Meatbox8

Fantastic build.

Stunning.

Thanks guys. Yes, I see the point with the panel lines. Pretty heavy for the scale. I think it looks like it will build quite nicely though. I haven't built an A-Model kit before though I do have the 1/72nd Hawker Fury in the stash. Nice that a Russian (?) company would produce these rather esoteric British types. I can't see Tamigawa doing them. Now, I wonder where I can get some BOAC decals.... come to think of it, Flight Refuelling used at least one Lancastrian didn't they?

Shucks. Had a feeling it was too good to be true. Thanks though. Tim.

Really nice.

Fantastic! I didn't realise the FAA used NF2s. Got me thinking...

Superb. Beautiful build of a beautiful aircraft. Must dig mine out of the stash, though it's never going to look as good as this.

Superb. How ever did you manage to open the canopy of the F8? I think I would knacker it if I tried!

I wondered whether anyone has purchased or built this kit and whether it is any good. I was going to convert an Airfix Lanc using the Magna conversion set but a 144th scale one would suit me better in terms of storage and would sit nicely with my other civil builds.

I think 73 sqdn operated an all-white B2. I seem to remember it was nicknamed Moby Dick and had the squadron fighter bars on the wing tip tanks. I don't know whether it was anti-flash white or just 'white'.

Well, I surely hope so. I'd be buying a whole fleet. Airfix are doing a great job in my view. The Valiant was the Holy Grail of modelling for me. Now, how about a 1/72nd scale Canberra B2/B6 or a new tool Victor?

I saw it (twice) over Hindhead in Surrey last Sunday. The second time it looked like it was climbing out of Gatwick. Can this be right?

I saw this kit on e-bay. Does anyone know anything about it ? I'm quite intrigued as I would like to build an earlier 'pen nib' jet pipe fighter version if the Flying Flat Iron without resorting to wasting a whole Heller T3. Can't say I've ever heard of Gomix but if it includes parts to build a mk 4 then presumably it's not a re-issue of the Frog/Novo kit.

I've been a fan of the IIIC and E since I was a nipper in the early 70s. The Aeronauts (nee Tanguy et Laverdure) was may favourite TV programme. Still got the BBC annual 1974. I settled for the Revell 1/72nd kit. Not too bad though it has raised panel lines and the decals look pretty tired. Is the Airfix offering completely past it?

I found the conversion set I mentioned for the air intakes. It's from Model Art and its code is M.Access 005.

I have the same project sitting in the pending file. I'm going to use the Airfix kit (S2) with the Model Art S1 intakes conversion, which is pretty good and has very comprehensive instructions. Unfortunately, Model Art market their conversion sets under a different name which I can't remember and don't have the set to hand at the moment. I'm also employing the Model Alliance Ark Royal Wing sheet which has markings for an all white S1 of 801 Sqd. As well as that I have various Airwaves sets for wing fold, cockpit (strictly speaking for the S2) and ejection seats and a Falcon vacform canopy. So, quite a bit of outlay but worth it to my mind as the Brick is a thing of wonder and criminally neglected in 1/72. Hope that helps. Tim.

Great. At least that's one bridge crossed. Cheers, Tim.

Indeed. Btw the Airfix Spit IX is a C wing variant. Did the HFVII have the C wing? If so then Italeri's is heading for the bin and spares box and the relevant bits will be mated with an Airfix IX.

That should help with the masking, at least! Cheers guys.

Hi Giorgio. Well, I'm not what you'd call a rivet counter but it does have to have the right look, if you know what I mean. A kit that fails in this area, for me at least, is the Revell MkVB. Too short, prop and spinner all wrong and no gull wing (the killer blow). A shame as the detail and panel lines are great. As a coincidence I converted that to a Seafire FIII, funnily enough. Now that there are lots of Seafires on the market it may also be heading to the great display cabinet in the sky. I think Revell's Hurricane is much, much better. I think I'll end up doing some dry fitting and seeing how it looks and if I don't like it, I'll scrap it and use the appropriate bits on an Airfix IX. I agree about the panel lines etc though. Much better on the Italeri offering. So, compromise on the horizon, I think. Cheers, Tim.

Not too keen on it then? Oh well, too late as I've already bought it. So, now I need another Airfix MKIX. I was going to get a few anyway as I want to attempt a cross kitting with the Airfix PRXIX to produce a PRXI. I had the Ventura XI but wasn't happy with it anymore so I scrapped it. ( although I kept the deeper under-nose cowling)

Crikey. I built a few Venturas in the days when Griffon engined kits were rather thin on the ground. The worst part for me was filing down the injection marks in the inside of the wing halves. Took ages and also took all the fun out of it.

Gets worse and worse. I suppose the adage is 'Don't judge a kit by its box', as this seems to be the best bit! The decals are nice though. Indeed. I have the early Mk1 and PR1 kits in my stash so I hope they're not too tricky. Looking forward to having a pink Spit.

Thanks Martin. Really helpful. I'm no expert on Spits but even I thought the radiators were the wrong shape. I'm now leaning towards the idea of salvaging the useful bits and applying them to the Airfix MkIX with your corrections added. I suppose there must be a moral to trying to eek out too many different marks from one set of sprues! Cheers, Tim.

Ah, I had a feeling, what with the breakdown of the parts, that this might be the tricky bit. Oh dear. That bad, is it?