Tiger331

Barzin, Great Job !. One of my all time favourite aircraft (along with the Jaguar and Mirage F.1) and in a lovely scheme. I have always found the 'Asia Minor' scheme to be one of the most attractive around and the F-4E really sets it off. The inclusion of the BL.755s is also novel too.....I did not realise that we had supplied these. I'm mid way through a IRIAF F-14A in the grey/blue scheme and am very tempted to do a Z-M F-4D in the 'Asia Minor' scheme next !. Well Done, Sir...............faultless !

Great job. I have a great interest in and affiliation with JG5 having lived in Norway for 6 years where I could see the traces of the old Luftwaffe air base at Sola-Stavanger and visit Herdla. Well Done, Sir !

Great Conversion, Great Build Missing items - Landing Lights on main gear doors ? Well Done, Sir !

A great Canberra in a brilliant scheme.........not sure I have seen that one before but I am very tempted !

Nicely done..... Yep.....they are great kits.........I managed to start (and finish) one this year (a monumental feat for me !) and have another on the go right now. I may even get a third started in the next week or so. You don't see too many of the early PF versions though so...Well Done, Sir !

Not normally my "cup of tea" (WIF) but this is BRILLIANT !. Hugely imaginative and not that ridiculous when one thinks of the Blue Angels in Thunderbirds. Very seasonal too. Obviously very well thought out, timing immaculate and wonderfully executed Well Done, Sir !

The DACO correction set is superb and the relevant components fit like a glove with the Hasegawa 'donor' kit. The Hasegawa fuselage is largely retained with new mainplanes, tailplane and a host of other bits and pieces included in the improvement set, together with the most comprehensive weapons/stores set you would need for the F-104. I am not sure the photo really shows off the wings that well but the rivets are very finely rendered. If you have access to the new Kinetic kit you will find that the wing sets are broadly similar since Kinetic were responsible for producing the plastic components in the DACO set.

Absolutely superb build and finish. I do like the early NM finished F-104s. The only issue, of course, which has absolutely nothing to do with your skills as a modeller is the nature of this particular finish highlights the main fault of the original kit which is the over zealous use of rivets by the manufacturer, particularly on the wings and flying control surfaces. I always found it strange since those on the fuselage are, generally speaking, OK. Fortunately DACO have addressed the shortcomings with their excellent correction/detail set for the Hasegawa kit. The rivets in no way detract from the overall finish which is outstanding. Well Done, Sir !

Agree, Zvedza kits are one of the most prolific brands available in my (current) local hobby store and, as my co-respondent states, it does not normally take them long to reproduce other variants. The C-130H/K is my preferred choice too, having spent thousands of hours operating them but I am happy with the -J too and, if push comes to shove, can convert if necessary.

Phil, I'm somewhat hesitant to post this, given that you have done such a marvelous job with the finish on your Ukrainian MiG-25 but I fear Kittyhawk have made a mistake with the decal placement instructions for this particular jet. The Orange and Black commemorative markings are normally associated with Russian aircraft and I very much doubt (especially in the current political climate) that they would have ever featured in the Post Soviet era after Ukraine had achieved its independence. I've seen photos of the Russian MiG-25s with these markings but not a Ukrainian example although the Kitty Hawk DPIs clearly show one. Notwithstanding, you have done a very fine job with this model - I look forward to the day when I start my ICM example although I doubt I will manage to emulate the quality of your model. Well Done, Sir !

You are mad !................but a GREAT concept !!. Well Done, Sir

Russ, Concur with my co-respondents comments above. ANOTHER great job with superb brushwork and perfectly balanced weathering. Well Done, Sir !

Hello again Folks, Your very kind comments inspire me to really get started with finishing off a couple more of my 'Shelf of Doom' projects. Mark

Yes, The VNAF experimented with several camouflage schemes to overcome the problems associated with operating natural metal aircraft over thick green jungles and open plains or at night. Several aircraft received a crudely applied dark green paint which was more like a wash while others had dark green patches applied to the upper surfaces to break up the outline of the aircraft. At least one ('5040' as portrayed) received a slightly more sophisticated scheme of a properly applied Dark Green 'Night Fighter' scheme but even this succumbed to the harsh climatic conditions over time. If you want more inspiration take a look at the Colour Side Profiles in an excellent book called 'MiGs over North Vietnam' by Roger Boniface (Hikoki Publications) but take care with the captioning (almost all of them are wrong in attributing the aircraft sub-type) so cross-referencing with the Osprey book on Vietnamese MiG-21 Units or a similar reference is essential. Eduard include some of the more unique schemes in at least three of their excellent 1:48 family of MiG-21s.

Hi Folks, Thanks for your kind words......This is my first complete build of an aircraft for some time..........I've been a little out of practice of late.