TheLurker

Nice build. A few possibilities. The moulds for this kit are (at least in part) based on an older kit. I seem to remember one piece undercarriage legs being the norm on the 1/72nd kits I made in the 1970s. A design decision to reduce the fragility of the legs and reduce requests for replacement parts. A design decision made assuming a target market of fumble fingered 10 year olds. I know, I was that fumble fingered 10yo. To keep production costs below whatever Airfix (Hornby) decided was the optimum product cost of this kit. Two or more of the above. No idea if any of the above include the real reason, but they seem like logical candidates to me.

Nice models and many thanks for brightening up my day no end.

Can I join the chorus singing the praises of that NMF? It's stunning.

@Beardie @tomcervo Thanks for those gents. Hadn't checked this thread since early Aug so hadn't seen your replies. Thanks for digging around. If you're interested the finished article can be found on page two of the build record VMC's Sopwith F1. Not one for rivet counters; the main aim is to get something that looks reasonably prototypical and flies. I managed to drop and lose the noseblock & prop. in long grass a week or so back before I'd finished trimming it so I'm building a new block *sigh*, but the third trimming clip shows that she will fly pretty well.

That is a very nice Hurri. Nothing wrong with the colours that I can see. Lots of people seem to worry about having the colour exactly "so" forgetting that IRL that no two batches of paint are ever identical (especially when produced under wartime conditions) and that any two aircraft painted from the same batch will look different from the off if painted by different riggers and even more so after not many weeks in use. Walks like a duck...

That's a lovely little aeroplane.

That's a little cracker. Very impressed.

Twenty-three!? That's nigh on three a month and to a standard that high? This last twelve-month I've only managed one styrene kit and 1 and 9/10 stick and tissue jobs. Ease up a bit eh? You're making the rest of us look like a bunch of idle layabouts. +1 Full of menace.

That's brilliant. What's the image on the propellors? It looks like the "eye" charm you see on small Mediterranean fishing boats. Is it?

That's very helpful. It'll be easy enough for me to locate from the name. Thank you.

I hadn't. Thanks. That's a relief. Been too busy building to visit here over the last day or so and have already committed to (and finished) the cowling in olive green which from that image looks like it'll be "good enough". The fuselage underside will be finished in the best approx. to PC10 that the supplied tissue gives - although I do have enough spare tissue to go for CDL. Hmm decisions, decsions. The underside of the wings are CDL, well a very pale creamy-yellow approximation thereto. Except the stab which is now ~PC10 top and bottom cos I'm not going to go back and re-cover the incorrect ~PC10 underside; that can wait until the inevitable hedge landing.

Looks lovely. At eight quid I'd say you got an absolute bargain. Which company's wood brown? I'm just finishing off a stick and tissue version of the F1 and had decided to go with IKEA (unstained balsa - AKA pine) struts because I haven't got a light wood paint in the bits box. The only wood colour I have to hand is Humbrol 186 and that's far too dark.

Odd innit. Don't see a type for decades, literally, and then several sightings within a week or so. Last night, 1700, Short Skyvan. Flight path and height suggested it had just taken off from Brize.

Tsk, tsk. Not enough rivets

Thanks for those. I'm not too concerned about serials and fine detail just want to get the "flavour" right. Weight is at a premium and there are a already number of small compromises in the design's appearance for the sake of good flying characteristics so I'm not going to go all "rivet-counter" on it. Really only need to confirm the larger visual aspects like whether the engine cowling is NMF or painted and what sort of colour, exact shade not required, the fuselage around the cockpit is.

German chemists were world beaters from the late C19 onwards. At one time, pretty much up to the 39-45 war, being able to get by in written German was pretty much a prerequisite for any chemist wanting to do advanced work and even into the 1980s a lot of the lit. still seemed to be in German.

Chaps1, Anyone got any colour images or other scheme info. for 13 RNAS, later 213 RAF, Camels? The google-fu is weak with this one. Currently building VMC's kit, nooo it's not styreen2, and will be covering it soon(ish) and wanted to check some details about the cowling and other non-linen surfaces. Ta. Lurk. I'm sure there must be women who build models, but I've never met any. Australian for plastic, or so I'm told.

No cause for levity that I can see. A very nice job indeed.

That is simply stunning.

That is really nice.

Factory fresh and crisp. Like it. if any of those strange types that advocate weathering wander by tell 'em it's on its maiden flight. *Thumbs nose at Troy Smith*

Like that and, while I'm here, have 10/10 and a gold star for the cunning use of green cloth to represent the landing field!

Oh you absolute bally rotter you! You've rigged it! And extremely well into the bargain. How can I hope to hold my head up in polite company when I finally get around to building the BE2 in my small hoard without rigging? Seriously good work on a right fiddly little kit.

Yeah, I managed to pick up a couple of bargains there when the Hornby concession was shut down. I thought the restructuring (horrid word) only affected concession depts in shops such as Boswell's and not stand-alone companies like Hobbycraft who I'd expect to be wholesale customers of Hornby's rather than being in any sort of closer partnership. The Botley Rd. shop seemed pretty well stocked with Airfix kits only 6 months ago so today's visit was a bit surprising.

Sorry chaps, couldn't find a better thread than this one. If the admin. wallahs know of a better one I'll be happy to see this post moved. In Hobbycraft (Oxford, Botley Road) today. Airfix kit section almost non-existant. Now only a single bay wide and I'd be surprised if there were more than 30 kits on display and very, very few of those were aeroplanes. Not only that but the display bay had the unmistakeable aura of a bay that wasn't being restocked as the more sought after stuff is sold; only the "unloved" and "odd" kits left. The Humbrol paint stand also looked as though it wasn't being restocked. Still lots of Revell, Tamiya and (I think) some Hasegawa kits. Anyone know if this is just a a Hobbycraft thing or a harbinger of bad news regarding Hornby?