Billos

@TheyJammedKenny! Thanks for the info! Do you have a source for the engines? I looked online but couldn't see anything.

In the course of my project to document the 100 years of the RAF (now 106 years... behind schedule!) I got the Airfix Classics re-issue of the Dominie and Jetstream. It ocurred to me that these aircraft are basically originally addressing the same market of executive mini-airliner, and on adoption by the various forces, fulfilled a very similar role in twin training, admittedly Jet vs Turboprop. (but a turboprop is really only a jet engine with a propellor, or is a jet engine just a turboprop without a propeller?🤔) Whatever, I thought it would be good project to build them 'side-by-side'. I'll be doing the Jetstream in RAF FTS red/white, and the Dominie in the excellent Gloss Black/White of the later RAF Cranwell fleet. And we're off.

@Seb.Ace Try looking at this:

Great result for a "first-renew" - much better than mine was! Anyway, no-one here has mentioned Mr Surfacer, which I call "magic crack smoothing stuff"! It comes in different thickneses and is invaluable for filling and finishing gaps too small for putty. You can find plenty of references to it all over Britmodeller. There are several brands. Mr Surfacer is the Mr Hobby brand.

@Dave Swindell @Steve McArthur @XV571 Thanks for the info and leads. Much appreciated.

It's a pet peeve of mine that whenever you search on google for "(insert aircraft name) Cockpit" all you ever get is a picture of the instrument panel. So I was looking for a picture of the rear cockpit bulkhead in a Hercules. I'm making the italeri C130E'H as the RAF version. . It has what appears to be a large blank rectangle, which I think should actually be a door. It also has a fireax and extinguisher, and I would like to find out whether that's correct and if so the colors. Another pet peeve of mind that the default color for fire-ex's seems universally to be modelled as red. In fact the color of the firex depends on what sort it is. (black (co2), green (halon), blue (powder), red (water) are some of the colors possible). And are those stretchers or folding beds/tables attached to the bulkhead. I have cutaway pic of the Herc,but it's not clear on the cockpit interior. So in short my question is has anyone got a pic or a link to the entire cockpit interior of a RAF c130e/h. Is the J very different? Can I use that as a pattern? Thanks for your attention.

This has probably been explained somewhere before but I can't find it ( a search for reputation gives zero results.) So maybe worthwhile giving a rundown in the FAQS. Cheers.

@Tomcat101Is the pink cast an artefact of the photo color balance or is it actually pink? I ask because specifically in the last pic the whole engine area is pink, yet the fuselage and wing leading edges are white. I do like the split scheme, I did something similar for my sea fury. 2 for the price of 1!

Click on the pic and you'll get a large view.

Well here it is finished. I hope I made a good recovery after my Varnish Catastrophe (see wip I an in awe of @Red five's incredible job on the Johnnie Johnston version. Someday I I hope to emulate that! Meanwhile here's my attempt. It's certainly a long way from the first 1/24 Spit I built back in 1973! Constructive comments welcome. Yes I know the tailplane's not level, The photo revealed that to me! 😕

So finally new roundels arrived (Techmod via Hannants) so applied those and the new stencils which also were removed in the repaint. Then with the advice of the staff at Wallack's my local Art store I used a brush on finish called DEMCO podge. Brilliant! It's intended for finishing actual Art paintings. Does smell a bit vinegary as you apply it, and also looks white and lumpy as it goes on, but dries to a Beautiful smooth matt finish with just the right sheen. Art to the Rescue! I did practice on a "sacrificial victim" first! It did get me thinking that sometimes we focus too intently on products specifically targetted at us as plastic modellers, while there are plenty of other non-model products that work. Not to mention cheaper! RFI pics coming just as soon as I clear a space in the basement for the photo booth!

Gotta love that acronym- Força Aérea Brasileira - Brazilian Air Force. This is a AT6-D Texan of the Esquadrilha da Fumaça (Smoke Squadron) the aerobatic demonstartion team of the FAB from 1952-1969, led most of that time by Major (later Colonel) Braga who is credited as the pilot with the most hours flying the Texan anywhere in the world. Anyway it's the Academy kit reboxed by HTC (Hobby Trade Centre of Sao Paulo) with special decals by FCM of Rio de Janeiro. A fun little build with a surprisingly intricate scheme. Hope you enjoy it. And since it's apparently de riguer for a Texan to have a penny stuck on the engine, here she is with the Brazilian equivalent as near to the engine as I can get it!

@BOBO I use a similar method of home made stencils (using photoshop to enlarge and copy drawings) but I have always cut out individual stencils, and then agonise over the exact positioning of them. I never thought of doing the whole wing at once! One of those things that's obvious as soon as someone else thinks of it! Do-oh ! (slaps head) Good work!

And let's not mention the Tora-Tora-Tora At-6 harvard-Zeros! Although there are actually models on here of those exactly. Are they Authentic?!🤔

I have used this method a lot. It does depend on there being clearly defined frame mouldings, and careful timing on the amount of 'dryness' of the paint. Of course it ONLY works with Acrylic paints. It will NOT work with enamel paints which bite into the plastic too much, too quickly. Enamel paints the only way is to make masks as described elsewhere. Another way to do it, if the frame lines are mostly straight is to use 'invisible' tape, (Scotch Magic tape) which I paint beforehand then cut thin strips at the frame width, stick them on the canopy and cut to length. A gentle blow with a hot air gun (or hairdryer) then melts the tape gum sufficiently to bind it to the canopy. Again you have to be careful with timing and heat! Too much heat and all you get is a sticky mess!