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Since No one helped me to choose which Tpoornado to build from the picture Posted In the general Chat, I decided to take up the challenge and see how many Tornados I will be able to build during this GB., Hence the AYCB - All you can build - Moinker. The first Tornado will be this little fella: Because surely the ADV Tonado will be hugely unpopular, and the Revell boxing way to obscure to be build. (actually I start with this one, bedcause it does not require a nose job, and I am stll waiting for the corresponding Parts for the IDS/ECR/Recce Tornados. Oh wait... this is actually the THIRD build in the GB of this kit? Well color me surprised. This could become a mini SKGB in it's own right! I intend to do this as an OOB build, save for the pitot tube and maybe the bang seats. I am not sure if they are worth the hassle though. Day 1: some mayor components have been assembled (the wings are preliminarly glued together with a cow gum for semi-dry-fitting Day 2: First coast of paint applied. The grey paint on wings and tailplanes is Vallejo Light ghost grey, It looks in the picture quie dark tough, and I Might spray a coat of light greay over it. BTW. has someone an Idea which colors are the "proper" ones for the scheme, particularly from in the Vallejo air colours? Clearly visible is the noseweight which pretty ideally fitted the nose cone. You can also notice the Hindenburger Tanks which pilfered from the Revell RAF GR.1 kit It just makes so much more sence for me to have them on an F.3 than on a strike jet. .

@Marlin beat me by announcing his intended double build of Luftwaffe Tornados equipped with MW-1 and B-61 first, however I still have an ace up my sleve: a GR.1 Tornado armed with one (or two?) WE. 177. Both of the markings in the Revell box (the 9th and the 17th Sqn) are well suited for this task. I am wondering about the rest of the loadout though: Shall I use the Hindenburg tanks, or three of the smaller ones? I imagine it depends if I want to put one or two nukes under the belly? Apart from the nuke(s) what other armament would make sense - could I slap ALARMs on the underwing pylons or should Sindewinders be the only sensible choice? Also on a semi related note (as it may limit the availiability of the special weapons for this project) - could the SEPECAT Jaguar T.2/T.4 double seaters carry nukes or were those only restricted to the GR.1 variant?

Hi everyone! After the gargantuan 777 I built last time, I quite liked the idea of doing something a little bit smaller, and far more straightforward. I've previously delved into the world of the BAE Systems Hawk, in the form of a 1:72 Airfix T1 and 2 Revell 1:72 T1's. But that was a few years ago, and I can barely remember building them! This time I will be working on 2 Revell 1:72 Hawk T1's, and an Airfix 1:72 Hawk T2. For this first T1, I'd like to do it as the 2011 display Hawk, flown by Flt Lt Jules Fleming. I can just about remember going to the 2011 Cosford airshow and watching the Royal Navy "Black Cats" team, the Reds and the solo Hawk display in what can only be described as a downpour of torrential proportions. From a bit of internet digging, I don't think the Hawk used on the day was either XX244 or XX245 (both having been painted in the 2011 display scheme) but I would like to have a crack at it anyway! So in terms of aftermarket bits, I've got: -the Eduard "zoom" set (I'll be saving the seatbelts for the second Hawk T1) -2x Pavla resin ejection seats -a Master pitot probe -the Xtradecal decal set (X72137) -2 PJ Production RAF pilot figures The plan of action, therefore, is to build this Hawk as it might appear on the flight line; with the canopy open, the nose electronic bay open, flaps down, the steps built into the port side of the nose extended, and maybe a few RBF tags too. And don't worry, I'll be breaking out the riveting tool on this one as well In terms of modifications to get the Revell kit up to scratch, I gather that there's a spot of bother with the fin fillet being too short, and the angle of the rear end being a little bit too curved (?). So i'll see what I can do with that! As for the other Hawks, I have a set for a 4 Sqn. T2, yet I'm torn as to what scheme the second T1 should be in. At the moment it's a choice between an ETPS example, an early red/white example, or one of the Centre of Aviation Medicine aircraft (I'm leaning more towards the latter, given that aviation/aerospace medicine is rather close to my heart). But anyway, thanks for dropping by and having a look! All the best, Sam

As my Sea Kings are nearing completion, believe it or not I thought I'd add another in this Lynx. I've a couple of Hobbyboss boxings in the stash and may follow up with a HAS 2 but this one has transfers for a Black Cats airframe. The Black Cats were the FAA Lynx display team and they did things with a small helicopter that you didn't think was possible including a loop. The paintwork is complex and although I've got some aftermarket transfers in the stash to do one of the Black Cats, Hobbyboss include it as an option here.

Having gotten bogged down with certain other kits, I am going to take a diversion here for a couple of days. It's not a bank holiday weekend here in Ireland, so I am taking advantage of "the Scottish option". My choice is the IBG Models Type 3 Chi-Nu Kai. I received this only on Friday lunchtime, so it spent less than 30 hours in the stash. Some kits have been in there for more than 30 years ... The Chi-Nu Kai was an improved version of the Chi-Nu, with a longer-calibre 75mm gun, but it only reached prototype stage. The IBG kits of Japanese armour all have Japanese text on the box and in the instructions, so they are obviously meant for the Japanese market, without any changes or re-boxing by another company required. I wonder what the Japanese make of the somewhat curious artwork here? Anyway, this is the first time I've built an IBG kit. Start time, just after 7:35pm Saturday: The one-piece tracks with the inner wheels molded in place simplify construction, as well as ensuring a realistic "sagged" appearance. But they needed careful cleaning up first, and painting them is going to be arduous. I suspect I will spend at least half the total time on these. Speaking of paint, I have plumped for Humbrol 105 to represent IJA "Grass Green", 1942 version. Here's where I finished just after 11pm this evening, having taken an hour out for a walk and some much-needed eats (did you really want to see a picture of a bowl of cereal?). So total elapsed time so far is c. 2 1/2 hours, of which almost 30 minutes was spent researching the paint choice. The plastic is generally very thin, perhaps overly so in some cases, as it breaks easily. My first task tomorrow morning will be to remove the suspension arms from the sprue. If I can do this without breaking any of them, it will be a minor miracle, given that there is an extremely delicate section in the middle of each: EDIT: Forgot to show the time at the end, but it's been a long, long, day.

Last weekend I decided to build something "fresh". I've just received a parcel with model of Agusta-Bell 47J with SAR markings so choice was quite easy Very shortly appeared that idea to build something Out-of-the-box is impossible if I'm thinking about something similar to real helicopter... At the end after eight days of work and making many mistakes I can present to you my newest model

My next build is Revell's 1 :72 P-47M Thunderbolt. I plan to build the kit as it comes from the box using Vallejo acrylics in place of the recommended Revell acrylics. The colour schemes require a lot of mixing of colours (which Revell seem to love), so I will be finding the equivalent colour matches and mixing as closely as I can. Lets have a look at what's in the box. The box is relatively small with a picture of the colour scheme I plan to build. Inside there is a small decal sheet and a detailed instruction manual. There are 4 grey sprues and a small clear sprue. They all have a fair amount of flash, but the panel line detail is good. I am going to finish the build in the colours of 'Devastatin Deb' of 63rd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, US 8th Army Air Force based in Boxted, England 1945. Here's hoping I can do it justice. I have given the sprues a wash, dry and prime so they are ready for action.

Ready for inspection is my 1:72 Revell P-47M Thunderbolt. It is a straight from the box build, using Vallejo acrylics in place of the suggested Revell paints. The build went together really well, and has a nice amount of detailing. I preshaded the panel lines with Dark sea grey, and used black Tamyia Panel Line Accent colour to weather the aircraft. This is the first time I have uses this fully on a build and I'm pretty happy with the results. I hope I have done the build justice, thanks for looking.

My First Chopper! - Hasegawa UH-1H Iroquois 1:72 Never built a chopper before - time to change that! I acquired a second hand Hasegawa UH and noticed this GB, thought it would be perfect place to do some helicopter modelling for the fist time. This is the kit. Contents of the box - some of the parts had been cut off... ... and there was some paint - but I think we can safely assure it's still under the 25% rule Details are looking bit rough-ish. Decals seem past their prime - let's see if we can whiten them up with the help of the sun. Small metal rods were included within the box - I can't find any mention about them in the instructions? Are they perhaps something that the previous owner has added to the box or are they original contents of the box? They kinda look that they could be used for the antennas for the Japanese version. Speaking of versions- the japanese one is looking pretty cool with the interesting camo job. But then again, the US one is looking quite sharp too with the white sides. What do you reckon - which one should I build?

Hi guys, I hope you are all ok. The holiday has started and that in these strange times of Covid. Despite the warm weather I feel like starting a new project. I think it has become a somewhat unknown aircraft for you, but a familiar appearance for the Dutch model builder. It was the workhorse of the MLD in the Dutch East Indies and served for many years until the war in 1940. It became the Huma kit, but after studying the photos I soon found out that the model actually had to be completely adjusted and rebuild. Some more updates will follow soon.

My second contribution will be another Sea King this time a 'Baggie' of 849 NavalAir Squadron. The base kit dates from the original 1969 Airfix S-61 Sea King which I think was issued in Apollo rescue chopper livery. This boxing dates from 2010 and has a bundle of new sprues with updated parts and the necessary parts to make an AEW2 or an ASaC7 both from 849 NAS.

It's summer 1966 and the World Cup is on. However, unlike the majority of the UK we Scots kids are not that interested as we weren't there. I was on holiday with my Uncle Tom and Aunt Rose at their house on the Ayrshire coast as it always was when we were young the weather was good, sunny and dry. Between swimming in the open air swimming pool, kicking a ball around with my cousin and wandering long and wide around the beaches, town and fields my Aunt Rose bought me a model kit and my choice was the Scout. I made it in a few days and in those days Airfix were decent enough to mould it in Dark Green so painting was minimal and most of the transfers were applied to the plastic. I have three of them in the stash, I got them to convert into Wasps but have never got that far yet. It's a relatively recent boxing as one of the sets of markings is for an 1996 Scout at Middle Wallop while the other option is the same as originally back in '66 a Scout of the Royal Jordanian Police.

Hello Chaps, i'm looking for German WWII German Letters & Numbers Paint Masks in 1:72, i checked Maketar but they only do Crosses in that scale, anybody knows of a company which produces these? Thanks Hans

Another of the £4 Aldi starter kits I did a couple of years ago.. I rather liked this kit very tricky to get the spiral white line on the spinner. Anyway hope you all like this one too!

Dear all, Please find below some images of my recently finished SAMI review kit of the Vought-Sikorsky VS-300. The VS-300 was the first practical US-designed helicopter and pioneered the now familiar lay-out of a main rotor and small tail rotor. The kit is a reissue by Brengun of the Extratech multi-media kit. The review article will appear in one of the upcoming issues of SAMI. Peter

I first built this kit waaaaaay back in 1980. That was the year I started secondary school. So did I build it in my last few months of primary school, the summer holidays, or my first few months of secondary school? I can't be sure (it was 40 years ago!), but I think I built it no later than the summer. These things matter to me! One thing is for sure, I didn't build it at Christmas. I have the Revell "classic" re-box in the stash. But that's not what I'm building here. I managed to pick up the original Matchbox kit for free, as it had already been started by the previous owner. Also, one of the pilot figures was missing, the barrel of the Lewis rear machine gun was broken off, and its base was missing. I had also decided I would complete it in Irish Air Corps (No. 1 Fighter Squadron) markings, using spare decals from an Airfix Hurricane Mk. I: The missing pilot is no big deal, as I never really liked the old Matchbox crew figures anyway. While I could have used some spare Airfix figures, I decided to keep these for future use. I completely repainted the cockpit, shaping a piece from the spare box as a new rear MG base. Representing the ammo drums on this ... tricky, very tricky. Too tricky. I also added a rudimentary instrument panel, not shown here. The canopy framing is best painted before assembly, as otherwise the wings will be an obstruction. So far, I've done the first pass at the undercoat (Hu 78 interior green, same as the cockpit). That is obviously going to take a while, especially as it's best done in good natural light, of which there is very little at the moment. The enclosed fuselage halves. In reality, the cockpit interior was way more complex, so no point in trying to go to town on this.

My next build is Airfix's 1:72 Bristol Blenheim Mk.IV, which I was lucky enough to receive for Mother's Day. The box contains a detailed set of instructions, small decal sheet and glass sprue. There are five grey sprues, all with little to no flash and a nice amount of detailing. I have decided to build the aircraft in the markings of Groups Dr Bombardement 1 (Lorraine), Armed de l'Air, North Africa, 1941. I plan to build it straight as it comes from the box, using Vallejo acrylics (because I prefer airbrushing with them). The kit has been washed and is drying, and I'm looking forward to my next challenge.

Ready for inspection is my Revell 1:72 Nieuport 28 C-1. I built the kit straight as it came from the box, using Vallejo acrylics. I brought the kit at a model show a few years ago, and it is fair to say it was old and battered. That said, apart from removing excess flash, and an ill fitting top wing, it went together nicely. The colour scheme was a treat to airbrush, lots of masking for the red and white striped fuselage which really makes the aircraft stand out. Thanks for looking.

My next build is Revell's 1:72 Nieuport 28 C-1. This is a vintage kit I picked up at Abingdon airshow a couple of years ago. This kit was the choice of my son who has recently been paying War Thunder on his xbox, flying various biplanes. Its been a while since I have built a biplane, and I had forgotten how small and minimal they are. The box is a little battered, and has pictures of the various schemes available to build. There are minimal instructions, a small decal sheet that shows its age, and 2 small brown sprues. These have varying amounts of flash on them, as you may expect from an older kit. I plan to build it straight from the box, using Vallejo acrylics in place of the suggested Revell. I am going to finish the build in the colour scheme of the 213th Aero Squadron training aircraft. There are not any decals for the red stripes doen the fuselage (thankfully), so I aim to mask and airbrush them on. The kit has has a wash, and I have given some parts a blast of primer, ready to get started!

I first built this kit back in 1983, qualifying it for this Group Build. I built it again in 2005: There are of course some things that could have been improved upon, such as removing that ugly "step" at the lower port fuselage/wing join. And moving that small starboard-side fairing inboard, where it ought to be. Those are amongst the things I hope to get right this time. The kit I'm building this time is the starter kit boxing, which I bought in 2012: I have toyed with the idea of adding underwing bombs, and/or completing it in the "Dieppe" scheme, with a white forward fuselage, and black underwing surfaces. But as I also have the Pavla kit - which has both of these options included - I may just build this out of the box. Since I actually started to build this kit a few days ago, the first progress post is going to follow ... very quickly.

I intend to build a model collection around the theme of tactical nukes, and am looking currently for information on which aircraft where equipped to carry what on which station. So far my research brought me the following insights, I would appreciate any comments. Nuclear capable nations, current and former (incl. US-Dual Key arragement): Belgium, Canada, China, France, (West) Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia/UdSSR, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA France: Mirage IV: 1 Freefall nuclear bomb AN-11 or AN-22 (IV A) semi receesed under the center line or 1 ASMP Missile (IV P) on a centerline station. Mirage 2000N: 1x Freefall Nuclear Bomb AN-52 or 1 ASMP Missile on a centerline station. Super Etendard: 1x Freefall Nuclear Bomb AN-52 or 1 ASMP Missile on the starboard station. Rafale-M; Rafale B: 1 ASMP Missile on a centerline station. Sud Aviation Vautour IIB: 1 Freefall nuclear bomb AN-11 or AN-22 in the bomb bay SEPECAT Jaguar: 1x Freefall Nuclear Bomb AN-52 on centerline station (?) Mirage III E: 1x Freefall Nuclear Bomb AN-52 on centerline station (?) UK: Blackburn Buccaneer: 1x Red Beard, 2 WE.177 A/B/C in the bomb bay English Electric Canberra: 1x MK-7, B28, B43, B57, Red Beard or WE.177 in the bomb bay SEPECAT Jaguar: 1 WE.177 A/B/C on centerline station Panavia Tornado: 1 WE.177 A/B/C on Station 7 (Left shoulder middle) FGR 2 Phantom (unofficial): B28, B43 or B57 on 3? stations (only centerline station utilized during QRA) Avro Vulcan: 1 Blue Steel missile, 1 WE.177 and earlier bombs in the bomb bay WE.177 A only (Depth charge) Sea Harrier FRS 1 1 WE.177A on Starboard inner pylon Westland Sea King: 1 WE.177A port side Westland Wessex: 1 WE.177A port side Westland Wasp: 1 WE.177A under Fuselage Westland Lynx: 1 WE.177A Specified or cleared for WE 177 but not deployed: English Electric Canberra: 1x MK-7, B28, B43, B57, Read Beard or WE.177 in the bomb bay Vickers Valiant: 1x Blue Danube or 1x B28 in the bomb bay Handley Page Viktor: 1 Yellow Sun in the bomb bay Sea Vixen: 1 Read Beard, possible 1 WE 177A on Inner wing Port station TSR-2: 1 WE 177 internally Harrier: 1 WE 177A on Starboard inner pylon? Nimrod: B-57 T Supermarine Scimitar: 1 Read Beard on Inner wing Port station. 1 WE 177A trailed but not deployed.

Not a high flying PR Spit or High Altitude version, or even a speed record breaker. As im awaiting canopy masks for my Seafires I thought I would see if I could build and finish one of these Hobbyboss kits while waiting. Although simple they are well moulded and accurate, with a level of detail that would shame some mainstream makers. The cockpit is moulded into the one piece fuselage but it has seat and control column detail albeit simplified. Here are the contents. Two little challenges, there are no undercarriage doors but I can either scavenge some from another kit where resin replacements have been used or there are 'closed' doors that can be adapted. Or even a few minutes with some plastic card. The other is filling the location for the bomb. I'll make mine a straight interceptor. Simple instructions and transfers for two options, one Dark Green/Dark Earth and one Dark Green/Ocean Grey. But the colour call call outs are seriously weird. I can almost understand the medium grey and light gull grey (but not the light green) for the 303 Squadron version but Light Gull Gray instead of Sky for the 317 Squadron option!

Probably my final contribution but a spate of bad weather may change that is this Seafire F45, the third but last Seafire Mark. It didn't have folding wings and was used as an interim airframe between the lower powered Mk XVs and XVIIs and the penultimate and ultimate Mks 46 and 47. I thought this was the only way to make an F45 without converting a Mk46 but I have subsequently found an F45 from Admiral in the stash. But it's a while since I've done a whole aircraft in resin, and CMR kits are pretty good, although I suspect this is a fairly early kit of theirs. There's not too many parts. Three big bits, the fuselage halves and a one piece wing. And the rest as smaller parts. The F45 had a 5 blade prop rather than the contra rotating props of the next two Marks. Vac form canopy, comprehensive instructions and colour call outs and transfers for two options, both In the late high demarcation Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky. There's also a bundle of stencils. Sorry about the background, Mrs 825 isn't always sympathetic in her choice of table covers when it comes to photography. Anyway now on to cleaning the resin up with a dip in the ultrasonic bath.

With one Seafire finished and two just about done, and my 'high speed' Spit on its way, I thought it time to start another in my Seafire stash reduction project. The Mk XVII or Mk17 was a development of the Groffon engined Mk XV which introduced the bubble canopy to the Seafire family. It served post war with a number of front line squadrons and was delpoyed on carriers as well as a number of training and second line squadrons. The kit pretty much follows the usual Sword Spitfire/Seafire approach with a common wing and most other parts with fuselage half mouldings dedicated to that mark. There's also some resin for the cannons and exhausts, with an injection moulded canopy. And a comprehensive instruction booklet. A nice transfer sheet as well with three options, but disappointingly none for a front line Squadron. I think by 1949 1832 Squadron probably was a reserve Squadron. But it's the option I'll go with

I've finally got almost everything cleared off my workspace and am ready to join in the GB in an attempt to reduce my stash of 30 Seafires and Spitfires. The first to come to the top of the pile is this Admiral boxing of a MkIb with a Vokes filter. I've made an Admiral late Mark Seafire before and it wasn't too bad, but like all Seafires/Spitfires you do have to be careful with the wing/fuselage joint. There are two offerings in the box, a standard aircraft of 885 NAS from HMS Formidable and a one off royal blue scheme. I rather fancy the latter as the standard schemes of Seafires are very similar. the contents are nice, crisply moulded on two sprues. Straightforward instructions over a few pages. Nice nice set of stencils, some etch for the arrestor hook area and a small canopy. But crucially no transfers. Luckily, I have these in the stash. Phew.