johnny akes

Thanks Joachim, basic error on my part - I must have been building on autopilot at that point. I’ll correct that straight away. thanks all for the positive feedback, much appreciated.

I don't recall seeing too many of these on here before, I thought I'd do it before starting Airfix's Mk. IX to see how they compare as build experiences: Shame about the bottom cowling coming adrift on this one: And to finish, one with the Tamiya Mk. XIII and Revell's Mk. IX: Thanks for looking J.A.

That’s a terrific result, and I love the glamour shot, great photography!

I remember being fixated on this kit as a kid, even writing to Airfix to find a local stockist - they couldn’t help, but at least they replied… When I finally got it I just couldn’t get the upper wing to fit properly on its struts and eventually gave up. I’d love someone to bring this out in a bigger scale, as beautiful a result as this is I can’t face the thought of tackling it again in such a small scale (for me). This is a wonderful example though and exactly as I hoped mine would turn out all those years ago.

A Revell kit with 400+ parts is a major departure for them, hinting at unprecedented levels of detail - full engines, cockpit, gun bays etc would be the only way they would get anywhere near such a high parts count. Looking to challenge Tamiya and Airfix (later kits) perhaps?

Lovely model John, brings back memories of living beneath the Elmdon flight path in the 60s and 70s - DC3s, Comets, Caravelles, Britannias and these noisy little buggers coming & going. Although for ‘noisy’ you could substitute ‘ear shattering’, this was truly the era before noise pollution was an actual thing!

That looks very nice and well detailed for what is apparently a fairly modest parts count. Any AM or scratchbuilding involved with the engine?

Excellent work George, the weathering is superb and exactly where it needs to be. The kit is a joy to build but the skill is what you do with it afterwards. Regards JA

Wonderland Models has the Tiger on offer for about £640 (£90 off), but I can’t find anything for the Sherman.

Do we really need another guess-the-kit thread of peoples’ wishlists?

Be great if it is - I’m warming to the idea of 1/35 aircraft (although I’ve yet to get any😄) as my available display shelf space diminishes.

I’d love to be in the boardroom of one of these companies when they hear what the other is bringing out! (I'm naive enough to believe it’s all coincidence and there’s no collusion between them)

Brilliant, utterly believable weathering. The treatment of the drop tanks is especially impressive.

Excellent work Oliver, that paintjob is amazing - wonderfully steady airbrush control. I’m impressed by the density of the squiggly brown overlay, I would have thought the paint would have been too thin to be so opaque over the green base coat.

Looks to be a lovely kit, and having initially not been sure about this growing 1/35 aircraft movement the more I think about it the more it makes sense: apart from the obvious tie-in with AFVs and figures I find 1/48 to be too small for anything with less than 2 engines, while 1/32 can be limiting in terms of display space. It would be nice for more manufacturers to bring out kits in this scale to firmly establish it as a significant niche in its own right.

I use Frisk Artist’s Blue Masking Fluid from Hobbycraft - surprisingly cheap (especially for Hobbycraft) which I found was better than any other I’d tried as it seemed slightly thinner, but worked just as well. Don’t know if they still sell it though as I’ve had my current bottle for quite a while now.

I saw this at Telford a few years ago but went for the HKM version when Border originally said they wouldn’t be releasing it, although I’ve still to build it. The WNW one was/is much the better with its tin canning and (I think) more accurate interior, although I’m not sure how much you can actually see inside? I too thought a new release was unlikely given Border’s take on the full kit’s limited availability, and it will be interesting to see how it compares to HKM’s price-wise.

That’s a great looking early Hurricane Tolga, how do you rate the PCM kit? Regards JA

Looks highly realistic Calum, especially in its ‘in flight’ mode. Great model. If it isn’t quite that weathered in real life yet, it might be soon…..🙁

You need to do more WWII planes! The paintjob is superb, especially the distressed wing root and streaks behind the exhausts.

That is very, very impressive. Even in 1/144 I bet it is quite a shelf filler.

After enjoying building the 1/24 Spitfire Vb recently I decided to extend the masochism by tackling the Hurricane. This one went together ok generally, although the cowlings weren't a good enough fit to be removable. The redundant Spit Mk1 propeller and spinner were used instead of the Hurri's oversized bulbous one, which I never liked. The glaring errors were all my own; once I'd decided to replace the spinner I searched on line for more suitable markings, and I came across the Science Museum's L1592. Unfortunately I'd stencilled these on before I realised the original is a rag wing, so 0pts for research. My other error was to place the fuselage roundels too far to the rear, meaning there wasn't enough space on the starboard side to fit the KW-Z squadron code. The only solution was to apply it in Z-KW format, but as few others are going to see it other than me and the BM bretheren it's a compromise I can live with, it was never going to be an IPMS Nationals contender anyway: And to finish with, some shots with its 1/24 cousins: Thanks for looking J.A.

Great work Michael, as good as WNW kits are they don’t fall together when there is so much rigging involved. It’s what makes them stand out though, and it’s a real eye-catcher on the display shelf. I built this myself a while ago now and it’s still probably my favourite WW1 plane. Regards JA.

Those are very impressive, especially in such a small scale - it’s so easy for small figures to turn out cartoon-like when certain features are over- emphasised, but you’ve got these just right. Amazing that it’s just your 2nd attempt, I would think that even experienced figure painters would be pleased with these. your tanks have turned out pretty good as well! 😄

Thanks for the feedback Bonkin, sorry no build thread - I’ve never done one (I can’t believe anyone would find it interesting enough to follow) and I think I’d find it too distracting when I prefer to get on with the building. Can’t offer too much advice on the spar I’m afraid, it was a bit of trial and error with the thickest plastic strip I had once I’d worked out the angle of the dihedral on the spar’s bottom edge, then tapered it to fit inside the wing as it gets progressively thinner. It runs just ahead of the wheel arches and through a couple of notches cut into the mating surfaces on the fuselage. I know others on BM have done them, and I remember coming across a thread recently where a guy had prepared two or three - sorry I can’t find it again now but you might have better luck if you hunt around. I don’t remember doing anything particularly significant to the side door fitting, maybe yours has a moulding defect?