John Darlington

Hi Crisp, I'm following this build as I have also built this kit, but as HMNZS Southland, ex HMS Dido after it was sold to the RNZN. It was pictured in a posting here on BM until Photobucket ransomed my pics. I too joined the Navy, in 1977 and I remember Norfolk visiting Auckland in '78. I did quite a few enjoyable years on Southland and was Ops Room Supervisor when we fired the very last Ikara in the world. We used third party targeting from HMNZS Canterbury against an Austarlian O Boat and the Aussies said according to their telemetry it was the most accurate firing they'd ever seen! Everything you say about the Atlantic Kit is true, I've done two Leanders and a Type 42.

Hi Oceandog, I was an RP as well, then I must know you! What's your real name?

Thanks a lot for the info guys. I thought it must be different names for the same bit of kit.

Could someone please explain to me the difference between winglets and sharklets? Thanks.

On the plus side for me. The Ascencio decals have arrived nd I've started using them. They seem very good. I might stick with them from now on.

I have still had no answer from them to my original email informing them that they sent me the wrong decals. In light of this changing ISP information do you think I should resend my email?

Sorry, I actually did look at your Yak-42 RFI and was pretty impressed with it. It gave me confidence that rhe decals were giong to be okay, but I just asked Jeff to get his opinion also. A second opinion never hurts, right?

Cheers Jeff, and how have you found using their decals? John

Thanks. I bought them from the same guy.

Yes they are certainly ignoring me. I have sent them a second email informing them about the incorrect decals and still no word from them. I think they have just lost a customer!

May I ask, did you buy the Ascencio decals from Russia? It seems they have been posted and are on their way. They even provided a tracking number but it will be interesting to see how long they take to New Zealand.

Thanks to all of you who responded to my query. It's now been over a week and still no response from F-Decals, even after a second email to them.

Wow Rod that is awesome....now I want one. Cheers.

Hi Dave, thanks for the advice on the Ascensio decals......translucent huh? The Air New Zealand scheme I'm after is a white fern and koru on a black fuselage and tail. Could mean trouble? I've still had no response from F-Decals so I might have to go with Ascensio anyway. Cheers, John

Thanks for the response Ian. I may just order the Ascensio decals anyway just to see what they're like and to test Russia to New Zealand shipping time.

Hi Guy's, I bought some Air New Zealand Boeing 787 decals from F-decal which were showing "in stock" at the time and I recieved an order confirmation and notification once they had been shipped. Once the decals arrived they had sent me the wrong sheet but invoiced me for the correct ones I'd ordered. When I went back to the F-decals website I noticed that the set I'd ordered were now showing "out of stock". I have tried to contact them through "contact us" on their website and after several days have had no response. Has anyone here had dealings (good or bad) with F-Decal? Looking for alternatives I found a set on Ebay by a Russian company called Ascensio. Has anyone used their decals or dealt with them? Thanks, John

Just simple dry-brushing.

Hi Guy's these are new pics of a couple of helo's I built many years ago when the Blackhawk Down Movie first came out. The Blackhawk is the Academy 1/35 kit modified with a Cobra Company resin set and Eduard PE. The "Little Bird" is the Dragon kit, also with a Cobra Company (I think) resin set.

Ha...so there is! The photo doesn't lie. I've looked at these pics several times after they were taken and whilst posting and never noticed it. Thanks for pointing it out Paul.

Wow...awesome as always Artur.

No tricks here Sobby, just pre-shaded the panel lines in black.

I got enthused and inspired to build this after seeing a Youtube video doing the rounds on the internet of Spanish Air Force 43 Gruppo doing their water bombing thing. It just so happened I had the Italeri (ex-Heller) kit in my stash with the exact markings of one of the aircraft featured in the video. Not a bad kit but yellow and red are the hardest colours to paint and if you pre-shade like me it takes so many coats of paint to cover it. I also had a major problem with tail-sitting and even though I thought I had added heaps of nose weight, I found out very late in the build that it was not enough and had to come up with ingenious ways to add more weight. Not my best build but okay from a distance.

I know there have been a few Monogram Voodoo's posted lately but you can never have too many.....right? So here's my build, out of the box except for Caracal decals. You gotta love these old Monogram kits, accurate and with great details negating the need for heaps of aftermarket......as long as you can live with the raised panel lines. Thanks to Alan Sannazzaro for the photography.

I started this kit when it was first released and after building up the chassis, engine and interior I stalled due to not being able to decide what colour to paint the body. I was torn between silver and gunmetal but just couldn't decide!! After a lull of about 4 or 5 years I came back to the kit and had another go at deciding on a colour, but after searching the internet for pics I still came back to silver or gunmetal, but then I saw a red one ....painted "infra-red", which I thought looked cool. In the end I showed my wife all the pics and told her to pick a colour and, of course she chose the red one. Actually it is painted Tamiya Spray Mica Red which is a little lighter than Infra-Red but is still a great colour....well, I think so? So here it is, finished. Thanks to Alan Sannazzaro for taking the pics.

Here's some pics of my newly completed HB Tornado F3. Yes, I know of all the kits inaccuracies and things that need fixing but I just wanted to build it and finish it without getting bogged down in fixing stuff up! I have used some aftermarket, namely Edward cockpit PE, Neomega resin seats, Aires speed brake wells and exhausts and Quickboost gear doors. Incidentally I used the kit speed brakes over the Aires ones as they seemed to be better detailed!!! The FOD guards are scratch built and help to hide the lack of any intake trunking. Hey, whatever....it looks like a Tornado to me!! Thanks to Al Zaro for the photography.