kiseca

What are you two talking about? I can only see that Daily Wail link.

Quite a mix, and it seems in so many cases to be the memories that go with them that make that first model memorable rather than the model itself. I can't remember what my first one was. The first one I actually remember building would have been some time between 1986 and 1989 I guess, and that was Freddie Spencer's Tamiya Honda NS500. It's long gone, as are all my childhood kits, but I have a replacement in the stash. There were a few 1/72 Spitfires, Hurricanes and a P-51D in the mix too, and a Vickers Wellington, none of which saw a lick of paint at all, but while I remember having them, I don't remember building them, and some became cannon fodder when I acquired a BB rifle. The Freddie Spencer bike was painted, I remember that, but I cannot remember if I built that one before or after all the unpainted ones. After that I got a few that I actually remember painting but I can't even fully remember all the models I had never mind the order I built them in. Every now and again one pops up and it rings a bell! Then there's a long break from when I was about 18 - 19 until two years ago when I didn't indulge the hobby at all. My memories aren't linked to the models so much (there are a few memorable ones for me) but more to the room I built them in. My brother had a room that was outside the main house and when he left home to go to the army his room became my modelling space. The Honda was, I am pretty sure, the first model I built in there. Maybe the others had been built in my bedroom before, which is why I don't remember them.

I never knew that existed! There are a few experimental Luftwaffe aircraft that would make a decent "what if" set... the Horton 229, the Ju EF-126/127, and this, if all could be found in a matching scale! I've seen some beautiful builds of Das Werks's EF-126 kit as well. Thanks, some great pairings in there! The Sea Harrier vs Mirage III from the Falklands war, the MiG 25 and mach 3 US aircraft of choice, the Mirage F1 / MiG-23 from the Angolan border conflict... those three in particular have a personal interest for me. The Sea Harrier FRS-1 is my favourite looking version of the Harrier, and the fact that it was so successful in combat adds to the mystique... I've read Sharkey Ward's account of the aircraft in combat too and he seemed to have a lot of faith in it! The Blackbird - well it's just such a unique thing and has so many pretty angles to it, and the MiG-25, all brute force and a similar single-mindedness to its design. And the Mirage F1.... I grew up in South Africa in the 1980s, so that was the front line fighter I was familiar with in my formative years. Saw a few F1s and IIIs at airshows. The F1 was always my favourite, and because it was so prominent in my youth it shaped my idea of what a jet fighter should look like. One of my favourite fighter plane shapes of all time, though unlike the Sea Harrier, the F1 found its opposition in war to be rather more formidable. thanks for all the other contributions too. For some reason I wasn't getting notifications of updates on this topic so I didn't think anyone had replied at all!

Lovely build. I'm very interested in the result as I have the P version with the fixed cannon. Ironically I bought that one because I didn't realise the V/VP model could be built without the unsightly engine / exhaust filters / heat suppression boxes / whatever they are on the sides, and I prefer the clean shape as above. I've also read it's a bit lacking in detail for a new model but if it goes together well and is the right shape, that's what I need. The more detail it has, the longer it will take me to build it What did you mean when you said a lot of jambs? Is it a difficult model to put together?

Utterly stunning.

Looks good! I see what you mean about that wing, looks like a piece of the inner wing trailing edge is missing? That might be a good challenge for the future, to try fix that up with some plastic card.

It looks great! Lovely job. I was looking at these models last week, I wanted a Randy Mamola bike and the Yamaha was the one I wanted. Unfortunately I couldn't find that bike from any of the major suppliers, but having seen yours now, I think I'll settle for Eddie's bike. I already have a Honda NS500 and Schwantz's Suzuki so an '80s Yamaha would complement them well. That flourescent red really pops too!

I don't have any of my old kits but I have purchased a few replacements and while my skills are still very basic compared to the average on this site, I do give them a lot more attention than I did when I built them as a kid. For me the nostalgia survives, and having them finished to my current standards is a bonus. So not quite the same thing as what you're facing, and if I did somehow find all the old ones I'm not sure how much of the original work I'd retain without seeing them, so I don't know how much I'd put up with my own 40ish year old paintjobs ... but yeah, if I did happen to find all my old models in a box in the attic, I'd be a very happy bunny and totally occupied for the next hour or so just looking through them and enjoying the memories.

There are a few models that go hand in hand to make a set. Aircraft that just go together for some reason, whether it's history, shared technology, natural or legendary rivals. For example, both the X-29 and Berkut are available in 1:72. They are the only two forward swept wing jet fighters so I thought they'd make a nice set, or theme, and built both together. As it turns out, the Berkut is so much larger it actually looks a scale up anyway Then I've always liked two aircraft that were thought to be two of the best jets of the 1980s not to find buyers: The F-20 and F-16XL, and their stories with their high promise and struggles to find buyers, in the same era, are quite similar so there's another set: 1980s broken dreams. I have those in the stash too. I've considered (but not pursued) a set of Spitfires and Hurricanes in the markings of Battle of Britain heroes, with Douglas Bader and Sailor Malan being at the top of my list. I also like unusual or bright colour schemes, so I have a Red Arrows Hawk, a yellow Draken, the Black Thunder Tornado, a Ferrari Starfighter.... and keep looking to add a Vandy 1 Tomcat to that list. Others have paired up the Concorde and the Tu-144 "Concordski", a Spitfire 1 vs a 109E, or a Mk 9 vs a Fw190, Sabre and Mig-15. A 747 and an A380 perhaps. Do any of you buy aircraft that go naturally together to make display sets? What are your sets?

I'm still trying to get over how goofy a P-38 centre pod looks with no wings attached I love the build. It looks beautiful.

I have one in 1:48. I do like the oddball colour schemes.

That is huge! It looks lovely. I see a Ferrari Starfighter in the background too. Is that 1:32?

One of those where the first couple of photos I wondered if I was looking at the real thing, esp. when I clocked the runway markers in the background! Beautifully executed. Edited because somehow I managed to quote myself...

Very nice job on the last gunfighter!

The Soviet Union came up with lots of wild, weird looking configurations during the cold war, and to me, some of them, while not classically pretty, have a striking beauty about them. Like this Yak, the Tu-22 Blinder with its engines where noone else would consider installing them, the Hind-D, and I'd put the MiG-29 in this category too. They all have a predatory, or Dan Dare kind of beauty to them. The build looks fantastic, well done! It's also one to add to my wishlist

Thanks Yeah, I went on Scalemates after I posted that and realised there are actually 2 options in 1:20 (which would match my other F1 models), the Revell one in 1:24 and a host of 1:43 versions, which for me are a bit too small for a car model. The Revell one wouldn't quite fit scale wise, though it is close, and looking at that reminded me that I had been aware of that model but was put off by the reviews. The other two, however, must be very rare as noone has any for sale at the moment and I couldn't find any builds of either of them. But for me, using Google can be like trying to find car keys - I miss things that others find - so maybe I just searched for the wrong things. At least I know what options to keep an eye out for!

Very nicely done! I've always wanted its predecessor, the MP4/12. The first of the West sponsored McLarens and it raced in 1997. This was the last year with slick tyres. In 1998 they went to grooved tyres and narrower cars, and the McLaren grew longer to make up some of the underfloor area. Unfortunately nobody makes a plastic model of the 12 that I'm aware of, there's only die cast options available. The 13 also looks great in those West colours. I love the paintjob and always wondered how difficult it is to get right on a model. You've done a fantastic job. EDIT: 5 seconds on Scalemates just revealed a whole bunch of options for an Mp4/12. I was aware of the Revell one, which has terrible reviews, but it seems there are other options too. I'll have to go shopping!

If Hasegawa ever make an egg plane out of that, it will be inside out... Lovely build of a very, very odd aircraft.

Beautiful build and yes those markings do look good!

I came in here not knowing what to expect, and wow that's a colour scheme. Very attractive actually, vaguely reminiscent of the Jordan 191 Formula 1 car too. I think the model looks better than the real thing!

The paintjob on that is impeccable. That camo is so well done, and the panel lines - I can't tell if you highlighted them or not but they show up with just the right amount of definition - for my tastes at least. Very subtle. Marvelous work, beautiful result.

That looks fantastic! Welcome to the forums, great opening post How tall is that then? In the photos it actually looks really big!

Never done it myself but I can imagine trying to mask it up being very tricky. I've done a 1/24 Mosquito but even at that scale the spinners aren't particularly large for adding any intricate masking... and I didn't try, I did the spinners 1 colour. I'd be tempted to try blu tack (easy to do the 3D curves of a spinner, but difficult to get the consistent borders you'd need) or one of the masking paints which can be cut to get the borders as needed but they tend to be hit-and-miss to use. Maybe something like silly putty that's just sticky enough to stay on the spinner, but easy to cut to the shape you need while on the spinner without risking the existing paint layer?

that looks fantastic. I have a model of the aircraft it beat in the Advanced tactical Fighter program, the F-16XL, my favourite version of the F-16. While it is correct to say that by beating the XL in the ATF contest, the Strike Eagle consigned the XL to history early on in its life, I believe it's also true to say that without the ATF program, the XL may never have got funding for the two prototypes that were built, and thus were it not for the F-15E, the XL may never have flown at all. The Strike Eagle is a beautiful aircraft and you've done it great justice with that build.

What an absolute monster! I'm afraid to ask, what scale is that? I'd assume 1/144 but the detailing looks amazing for that scale.