neilh

It certainly has not stopped me buying one, but I really cannot understand the placement of the ejector pin marks. I'm sure that as construction commences, several will be hidden, but not all, and even with modelling skills they are not going to be easy to eliminate. Airfix have been so innovative with their recent kit designs, using for example integral spars , clever construction sequences to hide joint lines, so I cannot understand why they do not follow similar practices to Hasegawa and add " ejector tabs" around the part allowing its clean ejection from the mould without the pin mark on a visible. I don't recall having to work on any pin marks in the 1/48th Hurricane, but when I bought the P 40 I noticed badly placed marks on the face of sidewall boxes and smack in the middle of the wheel well, which will I suspect be equally as difficult to hide. We're often hearing that Airfix is only a small team so its likely not an "A" and "B" team like Trumpeter?

Looking at a build review of the previous release on Aussie Modeller it seemed as if the interior detail was lacking in any material ( at least in the opinion of the reviewer). Wasn't there also an issue with the excessive slope of the nose in front of the cockpit as well as the nose glazing? Wonder how much has been tweaked this time.

Nice video review with very good detailed photography of this kit is up over on Hyperscale. Looks beautiful.

No you are not the only fan. It certainly made fettling and re scribing much easier than for example Trumpeter or Tamiya plastic , and yes, I always have to do some fettling even on Tamiya kits- I must be a messy builder. Downside is that the detail such as gear legs and IP's could be a tad soft.

Those are "Maketar" masks. They also produce a set for canopy masking. The basic trick is that they have machine cut tape in curves, which makes it much easier to wrap masking tape around tapering curved surfaces like missiles and droptanks.

One of our club members brought the kit along to our meeting last week. Very nice in the "plastic", but I too noticed the annoying placement of ejector pin marks. I know as modellers we can deal with these, but they can be a real chore to completely remove. Of course it might be that once fully built they may not be visible but that one in the middle of the basket gunners seat and the cockpit floor look like they are on full view. Given Airfix engineering prowess displayed in the way that these kits are moulded and constructed , they could surely position the ejector towers a little better, or add the "tags" used by Hasegawa that avoid the circular marks appearing in the middle of seats , cockpit floor and sidewall details. Same applied to the P40 ( which I have) which has prominent marks in the centre of the wheel wells and on the faces of some cockpit sidewall boxes. Won't stop me buying one of these though.

I have used EZ line. Benefit is if you catch it later by mistake it bends and does not snap. Downside for me is that it seemed to curl up when I dipped the free end in CA glue? I tend to use invisible mending thread, which I first clamp with a haemostat and then colour with an indelible sharpie marker ( its translucent on the reel). Fitting depends upon the model. Some aircraft have wire leaders on the tail, and the tiny turnbuckles produced by "Bobs Buckles" look good for these. Drill a hole in the tail and glue in the turnbuckle, Loop through the thread and add a tiny dab of CA. Then I add a tiny drop of CA to the aerial mast and stretch the thread over it, and secure with CA accelerator from a brush ( usually held in my teeth! as I'm already using both hands!). Other times you can drill holes in both the tail and the mast, Hardest is when the aerial seems to appear part way down the mast and the mast itself is too thin to drill. I have sometimes cut a very thin slot with a knife blade and attached the thread into that. Needs some careful brush painting to tidy up for that method. Sometimes you can make it easier by replacing the mast with brass or alloy rod etc. Each model is a bit of a thought process in " how can I?". Always worth planning in advance and not leaving it to the very end of your build.

Thanks for those pics. I reckon the nose covers will be easy enough and the intake covers could be made with thin lead foil or tissue soaked in white glue. Certainly doesn't seem to be a plethora of red or any other colour ribbons hanging from pitots, U/C and weapon hard points!

Ordered one. Haven't heard of the Firebar until seeing it here buy had to have one now I've seen it. Will go well with this years club build theme of the Cold War. Now I'm cheap and have a stash so I ordered surface post but hopefully be here in a couple of months ( and so far touch wood, surface post from Lucky seems to escape import fees more often than air parcels).

Unfortunately mine is in 1/48th where not only nuances in appearance but my cack handed modelling ( potential for very wonky steps) will be very apparent

Hi Ken, Thanks for those. They certainly don't festoon theirs like Western jets! Do you know if the same arrangements ( cord and flags) were used in the 1960's era, on the earlier jets? Many pictures are B&W and contrasty so really hard to tell.

Jets are rare builds for me, but when I do I like to add a few RBFT's and maybe FOD covers for realism, as you seldom seem to see a parked jet without at least some in place. I'm about to finish off A Trumpeter SU-9, and looking at lots of (grainy) photos on line, I can't see much evidence of streamers hanging from any U/C or stores. Anyone know if the USSR used tags in this period ands if so what they looked like? Museum aircraft don't have them showing up either ( not surprisingly I guess)? Wish more boarding ladders were available for all sorts of early jets. Apart from maybe Meteors, Vampires and Venoms, 1950's and 60's jets seem to have boarding ladders, and although they can be scratchbuilt, its not that easy.

Worth checking your local "The Works" if you have one. Mine had the 1/24th Airfix Hurricane for £20!

Here you go: https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SSM48001

Lets hope that Roy @ Barracuda Studios scales up his recent 1/72 Red Tops and Firestreaks.

You can also use 2 part epoxy glue. That's good for parts that you may want a little more time to adjust.

Worth searching this and other sites for feedback. My personal experience of Owl decals was for an Me 110 nightfighter. They were horrible. Very stiff, and silvered badly. I only used specific codes and unit badges in the end. Having said that, I recall someone else asking the exact same question recently and opinions really varied from excellent to dreadful, so it may be that OWL use different printers to produce their decals. There should be plenty of options out there following the release of the ICM kit, as well as earlier releases for the CA kit. Could be worth asking about the specific Owl decals you are considering buying, same story for Techmod as my experience of these has also varied ( main issue being translucent white on Finnish swastikas).

I asked and they said another month ( but he didn't look too confident so suspect more like 2 to 3.

Have you tried ringing someone like the Royal Navy Museum at Yeovilton for help and advice? They have the restoration workshop there so I bet they have removed plenty of paint. They might be willing to offer some advice on product to use.

Hi Dora, Will this new fuselage already have the twin cockpits moulded in place and we not have to make precise cuts on a single seater fuselage like the earlier release I bought? Any other modifications with the new form?

May be worth seeing of you can find any build reviews or someone who has used the Aires set. They have had a reputation of being tricky to fit, with lots of grinding and sanding involved. Barracuda details have been a drop fit when I have used them.

Yes- just where did that thread go? You didn't dream it- I actually posted to the thread! Did someone say something naughty and get it pulled?

To mix old and new terms ..OMG ..I want a dozen. Prayers answered again by Airfix.

Pretty unlikely to find much for the Aeroclub kit. John hasn't commented himself but its pretty unusual to hear anything of anything in an Aeroclub kit being "wrong"? It's been a while since I flew in Chipmunks as an Air Cadet, but the stick was literally just a stick, the panel was very simple too. There are plenty of images on line. Maybe get some etched bezels and Aeroscale decals and make up your own panel. There are not many boxes on the wall so some generic throttle levers, lead wire and some plastic card and rod would get you a reasonable interior.

I've built a couple , thoroughly enjoyed them and would agree with Troy that they were the best thing before Eduard brought out theirs. There are some quick fixes to be had using Ultracast parts but that will add to the overall costs so also agree that its worth shopping around for Eduard weekend kits that can be had for close to your "target" price. The firewall fix mentioned by Troy above is easy enough to fix with a few swipes and some dry fitting.