johnd

My understanding is that Hurricane Mk.Is had tail wheels with a straight arm while Mk.IIs had a 'knuckle' type. Was there any overlap in this? The reason I ask is that in the latest 'Flypast' magazine, on page 50, there's a picture of Z4941 captioned as a Mk.IIb. It quite clearly has the tail wheel normally seen on a Mk.I. Is this a local repair or was the situation not as clear cut as I'd thought? Thanks, John.

On a more positive note, the lid's on: John.

As I feared, the easy ride ended with the wheel assembly. The push fit of the axles to the hub is so tight I broke two despite making sure there was no paint on the surfaces. If I had my time again I'd ream the wheels first. The broken axles have been stuck back with CA and are curing, awaiting the tracks. John.

For those wondering what to do with all the pots of Hu 30 they've accumulated, the old advice always used to be to add red to it. I don't recall the ratio but messed about with this a while back and it certainly brought it closer to RAF Dark Green, to the point where I would actually use it on a model. John.

A 111 Squadron Spitfire like this is on my to-do list. The original plan was to brush Revell Anthracite but someone recommended cutting edge technology in the form of a rattle can of Volvo Dark Grey. Another option, in the old days, people used to tone down black paint for this purpose by adding in a little red. John.

As this is precisely the sort of thing I'd do, I checked mine out. Amazingly, they're all ok. Either I assiduously followed the instructions or got lucky. I think I know which it is. I also noticed that Hobby Boss Spitfires don't have elevator trim tab actuators at all! John.

As threatened, chassis and hull. It's been fun so far with all the parts fitting well, so long as you don't put too much paint on the mating surfaces. It's the wheels next though... John.

The turret now has some paint on it, Humbrol 117, which went quite well over some grey Hicote primer. It needs the machine guns added but some light weathering is next. Trouble is, a decision hasn't been made on the markings. Ideally, one without the white cross on the top. In the meantime, there's plenty to get on with. There's also some paint gone on to the chassis and hull, pictures soon. It's going together pretty well and it should be done within the new extension. What's slowing me down is actually the photography, light is quite poor at the moment. John.

Seconded, Tony O. Hataka is my go-to choice for Acrylics now. The set of Red Line paints I have (the Polish one, as it happens) brushes on well too even though it's optimised for airbrush. John.

There's a Rob Taurus one here . I've not used Rob Taurus stuff personally, but I've heard others speak highly of them. John.

I don't believe you can install extensions on Chrome for Android. John.

Thanks, Tony. I was just about to ask what the difference was. John.

Great job on a good kit. Thanks for the comments on the acrylics, encouraging for someone like me who is still getting used to them. Any tips welcome. John.

Some progress has been made: I've cut the turret parts off the runners as above. The muzzle brake is a metal replacement, I forget which make and it doesn't say on the packet. The one provided in the kit is a definite weak point, showing little similarity to the original. And in a fit of enthusiasm: I stuck it together too. Although this is a snap kit, liquid cement was used to make things a little more permanent. The fit was ok as long the pins were lined up properly, though some of the handles were a little battered in the process. The next step is to tidy up the glue marks and slap some paint on the turret. The instructions recommend Humbrol 116 for this, but I read that 117 is a match for Soviet tank green so was going to go with that. Opinions welcome... John.

26 please. John.

There's a mention of V6609 (YO-X) on this page John.

Phew

Pardon my ignorance, but what is that nasty looking gizmo in front the paint in post #4? John.

It does but luckily the Quickboost one-piece resin replacement intended for the Fujimi kit fits. Well, I say 'fits', it fits as well as it does on the Fujimi model so needs a little shimming. John.

Not pointless at all, a wash is thinned paint so entirely relevant. John

During my time using enamel paints I used nothing but white spirit and found it fine, in the main. It wasn't too 'hot' and drying times were good. The cheap stuff I tried once thinned ok but gave a chalky finish. Low odour white spirit, however, was completely useless to the point where one of them wouldn't even clean a brush properly. I haven't tried proprietary thinners but Jamie's comments above are interesting, particularly the bit about returning thinned paint to the tin. It was something I never did with white spirit as received wisdom told me it was to be avoided. John.

Good stuff! I think this is the first build of this kit I've seen where the glazing has actually fitted properly. John.

There, some pictures. Only took an hour too. These are the sprue shots promised in the original post, though actually, due to the erudition of Britmodeller, I now know that they're really runners and the sprue is the channel that supplies the plastic to the mould. Apologies for the fuzziness of the shots. They're only there to show that it's not been started really, I mean, no-one actually looks at the parts, do they? John.

Cheers, Peter! The IS tanks were introduced due to dissatisfaction with the performance of the KV. The measure of a tank design depends on three things; speed, protection and firepower. The Russians got this right with the T-34, not so with the KV-1. The latter was substantially heavier and therefore slower and its thicker armour was not seen as adequate compensation by the crews. The armament was the same for both vehicles. Attempts were made to up-gun the KV with an 85mm weapon but this was not entirely successful. The final solution was the IS-2, featuring a redesigned hull and turret accommodating a massive 122mm gun. This turned out to be a much bet than its predecessors to the extent that the Russians referred to it as the "Victory Tank". John.

I'd have thought a short pointy de Havilland spinner would be appropriate for a Va but haven't seen a photo. The trouble is that photos of Bader's Spitfires are often miscaptioned so it's not easy to know anyway whether the picture is of a Mk.II or V. John.