Prenton

Another shout out for Veteranus. I have bought kits from them, with no hassle whatever. I know a number of modellers personally who have used them to sell their excess stash / deceased modeller's stashes. They make the whole job very easy - they even collect the models from you in certain cases - all you need to do is put them in boxes. They auction kits and - as far as I know - you can get much better prices this way than from certain second hand kit retailers, who simply give a base price per kit. It is well worth giving them a call/e-mail to get their details:- 01765 647828 or [email protected] I have no connection to the auction house - just a very satisfied customer. Philip

Hi Pat - still having trouble! I may have to go over to a different hosting site, as Village Photos seems to be no longer working. Any suggestions?? Philip

Great job, Der. Philip

Yep - you can count me in also @Marklo. I have a number of Storches in the stash...and you cannot get anything more STOL, in the traditional sense and not those modern contraptions, than a Storch. Philip

Gone again...grrrrr.

Great to see the kit under construction today, @Jasonb13. What a lovely scheme - I have no doubt that you will do it proud.👍 Philip

Hi Tony I actually was one of those voting for the SM 79. Great you are doing it👍. I am looking forward to seeing this one, It's a nice kit, but I agree with @PeterB, There are many options for markings and camo for this - not all of which require "spinach and egg" (or is it fried egg? 😗) camo. Going for the more simple - but of course authentic - two colour finish is great too. I will be most interested in how you tackle the interior colours - for example, are the cockpit colours (Tamiya XF-21 as I recall) replicated for the wheel wells etc? Philip

WOW Pat - that is some job you have taken on. Love those Italian birds generally - i have lots in my stash, but thus far have only ventured for a couple of the more sedate (Spanish Civil War) examples of the SM 79. Your take on the camo colours will be of great educational value, I am sure. If that's OK, I have some popcorn, and will be sitting here for more installments.... Philip

It seems that whatever security certificate VP needed, they got and have uploaded. All of my photos here on BM, which had disappeared, just like @Peter Milgate - even on group builds going back up to 2 years ago, and all of which had been hosted on VP - are visible again, I was also able, late last night, to upload a new photo from VP in the Matchbox Group build, so everything seems to be fine again.....for now. Many thanks for @Roger Holden for getting through to them. Cheers, Philip

Well - something has happened, as my photos at the start of this thread have re-appeared....so here's hoping..... As I was saying,... So I did some sanding on the fuselage, and tail, and also on the lower wings, and then gave everything that was yellow a primer coat using the Mr Surfacer, cut with about 40% Gunze levelling thinner. Does a great job, that does.. This allows me to show, in respect of the upper wings, how much of the exaggerated flying surfaces on the upper wings needed to be sanded off - here you can see the lower wings, already sanded and primed, and the upper wings, both primed, and with one of the two sanded. The other one awaits my attention. I think that this shows just how much needs to be sanded off to give a more realistic impression of the true appearance of the wings, as seen in the photos. Of course, I will need to do a further primer coat, but I think it was worth it to just show how much needs to be taken off. (Early Matchbox kits need some work, but, in fairness, not so much as a similarly produced Airfix kit of the time, with all of those rivets with which Airfix festooned their creations then....) As it happens, having looked at a LOT of photos, I am leaving the flaps and ailerons with nothing but a very light sanding, as the photos seem to show that the fabric effect was more pronounced on those than on the wings. More later in the week. Thanks for looking,. Philip

so would I, Pat. All my photos seem to have disappeared, to be replaced by small little.png logos, all over Britmodeller, including from last year. (the photos were in .jpg format from Village Photos) Don't know what is happening....Chris's (dogsbody) photos are still visible to me.... Can you still see the photos in the earlier posts?? Philip

Well, I took down the box from the attic stash, and then realised that I had already taken the photos of the sprues 8 years ago, back in 2013 for a club build that, unfortunately, didn't happen, so the box went back into the stash. I managed to find the photos on my computer, so here are the sprue shots:- The main sprue, with the fuselage and the bottom part of the lower wing, and other bits, including the engine:- The other wing pieces, elevators and the engine cowling:- The next sprue, containing wheels, spats, cabane struts, the seat and some bombs (which won't be used) All of the above are vintage Esci, which appear to date from 1977, but were re-boxed by AM Tech for this kit AM Tech has added these resin bits for the cockpit (made apparently by a firm called Black Box) and also some additional plastic, for "unspatted" undercarriage legs, (as used on the Russian front). Again, they won't be used on this build. Also in the photo, in its plastic bag, is the transparency (which is very small). and finally, there are the AM Tech decals:- My version will be those attractive Spanish ones, with the lightning bolt in blue on the fuselage, the red and yellow roundels on the wings, and the black St Andrew's Cross for the white tail. Despite the age of the kit (2003), these decals seem to be in good nick, so I will probably only use the Montex masks that I have for the Cross and the numbers and (possibly) for the roundels The masks don't do the lightning bolt, which will be "interesting" to apply onto an aluminium / silver painted background. (I can keep the remaining decals, masks, and the other stuff, for another Esci kit in due course - which I also happen to have in the stash) and @col, the instructions state that the Spanish version is from the 61st Squadron of the Spanish Air Force from 1945. Interestingly, while the Francoist St Andrew's cross is retained, the old Spanish red and yellow roundels had, by that stage, replaced the black circles that the Nationalist rebels had used during the Civil War. (A similar situation applied to the Heinkel 112's that the Condor Legion had used during the Civil War, and which had been kept afterwards by the Spanish - I have an RS Model kit of this, in 1/72nd, in the shelf of Doom). Philip

My entry will be the original ground attack aircraft of the Second World War, which was the precursor of the Stuka - the Henschel Hs 123. I happen to have this kit in the stash for some time, so the group build is a great opportunity to clear at least one kit from the stash.. The AM Tech kit is actually the rather venerable ESCI kit from the 1970's, but has added resin goodies to do the cockpit. I intend to do this in the Spanish markings that come with the kit, which is of one of the aircraft that was retained by Franco's Nationalists after the Civil War, and the markings on the kit are from the aircraft in 1945. The Scalemates information on the kit is here;- https://www.scalemates.com/kits/amtech-489203-henschel-hs-123a-1--120433 I have also purchased the Montex Maxi mask for this kit, which allows me to spray the various national insignia and tactical markings, instead of using most of the decals. I will be beginning in a week or two. Philip

Good one Der, and great progress too. @Marklo - I would vote for that. Philip

Well, I have begun, by sanding down the exaggerated flying surfaces on the wings and tail, and I have just done a coat of primer - Mr Surfacer 1500 white - on all of the yellow plastic. Not worth photos yet, to be honest, as there is nothing to see. Once I get something done on the interior, then I will post up something more. Many thanks for those photos @dogsbody 👍 Philip

Thanks Chris And Adrian - yes, the Saskatchewan finish is great. Just bought a yellow gloss and a gloss green paints for it. Starting next week. Philip

Thanks for those comments,, folks. There seems to be a bit of a consensus that the float version is a good idea. "Oh well...I guess....OK" (as a celebrated character in a Stephen Sondheim musical once said*), I will go with the float version.........maybe famous last words..... So - a question for the Britmodeller hive mind. In my internet search, I have heard that this Matchbox kit is a bit of a mixture of a Mark IV Norseman and a Mark VI. What is the difference, and what changes do I need to make to the Matchbox kit to do the kit's decal version of the Saskatchewan Government Air Ambulance Service aircraft 'CF-SAM'? (I already know about the flying surfaces being over pronounced, so these will be meeting my sanding stick very soon). Thanks, Philip (* Stephen Sondheim's musical:- "Company" - see this clip for context...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T062wD825JQ. The whole performance is worth watching, if you have the time...especially the actress playing Kathy.....😗)

Nice one Steve. Should be fun to put together. The cockpit might need some enhancement, unless you are going for a pure nostalgia build. Also, are you going for the standard greens over blue, or for the winter distemper finish? Philip

My first entry in the Group Build will be the Noorduyn Norseman, a kit first produced by Matchbox in 1981. I have the 1982 boxing, which like the original one, is listed as PK-125. This, as you can see, was purchased for the princely sum of £2 - as far as I recall, at the kitswop in Scale Model World at Telford a couple of years ago. The kit shows that characteristic Matchbox three colour sprue layout, plus a small sprue of transparent parts. However, no doubt due to the age of the kit, the decals are, to say the least, somewhat suspect. As it happens, I have also the later Revell re-boxing of the kit, dated 2009. While the box is somewhat worn, the decals look to be fine. Of course, the sprues are the same, though now entirely in light grey. I propose to use the decals from that kit, with the first option, that of the Saskatchewan Government Air Ambulance Service in 1949, for the Matchbox kit. Not sure yet whether to go for the skis or the floats.... If time allows, I may add a second entry, doing the other decal option in the Revell kit, of a military aircraft (UC-64A), from 1944, complete with D-Day stripes, and on wheels. Looking forward to the start on January 8th! Philip

Thanks, Dave. Wilco! 👍

Dave - just checking, since I couldn't find it on the list of kits on the first page. my database tells me that I have this kit in the stash:- Looking at Scalemates, it would appear that the kit was a Frog kit from 1963, but one that was reboxed in 1996 by Matchbox. If I finish my initial kit, which is the Norseman, can I take it, in the light of your reply to Rob earlier, that I can include this one? If you say yes, then I will venture up into the attic and see if I can find it....it will be in Matchbox packaging. Thanks, Philip

Hi - add my name as well, please, Mark Philip (aka Prenton)

No prob. Thanks Dave. Philip

As previously advised (on the other thread), I will be in with this little kit, which I have had in the stash for a loooong time:- I understand that this is PK -125. And yes, the sprues are in three colours! In fact, the kit has been so long in the stash that the decals are completely shot. So I may take some decals from this Revell re-box, which allows me to do the Saskatchewan air ambulance version, in either skis or floats. The other decal option is for a US UC-64A from 1943, which might also be of interest (and it is the wheeled version...) I note that Paul J is also doing this kit, but has mentioned that he is getting the civil decals, so we will (hopefully) complement one another's builds... So, just waiting for January 8th for the off... Philip

Happy to put my name to this one - I have a lot of kits that could be post war RACERS! philip