Rabbit Leader

@jaw, Actually taking a closer look at this I believe the initial expected release date for this kit was around November this year. Back in January I started this thread which was all aimed at having a bit of fun. I should update it again, however besides a month delay with the Wellington, Airfix’s releases have so far gone pretty close to plan. So save your Meteor pennies and go and buy a Welly for the time being! Cheers.. Dave.

That looks lovely Russ and (for what we know) an extremely convincing example of one of these Squadrons aircraft. The fact that no period photos exist and you chose to tackle it puts this into the ‘bar room chat’ type of modelling where we all hypothesise but in the end applaud and acknowledge your fine work. I agree it’s not whiif-ery but something that I can’t place a better name for at the moment. Cheers and well modelled .. Dave

Ask @Denford he seems to know what’s going on with all things Airfix. The rest of us just make it up as we go! Cheers.. Dave

That’s turned out very nicely Simon. The white decal placement around the canopy is particularly good. Nice trio you’ve managed to acquire there. Cheers.. Dave

Is that the 1/48 or 1/72 kit? If it’s the 1/48 kit then perhaps they are going to re-release it with new decals early in 2019, however it does seem quite early to stop production I would have thought? Cheers.. Dave

Thanks Ray & BIG X.... funny how the moment I receive a little praise, I turn my back on BM and miss it all? Apologies everyone, I've been a little busy around the house and haven't been able to find the usual amount of 'keyboard' time. I might have to get back to work to waste a few hours browsing - SSSHH!! Don't tell the Boss!! Now here's a fairly big update with some great kit starts and another four exquisite entries into the GB Gallery. I've had a recount of the models started and finished, so now think / hope that these numbers now look right.(?). I'll have to leave some comments within these builds little later + get back to that DHC Beaver! New Builds Hawker Typhoon - Lawzer SS France - TonyW Boeing B-29 Super Fortress - GREG DESTEC Supermarine Spitfire BT-K Reissue - GREG DESTEC Gallery Entry Windmill - BIG X Hawker Hunter F.6 - TonyW Supermarine Spitfire (1/24) - Antb Bristol Bulldog - bristol boy Build Tally Total Builds = 89 / Total Subjects = 78 / Gallery Entries = 23

All good Redsraff. This GB is still well and truly in the 'maybe' stage so no pressure. I might just pop your name down in the first post, just to keep track of who's interested in contributing (should it all get voted up and allocated a set of dates) of course! Cheers and thanks.. Dave.

Thanks Ed, I don't think I'd add anything meaningful to a concensus paper on Spitfire aerials I'm afraid, perhaps add to the confusion would be all I'd be good for. And as my DK Decals provider, I really should thank you nice lot at Red Roo Models for importing these as well. 25 degrees is about right for us this time of year, I'm sure you'd happily trade that for what you're currently going through! Glad you approve Tony. Whilst I've been eeking out these two, your production line has gone into overdrive. I'd be happy to produce a tenth of what you produce each year!! Cheers and thanks to all... Dave

Thanks for all the comments guys. I appreciate the aerial feedback Joachim @Spitfire31. I’ll be honest, I studied a number of photographs and saw so many combinations, which also included differences with the early Vb. In the end I settled on this after viewing the profiles in Osprey’s Spitfire Aces on the Channel front 1941-43. This also swayed me to paint the Sky Blue spinner and fuselage band as the DK decals instructions suggests that these are just painted in Sky. I do not have period photos of this exact Mk.IIa, however have two of the Vb which would indicate that at some stage the IFF antennas may have been deleted from this airframe. In the end I’m still not convinced I’ve got both of these right. So thanks once again and kind regards.. Dave

One again Patrice - well done. I think had you built just one, it probably would seem a little lost, however the pair make you take a second look at how similar but different both these units schemes are. Hard to pick a favourite. Cheers.. Dave

John, that’s a fitting tribute to one of life’s tragic Airshow events. I’m no modern sharp nose aircraft guru, however to my eye this whole package has been captured wonderfully well. I hope you still don’t have those 25 year old Corn Flakes still siting in the cupboard though!! Cheers.. Dave

That’s a beautiful pair of MTO Stangs there Patrice. It’s been great watching this pair come together. Very well modelled. Cheers.. Dave

Greetings from a fine winter's day in Brisbane. The Centenary of the Royal Air Force Group Build has just concluded and it was a pleasure to see so many builds make it through to the final Gallery. Part of the initial brief for this GB was to try to link a particular RAF themed build to something close to home. Therefore it was fitting that I chose something with an Australian flavour and secondly to link this with something personal. The GB WIP has the inspiration and back story for these two Spitfires and their famous Australian pilot Aces that flew them. The Airfix Spitfire Mk.IIa kit is built pretty much OOB. Actually, besides a set of Wako Creative seatbelts, I don't think I added anything extra. Paints used where Tamiya XF-71 for the cockpit, Gunze H-72 Dark Earth, Gunze H-73 Dark Green and a 30+ old tin of Humbrol 90 for the Sky undersides. The Sky Blue fuselage band and Spinner was a home brew of White with a dash of Azure Blue. Final Clear coat was Tamiya's XF-86 Flat Clear. The Tamiya Spitfire Vb has the addition of a spare Airfix DH Spinner and the rear canopy from a dis-used Italeri kit. Wako seat belts were once again used and a spare set of wheels were pinched off a 1979 Airfix Spitfire 1 as I stupidly ruined one of the kits wheels during the build. XF-71 Cockpit Green was again used and having rejected many samples of what I had for Ocean Grey I decided to try the new-ish Tamiya colours. The Dark Green is XF-81 and Ocean Grey XF-82. I wasn't sure how they would turn out however after two coats of Flat Clear, I'm relatively happy with the finished colour(s). Now to my eye, I find Medium Sea Grey to be quite a hard paint to match. I dug deep into my paint stash and settled on an ancient tin of Humbrol Authentic HB6. I had long thought that these old tins would never be used again, however I was pleasantly surprised with how it sprayed and even better how it looked. Decals for both machines came mainly from the superb DK decals 452 Squadron Sheet (and there's potentially another twenty-eight 452 Sqd Spits to build!!) and from the Airfix kit's good quality Catograph sheet. Special thanks should go to Franta at DK Decals for producing a great series of decal subjects, many of which are for Australian subjects. So here is my 2nd entry to Britmodellers RAF 100 GB, titled "No.452 (RAAF) Squadron - The 'Colonial' Contribution". Cheers and thanks... Dave

I’ve got the same large roll and agree that it’s made from different material. To be honest, I hate the stuff and hardly use it. The narrower Tamiya tapes are so much better. Not sure what this one is and I cannot remember if it was the genuine article or not when I bought it. Cheers.. Dave

Should we be graced with new tooled 1/72 Bucc kits in the near future, surely you deserve to be the first to have a crack at one of the first production runs. That’s a lovely collection and is a great reward for what must have been a mountain of invested time and energy. Cheers.. Dave (who is now reconsidering selling his Matchbox kit!)

I agree, takes a fair bit of courage to complete one of these within a GB timeline, however you’ve succeeded big time. This Camel is a real work of art and it shows off your excellent modelling skills superbly. Cheers. Dave

Very well done Ian... I’ve got a daughter like you, always looks like she’ll be late but somehow managers to pull herself together just in time. The Hurricane has really turned out lovely. One again, so good to see this late splurge of GB entires added to the gallery. Cheers.. Dave

Well done John. Everyone loves a Canberra and especially so when it’s built so well.. glad you got this one over the line. Cheers.. Dave

This Gladiator has really turned out wonderfully well. You should be proud of your efforts. Thanks for sharing all your ups and downs during this quickish build however it’s always nice when it finishes on a big ‘Up’. Overall a lovely momento to the RAF and the Norwegian campaign. Cheers and well modelled.. Dave

Nice to see these kits getting finished this weekend. Your Tomahawk looks great and you’ve done a great overall job. Cheers and well modelled.. Dave

I must apologise for completely missing this WIP Enzo. I’ve only noticed it in the GB gallery and it looks just fabulous. Lovely paint job and a really effective, clean finish. Cheers.. Dave

That last threesome image deserves to be a gallery photo Steve... Love it! Actually I love all of them. Cheers.. Dave.

She’s tuned out wonderfully well Steve - as if it wouldn’t! I do agree, the DFS really suits the Hurri. Very well modelled. Cheers.. Dave

C'mon chaps - Big push!! I now count 31 completed models in the GB Gallery and it would be so nice to see a few more. Robert's list above mentioned 89 builds going on, so that leaves a fair few to hopefully get over the finish line before this weekend is out. Washing the car, taking the kids to the park or the missus out for Dinner can surely wait until next weekend! Cheers.. Dave (now relieved that he's just posted into the GB Gallery!)

No. 452 (RAAF) Squadron Spitfires Airfix Mk.IIa - P7973 - flown by Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Tamiya Mk.Vb - W3821 'Pemba III' - flown by Raymond 'Throttle' Thorrold-Smith Here is my contribution to the Royal Air Force Centenary Group Build. Titled the 'Colonial Contribution' its a small memento to honour the thousands of servicemen and women who mostly volunteered to join the RAF from all parts of the Commonwealth. No. 452 Squadron was initially equipped with Mk.IIa's, which were soon replaced by Spitfire Vb's during the latter half of 1941. During it's approximate 12 months of European active duty, 452 was to become one of the most successful Channel Front units and boasted a fine collection of leaders and an eclectic bunch of jovial characters. I'm sure this lot drank their fair share of brown ale as well, so on that note ..... here's a big Cheers from me - now where's that XXXX? Oh - the WIP thread is here. Kind regards.. Dave