Shorty84

That's true. The thick wing wouldn't be half as bad if the wingtip wouldn't look that clunky as a result. Looks more like the wing of a Whitley than of a Jet Fighter. Cheers Markus

Thank you very much for showing us how the PR Vampire can be modified. The thinning of the leading edges really improves the look of the wing as a whole. Your comparison also highlights how awfully thick the wing profile is in comparison to the Airfix kit. Guess I will try to sand the wing thinner once I have my kit in addition to the reprofiling of the leading edge. Cheers Markus

I hope you've seen these two builds before hitting the 'buy' button: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/280897-172-anigrand-c-17a-globemaster-work-continues/ Not to start a debate about accuracy but considering the cost of the kit there is a lot to modify to make it look even halfway correct. At least the kit will give you years of 'enjoyment' 😁 Cheers Markus

BS381C:241 Dark Green -> no direct equivalent although there is MRP-110 BS381C:641 Dark Green. Not sure if there is a tonal difference to BS381C:241? BS381C:637 Medium Sea Grey -> MRP-112 BS381C:627 Light Aircraft Grey -> MRP-374 Cheers Markus

Hi Miroslav, great progress on your Orao, looks really nice. It was about time someone releases an up-to-date injection moulded kit of this important but not so well known aircraft 👍 Now that you build yours, my started Aeropoxy kit in 1/48 is looking at me, whispering...Finish me! Finish me! Cheers Markus

Well, the Video is obviously cobbled together from various, unrelated footage (Title talks about intercepting Russian Su-27s, shows Venezuelan Su-30s and Russian Su-30SMs ). F-15Cs were progressively upgraded over the years (MISP, ...) to keep them up to date, so nothing unusual here. Sniper pods are part of the Passive Attack Sensor (PAS) modification and are used, amongst other things, to visual-identify aircraft at a distance: https://theaviationgeekclub.com/oregon-air-national-guard-f-15c-eagles-enhance-capabilities-sniper-advanced-targeting-pod/ Cheers Markus

Please do, that would be much appreciated. I'm set to buy one as the Austrian Air Force operated some T.55s till 1972 and the CA Vampire is almost impossible to get for a reasonable price. Regarding the wings, I already had the idea to buy a cheap Trumpeter Vampire and use its wings. The kit may not be accurate but the wings at least have a more correct profile. And if you are really brave, you could even use Trumpeters tail booms to convert the kit into an earlier T.11 with framed canopy and without ejection seats (Hmm, I think I need a second kit now 😀). Cheers Markus

By the looks of it, maybe it was some kind of training aid for maintenance personell? That would explain the 'strange' nacelle design. Maybe the factory produced such items (for the military)?

According to the link below, the picture is from the Alfa Romeo Museum archives and PROBABLY taken in 1948 at the Portello factory in Milan. https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/bristol-alfa-romeo-engine.43176/ Maybe worth to write the museum if they have any further information? Cheers Markus

Hi @Corvi, apart from your initial questions, if you are concerned about realistic loadout configurations I recommend this site: https://www.dstorm.eu/pages/loadout/tornado.html Cheers Markus

Why not ask Revell's spare department for a new canopy? If you talk about their new tool kit (#04300), it is still in their catalogue / in production and their replacement service is usually regarded as very good. Cheers Markus

Hi Troy, your comments are much appreciated as always. But I'm really wondering why you are still tying to help the guys at Xtradecals considering they don't give a hoot about it? I mean, you've described your efforts in a few other threads about their other Hurricane sheets but it seems they constantly ignore you (I can already imagine them rolling their eyes when they see one of your mails, thinking: "Oh no, that guy again..."). To be honest, if someone would constantly show me such a disrespectful behaviour while trying to help them improve their product for free, I would spend these hours elsewhere. Not to mention that it must be a frustrating and annoying experience being ignored again and again. Of course, we all would still appreciate your comments here on their decals Cheers Markus

Don't hang your hopes high. My builds usually progress at a glacial pace and I'm glad if I finish a model this year at all. At least I will not get bored once retired 🤣

Hi @Kriss, found the info about the torpedo colour here: https://stormomagazine.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=1570 "Torpedoes came by two factories: Whitehead (W) in Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia) and Silurificio Italiano (SI) in Naples. They were made in gray bronze, and in active use they were greased with mineral oil to prevent salt corrosion. W torpedoes were totally metal, while SI ones - which had an ogival head - had a hemispherical cap painted light blue. That color in orthocromatic b/w films appears very light, but the use of yellow, orange or red lens filters progressively darkened it, and this explains the different tones in images. Aerial torpedoes had a wood detachable fin which stabilized the flight before the dive. This was painted aluminium. W and SI had different fins." Hope this helps. Cheers Markus

My latest purchase from Ukraine (Plastic Model Store) which arrived this week. CAT4 conversion sets and decals in 1/48 to build the ill-fated F-111B Navy interceptor. I want to build one of the last two prototypes (152714/152715) which featured a longer nose cone and when CAT4 released sets intended for the HB kit and had a sale I hit the purchase button. I already have an HB FB-111 with some other goodies (Reskit cockpit module and exhausts, Eduard AIM-54A), earmarked for this conversion. As these sets are intended for the earlier prototypes I will not need all parts and have to scratchbuild the nose. One needs to modify the wheels too as CAT4 has no set for them (yet) (front wheels are the same as for the F-14 and the main wheels are smaller than for all other F-111 variants). And today some new sanding sticks to replace my worn ones. While basically the same, these nail polish sticks are much cheaper than 'dedicated' sanding sticks for modelling 😆 Cheers Markus

Hi Kriss, great start. Now that Eduard has reboxed the CA kit with some of their goodies, it will be interesting to see what can be done with the Trumpeter kit. Now you said this is intended to be a relaxing build, so I guess you are not going to correct the errors of the kit like the too large cowl openings and too short stabilizers to name the most prominent? Anyhow, if interested, this build shows how to correct them if inclined to do so: https://www.stormomagazine.com/ModelArticles/SM79/PDixon/SM79_PD_1a.html Cheers Markus

You'll see this kind of topic popping up regularly on modelling forums (usually titled "Recent E**y madness" or similar). On one side you have sellers which either try to get the maximum out of their stash, hoping for an unsuspecting soul not knowing the real value or make a buck or two from some rare, OOP item. On the other hand, you have a lot of newcomers who simply pay such stupid prices because they don't know better as they've never seen a hobby shop from the inside. They may compare the prices against other commodities like computer games, etc. and think it's quite reasonable. I once had a chat with the owner of my LHS who told me that especially younger customers are often astonished about how 'cheap' certain items like paints are. Obviously, they are used to inflated online/auction site prices. Well, these MPM/HML were produced in limited numbers, are rare, OOP, the only option in their scale and were not cheap even when available. Considering the 'inflation' on the Cutting Edge (CE) sets which happened when they went under, it is no wonder others jump on that bandwagon (hell, I guess I would too). That reminds me about a hobby shop I visited regularly about 20 years ago. They had all kind of kits which are considered rare today. I remember the HPH/HML Bv 138 and Do 24, some Classic Resin Airframes kits and a CE He 111D/E conversion set, all in 1/48. Each of them could be sold today for a multiple of the original price as they are still the only option in their scale. And they are basically considered collectibles which is a completely different market compared to the builder market. Cheers Markus

Even better, some pics and analysis of a preserved I-16 Type 5: https://massimotessitori.altervista.org/sovietwarplanes/pages/i16/details/cockpit-canopy/cockpit-canopy.htm Cheers Markus

Very nice build 👍 For whatever reason there are almost no builds of the Trumpeter Albatros online, although it is a really nice kit and the only alternative in 1/48 is the short run MPM/Special Hobby one. Guess trainers are not too popular after all. Cheers Markus

Wow, great representation of this old Hellenic warrior 👍 Cheers Markus

Well, I'd be happy if my mediocre efforts would look as good 👍 Cheers Markus

Hi Derek, great to see you tackle such an interesting subject like the Woomera. I've always wondered about the quality of Croco kits and how they go together. So I will follow with interest 🙂 Cheers Markus

Hi @Wm Blecky, Triglav Model from Slovenia sells Balkan Models Decals and they offer the Sheet you are looking for: https://www.triglavmodel.com/product-page/airacobras-in-foreign-service Cheers Markus

Nobody except Trumpeter knew. Top-notch research on their part uncovering previously unknown facts 😁 I think the multiple use of the word 'fantasy' in this link says it all: https://www.deviantart.com/claveworks/art/Fantasy-164-Fulmar-Venezuela-173495232 Cheers Markus

Welcome, I'm sure you'll find answers to your questions on this friendly and knowledgeable forum. Regarding your questions about how to upload pictures: You'll need an external photo hosting service or your own webspace as direct upload from your computer is not allowed due to security reasons. For instructions see here: Cheers Markus