Steve Coombs

Welcome back to the fray! Man of Kent or Kentish man? I grew up (supposedly) in the Medway Towns.

Glad to know it didn't just happen to me!

I build aircraft and have done for nearly 50 years (gulp!). If the mojo slackens, I change tack and build something different. Model figures make a pleasant change, and various friends and colleagues have GoT figures or Warhammer figures keeping a beady eye on them as a consequence. Then I look at the stash, which is possibly SABLE by now, and find an aircraft that has rekindled my interest. Or, as has been the case during self-isolation, open a box of stashed kits and aspire to build them so the box is empty by the time I am able to roam freely again. It's about a kit a week so far, and I am not feeling any pain. A Sword Lightning F3 is on the workbench now, and next up will be a Hunter conversion (Revell + PJ Conversions) to replace the Xtrakit T7 abomination I wrestled into submission some years back.

Xtradecal X48070 is still available, if anyone's looking for some ready inspiration.

Just got the Eduard Udet Du Doch Nicht! triple boxing. The kits are old favourites, and the decal sheets are magnificent. The WW1 version of Lo! visibility?

If you don't mind my asking, how are those shelves attached? I had something similar about 30 years ago. Unfortunately, the top shelf sagged in the middle under its own weight over time (only being supported on brackets at each end, which I really should have screwed the shelves to), came off at one end, fell, and smashed everything flat beneath it. Some support in the middle would have save a lot of anguish.

Oh, that is a harsh fate for your hard work. A couple of builds of mine fell prey to cats rather than children. It's frustrating nevertheless. I hope the youngster has learned the errors of his ways without too many tears.

Hi Eivind, very nice work there. I do something similar. However, I use Faber Castell watercolour pencils in various shades of brown and merge the lines with a paintbrush dipped in a little water. Some of the excess runs into panel lines or corners and functions as a kind of wash, which is an unintended benefit. When all is dry, I seal it with varnish, then go over it with clear yellow or clear orange to suit. You're right; the pencils definitely need a rough surface to work on properly. Quicker than using oil paints, though!

I live in the town where Bertha Benz made the first fuel stop in modern motoring history. She got some Ligroin (mineral spirits) from the chemist's in the high street to refuel the vehicle. There's a stylised statue of her and her sons on board the vehicle in the little square opposite. I got hold of this kit a couple of weeks ago and am looking forward to building something that isn't an aircraft! Sometime in future, when I've built the kit, the weathers's fine, and I'm not under coronavirus-related restrictions, I intend to take a picture of the finished model together with this statue.

I have never built an Fw-190. But I have three ready and waiting in the stash. Does that count?

Six and counting! I got one of these at the Zeiskam show the other week, and am curious to see the finished article.

Gillingham - the home of the shouting men (which is where Gills fans get their nickname from). The Gill- part of the name, after a millennium and change, gives us the modern word 'yell'. Perhaps I should stick to building model aircraft...

Hello there, Medway man! (I spent my formative years in Rainham) Welcome to the forums. If you're into armour, I imagine the Royal Engineers Museum is a ready source of inspiration!

Hi Eivind, I have this sinking feeling you're going to have to scour eBay either for Eduard 8044 or AeroMaster 48-185. I only get hits on Amazon for vacuum cleaner accessories, which do not bring us any further! I've got some D.IIIa kits, but unfortunately none with those markings in the right scale for you. Perhaps someone on this forum has the markings and are willing to part with them. Anybody out there willing and able to help?

Heat-shrink tubing does the job too, and lets you control the width of the band as well.