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AAAAAAND we're back in a universe far far away and a long time ago.... A bloke on the bay had an old Airfix Battle of Hoth Diorama set which he sold as separate parts. I missed out on the walking AT-AT's, but got the damaged one for about seven quid. (inc post). Someone on Scalemates reckons it's about 1/150 scale BTW. What to do with it? Well it's not a bad representation but with the legs being solid and posed you can't stand it up. I know, lets chop off the legs and start again. Whose brilliant idea was that? Will it end in tears or cheers? We shall see. Luckily, I have this rather excellent book. (World of Books, I think. Less than a fiver!) It's full of detailed cutaways. Unglued, so disassembly didn't take long. See what I mean about the legs? All moulded in that position. So I fitted the circular cutter into the Dremel, made a strong cup of tea, took three brave pills, and voila! I counted my fingers afterwards and they all seem to still be there. Bonus. I hate that circular cutter! H & S? Ha! It should have a flat bottom to the main body onto which the Harrier engine* and leg supports fit. *What do you mean you didn't know that? The original concept used one from the 1/24th Airfix, doncha know. I wanted to keep these angled plates on the sides. They're not far off being correct. See those rounded bits where the legs fit on? You can just see the front of the Pegasus between them. How do you feel? Gutted, Guv! I added large tabs inside to make it stronger & cut a belly plate. No comment. At least it'll keep the water out when wading in the oggin. Here's another bay purchase. A small diorama base. Two pieces that clip together. They have the magic word Lucasfilm mouded into the underside. So far, the idea is for the AT-AT (I'm going to call it Spot) to be standing on here. I'll then do buildings or something industrial around it. This clone copy came with the ones above. I may or may not use it here. It's NOT marked Lucasfilm, BTW. And that is it so far. I had the day off work, so, after the chores, I enjoyed myself for a couple of hours. I hope you like what you see. Please don't get too excited if you are of a certain age, I'm not insured for medical stuff. As always, any questions, comments and bourbon biscuits can be sent to the usual address. Or Mrs Trellis in Wales. Thanks for looking, Pete.

I'm in the process of migrating old builds from Photobucket to Flickr and whilst I can find the WIP of these two builds back in 2013, I couldn't find an RFI so thought I'd post them here linked to the Flickr pics. Build thread: Here It's the Frog Mk.I and old Airfix Mk.IV kits with Falcon canopies and plenty of scratch building to bring them up to date. Fun builds from what I remember and pleased with the results. Frog: Airfix: Thanks for looking

Hi folk's saw this today drawn by the superb box art and as soon as I saw the second scheme for the Cooper air race it was coming home for this GB so once the Sabre is complete this will be up next.

Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR.1 (A18001V) 1:24 Airfix Vintage Classics The Harrier is an iconic (in the truest sense) example of what was possible when British Aviation was at its prime. It was a revolutionary design back in the 60s, and has seen many improvements and even a complete re-design in the shape of the Harrier II, which saw McDonnell Douglas get more heavily involved, giving the US Marines their much beloved AV-8B, and the British the Gr.5/7/9, all of which had new carbon-composite wings, massively upgraded avionics and improved versions of the doughty Pegasus engine, which was always at the heart of this legendary design. The Harrier is a difficult aircraft to fly due to the high pilot workload, and requires the best pilots to do it justice in the hovering flight mode particularly, where the pilot has to control the throttle, direction of the airflow, and also make minor adjustments to its attitude and altitude with the use of puffer jets, even before having to do anything trivial like avoid obstacles or land. The original Harrier to reach service at the very end of the 1960s was the GR.1, which still bore a substantial familial resemblance to the prototype and the earlier Kestrel, having a pointed nose and relatively confined canopy that hadn't yet been ‘blown’ to improve the pilot’s ability to move his head around to gain better situational awareness. The following GR.3 had a more powerful engine, the peculiar looking laser tracker in an extended nose fairing, as well as many sensor, avionics upgrades and Electronic Counter Measures (ECM). With the re-development of the aircraft into the Harrier II, the anteater nose was phased out and the new composite winged GR.5 with massively improved avionics, engine and other systems took over the mantle. For the most part, the general public don’t really see them as different machines, and the media’s persistent reference to them as “jump jet” makes the corners of eyes twitch for those that know. The Kit Airfix made headlines in the modelling press in the 1970s when it began its range of super-kits in 1:24 that included the Spitfire, Hurricane, Bf.109 and others, plus the GR.1 Harrier that we see again now after a rest period for the moulds. It is a product of 1974, when standards were less than they are today, which is why it has the V suffix to its product code, and the Vintage Classics scroll on the box, so that potential customers go in with their eyes open. That said, the surface detail on the fuselage and wings is pretty impressive for the day, having engraved panel lines and rivets all over it. Some of the ancillary parts would be considered simplified by today’s standards, such as the Mk.9 Martin Baker ejector seat, and the level of detail on the engine, but these can be considered as canvases on which to improve either by scratch-building, or availing yourself of the few aftermarket items that are still available, such as the Airscale instrument panel. The kit arrives in a large top-opening box, and all the space is needed to cater for the sprues and the massive fuselage halves that each have their own runners. There are a total of ten sprues in light grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, a separate bag containing five black flexible tyres, a large decal sheet, instruction booklet and painting guide sheet printed on both sides in glossy colour. A word of caution regarding un-boxing your brand-new purchase, as although most of the sprues are enclosed with angular runners, there are a lot of flimsy gates connecting the parts to the sprues, and it’s likely that a few parts will have come loose by the time you get around to building your large Harrier, so watch for falling parts and double-check the bags for sprue-litter if you are disposing of them responsibly. Construction begins with the block of ancillaries on top of the Pegasus engine that is made up from a number of parts, and is prepared alongside the mechanism that makes all the exhaust nozzles rotate in unison later on. The actuators are placed in the lower half of the engine on a number of supports, then it is clamped in place by gluing the top of the engine in place and adding the ancillary block and a few other small parts. Each nozzle backing plate will affix to a rounded rectangular block at the end of the actuator axles, taking care not to get any glue on the edges. At the front the big fan and its mounting ring are added, which will be visible through the intakes once the model is finished. All through this process and the rest of the build the paint codes are called out in Humbrol codes in circles, the names of which you can find on the painting guide pages. A pilot figure is included in the box, as was the fashion in the 70s, and he is made up from a front and rear half, plus a pair of arms for you to pose around the controls. He’s surprisingly well sculpted for his day, and with some sympathetic painting should look the part and go some way toward hiding the slightly bland seat, which is next and has been provided with a pair of stencil decals for the sides of the headbox, and the instrument panel also has some decals for the dials, as well as a clear lens for the large central goldfish bowl. A HUD is affixed to the front centre of the panel, and it is slotted into the cockpit tub along with the rudder pedals, control column, ejection seat, pilot, plus front and rear bulkheads. The side consoles are well-detailed for the time too, and if well painted the cockpit should look pretty reasonable to a non-Harrier expert, with perhaps some ribs added to the sidewalls. The nose gear bay is situated behind the cockpit in the space between the intake trunks, and this is made up next, to be inserted into the starboard fuselage half, securing on raised ridges for security. The starboard bay door hooks into the edges of the bay and if left unglued, can open or close once the fuselage is closed up, remembering to insert the door for the other side. The aforementioned intake trunking is then made up from an outer section and a slightly longer inner sleeve, which slips inside the fuselage half and clips around the bay inside. The rear gear bay wall is attached to the centre of the fuselage to be completed later, and a stiffener plate is inserted into a groove inside the fuselage lower. There’s a short interlude next to make up some of the sub-assemblies that you will need later. The Harrier has four vectoring nozzles, two each of hot and cold (it’s all relative), although I can never remember 100% which is which, but usually assume the rear pair are the hot ones because of the plates behind them. They are all made from two halves with two baffles inserted into the body on pegs, avoiding any hideous join-lines in the middle of the nozzles that would be very difficult to fill and sand. The nose gear strut is made from two halves that trap the yoke between them plus three small parts including a landing light, and accepts a single wheel with two-part hub and black flexible tyres, which are firm but still slightly flexible. The rear strut is a single part that has the twin wheels added, each of which is made from two hub halves, the flexible tyre, and a separate collar in the centre that is inserted without glue to allow the wheels to rotate freely - hopefully. A pair of decals are applied to the outer surface of the wheels to give the impression of the holes that are present in the hub fronts, but you could always use them as templates to actually drill them out. Another section of the rear bay is made up from four parts that link together with slots and tabs, and that too is inserted into the fuselage with the doors slipped into place before closing up the fuselage. The elevators are slender, but the centre section is dual layer to avoid sink marks, and has the swash plate added to the root on a tab, with a short peg to slide through the fuselage later. The tail fin is in two halves that are joined around the rudder, leaving it to swing freely if you wish. Moving parts for playing were a big thing in the 70s. The ventral air-brake is made up from three parts, two making the hinge, while the shovel-shaped brake has detail moulded into the inside face, and a similar hinge is made up for the short rear door for the nose gear bay. If you are using the centreline pylon the two halves are joined together and added later, like the rest of these parts, which includes the two 30mm Aden cannon pods that are ostensibly complete save for the barrel tips that are separate and locate on a pair of shallow pins. The starboard fuselage half has the engine inserted along with the air-brake bay and a collar that holds the elevator in place and allows it to rotate if that floats your boat. A pair of protective plates are fixed to the fuselage sides on two pegs each, and if you plan on mounting the centre pylon, there are two slots to open up, after which you can close up the fuselage, remembering to add the air-brake, cannon pods or replacement strakes, and a couple of small bay doors under the fuselage. The four nozzles are all fitted onto their circular plates, the rudder is slotted into the top of the tail, with a cap added to finish off the stinger, plus a couple of aerials under the fuselage and the two gear legs. There is a forest of small parts festooned around the nose, and the cockpit itself has a separate coaming placed over the panel before the windscreen glazing is glued in place, and yet more sub-assemblies are prepared for completion of the wings. The flying surfaces are first, each made of two sides, then the out-rigger wheels that were in the wingtips on the original design, each one made from a two-part leg that traps the wheel in between the yoke, then this is itself trapped between two halves of the upper section to allow it to rise up and down as necessary, with the final part the retraction jack. The wheel is then spatted by a two-part fairing and put to one side while the four pylons are made up from their halves. The mounting pegs are angled to suit the anhedral of the wings, so take care to mark their intended position so they hang vertically once installed. Just like the real thing the wing is a separate assembly that drops over the fuselage, the lower surface being full-width. The upper skin is in three sections plus separate tips, and when it is glued in place it also traps the flying surfaces and the outriggers in place, which get another fairing added to the front. A pair of small inserts shim out the leading-edge root, and a pair of trailing tubes (possibly fuel dumps) fix between the aileron and flaps, with a large aerial and position light on the hump between the wings. You are told to add the pylons at this stage, but the instructions advise you to apply the decals to the underside before doing so to avoid having to cut them into sections. The last step building the airframe involves gluing the wings in place, adding the lift-off panel over the engine compartment, and fitting the canopy onto its rails to slide back and forth as per the scrap diagram nearby. The rest of the parts are weapons. There is a generous supply of munitions included in the box, including a pair of AIM-9G Sidewinders, which have separate forward and rear sections with paired fins that slide through grooves in the bodywork, sitting on an adapter rail. There are also three 1,000lb iron bombs, which also have separate cross-fins, a separate tapering rear section and a front spinner for arming the weapon. There are two dual-rail adapters to mount a pair of rocket pods each, which have separate nose cones and rears that fit on a two-part body, a pair of two-part drop-tanks, and a pair of 500lb Mk.83 iron bombs with separate tail and nose cones. There is a page on the rear of the instructions with load-out suggestions for RAF and US Marine Corps. aircraft, but if you’re going for accuracy, check your references or ask the knowledgeable members of the forum for real-world suggestions. Markings There are two decal options included on the A4+ sheet, and each one has a full page of colour profiles on the folded A3 sheet, one each for the RAF and USMC. From the box you can build one of the following: Harrier GR.1, No.1(F) Sqn., RAF Wittering, England, 1973 AV-8A Harrier, VMA-513 ‘Flying Nightmares’, USMC Beaufort (Merritt Field), South Carolina, United States, 1973 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. our example received a little damage to one corner during transit, but it shouldn't affect the general usefulness of the sheet. Conclusion Bear in mind that this is a 1970s vintage tooling, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the level of detail on many of the parts, and if any areas appear a little bland to your 21st century eyes, there’s plenty of scope for improvement using a little modelling skill or by opening your wallet. At the end of the day you’re going to be building a large scale early Harrier though, you lucky devil! Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

A confession - I love the Bristol Blenheim. To that end I've compiled a number of books, PDFs, and photos, and now I'm starting into the decal collection I've compiled in the last few months. By collection, I mean this, and this isn't even all of it - The partial sheet is an AML set which I used parts of for Finnish AF BL-117 - to be posted here soon. So far I've completed BL-117 and the previously posted MK. 1f YX*N, and at least 5 more will follow these, if not several more. Currently I'm working on a PDU Blenheim in blue, as was recently discussed. I'm not convinced of the color, but frankly, I like the idea (and look) of a blue Blenheim. Next will likely be a Bolingbroke, though which type I can't yet say. If I can find interior pics of a IVT, I may go with that, but if not I'm leaning towards a IVW if I can source engines and cowls. After that will be YB*N, a MK. 1 with black/white undersides. Yugoslav, Romanian, and Japanese Blenheims round out the list of one's I'm most interested in making at the moment, pending further research into Coastal Command a/c and MK. Vs in SE Asia. An Indian Air Force V may result from that given I already have the MPM kit on hand. Photos of the PDU machine to follow once some paint dries. Wish me luck in the ward... Tweener

Built this recently as part of the Canadair GB, build thread here: Here is my build of an Canadair F.4 Sabre using the Airfix in 1/72. Built mainly OOB except for belts to the ejection seat, a rework to under canopy and wing fences/ tank pylon relocated to correct position. Scheme is that of a 66 Sqn, RAF, 1954 Thanks for popping by. Stuart

As an opportunity to further my goal of stash reduction, I have pulled out from deep down Airfix’s venerable 1/72 Lightning. The sprues: A little aftermarket: I wont be using the kit decals as I have this set from Exito: which includes superb artwork for each option: My subject, John O’Neill’s “Beautiful Lass” is a P-38G while the kit is an H but this shouldn’t be a problem ad I understand the two models were externally identical. Being an older Airfix kit it is generously endowed with rivets, so my first task will be to sand them all off! AW

Built this recently as part of the Canadair GB, build thread here: Here is my build of an Canadair F.4 Sabre using the Airfix in 1/72. Built mainly OOB except for belts to the ejection seat, a rework to under canopy and wing fences/ tank pylon relocated to correct position. Scheme is that of a 1954 Yugoslav Air Force aircraft. Thanks for looking. Stuart

Finally, I’ve managed to finish something! It’s the 1/72 Airfix De Havilland Vampire T.11/J-28C kit, which I started for the 2nd Blitzbuild. I didn’t finish for the deadline, but I did manage to build it in under 24hrs of work. Alterations from the kit are limited to the pitot replaced with Albion Alloys tubing after the kit one snapped off and seatbelts made from tape (first go for me). It was also my first attempt at dot filters. The day glow panels are also painted rather than the kit decals, which didn’t look very convincing. The build thread is here: Comments gratefully received James

Dear Colleagues It is great to see the Beaufort in nicely rendered styrene, and also the Taurus engined Mk1 to boot. However, I don't like Airfix's over-enthusiastic panel lines on the fuselage, so spent quite a lot of time filling to calm them down. The turret area on the kit is adapted so that a Mk2 is clearly planned. This compromises the fuselage here and a lot of filling is again required to fare the insert around the Mk1 turret. I used the AK interactive paints and supplemented the kit with Gaspatch 3-D Vickers K guns. I was inspired by the book 'Last of the torpedo flyers' by Arthur Aldridge about his time in 217 Squadron, which is one of the marking sets available in the kit. He reckoned that on the basis of his intake of trained Beaufort crews, there was only a 20% chance of surviving torpedo ops. The Warpaint book on the Beaufort shows how weathered these aircraft got which suited me fine! Hope you like it? Regards Andrew

Having been busy rehearsing then performing in a play with my local theatre group, and a couple of holidays in the Cotswolds and London, I’ve finally got some time now to get back to the modelling bench. Obviously this is a familiar kit by now, but it’s my first attempt to build the new tool Airfix Vulcan. I love the classic white scheme, and sorely tempted to do that, but I built my old Vulcan as a white one and really like the other option in the kit too, so I’ll be building her in this early camo scheme with white undersides. I’ll be building pretty much oob, except no Blue Steel, as I hate nuclear weapons. Also, I always like to see squadron markings, and after some research it seems that Vulcans in this scheme did start to display individual unit markings in the early 70s, before the two-tone roundels. These are my references for this build. If I can find a photo of XM594 in this scheme with unit badge I’ll stick with that one, otherwise I’ve a few alternatives: I guess I’ll need to decide which airframe fairly soon as it’ll determine which jetpipes I use. Any advice and info greatly appreciated throughout the build!

Hi Guys here l am sorry no pictures yet l am keeping a build record, but atm can't download them. My build will be Airfix, s 1/48th RAF Sabre F4, 66 Sqn RAF Linton on Ouse .

In Autumn 2022, Airfix is to release a new tool 1/48th Avro Anson Mk.I kit - ref. A09191 Source: https://uk.airfix.com/products/avro-anson-mki-a09191 V.P. For me a Avro Anson C.19/T.21 in the same scale. V.P.

Jaguar E-Type (A55009) 1:43 Airfix The E-Type is perhaps Jaguar’s best-known type, and was one of their most successful too. Based on, but very different from their D-Type racer, it introduced a number of modern features that we take for granted today, such as a monocoque-type body that removed the weight and bulk of a ladder-chassis, adding disc brakes, a powerful engine, and a modern steering rack that gave the driver excellent feedback on which to judge their performance. It was beloved by purchasers, and even competitors, one of whom rated it as the most beautiful car ever made. It retained its popularity through the years and there are still many examples on the road, and even a replica that costs many hundreds of thousands more than the original - go figure. It was in production from 1961 to ’75, known as the XK-E in the USA, and was available first overseas, with drop-top and coupé versions, a choice of engines, fit and finish, and the occasional special edition throughout the Series, which extended from 1 to 3 with over 72,000 made before it was replaced by the “Marmite” XJ-S that polarised Jag lovers, although time seems to have softened the opinions of those that disliked it initially, as did the improvements over the years before it too was replaced by the soap-bar shaped XK8. The Kit This is another newly tooled 1:43 kit from Airfix in what is shaping up to be an excellent range of smaller-scale vehicle kits from our favourite British manufacturer. The initial release is a Gift Set boxing with a substantial header at the top of an end-opening box that has a digital painting of the Jag in racing green on the front, and the painting option on the rear. Inside is a single sprue and two separate parts in an olive-green styrene, a separately bagged clear sprue, decal sheet, instruction booklet, a bag containing four thumb pots of acrylic paint and a short tube of glue, with a #2 paintbrush in a clear protective sleeve completing the set. Yet again detail is excellent for the scale and it should build up pretty quickly due to the parts breakdown and intelligent choices made during the design process. Construction begins with the underside, which is a monocoque rather than the typical chassis of the day, although some ironwork is visible around the suspension mounts. The undertray has the rear axle dropped in place loose (no glue), and is pinned in place by the rear transaxle and suspension assembly that is moulded into the twin exhaust pipe. The axle has the inboard brake discs that were typical of the type, which was a surprise when first seeing it dismantled. The interior is moulded integrally to the floor pan, which has the upper portion of the front suspension and the load area at the rear. The passenger compartment is painted a medium brown, and has the dashboard and left-hooker steering wheel inserted, along with two dial decals for the instrument binnacle. The interior is glued to the underside, trapping the front axle in position if you’re not over-zealous with the glue, then the bodyshell is prepped. The glazing for the bodyshell is split into two portions, the aft section incorporating the rear screen and the quarter-lights on a T-shaped carrier that is inserted into position from the inside, with two scrap diagrams showing how to get the side panes into position during the process. The bodyshell can be joined to the underside now, taking cues from the blue areas on the diagrams where to put the glue. Once the glue is set and the seamline dealt with, the front bumper iron inserts into slots in the front, with a Jag logo decal in the central bulge, while the rear bumpers are split either side of the number plate recess, and all of the bumper parts should be painted the best chrome paint analogue you can muster. The windscreen is installed in the same way as a real one, from the outside but without the rubber gasket of course. There are a pair of overflow tabs moulded to the bottom of the screen with sprue gates attaching them, so take care to cut these off and sand them back to profile before you start slopping the glue about. With the glue out, the conformal headlights are delightfully clear and have the raised border moulded into them, but don’t forget to paint the interior with your best chrome paint while you’re doing the bumpers. There are decals for the sidelights and rear light cluster, as well as for the logos on the rear to be applied after you’ve painted, of course. The wheels are each made from two halves, and a really good rendition of the wire spokes is moulded into the rear part along with the inner portion of the tyre. The outer half of the tyre is glued in place, and if you paint the things carefully, you can get away without masking anything, although you may need to repaint the contact patch of the tyre if you have to do any sanding. Markings As usual with vehicles you can paint them any colour you like, but this boxing has an attractive Racing green scheme included as an example, plus a pair of black and silver E-Type number plates, the front one the often-seen self-adhesive type. You can build this scheme: 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 paints are intended for brush-painting the major colours with the #2 brush that’s provided, but you’re at liberty to use or dispose of them sensibly if you elect not to. Conclusion This is another great release from Airfix that has a prodigious amount of “build me” factor, which says a lot. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

The Jaguar Mark X (Mark ten) was made from 1961 and succeeded the Mark IX as the British manufacturer Jaguar's top-of-the-range saloon car and was primarily aimed at the United States market. re succeeded the Mark IX as the company's top saloon model and was primarily aimed at the United States market. Renamed the Jaguar 420G, it was introduced at the London Motor Show in 1966 and produced until 1970. It was fitted out with a luxurious leather interior and walnut dashboard.

Hello Here is my last build with this 1/72 Airfix AVRO Vulcan B.2 in the early 1960s. XL321 was in front line service with No 617 Squadron which at the time was the first Vulcan squadron with the Blue Steel missile. If you remember some years ago I built the Vickers Valiant in overall white and I could not resist to do the same with this big bomber. The decals came from the previous Airfix Vulcan box. I added the wheels from Armory and used some scale masks from ASK. I can say the kit is easy but long to build even if I had to fix a part of the port leading edge which suffered from a lack of material. I showed this drawback on another subject here. I think later I will build the Victor in the same colours. Patrick

Hoping not to bore you all with some more Mustangs, these are the bulk of my 1/72 models of the type, again built over several years and from different manufacturers. Probably won't build any more in this scale, enjoy and can cope with the larger scales better these days (apologies to the gentlemen amongst you). P 51c by peter crossman, on Flickr Pattie Ann P51b/c by peter crossman, on Flickr Flying Scot P51 by peter crossman, on Flickr BBD P51b by peter crossman, on Flickr Checker Tail Little friends by peter crossman, on Flickr P51 by peter crossman, on Flickr Bengal Lancer P51 by peter crossman, on Flickr Jumpin jaques P51d by peter crossman, on Flickr Estrillita P51d by peter crossman, on Flickr Was that to fast Untitled by peter crossman, on Flickr

So started this 1.72 airfix eurofigher from my collection. Started with the cockpit didnt want to use the decals for the control panel so painted them on as best i could Any comments about my ongoing build would be very much appreciated.

After the Anglo-Maratha War of 1803, James Skinner was dismissed from service by Daulat Rao Sindhia and was recruited by Lord Lake, who asked him to raise a regiment of ‘Irregular Cavalry’. On February 23, 1803, the regiment was raised at Hansi, Hatyana in the service of the East India Company. The initial contingent consisted of 800 men of Perron’s Horse, all of whom were old Muslims comrades of James Skinner. Skinner was one of a certain group of officers who had become British leaders of irregular cavalry that preserved the traditions of cavalry of the Mughal empire, which had a political purpose because it absorbed pockets of cavalrymen who might otherwise become disaffected plunderers. A second regiment of Indian Cavalry was raised by Colonel James Skinner in 1814, which became the Third Skinner’s Horse.

A little late to the party, so here goes. I have a haul of Sabre kits, so this GB gives me the opportunity to reduce the stash a little, starting with an OOB build of an F.4 of the Yugoslav Air Force. Initially, Canadair supplied the RAF with the F.4 but it was soon replaced by the Hunter. Before passing on the ex-RAF Sabres to others, the Sabres were modified with the 6-3 wing to become F-86E(M) Sabres. The kit I'll be using. Sprues. I have never built an Airfix Sabre, so this'll be new to me. I do like to display my Sabres with open cockpits and that is the plan here, depending what the ejection seat is like, I may use the Pavla resin seat instead. This was a second hand kit and somebody has had the RAF roundels away, so this will become a Yugoslav Sabre. Stuart

Hi folk's.with the rest of the year mapped out with GB's I thought I would start a project to fall back into as a break from what's planned so I picked up a couple of HB's little easykit's for little money to see how they turn out.The twin seater has an Iraq A F scheme and the single seater I have Syrian marking's in the stash.Despite the easy kit style and cheap prices they do make sone nice little kit's in this' range.Expanded the thread to include a fitter and Flagon. Start in the usual place the cockpit's and we'll see how it goes,I've also an Airfix new tool 15 and a Dragon offering if these two go well.

I'm not usually a car builder, it's not that I've never built one, but I tend to do other things (Jack of all trades, master of none). This year's motor is the Airfix Jaguar 420. A look inside the box reveals a many more parts than I anticipated. I immediately washed the runners in warm, soapy water and allowed them to air dry. With 52 assembly stages it seems more complex than any Airfix car I’ve tackled previously. I like to decide upon the finish I’ll work to before commencing. I perform a googleimage search which reveals cars in many colours that I cannot replicate or on cars with two tone schemes separated by chrome trim, which this model does not portray. Also, it is hard to find references that include images of the interior trim. I did find one site with an abundance of references for a BRG 420, though I’m a little apprehensive about airbrushing Humbrol Acrylic 239 Gloss British Racing Green. I’m leaning toward following the instructions but using Vallejo Model Air 71066 Gold (Metallic) for the coachwork. I dipped the transparencies in Klear to protect them from scratches. I'm currently mulling over how to tackle this. Maybe a series of sub-assemblies, painted before final assembly. What colour primer to use:- Black for gold or grey for green? Not being a regular car builder, I've never been entirely happy with my car builds, but you have to keep trying don't you. Decisions, decisions...

Hi All, My latest completion is Airfix relatively new Spitfire FR Mk.XIVe. It's a lovely kit, which was completed as part of an informal group build with @mark.au, @bigbadbadge, @AdrianMF, @Winded Penguin and @Biggles87. I chose to complete as SM888 of 28 Sqn RAF, which was part of SEAC in India in July 1945. I used Xtradecals scheme, although as depicted the aircraft was based at RAF Kuala Lumpur in 1946. I had a photo of the aircraft in India in 1945: There are a couple of interesting elements to this photo - the non-standard camouflage pattern, and the white spinner (the scheme shows a red spinner). Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: The kit is lovely, but a few niggling errors spoilt my enjoyment of the finish. Anyway, on to the photos: Finally, here's a shot with a few other recent Spit builds (a Mk.I from the opening of the war, and a brace of Malta Mk.Vbs). Thanks for all those who offered kind words and encouragement along the way - it is much appreciated! Thanks for looking, Roger

Now….how many WIP do I have in here? Quite a handful. I am starting one more so that I can complete it by December. There is an Airfix Cup competition coming up in December here in Singapore. It’s a Tiger theme competition and the only tiger I have in my stash is the Lynx. I am not sure if I can pull through this build with tiny PE parts for the interior and exterior. This will be my first venture into the PE parts world. There are already numerous Lynx build here and I hope to do it as well as the rest. Alright, I will have to work on my B747 and this Lynx as well. Both aircraft needs to complete by year end.

Dornier Do.17Z (A05010A) 1:72 Airfix The Dornier Do 17, nicknamed the Fliegender Bleistift or flying pencil due to its slender fuselage, was a light bomber designed by Dornier Flugzeugwerke in the mid-1930s. Along with the Heinkel He 111, the Do 17 carried out the lion’s share of bombing raids against the UK up to the end of the Battle of Britain. The Do 17Z was the main production variant and featured a redesigned forward fuselage that was enlarged with an underslung gondola in order to accommodate a rear gunner. The Z-2 sub-variant featured new 1000hp engines that addressed an earlier problem with underpowered units, enabling the bomb load to be doubled from 500kgs to 1000kgs, but this increased load limited combat radius to 210 miles with a standard fuel load. For the crew there were additional side firing guns, however as the three guns in the gondola were served by one gunner he couldn’t serve all of them at the same time, limiting their effectiveness. After heavy losses over Britain the machine guns were replaced with heavier MG 151/15 cannons for more stopping power. Many former bombers were later modified with solid Ju.88 noses containing guns as night fighters, where speed and bomb load didn’t really matter, letting them install additional fuel in the bay for longer loiter time in their assigned box. The Kit This is a reboxing of the 2014 tool of this type, and is a product of the revived Airfix, and is very well detailed for the scale. The instructions give their thanks to the RAF Museum and a gentleman named Ian Thirsk for their help in creating the kit, and looking over the instruction booklet gives the impression of a kit larger than its scale, speaking as a 1:48 modeller normally. It arrives in a slender red-themed top-opening box, and inside are a generous four sprues of parts in grey styrene, plus a separately bagged sprue of clear parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet that has colour profiles on the rear pages. Detail is good, and there are multiple options available to customise your model to suit yourself, as well as wheels up and wheels down options. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is well-detailed with a large number of parts and a choice of angular or curved pilot’s seat, side consoles with spare ammo cans for the defensive armament, control column and a crew of four, all of whom have their left hands on their laps, and their right arms as separate parts to allow you to pose them. The pilot’s seat is built on a raised platform and slots into the port fuselage half, as does the tail-wheel assembly in retracted position, or it is left off until later to be installed externally. Two more crew seats are inserted lower down in the cockpit, then the fuselage can be closed up, removing a small tab inside the oval cut-out in front of the tail wheel. The final seat is a 3-part affair that faces aft in the rear of the cockpit, and is inserted after closure to be followed by the rear glazing of the gondola, which has a circular window moulded in and a hole for a machine gun. The instrument panel with decal is glued to the front of the fuselage, and a C-shaped assembly that is made earlier with tons of ammo cans around the walls slots into place boxing out the rear seater’s area and forming the front bulkhead of the bomb bay. The bay is next to be detailed, having three cross-braces added, two of which are the main wing spar sections, and these are joined by a rear bay insert and a small window that is inserted from within. The bay roof is created (see the pic below) when the upper wing is glued onto the fuselage as a solitary part, leaving the rest of the wing to be built in-situ. The upper wing is offered up to the aperture’s leading-edge angled down so that it fits properly, and alignment is key here as it will be highly visible. The lower wings are prepared with aft bulkheads to the main gear bays before they are joined with the upper wings on the fuselage in advance of creating the engine nacelles. Each nacelle is made from two halves that drop into place around the bay roof, then have a front bulkhead inserted, having the tapering fairing with exhaust collector ring and two inserts put together and mated to the front ready for the engines. Each engine has the bank of cylinders moulded as a single part to which you add the intakes and ancillaries at the rear, and the bell-housing with stators at the front. They are fixed to the collector rings and have the three-piece cowlings slipped over the engine and around the twin exhausts that exit over the top of the wings. A T-shaped insert closes the top of the cowlings, locking in the exhausts for posterity. The elevator fins are made of three parts into a single assembly that can have its angle of incidence altered by up to 15°, and the elevators themselves are a single full-span part that can be deflected up by 24° and down by 22°, and have inserts underneath for the actuators, and two-part rudders at each end. You’re not given a degree value for the rudders though, so make your own investigations. The flying surfaces of the main planes are all separate, and building them begins with the flaps, which you can install deployed using a shortened aft-section of the nacelle, or ‘clean’ by removing the hinges and choosing the full rear section of the nacelle. The process is repeated in mirror-image on the other wing, and the two ailerons are added with 20° deflection possible in either direction. For a flying model you simply plate over the gear bays with single parts that have a panel line down the middle to depict the two doors, making your life and alignment very much easier. For the landed Pencil, the H-shaped gear legs with sections of the spar are inserted into the bays, then backed up by linked retraction jacks with a mudguard near the lower end, the angle of which is shown in a side diagram for each one. The wheels have flat-spots moulded-in, and are each made of two halves that flex-fit between the gear legs. The bays are finished off by a pair of doors attached to the sides on hinge pegs. The closed bomb bay is achieved simply by adding the one-part doors over the aperture after deciding whether you will drill two holes for an Airfix stand. For the open bomb bay, there are four ladders with five bombs each, or two larger bombs on their own mounts that sit centrally with the empty ladders to each side. If you want to depict your Dornier on a long-distance raid, you can insert a two-part ancillary fuel tank in the front of the bomb bay, sacrificing either two ladders of smaller bombs, or the front large bomb and two empty ladders. Each option has a scrap diagram to show how it should look on completion. The bay is finished off with two bay doors on three hinge pegs, then it’s time to put some glass in your Pencil. There’s a new twist on an old saying! The faceted nose dome has a machine gun with twin mags pushed through the hole near the middle, and the main glazing has another two, one offset at the front, the other in a ring at the rear. Another gun slips through the glazing in the rear of the gondola from above, while the front is glazed with another angled section that has the crew hatch between them, either left open for access, or with the hinge snipped off to pose it closed. When installed, the main canopy has an antenna and D/F loop inserted into holes in the roof, taking care to slip the two side-facing machine guns through the loups in the side of the cockpit before applying glue. Four small clear panels are inserted into sockets in the upper wing centre, plus one last bit of clear that slides into a matching hole in the leading edge of the port wing. A pitot probe is mounted next to the light, and an odd little antenna on a cylindrical base is inserted into the fuselage just behind the canopy. The last job is to put the props on, which are made up from three blades moulded to a central boss that is clamped between the spinner cap and base plate, then is completed by inserting a pin through a collar and into the rear of the prop, taking care to keep the glue off the collar, and again when the collar is glued into the front of the engine’s bell-housing, leaving you with a rotating prop to play with. There are two of them. You got that, didn’t you? Markings There are two decal options in this boxing from early WWII, but in very different locations. Both are wearing early war green splinter camouflage over RLM65 as their basic scheme. From the box you can build one of the following: 9/Kampfgeschwader 76, Cormeilles-en-Vexim, North France, shot down on 18th August 1940 near Biggin Hill in Kent after a raid on RAF Kenley 1/ Kampfgeschwader 2, Menidi (Tatoi) Aerodrome, Greec, May 1941 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 A welcome re-release of what must have been a welcome modern new tooling back in 2014. Although that’s eight years ago as of writing, it still looks plenty good for the task in hand. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of