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Here is my recently completed HMS Sheffield using the 1/700 Dragon/ Cyber-hobby kit. Built mainly OOB with a couple of corrections and was an experience to use 1/700 PE that was included in the kit. Paints were from Colourcoats, kit decals and was depicted in her final scheme before her demise during the Falklands Conflict. Build log here: Stuart

Finally made a start. Cockpit painted and ready to assemble to fuselage.

Hello folks I had the last time very little time for the hobby, but in small steps it goes back to the workbench. Unfortunately I could not finish the Halftruck GB, so here in the WIP for all interested at first a small summary of the work on the M3 so far. My idea to convert it into an ambulance has given me a bigger task and as so often the work took no end. If you decide for an OOB build, the kit makes no problems, but if PE parts are used (eg Voyager), a lot of surgery is required. Once again, I find that a halftruck is much more work than a tank or truck. Here you have a mixture of both, which increases the amount of detail. If you then want to show the interior and engine, it does not get easier. As far as the painting is concerned, you have to see exactly when, where and how you paint or glue together. Otherwise you will have more work later. I hope you like the model so far. MD The object of desire Ready to go! The engine is not well detailed and important parts are missing. Wheels can not be shown turned in, I have changed that. Cast on springs... ...better Work for the saw... The PE parts were not usable, so I use the kit parts. The fighting room must be rebuilt. Seats out, stretchers in. The new base. Since the ambulances were troop conversions, there are very few pictures of the interior-plus each vehicle varies in its design. Checker plates for the floor. The previously removed seats are reused. The new interior with seats, boxes and supports for 3 stretchers. The next step is the engine. A distributor is needed... Generator, starter, fuel pump, ignition coil, etc. are rebuilt. The splashboard of the engine compartment is not correct. done To simplify the subsequent painting, I have changed the model and created individual assemblies. To do this, you have to work very carefully and check everything again and again by test fits. The cooler also fits Some parts had to be rebuilt to reproduce the engine halfway reasonably There is also an alternative engine kit from Plus Models, but I preferred to rely on my references and also saved money. Everything fits together well and can also be disassembled again. The shifters were rebuilt with wire-the geometry from the kit was not correct. The fins of the radiator armor was newly created from plastic card. New, more stable axles were installed. Missing strengthening ribs and holes were added. New tailgate latch, taillights drilled out and reinserted, and a storage rack for luggage. Trial fit of the engine hood. The engine gets its base color. And again a trial fit, lamps are also installed. The complete engine is painted and weathered. The painting would otherwise not be possible later without the removable front. The result after 40 hours of work... My template for comparison See you!

Hey Everyone. I'm new here to the forums on BM, but I've been referencing others great works here for years now. Britmodeller has always been one of my go to's for ideas. Great works here. I've been modeling on and off since I was about 6 and primarily focus on WW2 AFV, but have also dabbled in Naval vessels and submarines. Like many, I am a sucker for most German WW2 AFV. The colors. The engineering. In any case, I thought it was about time to start sharing some works of mine. I have loads, but this one I just recently finished on the bench and had some fun with it. The Panther G is such a beautifully sculpted vehicle. It's hard to imagine it as anything other than the most iconic side shot of a tank. It's a late war Panther G Command. Not historically accurate to say the least, but I liked the lighter shade 2 tone camo on this one and had some fun with the weathering and a few added goodies. The command figure is my first attempt at adding a figure to my work and like others, not very skilled at it just yet. But, adding a figure definitely adds to the final result of the tank for sure and I hope to get better at it as I continue to build. Periscopes are missing because I can't find them for some reason, but getting a new set to put in. No worries. Metal tracks. A few added parts. I usually always paint with Tamiya paints. Finish with some enamel washes, powders, and oils. I kept the weathering minimal as I like the tonal colors so much, I didn't want to cover it up. I think the German wool blankets were the hardest part for me. Ironic how hard it is to paint a straight line. Other than that, pretty much out of the box. Nothing over the top. Hope you like it. Cheers.

I've started to go through my old RFI's which both Photobucket and Village Photos have managed to mess up, one way or another. Instead of having to click on each one twice to see them (and risk going into VP which has no security certificate), I'm uploading them again. Apologies to those who've already seen them, and thanks for your understanding. Basically, what this is, is Tamiya's M1 Sherman upper hull and turret, Dragon's M4 Hybrid lower hull and running gear, T49 tracks from Panda Plastics, and Sabingamartin decals. The WIP is still there, but minus the photos. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I finished this a couple of weeks ago, but I didn't want to put it into RFI until I'd put it on a base and added a couple of crew members. Well, now that's done. I used the two figures that came with the Tamiya kit but I wasn't happy with the faces. Most of the figures supplied with kits are a little lacking when it comes to definition with regards to the facial features. For me, nothing beats the resin variety. So I changed the heads for ones from Hornet. Unfortunately, the only ones that I had were British, but I thought that there were many Europeans who emigrated to Israel after WW2, so they'd have to do. I made the base using a small picture frame bought from Wilkinsons, balsa wood for the sides and polyurethane foam sheet. I wanted to keep it fairly simple, so I mixed up some household filler, PVA glue and some yellow ochre acrylic paint with water, and spread the mix over the top of the foam. Before it went off, I gently pushed the tracks down into the mix. Once it had hardened, I added some clumps of grass. It would have been better if they had been a bit more parched, but once again, I used what I had. If you want to see the build log, it's here; Any questions, comments or criticisms, please feel free. Thanks for looking. John.

After a very long break, I’m finally getting back to completing the Dragon 1/72 Jagdtiger. This was originally started as part of a group build back in 2019 but life got in the way. There’s a lot of photos documenting the build in the completed group builds section - I guess I’m going to be about four years late for the GB but perhaps another one will come along before I finish this little beast?! I restarted working on this a couple of weeks ago - I had problems with the Dragon tracks being too short, which looked unrealistic and they were so tight that they snapped the drive sprockets off. I made new axles from brass rod and spliced in some of the spare tracks from the kit. One side is complete apart from track painting. I also added the decals, gave it a coat of Matt varnish and started the weathering process. I’m going to go easy on this - from what I have read, most JTs saw very little action. Photos from 2019 - Dragon 1/72 kit plus PE from ET Model. And now in 2023, showing recent progress. The kit suffered a bit of minor damage in storage, so some repairs and touching up of previous work is required. The replacement front axle from brass rod. The grey area is the spliced in styrene spare track links. Some of these have been painted and hung on the hooks that I added. More updates to follow - thanks for looking, Andrew

My entry will be the Dragon 7/1. It arrived the other day and looks to be a very nice kit. It comes with proper rubber wheels rather than the DS ones. I may change them still because the weighted ones add that little extra. I also got the Nuts and Bolts book from Historex but recommendations of other additions to the library will be appreciated. Due to a house move I currently don't have the internet set up so this will be a place holder. Once set up I will get some photos sorted out. Technology, Schmecnology. By next week I will have started this properly with decent updates. Hopefully.

Bf110E-2 Tropical 1:48 Dragon / Cyber Hobby - Master Series The Messerschmitt Bf110 was designed to fulfil a German Air Ministry requirement for a long-range, twin-engined fighter aircraft, or zerstörer which was issued back in 1934. Following the prototypes first flight in 1936, it beat off competing designs from Arado, Focke-Wulf and Henschel and was in service by the time war broke out three years later. Fitted with the same engines as the Bf 109E, the Bf 110 was a powerful aircraft and was very well armed in comparison to its counterparts. Despite early successes in Poland, the inadequacy of the Bf 110 as an out-and-out fighter was exposed by the RAF during the Battle of Britain. Heavy losses resulted, mainly as a result of the aircrafts lack of manoeuvrability. This aspect of the design was not improved to any degree in later versions, and for this reason the Bf 110 found itself increasingly utilised in other roles such as fighter bomber. The aircraft performed this role well in the North African campaign. The E models were mainly fighter bombers, the had a strengthened able to carry a bomb load of up to 1200 Kgs and featured extra bomb racks outboard of the main engines. The E-2 was fitted with DB601P engines and featured the same fuselage extension as the D-3 The Kit This kit is a variation on the earlier versions that Dragon has released since 2008, but this time its in their Cyberhobby range. The kit arrives in a sturdy box, upon opening you are struck by the sheer amount of plastic which seems to be packed in there. There are 15 sprues of light grey plastic, a clear sprue, and a small phot-etched fret. It's clear from the sprues that they have been designed in such a way to extract the maximum number of 110 variants from a common core of sprues, however there are not that many parts in this box which will not be used. The instruction sheet is large than normal giving the modeller bigger diagrams which are clearer to read. There seems to be a lot of detail in this kit with some intricate build steps. Most of the detail for the cockpit areas will be seen under the large canopy, however detail in the nose gunbay and other areas is a bit strange as there are no removable panels supplied in the kit? Like most aircraft the build begins with the cockpit assembly. Construction of the pilots seat is first and this is made up of the seat and two supports, with the left hand support featuring the seat adjustment handle moulded in place. The etched seat belts are then fitted and adjusted to shape. The main instrument panel is fitted with the gun-sight and small selector box and attached to the main cockpit floor, along with the rudder pedals, joystick, throttle quadrant to the left and side console the right. To the rear of the floor there is a large spent cartridge bin for the rear machine gun. The rear bulkhead is fitted with the spare ammunition drums for the rear machine gun, whilst the central framework is fitted with the radio panels and spare 20mm ammunition drums. There is a panel that fits in a trough just behind the pilots seat, this is the mounting panel for the 20mm cannon, two of which are fitted on the underside, whilst the ammunition drums, air bottles, radio operators seat and associated frame are fitted to the topside. These subassemblies are then fitted to their respective positions on the cockpit floor, followed by the side walls. The upper cockpit frame is then assembled from the main shoulder height frame, upper frame over the radio section, auxiliary instruments over the radios and the rear machine gun at its mounting plate. The completed framework is then fitted to the cockpit assembly and the whole cockpit glued into one half of the fuselage which can then be closed up. The nose gun mounting is assembled and the two machine guns fitted along with their ammunition belt runs before being slid into the single piece nose cone. This seems to be a bit of a waste as none of this detail will be seen unless the access panels in the nose section are carefully removed. The numerous sections of the cockpit greenhouse are then attached (or the modeller can use the one part canopy). With the fuselage closed up, the single piece centre wing spars complete with extra cannon bay detail is attached and covered with the fuselage centre panel, thus again covering all the detail previously fitted. Whilst the fuselage is upside down the PE DF aerial and styrene HF aerials are glued into position. The build moves onto the two DB 601 engines. These begin with the assembly of the main block which comes in two halves onto which the cylinder head and two cam covers are attached. Onto this main block the ignition harness, engine bearers, turbocharger assembly, oil tank and pipework are fitted. The undercarriage is the assembled, with the main units made up of the oleo, scissor link, retraction jack and support framework. The main tires are in two halves to which the separate inner and outer hubs, also in two parts are fitted. The upper cowling is fitted with the oil cooler intake, the exhaust stacks and their fairings are assembled and the main undercarriage bays are assembled from the firewall and roof sections, and completed with a selection of pipework and fittings. The exhaust stacks are then attached to the engine assemblies which are then fitted to the firewalls and the main undercarriage fitted to their bays. Before the radiator housing can be fitted to the lower cowling a large section must be cut out. The separate upper cowlings can be fitted, or left off to show off the engines. The instructions move onto the wings and the assembly of the underwing radiators which are made up of five parts then attached to the lower wing panels. The main wheel bays are detailed with internal frames after which the wheel bay doors are attached. The engine/undercarriage sub-assemblies are fitted to the lower wings followed by the upper wing sections, wing tips, leading edge intake scoops and landing lights. The flaps can be positioned in either the raised of lowered positions. The propellers are assembled by fitting the three separate blades to the hub, which is then attached to the backplate and finished off with the spinner. The modeller has a choice of whether to fit the two drop tanks or two pairs of bombs and their respective racks. The completed wings are then slid onto wing spars on the fuselage and glued into place. The final section is the assembly of the tailplane with the two halves of the vertical fins joined together then attached to the horizontal tailplane which comes as a single piece upper and two lower sections. In the centre of the lower section the tailwheel bay is attached then fitted with the tailwheel, made up of two wheel halves and single piece oleo, then the bay is completed with the addition of the bay doors. The completed tailplane is then attached to the rear of the fuselage thus completing the build. Canopy The clear parts are thin and free from distortion. A complex mulitpart canopy is supplied which can be modelled open; or the modeller can chose a one part canopy which will make things easier but be closed. Phot Etch A small photo etch fret is supplied which contains the seat belts, and radiator parts, along with two loop aerials. Decals Decals are supplied for three aircraft. All feature the RLM79 over RLM78 scheme. They are printed by Cartograf so should pose no problems. 8./ZG 26 - North Africa 1942 7./ZG 26 - Italy 1941 7./ZG 26 - Libya 1942 Conclusion This is an impressive kit from Dragon. The parts build is fairly high with some great detail. Like other boxings of this kit in other scales it is puzzling as some of the detail will not be seen. The modeller though could if they wished with some care expose this. Overall the kit is recommended. Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

Hello folks Before the GB starts I would like to introduce you to my model. A lot of small parts in a full package made a lot of work, but the real nightmare are the 3 PE sets. As always there is also a small vignette, this time it goes to Omaha Beach, a few days after D-Day. Looking forward to many nice models, see you! MD There are 3 variants with many details

Against my better judgement, I decided to get a fourth Dragon kit. Another Ta 154. This one will be built as the projected, but never built, A-2 single seater day fighter version. Since the Ta 154A-2 never materialised, I have an open canvas regarding the camouflage. Speaking of camouflage, I still don't know how I'll paint this kit. Undersides will be in RLM 76, but for the upper sections, I have no idea. Since it'll be a single seat heavy fighter, I could go with a late war RLM 75/82 or 81/82 scheme with the late JG 300 RVD band on the back. The other option would be to use RLM 74/75 with the early JG 300 red band. Tough decisions will need to be made. Markings will be as simple as it gets, with the generic crosses and two chevrons to make it a Hauptmann aircraft. I'm also aware of the warping issue of the wings. My copy looks ok (I said the same when I bought the first one). Here's the link that has all the planned variants of the Moskito: http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_focke-wulf_Ta_154_Moskito.html Start of the project ia scheduled after January 21st of 2023.

My kit for this GB is the Dragon kit of the 8 wheel armoured car armed with a 7.5cm short L/24 gun. This weapon had been fitted to the older Sd.Kfz. 233 armoured car and also to some Sd.Kfz. 251 half-track vehicles. Around 90 of these 8 wheeled armoured cars were built between June to December 1944 and issued to reconnaissance Panzer Units and Panzergrenadier Divisions. There is one preserved vehicle left in world, WH-1751008. This is at the Bovington tank museum, but not much use as a reference item, it's not complete and has been re-painted in a spurious grey colour. Dragon brought out all 4 variations of this vehicle during 2007 and Cyber-Hobby released a late war conversion of this /3 vehicle in 2008. More expensive but much better detailed than the old Italeri kits. Here is the kit, it's been untouched in my stash for 15 years, time to get it built! Not long to the start of the GB.

I thought I might try a new challenge and go down from the big scale of 1/72 to 1/144. So I dug out this Dragon Tornado from the attic. They do a weird cockpit with Mr Blobby crew, so the whole cockpit and ejector seats had to be scratch built. I have to say 1/144 is a very unforgiving scale! Too tall nose wheel or skew whif pylons are all too easy errors to make. The canopy was not all that good so had to use filler to fair it into the spine. Anyhow tell me what you think? You might recognise the 56(F) Squadron markings It's an old scratch built RAF hanger in the background and an Oxford Diecast landrover Andrew

I have always been a sucker for WWII halftracks and soft skins ever since I returned to the hobby, with Axis vehicles being a particular favourite. Over the last couple of years I have built a fair few Sd.Kfz.7 8 ton variants. Dragon (D) and Trumpeter (T) are the only manufacturers to offer the vehicle in 1/35 scale and currently offer eleven different versions between them. At last count both manufacturers offer twenty-six kits with both producing early and late towing vehicles as well as Flak variants. Both offer the same models with the odd variant being produced by just one. Dragon also offers combo packs including artillery pieces. Gun crew vehicles are available in initial (D), early (D & T) and late (D & T) Wooden bodied (Holzpritsche) versions are offered by D & T Self-propelled Flak versions carried four main weapons. The early and later armoured cab model 7/1 version Flakvierling 38, (D & T), and the three 7/2 versions; early and late Flak 37 (D & T), early Flak 41 (T), and late Flak 43 (D & T) Two kits that only one manufacturer offer is Trumpeter‘s 7/3 Feuerleitpanzer version which was used specifically at Rocket sites and Dragon offer the specific 1943 HL m11 version of the gun crew vehicle. Cyber Hobby released an early Flakvierling 38 variant in 2011 but I have no idea if that differs from the Dragon boxed kit #6525 of the same name that was released in 2009. An early gun crew Sd.Kfz 7 in North Africa As regards to builders, both the main ones were Borgward (designated HL) and Krauss Maffei (designated KM). The radiator housings received their emblems on earlier vehicles. An early model Sd.Kfz 7/1 version Flakvierling 38 One variant that is missing from range in offer is the earliest incarnation of the wooden cargo bodied (Holzpritsche) These were first attached to the 1943 Typ HL m11 which retained the old-style metal driver’s compartment. The Holzpritche bodied vehicles were a solution to save on limited and dwindling Nazi supplies of raw materials. The first Holzpritsche vehicles built of the final m11 design were installed by the manufacturer Saurer as early as November 1943 and this is the vehicle I am planning to build at the end of this build log. Early Holzpritsche fitted to the Typ HL m11 With both Trumpeter and Dragon only offering the final versions of the Holzpritsche which included the revised and larger wooden cab I will likely have to combine elements of different kits. It would be made far simpler if just one manufacturer got things right, but alas, both do suffer from their own inaccuracies and issues. To this end I am going to first begin by building both the final Holzpritche versions to see what will work best. Once completed I will attempt to create the early version with the best of what both manufacturers can offer. First up is Trumpeters 2009 released kit # 01507 which they simply brand as a KM m11 ‘late version. Having built this kit quite a long time ago not long after I returned to the hobby, I recall a few concerns that made it a less than pleasurable build in places, so let’s do a quick recap before I start the build. The main spoiler concerns the sprockets. First up, they look a little odd. That is because they have bevelled groves on the main face which were never present. Trumpeter don’t even show them in their own painting guide or box art, so something was at odds! The biggest problem however is that building them up as per the instructions means the tracks will not fit over the sprocket without leaving a nasty gap. The kit’s engineering lacks the important drive sprocket teeth offset (seen on many German running gear designs) which prevents the track from sitting evenly around the sprocket. In addition, the part containing the outer roller detail once fitted is hidden on the reverse side! Trumpeter never designed the teeth offset of the rollers against each track pad as per the real thing, so the track links do not sit flush against each track pad. Each sprocket is also ‘handed’ so any surgery will require removing the same part from each sprocket then a test fitment of a small track run will then determine how you re-assemble each sprocket. The recommended surgery is not complex and TBH re-fitting the small tabs that require removal for the modification to work are not completely necessary. The sprocket modification explanation with pics can be found here: https://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com/reviews/vehicles/trumpeter/tr01523d04.htm If you want the sprocket to resemble the real thing aesthetically the groves will still need to be filled in, which will not be an easy task. Even then the track pad inner fitting plates and bolts are missing so for the ultimate authenticity an aftermarket photo etch set will still be required. Even better still, try and locate a 3D printed pair. The second biggest kit failing is the omission of the wooden equipment rack in the load area. Although the equipment rack was designed to be removeable to easily convert into a flatbed the rack is an important element of this variant so why it is missing is a mystery. Trumpeter do offer some additional internal planking, but it is totally inaccurate. They do however offer a nice tarp for both the cab and load area, so there is a ‘cover up’ alternative. Another distinct anomaly is the inclusion of a Flak variant cab bench. The bench did not have an angled cut out on the passenger side and the driver’s seat cushions were much deeper with a cut out in the horizontal framework to accommodate. The Panzer Tracts book quite clearly illustrates the correct layout which also shows a battery box instead of the two exposed batteries that the kit offers. Comparing the kit dimensionally with the Panzer Tracts book 22-4, the overall length is a smidgen long compared to the drawings and the profile of the front fenders is slightly out. Neither warrants the amount of work which would be required to correct IMO. So, with the major fitment issue, the missing part exposed and a dodgy cab seating arrangement, what else can we expect? The kit offers these licence plate decals Even if accuracy is not a major concern, then some ‘interesting’ engineering and odd step sequencing is still worth highlighting. The chassis engineering is overly complex so rather than a nice strong one piece moulding that all the Dragon 8t kits offer, a multipiece affair will need to be cleaned up and carefully aligned together. Personally, I believe this is the main issue with all the Trumpeter 8t kits. Too many parts when one or two would have been perfectly fine. I guess Trumpeter never embraced slide moulding technology like Dragon did! To complicate matters, the instructions have you add some of the smallest and most fragile parts in the very first steps! Considering the amount of handling still required this is a recipe for disaster. These are kit’s where the builder needs to plan ahead. Kit content and sprue shots. To save myself a whole bunch of work they are all conveniently available to view here: http://www.trumpeter-china.com/index.php?g=home&m=product&a=show&id=1250&l=en Compared to the Dragon versions the detail is a little ‘chunky’ in places and although there was no flash present there are a few pin holes, many of which will remain visible. There is also a fair bit of mould offset on many parts so seam clean-up will obliterate some detail. Along with the main problems already mentioned I will try and point out any further issues as I go along. The multi-part affair for the chassis is the same across all the Trumpeter kits with only minor differences across the variants. Whilst far more detailed than the Dragon equivalent it is a bit fiddly to assemble. Dragon kits sacrificed detail in this area but much of it is unseen once assembled and it is a much stronger sub assembly and saves at least a couple of hours of work. Following the instructions, we commence in step 1 with the gearbox. This is instructed to be fitted between the chassis legs. It is a heavy part and dangles between just one contact point on each side and does not actually provide any real structural rigidity. To make life easier it us far easier to construct the chassis components in step 2 with it left off. The flex in the chassis legs will accommodate it once the chassis frame is built up so let the assembly fully cure first. It is also recommended NOT to add the photo etch and plastic cab levers (parts D13, D38 and D54) until it is ready to receive the cab floor as they are easily damaged. The front leaf spring assembly connect the two chassis legs at the front and the flat rear tray (part WA15) connects them together at the rear. Part A41 shown in step 3 can be used in-between to aid alignment. The gearbox fits in-between, and it must sit perpendicular to the frame. It’s connection points to both chassis’ legs rely on just the tiny and imprecise ends of part A7. The weight of the gearbox tends to make it droop rearwards making both chassis legs in the middle bend inwards at the top! Not the best engineering as the gearbox needs to align in one direction to accept both winch and engine shaft in later steps! The only reference for lining up the gearbox straight is to sight it up using the two holes in the legs behind the sprocket housings. TBH the upper middle parts of both legs have way too much flex and don’t get any rigidity until the fuel tank in step 7 is attached. There’s plenty of manhandling beforehand so handle with care! Step 3 connects the myriad of parts that connects the suspension pick up points. Plenty of clean-up is needed especially on parts D23 and D24 so dry fitting everything before committing placement is recommended. There are also two small pieces of photoetch to add in this step and they need to be assembled correctly as the holes in them accept the winch housing. Progress to step 3 so far.

Dragon/Cyber-Hobby is to release in November 2013 a 1/32nd Messerschmitt Bf.110E-2 Trop kit - ref.CHC 3209 Source: http://www.dragon-models.com/d-m-item.asp?pid=CHC3209 V.P.

Started with the Dragon 1/72 Bushmaster. The instruction sheet: And the sprues, decals, etc. Packed in a lot of plastic bags. Started with the interior. The thing that you notice is that Dragon did not put in a steering wheel. So I added a PE steering wheel and attached it to a piece of rod. Once completed not much of the interior will be visible. However one will notice there is no steering wheel. The seats seem undersized compared to the real thing and the rest of the interior is pretty basic. First details to the top added: Added the rear door: Oh wait! I'll be building 3 of these Bushmasters. One for my nephew who is commanding a a few of these and one for his driver. Prepared the windows: Up next painting the interior in RAL9001 and rest of the details.

I'll post a condensed version of my group build entry for anyone interested. I am working on Dragon's version of the kit and so far, so good. I have come across their legendary instructions already so it is a kit that you will need good reference material to help you along. It comes with a good engine, which will get a bit of detailing. I'll leave the bonnet open to show it off (unless I make a pig's ear of it.) So far I have most of the chassis done, a bit more to do and then paint. There are a lot of component parts that will be taken off so I can get paint into every nook and cranny. Cheers all and for any that have missed it and maybe want to join in here is the group build. It lasts until February so no rushing about.

This next project will continue with a theme of creating a display to include a piece of space memorabilia and a model or models that are directly related to it. The piece of memorabilia is a commemorative patch that celebrates NASA’s 60th Anniversary. The patch spent approximately a year aboard the ISS. It was flown up to the ISS aboard an Antares-Cygnus flight (NG10) & returned to earth aboard a Dragon Capsule (CRS-19). The vehicles used to transport the patch to the ISS & back will be modelled using the following Antares Launch vehicle will be a 1-144th Scale resin kit from New Ware (NW120). Dragon capsule will be a 1-48th Scale Resin 3D print, I have “designed” and drawn using Fusion 360, and it will be produced by a 3D print service. Preparations for this project have been ongoing on & off since 2018 when the seller of the patches announced his plans and started taking orders. As the Falcon 9 project is nearing completion they have been kicked off again in earnest so that all of the "hardware" will be ready to go as soon as the F9 gets completed. The base kit for the Antares The kit as supplied The new ware kit was first produced in 2013 and was modelled on the vehicle as it was then. The NG-10 flight was in the November of 2018. Between these dates there were some changes to the launch vehicle and spacecraft 1. First stage In 2015 the first stage (100 series) was retired due to the unreliability and age of the AJ26 engines, the final nail in the coffin was the loss of the Orb 3 flight in 2014. These engines were 15 year old Russian NK33 engines (that had been purchased by Aerojet, refurbished, and renamed AJ26) The first stage was replaced with the 200 series, which in essence was a beefed up version of the 100 series, powered by a more modern Russian Engine, the RD181. 2. Cygnus Cargo spacecraft & Second stage Castor Engine The original standard Cygnus version was last flown on the ill-fated Orb 3 flight in November 2014 and replaced with the Cygnus Enhanced version. Over the intervening years the second stage Castor solid fuel engine was upgraded 3. Northrop Grumman acquiring Orbital ATK In June of 2018 Northrop bought out Orbital in a 9 billion dollar deal. The NG10 flight in November of that year marked the first flight of the vehicle by its new owner/operator To accurately reflect these changes the model will be modified as below 1. First stage The AJ-26 engine bells were heavily insulated with a pink coloured insulation. The current RD181 does not have this present. The only correction needed will be to remove some material from the engine bells that represents the insulation. 2. Cygnus Cargo spacecraft & Second stage Castor Engine The enhanced Cygnus is 2.5m longer than the standard version. The Second stage Castor solid rocket engine was also upgraded. Although the later engine is physically larger, and the Cygnus was lengthened by 2.5m both of these upgrades were accommodated by lengthening the payload fairing by 2.3m At 1-144th scale a 16mm long extension will need to be inserted in the payload fairing. Fortunately, whilst I was looking into these changes I was in close contact with Martin, the owner of Martins models. He very kindly cast me a resin part of the correct dimensions 3. Northrop Grumman acquiring Orbital ATK This change meant a relatively minor change in the vehicles livery, the Orbital logo being replaced by Northrop Grumman’s corporate logo. Again, I was fortunate with the timing of this as I was having a sheet of assorted decals printed for a model, I was working on at the time so a batch of various sized logos were added. I think I have got the main changes covered and looking at the three points laid out they look fairly insignificant, but it took a fair few hours of internet searches, head scratching, calculations and educated guesswork to get there. A screengrab of where the proposed cut line (the red one) will be for inserting the extension Two shots showing the changes to the livery The second element of the model is the Dragon Capsule. I had previously looked around for a capsule on the open market and had made an approach to Oli Braun of Buzz media labs who produces a range of Space X rocket kits. Nothing came to fruition, and I left the looking on the backburner. A couple of years down the line and armed with a bit of Fusion 360 knowhow coupled with google & you tube I decided to have a bash at drawing one up and having it printed. If I rewind time back to the early eighties when I was just about to leave school and I was messing about with my newly acquired ZX80 the younger me would have not imagined that the older me would have access to, the tools, and the knowledge to create 3d parametric models. Then with a couple of presses of a button, send (for that time an unimaginably huge) file to someone who could then turn that information into a physical object using a 3d printer. In this COVID era it appears that to travel you are required to print an extraordinary amount of paperwork to carry around, that is then totally ignored by the people that request it. So, whilst in quarantine the paper, and the enforced idle time were put to constructive use The capsule was drawn up as two separate elements When it was finished, I had a play around with it, and the different visual effects available in Fusion A couple of shots in a wireframe environment, and one of a very quick render with some colours added This part of the build should be relatively straightforward. Glue A to B and apply paint he said. I have gone for a 1-48th scale, and that measures up at approx. 81mm diameter at the base and around about 70mm tall, a nice healthy size. The paint application is where I will force myself to leave the comfort zone and for the first time attempt some creative weathering. Here is a shot of the recovered capsule and the look I would like to recreate, any pointers as to how I could do this would be gratefully accepted

I don't see many Bf 110s built. In any scale, from 72nd to 32nd. In 1:32, the only available kits are the old Revell Bf 110C-4/b and the family from Dragon that goes from C to D. The Dragon kit is not easy, being very fiddly in multiple places, such as the propeller construction and engine assembly. The clear parts also come separate as 8 individual sections. The engines is where I encountered the biggest issues. If you aren't going to open the cowlings, then you can just assemble the basic engine with the arms and glue them to the landing gear bulkheads. Once that's done, make sure to glue the outer exhausts looking upward, while the inner ones point downwards. The covers for the engines were also wrongly marked in the instructions. I didn't realise this until it was time to glue everything together. But I beat the kit in the end. I used the kit decals. The crosses were undersized. I think they'd fit better in a 1:48 kit. The sharkmouth conformed to the panel lines after using some Mr. Mark Softer. The question is, would I build this kit again in spite of the self induced issues and poor instructions? Absolutely. In the Revell boxing of course.

I'm dog sitting at my son's house for a couple of weeks so although I do not have access to my paints or books I am planning on a quick build of this Dragon M4A1 as used in the battle of El Alamein. Between dog walks I can clean up and glue the running gear together and get as far as possible before I need to add some paint. Here is the kit that has been in the stash for at least a decade it's a pity Dragon never included any figures but there is a lot of PE for the dust shields and mounting brackets for the decoy covers they used in the desert: The kit includes DS tracks of the smooth rubber pad type T51 so I will replace those with my last pack of AFV Club individual track links. So here goes for a quick mostly oob build. Just hope the dogs don't eat any bits.

Hi all, this is going to be my entry for this fine group build, a late M4A2 of 1st marine tank battalion on Peleliu. I’m going to be using the dragon kit for this build, mostly OOB but with a few additions: metal barrel, resin .30 cal for the commanders hatch and resicast wading stacks, plus some stowage and spare track links. Much as I dislike them I’m going to be using the DS tracks as my modelling time is limited so no indi links. And the main two reference books I’m going to be using. Now, I said mostly out of the box, but there are a few changes I need to make to make an accurate version of this. I’m going to be basing my Sherman loosely on this picture. Notice the tracks in opposite directions. The first 50 large hatch M4A2’s were built without the hull ventilator cover, as well as the early large hatch versions having the longer splash guards in front of the hull hatches, padded lifting rings on the rear hull and dry stowage with the sponson appliqué armour. These very early large hatch M4A2’s, or at least a lot of them, ended up in the marine tank battalions, as in the picture above on peleliu. so there’s a few changes I need to make to the hull before I start building, highlighted in the picture below. Can’t wait to get cracking on this.

I have had this cyber-hobby kit in the stash for a few years so I have dusted it off and I will throw it into this GB. The plastic has just been re-issued as a 2 in 1 kit by Dragon, I have always fancied building this scheme with the charging Knight on the turret, so it's as it comes with just a new Armour Scale barrel. Here's the obligatory box full of bits picture: Wish me luck, it's covered in Dragon zimmerit!

Hello and good evening everyone. I'm back.......well, starting to get back into being at the bench after having to withdraw from the GB Panzer IV due to some medical and personal issues to fix; my apologies to everyone who finished and congrats on a great build from all. Even though I didn't drop by any contributions as regards comments etc....I followed avidly on all your builds. Thoroughly enjoyed everyone's progress. My medication prevented me from being able to positively contribute both at the bench and on here as a forum with some chat etc. ...but I'm back and will slowly get up to speed. I have a few projects on the go that I flit between like a butterfly, medications limit concentration at times............ Here's one that I'm slowly,,,,,very slowly plodding through. I'm working from a walk around set of images from the Ferdinand that's resides at Bovington at present (the one from Maryland). Had some issues with it as regards the Dragon kit itself and the moulding in places as regards fit. The rear sponson construction that I think was added at the time to form the Ferdinand from the prototype Tiger chassis.....took a long time to sand and pair down to make fit and line up the chassis........ There's a lot of weld lines omitted from the kit itself that I'm working through adding, a very intricate PE set from Aber that I'm going for; even through the kit itself is a Smart Kit with PE included. Nice metal barrel and host of metal parts etc to get into over time. SO HERE'S WHERE SHE STANDS AT PRESENT.....WELD LINES TO ORDER OF THE DAY. FRONT GLACIS WITH ADDITIONAL BOLT HEADS SUPPLIED BY MASTERCLUB. One note to add is the front drive wheels. There's no position marker of any sorts provided by Dragon to set them in place. I recommend taking a peek at some actual photos of that area of the chassis to get the position as close as possible. I set them wrong and had to remove and re-set...... WELD LINES ADDED ON BOTH SIDES FOR THE MUD SCRAPERS AND IN REVIEWING THE BOVINGTON FERDINAND, THE ADDITION OF SOME VERY HEAVY WELDS TO HOLD WHAT I BELIEVE IS SOME SORT OF ARMOURED EXHAST COVER....I IMPROVED THE TEXTURE OF THE COVER ALSO WITH SOME ADDITION OF LIQUID CEMENT AND FINALY....EVEN THOUGH NOT REALLY SEEN ARE THE GRILS FOR THE EXHAUST (OR AIR IN TAKE) WELL....can't say when the next update will be....but it's nice to be back on the forum to some extent, slowly is better than nothing...........catch you all soon...regards....Simon.

Morning all....decided to kick off another project in this lockdown world at present.....the Panther D from the Kursk Offensive July '43. Picked this up off Ebay for £32. Came with RB's turned barrel, some part PE set and a set of Panther II skirts. Might get to use them one day day as they look similar to the Panther G type. This Panther by Dragon is a very clean and simple kit. Nice clean crisp moulding.....but needs some help with some basic PE.....so three sets on the way. Three PE set's.......PEA071 for the tool box specific to some Panthers at Kursk. ET Model Panther D set and I still have to locate the side skirts with specific brackets..... And finaly the tracks.....early set for this type of Panther... Hopefully, once the PE skirts arrive I can post some progress..... see you all later and stay safe... Regards Simon

Hobby 2000 is to rebox the Dragon (link) 1/48th Focke-Wulf Ta-152H kit. - ref. 48017 - Focke-Wulf Ta-152H-0 https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/H2K48017 - ref. 48017 - Focke-Wulf Ta-152H-1 https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/H2K48018 V.P.

One of the 'small' dragons recently released by GW