desmojen

Here's my latest, a Spitfire XVI of 612 Sqn Royal Aux Air Force. All dressed up ready to take part in the Cooper Air Race in 1949. Donor kit is the PCM IXe to which I have added the as yet unreleased Cammett XVI lowback conversion. Look out for the full build article in Scale Aircraft Modelling soon Jen.

I like it! The solution for the metal truck bed is very original. I think the kit looks like it was originally a Matchbox Jen.

Beautiful work, I love them all. I really, really, really can't pick a favourite! Top work all round Ringo Jen.

Only three, but only three lovely ones! The F-4 in particular is a real beaut Jen.

I'm interested that some people see the methods as being more applicable to larger scales. I actually look at it from the other direction - I feel they are more suited to smaller scales where the detail is less visible if it isn't 'over highlighted' in this way. I agree in many respects with Matt but I do find the results pleasing to the eye, for interiors at least. I'm not so keen on it as a style of exterior finishing. One big thing though, not manymodellers seem to be able to pull it off. You have done though Spence and it looks ace! I have got my breath all baited up ready to see more of this one Jen.

I like it, thankyou The silver underneath is Alclad Aluminium, same as on the prop. I protected it with a layer or two of Klear before I salted it and then I painted it with a chromate type colour which was followed by the camo colours. I think the Klear makes the Alclad look a bit less bright, and then the washes and things tone it down a bit more too. I must admit I do like the results you get with it, it's a lot of fanny faddling about but mostly worth the effort Jen.

Nice, I like it a lot This silver printers ink........I see it mentioned a lot in various publucations, but where on earth do you get it from? And why is it better than silver paint? Jen.

I agree with Greg, the extra work on the fuel tank is very effective. Nice paint job too! Jen.

Thanks Mike, the chipping is actually based on some photos of the real thing and isn't as far over the top as you might think The photography set up is working well now, and I'm dead chuffed with it. It is simply one of those photo tents off ebay which was £15 all in. I then spent a total of just under £100 on some daylight lamps which shine through said tent. These photo's were taken in late afternoon when it was virtually dark, so as you can see, it's working Camera is the good old EOS300D, but I now have a slightly better spec lens which is the USM focus type from an EOS40D. Jen.

Hello all! I've been playing with this since I got back from Telford, building it in a 1/32 GB on European modeller Build Thread. I got the kit quite a while ago through a trade with Paul Bradley, although I've noticed a few UK retailers have some of these now I haven't seen a Corsair yet. I found it a nice kit to work with on all counts. It is very basic, anyone contemplating getting one needs to realise that the detail is more like that in an average 1/48 kit than you might expect in 32nd scale. Having said that, I've watched Peter Marshall building a Trumpeter one recently and with all due respect to Peter I can see no good reason to pay four times as much for that as you would for one of these All the paint is by Gunze Sangyo, acrylic in this case. I tried the salt chipping method on this one as the chipping is quite prominent on the photos I have of this aircraft. I've not done it before but I like the results, although it isn't what you'd call subtle Weathering is via several different washes and some Mig pigment powders. I added a Quickboost resin engine which is beautiful, and an Eduard instrument panel. Otherwise it is OOB including decals which were excellent. There are a couple of mistakes in the decals though. I think the wing insignia are a bit big and the kill markings should have proper rising sun flags rather than just the red dots. I made a couple of stupid errors too, the wing pitot is upside down, and the aircraft I have modelled shouldn't have an aerial mast. I noticed this too late and decided I preferred an incorrect aerial than the big hole it sits in! Probably my favourite part of this whole build though is my Corsairs party trick How cool is that! I must add at this point my sincere and major thanks to Matt Bacon for painting my wee Ike Kepfrod for me. I am pants at painting figures and he kindly offered to do it for me, thanks Matt you're a true gent So there we are, a fun and inexpensive build. If anyone is thinking about doing something is 1/32 but is put off by the cost or potential complexity - give one of these a go, I don't think you'll regret it! Jen.

All set for a nice chunk of Christmas leave then Paul! I see from some of the photos you posted elsewhere that you work with Buzz too Jen.

I'm wondering why you are painting this in desert pink? Are you whiffing it? Either way, I'm sure you're pleased to be finished with the sanding! Jen.

I have been working on them, honest guv... The Mirage is now in primer. I had all sorts of trouble with the canopies. Like the two seat Jag I did earlier this year, I wanted the canopies closed. And like the two seat Jag, they were an awful fit, damn you Italeri! I ended up fixing them on and then filling all the gaps with superglue before sanding merry hell out of the whole lot and then polishing it all back up. Of course, I now had no framing and because the polishing process generates static, I now have sprinkles all over the insides. It seems that I'm damned if I do, and damned if I dont If anyone knows how you can fit canopies like this without ending up with crap sticking to the insides, I'd love to know. So that was all masked up and then I put some primer on while I had some in the A/B for something else. Primer in this case is Tamiya fine surface primer from an aerosol, which I decant as required. I also had fitted the refuelling probe and the little baby canard things. I'll give it a good rub down and then I can look at getting some paint onto it. I am also going to give up, before we go any further, on finishing the Mig for this GB. I am working on it, and it will be done sooner rather than later, but I have had to put some magazine work through which has left me with insufficient time to do the kit the justice I want to within the time frame for this GB. Jen.

I'm going to have to go with the majority opinion here Shaun, some very impressive modelling there from a self confessed 'noob'. I spoke to you in person about your big Harrier at Telford, I know first hand how much hard work that kit is. My first comment on seeing it as I approached the table was - 'Oh, has Bill brought his Harrier along?' If that isn't a compliment I don't know what is I can see that you are happy with your models and also enthusiastic, so here's to more of the same in '09 Jen.

My second build, Hasegawa 1/48 F-15DJ. Built from the box. Jen.

Hi all, I'm just starting on a 1/48 Saab Gripen and I have a couple of queries. First off, what are the correct colours? I think the instructions quote H306 and H308 from the Gunze range, but they are not directly mentioned on the colour scheme and decal placement diagram so I'm not sure. Secondly, I have four big missiles, two small ones and a fuel tank in the kit. Is it possible for the aircraft to carry six missiles and a fuel tank at once? If not, what might a typical weapons load be for a two seater? As an aside, what type of ground power unit do they use? Some sort of small diorama might be nice, since Eduard in their infinite wisdom depict the instruments as being switched on cheers, Jen.

Looking good.... Jen.

Oh my sides, that is hilarious! Amazing how quick these long neglected projects come together once a KUTA has been administered isn't it! Jen.

Thanks guys In truth, it is still sitting on top of one of my vivs in the exact state it left Telford '07 I am, however, soon going to polish it off because someone has offered to purchase it as a completed model. I have had to get a new noseleg (thanks Ian ) because the Flightpath one has collapsed under the sheer weight of Milliput! The heritage stuff was available when I did it to answer Avro's query. I chose the Flightpath set as I thought it would answer all the kits shortcomings in a oner. It sort of does, but I ended up having to scratch build and replace a lot more than I should have had to considering the price of the update set. I'll continue this thread when I finish her off Jen.

I think Mike has probably got it about right Neil. The Revolution is plenty big enough to spray Alclad without trouble. The pressure is good too, I spray it pretty low. Try cleaning it out properly and have another go Jen.

I think.........wooden prop blades! Spot on with the RLM76 work too mate. Pity you keep putting that Tamiya glue in the shots Jen.

I'd always recommend the ICM kit. The only major bug with it is the decals, and if you want a Canadian version there is a good chance you'll end up needing an aftermarket sheet anyway. Under engineered? What the hell does that mean? The ICM kit fits together perfectly well with use of forethought and care, and is mostly accurate. You may find you end up with a kit that has some nasty sink marks in things like the wheels and propeller blades, an easy fix for this is some Ultracast replacements which are like little jewels The Hasegawa kit is beautifully detailed throughout, crisp and very well fitting, requiring little effort from the builder. It has two huge bloopers though. The fuselage is too short (by a total of getting on for 6mm) in both the nose and the rear fuselage, and as if to make up for it, the spinner is massively too long That said, only a practised eye will spot it without a correct kit standing next to it and the decals will at least be usable if the markings you want are included. It is considerably more expensive than the ICM alternative though, and if you replace the fuselage and spinner you could have bought two ICM kits and an aftermarket decal sheet for the same money. Jen.

I built a Hasegawa 109E this year in three evenings and an afternoon. It doesn't get a lot easier than that! Hase cockpit is a tad basic but looks effective with careful painting, and they do a 'Galland' boxing with about four B-o-B schemes in it. Allegedly the Tamiya one is a bit off around the nose but that's based on internet hearsay, no idea how true it is. I'd go for whichever you can get the cheapest when you go looking Jen.

Hey Gooney! I thought the conversion had a canopy in it? Mine certainly did, and it fitted my Airfix Vb donor with little trouble Jen.

Phwoar, that is gorgeous! Bloody nice job Jen.