Michael louey

Hi Stan, If you can wait for mail, what you need is this new correction set from Red Roo - http://www.redroomodels.com/conversions.php?conversion=1541 This set was designed for the Special Hobby kit and includes full colour callouts for the Boomerang. It also supplies an insert for the rear cockpit fixing the most obvious omission in the kit - blanking panels for the rear quarter windows. The set was designed by Dick Hourigan who owns a real Boomerang and would know his stuff. From memory, the interior is gray green. Cheers Michael

Julien, It is worth noting that HPM Hobbies which has taken over High Planes is not located in Australia but in Singapore. As always when shopping online, check their postage costs to determine total cost. Cheers Michael.

Hi Giorgio, If you are still interested in the High Planes kit - why not buy direct. HPM models have taken over High Planes and are currently selling some of their older kits cheap, including the Sea Fury. about $11AUS, half price. http://www.hpmhobbies.com/products/High-Pl...-1%3A72%29.html I have an unbuilt High Planes Sea Fury and the details are as other kits. I know both the original founders of the company who also produced the masters and I know they are very focused on accurate shape, so I am pretty sure this wouldn't be a problem. They do look like they need a lot of elbow grease but if you don't mind that, they are worth a go. Regards Michael

If the quality issues turn out as described in most kits, It is worth Airfix to take note and work on improvements in the next mould. Saying that, I still think the problems are no worse and probably a lot better than a lot of the non mainstream kits we work on these days. And the price is a lot less than these kits. Yes, the Tamiya kit does fit like a glove, but it is short. The ICM kit has a correct fuselage, but the finish of the parts make the Airfix kit look like it was made by Rolls Royce. Of the problems noted - 1. The pilot figure is going to be omitted by most modellers. 2. The instrument decal is a problem for a neat finish. I would use individual dials or rob a spare from a kit with both decals and raised dials (e.g. Fine Molds) 3. Fit issues can be fixed as noted by filing/sanding. I still think it will be the best 109E on the market albeit with a bit more work than expected. Regards Michael

Hmmm, If I were Hornby, I'd have a good hard look at the following criteria: 1. What are the perennial favourite subjects 2. Which of my current moulds is really not competitive on the market 3. How much will production cost vs return on investment Based on this, the most likely 1/72 candidates (I don't have any interest in larger scales so don't know the market) would be: 1. Hawker Typhoon 2. P-47 (Yes, I know Tamiya has a great kit, but it makes no money for Airfix) 3. Focke Wulf 190 4. Messerchmitt 262 5. Hawker Hurricane 1 I haven't noticed they have been prolific yet with larger 1/72 subjects. The current Stirling, I consider ok as is the Lancaster. Of course the Halifax needs update, but it's a big investment. Of some of the others, the Defiant, Blenhiem, Battle all need redoing, but they aren't guaranteed to be great money spinners. It should also be noted that a lot of the less 'popular' subjects have no direct competition except with 'limited run' kits which aren't easily available for the 'casual' buyer. In such cases, Airfix really has no competition so at this stage not as much a driver to get new items out to market. Regards Michael

That's a great looking model Brad. I've built this same kit a few years ago and I agree with you that it goes together really well. I really get envious when I hear of people completing these kits in days or weeks and doing such a great job - mine took all of 6 months! Cheers Michael

Hi Rolf, Great builds and a very nice historical overview. I think the early Do 17's were very graceful, the later Z versions less so and the 217 become decidedly portly. Nice to see the ICM kit can be forced into shape as I've heard nothing but scathing reviews of this kit (of which I have one). Cheers Michael

Hi Mikey, You sound like you know your 109's. Thanks for the update about the new Airfix kit. From the photos I've seen online, the only real concern I have is the canopy which doesn't look as delicate as the Tamiya one. I wonder if the existing Falcon vacform canopy will fit if the Airfix and Tamiya are so similar. Regarding your theory regarding white/yellow id markings during the BoB - I did a bit of research on one of these planes and the issue of white id markings was considered. In this case, it appears washable white distemper was used as the Crash report listed these markings but when pictures were taken later in Australia, the markings on rudder/wing tips had gone. Here is my build of this plane: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...9&hl=grabow So your theory may apply in some cases, but not all. Cheers Michael

Interesting thread. I am in the middle of reading a history of 79 Sqdn RAAF operating over the Pacific. In one of the anectdotes, one of the pilots is doing an air test of one of the Spitfires in the squadron. He decides to do a loop in the plane with the canopy open to shake out all the dirt/grit settled on the floor of the plane. While doing so he is drenched in a stale/smelly liquid. On landing, he troops off to the crew quarters to read the riot act to the previous pilot who had 'relieved' himself during a long operational flight. . So at times airframes could accumulate some 'dirt' but I don't think it would be very nice to simulate the 'water effect' described in this incident. Cheers Michael

Thanks Guys, The painting wasn't too hard once the concept of how the paint was applied was worked out. My 1st attempt at mottles using either my new Iwata HP-C or H&S Infinity (Can't remember which) didn't work too well as I was getting some 'splatter'. I switched over to my generic 'Runway 13' airbrush and the mottling was quite controllable. Interestingly, there has been a conversation in Hyperscale recently raising the possibility that RLM 71 could not be 'mist sprayed' until late 1940. If this is true, I wonder what the 2nd colour on the fuselage mottles were? Cheers Michael

I completed this model a couple of years ago but have only recently created a photobucket account recently to allow posting. Thanks to the many members who helped with research, especially Dave Wadman. The original posting on this aircraft is here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...7&hl=grabow The model was based on the 1/72 Tamiya kit but I replaced the fuselage with one from the ICM kit which is reputed to be a bit longer than the Tamiya and the correct scale length. The information below is a summary of how the plane has been finished and some details of the original subject. The colour scheme is as based on information from various references. The plane is a Bf109E-3 of 3./JG 3 shot down over England during the Battle of Britain. The pilot was UOffz Heinz Grabow. The plane was subsequently taken to Australia for War Bonds promotion. The fuselage is painted in RLM 65 Hellblau undersides. Based on first hand observations of the aircraft in Australia, the upper colours are applied as ‘Mixed Greys’ – hand mixed colours which were used to tone down aircraft during the Battle of Britain. Ref 1 & Ref 4. The upper splinter (Type 5 – Ref 1) camouflage is overspraved with mottling other than the tailplanes . Ref 1. Fuselage Mottles are in Mixed RLM02 Grey and RLM71 Dunkelgrun Ref 1 The white rudder and wing tips are washable distemper and have worn off in the photos in Australia. They are noted in the original crash report as are details about the colour of the ‘Tatzelwurm’ symbol and propeller spinner. Ref 5. References: Luftwaffe Camouflage and Markings 1933-1945 Merrick Classic Wings Vol 10 Nbr 3 – Feedback John Kane Flightpath magazine – Article by Bob Fripp In Just Five Years – Kevin O’Reilly Internet correspondence with David Wadman and Peter Cornwell – Crashed Aircraft report with aircraft colour and marking details. Of course any mistakes in marking/colour interpretation are mine. Cheers Michael

Hello Wally, I am not sure if this is faulty memory, but I seem to recall that there were advertisements or articles stating that the movie aircraft had been painted with the Humbrol Authentic paints - i.e. Humbrol had produced large quantities of it. Not sure if this is an urban myth. I would have expected they would have had to change the paint type for use on flying aircraft (i.e. Lacquers rather than enamels). Perhaps they just matched the colours. If this is the case, I wonder what this says about the accuracy of the Humbrol paints at the time. Cheers Michael

Hi Sean, I checked my copy of Unit badges of the Royal Australian Air Force and drew a blank. I did notice that the 452 Squadron history I linked to does have a photo of the crest with a 'King's crown'. Not sure if the image on the web site is too small for your use though. Regards Michael

Hi Sean, There is a book regarding Unit badges of the RAAF. I have it at home and will have a look for 452 Squadron. Actually getting a good scan on the forum may be a bit more difficult. The book is: Unit badges of the Royal Australian Air Force / Richard J. Cluley A lot of the 400 series squadrons had 'Unofficial' badges, in some cases of more than 1 design. The one supplied by Trojan Thunder seems reasonable though as it is the same one displayed in a recent book: http://www.raf-in-combat.com/page00010049.html Cheers Michael

Hi, Just an additional note regarding the upper colours of the N's. After reading Ian Baker's 'colouring books' and looking closely at relevant photos, I think most if not all RAAF aircraft had the disruptive splotches in Medium Green on the front/end of the wings and on the fin/rudder. the latter would be overpainted in the all white tails of some aircraft however the wing splotches would remain though mostly overpainted on the leading edge by the white recognition stripes when applied. If you can find good quality photos of RAAF N's, I think you'll be able to see them. Cheers Michael

Hi Matthew, Very nice paint and detailing. I don't build cars as a rule, however my son is a Lamborghini fanatic and has built a Gallardo by himself. I personally think the Miura has much more character than any of the modern Lambos, so I have bought the same kit as you and plan to buid it for him as a present. I think I'll stick to Italian Red as a color to avoid issues with the mismatch with the plastic colour. I'll be happy to get a relatively clean finish rather than the masterpiece you are planning. Cheers Michael

Hello, Just for academic interest, there have been 2 other resin nose conversions for the Bristol Freighter. One was by Red Roo here in Australia (I have an early version of this to do a RAAF example) and a quick net search showed another by Kiwi Resin. Not sure of their accuracy but both appear to be out of production. The Red Roo nose is solid, so not much use if You want to show an open nose. Regards Michael

Hi Vivek, Great build. Our family loves Tintin and he is sure to become more popular when the movie comes out soon. By the way, did you know there are some decals available for a number of the Tintin aircraft. I am tempted to get some, but I already have too many projects. Maybe I could avoid AMS and do a quick fun build. Here's the Blue Rider web site for the decals: http://www.insigniamag.com/mod72.html Cheers Michael

Hello David, Thanks for the interesting piece of news. I'm sure it will be a valued part of your collection. I finished off my project about a year ago. I'd like to post some pictures here to thank some of the guys who helped out with info, however I have been too busy/lazy to set up a photo hosting site to link to Britmodeller. I have got photos on the net but it is on a forum requiring membership to view www.luftwaffe-experten.org - here is the link: http://www.luftwaffe-experten.org/forums/i...showtopic=12266 You may find this forum quite interesting in any case if you are interested in the history of your collection. Cheers Michael

Hi Rob, I'm not sure how this discussion about Vampires and Venoms has morphed into questions about the 'best' 1/72 Sea Vixen. I am a bit disappointed to hear about the evaluations of the MPM/Xtrakit and Dragon kits as I thought these might be an easy way to a nice up to date Sea Vixen. I've had a mild interest in this aircraft as the RAAF 'kind of' used them at Woomera. The other option if you don't mind a kit that needs 'some modelling skills' is the High Planes kit. Details about it are here: http://www.hpmhobbies.com/products/High-Pl...-1%3A72%29.html It is reputed to be quite accurate but it is also no 'shake and bake' kit. Depends on how fussed you are about accuracy. Cheers Michael

Hi Denstore, Thanks for the tip about the solution to the splatter. I would say that the brush has had this problem from new though, before I had ever damaged (and repaired) the needle. As I mentioned the cost of Iwata parts locally is quite high, so I may buy a replacement needle but changing the nozzle would be really costly. For the time being, as my Harder & Steenbeck and Runway 13 airbrushes are fine for detail work it is really not a priority to get the Iwata working any better as it does a good job as a general coverage workhorse. Mic, The cleaning comments are just personal. I can see why some would think the H&S is easier to clean (i.e. no microtip and you can (but mabye shouldn't) take the needle out from the front - I've read that this may cause internal damage to the guides). I just find all the fiddly bits of the H&S (graduated nozzle, preset and the need to get the seating just right means the H&S takes a bit longer to get back in 1 piece. I tend to strip down the whole brush after each session which others may not do. Cheers Michael

Hi Mic, I have both an Iwata HP-C plus and an Infinity 2 in 1. I only bought the latter as they had a great sale going on in the US where the thing was about half price. For general use, the Iwata is fine, however I'm not sure whether it is me or the particular brush/head assembly but I can never do any fine work with it (e.g. mottle, exhaust staining) without some splatter when the trigger 1st goes on. I have used a crown cap with it and it makes no difference, neither does thinning more. This isn't really an issue for general coverage but as I originally bought it for detail work it was a bit of a problem. I ended up using a local 'home brand' brush imported here in Australia by 'Runway 13' with which I did most of my detail work until I got the Harder and Steenbeck. I must admit, cleaning the Iwata hasn't been too bad yet though I have to be careful with the micro tip. I have also bent the needle a couple of times but have managed to fix it. Parts here in Australia tend to be expensive. The Infinity is fine, though I personally think it is a bit more work to clean. Parts have been a bit cheaper. It's manufactured really nicely but I find I have to be a bit more careful putting it back to ensure it works smoothly and doesn't 'stick'. I mainly reserve this brush for detail work. Cheers Michael

Hello Libor, Thanks for the update and detail photos. Not being as skillful as you, I might wait around for Ed's offer from Red Roo. Regarding the canopy, I may try to see if the old Tasman kit vac canopy may fit. Cheers Michael

Hi Libor, Beautiful build. A couple of questions though. I have the kit and the canopy/rear spine with quarter windows come in one piece. I have heard there are no backing pieces for the rear quarter windows. How did you create the open canopy and get backing pieces to the quarter windows? Cheers Michael

Interesting kit you have there. I have a couple of kits of the MB5, one is the Falcon vacform already mentioned, the other is by a short lived company called Skybirds 86 (or 87?). The latter looks like a nice kit, less 'agricultural' looking than the Pegasus (I've had a few of their kits but only ever built there Spiteful). Skybirds 86 are the only company I've yet encountered which supplied their vacform canopies precut! The sad part for me is that I have dented mine (Don't ask how). I now plan to scrounge the Falcon kits canopy to complete the Skybirds kit. I am hoping they may have supplied 2 in the Falcon kit but even if they haven't I'll still steal the canopy. The Falcon canopies are really some of the nicest around so in some ways this may be an improvement. Regards Michael