TonyOD

I have a heap of Special Hobby 1/72 kits in the stash (the FAA is strongly represented by this manufacturer) but haven't yet plucked up the courage to have a go at one. They look a bit scary, none of those little guide pins for a start! Anyone remember that French & Saunders guitar sketch? Anyway, I'm going to take on a Barracuda, a shining light in the Fairey Aviation Company's fine tradition in manufacturing pig-ugly aircraft. There are some plastic bits that you an see through, and some other plastic bits that you can't, and some resin bits, but no photo-etch bits, unusually for SH, but I think there's an aftermarket set that might be worth having. Three schemes, one TSS, one EDSG/sky and an all-over gloss blue one with type D roundels that potentially would look smart, but every time I've tried a kit in that colour they've looked a bit like a kid's toy. But they're quick and easy to paint with a rattle can. I'll decide which scheme I'm going to do further down the line. Hopefully I'll get this out of the way before my first GB kicks off (can't remember just at the moment if it's Heller or MTO III). But before anything gets glued or painted I'll probably spend a good deal of time researching, dry-fitting and planning.

Thanks @Grey Beema, that is some in-depth stuff for me to consider. It's probably too tall an order to depict a specific FAA aircraft and a specific RA aircraft that actually came up against each other during Pedestal but I might be able to come up with a credible pairing (that's within my iffy painting skills!) Got me thinking with the Fulmar though... I have at least one in the stash...

It's dead easy to assemble if you don't mind it being wrong in quite a few ways! Sorting out the inaccuracies was where I had to put in the hours...

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I have a couple in the stash, but I think my next build will have a wing stuck on either side!

Hoping I’m not teaching anyone’s grandma to suck eggs, but did you seal the edge of the masking tape with the first colour before applying the second? I find it helps avoid bleed. Looking great. The mere sight of those antenna pylons brought me out in a cold sweat though.

Same. I have a whole bunch of Special Hobby FAA Faireys and Blackburns in the stash (Albeit 1/72), not that I’ve summoned the nerve to build any of them yet. Thinking of having a crack at a Barracuda.

Exceptionally lovely creations.

This is my first RFI, so be gentle! It's taken me two months to get this done which is exceptionally slow for me. Anyone who saw the WIP will be aware of a few challenges Italeri threw my way, bless 'em... anyway, thanks to everyone who offered advice and encouragement along the way, in particular @hendie, @perdu, @Chewbacca and @Andwil. Cheers gents. This is my first crack at a helicopter. There's plenty wrong with it and a few things I would do differently if I was going to build it again (which I most definitely am not!), but each of my builds gets a little better and I feel I'm slowly upping my game. Thanks for looking.

Well, I'm going to call that finished, take a deep breath and stick some pictures on RFI. Having discovered only recently that using Facebook to upload pictures is a dumb idea, I'm conscious that in time my pics will disappear, and if I do find a spare hour I'll replace the duff pics with correctly hosted ones. Apologies for that. What I did do a few days ago is this... I take the liberty of concluding this thread with a summary of the issues I faced with this kit, in case anyone looking in fancies a go at an Italeri 1/72. I doubt that my list is exhaustive. Problem: each side of the fuselage has two steps up to the cockpit. These should be in line, the wider step directly above the narrower step, not offset, as moulded and instructed. There are a couple of weird and superfluous recesses too. Solution: the recesses should be filled and the steps resited. I went as far as opening up slots to accommodate the steps to give a bit of depth (I backed the holes inside the fuselage with bits of plastic card), though they could just be glued on. Problem: the tail rotor turns in the wrong direction, that is to say the rotor blades have been moulded the wrong way round. Solution: the blades need to be cut off and glued the other way round. If you have a drill bit small enough you could bridge the middle bit and the blades with fuse wire (the @Andwil method), but I just drilled out the middle bit, filled the holes with CA gel, and stuck ‘em on. Problem: the nose section is peculiarly elongated, making the aircraft look, as @perdu put it, like a snow plough. Solution: It can quite easily be shortened to the right proportions from the back using a dremel/rotary sander, file and sandpaper. The trick is to establish by how much and be consistent with this measurement on the bottom edge, the two forward-leaning edges and the curved bit above the intake. Problem: the pylons. Oh Lord, the pylons. There are half-a-dozen little pylons which carry the two antenna wires around the fuselage. The information in the instructions ranges from ambiguous to wrong. There are pictures of many 1/72 Italeri Wessexes on the net, all built to a much higher standard than mine, but almost without exception they have at least some of the pylons in the wrong place. Solution: firstly, look at a picture of an actual Wessex and you’ll get the idea. Step 1 in Italeri’s instructions tells you where to drill the holes to accommodate the pylons. It’s wrong. The forward pair sit aft of the cockpit, just behind the winch on the starboard side. The middle pair sit forward of the roundels (beware: there is a “red herring” pair of guide holes moulded into the fuselage halves, which will put them too far back, on the tail near the ROYAL NAVY marking. The roundels are on the bit that sweeps in from the cabin towards the tail.) The holes for the rear pair, according to the instructions, should be drilled aft of the tailwheel – they should be in front of it. By rights this aft pair should be inclined forward by something like 20 degrees from the vertical, but the way the pylons are moulded doesn’t lend them to this, though I don’t doubt it’s achievable with a bit of imagination. Problem: the two windows on the port side are positioned the wrong way round, according to the instructions. The domed window is the forward of the two. Solution: ignore the instructions. Specific to XS522: Problem: the box artwork and the instructions give conflicting information on which shade of green the aircraft should be painted. According to the box, “FS 34092 European Green”. According to the instructions: “FS 34079 Forest Green”, the same green as in the “sand and spinach” option also buildable out the box. Solution: this is very subjective and some will disagree, but based on photographs of this aircraft and others with similar markings I feel that that FS 34092 is correct, not the more “olive drab” FS 34078. It’s a slightly darker, bluer tone represented by Humbrol 149. There are plenty olive drab Wessexes out there but personally don’t feel this was one of them. Problem: the serial number decals are printed too large. Solution: if you’re a proper modeller, you probably have a ton of serial number/code decal sheets so can use them, if not you could buy them specially. I fall into the latter category, I’m afraid, and chose to live with it. (The black panel decal aft of the rotor head seems off too – too wide. It’s printed this way on both the Italeri and Modeldecal sheets.) Problem: according to Italeri’s instructions the Buzby decal is positioned well up on the aircraft’s nose. Solution: it wasn’t, Buzby was practically on the underside of the aircraft, see the excellent photo on page 49 of @Chewbacca’s enormously helpful document. Ignore the instructions. Some might argue that I’m spoiling the fun with all this and encountering multiple problems and finding solutions to them is all part of the fun of modelling. Personally I found it a time-consuming b*llache. Each to their own I guess. It’s not a bad kit per se in that it’s quite easily to build, and a few months ago I wouldn’t have lost any sleep whatsoever about any of these inaccuracies, but you know how it goes… have fun!

How is that 1/72?! Stunning build, and beautifully presented.

So close now...

Rotors done. Those little yellow wraparound decals had me going cross-eyed. Off to the seaside for a few days, but I should have this kicked into touch by the end of the week.

I’m having the same issue now. I’ve had a look at the “help” section and I suspect it’s because I’ve been using Facebook to put pictures on the forum, which isn’t a good idea apparently. I’m guessing it’s because the URL it assigns to the pic expires after a while. I’m going to get an image hoster sorted out and when I have a spare hour I’ll repair the WIP. just to try one out:

I like the look of that helicopter @FPDPenguin

My first visit (out of curiosity) to the land of armour, and this is what I see. Blimey!