FIGHTS ON

Nice to see one with both engine blanks in place cracking build - all too easy to give up when something hits the shelf of doom. I am tempted to build one, but I figure I'll go for the Tamiya version

if the kit (which I think looks grand) is truly for practice, try going back with a 10% mix of white / 90% matt varnish (+ thinners to spray!) and see if you can now spray in between the panel lines. this should give an excellent "sun bleached" look, break up the sharpness of the 2 colours you have. The caution is not-2-much. In fact you shouldn't be able to see any colour difference until AFTER the paint dries. Have a look at modelling articles on scale effect of sun/distance. In simple terms, if your model is 1/72 and you are viewing it from 2 feet away, then the scale effect should be as if viewing the real aircraft from 144 ft away. Polarisation will make the true colours look lighter (i.e. a flat black surface looks more grey the further you step back.). Somewhere on line someone has calculated how much (as a %) flat white should be added to the base colour depending on scale. Again I should stress that your paint job is probably better than I can do anyway - why I am too shy to post my finished models!.

I think I tried getting an Aires cockpit into one of these nearly 2 decades ago (this was my first go with Aires and it put me off for a decade - whereas now there stuff fits (mostly) perfectly). You've produced an excellent finish with this F-4B - makes me wonder if as we get older we've become too lazy (or accustomed?) to such better quality fitting kits we forget that sometimes you have to put some effort in.......or perhaps we don't have the time or even the Reward versus Input equation doesn't meet our ever higher demanding requirement... You've picked IMHO the best looking scheme to adorn a phantom - a real beauty you've got there and hopefully the experience hasn't put you off continuing with other, less stressful builds?

Lovely looking build - mind you, I can't really see whats wrong with the original ! Can't really go wrong in any Extra Dark Sea grey over white scheme I did the Allycat FAW1 conversion last year - no real issues, but with all that resin in the booms, I had to fashion a tailhook out of metal fixed down to avoid the tail sit.

wrong.....just wrong on so many levels.......what is in the water supply in Texas that can drive a man to come up with such a beast? Mind you, it does sorta look kinda cool

the outstanding word already taken by boom.boom but that really is the right word. I've been sitting on this kit in my stash for years, but put off by the raised panel lines. Can I assume that you just went with those and used silver pencil or something similar on those? Your weathering & build are so good, I can't even tell if those panel lines are rescribed 😨 or left as the kit supplied.

best looking jet ever - great built and photography captures "that" look perfectly

you have delivered an amazing finish to the Wessex, very impressive, even the interior detail. Perhaps a solution to overcome the silvering would be to replace the Junior Service graffiti / lettering with "ROYAL NAVY" ?

Amazing build from the airfix kit that so many of us are familiar with. Thank you for taking the time to post the images and the work-in-progress. Even getting a decent yellow finish is a challenge for most of us! As Jonners states, there is no surprise with what some people do or wear in the mountains in the UK. Flip Flops & t-shirts isn't out of place on the Welsh mountains it would seem - although I like to think of it as Darwin's natural selection process at work. I have helped my son set up his 3D printer and the results are pretty amazing. I haven't yet had the time to learn how to make my own parts, so I use some of the various websites that either sell (or offer for free) some of the .stl files. (website selling GBU-24 .stl file) I know I am 1 of hundreds that are desperate to find a decent 1/72 sandbox filter.....maybe your path to becoming a multi millionaire lies in cornering the market!.....actually, learning to use Blender has just crept up my list of urgent things to do !!!

stunning build, just need Italeri to release their Wessex 1 , the forthcoming AEW gannet announced by sword and you have the complete set.

probably the most informed build of one of these Airfix kits I can find. Like you, "one day" I am going to have to build one, but, like some other commentators have suggested, it needs to be "as I remember her"......... so from what I can see, neither kit gets even close to an INVINCIBLE post 1989 refit,I reckon I will need both kits )or 'Lusty, but with some frames from the (Mighty) Invincible kit. Even after INVINCIBLE's 1998 refit (sea Dart removal, deck closed over) she never received the mast configuration that this Lusty kit provides. And of course the cat walks never got modified. I want (?) to do an "ORIENT92/ADRIATC" version (needs SEA DART & open foc's'le) or do the 1999 Ops over IRAQ/KOSOVO version with extended flight deck. Having thoroughly scrolled thru' your build, it will clearly have to be both kits but at least I don't have to worry about the underside of the ramp issues that you had. Again, very, very grateful to you for taking time to post the level of detail that you have.

Pretty much how she looked to me on ORIENT 92 and the first of those Adriatic trips in '93. If you do have a go at her look in 92 & 93, the big giveaways will be the 996 radar (not 992 as per Revell) and somehow try & cut out the port aft goalkeeper mounting in the stern........oh and dirty up the decks 34 years later and I find my self working with 2 other Invincible '92 members, and here in sunny Bahrain, they even have her old bow anchor as a gate guard. Some ships clearly never die

just simply "wow".... amazing result

Good looking build. There are some great colour images of Don Kilgus's F-100 I had in a book as a youngster, and have wondered why no one every did any decals for this machine. I read that he went on to fly F105 Wild Weasels and was the only aircraft lost on the Son Tay (POW rescue attempt) in 1970. I'm put off doing an F-100 because I don't think I could do justice to the exhaust area - you seem to have absolutely nailed it

Nice looking build - can't really go wrong with invasion stripes on a model. VCS-7 spits were based here in Lee-on-Solent for the Normandy campaign, so I've no excuse for not doing one to add to my shelves. Thanks for sharing the images

So mine has arrived and I am allowed by CINCNAGHOME to make a start on the present before Christmas as my place-of-work has suddenly decided that I need to go away immediately after Christmas (Grey Funnel Line - the gift that keeps on giving.... ) I am torn between the Gannet T5 and the Eagle COD scheme. (using the Xtradecal 48237 sheet) So my exam question to the better informed on here is: Will AIRFIX follow up this initial release with a 2nd edition with another decal sheet? I can see me building both at some point (can't remember when I said that about a kit before) and Xtradecal 48237 doesn't contain any white stencilling. So my gut feeling is to do the T5 now, and wait & see if there is a 2nd release later in the year that might include a COD scheme..... oh course, there might be a whole raft of aftermarket stuff by then (cargo pods for the COD version, etc), but it seems such an excellent kit, I really can't see the need for any that can't be scratch built.

That is a lovely build, really nice finish. Continue to be tempted to buy one of these, but I have already built 2 of the old airfix Buccs at this scale. However your description of "straight forward" does tempt me. "I went with the 803 NAS markings " - well there's a lot of ex 801NAS people that might want to point out your typing error in that statement! (mind you, I haven't got the kit, and despite my love for Airfix, their ability to get sqns mixed up in their instructions seems a recurring theme - I assume there wasn't a yellow & black checkered scheme (i.e. 803?) [Edit: did those engine blanks come with the kit? or are they aftermarket? (red adds a great touch to X Dark Sea Grey) - Admin, are we allowed to talk about "engine Blanks" on UK Carrier aircraft or is that still considered a touchy subject for those Brit Modellers serving on QNZL? ]

it is becoming obvious that I'll have to buy one of these seakings, my worry is that all the schemes just look so good. Your 771 scheme is a real eyecatcher (not sure why 814 get a sqn zap just behind the door?) .....which one.....which one to do... thank you for posting the pictures - doesn't help my decisions!

thank you for sharing - amazing paintjob that will leave many of us less gifted modellers inspired

Great builds and a reminder that those Revell kits really do match the quality of those far eastern kits that seem to grab the glory. You seem to have captured the greys perfectly.

I'm looking at my stash (well 3) Hasegawa Tomcats and trying to justify getting one of these Tamiya kits. Your builds aren't helping me reach a sensible, economic decision .......

forgive the thread drift (should really be in another chat thread). But "yes" there were all sorts of issues when the MV-22 entered service, I believe it was proved NOT to be design or mechanical, but rather new pilots getting into Vortex Ring issues when landing (i.e. your rate of decent and blades "cutting" thru your own downdraft = significant drop in lift at a very bad moment!). The down draft from these beasts is huge (plus with the jet efflux pointing down ) create additional issues when operating on decks/ grass etc. But USMC doctrine has been modified to reflect the capability. Osprey offers a massive increase in speed/distance (although is slightly more cramped inside than the CH-46 phrogs it has replaced). The USN even made USS America & one other LHA (?) without the docking area on the assumption that these ospreys would be dropping off troops much, much further inland from the beach (i.e a mis match with the traditional Landing craft) - however I believe, that this decision has been reversed with more recent LHAs being built. With the USN about to adopt these as replacements for the C-2A Greyhound CODs it's such a shame that the UK (which was offered a bargin offer, limited time offer!) didn't grab some for the QE. The modelling options would have been wider than the USAF, USMC, USN & Japan........849NAS or Admiral's Barge with White over Green?

great review - thank you for putting this together. Frightening to see what these are currently selling for (pre-order?) on Evilbay..... perhaps buying a real life one might be cheaper? I hope Hannants re=release their excellent sheets to cover these. Here's the Britmodeller Walk Around that Julian kindly uploaded for me a couple of years ago. Yur review suggests that ful fold or just blade fold seem to be options, so this kit gets a big tick from me, perhaps I could sell/trade one of my children's organs as a down payment?

I'm half way thru' reading "Harrier 809" - my christmas book, so your build strikes a cord. Relly great build - I assume then that you'd recommend the Italeri kit? The shape looks right even before your amazing detail

Lovely build, and yes it "looks" like a Wasp. Impressed by the detailing on the engine. I think there must be a whole generation of us Middies from the 80's whose 1st ever experience of a helicopter flight was that BRNC Wasp kept at the top of the hill, can't imagine today's Risk Adverse MOD allowing anything like that now!