desmojen

I've got the kit on the bench, and I think the panel lines are ok, quite fine in fact. The decals are also ok, I certainly haven't been struck by any overly bright red when I looked at them with my eyes. It isn't a perfect kit by a long way, but I don't think you would be unhappy with it if you had it in your hands Steve, especially for the price. As for belittling others and criticising peoples work I can only assume that it wasn't 'this' Mike Williams that has a published article where he talks about being given botched kits for free....... Jen.

No, I don't remember! That would have been about when I built that one. I better hope you enjoy it then! Jen.

I did, once. It's pretty much a dream build Jen.

There's nothing wrong with that mottling Jase. It might be a little sparse, but all these A/C were different from each other, so you may be spot on. Anyway, faint is good One thing I pick up from those photos is the lack of cowling guns, and the fact that you have left some wash or something in the troughs. Apart from that I think it is a great looking model. Jen.

On the MkIX the brake lines run as Tamiya describe, down the rear edge of the gear door, with a flexible portion at each end. The thing that you sometimes see wrapped around the leg is not a brake line at all, it's a safety device to prevent accidental disassembly of the oleo. Jen. Edit - Edgar beat me to it!

A specific ASR command type thing was not formed until 1941, that is true. The fast motor launches were operational during the BoB though, and I read somewhere that something like 16 Lysanders were loaned to Coastal Command to aid the launches in finding downed airmen. As such, the Lysander would be a perfectly legitimate BoB build. As for markings and colour schemes though, I have no clue, and would love to be enlightened. Jen.

I used an MDC wheel bay insert in mine, and it fitted perfectly well. Well enough for me to buy another for my other Tamiya D9 anyway. As for the undercarriage, I did a little more digging and it turns out that the Tamiya legs are ok. The 'problem' is actually that people were comparing the sit of the model to the Dragon one, which sits higher. The main reason for this though is the Dragon would have you glue the U/C legs in at the wrong angle. If you correct that and fit the right size wheels on your Tamiya kit, you will see that there is very little difference Where do you get the Wurger bits then Ment? Jen.

It's very possible Neil, same thing happened to mine. Over time, with taking the needle in and out, the hole at the front becomes enlarged, eventually to the point where it lets paint out even when fully home and not triggered. It's no biggy though, new tip is under a tenner from Airbrushes.com Jen.

I'd have to say, those ancient Humbrol Authentics would probably spray better than the new ones! In terms of normal Humbrols, I think the accepted norm for RAF camo is 29 for Dark Earth, 116 for Dark Green, 106 for Ocean Grey and 63 for Medium Sea Grey. As far as the standard RAF mid to late war scheme goes, you could do far worse than pick up the new Tamiya colours of XF-81, 82 and 83 for that. They are a good colour match IMO and spray very easily indeed. I can't remember the Humbrol colours for the other stuff you mention off the top of my head as I haven't used them for ages. I know Tamiya do US Olive Drab and Neutral Grey though, and as for Luftwaffe, I think you would be hard pressed to beat Mr Hobby acrylics for that to be honest. The link Den has referred to above can be very helpful too. HTH, Jen.

Thirded! And a half Jen.

Not that strange, your car gets mucky and stays shiny doesn't it? Jen.

I used some spare Eduard wheels on my last Tamiya 190. Another option to ponder - Buy an Eduard kit, and use the spare parts from it to upgrade your Tamiya kit. You essentially get two cockpits in the Eduard since they provide a set of blank panels to fix the etch to. You also get two sets of wheels, two canopies and various bombs and drop tanks. If you are so worried about the stick on armour panels, how about using the vinyl parts as templates to make some up with 5 thou plasticard? Jen.

It totally depends on what extra detail you are thinking of adding really. I think on the whole that the Eduard kit might be a better starting point, but if you want a proper detailed engine bay, you will still need to spend extra time/money detailing what comes in the kit. If you don't want the engine on display though, the Eduard kit needs little extra IMO. It has far better decals, and a number of good choices within the kit negating the need for aftermarket markings. The downside is that it is a much trickier build. You will be forced to use forward thinking, patience, modelling skills and also a few swears while constructing it In the defence of the Tamiya kit, all it really needs to make it correct is a pair of wheels, and a zoom type colour etch set for the cockpit will dress it up nicely. It is also a lovely kit to build and looks the part on the shelf next to an Eduard one...... Jen.

Hi Tim, glad you got the decals ok Nick has pretty much covered it in his post. You can mount the model on the stand with the wheels either down or up, but unfortunately a certain amount of fixed parts do limit your options a bit. The canopy for instance will fit both open and closed, but will readily fall off if you don't glue it. The pilot isn't really removable once he's in, and as Nick noted, the flaps are fixed. But look at us talking of limited options, at least there are some! @ Avro 583, it is 100% out of the box. I have added nothing, and haven't even changed anything. Apart from the decals of course. As for the exhausts, they were painted with a teeny airbrush, and with four colours to arrive at the effect in the photos. The basecoat is Alclad Steel, which was shaded with a metallic brown colour that I had mixed up to paint the bodywork of a 70's motorbike model. I then added Tamiya Buff and finally black. The hollow ends were painted in with flat black afterwards. I used some photos from Hyperscale as a reference for both the colours and the patterns. I usually use pastels or pigments to try and get this sort of look, but since each exhaust is separate on this model it was possible to paint them properly. This has the bonus that subsequent handling for fitting doesn't remove all your careful work! Thanks again folks Jen.

What Mental said, they are both of the same standard. You just choose whether you prefer green or grey Jen.

Ok, ok, ok. Keep your hat on Mental! Jen.

I did exactly the same, it is a joy to work with for sure. Not sure on the pilots door, I just fitted it as it came. I must have left a bit of sprue gate in there or something. Spot on! There is also a repainted area on the fuselage, but it is less obvious, maybe because of the roundel and sky band next to it. Many thanks for all the praise chaps, it is very much appreciated, I hope you like the article as much. I could have just about written a book on it if I was allowed I think! Today I bought another one with my own money. I think that is probably about the highest praise a reviewer can give a kit! Jen.

I completely agree, in fact the last Tamiya decals I used were excellent. These were different though, very crispy and prone to breaking up while also very prone to silvering. Just nasty really I thought I had a duff decal sheet, but it seems that Nicks weren't too nice either.... Jen.

Well here it is, nicest kit I've ever built Markings from the new Xtradecals sheet, full review will be in the March issue of SAM. Jen.

I have spares from my kit if you want them? How did you get on with the decals overall? I found mine to be quite naughty.... Jen.

Beautiful work Chris, and 100% convincing! Jen.

Very good stuff indeed Jon, I do like your no nonsense approach to these things I do think though, that on balance, my Italeri kit is very safe in the stash, and I'm glad I didn't dispose of it. Jen.

Good suggestion Buccy, my photogs only have pics of Hercs and coffins though unforunately What a shame there weren't any winter two seaters. I have one to do in 72nd, and I'd love to do it in something slightly more interesting than just grey. Maybe I'll have to go for grey/green instead Jen.

Brushing it on is fine, but you will struggle to get a properly consistent finish like you can with an airbrush. The other problem with brushing it on is that some paints can be affected, leaving streaks, and even pulling it up entirely in some cases. To be honest Adrian, I think most of the problems you are having are caused by simply spraying it on far too heavily You will get to same good gloss eventually by building up thin coats, and don't be afraid of sanding lightly between coats, that can work wonders as well Jen.

Flaps up would indeed be the norm, but, bearing in mind the inclusion of the stand, and the optional positionable undercarriage, you could build it flaps down as if on finals I like what you've done with the engine, that bit of wiring really makes the difference! Jen.