Icelandic Fine Art

Hello to all those concerned, IFA has been inactive for some time and finally I made the decision to close down as the person I was working with at FSM, suffered major trauma in his family. Without his technical assistance I am unable to carry on, however, I will remain active on this forum as it offers valuable guidance and knowledgeable modellers. Kind regards, Alan

The re-release of the FAA Buccaneer with parts also for an RAF version is due for October. This is the newly modified version based on the original design; a new type of polymer (resin) is used in place of the aluminium/resin composite, that is both lighter and stronger and is cast in all white. Both the airframe and wings have been modified, with a host of CAD 3d printed parts, new landing gear and bays, the modeller will have to source their own steel rods to reinforce the landing gear; CAD 3d printed designed cockpit and 2 part canopy. Selection of ordnance. This is a garage kit and as such is only suited to proficient modellers. Alan

A project that was left off the list but now added as in development is: 1/32 AVRO MANCHESTER 1a This is a combination of CAD designed vacform fuselage and wings, resin parts and 3d printed parts. This is as a result of research on using reinforced, prefabricated parts that fit inside the vacform structure, imparting strength and rigidity, it eliminates any problematic alignment and deformity due to the vacform mouldings. All clear parts will be in clear resin, with hardened metal landing gear. ETA 2024 Alan

IFA is 2 years behind in its projects due to unforeseen circumstances but now I am blazing ahead to balance out the equation. So 1/32 projects under development are: 1/32 De Havilland Chipmunk 1/32 Big Jet (classified) 1/32 Big Jet (classified) 1/32 Vickers Armstrong Seafire FR.47 1/32 Spitfire K5054 1/48 Avro Vulcan BMK.1 1/32 Spey Phantom cancelled and scrapped That's enough for the time being, I do have to breathe some air at the same time! There has been an enormous advance in polymer science and materials over the last few years, which now gives an advantage in production methods, so I am always pioneering new technologies to achieve the best results; the new watch word, "Advancement through Science" is the way forward. Alan

Slowly getting there with all the parts, I have to run a complete check on parts fit; with the 3 d printed parts, the modeller will have to Dremel out some internal material as the original parts were slightly under scaled to fit everything in. Modellers' have requested the 3d printed parts over the conventional resin parts. The landing gear is also 3d printed and have inserts for metal rods, which the modeller will have to supply on their own initiative. All the clear casting is complete and requires sanding of the gate blocks to remove the excess resin, the clear transparencies are ultra clear. The only other point is that the use of clearfix is required for the camera lens on the starboard side and there is a small gap under the front canopy where some putty is required to restore the correct profile. Once all the parts are accounted for, the biggest headache is doing the documentation to show how it all goes together but in all honesty, one could put this together without too much effort, I can and I am not even a good modeller. This is a garage kit and not main stream, so is suited to proficient modellers who are looking for something unique. It's unlikely any kit maker, in my life time is going to release these sort of subjects. Alan

So, there is an update with some photos to be posted. Although far from complete, the Jaguar GR3 airframe is now in its final look, all that is left is to add the lumps and bumps and scribe in all the lines. The initial clear casting has been done, however, I will redesign the canopy to better reflect the lines. The clear castings are 1 mm thick in cross section, it's the thinnest that can be done for clear resin. The next stage is the long journey to design all the parts that make up the complete aircraft. Alan

As an update to the Seamew, there has been the inevitable delays due to all sorts of reasons, the masters are mostly complete now, I am not able to upload any photos at the moment but will do in the near future. There are no wingfold options simply because of the extra cost and the sheer bulk of the wing, if you are not familiar with the Seamew, it is a fairly bulky aircraft with thick wings. I am currently working on the clear transparency. Whilst no decals are included, I am looking at some other options. Alan

It makes sense to do a 1/48 version as it's also my preferred scale and a great helicopter. Alan

Hello All, Things are moving a bit slow at the moment, thanks to Ben and Colin for their interest and I will supply details when the kits become available. Please note that there are no decals supplied, however, a decal manufacturer in the future may offer a set for sale. The actual cost of each kit is £125, which includes postage within the UK. I will release more details as they become available. For those who have difficulty in reaching me on britmodeller, send me an email to [email protected] Alan

Frankson, There has not been much uptake in numbers, so I won't proceed until next summer. Alan

Update on the 1/48 HP Victor; I have transferred the project to British Jets in Iceland, who will now take over development. BJ makes mainly 1/32 aircraft, I will no longer have anything to do with the project. Alan

I don't know what weapons fit was used on Tornadoes, I know they carried cluster dusters as we called them, on Granby, one of our convoys was bombed by a Tornado, as we tried to RV with it. I do recall seeing laser guided bombs loaded on them and they would fly with the odd Buccaneer, they would fly quite low over our section as we crossed the wadis, we were quite use to seeing this on a daily basis. I will admit, I never liked seeing any of our equipment, especially aircraft, painted in desert cam. One of the problems with the desert colour system was that some of the paints had different infra-red wavelengths and that caused a lot of problems, especially with US forces who couldn't always tell the difference and would bomb a lot of our positions, when using their infra-red systems and thermal imaging. Operational policy stated that units were to request clearance before executing any strikes on unidentified positions but there was often a breakdown in communication. Give me a list of ordnance carried and I will look into it Alan

I have a great deal of info on all the V-Bombers here, especially technical data so if you need anything, just ask.....and along that vein, did you get any further with the 1/48th Victor? Gentlemen, thanks for your kind words. I have done all the calculations for the Victor and started work on both the fuselage and wings but I won't start properly until 2022, as I have a lot of things to do for the time being. I think this may be the next big project as there seems to be a good demand but it is by no means a walk in the park, I will have to dust off my old mathematics textbook to start grappling with the complex geometry. Alan

Adam, From what I have worked out, it's going to be a huge task to design a good representation of a B.MK 1, which I am certain I can achieve; there are so many variations that one is entering into a minefield. I will base the IFA B.MK 1 on XA893 and according to the Avro documentation, it retained the straight leading edge and reduced trailing edge sweep angle. The surface detail was entirely different and even the vertical stabiliser looks like it was different. I have located part of the vertical stabiliser from an early type Vulcan, I will measure the cross section to determine its relevant dimensions. Ideally, it would make sense to go with 1/72 scale and since the Airfix Vulcan is the prime choice, I don't want to end up in a legal wrangle with Airfix, so I will go with 1/48 scale. From what I have left over from the B.2 project, most of the moulds disintegrated, along with the masters, I will use to form the basis of the B.MK1 project. There is a lot of work ahead; if and when I complete the project by next year (it's technically complex at this scale), I will appoint you to carry out a build, I don't know where you will put it, once complete, you might run out of space! Alan

Request any information on the intake boundary layer bleed duct, used on the Vulcan B.MK.1. It was situated on the inner air intake, adjacent to the fuselage. Alan

WV908, What extra ordnance are you referring to? Presumably, some of the ordnance on the Phantom would be interchangeable with the Buccaneer? I have made some mods to the airframe and was working on a new cockpit but the global crisis shutdown the supply line and since I rely on special materials from abroad, there is still a long delay before things get back to normal. Alan

Gentlemen, As soon as I can get some photos, they will be uploaded. 1/20 scale is a common racing scale, used by many. I can get these cars to the UK at no extra cost. As for a more extensive range, I haven't gone that far, just yet. Thanks for viewing. Alan

This is an all resin kit of the famous record breaking car. The actual model measures about 17.5 inches long and 5 inches wide. There is a simple parts count with full cockpit, upper and lower body sections. At present, there are no decals, however, in the future, I will be looking at having some decals done. The cost of the kit, including postage, is £85. Those interested modellers', should register their interest here and/or send an email to [email protected] Photos will be posted as soon as they become available. Alan

Hello Joop, Likewise it's good to be back and yes, the A330 is making slow progress, the fuselage and wings are taking shape but it's so huge, I have to use a lot of materials and things are still in short supply. My computer systems failed, so I lost all my data, I can still work without them, things will just take a bit longer. Alan

As soon as I am able to upload photos, I will, it will take some time

This is a large kit of the Buccaneer and is garage made; this is only for experienced modellers'. There are no decals supplied but separate decal sheets can be purchased from kitsworld. All parts are supplied for a basic kit. Modellers' who want to purchase this kit, should register their interest here or send an email to : [email protected] Alan