AnonymousAA74

I've had a little time to work on the Volksjäger, and since I was stupid enough not to have bought any RLM66 and RLM02, I've been flitting around different parts of the model. One thing I had to do was to modify the starboard cockpit wall. Aires went and modelled a U.S. radio set in situ, instead of the authentic Bordfunkanlage FuG 24! Out came the scalpel and in went some plasticard etc, plus an Eduard component that was spare. I added a little fixing bracket with wine bottle foil, and the rivets courtesy of my MDC flush rivet tool. I added another piece of Eduard etch on the same wall as it looked better than how Aires modelled it. The flare gun chute on the Revell kit is also crap. It's the wrong shape, angle and in slightly the wrong position. To fix this I drilled through the Aires side wall, down the gun chute so that the correct position opens on the outside of the part. I opened the kit fuselage plastic in this area too so that when I glue the side wall into position, I can fill the original hole with Magic Sculp and extend the channel from the cockpit to the outside. That should get the position totally correct. I also further thinned the Revell fuselage cockpit walls much further to make everything fit flawlessly. The ailerons and flaps were cut from the wings and the inner edges of the new trailing edge was thinned/chamfered and the CMK insert glued in to fill the resultant gap from the flap removal. These fit pretty well. It became evident that the landing flap was also around 2mm too short! I now need to move the flap inwards, so it matches to the fuselage due to the curvature of the flap/wing root at that position. Next job will be to extend the out facing flap edge and fix CMK's mess! Back to work!!

What a gorgeous build! Properly nailed That camo is perfect!

Tamiya P-51D Update Sets (Early) 1:32 Eduard When you originally bought your Über 1:32 Tamiya Mustang, upgrade sets were probably the last thing on your mind. Many modellers have built amazing replicas from the standard kit, but as we know, you can always make things even better. Eduard thought exactly the same thing, and released these new upgrade sets. Please be aware that THREE of these are standard P-51 upgrades for the Tamiya, while the other TWO relate to the ‘early’ P-51D machines, as depicted by the Tamiya option. P-51D Engine (32307) This quite comprehensive upgrade set comes on a single, but very busy photo-etch fret. Just about everything from the Packard Merlin, to the engine cowls and firewall are affected by this new set. This etch fret measures 138mm x 90m and contains over one hundred bare metal parts, with no colour inking. The star of the show, the Merlin engine , drips in photo-etch ‘bling’ with ignition lines, supercharger accessories, throttle control linkage, mixture linkage, magneto lines etc, water pump detail. With my reference, Eduard have certainly added a good number of the most important areas to the Merlin, and they do look correct. The cowling interiors are also festooned in etch metal, much of which forms the framework onto which the cowl plates attach, plus stiffener plates and access port frameworks. Eduard have also provided the two underside, forward ventilation plates in etch too, which will look far better than the plastic equivalent. The oil tank and firewall get some serious attention too, with numerous brackets, straps, flanges and filler ports, to name but a few detail areas. That Merlin pipework isn’t forgotten either, with various ferrules and cleats added. Detail has also been extended to the interior side of the engine bearers with several plates and brackets being added. One part I can’t fathom is that Eduard have supplied a fantastic piece of etch sculpture to relocate the battery to the engine cowl area in case the modeller builds the two-seat machine. As far as I know, the Tamiya kit doesn’t allow for this machine! Perhaps Eduard know something that we don’t! Nevertheless, the battery also sees some etch upgrades too. Throughout this set, a very small amount of corrective surgery needs to be performed, but this either means scraping off a little plastic detail, or removing small pre-moulded parts so as to replace them with metal alternatives. P-51D interior early ser.5-15 S.A. (32712) Two etch frets are supplied with this upgrade set. The printed colour plate, measuring 70mm x 59mm, has some wonderfully created detail, with no issue with pixilation in the colouring process. Over 70 parts are included here. This fret is also self-adhesive, hence the S.A. suffix on the set title. The second fret measures 70mm x 35mm, and is bare metal, containing almost 30 parts. Unsurprisingly, the star of the show here is the colour instrument panel. To upgrade this part, you must carefully remove the moulded detail from the outlying instrument panel, whilst not touching the central console. The outlying area then has two layers of colour photo etch applied, creating the main fascia and the underlying instruments. Various other switch banks and levers are then applied, also in colour. The central console has a colour etch instruments plate installed from the rear, to replace the kit decal. Rudder pedals are also sheathed in metal, displaying the North American company logo! A large number of placards are sprinkled throughout the cockpit. The side consoles and side-wall panels are transformed with so much metal that they will be almost unrecognisable! The seat and headrest are also super-detailed with brackets and clips, as is the cockpit floor with its instruments. The fuel tank is adorned with metal flanges, brackets and filler ports. Full reception can now be received on the SCR-522 radio set installed to the rear of the pilot. This part has every face covered in detailed etch metal, with an edging strip installed at each corner, so the radio will look truly engineered. Eduard also replace the Tamiya etch metal antennae which protrude through each side of the vertical tail fin, with their own part which looks a little less clunky than the original part, and more refined. P-51 Seatbelts (32731) This nice, simple set replaces the bare metal photo-etch belts in the Tamiya kit, with a pre-coloured set which requires assembly. The Eduard belts come as individual ‘material’ straps and buckles and clasps, with some simple folding required. The colour printing is superb, with padding and stitching being neatly produced. Over 30 parts are provided on this fret measuring 69mm x 33mm. Assembly is straightforward, but you’ll need to seriously set some time aside to make these. P-51D Gun Bay, Early (32732) Eduard’s weapons bays have always been a work of art and this is no different. I thought the standard Tamiya bays were good enough until I saw the photos of this set installed. The gun bay is provided on two etch frets, with one of them being printed in full colour. The first, smaller, colour etch fret measures approximately 70mm x 59mm, and contains 10 parts. These parts mainly consist of ammunition feed belts, complete with differently coloured tipped ammunition! The remaining parts are the information placards which fit into the ammunition bay doors. The second bare metal fret measures 133mm x 102mm and contains roughly a hundred parts. The MG’s benefit from a couple of etch plates on their topsides, and the ammunition feed chute for these is made from a delicately etched part that will require careful bending, but which looks amazing when complete. Down these chutes, you must feed the colour etch ammunition. The metal bay front gun plate provided by Tamiya is replaced with an enhanced Eduard one, and the blank holes in the base of the bay are now filled with etch metal showing constructional elements. The bay side walls are sheathed in metal to simulate the wing ribs. Various brackets are attached here, whilst the rear wall is also faced in metal and onto this are fitted more metal brackets! This is etch-o-rama! Wing ammunition bays contain ‘rib-lets’ across which intersects two strips running the full length of the bay, forming the ammo channels. Over these, you’ll run the remainder of the colour etch ammo. All wing gun and ammunition bay doors are also made from etch metal, which should give a far more authentic appearance than plastic. They are constructed from various larger parts of folded metal, with simulated hinges, clasps and fasteners. The doors are provided as three items per wing, whereas Tamiya provide a single plastic part that must be cut into three. Film inserts are included for the window in the outboard ammunition bays. P-51D Canopy Masks (JX136) A set of canopy masks is given in the Tamiya kit, but you’ll need to cut them out yourself. Alternatively, you can bag yourself a set of these die-cut masks, saving you the hassle of trying to ‘cut to the lines’ on the kit set. This simple set contains masks for the exterior of the canopy parts only, plus one for the armoured windscreen and landing light. The main sliding canopy only has masks for the immediate outline, so you will need to use liquid mask or tape to infill the areas. I couldn't get a satisfactory image showing the stamping, and this packet shot seemed to show 'more'. The die-cutting is very sharp though, with good clean edges and corners. Conclusion This is a pretty neat suite of update sets for the ‘kit of the year’ which take detail to the next level in just about every area and orifice of the Mustang, with the exception of the undercarriage bay, though I don’t doubt we’ll be reviewing that soon too. You’ll need to have some guts to shave off plastic within your expensive Tamiya kit in order to add some of this metal, but the overall result will be pretty pleasing to the eye, and will go towards building the most detailed Mustang available at this time. Review sample courtesy of

Garth, That is amazing. I hope you're managing to get some use from my old spraybooth!

Hi Chris, You no doubt know me from the LSP forums (James H). Dave was a great guy. He sent me some 1:48 kits a while ago. If you'd like me to post you a Spitfire back that your dad sent me, with resin cockpit, then it would be good to see this completed in his memory. Jim

It's a great kit and you did a real fine job there That resin is pretty smelly though, ain't it?

So not to let the grass grow under my feet, I did a little work last night and this morning, and made a little simple progress. I had already decided I wanted to display the He 162 with its nose cone displayed next to the model, so you could see the Aires forward wheel assembly. To remove this, I used my Gunze scriber and a sharp scalpel blade. I still need to properly clean the ex-mating faces. You must remove this from the outside of the aircraft otherwise you'll clip part of the gun barrel panel away. This 'missing' notch from the nose-cone now needs to be restored, and the protruding gun panel suitably thinned. All moulded cockpit detail is now removed. As I don't trust myself with my Dremel after one unfortunate accident, I now remove detail and thin down parts using a combination of different sized curved scalpel blades. These are now ready to accept the resin side walls, but before I can do anything else I need to change the awful flare gun chute exiting the cockpit side wall as it looks crap. I'll add a small section of thin tube here and fair it into the fuselage, in line with the resin interior area. One other area of 'crapness' on behalf of Aires is the main wheel bay. The bay itself is great, but the side walls are so thick and contain a step which extends outwards beyond the bulkheads. Pop this into the model and you see a major gap between the resin and plastic. This had to be carefully sanded back and profiled so that it match the plastic, and with care as not to go to thin with the resin. I need to do some fettling and tweaking before I can progress further. I also need to chop the rear fuselage off at the tailplane juncture and mount this into the rear fuselage in the way that the real bird was. That's all folks! (for now) Jim

Haven't I spent enough!

Nah, he's still reading Peter & Jane books!

Hi all, I'm in need of therapy, and those I know would already say that anyway. When that happens, I go back to 'basics' with a small model and get out the razor saw, drill bits and lumps of resin. Last time I did that, I built my Fw 190D-9. So in that vein, here I go again. This will be completed before I head on back to the Ju 188 as I never did get it finished for Telford. I bought every conceivable resin set for this kit, and then extra. When Aires brought out their original 'Full Detail' set, there was no weapons bays, and a limited nose gear assembly, from what I can see, so when I placed my order, I ordered the CMK wep bays and nose assembly. Low and behold, Aires had their own in my full detail set! This kit will use, as a minimum, Aires Full Detail Set # 2033 CMK Engine Set # 5013 CMK Tail & Control Surfaces Set # 5010 Klaus Herold built one on LSP and the problems with the CMK engine were documented. Still, it's better than the Revell one, so I'll just bash the CMK one until I get it right. Here are some pics: Work will start on this very soon. First things first, and that means hacking the casting blocks off the resin and thinning various areas. As soon as this is done and I can dry fit, then I'll post progress.

What a darn shame. I liked Replic. Ok, I couldn't understand much of the French, but I only ever look at pictures anyway

Nice photo! Thanks for that. It does show where the canopy issues stem from. I forgot to add the clear sprues to the review, plus when I try to edit the review and add them, I'm told 'too many pics'. So here they are:

It is a good kit Tim. You can't fix the Merlin engine, so you would need either some aftermarket solution, or zip up the cowls. The cockpit could be made more viable with the Eduard set HERE if you are willing to forgive the wall shape. I don't think it's a bad kit for the price, and it won't stop me building it further down the line.

Spitfire MK. Vb/Trop 1:32 HobbyBoss The Spitfire Mk. Vb/Trop could be identified by the large Vokes air filter fitted under the aircraft nose. The reduced speed of the air to the supercharger had a detrimental effect on the Spitfires performance, but the decreased performance was considered an acceptable price to pay for being able to deploy the Spitfire to the desert theatre of operations. The Mk. Vb/Trop was also fitted with a larger oil tank and desert survival gear behind the pilots’ seat. Many Mk. Vb/Trops were modified by 103 MU (Maintenance Unit) at Abukir, Egypt, where factory fresh Mk Vb’s were brought up to the new desert service standards. These standards included fitting the locally made and much smaller and streamlined ‘Abukir Filters’ to replace the large Vokes type. The Mk. Vb was the first of the Spitfire type which was able to carry the large centre-line slipper tank. The Vb’s gun bays also had hot air piped into them via a tube which protruded into the rearmost exhaust stack, and down through the cowlings into the wings. The HobbyBoss Mk. Vb/Trop is the logical successor to the previous Mk. Vb release, and brings with it the extra parts to create this tropicalized version, plus some of the nuances of the previous release with regard to accuracy.Presented in a robust box, depicting artwork of a clipped-wing and Vokes-fitted machine, the box interior is compartmented to separate the clear and photo-etch parts from the main sprues. This is a touch from HobbyBoss that I quite like, plus the sprues are individually packaged, which scores top marks for me. I just wish other manufacturers were as quick to do this. This kit consists of over 250 parts, moulded over nine sprues (with two of these being clear), including a single photo-etch fret containing a further 10 parts, plus a set of rubber main tyres. The main sprues are moulded in a medium grey plastic, and none of the parts seem to suffer from flash, sink marks, seams etc, and ejector pin marks won’t cause any nasty extra work for the modeller. This kit is a fraction of the cost of the ‘big boy’ Tamiya super-kits, but how does it measure up to them? Let’s take a look at what HobbyBoss do offer us with this release. Unsurprisingly, construction begins with the cockpit, and it’s here I do see the most obvious inaccuracies. Anyone who knows anything the Spit knows that the fuselage is basically a monocoque tube, with the cockpit sitting fairly and squarely within it. As a result, the cockpit formers should represent this, but they don’t. Instead of these formers being almost oval in shape, the HobbyBoss ones have straight sides which extend down to where the wing meets the fuselage. That is probably the most obvious error to me here. The cockpit walls are separate parts which when fitted, also display this ‘straight down’ attitude that HobbyBoss has taken. The cockpit itself is nicely detailed, but in some areas looks nothing like any Spitfire which I have ever built, and I’ve built a fair few in my time. That headrest looks plain wrong too. You do have a very detailed basis to work upon, and I think with some work and elbow grease, you could make this look much better. Dig out your reference books though. Photo-etch seatbelts and plate armour are included for the Spitfires ‘office’, and a single part instrument panel/former included. A decal for the instrument panel is supplied, but I would ditch this for individual instrument decals from Airscale. A radio set is included which will be seen through the open and positionable hatch to the rear of the cockpit. With this release, we get a complete Merlin engine, or at least it’s supposed to be a Merlin. Again, having many reference photos and books which detail the Merlin, I can say that this has only a passing reference to the said engine. The two banks of cylinders no longer look like ‘banks’ and these have a floor between them almost at rocker cover height. That is quite bizarre. The engine crank case head also looks very broad too. If you do wish to display the engine, I would seriously rework it or even replace it with something more realistic from another kit, or aftermarket solution. The engine bulkhead looks a little incorrect to me with the detail supplied. Dig out your references again for this area or failing that, just button up the cowls. HobbyBoss do supply a reasonable undercarriage for this release, which is more than passable, but the main wheel wells are a little devoid of detail, and the detail moulded onto the inner face of the upper wing which forms the wheel wells, looks ‘odd’. The lower wing is moulded as a single piece, and the shapes all look correct, including the ‘gull form’ of the rear wing to fuselage joint. Deeply engraved channels in the lower and upper wing parts are designed to be cur through if you wish to make your model have the clipped wing. Clipped wingtips can then be glued into place here. The lower inner centre wing shows more structural ribbing which is supposed to represent the cockpit floor, but as I already mentioned, this concept is simply incorrect and looks wrong. Thankfully this kit does supply a full complement of wing armament which is more than passable with regards to detail. Ammunition feeds are also supplied, as are the spent chutes. The wing ammunition access panels are moulded in clear plastic, for some odd reason, but you can paint over them and keep them unglued so you can see the weapons. The weapon bay walls aren’t detailed, so you’ll need to do a little work there. All control surfaces across the Spitfire are separate so you can pose these with minimal extra work, but while looking over the rear stabilisers, you can’t help but be drawn to the strange fact that the lower stabs are metal skinned and riveted, whilst the upper surfaces have a fabric and rib representation! That simply isn’t right, and I can’t help but wonder who would have designed a kit like that. It might come as some comfort to know that the ribbing isn’t too heavy and it would take only a few minutes to smooth these surfaces so you could apply rivets to them so it matches the rest of the airframe. Other rib and fabric representation for the moveable surfaces looks very good and you should be more than happy with that. The exterior of the model looks very good, and yes, we do have those rivets. You either love them or hate them. I would prefer not to have them as I would be able to add my own flush riveting to the model, but if you think the rivets a little heavy, airbrush some Mr Surfacer over the model and rub the model back to plastic. This should lessen the depth of the rivets. Panel lines are neatly and subtly engraved and look good, as do the variety of other access ports and the various fasteners. The overall external shape of the Spitfire looks to have been well captured too, which is the most important aspect of this model. If you are willing to ride with that, then you’ll have to fettle those areas which are imagineered. Two clear sprues are supplied. One of these holds the various wing access panels for the guns, plus any wingtip lights etc. The other sprue contains the canopy parts. Again, here is where something perhaps troubles me. The rear canopy profile looks a little broad, indicating that perhaps the fuselage profile at that point isn’t quite right. The sliding hood also looks different to what I would expect, and the forward windscreen sloping pace looks too steep. An armoured external windscreen is supplied, but this is very thin in comparison with how it should look. The clear parts are well moulded and have a good level of clarity. The single photo etch fret contains the seatbelts, headrest armour and an intake screen. The parts are protected by an adhesive clear backing. Etch quality is good too. A pair of rubber tyres are given for the main landing gear, and these are well moulded, but with a visible seam running around the circumference. The wheels aren’t ‘weighted’ either, so perhaps it might be best to replace these tyres with an aftermarket solution. The instruction sheet is clearly printed with black and white line drawings, and 15 constructional sequences. Various options for ‘Trop A’ and ‘Trop B’ are clearly defined and easy to follow. Paint references are given throughout construction is Mr Hobby reference codes. Two decal sheets are included, with one of these carrying national and unit/squadron codes, while the other sheet contains the various stencils. The decals are relatively thin in comparison to some other Eastern manufacturers, while printing is both in solid and authentic colour, with perfect registration. Carrier film edging does exist, but it isn’t too bad. The decals also have a satin/gloss finish to them. A full colour, glossy colour scheme sheet, roughly A3 in size and printed on both faces, is supplied. Scheme depiction is excellent and paint colour references are given in Mr Hobby, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol. Markings for two machines are supplied. These are: • Spitfire Mk.Vb/Trop, AB502, IR-G, Wing Commander Ian R Gleed, early 1943 • Spitfire Mk.Vb/Trop, BR195, AN-t, No.247 Sqn, Sicily, early 1943 Conclusion This Spitfire release is far from perfect, with some issues than can either be forgotten about by hiding them, such as the engine, or fixed up, such as the stabiliser ribbing. The cockpit is an issue which can indeed be worked upon to bring a better compromise. You can buy aftermarket solutions for the cockpit, such as those made by Eduard, but if I am totally realistic about this kit, I don’t think, for the price, that it’s too bad a release. It looks like a Spitfire, and at a fraction of the cost of the Tamiya kit, you have more than a good starting point from which to build your Mk.Vb/Trop. Review sample courtesy of

Bloody great stuff Mike! I have fond memories of the Matchbox kit as a kid, and even the 1:72 had a big wingspan. You know...you're making me feel brave enough to face the 1:32 Hampden!

Fcuk me! That is gorgeous! I have two 'F's' in the attic, and I was wondering what to build next year

Darn fine fighter there! I think you nailed that brilliantly.

HERE is a little news for you, and some photos of the 1:48 Shinden

Pricing hasn't been revealed yet, but I do know that it should be realistic, with perhaps a surprise in the announce too.

You sure this will be ready for Telford? Lovely work so far

P-47D Thunderbolt ‘Tarheel Hal’ 1:32 Hasegawa The P-47 Thunderbolt, designed by Russian ex-patriot Alexander Kartweli of Republic Aviation, and first flown in 1941 was quite an oddity among the sleek, lightweight fighters now possessed by both the Allied and Axis forces at that time. The ‘Jug’ as it became known, was the heaviest and largest single-engined fighter of its day, and with that came a price tag to match. Powered by the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 ‘Double Wasp’ engine, rated at 2000BHP, any disadvantages borne from the P-47’s physical attributes were overcome in order to make the P-47 Thunderbolt the most numerous fighter built in American history. After some initial technical difficulties and compromises, the ‘Jug’ was eventually fitted with a universal wing, allowing it to carry external fuel stores and bombs simultaneously. The high backed ‘razor’ spine of the earlier machines was also cut down to produce a fuselage allowing a bubble-canopy, giving the pilots a much better field of view. To counter resulting stability problems with the modified fuselage, a dorsal fin was added, fore of the vertical tail-plane. Carrying a powerful battery of eight Browning .50 calibre MG’s, the Jug could also carry those bombs and rockets, making it a deadly adversary late in WW2, when they roamed free, at low level, over occupied territory, destroying ground based targets. Serving with distinction both in European and Pacific theatres of war, the Thunderbolt served with the US until the late 1940’s. Other countries to use the type included the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, Republic of China, with the Peruvian Air Force using the type, up until its ultimate retirement from service in 1966. This release of the Hasegawa P-47D Thunderbolt is ‘Tarheel Hal’, and is listed as a Limited Edition, with only that specific scheme being offered within the box. The original kit was released in 2007 (08077) and has seen two more subsequent releases (08181 & 08202) prior to this one. Packaged in the now familiar, but deep Hasegawa top-opening box with some excellent artwork of ‘Tarheel Hal’ on the lid, this kit comprises TWENTY sprues of light grey plastic, ONE clear sprue and THREE flexible sprues of polythene caps. There are FOUR of the smaller grey plastic sprues that aren’t actually used for this release, comprising alternate props and undercarriage bay sections for the wing. As grinds a little with me, the sprues aren’t bagged separately, but into two bags for the grey parts, and the clear sprue with polycaps being in another. However, this kit exhibits no damage from being packaged this way. The outward appearance of this kit is very typical of Hasegawa in both style and execution, with the exterior being devoid of rivets, with the exception of a small number of beautifully reproduced slotted fasteners where appropriate. Panel lines, access ports and other engraved details are of the highest standard in being crisp, even and of scale appearance. The control surfaces of this kit are moulded in situ meaning you will need to do a little surgery if you want to pose them dynamically. Their representation is very good, with them actually appearing to be separate despite the individual moulding. Rivet detail, where applicable in these areas, is recessed and very subtle The cockpit is very well appointed. This area is constructed as a module, complete with excellent side wall detail, suitably detailed instrument panel with raised instrument detail, rudder pedal assembly and other equipment. There is a decal included for the instrument panel, but I would look at a way of using individual instrument decals, as those made by Airscale. The seat has no belts, so you will need to make these yourself or look for an aftermarket solution. The cockpit also has full colour references to help you with painting. This cockpit module fits into an innovative wing spar which both helps place the cockpit at the right altitude and position, and also gives the wings themselves a positive location with the correct dihedral and rigidity needed for a kit of this size. The design here is excellent. An insert fitting between the two fuselage halves is also included, complete with polycaps so that you may pug/un-plug the centre-line fuel tank. Should you wish to fit him, a pilot is also included, and this looks pretty reasonable. The Pratt & Whitney engine is moulded with the two rows of cylinders being separate parts. Each bank of cylinders is a single part too, with no unsightly seams needing to be exorcised around the circumference. A push rod ring and a small number of other parts complete this assembly. The supercharger fits to the engine bulkhead, and a four piece cowl cover engine with a forward ring helping the alignment of the cowl parts. The radiator flap ring is supplied in both open and closed options. Four prop sets are included, with only one being used, so if you wish to model a different machine other than Tarheel Hal, I’m sure the parts are here to fulfil that. The undercarriage is well presented with separate brake lines and excellent definition. Wheels are two part, and aren’t weighted unfortunately, so you’ll need to sort that aspect out yourself. The undercarriage main bays are excellent, with crisp detail and some ancillary equipment in there. The outer, rear part of the well shape from the wing is separate, with their being two different types within the kit, despite only one of them being for this specific release. Inner undercarriage doors are also cleverly designed. These were quite chunky on the P-47, and Hasegawa have made these out of an inner and outer part so that no pin marks can be seen. Although different hub-cap types are supplied, only the spoked ones are to be used on Tarheel Hal. Landing flaps can be modelled in either a raised or lowered position, with the hinges being individual parts and quite detailed and the placing of them being rigid and positive. Under-wing pylons are included so you may mount bombs or fuel tanks, and the latter are plugged onto these pylons by means of more polycaps. External stores include an optional centreline drop tank, two wing mounted drop tanks and two bombs. All grey plastic parts are exceptionally moulded with no flash, poor seams or issues with ejector pin marks. However, my sample does have some sink marks on the wings for which the integrally moulded in stiffener/spar seems to be responsible. You’ll need to do a little filling with Mr Dissolved Putty, or similar here. The clear sprue holds two canopies. One of these is a single piece, closed option, while the two separate parts are for the open option. Landing and formation lights and gun-sight reflectors. Moulding is excellent with the parts being beautifully clear and well defined. The instruction manual is a 12 page A4 production in black and white, with sixteen constructional sequences given, as well as the black and white profiles for the single included scheme. All drawings are extremely clear and easy to follow, with good part notation and a sprue plan showing parts NOT to be used as shaded out portions. Paint codes are given for GSO Creos Aqueous paint, and Mr Color. A single sheet of satin finish decals is included. These do seem reasonably thin, and printed in both solid and authentic colour with minimal carrier film. The decals also include a variety of stencils as well as several for the cockpit. Printing is in perfect register. I have heard that there could be an issue with the colour representation for the actual ‘Tarheel Hal’ decal, which is ironic! The decal is printed in yellow with a white border. I have heard this should actually be orange with a yellow border, so please check your references with this. That single scheme is: • P-47D-30, 9AF, 358FG, 366FS, Lt. Davis, IA-N: Tarheel Hal, Germany, May 1945 Conclusion In 1:32, this is simply the best, most accurate and P-47 D kit that money can buy, and if you’ve never had the pleasure of seeing a Thunderbolt kit, then the size of this beast will surprise you. All of the Hasegawa P-47D releases are excellent, and this is no exception. Great colour scheme on a fantastic kit. Go and treat yourself! Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

That's a cracking job there Jonners. Are you at Telford for both days? It would be good for a meet up for the sake of BM unity!

Oh dear Dave was a friend to me when I restarted this hobby again and we emailed/PM's each other regularly. On LSP, he was known as 'rotary'. You'll be missed Dave. Blue skies.......

What a corking looking kit!

Lovely work Iain. I hope this is ready for Telford. I'd love to see it. I suppose blending that glazing to the fuse wasn't 'too' bad when you bear in mind the poor frame definition of the glass areas.