Horatio Gruntfuttock

My gob is well and truly smacked! A stunning piece of work well done!!

Either Moa or Mark Davies posted a build of the Karaya (?) kit a year or two back , April 2020 to be precise, with some very detailed explanations of what is wrong with the kit, which is I presume the one you are building. Hope this info helps, as I am in the process of building this kit but will only be doing a couple of the mods. Here is my copy of his summary points which I hope he does not mind me posting:- Karaya is a firmly established model manufacturer with a wide catalog that includes, to my delight, many Schneider planes. Karaya's reputation is good, but apparently my first encounter with their products was unfortunate, as I purchased a sadly inaccurate S.65. To start to make this flawed kit look like the real thing, the following was done: -Correct the spurious cut out on the fuselage top and sides, restoring the correct, continuous shape -Install the side windows, deleting the spurious extra radiators (located above the correct fuselage radiators) -Correct the shape of the elevator horn balances -Add the headrest -Correct the wrong position of the insertion of the float struts into the fuselage bottom -Substitute the ridiculous resin butt-joined booms for metal inserted ones -Correct the mistakes on the rigging -Revise position of "V" struts at the end of the floats, moving them back as per photos -Add boom fairings that continue on top and bottom of the elevator Still, propelled by the sheer beauty of the type, some modifications were made, parts replaced with better ones, engineering revised, and many details corrected to obtain a model that if still not totally accurate, at least resembles much closely the original. This is a missed opportunity: such fantastic plane, and a kit that came too short, not sure why, as the general quality of the parts (accuracy and engineering apart) is good. The modifications to obtain a more credible model are too involving, and I wouldn't have done it if I knew from the start the challenges, but I started blinded by the good reputation of the manufacturer (whose other kits reputedly are accurate and nice to build). So I went on, feeling bad about trashing a kit of such beautiful plane that besides cost a pretty penny. So here are the results of much huffing and puffing, and having to continually look at references in order not to fall into accuracy traps. A paradigm of Italian design that produced a very stylized racer, and, if nothing else, a wonderful "oggetto d'arte".

Great galloping gonads!! That is a very special model and wonderful tribute to your brother - well done.

Well, my gob is well and truly smacked - a delightful little model, beautifully built and finished. Well done and this Antipodean is completely green with envy. Thanks fro sharing your in-progress and competed images.

Great little replica and how nice to see the decals weathered as well and not applied fresh over a weathered scheme. You should be proud of that one, well done.

Great work Ian and I can't wait to see them 'in the flesh' - perhaps they will show up at our June meeting?

Absolutely stunning little beast and how great it is to see some of the olde scratch-building techniques being used to such effect. A beautifully built and finished model - well done!!

A new meaning for 'Herd Mentality" - well done with that impressive herd of buffaloes! Nice display case too.

Excellent job on construction and painting - well done!

Gorgeous aircraft and gorgeous model - well done!

Brilliant job on that model François - I would never be game to photograph my models in that size! Your paint work and construction are wonderful - well done.

Absolutely stunning and thank you so much fro including the in-progress shots . It's hard to believe that there is the old Frog kit inside that miniature masterpiece. I'll go back to my butterfly collection now.

An absolute stunner - and your first rigging job is to a standard I can only dream of - well done on producing a really excellent model.

Nice job and it is one of Matchbox' best kits i reckon. You might even persuade me to get mine out of the 'store of doom'.

An outstanding model Mike - well done . Your finish and rigging are just wonderful. Definitely a 'keeper'.

Another gob-smackingly wonderful model Giampiero and I always stare in wonder at your brush-painting skills.

Thank you all chaps - the shared info is really helpful, and John ( Nimrod54 - one of my musical favourites BTW!), your build was an absolute stunner and full of great tips , a million thanks. I can now make a heap of progress with my builds. AMB , the colours for royal aircraft is particularly helpful. Unfortunately I don't post images on BM as I find the rigmarole of using third party to host images a real PITA - sorry. However, I love looking at all your work from the Antipodes and have met up with a couple of you on my infrequent visits to England ( I caught up with Jonners at Farnborough in 2018), and i hopefully make appreciative comments about your masterpieces. If I am allowed to refer to AMWS ( another modelling web-site), then I will point you to Hyperscale where my work appears under the moniker of 'gcarter17'. Thanks again.

Hi all, and a happy New Year to all. I have just begun building two Airfix Bassets as XS743 of the ETPS from the latest Air Graphics Testing Times sheet of decals, and XS770, as a flying one from the Queens Flight from the AirDecal sheet of a few years ago. Sanding the rivets back has been done and now I am up to interior work. Can any of you knowledgeable gents on the other side of the world help me with the interior colours. I rather like Adey's choice from his build a year or more ago but need a bit more detail. A deep dig on t'internet reveals a million shots of the canine version of a beagle or a basset but nowt on interiors; of the aircraft, not the dog!!. As a member of Air Britain I have drawn a blank there as well, so I am turning to the real experts! Thanks in anticipation of an avalanche of information!! Cheers from the Antipodes where it was balmy 28°C today, but the Barmy Army had not much to cheer about, unfortunately.

What a brilliant project Ian and thanks for fully explaining your techniques. Can I assume that you are the Ian who I have known for decades and who turns up at APMA meetings with all sorts of great scratch builds? Can't be too many 'Wrenfords' with connections to the Snowy Mountains Authority in Australia!! I'm Graham from Bathurst BTW, just ignore my moniker.

Great stuff! What wonderful model and a tribute to your skills and perseverance. Well done.

A really lovely model from a beast of a kit - well done in the construction, modification and finishing departments - great job.

Sad news indeed and we lose another of the stalwarts of our hobby. I only met him once during a visit to the UK and Duxford in 2011 where I was introduced to him. He shared a few minutes of friendly chat ; he seemed a gentleman and I have fond memories of his Tailpieces and kit reviews in SAM, right up to the December edition which I received electronically a few days ago. I always liked his approach to his modelling which to a certain extent I share - "bugger the rivet counters!" Hope there are plenty of Hunters wherever you go Sir!

That is really lovely and i did not realise the conversion was available - must get one! I recall converting one following an AIrfix Magazine article back in the 70s(?) but it never looked as good as your little beauty. Well done.

That looks just fabulous and thanks for building that collection and sharing it with us.

I have one of these kits and am rather loathe to start the beast after reading and saving your build. Thank you for persevering as you have ended up with something quite spectacular, and Idid not realise how big it is - the box certainly gives no indication of its final size.