IanW

Wow, what a project! Nice work so far!

Hi all, Yes, it's a lovely wee kit and it does come with a three-blade prop... the leading edge on mine looks like a piece of plank, though, so some sanding in order! The oft modelled HP-B from the BoB was a Mk.II and it was retro-fitted with the two-blade prop by all accounts - not sure why though, if anyone can shed some light (or photos), very much appreciated! Cheers guys,

Hi, I came across my Scale Models "Aircraft of the Battle of Britain" magazine the other day... this mag had a huge impact on my interest in modelling as an adolescent, back in the early 80s. The only build I ever attempted from this was the JU88: I only used the Airfix kit (no other extras as detailed in the magazine build) but I actually finished the model (a rare occurrence for me back then!), only to learn that varnish sprayed over canopies fogs them! Oh well, I remember still being quite happy with the end result. Anyway, after reading the magazine, it occurred to me that Airfix have (or will have) released almost all new tool kits in 1/72 of the builds inside. So I thought I would start an attempt to complete the entire collection myself, using new Airfix kits when possible and treating as a 'fun' set of builds, rather than going out of my way to detail, etc. My first will be the Gladiator II, as a 247 Squadron aircraft (of course) - I haven't been able to find any actual photos of these Gladiators, but think it will be HP - 'K', N5682. Unless anyone can advise otherwise, I will use the 3-blade prop and finish in the 4-tone land scheme - research says this finish was pretty rare on the 247 Sqn aircraft, but it will make a variation from the other builds in plain Green/earth/sky I think. Right, time to make a start! Cheers, Ian

Deleted - not the wanted area.

Very, very tide work! Love it.

Well finally a bit of an update! I've finally got my QAMR Vally almost complete - just needs things like aerials, etc adding and weathering. I've got the Vally to the pre-weathering stage, like the Matilda. I still haven't decided on the exact diorama I want to place them in, but think it will be summer 1942-43 in New Zealand... the vehicles are both from C Squadron HQ of Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles, hence the WO in the Vally and the officers in the Matilda. Might have them both laagering up, with maybe an Indian motorcycle or similar along too. The Matilda and the Valentine side-by side... the Matilda is finished in SCC2 and the Vally in Khaki Green No.3 using Mike Starmer's mixes for Vallejo paints. And all 3 Queen Alexandra's Mounted Rifles (QAMR) vehicles I have completed so far... amazed by how small the WWII tanks are, so noticeable alongside the Scorpion. I really love the lines of the little Vally, fortunately as I have at least two more to complete - the kiwi-modified FS Vally used in the Pacific and a QA vehicle from the mid-1950s. Cheers for now, Ian

Very nice finish!

Very nice!

Awesome! Love the seascape!

Very nice!

That's great - love the size comparison!

Love it - great camo scheme

Wow, 1/72 - I just assumed 1/48, nice one!

That's a beauty - great finish!

That'sa beauty - like the grey/green, nice one!

Hi all, Thought I'd post some pics of my recently finished Academy F-18 A+ in Royal Australian Air Force markings... this aircraft, A21-22, took part in Operation Falconer in 2003 and was the first Australian aircraft to drop bombs since the Vietnam War in 1972. She is configured for a DCA mission (defensive counter-air), but lacks a fuselage mounted AIM-120... I had this third missile all painted up, but with the flaps set at 45', the missile wouldn't fit! This is a known issue, as I found out after a bit of research... never mind. I know that the Academy F-18 has received good reviews, but it is honestly one of the best kits I have ever made! It oozes quality everywhere - for example, even the decal film was trimmed closely to the images themselves. I bought the kit originally for the 1/32 AGM-65s to complete an RNZAF Skyhawk, with the intention of selling the rest of the kit - but glad I persevered in building it myself! The only changes made were a Quickboost resin seat, some homemade decals, along with two Aussie Decals sheets (these basically disintegrated even though they were sprayed with clear fixer several times)... I also replaced the HUD glass with some thin clear sheet for a more scale appearance. I am slowly painting up the Academy-provided pilot to go on the ladder in 'Desert' overalls. A big thanks to DavidNZ who mailed me a second set of Aussie Decals for free!! This was the first use for me of my new Iwata Eclipse HP-BS: it is a fantastic airbrush and after undercoating the model in gray, I sprayed lines of brown-black in a kind of pre-shade around various panels and joins,, before overspraying with thin coats of the main colour and then a lightened version of this. See more on Op Falconer here if interested... http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/opfalconerhornetskb_1a.htm Please excuse the poor Photoshop editing in places - the plane is too big for my background sheet! Thanks for looking! Ian

That is very cool - some real modelling there!

Ok, thanks for the suggestion Adam - this I have now done! I filled the holes with Milliput - I've never used this stuff before, but am beginning to love it... It worked a treat for sculpting the new exhaust on my NZLAV! Still a lot of work to go on that though... Anyway, then I made a small jig to try and centre the wheels using the hubs... Set the drill depth after a test trial with one wheel... And the end result... Quite happy with how they turned out -learnt a bit too! Eg: make sure you have the depth nut VERY tight! Well, no excuses for not getting on with the rest of the kit now! Cheers for now, Ian

Outstanding!

Agreed!

Ok, my Accurate Armour "Early Valentine wheels" arrived yesterday. Here are a few pics of front and rear alongside the AFV Club wheels... When I first looked at them, I thought the larger AA wheels were a bit too small, but they are pretty much the same diameter as the AFV Club wheels... they do have, however, a thicker rubber part and this is more chamfered than AFV Clubs; this seems to give the illusion that they are smaller in diameter. However, when they are stood upright, they are the same height and scale out to just over 17mm - the full-size machine's were 17.4mm in 1/35, so I think they are pretty much spot-on. As you can see, the mounting hole in the back is quite a bit bigger than the original wheels, so I'll have to have a think about how best to mount... Cheers for now, Ian

Still loving this thread!

That's a beauty - love the RAF Phantoms, don't know if it's the paint schemes or the Speys, but they seem to just 'look' better than the USAF/Navy ones!

Thanks again guys! Ahhh, the flags now make sense to me - if you think of a flag on a ship's stern, then it makes sense to have the reverse side showing on an aircraft's starbd side! I had never even considered this before, so thanks for enlightening me! Cheers, Ian

Thanks for the comments, all - do you know, I had never noticed that the NZ flags are reversed on the starbd side of Air NZ aircraft! Oh well... and sorry Adam, Jumbolino it is - although I do think my 146 was a female, because it was a real b*&^h to finish!