Viking

Outstanding, the light weathering and overall finish is superb. Cheers John

Wow, top quality! Cheers John

Lovely model, beautifully finished. Good tip on the noseleg too. Cheers John

Looking good, 👍 and I heartily endorse the approach of "if it isn’t fun, don’t do it!" John

I've been tinkering with ideas to make that elusive Vee windscreen. First off was to carve a wooden master to crash mould it, I've got as far as a rough cut mould and started to build the upper fairing with Milliput. However I have cooled on the idea as it is hard to get the sharp edges for the 'V'. Then I discovered a nice vac form canopy in the spares box from, I think, a 1/48 Martin B-47, the front section of which looked ideal. So I cut out the bit I needed, put 3 scored in it, and bent a 'Vee' in it. It fits nicely so this is what I will go forward with. I'm not going to get a perfect solution but this one seems fair. The forward 'plinth' moulded on the fuselage halves looks a bit squarer that that on the Mk.2 so I'll see if I can sand that to a better shape once it is all fixed in place. It is hard to photograph, but there is a 'Vee' in there.

Just caught up with this, great choice! I'm building the same kit and also noticed that the starboard fuselage panels all fit in flush, whilst the port ones fit recessed. Weird isn't it. Still, as you say a bit of scraping sorted that out. Will be following with interest Cheers John

These arrived today, Super fast service from Above & Below Graphics - Ordered Sunday (from Victoria BC, Canada), arrived Saturday morning (Chester, UK), I'm really impressed, Superb instructions with colour photographs, a 4 view drawing, and beautifully printed decals. They are digital silk on continuous carrier film, which just means you need to cut around each subject. Very reasonably priced too!

I see what you mean Tony, I found a discussion here on Britmodeller with your more detailed info! Not sure where I picked up the idea that it was a bolt on to the standard but that is clearly wrong. Doesn't look like there is an aftermarket solution, so I'll look at reworking the kit screen, starting by sanding the frames off. I'll wait until I feel strong though! Thanks again for the valuable nudge in the right direction, John

Some progress to report! The trimmed lower leading edge slat bays ready to attach to the lower wing. They actually fit very well after all that trimming. Next up was fitting the wing uppers after the leading edge forward of the wing box had been cut off, and the root and tip sections reattached either side of the slat bays. The final mod was to remove the span extensions from the aileron/tip mouldings. Left one not yet done, right one done. And attach the aileron & wing tips Photo showing all the bits removed from the kit wing. All joins made good with Milliput ,sanded and polished. And there we have it, an early slatted Sabre wing! Slats just pressed in for effect, not yet glued Next thing that is bugging me is that 'Vee' windscreen. I've had a go at making a test piece from clear plastic sheet, and I may be on to a solution here. In real life it was a standard Sabre windscreen with bolted on 'Vee' piece of glazing. First attempt and doing it in miniature. I'll make a neater one than this, and once the main part is attached to the fuselage, fair in the base with a bit of Milliput. I think this will work. View of how the wing fits to the fuselage. Because I have reduced the wing chord, the leading edge no longer protrudes on to the gun bay panel. It is that gap in front of the leading edge. Airfix supply these as separate panels... ... So the bit of wing root on the panels need to come off. Left one done, right one not yet done. I'm enjoying this so far, and still hoping to avoid the traditional cock-up that visits so many of my builds! Thanks for looking John

Classic airliner is a classic livery, what's not to like! Cheers John

Can never have enough Sabres! That Quickboost seat looks good, I must try and get one (Big H is out of stock at the moment). Does it fit ok into the cockpit tub? Cheers John

Oh yes! this'll be good. A very nice looking aeroplane, turned a bit sinister with all those lumps and bumps! Cheers John

Nice start, it is a monster of and aeroplane, I love the chunky look, I saw a completed example of this kit recently at a show, it looked really good and definitely has a 'presence'! Looking forward to watching progress on this, Cheers John

Thank you guys, I have ordered the decals from 'Above and Below' what a nice helpful guy Andrew is! and also fellow BritModeller Tony Edmundson who has been helping with some useful pointers. I've made a start on the wings, because if I don't get those right there is not much point in carrying on with the build! So this is the sprue for the F86-40 with the larger slatted wing that needs tackling. And the one piece lower wing that won't need any mods. The chord that needs removing is helpfully marked by a panel line along the front of the upper wing box. And the slat extensions that fit on the lower wing need the same are removing from behind the raised slat 'base'. The span extensions are also helpfully marked by panel lines so will need be cut as shown. So out with the knife, and start cutting! I was a bit nervous about cutting up a £40 kit, but it went ok. I have now glued the slat 'Base' strips to the lower wing, but due to fading light I'll leave the photography to tomorrow.

Wow, this promises to be good! I'm looking forward to seeing it come together! Cheers John

Nice one Dave, you can never have too many pictures! The lozenge colours look very good, and I see you have done the pale blue edging too, Rigging is very nice as well. What's next? Cheers John

That is lovely Einar (Matti? 😉) a real old classic! Cheers John

Sabre Mk2 416 Squadron, Grostenquin, France 1954. 1/48 Conversion of Airfix F-86-40 (Photo source Wikipedia) I've been dithering about attempting this for some weeks now, and pretty much dropped the idea as being too much like hard work. However I was talking on the phone to my father on Sunday, and mentioned it to him, and he seemed very enthusiastic to have a model of it. So I've decided to take the plunge and see how it goes! He will reach his 90th birthday later this year, after this GB finishes so I'll aim to have this finished by then. The back story is that this particular Sabre, 19250, was one he flew many times when on 416 Squadron RCAF based in Grostenquin, France in the early 1950''s before I was even born. It's last appearance in his logbook is on May 7th 1954 when some of the squadron flew up to Manchester Ringway and delivered their Mk.2's to Airwork for refurbishment for the Turkish airforce. (416 were receiving new Mk. 5 Sabres). It nearly all went wrong due to having to hold before landing at Ringway, and he actually ran out of fuel taxying off the runway. This was his first visit to Ringway, unbeknown to him at the time he would make many thousands more trips there over the next forty years flying in and out on Viscounts, Vanguards, 1-11's, and 737's up until 1992. The problem with making a Mk.2 Sabre is that there isn't a kit that can be built out of the box. It has the early wing with leading edge slats, whereas most kits have the unslatted 'hard' wing. Having seen the recent Airfix F-86-40 with the later slatted wing, I thought there might be a possibility of reverse engineering what Canadair did, and convert it back to the early slatted wing. It'll need a 'V' shaped windscreen too, and elimination of a vent ahead of the tail fin and probably a few other things too, but I'll cross those bridges as I come to them! This guide here on Britmodeller very nicely shows the wing differences and will be very useful. As for markings I discovered This decal sheet from Canada of the very aircraft I intend to model, which I still have to get around to ordering. So, full of renewed enthusiasm I popped into my local model shop yesterday and came out with this. Time to put a new blade in my scalpel and get hacking some plastic! Oh, and contact 'Above & Below' decals to order that sheet. Cheers, John

Oh wow, what a beautifully built Hellcat. It really suits that overall dark blue, it somehow makes it look more menacing. Cheers John

That is a nicely animated little diorama Mike, not your usual fare, where do the passengers sit? 😉 Cheers John

First and last - Supermarine Spitfire -1:48 Eduard Mk. 1 & Airfix Mk. 22 Not my usual area of subjects but I just could not resist Eduards 'First of the Few' dual combo boxing of the Spitfire. It did not disappoint, being an absolute joy to build. Naturally this led to me wanting a late mark spitfire to compare it with, so the Airfix 22/24 was purchased to go with it. I'm not into excessive weathering, preferring a lighter and more subtle approach with 'less is more!' No more intro is really needed, so on with the photos. Spitfire Mk.1 19 Squadron RAF Duxford 1938 Spitfire F. Mk.22 No. 607 (County of Durham) Squadron And because the Eduard kit is such a lovely model to build, I've started on a few more! 19 Squadron RAF Fowlmere 1940. F/Sgt George Unwin. Shades of the old Airfix 1:24 kit, 54 Squadron RAF Hornchurch May 1940. P/O Al Deere RNZAF. Now, time to get on with the Eduard Vb and IX in the stash! Thanks for looking, John

Lovely photography and model Russ, it looks absolutely real. The weathering is beautifully done too. Cheers John

What a lovely little model, so small and yet finely detailed! Cheers John

That is really lovely, it oozes character and charisma. Beautifully built and a real pleasure to look at. Cheers John

Amazing! Cheers John