Jon Bryon

I do have the lens, but not the space! Thanks for the feedback. I was a bit confused about the horizontal tail. Academy had a dark national insignia (FS35237) on a pale background (FS36375), but their camouflage scheme is wrong, certainly for this airframe in 2006. In the end I went with this photo from the CAVU book of light (FS36375) on a dark camouflage (FS35237): Jon

Thanks to everyone who has commented. I've very much appreciated reading the response. Jon

Thanks for that Bell209. I was using the incredible CAVU publications book on the CH-53E which noted that blades could vary from almost new to heavily worn on the same aircraft. The underlying colour is too yellow (I painted yellow over tan, but didn't really get through to the tan!) and the wear pattern is not perfect because it turns out Academy didn't mould the blade profile perfectly smooth. Unfortunately they are a real mixed bag. I was forewarned by Chris Becker on YouTube, who showed how poorly engineered the intakes are. I was going to ditch them completely, but then Bernhard Schrock's peerless build shamed me into using them: https://www.scalemates.com/profiles/mate.php?id=14143&p=albums&album=64551 It's so massive it won't fit! I've boxed it up in the hope it will survive a trip to Telford, and then maybe it can spend the rest of its life sat on top of a display cabinet gathering dust I don't have an Osprey built (yet - it's in the stash!), but I do have a 1/48 CH-46E from the same squadron and cruise: Thanks It is a decal. The only painted marking is the national insignia on the horizontal tail surface. Jon

Good afternoon all, Bit of a mammoth project for me. It's taken five months and one week of (almost) daily modelling, and thus well in excess of 200 hours. It could (and maybe should) have consumed so many more. The basic kit is from Academy and the decals are a scheme provided by AOA Decals that represents a CH-53E from HMM-264 in 2006. The sheet covers multiple types and thus some of the markings are required from the kit sheet, and some (like the national insignia on the horizontal tail surface) need to be painted. Additions are numerous: Added UHF antenna above and below fuselage Scratchbuilt GPS antenna on fuselage spine Modified antenna mount on starboard side of spine Peanut light added to tail tip Eduard and Archer resin rivets all over (of several pitches) Resin wheels (Armory - nice but don't fit) Resin exhausts (ResKit - nice) Resin air intakes (ResKit - awful) Resin tail rotor (ResKit - nice) Resin main rotor hub (ResKit - mediocre (at best)) Blades dropped Blades magnetised (i.e. removable) Rotor blade hub magnetised Resin refuelling probe (ResKit - nice) Refuelling probe magnetised Cables for NVG sensor arm Cables for engine intakes Cable for refuelling probe Scratchbuilt search lights lower front fuselage Exhaust shroud made from foil Scratchbuilt engine intake struts Scratchbuilt Lifting eyes Scratchbuilt Maintenance struts x2 Eduard brass (inside and out) Pitots replaced with brass tube Rotor hub wired ANYZ connectors dotted all over the place AOA decals NVG sensor removed Chaff buckets modified to be empty There's a lot wrong with it, but I won't list that here. On to the photos... Thanks for looking and comments welcome. Jon

Apparently this is now in stock at Lucky Model. Mine's coming to the UK via air for £62 all in, which I think is pretty good. Jon

Didn't they LIDAR the Vampire as well? They certainly did several pending releases. Jon

Now available in the UK, and at a reasonable price https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AC12361?result-token=gGMTQ Jon

Thanks Duncan for your comments and feedback, especially in relation to the wheels. I've found it very difficult to determine the colour of the main wheels on any Phantom I've built (including my F-4G and F-4B this year) due to the wheels always being in deep shadow or obscured by ordnance/drop tanks. The stabilators on the Hasegawa kit are a much better fit than their American Phantoms and these are simply pushed in place, which is why the pitch changes between photos (which was intentional for 'artistic' reasons 🙂 ). I have a couple of Hypersonic sets that allow you to change the cover plate so it's accurate, but it's way too fiddly for me to bother fitting! Cheers Jon

About a year ago all my backorders were deleted for some unknown reason and I had to re-backorder all of them. Jon

In terms of aircraft modelling, my niche might be big enough to not even qualify as a niche, but considered in the light of modelling in general, I think it does: 1/48 Postwar military aircraft (with no duplications of type). I think there are significant benefits to having a niche, and I wrote about that earlier this year: https://jonbryon.com/2023/07/08/upsides-to-limitations-of-choice/ Jon

It's been a while, but I lived in China for a good few years and the LHS owner always said Trumpeter/HB kits were released to the domestic market last, except for PRC subjects. I wonder if that's still true? Jon

I'm 45, have a family, job, etc., and manage a minimum of 30 minutes a day, but usually more like 60-90 minutes, so probably around 10 hours a week at the bench. This is mainly down to the joys of shift work. Jon

Thanks Nathan (and everyone else!). The EDSG is MRP EDSG mottled over the top with some Mr Color 331 DSG. The undersides are MRP White, Mr Color Off White (C69) and Insignia White (C316). Cheers Jon

A correct vacform canopy came in this set: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/ciro-models-c-433-mig-23m-mf-big-correction-set--218601 Jon

Hi Niko, Thanks for the heads up. All fixed now. I think there will be a lot of posts of mine that need fixing - I'll do it on request Cheers Jon

Photos should all be back now. Jon

I've had to change internet hosting plan recently as the costs were becoming sky-high and my website generates no income. I'll fix the photos soon with correct links. Jon

Thanks The oleo struts are made with ANYZ Models Chrome decal. It's not particularly easy to use, but very shiny. In fact, maybe too shiny - I've just ordered some of his aluminium decal stripes to see if that looks better on a future project. Cheers Jon

Hello all, I finished this yesterday: Eduard's 2008 Weekend Edition 1/48 Fw.190A-5 as a French SNCAC NC.900 from 1946. The kit is pretty stock except for seat belts and a pitot and pilot's step both made from Albion Alloys brass tube. The decals are from PT Decal, and unfortunately designed as the black text on the rudder is integrated into the tricolore...which is sized for the Tamiya kit This kit has a reputation, but I found it went together perfectly fine *except* for the gun bay doors on the wingroots and nose. Eduard really don't want you to fit these closed, and doing so is a nightmare. Still, aside from that, no big issues. No one really knows what colour these were. Mine is based around darkened Olive Drab with some mottling in RLM71. The wing roundels are too small, paint got into the starboard side of the canopy and so is misted on the inner surface, and I wish I'd put more contrast into the weathering of the prop. Still, it was a fun build. Thanks for looking and comments welcome, Jon

Thank you Mark. I'll be bringing it to Telford to see how it does, but sadly the wheels are pretty wonky. If you look around there are quite a few Navy F-4Bs that didn't have much airframe stencilling at all. Here are a couple: Best Jon

Thanks Niko The canopy is simply polished with Tamiya polishing compounds. I think that effect you're seeing is simply because I photographed the model in a light tent which really softened the reflections from the lights. Cheers Jon

Thanks Rich. The technique is just the usual oil wash. In my case I apply it directly over the paint. I use ABT502 oils (I can't remember which colours, but probably something like Dark Mud with other shades like Burnt Umber and Starship Filth mixed in) diluted with their Matt Effect Thinner. I apply it quite precisely using a liner brush and then remove the excess with a thinner-soaked small (and fine) brush when the oils have dried out a bit. It takes ages HTH Jon

Finally at a realistic price! Jon

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment. Much appreciated. Jon

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Much appreciated. My set up is pretty simple I think, in this case a largish softbox with four LED panel lights shining on it all set up on the dining table. I wish I could get a brighter background The close ups are with a 100mm Canon macro lens (I'm using a Canon EOS800D). Camera is on a tripod with a remote release cable. There are actually quite a few schemes that didn't carry stencils. VF-32 was one of them, and its sister squadron, VF-14, seems similarly unadorned for at least the 1966-1967 cruise. I actually quite like adding stencils... Cheers Jon