Radpoe Spitfire

Well I'd be happy with that myself, after all 616 did operate 1a Spitfires

Not as daft as you think, museums often have full scale replicas made of fibreglass. Even Peter Jackson who is remaking the Dambusters has commissioned a number of 1:1 Lancasters for the film, What would be nice is to back engineer one of the remaning Vulcan's- that way it would be the only real one. Regards Adrian

My only criticism is not of the kit itself, but biased as I am, I would have loved for it to have been the Mk I Gloster Meteor. Along with D-Day, this year sees the 70th anniversary of 616 squadron becoming the first and only allied unit to operate jet aircraft in WWII. In military terms, the Typhoon was exceptional in its GA role, without it the land Battles of Normandy would have been even harder, but the Meteor was revolutionary, not perfect, but was a cornerstone of modern air forces, coupled with being one of britain's greatest military aircraft exports. All that aside, the kit and your build is a masterpiece. Regards Adrian

I'd love to see "South Yorkshire's Own" the story of 616 Sqn made into a film. Where else in 1 film can you get the Battle of Britain, the Tangemere Wing and air cover for the Dieppe raid, Hugh "Cocky" Dundas, Douglas Bader, Johnny Johnson and Laddie Lucas as characters. Add to that the operation of 5 different marks of Spitfire, the first operational evaluation of the Mk XIV, then the first to operate the Gloster Meteor. Chuck in the highest number of successful allied escapee POW's from one unit & you have the making of a classic.

Steve, what a wonderful introduction to a beautiful piece of engineering and nostalgia which brought back memories of childhood trips to Woolies- but that's another story. I feel that the wait for this kit has been worth it, the attention to detail has little to match, especially in 1/24 scale. The build itself is a work of art, the closest I've seen to looking like a real Typhoon- other than areas where plastic is shown unpainted the eye is lead to being fooled into seeing metalwork. All things considered it is model engineering at its best using a media not often associated with the term-plastic!!! Forgive me if I sound like a journalist or critic, or that I'm just rattling on, this is something special as a build. I don't mean that as an insult to other modellers, what I mean is you just do not expect to see Airfix releasing something you'd expect from top of the range Far Eastern manufactures, to have it built without instructions in such a short time is incredible. Thank you for sharing, thank Airfix for deciding to market the kit & thank Sir Sidney Camm for designing the real thing. Cheers Adrian

You never know Tom, your Halifax might start a revival.

Count me in, 1/48 for the heavies is the perfect foil that allows a reasonable size for a great deal of detail. It something way overdue. Regards Adrian

I've a soft spot for the Sunderland, my uncle was part of the group who kept the one now displayed at Hendon, when it was preserved at Pembroke. What at lovely diorama, the attention to detail is brilliant, I love the way you did a couple of props as if captured in motion on film, the addition of flotsam on the sea adds drama that brings it together. Love it!!! Regards Adrian

Where do we start- won't fit in the box, no glue thumbprint in the glazing.......... Seriously, what a novel little cracker!!! The real art to this is getting the colours to match the old Matchbox join lines. You've done it so well you would have great difficulty working out which 1/48 kit you've used had you not said so. It looks superb, but best of all it took me on a little nostalgia trip. Pure Genius!!!!!! Regards Adrian

Fossy, Well you had to go and do it!!!!!!!! I've been contemplating the idea of attempting a larger scale Meteor Mk I, only last night considering to what scale. Now I've seen this, it's really whet my appetite to give it a try. . Seriously that looks hard work, that you're making look easy and superb at the same time, looking forward to your progress. Regards Adrian

Hi Alan and Scott, Only looked at this topic for the first time & boy did I find it so moving. Five years ago my wife became ill only confirming a couple of years ago that what she has is genetic & has been identified as at least 3 generations before her. Needless to say I have a 12 yo Daughter & 8 yo Son- I won't say more, but I think you'll understand. Life changing illnesses don't just affect those with the physical aspects, it can and does affect the rest of the family. So pleased to hear the prognosis is positive, but find your story and this build inspiring. Well done to both of you, this hobby has got great therapeutic tendencies, often taking you away from what life throws at you. Scott, you're doing a cracking job from what see, so I will indulge myself as I go through what you've achieved. Alan, thank you so much for sharing your story, it's not something blokes tend to do. In the donkey's years I have been building have taught me many things, but from childhood it gave me the skills to work things out, how they work, and a great respect for those who have done great things for future generations. In other words it gives us far more than it takes from us from start to finish of a model. My 8 year old is building Airfix's Gnat, time for us both to have some quality time at the bench again, I think. All the very best Adrian

I'll second that

If it's on for Telford, I'm hoping to go this year, I've only been the once so I'm overdue a revisit. Regards Adrian

Tom, I'm torn, I cannot wait to see this finished, but I shall miss the anticipation of waiting the the instalment. I would love to see this in the flesh, any plans to take it to shows? Regards Adrian

Hmm, looking forward to the Sherman Firefly, but would like to see more of what the WW1 Mk IV tank has to offer. Both have reletively local connections to me with the Firefly operated by the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry & the Male Mk IV built at Lincoln.

One other thing to remember about the Mk VII, the canopy rails were reinforced by strips to compensate for the pressure difference.

Airfix's latest offering it's got to be, if budget an issue, their previous mould is the best bet and reasonably accurate given it first came out 35 years ago. Regards Rad

If I'm honest, I cannot disagree with you myself, but I do like 1/48th, I have a B17 done as "Bit o'Lace", B24 in the stash & the Halifax displayed in a museum.

How's about a Stirling to complement the Horsa, easy kit to find and it along with the Halifax did a "sterling" job!!! Both relativlely unsung but vital, and both started ops around midnight 5/6/1944 through to the early hours of the sixth forming the speartip of the invasion. Regards Rad

My first Tamiya Lancaster was £18, they now retail at around £90, part of which is due to it being the only kit in that scale, while their spitfire has to compete with dozens. It seems daft that we seem to sit back and wait for what is released then do a lot of grumbling "cos the kit we want is not one of them". I know they can't produce everything we ask for, but many of the new offerings have come about because we keep doing so.

Looking at your last set of photos- wow!!!!! Please accept this as complimentary, it doesn't look like a vac form- it looks like a top quality resin or injection!!! I mean it in the nicest way, the softness seen with Vac form has gone & been left with a sharp relief and detail found with what I say above- if I could I'd send you a drink on me. Amazed Adrian

I'm inclined to agree with many of your comments and the new golden age for modelling.In over 40years the last decade has seen kits of scale and subject released not dreamt about even 10-20 years ago. This isn't just the case for aircraft, MV's, Maritime & vehicles have such a spectrum of kits. Far from a dying art, it is thriving, for those who don't remember the problems encounters by companies like Airfix in The 1980's recession, it was so negative, whereas through this one it's been a case of boldness be my guide. The argument of they won't do it because they've beaten us to it doesn't ring true either, quite the opposite in some cases, Airfix re tooled the lancaster after Revell & Hasegawa's releases & thier Valiant came soon after Mach2's limited release. Given some manufactures have up scaled kits, there is potential to do this with the heavy's in 1/48.

I cannot agree with the sand spinach argument entirely, there are Far East and search and rescue schemes for the RAF, France's aeronavale scheme and quite a significant amount of RAF nose art aircraft. However the only real answer pehaps lies in feedback from modellers to the producers.

To be fair the 2 main Brit heavies aren't limited to the Brit market, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France are good examples. As for size being an Issue, there are quite a few models that fall into the large category, not all in the same scale, but have similar dimensions, ie 1/72 707, 1/24 Mosquito, 1/48 B17 & B24. Price doesn't seem to cause much of a problem either, WnW, HK models & Z M have all gone for large or high end markets which are more limited. Large kits are popular, there is a huge website dedicated to them and they're a useful tool for museums.