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Hi folk's , Couldn't resist the special scheme on the box top.so another proposed build.

Hi to all I would like to share with you the first model done from our current proyect. It have started the research in march 2021 when I came across Buz Craig and Carl Vincent. They have helped me in a way that exceeded my expectations. They have been sharing their knowledge with us with a lot of patients on a daily basis. I do not have enough words to thank them. As I did in similar previous projects. I have done a folder with a summary of each aircraft with all the related photos and information. This makes the building process easier and reduces the number of mistakes. This is the list of aircraft that we are going to include Mark REFERENCE Serial code letter Squadron Pilot Place Time 1 RAF Tomahawk I Tomahawk BK853 - AAE&E UK 1-nov-40 2 RAF Tomahawk I Tomahawk AH767 - 400 RCAF UK 3 RAF Tomahawk I Tomahawk AH771 - 400 RCAF UK 1-oct-41 4 RAF Tomahawk I Tomahawk AH860 RM-F 26 Gravesend 1941 5 RAF Tomahawk IA Tomahawk AH973 - 1940 6 RAF Tomahawk IIA Tomahawk AH893 RM-D 26 UK June/July 1941 7 RAF Tomahawk IIA Tomahawk AH830 RM-A 26 UK 8 RAF Tomahawk IIA Tomahawk AH903 RU-Z 414 RCAF UK 9 RAF Tomahawk IIA Tomahawk AH895 SP-B 400 RCAF UK 1-ago-41 10 RAF Tomahawk IIA Tomahawk AH945 XV-W 2 RAF 1-sep-41 11 Desert Tomahawk Iib Tomahawk AK367 C Fayid Airfield septembre 1941 12 Desert Tomahawk IIB Tomahawk AK490 Amriya septembre 1941 13 RAF Tomahawk IA Tomahawk AH852 0 414 RCAF UK 1-mar-43 14 RAF Tomahawk IIA Tomahawk AH899 PB-F 1683 Bomber defense Training Flight Market Harborough 1-may-44 15 RAF Tomahawk IIB Tomahawk AK184 at Hamble, Hampshire 1943-1944 16 RAF Tomahawk IIB Tomahawk AK122 BT-H 1686 FLT 1944 17 SAAF Tomahawk Iib Tomahawk AK431 ED 73 OTU Libia 1942 18 SAAF Tomahawk Iib Tomahawk AN311 TA-C 2 SAAF 1-nov-41 19 RCAF P40 H-87A-3 P40 E 1071 A 14 Squadron Umnak Island summer of 1943 20 RCAF P40 H-87A-3 P40 E AK857 VW-H 118 Squadron RCAF Annette Island, Alaska October 18, 1942 but not before June 21, 1942 21 RCAF P40 H-87A-3 P40 E 1052 D 111 Squadron RCAF Umnak Island May 2 to June 12, 1943 22 RCAF P40 H-87A-3 P40 E AL194 V 111 Squadron RCAF Fort Greely, Kodiak Island, Alaska 19-abr-43 23 RCAF P40 H-87A-3 P40 E AK815 VW-T 118 Squadron RCAF Annette Island, Alaska October 18, 1942 but not before June 21, 1942 24 RCAF P40 H-87A-2/3 P40 E AK940 LZ E 111 Squadron RCAF mountains of Alaska. Summer 1942 25 RCAF P40 H-87A-3 P40 E 729 C 1944 26 RCAF H-87A-2CU P40 E 1076 27 RCAF P-40 E P40 E 1057 B 132 Canada 1943 28 RAF Kittyhawk Mk I P40 E AK571 - 23-abr-05 29 RAF Kittyhawk Mk I P40 E AL229 - AAE&E Uk 1-abr-42 30 RAF Kittyhawk II (P-40F-CU) P40 F FL220 Uk 1-ago-42 31 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40E-1) P40 E ET604 No Code nil Hobsonville late May/Jun 1942 32 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40E-1) P40 E NZ3008 14 SQN RNZAF 33 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40E-1) P40 E NZ3027 FE-V 10 January 1944. 34 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40E-1) P40 E NZ3036 HQ-Q 35 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40E-1) P40 E NZ3038 JZ-A 15 Howick 1943 36 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40E-1) P40 E NZ3043 FE-B 2 FOTU 1/01/1944 (with 2 FOTU for sometime) 37 RNZAF P-40E-1 ex 68FS P40 E NZ3094 Servicing Unit, New Georgia 38 Desert H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I P40 E AK673 GA-F Gazala 2 Februrary 1942 39 Desert H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I P40 E AK739 FZ-R 94 20-mar-42 40 Desert H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I P40 E AK919 LD-B 250 Sqdn. Ldr M.T. Judd 1-ago-42 41 Desert H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I P40 E AK961 CV-0 3 RAAF Squadron Amartya, Egipt 1942 42 Desert P-40E-1CU (Kittyhawk Ia) P40 E ET789 GA-G 112 RAF 43 Desert H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I P40 E ET611 North Africa 1-jul-42 44 Desert P-40E-1CU (Kittyhawk Ia P40 E ET790 GA-? 112 RAF Sqdn. Ldr Billy Drake El Daba 1-jul-42 45 Desert P-40E-1CU Kittyhawk Ia P40 E ET953 CV-V 3 RAAF Squadron 46 Italy H-87A-3CU P40 E AK886 OK-R 450 RAAF late Jul 1942 47 SAAF H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I P40 E AK702 KJ-J 4 SAAF F/O W.P. Pictorius Feb and April 1943 48 SAAF H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I P40 E AK840 DB-K 2 SAAF Jul/Aug 1942 49 RAAF P-40E-1 P40 E A29-118 FA 82 Squadron Bankstown late 1943 50 RAAF P-40E1 P40 E A29-83 2 OTU 51 RAAF P-40E1 P40 E A29-148 76 Squadron Flt John Meehan sep-42 52 RAAF P-40E1 P40 E A29-75 76 Squadron 1942 53 RAAF P40 E P40 E A29-78 54 RAAF P40 E P40 E A29-82 55 RAAF P-40 E-1a P40 E A29-85 CD-E 2 OTU Mildura 1-ene-45 56 RAAF P-40E1 P40 E A29-129 2 OTU 1942 57 RAAF P-40 E P40 E A29-133 FA-B 82 Squadron Bankstown oct-43 58 RAAF P-40 E P40 E A29-806 AM-V 77 Squadron 1944 59 Desert P-40F-CU (Short tailed merlin powered) P40 F FL234 HS-A 260 SQN 60 Desert H-87A-2CU Kittyhawk I (fin fillet) P40 K short tail EV322 CV-I 3 RAAF Squadron 61 RCAF P40 K-1-CU Mark III (Short tail) P40 K short tail 245945 F 111 Squadron RCAF Elmendorf Air Base 3-sep-42 62 RCAF P40 K-1-CU Mark III (Short tail) P40 K short tail 246004 S 111 Squadron RCAF Amchitka Island summer/ fall of 1942\ 63 RCAF P40 K-1-CU Mark III (Short tail) P40 K short tail 245951 A 111 Squadron RCAF Amchitka Island summer/ fall of 1942\ 64 RCAF P40 K-1-CU Mark III (Short tail) P40 K short tail 245954 G 111 Squadron RCAF Amchitka Island summer/ fall of 1942\ 65 Desert Kittyhawk III (P-40K-1CU) (Short tail) P40 K short tail FR241 LD-R 250 SQN 66 Desert Kittyhawk III (P-40K-1CU) (Short Tail) P40 K short tail FR338 GA-? 112 RAF 67 RAF P40 K (Short Tail) P40 K short tail FL891 8 68 SAAF P-40E-1 (fin fillet) P40 K short tail EV421 DB-H 2 SAAF 69 RAAF P-40 K (Long tail) P40 K long tail A29-182 AM-C 77 Squadron New Guinea 1943 70 Italy P-40 K (Long tail) P40 K long tail FR507 OK-REB 450 RAAF R.E.Bary Grottaglie Italy 4th October 1943 71 RAAF P-40M-1CU (Long tail) P40 K long tail A29-302 86 Auguts 1943 72 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40K-15) (Long tail) P40 K long tail NZ3050 HQ Gunnery Training school Ohakea 1944 73 RNZAF Kittyhawk Mk I (P-40K-15CU) (Long tail) P40 K long tail NZ3060 9 14 Guadalcanal 1-jun-43 74 Italy P-40L-5CU P40 L FS490 BAE 3 RAAF Squadron WGCDR Brain Eaton Italy 75 RAF P-40L-5CU P40 L FS452 5 Takoradi 76 RCAF P40 M-10 P40 M 837 77 RCAF P40 N-1 P40 M 851 Dartmouth, Canada early 1945 78 RCAF P40 N-1 P40 M 855 F 133 Patricia Bay 1944 79 RCAF P40 N-1 P40 M 831 C 132 80 SAAF P40 N-1 P40 M 5055 D 81 Italy P40 M-5 P40 M FR806 GA-Q 112 RAF 82 Italy P40 N-1 P40 M FT859 OK-L 450 RAAF S/Ldr. Jack Doyle Fano 1945 83 RAAF P40 N-1 P40 M A29-495 Piva North sep-45 84 RNZAF P40 M-5 P40 M NZ3067 FE-H 67 85 RNZAF P40 M-5 P40 M NZ3070 14 RNZAF Station, Whenuapa 86 RNZAF P40 M-10 P40 M NZ3118 14 Kukum Field, Gudalacanal 1-jul-43 87 RNZAF P40 M-10 P40 M NZ3119 88 RNZAF P40 N-1 P40 M NZ3121 4 Servicing unit Ondonga, New Georgia 89 RAAF P40 M-5 P40 M A29-323 SV-F 76 Squadron Momote, Los negos abr-44 90 RAAF P40 M-5 P40 M A29-357 SV-H 76 Squadron 91 RAAF P40 N-1 P40 M A29-412 5 squadron Piva sep-45 92 RCAF P40 N-20 P40 N 867 PN 5 OTU RCAF Boundary Bay, British Columbia late 1944 93 RCAF P40 N-20 P40 N 877 T 132 Western Air Command RCAF Tofino, British Columbia early 1944 94 RAF P 40N P40 N FX594 - Uk 95 SAAF P40 N-5 P40 N 5077 R 11 OTU Isipingo 24-3-44 96 SAAF P40 N-5 P40 N B 11 OTU 97 Italy P40 N-5 P40 N FT943 OK-R 450 RAAF F. Lt. Ray Goldberg Cutella Feb. 1944 98 Italy P40 N-5 P40 N FX515 OK-K 450 RAAF San Angelo May. 1944 99 Italy P40 N-20 P40 N FT928 OK-L 450 RAAF S/Ldr. Jack Doyle Cervia 1945 100 Italy P40 N-20 P40 N FX666 CV-Z 3 RAAF Squadron late 1944 101 Italy P40 N-20 P40 N FX660 CV-W 3 RAAF Squadron late 1944 102 RNZAF P40 N-20 P40 N NZ3253 T -29 4 FOTU 103 RNZAF P40 N-20 P40 N NZ3267 45 Ardmore 1945 104 RNZAF P40 N-25 P40 N NZ3283 Nil code 4 FOTU New Zealand 1945 105 RAAF P40 N-5 P40 N A29-531 2 OTU Oakey 1945 106 RAAF P40 N-20 P40 N A29-650 107 RAAF P40 N-40 P40 N A29-1208 3 AD Amberley 1945 108 RAAF P-40N-15 P40 N A29-558 HU-N Morotai ene-45 109 RAAF P-40N-35 P40 N A29-1005 GA-f 75 Squadron Circa abr-05 110 RAAF P-40N-30 P40 N A29-915 FA-diamont 82 Squadron F/Lt F,Schaaf Labuan sep-45 111 RAAF P-40N-40 P40 N A29-1140 SV-T 76 Squadron 1945. I was posting the building process here Here are the photos of the first P40 done. I hope you like it. 1) RAF Tomahawk I Tomahawk AH767 - 400 RCAF UK We estimated that this series will ocupied these 3 shelfs from our new display cabinet. Cheers Santiago

Just thought of something else I might have time to do. Probably not the Mistel itself as I suspect it would not be eligible (any thoughts @col?) though I believe 6 were built but never used in action, but if not the Ta-154 as a prototype has some appeal. The kit was originally issued in the 1980's as Pioneer 2, later PM, then Revell/Matchbox and finally it looks like the moulds were used by Airfix though that is not entirely certain on Scalemates. Anyhow, they issued the above in 2008. I can always build the 190 in the STGB next year. The kit itself is a bit of a dog judging by a build I saw earlier this year but without having to fiddle around with Flensburg aerials it might not be too bad. Anyway I already have a Pioneer original in my stash so plenty of scope there. The box art suggests that rather than the normal guided bomb version as in the normal Mistel with a Ju 88 lower component this might be a variation on the proposed "Pulk-Zerstorer" intended to explode amongst the USAAF formations over Germany. I will have to do a bit of research and see what I can come up with. More as and when. Pete

I phigured a phestive looking Phantom would be a phine way to phinish off the year! With only a month to go I’ll be pushing it to finish by the GB deadline, especially as I’m still working on my Meteor. But then I have time off over Christmas and new year so I’ll give it a go. I’ll be joining @Chrisj2003 in building a Fine Molds F-4EJ Kai. Which I’d actually started in the Turning Japanese GB, but barely got beyond painting some cockpit bits before I got waylaid by the flu and COVID (mild) and work and life and put it aside, so it’s well within the 25% limit. My Phantom will be finished in Double Excellent Model’s beautiful decal set for F-4EJ Kai 77-8399 in 302 Sqn’s black 2019 retirement scheme. These are beautiful looking decals, and a pretty funky looking special scheme. I reckon in its red and black and gold colours it has a bit of a festive feel about it, so an appropriate build for the festive season. Should be phun! Gerard

Hi folk's this has sat in the stash for ages so time the beast was set free,records galore and a few first's too.A simple kit with minimal parts but a few idea's to liven up the the painting in mind.box art for now spru shots ASAP.No drone version mind!

Can I join the Meteor madness with another night fighter, Special Hobby's 1/72 NF.14? This is a beautifully detailed little kit, but I can see from some of the build threads here that it's not without a few challenges, so I go in with eyes wide open, especially after my Special Hobby Boston/Havoc build earlier in the year. This doesn't seem as difficult a build, and by all reports Special Hobby kits keep getting better and better. Not sure what scheme mine will wear, but am leaning towards the French flight test bird, je pense. My F-15E for the F-15 STGB is nearly finished, so I'm looking forward to getting stuck in and joining the fray, it looks like another fun GB to be part of! Gerard

some 1/72 AFVs are escaped from its box, and running on my desk. May-2022 from left to right: GMC CCKW (Academy), Stug III Ausf.B (Trumpeter), STURMTIGER Early Prod. (Trumpeter), KV-85 (Trumpeter), FV4030-4 Challenger I (Trumpeter) A34 Comet Mk.1B (Vespid), T-55AM -w KMT-6 (Revell), T-10 Object 730 (Trumpeter), Merkava Mk.IIID (HobbyBoss), Flakpanzer VIII MAUS (Vespid) M4 Hi-speed Tractor(HobbyBoss), SA-6 Gainful (Trumpeter), Churchill Mk.III (Italeri), Sd.Kfz.184 Ferdinand (Trumpeter), Land-Wasser-Schlepper Early Prod. (HobbyBoss) Sd.Kfz.251_10 AAusf.D -w 37mm PaK (Red Dragon), M992A1 AFFSV (Riich), Pz.Kpfw.V Panther Ausf.G -w FG1250 (Vespid), Sd.Kfz.181 Pz.KpfwVI Ausf.E TIGER I -w zimmerit (Red Draogn), Panzerfahre (Red Dragon) Jun-2022 Sd.Kf.223 Leichte Panzerspahwagen x2 (Red Dragon), Neubau-Fagrzeug Nr.2 (Red Dragan), PLA ZTL-11 (Red Dragon) Soviet SS-23 Spider (HobbyBoss), Chieftain Mk. 5 (Takom), M1A1 -w Mine Blade (Trumpeter), PLA ZTZ-99A (Trumpeter), FV432 Mk.2_1 (Takom) Aug-2022 Scimitar Mk.2 (Ford), JGSDF 106SP x2 (Aoshima), PLA ZTQ15 (Meng), M103A2 (Red Dragon), MK-I Female (Master Box) Renault FT-17 x2 (Flyhawk), PLA ZTZ96B (Transform Colors), JGSDF Type 10 (Aoshima), Type 4 Ka-Tsu (Riich) D9R ARMORED BULLDOZER (Sabre model) Middle East 2DR -w ZPU-2 x2 (transform colors) M1114 HMMWV -w GPK (T-model) M1240A1 MRAP (Galaxy Hobby) Sd.Kfz.231 8-Rad -w 20mm KwK & MG34 (Red Dragon), JGSDF Type74 x2 (Fujimi), Pz.Kpfw II Ausf J VK.16.01 (Flyhawk), Sd.Kfz.7_2 37mm AA-Gun Flak36 (Orange Hobby) Sep-2022 20mm Flakvierling auf Fahrgestell (Vespid), T-54B (Takom), Pz.Kpfw.IV Aust.F Munitionsschlepper (HobbyBoss), LEOPARD 2A7 (Takom), T-14 Armata (Trumpeter) Oct-2022 Cute Tiger-I (YuFan Model) 1/16 Type 94 Tankette (Takom) Nov-2022 T-35 x2 (S-Model), Jadgpazner IV (Trumpeter), SU-152 x2 (S-Model) Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf.B x2 (S-Model), Vanatorul de Care R35 (S-Model), BMP-2 x2 (S-Model) Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.C x2 (S-Model), Somua S35 x2 (S-Model), Crusader Mk.I, III x2 (S-Model) M551 Sheridan (Early Prod) x2 (S-Model), BMD-1 x2 (S-Model), BRDM-2, BMP-1 (S-Model) SU-85 x2 (S-Model), Matilda II x2 (S-Model), BPR-60PB x2 (S-Model) 9P117 SS-1C Scud-B (R17 Elbrus) (HobbyBoss) Does your favorite AFV in here? you built similar AFV before? have cool camo / classic color scheme could suggest? you plan to build / buy same AFV too? Since I'm not a diehard fans of AFV / military stuffs, I just enjoy the mechanical aesthetic & camouflage of it, accuracy of the model kit is less important for me. So, if you have interesting story, history, hint / tip for any of them, please share your experience / builds with me, maybe, just maybe, I would shift the schedule and paint that one first. Also, i have a question. Which brand of 1/72 do you like? For those I have assembled, I prefer Takom > Vespid > Trumpeter > HobbyBoss > Airfix > Revell > Riich > Aoshima > Red Dragon > Hasegawa > Italeri. The rest of "monsters, i.e. trailer series" are locked firmly under my bed, can't get out. Sep-2022 began to let those "long" AFV out Dampflokomotive BR86 (HobbyBoss) Rail Transporter fur Karl-Gerat (HobbyBoss) Morser Karl-Gerat 040 (HobbyBoss) K5(E) Leopold (HobbyBoss) 1/150 SOYUZ (GoodSmile) JASDF 7t tractor & MIN-104F Patriot PAC-3 (Aoshima), MAZ-537G -w CHMZAP-5247G (Takom), FAUN SLT56 (Takom)

No, not that one, nor Ozzy, but this: flown by Hptm. Heinrich Prinz zu Sayn und Wittgenstein. AW

Hello all, here's a build log of Revell's reboxing of Cyber Hobby's much maligned Sea Vixen kit. It's one of the first kits I picked up on returning to the hobby, ticking the boxes of being a favourite aircraft in a modern tooling that by all accounts builds beautifully. Also, wanting to try as broad a range of of different manufacturers, the dragon/CH style was something I was keen to check out. Of course that was before I saw how unfavoured it was for its many accuracy issues; but undaunted, I thought I'd plough on regardless with my fingers in my ears and hopefully still achieve something totally OOB that looked sufficiently Sea Vixeny on the shelf, while having a lovely easy time doing it. That didn't quite go to plan however! Having a fondess for carrier borne FAA aircraft, I tend to build them wings up if I can. I shows off the uniquely naval character of the design, and has the added bonus of saving some of the the little space I have. That was the plan with this one until I acquired a copy of Airfix's 1/48 kit. That will certainly require a wings-up build, so for variety and to show of the the lovely profile of the type, I thought I'd instead build this one wings out, everything down in landing configuration. This gives me a lot more freedom to be very lazy on the internal detail! Of course it also means building the canopy closed which (as you can see from the box art) has a dodgy kink in it that I was hoping to hide by posing it open, but you can't win them all. Further to differentiate the two, I thought it would be nice to build one as a FAW1, which has nicer lines to my eye. The Revell kit is in a much better position to make this conversion, since the CH tool has the FAW1 wing boom shape moulded into the wings, with the FAW2 shoulder extensions added on an additional runner. There will of course be numerous other changes that need making, but I'm going to be lazy try not to make too big a deal about it. So we'll call it a FAW1.5. https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/2/6/8/1316268-12741-89-720.jpg I've actually been nibbling away at this one for months, a tiny bit at a time, but finally it's moved up on the build list to get a little more attention, so this first post will be something of a catch up. Apologies for the lack of pictures, I haven't really been documenting it much. Inital pokes at the cockpit showed it to be very much an abstraction of the real thing. One of the quirkier aspects of the aircraft is of course the side by side seating arrangement. The kit has no opening between the two, so I started by cutting out the gap between the detail. On breaking through to the other side, you realise that nothing really lines up. The seats too, are bizarrely way out of size (apparently 1/100 scale). It's probably a good thing that I changed my mind and decided not to pose the two cockpits open then. In the end I poked around with a knife, added a nice Barracuda resin Martin Baker seat for the pilot (in my stingyness, I decided to keep the 2nd one in the pack for a future build, since the observer side will be all but invisible), and ended up with this. You can see how out of size the kit seats are... The pilot's didn't even protrude above the fuselage. It's all going to be invisible, so I really haven't laboured the point much as you can see. It seems to have taken an aged to finally close up the fuselage. The main sticking points (aside from the above) have been the modification of the observer's cockpit bubble from FAW2 to FAW1 and the addition of nose weight. On the former, the bubble filed down fairly easily, but then came the decision on how to fill it. I was originally going to try with CA and talc, but then realised that clear runner included the hood for CH's FAW1 kit as well. However, this turns out to be a rather bizarre shape: A fair amount of modification of both the clear part and the fuselage yielded this: Now of course one only has to look at the real thing to see that this is off quite significantly, but seeing as there's a ridge to mark the window moulded into the part, it would require some delicate sanding an re-polishing to correct. So, in the spirit of not getting too bogged down, I left it there and blundered on. Masked and underpainted in black, hopefully the effort to fit the clear part will yield a slightly better look. The hole on the pilot's side has come back a bit to make space for the larger seat, but there's not whole lot of space under the hood. Incidentally, you can see some dimples around the area, which unusually mate up with stubs in the canopy pieces. Clearly, the model is not designed to have the cockpit posed open, despite being in two pieces. Now for noseweight. I am slightly tempted to leave it out entirely, since with a bit of stiffness in the lowered tailhook, I may be able to just let it flop into a 'just touched down' pose; but somehow I felt obliged to do my due dilligence. The instructions ask for an entirely unrealistic 25g in the nosecone, which filled with lead shot, can only hold 10g. I assume they mean total of 25g wherever you can fit it. In any case, once pointed out, I couldn't see past the rather dodgy kit nose shape. It's bit like Gandalf's in that respect! So out with an Aires quickboost replacement, and some rejigging of the calcs. The heavier resin nose doesn't help actually; since it only adds about 4.5g at the furthest point, where you might otherwise fit 10. A guestimate of the position of the (forward canted) rear wheels and some quick testing of how much lead split shot would fit into each cavity suggests that 25g in the nose equates to about 33g elsewhere: In the end, there's lead shot and PVA all under the cockpit, and up the rear firewall, and more to come in the cavity behind the nosecone. Given I've based my calcs on requiring all of the 25g in the nosecone (which seems basically impossible), I think that should probably be way more than enough. Famous last words! So there we are, fuselage and wings all buttoned up (the fit throughout has been really excellent actually) and various bits of grey and metallic painted in all the appropriate internal bits, hopefully we're not a million miles away from paint! Hopefully more progress in the not-too-distant future. Thanks for looking in! Please feel free to let me know what modifications to FAW1 or (relatively low effort) remedies to CH's errors that I have missed! Cheers, Andy

Hello all, My first Britmodeller WIP. It'll also be the first time I have photographed and talked about a build as I do it - so hopefully I'll learn a lot by doing so. You guys will be able to see what working full time and having to stay away 4 or so nights a week, along with having two young children, does to the pace of a build... I am building a Tamiya 1/72 Spitfire Vb, I know that the shape isn't perfect, but it'll be good enough for me, and I do like a Tamiya build. The reason for this - my great uncle died flying a Spitfire Vb over Sicily in early 1944. After training in Florida and the UK, he joined 87 Squadron in 1943, flying Hurricanes (occasionally I, but mostly IIc) He joined 87 while still in the UK, but shortly thereafter went to North Africa, where he saw quite a lot of action. In early 1944, while gradually re-equipping with Spitfires, the squadron moved to Sicily, although by then most of the fighting was over there. Sadly, my great uncle flew into terrain in poor weather, which feels like such a terrible waste. I will be replicating a Spitfire Vb that he had a dogfight in. I have the tail registration from his logbook, sadly that doesn't give me the large squadron code along the fuselage side, and I can't find any photographs of the airframe to confirm. I do know that the squadron code for 87 was LK, so I will use some artistic licence and use LK F - F for my eldest daughter. When I do the Arma Hobby Hurricane IIc trop, I will use LK A - with A for my youngest. They almost certainly won't match what was actually on the aircraft I'm modelling, but hey... I also will be using artistic licence, or a best guess at least, for the colour scheme. The squadron did start receiving the spitfires while still in North Africa. As my uncle died very shortly after arriving in Sicily, I will probably model the aircraft still in the brown desert camo and with the trop filter. While it's entirely possible they painted them quickly and got rid of the filters (albeit a slightly more involved job...) I figure this will add some interest, and compliment the Hurricane (definitely a trop and desert colours) when I get round to it. This may not be 100% correct, but I'm doing the build for very personal reasons and so will do as I fancy. The build will be mostly out of box, only exception being a Peewit canopy mask designed for a Kovozavody Prostejov kit, that may or may not fit. If not, I'll fashion my own. Additionally I will be using a combination of the kit decals, along with some Kits World decals to replicate the codes and registration. I shall probably commence tonight when the kids are in bed, but don't expect quick progress! Thank you for looking!

Hello all Since I got into scale modelling armour under lockdown Ive focused on mainly on WW2 armour and mainly British bar a panzer or two. One thing I love about the hobby is how it prompts me to learn more about the history. Interest in cold war tanks had been growing at the back of my mind because mainly after ww2 most countries didn't build their own tanks and certain tanks became ubiquitous and none more so than the T-54/55 or Type 59. Ive heard it called the Kalashnikov of tanks which is cool. The number of variants is also huge. 1/72 T-54 and T-55 tanks kept appearing (like magic ) in my stash so it was about time to forget about ww2 for a bit and build one. I choose to start on the Ammo by Mig T-54B kit, as I liked all the non-soviet decal options it comes with, in fact is has multiple options for north Vietnamese tanks which I think is great (the kit is themed for Vietnam). I took these pics a couple of weeks back and I'm largely finished the build but I thought the pics may be of interest. Up to now I've mainly been building older kits, this is my first recent mold/manufactured kit and Ive been surprised by some if its features. There are jigs for the tracks which are great, but what I appreciated even more is the fact there are jigs for the photoetch hopefully we will see more of that in kits that are becoming photoetch heavy. Actually having a metal thread/wire for the tow cable included is great too. Decal's have multiple North Vietnamese options as well as Egyptian/Syrian for the Arab/Isreali wars (I feel an Ace IDF Centurion vs a T-54/55 standoff coming on at some point) Cheers

Bonjour, tout d'abord, la justification ! J'avais commencé à construire un Airfix B17G au 1/72 en parallèle avec un modèle Revell. Ici vous pouvez le voir : La recherche de détails a peut-être émoussé mon mojo, pourtant je suis un peu fan de cet avion, dans le but de construire tous les modèles qui dorment dans mon stock (...beaucoup, c'est vrai ! ) Je détaillerai moins l'intérieur sur les prochains, d'autant plus qu'on ne voit pas grand chose quand le fuselage est fermé (refrain familier). Mais je veux le finir ! Voici la construction maintenant : Je peux dire que l'essentiel est fait, j'ai même riveté l'oiseau : Une des raisons pour lesquelles j'ai arrêté le projet était une profonde réflexion sur la présence du radar Mickey dans le boitier Airfix : Et si je construisais un vaisseau Mickey ? Je décore principalement mes B17 avec des couleurs 91BG ; J'ai fait quelques recherches et j'ai découvert qu'un 91BG B17G était un vaisseau mickey. Mais je l'ai déjà fait, sans le radar (je ne savais pas à l'époque !) (Tennessee Tess, indicatif d'appel radio 44-8357, B17G-70-VE) Sinon, j'ai plein de décos avec pin up pour B17G de 91eBG avec tourelle cheyenne PS : pour VP, j'ai les décos pour le fox et Happy Bottom du 381st. Un petit coup de pied pour m'aider ? Salutations, Eric-Snafu35

Forgive the photos, I decided on an RFI during a burst of unjustified self-confidence. The camera sees what the eye occludes, and I'm much less happy with it than I was before I studied the photos. Additionally, my Pixel 7's camera has been incredibly disappointing, possibly due to a poor choice of case. And my lightbox needs replacing, and I need new lights for it besides. But those are all excuses. In any case, I opted to build a Kittyhawk shortly after the death of J F Edwards, Canada's greatest and last remaining ace from the Second World War. DK Decals has a sheet with a Kittyhawk I purportedly flown by Edwards in June of 1942 during his time on 260 Squadron, though not the aircraft he flew when on 17 June 1942 he shot down and killed the experte Otto Schulz with a deflection shot of remarkable difficulty. The Special Hobby Kittyhawk Ia kit was my base, with the only cosmetic modification to make it a Kittyhawk I being to replace the later bulged 0.50 barrels with some brass rod of the appropriate size. Paints are the excellent Colourcoats for all but the cockpit interior (a Gunze mixture), the rubber of the tires (Tamiya), and the propeller blades and tips (Gunze again). Some Eduard etch was used, principally to irritate me, I think, which probably speaks volumes about how low diplomatic relations with my own psyche have sunk. Wildly discursive build thread here:

I am many things, but one of them is an avid traveler. I especially like visiting new countries (75 to date!), but obviously the pandemic has put a real damper on that. I came up with my big Hawker Hurricanes around the world project as a bit of way to "travel" the world from my basement. That project is roughly halfway done, and time to slowly start something else! Originally, I was going to do another single-type build, but somehow P-51s did not excite me quite as much as Hurricanes do, so I decide to diversify a little. So the "rules" of my project (which, of course, I may break) are to model versions of American World War II fighters that ended their service lives in the air forces of countries bordering the Caribbean: So, my plan at this point is to model: P-51D: Dominican Republic Haiti Guatemala Coast Rica P-38: Honduras Nicaragua P-47D: Venezuela Colombia Cuba Mexico El Salvador was nearly included, but it does not in fact border the Caribbean Sea, so it was out. Panama, Belize, Jamaica, etc. do not seem to have utilized any American WWII fighters, so unless I find out otherwise will not be included. Brazil may get a feature due to a kit bought in error, but we'll see what happens there... I have the decals in the mail (mostly from Aztec, but Airfix [for Dominican] and Blue Rider [for Costa Rica] are contributing as well) and the kits I have purchased so far are the Airfix F-51D (x2); Tamiya F-51D; Airfix Mustang Mk IV; Tamiya P-47D; Revell P-47M; and Academy P-47 (which is the mistake that could end up as Brazil). Actual work on these kits is likely not going to begin particularly soon, but we'll see what happens. All for now...

Hello all, This is my first GB participation, after having followed many interesting GB topics and speedy builds of other BM-ers. I will be joining with this kit, one of HobbyBoss' "easy-assembly" kits: Earlier this year, I build the same kit, in Cuban AF markings: Found it a pretty straightforward build, and I added some details along the way that I plan to repeat with this GB build. Not being a very quick builder myself, I should be able to complete this one in time for this GB. My plan is to build another Latin American P-38, this time a Honduras AF (in NMF), using these aftermarket items: The LF Models decals were in my stash for a while, but the Aztec Latin Warriors sheet appears to be more complete - more on that later, when the build starts ... The LF Models set also contains resin wheels and I have a ResKit set as well should this be needed, I will see what I will use. Looking forward to seeing a lot of interesting builds develop here!! Cheers, Patrick

Not realising the whole bunfight protocol our hero got stuck into a KP 1/72 DH5 as soon as he saw mention of a DH Cookup in one of Marko's threads (Sorry old fruit - promise it won't happen again) Anyway since the current Eindekker build was sitting in the cabinet waiting for paint to dry and I'm not getting any younger I cracked open the box and made a start. Overall impressions were pretty good initially. I've got a few of these KP boxes on the shelf and unlike some it doesn't have the prominent rib ridges that some have (For those of a certain age think the old Matchbox trench digger in reverse) The softish grey plastic is easy to work with even if many of the 'details' are rather heavy handed and needed refinement. First up though was sorting out the flying surfaces which needed a slight adjustment to outlines and a lot of sanding to get somewhere near acceptable thickness . . . . After much sanding (That well known village in the Cotswolds) we ended up with some useable parts that just needed the control surfaces removing and new control horns adding. The rather horrible looking cowls opening cowl was too small so needed enlarging as well as slots refining and new stiffeners added with 5though plastic card strips after everything was sanded (anyone spotted a theme here?) After that all the rigging holes were drilled and for once I managed to avoid breaking any 0.3 mm drills After a few evenings work I've now got a kit of parts that I'm reasonably happy with (Cowl stiffeners yet to be added in the above picture) Roden supplied a much nicer engine and wheels as well as a half decent Vickers (although it would be nice to have a Miniworld or Gaspatch one there are none easily available at the moment. If anyone has a spare laying around that they'd like to sell please get in touch) I added a few wrinkles to the fabric sides and new plastic tubular intakes. The prominent fuselage stitching is absent in the main and in it's place are a few more trenches ready to be filled Hey ho. Overall I really like the kit despite what I've said; it's an interesting prototype and would build into a sound looking DH5, but I just like to fiddle . . . . . Toodlepip Paul

Welcome all to my next WIP build, the new 1/72 Airfix Hawker Tempest. First impressions of this one are really good: there's a good amount of plastic in the box, a nicely detailed cockpit, nice clear instructions and two great looking schemes to choose from. Here's the obligatory box shot: This one will be mostly ootb, the cockpit is really closed off so won't add detail other than some foil seatbelts and think I'll use the kit markings to complete the version with yellow spinner and invasion stripes. I started with lots of dry fitting and found the thick trailing edges that others have commented on - why didn't they mould the flaps with the upper surface then have the join underneath? Anyway, I ground away some plastic on both upper and lower parts with my fake dremel tool then sanded the trailing edges until they were just going see through. I've now added the transparent bits, guns (drilled out too) and added the 0.6mm holes required for later. I glued the two halves together this evening and will see how it all looks before a bit of filling around the edges and more sanding away the TE if needed. The biggest modification I plan to make is to do a thorough riveting job on this little model as the larger scale versions I've seen look great with the extra detail. I'll do a bit of practice on an old paint mule and then get stuck in before gluing fuselage and wings together. Thanks for dropping in, more to come soon! Sam

As the WWII jets and rockets GB did not get through the bunfight I thought this might fit into this GB instead if I went for a prototype of either the B or C - I will decide which later. The kit comes with parts and markings for a production B-2 and C-2/3 but I can change them if needed. Pete

Hello everyone. 401th Tactical Airlift Squadron - Komaki Airbase 2020. With my other project progressing to the finishing line it’s time to start thinking about the next subject. Having come back from S.M.W. 2022 I now feel I’m in a better place, my head feeling more planted for the future modelling days. For a little while I’m going to juggling two models in a bid to maximise productivity. Thanks for looking.

The Avro 707 was designed as a one-third scale research aircraft to test the delta planform of the Avro Vulcan bomber. It first flew in September 1949 and commenced low-speed stability and control trials after being on static display at the Farnborough Air Display. After only a few flights, the prototype crashed on the 30th September. The longer fuselage 707B was next to fly followed by the 707A (two built) and then the two-seat 707C. Today both of the 707As and the 707C survive in museums. The Avro 707 family were originally produced as part of the Project-X range of vacforms in the 1990s and were subsequently re-issued with some additional parts by Whirlybird. In both cases the decals were mostly the Press-Fix type which have caused me many problems in the past as they tend to shrink and crack after a couple of years on the model. For this build I'll be doing all five of the 707s - one of the two 707As tested the extended/kinked wing as used on the Vulcan. I only managed to get one 707A kit but did get a second 707C which has the same vacform parts, except for the canopy, so will be using that. Some of the canopies have yellowed so I'll need to do something about them. The parts for the short-lived 707 prototype, The 707B The 707A with extra parts for the later wing The 707C The new decals I've drawn and printed with the kit decals below Cutting the vacform parts out shouldn't take very long and then I can get on with building. Steve

Hi folk's a bit of colour for such a dreary day,built for the prototype/special scheme GB a classic Red Arrows Hawk,thanks for looking in. Been a colourful GB for me so far with a few more planned.

Hi everyone, This is another model I am ashamed to still see on the shelf of so-called doom. Like the Etendard IV M of my other KUTA thread, it is very close to completion. A few photos to prove I sometimes tell the truth: Funny enough, and at the risk of repeating myself, I must be the only modeler in the known universe who did not find this kit a shake'n bake. Thanks for watching. JR

Next up from me will be this long term stash resident - Inside the flimsy box the majority of the kit is fibre glass With the rest injection moulded Should be fun..... Steve

This is a placeholder for my third FineMolds F-4 build. Its a reissue from last winter of three 1982 one-off schemes from the JASDF '82 ACM. Currently intending to do the scheme in the bottom image, unique for a F-4 its a navy blue underside, with loads of white stencils, with 3 shades of blue on the top, and then normally painted white and grey tanks (no other stores in the only photo I can find). Oh and weathering, those mid-blue diamonds on the top streaked into the pale blue. Will be OOB except for Quinta 3D cockpit and Master probe. Sprue shot when I start, after CF-104 and CF-116 builds done for Century Series and F-5 GBs. Chris

Well I threatened I might and indeed I have gone and got an Airfix meteor to go with the matchbox one. Most definitely a much more refined kit, but it’ll be interesting to see how the finished results compare. I shan’t bother with a sprue shot as many others already have. I haven’t decided on the scheme yet except I’m leaning towards camouflage not nmf, might even use the kit scheme or possibly an Israeli scheme to complement the NF.