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  1. Source: https://www.facebook.com/ArmaHobby/posts/3462056447158021 Considering it'll be most probably a WWII period a/c and in 1/72nd this will be uninteresting to me... My (Polish) wishes - 1/48th plastic kits from: TS-8 Bies, TS-11 Iskra & PZL-130 Orlik. V.P.
  2. In the Czech Modelforum it's mentioned that after the 1/48th MiG-21, Spitfire and Bf.109 families, Eduard has as long term project the North American P-51 Mustang in the same scale (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234974169-148-north-american-p-51-mustang-family-long-term-project-by-eduard/). But as another possible project, the Eduard's Boss, M. Sulc, has also mentioned the Hawker Hurricane! Maybe more news at the yearly Eduard's Novemberfest 2015. Wait and see. Source: http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68170&start=5865 Strange considering Airfix is working on a new tool 1/48th Hawker Hurricane kit (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234972972-airfix-148-hurricane-mk1/). If not a Hurri then another British subject Mr Sulc? Like a Hawker Tempest or a family of Griffon powered (Mk.XIV...) Spitfire by example... V.P.
  3. Another Procreate drawing of a Hawker Hunter T7 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force. I’ve drawn it as it would have appeared in 1962 when it visited our local airbase.
  4. Catching up on posting some of my 2023 builds, this is the well-known Revell Hunter, which is a really nice kit to build; I just needed to make sure the cockpit tub was aligned properly or the fuselage halves wouldn’t join properly. I used Eduard details on the seat, otherwise the cockpit is from the box with a few added bits of plastic card and wire. I made a representation of the front face of an Avon engine, which is barely visible through the intakes and probably not worth doing. I also filled the inside of the wing to get a smooth representation of the intakes, which definitely is worth doing. I built the Hunter in one of the Swiss camo schemes from the box, partly because it is the classic dark sea grey, green and high speed silver scheme, and also because I thought a Hunter with Mavericks would look good; that said, I left the Mavericks off in the end because the model is finely balanced and I think the missiles would have made it a tail-sitter. The kit has pretty much all the ‘lumps and bumps’ needed for a Swiss F.58, with just a few mods required to the large tanks to represent the type used by the Swiss Air Force. By the way, while RAF aircrew almost invariably retracted the flaps after landing, that was by no means the case for the Swiss! Possibly because the decal sheet was quite old, I had to double-layer the national markings and white serials to get a better colour density, using a spare second sheet I had. I also used ResKit masks, which worked really well. Annoyingly a seam line opened up between the Sabrinas after I had finished painting and the repair was never going to be as smooth as the original. Colours are Tamiya XF-54 and XF-81 over Vallejo aluminium undersurfaces. Apologies for the quality of the camera phone photos
  5. I've got the chance to pick up this Tamiya kit pretty cheap but want to know how well it builds and if it's worthwhile adding it to my stash? As a much younger model maker I was bought an Airfix 1:24 scale Harrier GR1 kit that was more complex than my skill level at the time and I didn't do the model justice and never completed the kit before losing interest in modelling for 30 odd years. A loft clearout resulted in that half botched kit being dumped. However, since getting back into the hobby, I've always wanted to build a Harrier once again and finish what I started as a kid. Is this a good one to try? TIA all, Morfman
  6. Hurricane Mk.I/II Main Wheels 4-Spoke (Q32412 for Revell) 1:32 CMK by Special Hobby We reviewed Revell’s new large-scale Hurricane early this year here, and now we have some brand-new resin wheels from CMK. The Revell kit wheels are in two halves with separate hub, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, and have less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the hubs in this instance. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set has the same part count for the main wheels, but the tyres are cast as a single part with sidewall details and maker’s marks on the surface, and there are two separate hubs with a deep undercut dish at the rear to ease removal from their casting block. The outer hub is four-spoke with a separate resin roller in the centre, and has a cut-out on the rim for the valve, while the inner hub has concentric rings of ribs and bolts cast-in. The tail wheel is a single part rather than two, saving clean-up of seams. The wheels are attached to their casting block at the bottom where there is a flat-spot, so clean-up should be a breeze, and the weighting hasn’t been overdone. To build the main wheels, simply cut the parts free from their blocks, clean up, and glue the two hubs into their depressions, which have a key cast-in to ensure correct orientation. Resin wheels are a great way to increase detail and realism, and they also don’t break the bank. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  7. Time to throw this into the mix. I got this awhile back and one thing or another never got a chance to get it started ... until now. When I got this Airfix didn't have the regular sea Fury, just the Export version. But I'm still going to do this as a regular F.A.A. . I did get an updated cowling,' cuz every review said this was obligatory and I added Eduard's interior and wing flaps to the mix as well. Along with after market decals. Let the good times roll!
  8. Hurricane Mk.IIc Trop (40005) 1:48 Arma Hobby The Hawker Hurricane was one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although overshadowed by the more graceful and slender Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and achieved more than its fair share of kills during the conflict, usually from going after the bombers while the Spits kept the fight cover busy. It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward resulting in faster, more agile aircraft that came on stream on both sides of the conflict. The type originated in the early 30s and first took to the sky in 1935, despite the Air Ministry’s tepid reaction to monoplanes at the time, and it was eventually an aircraft that set standards for fighters that followed it, being a monoplane with a predominantly metal airframe, retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and of course the delightfully powerful and throaty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Compared to the Spitfire it was a little old-fashioned, starting out with a fabric-covered ‘rag’ wing that was eventually replaced by an all-metal aerofoil, and it was less aerodynamically streamlined, with a thicker wing and overall chunkier, blunt appearance. Although the wing was replaced by a metal aerofoil later, it retained the fabric rear fuselage and as such was able to have minor damage there repaired quickly and easily, compared to the Spitfire that would have to go back to a repair facility for structurally insignificant through-and-through bullet damage. A fabric patch followed by a few coats of dope, and the Hurri would be back to the fray, which endeared it both to its pilots and ground crew alike. By the time the improvements to the airframe resulted in the Mk.IIC, it was tasked with ground attack, hunting German tanks, which weren’t as easy to crack as first expected, because 20mm cannon shells would often ricochet off the frontal and side armour, and bombing a relatively small target such as a tank was a matter of pure luck, all while the enemy poured rounds in your general direction. It was withdrawn from front-line fighter service at this stage of the war, as by then the enemy aircraft outclassed it in most respects, but it carried on in ground-attack, night fighter and intruder roles where it excelled, without unnecessary exposure to enemy fighters where top speed might be a disadvantage. It was succeeded by the D that mounted a pair of 40mm cannon in gondolas under the wings, increasing its offensive power appreciably, at which point it acquired the nickname ‘The Flying Can Opener’, adding additional frontal armour to the airframe that was exposed during dangerous low-level attacks. They carried on in that role until the Typhoon came into service, which carried out the job faster and more efficiently without having to worry about being bounced by enemy fighters, partly because their numbers were dwindling due to attrition, but also because the Typhoon had additional power that allowed it to hold its own. The Kit This is a reboxing of a brand-new tooling from Arma Hobby that many 1:48 modellers were waiting for, as their 1:72 kits have a reputation for excellent detail, with the inference being that in a larger scale the detail would be even better. It came as no surprise that it is, and this new boxing reinforces that. The kit arrives in an end-opening box with a sturdy tray inside that prevents the box being crushed in the stash. The painting of a cannon armed Hurricane dropping bombs from its wing stations while firing its cannons, and like the initial boxing, it is dramatic and well-executed, with the side profiles of the decal options on the rear of the box. The package has the same design cues and layout as the 1:72 boxes, which makes it feel larger than it really is when handling it. Inside the box is the tray that contains three sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-tape masks (not pictured because it’s pointless – just imagine a featureless yellow square), instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour, with each decal option getting a full page of colour profiles at the rear of the booklet. Detail is everything we have come to expect from Arma, with crisp engraved panel lines, fine raised rivets, restrained fabric scalloping effect on the fuselage rear, and plenty of raised and recessed features that should result in a superb model if care is taken during building and painting. If this is your first Arma kit, you should know that they have a technique of adding stiffening ribs and stringers inside their kits, and they hide away their ejector-pins in places that won’t be seen, usually with a circle of tiny turrets around them. They are usually positioned so that they can be left intact without affecting assembly, but if they do need to be removed, you’ll be told in the instructions. Their instruction booklets are incredibly well detailed, and will help immensely, so take note of the minutiae and add your own remarks to help you remember if you need to – I know I do. Construction begins with the lower wing for a change, drilling out holes applicable to whether you intend to fit bombs or drop-tanks under the wings of your model. The holes are marked in red for tanks, and blue for bombs, which is helpful, and the diagrams are accompanied by a little explanatory text that advises that the tanks can be used in the third decal options of this boxing. The gear bay is created from a well-detailed section of spar that has a pair of retraction jacks and a pressurised cylinder applied to it, then it has the remaining walls and their ribs mated to it and is covered by the bay roof, feeding a brass-painted hose through the bay once completed. Attention then shifts to the cockpit for a moment, building the seat from four parts, which is supplied with decal seatbelts and is glued to the rear bulkhead after painting for later installation in the cockpit. We return to the wing again, removing the drop-tank location points for one decal option, and cutting a new rectangular hole nearby, filling in the original with a piece of scrap styrene or filler whilst you are there. The gear bay assembly is glued into the full-span upper wing along with another short spar section to the rear, then joining them together after removing a short portion of the stiffener behind the landing light bays to achieve a better fit for their inserts, finally covering the lower wing with the two uppers. Now we learn why we didn’t start with the cockpit, as it is built in the space between the wings once they are completed, starting with the control linkage and frame under the pilot’s legs, with the foot rests/trays over the top, and a small lever glued to a cross-member on the left. The sidewall frames are painted and added to the sides, locating in slots in the wing centre, and these are joined by the rudder pedals on a central mount, and a V-frame that stiffens the assembly at the rear. The control column is built from three parts and includes the linkages that lead under the pilot’s seat, which is inserted last over the V-braces at the rear, locating on more slots in the wing centre. Flipping the wing over, a pair of rods are inserted into the bays, their location shown by another drawing that highlights them in blue, although these might be best done before starting to add parts to the cockpit to avoid breaking the parts. The instrument panel is next, with raised details depicting the instrument bezels, plus other switches and controls, with a decal included for it and the compass that fits between two brackets under the panel. It is glued into the starboard fuselage half with a pair of small pieces of equipment, with four more in the port side, and the option to pose the foot step on the exterior skin pushed inward, which is a nice touch. There is also a decal for a pair of dials moulded into the fuselage sidewall. With that, the fuselage halves can be brought together, seams dealt with, and then carefully mated with the wings, taking care not to damage the lovely detail in the cockpit. If you are closing the canopy, it could be best to remove the rails on which it slides before you start assembling the cockpit within to avoid damage. The underside of the fuselage has an insert with the tail-wheel fairing moulded-in, which will be useful for the Sea Hurricanes that are being released in the future. The central radiator housing has its core made from front and rear sections with the matrix texture moulded-in, and a circular insert with hosing, all of which is glued to the underside of the fuselage and covered by the cowling that is made from body, intake lip and cooling flap at the rear, locating in a shallow recess in the lower wing that has a horseshoe flange with fasteners to add to the detail. You have a choice of painting the tail wheel strut silver or azure blue depending on your decal choice, inserting it in the recess under the tail, which is made next from a two-part full-span elevator panel with separate flying surfaces that fills the depression in the rear of the fuselage, adding the two-part fin to a step in the fairing and fixing the rudder to the rear, allowing all the tail surfaces to be posed deflected if you wish. The main gear legs are made from the strut with a lateral retraction jack moulded-in, and another added to the rear, plus a captive bay door that fits on the outboard side, and a two-part wheel on the inward-facing axles. There is a choice of two styles of gun camera fairings in the starboard wing leading edge using two different parts, two options must be sanded back flush with the surface of the wing. There are clear lenses for the gunsight on the coaming in the cockpit, and more clear parts to cover the landing lights. Helpfully, the clear wingtip lights have a recess in their mating surface that you can add some green or red paint to depict the bulb before you glue them in position. There is also a choice of one or two cannon barrels per wing, and you guessed it, it depends on which decal option you are building, so the outer holes will need filling and sanding back flush for one decal option. While the model is inverted, a pitot probe and crew step are added to the port underside, and a clear recognition light is inserted just behind the radiator, painting it a clear amber. The rest of the work on the airframe is done with the model resting on its wheels (if you’ve fitted them yet), installing the fishtail exhausts and blister fairings in the nose, and an aerial mast in the spine behind the cockpit, cutting off the little spur near the top for all options, and removing the short post on the tail fin. The tropical filter is made from two halves, and is glued together first, fixing it under the nose once the glue has cured and seam has been dealt with to your satisfaction. The windscreen is glued in place with a square rear-view mirror added to the apex of the part. To close the canopy, part T2 is used, but if you intend to leave the canopy pushed back, a slightly wider part is supplied, marked T3, with pre-cut masks supplied for all options, as well as the wheel hubs and landing lights. Two styles of prop spinner are included for the different decal options that use the same blades, but substituting different front and back spinner parts, plus a washer that can be glued carefully to allow the prop to remain mobile after building. Drop-tanks are built from two halves that trap the linked location pegs between them, and there is a small stencil for one side, only to be used for one decal option. The bombs are built up from four parts each, along with their pylons, but you can only fit bombs or tanks, as this isn’t an F-16! Markings There are three interesting options on the decal sheet, each having a full page of colour profiles at the back of the instruction booklet, with letter codes corresponding to a table on the front page that gives codes for Hataka, AK RealColor, LifeColor, AMMO, Humbrol, Vallejo and Tamiya ranges, which should be sufficient for most of us. From the box you can build one of the following: Mk.IIc Trop ‘Hurribomber’, LB792/C, 34 Sqn., RAF/SEAC, Dergaon (Assam) I Imphal (Manipur), Spring 1944 – Pilot: S/Ldr C P N Newman Mk.IIc Trop, HL885/AX-Z, 1 Sqn. SAAF, Egypt, September 1942 – Pilot: Lt. Stewart ‘Bomb’ Finney Mk.IIc Trop, HL851/GO-P, ‘The MacRobert Fighter, Sir Iain’, 94 Sqn., RAF El Gamil Airfield, Egypt, 1942-3 Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion I’d been waiting for this new tool Hurricane for a while since it was announced, and was not disappointed. It’s a fabulously well detailed model that shows amazing attention to detail, and deserves to be the new de facto standard in this scale. The tropic fittings give it a different look that is accentuated by the desert and pacific colour schemes. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  9. After the Tempest (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234931374-132-tempest-mkv-mkii-and-mkvi-by-special-hobby/#comment-1192212) Special Hobby is to release in 2017-2018 a new tool 1/32nd Hawker Typhoon Mk.1 "Car Door" - ref. SH32046 Sources: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235016099-novelties-from-special-hobby/ https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/SH32046 V.P.
  10. Hurricane IIc (40004) 1:48 Arma Hobby The Hawker Hurricane was one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although overshadowed by the more graceful and slender Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and achieved more than its fair share of kills during the conflict. It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward resulting in faster, more agile aircraft that came on stream on both sides of the conflict. The type originated in the early 30s and first took to the sky in 1935, despite the Air Ministry’s tepid reaction to monoplanes at the time, and it was an aircraft that set standards for fighters that followed it, being a monoplane with a predominantly metal airframe, retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and of course the delightfully powerful and throaty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Compared to the Spitfire it was a little old-fashioned, starting out with a fabric-covered ‘rag’ wing that was eventually replaced by an all-metal aerofoil, and it was less aerodynamically streamlined, with a thicker wing and overall chunkier, blunt appearance. Although the wing was replaced by a metal aerofoil later, it retained the fabric rear fuselage and as such was able to have minor damage repaired quickly and easily, compared to the Spitfire that would have to go back to a repair facility for structurally insignificant through-and-through bullet damage. A fabric patch followed by a few coats of dope, and the Hurri would be back to the fray, which endeared it both to its pilots and ground crew alike. By the time the improvements to the airframe resulted in the Mk.IIC, it was tasked with ground attack, taking out German tanks, which weren’t as easy to crack as first expected, because 20mm cannon shells would often ricochet off the frontal and side armour, and bombing a relatively small target such as a tank was a matter of pure luck, all while the enemy poured lead in your general direction. It was withdrawn from front-line fighter service at this stage of the war, as by then the enemy aircraft outclassed it in most respects, so it carried on in ground-attack, night fighter and intruder roles where it excelled, without unnecessary exposure to enemy fighters. It was succeeded by the D that mounted a pair of 40mm cannon in gondolas under the wings, increasing its offensive power appreciably, at which point it acquired the nickname ‘The Flying Can Opener’, adding additional frontal armour to the airframe that was exposed during attacks. They carried on in that role until the Typhoon came into service, doing the job faster and more efficiently without the worry of being bounced by enemy fighters. The Kit This is a complete new tooling from Arma Hobby, and one that many 1:48 modellers have been waiting for, as their 1:72 kits have a reputation for excellent detail, with the inference being that in a larger scale the detail would be even better. Spoiler Alert: It is! The kit arrives in an end-opening box with a sturdy tray inside that prevents the dreaded crushing in the stash. The painting of a cannon armed night fighter with additional fuel tanks being illuminated from beneath by a recent kill is dramatic and well-executed, with the side profiles of the decal options on the rear of the box. The package has the same design cues and layout as the 1:72 boxes, so you almost feel like you have shrunk when handling it. Inside the box is the tray that contains three sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-tape masks (not pictured), instruction booklet that is printed on glossy paper in colour, and a small errata sheet relating to a few tips for successful completion of your model that were missed from this initial run of booklets. Detail is everything we have come to expect from Arma, with crisp engraved panel lines, fine raised rivets, restrained fabric scalloping effect on the fuselage rear, and plenty of raised and recessed features that should result in a superb model if care is taken in building and painting. If this is your first Arma kit, you should know that they have a technique of adding stiffening ribs and stringers inside their kits, and they hide away their ejector-pins in places that won’t be seen, usually with a circle of tiny turrets around them. They are usually placed so that they can be left intact without affecting assembly, but if they do need to be removed, you’ll be told in the instructions. Construction begins with the lower wing for a change, drilling out holes applicable to whether you intend to fit bombs or drop-tanks under the wings of your model. The holes are marked in red for tanks, and blue for bombs, which is helpful, and the diagrams are accompanied by a little explanatory text that advises that the bombs aren’t used in the decal options of this boxing, catering to the off-piste decal users. The gear bay is created from a well-detailed section of spar that has a pair of retraction jacks and a pressurised cylinder applied to it, then has the remaining walls and their ribs mated to it and covered by the bay roof, feeding a brass-painted hose through the bay once completed. Attention then shifts to the cockpit for a moment, building the seat from four parts, which is supplied with decal seatbelts and is glued to the rear bulkhead for later installation in the cockpit. We return to the wing again, removing the drop-tank location points for one decal option, and cutting a new rectangular hole nearby, filling in the original with a piece of scrap styrene or filler whilst you are there. The gear bay assembly is glued into the full-span upper wing, adding another short spar closer to the rear, then joining them together after removing a short ridge behind the landing light bays to achieve a better fit for their inserts. Now we learn why we didn’t start with the cockpit, as it is built in the space between the wings once they are completed, starting with the control linkage and frame, with the foot rests/trays over the top, and a small lever glued to a cross-member on the left. The sidewall frames are painted and inserted to the sides, locating in slots in the upper wing centre, and are joined by the rudder pedals on a central mount, and a V-frame that stiffens the assembly. The control column is built from three parts and includes the linkages that lead under the pilot’s seat, which is inserted last over the V-braces at the rear, locating on more slots in the upper wing. Flipping the wing over, a pair of rods are inserted into the bays, their location shown by another drawing that highlights them in blue. The instrument panel is next, with raised details depicting the instrument bezels and other switches, with a decal included for it and the compass that fits between two legs under the panel. It is glued into the starboard fuselage half with a pair of small pieces of equipment, with four more in the port side, and the option to pose the foot step on the exterior skin in the lowered position, which is a nice touch. There is also a decal for a pair of dials moulded into the fuselage sidewall. With that, the fuselage halves can be brought together, seams dealt with, and then carefully mated with the wings, taking care not to damage the lovely detail in the cockpit. The underside of the fuselage has an insert with the tail-wheel fairing moulded-in, hinting at Sea Hurricanes probably. The central radiator housing has its core made from front and rear sections with the matrix texture moulded-in, and a circular insert with hosing, all of which is glued to the underside of the fuselage and covered by the cowling that is made from body, intake lip and cooling flap at the rear, locating in a shallow recess in the lower wing that has a horseshoe flange with fasteners to add to the detail. You have a choice of two styles of tail wheels depending on your decal choice, which inserts in the hole under the tail, which is made next from a full-span elevator panel with separate flying surfaces that fills the recess in the tail, adding the two-part fin to a step in the fairing, and fixing the rudder to the rear, allowing all the tail surfaces to be posed deflected if you wish. The main gear legs are made from the strut with a retraction jack moulded-in, and another added to the rear, plus a captive bay door that fits on the outboard side, and a two-part wheel on the inner. There is a choice of three gun camera fairings in the starboard wing leading edge that uses two different parts, the third option achieved by sanding the insert back flush with the surface of the wing, and your choice depends on which decal option you have chosen. There are clear lenses to cover the landing lights, and the clear wingtip lights have a recess in their mating surface that you can add some green or red paint to in order to depict the bulb before you glue them in position. There is even a choice of two styles of cannon barrels, and you guessed it, it depends on which decal option you are building. While the model is inverted, a pitot and crew step are added to the port underside, and a clear recognition light is inserted just behind the radiator, painting it a clear amber. The rest of the work on the airframe is done with the model resting on its wheels (if you’ve fitted them yet), installing the fishtail exhausts and blisters in the nose, and a pair of glare-hiding strips in a straight line between the exhausts and the pilot’s eyeline, and an aerial mast in the spine behind the cockpit, cutting off the little spur near the top, and removing the short post on the fin for two of the options. The gunsight is a two-part arrangement with clear reflector lens, and is fixed to the coaming before gluing the windscreen in place and adding the square or round rear-view mirror. To close the canopy, part T2 is used, but if you intend to leave the canopy slid back, a slightly wider part is supplied, marked T3, with pre-cut masks supplied for all options, as well as the wheel hubs and landing lights. If you close the canopy, you should remove the rails from the sills, as per the errata sheet. Two of the decal options have a pair of IFF aerials running from the elevators into the sides of the fuselage, which are marked in red on the diagram for your information. A two-part intake is fitted under the chin, and a choice of two styles of prop are included for the different decal options, using the same blades, but substituting different front and back spinner parts, plus a washer that can be glued carefully to allow the prop to remain mobile after building. As already mentioned, drop-tanks are included for this boxing, which are built from two halves that trap the location pegs between them, and have a small stencil for one side, only to be used for one decal option. The instructions also show the bombs being built up from four parts each, along with their pylons, even though they also tell you they’re not used for these three markings options. Again, if you are using aftermarket decals, these may be of use to you. Check your references to be sure. Markings There are three quite different options on the decal sheet, each having a full page of colour profiles at the back of the instruction booklet, with letter codes corresponding to a table on the front page that gives codes for Hataka, AK RealColor, LifeColor, AMMO, Humbrol, Vallejo and Tamiya ranges, which should be sufficient for most of us. From the box you can build one of the following: ‘Night Intruder’ BE581/JX-E, No.1 Sqn., RAF Tangmere, May 1942, Pilot Flt.Lt. Karel Kuttelwascher LF644/WC-D, No.309 Sqn., Polish Air Force, Drem, Scotland, May-July 1944 Z3152/FM-A, No.257 Sqn., RAF Coltishall, May 1941, Pilot Sqn.Ldr. Robert Stanford Tuck, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, AFC Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. In case you wondered, I adjusted the arrangement of the decal options so the one facing the opposite direction was in the middle. Conclusion I’ve been waiting for this new tool Hurricane for a while now since it was announced, and I am NOT disappointed. A fabulously well detailed model that shows amazing attention to detail, and deserves to be the new de facto standard in this scale. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  11. Hurricane Mk.I/II Exhausts Ejector & Fishtail Types (Q32410 & Q32411 for Revell) 1:32 CMK Quick & Easy by Special Hobby Revell have recently issued a modern tooling of the mighty Hurricane in 1:32 as reviewed here, although it does have a few issues such as a simplified canopy and solid exhausts, but is otherwise a nicely tooled, well-detailed kit. These sets aim to remedy the shortcomings in the exhausts, and there are two flavours available, depicting the earlier Ejector type exhausts fitted to the initial Mk.I Hurricanes, and some of the first Mk.IIs, with the Fishtail style for the later Mk.IIs. Each set contains two sets of exhausts, one for each side of the Merlin engine of course, and they arrive in a clear plastic bag with a thick card hearer and instructions inside. The package is held closed by a single staple through all elements save the resin. The parts are all well-detailed with fine weld-lines and recessed tips to each of the exhausts that give the impression of a hollow part, the effect of which could be further deepened by adding some Black 3.0 or Musou black into the recesses. The earlier ejector type has a circular aft port, with the two forward of it a curved open slot, while the later fishtail pipes are all narrow arcs that gave just a little extra forward thrust to the airframe, to boost performance in air-to-air combat where it mattered most. Ejector Type Exhausts (Q32410) Fishtail Type Exhausts (Q32411) Conclusion Whichever set you choose, it’s a well-detailed and cost-effective remedy to one of the model’s weak points that is a drop-in replacement. It could actually be considered easier than gluing the kit halves together and dealing with the seams, and the extra detail is a bonus. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  12. Aircraft radiators and how to model them have on occasion been the topic on this excellent forum, for the Hawker Hurricane and Typhoon to name but two. l have recently completed a video about the Hawker Typhoon and the company who manufactured the radiator and oil cooler for it and for many other classic aircraft too such as the Spitfire, Lancaster and Mosquito. I hope you enjoy watching the video that l believe will provide modellers with plenty of useful photographic reference material. <CONTENT REMOVED - PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR INFO>
  13. Source: https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/new-for-2018/hawker-hunter-f6-1-48.html Airfix is to release in October 2018 (?) a new tool 1/48th Hawker Hunter F.6/F.6A kit - ref. A09185 Schemes: 1) XF418 - 4 FTS Brawdy 2) XF509 - 4 FTS 3) Dutch AF V.P.
  14. After rather protracted finishing steps, finally completed and presented here as K-2091, one of the Hawker Hart (India) series of 50 (K2083 – K2132) in the livery No. 11 Sqn., Risalpur, North West India, late 1938. The build was posted here, … … and I enjoyed every step of it. The kit is small wonder. I never thought I would live to see kit of this important interwar airplane is such a quality as offered by AMG and I hope AMG plans to release other members of the family come to fruition because they will mean a dream come true for (I dare say) all interwar RAF aficionados. Built more or less out of the box, with some modifications related to Hart (India) and adding a few missing details in the interior. Seat belts by Eduard, front gun by MiniWorld. Brush painted with enamels by Humbrol, Model Master, Revell and Tamiya, roundels by Xtradecal, squadron markings from Modeldecal set 108, serial numbers from various Modeldecal sheets. As usual with me, no rigging.
  15. Undoubtedly, Hawker Hart was the most significant technical step forward produced by the British aviation industry during the interwar years. Talking about the standard Kestrel bomber, it has been also one of the lucky interwar airplanes attracting wider attention of kit manufacturers, starting with Frog Penguin in 1936, and going on with Airfix (1957), Aeroclub (beginning of 90’s) and Amodel (2012). On purpose, I am not listing either the AZ kit, which is Hart only by name, and requires quite serious surgery to get the right airplane type out of the box, or the Merlin copy of the Frog Penguin model. The latest arrival to the family was produced by Arsenal Model Group (AMG) from the Ukraine and it was released miraculously this summer amidst the turmoil of the war. The kit was introduced here: It is with certainty the best 1/72 Hart kit regarding the moulding quality so far. As concerns the level of detail, both interior and exterior, it is simply a nitpickers’ wet dream. At least in the box, let us see how it fares on the workbench. I am not going to use one of the kit markings. Instead, I am going to build it as K-2091 from No. 11 Squadron, Risalpur, NW India: Using the legendary Modeldecal sheet: The kit shows outstanding respect to historical accuracy and attention to detail, so it is rather surprising to find a few omissions right after opening the box. The first one is the missing fuselage gun body in the interior. Clearly somehow “forgotten”, because the cocking handle is present on the PE fret (orange arrow) – at least I think so😉. By the way, would some of you know what the part indicated by the green arrow could be good for? The next ones are the missing air intakes on the top of the cowling, which are quite prominent on many Harts. Curiously, they seem to be hiding behind the propeller in step 20 of the instructions, but they are not present in the kit. By the way, the instructions are quite generic, probably in order to be able to use them for as many Hart variants as possible. No problem for Hart aficionados, however they can be in parts rather misleading for the uninitiated. Both of the above issues can be very easily corrected, but the last one is more critical. Contrary to the 1/48 AMG Hart, its smaller brother contains just one upper wing central section, the one with two fuel tanks. Not exactly a problem for me, because “my Hart” was (by lucky coincidence) equipped with the later “Hind” wing and thus two tanks – see the orange arrow in the photo of K-2091. However, most Harts (especially home based) were equipped with one wing fuel tank only, and therefore caution is needed. Although some people may simply decide to ignore the problem, the modification is not that complicated and I will recommend it, if references for your particular Hart say so. The Hart has not been portrayed well by kits only, but by reference literature as well. So as usual, selection from my collection concluding the initial post.
  16. Here's my first go at a kit which is older than me! The 1963 Airfix version of the Hawker P.1127, of course the very original design which eventually became the Harrier. Let's just say that kit design and quality has come a VERY long way in 50 years... (to be fair, I'm sure this was great for the manufacturing technology available at the time). I've seen some beautiful versions of the kit online - quite a few where people have smoothed & filled the finished thing. I decided to keep it as original as possible although the kit canopy was way too wide (a common issue). In the end I used the front part and replaced the rear section with a part from a GR1 kit. I also swapped the kit seat for a spare resin one (sanded down a bit to remove modern headbox etc). Added a bit of dirt to represent the live version in testing (and highlight a little of the extensive rivet details on the surface) and added underbody strakes, although reference photos are not thick on the ground! To be fair to the kit, the one thing I thought I'd have trouble with was the old decals: in fact, they went on fine, they weren't fragile, and they conformed really nicely to the surface. A couple of final shots with my Airfix GR9 kit - the first and the last of the Harrier lineup together. About half a century between the real things (and also the kit versions) showing how both have evolved almost beyond recognition. Thanks for reading!
  17. Sea Fury FB.11 Mediterranean & Middle East (MKM144160) 1:144 Mark I Models The Hawker Sea Fury was a fast, agile fighter that, despite having entered service at the dawn of the jet age, enjoyed a successful career with a surprising number of air and naval forces around the globe. The Sea Fury evolved from the aircraft it was designed to replace; the larger, heavier Tempest. Originally conceived of as a smaller, dedicated fighter, the Fury began gestation in 1943 and although it missed the end of WWII, it eventually developed into a highly capable fighter-bomber with a change of operator and name to Sea Fury representing its pivot to carrier operations under the auspices of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Phenomenally fast thanks to its powerful Bristol Centaurus reciprocating engine that output around 2,500hp driving a five-bladed prop, the Sea Fury entered service with the Royal Navy in September 1947 with four Hispano 20mm cannons mounted two in each wing that gave it a powerful punch, and when it was found to be suitable for ground attack missions, hard-points were added under the wings to carry 1,000lb bombs and rockets for the role. The initial Mk.X was subjected to extensive land and sea-based trials, with the resulting improvements integrated into the Mk.11, which took up most of the 600+ Sea Furies that the FAA ordered, around 60 of which were two-seat trainer T.20s. The Sea Fury also did well in the export market, further increasing the number of airframes in service around the world, and while the type left British service in 1955, it carried on flying with other operators considerably longer. In 1959, the Cuban Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Ejército de Cuba, or FAEC) purchased seventeen refurbished Sea Furies from Hawker for use in the unsuccessful struggle against the revolutionary forces of Fidel Castro. Following Castro's victory, the Sea Furies were retained by the new Fuerza Aerea Revolutionaria and saw limited action during the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Sea Fury later proved popular with pilots participating in the Reno Air Races, although many had their Centaurus engine replaced with US-built Wasp Major or Cyclone engines, as well as aerodynamic modifications and flashy paint schemes. Some of those racers were later converted back to original specification as war birds or museum pieces, and there are some still flying today, although those Centaurus engines do sometimes cause problems that cut short their performances. The Kit This is a new boxing of a new tooling from Mark I that portrays the aircraft in service overseas, and it arrives in a small end-opening box with a profile on the front, and all the decal option profiles on the rear. Inside are two sprues of grey styrene, one sprue of clear parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet in full colour with decal profiles printed on the rear. The sprues are identical, allowing the modeller to build two of the decal options, and detail is excellent as we’ve come to expect from Mark I, taking 1:144 modelling to a better place than it’s been for years. Construction begins with the cockpit, which has side consoles and the seat base moulded into the floor, adding the rear bulkhead with the back cushion moulded-in, the control column in front, and the instrument panel with decal that glues to the front of the consoles. If your audience has 20/20 eyesight, they might even spot the rudder pedals that are moulded into the very front of the cockpit floor. Once painted and decaled, the cockpit is trapped between the two fuselage halves, fitting a tail gear bay at the rear during the process, and a decent rendition of the front of the Centaurus engine in the nose, although little to nothing of it will be seen thanks to the tight tolerances of the cowling. The canopy is a single part with excellent clarity, and it installs over the tiny cockpit cut-out, taking care to align it correctly. The lower wings are full-span, and a well-detailed main gear bay insert is inserted over the cut-out from the inside, aligned by the recess around the perimeter, and showing off the ribbing within the bay. The upper wing halves are glued over the top, then the fuselage is dropped into the gap between them, fitting the elevators to the tail on two pins each side. The last diagram is rather busy, dealing with the landing gear, bay doors, and choice of armaments, plus the prop and pitot probe in one sitting. The main gear legs have a retraction jack, three bay doors, the largest one captive to the strut, and a single part wheel slipping over the axle. The tail wheel is moulded into the strut, and has two bay doors, with the arrestor hook ‘stinger’ added just behind it, with lots of “Hawker Yellow” being used in the bays, which is probably going to open a can of worms for some folks, as there’s a bit of conjecture over the correct shade. A pair of drop-tanks are made from two halves and fit under the wings on a pair of pegs, while you have bombs under the wings on small rounded pylons, fitting under the wings on two more pins each. The prop is a single part, and is sandwiched between the spinner and its back-plate, slotting into the hole in the bell-housing of the engine in the front of the nose, finishing off by slotting the pitot probe into the starboard wing tip. A scrap diagram shows how your Sea Fury should look from in front to assist you with alignment of legs, bay doors, elevators and so forth. As an aside, Mark I have an accessory set coded MKA14428 that contains two 1,000lb bombs, plus six 3″ 60lb rockets on mounts that fit under the outer wing panels, adding a little individuality to your model and a lot of destructive power. Markings There are a generous four decal options included on the sheet, which for the scale is relatively large. The schemes are differentiated mainly by their codes and national markings, as is often the case with aircraft when they are relatively new. From the box you can build two of the following: After a quick test that confirmed my suspicions with an earlier kit, the decals appear to be printed by Eduard or using the same printing processes, and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, especially at this scale, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion The Sea Fury was the pinnacle of propeller driven technology, and certainly looks the part. This new tooling from Mark I portrays the grace and… well, Fury of the beast, and the even better news is that you can build two of them from this one little box, and there are now four boxings making for quite a shelf-full if you get them all. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  18. Sea Fury FB.11 Far East (MKM144161) 1:144 Mark I Models The Hawker Sea Fury was a fast, agile fighter that, despite having entered service at the dawn of the jet age, enjoyed a successful career with a surprising number of air and naval forces around the globe. The Sea Fury evolved from the aircraft it was designed to replace; the larger, heavier Tempest. Originally conceived of as a smaller, dedicated fighter, the Fury began gestation in 1943 and although it missed the end of WWII, it eventually developed into a highly capable fighter-bomber with a change of operator and name to Sea Fury representing its pivot to carrier operations under the auspices of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Phenomenally fast thanks to its powerful Bristol Centaurus reciprocating engine that output around 2,500hp driving a five-bladed prop, the Sea Fury entered service with the Royal Navy in September 1947 with four Hispano 20mm cannons mounted two in each wing that gave it a powerful punch, and when it was found to be suitable for ground attack missions, hard-points were added under the wings to carry 1,000lb bombs and rockets for the role. The initial Mk.X was subjected to extensive land and sea-based trials, with the resulting improvements integrated into the Mk.11, which took up most of the 600+ Sea Furies that the FAA ordered, around 60 of which were two-seat trainer T.20s. The Sea Fury also did well in the export market, further increasing the number of airframes in service around the world, and while the type left British service in 1955, it carried on flying with other operators considerably longer. In 1959, the Cuban Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Ejército de Cuba, or FAEC) purchased seventeen refurbished Sea Furies from Hawker for use in the unsuccessful struggle against the revolutionary forces of Fidel Castro. Following Castro's victory, the Sea Furies were retained by the new Fuerza Aerea Revolutionaria and saw limited action during the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Sea Fury later proved popular with pilots participating in the Reno Air Races, although many had their Centaurus engine replaced with US-built Wasp Major or Cyclone engines, as well as aerodynamic modifications and flashy paint schemes. Some of those racers were later converted back to original specification as war birds or museum pieces, and there are some still flying today, although those Centaurus engines do sometimes cause problems that cut short their performances. The Kit This is a another new boxing of a new tooling from Mark I that portrays the aircraft in service in the Far East, and it arrives in a small end-opening box with a profile on the front, and all the decal option profiles on the rear. Inside are two sprues of grey styrene, one sprue of clear parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet in full colour with decal profiles printed on the rear. The sprues are identical, allowing the modeller to build two of the decal options, and detail is excellent as we’ve come to expect from Mark I, taking 1:144 modelling to a better place than it’s been for years. Construction begins with the cockpit, which has side consoles and the seat base moulded into the floor, adding the rear bulkhead with the back cushion moulded-in, the control column in front, and the instrument panel with decal that glues to the front of the consoles. If your audience has 20/20 eyesight, they might even spot the rudder pedals that are moulded into the very front of the cockpit floor. Once painted and decaled, the cockpit is trapped between the two fuselage halves, fitting a tail gear bay at the rear during the process, and a decent rendition of the front of the Centaurus engine in the nose, although little to nothing of it will be seen thanks to the tight tolerances of the cowling. The canopy is a single part with excellent clarity, and it installs over the tiny cockpit cut-out, taking care to align it correctly. The lower wings are full-span, and a well-detailed main gear bay insert is inserted over the cut-out from the inside, aligned by the recess around the perimeter, and showing off the ribbing within the bay. The upper wing halves are glued over the top, then the fuselage is dropped into the gap between them, fitting the elevators to the tail on two pins each side. The last diagram is rather busy, dealing with the landing gear, bay doors, and choice of armaments, plus the prop and pitot probe in one sitting. The main gear legs have a retraction jack, three bay doors, the largest one captive to the strut, and a single part wheel slipping over the axle. The tail wheel is moulded into the strut, and has two bay doors, with the optional arrestor hook ‘stinger’ added just behind it, with lots of “Hawker Yellow” being used in the bays, which is probably going to open a can of worms for some folks, as there’s a bit of conjecture over the correct shade. A pair of drop-tanks are made from two halves and fit under the wings on a pair of pegs, while you have bombs under the wings on small rounded pylons, fitting under the wings of some decal options on two more pins each. The prop is a single part, and is sandwiched between the spinner and its back-plate, slotting into the hole in the bell-housing of the engine in the front of the nose, finishing off by slotting the pitot probe into the starboard wing tip. A scrap diagram shows how your Sea Fury should look from in front to assist you with alignment of legs, bay doors, elevators and so forth. As an aside, Mark I have an accessory set coded MKA14428 that contains two 1,000lb bombs, plus six 3″ 60lb rockets on mounts that fit under the outer wing panels, adding a little individuality to your model and a lot of destructive power. Markings There are a generous four decal options included on the sheet, which for the scale is relatively large. The schemes are differentiated mainly by their codes and national markings, with one aircraft flown by the Burmese (modern day Myanmar). From the box you can build two of the following: After a quick test that confirmed my suspicions with an earlier kit, the decals appear to be printed by Eduard or using the same printing processes, and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, especially at this scale, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion The Sea Fury was the pinnacle of propeller driven technology, and certainly looks the part. This new kit from Mark I portrays the grace and… well, Fury of the beast, and the even better news is that you can build two of them from this one little box, and there are now four boxings making for quite a shelf-full if you get them all, even at this scale. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  19. Sea Fury F.X/FB.11/F.50 Early Schemes (MKM144158) 1:144 Mark I Models The Hawker Sea Fury was a fast, agile fighter that, despite having entered service at the dawn of the jet age, enjoyed a successful career with a surprising number of air and naval forces around the globe. The Sea Fury evolved from the aircraft it was designed to replace; the larger, heavier Tempest. Originally conceived of as a smaller, dedicated fighter, the Fury began gestation in 1943 and although it missed the end of WWII, it eventually developed into a highly capable fighter-bomber with a change of operator and name to Sea Fury representing its pivot to carrier operations under the auspices of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Phenomenally fast thanks to its powerful Bristol Centaurus reciprocating engine that output around 2,500hp driving a five-bladed prop, the Sea Fury entered service with the Royal Navy in September 1947 with four Hispano 20mm cannons mounted two in each wing that gave it a powerful punch, and when it was found to be suitable for ground attack missions, hard-points were added under the wings to carry 1,000lb bombs and rockets for the role. The initial Mk.X was subjected to extensive land and sea-based trials, with the resulting improvements integrated into the Mk.11, which took up most of the 600+ Sea Furies that the FAA ordered, around 60 of which were two-seat trainer T.20s. The Sea Fury also did well in the export market, further increasing the number of airframes in service around the world, and while the type left British service in 1955, it carried on flying with other operators considerably longer. In 1959, the Cuban Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Ejército de Cuba, or FAEC) purchased seventeen refurbished Sea Furies from Hawker for use in the unsuccessful struggle against the revolutionary forces of Fidel Castro. Following Castro's victory, the Sea Furies were retained by the new Fuerza Aerea Revolutionaria and saw limited action during the Bay of Pigs invasion. The Sea Fury later proved popular with pilots participating in the Reno Air Races, although many had their Centaurus engine replaced with US-built Wasp Major or Cyclone engines, as well as aerodynamic modifications and flashy paint schemes. Some of those racers were later converted back to original specification as war birds or museum pieces, and there are some still flying today, although those Centaurus engines do sometimes cause problems that cut short their performances. The Kit This is a new tooling from Mark I that portrays the early aircraft in service, and it arrives in a small end-opening box with a profile on the front, and all the decal option profiles on the rear. Inside are two sprues of grey styrene, one sprue of clear parts, decal sheet and the instruction booklet in full colour with decal profiles printed on the rear. The sprues are identical, allowing the modeller to build two of the decal options, and detail is excellent as we’ve come to expect from Mark I, taking 1:144 modelling to a better place than it’s been for years. Construction begins with the cockpit, which has side consoles and the seat base moulded into the floor, adding the rear bulkhead with the back cushion moulded-in, the control column in front, and the instrument panel with decal that glues to the front of the consoles. If your audience has 20/20 eyesight, they might even spot the rudder pedals that are moulded into the very front of the cockpit floor. Once painted and decaled, the cockpit is trapped between the two fuselage halves, fitting a tail gear bay at the rear during the process, and a decent rendition of the front of the Centaurus engine in the nose, although little to nothing of it will be seen thanks to the tight tolerances of the cowling. The canopy is a single part with excellent clarity, and it installs over the tiny cockpit cut-out, taking care to align it correctly. The lower wings are full-span, and a well-detailed main gear bay insert is inserted over the cut-out from the inside, aligned by the recess around the perimeter, and showing off the ribbing within the bay. The upper wing halves are glued over the top, then the fuselage is dropped into the gap between them, fitting the elevators to the tail on two pins each side. The last diagram is rather busy, dealing with the landing gear, bay doors, and choice of armaments, plus the prop and pitot probe in one sitting. The main gear legs have a retraction jack, three bay doors, the largest one captive to the strut, and a single part wheel slipping over the axle. The tail wheel is moulded into the strut, and has two bay doors, with the arrestor hook ‘stinger’ added just behind it, with lots of “Hawker Yellow” being used in the bays, which is probably going to open a can of worms for some folks, as there’s a bit of conjecture over the correct shade. A pair of drop-tanks are made from two halves and fit under the wings on a pair of pegs, while you have bombs under the wings on small rounded pylons, fitting under the wings on two more pins each. The prop is a single part, and is sandwiched between the spinner and its back-plate, slotting into the hole in the bell-housing of the engine in the front of the nose, finishing off by slotting the pitot probe into the starboard wing tip. A scrap diagram shows how your Sea Fury should look from in front to assist you with alignment of legs, bay doors, elevators and so forth. As an aside, Mark I have an accessory set coded MKA14428 that contains two 1,000lb bombs, plus six 3″ 60lb rockets on mounts that fit under the outer wing panels, adding a little individuality to your model and a lot of destructive power. Markings There are a generous four decal options included on the sheet, which for the scale is relatively large. The schemes are differentiated mainly by their codes and national markings, as is often the case with aircraft when they are relatively new. From the box you can build two of the following: After a quick test that confirmed my suspicions with an earlier kit, the decals appear to be printed by Eduard and are in good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, especially at this scale, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion The Sea Fury was the pinnacle of propeller driven technology, and certainly looks the part. This new tooling from Mark I portrays the grace and… well, Fury of the beast, and the even better news is that you can build two of them from this one little box. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  20. Tempest Mk.II Centaurus Engine (P48005 for Special Hobby/Eduard)) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby Special Hobby and Eduard have collaborated on a new Tempest II kit in 1:48, and it’s a lovely kit with the large cylindrical cowling hiding the brutally powerful Centaurus engine with two banks of nine cylinders that could produce over 3,000hp in its final variants. It is barely seen inside the fuselage when prepared to fly, but with the cowling open it’s a different story. This set is designed to allow the modeller to open the cowling and show off the beast in all its glory, using a combination of 3D printed and traditional resin parts to adapt the kit to suit. It arrives in a rectangular yellow-themed box, and inside are two Ziploc bags of resin parts and the folded instructions that act as padding to protect them from damage. In total there are sixteen parts, the most impressive of which is the 3D printed engine that is printed as a single part with tolerances so fine that you can see deep into the cylinder banks if your eyesight is good enough. The six 3D printed cowling clasps are almost as impressive due to their small size, and these are double-bagged to further protect them. Construction begins with removing the cowling panels from the front of the kit fuselage halves, leaving just the top and bottom hinge-points projecting over where the engine will be fitted. The inside face of these will need to be thinned down from inside, test-fitting as you go, then shaving away some of the width of these areas until the motor slides into position without snagging, using the slots in the back plate as a guide. Before gluing the engine into place, the cylindrical bell housing is glued into the recess in the front, aligning it with the tab and slot around the edge. The kit intake lip is then adapted by inserting the two C-shaped resin lips to the back, leaving spaces of 5.8mm between the parts so it can be attached to the fuselage. After gluing it in place, the four cowling panels are attached hinging from the top and bottom, adding the small open closures into the grooves in the bottom two panels. The top cowlings are propped up by a pair of curved stays that help you achieve the correct angle when opened. There will be a lot of painting going on throughout the building of this set, and you will need to check your references for the correct shades, as there are no colour call-outs in the instructions. Conclusion 3D printing just keeps getting better all the time, and the detail of the engine is phenomenal, with praise due to the designer for what must have been complicated and intricate work. If you only have one Tempest II, perhaps you need another specially for this set. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  21. Sea Hurricane Mk.Ib (70061) 1:72 Arma Hobby The Hawker Hurricane was one of Britain's foremost fighters of WWII, and although overshadowed by the more graceful and slender Spitfire during the Battle of Britain, it was a capable aircraft that was available in large numbers, and made more than its fair share of kills during the conflict. It went on to see service to the end of the war, but was relegated to less onerous tasks as technology leapt forward resulting in faster, more agile aircraft that came on stream on both sides of the conflict. The type originated in the early 30s and first took to the sky in 1935, despite the Air Ministry’s tepid reaction to monoplanes at the time, and it was an aircraft that set standards for fighters that followed it, being a monoplane with a predominantly metal airframe, retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and of course the delightfully powerful and throaty Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. Compared to the Spitfire it was a little old-fashioned, starting out with a fabric-covered ‘rag’ wing that was eventually replaced by an all-metal unit, and it was less aerodynamically streamlined, with a thicker wing and overall chunkier, blunt appearance. Although the wing was replaced by a metal aerofoil later on, it kept the fabric rear fuselage and as such was able to have minor damage repaired quickly and easily, compared to the Spitfire that would have to go back to a repair facility for structurally insignificant through-and-through bullet damage. A fabric patch and a few coats of dope, and the Hurri would be back to the fray, which endeared it both to its pilots and ground crew alike. The Sea Hurricane was initially developed to be launched from Catapult Armed Merchantmen (CAM Ships) as a one-shot launch that would be used to defend a convoy from attackers, and then either flown to friendly shores, or ditched close to the convoy in the hope of being picked up. The aircraft were converted from well-used airframes for a last hurrah to protect the merchantmen, and were initially known as Hurricats. They had several alterations to make them suitable for launch and operation by Navy pilots, including naval specification radio gear. The later 1B was equipped with an arrestor-hook and catapult equipment and were used on aircraft carriers of various types, while the later 1Cs had cannon armed wings and an overboosted engine that put out 1400hp at low level. The IICs were used on naval carriers, and over four hundred were built. The Kit Arma’s Hurricane Mk.I was first issued in 2018, and has been reboxed in various guises since then. This new boxing depicts the Hurricanes that were converted to maritime specification, with the sprues to match. The kit arrives in a small end-opening box, and inside are two sprues of grey styrene, a clear sprue, a Ziploc bag of 3D printed parts, a sheet of pre-cut kabuki-style masking material, a sheet of pre-cut black vinyl (not pictured), a decal sheet and the A5 instruction booklet with colour profiles to the rear. If you’re a neophyte to Arma Hobby kits, the detail is excellent, with fine engraved and raised details, plus a generous quantity of components within the box that many companies would consider to be aftermarket. As a 1:48 modeller, I’m really quite envious of the quality of these kits. The fishtail exhausts had come free from their mountings in transit. No harm done, and no clean-up done before taking the pics. Construction begins with the main gear bay for a change, which is made from two C-shaped parts that form both bays in one assembly, with a central tank applied to the front wall before it is inserted into depressions inside the upper wing, which is moulded as a single span part. The gear legs and dividers are installed and painted, then the full-span lower wing is offered up and the assembly is glued together in a similar manner to the real aircraft. Work begins on the cockpit, starting with the rear bulkhead, which has a round headrest, the seat and decal four-point belts. The instrument panel is also made from the styrene panel with raised details, and two decals laid one over the other for enhanced detail. Before the rest of the cockpit is made, there need to be some alterations to the fuselage halves, cutting out the lower section between the trailing edge of the wing roots and the tail-wheel fairing. This is replaced later by a 3D printed insert. With the dusty work out of the way, the cockpit sidewalls are detailed with framework overlays that fit into sockets moulded inside, adding a cross-brace under where the seat will go, and gluing the completed instrument panel into the front. On the top of the wing, the foot troughs, control column and rudder pedals are applied to the centre, section and the fuselage is closed around the rear bulkhead and seat, filling a hatch panel line on the starboard side for one decal option. Flipping the fuselage over, the 3D printed insert and arrestor hook are slotted into place, and you are incited to drill a small hole low on each side of the fuselage and place a length of wire or rod into the holes. The two pre-cut vinyl panels should be glued under the centre of the wings to depict a pair of raised panels, and two more resin parts are also placed there next to the location of the central radiator housing. The wings and fuselage can now be mated, taking care not to ping off the raised cockpit detail perched atop the wings as you bring them together. At the rear, the elevators are moulded as one and drop onto the back of the fuselage with the fin and moulded-in rudder inserted from behind to complete the empennage, adding the tail-wheel into its socket under it. One decal option has a pair of glare hiding strakes added in front of the cockpit to preserve the pilot’s night vision whilst flying that are 3D printed and wafer-thin. A scrap diagram shows where they locate from above to assist you. Inverting the model will allow you to put the retraction jacks on the gear legs, and the wheels on the axles, with their captive bay doors fixed to the outer side of the legs. The radiator housing is a separate assembly, but it needs the radiator core inserting in the centre and a top fairing adding before it can be emplaced, with a circular light behind it painted with clear orange. Forward of the radiator is a chin intake, and you have a choice of two styles of 3D printed exhaust stubs with partially round or full fishtail ejectors that give a good impression of being hollow, especially for their size. Each wing leading edge gets a clear landing light, and under the port wing a T-shaped pitot probe is inserted into a small hole in the skin. The Mk.Ib mounted a De Havilland propeller, the blades of which are moulded as a single part, sandwiched between a spinner cap and back-plate, which has a peg on the rear to fit though the fuselage front insert that is secured in place by a styrene washer and a little glue to keep it mobile. This is then carefully glued into the front of the fuselage, with a resin oil-catcher lip fitted around most of the cowling behind the prop. The windscreen is fixed to the forward deck after adding the gunsight to the coaming, and has a 3D printed rear-view mirror glued on top. To pose the canopy open or closed, there are two parts, one patterned to fit the cockpit aperture snugly, the other widened slightly so that it can slide over the spine behind the cockpit, stopping just before the aerial mast, which you’ll need to join to the tail with a piece of fine wire or thread to depict the aerial itself, and the fly-lead that enters the cockpit via the spine. You can see a great side view of this in the colour profiles at the rear of the booklet. Markings In the typically generous Arma Hobby manner there are five decal options included, and you’ll need to decide which one you plan to depict early as it affects the finer details of the building of your model. All options are painted in grey/green camouflage over a sky underside, and have their individual markings to differentiate them. From the box you can build one of the following: Z7153 F, 801 Naval Air Sqn., Aircraft Carrier HMS Eagle, Operation Pedestal, August 1942 V6695 K, 801 Naval Air Sqn., Aircraft Carrier HMS Eagle, Operation Pedestal, August 1942 AF953 A, 802 Naval Air Sqn., Aircraft Carrier HMS Avenger, Summer 1942 V7506 7T, 801 Naval Air Sqn., Aircraft Carrier HMS Victorious, Operation Pedestal, August 1942 Z4849 7G, 880 Naval Air Sqn., Aircraft Carrier HMS Indomitable, Operation Pedestal, August 1942 Decals are by Techmod, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion A superbly crisp model of the doughty Hurri in her seafaring role, with a comprehensive gaggle of multimedia parts adding extra detail and accuracy to the proposition, making the asking price more than reasonable. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  22. A few years ago at Scale Model World HORNBY AIRFIX were giving out slips of paper on which visitors could write down the models that they wished for. On my paper I wrote 1/72 AW Argosy and as I handed it in to some young assistant who probably had no idea what an Argosy was I thought " no chance ". I have wished for an injection moulded 1/72 Argosy for years and hoped that a mainstream manufacturer would produce one. Then at last year's Scale Model World there it was to my absolute surprise, on display in a glass cabinet on the F-RESIN stand courtesy of Mr Palix of MACH 2 a built up RAF Argosy in camouflage scheme, And on the table were the sprues of parts for anybody interested to study closely. I already had experience of MACH 2 as I had built their Breguet Atlantic so I knew what to expect.............................. But there in front of me was a built up one so they must be buildable.............. They seemed to be flying off the stand to eager buyers so I thought I better get one before they ran out so I bought the RAF silver and white version. On arriving home a close study of the parts gave me some misgivings. The plastic parts had a rough surface with lumps of molten plastic stuck to them. Small parts such as aerials and vortex generators were so crude that they would require scratch making. But really this is what I expected anyway. The instructions only give a rough idea about particular areas of the model as you are expected to already know something about the subject you are building. What did impress me was the inspiring colour scheme and decal placement guide printed in full colour. The quality of the decals looked to be excellent. My wife wanted it to be a Christmas present so I became distracted with another project and it wasn't until March this year that I started cutting plastic off the thick sprues and set to on the laborious task of cleaning up the parts. The Argosy was finally completed in September and I was able to display it on our model club table at Scale Model World where it was the only Argosy to appear in the whole show............. What has happened to all those Argosies that were bought last year ? I took photos of the build as it progressed and so I will share these with you in the sequence that I built it as though I were building it now. Adrian I'm laughing because I know what's coming next...................TOMMY COOPER
  23. Eduard is to release from late 2020 or early 2021 1/48th Hawker Tempest Mk.II kits Source: https://www.eduard.com/out/media/InfoEduard/archive/2020/info-eduard-2020-01.pdf V.P.
  24. Kovozávody Prostějov (KP) is to release in 2021 a family of 1/72nd Hawker Tempest kits. Source: http://www.modelarovo.cz/novinky-kovozavody-prostejov-na-1-q-2021/ - ref. KPM0219 - Tempest Mk.V - Wing Commanders https://www.aviationmegastore.com/hawker-tempest-mkv-wing-commanders-kovozvody-prostejov-kpm72219-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=175515 - ref. KPM0220 - Tempest Mk.V - Clostermann https://www.aviationmegastore.com/hawker-tempest-mkv-clostermann-kovozvody-prostejov-kpm72220-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=175516 - ref. KPM0221 - Tempest Mk.V - Srs.1 https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/KPM72222 https://www.aviationmegastore.com/hawker-tempest-mkv-srs-1-kovozvody-prostejov-kpm72221-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=177481 - ref. KPM0222 - Tempest Mk.V - 486.(NZ) SQ https://www.aviationmegastore.com/hawker-tempest-mkv-no-486nzsq-kovozvody-prostejov-kpm72222-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=175517 - ref. KPM0226 - Tempest Mk.II - Export - ref. KPM0227 - Tempest Mk.II/F.2 - ref. KPM0228 - Tempest F.2 - Silver Wings V.P.
  25. New Arsenal Model Group (AMG) project is a 1/48th Hawker Hart kit - ref. 48902 Moulds are reported in progress Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1963572877288497&id=1505395696439553 3D renders V.P.
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