Jon Bryon

My (vain) hope for a few years now has been a 1/48 Swift and Jet Provost. Aftet all, they did do them in 1/72 not that long ago... Jon

The Korean War is poorly served in general. The Douglas F3D Skyknight has only one meaningful (and limited run) kit in 1/48. There's no modern/decent tooling of the F9F Panther. The F2H Banshee needs to be re-kitted after the KH boo-boo (and no one's ever done the -3/4 other than Collectaire). There's no F-86A/E beyond an ancient ESCI kit, and no accurate kit of the F-80 since the 1970s. Still plenty of work to be done! Jon

Sure. Spanish I-16s like this one had a locally manufactured canopy. You can see it clearly in photos on this website: http://modelismomilitarehistoria.blogspot.com/2019/05/el-polikarpov-i-16-en-espana-en-octubre.html There are at least 2 (maybe 4) photos of this particular airframe. Cheers Jon

Thanks everyone It's a mismash of techniques: 1. Airbrushing different shades of the base colours through mottle masks. 2. A layer of tan-coloured Liquitex ink heavily thinned with X-20A. 3. Pin wash of AK Interactive Streaking Grime. 4. A more liberal wash using the same product then removed in a streaking fashion with brushes dampened in thinner. 5. Some AK Interactive Weathering Pencils in places of high relief, blended with brush and water. 6. Fuselage chips added with Vallejo paint and a sponge. 7. Prop weathered using the hairspray technique. 8. Various shades of oil paint were used for discolouring different areas. HTH Jon

Hello everyone, This is Eduard's 1/48 Polikarpov I-16 Type 10 that I finished in mid-September. The kit is inaccurate for a Spanish aircraft, so I've replaced the windscreen with a vac-formed example from Falcon and rebuilt the fuselage spine with plastic card and CA. The ailerons have been extended as well. Paint is mainly Mr Color applied freehand with an airbrush. The national markings are airbrushed and the only decals are the serials on the tail (which are the wrong font). The plan was to build this in 48 hours, but rather than two days, it took two weeks. I've written an article on this which I believe will appear in the November issue of SAM, so grab that if you want the full story Comments welcome, Cheers Jon

Do we actually have an independent source to verify this story? It does seem somewhat implausible a subject/scale and strange that ICM don't seem to have released any news themselves...have they? Jon

This is excellent news. However, I do worry that some of these newer companies (Clearprop, Modelsvit, AMP, Mars Models) seem to have CAD projects stacking up at a rate that doesn't match actual plastic production. I do hope these early Seasprites see the light of day, but first I want the announced Firebrand Jon

This kit is now being marketed as an F-104A/C. Did you happen to notice if wingtip missile rails are included in the kit rather than tanks? Thanks Jon

This is excellent news, but I hope the already-announced 1/48 Gazelle and TH-55 are not affected, let alone the later model Huskies. One also wonders if the Wasp which I believe was being tooled for S&M will ever see the light of day... Jon

Doesn't any of my IPMS membership fee go towards SMW? Jon

I really like these AMP helicopters (I built the HUK-1 Huskie last year and it was the most fun kit I've built in ages) and this is great inspiration for the Sycamore in my stash. Thanks for sharing. Jon

Maybe you should as one of the complainants has announced he just got paid after going public on FB! Jon

There are also a few posts on FB now from ex-SAMI contributors complaining about not being paid... Jon

Thanks Scooby. It is indeed my first Cheers Jon

I do worry that this is the beginning of the end of SMW, at least at the scale we've been used to for many years. I am going for the whole weekend, but clubs, SIGS, traders and punters seem to be stating their plans to not attend left, right and centre. I'll have nowhere to display so I'll enter quite a few models in the competition just so I can bring something. Some people say they'll come in 2022, but I don't really see what improvements people are waiting to see happen in the intervening 12 months. Vaccination rates among the relevant demographic are not going to change and Covid will continue to circulate and mutate. It will still be here in 2022. What material change will make it safer in a year's time? My fear is that 2021 will be a damp squib, making 2022 a harder sell to those who do attend and traders/clubs/SIGs/etc. If 2021 is not a resounding success (and/or makes a significant financial loss), I don't see there being enough momentum to make 2022 any better. Jon (feeling rather Eeyore-ish)