Eric B.

Hi, Thank you dearly Armando. Huh, exactly same as Dave (e8n2). I am no Facebook person, but will try to find a solution with fellow modelers. Best to you. Eric B.

Hi Armando, Wow, I would be interested to find who is he and if he sells his production. Thank you for your information. Eric B.

Hi Trev, I never know with Revell reboxings but the Revell F4U-1A I am comparing the Revell F4U-4 to is a Revell specific moulding. It is quite decent and recent kit - maybe 2 to 4 year old now I guess - and they share no part with the academy F4U-1 kit. The Academy F4U-1 is widely based on the older Hasegawa F4U-1 kit of which it is just a copy with engraved panel lines, maybe with a few additional details. They are no so bad but they are quite basic kits. Main flaws are erroneous cockpit with floor and they mix details between -1A and -1D versions. With some work, they can be build as nice little models. To cover the F4U-1 series Cosairs in 1/72nd scale best are the Tamiya kits. I think they can be found at quite reasonable prices and subversions differences have been precisely documented by Tamiya. I I had to provide an F4U-1 ranking for early Corsairs in 1/72nd scale Tamiya would a distant first, Revell a good second and Academy would come an acceptable third. Eric B.

Hi, Thank you all dearly for your kind words, they are very motivating. Thank you for your remarks about building and researchng. About researching this is - I think - a very interesting part in modelling. I am no Corsair - or any other aircraft - specialist but the more I research any type of aircraft the more I know there is always something to learn ... and I am pretty sure I will miss something. This time I missed the lengh of the exhaust stacks... As soon as I spotted the most obvious errors (cockpit area) my aim was to correct the Revell F4U-4 as much as I could. In the end I am quite satisfied because after the original feeling of dissatisfaction, the kit being poorly converted by Revell from a -1 to a -4, Revell did not do their homework etc... I corrected my point of view. Convertion may not be perfect but we now have a fairly good kit (far better than the Italeri, Hobby Boss...) to build an F4U-4, probably my favorite Corsair version. Eric B.

Hello, This a little Japanese warbirds series I mostly built during 2021. Not that I know japanese aviation very well but it turns out my japanese warbirds collection is quite complete, probably partly because just a few years ago the prominant plastic kits brands were japanese and they covered their aviation very well. It is an aviation that is sometimes forgotten but a very rich one with numerous aircraft types during WW2, both in the Army or Navy aviations. Kawasaki Ki-100-I Ko - Fine Molds 1/72 Kawanishi N1K3-J Shiden prototype - Aoshima 1/72 Kayaba Ka-Go Model 1 - Fine Molds 1/72 Mitsubishi A6M2b Claude - Fujimi 1/72 I will gladly build another Claude from a ClearProp kits - or other Japanese types in the future. Eric B.

Hello, As Graham Boak wrote above there is a difference between the original FP Ki-61 and Ki-100 versions (like maybe from FP1 to FP8) and their later kits (like around FP15-FP22 references – sorry I will not be more precise here on exact references here.) I had both series. The original lower reference number series were black boxes (ie black and white boxart). More importantly parts were a mix of the Hasegawa Ki-61 sprues (often the full Hasegawa Ki-61 kit including a useless Ki-61 fuselage) with specific Fine Molds parts (and this mainly was main fuselage and a few parts). These boxes later were re- released with coloured box art. From what I saw, my understanding, saw, is that the version specific Fine Molds sprues that originally were designed to complement the Hasegawa parts were now completed with new FineMolds sprues. These new FM parts replaced the old Hasegawa kit and are more detailed (cockpit, legs and doors etc…) and probably sharper. These references therefore are 100% Fine Molds and no longer mixed Hasegawa + Fine Molds parts. Fuselage both being common to older and newer Fine Molds series and being prominent in the kit design, this can easily leave the impression that kits are the same. Personnally, over the years I have bought both the older and newer Fine Molds series then the Aoshima Ki-61/Ki-100 series. Aoshima Ki-61/100 kits are very complete and detailed but over the years, I was more and more deterred by the strengh of panel lines and surface details. In the end my personnal choice are (and still are) the Fine Molds upgraded series. Eric B.

Hi, This is my latest build : F4U-4 Revell in 1/72 scale. Livery is from a Superscale decal sheet for #304 from VF-193 operating from USS Princeton off of the coast of Korea in 1952. All paints are from either the Gunze or Tamiya ranges. Overall blue are different mixes in order to obtain different hues or sheens and avoid a plain finish. Windscreen and Canopy come from an old Hobby Boss boxing. Revell parts are well shaped but Canopy has strong lens effects I did not want on my model. Although kit is not perfect (Revell F4U-4 uses severall parts of their F4U-1D boxes and it shows) I think this still is the best kit to build an F4U-4 in 1/72nd scale. Below are some photographs taken during building. They show most of the correction I did to the Revell kit. · Creating a new cockpit with a floor – kit provides a floorless F4U-1 cockpit – I started with an Aires F4U-7 cockpit and modified some parts including seat and rear cockpit bulkhead. · Engraving some specific panel lines · Creating the stall devices on the right wing leading edge · Creating the right inner flap built in step · Worst part was shaping the windscreen recess on front upper fuselage. Revell provides a late F4U-4 flat windscreen but did not change fuselage upper part that is shaped to receive F4U-1s round windscreen. · Adding small rocket pylons below wings · … and other details including some details inside engine fairing flaps. · But I failed to shorten exhaust tubes 2 mm. They should be more flush with rear of engine fairing flaps. Eric B.

Hi Thank you all for your very kind words. Really motivating... And oh yes, this SH P-40N was really a simple and rewarding build. @Smudge : happy if this has motivated you to look for the Exito decal sheet. Nicely printed, sharp, well designed - really top quality decals and they come with nicely printed art. More than nice decal sheets they are beautiful products. Well this is not a specific P-40 decal sheet, it is more of a "ladies" nose arted aircraft sheet (P-51, P-38,, P-40..) Regards Eric B.

Hello all Here are some photographs of my Special Hobby P-40N. My original idea was to build the famous "Lulu Belle II" of Burma Banshees fame but I later decided to build "Mary Lou" instead. I can't hide it, pin up nose art attraction! "Mary Lou" was Lt David Winternitz mount, an 8th FS/49thFG aircraft flying from New Guinea in 1944 (decals are Exito decals). The big "Lulu Belle" skull will be for a future P-40 built. Below are some building details. Build was nearly from the box as kit is complete and very well detailed. Furthermore shapes look right to me. I had build both a Hasegawa and Academy P-40Ns before and their chin air intakes have something that look wrong to me. Cockpit need just a few details like throttles or a few levers. Seat is bit thick and though well shaped it was replaced with a resin part. Same with wheels, CMK wheels are a real plus. I would have preferred thinner panel lines - a common observation on SH models). Subtle painting can hide most of them. Worst shortcoming of the SH P-40 models actually is the fact that there are no walls to seperate the 3 different inlets. The huge P-40 front air intake actually are 3 different inlets for different equipments. I had to build these walls from very thin plastic card. Rest of the build was quite straightforward. Regards Eric B.

Hello everybody, Sorry I was off two days... Thank you dearly for your very kind words. The DoraWings kit really is a nice little model and it's great if this build can be an inspiration for anyone, It was the first DoraWings kit in my stash but it has since been followed by an MB.152, Lysander and P-43. @Jackson : camo was painted freehand, no masks here (except rudder that was painted - I preferred painting than decalling here). Eric B.

Hi, I presonnally used an Eduard MF to build a Russian SM (white 17). From what I understood early SMs were slightly different to MFs in details (no canopy external rear view miror, no deflecting plate below additional air intake...). Later additions to SMs made them look like MFs. I think I build my SM straight from an Eduard MF. These were my personnal searches and of course someone more educated in Mig-21s could prove me wrong in details... Eric B.

Hello everybody, Here are some photographs of the DoraWings MB.151C - 72nd scale I just completed : It really was kind of a new project for me as I actually know quite nothing about the aircraft, the French air Force and colours in WW2. It also was my first Dora Wings model. Fortunately I was able to find first rate information about camo colours and painting, detailling tips and building in issues 69 and 135 of the French WingMaster model magasine. The DoraWing model is sharp, well detailed, panel lines are thin and well defined and it looks accurate. It is a good basis for an OOB project, and that is what I did. On the other side, all parts need to be prepared and adjusted. Not much, just like 0.5mm. Cockpit floor, engine bulkhead, instrument panel etc... almost every part needs to be adjusted to fit. That is really a small bit but 0.5mm (0.02 in) each side of the cockpit floor translates into 1 mm overwidth and will prevent the fuselage from closing smoothly. Same with completed fuselage that will not fit between wings if wing fairing is not adjusted by the same small 0.5mm. In the end, that is nothing difficult - This is a very nice little kit and I do not expect any better MB.151 1/72 kit in the future. Below are a few photographs taken during the construction stages. Eric B.

Hi You did a really fantastic job on your Bronco. Just the stance and look of the real thing and probably the most beautiful OV-10 I ever saw in scale. I like the finish, camo... great model. Congratulations. Eric B. Don't want to start anything about scales but as it is ICM and as it is a Bronco, it simply makes me wish ICM would downscale their Bronco to 1/72nd scale.

Although I'd like to see a beautiful series of late F4Us starting with the -4, I was thinking TBD Devastator or SBC Helldiver... Eric B.

Hello Superb job, she is brilliant. Truly an inspiration for any one wishing to build a Marauder in model form. Eric B.