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Thanks Cliff. The wings and empanage on, took a little bit of adjustment to get everything lined up but considering the age of the kit it wasn’t too onerous. There will be a little bit of cleaning up required but hopefully should be a problem. I don’t think much, if any filler will be needed, only some careful sanding.

A few thin coats of Light Gull Gray brushed on. It’s taking a little bit more than I thought but getting there.

It did take fair few coats of white on the undersides to get an even finish, even on the white plastic. It was mainly over the areas of filler and Mr Surfacer to be fair. Anyway now masked up to get ready for some Light Gull Grey.

The fuselage closed up and some cleaning up done. It took time as there was a small ridge and mismatch in parts and avoiding rubbing off the rivets was a challenge. The engine and cowling assembled. It’s amazing how a bit of dry brushing a lift even a really old basic moulding.

If you can get hold of Humbrol Hu2 Emerald Green it’s not a bad match. I used it for a Sea Vampire Admiral’s Barge and it looked OK.

I think when I made it back not long after it came out I painted it ‘Midnight Blue’ and ignored the orange band as I didn’t have any suitable paint. I do recall the number of layers of paint needed on Airfix’s black and dark blue models. Mind you my worst more recent experience was painting the white underside on a Matchbox Phantom where one of the three colours was black. I don’t know how many thin coats it took but it was a lot.

The interior started and some paint on. There’s not much to the interior so I’ll add the crew and probably some radio equipment in the rear cockpit. The gunner was also the radioman, or was the radioman also the gunner? The dark blue plastic is a bit of a nightmare to cover and almost every part has mould pins on needing a fair amount of cleaning up. The plastic is pretty hard needing a wee bit of heft.

As my other builds are progressing I thought I’d start another. This time it’s the Helldiver originally released in 1968. Though this is 1975 boxing which I think I got second hand but I’ve no idea. It’s a bundle of dark blue bits of plastic with open/closed bomb bay options, parts for an SB2C4 or 5 and folding wings. The moulding seems good although there’s a little flash and it was released during the period when Airfix employed Rosie the Riveter to cover the airframe. Clear but thick transparencies. And an Airfix stand. Classic instructions and two options for finishing as a C4 or C5.

A bit of work done today. The pilot was easy to fix, I simply bent the legs straighter until the pilot fitted. Then the fuselage closed up making sure the arrestor hook and tail wheel had been inserted. There will be a bit of cleaning up to do but not at all bad for an elderly kit. Then fitted the cowling, tail planes, inner wings and dive brakes. Again decent fit although the lower airbrake needed a little sanding down. And the outer wings on. There will be tidying up needed but Airfix’s engineers have done a good job. There are glue finger marks on the cowling which are courtesy of my incompetence. I’ll leave things overnight to solidify everything up before attacking it with some filler and sanding sticks.

Not always sure what these were made for, a number were for the previous Classic Airfix GB and some for other GBs. But here they are in no particular order. Avro Anson MkI 40mm Bofors and Morris Tractor Chi Ha Japanese Tank. This was definitely done for the Turning Japanese GB Vought Corsair DUKW BAe Harrier GR3 Vought Corsair This is a really old one. Grumman Gosling/Widgeon M3 Halftrack Sopwith Pup Scammel Tank Transporter Westland Scout Although this is a later boxing and new parts, I think the base kit is fairly old. Westland Sea King AEW2/ASaC7 HMS Victory This isn’t exactly a Classic Airfix as the Mk22 Spitfire used is a newer kit but this Seafire FR46 is rather attractive.

A couple of problems. First the pilot doesn’t fit into the cockpit at all And the pylons and rockets have mould depressions in every one. I’ve already started to fill with Mr Surfacer and a second amount will be needed.

Airfix did a few of these carrier based aircraft with wing folds. They did it with the Helldiver as well. In theory it’s a working wing fold but it is a little rudimentary and the folds lack detail. There is scope for detailing if wished. However, I’ll be finishing this Skyraider with the wings extended but I may need some support for the outer wings.

Xtracolour and Xtracrylix are all gloss as they are intended to be suitable for decal application straight onto the paint, which reduces the chance of silvering. It does therefore mean for many finishes a coat or two of matt or semigloss varnish will be required. Decals also come in a variety of finishes and even for a gloss finish varnishing may be required.

Now my German Reconnaissance Set is almost out of the way I’ve turned my attention to the Skyraider. First up some paint on the detail parts as well as some sub assemblies started. The cockpit is a little sparse and rather than detail it I’m going to pop the pilot in despite the classic Airfix odd pose. Overall the space seen will be small with the pilot in so that’ll salve my conscience of not detailing it. Although most parts are fairly well moulded there are some with a lot of flash and mould lines, the bomb tails will be a nightmare to clean up. There’s also a number of mould mounds, most on the inside where they won’t be seen but there’s a fair few on the weapons pylons. Looking forward to some sanding!

Thank you, as I review the stash I keep finding more classic Airfix kits. So time permitting there may be some more. Im going to finish this one armed to the teeth but just use what’s in the box. From what I’ve read the toilet bowl was delivered as an insult to the VC along with usual ordnance rather than providing some home comforts!