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REVIEW So, I've used my new Rolson Magnifying Visor a couple of times and here are my thoughts..... The major plus - the magnification is brilliant! Not just for painting but I'm finding I wear it more and more, pretty much for everything in fact. I know I won't be modelling without one in future - I'm seeing things I just COULDN'T see before. My detail painting has improved immeasurably. Despite being plastic the optics are good tho I'm a little worried about cleaning them especially if I accidentally get adhesive or paint on them. I wouldn't want to go bigger than 2.5 tho as the focal length is just adequate at about seven to eight inches or less. I may go down one to 1.8 and see if it's still enough detail in exchange for a slightly longer focal length. It's a big plus that with the Rolson you get FOUR sets of lenses of varying power thus allowing you to try out different settings. The bad point and it's a big one......The friction locks on each side which allow the visor to be lifted in the up position are VERY poor. They need tightening every time the visor is moved and I'm really not confidant as to how long they will work for, being a cheap design. Bear in mind I have not fitted the batteries for the light into the lifting part of the visor to reduce the weight of the visor....... Maybe that's why you pay more than twice as much for an Optivisor? If their design is of better quality and proves to be robust then I'd say it's worth the extra money, even if it is more than double.....you're only going to buy once after all. I suspect I'll end up buying twice before I'm done. Perhaps an Optivisor owner could comment? So overall - a huge YES to magnified modelling but the jury's still out on whether the Rolson is good value for money or just cheap and maybe nasty. Best TonyS

Please forgive me for showing my ignorance, but this is the 1/32 kit, yes? I bought it some years ago and have been saving it for when my skills improve a bit but BTH I have been a bit put off by all the very negative reviews that it receives. I even thought of selling it on recently but couldn't bear to, I love the Lightning and a big 1/32 kit really gets me excited! Not only that but I also love the colourful 56 Squadron schemes and have happy memories of their Tornado displays in the nineties. I'm so glad you managed to get such an excellent result and you seem to have proven that it can be done with not tooooo much effort, tho possibly too much for me!!! Always assuming I've got the right scale that is!!!! (If not please ignore all of the above and I'll stand in the corner) Nice one BTW TonyS

Very nice job! TonyS

So, I got one! Bought from Maplins. The price was £17.99 not less than ten pounds! Maybe I made a mistake or the offer ended. But you know how it is, I was there, it was in my hand, I had the money.......this is it I haven't used it in anger yet, but have fitted the 2.5 lenses and tried it out. The friction locks on the visor seem a bit iffy, but whilst the lenses are plastic the seem to be optically good. Taking advice I haven't fitted the batteries so as to reduce front end weight (I have a good daylight desk light) Seems to work fine over my specs but do remember to wear reading glasses not varifocals, no matter how much you lift your head you won't see the target!!!!! I'll let you all know how it performs soonest. Regards TonyS

If you get away with a hole in your work top or a melted kit you could be lucky, if left in the wrong place at the wrong time this can easily burn your house down!!! TonyS

Vonkey KongYou may well be right, my efforts to date are somewhat hamfisted and impatient. I just like to get it finished! But, the fuse halves went together fine, when I came to dry fit the canopies the meeting face between front (fixed) and rear (opening) canopies didn't line up. Sooooo I decided to shave a little off here and there......unfortunately this made things worse! So I then had to graft some scrap onto the rear opening canopy and reshape. This worked out better than I expected! In any event, it's now on my display cabinet and I'm moving on! I'm not a great modeller, just an enthusiastic one, returning to a wonderful hobby, however, I do love to post here as there is always a gem of an idea in the responses that I can use in my next build. Your suggestions re canopy fixing much appreciated. Hopefully as time goes by the quality will improve! In the meantime, I'm enjoying my return to the hobby very much :-) TonyS

Sorry Mike Our posts crossed.... ......do you think that the glass lenses in the optivisor are worth the 5X cost? They may well be, as I know from my own spectacle prescriptions that generally cheap is not good enough and for something that you wear everyday and rely on for good sight quality is paramount and cannot be beaten by cheapness! TonyS

Thanks everyone for the great range of rapid replies. I suspect that the vast price differences reflects the quality of the lenses? Maybe not but I can't think of any other reason. However...... Anthony, thanks so much for that link, my local Maplins has that model in stock, on offer at £9.95!!! I can buy that before committing to the Optivisor and if it's terrible can afford to write it off! Also I can look at it and try it on in the shop. On Amazon it gets good reviews, with the odd one star, which is par for the course and makes buying off the net so difficult! I do like the tilting design where you can swivel the whole magnifying lenses up and out of the way as per the Optivisor. Little Cars....thanks for your input too, I'll bear your option in mind if the Maplins set doesn't work out. I must admit that I am a believer that generally you get what you pay for and would like to think the quality of the Optivisor lenses reflects this, I can see no point in buying something cheap that distorts your view and looks like a magnifying glass out of a Christmas Cracker......... time will tell. Once again, thanks for the great responses, clearly this is an issue for many of us older, returning modellers........ As a thought...........do we have the facility to do a Britmodeller test review on a selection of those magnifying options/items that are available to members? I think this would be of great benefit to many members. Please keep the advice and comments coming! Best Regards and thanks TonyS

Hi Guys Just wondering if anyone uses one of these? I started my 1/48 F9F-5 Panther today and was looking at some cockpit images online. I was amazed at the detail that other modellers had achieved which made me think I was building a different model! I dug out a hand-held magnifying glass and sure enough my kit has the same detail. I just couldn't see it! My 55 year old eyes aren't great, with a massive astigmatism in on eye, I wear varifocal specs all the time plus need reading glasses, which I use for modelling......but I didn't realise that they were that bad. I'm seriously thinking about investing in one of these probably #5 2.5 X with 8" focal length, or possibly #4 2.0X with 10" focal length. So, does any one else here use one of these and do you think they are a good investment? Current prices inc. VAT seem to be about £50.00 so not a cheap thing to buy. Hope someone can advise me? Best Regards TonyS

Hi all Finally got my first 1/48 Frightening finished today. It's been a decent build tho I struggled big time with the canopy. It didn't seem to fit, so I filed it "a bit" then it definitely didn't fit so had to build it up again, a new experience! Also tried Revell Contacta Clear to secure the canopy, didn't work for me......tried plastic cement (runny) not much better, gave in and used superglue, worked great and then misted the canopy DOH! WHAT IS the best adhesive for canopies??? Lots of stencils which I actually quite enjoyed doing tho it took some time. They give a great effect I think. Tried some new techniques too. Pre shaded panel lines.......and then put too much top colour on and nearly obscured the shading! Drilled out the port and starboard nav lights and then painted the inside with Tamiya Clear colours, I'm really pleased with this. I tried Bare Metal Chrome foil for the first time on the intake ring and was happy with the very shiny result, certainly better than any paint, tho I did get a couple of small creases in it trying to fold it around the complex shape. I sorry to say that a couple of very tiny aerials got lost to the carpet muncher........ The colour scheme is not exactly as per the instructions, Barley Grey/ Light Aircraft Grey demarcation is low on the fuse at the wiring trunking, gun pack is silver with black lines. This came from pics of this aircraft in "Lightning" Ian Black, Airlife Publishing". I think this scheme was just prior to the airframes retirement? It's taken me a while to complete and isn't relevant to my theme of US Navy jets from the Cold War, but the Lightning is my all time fave aircraft and brings back very happy memories of Mildenhall in it's heyday. Hope you enjoy. Criticism is very welcome, please be gentle! There's still a 1/48 Airfix F1/F3 in the stash which I salted away years ago, saving that for a gorgeous 56 Squadron Firebirds build at some point in the future :-) Next Up Monogram 1/48 F9F-5 Panther kit..... circa 1989........? Less bits than the lightning! TonyS

Nobody? Well, never mind, decision made......Purists look away now! I've decided to live with the creamy undersides, I really don't want to paint it yet again and for me the pleasure is in the build. I'm not trying to create exact reproductions. Although I have in fact altered the scheme from that in the painting guide to reflect some contemporary pics I have of this particular aircraft eg belly pack in silver/chrome and camo line along the electrical conduit low on the fuse rather than Barley Grey for the whole fuse, with LAG just on the under surfaces. If this isn't correct please don't be too critical when I post ready for inspection pics, I'll be happy (I hope) and it should still look good on the shelf. I think it's the fun of this hobby isn't it? Take it as far as you like or just build and enjoy! I AM learning some new skills, I now know that I hate tiny PE bits.......I know my eyes aren't as good as they were but TBH, I JUST can't be bothered with sub mm bits........ ;-) TonyS

Hi all First post in a while. I'm trying to progress my Airfix Lightning F2/F6 1/48 two colour scheme, light aircraft grey/barley grey. Having done a lot of searching I have used Vallejo 883 silver grey for the light aircraft grey, but to me it looks cream? TBH I'm loathed to re paint having painted it three times already.... Plain 883 Then.......Decided to try my first panel line shading, so did that and repainted 883, looked OK! Painted red fin and wing leading edges and found my masking was wanting........oh sh++++++ Painted it again..... BUT This colour just doesn't look right, I've rechecked online sources and they say 883 but I think I should have used 990.....? Any thoughts guys? NB copied this from my post in "paints" for some expert aircraft modellers advice. I know this forum is crammed with "Frightening" nuts! Thanks TonyS

Go for 1/48 You know it makes sense! TonyS

Very nice Marines bird! TonyS

Is this link of any interest guys? https://hangar47.com/RF-8_Crusader.html TonyS

Lovely Intruder, that's some debut! Welcome to Britmodeller. TonyS

Nice work. Bought one of these in 1/48 at Gloucester a couple of weeks ago, looking forward to the build. TonyS

How nice to see an example of a Parnall aircraft. We live in YATE where these little known aircraft were built, in fact our house is on the site of the long gone factory sports fields. Parnall is a company that is pretty much sidelined in British aviation histories and I think it all the more interesting for that. Whilst none of its models enjoyed great success some were very interesting if not a little innovative eg the plane designed for launch from a submarine....! It's a lovely little build Patrick, well done! I think I may have to attempt one myself one day. TonyS

Nice work! A7 is one of my faves. TonyS

That's lovely! Well done. I'm also on a US navy Cold War journey........ NB does this Esci kit have recessed panel lines? My F8 didn't, they stood proud and were also very faint so I built it as delivery standard!!! Best TonyS

GJ Re brushes. Are those the basic red Humbrol brushes or the posh triangular blue ones? I find the red ones tend to lose bristles? TonyS

Thanks so much for your kind comments. TonyS

Re decals The aircraft depicted is from VMF-122 (later VMF(AW)-122) , "The Crusaders". They were the first Marine Corps squadron to be equipped with the LTV F8 Crusader in December 1957 at MCAS Beaufort and the squadron name was altered accordingly from "The Candystripers". They operated the F8 till they were re-equipped with the F-4B Phantom in 1964. In 2011 the Military Religious Freedom Foundation took exception to the cross of St George and shield and sword motifs and threatened legal action on religious grounds.......rather disappointingly (IMHO) the US military folded and the squadron reverted to an earlier name, the werewolves. My unweathered bird is pictured shortly after this time.... The decals were produced for the Hsegawa Crusader and the rudder swords were way too big Nd had to be cut down accordingly, amazing how the same aircraft in the same scale can vary (I assume they were an accurate fit on the Hasegawa?). Another blooper I made. I got the angle on the ventral strakes wrong and along with a nose leg oleo angle error the strakes scraped along the deck.....oops! Had to cut off and re angle the strakes, also gave the nose leg oleo less nitrogen pressure at the same time :-) NB Vertical stabiliser was modded to remove rearward antenna bulge in original Esci kit form. Best TonyS

Well I finished my second effort. This kit gets a very bad press, warped fuselages, wings like bananas etc. I guess I was lucky. I only paid £5.00 for it at last years Yeovilton show and it's been a simple and fun build. Admittedly some of the parts fit wasn't great. The wing wouldn't align with the fuselage for and aft and required some cutting, sanding and filling. The undercarriage doors were a bit of a nightmare and I resorted to drilling the fuselage to take the "hinges" and the rear cockpit canopy just didn't fit (maybe the fuselage halves were a bit warped.....) and took filler and fettling, still not right and the paint job suffered, best not to look to closely. As previously sprayed with Tamiya and Vallejo and brush painted details with Humbrol enamel. After my experience with old decals on my last build I used Aeromaster "Colourful Crusaders" #9, they went on a treat and look great I think. So great fun, good practise and not to shabby if not subject to close scrutiny. Next up a departure from USN and a better quality kit altogether, my first "Frightening" Airfix 1:48 F2/F6. Thanks for looking, be gentle! TonyS

KevHasegawa is generally accepted as the best, it's the only one that allows you to build from the box with the wing in the raised angle of attack position and slats and flaps down. Received wisdom is that a little fettling is needed in this configuration. I don't think it's current, but is still available on EBay ( I bought one last week!). If you want cheap and cheerful, go for Esci, I paid £5.00! Also available Revell. Both now ex stock. TonyS