tomprobert

That's very kind - but I think 'masterpiece' is a bit of compliment too far! Why Trumpeter didn't give a spar, or at the very least a stronger attachment point for the wing is perplexing, especially given the size and span. Without reinforcement I am certain it would have pulled itself apart. The wheels are indeed large - the kit has them slightly wider than the gear door openings, but that might just be my ham-fisted efforts at constructing the gear. It would no doubt be a tight fit, both in width and diameter, on the real thing that is for sure. I can understand that - however once the wing issue was sorted out the rest of it fitted pretty well and construction was pretty swift. I'd probably give Trumpeter a 6/10 for effort on this one...

I think it is a beautiful aircraft - so graceful. The Revell 1/72 kit is supposed to be pretty good - and a slightly more manageable size too! You are most welcome. There are probably other better solutions out there to strengthen it up, but this has worked well so I’m glad to be of service ☺️

Thank you… and you claim Trumpeter got something wrong?! Surely not! To be honest I just built it as I came in the box - but I may have a look and see where any corrections are needed. I used the Eduard mask set but I imagine they just went with the framing supplied in the kit…

Looking really good, Neil - I love the Flanker - it’s such a beast of an aircraft! Ready for the club this month…? Challenge set! All the best, Tom

Unfortunately not - I didn’t think to take any at the time but I can assure you it’s all there! The fuselage has some large windows so quite a bit of light gets in there… it’s just the massive auxiliary fuel tanks sit in front of the windows and block everything from view! If was to build another one, I’d only paint the tanks and probably leave the rest.

I would respectfully say that this older issue B-24 really is a product of its time and nowhere near the standard of the new Airfix kit - or either the Hasegawa or Academy releases. If you want a trouble free build in a modern tooling, I’d go for the new Airfix kit and purchase some aftermarket decals for an H-model if you want natural metal.

Thanks, John - and yes you’re quite right! I hadn’t really read any reviews of this kit to be honest, so the wing problem took me a little by surprise, especially as my previous experience with Trumpeter kits had been well engineered. Still, a bit if alloy tube and some 5 minute epoxy did the trick… Many thanks, Mark - and since starting this and having read some reviews I did indeed see the spar and wing fix. However, it came a little too late for this one - that’s even if I could find the spar set anywhere!

Greetings fellow Britmodellers! Here's my summer holidays project - the Trumpeter 1/48 scale Focke-Wulf Fw-200C-4 Condor. I started this kit with the intention of it being some light relief and a relatively quick and simple build as a nice break from the more complex projects I have on the go. Unfortunately that didn't turn out to the case and it was far from straightforward - although it looked gorgeous in the box, I foolishly spent hours building and painting a very complex interior, 99% of which will never be seen again. The real issue was attaching the wings, however, as Trumpeter (in their wisdom) have the lower wing and central fuselage section molded in one, but with absolutely no locating points to ensure this structurally critical part of the model has any strength whatsoever - it's simply butt-joints which would obviously crack under any sort of load. Being the large model that it is, I therefore made an alloy spar and epoxied this in place to give the wings some strength, and then added thick plastic card tabs to the wing root joints as well as the lower fuselage joints: Unfortunately, this mod meant the wing to fuselage join needed a lot of filling, sanding and rescribing to come good... ...but it has given the model much-needed strength - although it still creaks and groans like an old piece of garden furniture when picked up! Anyway, despite not being the easy shake and bake I hoped it would be, I did enjoy it and it makes for a large and impressive model. I used my usual Xtracolor enamels and finished it off with some heavy exhaust staining as seen in references with Mig pastels. All the best, Tom Focke-Wulf Fw-200C-4 of 8./KG40, Summer 1943:

I’ve not used the AK range myself so can’t really give a definitive answer, but aluminium oxidises quite quickly when exposed to the elements so nothing too shiny - perhaps the matte aluminium? Those with some experience of the range may be able to advise better…

A fine job on a tricky build, I’m sure. Having built a few of Mach 2’s finest myself, I can imagine it fought you a bit along the way but the end result is most definitely worth it!

That’s lovely! A rarely seen scheme which suits the Lib well. I've got this kit ready to go - how was the build? Tom

That cockpit is exceptional! I’ve ummed and ahhhhed about buying this kit but it looks really good - seeing you work your magic has certainly whetted my appetite and interest in this model and I may well take the plunge if I see one when out and about. Keep up the good work, old chap! Tom

@Dunc2610 yes - although the radio room would have been aluminium. Early batch F models had an olive green sound-deadening material on the radio room sidewalls but this was quickly removed on the production lines as well as in service aircraft. The area shown for the flight deck is correct - the lower side walls of the cockpit (the part in the kit with the molded on oxygen tanks) would have been olive green as this had a fabric covering.

That is a very strong debut! The model and base are very well done - it looks as if you’re a lot more experienced!

The Memphis Belle is currently the most comprehensive and accurate restoration of a B-17 there is. Eduard pre-painted interior sets use US Interior Green but this was never, at any time during B-17 production, used - instead Dark Dull (or Bronze Green) was used. However, this was mainly used on the exposed metal on the flight deck, along with some other structural fixtures and fittings in the nose - see Memphis Belle vid linked by @Dunc2610 above. Interior skins, flight deck aside, would be in natural aluminium which is true for the whole interior. On some early batch F-models, the bomb bays were neutral gray. All other interior areas were unpainted. I’ve a keen interest in the B-17 and have spent many, many years researching it and analysing literally thousands of pictures. If there’s anything specific you need, do ask! Tom