Rabbit Leader

Surely the most recent Revell moulds from the early - mid 1990’s must be the best option V.P. I’ll admit, I know next to naught about the type, so hopefully someone can confirm my thoughts and point you to a particular boxing. Cheers.. Dave

Having just acquired this kit to potentially build in the upcoming Salty Sea Dog Group Build, I’m amazed how much work you’ve put into it to get it looking so good so far. I’ll have to go back and revisit the earlier posts, however this is all looking really good so far. I do hope you maintain the momentum and dedication to finish her off, all that great work really deserves it. Cheers.. Dave

I think I’ll stick to commenting about this Airfix clue on here… some folk on FB just can’t play nicely, I’ll leave it at that!

There’s another thread running in similar vein to this one Steve (Airfix 1/48 Gannet). We have so far deduced that this B&W image was actually taken in 2006 and is shown in colour on a Wikipedia page. We (I) believe the trailing edge of the wing has nothing to do with the new model in question. Cheers.. Dave.

All things aside, one would sincerely hope that all this Airfix ‘teasing’ points to a new tool item, rather than a rehashed Vintage Classic that’s now over sixty years old? Perhaps it’s a subtle hint of two products - the Vintage Classic Rotodyne and new tool Gannet or Scout / Wasp kits.

You know it could now honestly be anything. Aircraft type’s mentioned in the Wilkipedia page include - Westland Scout and Wasp, Rotodyne, Gannet, Prince Philip learning to fly in his Chipmumk, pre-war training and an association with the ATA. Cheers.. Dave

I reckon you’re onto something here.

Not sure if this link helps, however I doubt the cut off aircraft wing trailing edges are clues, as the image was taken in 2006. https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_Waltham_Airfield_(1).jpg Cheers.. Dave

You’d better check this thread out then.

Are you sure about that? Heller themselves are certainly quoting this as a ‘new tool’ kit and I don’t think the Fujimi kit (nor any 1/72 Hawkeye) has Folding wing parts.

I have to agree. It’s strange however that just before the Glow2B buyout (ill call this, the yellow box era), Heller’s kit decals were actually quite good, so don’t be afraid of anything that comes in a black box just prior to this current Yellow box timescale. A few years back I purchased a Yellow boxed Glow2B / Heller T-28 Trojan and the decals included were horrible, whilst the plastic is quite translucent. It’s a pity that this quality has deteriorated over a relatively short period of time. Now I’ve not seen inside every new Yellow boxed kit, however I would be interested to hear how others rate their decals and sprue plastic as currently dispatched. Cheers.. Dave

The Revell 1/72 kit from about 2008 I is also out there, although not sure if it’s still in production. Cheers.. Dave

You’re probably right, however Airfix seem to have a ‘must fill Multi-box’ category, so the AS version should sit higher on their “potential return of investment” pie chart. Stranger things can happen, but my money would be the opposite purely from a financial point of view. Cheers.. Dave

Thanks for the comments guys, looks like my choices are hard to eliminate, might have to put the foot down and consider all four! I think I’ll wait until Xmas is at least over, then make a firm decision soon after that. I do say, having taken the Gannet out of the box for the first time in a while, the detail does look quite nice. I’ve got everything I need for it, so the Salty Roo’s Gannet might be the firm favourite so far. Cheers.. Dave

No, you’re the only one that can do it (besides Mods), it’s pretty simple, just go to the three dots on the upper right hand corner of the original post, find the edit function, and change your text accordingly. I’m hoping they do an Avro Lincoln by 2923 however! Cheers… Dave

Very nice choice and looks to be quite a nice kit once built. Best of luck getting this one done, I’ll be sitting back and watching this one with some interest. Cheers.. Dave

Salty Frogs, Salty Clogs, Salty Roos and Salty Moos(e) - next step, which ones(s) to choose?? Right then, hopefully I haven’t offended any of our French members with this cheesy title, I’ll amend it once we get going and a decision is made. Now it’s about time I declared my hand in what happens to be a very timely GB. My recent area of interest is the British 1942 Light Fleet Carrier classes that entered service Post War and launched a number of Foreign Fleet Air Arm Carrier groups. The ten Colossus and five Majestic Class carriers were only ever designed for a relatively short service life, however a number soldiered on for decades and were even modernised with angled flight decks to accept high powered jet aircraft, which extended their survivable lives even further. I have chosen four possible Carrier based aircraft for this GB, each one serving from one of these ex Colossus or Majestic class British carriers. My GB completion history hasn’t been all that great of late, however I’m hoping that this GB and some encouragement from others will see me complete at least one of these models to an acceptable standard. So what do we have to choose from?? 1. The Salty Frogs (France) (Arromanches - ex HMS Colossus) Eduard’s very nice 1/72 Grumman Hellcat F6F-5. Although I have the -3 Weekender boxing, all the bits are in the box to make a -5. I’ll need to source some decals, which I’ll probably order online later tonight. Likely scheme would be a US Gloss Dark Sea Blue overall from a unit serving in Indo-China circa 1953. 2. The Salty Clogs (Netherlands) (HNLMS Karel Doorman - ex HMS Venerable) Another nice looking kit, the Hobby Boss Hawker Sea Hawk. The Dutch used 22 FGA.50 Sea Hawks which were essentially similar to the FAA’s FGA.6. From around 1959, these aircraft were modified to accept Sidewinder misses on their outer pylons, so that is something I’d be keen to emulate. I need to source some decals and am keen to purchase the beautiful sheet produced by CTA (Cut Then Add) models. These decals aren’t cheap, however are probably some of the most extensive and well researched decals I’ve come across. They do a Dutch Navel sheet with many cool subjects, so if I get a chance, I’ll probably dip into the kids inheritance and buy a set. Likely scheme will be Dark Sea Grey over Sky for a sidewinder armed Sea Hawk standing by during the 1962 Tikadora West Java incident. 3. The Salty Roos (Australia) (HMAS Melbourne - ex HMS Majestic) Has to be the best Fairey Gannet on the market, Revell’s recent 1/72 effort from a few years back. I’ve got plenty of reference material, the excellent CTA Australian Navy decal sheet and really no excuse not to build this one. Even my daughter is seriously contemplating joining the RAN, so although this looks to be the most complex to build, shouldn’t really be that much of an effort to get going. Once again Dark Sea Grey over Sky is the only scheme, just need to work out if I apply the earlier ‘Y’ tail code and British style Type D roundels or the ‘M’ tail code and later Kangaroo roundels? 4. The Salty Moos(e) (Canada) (HMCS Bonaventure - ex HMS Powerful) The oldest in this series of kits, however still quite a nice looking model of the McDonnell F2H-3 Banshee. Canada operated 39 Banshees during the late 50’s and early 60’s and also modified them to use Sidewinder missiles. This looks to be the most easiest kit to build, however I have the earliest Hobbycraft box, which comes with virtually useless decals. I’m hoping to source a set from the newest Academy boxing, but my BM 'wants list post' for a spare set has so far gone unanswered. Scheme will be Dark Sea Grey over Medium Sea Grey, however unless I find some good decals this one may not get started. Apologies for the long winded intro, but there you have it. This should be a fantastic GB and I wish our hosts Tony and Col all the best running it. Good luck to everyone who’s planning to join in and hope that we all have a safe and Merry Christmas. Cheers and thanks.. .Dave

Really looking forward to seeing these two kits. I had the same idea a while back, however for some reason shelved the project before they became larger to fit in their original Airfix boxes. Good luck with yours.. I’ll be watching! Cheers.. Dave.

Nice to see Heller making a comeback in such a way. Now I’m no E-2 Hawkeye lover, however those new 1/72 images are really beautiful. Cheers.. Dave

Great choice Pat, a little on the risky side with all that plastic to cut, file and fill…. then there’s the dreaded rigging! Wishing you all the best with it, as it will look stunning once built. Cheers.. Dave

Nice intro Nick and what a way to start your first GB. I have to say, I’ve got a real soft spot for French F-8’s myself and not long ago purchased this amazing French text Crusader book (bottom left) among an number of other good reads. There’s a bit of English wording in it here and there, but has some amazing photos and diagrams that do whet the appetite to start a Crusader build. Best of luck during this GB. Cheers.. Dave

Looking back at my few completed builds, I only have three that fit this GB category. Hopefully I can add at least one more. 1. Airfix’s quite nice 1/72 A-4B Skyhawk, my first BM RFI. I suspect to see quite a few Scooters on here. 2. Airfix’s really nice 1/72 Beaufort, which also happened to be my first BM WIP thread (seeing these kits landed in Oz first!) 3. Airfix’s nicely planned 1/48 Sea Fury, although not shown on here for some reason, so here’s a photo on a suitably themed base. Good luck everyone and Merry Christmas. Cheers.. Dave

Got your notification Tony, now the hard part… choosing a subject? Thankfully my current research (Post War British Light Carriers in Foreign service) has plenty of juicy and exotic aircraft to choose from, so I just need to land my dart on any one of 10 possible choices before finally deciding which way to go! Shan’t be too much longer… Cheers.. Dave

Moonraker Shuttle, Jaws figure, Odd Job, fluffy white cat…. the options are endless!

Or probably one last ditch effort to flog off products that are slow in selling? Zac @k5054nz does seem to suggest that we 'may' be in for a hint of a new product behind the 24 Dec reveal. Something similar happened last year when we saw an image of the HMS Ark Royal, which was an obvious clue to the 2022 1/48 Buccaneer. Cheers.. Dave