klr

Not much to report, as I've been concentrating on other things, and mulling over the colours (again!) For the green colour, I wasn't sure about Humbrol 101, which I remember as being very bright and not at all natural. On the top row here, it is besides Hu 80, which I used as the cockpit colour for both this and the Bloch 152, This seemed a much more appropriate colour to me. For the brown, the recommended Hu 186 is on the right of the second row, besides Revell 84, which I wanted to look at. On the bottom row is Hu 98 Chocolate. Of the two dark browns, I am using Revell 84 for the Bloch 152, along with Hu 80 and Revell 43. That corresponds to the first colour pie below. Using the much lighter Hu 186 for the brown gives the second set. Which is "correct" for this aircraft? Or "less wrong"? The box artwork clearly shows a very dark brown, very much at odds with Hu 186. This is also the case for the 1990s re-issue of the D.510: The brown is much darker than Hu 186, and likewise the green is far too subdued to be Hu 101. The colours recommended in the instructions are the exact same as for this kit. Once I've attached the wheels and all the remaining struts over the next day or so, I'll have to settle on one of the above camouflage mixes, which will essentially come down to a choice of either very dark brown or light-ish brown,

Ah yes .. those Vichy stripes. According to the instructions, the tailplane/elevator stripes are 2.7mm wide. This is difficult to check, partly because of the canted tailplanes. My best calculation was just under 2.5mm per strip. Not exactly 2.5mm. If that were the case, a pair of stripes would have been 5mm wide. But no. Those on the cowling were even worse. The instructions appear to show 16, or possibly 18 stripes, but the required number is 20, After a while, I realised this was Not A Good Idea, As Harry Callahan once observed: "a man's got to know his limitations". So I had to clean it all off. I then decided I'd go with the "original kit" markings, but the camouflage scheme didn't look realistic, having far too much brown. I used the subject on the back of the Smer boxing as a template for the camouflage scheme. Based on my research for the ANF 117 (of which more in that thread later), the top camouflage colours are Revell 84, Humbrol 80 (same as the cockpit colour), and Revell 43. Naturally, this is going to need a lot of pain-staking touching up, but only once I've applied the decals. The under wing roundels applied. Those for the original subject are larger than those for the two "new" subjects", which don't extend over the ailerons. Also, there are no large letter codes to be applied either under the wings or on the fuselage sides. Did Heller just overlook them back in the 1960s?

Well, the verdict is in: This canopy and windscreen won't fit ... properly. I wasted a lot of time to confirm what I should have worked out early on. I wanted to align them so the back of the windscreen & front of the canopy are in line with the front edge of the wing flaps. The only modifications to the fuselage were to the sides, lowering them towards the front. The base of the canopy was cut down to match, and the rear cut away substantially, to eliminate the overhang there. After much work, it looked like I was getting places I carefully pinched and squeezed the canopy to narrow it, although it was still too wide at the back. I could live with this. But to paraphrase Othello, I pinched not wisely but too well. At some point, the right side of the canopy cracked internally: So how did I get this to work the first time I built this kit? The answer is I didn't. I visually inspected that kit, and despite my best efforts at the time, it still suffered from overhang along the sides and at the rear, same as the kit on the cover of the Heller/Humbrol box. I'm just more exacting about these things now. What to do? A spare Academy canopy was clearly too big, bigger even than the Heller original, and otherwise the wrong shape in places. The only option was to have the canopy open. The canopy rails would have to be filled in, as they are too high (done). The old canopy removed. It's not obvious here, but the rear of the windscreen was sloping back at a noticeable angle, and I had to careful build it up with putty. And done: A note on the painting. I tried out Hu 104 for the top colour (oft recommended by Airfix, etc.), but it was obviously too light. Applying the gloss Hu 181 over this meant the latter dried with a matt finish, and far more quickly than it otherwise would. So I'm getting there, just another couple of days of touching up, and painting the replacement canopy. I drill out the attachment point for the forward aerial, as it would be very weak if attached flush. I don't have an Academy bomb to spare, as I forgot I'd used it and its pylon the first time I built this kit.

As of 2016, Enola Gay by OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) became older than the events it depicted at the time the song was released in 1980. I first read 1984 by George Orwell in 1984 (very appropriate). More time has elapsed since then than the time between the novel's release in 1949 and when I first read it.

Change of colour time. For Gris Blue Fonce, I am using Revell 43, which seems a reasonable match. Contrast check: On the top, a couple of swatches of Revell 43, below Hu 127 and Hu 128, the the two candidates for the underside. Despite the apparent lack of contrast between Revell 43 and Hu 128, I went with these, and applied a new coat of Hu 128 over Hu 127 to the undersides of the wing. Next, attach the wing. The rear main struts were just clipped in at this point for rigidity while the glue set. Under wing serials applied, and then glue the rear struts ... but, wing wouldn't set at the right angle. To correct, I shortened the rear starboard strut (working on both side of the locating pin), and effectively lengthened the port strut by inserting some plastic card: The final result looks good. I'll cut away the excess plastic card later. The remaining parts, save for the wheels which are being painted separately. The diagonal cabane struts are not mentioned in this construction guide, but are in the current iteration. They are also in the original instructions, and in the Smer instructions, even though that was probably issued after this boxing. There are still some conundrums, such as the observer's gun station. To represent a twin MG mount, I might have to pass off some spare Lewis guns as MAC 7.5mm guns. Then there are those short "V" struts.

Has it really been 4 days? Blame the good weather. Anyway, with a bit of trimming, the windscreen and canopy were attached: ... and sealed off at the back. It doesn't overhang the fuselage, but thankfully there's no gap. I never saw a wing root join I didn't want to sand and polish until it was invisible to the eye and the touch. Some overdue work building and shaping the rear fairing of the chin intake: The remaining parts: ... and all now affixed, except for the ventral radio mast, which I will leave until the underside is painted. Next up, the canopy framing and the Vichy stripes.

I got me one of those old Airfix Canberras as well a few weeks ago, as part of a massive stash plundering. It would probably be for the best if I didn't start listing all the other kits I got, and am still getting (but I am trying to stop, honest).

Many years ago, I managed to buy 8 volumes of the Wings of Fame journal, and they have served me very well. But of course there were 20 volumes published before the series ceased prematurely. Recently, I was offered the chance to buy any volumes I wanted, and so I bought the other 12 at a very fair price. I just took delivery of them earlier this evening. So now finally I have the full set - plenty of bedtime reading.

Eduard is addressing this in two ways: Better attachment to the sprue, and providing duplicates of aerials, pitot tubes, aileron mass balances, etc.

The instructions are (sometimes) partly for another kit entirely. The instructions are sometimes shamelessly lifted from another manufacturer. Case in point: The Mistercraft ex-KP Arado Ar 96 construction guide looks suspiciously like that for the Special Hobby kit of an earlier (and materially different) version of said aircraft. The problems flowing from that are obviously manifold, and include some you've listed. The instructions often show levels of detail not present in the actual kit. This is usually, possibly mostly linked to the above point. With Mistercraft, it's definitely a case of you get what you pay for, but the horrible decals often mean the kit needs new or spare decals to be viable, even if all else is acceptable. So it may be something of a false economy. Another case in point: I've just ordered the latest Heller edition of the Breguet 693, which includes 3 full sets of markings on a very crisp-looking decal sheet. Once I get that, then one of the 3 existing kits in the stash will go: Not the 1980s Heller-Humbrol boxing, but either the Smer or Mistercraft, probably the latter. As I constantly work to reduce my stash (which has ballooned recently thanks to a friend culling his), the Mistercraft kits are once again in the firing line. A number have already gone in recent years, others will follow soon. EDIT: Some stats from the master spreadsheet: Total Mistercraft kits bought: 40 (all but 1 in the past 10 years) Of which: - Completed: 3 (2 ex-Heller, 1 ex-KP, all for BM group builds, all had issues with decals) - Trash: 1 (i.e., I wouldn't even sell it) - Already disposed of: 15 - Earmarked for disposal: 3 - Remaining in stash for now: 18, at least half of which will likely get sold off as well Those numbers are not exactly a great endorsement for any kit manufacturer.

Coming back to this. I assume the standard day scheme from late 1938 is Vert, Gris Blue Fonce and Brun Mat, all over Gris Blue Clair. The closest match for the brown in the above chart would appear to be Terre D'ombre Nat., or maybe it's Ombre Calcinee? Then there is the question of what the fourth topside colour might be for the Vichy MB 152 I am also building. Not surprisingly, a Google search on "french aircraft camouflage schemes ww ii! leads right back to this forum, but with no clear conclusion, not that I would expect that: By default, I will go with the suggested colours in this iteration of the instructions, which would mean switching from Hu 127 to the darker Hu 128 for the undersides. I've already applied a couple of coats of Hu 127 to the lower wing, but I have held off on applying the decals.

Wings and fuselage now together, and some of the filling in completed. Tail planes also fitted. The Airfix stand had to be tweaked slightly to fit. The underside is now starting to look presentable. Dry-fitting the canopy and windscreen. The fit is far from perfect, but I think I can knock it into shape.

This is how Heller think the canopy should be fitted: This is probably how I fitted it when I first built the kit, but only after major excavations ahead of the cockpit. This is ideally how I'd like to position it, but it will require a whole series of modifications to the fuselage.

Both main transparencies proved problematic, especially the pilot's windscreen. But with the help of some filler and persistence, they are now in place. I have undercoated the framing with Hu green, same as the cockpit interior. Now it's finally decision time on the camouflage colours, as I need to overcoat the framing with at least one of these colours before proceeding with the assembly.

Having trawled through this thread, all I can say is you lot are are a load of slackers 😄 (or too young ...). I could be wrong, but I don't think any of these have been posted yet. And this is only the very early 1980s (.. part 1 of who knows how many).

There's a brilliant live acoustic recording of this somewhere (1990s AFAIK). From the same album:

Best song of the 1980s, from the best album of the 1980s. I'd have been seriously disappointed if I'd gone another page or two and this still hadn't made an appearance.

Now that's one song I did not expect to see here, not that I'm complaining 😂

"New Life" or "Just Can't Get Enough"? One of life's great unanswered questions since 1981.

I don't build 1/48 myself, but I'm envious. I'm hearing only good things from everyone who has built or is building this kit. Ditto the Lysander.

As far as I am aware, this is the only 1/72 Gladiator kit with spoked as opposed to solid wheels. I would have loved to have built this in my youth, but finally tracked down one second-hand 10 years ago. What was Heller thinking when it sold this tooling, and the above-mentioned others?

... one throws the first into the bin, or sells it to someone unsuspecting. One shakes the second box and a completed kit falls out. I was mulling over buying the Toko kit yesterday, and I'm still mulling. TBH, there just aren't enough good Il-2 kits, at least in 1/72. And that's from someone who has the Academy and Eduard kits, plus several others whose origins are unclear to me, and even to the collective wisdom of Scalemates. I may have already have a reboxed Toko kit or two and not know it. Having said all of that, I cast my vote.

I don't think my vote is needed, but count me in nonetheless. One of my favourite subject areas, and it covers a lot of territory (see what I did there?)

Progress has slowed, but not stopped. Here is the completed airframe with undercarriage (bar the wheels) attached: The main legs should slope forward slightly, if my understanding is correct: The notches at the end of the forward undercarriage doors should be aligned to the outside, contrary to the photo of the completed kit on the cover of the Heller-Humbrol box. Their placement needs to be very precise, so as not to obstruct the main wheels. Next it's time to face the canopy problem. I've looked at this from every conceivable angle, and can't see a way out that does not involve some serious gouging of plastic. When I built the Smer rebox of this kit, I think I moved the canopy and windscreen well forward, to completely eliminate the canopy overhang. That required some major surgery forward of the windscreen. I'm not sure that is the best way to go.

The solution to the side window problem was the same as it usually is: cut away the skirts around the windows, and force them into place. After that, the fuselage and engine assembly was quick. The rebuilt undercarriage doors fitted, with some filler for good measuring. The final clean-up can wait until the airframe is completed. I used the same Hu 80 green as I have used for the Mureaux 117. The (ancient) instructions say the cockpit interior is Vert Clair. Who knows how right (or wrong) that is? I didn't want to use the very thick main wheels from the kit. I found of couple of Airfix half-wheels from the spares box, and cut them down further to fit: The whole assembly is somewhat crude, but no-one will know nor care once the the canopy is in place. There is a glaring gap in the starboard wing root join. This is next on the list to fix. Normally I'd attach the tail planes first, but the MB 152 is one of the very few single piston-engined aircraft with canted tail planes, so they wouldn't serve as a guide to aligning the main wings.