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Greetings and salutations, It appears I’m on some kind of posting frenzy…it will be short lived as I am back to work tomorrow. Below are some pictures of a Minicraft DC4 that I built with the 70’s Qantas livery - my favourite QF scheme. Qantas flew them to regularly to Norfolk Island. I worked with a colleague who was an ex Flight Attendant during the 70’s and said they were fun to work on. Bumpy, and they leaked water which he said wasn’t so hilarious at the time. I can’t remember when I built this but it was soon after this kit and the Minicraft 727 kit appeared on the scene. I used Hawkeye decals and other bits and pieces from the decal box. I have more prop liners and decals for them in the cupboard but will wait until there are better cockpit and cabin windows decals available. I may replace this one as it’s not great but my build list is huge . I included a photo from an airline publicity scene that I always liked as a kid. A DC4, a B707 and a new B747 in the 70’s “Flying Kangaroo 🦘 “ scheme. I couldn’t resist doing my version of it. As always, thanks for viewing my models.🙏

Howdy from humid Cairns Australia! I thought I would share my Revell B747-238 model in the Qantas 70’s scheme. I built a Qantas 707 and 747 at the same time thinking it would be a smart way to build, assembling , preparing, masking and painting together etc but It gets too complicated. I would rather be completely absorbed in 1 project to avoid mistakes and omissions along the way rather than stalling both projects to fix own goals. This kit is actually a -100. I used engines from the Welsh 747-SP kit as they had the correct pylons for a later build -200 which VH-EBM is. I built up a leading edge fillet on the horizontal stabilisers and filed off the obsolete antenna hump behind the upper deck. I built a APU which I just noticed is far to clean. I used some of the undercarriage parts from the Revell -400 kit as they seem to be the only good bits on that kit. Hawkeye decals were used , a painted cheat-line and I made some of my own decals particular to EBM, the crest and the “City of Parramatta “ tittles. I probably would have been better off doing what “Turbofan” did converting the Revell -800 kit in this livery, that build looks so good that it would probably be able to fly ✅✅✅. I intend to weather this kit among with some my other newer builds but want to admire them looking fresh and smart for a little longer. I will repost if they turn out ok. I am starting to stockpile kits for my golden years, I will redo this kit with 1 from Authentic Airliners along their -400ER version once the Office of War and Treasury approves the purchases. Thanks again for viewing. 🙏

Airbus A321-200 Condor (03788) 1:144 Carrera Revell The Airbus 320 first flew in the late 1980s, around three years after its existence was first announced, entering service in 1988 with Air France, followed by two shorter variants that were given the 319 and 318 designations in the ‘90s and noughties, respectively, creating a family that was based on the same airframe. The stretched (longer) A321 was also developed in the ‘90s, reaching service in ’94, with pilots already certified on other A320 aircraft requiring additional training to acclimatise to the differences between them. The A321-100 was intended for shorter-range routes with no additional fuel carried to compensate for the increase in weight, while the -200 series was intended for longer-range routes, using increased thrust engines, more fuel and a strengthened airframe. The -200s first flew in the mid-90s, and benefitted from an increase in take-off weight, joining Monarch’s fleet in 1997. The type was a competitor for Boeing’s comparable 737 and 757 aircraft, and made inroads into their market share. The range was further widened by the A321Neo that was lightened and offered a more efficient choice of engines in 2010, in addition to the shorter A320Neo, followed by two more variants named A321LR and A321XLR for Long-Range and eXtra Long Range. To date, several thousand of the A321 range have been ordered by airlines the world over. The Kit This is a reboxing of Carrera Revell’s 2019 tooling of this type, with new decals depicting a colourful candy-striped livery used by Condor Flugdienst GmbH, a German airline that is more usually referred to as just Condor, with an optional Airline tagged onto the end. The kit arrives in a medium end-opening box with a painting of an orange striped airframe flying over broken cloud, and inside are nine sprues in two fractionally different shades of white, a clear sprue, a large decal sheet, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on matt paper, with profiles of the four decal options on the rear pages. Detail is good due to the relatively recent heritage of the kit, with finely engraved panel lines, raised and recessed features throughout, including a basic cockpit, clear windows, engine fan details, and detail in the gear bays. Construction begins with preparation of the fuselage halves, which involves adding three sections of clear portholes to the sides, and painting a small portion of the nose interior in preparation for installation of the cockpit, which consists of a tub that has the seats and centre console moulded-in, adding a rear bulkhead and instrument panel, with detail painting guide included in the diagram. It is inserted into the starboard nose along with a separate nose gear bay, which should also be painted before installation, closing the fuselage after placing at least 10g of nose weight inside, taking care to secure it well so it doesn’t work its way loose and change the centre of gravity for the worse. After the glue is cured, the clear windscreen that has the overhead section of the nose moulded-in is added along with a nose cone, ensuring you pick the correct part, as there are two options on the sprues. The wing halves are both full-span, and can be glued together immediately, taking note that there could be a small sink-mark on the wing root upper half, due to the thickness of the styrene there. If your example has this (ours did), it would be best to deal with it before mating the fuselage with the wings from above. The elevators are fixed into slots in the sides of the tail, adding a rudder to the rear of the fin that is moulded into the fuselage halves, plus a tail-cone at the very rear of the fuselage. The wings have finlets that Airbus call Sharklets added to the wingtips, fitting on small tabs and slots, ensuring accurate alignment before the glue cures. This variant utilises a pair of CFM 56-5B3 engines that are built from two half cowlings that trap front and rear faces in position, adding a single lip to the front, noting that the engine pylons are handed to match the angle of the wings onto which they are fitted. You can build your model in-flight or landed, the gear-up option the simplest, covering the exposed bays with three sets of doors that are moulded as one part each. To deploy the gear, the nose gear strut is made from two parts, with two wheels fitted to the axle, locating the leg into the bay with the assistance of a diagram that omits the fuselage from the equation for clarity. Two small bay doors are shoe-horned into the sides of the opening to complete it. The main gear struts have retraction jacks added to one side, and a captive door fixed to the other on two pegs, with twin wheels fitted to the axle before they are installed in the relevant bay, noting that they are handed, and will only fit in the correct bay aperture. The completed engines are brought in with the model inverted, gluing them in place on two pegs with a large mating surface for strength. Markings There are four schemes on the decal sheet that were designed for Revell by DACO products, but you’ll be responsible for masking and painting the candy-stripes, as decaling them would be horrific, and prone to failure. There are different coloured striped decals for the winglets, and options that include transparent or blacked-out windows on the sides of the fuselage and windscreen panels, as you see fit. From the box you can build one of the following: Condor Sunshine (Orange) Condor Passion (Red) Condor Island (Green) Condor Sea (Blue) 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 bright reboxing of this civil aviation staple, with plenty of detail, a choice of four colours, and a cockpit. Just remember to check your stocks of masking tape before you start! Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Douglas EC-24A Electronic Warfare Aircraft (X144006) 1:144 X-Scale The DC-8 airliner on which the EC-24A was based was a first-generation jet passenger aircraft from Douglas, initially in response to a requirement for an airborne refuelling tanker in 1952, losing the contract to competitors Boeing, who went on to supply the Air Force with the KC-135. Douglas took their losing design and reworked it with a view to selling it to civil operators in the burgeoning jet airliner market space. By 1955 they had their first order from Pan Am, with others following, the maiden flight occurring in 1958, and the first commercial flight after certification by a Delta Airlines aircraft late in ’59. Several variants were created for different operators and distances, and using various power plants from Pratt & Witney, plus a Rolls-Royce Conway for the unsuccessful Series 40, that suffered from lack of sales due to the stigma of having foreign engines. The Series 50 was considered the definitive variant of the short-fuselaged DC-8, using four P&W JT3Ds suspended on underwing pylons for power, different variants of the 50 series utilising other engine versions that gave greater power and weight-carrying capability, including those used for cargo transports, which became known as the DC-8 Jet Trader. Douglas took a single former United Airlines Series 54 aircraft and converted it into an Electronic Warfare aircraft that was used by the US Navy as an Electronic Warfare training airframe that remained in service until 1999. It was tasked with acting as an Aggressor in exercises to pose as the enemy to train US Naval crews on how to recognise them and deal effectively with their attempts at disrupting operations. After it was retired, it went into hibernation at a Deep Storage “boneyard” in Arizona, where it remains at time of writing. It was replaced by a third-party contractor providing similar services to the Navy using their own crews and equipment, as is often the case with modern training resources, bringing yet more profit into the National Defence equation. The Kit The origin of this kit stems from a new tooling in 2022 from X-Scale, which has been reboxed and is now offered with new parts to depict this unique airframe. The kit arrives in a small top-opening box with a handsome painting of the subject matter on the front under a dramatic sky, and inside are nine sprues of grey styrene plus two fuselage halves that have been removed from their sprue on our example in a separate bag, a small clear sprue in its own Ziploc bag, a decal sheet, pre-cut vinyl masks, and an A5 instruction booklet that is printed on glossy white paper in colour. Detail is good, with finely engraved panel lines, fan detail inside the engine nacelles, a cockpit, and basic gear bays into which you could add more detail if you feel the urge. Construction begins with the cockpit, adding a supplementary panel to the coaming of the main instrument panel, mounting it to the front of the cockpit floor that has centre and side consoles added into slots in the floor, a map table in the rear bulkhead, and an engineer panel with table on the starboard rear side, locating five seats on pegs that are moulded into the floor. The nose gear bay is built from a stepped roof plus four sides, which have raised location points for the nose gear moulded-in. In preparation for installation of the cockpit, four L-shaped supports are inserted into corresponding depressions inside the nose, fitting the cockpit and nose bay during closure of the fuselage halves. Once the seams have been dealt with in your preferred manner, two cheek inserts are applied to the nose, adding the belly with moulded-in inner wing lowers after installing main gear bay inserts in shallow recesses around their perimeters. The upper wings have inserts appropriate to the engine used in this boxing inserted into the spaces in the leading edges, gluing the lower wing surface and ailerons in place to complete the basic structure. The elevators are made from two halves each, as is the tail fin, which has an integral rudder, and a large tab for later installation in the fuselage. Each of the four engines are built from cowling halves with fans front and rear, adding an intake lip from a single part that has a small auxiliary intake moulded into it, making the four individual pylons from two parts each, remembering their step numbers for later installation. Eight main wheels are made from halves, making two more for the nose gear wheels, building the main gear struts from a leg that has separate scissor-link, jacks and ancillary parts, fitting four wheels per unit, and making the nose gear from a similar number of parts, adding two wheels and a twin landing-light at the front. Two blade antennae are made with separate flat tops, creating an intake and two pitot probes in anticipation of detailing the airframe later. The fuselage is fitted with a clear canopy that has a portion of the forward fuselage moulded into it to ease blending it with the rest of the fuselage without marring the windscreen panes. A sensor panel is inserted in a raised ring over the cockpit, then the wings are installed over the lower inner panels, slotting the elevators and fin into their receivers in the rear of the fuselage. Flipping the model over, the engines and their pylons are mated with the wings on two pegs each, the engines and pylons slotting together for strength, positioning the pitot probes and their fairings under the tips of the wings. The fuselage is dotted with blade antennas over the following steps, adding the intake to the port side of the fuselage above the wing leading edge, and fitting two gondolas and more antennae under the belly, and a small number at the tail. The main and nose gear legs are installed with the model inverted, adding doors and retraction jacks to complete the build. Markings There was just one airframe of this type, so the decal option is a solitary one, unless you intend to go for an imaginary option of course. From the box you can build the following: Decals are by DecoGraph, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin matt carrier film cut close to the printed areas. The masks are pre-cut vinyl and will permit the modeller to cut the framing of the windscreen neatly, and the demarcation between the wheels and hubs with ease. Conclusion This unique aircraft quietly served with the US Navy for an extensive period, and X-Scale have done its legacy justice, with fine panel lines, detailed landing gear and a cockpit that will be seen dimly through the clear windows. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Finally got my laptop to upload a few photos, so here goes with ICM's kit of the Ilyushin Il-62M in 1/144th scale. The kit looks fairly accurate, but simple compared to it's Russian (Zvezda) competitor. I am not planning on using the supplied decals as I've got some Air Ukraine decals in the stash that are more appropriate. Dave Still having problems with the photos -will post asap!

Airbus A380 (03808) 1:288 Carrera Revell The A380 is a wide bodied super-heavy airliner from the European consortium Airbus, and its entry into service took the crown away from the venerable Boeing 747 as the largest passenger aircraft in the world. It was announced in 2021 that they will cease production due to changes in the aviation world, and as the wings are made down the road from where I live, I wonder how that will affect them. Not too badly I'd hope. It first flew in 2005 at the Airbus HQ in Toulouse, and over 200 airframes have been delivered so far with the final total nudging 300 by the time the lines close. Unfortunately for Airbus, airlines have become more interested in smaller aircraft to reduce the losses when flying at less than capacity, demanding flexibility in arranging their routes, using smaller, more efficient airliners. Emirates have been their largest customer with almost half the buy flying with them, with British Airways the second largest customer. There have been a few non-fatal incidents during its service so far, which has probably affected sales and its reputation, and despite its advanced design and capabilities, Airbus don't expect to break even on their £25bn development costs by the time production finishes. Having seen it in flight, it is a true behemoth of the skies, the huge curving wing-root and forest of landing gear making it an impressive sight. It didn't just pip the Boeing 747 past the post in terms of size – it's 40% larger than the old Jumbo Jet, but with even the 747 under threat of cessation of production, the A380 is and will remain a much rarer sight, a relic of the days of mass-transport. The Kit This kit was initially released in 2009 as a Snap-Tite kit, reboxed in 2014, and now available as a standard kit in a new end-opening box. Inside are four sprues of white styrene, a small clear sprue with one part on it, a decal sheet and instruction booklet that is printed in colour on satin-finished paper with profiles on the rearmost pages, depicting the demonstrator scheme that was worn initially by the type. Given the scale and its origins, detail is good, with engraved panel lines, recessed windows in the fuselage sides, landing gear with separate wheels, and engine pods with fans visible from the front. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is a tiny part with moulded-in seats and consoles that are pretty good for the scale. You can paint this to your own standards, then place it inside the fuselage, slipping the canopy over it, and closing the two halves around the tab at the base of the tail fin. The wings are then started by adding doors to the gear bays in the belly section of the underwing, mounting a dog-bone insert on two pegs between the bays inside. The outer panels of the wings are single thickness, while the uppers have the inner panel moulded-in, which overlap with the centre lower wing to create a strong joint, placing the fuselage in the gap between them, trapping tabs that hold the upper wing panels in position as you install it. The A380 needs many wheels to support it whilst on the ground, making two bogeys with six wheels each for the belly bays, two with four wheels in the inner wing, and a twin-wheeled nose gear leg, all of which are inserted into the underside of the model, adding closed bays that hide most of the blank space in the respective bays. Leaving the model inverted, the four high-bypass engines are built individually, as they are handed and unique to their location on the wing. Each engine is made from a forward fan that fixes to a tubular ‘body’ that has the exhaust cone moulded into the rear. This is surrounded by the two-part cowling that also has the pylon particular to that engine moulded-in. Some detail painting will be needed during assembly of course, and once complete, they are fixed to their underwing mounts, plugging into position at the correct angle to the ground. The last parts are the elevators, which slot into the sides of the tail to complete the model. Markings There is one decal option included on the sheet, which is the demonstrator with a blue tail and flash across the rear fuselage, and a large A380 logo on tail, with another on the fuselage just forward of the wings. From the box you can build the following: 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 Even at 1:288 scale, the A380 is around the same size as a large WWII fighter, but it certainly won’t take up as much room on the cabinet shelf as a 1:144 kit, which could be useful. Detail is good for the scale, and although the gear legs and some other parts are over-scale because they must support the model’s weight, they aren’t too obvious when complete. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Airbus A330-300 (03816) Lufthansa New Livery 1:144 Carrera Revell Airbus Industries began working on a larger wide-bodied passenger jet in the 1970s, naming it the A330 that would be initially available as the A330-300, taking orders toward the end of the 80s, and flying for the first time toward the end of 1992, arriving with its first customer some two years later. It is available with three choices of engines from GE, Pratt & Witney, and Rolls-Royce, all capable of carrying over 270 passengers more than 7,000 miles without refuelling. The shorter -200 series was made available soon after, with an even longer range due to its reduction in weight and carriage ability, while the -300 received an upgrade in 2010 that allowed it compete with the Boeing Dreamliner, adding 2 tonnes to its maximum take-off weight, a small increase in range, and more than a tonne more cargo. Further improvements followed as technology advanced, and there are now over 700 airframes based on the A330-300 airframe in service with many carriers. If you expand that to the rest of the A330 series, that number increases substantially, including the new A330-743L Beluga XL, which will eventually replace the original Beluga when those airframes reach the end of their lifespan. There are also standard cargo A330s, and military variants that perform transport and air-to-air refuelling tanker duties, their number increasing over time. The Kit The original boxing of this kit was released in 1992, and has been re-released with new decals on several occasions, this being the latest, depicting Lufthansa’s new livery, with a blue diagonal band wrapping around the tail and rear fuselage, and the Lufthansa logo written in large text above the passenger windows behind the cockpit. The kit arrives in a long end-opening box with a painting of the subject travelling away from us above the clouds, and inside are seven sprues in different shades of white styrene, a small clear sprue, a large sheet of decals, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on matt paper. Detail is typical of a modern airliner kit, especially the more recent engines that are included with the kit, which have finely engraved details plus delicate fan blades front and rear, and the option for a wheels-down or in-flight pose. The model is further enhanced by the new decals that include window frames, doors and use metallic inks to portray the swash-plates for the tail and other features. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is single-part tub with moulded-in seats, plus a rear bulkhead that has two doors moulded-in, which is odd. Little will be seen through the windows though, and there are no paint call-outs for this area, but the interior of the fuselage is indicated as being painted a light grey. The nose gear bay must be built before the fuselage halves can be closed, building it from a C-shaped roof and two side walls that trap a five-part gear leg in place, sliding one wheel with a long axle through the lower end, and plugging it into the hole in the back of the other wheel, leaving it free to rotate if you wish. It is glued in behind the cockpit, adding 15g of nose weight to prevent a tail-sitter, then cementing the two main gear bays into the mid-fuselage, after which the fuselage halves can be closed, inserting the belly panel during closure, and deciding whether you need to open the hole under the rear for the clear anti tail-sitting rod, which is a strange time to do this as you have the opportunity to insert nose-weight. Maybe a dot of paint could be applied on the outside of the fuselage to mark the location in case it is needed later. The cut-outs in the belly are filled with three inserts, adding a pair of antennae behind them, then fixing a close-fitting part around the nose gear leg, which has an engraved line down the centre to depict the two doors. The open parts of the doors are fitted vertically to each side of the strut, adding two swept antennae to the rear of the bay. The wings are built from upper and lower parts, adding four flap actuator fairings to the underside, the innermost one on each wing made from two parts, taking care to arrange them correctly. They are slotted into the root fairings on each side of the fuselage and glued in position, ensuring to obtain the correct dihedral until the glue is cured. The engines hung under the wings are next on the list, building the inner structure from two halves with the engine rear trapped inside, adding an internal trunk around the fan section, then putting the two front fan stages into the centre. More trunking is fitted in front of the fan section, creating the intake tunnel, then the external cowling halves with moulded-in pylon are closed around it, completing the assembly. A tiny sensor is provided that attaches to the outer cowling at an angle, as shown in a scrap diagram nearby, which also shows the flat lower portion of the otherwise circular intake, which is designed to allow adequate clearance from the runway. The engines are handed, and are attached via pegs to slots under the wings, adding wingtip finlets that help improve fuel economy on long flights. To build the model in-flight, the landing gear steps are skipped, and alternative gear bay door parts are inserted in their place. The gear-down option requires making two handed gear legs from T-shaped struts, adding two brake fixtures on each side that are linked by a bar, inserting the twin wheels into two axles, one of which has a long axle while the other has a hole in the back, avoiding gluing the axles if you wish to leave them mobile. Three additional retraction jacks are added to each gear leg before they are installed in their respective bays, gluing two bay doors to the outer face of the struts. The elevators are each made from two parts, and it might be worth considering leaving them loose until after decaling to make applying the swash-plate decals easier, as the elevator pegs pass through them. The model is completed by inserting the windscreen at the front, adding a pair of antennae to the spine, and gluing a cap on the tip of the tail. The last step shows the use of the clear rod that is a prop in the event of a tail-sitter due to insufficient nose weight, or the forgetting of same. Markings There is one decal option provided on the large sheet, and the paint code for the Lufthansa blue tail is a mixture of two Revell codes, which could prove tricky and inconsistent if you’re not used to mixing paint, or don’t use Revell acrylic paints. A little research turned up a Revell Lufthansa Blue with a code of #36350 in their Aqua range that seems to be widely available in the UK at least, which begs the question “why suggest a mix?”. Revell’s enamel range also has a suitable shade in their range, #32350 Lufthansa Blue, but not everyone will use enamels due to their comparative toxicity and long drying time. Someone is bound to pop up with some alternative suggestions from other acrylic brands however, so worry not. From the box you can build the following: Decals are designed by DACO Products and printed 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. There is a note on the profiles that advise that a decal (#22) matches the outline of the door moulded into the kit, while a more accurately sized door decal has been included (#23) for those wishing to use it after sanding away the incorrectly sized door. The same note is applicable to the opposite side, using decals #16 and #17. Another note states that an EU flag was applied to aircraft from early 2020 onward, which is typical of the high level of research carried out by DACO. Conclusion The A330-300 is a large aircraft even at 1:144, and this model depicts it well, ably assisted by the decals and more recent parts. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

The Zvezda Airbus fits together well, apart from vagueness about the engine pylons attachment to the wings. Superb decals came from 26decals. The vehicles are either from the talented Ray Rimes Designs or Oxford Diecast. Scenic background from Coastal kits and base from Kits World. I was casting around for which registration to use, when an A320 came into to land near my daughter's house in west London and according to Flightradar24 on my phone it was G-EUUY, so I thought, why not? Hope you like it Andrew

Hi all! I’m very new here, but I’ve got myself an Anigrand 1/72 C-17, and this is going to be such a HUGE project that I’m giving myself a sort of practice run with the Brit. Now my modelling is a bit unusual. I love all the engineering stuff and want to demonstrate some of it on my models. Especially the landing gear, flaps as well as slats and spoilers where present. Having this stuff working is more important to me than having every tiny detail exactly right, though I’ll do what I can. (Unlike railway modelling, our hobby split very early on into flying and non-flying scale models, and while I’m definitely in the scale camp, maybe I’m giving a bit of a nod to the other crowd.) So I’ve started on the Brit, and you can see the wheels are in an intermediate position. In the next few days I’ll explain what I’ve done in more detail and hopefully make some actual progress.

Here is another DC-8. I have built this one parallel to the Braniff model, So it was finished almost simultaneously. The kit is from Karaya, run by our Polish modelling friend Radek Kemski, who combined the Minicraft kit with his decals, which allowed to build a couple of Polished leased aircraft operated by Arrow. I picked this one, because I like the large sign. The kit includes only the long -71 fuselage, which has to be shortened to build a -62, which is not really a problem, because the positions where to cut are clearly marked on the inside. I used Revell Aqua colours. The kit decals provided a window, which just did not look right after applying. The side windows were not horizontal, but tilted upwards. So I had to look for spare windows. Only a frame was available, which I had to fill with dark grey colour. I did not want to use the colourful decals by authentic airliners decals this time. Hope you like it!

Tinted Windscreen for 787 & A320 (CR144501 Revell/Zvezda & CR144503 Zvezda) 1:144 Counting Rivet Models We’ve received some upgrade sets from our new friends at CRM, the initials standing for “Counting Rivet Models”. They’re new to us, and based in Hamburg Germany, creating highly accurate sets for the airliner community, which is to some extent an untapped market, as most aftermarket companies seem drawn to the military side of things. CRM are part of the new wave of producers that are using technology such as 3D printing to create their products, and it shows. Their sets arrive in a clear blister pack with a card header within, which has a QR code that leads to the instructions, cutting down on recycling, as most instructions get thrown away after use. Hold your phone or tablet’s camera up to it and follow the link to their download centre in your browser of choice, which has all the instructions available for download in the de facto standard PDF format. These sets have been designed as 3D printed masters from which the clear-tinted production copies have been cast using traditional clear resin with an appropriate tint added during mixing. Detail is exceptionally crisp, and once they are removed from their casting bases, they should be a drop-in replacement for the kit parts, so quite simple to use. Cast on a rectangular base, the resin is crystal clear where it matters most, which is the window panes themselves, with minimal distortion for anyone that likes viewers to see into their cockpits. Each set also includes a sheet of masks for the sharply defined glazing panels, pre-cut from genuine Tamiya tape, which is the gold-standard for masking tape for modeller, so you can guarantee it will go down well and peel back off without issue. We have two sets in, as follows: Tinted 787 Windshield for Revell/Zvezda Kit (CR144501) Consisting of a brownish-red tinted windscreen component that is attached to the pour block at the bottom, the removal and installation of this screen should be simplicity itself. There are a generous three sets of masks for each of the four glazing panels, so you can afford to make a couple of mistakes during the process of applying them, which will be useful if you’re new to applying pre-cut masking to your models. Tinted A320 Family Windshield for Zvezda Kit (CR144503) This set has a greenish-blue tint, and as well as the screen it also depicts a portion of the roof above the cockpit, and as is likely with the kit part you will need to add a little filler if the joint above the rear of the cockpit requires it. There are three sets of masks again, although the Airbus A320 series has six panes that wrap around the sides of the nose. Do the Masks Fit? Everyone is probably wondering that, and I’m pleased to advise with a great deal of confidence that they do. It took mere seconds to apply each element, aligning the vertical frames with one side of the mask, then laying it down and burnishing it with light finger pressure. The results below speak volumes. Conclusion Upgrading the look of your airliner model with a good-quality tinted resin screen will separate it from the rest, and as it’s comparatively easy to do, with masks to help you make a good job at a totally reasonable price-point, it’s very tempting. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Boeing B747-8 Fans for Revell (CR144103) 1:144 Counting Rivet Models We’ve received some upgrade sets from our new friends at CRM, the initials standing for “Counting Rivet Models”. They’re new to us, and based in Hamburg Germany, creating highly accurate sets for the airliner community, which is to at least some extent an untapped market, as most aftermarket companies seem drawn to the military side of our hobby. CRM are part of the new wave of producers that are using technology such as 3D printing to create their products, and it shows. Their sets arrive in a clear blister pack with a card header within, which has a QR code that leads to the instructions, cutting down on recycling, as most instructions get thrown away after use. Hold your phone or tablet’s camera up to it and follow the link to their download centre in your browser of choice, which has the instructions available for download in the de facto standard PDF format. This set includes four 3D printed replacement fans for your Revell 747-8 kit in 1:144 surrounded by perforated protectors, plus masks for detail painting. We’ve reviewed the Revell kit several times over the years, so here is a link to my earlier review, because why not? The kit fans are each made up from two components, and differ in shape, as well as being thicker and less well defined than these replacement parts. The detail extends to the protective surrounds, which have the name of the intended recipient and product code around the bottom edge in raised lettering. When cutting them from their print supports you should follow the instructions carefully, as printed resin can be brittle, especially when it is this finely printed and realistically thin. I went at it in my usual gung-ho manner initially, cutting the bottom of the supports with a pair of nippers, and as a result broke one of the blades off immediately due to my haste – see if you can spot the repair from the detail picture above. Learn from my mistake and take care when removing the supports, proceeding slowly to minimise flexing and using diagonal cut nippers, then tidy up the backs to your satisfaction. After this they are a drop-in replacement for the two-part kit fans, with the painting guide advising you to prime with a compatible primer, then paint semi-gloss black after painting the spinner and masking them off using whatever method you normally choose. When the black is fully cured, apply the masks to the front faces of each blade, leaving the leading edges exposed to be painted in a titanium metallic to complete the job. The finished fans should far exceed the detail and finesse of the kit parts, and you have the masks that make painting much easier and the finish crisp. Conclusion 3D printing has come a long way since the early days, as evidenced by the quality of these fans in all aspects, with not a layer step in sight, even under magnification. The detail plus the included set of masks make for a compelling argument for the upgrade. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Boeing B787 GE Fans for Revell/Zvezda (CR144100) 1:144 Counting Rivet Models We’ve received some upgrade sets from our new friends at CRM, the initials standing for “Counting Rivet Models”. They’re new to us, and based in Hamburg Germany, creating highly accurate sets for the airliner community, which is to some extent an untapped market, as most aftermarket companies seem drawn to the military side of things. CRM are part of the new wave of producers that are using technology such as 3D printing to create their products, and it shows. Their sets arrive in a clear blister pack with a card header within, which has a QR code that leads to the instructions, cutting down on recycling, as most instructions get thrown away after use. Hold your phone’s camera up to it and follow the link to their download centre in your browser of choice, which has the instructions available for download in the de facto standard PDF format. This set includes two 3D printed replacement fans for your Revell 787 kit in 1:144 with GE Engines surrounded by protective balustrade, plus masks for detail painting. The Zvezda Dreamliner kit was first released in 2009, and has since been seen in Revell boxes, so there should be a healthy stock out there in stashes everywhere. The kit fans are made up from two components plus the rear bulkhead with the next set of blades moulded-in, and are thicker and less well defined than these replacement parts. The 3D printed parts have a short axle at the rear of the spinner so it is a drop-in replacement for the blades. The attention to detail extends to the protective surrounds, which have the name of the intended recipient and product code around the bottom edge in raised lettering. When cutting them from their print supports you should follow the instructions carefully, as printed resin can be brittle, especially when it is this finely printed and realistically thin. I still managed to break a couple of blades off while preparing the photo above, probably because I’ve only got single-bladed nippers. Learn from my using inappropriate tools and take care when removing the supports, proceeding slowly to minimise flexing and using diagonal cut nippers, then tidy up the backs to your satisfaction. After this they are a drop-in replacement for the two-part kit fans, with the painting guide advising you to prime with a compatible primer, then paint semi-gloss black after painting the spinner and masking it off. When the black is fully cured, apply the masks to the front faces of each blade, leaving the leading edges exposed to be painted in a titanium metallic colour to complete the job, using the suggested shade in Gunze, MRP, Revell Aqua, and Tamiya codes. The finished fans should far exceed detail and finesse of the kit parts, and you have the masks that make painting much easier and the finish crisp. Conclusion 3D printing has come a long way since the early days, as evidenced by the quality of these fans in all aspects, with not a layer step in sight, even under magnification. The detail and the included set of masks make for a compelling argument for the upgrade. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Boeing 737-800 (03809) 1:288 Carrera Revell Whilst Boeing was achieving considerable success in the early jet-airliner world with the larger 707 and 727 in the 60s, development of the BAC 1-11, DC-9 and Fokker F.28 were progressing well to serve an anticipated need in the world market for smaller aircraft on short haul routes. In 1964, Boeing proposed to tap into this market, but to reduce development cost and save time, they created a design that would use 60% of the structure and systems of the 727 which would also benefit by reducing new tooling costs to a minimum. The 727 body had an advantage over its potential rivals in that it accommodated six abreast seating compared to a maximum of 5 abreast on others of the period. Another feature of the 737 would be its capability for Cat II or instrument landings, the first of its kind. Production was guaranteed following an order by Lufthansa for 21 airframes with 100 passenger seats each, the first of which went into service in 1968, with others to follow from other operators. Further variants with different capabilities followed, starting with the second generation that are now known as the Classic with variations in engine fitment and passenger capacity, reaching service in the 1980s, to be replaced again by the third or NG for Next Generation during the 90s, beginning with the smaller -600, and the stretched -700, which was supplied in either C for convertible between passengers and cargo, or the ER Extended Range with 126 passengers. The -800 was a further stretched airframe, seating between 160-190 passengers, and acting as the direct replacement to some of the early variants, including the -200 and -400 series from the original range. Following the -900, the 737 MAX was created to extend the life of the 737 line rather than creating a completely new airframe, with a keen eye on costs and re-training requirements, something that has caused issues relatively recently. The Kit This is a re-release of a 2012 tooling from Revell of what was originally intended to be a clip-together Easy-Kit that required no glue, pre-painted at the factory in Air Berlin livery to appeal to their home market. This boxing is marketed as a traditional kit, and it arrives in a small end-opening box depicting the aircraft in Boeing’s own livery as would be seen on a demonstration airframe. Inside are two small sprues in white styrene, a comparatively large decal sheet, and instruction booklet with colour profiles on the rear inside pages. For the unusual scale, the detail is good, with fine leading and trailing edges on the wings, while the panel lines will appear oversized at this scale, regardless of how fine they are. At this scale there are no physical depiction of the windscreens and passenger windows in the parts, which are instead shown on the decals that cover much of the model once completed, providing registration points for locating the decals in the process. Construction begins with closing the fuselage around a substantial 20g of nose weight and the fin at the rear, which fits into a pair of slots within the aft fuselage for additional strength. The wings are applied to the lower fuselage insert, which is a separate part that covers the lower inner wing profile and the main landing gear bays, inserting it in a space under the fuselage, detail painting the bays and fitting the elevators into slots on either side of the fuselage. Surprisingly at this scale, the gear legs have separate wheels that push-fit onto the axles at the bottom of the legs, making up the nose gear and two sets of main gear, which slot into holes in the bays under the fuselage. The twin engines under the wings are each made from four parts, starting with one half of the cowling, into which the intake fan and exhaust are slotted, closing the cowling with the other half before they are both fitted under the wings on pins that locate in holes in the wing fairings. Markings This edition depicts the aircraft as a demonstrator, which is in factory livery that is common between all Boeing aircraft types, showing the product number on the tail fin, and company branding on the forward fuselage, accompanied by a wave pattern along the sides and wingtips. From the box you can build the following: 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. There is a separate windscreen decal, and the side windows are incorporated into the fuselage side decals, which are applied as one per side, adding a separate decal to the underside around the main gear bays. There are silver decals for the leading edges of the wings and elevators, and more decals with silver leading edges for the winglets on both sides of each tip. The modeller will need to paint the fuselage and engine cowlings white before decaling, and the wings a silver colour that is common to most airliners. Conclusion It’s an unusual scale for an airliner, which has a de facto common scale of 1:144, or less commonly 1:200, but if you feel like adding a pocket-sized 737-800 to your collection, this is a nice model, and may well be suited to a novice due to its Easy-Kit origins. Highly recommended. Carrera Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or

Here is my third Junkers connected to Estonia. Estonian AS Aeronaut provided its Tallinn-Helsingfors route and in July 1923 Aeronaut became a member of Osteuropa-Union and received three Junkers F13 from Junkers Flugzeugwerke. These planes were used on both wheeled and skid landing gear and on floats. Flights were made on the Tallinn-Riga-Köningsberg and Tallinn-Helsinki routes. Harald Stunde was one of the most colorful pilots who flew the F.13 in Estonia. Later in 1927, he was employed by the airline company Lloyd Aereo Bolivano as a flight attendant. From March 21, 1932, he was a pilot of the Brazilian airline Varig, and from June 19, 1938, he was the chief pilot of the Varig airline. Stunde was the first Estonian who had flown one million kilometers in one type of aircraft (Junkers F13) by the summer of 1938, having worked at Junkers for 12 years by that time. This is Revell boxing of the Veb Plasticart kit I believe. I think it's a great kit for its time and it was good to build it with minimal changes. Decals are not used (except the Junkers in the nose) because they are not available and I am not surprised

Among my models, models that are related to Estonia and Tallinn, which is my hometown, have an important place. If the previous one, Junkers G24, was only briefly connected to Tallinn, this one here has quite sad and direct connections. Kaleva was a Junkers Ju 52 belonging to the Finnish Aero O/Y, which on June 14, 1940 was shot down by two Soviet Tupolev SB high-speed bombers on a flight from Tallinn to Helsinki. Soviet planes opened fire, causing the plane to crash into the sea a few kilometers northeast of the Keri lighthouse. All nine people on board died. The incident took place during the armistice between the Soviet Union and Finland and shortly before the beginning of the Soviet occupation of Estonia. The Soviet invasion was preceded by several days of Soviet air and sea blockade, which included preventing the sending of diplomatic mail from Estonia abroad. Among the passengers on Kaleva's last flight were two German businessmen, two French embassy couriers, one Swede, an American courier and an Estonian woman. The French couriers had more than 120 kilos of diplomatic mail on the plane. An American courier allegedly transported US military codes to safety. The Finnish government did not send any complaints or questions to the Soviet Union for fear of a hostile Soviet response, and the real cause of the accident was hidden from the public. In addition, the widows of the pilots were forbidden by the government to tell the truth about the death of their husbands. The reason for this was the strong pressure exerted on Finland by the Soviets during the temporary peace. This describes well how bad and fragile Finland was at that moment. In modern times, there has been a lot of speculation about the reasons for this incident, and since there is very little information and the wreckage of the plane has not yet been found, it gives rise to a lot of flying theories about the reasons for the attack. Most of the time, the focus is on the secrets surrounding the diplomatic post, and the most popular theory has proposed that Stalin personally ordered the downing of the plane because he thought that Estonian President Päts was trying to escape from Estonia on a scheduled flight. However, there are also many opinions that ignorance and lack of orders on board the bombers led to the shooting. Seeing the departure of a plane unknown to them under the conditions of the blockade, in the absence of a direct order, they reacted out of fear of punishment and acted just in case. In any case, the downing of an airliner for no reason is another example of a neighbor we all here have to live with. The Kaleva was put into service in 1936 and was originally used as a seaplane, but at the end of the same year it was sent to Germany, where it was converted to a wheeled landing gear, and it remained that way until the end of its service. I like the seaplane version more and so I also made the model as it was very originally and also visited Tallinn. Now about the model. It is a mix of Heller hull and wings, with Revell floats, with some added detail on the engines and interior.

Hello fellow modellers, here is the third DC-8 I have finished this year. here is the first one: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235131153-dc-8-52-air-new-zealand-authentic-airliners-1144/ here the second one: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235132131-douglas-dc-8-73-aire-devasion-minicraft-1144/ This one here is from the X-Scale kit with decals from Nazca. African Safari Airways started their business with a single Bristol Britannia (available from Roden) and bought this aircraft here as their first jet airliner in 1973 and used it for three years for flights mostly from Basel and some german airports to African destinations. The -33 used a very special kind of thrust reverser. The rear part retracts to the back, then folds the doors to reverse thrust. After landing, the so called ejector stays in the backward position as shown here. I hope you like this airliner with the non standard markings. cheers, Norbert

Hi guys, here is my second finished DC-8. The first one can be found here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235131153-dc-8-52-air-new-zealand-authentic-airliners-1144/ The -73 was the final stage in the development of this sleek airliner. It had the longest fuselage, the widest span and the most modern engine of that time. The airline only operated this single aircraft for only almost one year, based in Paris CDG in 1993. The kit is from Minicraft and the fit was mostly okay, only the wing span extensions created some problems. Of course, the small deflectors on the engines, the antennas and fuel probes had to be added. The metal colours were done mostly with MiG-Ammo, with some polishing paste by AK. Decals are from TwoSix, with some additions from the kit decals. The aftermarket decal makers mostly forget to provide overwing exit markings, engine details etc. Hope you like the "flying tube", as the long DC-8s were called.

Here is the first of at least four intended models of the DC-8. It is a DC-8-52 flown by Air New Zealand. It was only used for a little longer than one year, because this aircraft was then destroyed in a training accident. See more here: ZK-NZB Douglas DC-8-52 (aussieairliners.org) The kit is a resin kit by Kurt Lehmann's Authentic Airliners with decals by Nick Webb (classic airlines). The white was painted with Mr. Hobby by Gunze, the metallic surfaces with different shades of MiG Ammo and AK polishing paste and some powders. Hope you like it! Greetings from Germany, Norbert

3rd of September, eh?! This one is simple, even I can get this done in time 😇 2 livery options, BEA Airtours and Olympic Windows are done by decals. Hardly anything in the box. It's a walk in the park, isn't it ⁉️😎 My Beaver is in the bag, if you'll pardon the expression, and I'm tinkering with the little Airfix Auster Antarctic which is now released on the Vintage Classic range. That's going well - she's up on her floats already. I was pleased to discover that Airfix have made a brand new mould for the transparent canopy part which is miles better than the ancient original and fits perfectly Decals look good. So I'm looking around..... My intention was to do a LOAD of Dehavilland gems but.... you know....... Surely even I can get this over the finish line

Here I would like to show you my latest finished model. I built it from the old resinkit by Kurt Lehmann, (authentic airliner), which consisted of two fuselage parts. Also the realistic window decals are made by this manufacturer. The Airline decals are from Flightpath. The D-AMUX was used by LTU Süd from 1988 til 2001 for chartered flights to holiday destinations. I had some trouble with the paint job, the first window decal was not opaque, so the red colour was shining through, but I quickly got a new one from the Lehmann company. I was not careful enough doing the red and white striping, so I had to remove part of it and had to look for another one of these very rare decal sheets, but finally found one on a model show in the Netherlands. But after all these fallbacks this project is completed now. I hope you like this colourful airliner from an almost forgotten company! cheers, Norbert

Hi All, Edit: Having written all of this it seems like I've done a mini kit review as we go as such so feel free to read or just skip to the photos. I couldn't resist picking up a boxing of Karaya's (Hasegawa Re-Box) Embraer 170 when I saw that they were going to release it. As I'm sure you will all agree the cost of some 'rare' kits on Ebay is quite ludicrous these days (I genuinely saw the Hasegawa 1/48 Sea King HAR MK.3 fetch £250) back in November and more recently some British Sea King decals go for £56) and anytime I saw the E170 get listed it would likewise reach bidding prices I felt outweighed what you were getting for the kit. In any case, I picked up the kit from Hannant's for a fairly reasonable price of £28.99, this still seems a touch steep in price when you consider how much you get for you money (especially when comparing the prices of Revell's recently released A300 Beluga at £36 or their A330 which according to Hannants will be even cheaper than the A300 Beluga.) But I think it's really important to support the smaller companies like Karaya who I admittedly don't know much about but if they keep on producing and re-boxing kits that you might deem a bit more on the unusual side then I'm all for paying a bit extra. Karaya have so far released 4 boxings of the E170 with a variety of markings 1) LOT 2) US Airways and United Express 3) Alitalia and Finnair 4) Limited Edition LOT Special Livery. I wouldn't be surprised if they released more in future such as HOP, Jet Blue, American Eagle, Delta, etc as the appeal to the American market might be fairly large. Bra.Z Models also produce the alternate wingtips not provided in the kit and a resin fuselage to convert the kit to the E175 which I might consider at some point in the future. In any case onto the kit: The kit is rather small in both size and parts so good for someone after a relatively quick build and or limited by storage capacity (for me both kind of apply!). Nevertheless I'm afraid this won't be an in-and-out job as I'm renting a small place with no real space for an airbrush, and certainly whilst I am finishing my training I don't have much time for anything other than basic construction on models. Also if you're a fan of having a 1/144 cockpit and clear windshield this isn't the kit for you! The fuselage is your standard plastic halves without any cut-out or separate piece for glass. I'm sure there's an expert caster and 3D printer out there who could make me very happy and make a cockpit and glass hint hint.....! Construction is relatively simple as you would expect although there are a few minor areas to watch out for which I'll attempt to highlight along the way. As you can see below I love how Hasegawa designed the kit to include a clever nose weight system involving a bolt which you glue into the nose. For some reason, the nut and bolt didn't tighten up properly (nothing that a few drops of super glue didn't solve) but you might be able to consider it an advantage as I was able to get more weight further forward and over the nose to ensure the model won't be a tail sitter. As I'm writing this I've realised that I am posing the aircraft on the stand that comes in the kit or I'll make my own making the nose weight redundant but it's still nice to have it in just in case I ever need to display the aircraft on it's wheels. The details on the kit are, on the whole, good although perhaps a touch uneven and soft in some areas so these areas were deepened with a razor saw or scribing needle where needed. The plastic isn't nearly as soft as Zvezda's kits which I like and makes scribing easier. The fuselage however is a touch disappointing in my opinion, fine panel lines are limited to the area around the wing root, tail, nose, windscreen and doors. The Karaya painting instructions clearly indicate the locations of all the panel lines that should be there on the fuselage but referring back to the Hasegawa instructions they aren't there. I'm rather confused as to why Hasegawa decided to omit them from the moulding process as the wings and fuselage look very odd paired up together, the wings having such good fine detail and the fuselage being so bare and boring. I may end up attempting to scribe them in but I hate scribing and am a touch afraid of getting it all badly wrong and the kit looking horribly asymmetrical as a result. On the subject of the cockpit windscreen panel lines, try as I might they wouldn't line up. Either the top or bottom lines remain offset by a minute amount. As you can see in the photo the area ringed in red is nicely aligned whereas the lower region ringed in black is offset by a tiny amount (zoom in to see this properly as I admit the photo doesn't make it obvious). Also I had to be really careful when sanding the seam line ringed in green to avoid wrecking the raised surface detail which could be considered to be a touch overscaled for a 1/144 model, however I know I'm being super picky and I don't mind at all (just letting you rivet counters out there know for future reference!) The instructions tell you to assemble the wings first before attaching them, the system is, in some way, similar to the Zvezda method rather than the older Revell system of building both wings and then glueing them into slots in the fuselage. Here I opted to ignore the instructions and put in the underside of the fuselage/wing-root piece which assisted the fitting and sanding process. Any gaps were large enough to fill with sprue-goo (see yellow arrows in the photo) rather than needing any plasticard, I could have used epoxy putty which might have made the smoothing process easier but on previous builds epoxy-putty has messed up and rescribing so this kit is a but if an exploratory project for me because I don't claim to be a pro by any means. I forgot to take a photo of this part but I have outlined the shape of the part in red in the photo below. When it came to fitting the upper wings the dry fit revealed that there was a slight gap between the wing root and where it met the fuselage part. I opted to place small pieces of plasticard on the wing parts instead of epoxy putty or sprue-goo as I wasn't too sow how much surface detail I'd lose in the clean-up and sanding. In hindsight, I'm not too sure if it was the best option as when I sanded them down to fit the profile of the wing and slightly back to make sure they weren't too thick but it has created a slight problem of the wing profile not matching up to the wing root but this should (hopefully) be solved with some sprue-goo and intricate sanding. Many thanks for taking the time to have a look and please let me know if you'd rather just see the photos and have a bit less of the explanation. Only thought was as this is a kit some people might not have made and might consider making having some reference material might be an idea. Cheers, Mark

Here I would like to show you my finished latest project. Two Boeing 777-300ER from Revell, originally Zvezda, which I bought bagged with no decals. But I found two attractive liveries, the SWISS faces at 8Adecs and the Saudia at Pas Decals, both completed with Draw and Pas Detail Sets. I built both kits simultaneously, which saved some time for the research. In February 2016 SWISS received their first 777 and wanted to dedicate this event to their employees. So they put faces of 2500 People working for them on the plane. Saudia created a special livery with some attractive sights and buildings from the country. Both kits went together very well. I mixed the paints from Revell Aqua Colours, The White is Gunze Mr. Hobby. Hope you like them! cheers, Norbert

I've got a little bit of a thing for Lockheed aircraft, and especially the twin engined types. Postwar civil conversions are a fascinating topic in their own right and the L14 Super Electra and L18 Lodestar really bridging the jump from single engine 6-seater planes right up to the extraordinary and fabulous Constellation series of airliners. Fantastic bit of aviation history wrapped up here and of course the gamechanging WW2 thrown in to the mix.. I've done L14 Super Electras, even bashed the ancient Airfix Hudson into an example, and L18 Lodestars, and PV1 Venturas, and now I finally have a kit of the ancestor, the first of the twins, the little L10 Electra. ‼️Good old Special Hobby ‼️ Sad to see this little beauty with so much fame and history being marketed in some rediculous military splodge camo livery, an alternative scheme is supplied for the Romania Airforce..... I kid you not ⚠️😧 A 3rd option is catered for, as the Amelia Earhart Special which was lost without trace over the Pacific Ocean. This tragic loss makes it probably the most famous of the L10s. Amelia had already made some epic flights in the single engined Lockheed Vega, across the American continent and notably from Newfoundland across the Atlantic, landing in Northern Ireland with a few onboard difficulties and 100 gallons still in the tanks. It's reported that the authorities charged her import duty on the 100 gallons. Anyway, the kit is by Special Hobby who have been really raising their game over recent years. This kit has an air of being one of their earlier productions. Still very nicely done and moulded but perhaps a bit more "short run" in style with a number of resin cast pieces and a clear vacform cockpit Canopy. I'll be honest, I've made a start, sorting out the resin cockpit parts, before starting a WIP. Just in case I fell over the first hurdle 😋 Not sure that I like resin parts, and I hate working with CA superglue. But I managed. Somehow.... There's no reason they wouldn't produce these items in styrene now, I'm sure, but it probably seemed the way forward at the time. So I'm feeling Good to Go with this one 🤩 Bare metal foil of course for this, and the final livery to be decided. Not the Amelia plane as I want to have all the windows clear.... I'll just have to bide my time and explore the civil options. I'm well pleased to finally get my hands on one of these for my Lockheed collection

This is my first serious build. Prior to this I'd glued a few kitset models together as a child & did build a 1:200 A320. The kit is a 1:144 scale F-RSIN ATR72, sourced here in New Zealand through OldModelDecals with my choice of decals - https://www.oldmodelsdecals.com/ATR72-DHC7-8-Saab340-CV580.html Originally I wanted to do the Pacific Wave livery, but ended up settling on the Trade Mark White livery.