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I'll start by wishing all Britmodellers a very happy 2019 So... a new year means a new project. I've had this ID Models' 1/32nd Sunderland MkI/II vacuform in the stash for a few years now, and decided that it was time to give it a go. The inspiration is in fact a multi-engine group-build that's going on over at Large Scale Planes for the duration of this year, and I thought this fitted the bill perfectly. I'm hoping to get this completed by the end 2019 - the fact that there's no landing gear/undercarriage bays or bomb bays to worry about having to scratch-build should mean this is doable providing the motivation remains. I'm planning on a fully-detailed flightdeck as well as opening up the bomb hatches on the sides of the fuselage. This thing is massive - the plans below are laid out on our kitchen table. The cutting mat is in fact A3 sized! IMG_0639 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I'm busily rubbing down fuselage halves and opening various portholes etc. at the moment, so a pictorial update will be coming in the next couple of days. Until then, happy modelling! Tom

You know those occasions when you get a crazy idea and just have to give a try? Well this is one of those. There's far from any guarantee of success or completion, but fortune favours the brave and all that..! Having a real soft-spot for the Avro Shackleton I've decided to do something really stupid and have a go at scratch-building one in 1/32nd scale. As I'm sure we're all aware there's kits available in 1/72nd and 1/48th scale, but nothing in 1/32nd so the only option is to start from scratch. I have an old ID Models 1/32nd Lancaster in the stash, and always planned to convert that to a Lincoln. However, when doing some research on the Lincoln I discovered that the wing and centre section (although widened on the Shackleton) were in essence the same airframe. Therefore I thought, making a Shackleton using the Lancaster as a parts donor could be a viable option... The first phase of the project was to find some plans. The Warpaint Series on the Shackleton came up trumps, and although these plans are far from perfect they've given me enough to get started. I duly enlarged them to 1/32nd scale and cobbled together a reasonable outline for a MR2 which is the version I'm hoping to replicate. You can see the size this model will (hopefully) be when finished when you put the Airfix 1/72nd kit on top: With that done it was sourcing the key components of a project like this - various thicknesses of plastic card: And of course the ID Models Lancaster: I then set about building up the centre section from plastic card formers, using the bomb bay roof as the structural centre-point. Wing spars have been made integral to the structure for strength and stability. I'm not going to worry too much about an interior to the fuselage, as it'll all be sprayed black and next to nothing will be visible through the small fuselage windows. The forward flight deck area will be fully replicated, though: The plan is to use the Lancaster fuselage sides for the 'skinning' of the model, and other areas will be 'planked' and blended with filler from thin plastic card strips. With the fuselage centre section progressing well and having cut my teeth on making bulkheads and formers etc., I had the confidence to have a go at making the nose section. This is a lot more tricky as there are many complex shapes and subtle curves to try to replicate, especially around the extreme nose where the bomb aimer/gunner's glazing. Again, the interior won't an accurate structural representation of the real thing, but being black and only the extreme nose interior being visible there shouldn't be too many problems here. As with the fuselage, the basic shape of the formers were made from plastic card and assembled to give a skeleton that'll be skinned in due course: I haven't made the 'roof' to the nose compartment yet as some form of interior needs to be added, as well as the observer/gunner's transparencies and its associated fairings: So this is where we're currently at: And alongside the 1/72nd scale version for a 'size reality check!' As I said at the start, there's no guarantee of success in the long term, but I'm having a blast right now! Tom

Greetings all, This rather large box somehow appeared on my doorstep this week - how these things happen I shall never understand... I love the 8th Air Force and the B-17 and B-24 in particular, so decided to have a go at the recent HobbyBoss release of the B-24, or the 'crate the B-17 was delivered in' if you spoke a B-17 crew. Not very fair really, especially when you consider it could fly farther, faster and with a greater bombload than the Fort. The kit looks fairly simple in places as has been discussed at length elsewhere, but that's just what I'm after at the moment - something nice and straightforward but with an imposing end product. We shall see... Customary box shots: IMG_0197 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0199 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr And progress so far... I thought I'd ignore the instructions and start with the main undercarriage bays. First up was a spraying of aluminium and a grey Flory wash to bring out some of the lovely detailing: IMG_0195 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr Following by it all slotting together rather nicely into a very sturdy box-structure: IMG_0200 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_0201 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr All that only took a couple of hours in total - lovely! Take care all, Tom

This one is an unholy marriage of a Bell 47 helicopter cockpit and a Cessna 02 spotter aircraft. With floats and a jet engine for good measure. I'm not sure if the kreiger universe even has ships. But I've armed this with water jet powered 'Penguin' torpedo's just in case. The floats were from a Smer Swordfish. Other bits are sparesbox fodder. The paddle on the float was Tamiya Schwimwagen. The 'MAD' type detection boom here was a Smer torpedo. What look like paint rollers are cockpit access steps. One of the 'Penguin' torpedo's ready for launch. The white bellytank can be seen here. The ladder is to reach the wing tanks for gravity refuels. I used a very thin self adhesive tape on the stabilizer leading edge top and bottom to counter the jet exhaust heat. Sparesbox markings. The underside paint is Tamiya IJN pale grey. The blue and green are Tamiya mixes. The green was simply drybrushed. Pressure refuel point is just visible on the left rear fuselage. Various greeblies dress up the floats. International orange tiptanks were suggested, but I painted them, then used micromesh to rub down to the orange plastic to show some erosion. I've kept the underside clean but added a few patches to the floats. Nasty stuff, Coral. Yes, I'm thinking South Pacific operations. The cockpit is as per the MASH original build. What was the collective now operates the float rudders. Here it is with a previous sparesbox anti ship aircraft. This one was 1/48th, same floats but P-38 Lightning fuselage. A closer look. Probably built ten years ago I can't remember what name I gave it! That's an intake in front of the windscreen BTW. Here's a link to the builld. The bench is clear. Goodness knows what will turn up next! Thanks for looking and your comments are always welcome. Pete

This is a project I have been wanting to do for some time now. I have all the stuff I need, a base kit, a set of plans, and an article from some one who has already done the deed. All I lacked was the guts to start cutting up £100 worth of model! For some reason this week I woke up and said, "OK! Lets do it!" So armed with Frank Mitchell's article over on LSP (http://www.largescaleplanes.com/articles/article.php?aid=211) and the new found urge to cut up this: windows 7 screenshot and a set of scaled up plans: image hosting I set to work. I started with the air intakes. I marked and cut them to insert a widening strip, using Dymo tape as a cutting guide: screen cap free photo upload image hosting how do i print screen image upload no limit With the intakes widened, I started to make the cuts on the fuselage to widen that: image upload photo hosting So far, so good! Thanks for looking, and wish me luck!

After the flop with cold war gb, it's time for a new challenge for me. A real BIG challenge: a 32nd scale Revell's Tornado IDS wearing the famous 6° Stormo's "Red Devil". I really love Tornado so i decided to make a model in the big scale. Starting from the famous Revell kit: The box is for a ECR version, but inside you have all you need to make a normal IDS version, included instrument panels, bombs and cannon gun muzzles. i will build my model oob beacause i want to concentrate my efforts on the painting stage. I take some bits (the second BOZ pod, resin seats and resin nozzels) from another "unlucky" attempt to build a big Tornado. I will use airmodel instruments, master pitot tube and Tauromodel's decals to make a ol camouflaged machine with hi-viz roundels and codes. I love heavy weathered aircraft like this... I hope to start working on it soon, so stay tuned and wish me luck! ciao Ale

Evening all The latest off the bench is Revell's new 1/32nd Spitfire MkIXc, which as I'm sure you know follows their release from a few years back of a Spitfire MkII and thus the breakdown of the kits is almost identical. This was a very pleasurable build and it went together relatively trouble free; the only filling needed was as the wing root fairings where the moulding was slightly short - I've seen this on many other builds and know it wasn't just my kit which has this issue. The simple solution is to add a small plastic card shim to each fairing and smooth it in with Milliput and a wet finger, and the problem is solved in under 10 minutes. At £25 I thought it fantastic value for money and will definitely be purchasing a few more. Decals for this one came from Xtradecal as the code-letters were off colour-wise on the Revell sheet. Paints were from the Xtracolour enamel range and it was finished with a coat of Humrol Matt varnish. Supermarine Spitfire McIXc, 132 Squadron, RAF Detling, November 1943: And alongside the MkIIa which I completed earlier in the year: Let's hope Revell keep giving us 1/32nd Spitfires at such reasonable prices - and roll on that P-51D! Tom

Revell's 1/32nd scale Spitfire finished as P8177 of 1690 Bomber Defence Training Flight, Metheringham, Lincs. The pilot unfortunately has undercart problems so is going round again to try to shake the port leg loose! Max

Evening all, I've just finished building this as a mojo-mender as with a few long term projects on the go, I'd become bogged down and in need of something that went together without problems - this 1/32nd scale twin-stick MiG-29UB proved to be just the medicine. I picked this up at Telford for £25 which proved to be very good value for money. It's quite simple kit but in truth that's why I chose it - the cockpit lacks detail and the undercarriage bays are very basic, but the overall fit and construction is excellent and I encountered no construction issues at all. I used the decals from the box, which represent a MiG-29UB of 120 IAP based at Domna, Siberia, in the summer of 2003. Revell's colour guidance could only be interpreted by someone with a masters degree in colour mixing, so instead I just used pictures on the net for guidance, using mainly US equivalents from Xtracolour to get a close-enough match to the real thing. Other than that, it's as it comes in the box. Mikoyan MiG-29UB, Domna Air Base, Siberia, 2003. Jet pipe detail isn't too bad at all: Cockpit detail is pretty basic but some Airscale placards and dial decals and a belt set from Eduard means it's passable when peering through the canopy: The overall quality of the surface detail is excellent in my opinion: Wheel bays are basic but when sitting on its undercarriage very little is visible anyway: If you're thinking about a good value, large scale modern-era jet fighter, then I'd recommend this kit wholeheartedly... Tom

I've just completed converting the 1/32nd scale HK Models Meteor into a T7 using the Fisher conversion set. The conversion gives a new resin moulded nose section, forward intakes, full interior and of course a new canopy. The new resin parts didn't fit all that well in my experience of this build, but with some careful cutting, trimming and sanding it came together in the end. Paints were Xtracolur enamels and decals came with the kit. Thanks for looking, Rob

This is my first completed build for 2016 - the 1/32nd scale Heinkel He 111 P-1 from Revell. I started this back in the summer of 2015 as a 'pick it up and do a bit as you fancy it' build, and I've been working on it on and off for the last 6 months or so. I have built it more or less out of the box, but I did add some Eduard detailing for the seatbelts and instruments etc, as well as some brass barrels for the guns as the kit's are undersized. It was an absolute joy to build and went together beautifully - very little filler was needed and it proved to be a completely trouble-free project. The only tricky and more time consuming part was the extensive glazing which required careful masking and painting both inside and out. All that glass and no protection 'up front' makes you realise how exposed these chaps were when a fighter sprayed that area - it doesn't bear thinking about the carnage that would ensue in the nose when under attack. Xtracolour enamels were used throughout, with the kit decals also being used which were flawless. The swastika was not included so this was sourced from an Xtradecal sheet, and the whole paint job was finished off with a spray of Humbrol flat varnish. If you're thinking of venturing into larger scale models I'd heartily recommend this kit - it was an absolute joy. Heinkel He 111 P-1 of III.KG 27, Delmenhorst, Germany, Summer 1940. It's also BIG - the He 111 is considerably larger than I had anticipated (span of just over 74ft) and not much smaller than a B-17. Make sure you leave plenty of shelf space! Tom

Hi All It's Christmas time again, and time for my Christmas build. Every year I like to do a simple out of the box build that is not Phantom based. I must admit I was busy last year and didn't accomplish anything, but I'm starting my leave tomorrow lunchtime, and I plan to build the magnificent Zoukei Mura 132nd scale A-1J Skyraider. I picked up the kit the first year it was available at Telford and have been looking forward to the build ever since. As this is a large and extensive kit I will forgo the usual format for showing the box contents, instead I will show each individual sprue before use as the build progresses. The only extra I plan on using (aside from paint and glue) is the Zoukei Mura etch set they sold separately. I seem to recall buying a wheel set as well but I have not located it yet so it may not get used. Below for openers I have shown the box top, instruction sheets, and the etched set. The build will start at lunchtime tomorrow, so search out some mistletoe and pull some crackers. (Not sure that came out right) Thanks all in advance for looking in. Merry Xmas Ted

Greetings 2 questions if I may, firstly what's the thoughts on the above kit? I recently came home with one and while its basic and horrible the general shape appears ok. I have a pile of Hasegawa left overs to help out in the cockpit but is there anything else needed? I'm guessing the Seafire 1 was based on the VB. Second question, if I want to convert the Hasegawa bird into the Seafire 3 the grey matters conversion and Seafire wing should do the trick? I'm not worried to much about the office as I replace it with the Aires set. Thanking you.