Steve Coombs

I'm glad to see the grey/green upper surfaces have soft edges like their F-104 predecessors. I still think the Luftwaffe Norm 62 pattern was a carry-over from WW2.

Oh, that is so good. God knows where I will find the space for it, but this now makes me determined to get one for myself. Everything folded might fit... They'd better have some in Bühl at the end of the month!

I built one of the more recent Revell Halifaxes a while ago; Colin's upgrades are definitely worth getting. The old Matchbox reboxes appear to be readily available, but the Revell kits with the inaccurate nacelles are rare as hen's teeth and going for atrocious prices on eBay around here at the moment. Wouldn't it be nice if Airfix announced a spanking new accurate Halifax in 1/72 at Telford next month?

Looking good!

Ooh! Got one of these in the stash. Do you mind if I have a good lurk on this thread?

With 20/20 hindsight, I wonder if it would have made a difference by installing the undercarriage doors before attaching the lower wing to the fuselage. You would at least have been able to manipulate the things from both sides to wrestle them into place, and making the wheel bay apertures larger to fit would also have been easier (or shave bits off the doors so they fit, of course). True confession - I haven't built any of my Typhoon 1bs yet, so I can't speak from first-hand experience. I build a lot wheels down, so it might not be an issue for me.

Splendid work there! It's nice to see a South American Sukhoi.

Joining the mass lurk here. On a previous build, I found it convenient to install the entire undercarriage bar wheels and doors before joining the wing halves. This let me get good solid joins for the various struts and bits without too many contortions. In a future build, I will experiment with joining the nose and fuselage first for a firm join, then sliding the wing front first into the assembly. The lower leading edge wedge each side of the nose will either guide the wing gently into place or lever the nose off, one thing or another!

Job's a good'un!

Consider the wise words of the constitutional peasants. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4PtwybKEXw

I shall indulge in a good lurk here. The way things are going, it's going to be Christmas before local stockists will have any, so I will use the time to see how others build the kit.

Oh, that looks good!

That would have gone down a treat with the Navy, who could then have made various quips about Crabs flying Crabs.

Looking good. I always have respect for people who tackle the Viggen splinter camouflage. Will you use pre-cut masks or prepare your own?

That is a splendid build! Was there any bother with the rear cockpit bulkhead fouling the fit of the wings and the merge to the intakes, which is something to be aware of when building the smaller Airfix Gnat in 1/72?

Several of my models fell prey to my ex when she dropped a vacuum cleaner on them. One way to say she didn't like the hobby.

Looking great! However, it looks like the varnish has fuzzed the red cross on the port side. A quick fix, though.

Lovely work! Are you going to rig it?

So, 19 or 92 Sqn?

Dear me, you're suffering for your art there. That wing root/fuselage split is an odd one. Was the fix simply to remove the wedged material and seal the seam? Better luck this time round.

I've found this to be a fine reference for checking assorted lumps and bumps: https://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/lightning/history.php

It must have taken some real effort to get the blades on the wrong side and evidently not notice! Perhaps that also accounts for the stress marks you can see in the blades. At least they didn't snap at the weakest point; it's a swine of a job to drill and pin the things back into place (OK, you might find it easy, be gentle with me).

Very nice work there. You have me worried now - I've got that kit in the stash and hoped to build it with a vampire knight. Your wraiths have given me a mad idea; if I build the complete zombie dragon, I could have a red wraith to its left, a green one to the right, and a white one behind. I could even rig them with LEDs to flash at regular intervals...

Just discovered this. Looking good there! My possible son-in-law-to-be is into 40K and I fear he has led me to the Dark Side. I admire people who build then paint; I find the modular approach much easier - fewer contortions required to be sure I haven't missed a bit when painting. The potential downside is then being sure I have been consistent with colours, washes, and what-have-you.

That looks quite the business. Could you fake the bracing with suitable pencil lines, or would that be just as awkward as inserting 'proper' ones?