darson

My fav trick that works every time is: Get package delivered to work (all my kits are ordered online), take home in boot of car, then wait till SWMBO is asleep and bring in the kit Also the Vixen looks quite good with some really nicely refined detail in the air brakes (?) and wheel wells. I'd love to get a look at the transparencies though and get a gauge of how thin and clear they are. I'd also like to know how well the kit fits but that will come with future reviews I'm sure. Sprue gates still seem to be a challenge for Airfix as some of them look huge while others look downright dainty. The only area (aside from the sink marks) that drew my eye was the soft detail on the bang seat and pilots console. It didn't seem to be at the same level and the wheel wells, strange.

This might be a stupid question but just how rusty did exhaust stacks get during their lifetime? By the way that Typhoon looks excellent Ben Cheers

Bloody nice looking build Andy, congrats.

Which ever you end up choosing, practice on an old wing or fuselage first until your get your mixing ratios right and you are happy with the finish you get. Oh and my vote would be for Acrylics in whatever brand you have easily available.

Oh dear, the list is too long to contemplate but one stands out above all the rest and that's my 1/48 Classic Airframes Canberra built as an RAAF Mk 20 during the Vietnam war.

I agree with what Jennings said and although you've got that nice Gunze paint, Tamiya AS-12 either straight from the rattle can or de-canted to use in your AB makes a color for the silver paint (dope?) used on the wings

Not to dance around the question, IMHO the overall "best" manufacturers of 1/48 or 1/72 WWII aircraft in terms of quality, fit design, highly detailed, accuracy, etc, etc.. are (in no particular order) Eduard - love these babies Tamiya Accurate Miniatures Hasegawa Revell AG Finemolds Academy My two highly "worthwhile" brands are Classic Airframes Special Hobby These are my favs but please research any purchase you may plan on making as every manufacturer has a few dogs in their range no matter how good their name. Also, if you wish to experience the best model kit ever made bar none, grab yourself the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire which can be picked up for 55GBP on Hobbyeasy. Cheers

I like the idea and the look of the RAF Green over natural metal scheme, I thinks it makes a nice change from the usual OD over NG P-51s you see everywhere. Cheers

Gary you have a couple of options here, 1. Re-work the Tamiya Mk.Vb wings 2. Kitbash an Airfix Mk.Vc wing with a Tamiya fuselage 3. Grab the MDC Spitfire Mk.Vc wing and graft that on to the Tamiya fuselage 4. Pickup the Classic Airframes kit 5. Go for the Special Hobby Mk.Vc (easiest & cheapest option IMHO) Cheers

Ultracast are one of my favourite after market manufacturers and I can highly recommend their selection of Spitfire accessories

The Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.IX is a great kit to build as a return to modeling project. It has a really nice level of detail, fits together beautifully and as someone said previously just enjoy it for what it is. For what its worth here's mine converted to an RAAF Mk.VIII with some Ultracast bits thrown in for good measure. Cheers

Bloody nice work Dave, great job

Bloody hell that's some nice work Des, please keep the updates coming. Darren

Stunning model, congrats

Looking good Mish, keep the updates coming. Also, what looks great on the cowl rings after you have painted them bronze is to apply some maskol with a broken piece of sponge then AB the rings black. Once all is dry remove the maskol and you have the effect of paint peeling away due to deat showing the bronnze metal underneath. Cheers

Are you sure it's not a misprint and they were referring to the Comet which my research (also Mickey Mouse) says did take part in Korea?

Mental mate there is no such thing as a perfect replica of a real aircraft in 1/48 and while the Tam kit may have some minor issues I'd be willing to bet you real money that there is no way the Airfix kit will top it it either accuracy, fit, detail or ease of build even if it is over 15 years old. Please do not take this as slagging off Airfix, it's not meant to be. Cheers

Thanks for the heads up Rich, I always appreciate knowing areas of trouble before I get started. Any hints or tips you can throw my way aside from fit issues? Cheers

I thought that it might be about time to actually choose a first build this GB so after raiding the stash I came up with what I hope should be a fairly straight forward kit. It's the 72nd scale Canberra PR.9 from Xtrakit and comes very handily with decals for 39 (1 PRU) Squadron RAF operating out of Azraq Air Base in Jordan in 2003. The kit itself has been on the market for a while now and is very nicely detailed with fine crisp panel lines and raised detail where appropriate. There are a couple of nice resin bang seats (although I'll only use one) and a neatly detailed front office. About the only whammy I can see from a quick inspection are a couple of large ejector pin marks in the wheel wells, although this won't bother me as the model will be glued to a base. As this is a short run kit (molded by Sword I think) there are no locating pins but that shouldn't pose a problem as long as I'm careful. I'm not a massive fan of endless shots of plastic on sprues, so if you want a look at the kit please go here. Cheers

Anything recent (produced in the last 10 years) from Tamiya will fit the bill as a fall together kit with immaculate detail, however you will pay a premium price. However don't go past the 1/35 Hobby Boss kits such as the Leopard 2 family which are excellent and available at a cheaper price. The DML super kits containing many hundreds of parts, metal gun barrels and PE are absolutely gorgeous but I would not recommend them for a first timer. Cheers

Why don't you order straight from Wolfpack themselves, they're bound to have what you're looking for.

The Australian army has a similar vehicle which is used by Dutch and British forces in Afghanistan I believe the Dutch have lost 4 or 5 vehicle to IEDs and mines with no casualties that I know of. The Bushmaster below hit a mine and lost a wheel but you can really see the vee shaped hull once the stowage bins have been removed. This shot is a Dutch Bushmaster giving a tow to a Welsh Guards rover after enginge trouble and really shows the difference in size between the two types of vehicle.

Tony thanks for posting this it looks great. I've sent the link to my home account so I can have a proper look when I get home from work tonight. Cheers

Many thanks Jonathan but I did go through that post and it didn't really give me the answers I was after. The shots of the decal sheet and instructions aren't clear enough for me to read the where the aircraft are based and at what time. This may sound silly but I like to model my aircraft as they appeared during particular conflicts or special assignments. Also the sprue shots are not close-ups and really don't give much of an impression of the quality of kit other than a basic parts breakdown. I was hoping to hear from someone who actually has purchased the kit, so I could get a hands on view. Cheers

Hi all, I am thinking of picking up an Airfix 1/72 PR.9 Canberra and was wondering about a couple of things: 1. What decal options are included with the kit? 2. What's the detail like, particularly the panel lines & recce equipment I've had a look at other threads on this site but I can't find the exact answers I'm looking for. Thanks