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Just realised I've failed to post my build from 2020 of the old Revell 1:32 He 111 P-1. There's no build doc unfortunately but thanks for looking. I've painted it in the kit given KG54 Totenkopf-Geschwader and imagined it having just landed from a bombing raid over England in 1940 and waiting for a reload and a refuel. Not much time for cleaning down so it's a tad mucky. I've used the Eduard interior and exterior PE kits and HGW seatbelts as well as the Profimodeller oxygen system (never again!) Many thanks for having a peek.

It's been a while since the last post I made on the workshop but I finally managed to complete the model of the Fiat CR.42 "Falco" and presents the machine CR. 42 Falco, 83 So., 18 Gruppo, 56 Stormo C.T., Ursel, Belgium, November 1940.I added extras from EDUARD, YAHU MODELS and CMK to the model. I also did the riveting based on the drawings posted in KAGERO. Enjoy watching. You can also see something in the cabin. A close-up of the engine. And a close-up of the riveting.

LUBLIN R.XIII D 1:32 LUKGRAPH It was supposed to be from FLY both "Tunnan" but life has verified the plans as always. As a tribute to the fallen crew there is Lublin R.XIII D in 1:32 from LUKGRAPH. The model will be built in the colours of the 1st Platoon 26 EO (observation squadron) of the 2nd Air Regiment Cracow. The probable designation of the aeroplane is the letter E on the fuselage, the military number of the aeroplane is 56-126 and the under wing number is 16 K. The crew consisted of Lt. obs. Leon Wrzeszcz and Staff Sergeant Pilot Adam Baran. On 1.09.1039 the aircraft was shot down by ground fire and crashed in the village of Piasek near Strzebinia / Lubliniec, the crew died. The deadline for making the model is very short, because I want to make it in time for the unveiling of the newly-made memorial at the site of the plane crash. So much for the story, and now for the model; in the box we have everything we need to build it. From the extras there is an instrument panel available for it in the company YAHU MODELS YMA3231, which I will use in the model. Thanks to the companies LUKGRAPH and YAHU MODELS for their help. ps. There will be a little surprise in the next post.

Hi all, I've finally finished replicating the only existing Ho-229 V3 in the world that was previously being restored at Smithsonian museum and I'm quite happy with what I ended up with. The reference photo I used from Smithsonian air-space magazine is here:

Hello fellow friends from britmodeller! It's my first time ever posting here and I'm planning on building a Ho-229 by Zoukei Mura as a start. These late ww2 doomsday wunderwaffes wielded by the axis never cease to fascinate me. Maybe it's true that they were rushed by the desperate engineers who attempted a last ditch effort at turning the tide of the war, that they either came too late to do anything useful or cost questionable amount of resources, but the concepts behind them are still quite imaginative even in today's standards. I'm planning on making this post as episode one of my wunderwaffe series including stuff like V2, Ho-229, Me-163, Me-262, Mammut tank, Kikka and more, starting from Ho-229 for its appearance in Wolfenstein: The New Order. Now that the kit has finally been restocked thanks to Volks USA, I grabbed two of them as soon as I can while they're still there. My plan is to build a heavily weathered Ho-229 like the one being restored in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum because... I love chipping paint with hair gel. So here we are, admiring the box art of a Ho-229 that just scored a Lancaster kill in an interception: (Let's just ignore my messy workbench for once) Interestingly enough, the box is a hybrid of top opener and side opener. Something I've only seen in Zvezda kits. Instruction manuals from Zoukei Mura are really something else. Having this Bauanleitung laid on my workbench really makes me feel like a German aviation engineer in late April 1945, wondering how to get my job done while being bombarded by both B-17s during the day and Lancasters at night. It's by far the most comprehensive, detailed, unambiguous instruction I've ever seen in my short model life... Or am I not supposed to disclose this STRENG GEHEIM Nur Für den Dienstgebrauch material here? Maybe I should remove this post before any Gestapos show up? Since it's easy to find out-of-the-box sprue reviews and build reviews for this kit pretty much everywhere now, I won't be posting photos of all the sprues in the box. I'll show them when this build unfolds, of course.

Well this will be something very different and an extended WIP... The kit is the latest creation from Flying Start Models, AKA Tim Perry. It truly is a work of art as is reflected in the price😬, but where else are you going to find a 1:32 Mk3?😉 I'm sure this kit will be of interest to anyone who came through the ATC(Air Cadet) system in the 50s-80s and will bring back many memories! I first bumped into Tim at 621 VGS based at Hullavington at the time. I'm a member of the Historic Flight and we have a fleet of ex ATC gliders ranging from a Grasshopper through the Mk3, Sedbergh, Prefect, Swallow and a Clockwork Mouse, the Venture! Tim arrived for a flight on his motorbike and as I was there with mine too we immediately got into conversation. I took some pics of his flight in the Mk3(AKA Slingsby T.31) and things progressed from there via Facebook. Fast forward a few years and he announced he was making a kit of the Mk3, and not just any Mk3, but our aircraft😍. So of course I had to have one... It took until march to come onto the market but it's available now: http://flyingstartmodels.com/Flying-Start-Models-Collection.html Tim is actually improving things all the time and a new tailplane and harness set are now available and the latest version of the instructions/paint schemes are currently being updated as I write. The kit is available with decals to enable you to model ANY of the aircraft that were produced for the ATC, so you can make your very own personalised version😀, with colour charts for the old silver and yellow training scheme and the later red/white/black colours. If you click on the link above you'll find a link in the text to download the instructions including the colour options. The main 'problem' wit this kit is that it's in resin not 'plastic' however Tim has done his absolute best to make everything fit perfectly and look as close to the original as possible. All parts come still attached to the 3D printing webs which resemble the scaffolding for a roller coaster! The amount of work to get all this to work is mind boggling... The instructions include comprehensive hints and tips for those of us who've never built a resin kit before, so don't feel too intimidated. You DO have to be very careful though as the resin is extremely brittle, but Tim assures me that if you break anything he'll replace it. Anyway, enough rambling and to work... The kit comes in a surprisingly small but perfectly packed flip top cardboard box with plenty of bubble wrap. I started with the fuselage which comes as previously described with its own rollercoaster frame which has to be clipped away bit by bit. Very sharp nippers are a must and leaving a little nub on the surface of the model seems to work best rather than cutting right down to the skin so to speak. The frame is 3D unlike a 'normal' sprue which is basically flat so this requires a bit of thinking as to where to start and which bits to cut next, but you'll get the hang of it😉 Actually the first bit of modelling starts with the cockpit. This is basically the same principle as any aircraft model; You start with the cockpit floor and work up. Individual parts for the seat bases, sticks, bulkheads, seat straps, and instrument panels are provided. There are even instrument(such as they are in a Mk3😁) decals and cockpit placards! The decals seem of extremely good quality. I'm still getting the hang of superglue and I suspect I need to invest in some proper modelling stuff rather than the stuff you buy in the DIY shop; It's all a steep learning curve for me! I managed to snap off the joining bar between the front rudder pedals bit got them to stick in the right position anyway🙄

My first visit to the realm of 32nd scale. W.Nr.334186 possibly from Kg(J)6 found belly landed by US troops in March 1945, the photo is highly contrasted and colour assumptions could be made but the paint scheme is similar to other late build 334### aircraft. The build was good and any issues were my own, I couldnt get the cowlings to fit well but have seen others manage it. It's not an award winner but looks great in the cabinet. Quick boost Spinner for the hasegawa kit was used and is a must imo, as the kit spinner is strangely blunt shaped. The fit on the kits prop base is perfect but the blades needed shaving down to fit the correct key hole shapes in the QB spinner, Painted in a mix of SMS, Aqueous, AK real color, AK xtreme metals, Tamiya, Vallejo, and even some Citidel in there... Markings are painted using Montex masks and stencils are kit decals. Weathered with a mix of Enamels, oils and AK weathering pencils. The photos are the best I can manage though. Cheers

Another kit completed, I pre-ordered this one as soon as it was announced because I wanted to get my hands on it. The Jaguar 420 seems like an odd subject for a kit, being a short-lived four-door saloon. That said, Airfix did a very good job of capturing the car's shape and details, even the leaping cat bonnet mascot is quite well reproduced. What was less good was the amount of flash and sink marks that needed addressing, particularly sink marks around the headlamps. I added some basic door cards to the interior as this, like many Airfix closed cars, doesn't have any detail for the insides of the doors. This isn't really visible on the finished model but at least I know it's there. I've also replaced the kit side windows with some thinner clear plastic for the quarterlights and left out the door windows entirely to provide a slightly better view of the interior. It's a pity you can't see more of the interior as the seats, dashboard and steering wheel are quite nicely reproduced. I was inspired by the box art, and the sighting of a similar real 420, to go for metallic gold, something close to Jaguar's Golden Sand. The interior is supposed to be Oxblood, this was mixed by eye mostly using Tamiya NATO brown with a bit of white and red. The dashboard was painted various tans and browns before getting an orange clear coat. There's a reasonable representation of the 4.2-litre Jaguar XK straight six under the bonnet. If you wanted, you could go to town adding all the extra reservoirs, wiring and plumbing that the kit lacks. It's also worth noting that as far as I can tell the inner wings are nothing like the ones on the real car. The underside looks pretty realistic. It's a bit of a shame that the rear suspension isn't assembled as a complete unit (as it would be in reality) before mounting to the body as it's quite difficult to get the springs located correctly. Whoever designed the front suspension is a complete sadist as the steering linkage attaches to the chassis under the front crossmember but above (from this perspective) the anti-roll bar, so has to go on after the crossmember and ARB assembly. If I did this kit again I'd probably modify the scuttle ventilation flap so that it was in the closed position, change the windscreen wipers and maybe even the windscreen glazing itself. The tyres are painted Tamiya NATO black, which I think gives a nice, realistic colour.

This is an extended set of photos from the Matchbox 50th anniversary group build. I'd have preferred one of the other car subjects, but it was one of the last car kits that no-one had picked and I wanted to help fill out the range of kits built. The kit I had came from eBay and the multi-part body was partially assembled (wonky but I managed to mostly correct it). The decal sheet was absent but I bought a decal sheet from Indycals in the USA, these weren't an exact match for the originals as I think they were scaled down from decals to fit a kit of a slightly different 935. You can (or, at least, I can) spot where some splicing was required and places where the decal didn't quite want to go where I wanted it. The kit itself is very nicely moulded with no flash and what seems like a good level of detail. Fit was quite good although some holes needed opening up and the mating surfaces for parts could be very small. Probably the worst part to build was the front suspension, which is very fine and very fiddly. Anyway, here are the pictures: Tyre lettering was picked out first in white paint, then with matt yellow. The side stripes are made of three separate pieces, this side was the second one I did and turned out slightly better as a result. I found some Humbrol number 15 Midnight Blue as a good match for the Martini dark blue. This was used on the wheels, headlamp surrounds, wing end plates (the original kit decals included the background, but the replacements do not) and even touched up a few gaps in the decals. The multi-part body caused some problems with bits breaking off, you can see one of the cracks here. This is probably the best view of the modification made to the stripes to fit the NACA ducts. The engine looks a little crude here but could probably be detailed up. The engine looks a bit better from underneath, I added the ribbing to the transaxle as I didn't like the look of the plain moulding. I'm pleased that at least one of the exhaust pipes lines up, the other (wastgate?) pipe was a nightmare that only fitted where it touched a couple of other parts. It would probably be better to cut out the tail pipes from the bumper and fit some tubes to the ends of the exhaust system. You can't see much of the interior as it's mostly black, but I went for Tamiya NATO black for the seat to provide a little variety, a touch of light brown for the gear lever knob. It looks like the clear coat reacted with the decals slightly but only at the top of the bonnet/boot lid. Despite the issues, it has to be said that this built up into quite a satisfying little model.

I have to brag because I have still new from FLY 32022 - SAAB J 29 F "Tunnan" in 1:32 scale. FLY has released "Tunnan" in B and F versions and I managed to get both of them and both will be shown here. For this model FLY has also released masks to paint cabins (artm32011) and wheels (artm32014) which I also have. This is a quick in-box of the kit. I will do rest of in-boox pictures as soon as I have some time.

I have to brag because I still have a brand new 1:32 scale SAAB J 29 B "Tunnan" from FLY 32023. FLY has released "Tunnan" in B and F versions and I managed to get both of them and both will be shown here. For this model FLY has also released masks to paint cabins (artm32011) and wheels (artm32014) which I also have. This is a quick in-box of the kit. I will do rest of in-boox pictures as soon as I have some time.

I think this is the final Matchbox car kit missing from @Rabbit Leader's build list PK-308 Porsche 935, which is in Martini colours as raced at Watkins Glen in 1976 (according to the kit packaging). It was bought on eBay on Monday evening, so I'm impressed that it arrived so quickly. It's been part started but I think it falls well under the 25% completed rule. It also needs decals as these are completely absent. On the white paper and cutting mat is everything that came in the box. This is what arrived assembled. The body shell had a slight twist when it arrived, but I soaked the shell in warm water and think I've managed to straighten it out. The parts of the body seem correctly aligned so I don't think it was an assembly error. The body needs a few more panels adding but the good thing is that it can all be assembled as a unit before being joined to the interior/floor assembly. I think the first step will be to finish assembling the body, then get it primed and painted. I don't build many competition cars, so I'm a bit nervous about this.

Hello! Here is another model that landed in my workshop, the first one because in such a large for me scale 1:32. And the hero that landed in the workshop is Fiat CR.42 "Falco" in the already mentioned scale 1:32 from the company ICM. 32020. In the box we find 6 frames of grey plastic and one transparent, a decal and a manual with two variants of camouflage. On the frames the manufacturer has placed a whole range of accessories for building various versions of the "Falco", which is included in the ICM offer. Returning to the mouldings, ICM has included different surfaces on the model, so where the surface is covered with sheet metal it is smooth, and where it is covered with canvas, apart from the realistic reflection of the canvas deflection it also has a different surface texture corresponding to that of the canvas. ICM has also included in the instructions a template for making masks for the windshield, but I will write about it later when I am at that stage of building the Fiat. ICM has also released a very nice supplement not only for "Falco" in the form of a set of Italian pilot figures, which will also fit other models of Italian aviation. I'm going to use following extras while building my model: Eduard 33979 Eduard 33271 seatbelts. Yahu models YMA3267 instrument panel CMK 5141 main wheels - ordered and waiting for delivery. KAGERO TOPDRAWINGS 102 Fiat CR.42

Hi, SPARKIT Models is a new French company that proposed 3D printed detailing sets, guns, wheels, ejection seat, engine. You find products in various scale, F-8 Crusader USN & French Navy ejection seat, Mirage III B/C/BE/E/R/RD wheels, MIRAGE IIIE/BE/R MIRAGE 5 - ATAR 9C EXHAUST, Mirage IV wheels ... https://sparkit-models.com/en/ Some sample products: Vickers gun S-3 Viking INTAKE AND EXHAUST SET : JAGUAR A AND E - MK.4 JRM EJECTION SEAT F-4 PHANTOM II - MK.H7 EJECTION SEAT US NAVY T-2 Buckeye - WHEEL SET DH VAMPIRE/SE535 MISTRAL - WHEEL SET (LATE TYPE) MIRAGE IVA/P - WHEEL SET Next product soon: Fouga Magister CM-170 Wheels Possible to follow on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any suggestions. I will update here with new products. SPang

This is my second entry for the group build, I fancied doing one of the classic 1:32 car kits. When I checked the list of Matchbox kits I thought about revisiting the Jaguar SS100 or Mercedes-Benz SSK that I built when I was young, but I fancied the idea of building one of the kits that hadn't yet been part of the group build. The two subjects that held the most appeal were the Rolls-Royce Phantom and the Citroen 11 Legere. In real life I like the Citroen as a technological pioneer and for the low, sleek lines (particularly as in the coupe and roadster modelled here). Here's the box art, I found this kit on eBay described as complete and as new. Overview of the sprues, which certainly seem to be in great condition. Most of the body parts are moulded in black. Red for the floor, interior and engine. Rubber tyres with "Michelin X" and size markings moulded into the sidewalls and a tread pattern (is it authentic?). Lots of chrome parts; some make sense (e.g. the bumpers) and some don't (e.g. the suspension parts). The worst element is the glazing, which is full of mould marks and distortion. I may try cutting new glass out of clear plastic sheet. The kit can be built either as a coupe or roaster and the box art gives some nice inspiration for alternate colour schemes. It is also tempting to assemble the kit just in its multicolour plastic glory. You even get the option of having the bonnet open and a rear dicky-seat. Here's a quick overview of the instructions, for a small and fairly old model it is quite complex and detailed. The multi-part body looks like it might be a challenge to assemble and paint. My current thoughts are to go for the roadster version (better to show off the interior and dashboard), in a light colour for the body, or maybe a two-tone. I'll have a look at pictures of real Traction Avant roadsters for inspiration. I don't build many 1:32 scale cars (or 1:32 anything) but this looks like a step up in quality and detail from the 1:32 Airfix car kits that I've built. I hope you'll enjoy the build journey with me.

Greetings, hope you are all doing well! This is my latest completion, Hasegawa 1:32 Boeing P26 A Pea Shooter. This is quite an old kit, the plastic was hard and brittle, one yellow sprue was more like bakelite. I built this as part of a club build and put in a bit more work for this one. Quite a bit of work went into the cockpit. The instrument panel was replaced with a spare Kingfisher decal and I built up a front piece for it. The seat was replaced with my first attempt at vac forming and the rest of the cockpit was embellished with various bits and bobs. Typically when the fuselage was closed up you couldn't see a lot so here are a couple of WIP shots The back cushion was shaped out of miliput and lap straps were meant to be made from tape but found some Corsair ones which looked much better. I also added some cockpit placards to add a bit more interest. The gun barrels were replaced with brass tube. The kit comes with raised detail but I removed this as the joins while being not bad werent really good enough to keep the detail. The panel lines and rivet detail was then redone, using the rivet wheel for the first time (a second first!). All the paint work is from the airbrush with copious amounts of masking tape and ALOT of patience! The only decals were the badge behind the cockpit, the '23' and the 'US ARMY' on the under side. For the engine I replaced the push rods and exhaust/inlet piping with brass rod and some wiring harnesses added. There is a lot mentioned regarding the fit of the cowling around the engine so with this in mind I added a couple of thin slivers to widen the cowl. This worked really well and I didn't have to do too much faffing around in fitting out the cowl. It was still a right pain though and had to be done slowly. For the rigging I opted for rigid stainless wire, cant remember the size but it was quite fine. I think it is slightly over scale but it serves its use. The kit comes with all the rigging holes open so its a big invite to throw it in there. I did simplify the rigging between the spats as there is a bullet shaped fairing where the wires crossed. This just got far too complex so was left out! I think that's about it, quite pleased with how it turned out especially after that paint job! Thanks for looking in! Bob

The re-issued Airfix kit A most enjoyable build.

Hi everyone, This build has been a long, long, time coming but what better time to start it than after a first COVID vaccination! To cut a long story short, over the years I've often seen the helicopters of the Midlands Air Ambulance charity flying over- whether it's coming into the QE Hospital in Birmingham, flying over our home now and again, returning to Cosford, or even while out and about. They do remarkable work and it's only right that I have a go at modelling such a fantastic machine. My previous foray into a 1:72 G-OMAA can be found here, but this time I will have to make my own decals and have a much better go at the interior. Here's the base kit: Colour scheme-wise, there are a few variations when it comes to decals. Although the 2 photos (from Cosford 2019) shown below would be good to use, I also have other reference material with the "Babcock" logo replaced by the "Bond" logo- it's a minor point, but I think the white lettering makes for a slightly more aesthetically interesting model. As you can see from the above, there are a lot of decals to try and replicate. Let's get cracking! All the best, Sam

Kit - Revell Paint - All Tamiya acrylics. Decals - Kit & HAD Extras - Yahu pre-painted IP, Eduard pre-painted harness. Various wiring, junction boxes etc from scratch. Been a couple of years since my last 1:32 build (a Trumpeter 109E), no particular reason just other shiny things grabbed my attention. Not going in to any detail at all about the history of this particular machine, it's very well documented, as for the build, erm.. it's a 'Curates Egg' of a kit - good points: well the undercarriage bays and gear detail are superb enough to keep most folks happy, but I added all sorts of wiring and junction boxes up inside which may never be seen but I know they're there. The cockpit is very good and didn't really need the Yahu IP that I added, purely because sausage fingers and middle-aged eyesight mean I can't get that sharpness that I once did by hand-painting. I expected the fit of the engine nacelles to be utterly horrid but I'm pleased to report that on my kit at least they were pretty close to perfect. Kit decals were put to one side except for all the stencils which worked fine for me. I'm not a fan of RoG Instructions but these were OK with only the one blunder which most builders will have heard about so not going to repeat it here. Bad points:- It may have been just my kit but I spent a shed-load of time, effort and putty blending the various nose sections together, the fit was very '1980's' if you get what I mean, most of the reviews out there don't mention this, but then most are of the earlier two-seater kit so maybe there's a difference in QC. The underside join between the front of the lower wing and forward fuselage still isn't right to my eye, but I was running out of patience at that point - so I admit to getting it to 'that'll do' as opposed to 'yeah that's spot-on'. Paint is all Tamiya acrylics mixed using the Mk.I eyeball method, aircraft specific decals are HAD, first time using this company and the quality, opacity and adhesion is simply astonishing. So that's it, there's a few 'user errors' in the build including having to scratch-build a new slat as the carpet monster got a hold of one, also I thinned the undercarriage pegs a little too much so it's prone to wobbling on it's legs, but I really like it, and it has a shed-load of presence sitting in my cabinet. Please feel free to ask any questions, make any comments or criticism. All the best from NZ. Ian.

This was just meant to be a cheap fill in whilst waiting for the Mi-17 to arrive but actually was quite a nice build in the end. The fit of some parts was as you would expect from a 1982(or possibly earlier, Scalemates say 1972!) model whereby it fitted where it touched! But other bits went together nicely. Detail is a bit sparse and there are lots of inaccuracies for an in-service aircraft but if you look past that then for 30€ you can't really complain. The decals were OK but the large roundels on the intakes had to be sliced into sections to get them to mould to the shape even with Micro-wotsit... I added a few details here and there, most of which can't be seen(!) but it was good practice. I must say I'm quite taken with this bigger scale but it does take up a lot of shelf space! Here's the WIP... Most of these pics were taken before I added the matt clear coat, but the ones I took after are even worse quality than these😜 Oh, and I was going to add the anemometer thingy in front of the canopy...but I broke it getting it off the sprue😬

Having recently finished the Mig-29, I was looking for something different and a little bigger. After a lot of deliberation I settled on the Trumpeter 1:35 Mi-17 and promptly ordered one before Easter...By Friday all I'd heard was that the order would be shipped when it was complete, which I took to mean they didn't actually have it in stock! The weekend was looking dire weather wise so I was going to go stir crazy with nothing to work on🤨 A lot of model shops shut at 1300 on Saturdays in Germany, but there's a shop in our nearest city(Trier) so having persuaded the missus we needed a couple of hours out we headed over. They're basically a toy shop but do have a reasonable modelling and railway section. I was only really looking for something to keep me busy for a few days and their stock mainly consists of Revell mainstream kits and some Tamiya 1:35 tanks etc. As I'm on a budget due to no guaranteed summer work and very little winter work, 150€ for some of the big kits was a bit much, and even 50-60€ seemed a bit steep for a fill-in project. I then noticed a huge box with a Harrier on it for 30€...A quick look on Scalemates told me it was a very old kit (1972!!) so it was going to be a challenge, but it was cheap😜 You'd think I'd have learnt my lesson with the MiG, but no...🙃 Anyway I bought it, looked in the box and a few swear words passed my lips as I saw how much detail there wasn't...I then started doing some research and thought I might be able to do something with it, after all it was cheap...

This is a bit later than I hoped, because I was having problems with my photo hosting service. The idea was to build the kit just using the supplied paint, brushes and glue (plus a few basic tools) in the Airfix starter set, which is something Airfix itself promotes as the Starter Set Challenge. Pure adherence to the challenge lasted about as long as it took to apply the thick, toothpaste-like gloop that masquerades as white paint. The model itself is really sweet, I'm not the biggest Triumph Herald fan but there is something about the kit that just made me smile. Most of the details are done with the standard kit paint, hence the silver paint clogging the grille (despite using a pin to try and open up the holes. Also there was no orange paint for the indicators. Also note that the person who produced the number plate decals had no idea about the correct size, letter type or the fact that (IIRC) Z wasn't commonly used on mainland British plates. You do get a reasonable level of under bonnet detail although the wheels and the hub caps in particular are nothing like the ones Triumph fitted (which are shown on the box art). Paint was Tamiy Racing Red and Halfords Appliance White. The bonnet fit isn't great and I wonder if the windscreen is a bit too shallow? Because there is no clear red or orange supplied I had to make do for the tail lamps, when viewed directly from behind the use of red paint on the back of the clear part is quite convincing although it is less so when seen from the side. Detail on the underside isn't bad, but you can see how the back axle doesn't quite line up properly. Overall this was a fun build and I'm happy with the results given the self-imposed constraints. It was also probably the quickest build I've completed in a while, taking about a week from start to finish. Not quite as speedy as the good old days where you'd buy one of these as a weekend project that you start on a Saturday morning and finish by Sunday teatime, but the models I produced back then were seldom as good either. Of the AIrfix car kits I've worked on, this is probably my favourite to date, although the Maserati Indy may turn out to be better. This is certainly the first Airfix starter set that I would actually recommend to a novice modeller although I would advise them to invest in some decent paint.

Someone implied that I must be a glutton for punishment taking on these Airfix car kits and there may be a grain of truth in that assertion. While I was waiting for the filler to set on my Aston Martin DB5 build I thought I'd have a look at the Airfix Maserati Indy that's been on my shelf for a few weeks. It's a starter set, but I'm not sure I'll bother with the paint or glue although the brushes might be useful. Slightly inaccurate paint guide on the back, the sills on every Indy I've seen are finished in stainless steel so should at least be painted silver. The two largest parts are the upper and lower halves of the body, which on first inspection are quite nicely moulded. The lower part of the body, thanks to it's shape, feels impressively stiff (not sure why that impresses me as it's of no practical value to the kit). However, the first dry fit suggests that this might be a bit more of a challenge than it first looks. More to come soon.

I started this build in August last year but my enthusiasm started to wane due to difficulties with the build. But I felt I ought to complete this build as I don't like to give up. Why this kit? This was chosen because I wanted to see what a new Airfix car kit was like and to try something outside of my comfort zone, i.e. a racing car with lots of decals. Why the loss of enthusiasm? Unfortunately this was the flip-side of choosing a subject outside my normal sphere of interest; I'm not that into racing cars and definitely not relatively recent cars like this. Is it any good? On the whole, yes. It's reasonably well moulded, not too much flash and nicely detailed. What's wrong with it? The biggest issue is the front bumper and the way the body attaches to the chassis. It doesn't help that the instructions call for the bumper to be glued to the chassis before the body goes on. It would probably work better to glue the bumper to the body first, that way you could do most of the decals and clear coat the body before it goes on to the chassis. How were the decals? A nightmare, the one for the front grille is particularly tricky. It's taken a lot of setting solution to try and get it to conform to the shape of the body. Getting the two parts of the stripe to join up and lie flat nearly broke me. The rear stripe isn't great either. What do you like? This is probably my favourite view. Anything else? I've not even mentioned the fun I had with the wheels, which are moulded integrally with the tyres and are a pain to mask. Despite all the moaning above, it is still a model I'm pleased to put on display. from a distance it doesn't look too bad and it is now part of my modelling journey. If you've not seen it, the build thread is here:

No, this build won't include Browning machine guns, rotating number plates or an ejector seat. This is more about refining some of the details of this venerable kit, and taking a trip down memory lane as it is another kit I built back in my early teens. I've been working on this in the background of my other builds for a few weeks. This is the box art, which I think is slightly different from the version I built the first time around. I knew that the biggest issue would be the body, with a mix of flash and sink marks to correct. Here is the body straight out of the box and you might spot a little flash if you look carefully. What I wasn't expecting was the panel lines, I'm not sure if they were originally designed as raised edges or recesses, but over the years they have become both and neither at the same time. I decided I'd take the risk to try and scribe the panel lines myself. The front end is where the worst sink marks are found, and the bonnet scoop needs opening up. At the back Airfix simply didn't bother with half the boot shut line. Careful work with scriber and razor saw, I've tried to get the lines as steady as possible but they may be a little wobbly in places. Creating the bonnet panel gap was really tricky. The passenger side. Boot panel gap added, Not sure how accurate it is, but it's better than nothing. To try and get the tail lights fitting properly they were added to the body before any paint so that I could make good with filler. I've also had to scribe the fuel filler door. Front valance fitted and checking that the chassis fits. Pity about the gap at the edge of the floor, not sure there's much can be done with that. Starting to open up the bonnet vent. And cut open. Great gobs of filler! More filler on the valance. First coat of primer, just to see what further correction is necessary. Not quite sure about that face. Driver's side. At least the door gaps don't look too bad. Even the boot gap doesn't look too awful. Something I knew I'd need to address would be the kit wheels. As with the Airfix Jaguar E-type I built last summer I decided to go for some slot car wire wheels. First mock-up with the wheels just plonked in the arches. One handy thing is that you don't have to cut away any of the chassis to fit these wheels, the boss sticks out pretty much the same distance as the boss on the kit wheels. Sitting on the suspension, it looks better at something closer to the proper ride height. The suspension is not too badly represented, the rear assembly is quite fiddly with its separate coil springs and radius rods. It's probably not going to get much more than a quick spray with black paint. Plenty of rubbing down has happened (and camera lens was cleaned). That window line isn't right and needs improvement. That looks a bit more like the correct shape. Underside primed and rubbed down, Those stub axles need to be a little thicker for the wheels to sit better. Something else I noticed was the complete lack of detail for the sides of the interior, I'm not sure how much detail I'll add but I felt that some sort of representation would be better than nothing. You also get a weird gap where the rear seats and wheel arches don't quite meet. Adding some styrene to correct the gap, yes it needs trimming down. To keep this build well away from the best-known DB5 it isn't going to be silver or anything close. it will be burgundy with a black interior. I'm not usually a fan of black interiors but it feels right for this sort of Aston.