neilh

Yes, that's what I would really like to see too. I have the Sierra one too - perhaps we should start them and the modelling Gods will then provoke Dora into making one.....

Sorry to have to add IPMS Avon Show to the list of 2020 casualties. Mods- could you please amend the title of the IPMS Avon show post to reflect " Cancelled"? Thanks.

Sorry to have to announce that our Show due in August 2020 is now cancelled. Please pencil in our date for next year which is already booked for Sunday August 8th 2021. From the club Chairman Andy White: The committee of IPMS Avon has made the decision that the show scheduled for Sunday August 2nd will not take place. As the date of the show draws nearer, it has not been possible to predict with any certainty that we would be able to run the show as per previous years. We don’t want to run a show which would involve, as part of the planning, setting up halls which would meet any social distancing requirements which might be in place by then. It is our belief that our show, combining wargaming & modelling displays, does not work if there are any restrictions on social distancing, which although can’t be entirely predicted, are in our opinion likely to still be in force in some shape or form come August. Added to this, there is a sizeable number of club members who don’t want to put themselves in an environment where the risk of becoming infected is potentially significantly greater. The show relies massively on club members volunteering to help out and some tasks just cannot be safely completed following current social distancing guidance. If the volunteering numbers are depleted, that creates a big logistical problem which we can’t manage. We want to run a show where all our club members and all visitors, traders, modellers & gamers can relax and feel safe. Sadly, we don’t think we will be able to achieve that in August. We have booked next year’s show for Sunday 8th August 2021. There is an outside possibility that if things return to ‘normal’ later in the year that we might consider running our show then. Best wishes to all modellers, gamers and supporters of our show.

The high shine Alclad ( highly polished aluminium and Chrome) are a bit more fragile than their regular metallic finishes, so I would avoid buffing them. I usually buff the other finishes a little to remove any dried paint ( rare). The Alclad is quite a hot lacquer so on a warm day there is a potential for the paint to dry before it lands and the carrier flashes off. The main reason for the clear coat is a barrier to washes and deca l solutions. The finish is shiny enough for decals without clear coating, but I would imagine it would be hard to cover any carrier film without a clear coat. Its not like rub and buff - there are other products like the Mr Color Super metallic and the AK true metal paste that responds well to buffing ( but need to be sealed).

Yes, thanks for the extra links- its a tricky topic. Take the second site you linked that I found yesterday. The mono photo of the Meteor on the tarmac clearly shows the full length Perspex canopy, yet the ACIG profile shows it with the painted rear canopy, and other photos in your build link show aircraft in the same tail code series with the painted canopies. As I mentioned, my decal roundels are all the same size, your Isradecals ones show the upper wing roundels to be larger. My decal guide stated PRU blue underneath with light stone and dark green on top. That seems to match the colour pre delivery photo well, but the English landscape below is also a little blue, so maybe the film rendered the grey undersides blue? As you mentioned in your build, if we wait for definitive proof we would never finish the model! All I need to do know is to source two more roundels from somewhere! I do have a couple of early pre crescent Egyptian ones I could try to adapt, by overpainting the green centre circle black and having a go at hand painting the three red stars.

The Xtradecals set is "109". I stuffed up one pair of the wing decals last night ( they didn't react well to future) , so I looked for available spares earlier. I spotted the Isradecals set. That also has "109" but seems to also have 2 different sizes of roundels, whereas the Xtradecals have all 6 the same size. Isradecals are expensive though if I'm only going to use it for 2 roundels!

I'm building and Airfix Meteor 8 in 1/48th as a Syrian F8 in 1956 using Xtradecals set X48158. The profile in the decal set has an Arabic script " 109" on the tails and seems to show ejection seat warning triangles and foot step markings. Does anyone know if these carried stencils, and if so in which language? I've only found one on lime picture that shows stencilling on the airframe and drop tanks but the text is too blurred to read. Thanks.

Did they have single seaters or are you planning a conversion? I do have some hard copy photos in a box in my loft of the example at Duxford taken a few years ago. I was using a decent SLR with colour roll film at the time so the colours are a good match to my eye at the time. I can look these out if it helps? It seems a dark cherry red, I would guess an RAL colour.

third vote - to my eye aqua gloss does not amend the shine of Alclad

I just finished an Airfix one, having built 2 Hobbycraft kits with all the Barracuda aftermarket, and bought and sold the Trumpeter kit. I did replace the airfix cockpit with Roys master piece but frankly the cockpit aperture is so small and painted black, I know the detail is there but I think the Airfix cockpit would not need much to dress it up. I will try in my next one planned for later this year. I also did not use the Barracuda wheel well or U/C either as I just added a load of wiring to both which to my eye looks " good enough" , especially as little can be seen save the brake lines when the model is on its wheels. I did but the Aerocraft resin cowling but it seemed a little too wide for the kit fuselage so I fettled the kit parts and got a pretty decent result ( as the plastic is very workable). I will use the resin on my my AMG Iraqi 2 seater which needs it more. Not great photos from my elderly I phone SE - http://ipmsavon.org.uk/build-page.php?page_id=111#214-2

Hi, building this one at the moment. As usual I had a read if some builds here on BM and elsewhere. I found the cockpit unit to be a tight fit, not allowing the fuselage halves to close properly, so followed some advise on Jonners build to cut slots for the side of the IP and cut back the locating lugs a little. This helped but I still filed a bit more off the cockpit sides as I am not opening the gun bays. The fit has now been pretty good although I have liquid glued and then taped the fuselage in short sections top and bottom as its thin and prone to warping around a bit save for the tiny joint just in front of the windscreen. It needs to be pulled together and squeezed downwards at the same time to close properly. Liquid poly and tape nor any kind of clamping I can devise worked. Only two thumbs used quite forcefully and CA glue seems to have held it together, yet I cannot see anything out of place that would cause me needing to use force. The joint is now closed but will need sanding and then I'm not sure it will hold. Anyone else have this issue?

I've now built two Alleycat Vampire kits and would have bought more had Pilot Replicas not announced one in injected plastic. Now that's on hold for now, I would certainly consider another Alleycat one if I had room in the stash. My first one was flawless, easy build if you don't mind resin ( U/C is strong white metal). The tail booms held in place perfectly without glue. Only fit issue was the nose clamshell which I think may have warped very slightly but an easy fix. My second was the same except for the booms. The yare handed and it was almost as if both of mine were for the same side ( they weren't). I never was able to work out why one would not fit well when the other did perfectly but a little surgery on the aperture for the boom sorted it in the end. Here is the "tricky" one http://www.ipmsavon.org.uk/meetings-gallery.php?year=15#20150819-1

Mine has arrived. Lovely in the box. I have done a sprue check and all perfect. Very very nice indeed.

The pictures in the build review in the Airfix magazine mentioned above look exactly right to me, no " squat nose" at all. Photos are large, all angles and close up too. Getting our own kits will tell but I wonder if in the build featured, cutting the lower bracing bar off the wing struts changed the rake and then that in turn could mean strut lengths and cabanes would be put out of synch. The Tamiya Swordfish has a similar arrangement and is easily cleaned up to show no trace on the finished model and the wing rake is perfect as a result. I suspect I will build mine as designed and blend in the lower bar and slot if a test fit shows the fit to be correct.

I like their plain aluminium, finished with the semi matte or flat finish an example of a vampire painted that way http://ipmsavon.org.uk/meetings-gallery.php?year=15#20150819-1

I did- having tried to finish a Magna kit for the last 3 or 4 years. Significant rebuilding of short cast parts , but biggest problem is that even Mr Surfacer won't stick to the weird Magna resin. I've build replacement U/C I can re use ( although the Combat kit has white metal U/C). The moulds have been cleaned up significantly compared to the Magna kit, with a decent clear resin canopy. The detail parts have been cast in resin rather than white metal so it will be easier to drill out the exhaust. I bought the fixed wing version as that's the Magna kit I was trying to build. Combat did have folded wing versions which looked nice in the box. Having said that the CAD shots of this look much superior than a "garage" resin kit would ever be. At least this is the bubble top version so I can think of getting this one too!

Last year there was a demo table set up in hall 1 just by the entrance. There were certainly airbrushing and vac form modelling demo's that I caught over the weekend.

There is a show held in Yeovil now each year in the Spring, as well as on being tried in the Autumn on 26th of this month. Chap by the name of Ken Bugler stepped up to organise these after the RNAS Museum cancelled theirs. I have not had the chance to go yet as it keeps clashing with my winter holiday break, but it's popular with our club members of IPMS Avon. Try contacting Ken at yeovilmodelshow@gmail.com if interested. You didn't mention where you live but our own IPMS Avon show fills three complete sports halls and another room at Thornbury in North Bristol every August. Advance details of most shows run by IPMS branches will be advertised on the IPMS UK events web page. https://ipmsuk.org/events/

Yes, I know Marcrus Stores and Andy the Manager of Antics is a fellow club member of IPMS Avon. I recently bought one of the brightly coloured airsoft pistols from Antics to scare off the foxes who are looting our food recycling bins nightly, as I didn't really want to shoot them and damage them with my full sized air rifle- they are just trying to feed themselves. I too was surprised when I looked into buying the airsoft pistol how easy it seemed to be to buy a very realistic air pistol that I certainly wouldn't argue with the business end, yet airsoft equivalents are very tightly controlled for sale.

Yes thanks for the comments- once noelh identified them as L & S a google search picked up the previous ( long) thread from here on Britmodeller. Interesting read. would like to try to get one again at some point.

I remember as a kid building plastic kits of a Colt model 1911 ( the automatic) and a Navy Colt ( percussion cap revolver). Can anyone remember who made these? I have never seen any in the piles of second hand kits at shows. Wonder if they were a victim of the handgun ban ( they were quite realistic - the automatic even had a slide action and a removable magazine.)?

The instructions for their Yak 28 Firebar were similar ( I too opened my IL-28 this week). All I would say is that you do need to check the instructions before deviating from the sequence. I didn't and then found I should have fitted the intakes/exhausts earlier in the sequence than I had chosen! Cut open, re glue - you get the gist.....

As Hosts - we wish! There seemed to be an improvement in the airflow this year, especially in Hall 1 that has had some extensive refurbishment, but the temperature is the downside of holding our show in August. Boy ! was set up and put down a sweaty experience! Glad you enjoyed it.

Just bought on from Antics in Bristol as they arrived through the door.

might be worth a look at the latest supplement in the Airfix magazine on the Hellcat there were some photos of phot recce Hellcats in that.