klr

OK then, you learn something new every day. I don't want to wait for the cancelled GB though, so I'll probably just complete it as a stand-alone build. I wish I had the recce version, but I don't think I've ever seen it.

I suspect those colours were mapped to Hu 114 and Hu 115, both of which are long since discontinued. I have one tin of each, neither opened (yet!), but that might change soon, with an Il-4 in the pipeline. I have the EMHAR boxing of this kit myself, but have never had a compelling urge (yet!) to build it. I also have (ahem) 8 of the Roden (ICM-tooled) kit, which caters for a lot of the version differences listed above, but no means all I suspect.

This is a placeholder for my next build in this GB. EDIT,now withdrawn, as this version was never actually built, which is news to me. See below ... I can confidently predict this will be a very straightforward build, just by looking at the plastic. This kit was originally released in 1994 as the reconnaissance version, followed by the night fighter in 1995. As far as I am aware, the reconnaissance version has never been released again, but the night fighter has been re-released several times, and will be again later in 2024. I bought this kit in 1996 for 9 Irish pounds. Original version. Note the the 3-bladed propellers and truncated spinners. Unlike the night fighter, this version did see limited service, over the Eastern Front and the UK. Contents: A closer look at the parts. The night fighter has longer span wings. I'm not sure why the fuselage is split fore and aft, but I'm sure there's a good reason. There's a cut-out in the lower rear of one of the nacelles, which in the reconnaissance version is fitted with a clear part, very likely a camera port. In this version, it's blanked off. The instructions don't say what side it's on, but studying the instructions for the reconnaissance version, it seems this is on the starboard side. The canopy framing is going to be very, very easy to paint, compared to the kits I'm currently working on: Finally, the radar aerials:

I've decided to resume work on just the P-70 for now, leaving the Boston until later. This is partly because of the simpler paint scheme, and partly because the P-70 airframe needs much less cleanup work. Anyone who spray-paints their models may not realise (or remember!) just how long it takes to hand-paint even a simple scheme. At least this has proved me right about swapping the parts around. It's a lot easier to paint black on light plastic than on black plastic.

See above: I decided not to weight it. Anyway, on to the canopy framing. As I completed the undercoat of RLM 66, it struck me that the rear canopy was missing some horizontal framing on both sides. Photos such as the following confirmed this, so I had to add these. It was all manual painting anyway, with liberal use of cocktail sticks to remove excess paint. In this photo, note how the framing on the pilot's canopy and windscreen ought not to neatly line up the way it does on the kit. There was no way I was going to change that. I then added the radar aerials, which were easy to fit, and the exhaust units, which were quite finicky. At this point, the kit reminded me of an unpainted Matchbox Henschel 126. The fuselage cross decals had virtually no adhesion left, but they are now firmly in place. The wings have now received their undercoat of RLM 65 and first coat of RLM 76. This photo makes it look better than it currently is IMHO. I'll next apply the wing crosses, and go over the entire airframe for any remaining blemishes that need to be smoothed over.

I built this very kit around 40 years ago. Likewise the original K bomber variant. I've since built the long-span missile carrier, and have the other three variants in the stash.

A new aeroplane to me. It looks to be the grandchild (in roughly equal measure) of the Ilyushin Il-4, Petlaykov Pe-2, Tupolev Tu-2 and Ju 87. Maybe a few design bureaus got together and over-indulged in the Vodka?

And just as ironically, I would prefer plain black crosses for my Do 335, but I don't have any in the spares bags of a suitable size. I'll probably cut away the white from the kit decals. Anyway, derail over, back to the Lavochkin. I can honestly say I've never seen this kit before. I was probably just a few years too late starting my modelling career to encounter FROG kits in the wild.

Somewhat ironically, that is also a problem with the under wing crosses in my Matchbox/Revell rebox of the FROG Do 335. A case of being too faithful to the original?

Now ... those canopies will be the death of me: But perseverance pays off. I applied a base coat of Hu 65 (RLM 65) to the fuselage, as Hu 247 (RLM 76) is distinctly translucent. This is going to need two coats of Hu 247, which thus far I have only applied to the tail planes. I am still touching up the port base of the rear canopy. This the first time I have used Hu 247. For years, I used XtraColor X208, which has a gloss finish and is extremely slow drying. It also has (to my eyes) something of a green tinge, perhaps more in line with the late war hue of RLM 76. But I'm sticking with Hu 247 for this kit. There are depressions in all four exhaust units, which would be visible even when attached. So I will need to fill these in. Because I am deviating from the paint scheme, I need new insignia for the fuselage and upper wings. I'll see if I can use the under wing crosses. Contrary to the paint and decal guide, these do not have a black outline. For the swastikas, I have chosen a black outline design from my aftermarket sheets.

Progress has been painfully slow, as I prioritise the Do 335 in the FROG GB, and the usual demands of normal life. There was a "step" at base of each windscreen. Having this was unavoidable unless I was prepared to have the front canopy roofs sloping down towards the front, which was not really an option. So yet more work with some plastic card, files and sandpaper. While the cowlings were generally a good fit, this was not so at the top, where there were noticeable gaps and "steps". All quite unsightly, now hopefully remedied, I applied a coat of primer to the wing roots to pick out any remaining gaps and other blemishes that need to be removed. Hopefully I'll be able to give these my full attention (such that it is) over the weekend.

I had this this on my shortlist. Not this boxing (which I also have), but a Smer rebox. Will I still build it? The GB is still young. Have fun!

I try to avoid lead for health and environmental reasons, but obviously that's a personal choice. The rear canopy was not aligned properly - it was seriously canted to port. So I removed and re-attached it. I have since done some more clean=up work on both, and I might post more pictures later today. I may end up spending as much time on the canopies as on building all the rest of the kit, but that's just the way it is sometimes.

The Puma is a very nice kit IMHO. Are your Hunter kits the original F.6 from 1960, or the "revised" FGA.9 from 1983? The latter would still qualify for this GB. I've built it, and it was better than I had expected. As I don't do 1/48, I've never even seen, let alone built, the Fury. The Halifax I had briefly, but then sold it to a friend. The O-1 is a decent kit once you get past the very thick transparencies and wings.

So is the artwork, with the lead 262 getting ready to bomb the Mossie. What were they thinking?

Oddly enough, I have this kit in stash for a similar amount of time. What a coincidence - not. There is (or was) a theory that certain Academy kits were "improved" copies of Heller kits. If so, there would have been a lot of improving done in this case. The Heller kit, while nice, is pretty basic in terms of detail compared to this.

This is probably the main reason why I've not tackled my copy of this kit in the over 20 years I've had it. In recent years, Academy switched to Cartograf for at least some kits, but may have changed back again.

I haven't done much over the past few days. I realised the propeller shafts were not too long, but rather the opening at the base of each propeller needed to be widened. Unfortunately, I mislaid one propeller, and only found it after I'd stepped in out, requiring very careful repairs. I have also done some research, as in looking again at the photo I posted last weeks. It seems not just the blades but also the spinners are matt black. I also applied some Clearfix, including to fill in a missing side window or two. That panel behind the rear canopy still needs some careful sanding down. Hopefully I will have the undercarriage doors sorted by tomorrow.

Ok ... just where was I? Yes, I remember now. Try as I might, I couldn't cram enough nuts and bolts into the nose to weight it down. In a way, this might be for the best. The main wheels are attached to the main struts over a very small area, and I don't want to put too much stress on them. I'll fashion a small stand to go under the ventral tail. I might (still) remove the tabs that are only there to place the closed undercarriage doors on. The front propeller wouldn't sit flush against the engine face, so I had to remove the rear part of the shaft, thus leaving it mounted freely. Finally, I addressed the canopy fit. It wasn't just a case of building up the sides, but tapering them in, especially at the front. They looked a lot better once I had toiled on them for a couple of hours. But it was all worth it. Some minor work still required, but it's now very manageable. ... and I remembered to paint the ducting in the nose wheel bay. I won't attach either the main wheel doors or the shrouded exhaust stacks until I decide what scheme to paint, and the radar aerials will obviously be left until last.

You got yourself a right bargain there. This is an excellent kit. The multi-part crew figures seem to be a common feature in Zvezda kits, a throwback to all those Italeri kits from the 1970s.

Pat, I think someone actually building the kit now (you) needs the canopy from @PeterB more than someone who might build it someday (me), Granted, I might have already built it if I'd had the canopy, but then again, I may well not have, given it aesthetic pedigree, or lack thereof. It's the Quasimodo of WW II carrier-based aircraft 😄

Off the top of my head, I would say the decal blue is a bit lighter than Humbrol 104 Oxford Blue.

There are reasons I don't drink, and having mad ideas is one of them. One of the main ones is that I would say something that someone else will regret 🤐

C'est une excellente idée ...

It depends on which photos of the real thing you look at. It's a bit lighter than on the box artwork, but definitely much, much darker than the decals provided with previous releases from Airfix, or Revell (based on a quick image search). However, in the paint and decal guide, Humbrol 14 Gloss French Blue is implied as being a match, as it is be applied on the nose, which the decals don't cover. But Humbrol 14 is much too light. I can't think off the top of my head what Humbrol or Revell colour might be a good match, although I suspect at least one of the Revell blues might be quite close.