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A very handsome build

I'm almost tempted to try and find an Airfix Wellington just to see what could both incite destruction but also tempt you back for more The femme fatale of 1/72?

I'm not brave enough yet for the 'ready for inspection' section yet and don't want to hijack your thread with pictures of my build I did take advantage of the photogenic clouds for an arty shot though

V. nice work - I've just been putting the finishing touches to my own (Revell) Lanc that had been languising in the loft as well.

The paint test bed looks like a bit of modern art - get that sold to the Tate pronto

Overkill?! There is lots of fun to be had in tinkering with getting something to get it 'just so' even if no-one will ever get to see the results properly

Thanks to everyone for the kind comments and advice throught this build ~copy/paste of the conclusion~ Long time, no update - life at 1:1 has gotten in the way of modelling at 1:72 but it is finally finished and had a matt clearcoat Between the decal film and donated decals it got over the finish line but only just. Silvering, cracking, wrinkles - just about anything that could have plagued the last stage did http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q493/lostcosmonauts/IMG_4646_zpsue1lteja.jpg

Long time, no update - life at 1:1 has gotten in the way of modelling at 1:72 but it is finally finished and had a matt clearcoat Between the decal film and donated decals it got over the finish line but only just. Silvering, cracking, wrinkles - just about anything that could have plagued the last stage did http://i1160.photobucket.com/albums/q493/lostcosmonauts/IMG_4646_zpsue1lteja.jpg

Shame about your health issue but it certainly hasn't stopped you producing a nice model

Oh and Frog masking tape (from all good diy stores) is handy for masking acrylics as along with adhesive it has a component which swells and gels in contact with water so if any paint creeps under a panel line it gets stopped pretty quick Works far better than the other tapes I've tried

Absolutely agree with the point made earlier about the paint included with this set - I had the same issue with the Battle of Britain set. Brushes on ok but sprays to a textured finish. I first thought some solvent was flash evaporating so that it wasn't getting time to properly flow out and film form but adding thinners didn't help. I think it might just be the formulation doesn't like the shear in the spray tip (could any number of causes none of which I could be bothered remedying). I replaced with a couple of jars of Tamiya acrylic and had no problems.

Thanks both - Vampire has been straightforward, Vixen less so Main issue atm is the join between the booms and the rest of the model. I thought I had it looking ok (primed grey) and then did an all over coat of matt white to make any flaws more visible and to my horror it did exactly that. Fill, sand, repeat

I'm not sure I should be starting a 2nd WIP thread with one still outstanding and a RFI still to post but hey ho I've made a start on a pair of de Havilland jets - the Airfix Vampire T11 and Revell Sea Vixen. No aftermarket toys - I'm aiming for a relaxed and easy life I hadn't quite realized how big the difference in sizes between these planes was. With the family resemblance I thought they'd be similar(ish) but the Vixen is a behemoth The most minor of mods for the Sea Vixen - reshaped seat based on the kit seat with added stretched sprue and scrap polystyrene sheet to make something that if you squint could look almost right and a couple of shims of sheet added to stretch and slim the nose a bit (which handily gives me a neat compartment for hiding some fishing weights) Other than that it has been mundane cobbling together with the odd dash of regret (I wish I'd made more effort on the Vixen cockpit now that it is sealed up). a lot of filling and sanding is in the offing

Thanks folks for continued advice and the kind words about the paint job @Troy Smith - thanks for the cross reference. You're right - it is a temporary fix unless the light exposure is continuous but as all my models get stored away from natural light discolouration is probably their inevitable collective fate. ... but you've given me an idea. There is a new way to make a matt varnish which would be a terrific oxygen barrier. I'll need to have more of a think on that If you're interested in the chemistry of yellowing (and who wouldn't be) as I understand it it is that the natural fatty acids used in making enamels and alkyd coatings contain double bonds between some of the carbon atoms. These, when applied as a film, react with atmospheric oxygen to create free radicals (with the help of a redox catalyst) which react with and convert the double bonds to crosslinks between molecules to make a network and cured film. Unfortunately some double bonds are left unused so they are still available for further reaction but can't continue to crosslink because they are frozen in place once the network form and they can then only react with the diffused oxygen to give aldehydes, ketones and a host of other partially oxidised and compounds which are often coloured. Letting sunlight work on it will break up these oxidised compounds as the UV creates a fresh supply of active radicals but at the expense of embrittling the film as you get more and more unintended side reactions.

Rick - Thanks for the tip. I've got access to UV lamps etc. at work (coatings company rather than tanning salon) but I'll give sunlight a chance in case I overdo it and make a mess of them

~~~~~~~~~Intermission~~~~~~~~ As I've not been able to work on the Viggen I've had kept myself entertained with a Revell Lancaster and an Airfix Spitfire. Some little touch ups, decals should still be Microsolled (is that the past tense when using Microsol as a verb?) and the planes varnished but otherwise pretty much done & dusted

Thanks to the kind advice of other members and a special thanks to @Scimitar for much appreciated new set of decals I've been rescued - finishing off once they've bleached a bit in sunlight

Many thanks for the help and advice everyone - am letting the donated decals bleach out a bit in natural light and then I'll be able to crack on. Surface texture and steps between masked areas honestly not as bad as the photo makes out

Thanks @RobertF the offer to have a rummage is very much appreciated but I think I've been rescued already as a couple of folk offered to help and one turned out to have a spare sheet of suitable markings Huge relief - I had visions of all that masking going to waste

Thanks all - I'll have a go with this stuff. If that saves the bulk of the decals then I'll hopefully either find or replace the Swedish roundels that are too far gone to rescue

I've had a slow WIP at: But have faltered at the last hurdle - the decals are falling to pieces. I realize that someone having a surplus sheet of decals for a 2 seater Viggen they'd be willing to sell on is a bit unlikely so I'd appreciate if anyone has any ideas on how to rescue old decals? Is there something I could overcoat the remaing ones with which would keep them intact? I'd only gotten as far as messing up the two roundels so if I could rescue the rest they'd hopefully be easier to source replacements

Thanks Martian 👽 - Hopefully it won't be too long banished to the loft and I can find some aftermarket decals

I've finished the construction & touched up a lot of the camo and hopefully a clearcoat will blur the difference in gloss between brush and spray regions. Which is all well and good but... when I time tried to put the transfers on it has all gone wrong. They're just falling to pieces - really tiny fragments as below. Does anyone have a spare set of Saab Viggen decals that would work on this model they'd be willing to sell?

Minor progress to report - tidying up the paintwork and trying to make it look presentable

Long time, no progress. Work and travel got in the way for a bit but have some pictures of the incremental maskathon Eventually done as: Dark green -> black -> brown -> light green Brown crept under the mask so there is quite a bit of retouching and clean-up to be done Masking the dark green Masking the black Masking the brown Final peeling - some scraping & retouching by brush still to do but you get the general idea