IanW

All of those models look awesome! Love the F-15E, about to start Academy's as an F-15SG. Great work Cheers, Ian

Hiya, Have been fighting this one for a couple of years! A few firsts for me: first 1/144 model completed, first vac-form and first airliner. In the beginning, I started off trying to extend the Revell RJ85 fuselage myself, but I did a very poor job of it and decided to buy the Welsh Models 300 series conversion vac-form... this waited until I was over in the UK to be picked up. When I eventually started looking at the WM vac, I saw that it was way too long - a quick search of the forum and I found a set of plans... should have done that to start with! Interestingly enough, when I looked at the plans, I got a length for the RJ100 of 215.2mm in 1/144 - that's from the nose to the tail... the WM Vac was about 215mm from the nose to the fuselage end... coincidence? I also saw that I had managed to extend my Revell fuselage too little - it was the length of the 200 series (RJ85) - so did I somehow start off with an RJ70/100 series??? I needed to cutout at least 12mm from 2 places in the WM fuse to it bring back to correct length - a scale 1.7-odd metres! (I have coloured the areas black in the photo.) So after all my lack of success with cutting up the original fuse, I got to do it again with the WM conversion! This one worked out a bit better for me, though not great... still, live and learn I guess. I used some NZ-made decals from OldModels - they worked out very well, after coating in gloss spray as recommended - will be buying more in the future. Anyway, the model is VERY FAR from perfect - but I count it as a positive result just finishing it and love the looks/lines of the little "Jumbolina" (thanks Adam! ) I am keen to make a few more airliners and maybe even another 146 in RAF markings... I love the irony that these little planes ended up in Air New Zealand markings, after spending years woefully chasing ANZ's B737-200s about New Zealand, when operated by the rival airline, Ansett!! Cheers for now from NZ, Ian

That is fantastic! Nice work!

Love it! Great finish and detail - it's so low profile too!

Hey, that looks very nice - interesting technique with the resin and lovely subject. Didn't know this kit existed, watching with interest!

Yes, try here http://www.accurate-armour.com/showaaproducts.cfm?category=4&subcategory=192

Glad to be of service! I heard from Derek at AA last night and he says his Vally dimpled wheels are the right size, so I'm going to buy a set and try those - I need to finish this kit! I'm not too upset about buying another AFV Club Vally, as now I can use the Miniart kit to build a CS Vally from the Pacific and this kit to build an NZ Vally from QA Sqn in the 1950s! Cheers, Ian

Sigh... after waiting over 6 weeks for the new AFV Club Valentine III (with Rota-trailor) to turn up, it arrived... unfortunately, it only comes with one set of wheels and these are the plain (dish) versions, not the 'dimpled' wheels I had been hoping for to replace the very early 'spoked' ones. Not sure what to do now - has anyone tried fitting the Accurate Armour dished wheels to their Vally? Cheers, Ian

Cool - Jumbolina it is! Here in NZ, they were called Whisperjets, but us air traffic controllers called them Whimperjets - they were pretty slow and always being eaten up by B737-200s! Still, a lovely design I think.

Oh, my Whisperjet! Sorry, thought you meant the Matilda, necer heard a BAE146 called that before! Yes, she is all together now - the fuselage (Welsh Models vac-form, which I had to cut up to shorten) is ok, but far from perfect... however, I just want to get on with the build. Hoping to start main colour spraying soon. Might start a thread in Civil?

Hi Adam, Well, she's sitting in my display cabinet,waiting for me to paint up the figures for her and dcecide what sort of diorama I might do before I can decide on what weathering is needed! Kind of thinking of placing the Matilda and Valentine together, say late-1942 in NZ, as they are both from the same HQ troop of QA Sqn.

Looking great Adam! Like the idea of leaving mostly pristine as it would be a shame to cover all your hard work - tracks look awesome. I ordered the Mk.III last week so hoping to continue with mine as soon as I get those wheeels!

Looking good Adam! Maybe a pin wash with a dark colour would help fill in those gaps between the rubber and the wheel?

Just for interest, have attached a pic of the plans I printed of from the link above (thank you), with the WM fueslage alongside - interesting how the fuse is basically the same length as the entire aircraft to tail-tip, so suspect that is where WM went wrong... can't believe the WM kit is over 20 years old! It looks like I need to cutout at least 12mm from 2 places in the WM fuse to bring back to correct length - a scale 1.7-odd metres! I have coloured the areas black in the photo. I haven't made the cuts yet, so if anyone thinks I'm about to do it wrong, please write!! Cheers, Ian

Oh wow, Jan - my cup runneth over! Thanks very much!

Interestingly enough, I get a length for the RJ100 of 215.2mm in 1/144 - that's from the nose to the tail... the WM Vac is about 215mm from the nose to the fuselage end... conincidence?

Thanks for the replies - bugger, I originally extended the fuselage myself and then thought I'd keep it simple and just buy the Welsh Models conversion, so ripped apart the fuse to get the inserts out! That makes the WM vac WELL out, not even close to correct length, how could they make such a blunder?

Hey, that second pic is fantastic! Thanks Julien!

Hi, I'm sure this has been discussed before but can't find... how accurate is the Welsh Models RJ100 conversion in 1/144 for the Revell RJ85 please? It seems very long to me... ??? Thanks for any help, Ian

Hi, Is anyone please able to post a close-up picture of the rear of a LIVE AIM-120 missile? I want to add some details to my RAAF F-18 I am currently building, but can't find any pics online. Thanks very much, Ian

That's annoying! Only ever used their 'airbrush thinner' with Model Air so can't comment -but would have thought the thinner would have worked across the range? Anyway, now I only use their 'cleaner' product and having much more success. Before I had to stop and clean dry paint off the airbrush tip every few minutes, with the cleaner I rarely have to do this.

Cool!

Nice one!

Congratulations Adam, and nice work! So that's your mix of Vallejo paibts to get KG.3? I recognise the colour, so I must have mixed mine ok!

A bit more work on the Matilda - have washed, etc using oils, did a small bit of chipping (which I need to complete) and need to work more on the exhausts (hard to find photos of what these looked like in-service- not sure they would be the totally pitted-out, rusted relics I've seen about but nor would they be pristine - Adam, I'm sure you will soon be posting images of what I need to achieve! ). I added one of Tamiya's tarps, as the NZ turrets often appear in photos covered with one (to keep heat off perhaps?). This pic is similar to the one above but more 'washed-out': the colours are over-light but shows a bit more detail, I thought... Now to weather with pastel chalks - the NZ Matildas seemed to get quite dusty/muddy from the few pics I have seen. Managed to lose an o-ring on my 'detail' airbrush, so looking to buy another - the Iwata Eclipse HP-BS seems to be well-liked on this forum, so if anybody has any opinions, please let me know. Thanks for looking, Ian