Stebos

Revell also do a rebox of the DML kit, can be found under the 'MARS' title. It has an extra sprue of parts for the German version (side skirts etc). OOP so can be hard to track down.

All the crazier when you think that I picked up Hase's recon version from Sprue Bros this week for a mere £7... I don't buy full RRP Hase stuff anymore, but still some nice buys to be spotted out there.

Proving a bit of a pain this one. The location and fit for the cockpit pieces are rather vague, lots and lots of test fitting. Due to the open nature and not trusting myself to install the complete cockpit unit as suggested I'm building and painting it into the fuselage halves as I go. Only have this to show so far:

A slow start but some progress has been made: I've left out the seat and rear bulkhead, they just don't fit and won't be missed. The pilot's an old Matchbox one from the bits box, heavily filed and cut up to fit the very small space. It took countless test fits to get him in right, without getting in the way of the canopy. Simply painted up: Not much can be seen in there so I wasn't going to do too much. Current progress so far. Still need to sort out a stand for this though.

This one came out rather spiffing! I like the tonal variation you got there.

Tidy result there, but no licking the model afterwards!

Yep, it was a skid... as it would sit lopsided I may source a pilot and put it 'in flight'. Would help show the natty yellow/black understripes. Only difficulty is the lack of an obvious support point, the skid puts a block on an underside fixing. Maybe a pair of thin wires to the wingtips or something would work.

Picked this up for a bargain price at the last Milton Keynes show, something a bit more complex for my second build. 13 of these were built I understand, this variant being one of 2 that were fitted with a lower hp engine than the rest. Certainly innovative, but also seemingly rather crap Bits wise, not as many as you'd expect, lots of petite scribing and rivet detail, this one will need careful painting to avoid swamping it. The only major error in the kit that I can see is the exhausts, they seem a bit oversized - and both the inboard sides shouldn't have the down kink to them, should end straight as the box art shows. I'll grind off the excess and fill. I can live with the oversized crudeness I think. Though I may have some rod I can replace them all with. So far I've washed the resin and sawed off and prepped the cockpit pieces. Hoping the fit isn't too bad...

Trying to get my modelling world back on track again after a dead few months... Something simple to start with... the very odd and rather colourful Baynes Bat. Very little to this kit, all the work will be in the painting it looks like. Dinky!

Sorry for taking so long to get this one going, been very distracted of late! Starting tomorrow, but for now, some pics: The box, with evil livery scheme shown... since changed I think as the one at Farnborough sported a much more basic look. The bits within: Those fanblades are just lovely, two parts to each though. I worry over cleaning up seam lines to them. Still unsure on the livery scheme to pick, I'm tempted by JAL to get rid of heavy use of white. Does anyone know a shade ref for JAL's offwhite? I've had no luck at all finding that out.

That's a great tip on solving that shrinkage issue. I'd have just tried filler and messed it up badly. Never have thought of planking it out.

That's a lovely job there. Subtle metalwork and a white finish I can only dream of. I don't know how you airliner painters manage that, always fails with me!

Sorry to bump an old thread but I had a Maskol query of my own. I need to use some to mask airliner windows but the warning on the bottle to not leave it on longer than 3 days gave me some pause. It's very unlikely I can get things to a painting level in that 3 day window, how strict is that warning? Do I risk damage if left for a week? longer? I can try it on a test strip but thought someone might already know. Thanks!

Super shots there, more please! Still poking through mine from the sat, conditions were certainly tricky.

Ooh I thought I was in this list already! hmmm... I'll pore through the stash later but first gut feeling is to use this as a perfect excuse for getting out the old XB-70 Valk and turning into a Mach 3 recon bird... or maybe a spaceplane, civil or mil. All I know is it won't be white as I don't hate myself enough to try such an acreage of plastic in white. Another idea that just came to mind while pondering air forces in 'what if' markings was doing something as a 'Scottish Air Force', tricky thing would be finding something that makes the idea immediately clear, without going to the silliness of white/blue camo! hmmm...

It's a cute little thing isn't it? Good to see another finished up well.

Made it in the end, thanks chaps. It was looking like distaster when the suspiciously 'as new' looking decals had a horrifying milky white backing on placement... turned out the solution was to lay them out upside down on a sheet of plasticard and rub off the icky glue like stuff with a cotton bud. After that they were nice and clear. I've never been so glad of a too thick decal sheet it let me handle them roughly like that. Opacity could have been better but I can't really complain. No real weathering applied, not even a panel wash, it seemed to be happier without one. A great kit all round, had fun with this one. Love these quirky subjects, would be perfect for a Special Hobby update to come. Bring back Matchbox!

8 Whoooo, just made it Build Thread A Vickers Wellesley Mk.1:

Does sound like the thing to try. Would pva also work? Just peel it off after? Usually with awkward masking I use blutak carefully spread out. Works great, but I wasn't going to try that with all those windows!

Thankees, a lot more progress done, final stretch ahead! Priming told a bit of a sorry tale with my filling and sanding - made a bit of a pigs ear of it (I usually do but this was worse than normal) but needs must and I carried on with the deadline looming... Underside in black & masked and some doodling on top to try to vary the end finish if possible. The main canopy fit was an absolute pig, I'm a bit surprised it came out ok in the end. Nothing was mentioned of colour to the wheel wells so I'm going with that lurid interior green (or the paint I used which was close enough for me to be happy with it). Same goes for the legs - green (though I've seen a build with silver, I'm following Matchbox's suggestion). Engine came out nicely, the cowling looks like it will be tricky to fit on. Top coat of earth on: and masked for the green: which I'm not entirely happy with, it looks too dark to me - but was the suggested match. I'm no expert! Some paint issues left, not enough coverage on the leading edge green. On every build I ever do I underspray a section despite careful checking, one of these days I'll learn... Should be finished on time, provided I'm well enough. Klear coat & detail parts in the morning, decals in the afternoon, touching up, flat coat & weathering in the evening. Sorted!

Nice, tidy work there, have to love those gull wings.

A nice pair for the shelf!

I have a question on how windows are treated as I've never done an airliner before. The kit has clear window strips... I'm not really a fan of window decals so would rather keep them clear. But masking? Is there a good technique to neatly mask all these little windows or do I have a horrible task ahead of me? Maybe leave them open and try crystal klear afterwards?

Hi folks, some good progress has been made. Decals are sorted, the seller found them and thankfully them seem good with no yellowing. Perhaps a little transparent but we'll see. Lots of filling and sink holes in this kit, fit is pretty poor in the major seams. The bomb paniers: Things as they stand: Canopy to go on, then it's off to the paintshop.

That would be useful thanks. I did work out a sort of painting sequence to follow but the sticking point is the soft edging. Looks a little too soft/wide to be done with blutack and my hand isn't steady enough to freehand it. Might need some testing on scrap plastic.