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Hi, Wonder about the Airfix moulds for their 1/600 passenger ships. Where they really scrapped or missing? Looking at prices of Canberra, QE 2, SS France and QE there must be a demand for new kits. And what about the "Southern Cross"? Or... ? Cheers / André

This kit was first issued in 1969 and I have a very early edition in a really ratty looking box. This will be a great way to build a kit and get rid of a box that is on the verge of falling apart. Pictures to follow.

Hello all! I have been wondering what to do for this group build, I had loads of ancient Airfix in stock and I know I could opt to do them all (ahem!), but I seriously wanted to get in with a ship. I had Mauretania (x2), RMS Queen Elizabeth, HMS Iron Duke (plus photo-etch), Repulse and the Prinz Eugen. I think the latter pair were too new to qualify. I chose the QE. It was first issued in 1962, this is from the 2000 boxing. Here are the pre-build shots: I have built this a few times in the past, and I think the last time was when I lived in Leuchars and was about 14 years old. I am wondering whether to build it in the style of a 14-year-old kid, or whether to try and actually do it justice! I normally put a load of photo-etch-work onto my ships, but I have nothing at all for this one. I know there is stuff available, but I think I will do without this time. I will still try to rig it. As usual, please let me know if I am about to make a boo-boo if I say I am going to try and do something to the ship, I have been known to make some quite big errors in interpretation! See you soon! Ray

A slight variation of the Airfix Admiral Graf Spee. My scratchbuilt disguise as she set out to the South Atlantic And her OOB appearance. Just before the Battle of the River Plate, stripped for action.

The Panzerschiffe consisted of the Deutschland, Admiral Scheer and Admiral Graf Spee. They were fitted with the 28cm gun mounted in triple-gun turrets (Anton and Bruno) as were the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Their secondary armament was 15cm; roughly equivalent to the 6-inch gun carried by British light cruisers. As originally constructed, all three featured twin 8.8cm flak guns; an older version of this gun was fitted for some time on the Deutschland. Before the outbreak of war the 8.8s were upgraded to 10.5cm flak guns. The secondary flak armament (as on most large German warships) was the 3.7cm flak gun. The Deuschland was originally finished in light grey with teak decks. Other horizontal surfaces were coated with a dark grey anti-slip surface. Her aircraft catapult was fitted between the forward superstructure and the funnel. The funnel dates this fit to after 1937 (searchlights fitted) while the bow pre-dates the 1940 ‘clipper bow’ refit when Deutschland was renamed Lützow (November 1939). Here is my rather crude conversion of the ancient Airfix 04211 Graf Spee. No PE was used in its construction (me and PE don't mix) and most things were guesswork.

Been planning this ship for some time and one popped up very cheap at a model show £3 .Reason it was such a give away,was no funnel caps.hopefully l can fix this with body filler.This will be a batch one,if you just don't look too close they look the same,far from it. especially between the two funnels.The Airfix kit is very basic,with lots of holes and over-sized parts.These can be replaced,lucky there is a Photo etching set from Atlantis models and 3D set from Shapeways for her.I,m replacing the bridge winds with plastic card.The ship will be waterlined The Kit The Etching Kit Lots of holes The Helicopter !

It has been a couple of years or more since I last did a "What-If" but here is one I have just finished for a "What-If" GB. It is a conversion of the Airfix 1/600 RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 to a "Harrier Carrier". The background story is that the Falklands Conflict did not end with the surrender of the Argentine forces on the Falklands but it became a much longer war with Argentina. The Royal Navy found itself in need of more amphibious ships and aircraft carriers. HMS Bulwark was to be brought out of mothballs and recomissioned as a stop-gap but due to her age and poor condition of her hull it was necessary to find another way to fill the gap. It was decided that the QE2 would be dropped from it's role as troopship and converted to a "Harrier Carrier" but with an amphibious dock at the stern. The conversion entails removing all decks above the weather deck, building an island to starboard, building sponsons either side, with davits on the starboard side for landing craft, cutting out a stern dock and fitting a flight deck with lifts. White metal Harriers and helicopters came from Tumbling Dice. Landing craft were made from plastic card and apart from the Airfix QE2 there are parts from another six Airfix kits. Dave

Hello, Has someone ever tried to use the best part from the old Airfix and Revell kits of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau to buld an more correct 1/600 ship with clipperbow? And maybe with parts from Airfix Prinz eugen as well... ; ) Cheers / André

Hey guys, well its been a while since I last did a physical model (been getting a bit carried away with the 3D renders lately!) So today I got stuck into the Revell USS Enterprise for a client. I don't normally rush things, but once I started this kit today I couldn't stop, so I persevered and managed to get this done in a single day! Its been a while since my last 1 day build! (well, I started after lunch!) I'm putting it in the WIP Thread as its not TOTALLY finished as I will give it a quick gloss coat tomorrow once the decals have totally dried! Hope you like! I'll include a link to my page where there are more pics including some more WIP and "finished" pics. https://www.facebook.com/chriscardwellmodels/

Hi Everyone, In memory of Leonard Nimoy, 1931 to 2015. Here is the 2nd of my 4 submissions for this group build (3 of which are starships) : the Revell 1/600 USS Enterprise NCC-1701 from Star Trek The Original Series. Here is the boxart : Starship history : Due to remarkable technical advances, above all in transmission technology, the Starfleet decided on a comprehensive modernisation program across the entire fleet in the year 2236. On this new type of ship, the current technical developments were taken into account, and components such as warp nacelles and the primary hull were implemented into the standard series as the ships were built. The development of the Constitution Class began in 2236, the commissioning of the first models, amongst them the 288.6 m long U.S.S. Enterprise, took place in 2245. The new Class, consisting of 13 spaceships, was developed specifically for scientific investigations and research in unknown areas of the Galaxy. Diverse scientific laboratories were located in the saucer section which turned the Enterprise into a mobile research platform. In spite of this, the heavy cruiser was well-armed, as it and its crew of 430 people were alone way outside the Federation space during the missions - and in addition, as part of the United Federation of Planets, they were obliged to protect its sphere of influence against aggressors. During the 5-year mission starting in 2265 under the command of Captain James T. Kirk and First Officer Spock from the planet Vulcan, the Enterprise therefore explored strange new worlds , seeking out new life and new civilizations , and boldly going where no man has gone before . During this time they made many initial contacts, some involving armed conflict with alien species. Kit details : - Skill level 3- - 117 parts - Construction set in completely new form - Extensive, two-part saucer section - Separate command bridge - Multi-part deflector and sensor - Large, two-part secondary hull - Multi-part warp nacelles with separate pylons - Many transparent sections, including Bussard collectors and position lamps - Display stands - Clear building instructions with painting tips - Comprehensive transfers for the Enterprise, Potemkin and Constellation Sprue shots : Before I stopped all work on this kit, I did get as far as building and painting the display stand for the completed ship. Here is the photo. Cheers, Rick

This is one ship I thought I would never build,An Airfix Leander 1/600,last one was 1974! Also as Airfix not producing this kit any more.They can still be found on E... and other sites,don't pay any more than £10! They do pop up regularly. ,Then along came 3D printing and HMS Leander now can look the part,I will get round to building more of the class in the future. The model was waterlined with added items from WEM and spares box .more details are on work in progress. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234963951-hms-leander-frigate-1600-airfix-ikara-upgrade/ There were 26 ships in the class,if you want to read more about the class here is a link,there is lots to read. http://en.wikipedia....r-class_frigate Now on to to shapeways this is link to this site for the upgrades for 1/600 https://www.shapeway...shops/bogeysbit

There's life in theses old kits yet,I built 2 Belfast as a kid and was one of my favorite ships,much I like 1/700 ,when I do a 1/600 its just right ,anyway, this is Belfast from May 1945,she had a refit for the far east,she went back to over all grey with the blue strip along the hull,but the war was finished by the time she arrived.Then she went to spent most of her working life out there.had large refit between 56-59,mostly the bridge was rebuilt for N.B.C.with lattice mast and up grade on the smaller armament.Back to the model,as usual,the hull has been waterlined.having done one ship already,this was easy this time,had enough plans and pictures to make the changes to Belfast,most of it is where the walrus use to be.the crane was repositioned,the ships boats and added decks for anti aircraft armament and extra accommodation.I thought it was going to an easy conversion,but as we get deeper, keep discovery thats change and thats moved.In too deep now and all the main items are finished. I started this about 3 weeks ago.The P.E. is by White Ensign models and deck by Artwox Hull getting for the saw lots of dry fitting Yes I replaced every single port hole, mad comes to mind more dry fitting,getting the new boat deck right Made up the plastic kit crane to make sure every fits right,only one crane required,which will be P.E

This is Belfast in July 1945,before she set sail to the far east,she went back to over all grey with the blue strip along the hull,but the war was finished by the time she arrived.Then she went to spent most of her working life out there.Back to the model,as usual,the hull has been waterlined.having done one ship already,this was easy this time,had enough plans and pictures to make the changes to Belfast,most of it is where the walrus use to be.the crane was repositioned,the ships boats and added decks for anti aircraft armament and extra accommodation.I thought it was going to an easy conversion,but as I get deeper, kept discovery thats change and thats moved.In too deep now so carried on.The P.E. is by White Ensign models and deck by Artwox. The Walrus was used to dropped the mail off and was kept on the fleet carriers for this and other duties. Link for build http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234946874-airfix-1600-hms-belfast-may-1945-waterlinedpe-wooden-deck/ Photos