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For all of you who helped me out with the "FAA Hellcat Conundrum" thread, here's the result... Painted inside and out with Tamiya acrylics: Dark Grey, Olive Drab and 50/50 Sky + White for the camouflage 50/50 Green + Yellow for interior areas As for markings, the ID codes were masked and painted, roundels are from Xtradecals and all other decals came from the kit sheet. I've been told that the Hobby Boss kit has some pretty bad flaws, but it looks like a Hellcat to me.

This month I have been somewhat limited in my modelling facilities and opportunities, but have managed to complete the 1/350 Hobby Boss Astute Class Submarine kit. Slightly expensive IMHO and the etched brass seems a little pointless, but the kit really is very nicely detailed. Putting it alongside the Airfix Trafalgar Class shows just how big the "Batch 2 Trafalgar Class" is ! AMBUSH is the second of the class to complete and was commissioned into RN service in March 2013. FredT

Source: http://old1.hobbyboss.com/a/en/product/fly/1_48/2013/0503/991.html V.P.

After the early version of the F4U-4 Corsair (see http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...amp;hl=Corsair) HobbyBoss is to release a late version of this bird in September 2012. Source: http://www.hobbyboss.com/a/en/Preview/2012/0713/876.html V.P.

Soviet T-26 light tank Hobbyboss 1:35 History The T-26 tank was a Soviet light infantry tank used during many conflicts of the 1930s as well as during World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and is widely considered one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s. It was produced in greater numbers than any other tank of the period, with more than 11,000 manufactured. During the 1930s, the USSR developed a record number of 53 variants of the T-26, including different combat vehicles based on its chassis (flame-throwing tanks, combat engineer vehicles, remotely controlled tanks, self-propelled guns, artillery tractors, armoured carriers). Twenty-three of these were series-produced, others were experimental models. The T-26 together with the BT was the main tank of the Red Army's armoured forces during the interwar period. Though nearly obsolete by the beginning of World War II, the T-26 was the most important tank of the Spanish Civil War and played a significant role during the Battle of Lake Khasan in 1938 as well as in the Winter War in 1939–40. The T-26 was the most numerous type of tank in the Red Army's armoured force during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The T-26 participated in combats with the Germans and their allies during the Battle of Moscow in winter 1941/1942, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of the Caucasus in 1942–1943; some tank units of the Leningrad Front used their T-26s until 1944. On the eve of World War II, T-26s served mainly in separate light tank brigades (each brigade had 256–267 T-26s) and in separate tank battalions of rifle divisions (one company of T-26s consisted of 10-15 tanks). This was the type of tank units that participated in the Soviet invasion of Poland in September 1939 and in the Winter War of December 1939-March 1940. The Winter War proved that the T-26 was obsolete and its design reserve was totally depleted. Finnish anti-tank guns easily penetrated the T-26's thin anti-bullet armour, and tank units equipped with the T-26 suffered significant losses during the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line, in which the flame-throwing tanks based on the T-26 chassis played a significant role. On June 1, 1941 the Red Army had 10,268 T-26 light tanks of all models, including armoured combat vehicles based on the T-26 chassis. T-26s composed a majority of the fighting vehicles in Soviet mechanised corps of border military districts. For instance, the Western Special Military District had 1,136 T-26 tanks on June 22, 1941 (52% of all tanks in the district). The T-26 (mod. 1938/39, especially) could withstand German tanks (except the Panzer III and Panzer IV) participating in Operation Barbarossa in June 1941. The majority of the Red Army's T-26s were lost in the first months of the German-Soviet War, mainly to enemy artillery and air strikes. Many tanks broke down for technical reasons and lack of spare parts. Nevertheless, the remaining T-26s participated in combats with the Germans and their allies during the Battle of Moscow in winter 1941/1942, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of the Caucasus in 1942–1943. Some tank units of the Leningrad Front used their T-26 tanks until 1944. The defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria in August 1945 was the last military operation in which Soviet T-26s were used. The Model The kit comes in Trumpeters standard top opening, and quite attractive box, with an artistic representation of the tank in action during the Spanish Civil War. Inside there are fourteen sprues of green coloured styrene, twenty four brown sprues of track pins, a bag of track links, a small clear sprue and a small photo etch sheet. The parts are really well moulded with no flash and only a few moulding pips needing removal. Although not to everyones taste, the track links, whilst pretty small, are beautifully moulded, but note, there are 240 of them, which can be a bit daunting. As with most tank builds this one starts with the drive sprockets, idlers and road wheels. The sprockets appear rather complex items, each being constructed from an outer rim, hub cap six internal spigots, a poly cap and the inner rim. The idler wheels aren’t as bad, being made up of inner and outer rims and an internal poly cap. The single piece road wheels are just joined together to make up pairs of wheels. The rest of the road wheel suspension is then assembled. Each axle has two pairs of wheels sandwiched between inner and outer castings and pinned. Two axle assemblies are then fixed between a pair of leaf spring suspension arms followed by the fitting of the main torsion arm. Having made up four of these multiple units they can then be fitted to the lower hull along with the eight double wheeled return rollers and their suspension fixings. To the front and rear of the lower hull the sprocket and idler wheel axel housings are fitted, before the wheels themselves can be attached. Still on the lower hull, the front and rear deck plates are attached, along with the shackle mounts and shackles. The centre section of the upper hull is made up of four outer plates and the top plate. This assembly, once built up is added to the lower hull. On the rear decking a large air filter and grille is attached. Then it’s onto building the tracks. Seeing how awkward the individual links can be, Trumpeter provided a plastic building plank to connect the links together and hold them in place in preparation for the track pins to be fitted. Once the tracks are complete it should be possible to add them after the rest of the build has been completed, which will aid painting. Back to the main build, an angled part is fitted to one side of the drivers position, to which the two parts of the drivers hatch are attached. To the rear, the seven part exhaust pipe and brackets are added, whilst the engine cover grille is fitted to the engine deck. The fenders and track guards need holes drilling out before fitting. To the track guards the support brackets are attached along with the air horn to the left hand side of the upper hull. On each track guard several pioneer tools, jack and jack handle are fitted, again with PE straps. Two spare road wheels are fitted to the rear decking with a PE strap and the three piece headlamp, cover and clear lense are fitted to the front decking. The turret is built up of two side halves, top mantle surround and rear. Several holes need to be opened up for the turret mounted aerial. The gun mantle and its elevating internal parts are assembled and attached to the mantle surround. To the top of the turret the main hatches are fitted, as are three eye pieces, air vent and periscope. Finally the gun support, lower armoured protection, main gun, co-axial machine gun and main aerial are attached. The completed turret is then fitted to the tank hull, completing the build. Photo Etch The small etch sheet included in the kit contains straps for some of the tools and spare wheels, grille for the engine intake, angle for the starboard track guard, straps for both track guards, and a couple of hooks and eyes. [size=4Decals[/size] The decal sheet provides two options for tanks that served in the Spanish Civil War. One in all over green with three slogans on the turret, right hand upper hull and front left upper hull. The second is more colourful, being green overall, but with a right turret roof with black republican cross, Spanish colours on turret bustle, mantle and the Spanish flag on the hull sides. Conclusion I really like Russian tanks from the 1930’s and early 40’s and this one really fits the bill. The construction is quite complex for such a kit, but it certainly gives value for money for such a small tank and will give hours of fun. The fact that the decal options are for the tanks used in the Spanish Civil War makes it even more interesting. Recommended Review sample courtesy of

Just waiting for the off. You get quite a box full of bits in the Hobby Boss kit, including a white metal nose wheel bay to stop it from being a tail sitter. I'm going to leave the X-4 air-to-air missiles off, as I believe this would take the build into Luft '46 territory. Chris

Hi Everyone, This is my first model after having bought so many and not building them over the years, i have alays been hesitant to assemble and paint them and finally decided to give it a go, if you look closely enough you will see several mistakes, I learnt alot with this model and it took longer than I thought it would, I have never filled and sanded before and I learnt what puttys I like and which ones I dont. I didn't like the empty space behind the seat so I scratchbuilt several things based on 2 grainy pictures of that area something i thought i would surely stuff up. Masking was a disaster on several occasions the paint peeled off with the tape. I could talk for ages on it.

P-51D Self Adhesive Pre-Painted Etch for the hobby Boss Easy Assembly Kit 1:48 Eduard The 1/48 Easy Assembly series of US built fighters are well thought out kits that not only provide a simple introduction to modelling, but with fine surface detail, have the ability to look rather good when complete. With this set from Eduard, beginners or people who haven’t dipped into the world of etch detailing can evolve their skills further. Cockpit detailing is noticeably simplified in the P-51 kit, but it doesn’t have to be now... P-51D S.A Etch Set 49603 Here you get a single fret of pre-painted Self Adhesive Etch that is designed to inject life and detail into your P-51, mainly, but not exclusively the cockpit area. Sidewall detail is absent in the kit, so the main features on the fret are beautifully detailed side panels that simply push into place, no paint, no glue. Several refinements are included for the seat and rear armour, most noticeably the seatbelts which are exquisitely done. A small amount of cutting is required to remove some parts prior to fitment of the seat refinements, so a modelling knife will make this a lot easier. Several additional details including throttles are to be fitted to the sidewalls giving a great 3D finish. The front panel simply fits over the existing part, however the centre console requires the detail to be removed so that the etch replacements including gunsight can be attached. There are some delicate parts, so as well as a modelling knife, a good set of fine tweezers will make your life much easier. Externally, the radiator gets a nice etch cooling matrix and the main gear is treated to some replacement Oleo scissors and door brackets. The drop tanks and rear view mirror get some additional detail and actuators for the aileron trim tabs are included too. Conclusion This is a great set to take a basic but pleasant kit to a new level. There are some delicate parts, so care will need to be taken, but it’s simple enough for a person who hasn’t used etch before to get good results. Whether the concept of using etch aftermarket on such a kit will prove to popular will remain to be seen, however with this detail in the cockpit, you may want to source a vac formed canopy too so that you can have it in the open position to show your work off ! Review sample courtesy of

Next HobbyBoss 1/48th f***-Woulf will be in February 2013 a Fw.190D-9 with catalogue reference 81716 Source: http://scalemodels.r...evral-2013.html V.P.

Hi folks, This is Hobby Boss's 1/350 U-boot, which I put together and painted as a first go at etched railings and the like in 1/350. I found it was tricky but do-able, although I'm not too happy about the size of my glue blobs. I think it'd be quite a slow process on a larger ship though because there's only so much I can manage in one session. I originally bought an I-400 for this purpose, and then thought it was too nice and I needed something easier to practice on. Did the same with a Surcouf, and so I ended up with this little U-boot from the Lucky Model sale for 5 USD. Bargain! I've wanted to build a type VII since seeing Das Boot which sealed the deal. (click for bigger/more photos) It's a good kit, there's enough in the box that I was quite happy to build it OOB, although the hull seam going through a lot of moulded-on detail and needed care to clean up. I had to to a bit of work on the nose which didn't quite want to line up, and I ended up filling in the bow torpedo hatches since I wasn't happy with my rescribe job. With hindsight I should've made them from slips of 0.25mm styrene, that would have looked fine. It's painted with Tamiya grey primer for the upper part (lazy but effective!) and Gunship Grey 2 from an aerosol for the anti-fouling. I got a really nice demarcation on the first try and then realised that I'd messed up and the waterline was about 1.5mm too high, so I had to do it again Second try was a bit messy but my clean-up and patch attempts have ended up being a decent basis for weathering and colour variation. I was going to add more rust streaks but I'm wary of overdoing the weathering in the small scale. I'll think I'll leave it for a bit and see how I feel later. I was very surprised at how small it is - in my head 18cm sounded longer! This was a fun build, so I might try the Surcouf next (or finish off something in the started-and-stalled pile?) Suggestions for improvement would be most welcome - particularly for attaching railings without blobs. Also any tips for rigging teeny weeny ships? Thanks for looking, Will

Hi folks, I bought a Tamiya I-400 a while ago, and then worried that I wasn't going to do a good job of it without some practice. So I found a Hobby Boss Surcouf, which was a bit smaller/cheaper. After I'd admired it I ended up thinking "hmm, still more practice needed" and put it on the shelf. Then last week I spotted this Hobby Boss U-boot for very cheap (5 USD) and so here we are. It has all the etched railings and smooth surfaces of a big sub, but small. I was quite surprised how small actually - I think the description said 18cm but in my head that was going to be bigger (Click to see it in big) So far I've assembled it (about 5 hours work) but left the conning tower off for painting. I thought I'd have more luck getting the railings firmly attached to bare plastic so I'm going to have to work around them when I paint the deck, but leaving the tower off will help with access quite a bit. The first big job was dealing with the seam in the two-part hull, which runs through several moulded ribs and right through one of the torpedo tube hatches as well I seem to have a taken a picture of the slightly less good side - I lined one up first and it came out well, this one needed a fair bit more sanding. I tried to work around the ribs as much as possible, and did a bit of re-shaping the diagonal one which was hard to get lined up. Both sides had the bow panel joint filled with CA (it left a notch and didn't quite line up on either side) and sanded back. I rescribed (badly) the torpedo tubes but they're actually partly filled in with glue again so hopefully they won't be too prominent. I also went around the moulded-on cable cutter teeth with a file to sharpen them - they provide a nice etched version but I didn't fancy matching up the curve of the bow, and the plastic one looks OK to me. The fit of the saddle tanks was excellent, no problems there. I did have to drill out a hole for one of the rudders (it was there on the other side) so if you make one of these I'd check that first - I had to do it after getting most of the stern bits assembled. I broke one dive plane and one prop shaft, but managed to get them back together again. The other big job was the etched brass, which seems to have gone pretty well. I tried something different and tacked it in place with Aileen's tacky glue (PVA) and then applied thin CA afterwards. It means the bases of the railings are a bit blobby, but they are all stuck on and it's set nice and solid. I think I'd do that again, I'm not sure that PVA on its own is enough, and I haven't mastered the art of CA on its own. I do like the gel CA because it's easy to control, but I've had bits fall off other models using just that. Off to prime it next and find out just how bad that seam looks I also need to figure out how to apply the two-tone scheme - probably leave the upper part in grey primer, mask it and spray the bottom, being very very careful for the railings? Cheers, Will

Source: http://old1.hobbyboss.com/a/en/product/fly/...2/0302/824.html V.P.