Kevin Callahan

I am sort of holding back for a plastic-only release of the Gloster kit. I just don't care for resin OR need a standalone jet engine.

Can't claim to be an expert on JPs. Any differences between T3 and T4 other than decals?

OK, here are the replacement photos with the (correct) fuselage registrations. If I've bunged this one up to, DON'T TELL ME CUZ I AIN'T AGONNA FIX IT AGAIN! Heh heh.

Not a huge fan of resin. I'll wait til I see the decal options to see what sort of airline markings are included. The temptation to have an MB-200, MB-210 and MB-220 in the lineup is pretty strong, however.

You know, I've been pretty meh about the Clear Prop type choices so far, but this is much more interesting (to me at least). I've got a growing collection of built UAVs that this will fit quite nicely into. Plus I always appreciate the kitmaker providing a ground cart like AModel does for its big missiles.

Yes, Alclad White Aluminum is good for a painted/doped look. If I was doing a true NMF, I likely would use one of the darker aluminum shades overall and then spice it up with occasional patches of other Alclad shades. I'm giving the Anigrand XB-51 some serious consideration (again) so that might make a good paint mule for experimenting with this.

As it turns out, the fuselage registration was what needed to be changed. The wing one was correct. It's already done, and I'll download some photos the next time I'm lounging down near the photo booth.

I used Alclad White Aluminum. It is my go-to for a basic NMF. Given the PSR the model went through, the final color didn't turn out too bad. The quandary is whether to risk the removal of one large letter and its replacement with another. Still pondering that. If only the workmen hadn't painted the wing registrations on a Monday morning while hung over...

Good grief. I've just noticed that the fuselage and wing registrations don't match! It's always bloody something....😡💩

I have begun to love Valom as a kitmaker. Not because their engineering is perfect - cuz it isn't - but because their type selections seem tailored specifically to me. I really think the DH-91 is one of the prettiest airliners in history. But reality set in pretty quickly. Fit is uncertain, and with a NMF coming up much tension was created. That and absolute piles of PSR dust. When I finally couldn't take it any longer, I did up the paint, which looked good enough after a couple of tries. Markings are from the box (no aftermarket here) and the windows were masked with an Avalon set. Their vinyl masks worked than those hideous label-material ones in the MikroMir kits, but I still prefer kabuki tape. Valom will continue to figure large in the 2019 programme. Next up is the B-45, then the Harrow, then the Salmon. When they all get completed is anyone's guess. This is completed aircraft #510 (8 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 2 vehicle for the year 2019), finished in March of 2019.

Thanks J-W. I suspected that might be the case. At least cast resin, though requiring superglue, is at least a bit less flexible than vac.

Anyone know what medium the canopy is in? I know the kit is injected, but can't find a photo of the bits in the box. The LF/Kora site says "cast canopy" but that may be a translation artifact. Cast resin? Plastic? Vac? Anyone have the kit yet? Of course I'm interested in the civilian markings (big surprise).

Now this could produce a quandary. I'm normally drawn to the more colorful schemes like the ETPS raspberry ripple. But that desert version is pretty attractive. I can only seeing myself building one, so an actual decision may be called for! 😳

Hmmm... "Meatware" huh? I know I've been retired out of the IT industry for 8 years but I can't remember having run across that phrase before. But it just became part of my conversational arsenal! 👍

When I built this plane, using the Xtradecals markings, they performed well. Sounds like you got a one-off or something happened while the first owner had them.

A modern 1:72 Lysander is IMO long overdue. Another occasion where Dora Wings is going to get more of my money! As long as they keep pumping our interesting 1:72 kits, I'll keep buying them.

Ah, you want them widely available AND cheap. Fraid I can't help you there. Cue the line about how models were $.49 when I was a kid.... But since they are available, you can't really characterize them as "rare". Now, 1:72 Vickers Windsor, that's rare. Only one kit AFAIK, a Contrail vac, and it was produced in the, what, 70s?

Here's a listing of just the Fujimi options on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=1%2F72+a-4+skyhawk&_sacat=1188&_oaa=1&rt=nc&Brand=Fujimi&_dcat=50297 There are also Airfix (some old, some new), Hasegawa, etc.

I dunno, maybe the cat stole the cockpit after I finished it but before I shot the photos! There isn't much in there besides a seat, instrument panel, and stick, and that you can't see unless you're looking right down from above. If you're comfortable using photoetch (not my favorite activity TBH) then that is the way to go for maximum appeal. As to colors, I used my best approximation of the French camo via Xtracolours. That would be X136 Light Compass Gray for the undersides, and camo of X219 Dunkelbraun, X115 Field Green, and X133 Neutral Gray topside. IIRC, I found some FS numbers (on the Hasegawa instruction sheet maybe?) and trailed them back to their Xtracolour equivalents. I was happy enough about how they came out. I'll probably use something similar on the MS-406 currently working its way through construction. French aircraft haven't figured very prominently in my output so far, but they do have some loopy 30s designs I wouldn't mind tackling. Thanks gents.

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if the Hasegawa decals, though possibly a bit thicker, might be easier to deal with than the super-thin Warbird version. The Hasegawa kit came out after I had already bought the Warbird decals, so I was pretty much committed, given the steep buy-in for most Hasegawa kits these days. Good luck on your version! We Washingtonians gotta stick together, y'know. (Are you eastern or western WA? I'm over south of Seattle by about 25 miles).

Of course the fact that one has raised and the other engraved panel lines is a huge difference between the two.

Another completion in the rush of the beginning of 2019 (mostly things that were left over from 2018). I don't think I've ever done a French aircraft from WW2. But then I'm trying to fit in some models I've never done in with the repeaters. Being a Hasegawa kit, the fit and external detail is good, though there is not much in the cockpit if that is a concern for you. The markings are from the box (GC 2/7, France 1940). One interesting side note. Our newest rescue cat (6 months old) seems to be developing into a kleptomaniac. Little sub-assemblies keep disappearing from the workbench, to the extent that I try to box things up when I'm not there. One of the disappearances was the exhausts from this kit. I have a Quickboost set coming from Hannants, but have filled the gap with a pair of Hurricane exhausts til they get here. A new type crossed off the list! This is completed aircraft #508 (6 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 1 vehicles for the year 2019), finished in February of 2019.

Always glad to see another type that hasn't been done in injected plastic before. I'm in.

This is apparently what it takes to get me to build a modern jet. Definitely not a fan of the Boring Grey Jets line, so the markings have to be something out of the ordinary. I would have to say that this one, from 2018 of the Oregon ANG, qualifies. Oregon, being right next to me here in Washington, provides a local connection as well. The kit, by Academy, went together well enough, though the seams needed some attention. The rather garish decals come from Warbird, and are dangerously thin for markings this size. The topside wing markings went well enough, though I did have some problems with the lower wing versions curling back on themselves. After a couple of evenings sweating out the decal application, the only crisis was that the nosewheel strut kept breaking. I finally ended up leaving it off til the matte coat was on. This is completed aircraft #507 (5 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 1 vehicles for the year 2019), finished in January of 2019.

Given the developing state of 3D printing, I'll have to wait and hear what people say once they get ahold of copies. But I shore do luv me sum HP-42.