Notty

Shame you didn’t enjoy it, I thought it was a great kit. Anyhow yours looks fantastic. I loved the beat up look of the Tonkas as they reached retirement.

Firstly, what an absolutely amazing story! My heart sank when I read the bad news early on, but so pleased your Uncle survived the war. That generation were quite amazing, and it is sad that he passed so young despite seeing through the storm. Your Tempest is exemplary, and the diorama is perfect, just busy enough to bring it all to life. And thank you for giving a name ("Rebecca") to my pain; I am right now seeking something similar for a bubble Spit! Andy

Simply beautiful. Looking at it I can feel the same rays of Hellenic sunshine that relentlessly beat down & faded that paintwork over the years.

I initially thought the first picture was one of those reference photos of the real thing. That is all I have to say! Seriously, I've definitely moved into the "bring them to life" camp over the last couple of years and so I absolutely love this, superbly done.

Hi Andy, yes you’re correct about the Spits. I’ve never seen a pink Mosquito!

Now THATS what I call a diorama - and your narration of each of the players along with the character shining through from their faces poses & interactions brings another dimension to this little world you’ve given life to. Brilliant!

I think I’m in love. Always have been with Phantoms, esp immaculate & flawlessly presented RAF examples like this

though my heart sank a bit when I first started reading (though actually, I get it- this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and it is gimmicky) I really enjoyed your comments, although it wasn’t designed as a diorama, once I’d painted the figures they just looked nice on the base I already had with the Mossie! I’m going to look for your dio now. Thank you. Absolutely no problem! I agree there are too many lovely looking schemes for this ac I’d like to do another of these with the top camo black lower. I did agonise.

Thank you all for the kind words.

My 2nd big Mossie. 1st was the beautiful Tamiya, which I compromised with my clumsy 1st attempt with the magic scale modelling light & sound stuff. It recently crashed (from my bookcase) and I decided to rehouse it’s pilots in another mossie, and have another crack at motorising one. The HKM kit is much simpler & lends itself much better to the minor surgery needed to fit the electronics, but more importantly you can fit the motor in axis with the propeller; not possible with the Tamiya imo. The HKM kit does have what I’d call semi-detailed merlins, but only the side cowls are removable, and after building the Tamiya versions I decided these weren’t worth the effort so she’s sealed. The 2 standing resin figures were included with the kit- I nearly forgot them & wasn’t till I was about to throw the box away that I thought why not; I’m definitely no figure painter but I think they complement the scene quite well, even though they’re within inches of doom from the props… Apart from the electronics & most of the Tamiya cockpit & crew it’s out of the box(!) Painted with Tamiya acrylics. Thanks for looking. (not sure if the soundtrack carried over with the link but there is one) Just a bit of fun below; the iPhone filter “dramatic warm” gives them “WW2 in colour” vibe I feel edit: few more of the Mossie underside & cockpit for what it’s worth I forgot to mention I scratchbuilt those big coloured fisher-price activity centre knobs on the transmitter behind the navigator. The kit part had a flat front with etched circles I didn’t like. The receiver was recovered from the wreckage of the crew’s former ride, the Tamiya FB IV

Amazing. I love it. So different too

Thank you, yes they are indeed, I found them so much easier than photoetch & their quality of detail is superb. I’ll be using them a lot now I think.

Thanks. I’m old enough to remember those uk spotters getting arrested for spying on their Greek airbases on their enthusiasts tour! Hope you weren’t one of those.

Only as I said at the top, the Quinta 3D cockpit decals and the ProCal HAF markings. Everything else o.o.b

Wow. In about 40y of modelling I've never seen anything that's blown me away like this. What an achievement. First photo I was confused and thought it was a photo of the real subject being modelled. Spectacular!