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I won’t actually be starting this one seriously for a while, since the C-17 is taking all my modelling time, and also I want to do some serious planning before I start. But several great jobs have been done with this kit, and my take-home lessons are: 1. Dry-fit everything first. 2. Ignore the kit instructions. 😃 As an intro, here’s my WiP A350-1000 (Zvezda) which is currently held up by a machinists’ strike at the factory… The gear is sort-of working - I found that actuating it with that horizontal wheel in the forward fuse was quite successful. I was able to do the door sequencing this way. This isn’t needed on the C-17 where everything happens with one action, but will be on the SP. So that’s the way I’m planning to go. That means I’ll need a section removable, which I’ve pencilled in here: Now there’s a sort of domino effect. If that part is removed, it will expose the cockpit. Normally the cockpit is debatable in a 1/144 airliner, and I know some prefer decals, but I like to be able to see light through the windows at the very least. But with an exposed cockpit I can have a go at making it look nice. That’s the planning so far anyway.
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Vickers Vanguard - finally Ready for Inspection This post is intended to illustrate the completion of an Airfix 1/144 Vickers Vanguard, built as a gift for a on friend whose next birthday is approaching, who had often remarked about his love of the aircraft type and his desire to one day own a model of one. Having started aircraft modelling again just a few years ago, I’d kept this in the back of my mind and last year undertook more of an active search for a more recent re-boxing of this 1962-tool based model. I managed to pick up an example of the 2015 rebox that had the right transfers, in the middle of last year and having cleared the decks of other projects, started it in September last year. The kit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I compiled a WIP thread for the build that covered the stages of working this model to produce something that I hoped would be reasonably respectable at the end, so I’ll not repeat any of the build details here. However, in summary, I rescribed the fuselage and parts of the wings; made a rudimentary cockpit with seats, IP and console and rear bulkhead from scratch; added a floor section and further bulkhead at aft of front cabin, and added ballast to the entire forward underfloor area; used clear epoxy for the cabin windows; cut off the cockpit crown to allow the poorly fitting windscreen to be better fitted and the crown reapplied after, sanding everything smooth afterwards; removed the outer nacelle bulges and made intakes from scratch; removed an awful lot of flash; spent many hours cleaning up parts to aid fit. Paint was primarily Tamiya, but with some Ammo Mig one shot primer followed by A-Stand Black base (which I now can’t get any more of despite having some on backorder now for three months and having just had another order cancelled on me), with A-stand polished aluminium and chrome for the wing leading edges, props and nacelles. Red was Insignia Red from Mission Models. Mig Ammo metallic acrylic brushed for landing gear legs and wheels, with a drop of Molotow chrome for the gear leg oleos where these are visible. Aqua Gloss was used to seal everything. I used Thunderbird vinyl masks which were very thick and didn’t conform well to curved surfaces (windscreen) but were all I could find for this model; they were good enough. Decals were from the kit, but I painted the main black markings. Shape wise, I added the small radome on the nose, providing a slightly more Vanguard like and less Nimrod-like profile for the model. The base was described in the WIP thread… suffice to say, it looks ok to plant the finished model on not that it’s complete. Photos to follow (a bit of a mixed bag of photos from a few sessions with the camera and trying out different backgrounds and editing techniques) Vanguard RFI #15 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Vanguard RFI #17 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Vanguard RFI #18 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Vanguard RFI #16 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Vanguard RFI #13 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Vanguard RFI #14 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Viscount RFI #5 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Viscount RFI #12 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Viscount RFI #7 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Viscount RFI #9 by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Undersides by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr and a cruel cockpit close-up. You really can only just see the seats and console in there, but at least it's not an empty void. Vanguard cockpit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Thanks for reading/looking. Jonathan
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An Airfix Vanguard This is an aircraft that I’d always had in the back of my mind to do a model of one day because it is my friend’s favourite aeroplane. Many years ago (when I used to do that sort of thing) I did a fine art pencil drawing of one in the very early BEA scheme. That drawing still hangs framed in his house and a RFI post on this forum encouraged me to go and see if the old Airfix kit was available anywhere so that I could build him one. The thread, by ‘Strangeways’ is here And the brief notes that were made about the build gave me a few points to consider for mine. One of these was using clear epoxy resin for the cabin windows. More research found this further thread by ‘SuperTom’ that I read with interest, bookmarking it to come back to when I’d found a kit After much (I’ll admit, quite half hearted) searching, whilst more actively searching for other stuff (as we tend to do), I found a ‘newish boxed’ version for a reasonable fee on an auction site and acquired this. The kit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Whilst the box was probably less than 10 years old, and therefore the transfers were ok, the same could not be said for the rest of the contents, which, although bagged, contained far more plastic than I’d expected. Whilst the kit has been reboxed and given new decals over the years, I suspect the molds may well have been original (or nearly) and date from its origins in 1962. I found raised panel lines (expected) and more flash than I’d ever seen in a kit. I forgot to photograph the fuselage and wings (the worst elements) as I set about trying to clean them up a bit almost immediately, noticing that these alos had a few chunks taken out of them where they’d been torn at some point off their sprues… but I remembered to take a photo of this sprue which was by far the best of the bunch, but some flash is still evident. Cleaning up would be the order of the day for this build. A sprue example with flash by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Fuselage So… all in all, some work would be needed. A look at the clear parts revealed that they were all there, but that some work may be needed, or an alternative approach sought (as mentioned previously). Initially, I decided to close the main doors to keep it all cleaner, and these needed padding out a bit to give a more-flush finish with the fuselage skin. Padding out the main doors by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr In order to provide some secure space for ballast and to give a more secure ‘fit’ of the two halves, I added a new bulkead to the rear of the cockpit and a floor that would later allow a little bit of cockpit detail to be scratch built for. The cabin would remain blank, but I didn’t expect the cabin windows to be too transparent once finished. New bulkhead and floors by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Floor and bulkheads by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr With the halves taped up, I tried a test fit of the windscreen. Not good. I tried some cleaning up and further test fits but eventually gave up. I recalled the comment in ‘Strangeways’ post about removing the crown so opted to look into this late on. Test fit poor windscreen fit by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Rescribing. Ok, this is probably my least favourite part of any build or preparation and this needed a lot. Rescribing begins by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr This is my main scribing tool, a HIQParts 0.004 tool, and I use plenty of dymo tape. Good old dymo tape by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr An application of Tamiya panel liner shows all evils and mistakes afterwards. I’ll be rubbing most of this smooth at the end as airliners rarely show panel lines except when dirty or on an aged bare metal finish and this will have neither… but it serves to get most of it right to begin with. Not perfect but.... by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Back inside the fuselage, I boxed up one half of the lower bays using plasticard and sprue goo to seal everything in; the basic seats and instrument panel/console are evident here. Cockpit seats and panels and ballast bays by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr And then I took the fuselage and placed it on to an artists canvas board that I picked up from Lidl, which will make an ideal slightly textured base once this is finished. Artist board for base size check by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Resin windows. So, per the previously mentioned threads, I bought this stuff and thought I’d give it a go What I used by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr By following the instructions and mixing up far more than I needed (I need to learn here) I taped up the outside of the fuselage halves (covering the outer of the windows using a PVC tape that was quiet smooth, and gently poured some of the resin in to the halves from the inside. I used a cocktail stick to try to rid it of all the small bubbles and got most (but a few appeared during curing annoyingly on the outside of the windows so will be filled with something like gluenglaze at the end of the build. Once this was done, I put the two parts aside on a dust free covered shelf for 48 hours to cure. Clear epoxy resin poured and cured by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Once dry, I pulled the tape from the outside and cleaned off any tape glue residue and was quite pleased to see a relatively flush set of windows that would sand and polish up quiet well. Flush windows by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Holding the two joined halves up to the light, a suitable amount of transparency was evident, but not too much. Transparent enough by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Having let this settle, I painted the interior parts a few shades of dark grey and black to just tone it all down, and added a few little paint marks to the instrument console that might be visible through the windscreen later. I then taped the halves together, put a a little glue on the two parts of the crown and then taped over this to mark a cut line to remove the crown. Masking for a cut by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I cut through this using a razor saw and then set about padding out the rear part of windscreen aperture a little aith plasticard. The cut by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Some fettling followed and I added a little plasticard along the cut face to pad it back out again… evident in later photos. I then glued the bulkheads and floors and added a great deal of liquid gravity (delux lead balls) sealed with rocket hot CA glue, and let to dry. I was not going to allow this to be a tail sitter. Bulkheads glued in and ballast added. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr To check balance, I took the wings and horizontal stabilisers off their sprues, taped the halves together and popped them in their slots (after cleaning up the slots that were full of flash). This would represent most of the additional weight of the kit (apart from paint and glue) and I could then check the CofG pivot point. I balanced the model on the tin section of some tweezers moving it fore and aft until it balanced. This was just forward of the wing leading edge, about 2 to 2.5cm forward of the main gear, so it should sit fine. At this point, you’ll also note that I decided to add thin plasticard strips along each side of the fuselage to represent the strengthening plates on the airframe. I thought that this may be better than my poorly executed engraving and once sanded back to a very thin profile, wouldn’t be too bad… hopefully under some paint it’ll look fine. Balance check by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I glued the fuselage halves together with some Mig Ammo night blue thin cement. I started at the nose, applied the glue liberally allowing it to work into the seam and applied pressure and then taped it. I did this to resolve the slight warp in the two halves. Once the front was cured, I applied more glue to fuselage behind the cockpit and along the top and bottom, squeezing applying tape and slowly working all the way aft to the tail and cone. Once dry, the tape was removed and the security of the joint checked – all good. Fuselage halves glued by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr I then set about sanding these joints to remove further flash and secure a good rounded surface. Holes in the upper surfaces were filled with some delux putty and smoothed whilst curing. And filled and sanded by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr The windscreen and crown were then taped in place and then glued in with Tamiya thin. Their fit wasn’t brilliant; I had to pad out the join between the crown and the windscreen with some plasticard, and I did try to smooth out some blemishes on the inside of the windscreen before fitting, but they were mostly inside the material. Hopefully they’ll not show too much at the end of the build. Adding the windscreen and crown by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Not a bad fit but sanding needed. by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Once the parts were dry, I set about some fairly crude re-shaping, starting with a 200 grade standing stick to start to get the shape to what it should be. Coarse sanding by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Some finer sanding then followed (400 grade sanding stick, then 600 grade) slowly improving the shape and smoothing the surface. Finer sanding by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Then I moved on to a 1000 grade sanding stick, then a 1000 grade sanding sponge, then 1500 and 2500 grade sponges, slowly improving the smoothness of the plastic and glazing as it went. Smoothing off by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr Further sanding with the 2500 grade sponges, then 4000 and 8000, then some micromesh and then just the sponge side of the sanding sponges… followed by some Tamiya polishing compounds (coarse and fine) produced a relatively smooth and shiny surface which will suffice for now. The result of more smoothing and polishing by Jonathan Hughes, on Flickr This has ‘rounded’ the screens off a bit but I’ve found a set of masks that I’ll carefully add later which will hopefully help redefine the screens with some paint. That’s the hope anyway. This is going to be a generally simple build but hopefully the result will be ok in the end. But yes, my build never end up being simple. Thanks for reading. Jonathan.
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I'll be jumping in with the Revell 1/144 kit to start with and some decals made by a local. I'll be out of the country on the start date but will dive in when I return!
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Airfix 1/144 Kit with New ware detail Set & New Ware Launch Pad, Apollo CSM replacement kit from the Model Bunker shop, plus 3d printed thrust structures & J2 engines. A few scratch additions here and there, and an absolute must have- Rick Sternbach’s superb set of Ultimate decals.
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I started this model in 2022 and after applying the decals I lost a bit of interest. The decals were home made but I wasn't able to print decals for the slime lights. Then I came across a sheet of decals in the spare box that looked useable. Think they were from a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane. So today, I cut them to size and applied it to the model. I think it looks great. Tomorrow I will give it a clear coat and start the weathering process. Also busy with a base to mount it on.
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With my New Year Blitzbuild Typhoon hurtling towards a conclusion and mindful that I have a number of builds that I started last year which for health reasons still need to be finished, I thought that I would throw my hat into the ring with this little Mark 1 Models HS 748. There aren't too many parts to this kit so that should help me get back into the swing of things and give me the impetus to try to wrap up some of last years builds as well. Here are the box and contents shots, minus the SAA decals which I will dig out before starting. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr Regards. John
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It has been a while since I had a crack at a Festive Blitzbuild so I thought that I would enter this as my effort. My success at completing a model within the timescale isn't that great and has taken more of a battering this year, but I am always up for a challenge, let's see how things go. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr That's all for now. John
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The recent Fairmile craze has got me interested as well. I've been waiting for a kit of the 'B' and it duly arrived from NeOmega in the last few months. @Faraway has done a nice writeup of the contents on his build thread and I also posted them a while back here, so won't repeat. Suffice to say, it looks fantastic and I can't wait to get stuck in. Another in the (tedious for everyone but me) 'My Grandad's ship' series. He served on ML129 as part of the 3rd ML flotilla through 1941, rather ineffectively patrolling the Straits of Gibraltar. He was fortunate to return to the UK in December, as she was sadly sunk enroute to Malta in March '42, by which time he was in the escort destroyer Bramham; but he was able to catch up with his former flotilla in Malta at the end of the Pedestal convoy. These are the photos of her I could find, a couple from his collection and one IWM: fitting out at Mashford Bros, Cremyll, Devonport: Underway, captioned only 'ML129, 1941'. Those in the know that many of these early fairmiles were shoved out the door with whatever odds and sods could be found and you can see that it was hardly bristling with armament. And there is IWM A 7565, which could very well be taken at the same time; the Pennant flags and Ensign appear to match. I'm not quite ready to get started but I could do with information and help if anyone has it, so I figured the earlier the better. The first question is how to pose her. I'm not hugely fond of or good at the process weathering and sea bases (although modelling in waterline-centric 1/700, find myself doing most times), and models of this size can be quite nice as full hulls built 'clean' on stands. It'd be nice to show of the 'B's distinctive rounded hull and all the gubbins below that I usually don't have the chance to do. Having said all that, I do have the photos above and these below: Which would make for a nice little diorama I think given a match to the photos. The diorama option however, would need some figures. So, question 1: Anyone know of good RN figures in 1/144 scale? The kinds of figures, clothing I'd want are as you see above. I'd also need to find some pennant flags and a means of achieving a nice bow on the halyards. I think @robgizlu has some unobtainium wonderstuff wire, that I'll go and trace back. If anyone knows of such products I'd be very grateful for pointers. The next question is what colour is she painted? The obvious options, 507A, 507C (she was at Gib after all), perhaps a mid shade mix of the two; and the last wild card, could it perhaps be Mountbatten pink? My entire lack of any knowledge on this would lead me to believe any of those based on the range wide range of shades in the three photos; if anything I find 507C the hardest to square with what I see. As for the wild Mountbatten pink suggestion, here are I suppose the arguments that might support it: - Before moving to Gib, they appear to have been based at Plymouth at the same time that Mountbatten and the 5th DF were. I'm sure I've read it being referred to as 'Plymouth pink' somewhere whether thats a different thing or not. - Mountbatten and the 5DF escorted them to Gib and in fact seemed to put them through their paces. I've added some of his relevant writings to give this context below: - It's more of a disconnect, but I've seen posts that reportedly have researched evidence into some Fairmile Bs being painted mountbatten pink rather later, during the St. Nazaire Raid. So I'm not trying to push for Mountbatten pink per se, just presenting what I know, and wondering if anyone has suggestions. Anyway that's it for now, I'll get to actual modelling someday, but in the mean time, thought I'd throw those questions out earlier rather than later. Thanks for looking in. Andy
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If you need to be introduced to the immortal Lockheed C-130, please turn in your scale aircraft modeling card this afternoon to your local IPMS. In 2006, Minicraft issued their first C-130 in a USCG scheme. Even in 1/144, the Hercules is not a small model, it is bigger than a 1/48 Spitfire. Before the Minicraft kit, the only way to make a 1/144 C-130 was from the Revell C-130A issued 50 years earlier. Draw Decals issues bagged versions of this kit (with all three different props: C-130A, C-130E, C-130J) and two different size of fuel tanks. Conceivably, you could build an “A” model up to the most recent “J” version of the short fuselage Hercules. The kit’s scheme by Draw Decal is for the Royal Air Force “delivery scheme.” That is not quite correct, as I was informed when doing the WIP. The RAF’s C-130K were delivered to the UK in natural metal and then painted in country by Marshall Aerospace in the Light Stone, Dark Earth and Night Black scheme depicted here. The kit has engraved panel lines, probably too deep for this scale, and clear parts for the cockpit and wingtip lights, and landing lights. No flight deck with crew stations is provided, but it would nearly be impossible to see anything anyway, but a basic interior cargo hold is provided. No masks are provided for cockpit windows, which was fine for me, since I was going to use the Draw Decal windshield decals. The fit on my kit was excellent. The only place I needed super glue for filler was for the seams where the wings attach to the fuselage and faring in the clear cockpit piece. Every other seam could be attended to with a light sanding or at worst and application of Mr. Surfacer 1500 with a brush. You need to decide before closing the fuselage if you going to have the ramp down. The initial operational paint scheme of the RAF C-130K is one of the sharpest ever worn by an operational C-130. For the white cockpit crown, I used my favorite, Tamiya Liquid Surface Primer. For the Light Stone, I used a 40 year old tin of Compucolor 2. For the Dark Earth, I used the late, great Testors Model Master FS30219. This bottle might be as old as the Compucolor 2 tin, since it still had its AAFES (Army Air Forces Exchange Service) price tag on it. I paid the princely sum of $1.10 for it sometime in the 1980s. For the Night Black, I used Mr. Hobby 137 Tire Black. I used Tamiya XF-1 Flat Back for the nose, just to contrast with the Tire Black. I had some paint adhesion problems and had to sand and repaint some areas. I do not recall any mold release agent or grease on the kit parts, but I had sections of paint lift, even under Blu-Tac or drafters tape, which is low tack. Learn from my rookie mistake and wash all the plastic parts in Dawn Dish soap to degrease everything. Given the depth of the panel lines, I refrained from adding any wash to accentuate them further. Only the flight control surfaces received a light black wash. This was the first time using Draw Decals. They are printed on a continuous clear film and have to be individually cut. The clear sections are as thin as I have ever seen on a decal. The decal portions are a bit thicker than I am used to with screen printed decals, but under an airbrushed coat of Vallejo Polyurethane Satin cut 1:1 with Vallejo Airbrush thinner, it was acceptable. WIP:
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So here we go. This is the slightly improved 3rd issue of Moebius' Orion space clipper, which made a brief appearance in "2001 - A Space Odyssey". From what I learned from reviews, the re-issue has apparently been improved in a few minor points and can be distinguished by (1) the box image (shared by issue 2 and 3), and (2) by the fact that it says "1/160" on the box instead of "1/144" as in the 2nd edition. Well, if the fans cannot make up their minds about the scale, what is a manufacturer supposed to do... The kit is a VAST improvement over the old Airfix 1/144 kit. I purchased the Moebius while I still had the Airfix (intending to build the latter as a Lufthansa version), and while they are of equal length, the shapes differ considerably - the Airfix kit is much more of a walrus in comparison to the sleek Moebius. I ended up tossing the Airfix kit, with the exception of the PanAm decals, which do fit the Moebius kit and can be seen here next to the Moebius decals, which are large but include no airline markings whatsoever. Part count is... manageable 🙂, which means that even a slow builder like me should be able to meet the May deadline for this GB. We'll see!😄
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2024 was a good year on the modelling front. 6 completions is a healthy number for me in context of all my summer hobbies and pass times (softball 2-3 times/week, swearing at my golf game, home reno projects, etc). The highlight though was being able to cross the pond and attend my first Scale Modelworld. What a great show. I had such a good time there. Without further ado, here’s my 2024 output: Airfix 1/72 Jet Provost Italeri 1/72 DUKW Masterbox 1/72 Austin Armoured Car Tamiya 1/48 Pz. 38(t) Masterbox 1/72 Male Mk I Platz 1/144 Ki-43 Thanks for looking, and for everyone’s support and encouragement in 2024. Best wishes to all for a healthy, happy, and styrene prosperous 2025.
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With the completion of the Minicraft C-130K, I find myself on a bit of a Lockheed 1/144 roll. Primed in Tamiya White Liquid Surfacer, the primer will act as a final color in a substantial part of this airliner's livery. Now, for an all expense paid ,seven day vacation in Aruba at the Hyatt Regency, including round trip, first class seats for two on a flight from JFK, who can name the livery this Electra will end up in? The part about winning the trip to Aruba is BS. Come on now. 😄
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Good day, I check in with my 2024 output of eight completed model subjects. This is down one from the previous year. Six are in 1/72 scale and two are in 1/144 scale. Here they are with an overview and analysis at the conclusion of the pictures. Each subject is in chronological order. Tamiya F-16C Falcon ( completed Feb. 26, 2024 ) Revell F-16D Falcon ( completed Apr. 1, 2024 ) Hasegawa F2A Buffalo ( completed May 11, 2024 ) Hasegawa B-24J Liberator assembly ship ( completed Aug. 10, 2024 ) Academy KC-135R ( 1/144 scale. Completed Aug. 18, 2024 ) Flyhawk SBD-3 Dauntless ( completed Nov. 17, 2024 ) Roden RC-135V ( 1/144 scale. Completed Nov. 29, 2024 ) Eduard Bf-110G-4 ( completed Dec. 28, 2024 ) Overall rating from 1-10 ( 1 lowest to 10 highest ) of overall quality and experience of each kit. 1. Tamiya F-16C : 8 2. Revell F-16D : 7 3. Hasegawa F2A Buffalo : 9 4. Hasegawa B-24J : 6 5. Academy KC-135R : 9 6. Flyhawk SBD-3 : 8 7. Roden RC-135V : 5 8. Eduard Bf-110G-4 : 7 *Best overall kit / model : Hasegawa F2A Buffalo *Worst overall kit / model : Roden RC-135V *Best decals aftermarket and / or provided with kit : Starfighter Decals for the SBD-3. These are some of the very finest decals I have ever used. *Easiest kit : Academy KC-135R *Most difficult : Hasegawa B-24J *Most complete kit ( no aftermarket items required ) : Eduard Profi-Pack Bf-110G-4 Thank you for all your very nice comments and compliments throughout the year and ever since I became a member of the Brit Modeler community. With much respect, Mike
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My latest build is the 1:144 Authentic Airliners A340-600 kit in Iberia colours. I made the sister of the A340, the A330, a few years ago and I didn't want to simply create an "A330 but with four engines." I didn't want to use Bra.Z's conversion (it has quite a few issues), so I was waiting for a new kit. Fortunately, Authentic Airliners came out with one, so I jumped on it right away when that one became available. Took me several years to finally complete it though. The Airbus A340-600 is a wide-body, four-engine commercial passenger aircraft developed in the late 1990s by the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus. It is the largest variant of the A340 family and is designed for long-haul flights, with a range of up to 14,600 km. The A340-600 can accommodate up to 475 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. The A340-600 was designed to compete with other long-haul aircraft such as the Boeing 777 and 747, as well as the McDonnell Douglas MD-11. At the time, the aircraft featured several innovations, including a new wing design with a higher aspect ratio and larger wing area for improved lift, as well as more powerful engines. It also incorporates modern avionics and a fly-by-wire control system for enhanced safety and efficiency. The first A340-600 was delivered to launch customer Virgin Atlantic in July 2002 and entered into service the same year. Other major users of the A340-600 include Lufthansa, Emirates, Qatar Airways, South African Airways and of course Ibera. Despite its advanced features, the A340-600 has faced challenges in the modern aviation market. Due to its four-engine design and higher operating costs, it is less popular than twin-engine aircraft like the Boeing 777, which offer similar performance and lower fuel consumption. Airbus ceased production of the A340-600 in 2011 after delivering a total of just 97 aircraft. In recent years, some airlines have retired their A340-600 aircraft or converted them into freighters. However, the A340-600 continues to operate with several major airlines and is known for its spacious cabin, comfortable seats, and pleasant flying experience. Overall, the A340-600 remains a remarkable aircraft in the history of commercial aviation. As said before, the kit is from Authentic Airliners and is truly fantastic. It captures the essence of the real thing perfectly (as usual). It’s quite a heavy kit though (0,7 kg) and as such metal undercarriage is supplied with the kit. Decals are from 8a Decs. Cockpit windows are from Authentic Airliner decals, as are some of the details. I’ve also used some details from various spare decals that I had laying around. The “metal” parts of the engine pylons are also decals, that I made and printed myself. The red navigation light on top of the fuselage is from Counting Rivets Models. At any rate the pictures (The display bases are made by me): All in all this was a very pleasant build and the largest kit I've ever build. The only problem I had was with the 8a Decs decal set. The decals are very thin and have a tendency to crumple. Also they didn’t line up at the top of the fuselage, so I had to cut them several times to get it just right. With six completed models, this will be the last one of the year to be finished by me. Next in line is the Zvezda 1:144 Il-62 Aeroflot (with the KLM logo) , but that one will most likely be completed next year. Thanks for reading and see you next time!
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Latecoere 631, 1/144, by RareBirdModels
RareBirdModels posted a topic in Work in Progress - Aircraft
As mentioned on this website earlier, we have started the release of a 3D-printed model of one of the most beautiful flying boats—the French passenger aircraft Latecoere 631. After numerous quick test builds, I have finally begun my own thoughtful and careful construction of this model. I will be adding the main stages of the build here. All information about us and our products is available on our website: rarebirdmodels.com- 15 replies
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Hi, This is my MikroMir Valiant with the Transport Wings conversion set. From the first time I saw a picture of that prototype (about 40 years ago), I loved that menacing look of it. I hope I can produce a good-looking model. Cheers, Stefan.
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Check out the new Zvezda 2015 catalogue http://scalemodels.ru/modules/news/img_8359_1419369777_Catalogue_2015_Cover_22_000021.jpg.html Can't wait!! Could a 757 and an MD-11 be a possibility now? Ian
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In 2024 I built three additions to my Spitfires-by-the-Seas project. Burma (by the Andaman Sea) (KP Mk IXe) Italy (by the Ionian Sea) (Eduard Mk IXc) Israel (by the Mediterranean Sea) (Eduard Mk IXe) One from my Last Legs Ponies project; Columbia (Tamiya P-47) Four Sexy American Singles in South American Service . . . Peru (AZ P-36) Bolivia (Airfix P-51D) Ecuador (Special Hobby P-35) Chile A-24B (Hobby 2000 SBD-5) I built one "Minor Gustav"; a Spanish HA-1112 (Special Hobby) And, a Hawker Hurricane from Hawker Hurricanes around the World; Finland (Arma Mk I, modified with Kora resin) I built another Hawker Hurricane, too, this one as part of the Frog GB--my first Frog kit ever! These are from other GBs--IL-2 (Tamiya) in Mongolian markings; Brewster Buffalo (Airfix); and Bf 110 (Eduard) in Iraqi markings. Finally, I built some munchkins! Three 1/144 Sweet kits . . . . . . and three 1/144 from Platz. Happy 2025 everyone and good luck with the models!
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I've had this kitting sitting around for about 5 years, picked up from an hourly raffle at a local IPMS show. The aircraft includes decals for an aircraft taking part of the Berlin Airlift. Kit is pretty basic, hoping for no crazy challenges Lets make things a bit more difficult There is superstition I came across from other modelers on twitter about starting a new kit on January 1st brings good luck on your builds for the rest of the year. So I decided to skip building today (31st) and will start the kit after midnight tonight.
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Figured this kit would be a perfect choice for this group build. The Boeing 307 was developed from the B-17 to answer the call for a 4-engined airliner. It was one of the first airliners to feature a pressurized cabin. 10 were built, 5 for TWA, 3 for Pan-Am, and 1 for Howard Hughes. Their service history is quite interesting, but unfortunately, most airframes were lost to accidents. 2 airframes remain today. NX19904, owned by Hughes, was damaged during Hurricane Cleo in '64. It was then converted to a house boat, eventually being acquired by the Florida Air Museum until sold early this year to Kermit Weeks, the owner of the museum Fantasy of Flight. N19903, the other surviving airframe, was first sold by Pan-Am in '48 and went through many different owners (including a Haitian dictator) before being acquired by the National Air and Space Museum. It was stored at PIMA Air and Space Museum from '73-'94 until funds were ready for a full restoration. Shipped to Boeing Field in Seattle, it was completely restored to airworthy condition. In its final test flight, it ran out of fuel and crashed in Elliot Bay on March 28th, 2002. It was raised from the water, and once again, fully restored. In June of 2003, she flew from Seattle to her home at the National Air and Space Museum, where she sits on display today. This will be the aircraft I will build. Roden's kit came out in 2019 Having a cockpit in 1/144, I found KV Models made some canopy masks The detail of the kit is quite good, especially in this scale I found decals for the Pan-Am aircraft from Vintage Flyer Decals Looking forward to this!
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This is my last build of 2024 and first completion of 2025, being build over New Years in the Inaugural New Year Blitzbuild. It's a newly released 1/144 Beacon Models Bf109E-7/Trop. Alongside the Spitfire, Beacon have just released 10 new reboxes with new decals to cover all the variants the plastic accounts for. Previously both kits were only available in a double set together, so the separate releases are very welcome. I got the whole new range through the Kickstarter to fund it, so I've got models for a few years worth of Blitzbuilds! I decided to do a Trop for this build. I've always found trop schemes interesting so choosing this one for the first build was an easy choice. If you aren't familiar with Blitzbuilds, the premise is that you have 24 hours to start and finish a kit. Choosing the scheme with a mismatched wing was perhaps not the smartest decision for a blitzbuild, given that I'd have to more or less paint the camo twice. I'm always up for a challenge in a blitzbuild though! For a sense of scale: Link to the WIP: Links to some of my previous Beacon Models builds: Bf109E-4 Spitfire Mk.1a Bf109E-3a from last year's Christmas Blitzbuild
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Given that I made the initial suggestion to have a second round, I feel obligated to make an entry! Oh no.... anyway! I'm sure I'll find time between exam prep. I'll be digging into this pile of plastic from Beacon Models. I'll probably do the Bf109E-7/Trop. In last year's Christmas Blitzbuild I did one of these. It's a great little kit, ideally suited to blitzbuilding.
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Started about an hour after the RAF announced the scheme, not my strongest build but for something I did with a deadline of today, I'm quite happy with how it's turned out! Photo quality isn't great, will start using a real camera after this one I think. Looking forward to seeing more builds of this stunning new typhoon scheme to pop up! Kit is Revell, decals are a mix between Revell, Mark 1 Models and Platz from various kits and sets. Decals aside this is just the base Revell kit, not much additional work other than the scheme. There's definitely a fair few inaccuracies, mostly down to the small number of reference photos I had to work with at the time but regardless I'm glad it turned out the way that it did.