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klr

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Everything posted by klr

  1. klr
    The best laid plans ... Amongst other things, I had to endure a nasty head cold over the weekend, during which precision painting would not have been a very good idea. Anyway, the fuselage is all but complete: I'm just working on the rotors now. The red/white tip markings on the tail rotor need to be hand-painted, as the decals just wouldn't cut it.
  2. klr
    I suppose I could be tempted. Something very rivetty from Airfix would probably qualify for me. I've already built two Airfix kits older than me this year: Seahawk and Mirage IIIC. Some early candidates: Airfix: Ju 88A-4 Avro Anson Auster AOP/Antartic DH Heron Douglas SBD Dauntless Supermarine S 6B Fiat G 50Bis Freccia Fairey Swordfish (yes, the old kit) Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina Mitsubishi Ki 46 “Dinah” Bristol Mk 32 Superfreighter Aichi D3A1 “Val” Fi 156 R.E. 8 Hannover CL.IIIa SPAD VII Sopwith Camel Albatross DVa ... probably several more aircraft H.M.S. Victorious ... and quite a few 1/76 military vehicles Frog/Novo: Percival Proctor Revell/Monogram: N/S Savannah Grumman Albatross Douglas Skyraider Lindberg: He 162
  3. klr
    I'm already making a list of what to vote for, have no fear ...
  4. klr
    There will be other opportunities to build the 2000N, hopefully the "French Fancy" GB, assuming that makes the cut for next year - and why wouldn't it?
  5. klr
    For some reason, Scalemates says 354, not 254 - did Heller amend it's product numbering system at some point? Anyway, I have the Italeri kit (a D version), but I'm not inclined to build it. As well as another Heller 2000C, I also have the upgraded Heller 2000N, which I really like. But I don't think that's eligible for this build, given the way the mold was completely overhauled with scribed panel lines, in addition to the extra parts.
  6. klr
    In a desperate attempt to get my build schedule back on track, I have just bought a kit specifically for this GB: I can't remember the last time I bought a kit to build immediately, and I mean immediately. It's not going into the stash, not even for a day. I'll start it later this afternoon.
  7. klr
    I'm building the J-21A, see here: .... so between us, we'll build all the Saabs 😉
  8. klr
    This is another kit I built way back in 1981, when both subject matter and kit manufacturer would have been very exotic to me. To the best of my knowledge, this kit was never upgraded with "hard" tracks under ESCI/ERTL. More than that, the vinyl tracks are actually "Matchbox" style, meaning no glue required. Italian AFV colours are something I have no real knowledge of, so I'll just have to muddle through.
  9. klr
    This is a re-box of the venerable ESCI Churchill. I recall building the AMRCR version upon a time (as in 1981). Like most of the ESCI kits, this was "upgraded" with hard tracks in the ESCI/ERTL era, and that's what's in the Italeri box: Four of the six subjects in the Italeri boxing are eligible for this build: "Kingforce" at El Alemain, two Tunisian subjects (one with field-applied sand camoufllage), and one operating near the Gothic line in northern Italy: British AFV colours from WW II are a veritable minefield, which is the only thing likely to trouble this build.
  10. klr
    This is a placeholder for my second entry in this GB. I have this kit both in an Airfix box (well, the box is long since disposed of), and a Heller 1990s boxing. I'm building the Airfix release, which I bought back in 1990: UPDATE: Box art from original Heller release (254? 354?): I cannibalised the French roundels some years ago, so I'll build it as the Greek subject. For some reason, I've never, ever, ever built a Mirage 2000 before. The shame, the shame, etc.
  11. klr
    Original Heller catalogue number: 261 (80261). This is a placeholder for my first build in this GB. Heller had a thing for Saab aircraft. This is the same Heller-Humbrol boxing what I built back in the day, I picked it up on the cheap last year, second-hand: No decals, but I still have the "alternative" markings from the first time I built the kit (it has markings for two aircraft). That just leaves roundels, for which I'll scrounge something from the spares.
  12. klr
    Great choice. Takes me back to 1982, when this one of my very first Heller kits. One of the very best that Heller (or just about anyone else!) has ever produced, IMHO. About the only thing that's not perfect is that the cylinder heads need to be sanded down slightly for the cowling halves to fit. And that's it really.
  13. klr
    Three Zvezda kits what I ordered just last week, all with c. 200 parts. First, the mighty MSTA 152 mm howitzer: The T-28 tank. I got the Zvezda T-35 last year, which is an amazing kit. But the T-35 saw very little combat, unlike the T-28. ... and the Petlyakov Pe-2 (the wondrous "new" kit of course): Oh yeah ... and I bought some other kits recently, like the Italeri (ex-Supermodel) Frecce Tricolori MB 339A: And since I like trainers, the Trumpeter JL-8: I don't like any of the colour schemes in the box, but there are a lot of African users with very striking camouflage schemes. And lest I forget, some more IBG kits, as in the Type 2 Ho-I: ... and the Zrinyi II: What's behind this extended purchasing spree? I blame COVID 19, Brexit ... and just about anything else I can think of.
  14. klr
    Most of the decals are now applied, now onto cleaning up, before I start work on the tail section. I also need to apply the decals to both main and tail rotors.
  15. klr
    Or worse still, reorganise a large part of it, like a huge 3-D puzzle. I may be extracting an A-4 or two next weekend from the "remote stash", along with some other kits to be built over the next 9 months or so. Factor in some other kits to be disposed of second-hand, one to be given to a friend, some to be transferred "in" from my home stash, a purchase or two, and it will be major effort to not have everything fall down on top of me while I reorganise the edifice.
  16. klr
    My only tin of Humbrol 69 gloss yellow is no longer usable, and my attempts to resuscitate it were to no avail. Nothing else could be used in its place: Revell gloss yellow is well, far too yellow, and Humbrol 154 Insignia yellow a bit too orange. So I ordered some new tins, but they won't arrive until next week at the earliest. Thankfully, I was able to get a spare tin from a friend, and this has done the trick. Comparing the "before" photos above with the "after" photos below doesn't really show how dramatic the improvement has been. Oh, and I hadn't realised that the black panels behind the exhausts are not decals, so I've started to paint them. I have the decals mostly cut up and ready to apply, but finding the time and energy is a struggle at the moment. At least the kit is no longer the problem. Maybe tomorrow ...
  17. klr
    It is the Heller mold. After many years of reboxing the Airfix mold, Heller are (according to Scalemates), back to using its own mold, but I remain agnostic at best about this, a Doubting Thomas even. ... seeing the word begat has made me go into Biblical mode.
  18. klr
    Thankfully, my local hobby shop still has some good bargains. Why, even today ... but that would be telling. Maybe for another thread. I did order some Heller kits via my local shop, to cover certain eventualities (at least that's my story), and they were reasonably priced, including the Heller equivalent of "Vintage Classics". But when they might materialise ... who knows?
  19. klr
    I saw the Trumpeter F-107 on sale today at a reasonable price. Just sayin' ...
  20. klr
    The Holy Grail of Heller collectables, at least as far as aircraft kits go! Re you auction triumph: I wonder if this impending GB has inflated the prices of classic Heller kits on the internet?
  21. klr
    No words, just ...
  22. klr
    This is one of those times where the camera makes it look better than it actually is. I could start applying decals now, but I might do one more pass of touching up tomorrow. I remember building the old Matchbox DHC Sea Otter kit when it was first issued in the mid-1980s, and that was probably my first experience of just how difficult gloss yellow could be. Mind you, I built the "Yellowjacks" version of the Airfix Folland Gnat a few years ago, and that seemed to go OK in terms of painting. I don't know about another chopper for this GB, although I do have one on the go for Vietnam GB (the Bell OH-13 Sioux), and might build the OH-6 Cayuse as well. Finding enough free time at the moment for kits is a problem though, as the real world (read: work) has gone into overdrive, mostly because of matters COVID-related.
  23. klr
    Nice work on this old (1986) Matchbox kit. I had thought about building the original Matchbox release for this GB, but that fell through. I'm glad to see someone else is building the kit.
  24. klr
    Bit by bit, I'm getting there. Ironically (despite its translucence), I had to thin the Humbrol Yellow for easier application of the later coats, and I made need to thin it again. I will hopefully apply most of the decals tomorrow evening, then paint and decal the tail section. Oh, and add the remaining aerials and other protrusions. And attach the rotors, although the main rotor will not be fixed in place. Any thoughts I had of building another chopper for this build have all but vanished, so much time has this kit taken. I'd probably have been quicker building the Revell Mk.43 kit with Sea Skuas, 4-colour camouflage scheme and all.
  25. klr
    Definitely count me in. As it so happens, I've been building up my F/A-18 stash this year, both of "legacy" and "Super Hornet" versions. I still need the EA-18G "Growler", which I plan to get soon. Actually, I already have the Revell 1/144 scale kit, which is nice, but it's not the One True Scale.
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