t-bird_models

Thanks Paul, I thought someone had done some but couldn't see any currently available. About time we had some more two-stage Merlins then I guess. *Sigh*... so many subjects, so little time..! Cheers, Andy

Great looking models Trev, and it's nice to see the decals used! The Spartan Mossies are actually on my to do list as I've always liked them as well. The only bugbear is that they used the two-stage Merlins which I believe only came out in the Airfix kit (or was it Matchbox??) so I was looking at maybe releasing them with resin engines, unless someone knows of some already available? Cheers, Andy Thunderbird Models Ltd

Thanks all for your comments, much appreciated. I find I'm getting more swayed to the civvie side of things these days, though I could be accused of being slightly biased due to the nature of the decal business! Sorry no Beaver decals planned for the near future Reggie, but there will be more eventually. You need to start building some of that big stash of them you've already got! Cheers, Andy

Hello and Happy New Year all! I hope this is the appropriate place for this, I'm more used to posting in the vendors section. I thought it was about time I try out these decals I've been producing for the past few years, here then is the Tamiya 1/72 Mossie in Thunderbird Models WWA racer decals. I'm pleased to say the decals were excellent both in fit and ease of application, and I can say this without fear of inflating my own ego because it's down to the original Whiskey Jack artwork and the quality of Fantasy Printshop's work rather than my own efforts! On the other hand, I must be the only person on the planet that is less than enthralled with Tamiya kits; this is the second one I've built that I had major fit problems with. The bomb bay doors were half a millimetre too long and there were large gaps on the sides - an internal spreader bar or two in the fuselage would be an advantage here. The crew hatch also didn't fit well and there were large gaps on the rear of the engine nacelles which necessitated copious amounts of filler. The separate wingtips also needed filler and the fuselage halves weren't the best fit either. On the plus side the fit of the wings to the fuselage was superb, needing no filler at all. Paint is Humbrol 103 Cream which is a very good match for the original aircraft's Diana Cream. The green was mixed from Humbrol 3 Brunswick Green, Xtracolour 151 Willow Green and a bit of blue and white to match the decals. Landing gear and wheel hubs look very dark in photos; I went with Humbrol 85 Coal Black but they could just as easily have been painted in the same green as the trim and spinners. There are also natural metal panels behind the exhausts which I represented with Bare Metal Foil Flat Aluminum. Note that the forward edge of these panels do not follow the panel lines as moulded by Tamiya, they are about 3/32" behind them. I drilled out the exhausts, replaced the pitot with Albion Alloys micro brass tubing, flattened the tyres and added Eduard Superfabric seatbelts and an antenna from Uschi elastic thread but other than that it's straight out of the box. Anyway, for better or worse, here it is: Andy

While we're in the midst of the Great War centenary and on the back of the current surge of interest, for me it would be more WWI types in 1/72 to go with their upcoming Fokker E.II and Be2c; Sopwith Triplane - Revell's the only game in town and it dates from the '60s Sopwith Camel - Roden's aren't bad, but I think Airfix could better them now Sopwith Pup SPAD VII - this and the Pup need retooled wings at the very least; both are horrible RE8 - very important early aircraft only ever done by Airfix. It desperately needs an update DH4 and/or DH 9/9a - other than limited run or resin kits, again these have only been done by Airfix and need modern updates H.P. 0/100 or new 0/400 - wings on the 0/400 are horrible and the 0/100 has never been done as a mainstream kit Realistically I imagine all of these would have to go in the medium or long term categories, though I was very pleasantly surprised to see the Be2c announcement so I live in hope! Other than WWI types I too would love to see a new Lysander, Hampden and Wellington in 1/72 and I'd probably even buy a 1/48 Chipmunk, though it's not my usual scale. A new 1/72 Hart/Demon series wouldn't go amiss either. Andy

Hi all, Regarding the engine and cowling conversions on BXO & BYJ, there is actually no mention of the mods in "Accidental Airline" (a cracking good read by the way if you can get a copy!) however I believe they flew with the original engines when they first entered service with QCA in 1948. The modifications may have been made when the aircraft received its black & yellow paint job; they flew originally in the overall silver colour. I'm not sure if BYM was ever re-engined. I am planning to do resin cowlings, props & engines to go with the decals but Airfix or Academy Hudson cowlings & engines will probably suffice in the meantime, though I haven't tried it myself yet. The 3-blade HS props were from a Canso. Great looking Stranny Jessica! Andy Thunderbird Models Ltd