Nik W

Stunning work on the camouflage, I really can't wait to see this finished! Nik

Another absolute cracker, superbly finished and weathered. Outstanding stuff! Nik

This is absolutely outstanding stuff, the finish on that is truly excellent! It's just making me want one now... Nik

Very nice work indeed, the finish on that is cracking! Nik

Looking very nice indeed! If only it were in 1/48! Although its probably a good thing for my wallet that it isn't!

Super work on the undercarriage bays, on my T.5 I opted to use the CMK resin undercarriage bays, but the amount of hacking, sanding, filing and swearing involved in getting them even close to fitting really wasn't worth all the hassle. Looking at these it shows that a bit of scratch-building is quite often a much better way to approach things rather than just throwing resin at something! Looking forward to seeing more of this! Nik

That still gets shown to every incoming Air Cadet camp at Gibraltar! Or at least it did when I was there in 2004 & 2005 anyway. I'm pretty sure it had a shot at the end of the film of the 'hero' standing grinning in his sunglasses feeling proud of himself for saving the day - got a good few laughs from us cadets for the sheer cheese factor! Nik

Great work so far, loving the extra work you've done on the cockpit - I think the lack of detail behind the ejector seats is one of the Hasegawa kit's only real flaws, but it's nothing that can't be solved with a bit of wire and some plasticard as you've done here! I also really like the way you've created the worn look on the cockpit sills, something I've tried to do through various means but never really achieved. Such a simple solution though and one that will definitely be getting used on the several Phantoms I've got tucked away! Keep up the good work! Nik

Looks like I stand corrected on the reasoning for the gold tint on the V-bomber windscreens! Many thanks for putting me right chaps, ignorance kind of led to the assumption that the gold tint was related to the need to protect from the flash effects of a nuclear blast. Although I did know about the pull-down blinds, but assumed they were in addition to the gold tint. Nik

As far as I'm aware the canopy windows themselves were never tinted, however on the Vulcan at least (I'm not certain about the Victor or Valiant) the bomb aimer's blister window on the underside had a film of gold through the window to protect from the flash of any nuclear blast. So has a gold/yellow tint to it. Hope this helps, and somebody may be able to shed light on the other two V-bombers. Nik

Nicely done indeed! I do like those markings, but having built this in 1/48 in the not too distant past I would say that wouldn't I? :-) Nik

Super work here! That NMF is absolutely superb, I hope that when I get round to tackling the pair of these I've got in the stash they come out looking anywhere near as good as this. The weathering is spot on too, not too heavy to detract from he overall finish, but not so subtle as to be hard to notice. Nik

Morning Simon, Having played with both a CA Vampire and the Alleycat Vampire, there is no doubt in my mind that the Alleycat kit falls together in comparison to the CA offering, and is worth every penny. To get an idea regarding prices, your best bet would probably be to have a hunt on eBay (which I know can over inflate prices frequently) and see what kind of price these kits tend to go for. Ignoring the more ridiculous sales such as Meteors for the £70-80 mark, you can probably realistically expect to pay £40 or sometimes less for one of these. On the same note I've seen Vampires and Venoms from CA go for ridiculous prices as well (the Sea Venom comes to mind), but you can often get them for around the £20-30 mark. They are a lot of work as being limited run there are some fairly hefty fit issues with some of them, but for a reasonably experienced modeller, they shouldn't be too difficult to get decent results with. Nik

Great paint work on that NMF and also the red tail, this is one that's on my 'I really must build that list.' Looking forward to seeing more! Nik

Lifted straight from the Leuchars website; "RAF Leuchars will be hosting 7 Maritime Patrol aircraft (MPA) including US P3s and a P8, along with a CP140 from Canada, an Atlantique II from France as well as a detachment of German Air Force Tornado aircraft. " Those same 4 German Tornados were seen at around 2pm over the Borders headed for Star Wars Valley yesterday. What was very unusual for this part of the world though was the low flying Tristar which turned out to be heading Edinburgh airport.

Cracking job so far on what I know from experience is a kit with truly horrendous fit issues. I made the mistake of introducing half a dozen Air Cadets to this kit as an 'easy' first 1/48 kit for my Squadron's modelling project... If only I knew then what I know now! Looking forward to seeing how this turns out! Nik

Hi Bill, Thanks for that! It does indeed look rather nice, and if it fits fairly well then its already one up on the Aires set! Many thanks chief! Regards, Nik

Hi guys, Sorry to hijack the thread a little here, but does anyone have any experience of the True Details Lightning cockpit? I've only seen a few fairly average pics of it online and wondered how it compared to the likes of the Aires cockpit set for example? Cheers! Nik

Super looking build here, if my rushed builds looked half as good as this I'd be a very happy bear! Nik

Some truly exceptional work here Tom, this has become one of those builds where I can't help but get a little bit excited about your latest updates (as sad as that may be!). Keep up the great work pal! Nik

By the Power of Greyskull!!!! That is absolutely spectacular work! If I could achieve anything even halfway towards that level I'd be over the moon! Seriously great work. Nik

Awesome effort! The weathered/faded paint on this looks absolutely fantastic! Nik