Duncan B

I forgot that I actually had completed something in 2022, Great Wall Hobby's fabulous 1/48 Sukhoi Su-35S Flanker E. I had been working on this one for most of the previous summer into winter and managed to complete it in late January. After that 2022 was a complete washout and I wouldn't complete another build until 2023! It was worth all the effort as it won the 1/48 Class at the 2023 Scottish Nationals in Perth Duncan B

2023 was not a very productive year for me, only 2 completions and one of those was only finished on the last day of the year. First completion was really only built to try out the 'hairspray' weathering technique and is the Hasegawa 1/48 Bf109G-6 kit. The other completion was the Dora Wings 1/48 P-43 lancer kit which I rushed the paint job to get finished so no shading or weathering at all and I think it suffers for that. Must try harder in 2024. Duncan B

It looks just as it should, plenty of scruffy boot marks and greasy hand prints. Duncan B

Just what we've come to expect from you, superb. What is your verdict on the kit and how did they go together? Duncan B

There's no sign of you having had any problems that I can see. In fact it looks really nice. Duncan B

It looks great. I have seen the kit parts and they looked nice so it's good to hear it goes together as well as it looks. Duncan B

It's a stunner, very nice work indeed. Duncan B

Really nicely done as others have said. A very fitting tribute to those who had to go fight in these things knowing that they were obsolete and that if they actually survived long enough to launch their fish it would probably fail anyway. Duncan B

That does look great. Duncan B

Yes, I think there will have to be an early P-47 to join them at some point. Go for it but be prepared to spend a bit more time cleaning up parts and making sense of some of the fiddly parts of the construction as the instructions can be a bit vague on placement of the little bits. The few photos I have seen of the early non painted P-43s show them to be very clean. The different panels are noticeable though so I should have spent a little more time adding a few different NMF panels as I did with the P-35. Duncan B

2023 wasn't exactly the most productive year for my modelling with only 2 builds completed. This one was finally rushed over the finish line on 31st December. The Dora Wings P-43 Lancer has been around for a couple of years now and I wanted to build one to sit alongside my earlier Hobbycraft P-35. I'm not 100% happy with the way it's turned out as my mojo was running on empty so no variation in panels colours, no panel line wash, no weathering and no aerials but here it is anyhow. And with it's older cousin Not my best but it is finished. Duncan B

Simply wonderful, the finish and photography are things that most of us can only dream of producing. The 410 is one of my favourite WW2 aircraft and you have done it justice. Duncan B (now wishing I hadn't sold all the Promodeller 410 kits I once had in stock when I didn't build 48th scale stuff)

A really great looking finish. I'm about to start painting the digital scheme using Foxbot masks and am hooping it'll turn out as good as yours looks. Duncan B

You paid your money for your table so it is not your problem that you were doing well and the other Traders weren't. I have never had a problem with anyone who takes a table to sell at a show, they were taking the same risk as I did as there are no guarantees that your stuff will sell on any given day. I guess the organisers were worried that their regular Trader attendees might get a bit huffy and not turn up the next year, still not a reason to tell you to basically stop trading though. Duncan B

The wheels, regardless of which colour they were finished, would always appear to be a sooty black after a couple of landings due to the brake dust anyway. One of my many dislikes of working in that particular servicing bay was that I was always covered in that black stuff! Great model and very inspirational, thanks for posting it. Duncan B

I would guess the availability of actual space would be the main hurdle to anyone wanting to take a table at Telford as demand is always very high and booked up a year in advance according to the organisers. I know a few folk who have taken tables to sell off their stash at the Scottish Nationals over the last few years and have done very well so the cost of the tables shouldn't be looked upon as a stumbling block. As an aside I don't really understand why the facility to hire a table for individuals or Clubs to sell from isn't offered at Shows. It would cut out the under table nuisance and benefit the show organisers by providing extra income without the hassle of running a kit swap. Sure, some Traders would complain, they complain about the 'under the table on an industrial scale' sales anyway, but if they were made aware of this before they booked their space then they have the choice to attend or not (is it any different from attending a show that has a kit swap anyway?). Duncan B

I don't know how I missed this one earlier but I'm so glad I found it now. What a fantastic build and finish, I actually swore out loud when I first saw it, "bloomin' heck" or words to that effect lol. I know you say you painted the main wheels the wrong colour however I have distinct memories from my horrid 4 months working in the wheels, tyres and brakes bay at RAF Leuchars of a few non painted metal finish wheels coming through the system. I'm not sure if the FAA used them but we did (they were mostly all white ones with some black ones and a very few of the non painted ones in the system if I recall correctly). The only fault I can see with the kit is that the stabilator isn't lined up with the pivot point of the cover plate which also should sweep with the stab as it pivots but that's down to Hasegawa and is such a nit picking point anyway. A really spectacular build and is inspiring me to get one of my Hasegawa kits out of deep stash to have a go (someday!). Duncan B

Absolutely agree that there are standards that have to be met in retail (and every other walk of life) otherwise trouble beckons. Duncan B

I'm really looking forward to this one. Duncan B

We used to put polystyrene cups in nets (laundry bags in fact) and attach them to our ROV when diving to the bottom of the Med. They would come back thimble sized and if you wrote on them beforehand you got a perfectly formed but tiny script on return to the surface. The fish would have had the Tunnocks Teacakes though! Duncan B

Albion Alloys are the UK Importer for Uschi stuff so there are a few Traders around who will have access to his stuff without the pain of dealing directly. (Alex Glass "uschi V D R" is actually a very nice guy but is also a very busy guy so tends to miss a lot of emails etc). Duncan B

I have a few of them in stock and can get more from Albion Alloys in the UK. They are card as someone else has already said. Duncan B

Uschi Van Der Rosten do some too. Duncan B

I've seen several other reports of exactly the same fault. The photos don't make very pleasant viewing and have knocked my initial enthusiasm for this kit right off. I shall make sure to open the box before I make a purchase and will not be getting them in stock for my shop as I've been hit with this issue from Airfix before. Shame because the 410 is one of my favourites. Duncan B

There was at least one that flew around with an unpainted radome for a short while too (long enough to be photographed anyway). Duncan B