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Another from the cabinet completed November 2012 1/32 Academy F/A-18C Operation Iraqi Freedom Aires Wheel Bays Aires Burners & Cans Aires Cockpit Eduard F/A-18 GRU/SJU Seat Detail Eduard F/A-18 Placards Fightertown Decals Hornet Data Addendum Sheet Daco Publications Uncovering the F/A-18 A,B,C,D, absolutely fantastic reference book. Well here she is all complete, i may remove the RBF tags from the cockpit but other that that i am happy enough. No more text just a few pictures, i hope you enjoy.

Next up, i think i need to get these cleaned up and transfered to the dustproof cabinet, bummer. Regards Danny Attree

When i first started modelling back in 2003 theese where my 1st builds, i am particularly proud of the Whitestar, this was done with Tamiya Acrylic and automotive metallics. I could have gone for the aftermarket decals but that felt like cheating. Need to get em dusted. Regards Danny Attree

Some more of my builds done over the last 10 years ish. Kind Regards Danny

Hi all, these are my Moto GP Bikes, i do love these kits, decals can be a challenge but thank god for Microset. A bit of a Colin Edwards Fan. Regards Danny Attree

This was my 1st completed build of 2013, what a great kit, the finish was a challenge but it was good practice for my upcoming 1/32 Academy F-16I SUFA. 1/32 Academy Block 42 F-16C Arctic Aggressor. After seeing the Tamiya version of this in 1/48 I knew I would really like to do the same on a larger scale. This however would not turn out to be as straight forward as I thought, surprise surprise. 1st of all the admissions that should save any holes being blown in her. The 1st obstacle was the choice of kit, I did some research on F-16.net and found that the Tamiya 1/32 F-16 Thunderbirds would be the base frame for a Block 30/32. Small problem there in the fact that I was not prepared to expend £140+ for a kit, especially when you consider that for less money you can get the 1/32 CJ with all the trimmings. It is allot of money just to get the lightweight landing gear used on earlier versions. Fortunately after a bit of research and advice on F-16.net I found that the 64th had used the Block 42 airframe on some of their Aggressor Aircraft, this was great as it meant I could use the 1/32 Academy F-16CG/CJ Block 40/42 I had on the shelf. Now for sourcing the Afterburner decals for the 64th, I thought this would be the easy bit but there were out of production and as rare as hens teeth. Thankfully I found a guy in Norway ( Thankyou Niels) who only used the 1/48 decals and was prepared to part with the remaining 1/32 sets. You would think it would be problem solved but alas there was one last hitch. From what I could see the 64th never painted up there Block 42 aircraft in the Arctic scheme, most of the other Aggressor schemes yes but not the Arctic. Enough was enough, I would build her as it is right or wrong. Additional parts used, Aires Cockpit, Undercarriage set and AN/ALQ-188 EAT Pod, Wheeliant Wheels, Crossdelta Stiffeners, Two Mikes ACMI Pod set, Two Bobs CAT-AIM9 and ACMI Pod decals, Afterburner Decals. I hope you all like. (No light tent I am afraid, just a sheet and some silver foil in front of the flash) Danny The white camouflage was done with a base shade of Tamiya XF-55 Deck Tan over pre shading, the deck tan gave a nice off white base, from there I filled the panels in with a flat white filter. The Black area where base coated with flat black and then a filler of Nato Black applied to the panels. Final finishing was with a grey wash.

This posting brings me up to date, i did it directly after the YF-12A, it was finished last week. Well after just over two weeks pretty solid work she is now done, got to say I am happy with the result. Model is sprayed with Tamiya acrylics the same as the YF-12A. I have another one on the shelf but that will be built as the standard SR-71, I do not think I have it in me to build 3 on trot, another year I think :-) There have been some real challenges along the way especially with the assembly and finish of the resin, but I cannot grumble about that, patience, hot water and plenty of Tea. Model is depicted as an early A-12, very few decals, no national insignia, just a few pilot extraction decals around the canopy and that is it. I have included some example images. Testors 1/48 SR-71 Kit. Kiwi Resin A-12 Conversion True details cockpit and seat, modified cockpit panel to suit the A-12 True Details Wheels. Spare Afterburner Decals from the YF-12A All finished with Tamiya Metallic Acrylics. Nothing left other than a few pictures. Regards Danny Attree With the YF-12A, Please see the following link. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234938130-1st-post-testors-148-yf-12a/

Well i have stepped away from my usual 1/32 comfort zone and delving into the smaller scale of 1/48 , specifically the 1/48 Testors YF-12A I bought this kit about 6 years ago and it was pretty rare then but you can not accurately turn the standard SR-71 into a YF-12A, there are too many differences in contour and shape in the forward fuselage section alone. I have to admit this it was with some reservation I broke the sealing film on the box as there is no way back then. I could hear the collectors cries from my study, I calmed myself with the knowledge I buy models to build not to horde in an impossible stash. The only extras for the kit would be the Afterburner decal sets, True Details wheels and Cockpit Set. Considering the many changes made to the airframes and the fact that many bits where removed and spurious bits added before they were taken to the museums makes fact a dubious area indeed for these planes . The plan was to lightly sand all the raised panel lines so they are not quite so pronounced, leaving just a trace of them that will show through the gloss black undercoat. From there I can spray an overall Titanium finish Tamiya X-32 then mask individual panels and alter the shades of titanium to give it some depth. the Chines will be finished in Tamiya black, German Grey and Nato black as the black surfaces didnt stay that way for long. No specific Metalizer paints, I have done quite well with the Tamiya Metallic paint in the past. From my own Titanium Bike exhausts I have had over the years I know that Titanium does not polish up like Chrome or Aluminium, It has a dull finish so I think the Metalizers would be wasted here. 2 weeks to complete, finished mid March 2013, also completed recently my A-12, http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234938133-lockheed-a-12-oxcart/ Regards Danny Attree