[Falklands Harrier Gr.3. 1/72 Airfix.]

Hey, I just used whatever rocket pods came with the kit. So blame Airfix for that one! 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Falklands Harrier Gr.3. 1/72 Airfix.]

Yes it is pretty small. That’s why it goes together so quickly! This build took less than 49 hours.

[Falklands Harrier Gr.3. 1/72 Airfix.]

On the kick, and I had this in my stash. Totally OOB. No Skyflash this time 😝

[Falklands Phantom FGR.2 1/72 Airfix]

Onward. 

[Falklands Phantom FGR.2 1/72 Airfix]

7 hours ago, Selwyn said:

 

 

Drill Skyflash as seen in this picture, were painted Gloss LAG  and regularly cleaned, as obviously opposed to the  Phantom in the picture! If you compare the missile colour to the Drill  sidewinders which are white, and  the grey  "Top" drop tank  which is obviously a clean replacement  explains why they stand out in this picture.  Real skyflash were Matt LAG by the way, but in my many years personal experience  of maintaining and instructing on skyflash missiles  I can assure you that they were never ever painted white.

 

Selwyn

(Sorry abut the double picture post , Finger trouble!)

Good for you! Paint it whatever color your heart desires on your next build 👍🏼

[Falklands Phantom FGR.2 1/72 Airfix]

6 hours ago, Selwyn said:

Airframe wise they are very similar I agree, but the clincher is the fact Skyflash missiles were  overall Light aircraft Grey in colour and Sparrows were white so I would suggest the difference stands out a lot!

 

Selwyn

Well seeing as how the belly is LAG, those look a lot lighter to me. I’m fine with my choice of color. 

[Falklands Phantom FGR.2 1/72 Airfix]

1 hour ago, Farmerboy said:

Building as we speak, as usual with these new airfix kits finding that test fitting is critical, top spine and intake covers need a bit of work to get a decent fit,did you have same problems? or is it just me. Great model you have done, hoping my efforts get to look half as good as yours, good job.

Nope, no issues with the tops of the intakes. Just glued together and sanded flush!

[Falklands Phantom FGR.2 1/72 Airfix]

5 hours ago, Selwyn said:

Really nice build,  I think you have done a great job  on this,  particularly like the mettallic's  and  staining on the tail.

One criticism,  Falklands  Phantoms flew  with Skyflash missiles,  Sparrows were not used in the Falklands.  (I think by 1982 the Sparrow was out of RAF service anyway)

 

Selwyn

In 1/72, they’re near as makes no difference. Ref pics show Skyflash/Sparrow loaded on the jets. 👍🏼

[Falklands Phantom FGR.2 1/72 Airfix]

Airfix’s latest Phantom release. I used the Xtradecal sheet to make Faith, which had the gray tail, instead of white. Standard fare, OOB except for the AIM-9s, since the kit didn’t come with AIM-9L, only AIM-9J. So I raided my spares. The only issue was the closed canopy. I had made some custom ejection loops, and they would not allow the canopy to sit. So off they came and it still didn’t sit right. So it has those big ugly gaps on the left and shims on the right. Other than that, lovely kit. I’m still developing my scoring system, and this is a relelease anyway, so no scores on this one. 

[F-22 Hasegawa 1:48]

The sheen only shows up in oblique lighting. The rest of the time, it’s flat like any other fighter. Same with the F-35. However, you managed to catch the sheen quite well. 👍🏼

[Mitchell in Burma! 1/72 Airfix B-25C Mitchell Mk.II]

I’ve got the new release on the way, so stay tuned!

[What a piece of junk!! 1/72 Bandai Perfect Grade Millennium Falcon]

I think the DA Falcon has a bit more detail, but as far as fit and speed of build, it’s Bandai all the way. 

[ICM 1:48 P-51A Mustang]

Those ash and mud stains 😳😳

Dirty!!!

[Lion’s last roar. 1/48 Tamiya F-14D Tomcat VF-213]

1 hour ago, M_Sinclair said:

She looks great! I'm surprised you are able to sweep the wings and not damage the paint.

 

-matt

Enamels. Rock solid. 😉

1 hour ago, Daniel said:

Now that looks really good. You find the build easy?

 

Dan

It’s almost too easy. The fit is phenomenal. 

[Lion’s last roar. 1/48 Tamiya F-14D Tomcat VF-213]

And yes, I did notice that the rear weapons pallets are on backwards. Only I realized it waaaay too late to change it 😝

[Lion’s last roar. 1/48 Tamiya F-14D Tomcat VF-213]

From the last cruise. A Tomcat sunset. KA Models cockpit, pitot and wheels. Fightertown Decals. TMM and Tamiya enamels all around. 

[Hunt or be hunted. 1/48 Airfix Hunter F.6 247 Sqn]

15 hours ago, Cloudman1961 said:

Lovely piece of work. 

 

I’m about to start work on a Revell 1/72 hunter. I’d be interested to know what colours you used on the inside of the air intakes?

None. Whatsoever. Left them bare. You don’t see in there at all. In fact, unless the lip has a distinct color demarcation, like an F-16, I don’t paint inside any of my intakes. To me, it’s a waste of time.

[Hunt or be hunted. 1/48 Airfix Hunter F.6 247 Sqn]

On 2/16/2019 at 9:48 AM, Lord Riot said:

Love this, these Airfix Hunters are looking superb! Think I might have to save up. And for 56 sqn decals. So many options!

 

I like the weathering on this too, nice stains and darker lines, what did you use?

Tamiya weathering sets and The Detailer wash.

[A Very Special Dakota,..... British Airborne Forces Dak during its early service with RAF Coastal Command,.....1/72nd Airfix kit.]

Such a pretty, pretty Dak!

[Hunt or be hunted. 1/48 Airfix Hunter F.6 247 Sqn]

Many times when I build a subject I gain a new respect for its shape. And I thought I couldn’t appreciate the beautiful lines of the Hunter. But wow, this is just such a gorgeous jet! Definitely one of the best of all time. Anyway, I’m coming up with a new rating system for kits. It’ll be based on Doug Demuro’s “Doug Score”, if any of you are YouTube car guys. But it’s a dual block, five category system, of 100 points. Sounds complicated, I know. I’ll elaborate more later since I’ve nailed down all the categories 😆

but general impressions are the usual for new Airfix kits, very good fit, some good detail, but could use a bit more. Not that it matters much in the cockpit, as it’s black anyway, so you done much past the seat top. No major fit issues.

[Marky Mark Two. 1/48 Tamiya Spitfire Mk.II]

Added a resign prop and a Coffman starter bulge from the spares box. Extradecals. This is my second new Spit kit build. Love it!

Dunno what was up with my camera this time, but when I processed the images originally, they looked terrible. So sorry for the crappy background, but I wanted to the colors to be more true. 

[Hawker Hurricane Mk.I 1/72 Arma Hobby]

Never head of Arma kits. The SBS decals are nice though. 

[Visual differences of Spitfire Mk. 1 vs Mk. II]

On 12/16/2018 at 10:26 AM, DominikS said:

I meant that panel. I read that some Mk. IIs had such divided upper cowling, yet I have never seen it. 

I’m currently converting Tamiya’s new kit to a Mk.II and also have not seen this panel line on any of my references. 

[Blennie from the block. 1/48 Airfix Blenheim Mk.I]

Now before some of you comment that this is or isn’t a a Finnish built Blenheim, I couldn’t confirm or deny it in my research. So it is, a Mk.I from the initial batch, as seen in 1942 as far as I can tell. If not, I don’t care. I wanted something different with this new release. 

The kit is very nice, not quite as crisp as other recent releases, but pretty close. No issues encountered. 

[Meana Catalina! 1/72 RoG PBY-5A Catalina, Aleutians]

On 1/10/2019 at 3:55 PM, FAAMAN said:

Great cat, lovely finish

In general fabric areas should be lighter with top sides far lighter still due to sun light.

Being an Aleutian Cat, there wasn’t the same fading as you’d see on a tropical Cat. My refs showed a lot less wear on Alaskan PBYs. Having spent the last three months there, I can see why. The sun isn’t out much in the winter.