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Hello guys, i m making this thread to ask for some help and opinions those, who were dealing with the following few kits, to help me decide (namely it ll be airfix 1/24 harrier, airfix 1/24 hurricane, trumpeter 1/24 hurricane or zero or trumpeter 1/32 harrier). So the thing is, i always had the dream to build some big kit and the idea keeps growing in my head, so in the end i decided to go for one (then back to my 72´s , bcs of space problems ). Now, i was browsing web last few days, reading loads of reviews and still i cannt chose the final one kit for which i should be going, so you might be able to help me. I think i should say, i dont mind to do some scratchbuilding(actualy i do want to do some scratchbuilding even!), bcs it ll be probably my only big kit (or at least for long time), so i would like to make it as detailed as possible, but cannt spend too much to aftermarket (the 1/24 herritage and other accessories are not available in my country and with shipping it would cost 2-3x the cost of the kit..). I dont want to do too much panel lines rescribing but that shouldnt be problem with the chosen kits i hope. But i would like to make the kits as much opened as possible so i m trying to chose which one ll be the best base for this. As i mentioned earlier, the final few are : Airfix 1/24 Harrier (else shar or gr.3) there are few things i dont know (and cannt find answears around) about this kit: -is the engine base inside looking at least a bit like the real one or not at all? -i did read the kit has stuff like retractable gear, free canopy to go up and down and so on - does these parts still looks okish or was it changed too much from original, to get the functionality? -and main question, i did read it was gr.1 at first, so the gr.3 and sea harrier have new parts for front part, but bcs its newer, the rivets on rest of the plane are somehow more rough - is the diference big or is it easy to fix with lets say a bit of sanding or so? there is no local shop around with this kit on stock so i cannt check these details, ll have to order it from eshop, so i m asking bcs probably someone around did build this kit already so he(she) could know all this stuff (if i ll ask the guys in the e-shop, they ll tell me its all totaly great, awesome, pink ponies and teddy bears all around, just to sell it.... ) Trumpeter 1/32 Harrier Gr.7 as there is no other 1/24 harrier on the market(or i dont know about any), i wouldnt mind to go for this kit. i did read quite good references for this one, so have just one question: -how is it with engine by this? is there any or i would have to go full scratch? Airfix 1/24 Hurricane Mk.I this was originaly my favourite (hurricane was one of my first kits when i was kid and i fell in love with it since) and i did read some good references on it, saw the sprues in local shop and it looked quite good, so here is just one question - if i decided to go for 1/24 hurricane, should it be airfix or trumpeter ? Trumpeter 1/24 Hurricane Mk.IIc at first 1/24 trumpeters were out of table for me as it costs like 2x more than the airfix here. but recently i saw one in sale, being just like 30% over the airfix. the sprues looks good as well, but i m still now sure if i should go with airfix or trumpeter Trumpeter 1/24 A6M2 Zero recently saw review of this kit and it seems like another great kit.. So this is it, i know the harrier vs hurricane vs zero is more up to me, but if anyone with experiences from these two kits could help me with decision airfix vs trumpeter, i ll be realy thankful for that. By the way, i know there might be some patriotic "problem" with airfix being your home horse, but i dont mind:) I just cannt decide myself so more opinions is always welcome thanks

I won this Revell Mk1 Viper on E-bay. Unlike the later Mobeius Mk2 and VII this is a basic 1970's kit, designed more for kids who were fans of the show (as I was, but couldn't get hold of the kit at the time ) Anyway, it has no cockpit detail at all. Not much of a problem as it has no cockpit glass either.... So the first thing to do is open the windows... Then start building a cockpit. I decided, rather than stay true to the 1970's version, I would make this a true Mk1 in respect to the Mk2 I already have. I.E, I can't scratchbuild an accurate cockpit, so I'm making it up..... Nose leg bay, "borrowed" from a 1/48 Tornado. This kit also has no landing gear, as it was hardly seen in the series. Again, I am not being true to the series here. Cockpit so far The seat may look familiar to some... borrowed from a Revell Hawk

Academy 1/32nd F-16I Sufa With Eduard Etched Belts and External set Finished this on Monday - I have very mixed feelings about this kit, it's very impressive but it's also somewhat variable. Being made out of a mix of kits the plastic and details are slightly variable, which makes things more interesting. The fit isn't bad, but does need fettling in places, and some of the engineering could be better. The Eduard seatbelt set is great, but the External set is completely pointless - the Afterburner parts which was the main reason that I got it simply didn't fit, being too wide to fit in the jet exhaust. Work in progress is available here Peter

I picked up this kit in a garage sale for the princely sum of $5.00 (US). It is the 1978 release by Revell of an AGM5a Model 52 Zero in 1/32 scale. At least that is what the instructions say. It was released to capitalize on the popularity of the Robert Conrad TV series loosely (and I mean very loosely) based upon the exploits of the VMF 214 (Black Sheep Squadron) based in the Solomon Islands in WWII. Pappy Boyington served as a technical advisor on the series but always claimed the series was fiction based a bit on reality. Most of the actual squadron members were not happy with the show and how the squadron was portrayed. I suspect the price was low as this was the bad guy plane in the series and not the desired hero Pappy Boyington plane, the Corsair. I have no idea if all the parts are in the kit. But the instructions are there and so are the decals. Both are a bit weathered and worse for wear. As far as actual combat scenes go, the series was creative and “appropriated” some scenes from the Battle of Britain movie and didn’t even attempt to change the markings from German to Japanese, let alone modify the planes. However, Corsairs were used used in the series and were actual Corsairs. But the Zeros used were modified AT-6 Texans left over from the movie Tora, Tora, Tora. So, this kit is a representation of the “Zeros” used in the series which were representations of the Zeros flown during WWII. So, any of you accuracy guys out there want to question how accurate this model is, remember what you have to compare it to. I thought about using an old Revell AT-6 Texan and putting Japanese markings on it for this project. I have reviewed the instructions and notice there is not one single color call out in the entire instructions. Not one. The decals instructions are not separate but are contained in the final 2 construction phases. I would assume from the lack of detail in the instructions, this kit was aimed at a kid to put together in an afternoon, no paint and have it by his/her side for that evening’s episode. So, I will be looking to some other sources as to what gets painted what and may even take a bit of artistic license and just guess. Oops, just looked at the box top and found this very helpful paint guide: “If you wish to paint this model kit, the following colors are recommended. Flat Black, Flat Olive Green, Flat Light Grey and Silver.” How can I go wrong now. Good luck kiddies, just guess what goes where. Next update the actual building commences.

Lone Star Models (http://www.lonestarmodels.com/) has just released a Heath Baby Bullet 1/32nd kit - ref. LSM30519 Sources: http://www.lonestarmodels.com/completekits.html http://www.largescaleplanes.com/news/news.php?nid=106 V.P.

My first effort posted to Britmodeller. I used stainless wire for most rigging.No margin for error on length, This of course ment installing each wire multiple times, Did full rigging inside cockpit, You can't see most of it..... It is also the fault of a friend of mine. I normally work in 72nd scale and not WWI. He brought in the Junkers J1 and now I own four. This is the first one to be completed.

I would like to share my current project here, it's a pair of 1/32 Trumpeter Skyhawks one A-4F to be converted into an A-4Q and one A-4M to be converted into an A-4AR A-4Q A-4AR Is quite a challenging task, specially the A-4Q which needs a new smaller nose, smaller intakes among other things. In this image you can see the different noses and intakes in the E/F and A/B(Q) Skyhawk versions. I started improving the cockpit with a homemade punch and die tool and some wire. Then I started to work on the nose, used a block of balsa wood trimmed to the basic shape Once I was satisfied with the basic shape, the balsa was then covered with putty and smoothed out. An intermediate copy was made in resin to give the final shape and scribe the panel lines. I found much easier to use small strips of tape to check the shape, if something needs to be sanded out it's marked, sanded an re-checked, this is where the resin is great, it's soft enough to be sanded but is not as softer as balsa wook. Finally the panels are marked with a pencil, now I have to copare what I did with some reference. Cheers!

This is another in my series of builds "Aircraft my Father Fixed". Up to now I've built mostly the aircraft my Father worked on while in Burma in the latter half of WWII while attached to 5 Squadron. Before that he was with 81 Squadron from their entry into Operation Torch at Gibraltar Oct '42 up until Sicily had been pacified in Oct-Nov1943 whereupon he was transferred to Cairo en-route to India and 5 Squadron. Funnily enough, 81 Squadron followed his his wake a couple of weeks later and ended up based 5 miles down the road in India, re-equipping with Spitfire VIII, hence why we have a Christmas dinner menu from 81 Sqn in 1943 in my father's effects. Anyway, back to Tunisia in the spring/summer of 1943. Up to that point, the squadron had been equipped with Spitfire Vb Trop and Vc Trop (hence my earlier abortive attempt to convert the Hobbyboss Vb Trop to a Vc Trop), however these were beginnign to be outmatched by the German aircraft. The Tropical filters used on the V series had an unfortunate side-effect of reducing overall performance of the engine. So in May '43 81 Sqn started receiving Spitfire IXs. At this point they were based in Tunisia at Souk-el-Khemis airfield and subsequently moved to other airfields in the general vicinity. From reading Alan Peart's book "From North Africa to the Arakan" you get to see that conditions on these airfields were basic to say the least. So I want to try to capture a snapshot of the activity of the groundcrew in these conditions in my diorama. Build thread viewable here So here are the photos of the finished build: Made it in time for the Farnborough club meet tomorrow! Phew!

After the archer the next planned build is the Academy F-16I Sufa in 1/32 I've got a couple of extras from Eduard - first the External Etch set And the PE Seatbelts Did make a start on the cockpit and Seats - got as far as taking the molded belts off and priming and spraying the Grey That was the point when cleaning the airbrush I managed to spill about a quarter of my tin of Cellulose thinners - luckily onto the floor of the shed, but it cut short my day while I let the shed ventilate. Should get more done tomorrow. Peter

After the Rotachute Mk.I and Mk.III (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234947605-132-hafner-h8-rotachute-mki-and-mkiii-by-fly-box-art-sprues-pics/) Fly is to relase a 1/32nd Hafner H.8 Rotachute Mk.IV kit in 2014 - ref.32006. Box art. Source: http://www.fly814.cz/pripravujeme-preparing/ V.P.

Here is some photos, of the very recently completed 1/32 A-7E My apologies for not taking more photos during the build, this was mainly due to not having the correct setup until now. The current builds: 1/24 Vb Spitfire (commission) and the 1/32 F-14A and all future projects,will all have more info and pictures. My stash is getting quite big now and i'm also starting some AFV builds very soon. I've got 3 Tigers, including the 1/16 King Tiger in the pipeline and the HK 1/32 B-17G. So there will be a lot of threads appearing soon. VA-22 (USS Enterprise) LOW-VIS camo with AIRDOC decals: I'll take more photos tomorrow when I have better light.

After Meng (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234945392-meng-132-komet/?hl=komet), Cyber-Hobby is still reported working (since 2011...) on a 1/32nd Messerschmitt Me.163 Komet kit - ref.3213. Source IPMS Germany: http://ipmsdeutschland.de/Ausstellungen/Nuernberg2014/Nuernberg_2014.html V.P.

HpH has just released a 1/32nd Letov LF-107 Luňák resin kit Available here: http://www.hphmodels.cz/index.php/en/shop-2/produkty-hph-models/modely-v-meritku-1-32/lf-107-lunak-1-32-detail V.P.

HPH 1/32nd new resin kit in progress is a Letov -328 molík - ref. 32029R Source: http://www.hphmodels.cz/index.php/en/shop-2/produkty-hph-models/modely-v-meritku-1-32/letov-s-328-1-32-detail V.P.

Well I have really let myself in for it this time. I am building this as a Christmas present... I think I might have underestimated the build time... The last 1/32 Spit I build was the old and lovely Revell Mk1 with my Dad when I was Lad but it was a lot simpler than this... I was not sure what to expect I got this thinking WOW only £39.99 ! DEAL.. I hear it has issues and some bemoan the kit but it looks good to me. much as I LOVE Spitfires I am not an expert I know quite a bit about them but not the really hardcore details of them all. All I can say is I have just got it opened it and can't believe how much you get its even got some PE which is new for me and for £39.99 compared to the £19.99 for the little 1/200 vulcan thats sat on top of the sprue pile for comparison I can't see whats not to like Bargain! I am looking forward to this challenge.... Cheers Rob

Has been a while since my last posting. Started work on both Tamiya 1/32 F-14A and the Trumpeter 1/32 A-7E back in Early spring. Lots of domestic obligations....like moving house have slowed these 2 builds down. Now that the family is settled in and I've got a workspace, I've made a bit of progress! First the 1/32 A-7E - Air Doc decal sets will be used for the "Low Viz Tactical Scheme" This has been a fun build, even managed to get a seamless air intake too, after many an hour of careful attention Sorry there have not been earlier photos of the build progress: The A-7 does come together in a very pleasing shape after a while:-) It's a big aircraft in 1/32 but it's a good scale for this subject. Looking forward to seeing it next to the F-14A "Top Hatters" My apologies for the photo quality, I was trialling the IPhone camera but it's useless in anything but sunlight More to follow....

Sea Lynx Mk.88A 83+21 MFG-3 Norsholz Build for the Lynx Single Type Group Build (Build thread HERE).

Originally built in 1992 for an Air training Corps competition it has been gathering dust while sat on TVs, book shelves, cupboards and desks ever since. I had built it as an attack variant of the F-16 with information from various books and magazines (remember, no internet for most of us back then). I had a big problem when I was informed (very late) by my CO that the rules stated it had to be completed before my 20 birthday (oldest age for Cadet and 10 days away) so I had to build about half the kit, paint it and decal it in just over a week. Painting was done with a hairy stick but I thought I'd go up-market and bought a rattle can of Humbrol varnish. You can imagine my dismay as I watched my beautiful European One camouflage blister and crack over 30% of the underside. Needless to say, I didn't win and after winning the previous year I was gutted, so on top of a wardrobe it went. A few years later for some reason I slapped a thick coat of gunship grey all over it... To this day I can't remember why This brings us to last December. It's been sitting on top of one of my book cases for years and I was looking at it and just thought about what a waste it was. And that was it, it was that moment that got me back into modelling after a 12 year break! I've taken over 200 photos during it's restoration and had intended to do a build thread from the beginning but never got around to starting it. I haven't done anything to it in a few months so this group is ideal for getting me going again and finally finishing this kit properly after 21 years. This first post is a bit picture heavy but it gives you an idea of where I am with it. The only photo I have of it as a shelf queen. Lots of Fairy Power Spray to lift 3 coats of grey, 2 coats of varnish and 3 coats of camo! Lots of green putty... Most of the cockpit detail was scratch built for the original build. Scratch built 40mm gun pod. Kit exhaust with lots of extra detail. It originally had no pilot and the kit seat was awful so I bought a Reheat Models ACES II and an Academy pilot on eBay for it. A bit of chopping and fettling got the pilot nice and comfy in his seat. I went a bit mental and fitted full seat straps. And I've made a fictional HUD for him to use This was taken at the end of February, since then I have pre-shaded it (March) and sprayed the underside (July), so still plenty to do.

Evening all Over on the aircraft modelling section I've been putting together the rather splendid Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk IXc. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234943780-tamiya-132-spitfire-mk-ixc/#entry1364846 my intention has always to create a diorama depicting a fictitious scene at RAF Palestine 1947. The title of my diorama will be 'A hard day in the office' and it will involve 2 pilot figures and a Willys Jeep , the one you see here and the rather beautiful Ultracast 1943-45 RAF pilot figure. S/L Prat is my first ever attempt at creating a person in miniature so please have a look and tell me honestly what you think. I've really enjoyed the challenge of painting him and I can see myself doing more figures in the future.... Well here he is S/L Prat.. Any comments, criticism, pointers on how to improve will be gratefully received. Yours aye Iain

The end of WW2 pretty much saw most of the empires of the world fall and the Dutch East Indies was no different. Fueled by 3 years of occupation by the Japanese, who actively encouraged nationalistic sentiments, Indonesia declared independence just two days after the Japanese surrender on August 15th. The result would be a rather nasty conflict that was rather unflattering for the Dutch, who eventually recognised Indonesian Independence in December 1949. There were many Japanese aircraft left in Indonesia at the end of the war and as many as possible were quickly snapped up by Indonesian forces, who managed to gather a surprising amount of serviceable equipment. In early 1946, Dutch intellegence reported 14 Ki-61's were operational with a further 4 unserviceable aircraft, but it is thought that 6 aircraft were acquired with only 1 serviceable. The Dutch called the Ki 61 'Mustang Jepang'; Japanese Mustang. They would have been a formidable opponent for a Dutch Kittyhawk, less so for the Mustangs. Aside from a period water colour painting upon which my model is based, this is all the information known of these aircraft.

Been doing this as part of "The Obsolete Kit Group Build" on here , been fun , been tearfull lol, been wanting a lizzie for a while so when this came up i couldnt say no , as you will notice i seam to have lost the rear canopy , if any one has a spare would be much apricated or if can point me in the right direction ,here is the WIP http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234950265-matchbox-132-lysander-1978/ Hope yous enjoy ,,, [/ URL]

Hope this meets with the groups approval , I know am late to the party but hope to have it done in time if meets the group approval , love the old matchbox kits ;-)

Hi everyone, After the last Revell Hawk I made, I swore I would never build another one. This is it.* Built using Eduard cockpit set with Flightpath access ladder and FOD covers. Painted in quite thick coats of enamel black and Zero Clear Coat varnish. Scratchbuilt RBF tags and vortex generators from litho plate and plastic card. Had a couple of near-disasters with the gloss coat, but it turned out alright, smooth and shiny! Decals and stencils were from Alley Cat and are excellent quality. *EDIT* forgot to mention CMK MB10 seats, great product! Oh yeah, and it was built from the horrible red plastic kit rather than the much nicer grey one recently released. Still, for £9.99, who's complaining? All the following pics are courtesy of the IPMS Farnborough website, taken by the photo genius that is Dr Flangemeister! The Flightpath access ladder was a work of art like all their stuff. Didn't quite measure the step intervals properly. Ah well. This was a commission build for my good mate Canberra Fan, well actually for his daughter , who usually works at Valley. It's gonna live in a box till delivery, the darn thing attracts dust like nothing I've ever seen! The price of a shiny finish I spose. Hope you like! Alan *with thanks to Spike Milligan!

Having cancelled its 1/32nd Westland Whirlwind kit ( http://www.britmodel...mp;hl=Whirlwind ), HpH has started a new project: a 1/32nd de Havilland DH.103 Hornet resin kit. Source: http://www.hphmodels.cz/kat163.html V.P.

Source: http://www.zoukeimur...tml#Ipms1211Lst After two years of research next Zoukei-Mura 1/32nd Super Wings Series will be a Mitsubishi J2M Raiden "Jack. V.P.