raguk

Thought the same when I cancelled my subscription last month, glad i wasn't the only one thinking the same.

A fantastic build of an old but still viable kit. Your additions show what is possible with these golden oldies and prove they shouldn't be dismissed. Well done Thanks for posting RG

Thanks for posting great shots RG

Has to be one of the best builds of this kit a 109 I have had the pleasure to view! It just seems to sit so right and looks great coupled with fantastic photography and well presented. Thanks for posting RG

Hi all, Thought I would have to butt in at this point and will probably regret doing so but after spending a pleasant few hours last weekend building my kit to the stage of primer I have to say my experience of the kit is some what different. Regarding the missing vents and other details I agree that its a obvious feature of the real aircraft and I would have expected these to be depicted as Airfix scanned the aircraft in question. The build so far for me has be pain free no fit issues what so ever except of a small misalignment of the forward end of the underside plate, a swipe or two with a sanding sponge fixed that. Once careful thought about waht was hindering the fit and test fitting was conducted all the parts offered a trouble free fit for me. The spine insert was carefully glued in stages and once the glue dried fully a scribing tool was lightly passed along the seam line to make it blend into the rest of the model.(Made easier by the typical panel lines I have to admitt) The same process was employed with both intakes and while they did need a little sanding to match the contour of the fuselage section nothing more than careful dry fitting and superglue was required. The underside was slightly different in the fit was compromised by the intake trucking at the forward end and this was simply sanded until flush fit was obtained. The wing tip approach by Airfix resulted in a large step and to overcome this all the location dimples were removed and the mating surfaces sanded checked and sanded again until a nice fit was obtained. Not got up to the undercarriage stages etc yet, so who knows what I will find when I do. So to sum up in total agreement with what Bobski says above. Oh and heres the proof before any primer was applied. The one part canopy offers good protection for the cockpit as evidenced by the reaction to the superglue kicker and the tail is not glued in but those ILS aerials will need removing for a Navy airframe. I shall get my coat........... See you at Bolton Show Rick G

Hi Gents, Thanks for al they help, I just need to build them! Of course I will share them with you. @Ted Are you at Bolton this year if so catch up with you then Thanks once more Rick G

Phantom help needed!! Just embarking on the route to a couple of Brit Phantoms using the 1/48th Hase kits. I want to build an FGR2 but only have a couple of boxings of the Fg1. What do I need to change? I seem to remember something about the rear horizontal tails being different if so are these able to be "Borrowed" from another Hase F4 Kit. Thanks in advance RG

Hi all, As 2017 draws to a close it's a good opportunity to reflect on the builds, and to share them with you. Some have been posted in RFI but not all so I hope you enjoy taking a quick look at the past year with me. Let me know your favourite, Hope you all have a great 2018 Thanks for looking Rick G Jan 17: saw the completion of the HobbyBoss 1/48th Lansen Feb 17: two came of the bench the Airfix 148th P-40 and Revells 1/72nd Typhoon Mar 17: Airfix's new Stuka and Tamiya KI-61 both 48th Apr 17: Airfix again this time their 1/72nd Martlet Jun 17: Academy snap together F-15 E in 1/72nd and Zevezda Su-33 again in 1/72nd Jul 17: Tamiya Opel Blitz in 1/48th Aug 17: HobbyBoss Su-27 in 1/48th Oct 17: Hasegawa F-16 C in splinter aggressor scheme in 1/48th Nov 17: Airfix 1/72nd Me 262 and my kit of the year Kinetic 1/48th two seat Harrier T8

Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year to you all. I would like to share my last build of the bench with Kinetics new 2 seat Harrier. There is a little bit of a story around this kit so to keep it brief the kit arrived on the 14th October and work started immediately with a deadline for the kit to be on display at Telford just four weeks later. For those eagle eyed modellers amongst you it was on the IPMS Lancashire club display at SMW. Cant go into too much detail as the build will be in print. But a much improved build than their two Sea Harriers and a first in 1/48th scale injection moulded plastic. A thoroughly enjoyable built any one who thought NMFs were difficult than they should try gloss black! All out the box with Tamiya gloss black and Eduard RBF tags. Thanks for looking Rick G

Hi All, While you all wait in anticipation of their pending arrival here in the U.K. Here is a little taste of what you get, for the eagle eyed amongst you at SMW this was on display on the IPMS Lancashire stand. It got the royal seal of approval too from Raymond and Sylvia aka Mr and Mrs Kinetic at Scale Model World. Rick G.

Thanks for the comments good to meet with you there if all to briefly catch you over the weekend Rick

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I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy for review and will appear in SAM in due course. There are some changes to the assembly of the wing and intake sections that were the Achilles heel of both the FA2 and FRS1. Still needs a little care and attention to detail in test fitting the parts with some sanding needed in places. Super decal sheet as well,covering nearly a dozen airframes. Hope this is of help Rick G

Hi All, Not posted anything new here for a while, none the less been lurking in the background looking in now and again at your builds. This is my take on Zvezda's SU-33 Flanker D in 1/72nd scale. This is a fantastic kit in terms of fit and detail and well worth a look if you want to add the Sea Flanker to your collection. My build is out of the box with only Eduard seat belts added plus a Master Model metal pitot. Paint was my first outing with MRP and was a pleasure o use. Decals are from from the kit and worked a treat. Thanks for looking Rick G

Nice rendition of a Greek Viper! Thanks for posting Rick G

Hi, Most modellers have complained about the decals in these kits, and I also found the Xtradecal aftermarket ones not to be any better. I used hot water to apply them with this makes them a little more flexable then Daco Red strong setting soultion on the day glo strips on my build. I still had to resort to a little touch up with Hmbrol 205 in some places. Great kit though. Hope this helps, Rick

Great work,one of the best examples I have had the pleasure of seeing built. Thanks for posting Rick G

Hi all, its been a while since my last R.F.I. so here is my latest completion,the New Tamiya Ki-61 Hien. The kit is superb in every way with perfect fit throughout. Finished with the kit decals as the machine operated by Captain Teruhiko Kobayashi 244th Air Group Chofu Airbase Feb 1945. Finished with Alclad Dull Aluminium and Duraluminium and Tamiya Gloss Red for the tail. Light weathering was applied with a very thin mix of red/brown and black airbrushed on to achieve streaks and exhaust staining. Light chipping was applied to the top cowl to suggest its repeated removal. The yellow leading edges were sprayed instead of using the kit supplied decals and a mix of Gunze RLM04 and a touch of red was mixed by eye to match the yellow used by Tamiya. All in all a very nice project. Thanks for looking Rick G.

All too often these days we seem quick of the mark in complaining when things don't go the way we expect. Is never been so easy to vent our frustrations quickly and some times with out thought. So what happens when things exceed our expectations? Do we offer positive feedback in the same rapid fire mode, maybe not. Its quite refreshing there for that I do pass on my positive comments in this case to all at Creative models for offering a superb level of service. The latest example of which saw the item ordered at 1300hrs and the kit was in my hands less than 24hrs later, post free as well (if ordered over £30 in value). Every order to date I have placed has seen the same timely delivery with exception over a weekend. Great work and thank you, Rick G

Hi all, Must admit to being a bit lazy on the posting front of late, A couple completed so far this year and far too many on the go. Here is the Kinetic 1/48th F/A-18 C completed late last year. Painted with Gunze colours built from the box with Two Bobs decals for the markings a challenging build but worth the effort. Thanks for looking Rick G

Good Job, Dont woory about the decals mine were a pain too, near boiling water and Daco strong beat mine in the end. RG

All the orange bits are decals and supplied in the kit. Nasty to apply as they don't really want to curve round the leading eadge of the wing with out cracking. Very hot water and plenty of setting solution is the way to go along with a lot of patience. RG

Thanks Simon, Yeah Kinetic featured a lot this year, get them in for review etc. The kits though are better with each release and the Hornet is a fantastic kit but not an easy build. with care and respect ,all with a few kits under their belt should be ok with them. I would go with the Hasegawa F-16 A though just for ease of build no drop in panels etc as found on the Kinetic kit. RG.

Well a bit of a slow start form me this year with a few larger project builds that seemed to take for ever. A modest haul though at 10 aircraft and to make the numbers up two Bandi Star Wars kits too. BB8 and R2D2 (Sorry no pics) All but the Vampire have been featured in SAM magazine and a couple that will soon ( I hope) All the best to you and your family members for Christmas and the New Year. Thanks for looking, Rick G Anyway on with the picture so in reverse order, Just off the bench and took just 10 days is the new Meng 1/48th P-51 D This one took me the longest at around 3 months the new Kinetic F/A-18 C its not even made to RFI yet! Airfix Jet Provost in 1/72nd a nice quick build Airfix Vampire in 1/72nd as another quick build! Great Wall Hobby T-33 again in 1/48th Kinetic 1/48th Etendard another larger build project Another big project in the form of the Kinetic 1/48th scale Harrier FRS1 Airfix again ad the first of the big builds 1/48th Meteor F8 Airfix 1/72nd Scale Beaufighter Trumpeter 1/72nd Scale Mig 29

Hi Jonners From my experience with both the Frs1 and FA2 there are a couple of real gotcha's to watch out for. Check, check and check again the fit of the cockpit tub to ensure you dont have a gap in the front windscreen section when the fuselage is mated together. The upper wing can be a pig to fit but easy to solve with sanding sticks just thin down the plastic around the opening and check the fit constantly. Other things I found easier and help the build sequence along the way, I fitted the intake outer parts etc to each fuselage side to ensure a good fit, and the grooves for the etched wing fences need deepening to aid their fit. Overall though a cracking kit but treat it as a short run model and constantly dry fit check sand etc My build of the FRS1 was in the August issue of SAM magazine if you fancy a read RFI here Enjoy the kit, Hope this helps Rick G