Michael louey

Great Sunderland. I always liked this colour scheme and you've done a great job in toning down the panel lines. Cheers Michael

Thanks for the info Tony. Good to know the High Planes kit isn't all that hard. Interesting notes about the MPM kit too. Seems to be a recurring issue with the Czech manufacturers and their clear parts. The MPM Baltimore and Valom Hampden also sound like they have similar issues with ill fitting clear parts. I wonder if the guys who do the clear moulds are different to the ones who do the rest of the kit or whether there are 'issues' with the way clear and standard parts are made. Regards Michael

Great build Tony. Love to see High Planes kits finished. They sound like a lot of work but they always ending up looking nice when done well. One of the best modellers in our club built the Turbinlite version and really cursed the kit (though his finished product looked quite nice as well). I have one in the stash and will eventually get to it. I wonder how the MPM kit stacks against it in terms of accuracy. The MPM version would be easier to build and has more detail included in the box. Cheers Michael.

Hello David, I built a Mk 1 kit about 2 years ago. Here are some pics (I lifted off the web - I actually haven't taken any of my own ). I echo Rav's comments regarding the turret fit. I left it a bit late to realise this problem so did minimal work to get it to fit - This also involved having the turret facing forward which seemed to help. I didn't know about the other updates that Rav mentioned so I'll incorporate in my next builds (I ended up with 3 kits - one to replace lost stencils - I planned to do a Day Fighter scheme one anyway. The 3rd kit was a Hi-Tech kit which was bought to replace the hairline cracks in the windscreen in my first kit - not sure how this happened, maybe cutting from the sprue. The Hi tech kit came with spare vacform canopies so I can still build the 3rd kit) A couple of additional points - Be careful with the undercarriage alignment - check references. Mine was too tip toed in the pictures above. Since then I have redone the undercarriage to rake more forward). The other comment is that I feel the canopy (and probably turret) are too tall if compared with pictures. No easy fix for this so I'll probably ignore it for the future builds. Cheers Michael

I just noticed some interesting findings about the late war Luftwaffe colour RLM83 on the Lufwaffe Experten Message Board. Michael Ullmann appears to have released some information in some talks to the German modelling community. - Details below. Summary - The colour we have been describing as 'RLM83' was probably one of the many variations of RLM81 (Brown Violet) and the 'real' RLM83 was meant for a completely different purpose. Cheers Michael

A year or two ago, Hasegawa released a series of their kits with Finnish markings included - These included the Buffalo, Ju88 and Hurricane. In Australia, at least, they were relatively cheap compared to most Hasegawa issues. Not sure if you can pick them up at a reasonable price where you are now. Regards Michael

Hi, Your post reminded me of some nice sets of decals I got by a company that specialises in WW2 Finnish aircraft. They are called Inscale. They are available at Hannants and Flightdecs. In addition to the list above, they seemed to have made extensive use of captured Soviet aircraft. Decals are available for the P40M/N, Pe-2, Il-4 and Tu-2. Cheers Michael

Hi Patrick, Looking good. Just a couple of points. - Did you push the exhausts inside the fuselage? I have been thinking of when to put them on - after painting the fuselage sounded best as you can get a clean demarcation for the exhausts but I have always been worried about what seems to have happened to you. I have tried test fitting them and I thought the heater tube would help prevent the exhaust going in. (How are you going to get them out? I notice that you may have masked the rear clear part down to the 'bottom frame'. After playing around with some vac canopies from Falcon and CMR, I think the Sword transparency is like the Hasegawa (and High Planes) in that they represent a Mk VII type full depth rear glazing. I think the trick is to mask higher on this piece for a Mk VIII (check photos of the Spitfire rear decking to see what I mean) Hopefully you may still be able to do this. I am currently stuck on mine weighing up whether to open up the canopy. I think I am much more ham fisted than you in cutting up the Sword canopy and have been seeing if any of the vac ones fit. I think the High Planes one might (they supply 2 in the kit) so I have to experiment with this one. If it fits, I can use the clear middle bubble section and not worry if I don't do such a clean cut on the Sword transparency (as long as I can salvage the windscreen and rear glazing. Cheers Michael

Here's an interesting kit for the modeller with a bit of spare cash in his pocket http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/aston-martin-the-ultimate-model-car-kit-up-for-sale-20120903-25a4p.html Cheers Michael

Back onto the original topic. I was browsing the 3 Squadron RAAF site and noticed a nice photo of one of these 'Sphagetti' Hurricanes. What is of interest is this picture shows the plane 'ground looped' showing the upper wing demarcation. http://www.3squadron.org.au/subpages/jackson2.htm Regards Michael

Nice work. I built this kit a while ago as a Tropical Trials version. I was fortunate that I used an original Frog moulding so the plastic/clear parts were good. Novo can use some pretty bad plastic. As noted, their decals are usaually terrible. Last time I tried using them (on a Vengeance) they shattered. Luckily I still had an old Frog kit with the original decals which worked a treat even after all these decades. Cheers Michael

As well as some of the techniques mentioned, I use a metal template made by Royal Model - Here is a link to someone using one of these: http://www.rlm.at/cont/thema08_e.htm The advantage of this template is that it is metal so can be cleaned using solvents without damage like the plastic templates at stationary shops. I use it as described but also use them to cut tape masks so I can take time with alignment. Cheers Michael

I have a metal circle template which I use to cut masks out of Tamiya tape. The mask was designed for AFV modelling. There are similar plastic ones at stationary shops but they would not be as resistant to slips with the razor knife. Can't recall the brand - I'll have to check when I get home. Cheers Michael

I am sure I replied in a similar thread, however as others have mentioned, the safest road for Airfix is to redo lower invesetment (smaller subject) high popularity aircraft. In their range - 1. Fw190A - they have a reasonably recent mould - maybe they could go for an early A3 2. Kittyhawk - The current kit is ancient. Will appeal to US modellers too. 3. Thunderbolt - Yes, there are lots of nice kits - Airfix still needs to have its own to make money 4. Typhoon - Not as popular a subject but would suit the UK market. Only the Academy kit to compete with. 5. Me 262 - Not really sure this is a big seller, but who knows. The Airfix kit is ancient - if it was good enough for a dogfight double, maybe they do like the subject. Cheers Michael

Very nice model. I find most of the latter WW2 French Airforce bombers very attractive. The LeO 451, Bregeut 693 and Amiot 351 look like works of art rather than warplanes. This gives inspiration to me whenever I start my LeO. Cheers Michael

Hi Derek, I just got mine last night (I'm in Australia). I did a quick write up on 72 Scale Aircraft Modeller - Link below: http://z15.invisionfree.com/72nd_Aircraft/...?showtopic=2267 Cheers Michael

Nice work. I am also building the same kit currently. I haven't got as far as you with the cockpit but have been working on finishing the wings first. I am too lazy to take photos of work in progress like you. I have all 3 boxings of the kit and am working on the RAAF boxing. I just found out that this is the only version with the coloured etched metal fret with seat belts and instrument panel (bonus!). Good luck with the rest of your build. Cheers Michael

Hi Libor, Can't help you with colour interpretation but I remember seeing a photo on the Australian War Memorial site of a RAF Magister in the Middle East. Here is the link: http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/005269 Perhaps you or another member can make a guess as to the colours. Cheers Michael

Hi Paul, Not a great deal of more information but I found where I'd seen this photo before. It was in Chaz Bowyers book on the Bristol Blenheim. The caption only says that the pilot was probably Australian but there is no squadron information. Most of the photos in the book are credited to organizations/people however this one has no credit indicating it is in Chaz's personal collection. One note that you may or may not have spotted, there is a name above the Kangaroo - 'Joy'. Regards Michael

Great model Tony! The colours and detail are esquisite. Interestingly I have built an Egg Craft P-51 for our clubs recent display at the Australian Model Expo. It is also in Firewall scheme Cheers Michael

Hi Paul, I think I've seen this photo (or nose art) before however I wouldn't take too much heed about the Australian connection of the art and an Article XV squadron. RAAF service personnel were spread widely among RAF squadrons and I have seen Australian themed nose art on many aircraft in RAF squadrons in Europe. There is a good chance that this may be another case of this. Cheers Michael

Hi Paul, Their have been recent histories on 454 and 459 Squadron. The history on 454 Squadron has a few photos of Blenhiems (Mk IV and V). The book is out of print but the squadron web site for 454 and 459 squadron has a pdf download where you can see the photos of the Blenhiems. http://www.454-459squadrons.org.au/downloa...0the%20Alps.pdf I think the 459 Squadron book is still available but I'll have to check it to see if there are any photos of Blenheims. If you search the squadron web site, there may be more photos. Best of Luck Michael

Well done Roman, Thanks for building one of our Australian Griffon Spits. I have the Red Roo sheet and want to do a Mk XIV - up to now I have to choose whether to build my Ventura kit or get a Fujimi. I think the AZ would be somewhere between the two in ease of build. Cheers Michael

Great model again Libor! This gives me great encouragement for when I build my Sword Gladiator in 3 Sqdn RAAF colours. The rigging is great! Cheers Michael

Very nice Mosquito. I still wonder whether the Tamiya, Hasegawa or Airfix kits are dimensionally more accurate but both the Tamiya and Hasegawa kits certainly look a lot nicer when finished. For those interested in the Roo Roundel - Here is an example from the Australian War Memorial Collection - http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/UK1437 Perhaps the Roo should be facing forward... Cheers Michael