Kevin Callahan

If one would complain about the MPM version, one would be appalled at the High Planes version. "Looks rough" doesn't even cover it! Most High Planes models I've seen/built are extremely difficult builds. Basically a bar of soap and a photo of the plane. The Me-262 V1 prototype and a couple of their air racers are the ones I've made it through. We're not talking Merlin level unbuildable, but they are a struggle nonetheless.

Here's a good one. New Saudi display team markings.

My two most obvious attributes! Ha!

I was going to send you to the Hannants future releases page, but Scalemates works too.

No, it was the tall bottle with the big MRP on the side. Different experience for different people, I guess...

Well, 1:144 is not my game, so I won't be participating. Looks like we're back to chanting at the Airfix shrine for a retooled 1:72 Vulcan.

Since I will always go for the civil option, M-1D for me. Avis has been getting some of my $ lately; first the Bristol Racer and now this. I've already built the AG-4 and the EADS Barracuda. Both had some struggles - beware their supplied canopy masking medium - but were buildable. I'll be picking up both the early Shorts types when they become available too.

Got one on the way from the H, and quite looking forward to it. The sprues look encouraging. Another that will go directly to the start of the construction queue.

Now that's really weird - and indicative of how each operator is different. I had nothing but trouble with MRP when I made a foray into their lines when my sources for Xtracolour were drying up (to coin a phrase). They had a good range of colors. I was mostly interested in their Italian WW2 shades at the time. But coverage was lousy and it would pool and run at the slightest provocation. So I scampered back to Xtracolour when I found a new US source (at the time Roll Models, currently Kitlinx). Is it because I've worked out all the kinks and nuances with Xtracolour but hadn't with MRP? Possibly. But there is a virtue to sticking with the proven performer.

I'm a diehard Xtracolour fan since the mid-80s, and being in the US with the current worldwide postal restrictions on flying enamel paints, that ain't easy! But as long as you thin them sufficiently, and occasionally allow for some addition drying time (which seems to vary by batch and not by specific color or even range of colors like various blues) you should be fine. I never converted to acrylics because I have had issues with adhesion, drying in the airbrush tip, masking, etc. Since I'm 62 and use a breathing regulator, I don't worry too much about the fumes.

No, I understood completely. I doubt I will put anything on the pylons, but if the pylons are a permanent installation, they should be there. And for the next Eurofighter, they will be!

To be honest I did not know that (the outboard missile rails being permanent). That's the wonder of the modern internet; you really can learn something new every day! Since I have at least 6 other Eurofighters (3 German, 2 Italian, and 1 Spanish, all in special markings) either in or shortly coming into the queue, I will make sure the pylons are there for the next iteration. I've never had much interest in bomb load. It's the plane I'm trying to replicate, generally as clean and unencumbered as possible. More to the point, the exterior markings more than anything else. Not an Engineer and never was. But this is an easy enough fix on future models.

The thing was not quite as finished as I thought it was while taking the photos. Still needs some Kristal Kleer to finish that bit off. Actual, it is an intentional design element to allow dogs to stick their heads out the porthole while the plane is in flight. You know dogs....

I think you're right about the tail and the Forces of Valor connection. That was a weird botch. So weird that even I thought it was too wonky to build and I can ignore just about anything to do with minor detail accuracy!

Well, that would be because the undercarriage collapsed right before I took the photos! Actually, the wheel came disengaged from the gear itself. I've since rectified it so it is back to where it needs to be. Murphys Law of Model Photography strikes again...

I've been trying to complete some aircraft types that have never seen my finish line before, but that doesn't mean I'm neglecting the old faithful types like Eurofighter, P-47s, Hurricanes, and BAe Hawks. In fact this is the second of the four examples available in last year's Italeri boxing of special Italian AF markings. The Italeri kit lacks the finesse of the newest-tool Revell, but it went together well enough. Decals came from the kit boxing. I think I would have preferred to have color callouts for the Green and Brown in the spine camo, with decals for the individual markings. Instead you get decal bits for the entire spine, including the cockpit surround. That caused some anxious moments after the matte overcoat when the cockpit masking was removed.Just take your time and use setting solution between sessions. The markings are for 12th Fighter Group from Maggio Air Base in 2017. There are still plenty of special markings schemes in the decal stash, including two more contemporary Italian specials, one Italian special from a few years back, a few German specials, and (on the way from Hannants) a Spanish Tiger Meet version. Good times for gaudy Eurofighters! This is completed aircraft #512 (10 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 2 vehicles for the year 2019), finished in March of 2019.

Just the info I was looking for. Thanks.

And didn't Italeri (maybe a Testors boxing) do a version of the AC-47 in the 80s or so? I seem to remember that from my early modelling days.

Well, this caused some palpitations here in the capital city of 72 Land. The OP says fibreglass with resin. Also that it is a new company (but not necessarily new creators?) Fibreglass sounds a bit like it might be some gents from Modelsvit, which I think originally spawned from AModel. No talk of plastic parts in the post. But I'd take a Modelsvit version. Oh, be serious, I've wanted a (non-resin) 747 for so long I'll likely buy it unless it really is an obvious unbuildable disaster. All I have to do is survive until 2021!

That is supposed to be ex-Magna, possibly with all that entails. However, not sure if Combat is used to cleaning up and improving molds as part of their reissue. Anyone with more experience with Combat know for sure?

Definitely short run and a bit fiddly in all aspects of fit. Beware of their "label maker" masking set, if included. They're the very devil to get separated from the canopy after painting. Guess how I know this. Still their choice of subject is interesting and wide-ranging.

Well, that actually makes sense if they were shooting for detail, grain, and shape fidelity. I guess it is only in retrospect that we are trying to deduce color from B&W photos. You probably would have gotten a weird look from a photographer if you told him your main goal was determining what color the plane was...

My sympathies to the goat. My luck has been known to run in those currents as well.... And the aesthetics of a DH-91 vs a Whitley? The mind boggles.

Very nice indeed. Going to have to get one of these!

This is hardly an original thought, but what was the rationale behind using orthochromatic film in the first place? Something that completely distorts the tonal quality of the original color. That "black" in John's picture is yellow, which is about as counter-intuitive visually as it is possible to be. What was the original purpose? What problem were they trying to solve or clarify that gave us this sort of film? This has driven me nuts for a while now, and I don't remember ever seeing a good explanation of how/why photographers used it.