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Good evening folks - so I have this: After nutting out how to use Alclad paints on my last build, (the P-47) I’m going on with another nmf with this one - this has been sitting in the stash for quite a while and now is the time. 😎 I love the vampire- I first saw it as a young boy at an air show in Ireland scorching across the sky. I remember thinking how jealous I was of the pilot - he was clearly having so much fun. That was an Irish Air Force one but this will be a vamp of my adopted home - the RNZAF. At our local Air Force museum they had this hanging off the roof in the foyer: So I’ll be having a crack at building this particular aircraft. I’ve got these to help: Some eduard pe cockpit details, some canopy masks and some decals from a local supplier here in nz who specialises in RNZAF... A look at the sprues: They don’t look too bad considering the age of the kit. I’m planning to rivet the wings to add more texture - technically not necessary as these were hardly visible but I think they’ll add to the finish. The whole kit is just 2 sprues plus these clear parts and this is the old girl in the glory days: I got a better pic somewhere but you can hopefully make out the colours and tones - I won’t be going crazy with weathering on this one but I do want to portray a working airplane - not the museum piece she later became. So references will come from old vampire photos supplemented by the refurbished version images from the museum. She will start out shiny and I’ll work back to a duller silver. That’s the plan. Work on the cockpit will start soon! Cheers John

Hi Guys I'm hoping you can help me, I'm after details on the BF 109 Night Fighter variant. In particular what did the Luftwafe do to make this a night fighter specific plane. All I can find is that it had a bubble on the underside of the fueselage used as a homing device. I have seen conversion kits metioned but can't find any detail on what is included in the conversion kit. It looks like its just decals. I'm really keen to build one of these so looking for the correct details on the original. At the moment it looks like ICM only manufacture a Night Fighter specific kit. So if there is only the bubble and decals I can broaden my options. TIA.

Hi all I hope this is not too cheeky as it was built as part of the Fabulous Frog Group Build. There have been may beautiful kits built in that group build. I am very pleased and proud of this build. I hope the GB mods and participants don't mind. The Cockpit is pretty much scratch built as there is not much in the kit and there are the radio sets in the rear although they can't be seen when assembled . The seat is part of an Airwaves Photo etch set for Spitfire and hurricanes and therefore is not correct but it was all I could find at the time. IP is scratch built as is the floors, side frames, rear seats etc. The raised panel lines were scraped off and rescribed leaving the lovely rivet details . The engine was replaced by an Aeroclub AW Tiger engine in white metal and the moulded pushrod tubes were scraped off and replaced with brass rod. The Aeroclub engine comes with a lovely exhaust collector ring and propeller and so the kit exhausts were cut and bent to connect to it. The kit was missing a couple of struts, one of which was scratched and the other was built from one of the Float struts was used with some modification. Various parts such as hinge covers for the ailerons were made along with their actuators and the elevator actuators were also made. Rigging is from Invisible thread along with the aerial wires. the Vickers K gun is a lovely bit of kit from Miniworld . Navigation lights were made from Lazer bond UV glue and plastrut and the bomb rack mounts were made from the an Airwaves PE fret inserted into holes drilled in the wing and then CA'd into place. There are other bits I have forgotten to mention I'm sure. The initial decals failed me and a new set was kindly sent by @PeterB and they went down effortlessly again a real testament to Frog, thanks Pete. Also a big thank you the Moderators on the forum @Rabbit Leader and @JOCKNEY and to all who have offered encouragement along the way. I hope they don't mind me posting this here, but I am very proud of this kit. There are many kits built in the GB and they are all wonderful and there are loads of kits that I had not realized Frog had made, check them out you will be amazed at the beautiful results. I have really enjoyed making this and the Kit actually fitted together beautifully and is a testament to the wonderful world of Frog Kits. Thanks for looking in All the best Chris

Hi all, this was my entry to the Sharkmouths groupbuild, the build thread is here: I very rarely build in this scale but this was one of the nicest kits I've ever used. The fit, detail and decals were all excellent and I couldn't recommend it more. This is also the third helicopter I've built this year, they're great subjects! 😀 All the best, Alan

So this build was more emotional than trying to make a great model. I even remember a little squabble with my older brother over this kit as kids. Back in the early 80s this was the second kit I ever built. Revisiting this kit now I just wanted to do a decent job of building it again the way the younger me could not. I tried my best to stay true to a straight OOB build including the decals. The underside of the fuselage however is just too bare and I added bits and bobs from the spares box - mainly leftovers from Airfix and Italeri SHAR builds. Enjoy and comments are always welcome Paints are all Tamiya. I also took a picture of it next to my last Airfix SHAR build to compare experimenting with Tamiya field blue for this build vs gunship grey used on the Airfix. I added the Aden gun pods (Airfix) from the spares box as the underside was too bare and the strakes made it look more so. And one with the Airfix Thank you for looking

First attempt at 1/72 in 20 years. All comments welcome As ever all comments welcome Sweaty

I am slowly working through my shelf of doom, finishing some kits that should have been binned. This was originaly built in the 70’s by my brother. I got it when he was going to throw it out. It had a fuselage, wings, and a propless spinner, only slightly less than the kit originaly had..... Over the years, I opened up the undercarriage bays, gave it an Aeroclub prop, vacuform canopy of unknown provenance, undercarriage, tailplanes and enlarged radiators from the Spitfire spares box. Highly inaccurate cannon barrels are turned brass by me. Now, if you wanted to do PK312 as it was originaly built, it would be far easier to start with a later F22 kit and swap an earlier tail on it. I have finished it and posted it because, well, not a kit many people are dumb enough to build, and I never give up on anything.....

Back from a couple of months away from home I am itching to get back to the bench and have chosen this as my next build: I’m going to build it as the BAe demonstrator G-VTOL using the Vingtor decal sheet. A look at the contents: Parts are usual short-run fare, thick and fairly soft plastic, a little flash, large spruce gates and some massive ejector pins that will need to be ground off. Detail is lightly moulded so some rescribing after filling and sanding of joints will likely be required. You get a resin part for the air brake interior and a fret of PE details mostly for the cockpit. I also have a master pitot. I have given the parts a good wash and am now cleaning them up before commencing work in earnest. Unfortunately real life commitments and ferrying my mother to and from medical appointments mean that progress on this build is likely to be slow but I will put up updates from time to time. AW

Finally this is off the shelf of doom. This was a nightmare kit - I really love the AZ Model 109s and I really enjoyed the G2 (can be seen alongside in the photos) I made previously but this G-6AS kit has serious fit issues. They can be semi-resolved by following this thread: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235010494-az-model-109-g-6as-fit-problems/ The fit issues had knock on effects joining the fuselage and wings together. Then the canopy wouldn't fit without some surgery and a lot of putty. Then I lost the cowling machine guns as they are tiny so had to buy metal replacements Painting was laborious due to me choosing the complex box art scheme My mistake - the red stripe is too dark due to not using white as a primer which makes the "2" seem a bit bright now. So close to ditching this one! But at least its done and I didn't hurl it in the bin....so this an aircraft flown by Friedrich-Karl Muller August 1944 of 1./NJGr.10 according to the box:

The other aircraft (and the only other suitable for this GB) I will attempt is this Ar-196 from the dual boxing with a Sea Gladiator by Sword. Again OOB with stuff like seatbelts and rigging added.

Whetting you whistles with this Matchbox Lightning. . . . that I'm planning to corrupt. Here are the parts. Leftover decals from my recent Revell build. I won't be using the kit decals This kit was from a colleague, he's just lost his father, for whom I had built some model Meteors, Harvards, and a Defiant. This kit and a Revell Lightning were in his effects. I'm thinking of you John.

Hello It's really a long time I haven't entered in a group build here. This time I have chosen an early F-4E in Israeli Defense Force in 1973. To build this aircraft I have selected in my stash the Revell F-4F which has nearly everything to make a Kurnass (Sledgehammer). Actually, I had to take from a Fujimi kit the sloted stabilators as the F-4F did not have those. Here is the box art and first pictures of the build will follow soon. Cheers. Patrick

My plan for this GB is to build 2 Phantoms, as the plan is build them alongside each other, I propose to document the build in a single WIP. (Hope this OK) My inspiration for these builds is the Aviation Workshop Publication 'HMS Ark Royal (Fifty Years of Flight 1955-2005). The two kits I am using for this are Airfix's 1/72 Phantom FG.1 and Hasegawa 1/72 F-4B/N. The Aifix Phantom will be completed wearing the colours of 892 Squadron. The Hasegawa will be completed at an aircraft of VMFA-531 Sporting 892 Omega emblem. Profile below.

Hundreds of T-40 amphibious tank were used in the first period of soviet-german war. Some of them survived to the end of the WWII and were used primary for reconnaissance missions. Lack of radio made it tricky to deliver discovered information. A very simple but still nice kit from S-Model. The weakest part of it is the one-piece chassis with tracks. I've replaced the kit's headlights with the ones from ELF BELARUS. I apologize for the quality of the photos taken with my old camera. And you can see how small it was compared to Sherman in the same scale. Best regards.

So I can’t find the clear sprue for my Airfix E-4. I hear the ICM E-3 and E-4 kits contain the same plastic and each have canopies for both versions. The cunning plan is therefore to purchase an ICM E-3 kit and use the E-4 canopy for the canopy-less Airfix. The silly question is thus: would it fit? Anyone tried already? Of course, I could just buy a vacuuformed replacement for £2, but where is the fun in that? And Hannants (where I do almost all toyshopping) have 0 of those in stock, which must be a sign.

I love all of the century series fighters - but If I had to choose only one, it would be Starfighter. I recently built three different models of the Starfighter - not only different versions, but also different model brands. The models are as follow: Italeri 1/72 F-104C Starfighter (No. 1359) [Based on old Esci F-104 from early '80s] Revell 1/72 F-104G Starfighter (No. 03904) [Revell new tool 1995] Hasegawa 1/72 F-104S Starfighter (No. 00447) [Hasegawa new tool 1989] I can't really say about model accuracy but ALL are good models to build with different strengths & weaknesses - and honestly they are pretty even. For example Revell has the most details (by a small margin) - but the details are also bit soft compared to Hasegawa. Panel lines are crispiest in Italeri and it has the most detailed wings - but it has no details in the wheel wells and generally is the least detailed overall. Hasegawa cockpit can be opened and is the most versatile kit with general good quality feel to it all around. They are all in the same ball park - but if I had to choose one - it would be Hasegawa. All painted with Vallejo paints (except silver with Tamiya spray can). Dirtying up using oil paints (panel line wash) & Vallejo weathering effects. Comments & constructive criticism welcomed. Hope you like 'em! From left to right: Italeri F-104C, Revell F-104G and Hasegawa F-104S.

... not the new one, sorry This is the 1989 version of Airfix Buccaneer in 1/72 painted in the Gulf War scheme. Spiced up with few extra parts - such as resin nose & tail, etch details in the cockpit & air brake. Making the airbrakes open up was bit fiddly as they clearly weren't meant to be displayed open. But I think I got it figured out eventually. Painted with Vallejo paints using brushes. Dirtying up using Tamiya panel liners & pigments. Model was bit on the more challenging side to build, it felt like older kit than -89. Most of the plastic was pretty soft & clunky but I'm pretty happy with the results. Hope you like it - feel free to comment & post constructive criticism.

To improve my skills I purchased this inexpensive Academy Hellcat kit. It is my first ever 1/72 scale kit and I was pleasantly surprised by the detail. I put my Spitfire builds on hold, and worked solely on the Hellcat, which has become my first completed build in over 15 years. I tested new paints, weathering pastels/enamels, decal solutions and glues. It was a great learning experience and I enjoyed every step of the way. Thanks to everyone here for answering my Hellcat specific questions. Feel free to comment (I am anticipating dings for too much weathering!). I will take it as constructive criticism. I have 4 more Hellcat models on standby and want to improve my skills. It is 'out of the box' and what I would call a 'what if', in the sense that I didn't try to copy any known existing Hellcat (as far as markings). One last note - I got very lucky with my photos. Up until last week my pictures were terrible, but somehow, moving my spray booth (which also serves as my light box) to another location corrected lighting issues and I am very pleased with the results. The bottom 4 pictures were taken with my new macro lens, and you can see some difference in the levels.

While I toiled away on my Sword Harrier 2 seater I decided to build something straightforward that actually had parts that fit, as both a mojo restorer and for some airbrush practice. I had bought this Hasegawa Wildcat some years ago at a show, it was second hand but I started, complete but bagged not in a box. Any way the build went together without any issues, out of the box other than some plastcard bulkheads to close off the vacant space in the wheel well. Decals are from Superscale set 72-287 and represent one of the aircraft of VMF-121 flown by ranking Marine ace Joe Foss ( although Boyington was credited with more victories a number of these were with the AVG in Burma before the US entry into the war) on Guadalcanal in October 1942. Painted mainly with Hataka acrylics and weathered with a light misting of light grey wash to simulate the fading that was so apparent on Guadalcanal aircraft, and some staining with black and umber washes and a spray of a Tamiya smoke. I am pretty happy with how it turned out, although I notice that the aerial wire (Uschi Rig that Thing) has lost some of its tension overnight. Enough blabber, here she is: Thanks for looking AW

Airfix 1/72 BE2c and Skunkworks 1/72 MQ-9 Reaper, both in 39 Squadron RAF markings. The BE2c is as flown by William Leefe Robinson VC in 1916 when 39 RFC were a home defence squadron, and the MQ-9 is as flown by 39 Squadron currently, also from the UK, but with a very different mandate. The Reaper is surprisingly massive. The MQ-9 isn't my best work - the lack of interior means it really goes together quickly. A little too quickly in fact and it's a bit of a mess. Luckily, there are two kits in the box, so I'll crack on with the other at some point. The BE2c is a very complicated kit for it's size IMO. My first attempt at rigging a biplane and second attempt at a WW1 aircraft. I'd give it another go though. The rigging is Uschi van der Rosten Rig That Thing Superfine, and is held on with superglue and swear words. Both brush painted with a combination of Tamiya, Gunze and Humbrol colours. Thanks for looking. Spasmo.

Not as good as the academy kit but the Hasegawa Mig-23 kit does build fast. That said, I always get thrown off by kits that are a mix of raised and engraved panel lines because it makes it a little more challenging for me to make the paint job more interesting, especially since I was going for a Tipnis Grey finish. This was a straight OOB build. I broke the pitot tube early in the process and when I couldn't get a metallic pin to stick as a replacement, I fashioned a new one from my spares box. - I believe an old matchbox SHAR pitot tube. All colors are Tamiya. I used Sky Grey (XF19) for Tipnis Grey and gave it a black wash before sealing. The decals are mostly from the Hi Decal sheet for the MiG-23BN as I assumed they will be fairly similar. The Serial numbers are Berna Decals. I chose SK434 as it is still around as an attraction at the Indian Air Force Museum in Delhi. I hope you like this build. Comments are always welcome - thx for looking!

Does anyone out there know from where these can be sourced? I know they are produced in Ecuador but I can't find any reference on line other than Scalemates. I have found Hobby Cuenca in Ecuador but they are out of stock! any ideas? @RAGATIGER @Luiz @Ignacio Others? Thanks, Martin

My next build is the Hobby Boss "Easy Assembly" P-40M, which will be a Burma Banshee. I'm waiting for my AK Interactive paint to cure on my F-80C so I thought I'd start something else. I need to whittle down the stash. I'm trying to achieve equilibrium (that is 1:1 build to buy ratio) so I wanted to start something that wouldn't take a long time. The kit is relatively straightforward, the paint scheme is basic, and I have all the paints on my bench -- so... Hat trick! Plus, I've had P-40s on the brain lately. I decided to do the Burma Banshees because the first model I finished by myself was this old snap tite gem: It's still at my parent's house and I have a warm spot in my heart for it, so I thought I'd make another one! I sourced these decals: I have a love/hate relationship with the Hobby Boss easy assembly line. The outer detail is usually pretty good, the inner detail can be really bad, the fit can be good or bad depending on the kit. But, in many cases, they do subjects that are not readily available from another kit maker. In this case, it was this kit or the Academy kit, and when I looked at the atrocious shape issues on the Academy kit, this was definitely the winner for me! Every HB easy assembly seems to have one major flaw and in this case, it is the insert that allows them to box either an "N" or "M" model with the same sprues. I thought I'd sand the bottom of it to drop it down, but luckily I dry-fit it and found that the canopy would hold it in place, so any sanding on the bottom would just make a bigger gap. So I had to sand down from the top. I cut off the antenna mast (to be reattached later) and sanded away. Once I had it roughly where I wanted it, I worked on the cockpit. A little paint, silver dry brushing and oil wash later: I had to mask the canopy, which took hours, because I couldn't find a way to attach it after the insert was in place, so it would need to be all attached in one piece. I put the piece in place and used a LOT of CA to fill in the gaps I sanded away, and then rescribed all the detail I wiped out. The wing assembly snapped very securely into place; I wouldn't be able to get it off, so thankfully I didn't try dry-fitting it beforehand. The gaps were pretty bad and took quite a bit of CA, and a little putty in places. When all was said and done, it was about 3 hours work after finishing the cockpit. I have some rescribing to do, but it will have to wait as I am out of town for the weekend. On the whole this really wasn't that much more work than the Hasagawa F-18 I built. It may not look like it, but those seams are very smooth.

F-80C Shooting Star 16th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing, USAF Suwon Air Base, Korea, 1951 | United States Here is yet another "Saggin' Dragon" Airfix build. This is the old Airfix kit that has been done by so many. I finished this on September 6th, 2019. It was completely OOB except for some scratch-built additions to the seat (which can't be seen now because the opening for the cockpit is so small... ). This kit was OK. It has extremely fine raised detail which looks nice; I know many have rescribed the panel lines, but I've found that with raised detail and NMF the eye is often tricked to make it look like they're engraved, plus they're so fine I decided "Why bother?". This was my first attempt using AK Interactive's Extreme metal line and I was generally very impressed. With these paints I was able to finally achieve the look of "Shiny-but-not-mirror-like", which I have been unable to do with Alclad. Not that these will replace Alclad for me -- they will just supplement it. The Extreme metal paints are easy to use and pretty much impervious to masking, but wear off very easily with handling, so I had to do a few touch ups (Which, luckily is extremely easy). WIP is here. Finishing: Seams filled with CA (superglue) and Apoxie Sculpt epoxy putty Paints: Mr. Surfacer 1500 Gray primer > Decanted Tamiya Black Gloss Spray > AK Interactive Polished Aluminum with some panels painted with AK Interactive Aluminum > Another coat of AK Polished Aluminum to tone down the contrast between the panels > selected post shading with Alclad Magnisium > Testors Model Master Olive Drab for the anti-glare > Testors zinc chromate for the wheel wells > Decanted Tamiya Silver Leaf spray for the landing gears > Tamiya acrylic NATO Black for the tires > Testors metalizer sealer for sealing in the decals Decals: Kit decals Weathering/Wear: Oil wash on the landing gears, thinned watercolor and Tamiya pastels for various dirt and oil streaks And my scratch-building -- Arm-rests and Ejection handles on the seat: Build Notes: Many people rave about this kit, but I found it to be just "OK". Getting the Air Intake pieces to look right took a lot of sanding, but otherwise everything fit together reasonably well with a minimum of seam work. The seams on the bottom were pretty big, but at least they were even (that is, no step between the pieces) so they were easy to fill and finish. The red and white on the decal sheet were a fraction off-register from each other. Thanks for looking! Comments, Questions and Constructive Criticism always welcome!

Ok, so in a few weeks im going to start the Heller 1/72 C-121A and I was wondering if anyone had any advice: especially on the windows down the fuselage and how to attach them and whether i need to create my own cabin detail. Is there anything I must know about this kit?