Uncle Pete

At my current (and, I'm afraid, permanent) skill level that's just dandy. There are a lot of wrinkles to this inkscape program that I've not figured out yet (for example, things on the screen don't necessarily happen the way the manual says so I assume I'm missing something) but I get around it by flipping things from there to other programs and back again and that doesn't seem to harm the final result too much. And now I can also make lettering small enough for the pilot's name on the canopy frame.

Halfway through your explanation my brain curled up on the floor with its thumb in its mouth! I did actually learn things though, thanks. A new term to me... I had no idea how computers figure this stuff out. Thanks. I've been messing about with the "Inkscape" program suggested by Tim B and discovered it can clean up a dodgy image a bit and I can now boil a picture down till it's small enough for 1:72 nose art and still see what it is. Handley Page Vectors? 🤪

I use Paint. Don't know how to use anything else, I'm a bit cyberpphobic... My iPhone 6 is best used under the short leg on the kitchen table to stop it from wobbling. I was actually wondering if it was the software because I do notice it mushes out really bad when I zoom in for a closer look. The program tends to add smudges every time you manipulate an image, too. Thanks for the input. You may be overestimating my abilities a bit, mate! Thanks for the tip-off on the freebie software, I'll have to poke around Mr Google's house and track it down. It took a long time for me to work up the guts to have a crack at DIY decals and now, thanks to you guys, I'm starting to more realistically identify (and avoid) the pitfalls.

Would I be correct in assuming the answer to the question, "How do I get tighter resolution on my DIY decals?" would be, "Buy a better printer."?

I f I did that it would save you lads from having to answer some of my silly questions! 🤪

Nothing wrong with that, mate, it looks great. 👍👍 I've been slapping together an average of one a month for the past two years and still can't get anywhere close to that quality.

That's a cracker. 👍 👍 I'm constantly amazed at the knowledge and expertise shown by you pros and your attention to detail. As the site's official duffer I'm happy if they come out with the right number of wings!

Nothing wrong with the one I see, mate, I'd be delighted with it. 👍👍 I know what you mean though. Just about every build I finish comes with the "your results may vary" disclaimer. I find several things I either missed or got out of order or I followed plan steps that were not necessarily as well thought out as they might have been... I really need to by two copies of every kit, one to find the wrinkles and one to finish properly!

Very nice indeed. Looks like a 1:48

Outtasight!

Splendid, top to bottom. You've been a busy boy!

Having recently defected from London to Wales I'm considering a Buckley Air Force whiff of some description... Red dragons instead of roundels, get something to do with sheep involved, leeks in the nose art... What, me? Stereotyping? 🤪

Moira just crossed you off her Christmas card list.

Stunning!

Nice one. I was expecting the usual camo but that splash of yellow and red fairly jumped off the screen when I scrolled down to it!

Nice work. Clean and bright. Looks really sporty.

Nicely done, mate. Foil finish strikes me as a bit too masochistic but you pulled it off like a champ. I also find Moa to be inspirational but he cheats... He has a gang of elves imprisoned in his workshop, one of whom does nothing but make tiny rolls of toilet paper for 1:144 bathrooms.

Just to make sure, the next project is a Model T in Everton blue and the number plate will be M01RA. It's like when I used to hustle cheap jewellery. If a man alone bought earrings I'd ask him, "Is this insurance or are you already in trouble?" The price of Eagle's Eye tickets is double that of first class... Can you afford it? (We at Air Moira take Monopoly money so you probably can). Can't do that... I'd have to take out the swimming pool.

Hello again, lads, it's time for another offering from Uncle Pete's Emporium of Questionable Plastic Things. I'd found this Revell Halifax in a charity shop for four quid but discovered upon opening the box it had neither instructions nor decals. Instructions in this day and age of the internet are easy to come by but decals, not so much so I thought if I had to make decals anyway, why not be adventurous. My lovely missus is very patient with my hobby and although she's firmly of the opinion it's proof positive I should be carried off to weave baskets instead she puts up with it so I decided to do one in her honour. The Halifax was built round about the year of her birth so it was a suitable base kit. The airline, of course, bears her name and the tail flash of a Liver Bird speaks of her Liverpool roots. That poetic thing in the background has no significance, by the way, it just happened to be in the spot where I could crouch to get the camera angle and still have a reasonable shot at getting up again. (It came with the house). The colour scheme was a no-brainer... Blue and white for Everton. (Don't mention those red scallywags near my Moira and if you do be ready to dial 999). I'd hoped to turn the rear, belly and top turrets into observation seats but couldn't justify, even in Whiffer World, how they would be accessed so I used the optional flat covers for top and belly and the glass of the rear turret with a couple of kilos of filler at the back. The tail number, by the way, is her initials and birthday. This plane carries a crew if four, two pilot/engineer/navigators and two butlers. All pilots are retired RAF officers and all butlers retired RAF sergeants so you know they know their plane. It carries 11 in first class comfort behind the wings, everybody gets a window seat and two more in "Ultra First Class" in Air Mora's unique "Eagle's Eye" private cabin in the nose. ("Liver Bird's Eye" wouldn't have had the same zazz). Access might seem a bit tricky but, fear not, at the touch of a button the seats glide back on their tracks and rotate 90 degrees for your comfort and convenience. The breathtaking panoramic view of the Alps as you fly over will live in your memory for ever. (I gave myself a gold star for remembering to put antimacassars on the seats). I remembered to get a picture before putting the glass on. The underside. I'm ready for my close-up, Mr DeMille... So that's my tribute to my lady. Thanks for looking and I hope you liked the idea even if my execution was as usual slightly... Adjacent..

👍👍

A man after my own heart! 🤣 Looks great, mate, as does the whole plane. 👍

Yes! This! 👆 Spot on! 👍👍 I have a cabinet full of wrong that has kept me out of the pub and away from fast women!

I'm looking for similar... Trying to find lettering in various fonts and sizes so I can make a whiffer but can only find official RAF lettering. I'm reluctant to try the DIY stuff on my printer because of the problems with ink running.

As I put the finishing touches to this FW 190 I was amazed... According to the box and the plans it was a '57 Chevy Bel Air. But seriously (as if!)... Ever since I gave Major Von Plonk his Me 109 he's been bothering me for a FW 190. He insists it must be 81 better. So I saw this kit in Aldi for a fiver and figured there was a fiver's worth of paints and a brush in the box even if I threw the kit away. And maybe I should have... Well, it has two wings and the prop seems to have more-or-less the right number of blades so I think that's enough about the finer points of detail. And besides, Von Plonk liked the plane anyway... On his first mission in it he shot down a bogey. Unfortunately it was an Me 110 that he'd mistaken for a Blenheim. I found the fit in general to be a bit... "adjacent" and the wings didn't want to cooperate at all but I got it together with judicious use of bent coat hangers, blunt instrument trauma and bad language. I was a bit alarmed while mocking up the U/C legs and finding no way to correct the somewhat pigeon-toed look but a quick blast through google images told me it's supposed to look like that. And I have to have a little rant... What evil-minded, twisted, sadistic child of Satan decided the guns and pitot should be installed before wing assembly? Five hopelessly fragile sticky-outy thingys right where one will molest them while manipulating the aircraft for further assembly and painting. Whoever that engineer is, he can buy his own pint at the pub and he's definitely off my Christmas card list. Rant over! You'll have noticed I've gone a bit off-piste with the paint job but not enough, I hope, that you'll be piste off. When I considered my chances of making the wavy demarcation line along the fuze look like it was supposed to be like that and not the drunken waverings of a freehand botch I decided a straight piece of masking tape would be the better part of valour. And the copper colour on the nose and tail was a whim since I had some left over from a Cutty Sark and thought Von Plonk, being a stylish sort of fella (known as "Flash Harry" around the officers mess), would like the look. Thanks for looking and it's onward and upward to an F 100. I must research the family tree and see if Squadron Leader A.C. Plonk also has a cousin in the US...