Uncle Pete

That's odd... I wonder why they'd put French markings in? Thanks for that, I'll give it a whack next time. I'm not very good with computers... Cyber things tend to make my brain curl up into the fetal position and suck its thumb.

I'm a bit cyberphobic, too. I have found, however, a laptop s just the right thickness to steady the short leg on the kitchen table. I have no idea what a BBCode is but I'll defend to the death your right to confuse me. The house IS the luck! Thanks, lads.

It's been a while since I've offered anything new in the Shepherds Bush Air Force and, since I've already broke down my workshop in preparation of moving house, it will be a while longer before I can get the new Bat Cave up and running... 'Fraid cat flaps and wheelchair ramps take priority over sticking bits of vaguely plane-shaped plastic together. I'd just picked up four kits when we stumbled on the new house but managed to get 2 of them completed before folding the tent. First was the 104, a Revell if I remember correctly, that came with German, Italian and French markings. I have no reason to believe the Italian and French versions and pilots were in any way inferior but the German markings look a lot badder so I went with that. https://www.flickr.com/photos/142507118@N04/48075179077/in/dateposted-public/ Got a bit creative with the armaments, too. It came with the inevitable Sidewinders but not much else so I added a pair of Sparrows I had kicking around. After scrolling through innumerable pictures of Aims looking for suitable paint schemes I found the choices so dizzying I came to the conclusion they could be any colour I liked! https://www.flickr.com/photos/142507118@N04/48075179487/in/dateposted-public/ At first I'd been thinking of putting more weapons on it till I read up a bit and discovered the pilot basically had a choice of carrying enough fuel to reach the target or carrying enough bangy stuff to do any damage when he got there so the wingtip tanks won the argument. The build was going quite well (by my standards) until I realised the starboard fuel tank had gone on a bit squint and it was too late to fix it without major surgery so I have to be careful with camera angles. https://www.flickr.com/photos/142507118@N04/48075112428/in/dateposted-public/ And the other was an Airfix 'Stang. Having recently seen the movie "Red Tails" I really fancied the paint scheme and when I did a bit of reading and uncovered the squadron's remarkable record I thought these blokes deserve a bit of shelf space. The kit didn't come with the appropriate markings so I enlisted the help of my old friend Mr Google Images and busked it, even managing to scavenge letters out of the name "Rose Marie" that came with the kit to give a tip of the hat to the lovely missus. https://www.flickr.com/photos/142507118@N04/48075216887/in/dateposted-public/ The sides of the fuze were straightforward for lettering... There is none! Once again I dug into the spares for appropriate numbers. I dare say the font and size are off but managed to get the Moira's birthday on the side https://www.flickr.com/photos/142507118@N04/48075220352/in/dateposted-public/ The underside. https://www.flickr.com/photos/142507118@N04/48075118356/in/dateposted-public/. And a profile. https://www.flickr.com/photos/142507118@N04/48075119726/in/dateposted-public/ Thanks for looking. It may be winter before I get to build again and redesignate the SBAF as the Flintshire Air Force. (EDIT... Don't know why the pictures didn't come up but the links to Flikr work)

That reminds me... I have to buy a new shaving mirror...

I don't think this movie was trying to be anywhere close to accurate. It delivers the same thing we got from Biggles and Battler Britton when we were kids... Heroes in heroic situations. It had all the stock characters, the boss (Cuba Gooding), the quiet, disciplined major who understands his guys, the overstressed flight leader who drinks on the quiet, the hot dogging young star pilot who breaks the rules and gets away with it (echoes of Tom Cruise in Top Gun), the imposing John Wayne-ish colonel (Cuba's boss) with the attitude of "I'll whup any of my guys that cross me but I'll protect them like a tigress protects her cubs against oustsiders", the grumpy mechanic always complaining about the mess the pilots were making of "his" planes Basically, good clean escapist fun. The flying scenes in general were a bit far fetched. What struck me more about the landing I think you're talking about was the separation (or the lack thereof) between the planes. Struck me as a bit unsafe to be landing line astern only a few yards apart... That stuff is more for display pilots at air shows than working pilots in a war. (And I did my share of grumbling in the background, too, by the way!) I might go for one of those too... Always liked the shape of the 39, very elegant, almost feminine. Had an almost-scale Cox .049 C/L P39 as a kid. Most yanks of that period are a bit more on the blunt, "flannel shirt and Doc Martens" workmanlike side. Even the 51, pretty as it is, is a bit chubby round the midriff. Couldn't agree more. You could say the same for just about any flyboy movie, though.

My wife is gonna just hate you!

I saw that one too... Can't remember much about it, though. "Red Tails" is actually a bit corny and "John Wayney". Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it but it struck me as very old school and a bit on the contrived side. (Lots of lines like "Take that, Jerry"... That sort of thing). The aircraft were photographed very well and the air battle sequences were all CGI but very exciting although a little more crowded than one would expect in reality. In general I give it a solid thumbs up, definitely worth the price of admission.

That was my second choice... I'd sooner get it all in one box if I can. I figured if it came with the kit I'd be sure of getting the right 'Stang. I watched the movie "Red Tails" last night and thought the scheme would brighten up the shelf a bit among all the olive and brown.

Does anybody have any recommendations for a P51 that comes with Red Tails markings in 1:72?

That's a cracker. I got back in last year and I'm currently on something like number 18 and still struggling. You've done a great job on accuracy as far as I can see. On my own models I settle for "near enough for jazz". Hats off to you for diving in with the bigger scale... The extra detail in 48 compared to 72 is a bit too daunting for me.

Nice job! And Hot Shots was the BEST! WAR MOVIE! EVER!!!

You've done it again! Somehow, however small your models are you manage to make them look big.

Very nice. For what it's worth, I like 'em clean (and not just because I'm afraid to try weathering!)

Looks like the Japanese didn't have much in the way of a maintenance budget. A lick of paint on Lt. Fuchida's plane might have brightened it up a bit! Cracking job.

That's your first since returning to plastic as an adult? I'm on number 17 (or thereabouts) and still trying to get them looking more-or-less like some sort of flying machine never mind actual accuracy. Preshading? I haven't even dared! Great work... I hate you!