Piero

Hello, just some pictures of my Mirage F1CT that I finished a week ago. Based on the Italeri's Mirage F1CT/CR kit, plus many details and parts from resin/metal set and from scratch. Finished with Gunze's acrilycs and decals from Carpena and kit sheet. Hope you like it! CIAO! Piero

Hello, I'm trying to going on with one of my jet models started early this year. It's an F-16CG block-40 based on the CJ block-50 Tamiya's kit. It'll has full LANTIRN pods fitted and a palyload of Maverick and LGB, plus the usuall fit of AIM's missiles, fuel tanks and ECM pod. Paints are from Gunze's acrylic range. Markings of the 74th squadron are from Twobobs "Big Mouth" decal sheet designed for the Hasegawa kit. The "problem" fitting this decals to the Tamiya kit is the blue-band on the top of the vertical fin... the band is too short. So I needed to extend it using "spare band" from one of the other subjects on the sheet. Stencils come from Afterburner decal sheet designed for the Tamiya kit. Scab plates are from Orion's vinyl sheet... just perfect for me. CIAO! Piero

Hello, not only aircraft models from me. This one I had build almost 8 years ago. A graphic designer friend of mine did the great photoshop work. I had build also the the green Zaku (MS-06?) from the same range and I'll try to take some pics also of this model in the next days. CIAO! Piero

Hello my friends, thank you very much for all your compliments! This evening I repositioned the front undercarriage "geometry", that was wrong. Thanks to an ARC's fellow that notice the error, I manage to fix it. Here the result, look much better than before. I'll try to take some other pictures, better than these, in the next weekend. CIAO! Piero P.S.: Actually I'm try to finish an F-16C block 40, USAF "Flying Tigers". CIAO!

Hello, this is my last finished model. I hope you like it. CIAO! Piero

here we go again... decals are on and playload too. Some "RAF style" RBF were added. Now its time to finish the canopy and some minor parts. CIAO! Piero

Hello, here's again with a little update. Weathering was done, playload too... now its time to put some decals on. CIAO! Piero

Hi Kirk, thank you my friend! Actually my Harrier Projects are stopped... the "big one"... the Airfix Harrier GR.3 in 1/24th scale is waiting for space!!! I have filled all the rivets on half fuselage, but that's all. We'll see when I'll finish the Jaguar... CIAO! Piero

Hello, trying to restart one of my jet models stopped before the summertime. Its the Airfix kit with some resin and etched stuff plus some other scratchbuild. It will be finished with RAF 54° squadron markings. At this time I'm little bit disappointed with Model Alliance decal sheets for the Jaguar, because I'll need to use two different sheets. The RAF Jaguar part.1 sheet has good colours (blu&yellow) for 54° squadron squadron markings but has totally out-of-register stencils colours (no white and poor definition of letters). Those stencils are well printed on one of their commemorative decal sheet, but on the same sheet the 54° squadrom markings has violet&orange colorus... I'll post some new in progress in the next few days, as playload that is already painted. CIAO! Piero

Hi, I try to give you an overall view about the LERX fitted to the RAF Harrier GR.7s you want to build in 1/48th scale: Both "Michelle" and "Lucy" were and are still fitted with 75% LERX. If you want a "TELIC" machines with sharkmouth, you can choose between: "37" with 75% LERX "69" with 100% LERX "91" with 100% LERX So, with the Hasegawa/Revell Harrier GR.7 you can make "Michelle" or "Lucy" or "37" using only parts inclueded in the box. If you want to do "69" or "91" you have to buy an aftermaket 100% LERX or swap this part from an AV-8B+/NA Hasegawa boxes. CIAO! Piero

Just a correction note on the colours diagram. The lighter grey (36320) pattern under the belly is not correct, in fact it should came up after the front cold jet nozzle fairing, joining the colour under the wing and than came down at the finish of the wing. CIAO! Piero

Hi Gary, ... "famous Piero"... too much for me my friend! Yes, the japanse converison cam from "North Wing Model Craft". As maybe you already knows, this converison set is designed to be used with the old Tamiya Harrier/Sea Harrier kit. The resin details of this conversion set are very good, especially when you compare with Heritage set. Panel lines are correct, sharp and clean. I decided to use the tail section from Heritage because look better in the general shape and size, compared to the same piece from the japanese company has a strange "coke bottle neck" effect in the middle. I didn't found any picture of line drawing that prove that. I'll put the vertical tail from the japanese company because is very well shaped and with fill details. Also, I used resin jet intakes from Pavla, so is very strange that this mixture of different resin set designed for different kits just has a very good fit to a kit not designed for...! As refernces I used pictures from various sources and 3-views drawing from old model magazine and form FAOW Harrier book. I hope this can help you and I'll post other pictures in the next days. CIAO! Piero

Hi Kirk, the T4 will be one of the follwing birds: - T.4 of 3(F) Squadron, XZ145, with Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey/Light Aircraft Grey camouflage. - T.4 of 4(AC) Squadron, XW272, with Dark Green/Dark Sea Grey/Light Aircraft Grey camouflage. It will be part of a "dispersal site" diorama on grass and PSP, with ground crews loading MATRA rocket pods. I'll post some pictures of the progress in the next fews days. CIAO! Piero

Hi Mike, yes, I'm Piero De Santis whose models featured in the Osprey book on the Harrier. The RAF Harrier T.4A model is based on the old AV-8A/GR.1 Monogram kit, plus nose section and vertical tail from a japanese aftermarket conversion set. The extended tail section came from the Heritage conversion set. Some others details came from various sources including from scratch. It will be part of a "dispersal site" diorama. Going to the Harrier II theme, yes I "correct" the kinked wing on my Hasegawa's Harriers... three at the moment. The job is not so "time consuming" or difficult form a technoical point of view. CIAO! Piero

Hello, here pictures of my "in progress" jets all in 1/48th scale. RAF Harrier T.4 RAF Jaguar GR.3A USMC AV-8B NA MMI AV-8B Plus AJ-37 Viggen USAF F-16CG CIAO! Piero