Mick Drover

That's a cracker BA. Top stuff.

Hi all. I've found myself dragging out the recent 1/48 Airfix Sabre F.4 with the dim hope of a CA-27 Sabre being released by a mainstream manufacturer...though I might be barking up the wrong tree there. The kit has already been reviewed here and elsewhere so I won't be reviewing anything but I'll makes some observations on the build so far. It's fully optioned to give you everything that opens and closes bar the flaps, though that wouldn't be an onerous job to do. I've opted for the canopy and airbrakes open and that left me the fun job of fitting the gun bay panels. Mine don't sit flush with the fuselage surface which correlates with a few builds I've seen online. I've prioritised a good fit on three corners which has left one corner sitting recessed. I've have an inkling that this might have to do with a slight warp in the fuselage plastic...did someone say Buccaneer! (no, not that bad). I would have preferred to have it sit proud as it's easier to take material away rather than add material to have it sit flush. Old school sprue glue was applied in two sessions with a bout of sanding between each. The results are fine and the next part will be checking with primer and then reinstating the panel edges and access latches. I removed the gusset from around the gun bay steps as the fit is much better when they were removed The intake lips and tunnel align well and the same treatment of sprue glue was used to erase the seam. Some sanding 48 hours later and all was sorted. The exhaust tube is fine though devoid of any internal details. A note here though, the tube is handed. The rear rib that prevents it from wobbling about has a lobe on it that needs to be at the top. Do this and you'll get a snug fit. The main gear legs are nothing spectacular and there is an error on them, likely from when they studied the subject. Between each of the torque links there is some sort of strut that would prevent the gear compressing. No doubt from a museum piece that they don't want sitting on pressurised gear legs. They're present on both sides of the gear legs for both sides. And I've bagged up the undercarriage parts so I know what part belongs to what side. The 6x .50 cal guns have been drilled out. There are a few scoops and panels inserts that need to be addressed on the. With some attention paid at the clean-up stage they fit snuggly. The wings a clever assembly as the upper and lowers are designed to follow panel lines rather that a seam on the leading and trailing edge. The wing tips are separate pieces which no doubt are designed for the longer F40 winged kit that's on the way. A bit of filler is needed to fill the sink marks...no idea why they'd be in this location. So will all of this work construction of the fuselage is progressing though it's going to have to be in parts due to the slight warp that's in my fuselage pieces. At the moment the cockpit tub/nose wheel well has been glued at the seam behind the intake and the frame at the front of the cockpit tub. Next will be the rear peg that holds the compressor face to the left side of the fuselage and the edge that attaches the rear turtle deck to the fuselage. This will leave the cockpit tub secure so I can proceed with attaching the right side. There have been a few other items completed such as the drop tanks but this is enough for an update. Until the next one, thanks for stopping by. Mick

Thanks all. It's now a favourite in the cabinet. It's my sons favourite too as the pilots share his name.

Thanks Mike. Thanks Steve. It was enjoyable subject to weather. Thanks John. The bare metal under the shrouds is prominent in many photos where the shrouds have been removed. I cut a stencil that was placed over the are and then camo colours were applied. It worked quite well. HA! Thanks Pete. Good to here, they're a real bucket list item for aircraft modellers. Thanks Martin. I'm happy with how it's turned out, Thanks Autle. They are an interesting airframe to weathering considering they're mostly wooden. Apologies for not replying earlier but it was a busy weekend as we had our state model show QMHE and it was on our club table. Cheers and thanks, Mick

Doh! Sorry Russ.

They're kind words Pappy, thankyou. Cheers Ross. I think a Hellcat might be my next one!

Thanks Noel. It's a large canvas to get the weathering on to. Nice to hear that I came close! Thanks though definitely no professional at this gig, it's just a hobby for me. I'm the other way around; I prefer to see a model representative of it's service career. A Greek HAF A-7 or F-16 is at the top of my list!

G'day all. The last one finished before QMHE. This is the ubiquitous 1/48 Tamiya FB.VI Mosquito built as a 464 Squadron (RAAF) aircraft flown by F/O Jack Palmer and his navigator F/O Jack Rayner operating out of RAF Thorney Island while attached to 2TAF in October 1944. There's not much to say about the kit that hasn't already been said but the additions were a True Details cockpit, Quickboost exhausts, Master gun barrels and a new pitot from brass tube. The codes, serial and over wing roundels are painted using masks that I made and all paints were Mr Color with numerous oils and weathering products used to achieve the final appearance. First time building the Tamiya Mozzie so another one off the bucket list. Cheers, Mick.

Thanks Steve. Thanks John. The rivets carry a light coloured wash, a much better way than individually go over them with a paint brush. This model was a lot of fun to weather and being a dark airframe difficult to make appear interesting. There are lot of layered oils and some fiddly applications in areas to achieve the look. I'm very happy with how it turned out. Cheers, Mick Cheers Troffa! :bows to the crowd: Thanks Russ. Thanks David Thanks Roberto.

That's great to hear William. Please do stop by and say hi. If I'm not at the display just ask for me and the fellas can point me out.

Thanks! QMHE (Queensland Model Hobbies Expo) is on next weekend 20/21 August at the Ipswich Events Centre. The Queensland Scale Model Championships are held at the event. The show details are here -> https://qmhe.com/ Stop by the St Edmund's Old Boys Model Club and say hi. The Corsair (an a heap of others) will be on our display. Mick

That's very good, lots going on there to take in. Well done.

G'day all. Another finished in time for our annual show next weekend. It's the 1/48th Tamiya F4U-1A as an RNZAF machine with 1 Servicing Until while at Henderson Field at Guadalcanal in 1944. This one is an interesting one as it is a spliced airframe from two crashed aircraft, hence the different schemes fore and aft. A bit of aftermarket was used; Eduard belts, a Yahu instrument panel and markings from Xtradecal. I had to make a new pitot as the sprue it was on was thrown out thinking that it was empty...doh. There's lots pf layer of paint, oils and weathering effect to get it appearing as it did. In the reference photos I've found it appears that the forward half had a lot mor wear and tear than the rear. Certainly a subjective interpretation but there's lots of scope to weather it up. Cheers, Mick.

You're welcome! Technically Academy don't do a B Hornet in 72nd scale. This one is converted from their D kit. The most noticeable changes to convert it to a RAAF machine are the removal of a set of blisters and associated fairing at the top of each fin, the removal of the ECM blisters on the cheeks of the nose and the exclusion of the ECM blister behind the canopy hinge. The launch bar mod is as easy one to do too. In 72 scale that's probably the list of things you'd want to do. You could possibly opt for a set of resin seats but then you'd need to modify the harnesses for a RAAF jet. Cheers, Mick

Cheers, I usually dip my canopies in Future. They come up pretty shiny/