Ventora3300

Now for the engine fronts themselves - only the front of the first row of cylinders provided and a mix of steel and silver on a black background is about all I can do. The magneto cover (6 o'clock position?) has since been painted black as suggested in the Instructions. I added a bit of silver mesh behind the intake port.. One prop also painted and the plastic seems really hard so I will not attempt to sand off the cuffs.

Thanks all for all the info concerning the Monogram 1/48 B-29 Superfortress and the reference pictures which will help to improve the known inaccuracies of the kit. First up is the engine cowlings - I have had a go at re-profiling the fronts of the engine cowlings to the more closely cowled shape required - this also seems to have narrowed the intake 'smile' - the one on the left is one of the unaltered cowlings as a comparison. the re-profiling of the one on the right looks better to me so only three more to go! I also cut out the cowling cooling gills with my brand new razor saw and managed to break it - hard plastic indeed.

Many thanks Alan for the picture and to you and everyone else for the links and interesting information on inaccuracies to be addressed. I've decided to address the exhausts / engine cowlings / props before starting anything else. Here are the pieces involved. The cooling louvres on the cowlings in front of the exhaust outlets look OK, the large exhaust pipe can also be used if I check/fettle the fit to the depression in the cowling then I just need to work out what to use and how to fit in a smaller exhaust pipe, which I think comes from the turbocharger each side behind that. For the engine cowlings, it looks like these are thick mouldings so I'm going to try a little sanding to shape more steeply down to the circular opening. I may try altering the shape of the 'smile' for the intakes with a little filler at the corners. Possible a grille behind the opening below the back piece which has some of the engine on it. I should also file/sand off all the 'cuffs' on the prop blades but I don't know yet if I'm brave enough for that - a lot can go wrong on 16 blades! Here are the same parts from the 1/72 Airfix B-29 kit - I'm looking for inspiration in terms of shapes. That kit also only provides one exhaust pipe per side but those extra sprue bits attached to each which require removal look interesting.....

Yes, Pete, and I didn’t let slip that I have the 1/72 B-36, 1/48 B17 and 1/48 Revell boxed B-24 tucked away as well! Storing with the wings off sounds like a good idea - I’ll need to make a good job of wing joint lines.

You are right - the decals are all cracked - don’t know if they are saveable. I’ll have a look for substitutes.

I’ll be able to show pics of the spruces I have in the next post. Quite a few items off the spruces so someone in the past has had a fondle but then taken fright! I’ve suddenly got very interested in what the engines and exhausts should look like if I am going for the full armament version ‘Thumper’.

I may be mad but the first Monogram kit to appear in my loft was this one - I saw Monogram as big and American and was not disappointed when that big box arrived! What better kit to build! This is how I feel right now but things may change.......

No pressure then! It would probably take longer to find the Heyford in the loft that the GB has left to run!

1/48 Spitfire Mk. VIII finished and in the gallery. I really enjoyed this build and a sizeable kit to fly round the room. Very well done all for getting over 200 finished builds in the gallery, all down to excellent hosting by @Rabbit Leader and @JOCKNEY of course! Build Thread is here.

The Spitfire Mk. VIII has moved on with all the parts assembled now and the Ground Crewman up on his feet. I actually stuck the tailwheel doors in place with bluetac while painting - a good fit. All finished now with the transfers and newly delivered, awaiting the pilot. Undersides are very clean. I used a Sharpie pen to get the lines on the spinner - needs a tidy up as expected. Black decal lines did not work as they would not conform to the curve. It is a lovely kit though - to be handled with white gloves. A very enjoyable build all round. Many thanks to the hosts @Rabbit Leader and @JOCKNEY for sustained hosting and all the usual suspects in the BM Community for the support and encouragement. We done all on all the builds, finished or not.

The Spitfire Mk. VIII is moving along with white recognition bands on but dark green to finish. . I also had to drill out the holes for the four '303's in the wings. The standing figure and base is also being painted.

Sea Grey going on the fuselage and wing tops now. The aim is to prevent overpaint onto the white spinner backplate after the fuselage is glued together. And dark green. Wings assembled and fixed to fuselage - a very good fit indeed.

That’s a fantastic result! A lot of work but what an aircraft the Victor was . Well done, an inspiration to others who have this kit, like me! All the best . Mike.

Parts beginning to get assembled now, starting with the lower wing and the cockpit. The gunsight should actually be further along the bracket towards the pilot - found that out when I put the fuselage halves together. The fuselage halves went together beautifully, just taped together to let the cockpit set in place. The prop spinner base is ready to go in before gluing together. Wheels are on the undercarriage legs - scissors to the front or to the back? A bit of final alignment of the gunsight required.

Thanks, and you are right - I've done a bit of research and even the Matchbox colour guide gives the inside of the radiators as 'sea grey', the inside of the wheel wells as 'aluminium' but the inside of the wheel covers as 'aircraft interior green'. This no doubt is how the parts were painted by Supermarine and the individual sub-suppliers. Corrections duly made... There was a minor drama when the canopy went missing from the box and the hunt was on to tear it from the grasp of the Loft Monster - I eventually found it at the bottom of the stairs!

Painting of the Spitfire VIII on the sprues has commenced. This kit has a choice of tailwheels!

I came across this kit and thought I had unearthed a hitherto unknown 'original' - alas, it's an Otaki then Arii reboxing by Matchbox - looks like a cracking kit though, just as others have said. I like this RAAF scheme on the box lid. Here are all the parts - also a Western Desert scheme which would make a change to the other Spitfires I have built. Detailed colour chart and the three options on the back of the Instructions. Detailed breakdown of parts and colours on the inside and a slipper fuel tank is included as an option. There is a detailed IP, a gunsight, a rear view mirror but unfortunately, no seated pilot! I'm looking forward to building this one - maybe my painting will be a bit neater at this scale - need to get thin coats to avoid a lumpy look.

Excellent build, John. I’ve always liked the look of a Hellcat as a beefed up version of the Wildcat, but without the wobbly undercarriage. Your build looks smart in the FAA scheme. I agree with you about the Matchbox stands - I put a big blob of blue tax on the small one for the two Spitfires and they will not stay put, even though I filled in the slot in the fuselage as much as poss. Anyway, Matchbox builds are for flying round the room! (Only the ones with wings, of course)

I had a final mess about with the undersides getting a bit more definition at the ends of the ailerons (scribed out the filler) and smoothed out the repairs to the undercarriage doors. Did a quick engine run and we are done! Without the vibration.... Off into the sunset.... (or the kitchen downlighters at least!) Many thanks to the Hosts and the BM Community again for the encouragement along the way. Still time for another build....

PK-50 Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XVI for the Gallery. I thought it was a lovely kit to build. The sprues looked almost identical to those of the PK-2 Spitfire Mk.IX and indeed you can build that marque as well but it has additional features built in like the choice of normal or clipped wingtips, normal or bubble canopy, slipper fuel tank and of course the option to cut down the rear fuselage, which I did for the Mk.XVI. The smooth wheel hub covers are still there though (I did it wheels up) and the rudder hinge line is still too far forward - I had a go at filling and re-scribing. The kit transfers were excellent and I did the 349 Squadron version. Build Thread is here. I'm still enjoying this excellent GB so time for another build, I think.

No worries, Dave, I was just getting the hosts' views before I consider it. From what @rs2man and @JOCKNEY says, there is another mass of Matchbox'ed other originators' kits out there but I thought I had found an 'original'. I was doing a bit of research on the Spitfire Mk. VIII and as usual, very interesting. 1/48 will be even harder to hide around the house than 1/72....

Dave, I had a look at the ‘Rules’ for the GB and it says ‘however other manufacturers designed kits ‘must’ be in Matchbox boxes’. Here is the one I spotted so does it qualify? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114246403032?hash=item1a999dc3d8:g:tG4AAOSwXbVe1sH0

Oh no! I just came across what appears to be PK-460 Matchbox 1:48 Spitfire Mk. VIII. This is not in the build list but is listed in Scalemates and there are a couple on eBay…

The pilot and gunsight are in and the canopy painting has begun - using the paint and clean up with a cocktail stick method. The six-stack exhausts are on. I flattened off the ends of the plastic rods acting as elevator trim tab actuators and they look better. Canopy is on and there was a bit of filling required to blend it in -looks to be sitting a little too far back to me. Wing nav lights painted in and the Spitfire Mk. XVI is ready for transfers. Transfers behave well and really did slide off the backing paper and onto the model - some adjustment of the wing walk lines to do before sealing in. This pic has reminded me that the spinner has still to be glued on to the prop blades!

Thanks Pat, it’s the loft!! My modelling bench is now the top of storage boxes behind the loft door - nerves alert to detect anyone creeping up on me with a shout of ‘just what are you doing up here??!!