SteveMc

A superb finish on your Skyhawk Andy. Very nicely detailed.

Very nicely done. A great finish on the Tracker.

Great work Steve, I’m still in awe of your skills and how it’s all taking shape. Cheers Stevie

That Is a very nice finish. I am currently building Academy’s F4N in USMC colours from 1980. I will be happy if it turns out as well as yours.

Brilliant work. Looking great with paint on.

You’ve done it again Laurie. Made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. The Herald looks great and that airport apron is looking busy. The Herald was the first plane I flew in. Late 1970, Southampton to Belfast via Exeter to visit grandparents just before we left the UK for Oz. Hopefully something a bit easier for the next build.

Welcome Thommo

That is a great looking Wessex. Nicely done with that old kit.

Thanks Joachim. Duly noted for future reference.

Gotta love a Gannet. That is looking great. Lovely work on those wings.

Hi All This is my finished 1/48 Airfix Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb Built OOB. It went together quite well other than a nasty wing join. One issue to look out for is fixing the main undercarriage in the down position. Airfix have tried to do the right thing in allowing you to fit the undercarriage at the end of the build, but the join is very flimsy and the legs only just hang on. Paints were Tamiya acrylics XF-61 Dark Green, XF-82 Ocean Grey, XF-20 Medium Grey plus various blacks, aluminium etc. Weathered with Flory Dark Dirt and Grime washes and Abteilung 502 oils. This aircraft was flown by 133 Squadron RAF which was the third of three Eagle squadrons manned largely by American volunteer pilots, many of whom came to the RAF via the RCAF. It was formed in August 1941 and in September 1942 the Squadron was transferred to the USAAF as the 336th Fighter Squadron of the 4th Fighter Group.

That looks good Andrew. Nice job on the wavy line. The decals will make it pop.

Many thanks for your comments and great info. Many thanks. Thanks Laurie. A tempting idea but I don’t think I’m as brave as you.

Good afternoon This is my recently completed 1/48 Messerschmitt Bf109 G-6 from Tamiya. According to Scalemates, this aircraft was flown by Oblt. Wilhelm Schilling of JG 54 Grünherz in February 1944. It is a new tool Tamiya kit from 2017 and I would say that it is the best quality kit I have ever built. The engineering is superb and the fit is next level. I used a tiny amount of filler to cover redundant hatches, otherwise just a bit of light sanding. Even the smallest, complex parts are beautifully moulded and fit exactly where they should. The only negative would be the decals - a bit on the thick side which is a Tamiya trait. There are parts for open or closed cowlings which can be interchanged. They are held in place with magnets. Built OOB. There is no need to add anything. All Tamiya acrylic paints. The upper surfaces were: Grey; XF-54 Dark Sea Grey + XF-63 German Grey mixed 3:1 Green; XF-24 Dark Grey + XF-27 Black Green mixed 1:3 Yellow; XF-3 Yellow + XF-6 Copper mixed 5:1 The lower surface is XF-23 Light Blue Also used were various blacks, greys, silver, aluminium. Weathered with Flory Dark Dirt and Grime washes plus Abteilung 502 oils.

Really taking shape now Laurie. Fingers crossed for getting the eye op done on time. Covid is a real mess here. After just about knocking it on the head last year, it all went pear shaped a few months ago. Sydney is in week five of a quasi lock down with np end in sight. Melbourne and Adelaide aren't far behind. Fortunately for us country bumkins, we are carrying on close to normal but unable to travel too far. The vaccination roll out is a complete balls up. The Federal Government is in charge of securing supplies and the State Governments are in charge of delivering jabs. They are all pulling in different directions and playing politics. They are telling us all to get vaccinated but there is shortage of vaccines except for AZ which they scared people into not taking. Now the masses want Pfizer but we are way down the waiting list. Anyway, we will be getting our second AZ jabs in about 3 weeks. In the meantime we are in the depths of a real winter here in the high country. No snow yet but plenty of rain and wind with a lot of minus temperatures. My stash is dwindling but I have enough to get me through the next few months. Cheers Steve

A stunning finish.

A very nice Sea Hawk. Looks great.

Definitely looking like a Herald, even sans wings. Nice paintwork as usual. I hope the eye situation improves sooner than later. It’s nice to see progress continuing.

A brilliant finish.

A very nice finish on your Buccaneer Mick. Nicely done. I went on board HMS Eagle with my ex-RN Dad when she visited Sydney in 1971.

A great update Steve. Very interesting to see the wings take shape. Cheers Steve

A great looking Canberra. Nicely done.

The fuselage and wings are looking good Laurie. I’m still confident of a cracking finish. Cheers Steve

Thanks Jens. It never occurred to me to do that but if I strike a similar issue again I’ll give it a go. Steve

This is my latest build. 1/48 Airfix Hawker Hunter F5 as flown by No.1 Squadron out of Cyprus during the 1956 Suez crisis. Built OOB. I painted the stripes in preference to using the kit's decals. The camo was air brushed free hand. This went together quite well as you would expect from recent Airfix offerings although the smaller pieces can be brittle. The main issue is the leading edge wing inserts which convert what is basically an F6 kit into the F4/F5. One side blended in quite well while the other gave me some grief. Painted with mainly Tamiya acrylics XF-54 Dark Sea Grey and XF-81 Dark Green for the camo Vallejo Metal Color Silver was used for the underside Weathered with Dark Dirt wash and Abteilung 502 oils Photos taken outside in the Winter sunshine A couple of indoor photos In the display cabinet with my other Suez builds. Cheers Steve