John

Once I get my Hurricane and Churchill completed I'm making a start on this: It's been swamped by the excitement around the new Bf109G but for me this is one of the releases of the year. The TR9 wasn't really something that excited me - but it still might - but I do like the late Merlin fighters. This is Airfix's second go at a 1/48th scale "e"-wing, the first being based on their late Humbrol-era mould. Chunky, but it could be build into a nice replica: This one will be OOB using the supplied 43 Squadron markings. Next year is the 110th anniversary of 43 Squadron being formed just up the road. More shortly. John

I wonder if whoever tooled the Nimrod moulds have an agreement, or could reach an agreement, allowing them to release it under their own name at some point? John

I'm in. John

I can't speak to the birds but before I retired from the teaching game I got through a lot of Tamiya dinosaurs, particularly T-Rex. You can find them for a reasonable price. Lunchtime model club building and painting dinosaurs, what could be better? Fun fact - the first Airfix kit released by Hornby was the second set of 3 dinosaurs, so there's a precedent 😀 I think they have 8 subjects in total? John

I picked my pre-order up from Stenhousemuir post office earlier today and I'm very much looking forward to making a start, just as soon as I get everything else I'm committed to out of the way 🙄 Straight out of the box is the plan, 43 Squadron having a strong local connection. John

Unless it's changed recently I've found Humbrol 90 to be both a good visual match to the RAFM chart and remarkably consistent (for a Humbrol paint) all the way from its introduction to the current "blue swoop" tins. I'm not much of an acrylic user but my son gave me a sample of the current acrylic 90. It's a touch more grey than the enamel but well within the ballpark for me. John

Thanks, that's interesting. My plan was to use the original colour on the underside but the instructions for the new Eduard kit suggest there is a different option: https://eduard-cdn.oxyshop.cloud/out/media/82216.pdf I haven't built enough Eduard kits to have formed a view on their colour recommendations. John

I'm sitting looking at the amazing 1/48th scale A6M5 Zero by Fine Molds - what a superb kit. My Zero knowledge tends towards the earlier versions so I have a question about the later camouflage finish. Nick Millman has written on the upper surface greens and I think I'm clear about how to proceed with that but I'm less sure about the undersurface grey, was it the same shade as the earlier overall colour used on the A6M2 and - 3, or was it a newer shade? I've got both a Humbrol mix and the Sovereign paint of the early colour, so no problem there but looking at the Eduard instructions they seem to suggest a more neutral shade. Any advice gratefully received. John

That dog's just brought on a flashback to the Famous Five stories of my (increasing distant) childhood 😀 I will henceforth think of him as "Timmy". John

Bristol Scout? John

I built the OEZ Mig-21 back in the late 1980s. It was a bit of a fight but it was the only game in town for a late generation airframe in 1/48th scale. How times have changed 😀 I never built the Su-7 but I always fancied it. I got the Mistercraft boxing last year and it's in the queue, so watching this build with great interest. John

Thinking back, I had a T-34 in this style of box so presumably about the same age. The track material was very strange and pretty much fell to bits. I ended up with some weird sort of link-and-length getting it all on. Not so many hiding places for the tracks on the T-34, unfortunately 🙄 John

Albert Steptoe's wartime service 😀 I've ordered some 3-D printed crew figures for my build. They're available in a variety of scales so I'll be interested to see what they look like. John

There's also some useful advice here, although a bit late for your build : https://matadormodels.co.uk/tank_museum/zairfix_churchill_1.htm I found the Werther's Original - coloured Panzer IV I built a few years ago had the same consistency of plastic. It's a bit like the ABS that Rubicon kits are moulded from. John

Humbrol 29 Dark Earth and 163 Dark Green with an overcoat of old square bottle Gloss Cote, then a gentle rub down: Needs a bit of a tidy up but not bad 😀 John