EricP

Here you go ... http://www.pj-production.be/en/figures-1-48/16-raf-fighter-pilot-seated-in-ac-wwii.html

I'm in too ... have the Authentic Airliners 737NG engines and winglets, would love to do one with a Scimitar winglet, just need to find the right livery.

Count me in too! I happen to have the Planet Models 1/72 Airabonita kit, but I can do a racer too (Accurate Miniatures), or the old MPM KingCobra (need to find a replacement canopy, the vacform ones in the kit are amber in color due to age).

Count me in.

Hi Mark, I can confirm that the wheel well colors on RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) F-5s are a light semi-gloss (tending to matt) aluminum, having climbed under them at airshows and air force open days. And perhaps because they were prepped for display, the wheel wells were very clean, hence the color looked bright (I hate to disagree with Giorgio, but a grey may have the wrong hue). I'll be following your WIPs! Cheers, Eric

Thanks Tom & Rich, I'll still try to join the GB as I have a few other eligible candidates in the stash, e.g. resin-n-metal 1/72 Magna Models DH Hornet, or vac-n-metal 1/144 Welsh Valiant, Victor or Nimrod. Or really go out of my comfort zone and do an resin-n-metal Provence Moulage 1/43 racing car

Nice build, Steve! I like the panel line contrasts.

Wow, that's really tiny! Is there a decal for the windscreen, or do you have to paint the frames?

Thanks, guys. A little encouragement can be a dangerous thing ... I decided to go through the "junkyard" to see what I can add, and you can see the results here The 2 life preservers are the wheels from the old, venerable Airfix Spitfire Mk IX (yes, the one molded in light blue with solid wings!), and as rescue work can be dangerous, a weapon is provided on the rear passenger bulkhead . I didn't want the interior to look empty, but I reckon I may have overdone it somewhat Doesn't look too bad inside the cockpit. I also took the opportunity to airbrush the fuselage color ... my usual trick with tricky (!) gloss white is to start with a coat of flat white (Tamiya XF-2) followed by gloss white (Tamiya X-2). That allows me to do thin coats without runs or paint pooling in corners. Test fitting the cabin again, this is what we get: And with the engine cowling on top ... Note that I added the "grab handles" on the tail boom with 0.5mm wire, that's quite prominent on the aircraft and not provided in the kit. Anyone know what they are? The cabin roof is provided as a separate part, surprisingly with console switch detail which I tried to paint. Next up are the rotor blades. I beveled a 45-degree notch on the tip of the leading edge ... bottom is original, and the top blade's done. A bit of masking ... And automagically they turn out like this ... They're still not done, need to mask and paint the leading edge a dark grey/silver color.

Nicely done, and a very quick build too, Steve! Thanks for the tip, will try that out.

I'd like to join in with a Welsh BAe 146-200, this may be iffy as there are a few injection-molded plastic parts in it. Would like to check with the hosts if it's ok ... basically the breakdown is: - Vacform: Fuselage, wheel well - Injection: Wings, engines, vertical tail, stabs - White metal: Undercarriage, fan faces Cheers

Nice quick work, Enzo! I can confirm that the plastic originates from HPM, and the resin and PE bits are added by PJ. Edit: Hmm, I'm not so sure about the resin bits, as HPM produces them as aftermarket products, and the guy who runs HPM did extensive research on the tanks (dimensions, shape).

That's quick work, Steve!

Thanks for the comments, guys, and the advice on bending the rotor blades. I'll need to give it a gentle touch ... my ham-fisted efforts resulted in one broken blade so far (2nd from top in the pic below, doesn't come out well in the pic as I had sanded and re-primed it, though it's obvious to the naked eye). The engine cowling came out ok, though, here it is primed. Decided to populate the cabin ... apart from the Airfix Islander seats, which I sprayed grey with a hint of blue, I added seat harnesses and lap belts from Tamiya tape sprayed semil-gloss black, and used a punch set to knock out tiny tiny discs for the belt and harness clasps. A bit oversized, but better than nothing. The belts and harnesses I see in pics online are firmly cinched up, no free play like usual harnesses we see on aftermarket ejection seats, maybe so they don't fly around the cabin like pendulums during violent maneuvers. The kit comes with decent control columns and oversized rudder pedals, which I left alone. I scratchbuilt the collective levers, as well as a pilot from some unknown kit. I don't know what French pilots wore, but overall khaki seems a safe bet. There's an empty spot on the rear bulkhead next to the seat, I'll probably paint a tank in dayglo orange and stick it in there for visual interest ... after it's all closed up, I doubt we can see much. In the same vein, I felt the cabin's a bit too clean, but any weathering I do is not likely to be seen, so I'll leave it alone.

Nice one, that decal sheet's looks pretty good, and I'm looking forward to seeing the awesome weathering job you'll do on this!