Nickthebrief

Moa, These are looking really lovely - as "bigbadbadge" says, your builds are inspirational. As someone who seems to be struggling with a Revell Spitfire that simply has to built "out of the box" I am very impressed by the quality of your work. Thanks for sharing. Nick.

Looking good Richard - going to be ready for our show?! Can't wait to see it... Cheers, Nick.

Excellent - another gem in the making. I know exactly what you mean about Special Hobby kits - it's a love/hate thing - but where would we be without them? Looking forward to following this one. Nick.

Absolutely stunning - have enjoyed every word of your build thread and what a lovely result... Nick.

You're right, of course, Bill - but I have seen the considerable skill and craftsmanship that goes into your builds and have no doubt you can do it! And your posts strongly suggest to me that you really, really want to do the stripey one... It will be another cracking model, whichever way you decide to go... Nick.

I agree... Ditch the turret and go stripey! Nick.

If I remember rightly, on Troy's most excellent "all the Hurricane questions you've wanted to ask...etc" thread, there's a photo of the unrestored early Hurricane in Finland that shows this area as (interior) green.... Just putting it out there... Either way, enjoy the kit - it's a little beauty. Nick.

Threadbear, I'm building the Airfix Sea Fury too - and have noticed (it's impossible to ignore!) that my paintwork, particularly on the upper surfaces, has lots of "swirls" and lines that look totally unrealistic. Like you, I primed the model before applying the top colour. I had a close look at a second, unstarted example of the kit and the swirl lines and patterns are present on the plastic - I don't know exactly what they are caused by, and they are fine enough that without paint they are quite hard to see, but there seems to be subtle differences in the texture/surface over each part that, in my opinion, would not disappear with washing, and is not the fault of your primer... I'm not sure what the cure might be. Thicker paint? A primer that has an element of filler to it? It's very frustrating - I'm going to hope that a flat coat of varnish after applying the decals reduces the effect, but it is never going to win any awards... It seems to me that this kit, like one or two other recent Airfix releases, has such great potential but is let down by irritating details. Cheers and hope you enjoy the rest of the build. Nick.

Lovely JP's Martin - you have done better than me with the dayglo decals - I simply could not get them to conform to even the most gentle of curves and so ended up resorting to a different scheme - the Xtradecal sheet is great and, as you say, has lots of tempting schemes on there... Like you I also built a second one "out of the box" in red, white and grey, and would happily build more - a really great kit. Thanks for sharing. Nick.

Looking at the photo of the Anson, is it just me or does the port wing look about half the length and half the chord of the starboard one? Clearly that can't be the case, or it wouldn't be flying, but the "foreshortening" (or whatever the technical term is) of the nearer wing seems strangely pronounced, to my eyes at least... Even more strange to me is that the tailplanes look absolutely "right". Also, the fabric effect on the rear fuselage is very pronounced - the sort of thing that a kit manufacturer would be criticised for overdoing? I'm in no doubt, however, that you will do a beautiful job on your 1:72 version, Bill - choosing a scheme could be tricky as there are so many tasty ones out there, as per Tony's post. I shall follow along with interest, if I may? Nick.

Hi Woody, Somewhere in the stash there lurks a Tamiya Beaufighter, and some resin to convert it to a Mk 2 - so I guess the kit engines, cowlings (and props I presume?) are going spare... They might take a bit of finding, but are yours if you'd like them. Hopefully that will solve half your power plant problems... Let me know - is "pm me" the thing people say at this point? Nick.

I've had a close look at mine, and about 1cm of the leading edge of the starboard fin seems to be absent - near the top. Not a deal breaker in my view - rest of the kit looks lovely - can't wait to get started on it... Nick.

A lovely job on both. I've recently built the torpedo trolley - I found it really tricky, but I'm not very good with etch... I have a Barracuda or three in the stash and this makes me want to build one... Nick.

I enjoyed watching the Youtube film. For those, like me, of a nerdier persuasion, I was interested to see how the fin flash of the subject Walrus was painted down the aft fuselage sides below the tail; and in the close up of the pilot just before launch, is that a bullet hole in the windscreen?! The kit looks lovely - I have one but, as I'm wrestling with an Albacore at the moment, I might avoid biplanes for a while.... Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing. Cheers, Nick.

Peter, Like so many others, I was enthralled by your Spitfire build and cannot wait to see how this one progresses. I sense you're well on your way with a TT5 - but there was an all over silver Mk IV (apart from anti-glare panel) - TW692 which features in a couple of photos - one I think in the Warpaint book...? Again, I think the silver was probably painted rather than natural metal - and I would think the yellow/black undersides and target towing gear of the TT5 would be really eye catching.... But I wouldn't want you to get to the end and then think "I should have done THAT one!" Looking forward to the next instalment. Cheers, Nick.

Blimey! That's a bit special. What an incredibly lifelike effect you have achieved with the wood, and in fact with the whole model. Great work, thanks for sharing. Nick.

That's a lovely build. Can I ask: are the yellow and black chequers on the tail bullet fairing decals or painted? They look perfect! Thanks for sharing this great work. Nick.

If I could master posting pictures, I'd put up a photo... Having said which, if I can email one to you then I'd be happy to do that. I don't think it's a K or an M... Nick.

That's really intriguing Ian. The date is definitely right as that was the year ('73) that we went on our holiday. It seems odd that the captain (who signed the logbook, although I cannot make out the name) would have got the registration wrong - but it must be... Looking at it again.... It's not the clearest "N" but I can't see what else it could be.... Perhaps a "J" ? I realise that without sight of the logbook it's a tad tricky for anyone else to speculate! Also listed is early 747 G-AWNF.... Nick.

That's a lovely model of a lovely aeroplane - great work. By chance, I was rummaging through an old shoe box of "stuff" the other day, and found my BOAC "Junior Jet Club" logbook - it recorded a flight on SVC10 G-ASGN on 14 March 1973 (when I was two years old) from New York to London - 6 hours 50 minutes and 3456 statute miles, apparently! It was part of a trip I made with my parents to Trinidad and Tobago that also included two flights on G-ASGH... Those were the days! Nick.

Really lovely work there - the Hurri is such a lovely machine. The weathering looks spot on to me, and it is a very attractive scheme. May I suggest a Sea Hurricane to complement your gaggle? Nick.

Hi Martian, Assuming that the (resin) engine and (plastic) cowling are the same as the Skua, you should be ok if my recent experience of building that kit (twice!) is anything to go by. Gluing all the exhaust stubs on is tedious, but at least they are there - unlike the SH Albacore kit which makes no attempt to reproduce the exhaust pipes connecting the cylinders to the collector ring at all... Enjoy - and we will carry on enjoying your build, which goes from strength to strength! Nick. PS In my (limited) Skua research I never came across a picture of a Roc with TT stripes....

I trust that after all your skill and hard work, you won't be displaying your model as crashed in a hedge? That would seem a shame - although I'm sure you'd do it beautifully! Nick.

That rigging idea looks great. Have just been onto Bob's Buckles website and ordered a few for my Albacore build. Your WIP continues to inspire! Nick.

Hey! I recognise that Tiffie! And it looks every bit as good on here as it does "in the flesh". That shield in the background of one of the shots also looks very impressive - whose name is on it for this year? Clearly a highly talented modeller...!!! One of these days you can show me how to post photos onto this site and I can finally prove that I also build the odd thing. Nick.