jonf45

Thank you all very much for your comments 😁 Is a bit too modern for my usual cold war builds (last time i built anything contemporary was probably in the 90s!!!), but was nice to do something different, and to me, its the best looking of the modern fighters 😍

Thats a fantastic build, remember seeing it at RIAT 98, certainly looked different! Great work 👍

Hi recently finished this 1:48 Rafale. Built OOB, due to not being able to find any suitable FAF decals readily available at the time! Its the C version which comes with decals for the Arctic Tiger scheme, but I just wanted a standard grey one after watching them at Waddington last year The kit goes together mostly well, there are parts in the box which I assume are for the Marine version so you have to be careful to get the correct parts. Because of the shape of the forward fuselage, you have to be quite careful and patient when putting the 2 halves together, and it needs to be done in stages to get the shape right. If anyone's contemplating doing one id suggest watching the excellent youtube videos with the guy from flory models, helped me a lot. Anyway, the other issues were the usual one of not knowing exactly the shade of grey thanks to the French not using the FS system, and as much as I tried I couldn't get the canopy perfectly clean I've not decided whether to have the canopy open or not so for the photos its just placed on, so in some not perfectly aligned!! The decals are ok, some just wouldn't sit down without showing a bit of film despite micro sol/set etc, but its not too noticeable except in the bright sunshine I decided to do the photos in, doh!! There are plenty of weapons/stores choices due to the modular nature of the kit. The refuelling probe wont sit at the correct angle really, and I will probably at some stage chop the canards and move them toward the body slightly as the seem a little too far out to me. It was airbrushed using Mr Color Acrylic paints and weathered using Flory Models Dark dirt wash for a bit of contrast. Other than those minor issues, a really enjoyable build, that to me looks far better on the shelf than it does in the pics, typical!! Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-10 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-7 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-11 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-13 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-14 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-4 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1.48 Rafale C 127-8 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Thanks for looking Jon

Sorry for late reply, but thank you all for the comments. Thank you, they looked about "right" to my eyes so that's what I went for in the end!! The wheels aren't actually that shiny, not sure why they look so much so in the pics!! Yeah, it was so bizarre as certain bits went together so well! I've seen a few other posts since saying similar things so don't feel so bad thinking it was just me!!!

Hi, Completed this Kinetic 1:48 Dassault Mirage IIIS recently. Built OOB, and finished as J-2327 of 16 Staffel, Sion AB, Swiss Air Force, circa 1996. Airbrushed using Mr Color Acrylics and weathered using Mig Ammo washes. I had issues with getting the correct colours, as the ones specified looked wrong to me, so I went with what I thought "felt right" from memory and from my photos! The kit went together really well to begin with, the fuselage and engine parts went together snugly, but when i was joining the fuselage to the wings there was about a 2mm gap!! So i effectively had to break the fuselage open to get it to fit a bit better before copious amounts of filler, ugh. The canards didnt fit particularly well either, and i broke the pitot tube about 4 times!!! This one was chosen as its one of the frames that came to the ACMI deployment RAF Waddington in 1996, and thus has the orange training rounds and supersonic tanks 1.48 Mirage IIIs J-2327-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr 1.48 Mirage IIIs J-2327-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr 1.48 Mirage IIIs J-2327-4 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr 1.48 Mirage IIIs J-2327-7 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr 1.48 Mirage IIIs J-2327-12 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr 1.48 Mirage IIIs J-2327-9 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr 1.48 Mirage IIIs J-2327-8 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Thanks for looking Jon

My word those are some fantastic photos, great weather and great subjects! All superb, but the B-58 and B-47...... wow!!!! Jon

Thank you all very much for your comments Jon

Hi, A few pics from RAF Waddington last Wednesday for Exercise "Atlantic Trident", got very lucky with the weather for the most part Rafales RAF Waddington 01.11.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale C 132 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale C 136 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale C 136 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale C 132 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale B 351 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale C 132 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-6 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale C 136 RAF Waddington 01.11.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafales RAF Waddington 01.11.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Rafale C 132 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-8 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr TBM700 105 RAF Waddington 01.11.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Falcon 900LX G-ZAHS RAF Waddington 01.11.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Shadow R1 ZZ419 RAF Waddington 01.11.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Phenom T1 ZM335 + ZM336 RAF Waddington 01.11.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Hawk T.1 XX325 RAF Waddington 01.11.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Loads more in Flickr, Video is here: https://youtu.be/doazr_CHF_0?si=Iyl1DksFsG2fUgI2 Thanks for looking Jon

Thank you for the comments

Wow!!! Stunning photos, must have been a hell of a trip

Lovely build in a cracking scheme, used to love seeing the DC-8s. Great work 👍

Hi, recently built this Eduard 1:48 Mig-21BIS, decided to do it as Finnish Air Force MG-129 of HaaLLv 31, Kuopio, circa 1981. Chose this scheme as i had the matchbox 1:72 version as a kid!!! Built oob, airbrushed using Mr Color Acrylic paints and Mig Ammo washes. All in all it went together very nicely, the only real issue i had was getting the 4 tiny aoa vanes onto the pitot tube....... really wish id just bought an add on one Not too sure about the paint scheme but i went with the "more grey" as it looked closer to the photos i was using rather than the earlier brown. Either way, its done and on the shelf now Eduard 1-48 Mig-21BIS MG-129 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Eduard 1-48 Mig-21BIS MG-129-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Eduard 1-48 Mig-21BIS MG-129-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Eduard 1-48 Mig-21BIS MG-129-4 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Eduard 1-48 Mig-21BIS MG-129-7 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Eduard 1-48 Mig-21BIS MG-129-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Eduard 1-48 Mig-21BIS MG-129-6 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Thanks for looking Jon

Thank you all for your comments the removal of "visible" registartions is certainly causing a bit of unrest! I can understand the need for security but I really don't see how that makes any real difference!!!

Fantastic build, looks absolutely at home with that set up, I thought it was just photos of the aircraft you were going to build!!! Loved watching the Tridents when I was a kid at LHR, so much character compared to a320s etc nowadays!!!

That's a beautiful build, weathering looks spot on to me, top work 👍

Hi, only just got round to doing these pics from August! Fantastic museum, would highly recommend a visit if you're in the area 👍 Lightning F6 XR771 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr F-101F 56-0312 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-6 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr This beast was halfway through a repaint!! F-104G R756 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-4 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr TS-11 408 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Mil Mi-24D 06 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Mig-21 SPS 959 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Gnat F1 XK724 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Canberra PR3 WF922 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Tornado GR4 ZA452 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-9 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Hunter F6A XF382 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Mysytere IV-A 70 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr F-4C 63-7699 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Vulcan B.2A XL360 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Sea Harrier FA2 ZE694 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Vampire F1 VF301 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr and one for the modellers F-100D 54-2174 Midland Air Museum 24.08.23-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Cheers Jon

wow, thats a stunning set, incredibly clear and crisp, superb

Thanks Mark, yeah it does seem a little bizarre, well have no chance if they start doing that on the fighters too

After watching KC10 84-0191 go over my house into MLD on Sunday, i made a run over to get a couple pics. Glad i did as we then had 4 KC-135 arrivals and the delayed C-5 just before the sun disappeared!! C-5M 86-0019 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr C-5M 86-0019 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-10A 84-0191 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-46A 19-46064 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-46A 19-46064 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Had a couple of the non marked KC135s, not impressed!!! KC-135R 63-8034 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-135R 63-8034 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-135R 59-1480 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-135R 58-0100 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-135T 60-0335 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr KC-135R 59-1480 RAF Mildenhall 22.10.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Thanks for looking Video is here: https://youtu.be/LXtaj-hwnRI?si=VPX_Cjow3H3EBHHd Jon

Hi, cant believe this is now 10 years ago!! The Final RAF VC10 sortie from Brize Norton, flown by K.3s ZA150 and ZA147, callsign "Tartan 51/52", 20th of September 2013: VC10 K3 ZA150 + ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-6 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-1 (2) by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA147 + ZA150 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA150 + ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA150 + ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-6 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-13 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-14 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA150 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA147 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-15) by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr VC10 K3 ZA150 RAF Brize Norton 20.09.13-4 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Thanks for looking Jon

As requested, a couple of shots with the 3D printed engine and exhaust covers on. Sadly, they dont fit particularly well, and in trying to get them on originally they broke as the plastic is very brittle( not sure if thats usual??) . After gluing them back together(not an easy task either!!) i gave them a quick bit of paint and a dark wash. Was too scared to do much else 🤣 The engine covers are still cracked but on the inside so i can live with that!!! Revell 1-48 Tornado F3 ZE760-15 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1-48 Tornado F3 ZE760-14 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Revell 1-48 Tornado F3 ZE760-13 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Cheers Jon

Thank you both very much

Brilliant set, all belters, but the Austrian Draken...... 😍😍😍 Hard to think thats now 20 years ago 😱 jon

absolutely stunning set of photos, many thanks for sharing 🤩 Jon

Morning, A few from a very enjoyable Monday at RAF Waddington, including the return of ZZ666, NATO E-3 departure and of course the RCAF CF-188s RC-135W ZZ666 RAF Waddington 11.09.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr RC-135W ZZ666 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr E-3A LX-N90443 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr E-3A LX-N90443 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr RC-135W ZZ665 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr RC-135W ZZ665 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Shadow R1 ZZ419 RAF Waddington 11.09.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188As + RC-135W ZZ665 RAF Waddington 11.09.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188735 RAF Waddington 11.09.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188735 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188736 RAF Waddington 11.09.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188736 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-3 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188736 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-1 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188774 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188774 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-5 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188774 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-6 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188757 + 188735 RAF Waddington 11.09.23 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr CF-188A 188757 RAF Waddington 11.09.23-2 by Jonathan Francis, on Flickr Thanks for looking, loads more in Flickr Cheers Jon