Greif

Thank you Tony! Much appreciated! This kit is really a time machine for me; each time I open the box I feel like being the 8 years old Erik... I can't wait to see her finished, unfortunately in this period I have too many things to do...sometimes I wish I could just stop the time for a couple of hours... Cheers Tony. Erik

Looks good Nigel!! This lady reminds me some great moments of my life. It's strange to see a military Gazelle without the Doppler box below the rear structure, especially on a 342M, it's maybe normal for an export version. It's also strange because it seems the model has the reinforcement for the front frame of the canopy but without the top and bottom cutters? If you want to improve this already impressive and lovely model you could create a gap on top of the engine fairings (they are in fact two halls splined together on top thanks to two simples hinges), like you have done on top of the MGB fairings. you could also add the hydraulic line running on top of the tail boom : they were coming outside the rear structure just at the beginning of the tail boom, and simply attached thanks to P-clips on brackets which were bolted on the tail rotor drive shaft brackets; shaft in the middle and Hyd pipes on the outsides. In the same area, it could be add also the to cables of the yaw control. The cables were running bellow the tail rotor drive shaft; the cables come outside the rear structure like the Hyd pipes, and were maintained underneath each shaft bearing brackets with some Teflon guides. About the paint, the bearing brackets: the bearings were housed inside a rubber housing maintained on the tail boom thanks to inox steel straps. On the bottom of the exhaust, there is another small duct, which on the French military Gazelle was connected to nothing, but normally it was intended to be connected to the IGB fairing for cooling thanks to the Venturi effect created by the exhaust gases. I'll keep an eye on this beauty to see if I can give you some tips! Cheers mate!!!!!! Erik

Thanks Polo. I had one in 1/32 when I was kid..and it was gigantic to me! That's incredible how the appreciations of proportions changes with time !

Very nice job ! The weathering is very nice!

I've seen this topic a bit late Nigel, sorry. I have been ingeneer in the french Army, working and flying on Gazelle F1, M, M2 and L1 for 8 years. It's a pity because I could have helped you.... You've done a stunning job for such a small scale. And congratulations for the Kamov and theJapanesefighter! Cheers Erik

It is !!! 100%

Very nice Polo, you've done a good job with Stuka!! How big is she in 1/48? The snake on the fuselage flanks add a lot to the general look. Cheers Erik

Congratulations Francis, very nicely made! I really like the weathering on the front hull, very realistic. The Sturmtiger is a nice strange beast! I like Tiger and Panther family. A diorama??.. Cheers Erik

I agree with you Francis, it's harder to restore a kit than doing it. Inside my "wonderbox " there were a SD.KFZ 250/9, a SD.KFZ 222, a Jagpanther, a Jagtiger, a Flak 88, and a Tiger 1. I've decided to upgrade the Tiger and bought the full upgrade kit from Aber....very nice, but I've realized too late that it was a mistake! First, I should have kept the Tiger as it was as a souvenir of my childhood, second, it's a pain in the -- to restore... I wish I hadn't do it. Now it's too late, so I must finish it! Cheers Erik

I have the 335 A12 from Tamiya; I got it for 15€ on Ebay, which a low price for this kit. Effectivly the shipping cost to Australia can be a problem because it raises a lot the overall cost. You'd better try whith Japanese or Cinese dealers which are closer to you at this point. I have the same problem with the Tamiya He-219 1/48 which is a bit expensive in Europe, and cheaper in the far-east. But being in Italy, the cost from far-east doesn't make it more convenient than the European ones. I just wait for a business trip opportunity to do shopping... Now, I don't know the Revell-Monogram kit, but the Tamiya is a wonder of ingeneering and quality. Nice other thing : if you buy the A12 (two seater), you get the complete A1 version ( bomb, bomb bay, rear top fuselage) plus the sprues dedicated to the A12... so you can change your mind on the way and go for the A1 instead of the A12 ! Cheers Erik

Thanks Francis ! Try to do your Diorama... It could be interesting to compare how two same ideas could be differently developped ! Cheers Erik

Looks good! You'll have a huge work on it with all the PE parts! Fortunately you have the Lego minifigs that help you! I follow your build. Cheers Erik

Very nice job Martin! You're giving me a lot of tips for my future models. Did you use an aftermarket kit for the cockpit details or everything is OOTB? Can't wait to see your 88 finished. Cheers Erik

I love the idea! This person would be proud to see you finish his job. I'm doing nearly the same with my Bf109. I will follow your Wildcat to see how it comes. Cheers Erik

Hi modellers, I'm happy to introduce you my SD.KFZ 7/1 freshly restaured after more than 20 years of storage... This Kit has been very important for me because it means many things : - the return to my kid hobby. - the first time I've used an airbrush. - the first time I've experienced so many different technics (maybe too much in the end) It surely and easily could have been done better... but I'm happy with the result, and more important I had great fun doing it! Well, this model has given a great joy; it has been a real pleasure to improve it from where it was left (back in 1991) to now. The kit is the classical Tamiya 1/35 with crew in winter scheme (originally done this way with my 16 lazzzzzzy years old, with a paint brush I could have used to paint my bathroom walls...). The kit has been upgraded adding an Eduard kit for the Flakvierling. This kit was normally dedicated to the trailer version of the Flakvierling, but in general it goes on well. Tracks are the rubber ones of the kit... that I surely will replace in the futur. For the rest, everything is OOTB. I use Life Color RAL colors and Tamiya basics colors. My airbrush is a cheap Fengda with a 2.5 nozzle; a simple electrical compressor with no accumulator provides me the pressure. To minimize air surges I use a 3m air duct that damps a bit the air flow. But since it was my return to the hobby, I didn't want to spend to much since I was not sure that I would be able to use it.... Now I Know, so I can spend 400€ in an Iwata !! In the meantime I've also started a 1/32 Messerschmitt... Ok, here's Lady 7/1, 24 years old... She is intended to be on a diorama ambiented in France, abandonned with fuel and ammo's run out. The diorama is WIP, so I will update the topic at the moment. Thanks for watching, of course comments are more than welcomed. .

Let's proceed ! The chassis has been washed 2 times and then it receives dirt, rust, grease, dust... The tracks are from the kit. It's one of the things I'm not happy with because the paint has a bad render on the rubber and also due to the age, the tracks have "memorized" their shape on the wheels resulting in a not natural drop effect. They will be replaced surely by a pair of metalic one from Friulmodel in the futur. The freshly painted Flakvierling installed on the already weathered Chassis. Still the Flakvierling... At this point I was trying to figure out what could be a nice diorama for the 7/1. Now we can go on the "Ready for Inspection" Topic. Thanks for watching and commenting. Cheers Erik

I was a bit afraid with this strange and new instrument, because I used to use brushes. Dispite this, I feel quickly confident with the airbrush, and more than everything, I really enjoy painting with it. More pictures coming because this model is already finished. Check in "ready for inspection"... Cheers Erik

Hi modellers, Let's update the topic: The cockpit before fuselage closure.... ....with its left side.... ...and its right side. Finally the half fuselages are joined together without any issue. Then the belly plate and the undercarriage brackets went on. Elevators and fin joined the fuselage Finally... Here she is !!!!! Could you imagine an adult running in the kitchen at 11Pm with a plastic plane in his hand imitating the sound of a DB engine...Could you ? It's me... Everything has proceeded quickly : wing oil coolers, ailerons, details, everything is going on without any problems, a real pleasure ! A bit of filler in necessary in few areas, but nothing critical ! The fin. And finally the half MG covers were assembled together : here again a good surprise, despite it's age, everything match perfectly !!! Now I should sand, sand , sand ... then finish the cockpit and the instrument panel... by the way she will be ready for the paint shop ! Cheers. Erik

And finally the Flakvierling was upgraded: In the meantime, the chassis was cleaned up and received the classical RAL dunkel gelb and more wash. The upper hull received the classic RAL three tone scheme.. this was my first time with an airbrush.. I 'm quite happy with the result ! But it's too clean for an AFV... so let's weather! This AFV has been a real test bench for me; I 've tried and experimented new technics..

Hi Modellers, I start this topic just to share the restauration of an old model. It's an SD.KFZ 7/1 from Tamiya at the 1/35 scale, the classic one with the boxart displaying the half track in winter camo with its crew. Well, I started this kit when I was 17 back in1991 and never finish it. It's the typical kit that I had bouhgt without any reason but just for the need of buying (teenager crisis !!!), espacially because this vehicle was not so attractive to me at this moment. So I built the kit quickly whithout any care, and so was the camo scheme with rough white paint applied directly on the German grey plastic. This kit was then left over due to more interesting kits bought during the months....and it finishes inside a printer paper cardboard with his sisters Tiger, Jagdpanther, etc... and the box has always followed me (different places in France and then Italy) and waited for me for 23 years. Last December I managed to re-localise the box in my house's basement and re-opened it. Amongst the AFV models, the SD.KFZ was still there with its uggly white camo trial waiting for me to finish the job. So I did. I can't show anything about the boxart because the box has been destructed 20 years ago, but the half-track was complete, and I still have the crew that I won't use. For first, I have separed the platform from the chassis; I was so lazy at the time I've started it that they were not even glued but just clipped. I removed the tracks and wheels, and start to look for upgrade kits. It was impossible to upgrade the chassis because everything waas already glued so I decided to upgrade only the flakvierling. Eduard has a kit dedicated to the Tamiya trailer version, so I bought it and decided to adapt it. I also decided to replace the gun barrels with Master models ones. Fortunately the Flakvierling came off in parts easily; then I started applying the P.E and the barrels.... This view shows the model with its new camo... originally it was completely like the white Flakvierling'camo. Flakvierling undressed wainting for upgrade... With the new barrels...

Very nice job, I love it. Congratulations!

I love this white Avenger!!!

Congratulations Clive. I like this Arado. The scheme and the weathering are brilliant!!! Wish I could do the same. Erik

Very nice Vampyr! I love the scheme. Congratulations. Erik

I use Life Color acrilycs and I'm happy with their results, even if I find that RLM 02 is a bit too much green. Important thing: never shake the jars upside down but use a toothpick or a piece of plastic sprues to mix the paint. If you shake it, the paint will turn to foam...very bad to apply. I life Color has a quite extended range of RLM . Cheers