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This the one Airfix should have done! I'll definitely buy one, all you guys who didn't do the wing-fold version of the Airfix AS Mk.1 get the spare parts out of your spares box and get them on Ebay you'll sell them toot sweet.

Hi All, looking for some advice on the way RAF Bomber Command AIrfield buildings were painted in 1942. My wife and I are in the process of creating a large airfield model of RAF Ingham as it was in 1942 when recently opened and operating Wellington bombers. We are also involved in the RAF Ingham Heritage Group that is currently renovationg some of the actaul airfield buildings. Does anyone know, were the buildings camouflaged and if so what were the colours and patterns? Thanks in advance. Ian

I am currently building an old vacfoirm kit of a Polish P.W.S 10 monoplane that has various thicknesses of wing support struts (al la Lysander/Auster). Does anyone know where I can buy some aerofoil shaped support strut strips from please? thanks Ian

I’ve just taken delivery of this kit. After having a good look at it in the box, it looks nice and crisply moulded with not a hint of flash. Also in the box are the parts for the military version gun rings and MG’s etc. I’ve perhaps jumped the gun a bit but with no idea of the military version release date, a bird in the hand is better than none. Thanks Special Hobby for a strong sturdy box that survived Evri’s efforts to crush it.

Great model and very interesting subject. I am currently working my way through building a set of models delineating the history of the PAF. I have this kit to build and have only really found one painted white all over so far. This looks a far more interesting colour scheme. Would you have any of your original reference pictures that you would be willing to post up please?

Really nice model, very neat work.

Beany, I built this model as an AD-5W a few years ago. I used the blue Tamiya clear to tint the canopies over the "Blue Room", it worked a treat. Cheers Ian

303, Thanks for those references. I actually travelled to Krakow in June 2019 and went to the Aviation Museum to specifically see the PZL-11C to take some close up colour photos as I am in the process of building models depicting the history of the Polish Air Fore 1918 - 1945. Unfortunately many of the exhibits were not available to view as the hangars were being refurbished. However, by sneaking around the back of a workshop I discovered the aircraft I had travelled to see, with their cockpits wrapped in clingfilm. The PZL-11C was indeed very "brown" looking. For the subsequent two models of the 11C I built I used the Hataka Orange set with the PZL-11C on the front. Great paints to use with a lovely smooth finish (but you must use the Orange Hataka thinners. A point here, does anyone know then if the Khaki Drab that the Museum's PWS-26 is painted in, the more accurate contemporary colour? The picture below is not mine it is off the interweb. https://village.photos/images/user/f37080fe-643d-4457-a113-a2aa9335a7a1/31c3076a-70b7-4303-baae-729d39562c36.jpg Cheers Ian

What an absolutely brilliant build Dave. I currently have 8 Wimpeys to build for a charity, The RAF Ingham Heritage Centre, which commemorates Polish Aircrew of 300 and 305 Sqns that flew from here. I'll certainly be using your pictures as a reference. Can I ask what paints you used for the project and would you still have the 300 Sqn markings that came with the kit? I would pay for them and postage should you be happy to sell them. Regards Ian

Any further progress?

I've just been going through the attic and found a stash box I had forgotten about with some very old Nichimo 1/48 kits of a Helldiver and Avenger, which appear to be repops of the ols Monogram kits. they are rubbish so I'm using them as paint mules. In the bottom of the large box was an Accurate Miniatures 1/48 SB2C-4 Helldiver Submarine Hunter version, the box is a little squashed but all is okay inside along with two sets of resin wheels. I already have the C-1 version of this model in my display cabinet and it was an awesome build. I will not build this kit I found mainly due to lack of display case space availability. So I thought about selling it on Ebay. The problem is there isn't one on Ebay and I have no idea what it is worth! So I have no idea how much to sell it for or if I auction it what my reserve should be. Even King Kit hasn't got one in stock. So I can't find anything regarding what it's value is. Can anyone give me any clue please what I should be asking for it as a Buy It Now or an Auction starting price or if it isn't worth enough to bother. I haven't sold anything on Ebay for years so have no idea. Sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this Mods. Cheers Ian

Thanks for the nice comments guys, much appreciated. The prop was sprayed with Tamiya Buff then using a large bristled brush streaked with Tamiya Red/Brown to give a grain effect then gloss varnished.

Good Morning, As my fourth Covid 19 build I decided to add another model to my Josef Frantisek Collection in 1/72. Frantisek was one of the Battle of Britain heroes of 303 Polish Sqn, but few people actually know he was a Czech, he fled his home country when it was invaded by the Nazis in September 1938. He started his career with the Czech AF flying the Letov S-328 Reconnaissance/Bomber with the 5th Flight of the 2nd Air Regiment at Olomouc from August 1936 until February 1938. From here he was posted onto a fighter Sqn flying Avia B-534's I have two Eduard versions of that aircraft ready to go in the stash). The kit was an early 1970's Soviet KP example. Very basic and covered in flash, but I think for a Tenner off Evilbay it was worth it. It actually went together reasonably well with a lot of extra detailing going into the cockpit and Gunner's position. It was painted using Tamiya XF acrylics a combination of Olive Drab and other greens until I was happy with the shade. Mounting the top wing was a bit tricky as was the stretched sprue rigging but saying I haven't built a biplane for 42 years I was quite pleased with the results. Thanks for looking. About 34 the way through the build the decals went on reasonably well with Microsol and Microset even though they must be 50 years old! I spent hours on the Internet looking at photos of the real thing and other folk's models but did not see any signs at all of safety straps for the Gunner, so I didn't install any. Amazingly for the vintage of the kit, it came with clear wing tip and tail lights, an addition a few modern companies could do with taking on board. Here she is after the final coat of Hataka Matt Varnish, I love this stuff it goes on lovely and doesn't kill the gloss completely if a light coat is applied. Sometimes we have very little to go on regarding the subject of our models! However, it is on record that Frantisek actually flew airframe A8. Thanks again Ian

Thanks for the replies guys, especially Jack for attaching the painting instructions. I have actually ordered a set of decals now, the Print Scale 48-015 1/48 Focke-Wulf Fw-190А-2/А-9 set that has the markings for the actual "Black I" scheme I plan to do. Cheers ian

Hi Everyone, I am not a prolific Luftwaffe aircraft modeler as I'm building a series of Czech and Polish early WWII models at the moment but decided as a little aside project to model a few aircraft of Josef 'Pips' Priller of II/JG 26. I have already built his Bf 109 using the 1/48 Airfix kit, see below: After completing this model using some old Eduard decals buried in the stash years ago, I purchased the Tamiya 1/48 Focke Wulfe Fw 190 A-3 kit. The plan being to build an example of Priller's Fw 190 from around 10th April 1942 when he was shot down, possibly by Stanislaw Skalski the Polish Ace. Years ago Hasegawa did the exact 1/48 version I am planning to do, unfortunately this kit was no longer available so the Tamiya kit will have to do. My question is, I cannot find and plan view or underside view of his aircraft at that time when it was wearing the double chevron and black I. Does anyone have the Hasegawa painting instruction sheet in their files, that they could scan or photograph please? I will have to wait until the Wants Page is reopened again after Covid 19 to ask if anyone has the "Jotte" Ace of Hearts decals they want to sell, but I can always apply them later. My main problem is the disruptive pattern and colours applied to wings on that particular aircraft! Here's hoping the Lufwaffe experts can help, Thank you very much in anticipation. Ian

Hi All, I currently have a passion for the History of Polish Fighter Aces from 1939 through to 1945, I have spent the last year collecting various 1/48 and 1/72 aircraft kits with which I intend to build a homage collection to my favorite Aces. The two main characters I am interested in are Joself Frantisek (who was in fact a Czech) and Fraciszek Grabowski. I am also fascinated by the aircraft that the Poles flew in France during the spring and early summer of 1940 during the Battle of France. So far I have built 6 of the French aircraft and have now started on the Polish ones, having just completed a 1/48 Mirage Models RWD-8 Trainer and Observation monoplane. Frantisek escaped from Poland to Romania with a few Squadron colleagues, their party escaped in a small number (6) of RWD 8's and PWS 26 trainers. Their journey ended on 25th September 1939 when they handed the remaining aircraft over to the Romanian authorities at Pipera Aerodrome near Bucharest. There is no reference to aircraft serial numbers or codes apart from the aircraft originated from the Polish Air Force Training base at Deblin and their aircraft were coded with a 'D'. The kit was built from the box with stretched sprue used for the control wires and pitot tube. The nose panels were a nightmare to put together but after many expletives I got there in the end. The model was sprayed using Tamiya acrylics the green being XF 62 Olive Drab which was the closest colour I could find although in retrospect could have done with a bit of lightening up. Black and brown oil paints were used to weather the fabric. The decals although a little thick went on very well, Microsol and Microset being used. The model was sprayed with Humbrol Gloss clear varnish pre and post decaling and finally sprayed with a mist of Hataka Clear Matt varnish. The cockpit detail in the kit wasn't bad at all. Worth noting that the box top picture example is not on the decal sheet! Overall a very enjoyable build of an unusual and relatively rare subject. The first of several Polish aircraft to come. Thanks for looking, stay safe. Cheers Ian

Hi Folks, I currently have a passion for the History of Polish Fighter Aces from 1939 through to 1945, I have spent the last year collecting various 1/48 and 1/72 aircraft kits with which I intend to build a homage collection to my favorite Aces. The two main characters I am interested in are Joself Frantisek (who was in fact a Czech) and Fraciszek Grabowski. I am also fascinated by the aircraft that the Poles flew in France during the spring and early summer of 1940 during the Battle of France. So far I have built 6 of the French aircraft and have now started on the Polish ones, having just completed a 1/48 Mirage Models RWD-8 Trainer and Observation monoplane, here below. I use Hitaka and Tamiya paints on my models and painted this one with Tamiya XF 62 Olive Drab as it appeared to be the closest green I could find, as looking at pictures the green used on these and many Polish aircraft at the time had a brown tint to it. I know that the PZL11C fighters were actually painted a Late Dark Khaki that is actually brown and the Hataka Polish paint set is spot on for that particular aircraft but I am having big problems with the green used on the non fighter types as I think this XF 62 may be too dark! The next model I am building is a 1/72 PK Kits PWS 26 Trainer Biplane here is a photo of the actual aircraft in the Krakow Polish Air Force Museum that I visited last June. As you can see it appears to be a lighter green than XF 62 and it has a brown tint, so my question is - does anyone know the closest Tamiya green to this colour or how to mix it with Tamiya paints. Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Ian

Continuing along with my theme of 1/48 scale models of aircraft flown by Polish pilots in the Battles of Poland, France and Britain during 1939-1940, I decided that my third French fighter build should be a Morane Saulnier MS 406. The kit I have chosed is the Hobby Craft one, although not a brilliant kit that has several innacurracies it shouldn't prove too difficult. First the pre build photo (a bit of a cheat as I had already started the build before I realised I hadn't taken the pre build photo so apologies for the part build kit at the side). Again my main sources of reference are the fabulous MMP productions Polish WW2 Fighters Pt 1 and the 1/48 Decals book shown in the foreground. I will be using their decals for the aircraft in the open pages that was part of the Montpellier Fighter Squadron, that comprised of detachments of Polish pilots attached to French Fighter Sqns as PAF Flights of between 3 and half a dozen or so pilots. In particular MS 406 Construction No 907, Coded L-936 of the DIAP Lyon Bron Detachment. Hataka paints will be used again for the paint scheme. I started with the cockpit, during research on the web I found some pictures of a painted up full resin cockpit that is available for this kit, which I used as a guide, so I started by building the tube work that is very evident in cockpit pictures. I also put the ridges in using thin strips of plasticard that are on the flat plate behind the seat as they are very obvious in pictures of the actual aircraft through the rear cockpit glazing. Next came the cockpit side tubing, scratch built from plastic rod. The radio boxes on the starboard side were sectrions of plasticard scraps. This is quite tricky as the dash board slots in between the joystick and the bulkhead I had fabricated, so be careful to keep dry fitting it as you glue the rods in place. Next I sprayed it with Tamiya medium grey as close to the actual cockpit colour that I could find. Again it was test dry fitted into the lower wing half and the the fuselage halves. It was too tight! It took quit a bit of filing down the cockpit floor and thinning the side tubes before the fuselage halves would fit over it properly. Here I've finally managed to get the fuse to sit on top of the cockpit. You can see how the black dashboard panel sits in front of my fabricated bulkhead as it is in the original aircraft. By this stage the gauge detail had been picked out and various bits of cockpit detail painted. Then it was washed with Black and Burnt Umber oil paints dissolved in turps. When that was dry I did some light silver dry brushing on the tubes to highlight the details. The next job is to fill and re-scribe the elevators as the kit has them totally wrong with the upper tailplane strut actually attached to the elevators! Then to build up the vertical fin and round off the top as the kit has it flat. The cowling cheak intakes also need to be drilled out and shaped as the kit has them as solid, very odd. Thanks for looking Ian

A big thank you to Dora Wings, they sent me a replacement Clear Parts Sprue that arrived last week so I could finally install the missing landing light. Many thanks again guys. Cheers Ian

The most recent addition to my series of 1/48 WWII Fighter aircraft flown by Polish fighter pilots. This is the RS Models limited run model of the Caudron CR.714 flown by S/Lt Czeslaw Glowczynski whilst with the GC 1/145 "Varsivie" flight in May and June 1940 during the Battle of France. As can be seen in the first picture there were very few parts, no pegs for fuselage halves etc but with a bit of care and patience builds up into a reasonable model. Decals are from the MMP Camouflage & Decals book on 3 aircraft, the Caudron, MS 406 and Curtis Hawk H.75A, an excellent publication with large exploded views of the colour schemes which allowed me to attempt the very complicated camo scheme with an airbrush freehand. Again I used the Hataka French fighters laquers paint set for this model, absolutely love these paints they show up the detail very well. A silver colour pencil was used for the chipping effect. A very complicated and unique colour scheme, every aircraft was painted differently. Thanks for looking. Ian

The most recent addition to my series of 1/48 WWII Fighter aircraft flown by Polish fighter pilots. This is the RS Models limited run model of the Caudron CR.714 flown by S/Lt Czeslaw Glowczynski whilst with the GC 1/145 "Varsivie" flight in May and June 1940 during the Battle of France. As can be seen in the first picture there were very few parts, no pegs for fuselage halves etc but with a bit of care and patience builds up into a reasonable model. Decals are from the MMP Camouflage & Decals book on 3 aircraft, the Caudron, MS 406 and Curtis Hawk H.75A, an excellent publication with large exploded views of the colour schemes which allowed me to attempt the very complicated camo scheme with an airbrush freehand. Cockit detail was a bit sparse, originally painted it midnight blue but further research proved it to be mid grey, so resprayed it. Overall needed verty little filling, canopy took a bit of masking with Tamiya tape and a sharp scalpel. Again I used the Hataka French fighters laquers paint set for this model, absolutely love these paints they show up the detail very well. Found some amazing photos of the sole surviving CR-714 that was sent to Finland by the French to fight the Sovietsin 1940 and was recently (after prolonged negotiations) delivered to the Krakow Polish Aviation Museum for restoration. The camo paint definitely looks as each aircraft was sprayed individually by a demented painter! My demented attempt at the colour scheme published in the MMP Camouflage & Decals book. It took a long time to get right! I had lost most of the undercolour from the Hataka set after not putting the top back on properly. So the underside colour was mixed using Tamiya acrylics that seemd a lot grainier than the Hataka paints. I used the Hataka Gloss and Matt varnishes on the model, thinned down to around 50/50 using Hataka laquer thinners. Decals that came with the book were excellent, finished with Matt varnish and a bit of chipping with a silver crayon pencil. Overall a pretty fun and enjoyable build. Thanks for looking. Ian

Excellent job Nexus. Well done for persevering with the project until the end. I have done a few of these heavy conversion builds myself that can take over a year to complete (in fact my Viper jet Shackleton Mr. 3 took around 5 years to finally finish and the week I finished it Revell announced they were doing that exact version in a kit!). I agree with you that the Kestrel would make an excellent kit and fill a gap, preferably in 1/48 though. Ian

Thank you Dora, it will be nice to actually finish the model off properly. Cheers Ian

Yes sorry mate, re-editted to read port wing. Sometimes if the kit is the only one available of that aircraft in that scale then we really have no choice but to buy it. I have far worse limited run examples of French fighters flown by Polish pilots yet to build I'm afraid.

Lovely neat, clean build Paul.