[Airfix 1/48th Vampire converted to F.1 using Wellsprop`s conversion, as a 3 Sqn a/c, BAFO, West Germany, late 1940`s]

14 minutes ago, cngaero said:

Superb as ever Tony. You did a cracking job hand painting the codes over the original transfers.

The conversion kit from Wellsprop looks very neat and should sell well.

 

Thanks Chris,...... yes it is a really nice conversion and so simple too,...... it deserves to sell very well. 

[Airfix 1/48th Vampire F.3, 32 Sqn, RAF Nicosia, Cyprus, 1948]

1 minute ago, cngaero said:

That's a really nice Vampire F3.

There's something very appealing about the mix of B and C type markings.

With the nice selection of colour schemes and markings worn by the Vampire, I'll bet that there will be a steady stream of them rolling of your production line.

 

Chris.

Cheers Chris,...... yeah I have a few more planned yet,...... I`ve just run out of somewhere to put them afterwards LOL! 

[How low is too low? RAF Buccaneers]

Excellent,.... I was aboard a ship called the MV Hamburg in a convoy in the Atlantic during Ex Purple Warrior in 1987 when we were attacked by Buccaneer`s and it was awesome,..... they were weaving between the ships!

[Airfix 1/48th Vampire converted to F.1 using Wellsprop`s conversion, as a 3 Sqn a/c, BAFO, West Germany, late 1940`s]

59 minutes ago, Bedders said:

Very nice build Tony, and congrats to Wellsprop on what looks like a great conversion set.

 

Justin

Thanks Bedders,..... yes it is a lovely, simple conversion and not too expensive either, new booms and tailplane for £12 ish. 

[Airfix 1/48th Vampire F.3, 32 Sqn, RAF Nicosia, Cyprus, 1948]

Hiya Folks,

                Here is another 1/48th Airfix Vampire, this time built as per the kit as an F.3,..... but I wanted to build mine wearing the distinctive scheme worn by a handful of 32 Sqn aircraft based at Nicosia, Cyprus in October 1948 including VV196, which can be seen below in this photo from the aviation photo company, shared here for reference purposes only,...... I do own a copy of the same photo too! 

The model was built from the box apart from a set of brass etched harness straps on the seat and finished overall using Tamiya rattle can Bare Metal Silver to replicate the High Speed Silver painted finish. For the decals I had to raid the spares box, with the unit badge on the nose coming from an old Esci decal sheet, the GZ codes were converted from a set of 1/32nd Spitfire decals, the F was made up from black strip, the B Type boom roundels and fin stripes came from Modeldecal sheets, and the upper wing C Type roundel and the serials came from Xtrdecal sheets. The model was given a brushed on coat of  Humbrol enamel gloss varnish, ready for the decals and they were then sealed into place with another coat. After a few days to dry, Polly Scale matt varnish was applied to replicate a weathered silver finish and the panel lines were given a watercolour wash to finish off the effect.

 

Here is the model;

  

 

 

 

And all three of my Airfix Vampire`s seen together,..... F.1, F.3 & FB.9;

 

Cheers,

            Tony

[Airfix 1/48th Vampire converted to F.1 using Wellsprop`s conversion, as a 3 Sqn a/c, BAFO, West Germany, late 1940`s]

Hiya Folks,

                I have a soft spot for the Vampie F.1, especially those flown by 3 Sqn RAF in BAFO, West Germany during the late 1940`s and so after our fellow BM`er Ben (Wellsprop) released his own conversion set for the new Airfix kit,.... I just had to grab one and build one,....... (here is a link https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224745817316 ). Thanks to another BM`er,.... author and all round good guy Chris Thomas answering my plea and sending me some spare codes and fin flashes(Cheers Chris!) that he had left over from his Alley Cat resin kit,  I was able to built my F.1 as J5-M of 3 Sqn wearing my favourite F.1 scheme of Medium Sea Grey uppers and PRU Blue lower surfaces, using brush painted Polly Scale acrylics. After the green codes that Chris had given to me had been applied they did not seem to be dark enough, especially when compared to reference photos,..... so I carefully painted over these distinctively shaped codes using Humbrol Dark Green acrylic!   

 

Here is the real J5-M, with thanks to Jack Long of the 3 Sqn Association;

 

And here is the model;

 

And here are my F.1, F.3 & FB.9, all built from the Airfix kit,.... I hve a few others from Alley Cat etc too,..... gotta love the old Spidercrab!;

 

Cheers

         Tony

[1/72 Italeri Mk.Vb Spitfire 154 Squadron 1942]

Nice job Dermot and nice to see Paddy Finucane`s final Spitfire replicated too,..... I`d expect nothing less mate!

Cheers

         Tony

[The Operation “Judgement” FAA Avenger is +++FINISHED with RFI Added+++]

On 2/20/2022 at 9:09 AM, mark.au said:

 

Here's where I read it.  Hopefully @tonyot might chime in to confirm but it seems pretty clear cut there.

 

Yeah it was the ASW scheme, also applied to Swordfish and it looks like some Wildcat`s might have worn it too. As above, The usual TSS was modified by adding white sides and undersides but black was often applied to the nose and wing leading edges to help prevent glare from flares during night ops too. Some aircraft had the white covering the entire sides and some just part of the sides

,

 

The photos that  posted previously appear to have been `eaten' by Photobucket,..... I hope you find these useful,

 

Here are a couple of models that I built about 20 yrs ago!

 

 

Yes,.... the radio mast has broken off the second kit, which is a 1/72nd model. I intend on building a HMS Queen aircraft some time soon too.

 

And there was a precedent for it,..... Swordfish and Sea Hurricane too,..... pretty sure some Wildcats wore it too;

 

Now the Wildcat below might not have white undersides,..... but they are not the standard pattern for Sky undersides,.... so who knows? I`ve seen a few other pic like this too;

 

Cheers

         Tony

 

 

 

 

 

[On demand, part of my Malta Spitfire collection in 1/72. Spitfire Mk Vb and Vc. Kit from Sword, KP, Tamiya, and Airfix]

1 hour ago, MACALAIN said:

Thank you Tony, if you have more information I accept  with pleasure. Here are some picture of my other Malta plane. I have also a huge collection of anti Malta

WOW,.... what a fantastic collection of Malta campaign models,....... and the others too,..... simply superb mate,

Cheers

          Tony

[On demand, part of my Malta Spitfire collection in 1/72. Spitfire Mk Vb and Vc. Kit from Sword, KP, Tamiya, and Airfix]

What an excellent collection and room for some more Malta aircraft in there yet,........ Sea Gladiator, Blenheim, Beaufort, Beaufighter, Mosquito, Swordfish, Fulmar, Skua, Hudson,...... even BOAC Lodestar`s and Whitley`s,... plus the RAF Whitley`s which conducted the first ever British Airborne Forces operation, against the Tragino Aqueduct in Italy which was mounted from Italy!!  ........ loads to be going at! Then there are the types used during the Sicily landings on Malta which included the USAAF.

Cheers

         Tony

[PK-174 Diamond T Transporter - *FINISHED* - in memory of my grandfather who drove them during the Suez Emergency.]

Not sure if this link will help,......... for post war service in Suez in the early 50`s I would say that they were overall Light Stone. 

 http://panzerserra.blogspot.com/2017/10/m19-m20-diamond-6x4-tank-transporter.html

 

I`m not sure if Diamond T`s were actually taken ashore at Port Said during the Suez Crisis in 1956,........ but they were there prior to the British withdrawal in 1954. 

 

Cheers

            Tony

 

[PK-120: Martin butchers a Matchbox A-20G]

Loving this Martin,..... you are really taking this old kit to the next level,....... love what you`ve done so far,

Cheers

           Tony

[Irish Air Corps Hawker Hurricane Mk I]

Another nice addition to a lovely collection!

Cheers

         Tony

[Arma 1/72nd P-51B-C, Mustang Mk.III,...... NEW KIT! ***FINISHED***]

On 1/6/2022 at 4:55 PM, steh2o said:

Awesome Tony! Lovely result! Keep'em coming!

Stefano

Thanks Stefano,.... sorry,.... just noticed your comment! I`ll try my best,..... got a bit of modellers block at the moment! 

[Vickers Vimy, Egypt 1922]

WOW,.... that is simply gorgeous,...... brilliant modelling and a superb choice of subject and scheme too,

Cheers

           Tony

[PZL 24F Royal Hellenic Air Force - Mirage Hobby 1/48]

Excellent model and back story,..... I have one of these planned myself, I`ll have a look at your WIP to see what paint colours you used. 

Cheers

          Tony

[Zvezda 1/72 RAF C-130J-30]

23 hours ago, Tiger331 said:

Great Work Stephen,

 

I am looking forward to cross-kitting this one with the first Zvedza release to reproduce the C Mk.3, a type I spent many hours flying in during a 'previous life'. That will leave me with a 'short-wheel base' C-130J to do in one of those RAF specials. Anyway, a great job....love the weathering........just right and really sets off the potentially monotone appearance of the original scheme.

 

Well Done, Sir !   

I`m planning to do exactly the same!

[1/48 Revell Tornado GR.4, 617sqn. Grey and a not too dirty]

Lovely job,..... just right!

Cheers

          Tony

   

[1:72 Short Stirling Mk.I - Flt Sgt Rawden H Middleton VC RAAF]

Superb mate,..... as are the Lanc and the Wimpey,..... great trio. 

[Corsair F.Mk1]

21 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Tony- thanks for the post and the link to your outstanding Corsair 1 builds. I did not realize that JT160 still has her pilot aboard; I agree that the aircraft is definitely a war grave and should be left as is, or Sub. Lt. Knott's remains and personal effects should be removed and given to his family for burial with full military honors. There are enough original birdcage Corsairs existing or being restored, and it is relatively easy to make a birdcage Corsair from an F4U-1A, as has been done already to make a flying example. Hopefully the location of the two Brunswick Corsairs has not been divulged so that the wrecks will remain undisturbed, Your two Corsair 1's are the bee's knees, and your models are  wonderful tributes to both young men who lost  their lives  training to defend their country. 

Mike

Thanks mate,...... now that the poor lads remains have been shared all over the internet in gory detail I would like his remains to be recovered and buried properly,...... but it is up to his family and the Corsair remains his grave,...... as does the other Corsair should they find it.  

[1:48 Fairey Albacore Mk.II]

Looking forward to this mate,...... I`ve built one but it was quite a long time ago. try to keep on top of the wings and stop them from drooping. Also,.... take care with the rigging,...... some of the wires are doubled and they have cuffs where they join the wings,.... you can see it in pics of the real aircraft,.... I think this later release might include resin parts for these cuffs,..... I used masking tape for mine!

Here is a WIP that I did for a more recent Trumpeter kit,..... which has a few pics of the real aeroplane which may help,.... plus a couple of my Special Hobby kit too;

 

I did an article about the SH Albacore in this magazine,....vol 6, issue 6;

 

 

Cheers

          Tony

[Zvezda 1/72 RAF C-130J-30]

Lovely job mate,...... nice and faded and patchwork panels,.... just like the real thing. 

Cheers

           Tony

[RAAF UH-1D Huey "Bushranger 72" - Vietnam 1970]

Excellent job Mark,.... love the subject too,

Cheers

           Tony

[Eduard 1/48 Spitfire Mk1]

That is lovely Bruce and I love the colours and markings that you`ve chosen,..... spot as usual mate

Cheers

          Tony

[Matchbox 1/32 Puma]

Very nice indeed and it brings some memories back,.... good and bad! 

 

I didn`t realise that the rotor blades folded and I never saw the cockpit doors in use,..... but they do show off the great detail.

 

Cheers

          Tony