmare to straighten out (the rectangular ones outside the tail boom are printed with the decal numbers INSIDE the red surround which is NOT helpful!).

Handy!

This kit is a struggle but as it goes together it certainly looks the part! Anyway, the rocket rails: the kit parts look nothing like any rocket rails I have seen on a Venom (or anything else for that matter) & no actual rockets are provided anyway. I've got spare rails & rockets left over from the Airfix Vampire that I could use but the moulded attachment points beneath the wings for the KIT rails are too far apart for the AIRFIX rails. The kit rails with the Airfix parts for comparison The kit rails & Airfix parts lined up with the kit attachment points. I'm assuming that either the front OR rear attachment points provided on the kit are correct but which - in other words do I use the moulded FRONT points, drilling new ones for the rear OR use the moulded REAR points drilling new ones for the front? Or are those kit rails actually correct? EDIT. I have a suspicion that the kit rails MAY be for the Swiss Venoms.