StevieD

Well this is all experimental but here’s how I did the mottling (with acrylics). First cut some old brushes to this length. As you can see one is well worn but still useful. Then the dry brushing - and by that, I mean REALLY dry. Dip the brush into (unthinned) paint then dab it all off on a paper towel. Press the brush into the surface. It should leave no paint at all. However, if you start jabbing the brush quite firmly and repeatedly onto the surface it will leave a very faint marking. My test 109 paint mule shows this first stage on the engine cowl. Just by the cockpit I’ve left a little more paint on the brush to build up the mottle. (In this area I started with a light mottle of RLM 02). Aft of the cockpit I’ve left even more paint on the brush to deepen the mottle. The trick I think is the first stage – the driest of dry brushes. On the 410 I did a light mottle in grey and a heavier one in green. Then I gave the fuselage a very thin wash of the grey which I think helped to blend things in. After that I deepened the green. Good luck!

Can’t resist an oldie. Remember making this as a kid. Straight out of the box but had to sand down the Titanic size rivets. The Airfix riveter must have gone green with envy when he saw this one. Decent fit apart from the u/c doors which weren’t designed to be shut. The 3 piece canopy is a disaster. Nothing can be seen of the interior (there isn’t one anyway) but even the Revell pilots I put in are invisible. Decals cobbled together to represent Me 410 A-1/U4 flown by Lt. Kaschuba on detachment to II./ZG 26 at Königsberg-Neumark, Germany. Aircraft was shot down and crew KIA on its very first mission on 12th May 1944. Brush painted as ever, this time with Xtracrylix. They just don’t work for me - much prefer Hataka Blue Line. Anyway the main point of this build was the fearsome challenge of doing Luftwaffe mottling with a hairy stick. Not too bad but needs a bit more practice. I'll get it right. Probably. Thanks for looking.

Always wanted to build a P36 and was finally tempted by the AZ offering as I knew there’d never be a real state-of-the-art kit. A few weeks later Arma Hobby announce theirs… Curtiss P36A Hawk, 55th Pursuit Squadron, 20th Pursuit Group, Henderson Field, Louisiana, 1939. Decals from Model Alliance ‘Wings of the Stars.’ Finished with a Humbrol Aluminium Metal Cote rattle can. Not entirely successful as I managed to rub it back to primer in quite a few places. You live and learn. Now if there’s anyone from Arma out there, I’m thinking of going for the Fly Bf108 soon…. Thanks for looking.

Miller was once interviewed by Michael Parkinson who asked if he felt pressure during a match. Miller replied “Pressure is a Messerschmitt up your bottom. Playing cricket is not.” (Miller used a somewhat stronger word for 'bottom')

L4032 was the third HP52 prototype and the first of three pre-production protypes. L4032 and L4033 would eventually go onto the ‘Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment’ while L4034 entered service with 49 Squadron. On 24 June 1938, L4032 was christened by Lady Katharine Mary Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Viscountess of Hampden at Radlett Aerodrome. The first flight of the first ‘Hampden’ took place the same day. See short Pathe film below. It’s an impressive take off… “Shall we taxi out so everyone can get a good look?” “Observe health and safety?” “Nah forget all that… let's go for it!” Airfix 1/72 Vintage Classic. Built OOB and brush painted as ever. Hataka Dark Earth/ DarkGreen /Vallejo Grey Black undersides. I decided on this as I didn’t want to do another PE-A and as far as I can see there are no Hampden after-market decals which is a bit of a surprise. There are a handful of L4032 photographs through. Had to make up the fuselage and fin codes from Ventura RAF code sheet. Took ages to do and can’t be seen in these photos. Underwing codes – which I think are a bit too large - are Model decal. Thickest carrier film I’ve seen and silvered beautifully… Not much to say about the old girl. Sanded down the rivets and added a bit of detail in the cockpit although you can’t see it. If you have a go check the 'wing to fuselage' well in advance. The tabs on the wings WILL NOT fit into the fuselage holes and take a fair bit of carving out to fit. I noticed this a bit late in the build so one wing has annoying seam. As with other Vintage Classics it’s the transparencies that let it down. Wonder if Airfix would consider remoulding them on the Classic range? Didn’t they do that for the Auster? Probably not viable but would improve the old girl no end. Thanks for looking

1/72 Revell from the 60s. A white base then a coat of Future before every yellow coat does the trick. No more brush marks! Give it a go.

Boeing P-26a, 18th Pursuit Group, Wheeler Field, Hawaii, 1939. Oldie but a goodie. For a kit from the 60s(?), crisply moulded and a fit that was ‘Eduardesque.’ A bit of light sanding and not a spot of filler used. Model Alliance Decals - ‘Wings of the Stars Pt 1. Brush painted with Hataka ‘True Blue’ acrylic from the Early USN & USMC Section Colours paint set. After much fiddling around I went for Citadel ‘Averland Sunset’ (Base) for the Yellow Wings. Looks right to me but that’s only me. Very pleased I got a result brush painting the yellow by following the advice on here – white base, Future, yellow, Future and yellow. The gold cowl is Humbrol metallic but think I should have used a yellow base rather than brown. Feeble attempt at rigging with stretched sprue. I don’t care what anyone says, rigging is like playing the violin or singing. Yes, everyone can sort of do it with a bit of practice but you’ve got to have a natural talent to do it properly. And I haven’t. Love the Peashooter but feel it was never used in the way it should have been. It cries out to be mounted on a pole and put on a fairground carousel. Thanks for looking.

North Weald, March 1939. Two pilots of 151 Squadron take in shocking headlines. The Nazis have marched into Prague to ‘restore order and offer protection.’ In the Commons, Chamberlain voices the questions on every mind. “Is this the last attack on a small state, or will it be followed by others? Is this, in fact a step in the direction of an attempt to dominate the world by force?" Airfix 1/72 Hurricane 1, (brush painted as ever) in Hataka acrylics from the RAF Fighters 1939-45 set. Decals from Xtradecal. Not sure if this was a duff sheet. Pre-war roundels were a brighter blue/red, but those supplied are just too bright to my eye so I replaced them. Also the codes were slighty out of register which only became apparent one applied so had to be touched up. Figures from Modelu. Can highly recommend them and have ordered a couple more sets. Great poses and detail. The newspaper here is thinner than the real thing. The chair needs great care in freeing from the sprue as its only too easy to break the legs off. I know this as that’s what I did. Can’t imagine how you’d go about it in 1/144. Painted in Citadel Contrast colours. First time I’ve tried these and think I need a bit more practise. The finish does look a bit shiny, but must be down to my feeble lighting attempt as they are flat matt. Annoyed to find that cat hair has found its way into some shots. But then it seems to find its way into everywhere. Thanks for looking.

It’s supposed to be 1/48. Sadly I’ve killed off the Kilemov. It now resides in the bin as I need the shelf space. It’s a very hard kit to build – not that anyone else would. It’s made up of two types of plastic. The white plastic is some sort of soapy polyurethane that’s impossible to sand or shape. The dark blue plastic for major components is very hard and brittle – so brittle that I snapped a wing in half removing it from the sprue. Both plastics do not respond to any type of glue. Don’t. Just don’t. Thank you for your kind comments.

Just found the quote. Phil Mead’s recollection of ferrying with 84 Group Support Unit Second Tactical air force “Brian and I made daily sorties to the landing strips on the beaches. Because the strips were close to the front line, which moved back and forth daily, we were all issued with khaki battle dress as our air force blue was too much like German army field grey.” Not that this proves anything….

I’ve tried Humbrol RAF blue many times and it just looks too blue to me, especially at 1/72. The few period colour shots that there are show a much darker blue/grey. I remember reading somewhere that on Normandy airfields there was a switch to khaki as allied troops confused RAF uniforms with Luftwaffe uniforms.

Years ago, I picked up (in a Post Office I think) the ‘A to Z’ Corsair. I was intrigued by the box-art - a Korean-era F4U being attacked by an ice-encrusted Bf109G. As a ‘Build and Play’ this is obviously aimed at kids who will never understand history. I didn’t expect much - opening the box, I found even less. The Airfix Riveter and Matchbox Trencher had been taken on by this by this snap-together-kit manufacturer and they really went to town. As for the decal sheet…. Well, sticker sheet. A choice of WW2 and post-war stickers with a Dutch option thrown in. Lots of skulls and even ejection seat warnings. How stickers would have settled over the Everest size rivets I’ve no idea. Only a fool would take this one on. I am that fool. Throwing history and accuracy to the wind I needed a vaguely plausible story…. Autumn 1943. Fishermen in a village near Vladivostok come across an aircraft washed up on the shore. The local party official reports back to Moscow on this strange ‘bent wing American machine.’ He receives orders that the aircraft be taken to the nearest factory and reverse engineered. The result was the Kilemov KTF-5. The agricultural nature of the KTF-5 is easily explained. The party official interpreted Stalin’s order literally. So rather than an aircraft factory, the wreck was taken to the nearby 'Kilemov Tractor Factory 5'. Ivan Kilemov protested but as this was a direct order from Stalin, he’d no choice. In just one month a prototype had been completed. First flight was disappointing. Difficulties with the folding wing mechanism resulted in both wings falling off as the aircraft left the ground. The second prototype employed a fixed wing, while the first was put to work as a tractor on a collective farm. Once airborne, the KTF-5 displayed its agricultural heritage. Underpowered and overweight, it was said to ‘plough through the air.’ Production went ahead but it was clear the KTF-5 was barely airworthy never mind a fighter. With winter setting in, a use for the KTF-5 was found. 15 were fitted with drop tanks filled with vodka and flown to troops on the front line. At least that was the plan. The aircraft took off into a December snowstorm and neither they nor their pilots were ever seen again. It was said that the pilots sampling the contents of their drop tanks the night before was the cause. We will never know. Finished in whatever paints I had laying around and a Halfords white rattle can. Soviet stars from the Fly Bf108 (underwing stars fell foul of rivets and, as I was losing interest, not replaced). Numerals from an Irish Hurricane. If you see this kit, just walk on by. Do not attempt to make it for fun. Because it isn’t. If it’s aimed at kids then they’d be put off modelling for life. Imagine all the aspects of your most difficult builds and roll them into just one kit. That is the ‘A to Z Corsair’. Having said all that, it does actually look something like a Corsair. Thanks for looking.

The figure with the umbrella is most likely British PM, Neville Chamberlain. The umbrella he always carried became a symbol of peace and statesmanship around the time of the Munich crisis and became a very popular image. The Luftwaffe crew took it up here, to show Chamberlain’s umbrella might stop the rain but not their bombs.

...this little gem. Now that’s what I call all-action artwork! Our Anson deals a deadly blow to an FW 190 as another is downed by a Hurricane. Surely the third stands no chance. This was picked up at Hannants Colindale – part of someone’s old stash. I’ve got a few kits around this vintage but never built them. Having been through one owner I thought I’d see if I could do the old lady justice. ‘Made and litho in USA’ on box and must date from the early sixties. Someone will know more than me. The hard, silvery grey plastic of my youth. Well moulded with very little flash. Fit of parts looks good. Off we go. Oh no… hold on…. Looks that last Fw190 managed a direct hit. Utterly unusable canopy. As for the side glazing it looks like a cat smeared a paw over it before it cooled. Unusable. But what’s this? The previous owner comes to the rescue with vac formed canopy and turret! I’ve never tried vac canopies before. Things are made trickier by the fact there's no indication of canopy and turret framing. I decide decal strips are the answer. I’ve never tried to frame a canopy this way. Now’s the time. As for the side glazing, I’m going to attempt cutting it from acetate sheet. Never tried that either. For a while I’ve had my eye on the Xtradecal Coastal Command sheet with a silver pre-war Anson. This is the one I want to do. And so we’re off! Just as I’m about to put knife to plastic I realise the pre-war Anson has a sloped windscreen… too late now… the urge to build is stronger than the need for accuracy… who’ll ever notice… apart from me and everyone on here that looks at it. Anyway here she is. OTB and brush painted with Revell Aluminium acrylic. Some internal framing under side glazing. Made a half-hearted attempt to sand down the wing ribs but it makes little difference. Didn’t quite get the fit of the canopy right and some silver decal strips aren’t quite as accurate as I’d like. Just noticed the ailerons were meant to be glued in position but they've gone a bit 'wild' in some shots. All went well until the bit of a build where, as usual, I make a critical yet stupid mistake. The two top windows could easily have been cut from acetate. But no. I decide to use the kit parts. They’re tight. Too tight. Forcing the first one in I split the fuselage open. Much cursing and remedial work but I think I just got away with it. Of course the upright windscreen will forever bug me but really this was a practise run, because I’ve got this little beauty in the stash. Early bagged and without the ribbed wings and fuselage. One day. One day. Thanks for looking.

Apologies, forgot to include that! It’s the Eduard 1/48 Weekend Edition Vc. Brush painted using the Hataka RAF set. Codes and serials are cobbled together from various sources. There are few photos of 167 Spits and as far as I know none of Lane’s, so my scheme is a best guess. One thing that niggles me is the ‘U’. I intended to use a ‘flat bottomed version’ but applied a rounded one by mistake. The's always something....