hopkp

Mark, Thanks for the info. I've checked the Belcher website again and can find nothing. I've e-mailed them to check.....I'd love to get one if they're still available, though it doesn't look like it. Regards, Peter

Are you sure? I can't find anything on their website? As my nine-year old niece would say, 'bo-ring!'.....

I've got an Airfix Merlin and don't like the overall green at all, but I gather that pretty much anything other than an RAF green one is not possible from the kit without modifying the number/location of windows and various other details (avionics 'lumps and bumps, mainly). However, I can't find any detailed info. on these differences either in print or online (specifically, accurate scale drawings). Can anyone point me to something that might be of help?

Hi 'DC', If they're of interest I have a couple of (not very good) black and white photos of a Finnish D.VII, and a colour profile. I'm not sure of their origin/copyright (I found them on the net a while back, but can't remember where), or how to add them to this thread (I'm not much use with computers), but if you'd like them drop me an e-mail to hopkinspeter(at)eircom(dot)net. Regards, Peter Hopkins

Beautiful model, just wondering if you have any 'in progress' pics.? If so, I'd love to see them. Did you use the kit cockpit or an after-market one?

Thanks, Victor. Looking again at the fuselages of the two kits placed side-by-side, I think I see what you mean alright. However, on balance, I think I could probably live with it..... Regards, Peter

Guys, Can either of you elaborate on the above, what - specifically - is so wrong about the nose shape of the Kittyhawk single-seater? I'm kind of mystified - though I'm no Mirage F1 expert, I have both kits, and comparing the fuselage parts I realy can't see much, if any, difference in either the length or shape of the nose/radome? Thanks in advance and regards, Peter Hopkins

Chris, I've used caustic soda to successfully remove Humbrol enamels from kit parts/entire models, but I've found that Xtracolour enamels are completely immune to it. I'd imagine that it'd remove Mr. Surfacer too, as it attacks anything 'organic'. Never tried it on acrylics, but don't think it'd work. I just mixed it up (carefully, in the garden, wearing heavy rubber gloves and taking care not to splash anything/anyone) according to the directions on the container. Always add the caustic soda to water, NEVER the other way around, and use a plastic container/implements for mixing, etc. The solution gets quite hot, so let it cool before putting plastic into it. I left the parts to soak in it overnight, and the next day, the paint almost literally fell off. An old toothbrush took care of any stubborn bits. Hope this helps! Regards, Peter

Thanks to all who replied to my questions, I am as a result at least a little bit less confused.....and as a consequence have just ordered yet another book (the 'Specialty Press' one, which I didn't know about) to add to the ever-growing pile! I think that the only safe conclusion that can be drawn is that when dealing with a lot of WWII types from both sides, no-one REALLY knows at this remove - clear photos of the plane being modelled seem to be the only way to go, but unfortunately aren't always available. Ah well, I suppose that's what keeps it all interesting!

Can anyone point me to any reference source - book, magazine, website - that has photos showing the 'fixed gun turret' that some sources state was fitted to the P-61B? I can't find a single picture anywhere showing anything but the 'standard turret', but maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places? I've also seen references to the P-61A and P-61B noses being slightly different shapes - again, apart from one being longer than the other, I can find no photographic evidence confirming a shape difference. Any help greatly appreciated by a baffled (potential) P-61 builder.....

I encountered a similar problem with a Trumpeter 1/48 Su 24 canopy a while back (shortly after the kit was released, can't remember exactly when that was?). I found an e-mail address on the Trumpeter website, sent a message explaining the problem, and waited.....and waited.....and about two months later, when I had given up on ever getting anything from them, the postman arrived one morning with a small, brown-paper wrapped package with strange stamps on it, containing a full set of clear parts. You may be lucky yet!

Lovely job, considering buying this kit myself, also being tempted by the 1/32 Walrus! Just wondering if there's a 'canopy open' option for the pilot's cockpit, or would you have to cut up the closed one?

"...willing to bet Aires will release a similar cockpit at half the price..." Maybe, but will it fit?!

Thanks for the responses guys, think it proves that this whole matter is very far from being clear/well documented!

Don't know if this should be in 'Modern' or 'cold War', but here goes anyway..... Can anyone suggest a good source of info. (with photos/drawings) on the wings fitted to A-6As and A-6Es , preferably an 'in print' book, but failing that an online souce would do? The books I have are more of the 'there I was at 30,000 feet' variety, apart from a 20+ year old 'Detail and Scale' volume which is no help at all. I'm far from an expert on the subject, but from photos (and the little narrative detail I can find) there seem to have been three distinct wing types. The first was an 'aluminium wing' fitted to the 'As' (and 'B' and 'C' models too?), the second was fitted to 'Es' and was like the first but with a thicker section on the inboard leading edge (a radome of some sort?) and the third was a wing manufactured mostly from 'composites' fitted to a limited number of late-model 'Es'. I've got the recent Kinetic A-6A and would like to do it as an 'A', but I think the kit actually has an 'E' wing - can this be modified to an 'A' wing? Grateful for any help.....

Hi Don, Thanks for the link, but I'd already looked there (and other similar sites). I can find lots of pictures of the whole aircraft, but really need close-ups of the nose taken from the side and above, and likewise the spine aft of the cockpit. (Ideally, I'd love a set of scale plans showing the aerial fit 'post-upgrade', but reckon this is a long shot.....) Regards, Peter

Does anyone know of any source of either good detail photos, or preferably 1/48 plans, showing the current aerial fit on Slovak AF MiG 29s? (Following their upgrade with NATO-compatible IFF equipment, etc. - as pictured in the photo below taken recently at Ostrava.) There's an 'F-16C style' IFF blade antenna just aft of the radome, and two more aerials of some sort mounted on a raised fairing behind the cockpit.

Is it just me, or is the breakdown of the radome area a bit odd-looking? As far as I know the radome on the real thing is a single piece hinged at the top just forward of the windscreen, but the kit appears to have a smaller radome with the break much further forward. (Something to do with making provision for an EA-6A later on?)

I know that the Hobby Boss 1/48 TA-7 has shape issues around the nose/windscreen.....just wondering if anyone's ever tried combining the Hobby Boss two-seater kit with the Hasegawa single-seater and if so, how well/badly did things go?

Thanks guys for all the info, seems at the end of the day that there's nothing like a good clear photo!

Can anyone advise if there's a way other than having a good photo to hand (e.g., by serial number) of knowing which Typhoon Ibs had the larger 'Tempest' tailplanes and four-bladed propeller? Any info./suggestions appreciated.