specky

Hi everyone. Once again, not much to show I'm afraid, but it's still creeping forward. The second intake was opened, both were meshed over & a very simple 'interior' scratched up but even under the most extreme lighting, nothing is clearly visible! There is a third, much smaller intake above the cockpit which will be much more difficult to deal with since it spans the joint - but I have a plan... of sorts! After a quick check over to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, it was time to close up.... ...the quality of the fit was always going to be compromised by the 2-piece fuselage halves, but with some careful clamping, regular sprung loaded wooden clothes pegs were perfectly adequate and with lashings of Tamiya Extra Thin, its turned out OK. After a quick clean-up of the seams, it will be time for some scribing. Cheers for now Craig

Hi everyone. Not much to report this week I'm afraid - real life and all that sort of nonsense, but there are some things to show. As I mentioned previously, the 'pit has had a splash of paint.. ...shades of grey mainly, rather than lots of black as the guide instructs. As is often the case, it looks better in the flesh, but after assembling the 2-piece fuselage halves, I can do some 'dry fitting' and it seems that the 'pit can be fitted later which means I could 'tweak' it before committing and also means the, potentially vulnerable, chain-gun mount can be left off until the seams and panel lines are addressed. Since there isn't much AM stuff available for this kit, its time to get 'creative' and after a search around home I've found some 'mesh' which looks useful for this air intake area... ....after chopping out the plastic representation and holding the mesh in place with Blu Tack.... ...although it is a little fine and not quite the right 'weave', it still looks a whole lot better! Hopefully a little more next week Craig

Hi everyone, so, the journey begins and as is often the case, its the cockpit first. Despite the simplifications, which become increasingly obvious once you begin looking at walkarounds, I'm going 'out of the box'. I've already abandoned one 'chopper' build this year after getting bogged down with the 'pit and as I've already mentioned, the plan is to slightly tint the glazing which will disguise a lot of the short comings - photos to follow when the matt coat's dry In other news, some experiments on an inconspicuous area suggests that this 'hard' plastic is much more 'scribe-able' compared with the much 'softer' stuff that Airfix, for example, use and so that offers a solution to the biggest 'elephant in the room' - the raised panel lines. It wont be a 5 minute job to re-scribe this because walkarounds show these machines are covered in panel gaps! In other, other news, a lot of walkarounds show these things 'tooled-up' with TOW missiles which, in my opinion, make them look even more aggressive and as luck would have it, one of the other kits I scored from Toymaster is this Airfix Lynx... ....which includes missiles and what look to me very much like the correct launchers - result! In other, other, other news, for anyone planning to build one of these, or the original Italeri boxing (same sprues), take care with the main rotors, if you fit them as per the instructions, they will be spinning in the wrong direction - I must admit that it took me a minute or 2 to figure out why the plastic in my hand looked nothing like the walkaround on the screen! Simple fix - install upside down after swapping the head detail from top to bottom and vice-versa . More later Craig

Add me please Rich, with something very late war from Germany Craig

Hi everyone. Despite spending some time on an airliner and signing-up for a helicopter build, this project has moved forward a little.... ...rather than attempt to slavishly copy the artists impression that I had stumbled across, I got a bit 'free lance' and went a little more 'beaten-up ' and worn with the whitewash. I'm happy with it and its now sealed under a coat of matt with the fit-up of the remaining detail parts underway. Craig

Hi Aaron and Matt, thanks for the welcome and I think I speak for everyone when I say Thank You for stepping up to ensure this build goes ahead as planned! Hi Helios16v, agreed, there's nothing wrong with a 'cheap' kit, as long as its reasonably close in shape and size, you have the option to add as much or as little as you see fit until you're satisfied. After a wash and dry, the main fuselage parts were removed, cleaned up and test fitted... ....and since the fit is actually better than the photo suggests, I've placed an order for Master gun barrels... ...it will be a couple of weeks before they arrive, but there's plenty to occupy me until I really need to get them fitted. Roll on Saturday morning! Craig

Hi guys My local Toymaster has recently had a clearance of slow moving stock including a selection of plastic kits, most of which have been added to the stash. One of which is this 'out of my comfort zone' subject, but for way less than a tenner, it would have been rude not to - wouldn't it? First impressions? - well the box looked a little empty, so much so, that I had to check the parts diagram to make sure I wasn't missing a sprue or two, but since everything appears to be present and correct, it seems this will be a fairly simple build. Unfortunately, 'simple' seems to extend to what's actually on the sprues as well. The cockpit and seats in particular are a real disappointment and not at all what I was expecting from what the box suggests is a 2015 release. A quick check on Scalemates reveals the truth - this isn't Revell at all, its a re-box of a rather elderly Italeri tooling - - good job it was half price! Since the only way to display the cockpit is, and I kid you not, to cut the side windows out of the canopy which has disaster written all over it, I wont be doing that! Instead I'll be adding a couple of coats of Tamiya Smoke inside for a bit of a tint and calling it done. Despite a fair bit of flash on the 'A' sprue, the fuselage parts appear to be free of any sink marks, which is lucky because the surface detail is all raised panel lines and rivets which obviously wont survive through much in the way of filing and sanding. AM appears limited to gun barrels from 'Master' - which look great, but will, at a stroke, double the cost of the build! I think I'll wait until I can be sure the build is worth it before 'buying it now'. The 'soft edge' camo looks like a bit of a handful - I've had no success in the past with Blu Tack 'sausages', but I have just received my new 'Fine' airbrush so this may be its 'baptism of fire' on a free-handed scheme! Despite these, what might seem rather negative, comments, I am actually really looking forward to cracking-on with this and so many thanks to the mods who have stepped in at the 11th hour to ensure the Build gets 'up and running' Craig

Hi everyone, well, I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but I find myself with one of these about to go onto the bench... I'm a little surprised to see that no one else has started one - either you all know something I don't, i.e. its a dog, or it was forgotten about - we will see! My only previous airliner build experience was to start, and almost immediately abandon, the Airfix Vickers Vanguard about a month or 6 weeks ago - that is a truly awful kit on an almost biblical scale, but this, at least in the box, looks far more promising. Minimal sink marks, reasonably fine trailing edges and decals for windows - how very 'hi-tec'! I'll be finishing it in the 'British European' scheme, which looks quite colourful.... But can anyone give me a clue what this might be? No mention in the instructions. A tail stand perhaps? Any advice, hints or tips will be gratefully accepted! Craig

Hi Paul Interesting choice since Intra DC-3's were a common sight here on the apron of Jersey airport back in the days when I was a bit of a plane spotter! A story that always sticks in my mind about the airline is that after a series of 'dramas', in-flight mechanical problems and 'lumpy' trips due to turbulence, a member of staff had some T-shirts printed with the words 'I flew Intra - and survived!'. My father, who worked for Shell on aircraft refuelling, managed to get hold of one and made a point of wearing it under his overalls whenever he had to service one of their aircraft! But, before long, management caught on and, presumably, sacked the culprit - miserable b******s! Craig

Hi guys and thanks for the ongoing support! To be honest, I was never really too keen on the balance of 'whitewash' against 'paint' as suggested by Airfix. Although it looked ok on paper, in the flesh it wasn't what immediately springs to mind when I think of a whitewashed aircraft. However, a search on the internet revealed this about 2/3's of the way down, post #10 is an artists impression of the same aircraft, but at a different point during the winter of '41 into '42, but this time in the more appealing 'full' whitewash. A quick coat or 2 of hairspray followed by a few misty coats of white..... ...followed by some 'scratching' on the port wing for a comparison, to illustrate how it starts to develop.... It seems best to only spend 10 or 15 minutes at a time on this scratching to avoid 'uniformity', but the revised scheme is much more to my liking! Cheers Craig

Hi Ian Thanks for taking the time to post the vac-form tutorial, very interesting Craig

Hi guys and thanks for the very positive comments but I really cannot take the credit, since its nothing more than the tried and tested 'hairspray' technique. Although 'proper' chipping solutions are available from the likes of Mig and AK, I get a real 'kick' from the 'cheap and nasty' option, especially when it works! Apologies for appearing to lecture, but if you're not familiar with it, 3 or 4 light, misty coats of hairspray over the enamel base paints (which has made it look properly 'glossy'), followed by very thin acrylic paint, in this case white, built up over 2 or 3 very light coats. A couple of hours later, dampen, but don't soak, the surface with warm water which softens the hairspray and then rub it with almost anything abrasive to 'scratch-up' the white, I used a corner torn from one of those cheap kitchen sponge/scouring pad things. As I've said, this was my first attempt, apart from some practicing on a scrap model, and I was genuinely surprised by how simple it is and it can be used to replicate any number of other scratched/chipped/rusty finishes, but it does pay to practice first because its very easy to be a bit 'heavy handed' and rub it all off! Cheers Craig

Hi everyone Computer dramas, terminal as it transpires, has meant waving goodbye to my trusty Acer and Windows 7, replaced by an Asus and Windows 10 - neither of which I am particularly enjoying! Whilst I'm sure all the familiar functions and whatever are still available, they are not where I expect to find them and I'm getting too old to play 'hide and seek' Anyway, I'm able to post again, so here is a catch-up.... The Eduard 'E' is annoying me now, very much like its 1/48 cousin, there are some fit issues. Engine nacelles to wings, wings to fuselage and nose to fuselage joints are not as precise as you might expect based on how impressive it was in the early stages, so its been put to one side until I'm feeling a little more motivated. The Airfix 'C' has moved on a little, the remainder of the 'summer' scheme is on... ....followed by some decals... . .....followed by some 'whitewash' Lots of first attempts with unfamiliar techniques here, but overall I'm pretty happy with what I've achieved so far. Cheers for now Craig

Lovely, two Tigers in one day Craig

Finally - a Tiger! For some very odd reason, I have a preference for the later, 'steel' wheeled version, bit I wont complain. I'll just sit back and enjoy! Craig

Hi everyone Despite falling almost off page 2, to reassure you that things are still moving forwards, the 'C' has had a bit of paint squirted at it.... ....as I'm sure you guessed from the 'black' base, its an attempt at that new fangled 'marbling' technique but its not going well! It might not look too bad in this photo, but in the flesh, it looks like its just been badly painted. The yellow looks ok, maybe just a touch too bright, but I can deal with that. I'll push on and lay down the top colours and assess it from there. Had my first bit of a drama with the 'E' when the upper wing root joints ended-up low against the fuselage! My fault entirely, but not helped by the rather 'fussy' design of the wing and associated assemblies which allows plenty of opportunity for individually minor, but cumulatively major alignment issues. Long and short of it, a piece of sprue, cut to length and wedged into place at each root has sorted the problem - not pretty, but it works! That's killed my enthusiasm for tonight, so try a bit more tomorrow! Craig

Yes please! There are 3 Trumpeter A-1a's in 1/32 staring at me from the stash as I type Craig

Hi guys and thanks for the encouraging words. Blitz23, feel free to post a photo or two, I could always do with the inspiration! I treated myself to some time at the bench today and managed to make some progress on the 'E'.... ....since there is about as much detail as you will ever need in the plastic on these Eduard kits, its all out of the box. However, since I used the 'interior' decals from this kit to dress-up the Airfix 'C', the instrument panel and radio/navigation gear is relying on paint.... ....and it hasn't turned out too badly, even though I say so myself! Whilst I had the airbrush warmed-up, I also laid down a coat of black base over the 'C'.... ....and already, it looks much better under a coat of paint Cheers for now Craig

Good God! - who would have thought there were so many parts to be fitted to such a small vehicle? Best of luck, Craig

Hi everyone Although 'real life' has thrown a few obstacles in my path just recently, I have been able to put a little time into the Airfix 'C' and its ready for some paint.... In an earlier post, I did criticise this kit for its lack of detail, heavy panel lines and so on, but to give credit where its due, the fit has been flawless - assuming you start with one that's been correctly moulded and stored of course! Especially pleasing is the upper wing root joint, which would have been a nightmare to make good without losing all that detail... A little scribing was required around the nose, engine cowlings, wing tips and ailerons where Airfix had forgotten to finish off, holes have been drilled for the mass balance weights and pitot tube and a 'towel-rail' aerial has been scratched up - a little over scale, but it was the thinnest 'stiff' wire I had in stock! The cowlings and nose are temporarily fixed using Johnsons Klear. Assuming the parts are a reasonably tight fit, since it has no 'gap filling' capacity, its a surprisingly strong, but brittle joint and so once the painting is complete, I will be able to simply snap them off, add the props, exhausts and guns and final fix with something more permanent. Since I paint with enamels and prefer to wait at least 48hrs between colours, I can now, finally, make a start on the Eduard 'E' More to come Craig

Hi everyone, fuselage closed, wings offered-up and vac form canopy cut out and test fitted.... ....not a job that I enjoyed! Far too much potential for it to go horribly wrong at every step, but there is no denying that it is crystal clear, even better than the Eduard alternative which was my fall back and does show almost all the interior detail - result! More to come Craig

Thanks for the comment Sgt. - you're too kind! Anyway, after a second visit to the paint shop and the usual gloss/wash/matt/dry brush routine, its progressed to here... ....if anything, it now looks a little too pale under this harsh lighting, but when its all closed up, since the 'pit is something of a cave, it evens out and enough is still visible to have made it worth the effort! More to follow Craig

Yes, there is a gap the size of Amy Pond's crack (ooh, Matron!), but everything seems to line up correctly. I had to think about that..... but I got there in the end!

Hi guys Thanks for the positive comments and apologies for not checking that the link worked - it does now! Cheers Craig

Hi everyone, so, there I was a couple of Sundays ago, feeling reasonably satisfied with myself after sharing some images of my modest scratch-building efforts, when I stumbled across this which, not for the first time, put me right back in my box! Whilst I have none of the skills or patience or tools or time to even attempt anything even remotely similar, I can do better than my usual GB efforts, so this was 'revisited' - still not absolutely accurate, but another step forward. Since this picture was taken, it has had a coat of '66', but its far too dark and will need returning to the paint shop. Having abandon my Ju 52 build, due to the loss of the cockpit glazing, this will be moving forward rather more quickly now Craig