BKirwan

Looking good Dermot, It is modelling of another order compared to injection moulded stuff. isn't it? While the body seems to have gone together easy enough for you those engines are a bit of a headwrecker; keep it up as I am taking notes. Inspired by the GB but also this specific build I have taken the plunge and broke out my Broplan vac 1:72 IAC Casa 235 . Regards Brian

Inspired recently by the Group build Maritime Patrol but being too late to join I decided to dig out my Broplan's 1:72 Casa 235 vac-kit anyway. I was moved to action in particular by the work done by Dermot and his IAC Super King Air. I started last week but am only getting around now to posting some of the progress shots now. I am intending on doing the Irish Air Corps aircraft nummer 250 which was leased form Casa while awaiting the delivery of the specialized Maritime Patrol versions (a/c numbers 251 and 252) . This aircraft features a different colour scheme to the later Casa's but is one more in line with the colour scheme adapted for other IAC a/c operating over water like the Dauphin's and the abovementioned Super King Air. There are two versions of the Broplan kit available but I have the specialized MP version as I was intending originally to do the blue 251 or 252. The kit features some of the parts for the MP version but lacks a an interior, a FLIR , the second blistered window and there were no decals included. As I also have the Scratchaeronautics SAR version in the stash I will do 251/252 using that kit as it is more complete. I kicked off by cutting most of the main parts form the backing sheet and sanding them. Broplan used thin sheets on the kit and so this wasn't a very time consuming task. The quality of the parts is variable; the fuselage halves not being as good as the wing parts. I have drawn the panel lines in using a clutch pencil ran into the engraved detail. This to check the overall detail of the kit against photos. More on this later as I will post updates in the next few days. Regards Brian

Andy, Interesting project and the kit looks nice. I do wonder though why Meng are advertising this as a 1920 pattern, the second option in the kit is not 1920. The wheels are all wrong and the changes to the turret are all from a later period. As a cursory glance at the picture of the Tom Keogh what a 1920 should look like though if memory serves me right the TK is a reproduction. Looking forward to seeing how this builds up. It's Meng so it will be good. Regards Brian

Why don't you just thin the trailing edge of the wings with a curved Xaco blade as you would normally do for a polystyrene kit ? If you are happy with the sanding of the font edge further sanding of the entire wing will only reduce the front edge which you don't want.

Cthulu approves

Adrian That looks fantastic. Great colours and refined detail from an old Matchbox kit. Were those Maxdecals that you used by any chance? Regards Brian

This would be the Hallo Kitty version of the the Jag panther ?

Yes its mud. I used a combination of pastels and paint for it. These were temporary exercise colours and markings. If I can dig up the photos I will post them here. That's is indeed a FF election campaign poster met Mr. Haugheys mug on it. There is also a RTE Guide at the foot of the trooper by the wall. As to the colour of the road markings, you now have me wondering...….. you are right of course so I am wondering how I came up with the white.

Thanks Noel; just checked Joe Maxwells on-line store and indeed he still has them. Just ordered to have a second crack at this one.

Gents Thanks for the input. The remarks about the depth of the fabric surfaces on the wings and rudder are fair. The kit parts are overdone on this count and I wasn't particularly conscious of weathering these differently from the rest of the airframe. The actual solution has less to do with weathering and more to do with backfilling the surfaces somewhat. Will take the input with me to my next Revell Fw190 build. Cheers

Here is another kit that I actually finished end of last year including the diorama. Its Takom's AML 90 done up in Irish Defence Forces 1st Cavalry on manouvers sometime in the mid- late eighties I think. Decals are home designed and printed. Great kit except for the wheels; I replaced the kit wheels with resin wheel from Blast. The dio is scratch built. regards Brian

I had built a pair of Takom's Panhards and this is the second one; the AML 60 CS. Comments about the 90 kit apply to the 60's. Great kit except foir the wheels which are too big. This car was one of the 16 sent to Cyprus and served there attached to the various Irish battalion's sent there between 1964-1973. Decals are home design and printed. This car( Reg 420) is also featured as part of the Irish Military Vehicles Group collection and I may do another with their insignia. Oh and diorama setting is based on photos I found on-line and the battalion summaries of each trip (in particular 11-13 Infantry Group between 68-70) ; at the time there was a need to have detailed road maps. regards Brian

Here is a few photos of a Revell 1:72 Fw190 A8 converted to an A7 of JG1. Not sure if it was actually a A7 as they were pretty rare but thats what the book says ........;) Decals were courtsey of Kagero's book on JG1. Finished the kit at the end of last year only getting around to making soem photos now. regards Brian

Here is my first finished build of 2019 its Revell 1:24 Volkswagen T1 Samba Bus "Flower Power". Actually I built it with my daughter over the Christmas and we just finished it last week. It was a co-production and she actually did a fair amount of building, the airbrushing and the simpler decal work . I have to say she did a good job but I have a new found respect for model car builders ; trying to get a smooth finish on these things is though and I still have a lot to master here. Great kit and colourful result and I would actually build another one ...in a zombie apocalypse theme regards Brian

Here is my second finished model of 2019; its Revell's EC135 (1:72) in Irish Air Corps livery ..although as I am posting these pictures I realise I still have to print off the code numbers...whoops. Anyway the kit is gammy because the glass work is bad/ scratched and pitted and I know this because the three copies of the kit I have all have the same issue. Secondly the glass work is a poor fit and mine came apart during spraying..... repeatedly. On-line builds repeat the same experience. This was a father-son build over the Christmas but as my son wanted an Irish one instead of the Dutch Trauma Helicopter in the kit I had to add a lot of extras. A radar nose, different air intakes, extra landing lights, different skids and a lot of bumps and lumps scattered around the a/c. Decals sourced form a Maxdecal sheet for the Gazelle because as far as I know there is no EC135 featured on the various Maxdecal sheets. Not 100% sure though. If you want to build an Irish one try and get your hands on the EC635 Swiss Army chopper (04647) or the Air Glaciers (Revell 04986) as these have an extra sprue with a lot of the stuff you need though no radar. regards Brian

Dermot By the look of your progress shots you are doing what u need to do; long straight edges score and snap and small complex parts get up close and personal with the old Xacto knife and score and break them off - sand down the excess after removal from the backing sheet. There are not that many complex shapes in the kit anyway and white metal parts cover the smallest of them. For the internal bulk head you could always just make them up out of Evergreen instead of killing yourself getting them off the backing sheet? A quick outline on paper using the vacuform as guide and you can make up the parts out of sheet easy peasy and details will be sharper. BTW have dug out my copy of this kit and have started to cut out everything so this is all your fault. I did cheat thought as I also picked up the Mach 2 not-so injected kit which probably needs more clean up than the vacuum form kit. Also the Rareplanes has 2 copies of the cockpit windshield which will come in handy on the Mach2 kit as the clear parts are horrible.

Thanks for the info gents. Just what I was looking for. Cheers Brian

Danish F-100 Super Sabre used a Martin Baker ejection seat. Does anyone know which type of Martin Baker seat it was ? Thanks Brian

If you Goggle this in Dutch there are loads of sites. Using Google translate you should be able to figure out what's being said. Plenty of photos and film. Use the phrase "slag om schelde"

hi I am building the 1:48 scale Esci /Italeri kit as a basis. Cheers Bian

Just a quick note I recieved my Mig 23 Neomega cockpit to-day. It looks great, special thanks to Gordon who kindly sent on a free replacement when the first shipment went AWOL. I am planning on building a Angolan Mig 23 ML from the kit and am aware of the fact that it is a bit of a mongrel /mut. What kind of changes do I need to make to turn it into a ML ?l Thanks in advance Brian

hi I am gathered some information regarding this a/c . Regarding the colour , probaly a combination of black for D5 and RLM 74 for the letters. However the black and white photos are not so clear that you can say for certain. Here is the rest of the info 5/ 5-5-45, Ju 88G-6, 621642 D5+DH of I/NJG.3, defection to Gormanstown from Aalborg,Denmark. Was one of a group of three. The others didn't make it. Theo Boeitin has a picture. in "Night Airwar" credited to Eric Bakker, showing crew in front of nose and port engine of the above (although it is identified as G-7) with an inset of newspaper report referring to Gormanston landing. The crew is identified in the caption as Ogefr. Kruschyna, Ofw. Herbert Gesiecke and Uffz. Schmidt. The pilot left Germany before the war and decided to live in South Africa. After he ignored his call-up to the German Army, he was set under pressure (I suppose a part of his family was still living in Germany) and so he returned to Germany. This plane was flown out form its airfield in Ireland by the British testpilot Eric Brown on June 2nd 1945. This episode is mentioned in his book "Wings of the Luftwaffe". The plane was described as a Ju 88 G6c. The plane was given the code VK888 and was in Tangmere for two years. (the picture from "The Captive Luftwaffe" is very probably this aircraft. It has the Schrage Musik in line and protruding quite far from just behind the cockpit as in the photo in p.70 of McCarron's "Wings over Ireland". There is also a photo of +GH on p.77 of Osprey "German Nightfighter Aces of WW2" by Jerry Scutts identified as a G-6 with exhaust dampers, Naxos and 20mm belly pack (showing the SN-2 aerials at a slant as in the Boeitin photo) ferried to England at end of the war. There is an account in Airlife Publishing "Wings of the Luftwaffe" by Eric Brown of ferrying WkNr. 621642 back from Gormanston (no mention of 'civies'). Some years ago I saw an article in what I think was The Irish Sword of the Gormanston stop-over, written by someone with access to first-hand accounts. In the IAC Baldonnel "Air Spectacular 2000" souvenir program there is an article on "Irish Skies in WW II" by A.P. Kearns, who was then researching a book on the period. Perhaps he could provide more info. I am curious as to your experience with the kit, I have built a number of Ju 88 in 1:72(AMT ERTL and Italeri). I have a Zvezda in the stash. I am currently working on a AMT ERTL G6 with the AIMS replacement cockpit and engines. Big improvemenet but I have alignment issues with the engine. Kind regards Brian