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Hi everybody, For starters, i conflated the H.P. Victor with the VC10. It was the Victor that was called the "Iron Duck" , and not the VC10. I have flagellated myself appropriately, and made the corrections where needed. Most of you know that i recently finished my first airliner- the Roden 1/144th scale Super VC10. For those of you who want to go directly to the end result, go here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235113603-iron-duck-final-report/#comment-4467887 And for those who wonder about how i go about building an airliner model (badly 🤣), go here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235103625-iron-duck/#comment-4279708 So Anyway....as G-ASGH was approaching completion, i went and did a thing. Yes, i went and started another Roden Super VC10. Some of you might be asking, "David in the name of God, WHY??" Well the reason is because over the course of the build, new information came to light on the VC10 that was received too late to implement on -ASGH, and there were some techniques/aspects to the build that i was either not satisfied with, or not documented appropriately at the time. So, this thread won't go into the mind-numbing detail of IRON DUCK. Rather it's intended to expand on just the places where i (think) i can do things a little bit better and cleaner. It won't have quite as many photos or quite as many updates, but i think the information will still be useful. The first thing that i decided to tackle were the fuselage windows. As some of you know, they were something of a disaster on the first model, using the kit windows and then puttying over them with Tamiya putty (which then pulled out during the masking and painting phases). On this second model, i attempted to fill the windows from the inside using epoxy with tape on the outside to hold it in place. Sounded like a great idea in theory, but in practice i was left with numerous air bubbles which needed to be filled with CA after the tape was removed. The windows are now all filled and they are all flush... but i am still searching for the best, most perfect, most-can't-fail-sure-fire-way method to fill the windows. Next up was the vertical fin. As with -ASGH, the halves were flat sanded on a piece of wet 320, but i was still left with gaps at the trailing edge of the rudder which were filled in by ramming strips of .005 sheet into the gaps with CA, and then block-sanding everything straight, thin, and flush. I'm still looking for a method to "nail" the alignment of the stabilizers. This time i glued just the lower halves to the fin, turned the whole thing upside down and taped the stabs down onto two pieces of wood of equal thickness, assuring that the surfaces were at least on the same 3-dimensional plane. Once dry, i added the upper halves. Next up came the engine nacelles. I learned too late in the game that the inner engine inlets were staggered slightly forward of the outboard ones. Not a huge amount, but enough to notice on close inspection. At the time, i felt the engine pylons were a little too thin in cross section, so i tried to thicken those up with a piece of .015 styrene. The end result of that wasn't very noticeable and it required slicing partway between the lower engine/pylon piece to fix some fit issues. I would not do *that* again. However, extending the inboard intakes was worth the effort... There's still quite a bit to be done with respect to panel lines and vents, drains, etc., but the major re engineering is all done. Next up came the wings. Again, i cut off all of the locator pins and flat sanded the surfaces on wet 320. The leading edges come together just fine, but we still were left with the gap issues on the wing trailing edges... However, with time, patience and the right tools, the trailing edge can be successfully rehabilitated and made presentable. Fabricating the wing fences came next. This time, i made the saw cuts in the wings before gluing the halves together... The fences are removable and can be left off the model until the painting stage. No longer in the way, where my fat fingers will blunder into them. I used the same method of re-doing the wing attachment as on -ASGH, though i went with somewhat beefier rods in the rear spar area. One of the things i learned late in my first build, (and i was not happy with either) were the gaps at the trailing edges of the wings at the fillet fairing. When the flaps are down, the innermost flap segment actually incorporates a small portion of the wing fillet, and there should not be any gaps there. Since my last major forays into gap filling with CA, i've expanded the technique somewhat to incorporate dental resin acrylic powder mixed into the CA. Trust me when i say that the resin/CA composite sanded away quickly and easily. That's all for the first installment. I'll report back when i'm finished installing and blending in the windscreen. I'm about halfway though that evolution right now. Maybe i'll work on that Phantom for a little bit.....

Is it me, or are the Zvezda 747-8 engines and pylons more accurate than the Revell ones? There just seem to be a lot of little differences that make them look more accurate but that just might be me not looking at the right reference pictures.

Evening all, I used to build lots of airliners but had lost a little interest over the last few years. However, I have always loved the MD-11 and when MicroMir released their's in a 1/144th scale injection-molding I decided to have a go at it. It's your typical short-run kit with a bit of flash here and there and no locating tabs etc, but it does have lovely surface detail and although it didn't have the quality of fit such as those from the latest Zvezda or Revell, it went together pretty well. I bought the Eastern Express KLM edition of the kit, but I really like the colourful and non-white CityBird scheme so bought some aftermarket decals from Daco which, as usual went on perfectly. Paints were from the Humbrol and Xtracolour enamel ranges, with a coat of Humbol Satin Cote to finish off. Tom

From my 1/48th scale F-101B to this tiddler was a bit of a step, however delivered on Thursday and finished today must be a record for me. The photo sees things that the naked eye cant but here it is anyway, Thanks for looking

I bought this kit on a whim at an RAF Waddington Air Show about 4 years ago and it has languished in my stash ever since. Discussions with my SIG members have led us to agree to display at Telford this year so our theme may well be New Zealand in 1/144th. My first entry is XH562 as zapped by the RNZAF when at Ohakea on a visit from its base in Cyprus. Nothing subtle about the the rather large Kiwi Roundels on the sides. The kit is by Great Wall Hobbies as is an absolute joy to work with, everything fits and I had to use absolutely no filler at all, which must be a first for me. The whole thing only took about a week with the longest part being masking the camouflage pattern on the top. I used asset of Fundekkals as all the necessary marking are included as are markings for another 20+ Vulcans. The instructions for the decals are downloaded from their site and are excellent, there is an awful lot more data than you would expect on a set of decal instructions and even surpass the old Modeldecal sheets. My only issue is that I think the nose wheel leg is too long giving the finished model as curious nose up attitude. I must remember to peel the window masking off !

Hi all, here is my latest build, it is Dragons excellent 1/144th scale X-29 painted as an Aggressor from the 64th based at Nellis. Painted with a mixture of Humbrol colours with a hairy stick and completed with decals from Minicrafts 1/144th scale F-16 Aggressor kit. The ACMI pod is a modified AIM-9 from a Revell Tomcat and both of the missile rails are also from the Tomcat. Hope you like it.

Somehow I always leave Telford with something that when I get home I wonder why I bought it. So last year it was this little beauty, not my scale or even my subject, it languished in the stash until the hot weather allowed me a little light modelling in the garden. It is an absolute cracking little kit and I enjoyed every minute of building it. I made an attempt at rigging thought it is pure abstract, no need to point out all the ommissions. The radio aerial still has to be trimmed as well. Now if only the redoubtable Mr Adams would do the decent thing and issue the 1/48th scale one he has been working on for years, preferably with a set of NZ markings.