Kevin Callahan

Well, that was a dud in 1:72, though I can't say that it will ruin my day. The Czechs and Russians are really the ones supplying most 1:72 these days, and their output will keep me more than occupied in 2019. And there is that 1500+ kit stash to consider....

Jon Freeman posts occasionally too, so perhaps decal suggestions won't completely fall on deaf ears.

I completed 29 models in 2018, including vehicles and one very large bit of ordnance. Don't get your hopes up; I have neither the skill or the patience to match some of the incredible work being done on this site. I guess I make up in quantity what I don't have in quality! But for better or worse, here they are. This is going to be a long post since I see the mods only want one per modeller. All in 1:72 of course. DeHav DHC-1 Chipmunk (AZ) Mitsubishi J8M1 Shusui (Hasegawa) Northrop XP-79 (RS Models) VW Kubelwagen (Academy) Eurofighter FGR4 (Revell) Douglas DC-3 Arctic Rose (Italeri) Daimler armored car (Hasegawa) BAe Hawk T1 (Airfix) Convair F-102 (Meng) personal favorite for 2018 Textron M117 (Trumpeter) Eurofighter FGR4 (Italian AF) Messerschmitt Me-153B (Hobbyboss) Fieseler Fi-156 Trumpf Chocolate (Academy) Northrop Delta (Special Hobby) Raduga AS-1 Kennel transport cart Short SC-7 Skyvan (Airfix) Sdkfz 222 (ICM) Junkers Ju-87G Raduga AS-1 Kennel Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka (Brengun) Noorduyn Norseman Ear Falls Airways (Matchbox) American Gyro AG-4 Crusader (Avis) Manshu Ki-98 (Meng) - this is the 500th completed model in my 33 year modelling history McDonnell Douglas T-45 Goshawk (Italeri/Wolfpack) GM Canada Otter light recon vehicle Autoblinda AB-43 (Italeri) Raduga AS-3 transport cart (AModel) Miles Aerovan (MikroMir) Raduga AS-3 Kangaroo Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go have a massage and lie-down after all that posting.....

Yeah, about a year ago I got all interested in a postwar transport project in 1:72. Needless to say, that one is on hold for the time being...

I'd buy em! But then I'm a pretty easy mark for any sort of RAF anniversary special.

Mine arrived today. Looks beautiful in the box. I'm on something of a Hurricane kick at the moment, and it will enter the construction queue once I get a bit farther along on an Airfix ragwing (Italian markings) and a reboxed Hasegawa 2b (11 Sqdrn SAAF). I've already completed 22 Hurricanes in 1:72 - why stop now!?

I don't remember reading whether they intend to release this with some form of airliner markings. Hope so. If I have the option I'll always use commercial markings. Anyone heard?

I was pretty much resigned to the prototype scheme (once I resolve my ongoing display storage crisis) but this has definitely put the little grey cells into a state of excitement. Nicely done!

Can't say another 109 does much for me, but I'll take whatever I can get from Tamiya in 1:72!

I would go for one. I've looked at the Anigrand kit many a time, but am no great fan of resin (and superglue). Maybe Sword, with their current obsession with Cold War fighters, could be interested? (Insert wishful thinking quote here)....

And there is my "thing I didn't know when I woke up this morning" for today, Gabor. The internet can be 99.44% bs at times, but every so often it unearths an interesting factoid!

As if the Short S-1 wasn't enough to get the blood stirring! Sign me up for this one too!

Interwar? Check. Civil? Check. Obscure? Check. A weird design from an established aircraft maker? Check and double check. Sign me up. So the rest of you will be fighting over the remaining 499.... 😎

I'll be glad to see this one get released, though we're clearly a ways off from that yet. Always had a soft spot for the type, like many interwar planes.

I have no issue with "what if" models. I think they are quite entertaining. But I would prefer that they be labelled as such by the manufacturer. Seems like that puts us all on the same page and doesn't have anyone making claims that aren't true.

My fetish for Italian aircraft and vehicles continues. This is the Autoblinda AB-43. Italeri makes a whole range of these light wheeled vehicles, from the AB-40 (in its rail car incarnation), AB-41, AB-42 Sahariana, and this AB-43. A very nice little kit with relatively few parts and good detail. It was finished with almost indecent haste and crossed the finish line last week. Since I have no confidence that my current compressor can produce a small enough line to do 1:72 armor camo, I chose a single color Roma Polizia example from 1950. The dark reddish color was German Signalbraun. I did use a brown acrylic wash to attempt to pull out some details. Not sure if the photo captures that well, but in person this is about as much weathering as I intend to do. I feel that most (non-diorama) armor is heavily over-weathered these days. As always, your mileage may vary. This is completed vehicle #22 (18 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 7 vehicles for the year 2018), finished in December of 2018.

I figure I should show the flag for the 1:72 side of armor production. As it happens I've finished two examples in the last few days. The first is the GM Canada Otter, a light recon vehicle. My fascination for wheeled AFVs continues. Some work on this was a struggle, given the vast number of tiny parts. Some are simply unnecessary, and could have been consolidated into fewer parts without much effort (and with much less chance of operator error!) The overall paint is Mid Bronze Green with some black detailing acrylic. I might have overdone that a bit, though I prefer to have vehicles with less extreme weathering than appears to be the norm nowadays. Still, another across the finish line in 2018! This is completed vehicle #21 (18 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 6 vehicles for the year 2018), finished in December of 2018.

Gotta say that the 2019 Revell release schedule in 1:72 gets a heroic "meh" from me.

I built the Emhar kit many moons ago, and unless the Sword kit is a quantum leap ahead in buildability (not Sword's best trick to be honest) then I likely will pass.

Really delighted that this is shaping up to be a success for Arma. I wonder when shipping will commence to secondary sellers (such as the Big H, where I will likely be getting mine).

Just out of curiosity, is there a Eurofighter SIG (equivalent to the Tornado SIG that Nigel mentions? TIA.

I'll tell you the secret to completing 500 models - just abandon all pretense of producing high-quality work and it becomes quite simple really! Another expression of the Profoundly Average Modeller (TM).

Ah well, that has become a problem in the last year or so. In the 90s I picked up 3x 3' tall and 6' wide display cases from a retail fixture salvage store. I also have made a number of "temporary" - I'm fully aware of the irony... - boxes with glass tops over the years. I've recently bought a new 6' tall 4' wide display case, but it is still making its way to the reseller from wherever it is made. I'm supposed to get it in January. Since the 10" glass shelves are not adequate for my needs, I'll be replacing them with 16" glass shelves spaced rather closer together. Hopefully that will give me enough room for growth that I can make it work. As it is, I've had to suspend work on a lot of projects (A400M, C-160, Victor) because I literally have no place to put them yet. And what is there is pretty jammed together. I am definitely looking forward to getting this all sorted out.

I'm in much the same quandary, having started an Italian project earlier this year. I'm currently knee deep in a Macchi Mc-202 from Hasegawa and a CR-25 from Special Hobby. And I have many of the same questions, having bought up some MRP paints along with examining my options with existing Xtracolor paints. You might go look at the Stormo website - they do make an effort at sorting this all out by aircraft type, but I'm not sure I exited the discussion any more or less confused than I was when I started! I think I am backing into the concept of "close enough", but would appreciate anyone with expertise to comment on the intricacies of Italian camo jobs.

This is the 500th model I have completed since I restarted the hobby in 1985. It falls neatly into one of my favorite categories: counterfactual aircraft. Though the aircraft was partially assembled at the end of WW2, it never flew. But I'm not doctrinaire - unless it comes to building only in 1:72 scale! - when it comes to aircraft types. This is a beautiful kit, which goes together well with little putty. The decals were not satisfactory though. It was as though there was insufficient adhesive on the decal. It actually would not conform to the curves on the twin booms. Presumably it was a one-off issue; I've never had the problem with Meng decals. So off they came, to be replaced by some markings from an elderly Aeromaster sheet from two decades ago. They were end-of-war suicide bombers, so I thought the squadron markings would be appropriate. I'm fairly happy with this one. It has not escaped my notice that the two best models I've produced in 2018 were both from Meng. Next up comes the F-106. At 62, I don't imagine I have another 500 in me, but I'll keep producing until I no longer can. This is completed aircraft #500 (17 aircraft, 1 ordnance, 5 vehicles for the year 2018), finished in November of 2018.