Spad

I am wrestling, however, with the shade of yellow used underneath on the TT stripes. The Xtradecal sheet suggests Trainer Yellow. Feels a little dark to me but not sure. I am aware that later generation aircraft (eg Canberras) use Golden Yellow but can't decide if this is too late a colour for the T.7 I am modelling. Then again, the Boscombe Harvards and their NF.14 chase plane (WS838) were all painted in Golden Yellow and date from the early 60s - anybody any thoughts?

Hello all and HNY! Similar to the F.8 scenario, I have been head down beavering at this one due to the rapidly looming deadline (which I note has, thankfully receded a couple of weeks - Thx Enzo!) rather than reporting, so apologies for not being up to date. I was trying hard to get the nose and tail mounted for the end of 2022 but it didn't quite make it what with fiddly little adjustment and pinickety details etc. I decided that as I couldn't locate any reasonable photo references for the seatbelt configuration, that I would follow a friend's example and use a generic RAF belt set from Eduard and dropped a Sutton (I think) style harness over the seats. Here's where I got to: IMG_0179 by Rick Smith, on Flickr May not be 100% (or even 50%!) accurate but I think it looks the part. In general this conversion set is beautifully mastered and moulded - except the canopy. I hesitate to call it the transparencies. Here you can see the windscreen as moulded alongside the main canopy after a session with polishes, various plus a dip in Gauzy Glass Coat - highly recommended. I think good enough for a canopy that will be posed open. IMG_0189 by Rick Smith, on Flickr As for the windscreen, I am aiming to use the kit example - should fit! I will just have to try to recreate the extra bar in the left side panel the creates the funny little quarter light arrangement - I'm thinking a bit of Evergreen strip (very!) carefully glued in - maybe after a dip in Gauzy or Klear to help protect from fogging - required anyway when attaching to the model as I will need to use cyano. Next update will see the airframe assembled with a bit of paint/primer applied - we're getting there! Best Rick

So, happy new year to everybody! It's been a bit busy of late so I have been concentrating on getting stuff done as the finish date is looming ever closer - I may have bitten off more than I can chew coming late to this! Anyway, the F.8 is coming together and this is how it looked some time around new Year. managed to get around 30 gms of lead flashing in behind and under the cockpit so shouldn't be a tail-sitter! As you can see, I have made an attempt at the oil pump cooling hole in the L/E of the spar in the intake. I am planning to have the port engine cover loose but the starboard buttoned up. As the F.8 will be fitted with the deep breather intakes it will need a bit of engine detail so I will be fitting the kit motors into both nacelles - be different for the T.7 though. IMG_0185 by Rick Smith, on Flickr That's all for this instalment - next time (tomorrow maybe?) I will be able to show quite a bit more progress. All the best everyone Rick

Hi can anybody confirm for me the shade of yellow used by RAF TT meteors (F.8 and T.7). I have heard Golden Yellow, Lemon Yellow and the Xtradecal sheet which indicates Trainer Yellow, The latter looks a little dark to my eye but could be wrong! This on top of the RN TT.20s with their fluoro Saturn Yellow. Any confirmations would be much appreciated Thx Rick

Indeed we are! I am also looking forward to the next stage which should be joining the cockpit halves then bringing together all of the primary airframe parts 😜 👍

Hi everyone - hope all had a great Crimbo!?! I know I did! Now it's all done with I can get back to the bench and show a little progress. As with the F.8, a fair amount of time has been spent tidying the wing seams and refining the edges etc so not much visual to see - no pics. I have painting the inside walls and adding decals where there appear to be gauges or placards, plus a bit of silver dry-brushing and black wash. Not sure how well it stands up for itself out in the light but I think it should be ok once down in the black hole of a finished cockpit! Alleycat's designer has tried hard to include the donor kit parts where they can be and here you can see the fuselage halves and floor with the kit forward bulkhead which will take the nosewheel assembly just as Airfix intend. IMG_0175 by Rick Smith, on Flickr I have also spent a load of time trying to get a good match between the resin cockpit section and working on a good fit between the floor and the cockpit halves. To be fair, it is very nicely engineered and once joint faces are cleaned up it literally slots together. Nice one Alleycat! The forward section will hold together simply from the interference fit between the resin parts! The tape here is to ensure stability while I was messing about with the wing, fuselage and cockpit alignments IMG_0177 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Like the F.8, I finished of the instrument panels with a matt coat and dabs of gloss for the dial faces IMG_0176 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Next I need to work out what the seatbelt arrangement is. Nothing is mentioned in the Alleycat instructions but I imagine it to be something similar to the night fighter so I will take my lead from them, in the absence of any hard reference data/pics. But first, it might be time for bed as tomorrow we're off on the club Annual Pilgrimage to Hannant's where I will pick up a couple of Master pitot tubes for this and the F.8. Night all and thanks for looking in! Rick

Right, now Christmas is out of the way and the house is returning to normality, let's get back to the Meatboxes. I trust everybody had a good Crimbo!?! Been pushing along with the wings since my last update but tbh it's mainly seam tidying and edge thinning etc so not much to show. However, getting the fuselage closed up is a priority and to do that the cockpit has to be built and, therefor, painted. In my excitement, I got the walls and floor together before I remembered to pics of the painting etc. Here goes nothing with a couple of shots of the assembled cockpit tub - hope you can see some stuff in there! Stbd wall IMG_0169 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Port wall IMG_0168 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Did some work on the Neomega seat. First it was adapt it by removing a lot of hidden detail from the rear face in order to fit the kit's, what shall we call it(?), mounting armature(?), along with the integral plate behind the headrest (armour plating?). The kit part itself also needed to be shortened slightly to fit the seat. When it came to painting the seat I was at a slight loss as, being colour blind, the average reference shot wasn't too much use. I read somewhere that the seat covers were khaki so out with the bottle marked "Khaki" and off we went. I can see blue so no probs there, the rest I made up. A coat of gloss, a Warhammer Black Ink pin wash then a coat of matt saw me complete on the seat. IMG_0172 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Seat and tub brought together - just need to get the cannons fitted along with their spent cartridge chutes. IMG_0172 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Finished the instrument panel as well with a few extra bits of white paint, a coat of matt and some drops of gloss in the dial faces. IMG_0173 by Rick Smith, on Flickr That's it for tonight - thought I had better show my face again! Night all! Rick

Looking good James and those roundels do look good! I have one of those cutters so I should give the roundels a go - but maybe not this time around!

So, progress has been slow due to there being lots of fettling and taped-up dry fitting going on while I try to match the resin front end to the kit mid section. I have built the wings while I'm at it (think I mentioned that I might glue the fuselage section onto the wings to possibly help mating the front end. like the f.8 parallel build, I similar issues closing the leading edge joints but I think we're there now. Here's a quick shot of it mocked-up IMG_0163 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Alongside the F.8 I also addressed the instrument panels where I used the 2 kit decals in an attempt to maintain some level of similarity between the two panels - otherise it was Airscale to the rescue with a high probability of mismatched instrument styles (I know - nerdy! Ziiip!) You can just make out the rear panel - sorry for the blur. IMG_0164 by Rick Smith, on Flickr That's all for tonight so I bid you farewell and thank you for stopping by. Night! Rick

Looking good Bob! I hadn't heard about the short shots (must pay more attention!) or noticed it on my kits (must pay more attention!)

Thanks Bob (Retired), Bob (Ginger) and Back in the Saddle!😉😃 Re the tanks, I like them so as there doesn't seem to be a definitive yes/no I reckon I am going to go with tanks and imagine it's on deployment. Been a bit quiet on the update front and a blow by blow account of building the wings would be pretty tedious, I just wanted to show that there has been progress (of sorts!) Wings are built up. The sharper eyed amongst you (or those still awake) will notice the serial number and mark written in the centre section. This is just to keep me straight as I have drilled the holes for the underwing tanks - I'm not using them on the T.7 and they are pretty small tbh! Many people have reported a faultless build but I have had issues with closing the leading edges on both sets of wings. maybe it's me, maybe it's the kit, I don't know but both took a bit of clamping and tape with a progressive closing of the seams around the wing. IMG_0166 by Rick Smith, on Flickr I have also decalled the instrument panel. I have used the kit panel decals from both kits on the T.7 (so they match) so used individual decals from Airscale on this one (maybe hadn't thought that one through properly - it was fiddly!). Looks ok, probably not the right instruments but should look reasonably convincing in the depths of the cockpit. IMG_0165 by Rick Smith, on Flickr That's all for tonight - thanks for dropping in! Rick

Nice neat work there, as ever Bob, as I have come to expect from you 😉 Moving along fast as well! I had better get my skates on!

Absolutely are Bob and thanks - good to see you getting the mojo back! Most of what I have been up to recently is concentrated on the wings as I am making up the wings for the T.7 build so figured it would be sensible to do both at the same time - Henry Ford eat your heart out! As with the other, not much to really see so no pics yet. I am. however, debating underwing tanks or not - I think the F.8 tended more towards having them - what does everybody think? While I had the Tamiya NATO Black out for the T.7 I also set about the cockpit area for this one. That Neomega seat is gorgeous - just hope my painting can do it justice - I know the pic doesn't! IMG_0135 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Anyway, onwards and (hopefully) upwards! Thanks for looking in!

No, no blood Bob, just a brief moment of blue air! But I have been busy trimming edges and refining the resin parts. A quick wash in soapy water as recommended, a spray of primer then a decent coat of Tamiya NATO Black in the cockpit. IMG_0136 by Rick Smith, on Flickr AlleyCat suggests it might be easier to fit the new nose if the wings are already attached to the fuselage mid section. I reckon this is a food tip as the fuselage once cut is pretty unsupported and flexible so I will be fitting the wing first to maintain the correct cross section and width. Nothing much to see at the mo' as most of what has happened so far is fettling - so no pics yet. All for now. Thanks for dropping by!

Indeed - hence the broken razor saw I guess! 😆

Thanks chaps Yes, a bit of surgery indeed, but not too bad and, remarkably, not too scary! AlleyCat have chosen existing panel lines to cut the kit along so using my trusty razor saw I set about the most daunting elements of this build.... IMG_0134 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Not much original Meteor kit left once it's done! And, yes, I did manage to break the P/E blade! Think that will do for this evening! Night all!

Hello I have just registered an almost OOB F.8 but this is one I have been wanting to do for some time so why, I thought, do it as a dual build. I may not get it done as I don't really want to compromise it too much (within my skills that is!) but I figured that I may be able to get some efficiencies in doing them together. So, this one is the same Airfix F.8 converted to a T.7 using that lovely looking resin conversion from AlleyCat (AC48062C). I shall be finishing it, using Xtradecal X48-046, as WA725 of the Leuchars station flight, used for target towing duties, suitably finished in HSS with black/yellow undersides, dayglo bands (love dayglo!) and joint 43 & 151 Sqn fighter bars either side of the roundel - should be eye catching! A friend built one and said it was a dream to put together - it looked fabulous, I just hope mine turns out half as well! Here goes, wish me luck! ATB Rick

Hello Bit late to the party here but here goes! My entry will be the Airfix F.8 in 1/48 finished as WL135 when used by the OC 245Sqn when based at RAF Horsham St Faith (now Norwich Airport) using Xtradecal X48-043. I shall also (probably) use a Neomega resin seat - it looks gorgeous tbh! F.8 Boxes by Rick Smith, on Flickr City of Norwich Aviation Museum is my local museum and displays a Mk.8 (WK654) painted in those colours and served as my inspiration for the build - here she is: WP_20160409_15_26_16_Pro by Rick Smith, on Flickr Let the games begin so, fingers crossed! Thanks for looking Rick

Hi all Johnny come lately here Permission to join in, please? I have a couple of options both based around the Airfix 1/48 F.8 - neither will be completely OOB. I may do both as a dual build as that always seems quite an efficient way to go, Thanks Rick

Excellent all round! I shall be using this as a build inspiration for mine, if you don't mind! 😃

My thoughts entirely. Actually, yes, I had found that from a search but it started talking about mixing colours and, as I mentioned in the OP, I am colour blind so avoid mixing myself by any means possible. I need to paint by numbers effectively, using pre-mixed matches. Thanks for that - I have also found an AK Interactive Sinai Grey which seems to look similar (to me at least) but then I got a little confused by a MIG version which looks quite different, darker and maybe a little more green than the other 2? Thanks both for the input - much appreciated

Nobody want to step up to this one?

Hi all I see that there has been much discussion over this in the past so sorry if this is an old subject by now but I cannot extract any definitive answer from the discussions I have read. So here goes! What is a recommended choice of paint for the main colour on the Merkava 4 which I understand to be Sinai Grey 82? What I have noticed is that it is far from clear (the eternal problem I reckon!) so I will understand if I get a variety of opinions. To be honest, I am new to AFVs so I am well out of my comfort zone with this one! Not to mention being red/green colour blind so I tend to paint by numbers and avoid mixing my own colours like the plague, for that very reason. I also appreciate that fading and dirt will impact the final colour anyway so all I am looking for is a decent starting point so I don't get caustic comments if it appears in public anywhere! 😁 Thx Rick

Hi I have the Hasegawa F-15C kit and wish to combine it with the Two Bobs sheet with the Grim Reapers End of an Era scheme. I am not too up-to-date with F-15 evolution so my question is: is the kit accurate for this scheme or does it need work to bring it into line with how they are/were when retired from Lakenheath? Thanks in advance Rick

@Steve McArthur Thanks for that Steve. I had figured that was the number but every time I looked at pics of an A-10/the seat itself it seemed to be a different colour each time. Appreciate the reply! ATB Rick