Ian A

This was a pretty obvious choice when I saw it on ebay, I had a poster of pretty much the same bike on my wall as a callow youth. Built from the box, I am reasonably pleased with the way it turned out, I just had a little bit of trouble with some of the decals cracking up.

Having re-read your piece, I would be grateful if you could point out the locations of excess rust on my model, there is no rust on the face of the armour plate other than streaks running down from some of the rivets, which I am sure would be a natural corrosion point. The armour plate is painted in my take on the 'mid-brown' prescribed by the ministry. As for sources, I did indeed find a number of original photos including some 'colourised' ones which did indeed show signs of streaking.

Thanks, in fact it's a photo that I took from the Long Mynd in Shropshire.

Thanks for the information, you've told me more there than I found in a couple of weeks research on the Internet. I'm interested in the colour reference, I read that there were no reliable original colour references available, simply that the Ministry vaguely referred to the colour as something like mid-brown.

This is my latest project, my first proper attempt at weathering a military vehicle. Feedback welcome for hints and suggestions.

Hi Pappy, there isn't actually any texture on the tank, it feels beautifully smooth. The paint is a Tamiya metallic, I assume that the appearance is down to the flakes being picked up by the camera.

Thanks for the suggestion, I've put a little wash on and it has indeed made a difference. Annoying really, the wheels were one of the few parts of the model which hadn't received at least a little wash.

I bought this on a whim as I like the subject, I had a few moments of worry when I read on the box that the moulds were made in 1964; no problem, the castings were beautiful with almost no flash. It has been a joy to build. Complete except for the two fork top bolts which are currently awol due to carpet monster issues - confident they will turn up eventually (still on a small piece of sprue).

After a few weeks away from the bench, I got back into it with this little treasure. It was a real joy to build and I was able to try out a few new products and methods - Molotow liquid chrome, Bare Metal foil and last and maybe least, home-made snow (I'm still not sure about the effect).

I have thoroughly enjoyed this build, apart from a couple of places where the model didn't quite match the plans - particularly around the front suspension. This was my first attempt at portraying heavy rust/weathering; I would be grateful for any suggestions as to how to improve my technique.

Stunning work!

I was wanting to have a go at some figure work and I saw some pictures posted by Stevej60, I was inspired and decided to give it a try. This is built from the Masterbox 1/35 'Before the Battle'. The box includes the figures and trench, I built the box from artists board and stripwood. The result doesn't meet the standards of Steve's but I'm fairly pleased for a first attempt.

Well, thank goodness I came through that. I haven't built a biplane for over 40 years and I still remember the nightmare of attaching the top wing; 'It can't still be that bad, surely.' I thought... Well it nearly hit the round filing cabinet a number of times, and I'm still unhappy that the top wing is set too far back, however I am happy that I have developed (Plan F) a workable method to affix the top wing, in addition to that I have come across a number of issues, such as : Humbrol Clear gloss acrylic dries like thin porridge, Humbrol Clear matt dries like a ploughed field - probably all down to me but I will approach with care in future. On the plus side I have survived my first attempt at rigging, used a whole pack of 0.02 MIG Rigging as I climbed the learning cliff, but got there in the end. I had my first attempt at simulating wood, thanks to a brilliant tutorial on Youtube by Dave's Model Workshop, I am pretty pleased with my first go. I also have the SE5a in my stash but I feel that it may wait a little while before I can face starting it.

Hi guys, thanks for all of your comments. My figure painting is more a case of obstinate determination than any sort of skill, I take photos on my phone, blow them up and revisit the bad bits - over and over again. As for the ailerons, I had a horrible feeling that I'd got it wrong but it was too late by then. I will certainly take on board your thoughts about staging, lighting, backgrounds and photographing in future. Thanks again

2 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr 1 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr

4 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr 3 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr

7 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr 6 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr 5 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr

9 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr 8 by Ian Armstrong, on Flickr

Well, these are strange times. This is my first attempt at a diorama, albeit a very simple one. It is also my first time putting anything I hve produced out in public, so please be gentle. My wife bought me the Airfix 'Ready for Battle' gift set for xmas, this diorama is pretty much straight out of the box, apart from a couple of little tweaks such as the refueller and the addition of the Tilly. I look forward to learning from your comments, I would also appreciate some thoughts on photographing dioramas - I am not too happy with how these shots turned out.