darson

I know this is an old thread but I have just picked up the Airfix FRS1 at lunchtime and was about to post the exact questions already answered here. Brilliant stuff many thanks Nick

Jules, this is link you are looking for. Cheers

Hi guys I've just had a look through the stash & I've got a Hase 1/48 AV-8B Harrier II Plus which I'd love to do for this GB. Any idea of start dates?

I'm sorry if ICM decals have changed over the years but I have a special container for storage of all decals from their kits, the bin. After several "self destruction" incidents I now exclusively use AM decals with these kits.

For my money the greatest fighter of all time is the P-51 Mustang (Merlin engined) Simply it was the equal or better of any opposition it came came up against in WWII including the Me-262 I don't believe that it changed the course of WWII although it played it's part and was the right tool at the right time, much the same way the Spitfire was in 1940. I don't rate length of service as a huge factor even thought the the Mustang service served with distinction through most of WWII and well into the 70's in some air forces and was still dog fighting in the Football War in 1969. Honorable mentions to: Fw-190 Spitfire Bf-109 A6M Zero F-15 Eagle

Tony I bought directly from their site and had no problems, I can't remember what the postage was but it was bugger all to Australia. I bought the whole set engine, seat cockpit etc and all parts are direct replacements from what I have looked at so far. Hope this helps

Tony I will also put in my vote for RB Productions seat belts they are awesome and the service is first class. I would also highly recommend the Barracuda Studios resin updates particularly for the cockpit and cockpit door, they are brilliant and worth every cent. I have the Eduard interior set for my Mk.VIII as well but will only be using a few bits and pieces from it.

It's hard to know without having a sample from each tin but have a look at this link to give you an idea. Cheers

Jamie you are selling yourself short, that Spitfire looks fantastic and is a very nice representation of the reference photo. Also just wanted to say this is a great thread, I'm really enjoying reading everyones different points of view on weathering. Cheers

Here's a couple that I think you guys might find interesting that show various dirt & grime on service aircraft First up a Northrop P-61 A very well worn FAA Hellcat behind an equally well worn pilot RAAF Spit Mk.VIII allegedly used to do beer runs for the lads by flying in the kegs on the wing pylons I also have lots of shots of in service RAAF Hornets from Op Falconer (OIF) which are looking very dirty and weather worn. So as far as weathering your models and how far is too far well I think that's up to the modeler and what they are achieve with the finish of their kit. Also, Edgar is right pre-shading panel lines is a crock and as a modeling technique went out with dry-brushing tanks to simulate texture. Personally I prefer to paint and then apply weathering (to the best of my abilities) as close as I can get to my references. Cheers

Nice work parksie.

Stephen have a look at this build article of an F-117A by John Heck from Silicon Valley Scale Modelers, http://svsm.org/articles/f117jh/f117jh.html it should answer all your questions and has lots of pics. Cheers

Thanks for the comments guys I must say I'm having a lot of fun with this build. Alan, I checked my references and you are spot on mate the rear idler has been corrected for this kit I have to put that one down to "didn't even realise it was wrong" Jim & Andy thanks for the feedback guys

I had a couple of good days modeling and the Panzer II is motoring along very nicely indeed. The upper hull is now complete with everything except the fiddly little bots that have a tendency to break off when gluing the upper and lower halves together. I must say that the splash guards and the driver’s frontal armour took quite a bit of pressure and convincing with clamps in order not to leave gaps but in the end I'm happy with the result, although the splash guards will need a bit more clean-up before I hit it with paint. The replacement KwK 30 barrel comes from Lion Mark and is an absolute gem and is well worth the couple of dollars (6 I think) I paid for it on Hobbyeasy. Fitting consisted of simply snipping off the old barrel, drilling a hole and then attaching the replacement part with a drop of CA to fix it in place. Here's a comparison between the original barrel and the replacement The turret presented no problems at all with only a couple of seams to be filled where the upper and lower halves joined and a missing weld seam added in the same location. I know there are many methods used to attach link and length tracks but this is the one that works best for me. I start with temporarily attaching the wheels to the vehicle then simply glue a couple of pieces of track together and wait a couple of minutes for the glue to set (a bit). I repeat this procedure a few times till I have a number of track runs drying at which point I place them on the vehicle and tape the runs in place with Tamiya tape and wait for the whole lot to dry. I repeat this for the entire track length but do not glue the last two links together so they are easily removed for painting. Well tacked together she's actually starting to look like a Pz II now Cheers

Wow great work Deon, I particularly like the finish and weathering on the Trumpy 17cm Kanone. Also, are those decals you have used on the German soldiers uniform in the Sig33 vignette and if so where did you get them? Cheers

Ok first step in this little kit is the same as for all tanks, the road wheels idlers & drive sprockets along with their polly caps. No real problems to report here other than the four very nice ejector pin marks on each idler. I needed to remove these as the idler protrudes from the front of the vehicle and the ejector pin marks would be highly visible. Now normally this would be a piece of cake to fill and sand but as there is a row of very fine bolt heads that I didn't want to obliterate I had to be very careful. The next step called for the suspension arms being attached to the bottom of the hull. These were prepared with a sharp No11 blade to remove the mold seam that runs down the middle of each arm. I always try and take extra care at this stage of a build to ensure that every piece of a tank's suspension is at the correct angle and equal distance from the ground. There is nothing worse than letting the whole lot dry and find out when you test fit the wheels that one is sticking out at an odd angle. From here I was going to move straight on to the upper hull but after having a bit of a play I discovered that the ejector pin marks under the fenders are very easily seen so out came the trusty Gunze putty mixed with a bit of lacquer thinner into a slurry that is worked easily with a toothpick into small holes like this. I find this much easier to control (and clean up) than putty straight out of the tube which for me tends to go everywhere. Cheers

The postman arrived on Christmas eve and dropped off this little beauty which will give me something to do during break. This kit was released last year and is basically a follow-up to the French Campaign boxing and corrects the issue of only 25 teeth on the idler but the KwK 30 barrel remains too short. This is not a problem as I'll be replacing the barrel with an AM item anyway. Luckily for me I actually have a real R03 which appeared in "Panzer Vor!" Vol 1. As you can see from this photo, the markings appear to have been mud smeared in an attempt to tone them down and perhaps not make them such an obvious aiming point, this is something I'll be trying to replicate on my kit. Cheers

Q: Can I just treat them as normal plastic parts or do I need special glues and paints A: No you can't treat them as normal plastic and will need to use either CA (Superglue) or Future to hold them in place. Do not use CA to attach PE to clear parts or you will bugger the clear bit as CA fogs clear parts hence the Future option. Q: Do they need special tools to be placed into the model with? A: A pair of non serrated needle nose pliers for PE parts that require bending into shape and as stated above a ceramic tile and a sharp blade. To apply PE parts use a toothpick to apply a smear of CA on to the plastic then pick up your PE part with another toothpick that has a tiny blob of BluTack on the end. This allows for easy placement with a minimum of fuss. Also when using CA have a bottle of nail polish remover and some cotton buds nearby for wiping off excess glue or for when you stick your fingers together (don't ask me how I know this). Q: Can I dry brush the details or do I need to lather on the paint???????????? A: No you do not need to lather on the paint, all you need to do is prime the PE before painting. If you have an airbrush just use something like Tamiya metal primer or if you don't have an AB you can pick up the same product in a rattle can. Once the primer has cured you can paint PE as you would any other plastic part. Cheers

Under the tree Santa left me the TAM 1/32 Spitfire Mk.VIII with Eduard PE & Barracuda Resin update, it's amazing that he knew exactly what I wanted, but then he is Santa

Great work Pappy keep the pics coming

Very nicely done Daz, you've really nailed that black finish perfectly

The best price I have found with a quick look around is £57.82 (ex postage) from http://www.hobbyeasy.com/ but the import duty would probably kill you guys, sorry. We are lucky here that anything imported under $1000AUD is tax free. Cheers

Bloody hell Andy they look fantastic, particularly the Shagpanther.

I can't wait for Christmas, SWMBO & the kids are getting me the Mk.VIII 32nd Spitrire along with the Barracuda resin bits and a replacement harness from Eduard. Hey I like that 'Tamiya can't do anything wrong' I might have to add that to my sig

I Know some people like their models to look more like die cast miniatures than an accurate looking representation if the real thing and that's ok it's a matter of taste, but as far as I'm concerned yours look spot on. Care to share any of the techniques you used in weathering or is there already a WIP thread for this kit. Cheers