darson

Don't sweat it real life happens, I've still go to get round to posting a WIP thread.

I would like to put my vote in for Nth Africa themed armor GB. If you want to restict it totally to British used vehicles that's fine but if you're doing a campaign themed build then i think all sides should be able to be presented.

Sorry Mark but according to the amount of plastic in the kit, the resin you need to add and the amount of paint already on there I calculate the kit at being precisely 21.03571% complete, tough luck . Seriously the Shaguar looks at less than 20% to my eyes, so my vote is for yes. Cheers

C'mon Richard this is a Spitfire we are talking about, even if the kit is perfect in almost every way someone will find the gull wing is not the right shape or the nose is a poofteenth too short or something similar . Personally I'm really looking forward to this as I'll be really keen to see how it builds up compared to the PCM kit. Cheers

Dave, first of all resin dust is harmful to your health. Work in a well ventilated room or wet sand to keep the dust down. Now in answer to your original questions: 1. Aires resin pit look fantastic when fitted and painted up nicely. The secret is sand, test fit, sand, test fit, sand, test fit... you get the picture. 2. Depends on the kit in question but if we are talking the Hasegawa 1/48 F-4 then IMHO the answer is a big yes. The added detail you get from the Aires burner cans is well worth the price as this is a highly visible area on a Phantom. 3. If I might suggest a couple of things here, one would be FOD covers to cover the lack of detail past the air intakes and the other would be the TwoBobs AIM-7 and AIM-9 sheets for your A2A ordinance, they really do make a difference. Also, depending on the F-4 you've got you may want to rescribe any parts with raised panel lines. 4. It's up to you as to how far you want to go but I would say no it's not worth it to this one. 5. If possible I stick to the kit that the Aires set is designed for but that's not saying with a little effort you couldn't make things fit. 6. There's always AM pitot tubes, weapons, wheels, etc that you can buy if you really want. 7. Unless you have a large spares box (or donor kits) that has all the appropriate weapons, one or several of the Hasegawa weapons sets is the only way to go. Cheers

Yes why don't you join James as you can count me in on that list of the worlds slowest builders. Also, I'm not sure I follow why an Op Telic Tornado would be outside of the GB timeframe? Cheers

Really nice looking build Tony, great job

Mark for a first armor build I would suggest something easy and not too pricey. Anything that fits the bill from Dragon, Trumpeter or Revell AG in 72nd scale would make a great first tank kit as the level of detail they pack into those things these days is astounding considering the scale. Avoid anything in a Revell AG box that's 1/76 as these are re-pops of ancient kits. If you're looking at 1/35th scale your best bet is Dragon or Tamiya followed by Trumpeter but be prepared to part with some serious coin for their latest releases.

Pascal on 6 June 1944 the Allied air forces flew 14,674 combat sorties, Luftwaffe managed 319 and I know of combat taking place with Typhoons & Mustangs but I'm not sure about Spits

Cool job on your first mottle Jase, it's way better than my first go. Next time you give a go though, lower the air pressure in your compressor and thin your paint out some more and you will avoid the little splatter over spray from the mottling. Cheers

A couple of additions for Australian forces in Iraq 2003 - 2009 Fixed Wing Aircraft F/A-18 McDD Hornet (RAAF) C-130H Lockheed Hercules (RAAF) AP-3C Lockheed Orion (RAAF) Rotary Wing Aircraft S-70B-2 Sikorsky Seahawk (RAN) CH-47D Boeing Chinook (RAA) Mk.50A Seaking Westland (RAN) AFVs ASLAV-25 ASLAV-PC Bushmaster IMV Ships HMAS Darwin HMAS ANZAC HMAS Kanimbla LCM-8 Landing Craft

Bloddy hell that beats the heck out of what I was try to produce, thanks for going to the effort. Cheers

Alex I don't have any problem at all with you posting your work anywhere you want, it's your model after all. Cheers

Tony dash 4 Corsairs were used as the prototypes for the dash 5 models which may explain the pictures you have. Other than that I not much help sorry.

Had a look through the stash today and there's plenty of options there but I think I've narrowed it down to either: Tamiya 1/35 Challenger I Tamiya 1/35 Challenger II (Desertised) Tamiya 1/35 M60-A1 w/Reactive Armour Decisions, decisions....

Absolutley no offense taken Adrian and while my build is a tribute to the crew who gave their lives for their country I still intend to have some fun while building the kit. Cheers

Thanks for the comment Bill, I was a little too embarrassed to ask who the heck is Bill Clark (no offense meant). Chris when's the next update due?

Here's the first instalment of construction photos on the Canberra. Job No1 was to attach the nose sections to their respective fuselage halves. I was pleased to say that this job went off without a hitch and only required a thin line of Gunze Mr Dissolved Putty (Don't blame me I didn't name it) to fill the small portion of seam followed by a quick wet sand to finish the job. I plan on doing any re-scribing in one hit so these panel lines will be see too once I've completed the wings. By the way this may look a mess in closeup but it's actually smooth as a baby's bum. One thing I've got to say is that this is one large aircraft in 48th scale! Thanks for looking and any feedback or critiques are gratefully accepted. Cheers

Thanks a lot for the words of encouragement guys I appreciate it. I have actually started construction already so I will post some more photos tonight when I get home from work. The Pete's Hangar parts are very nice but are incredibly delicate so I will have to really be careful cleaning and attaching them to the wing. Adrian, here are a couple of links to the finding of A84-231s final resting place Image Gallery ADF Media Release In terms of finding the crews remains, I have read that some of the wreckage has washed down into the creek line due to monsoonal rainfall so factoring in that and wild animals, esp wild pigs who can remove all trace of human remains quickly and thoroughly the chances of finding the crew are not high. Cheers

Thanks Tim and you are dead right on that score. By the way I'm keeping a close eye on your Canberra build at the moment. Cheers

The ingredients for this build are going to be pretty straight forward, first up of course we have the Classic Airframes Canberra kit (box looking slightly worse for wear) Next up we have Aussie Decals set no 48039 which includes the markings for the bird I want but doesn't actually show them on the instruction sheet, oh well. Last but certainly not least are the Pete's Hangar wingtip hard points and ordinance for the Vietnam era Canberra's. From what I have read the wing tip fuel tanks were not required due to the relatively small distances being covered. More to come soon.

On the night of 3 November, 1970, "A84-231" (radio call sign 'Magpie 91') failed to return from a night Skyspot mission in support of ARVN forces in South Vietnam. Missions of this type were, by this time, being flown only infrequently by Australian personnel. After the G.A.F. Canberra B.20 crewed by Flying Officer Michael Herbert and Pilot Officer Robert Carver had delivered their six 750 pound bombs in a single salvo with instantaneous fusing, the ground station then came on the air to give the crew a brief description of the target they had engaged, and to tell them that their performance had been excellent. Flying Officer Herbert acknowledged this message, before signing off from the FACs control and switching tactical frequency in the usual manner for the return flight to Phan Rang. The American radar facility at Udorn in Thailand, which had been tracking the Canberra as it maintained a steady course on a heading of 120 degrees magnetic, indicated that contact had been lost at 8.22 p.m. when the aircraft abruptly disappeared off screen apparently just moments after Herbert's last message. Despite an intensive search lasting three days by Australian and American aircrew no trace of the Canberra or the crew was ever found, that is until April of this year when pieces of the aircraft and some of the crews effects were recovered bring to an end the mystery of the last two missing Aussies in Vietnam. Michael Herbert & Robert Carver This build is the Classic Airframes kit of the equally classic Canberra B.20 as assembled by the Australian Govt Aircraft Factory (GAF) in the markings of A84-231, bombed up the way she would have been all those years ago.

Hi Dave, what markings are you going to do your Canberra in? I've just started a build of the CA kit which I'll be doing as A84-231 "Magpie 91" that was recently found in Vietnam. I'll have to get off my bum, take some pics and start a WIP thread. By the way the cockpit looks great and using .45 cal slugs for weight is extremely cool. Cheers

I use ye olde Windex as both a thinner for Future as well as an air brush cleaner. As a thinner I just add a couple of drops to the color cup and for a cleaner I use it neat through the AB to clean things out. Cheers

I normally just give it a once over with a fine brush and some turps to remove the finger jam from PE. Also remember to prime the parts before applying paint to ensure adequate adhesion. Cheers