FortyEighter

Just to show that I haven't been idle - Canopy has now had seam removed; even with a 12000 micromesh pad the finish wasn't perfect but a coat of Deluxe Materials Looks Like Glass has worked wonders: Whilst giving the canopy a few days before masking it, I've been assembling a few weapons. I know "Lady Liberty" can't carry them all 🤣 but I have a Revell Eagle painted and waiting for decals and loadout and another Academy Eagle that will probably appear in this GB before too long. Mike

A great build, wish I could get that much done in a weekend!

Eduard limited edition boxing from the STGB in 2017 (though not finished until 2018) with a somewhat assymetric loadout Mike

Having been given the OK to continue this build by @Corsairfoxfouruncle (thanks Dennis) it's time to get a bit more done: This Limited Edition kit comes with some nice resin exhausts, though gluing on 15 actuator links can test one's patience! One down, one to go. Mike

This build started life in the Bomber/Strike/Ground Attack GB build thread here (brief as it is). I had some issues with the intakes, so built up another fuselage but then the cockpit section wasn't a great fit to the main fuselage so it went on the shelf of shame! Anyway the troublesome joint has now been smoothed and shouldn't be very noticeable after priming; so this is where the model has got to: In the absence of a 25% rule I'm assuming this will be an acceptable entry and it will certainly comply with rule 9 😀 Mike

Great choice, you can't beat an asymmetric loadout on an Eagle. Mike

I can help with models of the first three: Mike

You've made a great start on this kit and I'll follow with interest. It seems to take a lot of work to get that resin tub to fit - I've never tried using one and prefer to use etch. That decal sheet can be addictive; so far I've finished two FGR2 (another in primer), Mosquito, Blenheim and Tornado using it! Also a Javelin that stalled at the paint stage (masking tape pulled off some of the metallic finish) and an unstarted Lightning. The Vampire and Venom NF versions are rare and often sell for silly money but I'll keep looking. Mike

Nice choice of airframe Mark; I finished the same one in KUTA 2021 (Gallery Page2) and like you based my choice on the Xtradecal 23 Sqn sheet. Photos of this as a 23 Sqn bird are rare (though there is a nice full starboard view in Patrick Martin's "British Phantoms" book (Double Ugly Vol 5)). In its later 1435 Flt guise there are a lot of photos - it must be that white tailfin. As for the fuel tanks, your suggested colours are very common though as you can see from my photos I finished one in triple grey tones, not necessarily correct for XV466 "E" but there are some photos of Falklands FGR2s with this scheme - presumably an older tank had the nose section replaced and nobody was bothered about repainting the whole tank. Mike

Having built XV466 in its 23 Sqn guise (E) I have followed up the above reference many times over the last year or so to find an alternative to model as a 1435 Flt aircraft. To date I've only found one photo online of XV461 with a white tail (June 1991) and have still to find one for XV421 in that livery. Mike

Hi Matt, Somehow I've missed this thread up to now but it looks to have your usual amount of useful detail on the build. For some reason I can't see the photos on my tablet but have just found that they are there when viewed on the laptop, so will re-read before leaving any comments. Mike

A great model John, it might have cost rather a lot to paint the original but it's a great looking scheme. Perhaps we should petition Ray to do the similar decals for Voyager ZZ336. Mike

I'll second @Skodadriver for the use of Halfords Appliance White and Fiat Capri Blue rattle cans, both produce a really smooth glossy finish - I don't find any need to use a coat of gloss varnish on these paints prior to applying decals. Personally I use Racking Grey for Boeing aircraft and for Airbuses use Holts HLGREY01 (from Wilco Motor Save). Don't be put off by the size of the kit, this build was only my second foray into the world of airliners. Unfortunately the Gallery photos were on Photobucket rather than Flickr so are no longer available. Mike

A bit more progress: IFF antennas from etched bases and plastic section. Hole opened for the searchlight; it would have been simpler if I had noticed that these were a fixture of the Swiss machines before closing up the nose 😒 However on the plus side there is an unused lens on the clear sprue, which will fit on the end of a section of plastic rod after that is glued into the hole - to save masking I'll fit the lens at the end with "looks like glass". I'm not sure about the two canopy sections - there are no masks available on that well known auction site and no noticeable frame mouldings to cut masking tape along 🤔

Don't know how I missed this thread but count me in: Academy Su-27P kit with Wolfpack conversion set to build the one off Su-37 "Terminator" Bort 711. I got as far as marking out the areas to remove last year, so if this GB went ahead I'd have no excuse. Mike

Was it really Feb 10th for the above post - time flies when you're building several kits at once. Anyway this is getting closer to meeting the deadline: I decided to paint the fins just in case the decals for them don't exactly match the shape of the plastic. HUD frames fitted today and rather than the kit clear plastic I'll use some acetate sheet. Removing the canopy seams took some time and I wasn't happy with the finish so ordered some "Looks like glass" and it does 🤗 Once those items are in place it will be time to lay down some grey - all the stores, doors and tanks are ready to be painted at the same time. Mike PS Forgot to say that there are no IFF antennas in this kit but I've fitted some nice etched bases intended for an F-16 but will need to modify the shape of the vanes to resemble those on a Hornet.

Yes not bad - just a smear of putty round parts of the gear doors.

Now ready for some paint

Thought it was time to start this kit so: Thursday saw the cockpit completed and yesterday the airframe built (no undercarriage as I'll display it in flight) Mike

Hi Pete, You've given a lot of background info during your loco builds and this one looks great. As someone who spent many years modelling the Southern Region (but not Southern Railways) I appreciate the nuances in livery shade that can be seen on rolling stock; trying to match the colour of kit built coaches to either Hornby or Bachmann models is a nightmare - I still have a couple of dining car sets in primer for this reason. On the subject of SR headcodes, they always showed the route rather than the type of train and of course your Waterloo to Portsmouth code would also apply to trains running in the opposite direction. Your choice could also apply to trains from Victoria to Ramsgate or Newhaven and also light engines to either Feltham or Eastleigh (from west of Basingstoke). Regards Mike (who grew up on the LSWR main line near Hinton Admiral)

In my rush to get these models into the Gallery before the deadline I didn't notice that I had forgotten to remove the canopy masks 😪 That has now been corrected and I also decided to add missiles for a training sortie, though getting the stripe decals to settle around the Sidewinders and Sparrows was a pain! It was always my intention to pose the pair flying over NAS Oceana but can't get a decent print from Google Earth; so here are some taken in flight by the Squadron's official photographer: Mike

On an overcast day Phantom FGR.2 XV466 "E" of 23 Squadron waits for her crew to arrive for the next patrol over the Falkland Islands: Built from a Revell kit with Eduard etch for the cockpit and seats. The various greys are from the Gunze aqueous range. Stencils from the kit, airframe specific items from Xtradecal and missiles decals a mix of kit and TwoBobs. I think that the missiles are from the many Kinetic F-16 left-overs. I could build this airframe again in the Falklands GB but as white fin "D - Desperation" from 1435 Flight or go for XV421 "F - Faith" There is an F-4J(UK) waiting to be finished, which might make a KUTA appearance but I need to find all of the canopies first and then sort them out - unfortunately there was quite a bit of paint bleed under the masks. Mike

Now starting to look like a hornet: A quick flash of primer has been applied, so the next job is to check seams etc. Mike

Not a lot of progress to show (and very little done on this aircraft in the past week) Closing up the two fuselage halves at the front was a pain; despite trimming the cockpit etch where it was wider than the plastic and several test fits, I've ended up with a slight gap under the leading edge extensions but it will fill! Despite his lack of feet I have been assured that the pilot is certified to fly this aircraft for display purposes - at least he fits in that way and the amputation can't be seen once installed. There's a lot of detailing etch - some of it can be seen around the cockpit edges but the fiddly bits won't get used. Mike

Most of the cockpit is now done: As the etched screens are live, this one will have to be posed with aircrew. To make sure that they will fit before the nose section is glued together, the two instrument panels are only resting in place as are the resin seats. I must have put the etched (raised floors) too far back as the seats wouldn't fit without removing a small section of the lower front sides - can't remember if this was an issue when I previously made this boxing and that finished aircraft is here. Mike