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  1. My first attempt at one of the new-tool Airfix 1/48 Buccaneers, and I thought I’d start with the Royal Navy version. I have to say it’s an absolutely superb kit, Airfix’s engineering is brilliant and required only a few areas of filler. The fit is excellent with many parts just dropping into place. I didn’t need to use any aftermarket as the cockpit, decals, undercarriage, etc are all great out of the box. XV340 was delivered to the Fleet Air Arm in April 1967, and served on board HMS Eagle and Ark Royal as well as at Lossiemouth. It was transferred to the RAF in May 1973 but was grounded following the Buccaneer fleet inspection in 1980 and allocated the maintenance serial 8659M, seeing out its days on Pendine Ranges. The model shows XV340 in its heyday as a front line Royal Navy strike jet based at Lossiemouth in 1970. All comments, constructive or otherwise very welcome!
  2. This is my finished 1/72 Avro Shackleton MR2 from Airfix. I built the AEW2 version in 2019 and had been looking for this version for some time as a companion build. It was a pre-owned kit which I picked up at the recent Scale Model Show in Canberra. The box was in good nick and all the contents were still in their sealed bags. It was built OOB as version A with the gun turret as shown on the box art. The undersides have been painted with XF-2 White and the upper surfaces painted with XF-83 Medium Sea Grey. Various blacks, metals etc for smaller parts. Weathering was done with Flory dark dirt wash and Abteilung oils. I took a modular approach when building this. I painted, applied the decals and weathered the fuselage, wings, stabilisors and fins separately and only assembled the whole the thing near the end of the build. It was too big to comfortably fit in my spray booth. It all fitted quite well except for fixing the engine pods to the leading edges of the wings. I had the same problem when I built the AEW version and it took a fair bit of filling and sanding to get an acceptable, but far from perfect fit. Apart from this one issue, it was a thoroughly enjoyable build. It has a lovely, detailed interior which will never be seen again, but we all know it's there. The two Shackletons together. Cheers
  3. Nice sunny day for some photos... Airfix's 1/48 scale Hurricane Mk I Tropical... done as a machine from 73 Squadron, North Africa in 1942. Pretty much from the box, except resin wheels and exhausts, and PE seat belts. Markings are Montex masks and masking tape. Cheers, Paul.
  4. Complete surprise. They've come up with a Me.410. https://uk.airfix.com/products/messerschmitt-me410a-1-a04066 https://uk.airfix.com/community/blog-and-news/workbench/scale-modelworld-exclusive-new-airfix-messerschmitt-me-410-hornisse-takes-flight
  5. A happy new year to you all! It’s been a while since my last build, with theatre commitments, holidays then Christmas, but I’m back with a bang, or should that be Bucc with a bang! Despite waiting ages for the RAF version for which I’m awaiting delivery, I felt compelled to buy and build the previous FAA version as a companion to the Sea Vixen. Seeing this kit reduced to £50 it seemed a good time to get one, I doubt it’ll ever be less than that. So without further ado, my first build of the year. The now very familiar box, freshly delivered this morning… And a LOT of plastic inside! I’m tempted to make it with wings folded, but reserve the right to change my mind. Lovely decal sheet! And this is the scheme that most caught my eye. The real thing, images below are all courtesy of the FAA Buccaneer website: I’ve already got a spray can of EDSG so should be ready to get going. All comments and advice and general Bucc banter more than welcome …
  6. AVRO Anson Mk.I (A09091) 1:48 Airfix Originally designed as a fast mail carrier in the early 30s, the original AVRO design was amended in the mid-30s in response to a specification issued by the Aviation Ministry for a reconnaissance aircraft that could also perform other roles. It beat a similarly militarised De Havilland Rapide and was awarded a contract for series production with the name Anson after an 18th Century Admiral of the Fleet. At the outbreak of war it was still performing its given roles, and was engaged in the Dunkirk evacuation where it surprisingly managed to shoot down two Bf.109s and damage another, as they found the low speed of the Anson hard to gauge, overshooting straight into the line of the nose-mounted .303 machine gun operated by the pilot. She was thoroughly outclassed as a front-line aircraft though, so was soon withdrawn from fighting service to form part of the training fleet, and as a communications ‘hack’. Despite its withdrawal from service, more aircraft were built, and they were used as trainers for radar operators, navigators and as a trainer for pilots that were destined to fly multi-engined bombers. Its replacement in maritime service was the Lockheed Hudson, which had a hugely increased range and speed, the Anson only being capable of a four-hour endurance that prevented it from covering much of the Atlantic or North Sea before it had to turn for home. It was capable of carrying a small bomb load however, so could take action if it was to find a U-boat on its travels. Following WWII, Faithful Annie as she became known was used as a civilian and business aircraft, although some of the wooden-winged examples that were used overseas began to suffer from problems due to the humidity’s effect on the timber areas. Not all Ansons had wooden wings though, and some of the wooden winged aircraft were refitted with the improved metal wings, although even these were eventually retired, leaving only one airworthy by the new millennium. The Kit 1:48 hasn’t been well-served with Anson kits apart from one that is now long-since out of production, and wasn’t renowned for its fit according to some sources. This is a brand-new tooling from Airfix, and judging by the hubbub on our forum alone, it should be a good seller for them, as there appears to be a ready market, myself included. The kit arrives in a reasonably large top-opening box in the usual red style of Airfix, and inside are six sprues in the darker grey styrene that was used for the recent Buccaneer kit we reviewed here. There is also a substantial clear sprue with a pair of raised protective protrusions over the two canopy parts, although mine had been broken off in transit, doing their job of protecting the parts from harm in the process. I glued them back on so you can see how they should look. The instruction booklet is printed in colour on matt paper, and the decal sheet is found inside with a sheet of translucent paper protecting it from moisture damage. The final component is a separate pair of glossy-printed folded A3 painting and decaling guides, with one option per page and the final page detailing the location of the surprising number of aerials and control wires that were found around the airframe. Detail. There’s some of that. Lots of that in fact, and with this being an early airframe, the wooden wings and fabric covering have been moulded with undulations that hint at the structure under the fabric. The interior is also similarly detailed, with tons of ribbing on the expansive interior of the aircraft, although there are by nature of injection moulding some ejector-pin marks here and there that you may or may not need to fill, depending on where the interior parts are placed in relation. Construction begins with a strange lever on a triangular base that I have no clue about. Answers on a postcard please. It is added to the large floor part, which has the faintest wooden grain texture that I tried to photograph to no avail. A short spar is applied to a step across the floor, and a three-part ‘commode’ seat for the pilot, plus a rather laid back-looking tubular-framed seat for the instructor/co-pilot is made up with separate sides and placed next to the pilot, plus another two-part commode-style seat and yet another backless stool are fixed into the passenger area, with three decals applied to cylinders toward the rear of the floor section. The wider rear spar drops into a slot between the two passenger seats, with two scrap diagrams showing that it should be perpendicular to the floor in both directions. The Annie’s cockpit was surrounded by a tubular frame that is formed from one part per side, which has details of various equipment and instruments moulded-in, first inserting the control column with bow-tie yoke, navigation table with angle-poise lamp, well-detailed instrument panel with decal and centre console plus rudder pegs, and a stack of radio gear in a tubular frame that also has a number of decals to depict the dials. The starboard framework has a Lewis gun added across two of the triangular struts, then the roof framework is attached across the two frames, with the top of the radio rack locating in a socket moulded into the front cross-brace. Two scrap diagrams show the sockets in the side frames and how they mate with the cross-frame for maximum strength and precision. At the rear of the passenger area is a solid bulkhead with lots of details moulded-in, with a detailed painting guide for the various aspects, and a stencil decal for the bulkhead. The port fuselage half has a detail insert applied to the inside of the wing root on three pegs, plus an instrument box further forward, and a clear lens in the upper nose, then it is slid over the spars of the cockpit assembly, with eight drawings showing the right and wrong position of several sections of the assembly. Another Lewis gun is mounted in the port rear of the passenger area, then behind the rear bulkhead, a circular frame and another smaller bulkhead are glued together and inserted into grooves toward the tail to receive the turret later. At the same time, a clear part is painted with three translucent colours on the inside before it is put in place in a triplet of half circles cut in the floor of the fuselage under the turret. The starboard fuselage is prepared in the same manner as the port and closed up over the cockpit and spars, with seven more location guide diagrams with ticks and crosses to guide you. A small hole is drilled in the cockpit roof insert before it is placed over the framework, and underneath is a floor section, both of which have feint ribbing moulded into their exteriors. The fuselage structure is completed by adding the elevators that are linked together by a rod, with extra thickness added by another layer, both of which have subtle ribbing engraved. The completed elevator is dropped into cups in the tail, and closed over by the lower elevator fins that also includes a short section of the tail underside. The tops of the fins are separate, and as you may now have started to expect, they have rib-work moulded-in. There is still a little work to do to the fuselage that includes the glazing, but attention turns to the wings next. The main gear bay assemblies are made up around a short length of spar, trapping a cylindrical tank between the frames that hold the firewall to the front. Each one is inserted into a nacelle that is moulded into the lower wing, with an UP arrow showing the correct orientation on these and the twin landing lights that fix into the leading edge of the port wing. The lower wings are offered up to the fuselage and are mounted by gluing the longer rear spar, and the front spar overlaps on a pair of studs to strengthen the join. The upper wings close over the rear of the bays, while the front section is covered by two further cowling parts that close each of the bays entirely. A brief diversion to apply the ailerons and their actuator tab to each wing leads us back to the engine nacelles, which need an engine each to complete them. The Anson flew slowly thanks to a pair of Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah IXs that generated a staggeringly unimpressive 335bhp each from their seven cylinders, which are depicted in full here, beginning with front and rear halves of the cylinder banks, which are backed up by intake trunking on a circular block, and have the pushrods moulded into the bell housing at the front, which also traps the prop-shaft in position, leaving it free to spin if you are careful with the glue. More ancillary parts are added front and rear, with the exhaust collector fixed to the ports on the rear of the cylinders. The Annie’s cowling was covered in fairing bumps to accommodate the piston cylinders, and to achieve maximum detail it is made in three segments, which each have three fairings added from separate parts that fit in recesses, with the area in the centre of each fairing hollow to allow the pistons to project into the fairings, just like the real ones. With the three sections joined around the engine to make up the full cowling, a small exhaust slots into another recess, and both engines are glued to the front of their nacelles, with the exhausts facing outboard. Another diversion has you gluing the two rudder halves around the C-shaped hinge that is moulded into the fin, and this can also be left mobile if you don’t slather it with glue. The Anson has an expansive full-length series of windows all along the sides of the passenger compartment, and each side is supplied as a single part, with some stencil decals applied to the inside before gluing them in place. If ever there was an excuse to get one of Eduard’s Tface inside/outside mask sets, this kit is it, as there is a lot of framework that will be too shiny inside unless it is painted. There is a choice of two front canopy types with different frame layout, which you can refer to the decaling drawings to decide which one you need, and two roof lights are fitted into square holes there. The nose is supplied as a clear part because it has a foglight in the nose, the reflector for which is styrene and should be painted with chrome paint before you insert it into the back of the clear nose. The nose is fixed to the fuselage with a flat panel underneath to close up the fuselage. While the model is inverted, a pair of oil-cooler loops are added to recesses under the engine nacelles, then it’s time to make up the landing gear. Each main wheel is made from two halves, with a flat-spot moulded into the bottom, and they are installed in a short yoke that is in turn glued into the strut, which is unusual, as it has the bay door moulded integrally to it, and is supported when down by a twin strut at the front that locks into location within the main bay. At the rear is a single-part tail wheel and yoke, then the airframe is detailed with the forward-firing machine gun, pitot under the nose, aerials, D/F loop and windscreen “things”, plus a tiny trumpet on the top of the port nacelle, which could be the fuel dump valve. The two-bladed props are a single part each with a short cap studded with bolts added on top, gluing onto the prop-shafts projecting from the motors, then it’s turret-time! The interior of the turret is built first with a bicycle seat for the gunner, suspended in a framework that drops down into the turret ring, on top of which the gun mount sits, fitting the final Lewis gun at the front on a small upstand. It is enclosed with glazing by first gluing on the port side, adding a central faceted panel, then finally gluing the starboard side before popping it into the hole behind the cockpit and completing the model… except for paint. Markings As already mentioned, there are three decal options included on the sheet, with a varied set of schemes and operators to widen its appeal. Each option gets its own page with the remaining side covering the aerial/rigging diagrams. From the box you can build one of the following: N9732 No.500 (County of Kent) Sqn., Royal Auxiliary Air Force, RAF Detling, Kent, June 1st 1940 AW665 Coastal Commands Camouflage Trials Aircraft, No.71 Sqn., Royal Australian Air Force, Lowood, Queensland, October 1943 KB727 No.3 Training Command, No.31 General Reconnaissance School, Royal Canadian Air Force, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, 1941 Decal option A was the Anson that was responsible for shooting down two Bf.109Es from I./JG20 over the English Channel on that day. Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The instrument decals have the dials and outlines, so you will need to paint the panel first. Conclusion The Anson doesn’t perhaps get the kudos it deserves due to its predominantly second line service, but it was an important machine that was responsible for training a huge number of pilots, navigators and radar men that went on to play their part in the defeat of the Reich. She’s an elegant bird, and must have been well-loved to garner the nickname Faithful Annie. She’s also a cracking-looking model that should be much easier to build than previous kits. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  7. Hi Everyone, I've only just got into modelling and this I would call my first real build. I did a Euro fighter from Airfix first but it was more just to see if I enjoyed it, which I did, so I'm going to try and do justice to this historic plane. Here's my progress so far... Any help or advice is gratefully received!
  8. Morning folk's,built for the perfectly timed WW2 twins GB as it was a Christmas present is the new tool Airfix 410.Well a lot has been said already about this kit so I'll leave it to those with more Knowledge and skills on that matter all I can say is personally it's one of the finest kits I have had the pleasure of building over these many years and if we didn't already know it confirms Airfix can go toe to toe with those companies we set as the benchmarks in the Hobby,as I said during the build if this kit was presented to you in a plain box the look of the plastic and finesse of the moulding would scream Tamiya,
  9. The Airfix Blenheim has been built a few times in BM and I previously built a both a MkI and a MkIV of 771 NAS based at RNAS Twatt. So a quick look in the stash revealed this one as well. I had laid down some paint previously but that’s all. I have some aftermarket, the masks are vital for the Blenheim’s glass house and turret, while I’ve got a selection of transfers. I’ll use the markings for 787 NAS the Naval Air Fighting Development Unit. I’ll add in some etch seat belts but otherwise OOB.
  10. Last one for the year, a quick build of the Airfix Ferret. Brush painted with Tamiya Acrylics, somewhat over-weathered with Vallejo Model Washes. No additions other than a couple of aerials from copper wire. Completed as vehicle in UN colours in Cyprus, 1974. The instructions say 5th Parachute Brigade, but a search online actually indicates it’s a vehicle belonging to 5 Troop, Parachute Squadron RAC. Thanks for looking and a Happy New Year to all.
  11. Hello. When my 1/24 scale FW190 build hit a snag (should be recoverable), I didn't want to stop building - so I embarked on the classic Airfix 1/24 Scale Hawker Hurricane. One of my all time favourite aircraft. I originally built this kit as an over excited prepubescent kid during the 1970's and of course, as delighted as I was with it, it obviously looked like it had been built by an over excited prepubescent kid - with little glue control, his sisters nail sanders and over sized paint brushes. This time I hoped to do it more justice. The subject of my build is P3803 of 501 Squadron. This aircraft was lost off the coast near Ramsgate on 12th August 1940 with F/O Kazimierz Lukaszewicz (Polish) at the controls. Sadly neither he nor his aircraft were ever found. The build is mostly out of the box - except for the Yahu Instrument Panel, Barracuda Studios Resin tyres, and RB Productions Sutton Harness. The decals were to my own design and printed by https://www.custom-model-decals.com/. All paints and varnishes are Vallejo. One modification I did make was to the (in my opinion) over-sized nose. After looking at different options I eventually stuffed it with milliput and then sanded it down to reduce the base diameter by a small margin. As you can tell... I'm not a photographer! I am pleased with how it has turned out. As with all models there are a few places I think could do with more work - but in reality I think I'm going to call this one done. Maybe time to get back to the FW190 . Thanks for looking.
  12. Airfix is to release in 2015 a new tool 1/72nd Armstrong Whitworth & Whitley - ref. A08016 Expected August 2015. Source: http://www.airfix.com/catalog/product/view/id/8408/ V.P.
  13. I offer this for RFI ...Another 'Lockdown' project i completed. This is the old tooled Airfix 'Sharkmouth' which i dedided to do OOB as the 445th BG from Tibbenham in Norfolk.. Hope you like it? The photos are not the best and probably hide a multitude of 'sins' lol and i took them at my WFH station.( Apologies ) Hand painted with Humbrol Enamels . I love the Lib as a plane wish there was a new Airfix 1:48 tooling for this! I did post these pics on another recent Liberator thread but actually this is where i should have put them..
  14. Another little 'Spider Crab'. It's not until one makes one of these that its small size actually becomes very apparent... This is Airfix's Vampire F.3 released in 2021 with very little added. Just PE seatbelts, a scratch built cockpit entry peg extended and home made decals. Oh, and a lot of lead! Even after filling the nose, I found I needed to add the wing fuel tanks to make use of additional weight added forward of the main gear - more lead stuffed into the nose of each tank! Even so, the model is still a bit nose light. I prefer aeroplanes clean of dangly bits, but I needed the extra lead. The Vampire's tanks, in my view, do look particularly ugly. Hay-ho. The model represents Vampire F.3 VF344 of 247 Squadron based at Odiham in 1949. The airframe scheme is the RAF's post war (and pre-war) High Speed Silver colour all over, or rather my own mix of Tamiya LP-11 and several splashes of matt white. In my view, HSS is more of a dull-ish metallic grey than something looking like polished aluminium so the white just takes the edge off the LP-11 (the fuselage pod is clad in wood, it's not metal skinned!). I took reference from several aeroplanes that looked filthy in order to make the model look more interesting but ended up not taking the weathering as far as the photos showed. The clear coat is mainly light coats of Future rubbed back with a very fine polishing grit. Weathering is mainly with oils of different consistencies. Since the kit is a bit heavy-handed with panel line detail, only panel lines for removable panels were pin-washed. The kit goes together fairly well, except for that horizontal joint around the nose. Some filler and sanding was required here, after some swearing to get a reasonable fit. The gear is fiddly too - it works, it just needs care. 'Test fit' is a good watch word with this one. Here's a reference photo... Photos of the model... And some in colour... And next to a Meteor... Cheers, Paul.
  15. Hi folks, Please can you count me in for this GB as it will be the perfect excuse to build this: Cheers Kris
  16. Messerschmitt Me.410-1/U2 & U4 (A04066) 1:72 Airfix The sleekly styled, twin-engined Me.410 Hornisse started life as the Me.210, the intended replacement for the Bf.110 that was already showing its age, and forward-thinking planners correctly anticipated that if war broke out, it would quickly be outclassed, leading to heavy losses. The replacement process was begun before WWII started in the West, but turned into a protracted gestation due to problems that presented themselves before it could be turned into a viable heavy fighter/bomber. The Me.210 was a flawed concept that suffered from unpleasant and sometimes dangerous handling characteristics, garnering such a poor reputation that when the substantial changes needed to fix these problems (initially designated the 210D) were underway, the decision was made to rename it the Me.410 to distance it from its origins. The 410 utilised an improved DB603A engine, lengthened the fuselage over the 210 to improve the centre of gravity, utilising an amended wing planform to give it a constant sweep-back of the leading edge to bring the aerodynamic centre further forward. Coupled with leading-edge slats that had been removed from the initial 210 design, the resulting aircraft that was significantly more pleasant to fly, had a respectable top speed and could carry a substantial war-load. On entering service in 1943, its initial success as a night bomber over the UK was most definitely not a portent of great things to come. The 410 was a day late and a dollar short so to speak, and no sooner had it reached the front-line and started attacking the bomber streams, than the Allies darkened the skies with fast, manoeuvrable single-engined fighters such as the Spitfire and Mustang, which could easily out-fly the 410, a problem that would be exacerbated by later designs such as the P-47 Thunderbolt and the P-38 Lightning. Pitched into battle without fighter cover, they were easy prey to the Allied fighters, and the balance was only slightly shifted by the introduction of Bf.109 and Fw.190 escorts. Production ceased in August 1944 to concentrate dwindling manufacturing capacity on the Emergency Fighter Programme for the ultimately unsuccessful defence of the Reich. Due to its relatively short career, the marks that saw action progressed only as far as the B model, although high altitude C and D models were on the drawing board, but never saw service. Despite its flaws, the 410 was quite innovative in its weapons carriage, and had a nose-mounted weapons bay directly under the cockpit, which could house a palette of munitions, either bombs, cannon, reconnaissance cameras or the 50mm Bordkanone that was used to attack daylight bomber streams. Due to the upgraded engines that gave it more capacity in the bomber role, a pair of bomb shackles had to be added to the inner wing undersides to accommodate the extra load. The twin remote controlled "barbettes" on each side of the mid fuselage were also of note, as they were controlled by the rear gunner from the aft cockpit using a traditional pistol-grip system could also pivot up and down, but the barrels could also be rotated out sideways to fire one of the two barbettes at an off-centre target behind them. Movement and aiming was all carried out using controls attached to the pistol grip, and must have surprised more than one potential assailant. The A-1 model was designated as a Light Bomber, a job that it was well suited to, giving the Allies a run for their money on night operations, where they proved difficult to catch. The 410’s equipment bay right beneath the pilot in the A-1 accommodated the nose armament of a pair of MG17s and MG151/20 cannons, plus shackles for droppable munitions, with a maximum of 1,000kg. A pair of 500kg bombs was the usual, but other stores could be carried. The underside of the nose bay had two clamshell doors that partially retracted into the fuselage, allowing easy exit for the bombs. After the war, several of these interesting aircraft were taken as war prizes by the Allies, but sadly only two full airframes exist today, one in RAF Cosford in a fully-restored state, which until the 1980s was capable of ground-running despite props that were shortened to equalise their lengths after an “incident”, the other awaiting preservation in the US at the National Air & Space Museum. The Kit This new tooling from Airfix was announced only shortly before release, and caused a stir amongst 1:72 modellers, as it was an unexpected new tooling, and a slightly unusual subject matter when you consider its relatively short length of service. The kit arrives in Airfix’s red-themed top-opening box, and inside are six sprues of dark grey styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, decal sheet inside the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on matt paper that is accompanied by a single A4 colour printed sheet of profiles for painting and decaling the model. Detail is excellent, and the part-count at 137 is commensurately high, with much work going into the cockpit, weapons bay, gear bays and the other usual focus areas, plus finely engraved panel lines and crisp clear parts that have been engineered in sections to recreate the twin bulged aft sections around the gunner’s position. Construction begins with the cockpit floor, which has the side consoles moulded-in and has decals to highlight the details. A window is inserted into the forward floor, installing the gun pack below in what will become the weapons bay. A scrap diagram shows the location of two 1mm holes that should be drilled in the floor before the next step, which is fitting the pilot’s seat and the bulkhead with head-rest behind him. The control column and a small instrument rack are fixed to the floor, then an extension to the cockpit is fitted behind on a lug, which is used to support the frame around the gunner’s position, adding extra details to the frame before joining it, and a suspension arch in the weapons bay below it. Work on the cockpit stops for a while, as the gunner’s position is built on the wing lower, which must be built next. The lower wings are moulded almost full-span, drilling out flashed-over holes depending on which decal option you have chosen. A combined spar and gear bay bulkhead part is inserted into grooves in the lower wing, strengthening the assembly further, then adding the gunner’s compartment, which is made from a tub with a separate rear that is covered with moulded-in radio gear boxes, and the seat on the top edge of the area. It mounts in the centre of the wing aft of the spar on four turrets, the forward edge of the compartment butting up against the spar, overlapping it slightly. A triangular door insert fills the gear bay opening for the gear-up option, then the bays themselves are installed, with plenty of moulded-in detail for the avid viewer to look at. The fuselage must be completed next to join the two crew compartments, in advance of finishing the wings. The starboard fuselage half has an electrical panel applied near the rear of the cockpit, and half of the pilot’s instrument panel plus decal at the front, adding a bulkhead to the front of the tail-wheel bay, painting it all interior green RLM02. The port side has just the instrument panel half installed and decal at the front, then has the cockpit glued into position, with location assisted by a scrap diagram nearby, then the fuselage halves are joined around a drum without glue, which will be the base for the rear gun barbettes. Once the glue has cured and you have dealt with the seams in your usual manner, the fuselage is lowered onto the lower wing taking care not to damage the gunner’s compartment, and is glued in place, followed immediately by the two upper wing halves. With the glue cured and seams dealt with, you have a choice of dropped or retracted leading-edge slats, using different parts for each option, and ensuring you don’t get them mixed up! The elevators are next, and again you have a choice by using different parts, offering dropped elevators without having to do any additional work, or having them neutral by replacing the lower section that has the flying surfaces moulded-in. The assemblies fit into slots in the tail with zero dihedral, and the rudder panel is inserted into the fin, which can be posed deflected as you wish. The engine nacelle fronts are made from two halves, adding the cooling bays from two parts each underneath, then sliding them into position in the wing fronts, leaving the small gear bays open to receive the struts later in the build. Another choice is armament in the weapons bay, depending on which decal option you are portraying, each one having a different set of doors for the relevant armament. Decal option A is the U2 variant that carries a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 cannons in a pod inside the bay that has 250 rounds available and fitted on a peg inside the bay, with an insert on each side that is moulded to a carrier. The U4 carries the long-barrelled 50mm Bordkanone with 22 rounds, the barrel for which is installed in the separate cowling that uses the same insert at the rear. The completed assembly of choice is then glued into place under the nose to complete its distinctive snub-nosed profile. The next choice is whether you wish to depict the radiator fairings with the cooling flaps open or closed. The radiator cores are common to both options, and the two sides are joined by a trio of turrets, then they are inserted into the radiator fairing of choice, adding the sides to the assembly appropriate to the position. The outer flap panels are inserted into gaps in the wings behind the radiators at 10° deflection for the open option, then the fairings are installed into the depressions in the underside of the wings to complete them. The ailerons are next in line outboard, and are fitted with a pair of horn balances into slots in the parts before they are installed in their bays, and these can be posed deflected if you wish. There is still much to do, starting with the exhaust stubs that are moulded on a carrier, and slotting them into the nacelles on each side, then adding flare hiders that help protect the pilot’s night vision and make the aircraft less visible at night. The barbettes on the sides of the fuselage must be glued carefully to ensure they remain mobile, adding the gun barrels into the slot at the rear of the fairing to complete them. If you are building your model on the ground, the main wheels of the 410 are supplied in well-detailed halves with a smooth tyre that has a little sag moulded-in to depict the weight of the aircraft compressing them. Each gear strut has a separate scissor link spanning the black gaiter over the oleos, adding a retraction jack behind the leg as they are inserted into the bays, gluing the wheels on the inboard side, and fitting a bay door to the front of the bays. For retracted wheels, a single part covers the tail-wheel bay, which is substituted by a pair of linked open bay doors for the wheels-down option, after which the nicely detailed tail-wheel strut with moulded-in wheel is glued into the bulkhead inside the bay. The next option is dependent upon whether you drilled out holes in the lower wing earlier, which receives two underwing tanks that are made from two halves with handed support frames suspending them under the aircraft. The three-bladed props are moulded as one part, and are trapped between the spinner and back plate, then a stepped washer is slipped over the axle at the rear without glue, and is trapped in position by another washer that is glued into position to allow the prop to remain mobile unless you overdo it. The two completed props are slotted into the fronts of the engine nacelles, and these can be left until after painting to avoid damage or messing up part of your paint job. Before the canopy can be installed, two triangular supports are added to the space between the crew positions, and the gunner’s two-part control centre with pistol-grip is fitted at the rear of his compartment. The unusual glazing strip that extends the pilot’s view over the nose is different depending on which armament option you have chosen, using different parts accordingly, then building the complex shaped canopy from three components. The windscreen has the entire canopy roof moulded-in, and it is completed by gluing the two side glazing components to the sides to achieve the correct tapering, yet bulbous shape at the rear. This is glued into position along with a radio mast offset to the starboard roof frame between the crew stations at an angle to the vertical from the front, adding a pitot probe to the port wingtip, and if the aircraft is wheels down, a crew access footstep that drops from the fuselage on the port side. Under the fuselage are fitted a long towel-rail antenna and another straight mast with a bulbous end. Markings There are two decal options on the sheet, which share the same splinter scheme on the wings, but have different patterns and mottling on the fuselage. From the box you can build one of the following: 11./Zerstörergeschwader 26, Gardermoen, Norway, 1945 Stab II./Zerstörergeschwader 26, Königsberg, 1944 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Because of the proximity and limited space between the fuselage and engine nacelles, scrap diagrams show the locations of the various markings and stencils in those locations that would be invisible on standard profiles. Conclusion This is an extremely well-detailed modern kit with an interesting choice of weapons fits and plenty of other options to personalise your model. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  17. I'd like to join in with this please; The Airfix P-47 is neither a new kit, nor an uncommon one, but this particular boxing took me a while to track down. I'm an Eighth Air Force nut (collecting diecast models, books, and trying to visit all of their former airfields), and when I saw that Airfix had chosen one of the Thunderbolt formation monitors as the subject, I had to have it. A random choice, especially for a starter set, but I like the look of it. Not as well known (or, indeed, as colourful) as the assembly ships, war weary P-47s were used by a number of bomb groups to help with the formation of the vast armadas of bombers in the very crowded (and often murky) skies of Norfolk and Suffolk, with the former fighters often painted in the same markings as the bombers they were assisting. Such is the case with this one, representing "Ginny", used by the 458th Bomb Group at Horsham St. Faith (now Norwich Airport). Here's the painting guide; And the kit itself. According to Scalemates, the kit originally dates from 1966, and the simplicity of it certainly suggests that. This particular boxing dates from 2009, so at least the decals are a bit newer! Not a huge amount of decals; A whole 6 steps of instructions. Not seen the space for modellers notes before. The painting guide is pretty good, but also got this as a help, which has a nice black and white photo of "Ginny"; Not sure exactly when I'll get started, as I'm currently also in two other group builds, but it's not a big kit, so I'm sure I can squeeze it onto the creation station!
  18. An assortment of shots (DSLR and iPhone) of my completed Sea King HAR3 from the Airfix starter set. Generally pretty good fit and detail although that canopy assembly and masking is never going to be easy on a 1:72 Sea King!!! Mostly build o.o.b. but a bit of Eduard etch used (notably the wipers and that front door / steps), plus a bit of scratchbuilding: plasticard antennae, the wire aerial and handrails, and some small pieces of wire and plastic rod to better represent the really complex rotor head engineering of the real one. It's not perfect but certainly better than the kit version. Bit more info: painted with Vallejo Air yellow acylic, which in itself is a decent paint... but I didn't realise until too late, just how hard it is to cover anything with yellow! Especially as I'd pre-shaded over the grey primer with black panel lines... about eight coats of yellow later, and pre-shading still dark as anything, I gave up and put another thin primer layer over it all before starting again with the yellow! Lesson learned though. (I subsequently read a great tip on here: prime with pink if you're going to paint yellow. Will definitely try that next time). I tried to keep the weathering really subtle, as these helicopters were generally kept very clean (although there are some images out there of quite dirty ones..). Assorted diorama bits include Noy's Miniatures modern aircraft hangar and ReedOak groundcrew figures (amazing quality). Thanks for looking!
  19. Hello everyone! Here is one of the three kits I finished in the very last days of last year! It's a Focke-Wulf Fw 190F-16/R16. The F-16 was a planned but unbuilt final variant of the F family. Over a year ago, when I decided to start a run of Fw 190s which has been going on and off since then, I spotted this variant in the Valiant Wings Airframe & Miniature No.7 book on the radial engine versions of the Fw 190 and what sparked this project was having a four-bladed propeller on an F-model. Seeing this project was feasible for me, taking into account the other modifications to make, I bought what I needed and only in October did I finally get on with it. I decided to use an Airfix Fw 190A-8 kit as the base since it was considered decent (despite some negative aspects) and, above all, cheap. I almost regretted it when I struggled with the poor fit around the nose area! Anyhow, I managed to pull through and had fun making the modifications and some improvements. This build dragged on for over two months because I kept taking on completely different builds simultaneously, something I will not do again... The Fw 190F-16 variant has three major differences to the A-8/F-8: 1 - The four-bladed propeller. This I made using spare wider blades from Eduard kits. The remaining parts were from the Airfix kit. I modified the spinner to have four perpendicular openings for the blades. 2 - A Ta 152 tail. I used an AML resin tail set for the Fw 190D. The forward section of this part had to be cut off as it was the fuselage extension for the D. I had to open up a bay for the tailwheel. 3 - Extensions in the wing root. I used scrap plastic and CA glue sanded to shape to make these. This version had the late-type blown canopy which was in the Airfix kit but the related headrest wasn't so I used a spare one from an Eduard kit. The blister for the underside loop antenna was removed and an aerial further back was made from stretched sprue as was the radio wire above. The outer panels of the wing undersides were sanded smooth and the outer guns cropped as they were not used by the F family. The book depicted an R14 subvariant with a standard torpedo. I decided to use a pair of Airwaves white-metal BT400s which I have long had in my stash, thus making this an R16 subvariant. I made the underwing FuG 101 radio altimeter antennae from sprue. One of the Airfix kit's negative points is the main undercarriage. I shortened the legs in the oleos 1.5mm and did the same to the doors. The main wheels were replaced with spare ones from an Eduard Fw 190A-5 kit I built earlier this year. The scheme, completely fictitious of course, was an attempt to make one for low-level attacks over water. I have made some other "what-if" naval attack aircraft kits but using greys so this time I went for a late-war green. I felt a wavy pattern would be better than squiggles and had the insignia in minimal (outlined) versions to aid in the camouflage. The kit was fully painted and varnished with brush. Some of the decals were from the kit, the rest being from spares or generic sheets. Despite some troubles, this was a fun project and I'm very pleased with the result and really glad I made it. For some reason, it looks mean and heavy with the four-bladed propeller. Thanks for looking and all comments are welcome Miguel
  20. Mosquito Mk.XVIII NT225 'O' 248 Sqn flown by Flying Officer William Cosman, DFC, (RCAF) and Flying Officer L. M. Freedman, navigator. Kit - Airfix 1/72 'new tool' 399 released in 1972 Flying Officer Cosman and Flying Officer Freedman flew this plane in Ops during 1944 and were sadly lost in an engagement with Fw 190s near Gossen on 7 December 1944. A fuller account of their Ops in NT225, and details of the Mk.XVIII, is included in an article published in 2016 in THE OBSERVAIR (newsletter of the Ottawa Chapter, Canadian Aviation Historical Society). Above is the finished article. This is how it looked last October when retrieved from the 'box of doom' in the loft; The kit I made in 1972, The WIP of the rebuild is here; Thanks for looking, Charlie
  21. For the masochist that lurks deep within all of us:
  22. Fairey Gannet AS.1/AS.4 (A11007) 1:48 Airfix The Gannet was another great British aircraft that began development while the fires of WWII still burned, and was specifically designed to take advantage of new radar technologies that had been developed during wartime to perform the complete anti-submarine warfare task, taking the role of both the hunter and the killer. Early design work experimented with the use of a single turboprop engine for fuel economy to allow the aircraft a long loiter time, but this was found to be sub-standard, and Rolls-Royce cancelled the engine design to concentrate on more pressing wartime needs. The Armstrong Siddeley Mamba engine was considered as an alternative, and it was decided that two of these engines with a common intake and gearbox would be suitable. Known as the Double or Twin Mamba, that gave the design a wide ‘chin’ and twin exhausts. The engine would power two contra-rotating props that had dual roles, eliminating any torque steer effect on take-off and landing, and giving the crew the option of shutting one engine down to save fuel and extend loiter, as there was enough power in a single engine to keep the aircraft aloft. By 1946 Fairey had been given a contract to produce two prototypes, which first flew toward the end of 1949, and the testing programme ironed out the bugs, which included a crash-landing that damaged one of the prototypes and caused some delays. By 1950 the testing process had progressed to the carrier trials portion, carrying out the world’s first carrier deck landing by a turboprop aircraft. The second prototype was completed later, and had benefited from changes to the design based upon experience with the first airframe, which had now racked up two crash-landings. Other changes to the specification were forced upon them too, including a larger bomb bay, an additional crew seat and canopy, and relocation of the radome, all of which was mirrored on the first prototype to ensure its ongoing usefulness to the testing programme. Successful completion and the increasing likelihood of war in Korea led to an order of 100 AS.1 airframes, reaching service by 1954 after resolving a compressor stall issue that had grounded the first production batch for two months. The AS.4 was created later in the 50s, with better engines and avionics, then to replace the ageing Skyraiders in the AEW role, a fundamental re-design of the fuselage was made to accommodate the large radome centrally mounted under the wings, which was designated AEW.3, and was fitted with a new variant of the Double Mamba, which can be easily differentiated from the earlier marks by the fuselage design and the heavyweight radome underneath. Export customers included Germany, Indonesia, and Australia, where they stayed in service for a long time. In the 1960s the Royal Navy transitioned the ASW role to helicopters, effectively making a proportion of the Gannet fleet redundant, but they were found alternative employment with a few alterations, some performing the Electronic Warfare role, and others converted to mail delivery and communications aircraft, travelling between the carriers and shore establishments. By the late 70s, the British Government had mandated a retirement of the Navy’s last carriers, which it was assured were unnecessary, and the Gannets were retired at around the same time, leaving the fleet with a capability gap just in time to make protecting the “through-deck cruisers” and the rest of the Task Force ships during the Falklands War. The Kit 1:48 modellers have never been well-served with Gannet models, although for years the best choice was the Dynavector vacformed kit, with the Classic Airframes coming second, despite being at least partly injection moulded. Both required more modelling skill than your average injection-moulded kit, and both are long extinct, although I still have one of the Dynavector kits on my shelf as I type this. A few months ago Airfix announced they would be releasing a brand-new tooling of this classic post-war British work horse, which caused a great deal of happiness amongst British and anglophile modellers, promising a modern injection-moulded kit that wouldn’t take arcane incantations or selling one’s soul to a deity of your choice to successfully complete. It has now arrived, and the wait has been worth it. The kit arrives in a large top-opening box that is filled with seven sprues in Airfix’s recent dark grey styrene, plus a single sprue of clear parts, finishing off with a large decal sheet and the instruction booklet, which is printed in colour and has two separate A4 sheets of glossy paper depicting the markings options and stencil locations. If you have seen the newly tooled 1:48 Buccaneer or Sea King, you will know exactly what to expect, which is a ton of detail, clever engineering, and multiple options that give you flexibility of completion of your model without the results looking toy-like. The surface detail is excellent, covering the skin with engraved panel lines and fine rivets, plus deeply recessed detail in the bomb bay, cockpit and landing gear areas, which are the focal points of any aircraft model that carries a pilot. The front page of the instruction booklet carries an emboldened note about nose-weight, as the Gannet was a tail-heavy aircraft in real life, a trait that also extends to the model. You are advised to add 12g to the purpose-made box under the cockpit floor, and a further 55g in the nose area, with a cut-off line shown on the instructions to avoid baulking the prop insert and intake fairings. That’s a lot of weight, so ensure you have plenty to hand, and weigh it accurately beforehand, as once you close the fuselage there will be little opportunity to add more. Remember that if you are planning on installing any aftermarket, the balance may change, and you may have to increase the amount of weight to compensate. Once you’ve finished salivating over the sprues, clean the drool off, then construction can begin with the bomb bay for a change. The main length of the bay is moulded as a single well-detailed part, which is completed by adding the front and rear bulkheads, both of which have a gaggle of stencil decals applied to create some additional visual interest. The nose gear bay roof is fitted to the front, and a large H-shaped twin spar unit is laid over the exterior of the bay roof, adding a support on the aft faceted segment, then gluing the first nose weight box over the front of the bomb bay, inserting 12g of nose weight inside. It’s advisable to glue the nose weight in firmly to prevent rattling, and if you use lead shot, it’s possible some may escape if you invert the model, unless there is space to add a lid to the box using styrene sheet – the instructions seem to imply that there will be, but everything is still on the sprue as I write this, so it’s hard to tell conclusively. The cockpit floor is a long part that covers the length of the existing assembly, overhanging to the rear, and at this early stage only a circular decal is applied to the pilot’s side consoles. The model is flipped onto its back to add the tapered side walls to the nose gear bay, inserting a detailed rear wall flat against the front bomb bay bulkhead to give it some visual impact. Another 180° roll is needed to start adding detail into the cockpit, starting with a three-part assembly that includes decals for the 2nd crewman’s instrument panel, mounting over a raised block on the cockpit floor. The bulkhead behind the pilot is applied to the other side of the separator, with a curved part linking it to the instrument panel, adding another bulkhead with added seat backrest for crewman no.2, followed by the seat base with recessed pan to accommodate the operator’s parachute pack. The pilot’s seat is a single part, and a short control-column is fitted in front of this, creating his instrument panel with gunsight and decals to depict the dials, which is attached to the side consoles in his cockpit. Another bulkhead is built with two equipment boxes on the sides, and a rack with another box and three circular screens that all have decals applied for the rear seat crewman. The third cockpit is separated by a bulkhead that is basically a rack with two large equipment boxes mounted within it, behind which the rear seat is fitted, comprising two parts, so that the crewman can play with his toys to the aft. The fuselage halves are prepared for use by adding cockpit side wall inserts at the front and rear of the compartment, painting the rest of the area in grey, and adding stencil and dial decals to the inserts to add more interest for the intrepid viewer. The starboard fuselage half is then slid into position over the two spars, and at this point the large 55g of nose weight can be added under the cockpit, but taking care not to let it creep forward and baulk completion of the nose. The port fuselage half is slid over the opposite ends of the spars, permitting closure of the fuselage and the hiding of seams in your preferred manner. Once the glue is dry and the seams dealt with, you can choose to depict the rear radome under the fuselage as deployed for operation, or retracted for the rest of the flight envelope, bearing in mind that the extended option can only be used whilst in-flight, as it will cause the model to tip forward when on the ground. To extend the radome, the fairing around it has a flat plate inserted, onto which the radome fixes, whereas the retracted option leaves this off, and the radome too is left until later for both options. The main gear bays are built up inside the lower halves of the wings, and are just one of three rectangular(ish) spacers that set the distance between the upper and lower skins. The innermost spacer has bay wall detail inserts applied all round its inner face, with a small fire extinguisher installed in the starboard bay, and remembering to test-fit the inner bay doors so that they fit easily into their slots, saving anguish later if you find that they don’t fit. Someone has clearly test-built this model, which is good to know. The ailerons are made from upper and lower halves, as are the inner flap sections, the outer flap panel are single parts that have two fairing bumps inserted into recesses, putting them all to one side until near completion of the wings. You have the choice of building the Gannet with its wings folded for storage below decks, or deployed for flight, with different parts included for both options so that there is no fiddling with wing sections to align them in relation to each other and the ground. To build her ready for flight, the full wing halves are prepared by drilling out flashed-over holes in the lower surface for rockets and pylons if you are using them, then gluing the three internal supports into position on their raised brackets, the innermost one being the gear bay with inserts applied earlier. The roof of the bay is detailed with moulded-in ribbing, and should be painted at the same time as the rest of the gear bay, closing the wing halves and installing them over the spars once the glue is fully cured. The ailerons are then inserted into their cut-outs at the ends of the wings, and a clear wingtip insert is slotted in, masking the tip lights off so that they remain clear after painting. Building your Gannet with its wings folded is a necessarily more complex affair that will result in a more impressive model that will take up less space in your cabinet, but will take more care when building and painting, so it’s a two-edged sword. The only way to get around this thorny decision is to buy two, which is a tempting prospect. The fixed inner wing portion is built first, fitting the already assembled bay inserts into the lower inner wing panel, adding the fold mechanism, then applying the upper wing surface, and installing the flaps into their tracks in the retracted position. Both the inner wing sections are then slipped over the twin spars and glued into position. The central section has holes drilled out for rockets if you plan to use them, adding the inner support box and a two-part fold mechanism to the outboard edge, the outer flap panel (retracted again), and a rib is inserted into the inner edge. The wingtip panel is joined around its support box, adding a clear wingtip to the outer end, a landing light in the leading edge, and fitting a rib into the inboard end. They aren’t added to the model at this stage however, instead putting them to one side while you build the rudder from two halves, the two elevators from two halves each, and the flying surfaces, again from two halves. The fins are inserted into slots in the tail, gluing their flying surfaces to the rear, and adding the little finlets into sockets above and below the elevators, taking care to align them with each other. The version with extended wings can be modelled with the flaps deployed for landing and take-off or flush for normal flight. To pose them flush, they are glued into position without further parts needed, while the deployed option adds two actuator arms inserted into notches in their thick leading edges, which have extra plastic moulded into the forward mounting point, which should be removed after painting and before installation, presumably to aid handling during this process. They are glued into position in their tracks, taking care to have everything painted and weathered to your liking before you do. In case you were wondering, the installation of the mid and outer panels for the wings-folded option are left until much later in the build. The nose of this turboprop is a particular curved shape, and the exterior is moulded as a single part, into which you slide a long prop shaft without glue, instead gluing a washer over it, taking care not to flood the area with too much that may seize the prop shaft inside. A pair of conjoined cylindrical inserts are glued behind the intakes that add extra strakes and some depth to the intake, with a scrap diagram showing how it looks from behind. The completed insert is then offered up to the front of the fuselage, which is when you will find whether you left enough space between the nose weight and the fuselage front. If you can’t fit the part as it stands due to the nose weight taking up too much room, my callipers suggest that there is around 2mm of styrene at the base of the trunking part that could be removed if necessary. Sand and check as you go however, or be prepared to paint the front of the nose weight black if you accidentally break through. This short diversion leads us to the landing gear, which can be portrayed retracted or deployed for landing by using certain parts and omitting others. As you’d imagine, the retracted gear option is the easiest, first building up the main wheels from two halves plus two hubs, which will be used for both options. They are attached to their respective retracted legs that creates enough of the structure to pass inspection once the outer bay doors are installed over them. The nose gear bay is a single part that covers the whole bay. To deploy the gear, the outer main bay doors are slotted into the grooves that you test-fitted earlier, then the gear legs are built from three parts and inserted into the bays, plugging into sockets moulded into the roof, ensuring that the scissor-links point aft. The nose gear bay is prepared by installing a retraction base in the roof, then building up the leg from three parts, plugging it into the bay roof, and fitting the retraction jack frame at the ends of the base and to the forward face of the strut, which requires the jack to be slipped over the leg, and must be done before installing both two-part wheels on the axles, adding another part to the axle between the wheels. The bay doors are split into two sections per side, and they open at the centreline, hinging down at slightly different angles, the large doors supported by retraction jacks near their forward edge. I do love a contra-prop, and have a few in my cabinet already. Each prop has four blades moulded into a central boss, which mounts on a plate behind it. The rear prop has a tapered spinner portion fixed to the front, while the front prop has the tip of the spinner glued to it. The rear prop is pushed over the axle without glue, fixing the front prop in position with a little glue on the tip of the axle. If you used too much glue when securing the prop shaft earlier, the front blades won’t be movable once glued in place, so take care. The next choice is to have the bomb bay open or closed. Again, the closed option is simple, requiring one part with an engraved join line moulded into it, sealing the bay detail away forever. If you want to show the detail, first you must choose one of two weapons loads that you will find on the sprues, which comprise the following elements: 2 x Mk.30 passively-homing acoustic torpedoes 6 x Mk.11 250lb depth-charge 5 x Sonobuoy The torpedoes are built from two halves, a two-part fin/prop assembly, plus an annular stabiliser, the depth-charges two halves plus flat nose and fin sections, and the sonobuoys are made from two halves and two flat ends. The torpedoes are fixed into the front of the bay on mounting blocks, the depth charges are fitted to two supports in racks of three, while the sonobuoys are bundled together on two rails in a pack of five. One loadout has the torpedoes plus sonobuoys in the rear, the latter on an adapter plate, while the other load has four depth charges on individual mounting blocks instead of the sonobuoys, fitting bay retraction jacks at the front and rear of the bay on each side, supporting the two double-thickness bay doors in the correct open position. The Gannet can also carry underwing stores on pylons just outboard of the main gear bays, which are made from two halves plus a mounting plate that is contoured to the wing, so take care to mark them with L & R or S & P to prevent confusion later. The individual rockets are carried under the mid panel of the wings, and are fitted on single-part rails that slot into the holes made earlier, installing one three-part rocket to each rail after painting. A scrap diagrams shows that the rails are fitted perpendicular to the wing surface, not the ground. It's now time for some small parts, starting with a short blade antenna on the spine that should have a hole drilled 28mm behind the second cockpit. An alternative requires two holes drilled in the spine, one each side of the centre, which sounds a terrifying prospect until you see the jig that is included. This curved jig has a pair of lumps on the inside, which should marry up with two depressions behind the second cockpit, and the two holes in the rear should allow you to drill two 0.8mm holes accurately to fit the antenna into position. An antenna glues to the fixed portion of the canopy between the front two cockpits, which is next to be glued into place. Most of this will be painted, leaving just two small windows on each side of the part. The windscreen gives you options too, supplying windscreens with and without a moulded-in wiper blade, catering to those that purchase aftermarket sets that include replacement wipers, saving you some time removing the moulded-in blades and polishing the screen back to clarity. That’s pretty thoughtful of them, and an option I’d like to see more frequently. There are a trio of pilots in the hands-on-knees pose if you wanted to fill the cockpits, and they’re all moulded identically with bone dome helmets and oxygen masks, unlike the guy pictured in the instructions, who has a WWII era leather helmet. There are three individual canopies for each crew member, and they can all be posed open or closed, as you prefer. Just when you think it’s safe to put the glue away, you need to flip the model onto its back to install the radome, and hope you built the landing gear option appropriate to your choice of radome position. Radome down – wheels up. Radome up – wheels down. While the model is inverted, the arrestor hook is inserted into the step under the tail, fitting a small T-antenna under the port elevator, a small light under the starboard wingtip, and a pitot under the port wing. Lugs are attached under the wing roots to hold the looped ends of the catapult strop, and the tubular exhausts with angled tips are inserted into their fairings on the fuselage sides, the longer edge closest to the fuselage. You were probably thinking we’d forgotten the folded wing panels, but they’re on the very last page of the instructions, starting by adding long pivots to the fixed inner panels to mount the centre panel, helped by a scrap diagram. The outer panel is attached to the centre panel via a hook-shaped pivot, adding the ailerons to the rear edge, so that the wing forms a Z-shape when viewed from the front. A rod is used to prop the wings when folded, fitting into the inner rib of the centre section, and a hole under the wingtip, as shown by a silhouette drawing in the top corner of the step. The port centre section has the pitot probe inserted, and here I got rather confused, as for the straight winged option, the pitot is under the port wing, and the tiny light under the starboard. The folded option shows the light and pitot under the port wing panels. Markings There are three decal options included in this first boxing, both wearing the well-known Royal Navy scheme of Extra Dark Sea Grey over what Airfix calls Beige Green, or Sky if you prefer. From the box you can build one of the following: Gannet AS.4, 849 Naval Air Sqn. HQ Training Flight, RNAS Culdrose, c.1959 Gannet AS4, 815 Naval Air Sqn., HMS Ark Royal, 1958 Gannet AS.1, 847 Naval Air Sqn., RAF Nicosia, Cyprus, 1957 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s a fine model of a superbly ugly aircraft that was also very cool, and performed a thankless task of vigilance through the deepest period of the Cold War, quite literally. It’s well worth picking up at least one for the collection, maybe more. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  23. Greetings all - and all the best for coming year. Airfix 1/24th Hellcat II NF (F6F-5N), KD127, 892 NAS, Drem, Scotland, mid-1945. Here's my first completion of 2024 which nearly made 2023 but the cold, wet weather was against me for the final varnish coat! The Airfix 1/24th Hellcat is well known and documented so I'll save the background information but suffice to say it's one of the most enjoyable builds I've ever done - it's an absolute beauty of a kit and I loved building it. Whist there are some nice marking options in the box, I decided to go off-piste a little and do something different, hence buying the excellent Aerocraft set to make this into a Royal Navy night-fighter variant: The level of detail is sublime out of the box, and it went together beautifully with virtually no fit issues whatsoever. What I will say though, is tolerances are very tight indeed and the parts benefit from having their mating surfaces sanded slightly to cater for the thickness of the paint. The gun bays, for example, have a lot of the wing structure to add and thus very careful test-fitting was required to get that satisfying 'click' as it all goes together. The engine is a small model in itself - it took a total of three weeks to get it together and painted. Airfix give you a very detailed construction guide and this enables the builder to add the mass of wiring associated with the ignition harness - I used some aftermarket braided wiring and the effort was well worth it. The surface detailing is some of the best I've ever seen and gives a wonderful 3D effect - when you catch the right light it looks so realistic: Considering this was built OOB with the only additions being the seatbelts (I felt the kit examples were a little over-scaled), the ignition wiring and conversion set, it's exceptional value and quite a presence on the modelling desk. Paints were all Xtracolor enamels and I kept weathering effects to virtually none - these were, in reality, high gloss Dark Sea Blue and pretty clean. The stressed skin effect does most of the work for you to be fair, and other than some light exhaust staining I kept this in line with period photos of late-war Royal Navy Hellcats. To anyone considering building this, a few observations of the build process which may come in useful: As mentioned above, tolerances are very tight - gentle sanding of gluing surfaces and test-fits are a must and it will be very easy for things to become misaligned, especially in the gun bays; If you can, build the engine and main airframe as separate parts and bring them together after painting. I installed the engine as a completed unit prior to the main airframe being painted and this resulted in some very complex masking around the exhausts! The main canopy was quite a bit wider/flared at the base than the runners it is supposed to sit on. I had to coat the inside of the canopy with some Future (to avoid 'fogging') and then attach it with CA glue; The wing tip light lenses are slightly too large for the apertures they sit in - in hindsight I should have test-fitted these earlier in the build and not after painting! Be really careful when following the instructions as to whether you are doing wings folded or extended - the build sequence is very different between the two! Anyway, that's enough waffle from me! All the best, Tom
  24. Airfix 1/76 Zoo Animals Set 1 (01724) Airfix 1/76 Zoo Animals Set 2 (01725)
  25. It's time to open a dedicated - and easy to find... - thread, I think. Original: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234988431-should-we-be-expecting-a-new-airfix-release-announcement-today/page-9 So the future Airfix new tool 1/72nd Hunting Jet Provost T.3/T.3a - ref.A02103 - last news Source: http://www.airfix.com/uk-en/news/workbench/jet-provost-and-sea-king-updates/ V.P.
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