Graham T

Last week I was in a local amateur musical production, since when I & about 25-30% of the cast of 30 or so have come down with Covid! Two years I've managed to dodge it! Two years! Anyway happily I retired (early!) in the autumn so at least I'm able to take things easy while I recover. Which brings me on to the 1/48 Kinetic Harrier & a couple of questions to enable me to make a better job of it than I did their Sea Harrier! Firstly, I'm building an early 1970 GR1 of 1 squadron. The instructions give white as the colour for the nose & main gear bays but I'm thinking they should be Light Aircraft Grey? They also suggest that the intakes right back to the fan are the exterior colours (i.e., Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey) but once again I suspect LAG on so early an example? The cockpit is called out in Dark Admiralty Grey which sounds right but could it have been black in 1969/70? Finally the Matra pods; Kinetic have moulded them with protruding rockets which I don't think is right?! In any event they then tell you to remove the rocket tips by sanding & drilling anyway! Don't fancy that, think I'll arm mine with bombs! Answers to these questions or further general advise on the kit gratefully accepted!

Go away! That's the real thing!!!!!!!

I had NO IDEA this kit existed!

That is beautiful!

When I built mine as an FB5, I felt that the flat wingtips in the kit looked a wee bit TOO narrow, so I attached the FB3 tips & when fully dry, I cut/sanded them to the FB5/9 shape, at the same time cutting a notch for the clear landing light.

Great pics of some surprisingly clean aircraft!

Following this!

I watch BBC News & reckon I can spot bias & take account of it. What I CANNOT abide is the editorialising that I currently seen in the ITV news.

That is an absolute beauty!!!!

I'm only guessing here but as the thing was only going to be studied & NEVER going to be launched (unlike the captured V1s) what was the point in repainting it at all?

TBH I don't know! I'm guessing that it worked but perhaps the Wyvern was capable of getting off the deck with any of the most useful warlords (the torpedo was never carried either!) under it's own power.

I wouldn't bother with the RATOG! Looks cool but never used operationally.

Saving paint due to defence cuts probably!

Thanks. MLT is?….

Picked up some of this to give it a go on my HP Victor refurb. The label is printed in Japanese. Does it spray straight from the bottle? If it needs thinning & for clean up I assume lacquer thinners? Help on these questions & any other advice gratefully received!

Coming out well! Amazing the difference rescribing makes to an old model!

The B/N was always my favourite Hasegawa 1/48 Phantom, probably for the colourful markings it provided, especial VMFA-531!

Beatties! Back in the 80s/90s I used to plan my sales trips around London & the south east on locations of their stores!

I'm sure I remember as a kid, painting the Revell 1/72 RN Phantom FG1 (actually just their US F4J with RN decals!) blue as per the instructions!

Really nice!

Yep. I've got another in the stash & may rob the decals from that one although I have ordered an Xtradecal sheet (X72271 but I've heard that some of the details on that sheet are a wee bit spurious!)

I built this a couple of years ago but have never been entirely satisfied with it. I painted it in Humbrol satin white rather than gloss as I hate spraying gloss white, & it's never looked good. With the price of the kit I thought I'd have a bash at a refurbishment, something I've never attempted before. So after some careful removal of the undercarriage & doors, Blue Steel, the access door, airbrake petals & a couple of other small items, plus some addressing of some poor fit during the original build, it was a couple of hours with fine/very fine wet & dry to remove the decals & obtain a really smooth surface ready for a repaint. I gave the glazing a really good polish, just hope that it hasn't collected too much crud on the inside from the sanding. I've ordered new decals, pitot tubes & canopy masks & also a couple of cans of the new Tamiya gloss white lacquer, about which I've heard good things. Here's hoping!!

Looks great! Not my scale but definitely going to pick up one of these!

I know what you mean! She's hardy changed since she was in ER a gazillion years ago!

Some nice shots there!