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Hi all, here's the latest addition to my Desert Storm collection: - Hasegawa A-4M kit - Eduard etched parts, wheels, bombs and seat - QuickBoost FOD covers, IFR probe and gun barrels - ResKit TER - custom made masks and decals Regards from the Czech Rep. Andrew
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Another Desert Storm warrior in my collection. Hasegawa kit, Aires avionic bays and exhaust nozzles, Eduard armament, Brengun wheels, Quickboost seats and Flying Leathernecks decals. Happy modelling!
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Finished another 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron aircraft. This is number 13 in the set, from the P-36 of 1939 to a Desert Storm F-16C. I still need to finish an F-105, an F-4E (my jet), and a Block 50 F-16C at squadron stand down in 2010. I left the squadron in 1987 and mostly everyone else had transferred out before DS. The weasel guys mostly ended up at George AFB, California and I saw some of them on CNN day one of the war. I relied on the internet for researching this build. I found some photos of this jet after the return to Spangdahlem with an impressive set of mission tally markings on the intake ramp. I wanted to do this model as it may have looked on its first sortie of the war. I think 69-7209 was assigned to the 81st TFS while at Spangdahlem but was loaned to the 23rd for the Incirlik deployment. At least that's what I saw on the interweb, so it must be true. I think the first sortie was day 2 since the Turkish government only approved operations from Incirlik on the day of Jan 17, 1991. The Saudi-based units started flying the night of Jan 16/17. This is the older Hasegawa 1/48th kit. I have 2 in the stash with aftermarket, so I wasn't that interested in the new Meng or ZM kits. I used some Eduard pre-colored PE in the front cockpit, but used the kit rear panel, Quickboost seats. External stores were kit tanks and AIM-7s, Tamiya AGM-88 Harms, Hasegawa ALQ-131 ECM pod from a Weapons Set. I also used the excellent Speed Hunter Graphics Combat Weasels decal sheet. I also used a paper "belly strap", copied from the G Factor vinyl set that I bought a couple of years ago. They look fine to me under paint. Paint is Model Master enamels, lightened with Testors small bottle flat white. A light dusting of Tamiya smoke on the alligator skin on the tails since these jets all used the "smokeless engines". Weathering with very thin oil paints.
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Blackburn Buccaneer S.2B Gulf War (A06022A) 1:72 Airfix The Buccaneer needs little introduction to most British aviation enthusiasts, as it was in service for a long time, first in the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, and latterly with the RAF after remaining airframes were handed-over, performing a similar strike role in both branches of the British armed forces. The Buccaneer was originally designed by Blackburn for the Royal Navy, which is why even the RAF aircraft retained their folding wings and arrestor hooks. Blackburn was later rolled into Hawker Siddeley, hiding away its lengthy heritage. It was designed to a rugged low-level attacker that was to approach below the enemy’s radar horizon, and had a reputation as a highly-stable weapons platform that although it was just sub-sonic could leave behind other more modern aircraft in the weeds if things got down and dirty. After the last British aircraft carriers were retired at the end of the 70s, the hand-over to the RAF was completed, and older airframes were scrapped due to safety concerns after an accident, leaving them with a fleet of around 60 aircraft that served until 1994 when the Tornado took over the tasks it had been carrying out. The type proceeded from initial S.1 variant to S.2, ditching the underpowered De Havilland engines for the powerful Spey engines that were also used in the Nimrod and British Phantoms amongst others. This required a larger intake to gulp-down sufficient air to feed the engines, and later the S.2B was further upgraded to carry Martel missiles. The S.2A moniker was reserved for former FAA airframes after they had been converted for use by the RAF, while the C was the Navy’s name for the S.2A, and the D were former Naval airframes upgraded to S.2B standards. The last hurrah of the Buccaneer was during the first Gulf War, lasing targets for the Tornados it flew with in the event they encountered problems with their own pods. They were instrumental in the destruction of many bridges in Iraq, and they were also sent to dive-bomb airfields and bunkers either solo, or with lasing provided by other aircraft. On its return from the Gulf, it was decided that they were no-longer needed, and were retired early, despite having been substantially upgraded at great cost just a few years earlier – typical! Their role was taken over by the Tornados after they had been upgraded to operate the Sea Eagle anti-shipping missiles the Buccs had been carrying. The Kit The cheers of the 1:72 modellers still echo from the release of the original tooling in 2019 before everything went sideways with Covid. It was a well-detailed model that looks even better in the new darker grey styrene that Airfix are using of late, which seems to make the details pop just a little bit more. This reboxing adds new decals to depict a Gulf War airframe, during the Bucc’s last hurrah when she served her country and assisted her replacements with their targeting. The box is Airfix’s usual red-themed top-opener, and inside are five sprues in grey styrene, a sprue of clear parts, decal sheet by Cartograf, and the instruction booklet that is printed in spot colour on plain paper in an A4 portrait form. Detail is excellent, and now that the 1:48 modellers have their new tooling, the jealousy has subsided a little and we can talk about it rationally. Construction begins with the ejection seats, with two made up from different two part shells, and identical cushions that include the headbox fronts, and you are provided with detailed painting directions. The cockpit tub has the nose gear bay glued to the underside, the rear bulkhead fitted at an angle, with painting and decaling information for the side consoles, fixing the seats then the rear seater’s coaming with more decals, trapping the assembly between the nose halves whilst building the pilot’s panel from three parts plus clear gunsight, applying decals to depict the dials. A suggested 15g of nose weight should be installed in the nose before closure, then the coaming can be glued over the pilot’s console once the glue has set. The underside of the fuselage has the lower wings moulded-in, and if you are depicting your model with folded wings, you’ll have to cut them along the pre-marked lines, as well as drilling out holes to accommodate any underwing stores you are planning, the arrows having visual representations of the intended stores to assist you. A well-detailed bulkhead with the rear faces of the two Spey Mk.101 turbofan engines is laid into grooves in the lower fuselage, adding two inserts that form the inner faces of the main bays along the line of flight, and another bulkhead behind the bays. The space between the two bulkheads is filled by a two part representation of the exhaust trunks that have small sections of the bays moulded-in, which should be painted the same colour as the bays. Another bulkhead fixes to the rear of the trunk with detailed holes that wait for the exhausts later in the build. At the front end of the air path, another bulkhead depicts the first compressor blades, to which a two-part intake trunks on an interlinking support are fixed, fitting into a set of grooves near the front of the as-yet nose free fuselage, then the upper fuselage is prepared by painting the details of the bay roof the same colour as the rest of the details, after which it can be glued over the lower fuselage, adding the wing-fold inserts if you have cut the outer panels free. For the flight-ready model, an A-frame is inserted outboard of the main bays to stiffen the area before gluing the upper wing panels into position to hide them, removing one solitary vortex generator from the surface as you do. The tail section is formed from two vertically split halves, with a bulkhead at the rear to hang the air-brake assembly from later. The finished assembly is glued to the rear of the fuselage. Fitting a pair of exhaust cans with fairings to each side of the tail, taking the time to align the tapering fairings for reduced seam-hiding later. The nose is joined to the front on a stepped line for added strength, and it has a pair of intake fairings slipped over the trunking that is already in position. One of the Buccaneers stand-out features was its high T-tail, which is a single part that is locked in place by the upper fairing, adding the rudder panel underneath, which you can deflect for a more candid look. A two-part bullet fairing inserts into the front of the join, with another single part covering the rear, then flipping the model over to install the arrestor hook insert under the tail. Another prominent feature was the use of the aft section of the fuselage as a pair of fold-out air brakes, with a choice of posing them closed or deployed, as you see fit. The opened brakes are mounted on a W-frame with a pair of fairings added to the sides, which glues into the rear of the opened brakes that have the rest of the fairing added to the forward-facing side. The whole assembly is slotted into the rear of the fuselage with a set of three rams that are inserted at an angle, as shown in the accompanying diagram, with a tiny part fixed to the lower fuselage. The closed brake option is much more straight-forward, with a choice of exterior skins that fit around the central spine that create the fin on the top, slotting into the fuselage without further work. The underside of the Bucc is the focus for the next steps, adding either the closed bomb bay doors, or inserting a bulkhead in the rotated bay “roof”, although no weapons are fitted in there. The flaps fill the notch in the wing trailing edges, and the main bays are detailed with a large trunking running front to back, then the rest of the underside is detailed with inserts and various antennae, actuators for the flying surfaces, fairings and pitot probe, plus clear wingtips that you should mask off before painting unless you have a good memory and steady hand. The nose gear leg is made from two halves that trap the nose wheel in place, inserting a clear landing light in a slot in the front, with a retractor jack behind it in the bay, and a sideways opening door. A scrap diagram shows the correct orientation of the leg assembly. The main gear legs are similarly put together, with the brake housings moulded into the end of the outer yoke for additional detail, taking care to insert the correct leg into the bays. A bay door is fixed to the outer edge of the bay, semi-captive to the gear leg itself. Under the tail, the five-part arrestor hook and bump-stop are fitted, either deployed for landing or flush for flight. Moving back to the upper surface, the model could be stood on its own wheels if you followed the instructions to the letter, but when do we? More antennae are inserted into holes around the spine and tail fin, a pair of hands-on-laps pilots can be placed in their seats, and separated by a clear blast shield before gluing the windscreen to the front of the cockpit and the canopy to the rear. There isn’t an option to open the canopy in the instructions, but it slides to the rear, so it’s not a great leap to pose it open. In front of the windscreen the refuelling probe is fixed into its slot, and a scrap diagram shows the correct position from the front, which is canted slightly to the starboard side as you look from the pilot’s seat. Amongst the choices of weaponry are a pair of slipper tanks that fix to the wing root, or are replaced by a pair of pylons, with a choice of Sidewinders of Laser-Guided Bombs on the outer mounting point, or a couple of pods in the shape of an AN/ALQ-101 ECM pod outboard on the starboard wing, and an AN/AVQ-23E designation pod on the inner station under the port wing. The folded wing option is dealt with last, gluing the two wing halves together, then adding the hinge bulkhead and clear wingtip, plus the other fairings, actuators and pitot probe as before, and your choice of weapons/pods, drilling out the location holes as applicable. The wings can then be joined to the roots on the short pegs that project from both sides of the join. Markings There is a choice of two Desert Storm aircraft in their desert colours, as follows: XW533/A, Fiona/Miss Jolly Roger, Operation Granby/Desert Storm, Muharraq Airport, Bahrain, January to March 1991 XV863/S, Debbie/Sea Witch, Operation Granby/Desert Storm, Muharraq Airport, Bahrain, January to March 1991 Decals are by Cartograf, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion It’s a great kit of a much-loved aircraft that sadly committed the cardinal sin of getting old, leaving service after one last outing where it served its nation with distinction. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Some of my formative memories as a young adult was going to college in London in 1989, and in particular the dramatic events of the first Gulf War in 1990/1. The images of the planes on the news every night is a lasting memory. Also very big at the time were the various characters of the Infamous Viz magazine including...Johnny Fartpants! Have long wanted to make a Desert Cat, and having acquired the Modeldecal sheet from 1991, with lots of the nose art seen on many RAF airframes, some inspired by Viz. It''s only taken me 3 decades to get around to it! So, here is...an Italeri 1/72 Jaguar with resin EJ seat, Master pitot, Flightparh CRV 7 pods, Airgraphics fuel tank, flare dispensers and ECM pod. Its a toss up between this and the Hasegawa Jaguar...I will say this for the Italeri kit- at least they got the windscreen frame lines right. Thoroughly enjoyed the kit and the project as a whole. I finished it in Tamiya xf78 deck tan, which to my eye is dead match for the desert pink ARTF finish. Its precisely the same shade as the Xtracrylix desert pink, but much easier to apply. And despite the decals being 30 years old, they worked perfectly! Honk!
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Kinetic kit + DACO recce pod and chaff & flare dispensers, Quickboost seat & pitot tube, Armycast stencils, homemade decals. Enjoy🙃 BR from Czech rep. Andrew
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1/48 AFV Club F-5E RBAF from Operation Desert storm
Bo hermansen posted a topic in Northrop F-5 STGB
Here is my entry, F-5E from the Royal Bahrain Air Force , Operation Desert Storm 1991. I will add a KASL cockpit set, master gun barrels and pitot tube. Bo https://imgur.com/a/nhUSpjj https://imgur.com/a/UgpNWzB- 21 replies
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I've never posted a build thread on a forum before because I've never felt too confident that my models and skills were up to a level that others would be interested in seeing. Lately though, aside from the usual showpiece works that everyone drools over, I've seen a few "average guy" builds that just made me want to build more, despite not having the skills that would put my aircraft into a magazine. So here I am, trying this for the first time... hopefully I'll remember to snap pics along the way. Plus, having a thread to keep posting to may keep me inspired and prevent me from slacking off for weeks/months at a time. (Bad summer habit.) Like the title says, I'm doing a Victor tanker. I'm still a ways away from starting the actual build. I'm working on finishing a MiG-29 (just needs paint, decals, and final assembly) but I'm starting this thread as I prep for the Victor. Here's the ubiquitous box shot: As much as I love the look of the Hemp color scheme (and the pinup nose art!!) I've more or less decided to go with the Black Buck tanker instead. I still reserve the right to change my mind at some point in the build before it's too late. Pics like this or this have definite shelf-appeal. I "started" the project by making a chart for paint conversions based in the specified Humbrol colors vs what I already have or can get. Humbrol is not readily available around me... the hobby shops I frequent generally carry Tamiya, Vallejo, and lately AK. I've started using AK on my last couple of builds and am really enjoying how it goes through my airbrush, how it goes down on the surface of the model, etc. They even make an RAF V bomber box set.
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I finally finished something! It's Trumpeters's quarter scale TA-3B kit, converted to electronic reconnaissance EA-3B of the Desert Storm era, I used some etched details from Eduard and wonderful repair sets from Hypersonic models - new engines and correct canopy. The rest is just playing with plastic🙂 With a shark mouth, this Whale was displayed at IAT 1991 after returning from deployment in the Gulf War. Thanks for looking! Andrew
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Hello everyone, been a very, very, very long time since I've posted on Britmodeller - 5 or 6 years I think!? But wanted to share something that I finished up today. F-14A+ Tomcat, VF-74 'BeDevilers', 1991 Operation Desert Storm, USS Saratoga. Kit: Hasegawa Scale: 1/72 Paint: Hataka Blue Line Acrylics, Citadel Acrylics all hand brushed throughout. Finishes: MiG filters, Flory washes, Mr Hobby Flat Topcoat Extras: Quickboost ejection seats otherwise OOB Decals: Kit provided with Furball Aerodesign position lights Had the added impetus to finish as the first show in 2 years (in England) is on this weekend at Thornbury and I'm displaying on the Cold War SIG stand, hope to see some of you there!
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Tamiya kit with Elite decals and Eduard seat, armament and some photoetched details. Nice and easy build and a quick addition to my Desert Storm collection. Thanks for looking! Andrew
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At some point I might get into a detailed discussion of why I've decided to concentrate solely on Matchbox kits as far as 1:72 aircraft go, but the basic reason is that I actually enjoy making models from basic kits. I like to make corrections, and scratchbuild details, and Matchbox give you plenty of scope for that. There is still a part of me that understands the appeal of state of the art kits, and high quality resin and PE detail sets, but I'm going to keep all that to 1:48. In the smaller scale for me, from now on it's Matchbox or nothing! Matchbox were one of the first manufactures to release an A-10 (the copyright date on the inside of the fuselage is 1978), just as the A-10 was entering squadron service. Even at the time of its release, it wasn't up-to-date, since it depicts the prototype configuration. Also, in order to squeeze the model onto three sprues that would fit into their Orange Range box, some compromises were made with regards to accuracy. As one would expect, the detail isn't great, but that's what plastic card is for! So let's have a look at the box and what's inside: Yep, it's a prototype A-10, 20mmVulcan and all. Wow! look at all those bombs! As you can see, the density of parts on the sprues leaves little room for anything more. Pretty sure that's why the wingspan is a half inch short.
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Venerable Hasegawa kit, Aires cockpit and exhausts, Eduard missiles. The decals are from the Italeri kit. Finished on Sunday January 17, on the Gulf War 30th anniversary. Cheers! Andrew
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Hello all, my Tamiya 1/48 scale Nighthawk is ready for a gloss coat and decals. Unfortunately the kit decals are bad and beyond my help. They shatter into pieces when soaked with water, despite my best efforts with Microscale "Liquid Decal". My original plan was to finish the model as #828 (colonel Anthony "Tony" Tolin's personal aircraft) in the markings she wore on April 21st, 1990 when F-117A was put on display for the very first time. The internet, books and magazines are loaded with photos of this aircraft. Instead I'm going to use Caracal's excellent decal set. Now I'm looking for photos of #803 (Unexpected quest), #814 (Final verdict) and/or #834 (Necromancer) of Operation Desert Storm era. I've flipped through pages of several books on the subject, some magazines and searched the Internet. Result: only a few photos of #814. My question is: do you guys have photos of #803 (preferably) or #834 that you can scan and share? I believe there are few photos showing #803 in the book "Bandits over Baghdad", but that is one those books I don't have. Your help is very much appreciated! Cheers, Antti
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Hi All, I don't seem to recall ever posting a W.I.P. on BM, which is very remiss of me, so I thought I'd share my current build - Airfix's 1/48 Tornado GR.1 in the 'Desert Storm' Boxing. It's a kit that doesn't seem to have much of a good reputation. the fit is indeed awful, but so far I've enjoyed it - so much so that I've ordered another GR.1A, a GR.1B, a GR.4 and an F.3... It's been pretty much OOB, with the addition of a PE cockpit, and although I've kept the raised panel lines on this one I have rescribed the missing detail along the seams as I find it's the simplest way of replacing it. On the next build I plan to rescribe the whole lot (and add additional). So that's where I am thus far, I've recently added the guns to the nose and done a bit more filling - Most of this work I'll add, has been done in my car during my lunch breaks. Cheers!
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Hasegawa 1/48 F-15c, 58th TFS Desert Storm January 1991. Mig kill by Capt. "Chuck" McGill USMC exchange pilot, resin seat, Aires exhaust, Eduard cockpit PE
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Are you talking to me? Here's my latest off the workbench - it took a little more than 9 months in the making, mostly because I'm slow. A short summary of the project first KIT: Italeri 1:72 A-10A/C Thunderbolt II N.1376 AIRFRAME: Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II 79-0196, 23rd TFW, 74th TFS Flying Tigers, while stationed at King Fahd Air Base in 1991, during Operation Desert Storm MARKINGS: kit decals, except for the blue fin edges. These were airbrushed, while the white lightnings with the squadron number were cut off the original decals. The Italeri proposed marking scheme isn’t entirely accurate, as it’s a mix up of two different airplanes. I had to adapt some of the kit decals to reproduce the correct serial numbers, use kill marks and crew names plate from a different scheme of the same sheet and just skip some of the decals/stencils which didn’t look to be there on the real AC PAINTS: mainly Lifecolor acrylics, airbrushed, with the addition of Model Master Metallizer Titanium and AK Interactive Extreme Metal Steel for the air refuelling receptacle and other metallic bits, such as the exhaust nozzles. WEATHERING: mostly with tempera washes, various hues. Some dot filtering with oil in selected areas Aftermarkets: - Aires resin/PE cockpit set - Quickboost air intakes (designed for the HASEGAWA kit, but they fit just good on this one too) - Master Gatling GAU-8 cannon and Pitot tube Scratchbuilding: - Nose and tail bulged antennae, using plunge moulded styrene - PAVE PENNY POD clear head and internal details, using clear PET, brass pipe and thin styrene bits - brake lines and cables on all the gear struts and inside the wheel wells, using various copper and solder wires - Ailerons/airbrakes inner details, using alu tape and copper wires Here's the WIP thread, in case you're interested in: Many thanks to everybody who followed the build, with lots of useful tips, insights and pointers; this aircraft is a type my friend and fellow BMer @Gene K flew in the second part of his career (he may have probably flown this specific airplane at some point), so this build is inspired by him - I hope I made it justice, despite of my inclination to weathering ... Enough blah-blah, here are the pics (I keep struggling in search of a decent setup for my RFI pics, so apologies for not being the best quality): This shot of the underside is an in-progress, RBF tags missing All comments welcome Ciao
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Desert Storm Volume 1: The Iraqi Invasion of Kuwait & Operation Desert Shield 1990-91 ISBN : 9781911628224 Helion & Company via Casemate UK On the 2nd of August 1990 the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait began when their Air Force bombed Kuwait City, this was closely followed by the Republican Guard following on the ground. Although the Kuwaiti military did their best they were quickly overwhelmed and Iraqi occupied Kuwait in a matter of days. All of this was played out to some part in the worlds media as this would be the first full on conflict to be "live on CNN". The Iraqi president could not know at the time what reaction he would provoke from the western world. Perhaps if he had not gone as far as to threaten Saudi Arabia who knows what the outcome would have been? As it was a coalition was formed primarily between the USA, the UK and France; with the inclusion of the Gulf allies to protect Kuwait; this would be known as "Desert Shield". The book looks at the forces on both sides of the conflict, some history of the region including the UK's intervention in 1961. and how the build of forces for Desert Shield took place. This volume is A4 soft back in format and 112 pages. There are over 125 photographs throughout with 5 pages of maps, and 20 colour profiles. Conclusion This book should provide readers with a more upto date look at the early stages of the Gulf War Recommended. Review sample courtesy of
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Hallo again Here is my Tornado. The kit was Revell. Moreover, from my friend I got a very old kit with Zeppelin tanks. I did the desert pink, because here you can show weathering! I wanted to show a real a/c. It is not 100% accurate, but I was at this time satisfied with it. B.T.W. the engine of the Tornado was at this time the most sophisticated and reliable jet engine of the world. Happy modelling
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Finally finished it! Quite an awful kit which requires lots of extra work and some aftermarket goodies - Eduard PE's and Matra Magic II missiles, Master pitot tube, L'Arsenal resin Raphael SLAR pod and Colorado decals. But in the end it's a great looking jet Best regards from Czech and happy New Year to everyone. Andrew
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Hello Chaps, I'm just playing catch up with posting my last few builds, since the issue with Photobucket preventing 3rd party sharing. Well, now that I've figured out an alternative solution, I'm happy to be back and able to share again. This build I completed on May 15th of this year (2017), and it so happens that the Tornado is my most favorite British used strike aircraft of the modern era, but after 3 years of building models, I've only just gotten around to building one. Because it's my favorite British used strike aircraft, I decided to do something completely new that I;ve never attempted before....build a base for it to sit on. I even decided to do some scratch-building, too, to enhance it a little. Items that I scratch-built were: 1) Seat belts- made from strips of wine bottle foil 2) Canopy jack- made from a length of round sprue with a hole drilled in one end and a piece of paperclip inserted into it to simulate the rod. then I glued sections of styrene sheet at each end to simulate the claws. 3) Air intake covers- again, these were made from wine bottle foil. 4) FOD covers- made from two layers of styrene card of different dimensions, then painted red 5) Red and white striped warning/remove before flight tags- again, my go to source for items like this...wine bottle foil 6) Sidewinder Missile Caps- these were made from a section of small diameter round sprue cut to length, with the grab bar made from a slither of styrene card, then painted yellow. 7) Front Wheel Chocks/Blocks- These were made from parts from my spare parts box, they were triangular section guns from a A-1J Skyraider, cut to length and painted yellow, then in one end of the two pieces a hole was drilled. Into the holes I inserted a length of stretched sprue, glued into location with CA glue; this simulated the rope for dragging the chocks away from the wheels. The kit didn't come with any figures, so I borrowed a USAF pilot from my F-4C Phantom build and had him pose at the side of the aircraft; he was visiting from a USAF base to check out the allies jet and get a ride in it! Anyway, I had a ton of fun building this one and recommend the kit if you're a lover of the "Tonka". So, enough waffling, here she is, I hope you like her.... I decided to stick my finger into this photo to provide an idea of scale: There she is guys...I was happy with my first attempt at a base and the scratch-built extras, even if they might not be accurate...at the end of day, I had a ton of fun with this one, and for me personally, that is why I chose to build models since retiring...as a way of relaxing, switching off from life and having fun. If you'd like to watch my YouTube build updates and Final Reveal videos showing how I went from the beginning to the end of this build, here are the links to those 5 videos: Build Update #1 Video Link: Build Update #2 Video Link: Build Update #3 Video Link: Build Update #4 Video Link: Final Reveal Video Link: Okay chaps, thanks in advance for taking a gander and leaving any comments, much appreciated, and I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I enjoyed building her! Cheers, Martin
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Well it's finished(!) one Jaguar GR.1 by Italeri in 1/72 scale with Pavla cockpit and ejection seat. Minor modifications made from bored out rear vents to custom nose cone using clear plastic. Primed with Humbrol acrylic grey undercoat from a spray can, followed by Tamiya paints, Humbrol Clear and Vallejo Matt Varnish after decals and weathering (oil paint wash with turp substitute). WIP here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235007242-jaguar-gr1-172-italeri-operation-granby/#entry2466792 Comments welcome as always and I hope you enjoy the pictures. James
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Good evening fellow BM's. I have decided to let you all into the hell that is my Italeri 1/72 Jaguar GR.1. I have had nothing but trouble with this kit and it's nearly gone in the bin on a few occasions. The build is mostly OOB with the exception of a Pavla cockpit set which needed quite a bit of fettling to get in place. Perhaps the casts are getting old or this is just a bad example but there's copious flash, poorly aligned seems and just bad fitting throughout. The pictures start at the priming stage: Poor fitting intakes, front nose section and gun module. The result so far is far from perfect but I have lost the will... Some nice ejector marks... where's the filler! I had all sorts of problems with this intake, fortunately it's finally settled in after filing, scraping and sanding. Good ol Humbrol primer has finished the rest off. One of the better sections of the build... Nightmare gun module and the underside of the original cockpit butchered and glued to the base of the Pavla replacement. More panel scribing, filling and so so much sanding! Poor fitting front nose cone. The parts simply didn't align and I've had to sand down one side so much that I was afraid it would perish! I also removed the plastic with panel lines where the front nose glass should be. I'll make my own clear parts instead of painting it to look clear. Pavla cockpit in place. The gaps will be hidden by the canopy. Bluetak around the back is protecting the part from all the sanding. Primed and pre-shaded. Maskol used ready for some chipping later. First coats of my attempt at desert pink (Tamiya Deck Tan and Flat red 10:1) Subsequent coats... I'm not 100% sold on the colour. I may add some lighter shades... what do you all think? Cheers, James.
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So A levels were about as fun as I'd expected but now they've finished I've celebrated the start of the summer with this Tamiya Challenger 1 in Desert Storm scheme, built with the up-armoured skirts- it was a great kit that I have absolutely no complaints about, it also comes with a great commander figure that I have built and will at some point paint and place in the open hatch. Done mostly in Tamiya acrylics with Citadel washes for weathering. I tried to use the washes to build up a multi-shaded impression of sandy dirt on the hull. I believe the kit dates to the 80s originally, and is superbly detailed even regardless of the age- no complaints! Please bear in mind this is only my second ever armour build so please be gentle! Hope you like it. And with my first armour build, a Tamiya T72: -Flash
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Hey guys, There's talk here and there about Italeri's re-release of the A-10 in A-10C guise, but not much detail. Anyway, I ended up buying the kit at the LHS (couldn't resist the box art) and I decided to do a quick review so you'll know what you're getting into. The boxing in question: The kit comes in three sprues, two main and one clear, a really nice decal sheet with a decent amount of stencils and markings for four aircraft. Note that this kit includes decals for a decent approximation of the -A and -C instrument panel. However, the kit instrument panels have raised detail that only models the -A, so you'll have to sand off the detail or modify accordingly my adding an extra display panel if you want raised detail. Markings are for two Desert Storm -A builds, and two -C builds: A-10A, 23rd TFW (Provisional), 74th TFS based out of King Fahd AB, Saudi Arabia, during Desert Storm (box art) A-10A, 206th TFW, Desert Storm. This is the bird flown by Cpt Robert Swain, the guy who scored the first air-to-air kill on an A-10. After an unsuccessful attempt to lock on to an enemy helicopter using an AIM-9, he resorted to putting 300 rounds of depleted uranium into the unfortunate target. A-10C, 163rd FS "Blacksnakes," Indiana ANG, based out of Fort Wayne International Airport, Indiana (this will be the bird I am building). A-10C, 107th FS "Red Devils," Michigan ANG, based out of Selfridge AFB, Michigan. Decals are clear, and in perfect register. A great job by Cartograf, as usual. Here are the sprues, with the exception of the clears as I wanted to fit it in as tightly as possible. The sprues are almost identical to the original A-10A, with a few additions. A few things are still missing though (explained later). The additions that Italeri did to make this an A-10C are here - parts 90 and 93. 90 is the AN/ARC-210 BLOS antenna, which is used to help pilots communicate directly with ground forces via satellite. Part 93 is the EGI GPS dome (this photo shows the underside). These two pieces are the most obvious bits that identify the aircraft as an A-10C. Unfortunately, Italeri dropped the ball and missed out a few other things, or made mistakes with the additions. Now, if you want to build an accurate A-10C, you'll need to do a bit of scratchbuilding as Italeri left out the LASTE upgrades, such as the two blisters on the outward facing tail fins. These were molded on the 1/48 kit, so why this was omitted was an unfortunate choice as scratchbuilding them, although simple, is still a challenge due to the small size. A new sprue with the modified fins could have been included, but it would have driven the cost of the kit up. however, the blisters could have been added to the sprue much like the two new antennas had been grafted on. FUN FACT! The tail fins on the A-10 are interchangeable, to ease replacement. However, the LASTE modifications quickly put an end to that. The AN-AAR-47 missile launch detection sensors were also omitted. They are essentially blisters on the wingtips, nose and tail with a lens that visually detects missiles the moment they are launched towards the aircraft. I will attempt to replicate these with tiny embellishments from the scrapbook shop (or I'll just raid the missus' scrapbook supplies). Mounted on the nose of the A-10, the nose sensors give the aircraft the appearance of nostrils. I also noticed that A-10s have dented noses from being bumped too many times during mid-air refuelling. Nothing a Dremel can't replicate. The dorsal fin antennas are about right, though" Regarding the AN/ARC-210 antenna - while Italeri asks you to mount the antenna blade on top of the larger blade antenna on the spine, that is somewhat incorrect. The position is correct (the GPS dome is just forward of it), but the blade that the BLOS antenna mounts to should be forward swept (see inset below). I suppose you could modify the antenna by adding a bit of material to the back, then sanding it to shape, or you could cut it off entirely and make a new one. The Pave Penny pod has been done away with, so you'll need to fill those holes on the side of the fuselage. On the real article, the pylon was mounted on four bolts, so on aircraft without Pave Penny, you'll see four bolts in the form of a rectangle where the pylon should be. Another "obvious" giveway to the A-10C is the lack of an instrument panel shroud, or "eyebrows" as some have called it. The new instrument panel is shaped differently, so there is no coaming shroud on the sides of the IP. As a result, it looks as if the Air Force tacked on a shelf on top of the instrument panel (see inset below). This will be addressed on a later update. You can replicate that by cutting away on the sides of the coaming, so that the IP sits flush against the sides, while leaving the top piece intact. Note that the A-10Cs have HOTAS controls, using the F-16's flight stick and the F-15's throttle quadrant. Unless you have nice, tiny aftermarket controls, you probably don't need to worry about this too much (thanks to AICZ for pointing that out). One last omission, and will require some sourcing, is the lack of a sensor pod and current armament. A-10Cs use either a Litening AT or Sniper XR pod, mounted on stations 3 or 9 (I think). Hasegawa's Aircraft Weapons Set IX have both the Sniper and Litening pods, along with GBU-38s, and they're quite nice. Current A-10Cs are loaded a little lighter, typically a GBU-12, Mk.82 LDGB, GBU-38 JDAM, or even rocket pods. You'll be totally fine if you're building Desert Storm (refer to Desert Storm supernerd Jakub Cikhart's excellent loadout resource here) So that's it. It's great that Italeri re-released this fantastic kit, with cool new decals and beautiful boxart. It's a shame that some work will be needed if you wanted to represent a current aircraft, but they are simple fixes that should not take more than a day or two to replicate with some scrap plastic and putty. I think Italeri had to compromise between updating the kit vs raising the cost, and at US$20 I think these compromises are perfectly acceptable. Modern Hobbies, LLC has an A-10C update set that is about US$16, and well worth the price if you already have an A-10 kit, but if you're willing to scratch build a little and are not worried about a super detailed cockpit, this will do just fine. I'll be building this in between my other MiG-29 builds. I recommend this kit, and I hope this will help you decide if you want to purchase this. Enjoy if you do!