PaulR

Hi all, wandered into my favourite spot of Bury St Edmunds real estate, namely Model Junction, and was rather pleased to see the twin seater Typhoon in 1/48th lurking quietly on the shelves. Was shocked to note that it somehow leapt into a red plastic bag and seemed to accompany me back to the car! Looks rather sexy, and it's the first time I've seen the 29 squadron markings correctly rendered, i.e. with a red outline to the roundel where it connects with the xxx bars. This might just have to move up the to-do list . . . Paul

Sorry - just confirming my understanding of the above - BAE has got two super hornets? Haven't heard this anywhere else - can you confirm when, why etc? Are they Es or Fs? Inquiring minds wanna know! Paul

Hi guys, am building the Italeri Bf 11OC in a thread hereabouts, and have a query on the colour scheme. I'm using Xtradecal's scheme for Huth's machine, which has it with 7O/71 uppers, 65 lowers and O2/7O mottle. So far, so groovy. However - and I am no luftwaffe expert - something doesn't seem right. All the pictures and profiles of 11Os I have - e.g. the Osprey books - show 7O/71 finished machines with the greens extending right down the fuselage sides and the outside of the fins, much the same way as early 1O9Es. 11O profiles with mottles and the the RLM65 high up the fuselage sides and fins seem to be finished in RLMO2/71 as per typical 1O9Es of the Battle of Britain. In short - have Xtradecal got this right? Or should I finish it in O2/71/65? Would appreciate any guidance on this. Paul

Lovely little model there mate - funny enough, I'm doing exactly the same kit in exactly the same markings - hope mine comes out as well! Just a wee note - the only difference between an F3 and an FB5 were the wingtips - the F3 had a slighly longer wing span with rounded wingtips (think normal spitfire and clipped wing models for a comparison). I shouldn't worry if I were you, but if you wanted to you could add the wingtips with card, and blend in with filler without too much trouble. Regards, Paul

Hi all! A quick update on my Bf 110. The Xtradecal sheet I'm using says its pilot was called Huth; low and behold, he appeared in a book I'm reading about the BoB, and apparently he had a wooden leg! Anyway, a quick three shots to update progress. . . Thank God for Eduard masks! Cockpit - preshaded, painted, oil washed and dry brushed, but given the scale and the fact I'm doing the canopy closed I shan't add any more. Wheelwells, with the same treatment as above. I've primed it using Mr Surfacer 1000, and I've done a little preshading - more important for the undersides than anywere else. Next stop - gun and undercarriage before first coats of paint. Cheers for looking, Paul

Hi all, for Battle of Britain Day I've posted my latest BoB kit, specifically a resurrected 1/48th Airfix Hurricane. I built this kit about 12 years ago and was my first airbrush model, and my first attempt at weathering. Needless to say it wasn't much cop (not saying this is brilliant either . . . ) but I took it and sanded it down; re-did the cockpit with armour; drilled out the exhausts; filled and sanded the erroneous cutout behind the cockpit and replaced the canopy with a Squadron vacform canopy. Seatbelts were from wine bottle foil, and decals were a combination of Techmod roundels and Xtradecal codes. The plane I chose was from a profile in Hurricane Aces 1939-41, and is an aircraft from 615 sqn RAuxF, Kenley, 20th August 1940. The actual plane is quite interesting, as it is racked up 4 confirmed kills and several more damaged over that August, and served out with the squadron until after the Battle of Britain, so it was around for most of the battle. Anyway, here it is, for what it's worth. Paints were Xtracrylix, by the by. For the pilots of 70 years ago. Paul

Mike, cheers for the reply, and you can put me down for a set of correction fins for my Academy Raptor! Good to hear that they are coming along! Best regards Paul

Hi there, am building the Academy Raptor at the mo. Have fixed the nose curves, but I'm told the tails are too short, by about 4mm I believe. I've looked at the Italeri tails and they are about that much bigger, so was contemplating using those. However, I am curious. Does anyone have any pics of the Hasegawa tails compared to the Academy ones, or has both kits and can measure the respective heights and widths? The reason I ask is that I often read of how a certain kit is inaccurate and that resin replacements are a must, and a cynical part of me often thinks that it is a case of fixing stuff that isn't actually wrong in the first place, or only marginally 'inaccurate', to generate money. Moreover, I saw alot of threads in 'other places' promising replacement tails, which, lo, have never appeared. Is it because the Hasegawa kit is the same and is actually right? Would be interested in any informed comment reference comparisons between the two kit tails, namely Academy and Hasegawa. Regards, Paul

Aww. now you're just teasing me - don't suppose you'd consider selling?!? Yours jealously, Paul

Cheers for the comments, chaps. I really got the idea from one of the threads hereabouts, where some dude did a conversion for the 1/32 revell kit. I hear the comment about the cost exceeding the Hobby Boss kit, but the thinking here is that it would be rather more accurate. I was thinking about the cost region of say the CMK F16D blk52+ conversions, which coupled with the cost of the Italeri IDS would weigh in for around £30; still less than an Ebay Italeri F3, if one is available. Oh well - just hope that Italeri do the decent thing and re-release their ADV thus rendering the whole discussion moot . . . Paul

Hi all, can't be alone in being a big fan of the F3, and being frustrated by the non-availability of the Italeri 1/48th scale kit. Given that the Airfix kit is rather rubbish, to put it mildly, and the the Hobbyboss version is v.expensive and inaccurate, would there not be an opportunity for some enterprising aftermarket company (can't think of any in particular . . . ) to produce a resin conversion for the Italeri IDS/Gr1 kit? A new nose, wing gloves, and fuselage (behind cockpit and near exhausts) extensions would do it, and would literally be drop fit since the Italeri version is designed for the modular build. Anyone else? Paul

Hi all, have the Xtradecal Luftwaffe BoB sheet, and was looking at the Bf-109s. Any recommendations on the best 1/72 kit? Ta, Paul

Hi all, had a blast doing my yellow nosed Spitfire for this group build, and seeing how I'm BoB mad at the moment (went to the Duxford airshow - 16 Spitfires in the sky at the same time!) I thought I'd jump in with this kit. I wanted to do the kit decals with the sharkmouth, but on closer inspection Italeri's rendition looks very little like the real thing. I looked at EagleCal, and they do the aircraft I want, but really can't justify the cash; I did however realise that I had Xtradecal's BoB sheet for the Luftwaffe, and this has a good scheme for a BoB 110. Anyway, obligatory box shots, followed by the decals and initial progress. I have to say that despite being an older kit with very fine raised lines, it fits very well and there are some very finely wrought detail parts, as well as a nice canopy. More updates as and when; as well as this, I've set myself the target of completing my 1/48 Airfix 615sqn Hurricane and 1/48 Hasegawa Me 109 in Hans Von Hahn's colours for Battle of Britain day. I'll post these on the 'Ready for Inspection' forum when they're done. Congrats to other participants on this group build - there's some great stuff! Paul

Hi all, as part of my Battle of Britain theme, please find below piccies of my model of Franz Von Werra's 109, shot down 70 years ago today (the 7th September 1940) by 'Stapme' Stapleton. Franz Von Werra was famous as the only German to make a home run, i.e. to be captured, escape and return to Germany. In his case, he was only to go missing about a year later over the North Sea. A film was made about his escape, called 'The One That Got Away'. Anyway, Von Werra's machine is one that has been variously depicted in terms of its colour scheme; mine is based on profiles and picture from the SAM book on ME109 colour schemes 1939-40. I've tried to show the replacement engine panel with the field applied mottle directly in front of the canopy by using Xtracrylix RLM65, which is quite a 'blue' blue if you get me; the rest of the RLM65 is Tamiya, which to my eye looks less garish. Decals are by Techmod which although very well printed were also very delicate; I ended up only using them for markings specific to Von Weera's machine, and kit decals for everything else. The kit is Hasegawa 1/48th, btw. Next up; Hans Von Hahn's 109. . . Hope you enjoy, Paul.

Hallo mate, cheers for the comments. Funny enough, the wing fit on mine is near on perfect - just a very light rubbing down has done the job, no filler required. It's odd though - some older kits still maintain their edge - the Italeri Ju88s and HE-111s weren't bettered until the vastly more expensive Hasegawa kits came along 25 years later,and even now still make very good replicas. Yer pay yer moeny and takes yer choice . . . Regards Paul

Hi all, am about to start building a 1/72nd Italeri Bf-110 for the Battle of Britain Group Build. Not really a Luftwaffe expert, so I was wondering if anyone had any comments on the kit. Aside from the very fine raised lines, it looks pretty good; certainly some of the detail parts (like the mass balances) are very finely molded. Not having seen one, how does it compare in general with the new Airfix effort? Any comments appreciated as ever, Paul

Cheers for the speedy response, chaps! Much appreciated! Paul

Hi all, am building Hasegawa's P40N warhawk, using the 'Geronimo' decals. This (I think) was based in the pacific, and is in a pinkish tan over grey scheme. Hasegawa has the top colour as an unspecified 'tan' but does anyone out there have a good out of the bottle match to this? Thanks in advance. Paul

Wow - thanks for the info! Much appreciated. Paul

Cheers for the reply mate! I'll ask my father and see if we can't establish the battalion. Speak soon! Paul

Hi all, am normally a denizen of the aircraft forums, but make very occasional forays into armour modelling.My next project project has a family connection. I have an Academy M3 Honey which I want to do as my great uncle's tank in the North African desert, Feb 1942. He was an officer in the Sherwood Foresters, and lead a rather interesting life; after being severely wounded in the desert, he then went on to be one of the first tanks off on D-Day. I have a very clear photo of the right side of 'his' Honey. It appears to be a very clean overall sand colour, with two triangles painted on different facets of the turret, each with a vertical bar inside them. It has a very long aerial, which suggests a command tank(?) and part of a name painted on the hull of the tank - white letters on a dark rectangle. He, and one of his crewman are standing in front of the name, but the letters ??PHI?? are visible. I think I am right in saying that each tank had a name that began with the letter of the troop/squadron it was assigned to - A,B,C etc, but I don't know which one he was assigned to. I was rather wondering if those with considerably more expertise than me might be able to guide me on the following. 1. The triangle markings - what were they for? Were they black or red? would they have appeared on the other side? 2. Camo scheme - was it overall sand, or might there be other colours? I'm thinking here of the Bellman 3 colour scheme shown in the kit. 3. Would this tank have likely carried the desert rat marking on the left hand fender, and the red/white stripes under the front of the hull? 4. Any possible guesses as to what the name could have been? I don't know if names were standardised, or were at the discretion of the individual troop. If the former I am hoping it will be fairly easy to establish. If not . . . well, best guess! I appreciate that there will be few definitive answers to the above, but if any of you guys has any info or expertise to share on British Army Honeys in the North African desert in early 1942 (!) that will at least get me into the right ball park for a reasonably accurate model I would be very grateful indeed, as indeed would my father, who still has Uncle Terence's letters from the front in his possession. I guess it's my own way of connecting with my family's past and keeping it alive in some way. Anyway, many thanks in advance. Paul

Cheers for the hints guys - will mask it up again and re-do it! I'll post it in completed builds when I'm done, and you can see what you think! Paul

Hi all, am building Franz Von Werra's Bf-109 at the mo, and have used Xtracrylic RLM 02, 71, 65. All fine and dandy, but now it's on the model the blue looks very blue, and my mental picture of it (derived from other builds I have seen online and profiles in books) is rather less garish. I am not a Luftwaffe modeller - in fact the four models I have in the stash are only there because of my interest in the Battle of Britain - but I would like to get this right. Without getting into the whole scale colour issue, is Xtracrylic RLM65 a reasonable representation of the real thing? Thanks in advance for any guidance from 'those in the know'! Paul

Camo update to back story . . . Once the Griffin mini-squadrons were established, the pressure grew for an operational deployment. As it turned out, instability was spreading across Saharan Africa, from the West coast over to the Horn of Africa. Piracy, religious extremism and ethnic violence in the wake of the gradual collapse in Soviet influence in their client states were causing serious problems. The squadrons were told to ready their aircraft for rapid deployment, and the Honington paintshop started to consider appropriate camouflage. As mentioned before, temporary finishes were problematic; not least of which was the fact they tended to 'bake on' in high heats and be difficult to remove, especially on the composite surfaces of the Griffin. Hedging their bets, they figured that the most likely use of the Griffin would be of a low-level operations across dusty, desert conditions. Coupled with the fact that there would be limited early air warning meant that camouflage whilst on the ground would also be needed. Looking across at the ex 360 sqn Canberra T17 decoys dotted around the Honington airfield gave them the solution they needed - Hemp over light grey, combining low visibility in the air-to-air arena and inconspicuity in the likely desert environment when viewed from above. Approval was sought and gained, and the first mini-squadron - no.185 - saw their six jets emerge in short order in their new guise, The new camo contrasted sharply with the original barley grey/light aircraft grey scheme as delivered, and was generally considered rather smart, especially when combined with the individiual squadron markings. As it turned out, the operational test of the new camo was not long in coming . . .

Any progress on this old chap? Am planning to a 1/72 version of what you are doing (slightly different codes though) so would be very interested to see how yours develops! Best regards, Paul