johnny akes

Indeed it is. I’d originally intended to do the Shuttleworth Collection’s Mk V as that’s the one Spitfire I’ve actually sat in, but that plan changed when I realised it had the six exhaust stubs per side. A quick Google search turned up EP120 which is a worthy subject, being accredited with more kills than probably any other aircraft still in existence. Actually we’re both right Noel, it is 50+ now but was 40+ when it was reboxed in this version in 2011. Thanks all for your positive comments and ‘likes’. I’ve since noticed from looking at the photos that the rake of the legs isn’t correct, so l’ve moved them forward a little. regards J A.

I happily admit to being a model builder rather than a modeller, rarely venturing beyond OOB other than adding seatbelts and aerial wire. So when I decided to have a go at the old Airfix Spit I knew a fair amount of scratch building would be required and wing spars were duly added, wheel wells boxed in and the cockpit enhanced with wiring, various controls and an Airscale harness. Sadly the moulds themselves showed all of their 40+ years (this was a 2011 boxing) with virtually every single part being afflicted with excessive flash or misalignment, and the fit in almost all areas is best described as 'approximate'. The additional Mk V sprue was rudimentary with little or no detailing on any of the parts. That Airfix continued to bang these out long after the moulds should have ended up in a skip probably says much about the company's desperate financial state at the time. In my humble opinion unless someone really wants a challenge, anyone with this in their stash should leave it where it is and wait for the new Mk IX, this one is better as loft insulation than anything else. So even though the decals behaved themselves (only serial nos. were stencilled) and the overall shape is generally considered to be accurate, the end result is probably best viewed from around 6ft away. Although having said all that, rather perversely I had more enjoyment from this than from any other model for a long time.... Thanks for looking J A

Lovely result with that classic kit Ray, it proves that old age (of the kit!) doesn’t mean a good outcome can’t be achieved. I remember doing this kit as a kid too and being very pleased with the result - I’m sure it wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny now if it still existed, but memory/rose tinted specs allow me to remember it fondly.

Hi all I built this a while ago now, but as my hobby room is out of bounds for the foreseeable I thought I’d give it an airing. This was the original boxing from 2013. Regards J.A.

Thanks for the kind comments, the metal finish is Alclad duraluminum over their gloss black primer, highlighted with Alclad aluminium. I was trying to achieve a natural metal finish and I’m pleased with how it came out, but I guess from Selwyn’s comments a silver paint finish would have been more authentic; but like he says, my kit my rules!

Hi Folks 1st one posted for quite a while, there are lots of opinions all over the web about whether this kit represents value for money or not - IMO for all it's faults re accuracy (especially in & around the engine nancelles) it's good quality moulding, fits together well and builds into an imposing model when finished; not cheap for quite a low parts count but on the £-per-hour enjoyment scale I've no complaints. You do have to be creative though if you don't want to fork out for expensive conversion sets, and I found that those small soft plastic Humbrol paint tubs with the lids cut off fit exactly behind the intake rings to shield the lack of interior wall detail.... Decals are from Kitsworld, I don't know if the ones in the box are accurate or not but the light blue fluselage roundels just look wrong. Thanks for looking J.A.

I can’t comment on the PCM kit but I built the Revell IX quite soon after it first appeared. I don’t remember there being any particular issues and to my mind FWIW it builds into a decent looking model which outwardly at least, compares favourably with Tamiya’s. That’s not to say of course that it matches the latter’s quality, but once they are both on the shelf the casual observer probably wouldn’t know the difference (or care, if my family is typical).

Great work Tony, you’ve really captured the look & feel of the Hastings there despite the small scale. I’ve always been a fan of it myself too, I love the low-slung look of the four Hercules engines and your penultimate photo especially shows the real presence of the aircraft (one of the few plusses of it being a tail dragger!).

All good points Simon, and on reflection I guess we’d have heard from builders of HKM’s B17 and Lanc if this had been an issue. However as much as I’d like this I’ve enough loft insulation as it is, and this deserves to be built rather than being hidden away due to lack of space. I’ve plumped instead for HKM’s nose section as much as I’d like to see the oil canning effect.

I’m out, just too big for me. I do wonder whether a polystyrene-cemented fuselage joint can be strong enough to bear the strain of the weight of two massive, no doubt very heavy wings pulling down on it from either side whenever it is lifted…. A real shame if reports are true that the nose section won’t be released as a separate kit now, I’m sure that would have sold exponentially more than the full kit will.

Excellent result there Gazza, your chosen colour scheme has certainly evoked a lot of memories - including mine! I remember asking for the Airfix kit for my birthday back in 1968 which I'm pretty sure was just after it came out. In my mind it looked just as good as yours, but of course the memory plays cruel tricks - I'm sure that in reality the windows would have been fogged with glue and there were gaps I could put my little finger into! Yours will generate a lot of additional sales for Zvedza, I might even be tempted myself!

You'd hope they would be reasonable, very low parts count looking at the sprues.

At last, someone talking sense. Jeeze…

Ha! I made the same mistake - I had a vision of the wings sticking out of the front & back doors of your house! Despite that the actual model is beautiful, a real showpiece you should be proud of. I wish someone would release this in 1/32 plastic, I go cold at the thought of so much resin! Regards JA.

That's a really impressive build and paint job! Strange that they chose to commemorate what was a pretty conclusive defeat with a special paint job (I'm assuming it isn't a whif?).

I agree, excellent painting. I’ve found to my cost that larger-than actual size photos generally don’t tend to do justice to the subject, but this one passes the test with flying colours.

I'm normally a plane & AFV builder but I've fancied doing a bust for some time, so I decided to give this one a go: I need to work on my faces a bit more (scary eyes!) but generally I'm really pleased how it turned out (funny how it looks better in real life than in photos!), such that another one is in the post for me along with a couple of proper stands. Regards J.A.

I’m in awe of anyone that can knock out these Russian jets to such incredibly high standards, I wouldn’t even begin to try. Top work Bobek.

Tremendous work there and equally good photography! It deserves all the plaudits it’s received, well done and welcome back to (hopefully) good health. regards J.A.

Just noticed the rear left wheel is outside the track. Ah well... why do I never notice these things before uploading the photos? Photos fixed now.

Hi folks My latest OOB build. Nice kit, plastic tracks work well. All the hatches can be posed open, but there's no point really unless you're an ace scratch builder as there's nothing inside. Finally, here's a few next to its big cousin for comparison purposes: Regards J.A.

That’s a tremendous result, you should be glad you found the inspiration to eventually finish it. As an aside, it’s good to see Eduard avoided the unnatural anhedral of the inner wings on the 1/32 Special Hobby kit.

Jaw-dropping, especially the cockpit! Your paintwork technique has done a great job of improving what could otherwise be quite a bland scheme on such a smooth panel-less surface. I’ve got this in the stash but can’t quite pluck up the courage to start it yet. Do the Aviealogy decals include the stencilling? I’ve read that the Tamiya decals are so thick as to be virtually unusable.

Didn't get to do any modelling between March and August this year due to illness, so my output wasn't too bad given the circumstances: Thanks for looking, here's to a happier and healthier new year for everyone. Regards J.A.