Tiger331

Coming on nicely.........hope to post some more photos shortly.

Day 2 - Taking advantage of a wet day here in Tallinn to make some progress on the AML-60. I have learnt quick quickly that I cannot deviate too far from the assembly sequence and certainly not as much as I do with my aircraft builds. Having said that, I have made one or two deviations based on some challenges with the Takom instructions. They would have you cement the rear springs (Parts E28 & E27) at Stages 3 and 7 respectively but the rear axles are not cemented in place until Stage 8 which would make it difficult to align the springs. I found it better to cement the axle assemblies (from Stage 8 (A-D)) first and then cement the springs in place afterwards. It looks fiddly but the springs can actually be put in place quite easily and at least have both 'reference points' for affixing in place. I have also left the front axle assembly (G9/38/39) off until later in the build since it is quite fragile and liable to break if cemented at Stage 4/5, as suggested. I'm not sure if I am going to use the Blast Models hull doors yet but since I may leave at least one ajar, I thought it best to do a basic box in of the main cabin. I am not doing anything fancy since I will not leave the doors wide open. Boxed in floor and bulkhead. just to prevent any 'daylight' if I decide to leave one of the Blast Models aftermarket doors (which have nice interior detail) ajar. The aforementioned springs in place. More to follow in due course

Hi folks, Buoyed by my success on the 'dark side' with a recent Hungarian T-72M project (see Ready for Inspection), I have now started work on a Takom AML-60 light armoured car. I have acquired (thanks, Julien !) some Blast Models aftermarket with which to correct or embellish the basic kit. As I mentioned in my previous thread, I am new to the world of AFVs/Armour having not dabbled for 35+ years. During the intervening period, my main interest has been in Post-War aircraft but I have decided to diversify and try out some armour projects - again, I will be focusing on Post-War 'colonial war' type subjects and the Balkans. I have yet to decide on the finish for this AML-60 but its likely to be one of the Spanish Sahara subjects from the box. Anyway, I've made a start and already found the fit to be subliminal so I am looking forward to a quick build to maintain my new found enthusiasm for the genre. The raw materials The Blast Models sets including the all-important correctly sized wheels I'm not sure what I will do with the 5 x kit tyres.......probably keep them to build a Middle East style barricade for some future diorama project. My modest start from earlier this morning...........More to follow in due course. Mark

Totally Agree with the assertion to be careful about deviating from the sequence but some of it makes no real sense and has little bearing on the overall assembly.......................wing tanks at Stage 3 (?) and interspersing the wing assembly with small cockpit assemblies/components......it is almost as if they arranged it so that they could fit a standard number of stages on each page, regardless of any logical sequencing of overall assembly !.

I finally got around to opening up my Bobcat Il-28 Beagle this week (its been sitting here for a couple of weeks but I have only now got the time to study it properly). The plastic looks nice but a quick scan of the kit instructions had me puzzled.....talk about bizarre. Stage 1&2 start off in the 'traditional' way with cockpit details (Bomb Aiming equipment and pilots seat) before you make a start on the wing tip tanks (?!) and undercarriage bays......then its time to start putting together the external weapons before returning to more internal detail.....Engines and nacelles are next, interspersed with more internal components. Stage 31 starts the main wing assembly process, interspersed (you guessed it) with more of the internal detail at 33-35 before returning to the wings !. Yes, the fuselage finally comes together towards the end and there are reasonable references as to where all of the internal component parts (that have been assembled along the way) fit. Maybe its just a very advanced and new way of delivering assembly instructions that would have you building internal cockpit and crew compartment components while you let the undercarriage bays and wings dry......Yes, that must be it !. Nevertheless, I think I will return to the more traditional form of assembly and try to navigate my way through all of the internal detail before attempting the wing/nacelle/undercarriage structures. You have been warned !. (Still looks good though).

Since you like Antonovs.........a couple more the An-2 Colts shot at Amari AB in recent months.

Glad you liked them.......I'm not good with estimating attendance numbers but it was pretty busy. It is the height of the holiday season here in the Baltics and the weather was generally very good. Two weeks ago, it was estimated that some 30,000 people attended the Estonian 100th Anniversary event and this one in Lithuania was much busier (and larger). Interesting thing with both shows was the total lack of traffic jams either before or after the event. As former Soviet Air Bases, access to the sites is not easy so people either walked (what ?....walked !) or took one of the shuttle buses. At Siauliai they had specified four car parking areas within the city limits (all free) and then people either used Shanks' pony or took the free shuttle buses. I had arrived early so was able to get to the car park nearest the entrance to the show. The event officially ended at around 4.30 with the public asked to clear the site by 5.15. I hung around a bit longer to take some last shots without a crowd and to avoid any traffic queues. I left the car park at exactly 6.00pm and there were no jams on any of the access roads out of the base area or the city. There were still a lot of people walking 3-4km or more to collect their cars at this time. It was the same at Amari AB here in Estonia two weeks ago. I cannot see it catching on in the UK though........far too many people now overly reliant on their car.

OK......had a bit of a glitch with the first lot and thought I had lost 2 hours of work !..........so here is the second batch Starting off with the rest of the Belgian F-16 (I hope) Really nice touch from 'Vader' on his return......he made several stops along the taxiway and 'popped the hood' to wave to the spectators.....Another great display. All of the fast jets did at least 20 minutes each (if not more) and I lost count of the number of flares used....The only exception was the Ukrainian Su-27...speaking of which. One of the highlights of the show........both in the static display and towards the end of the Air Display sequence The honour of closing out the Air Display part of the show was given to the 'resident' unit - The Spanish Air Force are currently providing NATO's Baltic Air Policing detachment at Siauliai AB and their pilot provided a superb demonstration of the F/A-18s capabilities in a display that went on for 22+ minutes and used at least 30 flares. Now some from the static park Ukrainian support aircraft - An-26 A visit from the neighbours..........Latvian Air Force Antonov An-2 Colt.....and Mil Mi-17 1V Hip I may add some more once I have caught up on my sleep ! Hope you like them

This weekend I made the 1000km round trip to attend the Lithuanian Air Force 100th Anniversary Air Show, which took place at Siauliai (pronounced Showe-Lay) Air Base in the Northern part of the country. The original weather forecast for the day was not optimal but the threatening thunderstorms stayed away and we were treated to a great day with some excellent aerial displays and some unique exhibits. I found some of the photography a challenge (and I am out woefully of practice) so some of the results did not go as well as I had hoped. Still, I hope you enjoy the images I include here which should give a flavour of the event. The ANBO II was a Lithuanian built monoplane from 1927 designed to train army aviation pilots. Only one was ever built and it crashed in 1934. Three years ago a team of local enthusiasts build a flying replica from the original plans. The only change was the powerplant. The original Walther engine could not be sourced so a Russian design with similar parameters was used. One of the owners/restorers provided a great little display to provide context to the historical nature of the Event. The ANBO II does not appear to have a braking mechanism so start up is a challenge !. This splendid chap (one of the owners/restorers, I believe) poses in period 1920-30s style Lithuanian Air Force Service Dress. The show actually opened with a flypast of four of the five types used by the current day Lithuanian Air Force, including the AS.365, Mil-17, LET 410 Turbolet and C-27J Spartan Before the AS.365 returned to give a spirited SAR demonstration International participation started with the excellent Finnish Hawk solo demonstration Followed by a Czech Mil-24 Hind The Glamour of the Aerobatic Formation Teams was provided by the Italian Frecce which gave a rousing demonstration against the backdrop of Pavarotti and the Italian National Anthem....one of my personal favourites. Unfortunately 'Pony 10' had to retire early in the display with a technical problem so the team had to adjust the show for nine aircraft. These photos clearly demonstrate the ever changing lighting conditions. Another popular demonstration from the Royal Danish Air Force F-16....having flown at the Amari AB Show during the Estonian Air Force 100th Anniversary show two weeks earlier. Another Mil-24 Hind....this time from Poland. I have never seen a Polish one before so it was a highlight for me. The Czech Air Force brought a pair of Aero L59s which provided a nice duo display The ever popular Belgian Air Force F-16 'Dark Falcon' display lived up to expectations. More to follow shortly.

Great photos, Keith !. Brought back some real memories since I was there for 10 days recovering the Buccaneers that were also at RF 84-2. Those ECM pods (when boxed) were a real nuisance to load on the C-130. I was posted to Coltishall shortly after RF 84-2 and went back for the full four month detachment as 85-2. It was scheduled to be the Jags last Red Flag.....IIRC the order was 41, 31 and 54 Sqn, which had the distinction of being the last Squadron to do the old style Red Flag and they were the first unit to drop LGBs on the Nellis Range. Yep........those were the days. Flew to Nellis on Boxing Day 1984 and finally got home to Colt in April

I'm surprised no-one else has picked this up.....I did when it was first posted but forgot to comment. The undercarriage shot in the advert does not look much like a F-104 main gear !.......more like the Mirage F.1, which Kinetic have promised for next year (I think ?......maybe even this year).

Well, I've now made the presentation but beforehand I did manage to heed your advice and do some minor rework on the base and the groundwork. I must say it did look much better as a result. Thanks for the tip............which will be applied more effectively in my next build

I think you will find the reason for this is that the DACO sets were moulded by Kinetic !. I am in the process of building two Hasegawa kits using the DACO sets and those mainplane sections, tailplane and drop tanks in the photos are identical in structure, breakdown and detail to the parts included in the DACO set. The computer bay is obviously a simplified variant of the 'original' multi-part DACO offering and the number of airframe/weapons options is way fewer but with the Kinetic kit you are, to all intents and purposes, buying a DACO correction set with a new fuselage, undercarriage and cockpit !. It will not stop me buying a few since I love Starfighters and Kinetic do GREAT decal options/sheets.

Maybe North Star Models or Metallic Details will oblige us..........they make some brilliant aftermarket sets for both 'popular' and more esoteric subjects so lets see...........I do think the IL-28 is a vastly more interesting subject to most than the Yak-28...Dont get me wrong......I have a couple of Brewers/Firebars in the stash but given its widespread use and wider employment in an interesting array of Post-War regional conflicts, the Beagle is likely to be a great sales success for Bobcat....I hope so since it looks very nice.

The Estonian Air Force celebrates it centenary in 2019 having initially received a trio of Sopwith Ships Camels from the Royal Air Force towards the end of the War of Independence in late 1919. To commemorate this significant milestone, the modern day Estonian Air Force organised a small Air Show at Amari AB earlier today, which attracted a number of interesting exhibits. Hope you enjoy some of the images from the show. One of the Estonian Air Force Robinson R44 liaison helicopters proudly displaying the National Flag during the show. The Robinson R44 played a major part in the short flying display. A duo opened the show with a spirited formation display which included '64'. Estonian Air Force L-39C Albatross. It was somewhat of a surprise to note that a special '100' scheme had not been applied to one of the L-39 this year. In previous years Estonian L-39s have sported special markings to commemorate particular anniversaries. The aircraft looked very smart, nonetheless, in this smart new overall grey scheme. The venerable Antonov AN-2 Colt which has soldiered on for many years but will shortly be replaced..... .......with a pair of EC-145s donated by the USAF through FMS. The first of the two aircraft to be delivered was on display but,in contrast to the An-2, was rather scruffy and well worn from its service in Afghanistan. I have little doubt the Estonian Air Force will give it a smart new scheme during its first overhaul. For now, markings are limited to the Triangle insignia on the lower wing surfaces, small fin flashes and the black serial number on the fuselage sides. The Estonian Police and Border Guard operate a trio of Agusta-Westland (Leonardo) AW-139s including ES-PWC which displayed it Search and Rescue capabilities at Amari AB. These helicopters are common sights around Estonia as they fulfill a multitude of tasks especially around the remote regions and islands. An Estonian Police and Border Guard Beecj King Air 300, which recently replaced the Turbolet L-410 that had been in service for many years. One of my favourites from today......Latvia, Estonia's nearest southern neighbour sent this rather smart Antonov An-2. The third of the Baltic States sent two aircraft for the static show including this Aerospatial AS-365 optimised for Search and Rescue missions over Lithuania. Lithuania's LET Turbolet L-410s are not so uncommon having been spotted at RIAT several times but they still look very smart in the bright Baltic sunshine. Estonia's Northern neighbour sent two aircraft to the event including a BAe Hawk which gave an excellent solo air demonstration. I had no idea that the Finnish Air Force are planning to operate these trainers until 2035 !. I'm not quite sure how the Royal Danish Air Force F-16 display went down with the crowd !. Estonia and Denmark have had an 'interesting' history with the national flag of Denmark flying (and dropping) over Estonia in the past but this was the best demonstration of the show. I am normally quite bored with F-16 role demonstrations but this one was very good and the crowd did appreciate it, giving the pilot a standing ovation as he exited the aircraft. Love the scheme......I expect it will go down well with the crowds at RIAT this year. The UK has capitalized on its special relationship with Estonia, through NATO connections in 2019. The RAF is currently fulfilling the Baltic Enhanced Air Policing mission at Amari AB right now and took the opportunity to conduct a training mission during the day. Sadly the RAF solo Typhoon demonstration was unavailable due to commitments in the UK (Yeovilton and RIAT work up). Following the successful deployment of Agusta-Westland Wildcats to Estonia last year, the Army Air Corps has deployed four WAH-64D Apaches for an extended period in 2019. One aircraft appeared in the static display while a second did a number of flybys to demonstrate some of the capabilities of this impressive attack helicopter. Last but not least - The Wildcat has become quite a favourite with the Estonian population. This is the second year the aircraft type has been deployed and the unit have taken advantage of every opportunity to show off the aircraft in several public static displays up and down the country. Hope you enjoy these shots. A nice little show, very well organised (no traffic queues) and totally relaxed. A great day out