AnonymousAA74

Beautiful! What a great finish you did with that silver scheme.

Sorry for the lack of real updates, but I now have the paint on this, and it's mostly decaled. The eagle eyed amongst you will see a stencil missing from over one of the intakes. Thankfully A2Zee are sending me a replacement. The original one went a little 'ga-ga' with Mr Mark Setter. I think a model looks awful at this stage with that shiny Klear coat. I need to add a wash etc to this yet and then to tone down the sheen before adding a little extra weathering. The undercarriage and canopy still need to have some paint splashed on them. The wheel wells also need to be painted at this stage.

I believe there will be a scaling down of certain kits, with the Shinden being the first.

Lovely work so far. You did a great job on grafting those RR engines on there! I saw a CASA when I visited Oberschleissheim near Munich a couple of years ago. I thought I'd post some images here for you of the canopy etc.

Albatros for me. They are all great kits, but the number of schemes, and the gorgeous shape of the Albatros wins it.

Our review sample doesn't have any warping there. Contact Revell for some replacement parts.

Just beautiful! I like that very much

Got the PRU Blue on order, so until then, it's back to the He 162, unless I do decide to paint the undersides in Aluminium. No matter how much I spray Clear Kote over Alclad, it still pulls of paint with masking tape.

Gorgeous! I love the Tamiya 1/48 Focke Wulf 190A-8/R2

I managed to get a little more done on this model despite downing enough alcohol to sink a small boat. This kit does actually go together really quickly, but as this is a twin boom layout, it's important that you ensure everything lines up properly before you glue, or that tailplane will look a little lop-sided. I needed to add a little filler in between the forward fuselage nacelle and the wing root, plus some running down the nose joint. I did this with Magic Sculp which is bloody amazing! Various other parts are now in place, such as the photo-etch intake vanes and the white metal elevator mass balances and resin rudders. The pitot is in place too, but may need a little shortening yet. Where I've had to sub down joints, such as the resulting steps on the nacelle fuselage join, this has been polished again and missing detail rescribed. The undercarriage parts are now removed from their casting blocks and cleaned up, plus the resin canopies have been micromeshed and dipped in Klear. When cured, the masks were applied, ready for paint, and that folks, is where I am now at

Hi all, I recently got the beautiful little DH Vampire kit from Alley Cat (A2Zee Models) and started to build this up. So far, very little clean-up has been needed except for a little light flash, and everything seems to fit real well so far. A test fit of the forward fuselage to the rear wing/fuse part does show a small gap at the forward wing root, but we'll fix that ok. This kit comes with some pre-shaped metal weights to pop into the nose, and they fit well. Just needed to trip the forward one of it's 'casting block' and all was well. The interior is painted in Panzer Grey as I thought the recommended 'black' would have been too dark on such a small cockpit which won't easily be seen when assembled. A Mig Dark Wash was done on the inside and then when sprayed with Xtracolor XDFF varnish, I dry-brushed the interior with Tamiya Light Grey. Other interior detail is pained with Vallejo, and washed in the same way. This is more obvious around the cable/plumbing areas. I'm real crap with photo-etch seatbelts. I've got finger like fag ends, so that was a challenge. The seat was painted with Humbrol, and the cushion hand painted in Tamiya Tan. The seatbelts were pained with WEM Enamel Wehrmacht Elefenbein before being assembled. I'll try and get the forward nacelle attached and filled, and even possibly the tail booms added for the next update.

Some folks just use water with a drop of detergent. That's what I use, and it's what we use in the lab. You can use a drop of household ammonia. I know of folks who use citric acid too, but I'd not be inclined to use anything acidic. With ammonia, make sure you only use a drop also.

I bought one from Aldi for £20, and the same model sold in science supply catalogues for £90! It's only small, so some things may need be 'turned around' to do fully, but for most resin, it's just fine. I've just used mine to clean the resin for the new Alley Cat DH Vampire in 1:48. I use it for airbrushes too. Just fill with regular water and add a spot of detergent and mix with fingers.

Spitfire Mk.Vb Update Sets (for HobbyBoss kit) 1:32 Eduard Like just about every HobbyBoss kit these days, the Spitfire Mk.Vb was dissected and torn apart on internet forums before it was even seen in test shot form. Luckily since then, there have been some excellent builds to see both online and in some modelling magazines. The kit isn’t without issues at all, but to conclude, it does build up into a very fair representation of the Mk.Vb with a little extra work. To help us out though, Eduard have released this suite of etch sets to help our endeavours. Spitfire Mk.Vb Landing Flaps (32283) One area which can suffer in detail due to the injection moulding process is that of the landing flap. It’s quite difficult to get the detail required due to the construction of the actual ‘thing’, plus in real terms, the structures within the flaps would be very thin. This is an ideal candidate for Eduard and their expertise. This set comes on one etch metal fret measuring 140mm x 77mm, and contains approximately 90 parts. This is quite a complicated set of flaps and one which will need some care and attention when assembling. Both upper and lower flap assemblies are based around a single main piece with fold-in rib-lets. This is the base construction. Various stiffener plates, rolled channels for connector rods, and other formed stiffener plates make up this set. You will also need some wire and plastic rod to complete assembly. The upper wing flap-deployment indicator is also included as an etch part too, as is a small plate which installs into the wing root of the fuselage where you would normally see a void. Some surgery will be required to fit this set, including removing current plastic detail and chamfering wing trailing edges, as well as a small amount of plastic removal from the fuselage. Spitfire Mk.Vb Exterior (32303) This set concerns many areas of the Spitfire, including the engine, engine mount and frame, cannon, cowl and bomb rack etc. I’ll go into more detail below. The Exterior set contains two bare metal etch frets. The first fret measures 142mm x 70mm and contains over 140 parts, while the second fret measures approx. 144mm x 70mm and contains around 180 parts! This really is quite a comprehensive set. The Merlin engine can now be fitted with the Rolls Royce name plates on the rocker-covers as well as the magneto leads. That is about all the engine benefits from, but the cowl framework and bearers can now be fitted with rivet detailed plates and stiffeners, as well as the full complement of fastener lugs that you would see when the cowls are removed. The cowl interiors also benefit from various constructional plates and lugs. Etch metal finds its way into the radiators by way of grilles and actuator arms etc. Parts for the undercarriage include brake lines, locking lugs, and hub detail. The wheel wells are also catered for with a complete metal lining for the wheel well itself and interior detail to affix into the wing which may then be seen in the oleo channels. Eduard really have covered this area well. All you need to do to the kit is to remove the ‘imagineered’ detail that HobbyBoss saw fit to mould! Ammunition drums have etch parts, as does the cannon muzzle. This will improve the appearance of these no end. The wing ammunition and gun bay doors are also replaces with etched alternatives. A replacement radio compartment door is also included, as are the various plates and flanges from the area around the aerial mast. Quite a complicated looking bomb rack is supplied too, including an alternative for the bomb impellor. Little to almost zero surgery is needed for this set. Spitfire Mk.Vb Interior S.A. (32705) Completing the overhaul of the HobbyBoss kit is this interior set, comprising of three photo-etch frets, with two of these being in colour, and both being self-adhesive (S.A.) Fret Part 1 measures 70mm x 47mm and contains almost 50 parts. The main players on this fret are the two part instrument panel which is the now familiar sandwich style construction with the instruments themselves on the rear face. Another face is applied to the main panel to represent the smaller, inner instrument panel. The remainder of this fret contains the seatbelt set, various switches and knobs, plus the compass tray. Colour printing is excellent. The second fret, measuring 47mm x 34mm is also coloured, and contains many placards, radio parts and quadrant detail. Again, the ink printing quality is excellent with no pixilation. The last bare-metal fret is larger and measures 135mm x 70mm and has around 80 parts therin. A full etch replacement seat is contained here, including the seat mounted flare rack. You will need to use a small hard, round object to push into the seat base to form the diamond shaped trough. The rear cushion is a little flat looking and I would replace this with either a suitable kit part, or from clay/putty. A large number of parts form the various brackets and other smaller structures in the foot-well area of the cockpit, including wire looms and edging for the instrument panel bulkhead. Parts are included to detail the radio set, armoured head-rest, control column and new cockpit door. Just use a little shaped plastic rod for the crowbar and not the flat looking etch part. The gun-sight is also modified and includes the clear film reflectors supplied with this set. A full etch bracket is included to mount this. Some canopy etch detail is included too, such as hood handle, exterior rails and rear view mirror brackets and bezel. Conclusion Whilst I quite like the HobbyBoss kit, it does need a little help in areas, and these sets should be all that you really need to build an amazing looking model, dripping in detail. These sets do require some care due to the complexity of some parts, so I wouldn’t recommend them to a beginner. However, if you are used to etch then these sets will present no issue, and are most definitely worthy of purchasing. Review samples courtesy of

You could contact Lumir directly at http://www.master-x.cz/ and ask him about availability.

wow!

Bf 110C-7 (for Dragon kit) 1:32 Eduard, Zoom For those modellers who simply don’t wish to upgrade their model due to ability, budget or the fact that they wish to do most detailing themselves, Eduard have the ‘Zoom’ series of etch sets. These are all colour printed, single etch fret sets, and contain the basics instead of the comprehensive regular set. Typically, instrument panel and side console detail etc. is what these sets supply the modeller with. This set, the Bf 110C-7 is designed to fit the wonderful Dragon kit which was released a couple of years ago. I have this kit and know it well, so when I was asked to review this set, I really couldn’t say no. This set, as hinted, contains a single colour etch fret measuring 70mm x 59mm and contains around 50 parts, most of which concern the cockpit. Some surgery is required to fit this, which mainly consists of grinding away some of the current detail in order to lie the etch parts over the top. As we tend to see, you will need a little stock of small plastic rod to supplement the etch parts in order to make lever handles etc. The instrument panel is the dominant feature of this set, constructed of multiple layers of fascia’s and instrument plates and bezels. The side consoles have a mixture of instrument plates, switch protectors, levers and knobs, to name a few. The radio sets also have a minor make-over, while the secondary instruments sat between the pilot and rear gunner are constructed from the laminated method seen on the main instrument panel. That gunner position also benefits from a neat etch MG reticule. The ‘office’ does have a little more detail to be offered, such as etch rudder pedals and gun-sight upgrades. A small piece of film is included for use with the gun-sight, with a spare reflector, just in case you flick one somewhere and lose it! Finally, some extra instruments are supplied for the Daimler Benz engine cowls, printed in the same sharp quality with plenty of detail. Conclusion This very simple set is both easy to install and with the excellent printed colour quality, should really enhance the accurate Dragon Bf 110 kit, which you can now pick up for quite a good price. Treat yourself to both with your Christmas money! Highly recommended Review sample courtesy of

...seems all my projects are big; either literally, or with the work I give myself. Good fun though. Here they are: 1:32 Junkers Ju 88 Mistel 2 1:32 Junkers Ju 188E 1:32 Heinkel He 162A On the subject of the He 162, if anyone has another of these kits they don't want, please let me know! Cheers, Jim

Three currently under construction, but none will be complete for 2012, and 2 of these are FAR away from finished.

I have been so productive. Yup....so little it's ZIP x 3!!! I'm aiming to fix that next year, probably

Only a small update today. First of all, here's one of the extended landing flaps and then shown alongside the wing. I used a little scrap casting block to add the extra material to these. The fuselage is now zipped up too. I packed around 60g of lead into the rear area immediately behind the cockpit. To get so much in, I cut the lead to the shape of the bulkhead and made a 'lead sandwich' with it. Tasty! I used smaller scraps to add yet more weight. CA was dripped around the lead to glue it and the whole lot was washed over in expoxy to ensure it wouldn't fall loose. The seams are now sanded and panel lines re-scribed where needed. The only problem is that the spent cartridge chute on the Aires part doesn't now correspond with the position of the one I opened up on the Revell part, so I need to adjust the plastic so this lines up with the Aires part. That'll teach me for not checking first! Now I can work on the bay and add some detail and stuff.

The undercarriage should be ok as it's quite short and stocky. Most of the weight will be immediately behind the cockpit, and over the gun bays, and these legs are quite robust. >>>>>fingers crossed<<<<<

Those are proper nice. I love the SUFA ....bloody hell, are we onto 'Yearbooks' already?

The cockpit is now painted and just needs a little refining. Sprayed in Gunze RLM66. I darkened the panel and construction areas such as stringers etc, then lightened the centre of panels. A thin mist of highly diluted RLM66 was then sprayed to homogenise. Detail is painted in Vallejo colour, and placards etc are Eduard, with a few of the kit decals placed on the side-walls. A couple of coats of Klear, and then washed with MIG Dark Wash before the excess was removed with a cotton bud dampened with thinners. Xtracolor XDFF Matt Varnish was used to flatten the finish before a little dry-brushing and Tamiya Weathering Pastel use. Still trying to replicate leather on the seat. I painted this with Vallejo Dark Chocolate, then washed with water, tinted with only a little colour from Vallejo Leather. Tamiya pastels were then applied and rub in before the leather seats were buffed to a polish with a little paper. Instrument panel is an Eduard one as I was too idle to use the Aires one and attempt to paint to that finish! The hole in the exterior is now filled with Magic Sculp. When dry, I'll extend the flare pistol chute to the outside so that it looks correct. I'm working a little on the gun bay now while the putty dries

That is beautiful. I was looking at this kit in my local model shop this afternoon.