Tizzy

Very nice.I especially like the Halifax.I was at Elvington on Monday and saw the real Friday the 13th.I was thinking of getting the kit and the fact that you found it so enjoyable has made up my mind. on all three.

Very nice.Love the weathering.

Very nice.

After struggling with Xtracrylix i have finally got the hang of it.Once you do you'll find its good stuff.I found most of the advice that helped on previous threads in this section. My method for this paint is as follows; 1.Use Xtracrylix thinners or distilled water.I thin the paint by putting it into a glass mixing jar and adding the thinners a bit at a time and observing how it acts on the sides of the mixing jar.If the paint is sticking solidly to the side of the jar when you swirl it around the jar then it needs more thinner.When the paint runs slowly down the side of the jar and leaves a thin transparent coating which you can just see through then it is about right.If the paint clears off the side of the glass quickly leaving virtually clear sides on the jar then it is too thin. 2.Place the thinned paint in the cup of the airbrush and then add 1 or 2 drops of an acrylic flow improver or liquid drying retarder.This can be purchased in most art supplies shops.This helps to stop the paint drying to quickly. 3.Keep a cotton bud dipped in isopropyl alchohol handy.As the paint flow appears to be becoming affected by the needle clogging then carefully clean the tip with the cotton bud.Also clean the tip when you are stopping spraying for a couple of minutes. 4.Clean the airbrush with proper IPA based cleaner rather than just water. The above tips should help to keep the paint flowing smoothly. Hope this helps.All the best.

Very nice.Glad to see you're out of the rut and hopefully w'ell see a few more finished builds because i do like this one.

In my haste to post the pictures of my progress i may have given the impression that everything is going swimmingly with the build.Well it was going swimmingly until i carried the model outside on a calm still evening and a freak gust of wind blew the model of the board and it fell on the floor splitting the seam along the spine and the belly. After another evening of gluing,sanding and filling it was time to spray take2.This time i tacked the model to the board with Blu Tack.I wont be making that mistake again.

Excellent.Well done on a good job.

Hi everyone.This is the progress in the last 2 weeks. I finished filling and sanding the fuselage and primed the model. I painted the prop and wheels. Next i threw some paint on. I've got to paint the campaign stripes and then the darkened area where the standard RAF roundels were next.

Very nice.Well done.

Wow,thats pretty damn good.Well done.

Excellent build.Looks great.Well done.

Here in Romsey the local hardware shop keeps it.It may be worth checking out the independent hardware shops in your area.

A few things i found when using Xtracrylix are; 1.The paint is prone to drying in the brush and clogging the needle and nozzle.Using an artists acrylic flow aid or drying retarder helps to prevent this by slowing the drying time of the paint.Also keep an eye out for the first signs of spatter and then stop spraying paint and blow any excess paint with just the airbrush airflow.Then clean the nozzle with IPA or thinners. 2.Make sure that a water trap is used with the airbrush and if using a diaphragm compressor without a storage tank fitted,then use a coiled hose to prevent pulsing which also causes the paint to suddenly splatter. 3.The paint is prone to being pulled off by masking tape due to poor adhesion to shiny plastic surfaces.Either mist on a few light coats first to provide a key or use a primer.Make sure the model has been gently washed with a weak mix of water/washing up liquid prior to painting and then try to avoid touching it with bare fingers as the grease build up affects adhesion.Also keep bare fingers off any primed surface.

Excellent.I showed this pic to a friend who visited Boscombe down as a cadet and he remembers seeing a Canberra with a funny nose and when he asked about it he was told 'Canberra?Wot Canberra?'.

Excellent job considering what you had to work with.Makes you appreciate what modelling must have been like in the Eastern Bloc before glasnost.

That looks brilliant.I'll be keeping an eye out for it in MAI because i am considering building one.If i go for it i hope i can do as good a job as you have.

Looking good so far.You're right about this kit not needing any aftermarket bits.The cockpit detail looks supurb.As accurate as will ever be needed in this scale.

Nice varied selection of models.I really like the Beaufighter's and the blue Spitfire.Is the Spitfire one of those involved in the defence of Malta?

Continued from first post. Finally i finished a Revell 1/72 Hunter F6 in RAF FTS colours. This was made using decals from Xtradecal and i made it wheels up as i wanted to display it a bit like a gate guardian.

These are my 3 completed builds of 2007.There were a couple of others that had a premature test flight against a wall but i persevered with these 3. My first model after a 28 tear hiatus from modelling was the Airfix 1/72 RAF Sea King. This proved a difficult build as i had forgotten nearly everything i knew about modelling.It looks ok in the pictures but in reality is quite poor.I did learn loads though. Next i went back to basics with a level 1 Airfix 1/72 Hurricane Mk1. This was a much easier build and i was quite pleased with the results which included my first attempts at weathering. See next post for next model.

Very nice.I love the old Chipmunk and your's is excellent.

Very nice.The Gannet in those colours looks suburb and yours is excellent.

The best thing about this model when you look back will be how much you learnt from it.Being able to finish a poor kit without binning it is an achievment in itself.Far too many of mine have ended up in the bin.I salute your patience and resolve Now get yourself to a modern japanese kit for some modelling therapy.

Very nice.Gives those of us on the SEAC group build something to be inspired by.

O.k lets show the next installment of the build.This episode is brought to you by' Filler and Sanding stick' productions Ltd. I painted the insides of the radiator cowls and then glued these into place.They were not a good fit and had to be held in place firmly whilst the glue set.So firmly in fact i heard a load crack as the port wing nearly snapped off Luckily just the glued seam on the upper wing root had cracked and it just required re-gluing and filling. I decided to fit one of the 3 choices of underbelly auxilliary fuel tank as this plane would have operated with these a lot. 3 sizes are provided and i went for the smallest.It also covered up the rear of the air filter intake which saved having to waste time filling and sanding a poor fitting part. Following this i filled and sanded the front of the airfilter intake to blend it into the front fuselage and i filled and sanded around the canopy to make up for the poor fit. All i have to do now is give the model a wash and it's time to throw some paint at the thing.More on this next time.