Spence

Thanks again everyone - it's great to know that so many of you like my build of this soon to be released kit. I'm about halfway through the construction of the Airfix kit, so should have that ready over the next couple of weeks. I'll post some images when it's done. All the best and have a great day. Spence

Thanks once again everyone - it looks like Revell have a winner on their hands, eh? Over the weekend I bought the Airfix kit so that I can see how they compare to one another - it'll be interesting to see if the completed MR.2 with have the same presence as this one and if I can paint that white finish to look the way I want it too! Time will tell... Have a great day. Spence

HI everyone - thank you all so much for the kind words on this model. I am truly overwhlemed by the levels of interest in this build, the sheer volume of comments and likes both on forums such as BM and social media, has left me almost speechless. I don't think I've ever built anything that has been received so well, been so positively commented on and in terms of the kit, looked forward to so much! Thank you all - it's been amazing! Hi Stephen - it will be in the March issue. You can have them any way you want! Many of the images show them as modelled and as it more than suited my OCD, that's how I decided to align them! I just couldn't bear to see them all over the place! I think so. The Airfix kit is gorgeous, but in my opinion, just too smooth; this one captures the agricultural look of the original machine a little more... Thanks everyone! Spence

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Morning everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve posted any in-progress shots on here, so I thought that you might like to see something a little different from me. Over Christmas I charted the construction of an MaK Falke on my Facebook page and so thought you’d like to see it as well. As you can see, I took a basic 1:20 Hasegawa kit and then reworked it to allow the addition of extra detail and some finishing ideas that I haven’t really used since I built my workshop diorama over three years ago. The idea here was to stretch out a little, build something really different from my normal aircraft models and then try and produce something that’s detailed and believable enough to for the centrepiece of a more involved diorama. As you can see, the detail follows much of the design ethos of the original Kow model, all I’ve done is add to what was already on offer - especially around the engine and cockpit, both of which have been heavily reworked. I also opened up the bay in the left-hand boom and scratchbuilt the interior, as well as reworking the speed brakes and their mounts, detail being once again added to up the look of complexity. I hope you like it! Spence

Hi Troy - thanks for the comments. You have added to my knowledge of this aircraft and its details and that will help when I write the article - which will be today. This aircraft certainly is enigmatic, isn't it? It is possible that it was overall dope, but I'm not sure that that can be conclusively determined from that one grainy image. Who knows? It seems to me to be unlikely, when, as had been seen through the interwar years that the RAF had history of having aircraft made of metal and fabric, left unpainted and treated with a layer of aluminium dope. It seems even more unlikely, when, as you point out that there was another aircraft finished in that way. The lack of contrast is a good point, but that could be down to the quality of the image, the exposure and the dusty environment in which this aircraft operated - it's impossible to tell. From a modelling point of view, I chose to replicate T9531 for the very fact that after chatting to my good friend Jonathan Mock - who suggested this one... - I concluded that it was a finish made up from dissimilar materials; it was the contrast that offered the chance to build and paint something eye-catching. Had I considered for a moment that it was overall Aluminium dope, I would have abandoned the project because the resulting model would have looked really bland and I was after something that looked anything but. That said, if I had seen the other image, which I didn't, I would have done that one, as the possibility of that red spinner would have elevated it even further! I guess until someone unearths another clear image of this aircraft, we will not really know exactly how it looked, or what it was finished in and we have to approach it as we see fit. One thing's for sure: it's a talking point! Thanks once again for you comments and helping me further understand some of the finer points of this aircraft's details. Spence

My advice would be to test-fit everything! Brace the panel under the fuselage; ignore the cockpit (just paint everything black - the rest is invisible!), joint the outer wing panels to their respective fuselage halves before joining them together and work slowly! Other than that - drink plenty of coffee, clear your workbench and enjoy the ride: I think! Have fun! Spence

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Thanks guys - once again, I'm pleased that you like it! I've now handed this over so my workshop is clear for the next batch of projects; it was nice to finish 2015 with a big project and one that I actually liked, despite it being an absolute PITA! Like I said though: NEVER again!!! All the best - Spence

Lucky you! The fit on both of the kits that I combined to build this one, was awful. The intakes are of course the worst culprits, but the tail fin left gaps along its base; the tailcone didn't match either the upper or lower fuselage profiles; the bomb bay cover and the front and rear fillets had 1mm gaps all-round and unless the wings are glued to the upper and lower fuselage halves before joining them together, they need repeated filling and sanding to create a smooth shape. It's not fun. In order to create a smooth shape ready for painting, I spent around 20 hours on the airframe filling, sanding and priming, before I even thought about applying the camouflage - I just wasn't happy to paint it until the shape was okay. Even now it's not perfect, but it's okay. The intakes though... Awful. I'm happy with the results, but I'll never attempt another one of these kits - in fact, the redundant donor kit was thrown away... Cheers for the comment! Spence

Unlikely - it's a commission and I haven't really photographed it for publication, only as a step by step on my Facebook page. Sorry! Spence

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Then why comment? Why not just let the guys who are INTERESTED in the possibility of a new Victor have a moment of fun - or are you just trying to make an anonymous name for yourself by winding everyone up? Honestly... Spence - not hiding behind an acronym...

Thanks everyone - I'm glad you like it! Have a great day. Spence

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Thanks a lot everyone - I'm really pleased that you like it! Spence

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Thanks everyone - I'm pleased you like my rendition of this new kit! All the best - Spence

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Morning everyone! Hi Dick - not this year I am afraid as we have a 50th birthday that weekend. They'll be at then Nationals though... Afraid so! You'll see more of these models in the November issue of Model Airplane International... Thanks everyone for the kind words on these two models - I'm so pleased you like them! Have a great day. Spence

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I don't know where to begin with that! Have you see how many magazines are out there all clawing for material? The idea that we are inundated with authors who can do what we want, when we want and the the standards we need, is simply preposterous. And as for editors, maybe if all they did was bring together material and not build models (as some do), that might be the case, but as most of us build models every month - some for more than one title - time is rather tight. But then you'd know that if you actually looked at the magazines instead of simply commenting on them on here! Honestly. Spence

Thanks once again guys - much appreciated! Spence

Hi Everyone - thanks very much for the comments. I'm please that you like it! Sorry - I'm not sure what you mean... The cowlings seem to have caused a little consternation amongst modellers, but I had absolutely no problems with them at all. The only advice I would give is that if you are building an open cowling, to deviate from the instructions and assemble the cowling almost to completion and then snap the engine into place and then glue everything against the engine mounts, that way the fit is almost perfect, as can be seen here. In fact, I used no filler at all at any point during this build - you can't say that about their '109! I stand by my assertions about the kit: detail in the main is very good, fit flawless and the lines and accuracy almost spot-on. So much so, I wouldn't hesitate to build another! All the best - Spence