At Sea

At risk of drifting off topic I merely pointed out my own opinion, I was not implying the oft criticised representation of panel lines was wrong. 🙂

Whisper this but... I quite like Airfix's panel line treatment because as an aerosol user they look ok to my eyes plus you don't need a wash to bring out the panel lining, it just is there. There is a definite school of modelling which is more interested in showing technique then reflecting reality. Even in armour modelling it's over done. I can only imagine the trouble the lineys would get in if most of the modern jets we see represented in RFI were actually presented to the Squadron Commander as serviceable!

Aifix's website now showing summer 2021 not spring. I was hoping this meant the initial run was sold out but it looks like we will be waiting longer. As

The Sea Kings have done well. Maybe a Lynx and Wessex? The 1/72 Ark Royal's Last Cruise deck wouldn't be complete without the plane guard Wessex and a couple of HU.5's.

The Lincoln is an interesting aircraft, and Airfix have a proven affinity for A.V.Roe & Co. products. I think it is as likely/unlikely/obscure as the Javelin, which sold well. A lot of people will buy a kit that is fantastically engineered even if it isn't their core subject. Add into that the fact the Lincoln was used by some overseas operators and you have a sort of business case. My preference would be to see Airfix continue to put out British products that no-one else (mainstream) is doing, they are to be applauded for this. I also want to see Airfix stay in business, and if that means they don't make my *insert pet project here* next year I can cope.

I was very annoyed that due to work I missed Fairford the last 2 years, which meant I missed probably the last time I'll see a Mig 21 (Lance R) or a SU-22 fly. I was really hoping that this year or next the last F-4's with Greece or Turkey would make it over, even just to see them fly out would be worth while but I have a horrible feeling that the cancelled shows and general financial constraints will mean that many venerable aircraft will slip from our skies without a final fling on the show circuit. Shame.

Gru called, he wants his shrink ray back! Beautiful build and a finish to aspire to!

A beautiful model of one of the ugliest planes ever made! I love the colour variation you achieved, you should be very proud of that indeed!

Nothing like a bit of cultural sensitivity to the local wombats... It amazes me how resilient aircraft are; The images of the Phantom & Crusader illustrate how much reserve lift there is once the airframe is clean. I do wonder if the US Navy actually specified that whatever wing fold was designed that the aircraft would still be recoverable if the folding panel failed? I know that the F-14 was trailed with asymmetric sweep, and I believe that the Vigilate was still airworthy (if a bit of a handful) with the tail folded.

I was planning on going to 1/72... But this and the F-14A by Tamiya mean I may be building some 1/48 for a while! I have ordered the VF-161 McGuigan / Fowler decals from Print scale and have dusted a shelf ready. Early Vietnam F-4B here we come! On the price: 1980's Hasegawa Phantom F-4K/M: £30-£40 Big Ed set: £25 Alley Cat intakes: £15 Xtradecal stecils and markings: £16 Suddenly £90 for a kit which builds right out of the box doesn't seem so bad!

FINISHED! As with my Javelin I did not get time to make a display base and will show in RFI for those that are interested once I get back from Sea on the 10th March. In the mean time here is my tribute to the Harrier Pilots of the Falklands war, Lt. David Smith's XZ499:

Hello again! After a very short leave which involved a week long course in the middle I did manage to finish the Javelin and my Sea Harrier but ran out of time to build bases, I also have to add the walkways and give it a pin wash. I'm not home again until after the GB ends, but will post in RFI once they are displayed on my preferred home made stand of a wooden block and an acrylic rod. In the mean time, enjoy!

Thanks for the advice and the kind comments from @exdraken! I would like to build a wide variety of subjects and am hoping to be able to improve my 1/72 kits to the standard that I build 1/48 to. Given the availability of aftermarket and improved moulding I'm sure that is possible. I have a Fujimi Phantom FG.1 to trial, as they are effectivly a scaled down Hasegawa FG.1 it will be interesting to see how it pans out. 🙂

Thanks for the replies. I'll bear them all in mind. I figured the Fujimi Phantom kits would still cut the mustard, after all they are almost as detailed as the 1/48 Hasegawa kits I have built for so long! Good to hear the Italeri reboxing is the same kit too.

I know, but mostly British jets or British built. The joy of 1/72 is I can fit more stuff in my cabinets, and I can also build an entire Ark Royal air wing with Gannet, Buccaneer, Wessex, Sea King, Phantom without going into vac form or resin. Tornado variants can be explored and US stuff like the F-111 are far more manageable.

Having done a survey of the stash, and then looked at my house I have decided to thin out my collection and am looking to abandon 1/48 jets. The main period I build is Nato Cold War, so my question is what do you think the best kits are to look for in 1/72? British Phantom: Hasegawa/Revell in 1/48 replaced with Airfix or Fujimi? Tornado: Revell in 1/48 replaced with Hasegawa or Revell? Harrier: Kinetic in 1/48 replaced with Airfix? Any other gems in 1/72 from this period appreciated. Thanks.

Just realised I already signed up.

I have some cars in my stash... Count me in!

Fantastic! Hands up who will build theirs whilst listening to 'The Shepherd'.

I'm in for a couple, a representative trainer and a Berlin spy plane me thinks.

I'll take a couple for sure, one to build and one to stash.

Defiantly in! I am going to build the Halifax my Grandfather flew as Nav on with 433 Squadron, 6 group, from Skipton-on-Swale. He was a Brit, married to a Yank living on Rhode Island, they split up in early 1940 and he went North to join the RCAF. Ended up being a Nav on Halifaxs. Funnily enough at the end of the war he had to de-mob in Canada, then pay his own ticket back to England. Rules is Rules! So Halifax Mk.III BM-J of 433 from the Revell kit in 1/72 scale is my entry.

Yup. I'm in with something from the bottom of a dusty box.

I'm in. Probably something with black paint on the bottom and turrets. Fighters get boring after a while. 🙂

Hope we get a Xenu livery for the Scientologists!🕵️‍♀️ "...Xenu was about to be deposed from power, so he devised a plot to eliminate the excess population from his dominions. With the assistance of psychiatrists, he gathered billions of his citizens under the pretence of income tax inspections, then paralyzed them and froze them in a mixture of alcohol and glycol to capture their souls. The kidnapped populace was loaded into spacecraft for transport to the site of extermination, the planet of Teegeeack (Earth). The appearance of these spacecraft would later be subconsciously expressed in the design of the Douglas DC-8, the only difference being; "the DC8 had fans, propellers on it and the space plane didn't". When they had reached Teegeeack, the paralyzed citizens were off-loaded, and placed around the bases of volcanoes across the planet. Hydrogen bombs were then lowered into the volcanoes and detonated simultaneously,[8] killing all but a few aliens. Hubbard described the scene in his film script, Revolt in the Stars"