airbus320

The weathering on that is just the right combination of oily and dusty! It looks like a well used airframe, lovely job! Chris

That’s a fantastically authentic worn finish you’ve achieved there, well done! 👍 Chris

A beautiful shape in a beautiful scheme! Looking great so far!! 👍 Chris

Thank you for the kind comments everyone! I am considering butchering another firefly kit into a target tug, another scheme that will stand out on the shelf!!! Chris

That’s a very interesting colour scheme that I don’t think I’ve ever seen modelled before! I like it! Nice restrained weathering too Cheers, Chris

Hello all, here is my latest completed model. It is the Special Hobby Firefly converted to a U Mk.9 target drone. This aircraft was built as an FR Mk.5 in 1950 and converted to a drone at Ringway in 1955. It ended its days at Hal Far in August 1960, crashing on landing after escaping being shot down by a Royal Navy destroyer! The base kit is the SH Firefly Mk.V “foreign service” boxing. I scratch built the various drone addons including the wingtip pods which were made from Su-27 ECM pods! The rear cockpit was rebuilt based on plans provided by @CJP to whom I am extremely grateful. The paints used were mostly Mr Hobby, the decals came from the spares box and the final finish was VMS’ excellent satin varnish. There are a few inaccuracies, mainly the fonts for the various code numbers and letters aren’t 100%. The elevators are the wrong early style provided in the kit, but the time I found out it was too late to make the change without serious rework. The wingtip pods need a few more details adding but this will come in due time as I get round to it. As it stands it makes a different addition to the shelf and certainly stands out amongst its contemporaries! Chris

That is stunning! Looks like the real thing! Bravo!!! Chris

Hi Mike, the red areas are meant to represent doped fabric areas. The Beau’s cannons had a tendency to loosed the screws on the wing fairings so they were usually sealed in with doped fabric, similar to the cannon and MG ports. This particular aircraft seems to have had a lot of work done around the tail with similar fabric doping. Hope this explains ok! Chris

The masking job from hell but well worth it in the end! Lovely model! Chris

Absolutely stunning job there! The paint job, the detailing, the weathering…all perfect! Chris

Thank you for the positive feedback! Looks like I will be digging the Phantom and Bucc out of the stash soon! James, I used laquer thinner and completely stripped the model back to bare plastic. Tidied up the various joints and gave everything a coat of Mr Surfacer before painting and decalling afresh. Chris

Thanks for the kind comments everybody! They certainly have more detail than the kit item plus they lack the three piece flimsy construction of the kit parts! They also have the three distinctive braces between the cowl ring and the crankcase that the kit lacks. They were the first 3D printed parts I have worked with and I found them to be excellent if a little brittle - I managed to crack the cowl flaps twice after dropping the completed units! Chris

Really enjoying this one, the level of finish and detail is fantastic! Chris

Super job, that’s a very impressive paint job! 👍 Chris

A beautiful model of a beautiful aeroplane! Great job! Chris