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Hi all Here is the excellent Airfix BLACKBURN BUCCANEER S.2C in 1:72 scale this kit has been sat on my shelf of doom part built for at least 2 years having lost my mojo at the time! anyway the project I’m on at the moment (Trumpter 1:48 L-39) stalled due waiting for the correct paints to arrive so I decided to get the Buccaneer off the shelf and get it finished 👍 the only extras i added to the kit was a Eduard cockpit Photo Etch set! I chose to do one from the kit markings options XV154 of no.809 NAS HMS Ark Royal in 1972 Tamiya paints used throughout The extra dark sea grey I used Tamiya XF-54 Dark Sea Grey mixed with XF-18 Medium Blue a quite enjoyable build thanks for looking and happy modelling

I’ve a load of FAA aircraft in the stash and had intended to make a Special Hobby DH Sea Hornet for this GB. However, it’s not the easiest of builds and has a lot of resin parts, and as I’d like to do a few I thought I’d start with somethin a little more straightforward. Although there’s a few challenges along the way, there’s a few builds here on BM which will help me avoid the potential pitfalls. So here we go with Sword’s AEW Skyraider. Two grey plastic sprues which are reasonably well moulded with minimal flash, although there’s some annoying mould ejection pins near or on mating surfaces. There’s a small clear sprue and a nice resin engine. Instructions over a few pages, although as usual with Sword some of the locations are a bit vague. Colour call outs for one FAA aircraft and two US AD-4Ws. Obviously I’ll be opting for the 849 NAS machine. I’ll probably not add the Suez stripes. Comprehensive transfer sheet, and I’ve got a mask set to help with the painting.

This is a bit ambitious but I’ve always wanted to build a Sea Prince as it was an important aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm in the 59s, 60s and 70s. There were two distinct versions the C1 and C2 which were communications aircraft while the T1 was a trading aircraft for observers. The impetus for this build was the introduction of a C1 kit from Valom although my preference is for a T1 from Lossiemouth as I recall seeing them when I was a BB camp in Lossiemouth back in 1968. There isn’t a T1 kit, although there was a Magna resin kit from a few years back. I thought I’d one in the stash but a search has not found it. Also although they build into very presentable aircraft, they are hard work and take a lot of time. Therefore, I dug out this Special Hobby Percival, which should be a suitable basis for a Sea Prince as they are effectively variations off the same airframe. I will be using a couple of websites, and already have done a fair bit of it, for research. There are a couple of Sea Princes in museums and at least one undergoing renovations. https://www.ulsteraviationsociety.org/percival-sea-prince-t1 https://www.gamc.org.uk/exhibit?pgid=kk5bt2hm-fad37efa-40e3-4002-a023-3b8b74381aef https://www.solway-aviation-museum.co.uk/?page_id=1434 The Sea Prince had shorter wings than the Percival but the kit has the extended wing tips as separate parts and the short wing tips on the transparency sprue. Although the kit instructions show using either of the ‘glass’ noses, there’s a solid nose included (marked not for use in the instructions). Apart from the wheel hubs I think there’s everything needed in the kit. I do wonder if Special Hobby had contemplated a Sea Prince but never got round to it. Anyway, on to the kit. Four grey plastic sprues, reasonable detail, but a bundle of ejection pins that will need removed. A nice clear sprue, and although I will only be using the cockpit canopy and cabin windows, there will be a bundle of nice spares left over. There’s also a tiny set of resin pieces. The kit has a nice set of transfers for a Belgian and German aircraft which won’t be used, although some of the stencils may be used.

Hey everyone, This is my interpretation of "Passion Wagon", a North American P51D Mustang, flown by Captain Charles Weaver of the USAAF, in 1944. Captain Weaver was part of the 362nd FS, 357th FG when he flew this aircraft. It's the Airfix P51D 1:72 kit, finished with Tamiya acrylics and lightly weathered with oils. Awesome decals (which some may find offensive!) are from Kits-World. Thanks for looking. Happy modelling folks! More models on Instagram: drakenmodelling

Well, my parcel from Poland arrived on Wednesday, it took a wee bit longer than previous parcels from Arma Hobby, but considering the postal situation at the moment it was still reasonably quick, only 12 days. The sturdy card box contained one Expert Set FM-2 Wildcat and 3 sets of Overtrees neatly wrapped in bubble wrap, I've got a few sets of decals for Martlet/Wildcat VI's, so there's a fewe schemes for me to choose from. Wednesday afternoon the Expert Set was unboxed and had a good fondling whilst I perused a selection of references. Box and contents:- The overtrees supplied are just the two grey sprues and the clear sprue, nothing else. The kit comprises of a main sprue for the FM-2 / Wildcat VI release:- Plus a common sprue for this and the forthcoming F4F-4 release:- The clear sprue is also common with the F4F-4 release, as it contains the lower fuselage windows and wing landing light cover not used on this FM-2 / Wildcat VI release. Also shown here are the small etch sheet and the masking sheet for the canopy and wheels which are only included in the Expert Set:- And here's the decal sheet from the Expert Set which covers 5 US FM-2's, and 3 FAA Wildcat VI's, all of 882 NAS on HMS Searcher, 3 individual code/serials being supplied for the same basic scheme:- If you want to see photo's better than my phone snaps above, there's more on the Arma Hobby website, unfortunately the links they provide on this page for the instructions don't seem to work for me. Initial impressions? It looks like a top quality product, with pretty much all you'd need to build a well detailed model straight out of the box.

Hello My next U-Boot in 1:72 scale from Das Werk. Enjoy.

I’ll join in with this. The Semovente was a self propelled anti tank gun based on the Fiat Ansaldo M13/40 medium tank chassis. It served in North Africa and during the Italian campaign. The model is an Italeri 2007 rebox of a 1975 ESCI kit. These old ESCI kits are rather nice and the quality well ahead of their time. It’s good that Italeri have rebox Ed many of them as there is a paucity of the tanks in the range from other kit makers. Anyway on to the kit. Two nice and crisp sand colour sprues. Nothing overly complex but clean and crisp. Not bad for nearly 50 year old moulds, though probably only around 30 or so when boxed. Four page instructions, some introductory information, a set of plastic tracks and a nice transfer sheet. With colour call outs for 4 versions, including one used by the Germans.

Aeronavale’s main air base is at Hyeres and the French Fleet based at nearby Toulon, both firmly on the Côte d’Azur in Southern France. The kit is a fairly elderly Heller boxing but it’s quite reasonably moulded. Two grey plastic sprues, and a small clear one with the canopy A simple instruction sheet, which matches the vintage nature of the kit. Colour call out and transfers for two Aeronavale aircraft. The upper colour call out is a mix of paints but it should be Blue Gris Fonce, Dark Blue Grey. I’ve got some somewhere but Gunship Grey is close. I don’t think Extra Dark Sea Grey is quite right, too dark and not blue enough. Anyway, that’s a bit away so probably best to start painting the interior parts and getting some glue on.

This is a 2007 rebox by Italeri of ESCI’s 1975 kit. The Semovente M40-M41 was a self propelled gun version of the Italian Carro Armato M13/40 medium tank. It was a bit cramped but had an effective gun and was used by the Italians mainly in a divisional artillery and anti tank roles rather than the assault role of the German STUG vehicles. They were to reasonable effect through the Desert and Italian campaigns with some being used by the Germans post the Italian armistice. Two nice sand coloured sprues which are crisp and clear, details not all bad for a kit of its age. Instructions over a few pages, brief intro, plastic tracks and a nice transfer sheet. Options for the desert and Italian campaigns.

Here is my 1:72 Lockheed Martin F-16D Block 52+ Jastrząb, no. 4084, Polish Air Force, 2014. Kinetic kit with Eduard PE set, Attack Squadron resin fuel tanks and exhaust, Hasegawa missiles, Master metal Pitot tube and static dischargers. Decals by Model Maker (main) and Techmod (stencils). Painted with Gunze Mr.Color C series. Thanks for watching!

Hi, people. This looks fun, but having never done a GB before and only just found out what a Blitzbuild is, I reckon disaster could well be the outcome here But no matter. I have lots of enthusiasm if not any actual expeience of this type of pressure but lets have a go. This is my chosen subject, for which I only paid around £6 a short while ago in a local sale. I don't think I'll be making use of the bits above the art work but they are there as fall-back I suppose. Just to add some extra pressure, I have to finish by end of Sunday as we are off on holiday for a few days on Monday morning! I have seen Adrian's @AdrianMF build of this so have been making notes. I have to have someone to blame ....... I suspect it will all end badly. The family are taking bets as to whether me or the model will have acquired more paint and/or glue by the end! See you all Saturday. Cheers Rob

I found this in the stash while looking for something else. I think this was originally an ESCI boxing from the mid 70s although this boxing is from around 2003 according to Scalemates. The ESCI kits are lovely and way ahead of their day for the time, well engineered, lovely moulding and good fit. So this should be fun. one large and one small sand coloured sprues and a sprue with track sections. The latter will take time but will look better than the usual ‘rubber band’ tracks of that era. typical Italeri instructions. with colour call outs and transfers for four versions. One of which is for the 23rd Armoured Brigade in the Western Desert as well as one for an unspecified unit in Gazala.

With several complicated builds on hand, I want to do a simple quick build in-between. So, here's my IBG Toldi III, build straight from the box, painted with Tamiya spray can colours, with details and pin wash using Vallejo colours, and a dusting of 'mud' from Tamiya's weathering set A. Peter

After seeing the news that Valom have released a Sea Prince in 1:72, I realised I have a Special Hobby Pembroke in the stash. The Valom kit is for a CC1 but I’d like to do a T1 and as the Pembroke is from the same basic design as the Sea Prince I wonder what work would be needed to convert my Pembroke into a Sea Prince. I know the wings need to be a little shorter but by how much and what shape is the wing tip. The kit I have is the German/Belgium liveries and has 3 options of the nose, including the solid radar version of the Sea Prince, and two options for the interior, a communications aircraft and a trainer/electronic reconnaissance aircraft. Slightly off mainstream aircraft but used by the FAA for a fair old while as an observer training platform. Any info gratefully received.

ICM's OV-10 is out so I decided to remove the Academy kit from my stash by building it. Here is the result:

Vickers Wellington mk ic Italeri 1:72 First of all, hello! I'm new in the forum and I'm exited to be here. Just finished this Italeri 1:72 Vickers Wellington mk ic! it was a good kit but I had to scratch build some parts and the decals were awful. This aircraft was part of 37 sqd based in Egypt. I also added an airfix pilot and a 3d printed dog. It's my last hand-painted kit as I just bought an airbrush. What do you guys think? https://imgbox.com/S2l7hj7c https://imgbox.com/gntCpgiI https://imgbox.com/oI6r5KF4 https://imgbox.com/Py3IBGC7 https://imgbox.com/tNHEH1Ol https://imgbox.com/mJExpOud https://imgbox.com/jjNQaB4e https://imgbox.com/EZAfEH9N https://imgbox.com/u8ZrfMtm https://imgbox.com/YVTGM8G8 https://imgbox.com/oM3UIac6 https://imgbox.com/tTNaiFtS

I know time is running short but if you don't try, you can't fail either. So let's try Right, so the kit is in Revell disguise: But that blue box is not fooling anyone, it's a Hasegawa from 1972. Big and chonky shiny plastic. Dimensions are around 40cm so it's not a small bird by any means. And that's all the sprues! Welcomed change to todays hyperdetailed kits. Of course it's not all good - at places we struggle to find any details at all... ... and the plastic might not be as crisp as it used to be with flashes and soft details. But we just have to make that up with super crisp modelling and painting! No time for adding details or sorting out aftermarket bits. Welcomed change, also. Here's my scheme. I have a little bit of fixation for US Navy & Air Force cold war stuff but this Royal Netherlands Navy Neptune in it's blue glory was just too good to pass up. Wish me luck!

Been away from the bench for a couple of months, and this was a great way to get back in the swing of things. Here I present my attempt at the Vespid 1:72 Comet 1B finished as “Cambrai” of 3 RTR in Hong Kong around 1950. Brushed painted with Tamiya Acrylics. Build thread can be found here: Bit fiddly in places but a lot of fun. Thanks for looking.

I’ve been absent from the model bench for the last couple of months due to some travel for work and other life issues. Just couldn’t get back to finishing my Meng Whippet, so thought I would try my hand at something a little smaller in scale. Picked this up last week. Not tried one of their kits before, looks pretty good at first glance. There is rather an extensive decal sheet for such a small kit. And some goodies. My plan is to compete it as a 3RTR tank based in Hong Kong.

I have a few Italeri AFVs in the stash that were originally marketed by ESCI. I’ve built a few of them previously and despite originating in the 70’s they are beautifully moulded and detailed. I’ll see if I can do a few but this is my start. I checked Scalemates and although this kit is a 2003 Italeri boxing, it originates from 1976. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/italeri-7013-valentine-mki--104047 Two sand coloured sprues which are well detailed and there’s minimal flash or moulding pins. The plastic is quite hard and the detailing still very sharp. There’s a sprue of steel coloured tracks in a slightly softer plastic which will be much more realistic than the rubber band style tracks. There’s a rather nice moulded tank commander amongst the parts too. Several pages of straightforward instructions. Colour call outs and transfers for 4 options, two Western Desert and two UK based machines.

Welcome to my second WIP! Many, many moons ago I came across this classic Matchbox kit in a local shop, and although my interest in scale modelling was declining I couldn't resist buying it. RAF Phantoms were my all-time favourite jets and look at the prize! Only 18.95 guilders, which equals by the time the euro was introduced 18.95 / 2.20 = € 8.61! An absolute bargain. The box had been gathering dust on a shelf ever since, but when I took up scale modelling again, about three years ago, I decided to start with this kit. I remembered Matchbox kits were pretty easy to build, so this one seemed a good start to renew my scale modelling skills. The next step was finding out how to configure the plane. One of the reasons I left scale modelling was my increasing interest in seeing military aircraft 'in the wild', and one of my favourite airbases to visit was RAF Wildenrath. By that time it was home to 19 and 92 Squadron (Phantom FGR.2) and 60 Squadron (Pembroke C.1). And 25 Squadron with Bloodhound missiles, yes. I had no special feelings about 6, 41 and 892 Squadron like the kit suggests, and I chose to configure this kit as XV430/C of 19 Squadron, like I photographed it on October 19 1982 during its approach of the eastern threshold: So far the introduction of what and why, up next is my progress thus far. Cheers, Rob

Hi all, I managed to get some slightly better shots of the finished article today. The WIP thread, for anyone wishing to peruse, is located here. As you will see from the WIP, there were a number of challenges along the way with this one, many of them foolishly self-imposed! Still, the result has scrubbed up reasonably well; not perfect, I readily admit, but at least it fits in my display cabinet - just! Here's a few photos of the result: All comments and criticisms gratefully received, of course.

The construction of an alternative version of the Polish fighter PZL P.11g "Kobuz" from IBG has come to an end. In the construction of the model I used accessories from YAHU MODELS in the form of YMA7212 Instrument panel kits, YSM7227 Accessoriess. The build had no problems, the parts fitted very well and the decals fitted very nicely on the surface of the model. The only thing that made the construction more difficult for me was to replace the glazing and I embossed a new one and made the frames myself from the sheet metal provided by the manufacturer. The model has the camouflage suggested by the manufacturer and shows an alternative designation from the 1940 pursuit brigade. I would like to thank the IBG MODELS company for the donated model and the YAHU MODELS company for the extras to build the model.

While doing some cleaning, I came across another model started years ago. There are still quite a few of them in my closet and the studio is also swamped with them and it's high time to finish them too. That's just for the record. Coming back to the model, I have a model of the Polish fighter plane PZL P.11g "Kobuz" in 1:72 from the IBG Models offer (cat. no. 72523). This is the last version of the P.11 and was built in one copy. The outbreak of war prevented further work on it. There are no photos or plans of what it looked like, so a model will be built based on what IBG Models offers in its kit. This will be such a hypothetical (what-if) version. The kit comes with a choice of two engine covers as well as two undercarriage options, wheels alone or in covers like the PZL P.24. There are two types of propellers on the frames too, two-blade and three-blade. In the manual, IBG included three paint schemes, two of which are the typical gray/haki/blue and the third is camouflage, and these are the ones I chose. On the PZL P.11g "Kobuz" Lt. pilot Henryk Szczęsny scored two air victories on September 14 and 15, 1939. Returning to the model I had the interior ready, but the fuselage not yet closed. Of the extras, I used products from Yahu Models, which I thank for providing them. And they are these kits: YMA7212 Instrument panel YSM7227 Accessoriess