Viking

Well that is a real beauty Neil, another flawless build and as always a real pleasure to look at, Cheers John

I love the worn olive drab finish, looks spot on. Nice little dio/display, the PSP matting looks good, where is it from? Another winner Russ! Cheers John

the -53 is definitely one of the best looking DC-8.s and it really suits this livery too. Lovely Job Julian, I've got a set of these engines and a kit stashed away, seeing this makes me want to start building it! Cheers John

Canadair Sabre Mk.2, 416 Squadron RCAF, Grostenquin, France 1954. 1/48 Airfix Sabre F-86F-40 backdated to a Mk.2 There is a little back story as to why I chose to build this particular model, as it is one flown by my father as a 21 year old, back in the day. 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 while a bellied in RAF Vampire was dragged away, and he actually ran out of fuel taxying off the runway. The logbook entry shows it as May 7th, 1954. The problem I had was that there is no Sabre Mk.2 available in 1/48 scale, so I never got around to building one. However, the Canadian Group Build motivated me to have a go at a conversion, using the new Airfix F-86F-40. At the same time I discovered a set of decals for this very aircraft available from Above & Below Graphics. So, no reason not to attempt the project in time for the old fella's 90th birthday in a few weeks from now. There are 2 major areas to deal with in making a Mk.2, The wing is slatted with a smaller chord and span, and the windscreen has a 'V' shaped screen fitted on the front panel. I wont go into the ins & outs of Sabre wings here but there is a build log showing warts & all how I faffed around trying to both understand what needed doing, and how to do it. Anyway, it got finished, so on with some photos. I've even got a model of his Citroen to go with it; Amazingly there is a photo of 250 on Wikipedia, so I couldn't resist photographing the model in black & white to try and mimic it! Thanks for looking, John

Wow, that is colorful! Fantastic line up of 134's all of them looking superb. Cheers John

Lovely little Dash 8 Julian, some very tricky looking masking there, but you've turned out another beauty! Cheers John

Lovely looking Snake in its revetment, Its a real 'mean machine' an very realistically photographed. Cheers John

That really is a winner Dave, those engines are amazing. Reworking the nose has also made a visible improvement, I'll have to pay attention to that with my next Airfix 737. All the little improvements really do make the old Airfix kits worthwhile, it great to pick up some new ideas from you, as Rupert says above, the helpful tips are appreciated. As for your next build, I vote you do the Trident as I'm keen to see where and how you improve it. Cheers John

Nearly missed this one, glad I found it!. Beautiful job as usual Neil, and I thoroughly agree with your liking for between the wars oddities, especially French ones. I really like the way that the engines hang on struts, gives it loads of charachter. Cheers John

🤣 🤣 🤣 I know what you mean Dave! Lovely looking A320, as usual, showing that despite all the flash on it, it is still well worth building. How did you do the sealing strip around the wing box,? This has always flummoxed me and I haven't yet found a good method of doing it. Looking forward to seeing the Aegean bird. Cheers John

Wow, that is one beautiful Phantom, a real treat to look at. Cheers John

Using 'invisible thread' (which is not invisible!) is my preferred method om 1/48 scale biplanes. I've also developed a method of aligning all the struts using a strip of clear plastic, All detailed here on an Eduard Bristol F.2B, one of the more complex subjects but still applicable to simpler ones. Everyone else has also suggested good methods, just try a few and see which ones suit you best. Good luck! Cheers John

You are correct there, the Hapag Lloyd livery really does suit the 737! Lovely light weathering on it too. Cheers John

Superb finish with incredible realism, and such an interesting subject. I have one in the stash and now and again think about doing it as a fantasy 'Lufthansa Cargo' post war freighter! Cheers John

That is just so smart, the Sabre is a good looking aircraft anyway, and that livery takes it to another level. Beautiful. Cheers John

Lovely SE5a, it shows that the Roden kits are well worth building even if Wingnut Wings had spoiled us. This one more than proves that a great result is possible with the Roden offerings. Cheers John

That's a little cracker Dave, amazing to think that this was a front line fighter in such a scheme! And that the whole Jasta was painted like this. Cheers John

Another incredible build. just amazing. Cheers John

Unusual looking Vampire, nice to see it in different clothes! Cheers John

Lovely Chippy Neil, I'll have to get mine out of the stash now I've seen this beauty! Cheers John

A post script that I just remembered! My father returned to Gardermoen, (Oslo, Norway) after 68 years since he first arrived there in a Sabre for NATO exercises . In the museum is a a Norwegian F-86F that I believe was used by Airfix to lidar scan for the kit, The kit comes with decals for this aircraft, and illustrated on the box art, Appropriate then that I should use it to backdate to his Mk.2!

All done & posted in the gallery. A few more here: With his Citroën 'Traction Avant' that he owned at the time! Thanks for all the help & comments throughout this, I've really enjoyed it, and to Zebra & Enzo for hosting it, Cheers John

!/48 Airfix F-86F-40 converted to Canadair Sabre Mk.2 with reduced wing span & chord, and 'Vee' windscreen. Decals from Above & Below Graphics. This aircraft was flown by my father from RCAF Grostenquin, France, in 1954, callsign 'Boozey-eight-seven'. He delivered it to Manchester Ringway, UK in May 1954, for refurbishment for the Greek (or Turkish air force, not sure which) . It was a notable sortie as he ran out of fuel on the taxiway after landing, due to having to hold while an RAF Vampire that had bellied in was dragged off the runway. The photograph that inspired this build, with the model in a similar pose,

Superb, I thought the first phot was real! Cheers John

Superb job again John, it is a really fascinating way to build a model and way more interesting than a 'painted' one, Cheers John