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Finish no9 for 2022 is Revell's F101B Voodoo in RCAF livery, No409 Sqn RCAF Nighthawks based at CAFB Comex BC. Built OOB less the Belcher Bits decals and the air brake area had a rivets panel added made from a aluminium can. This is the later scheme in a semi gloss version of US air superiority grey on the second batch of Voodoo the RCAF received from the USAF. The first batch did not have the IR sensor on the nose while the second did but did not have formation lights so these were removed from the kit moulding along with some of the antenna under the nose and behind the cockpit. The Belcher bits decals work okish but don't like Microsol, I had to remove a couple that wrinkled badly and used the kit decal instead along with some of the stencil data. Painted with just Tamiya acrylics this time as I couldn't find the correct Mr Hobby colour in my area. As usual all comment welcome. I didn't realise how big the Voodoo was when I started but its bigger than the F102 Delta Dagger I finished earlier this year.

Belcher Bits new resin kit: 1/48th Chance Vought SSM-N-8A Regulus 1 - ref. BK11 Source: http://www.belcherbits.com/lines/kits/bk11.htm V.P.

PBY-5/5A Tail (for Monogram) 1:48 Belcher Bits The Monogram/Revell Monogram kit of the famous Catalina Flying boat has been around for a while, and it's still quite an impressive kit, especially if long wingspans are your thing. There's a bit of a misjudgement hidden within the parts though, that might not look that obvious when you first look at the kit, but once you've seen it, it is glaringly obvious. It has a fat tail! If you don't mind or care, then you might as well stop reading here, as this won't be the correction set you. If you do mind, and want to go the extra mile for accuracy however, and are prepared to do a little surgery, then read on. The kit arrives in a thick gauge ziplok bag with instructions printed on blue A4 paper. The resin included in the bag consists of the two large tail parts, separate rudder, and two tail extensions. The short one is the standard tail, and a longer one with an extension with ventral fin is the MAD Boom equipped option. There is also a small insert that you can fit to the tail to depict the de-icing intake that was fitted to some airframes. You could be forgiven for missing the small strip of rod that has been supplied in the pack to use as the rudder hinge. I missed it entirely, and found a random piece of strip on my desk, which I've since lost. Doh! Fortunately, I'm not short of Evergreen strip, so when the time comes, I'll grab a length of 1.5mm x 2.5mm rod from my supplies. The cut in the fuselage is required just forward of a panel line (conveniently), and cures the excessively bloated tail profile that you can see on the picture above, kindly supplied by forum member Mark Stanton, which can be seen in his excellent build here. Once the tail has been liberated, the new one is glued together and slid into the fuselage, fettling as you go to improve the fit. If you are using the scoop, which was a late war addition, you will need to cut a chunk out of the tail's leading edge just 1.5mm in front of a panel line. This can be done with a file or razor saw, taking care to keep the shape square and level as you do. The kit elevators can be re-used just by cutting off the tabs at their bases and trimming the root square, leaving the resulting holes as the new slot for the moulded in tabs on the new tail. The rudder hinge is cut to shape and installed at the step near the top, and the rudder itself can be added, with a little deflection either way if you desire. Clearly there will be a little clean-up and sanding needed to blend the new tail with the kit fuselage, but this also gives you the opportunity to harmonise the panel lines to the kit while the tools are out. To see exactly what's involved, check out the PDF instructions here. Conclusion A worthy upgrade for any Cat in 1:48, curing a mistake that's easily missed until you really look at the airframe. Whilst not a new update, it's worth mentioning because of the recent re-issue of the kit by Revell in Europe, and the improvement that it offers in the process. You might need to add a little extra nose weight to balance your Cat out, but it's worth the effort. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Mike Belcher at

#12/2016 As I mentioned several times, my dad is no fan of resin, so this full resin by Belcher Bits was a long-time on and off project but finally he finished it. No additional detail added,painted with IJN grey.

Now when most of the hangover from the 08-Open contest here in Sweden is over it's time to start something new. And for some unexplained reason I got a sudden urge to start cutting up resin bits. . So, obviously I pulled out the 1/48 Belcher Bits North American BT-9 kit from the stash to make a SweAF Sk 14 Trainer. Not often you see this plane get built in any scale. A preview of what's in the box can be found here. This is what you get to start with, resin parts from Belcher Bits. Plus you get a complete occidental Harvard kit, of which not much will be used. On top of that I shelled out for a replacement engine from Engines & Things, plus I got some help to make new wheels for the Sk 14, as the for the type so charismatic balloon tires where not included. As a fact, I decided to start this build with the engine installation, as I suspect it will require quite a bit of work. These are the bits involved. Engine & Things Wright R-975 Whirlwind engine And the Belcher Bits parts Hmm...It's going to require a bit of TLC to get this puppy to fit. Well, we're of the starting blocks, hope to get the steam up on this one. /Johan

Hi, here are pics on my Airfix Lynx converted to G-LYNX using the Belcher Bits conversion set. It was part of the Lynx GB and finished just in time, but desater struck and I had to reassemble some parts before I could take pics this morning. So that is why I now post the pics here instead of the (meanwhile closed) GB Gallery... Build log is here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234950976-148-airfix-lynx-g-lynx-world-speed-record/ Thanks for looking, Rene

Hi, so here I start my first build on BM and my first GB My Lynx arrived on Friday at my door step and I am really impressed by the Airfix offering. I haven't build a helicopter for ages but just had to start a GB and as the Lynx GB was just a few weeks ahead I had a good reason to order the Airfix kit plus the Belcher Bits conversion for the world speed record holder G-Lynx: As I am awfully bad in actually finishing models I though a GB will provide some pressure on me. Despite of the Belcher Bits conversion I will not add any aftermarket stuff although I find the Eduard sets very tempting. I simply do not want to lose track and keep this build as straight forward as possible. I have a Roden Junkers D.I in 1:48 I am currently working on and which is by now almost finished (need to glue some small stuff and then it is done tonight), which had a similar plan (almost OOB but well... almost.). After taking the picture below it received the flat coat yesterday and so I started the Lynx despite I said to me I want to finish the b****dy Junkers first. So here is my "progress" on the Lynx so far: Just glued two seat parts together, removed the molded on harness and did start my own harness with milliput. Rene Edit: Just corrected the pics... and a million typos.