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Bf 109 G-6 flown by Frenchman Rene Darbois, an interesting story behind his career can be found on various websites, suffice to say he basically joined the Luftwaffe to escape across to the Allies and this depicts the aircraft he did it in! A nice build, I had problems airbrushing the camo scheme, mainly due to inexperience and the heat, so its ended up being a 'near as dammit' rendition! See the build thread in the Bf109 GB. Inner flaps are in fully down 'cold start' position...... ahem!

Here is my latest, it is yet another Revell Monogram F-86D, this time from the 324th FIS. Superscale decals and four colour metallic from various sources. Thanks for looking Just finished this a the Photobucket ransom started so lets see how long Flikr lasts.

Here is my latest foray into the world of Old Monogram. It is a 2007 boxing on the F-101B Voodoo. This kit has long been on my list of 'wants' and has been curiously hard to track down so when Ian at Kits for Cash had it at the Southwell show for a princely £9 I bit his hand off. When I opened the box, not only were there two sets of canopies there were decals from two different boxings of the kit. I had stocked up on a Master brass probe, some Quickboost intakes and a gorgeous set of Caracal decals for a Four ANG machines prior to my purchase so they had to be used. I decided early in the build not to re-scribe the panels lines just to knock back the raised lines with some light sanding to enhance the smooth and sleek lines of the original. This had worked well for my F-102. Sadly after all the anticipation, I really didn't enjoy the build. I expected some fettling and filling but this had to be done in industrial proportions, the whole wing/fuselage/ missile bay just fitted where it touched and I got fed up with the whole process. After languishing on the Shelf of Doom for a couple of months I gave it another chance and this is what I came up with. O-70445 of the 179th FIS, Minnesota ANG. Both the kit and the Caracal decals were a joy to work with and even Photobucket has co-operated today. I had planned to get another one to do as a Texas ANG bird but I doubt I'll bother, So on to the F-106.... Thanks for looking Andy

Finally reached saturation point with the pigments on another build, so I thought that I'd drag something out of the stash cupboard and try a quick build. I can hear my wife laughing saying "You! Quick build! Your builds are similar to the gestation period of an elephant!" Well, that is true, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway. Hobbyboss produced two versions of the T-34/85 and I built the other one about 10 years ago and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of detail that they had crammed into a kit of this scale. A full interior, including engine bay for the princely sum of around £15, although I picked it up from a dealer at Telford for £10. The 21 stage assembly instructions are well laid out and easy to follow. One thing that I did find strange are the decals. Hobbyboss include a sheet with five colour profiles of one of the tanks included on the decal sheet, but looking at the decal sheet, there are what appears to be five separate tanks included on it, but no drawings/profiles of these tanks. Daft or what?? All the parts are contained on ten sprues, plus a separate engine intake which incorporates an etched brass mesh, two clears sprues with the headlamp lenses and a length of metal wire for the tow rope. Finally, the upper and lower hull parts are packed separately. I can't fault Hobbyboss for the way that they pack their kits, but those decals are just plain stupid. So now I'm off to wipe the smirk off of my wife's face and get started on this build. (Hopefully) I'll post some progress soon. John.

I actually started this a couple of months ago, but I hit a problem - my particular kit had been given 2 starboard cockpit sidewalls, and no port sidewall. So I send an email so special hobby, who sent me a replacement. Actually they sent me a full set of replacement resin parts, many thanks @petr@SpecialHobby. Unsurprisingly starts with the cockpit Wired the instruments Starboard Sidewall The lesser spotted Port sidewall Assembled the fuselage with the rear cockpit bulkhead Assembled the turret basket Constructed the turret fairing, filled and sanded back Filled and sanded the fuselage - it will need some rescribing later Finally dipped the clear parts - test fit seems reasonable, will need some filling at the bottom, but we'll see Peter

Hello all! This is the Zvezda Bf 109F4, converse to a G2 with the Vector resin set. Having recently built the new Eduard F, which is a great kit, the Zvezda model seems to me more close to the real plane, and at a cheaper price also. That's the plane Rall flew in 1942 while with the 8/JG52 on the Russian front. Best regards.

Jumped straight into the kit on Thursday evening after getting it. Like the kit! At a glance there are some very fine details in it, like cockpit side walls, instrument panel, nice panel lines . . . I was not sure about the engine exhaust when the first photos of the sprues came out but when you start to assemble the plastic parts. It is complex, but also very simple and straight forward! Excellent design with some unconventional ideas fitted into it. Perfect location and positioning of parts but what is far more important they all fall in place and there are virtually no seams anywhere!!!!! If only they would have added a bit more fine detail to the exhaust petals on the outside like on the instrument panel. Still it is great, resulting in a very complex exhaust!!! To go with the kit the fantastic Master pitots have also arrived. Brass and 3D printed antennas make a perfect combination for a superb and what is far more important an authentic pitot! More on this later. Without going so far ahead, let’s see what we get from the Ukrainian ICM company. Instead of a fancy soft box we receive something else. OK, there is a fancy and very attractive box art showing one of the last operational Foxbats in Russia. It was the well documented MiG-25RBT red 46 with lots of colourful markings on its nose. It will be difficult to say No to this marking. So there is a perfectly printed box art but in reality it is only a cover with an open bottom. It goes over the very sturdy cardboard box which contains the kit part. I like this far more than the overall very soft colour boxes of other manufacturers. The cardboard box is a welcome response to todays changing times when postal delivery from different internet shops takes over the over the counter buying of kits in dedicated model shops. Times have changed and now a good protection is required from the possible hazards of postal delivery. My example has arrived to me doing a round trip around Europe with lots of stop on the way and still there was no visible damage to any of the parts. So it seems that the hard cardboard box is working as well as the tight packing of the sprues! Inside the sturdy box is a one single plastic bag jammed full with sprues. OK it would have been better if the individual sprues were in separate bags but then a far bigger box would have been required. But here all the sprues are together and the fact is that the bag is so full that there is not a chance for the plastic parts to move around and cause damage to other parts. Of course the transparent parts are in a separate plastic bag and so a perfect protection is provide to canopy parts. First look at the instruction sheet gives a good impression with clear guidance for the assembly. There are two decal sheets. One for the in-hand RBT examples with the other providing some stencilling which I would imagine will be a common decal for future releases. More soon, just as weather improves and I have a chance to take some photos of the kit parts. For the moment it is all grey and there is some form of snow coming down from above so after some 15 or so years it will be a whitish X Mas here (not real deep snow but at least the countryside is a sort of white). It is a good opportunity on this day to wish everyone a Merry X Mas no matter where in the world you are and what you believe in! (I most certainly envy those who are somewhere down under are at this moment and have an excess of sunshine and pleasant warm weather!!! ) Best regards Gabor

Another of my military vehicles in 1/48th. This is the Italeri Opel Blitz, which I believe to be a different kit to the Tamiya offering in the same scale. Tamiya have re-boxed some Italeri kits but I don't believe this to be the case. It is a nice kit a bit more fiddly than the Tamiya offerings but he main drawback is the rubber tyres. I've teamed it with a previous built Tamiya 20mm flak gun to represent a Luftwaffe AA unit in Russian in 1941

This my latest, as the title says its the newish Airfix Meteor, finished as a machine of 616 R Aux AF Squadron in the mid 1950's. I was a bit disappointed in the fit of the engine covers and the wing fillets, other than that it was a quick and easy build. I chose to model WH474 K, I have no front view photo, so I don't know if the nose wheel cover has a K on it, but if I get confirmation I'll add it.

Something a bit different this time, it is the Italeri re-pop of the Kinetic Thunderstreak, with a Quickboost nose intake. The underside is so colourful I wanted to display it so this is my attempt. I need to find a way to get the plane level on the stand but other than that it is finished.

I've been working my way through some long term residents of my stash and this little gem of a kit has been with me since late 1999. Bought at the long closed model shop in Bath one evening on a work trip, I was worried the decals would be unusable and I could find no alternative. Luckily they were brilliant, thin and pliable, a joy to work with. The kit itself is a modification of the original Monogram Panther -5 and fits together beautifully. It is almost out of the box, just some aftermarket belts and an Eduard masking set, A total joy from beginning to end. Even Photobucket worked perfectly. Thanks for looking

I didn't expect to get this one finished this year, it is an old Monogram boxing of the F-80C which I picked up at the kit swap at this years' Telford for the princely sum of a fiver. It is pretty much straight from the box with just a aftermarket seat and Aeromaster decals for 49-806 0f the 36th FBS/8FBG in Korea. Thanks for looking

As somebody who stopped building aircraft more than 10 years ago, I'm thinking about taking the plunge again into things with wings. Although over the years I've sold off all of my kits, there was one that I wouldn't part with because I still wanted to build it. It's the LTD 1/48th scale kit of the Commonwealth Boomerang, but I have virtually no info on it. What I want are drawings/photos of the cockpit and u/c bays. The kit is very vague in these departments. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I will be very grateful. TIA. John.

The last one I'll finish this year is another Sabre Dog. This one is a little different as it is a machine from the 3rd Air Wing of the JASDF,using a set of Flying Papa decals I found in a second hand F-86D I bought in the kit swap at Telford. Just a couple of photos a Photobucket is playing up as usual. Thanks for looking.

Evening all! Well it's finally as finished as it's ever going to be!! Here's Eduard's F6F-5N boxing converted to a FAA Hellcat NFII of 892 NAS late 1945. The Blackburn fitted "blown" Malcolm type hood was crash formed over a master made from the kit canopy, and decals weazled from various sources. So This is KD110 "S" of 892 NAS. The noseart below the port windscreen is a guesstimate based on the only fuzzy photo available. All comments welcome as ever. Jonners

HI all - I finally managed to take some proper RFI pics of this build. For the build thread - this will explain all http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234981173-north-american-fj-3-fury-148th-esci-with-added-elbow-grease/ But here she is on the catwalk, looking shiny. All comments welcome, as ever. I have to say that one of these in FAA colours with Suez stripes would look amazingly cool as a WHIF - but after this build - one is enough!

Just to show that I build in other scales besides 1/35th, I built this a couple of years ago. There is no kit of a Challenger in 1/48th scale so I had to use a combination of two Tamiya Cromwells and good old fashioned scratch building. I used the rear deck from the Cromwell along with the rear hull and track guards, an the complete lower hull and turret were scratch built. The one thing that was a problem was the tracks, they don't exist in 1/48th. So is had to be a compromise. The nearest to the Challenger's track were the ones from the now defunct Fighting 48th for their Comet. Challenger used 15.5 inch tracks whilst Comet's were 18 inch, so they were reduced with a few swipes of a large file. I have to say that this as one of the most enjoyable builds that I have ever done. Regards, John.

I was given this as a Christmas present by SWMBO last year so it has been an ever present on the modelling desk and is finally finished. I struggled to get the enthusiasm to work on it, which is strange because it is one of my favourite aircraft and during it I re-read Dave Morgans book, which I bought at a talk he did at Aeroventure. Anyway here it is: . The decal options are both brilliant and frustrating and it was only thanks to my daughters instruction for her Airfix Sea Harrier I managed to piece together the correct markings as the Kinetic sheet which provides everything for perhaps 50 different aircraft but is lacking detail on any specific one.

My third completed build this year, the 1/48th Eduard F-16A 'Top Falcon' which is based upon the Kinetic kit. Fought me every step of the way with a final sting at the last second! On the plus side a number of new things for me and the final result should look good firmly tucked away in a corner of the display cabinet So, on to the snapshots... Have to admit I really struggled with the Kinetic kit, somehow I managed to just slightly 'twist' the fuselage parts and so the main parts didn't fit properly and I had to use filler on the strakes. I also struggled with the Eduard resin engine exhaust assembly and in the end reverted back to the original kit parts. On the plus side the kit parts are beautifully detailed and if you can use all the Eduard parts the end result should be superb. Unfortunately I got so frustrated it went on to the shelf-of-doom and a book fell on it, breaking off much of the undercarriage. Was this the end...? Now, at some point soon I want to build some RAF V-bombers in gloss white. I know many here have had much success with Halfords Appliance White so I gave it a try. I was disappointed with the first application but I got the hang of it second time and I am very pleased with the final result. All other colours are either Vallejo or Mig acrylics applied by brush, the red areas have been sealed with Klear, and again I am really pleased with the results. The kit decals were superb, allowing me to build F-16A 81-0688 operated by the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB. The cockpit was a joy to work on and even though I didn't use all the Eduard etch it looks far more detailed that I normally aspire to. The resin seat had no less that 41 pieces of etch most of which were too small for my tweezers! However I did add most of the seat belts and the 'remove before flight' banner and I am really pleased with the result. The final sting in the tail? All I had to add was the HUD glass. Add Clearfix, hold with tweezers and ... PING! Eaten by the carpet monster! So have added something else but it isn't right. Oh well... Overall I am pleased with the final result, learned a lot and would try another one. And a personal touch, back to October 1993 at the Edwards AFB 'Open House' and my photo of 81-0688 in the static display Michael

Just the one one photo as Photobucket is being its usual happy go lucky self. for the G3 and G4 paint, I used AK and DOA respectively. Neither covered particularly well and needed several brushed coats. I'm not sure if the pattern can be made out. Not as nice to build as the Beford MWD but that's life. Thanks for looking

I bought this about four years ago at Scalemodel World and got a Gasoline resin early full metal cab to go with it from Nigel at Parabellum and thats as far as I got. In the interim it is now a much easier job to do an early CCKW as you can simply swap the cabs between the truck and the recently issued refueller, but as I had the cab I pressed on. Somehow it kept slipping further and further long the shelf of doom, for no real reason as the resin is easy to work with and the base kit is fabulous. Anyway I finished her in the last few days and took some photos in the bright summer sun. And a shot of my Refueller. Thank you for looking.

I have a soft spot for the Tucano, I regularly see them zooming around the east coast, over the North Yorks Moors and York. They make a distinctive noise and even my wife doesn't need to see one to know a Tucano is out and about. I even built a Premier 1/72nd scale one eons ago. However seeing the 2014 display scheme when passing Linton-on-Ouse made me get off my backside and buy one of Alleycats lovely kits. It really is the complete package, no after market was harmed in the making of this model. I had three main undercarriage legs in my kit, and no nose wheel leg, I got it replaced by Alec swiftly once we had established communication. It is a bit of a tail sitter even though I crammed lead shot into all available orifices, I was resigned to having to use a prop, but when I added the i/d light covers it miraculously just balances!

I've been building this for the current Vignette group build but as that is more about the scene and story I thought I'd post this one here as well. It is the petit Tamiya kit with no real modifications k=]just alittle thinnig=ng of edge and a some parts. I used a mix of Humbrol, Vallejo and Mig weathering powders and Vallejo medium to effect a winter whitewash machine after the first rains of spring. The great thing is that it I think it is too much for the vignette it scrubs off with water on a cottonbud.

I wanted one of these since seeing the restored machine at Bovington. There was one in the gift shop but it was £30!!! Fast forward a week or so and I went to the IPMS Wolds show at Driffield and there was one in a box under the table for a fiver. When I got it home I realised the Caunter scheme was going to be a problem. The thought of all that masking on a small kit meant she lived in her box for a while. Roll forward to the next Driffield show where I picked up the AK Caunter scheme colours at three times the cost of the kit. This has been a slow burner, as I expectd the masking has been a bit of a trial. I'm not sure of the colours compared to the restored machine but I'm sure the cognisenti will chime in and very welcome they will be. I used an article in the IPMS magazine of the Caunter scheme to get the pattern and it is not meant to be a specific vehicle just a representative machine. For what its worth I used a mixture of Vallejo washes and pigments to weather the paintwork. I posed it on my multi-purpose Desert base along tihe an Airfix Beford. I have chap to put in the turret to complete the model.

What If III Group Build. After the Torrey Canyon disaster in March 1967, the RAF and the Royal Navy came in for criticism as 25% of the 42 bombs dropped missed the target. The main reason being was, not the lack of skill by the Pilots but bomb technology was lagging behind aircraft technology. The Royal Navy was asked to form a ground attack squadron to help develop tactics with the new bombs being developed for the armed forces. The squadron was to be land based, but able to operate not only from Royal Navy Aircraft Carriers, but also U.S. Navy Carriers when required as some of the trials would be from U.S. Ships. The decision was taken to obtain Douglas A-1 Skyraiders from America. The American Navy was phasing the Skyraider out, and starting to receive the LTV A-7 Corsair II. Not only could the Skyraider operate from US Navy Ships, but the American maintainers knew these aircraft very well. Another advantage, was the fact that they would cost less to operate than front line jets such as the Buccaneer. They would be based at RNAS Culdrose (HMS Seahawk) in Cornwall. The Skyraider had been operated by the Royal Navy before with the AEW version of the aircraft, so had some experience of the type. This squadron would be operating for approximately 2 years during the trials period. The aircraft would be painted in Extra Dark Sea Grey and Sky, as were other Royal Navy propeller aircraft of the time. The responsibility was given to 700 NAS, which was, and still is to this day, an Intensive Flying Trials Unit (IFTU). Originally formed in January 1940 at RNAS Hatston (HMS Sparrowhawk) in Orkney. It was intended for the squadron to be formed in January 1968, to 1970 operating with the Suffix letter A. Thus being known as 700A NAS. At the same time, 700 squadron would also be carrying out IFTU duties with the introduction of the McDonnell Douglas F-4K Phantom II FG.1. This squadron would be known as 700P NAS . As the intention was for cross deck operations with the American Navy, a decision was made to paint colourful tail markings as was common with US Naval Aircraft at the time. On account of the squadrons connection with hawks (formed at HMS Sparrowhawk, and now stationed at HMS Seahawk), it was decided to incorporate a bird of prey in the tail art work. 700A operated sea trials on several Royal Navy ships including, HMS Ark Royal (R09) and HMS Eagle (R05). USS Forrestal (CV-59) was the first American ship 700A performed trials on while she was in the Mediterranean during 1968. As they were based in Cornwall, they became known as the Pirates of Penzance by the Americans. This led to a Pirates head being painted on the engine cowl of their aircraft. In September of 1969, the Skyraiders of 700A embarked on the USS Independence (CV-62) for a NATO exercise in the North Atlantic (NORLANT). During this exercise, the USS Independence participated in testing the Hawker Siddeley Harrier in flight deck operations. Incidently, 700A would form again in 1979 operating the new BAe Sea Harrier FRS1. The unit would paint the same tail markings on the tails of their Sea Harriers, that was painted on the Skyraiders embarked on the USS Independence during that exercise. After a very successful trials period, 700A was decommissioned in early 1970's. 700 NAS returned to RNAS Culdrose from 1998-2008 operating as 700M NAS with the Agusta Westland Merlin HM.1 and again in 2014, until the present day as 700X NAS testing the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle. Thank you for looking, Joe Click on Fleet Air Arm Mk.1 Skyraider for RFI link.