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I call this a nostalgia build, but really it is anything but. I am exorcising some deep rooted modelling demons from my dim and distant past. I remember badgering my poor mother to get me this kit, on the fortnightly Friday shop at Tescos in Eastleigh. I was very young, and this must have been around 1979, the kit couldn't have been out long. She had obvious reservations that the modelling skills of her 6 or 7 year old son would not be up to the task, and she was of course correct. Getting the top wing on was way to much for me, and I remember - still with a shudder - the mess being chucked in the bin. When I look back now, and realise how little money my folks had back then, I cringe in shame. Anyway, fast forward 40 years and my interest in local aviation has grown 10 fold. Back then it was Roy Huxleys artwork that had me sold, now I know this magnificent flying boat was designed and built just a mile away from me and flown from the Solent. When I started dipping my toe in the modelling waters again a couple of years ago one of the first kits I made was the little Revell rebox of the Walrus, which triggered long buried memories of the aborted Stranraer build, and an original boxing was soon acquired for under a tenner. I've been happy enough looking at it on the small stash shelf but a recent photo has rekindled interest enough to bump it to the top of the pile. I am rather partial to the 1938 temperate camouflage applied after the Munich crisis, so this photo that popped up on facebook piqued my interest. I've yet to discover where this flight of Stranraers was based, but the photo shows them flying up the Solent, escorting the RMS Empress of Australia back into Southampton on the 22nd June 1939 after her Royal Tour of Canada. RMS Empress of Britain escorted by three Supermarine Stranraers by Mike, on Flickr A quick search for K7297 brings up the sad news that she was lost in bad weather over the North Sea just two months later, with the loss of all hands. According to the official Air Ministry announcement in 'Flight' magazine (August 31, 1939 page 205 - see link #4): "FLYING ACCIDENTS With reference to the disappearance on August 19 of an aircraft of No.209 Squadron, the Air Ministry announces with regret that, as extensive searches have failed to find the aircraft and its occupants, it must now be accepted that the following personnel lost their lives on that date:- F/O (Acting Flt Lt) Frederick Ernest Royston King; F/O Arthur Frederick Barber; L./AC Donald Fulcher; A/C.1 David George Poeten Ash; A/C.1 Walter Joseph Jeckells; A/C.2 Leslie Samuel Freshwater. F/O (Acting Flt. Lt.) King and F/O Barber were the first and second pilots of the aircraft and LA/C Fulcher, A/C.1 Ash, A/C.1 Jeckells and A/C.2 Freshwater were the other members of the crew." http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/208561 One of the reasons I had held back making this kit was I was struggling to to choose what livery/markings to paint it, especially as there are some colourful post war civil options. This information made my mind up for me, I'd represent K7297. Now to find out exactly how she was painted. I'm assuming Dark Earth and Dark Green, but I'm not sure about the undersides atm. Silver? There are a few excellent builds out there, feel free to copy any links to help me! I'm aware the kit has a few flaws and I'd like to fix them if it's within my skills. And as this is a nostalgia build I make no apologies for the photo dump! PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr

PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr This 40 year old Matchbox kit was fun to build. Previously attempted over 40 years ago when my eyes and manual dexterity were much better, but my modelling skills seriously lacking. There was no way nipper me could ever get those wings on, and it was binned. I've felt bad for badgering my poor mum to buy me the kit ever since, but in my defense who could resist that amazing Roy Huxley box art? PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr This particular flying boat, K7297 of 209 Sqn was sadly lost with all hands on August the 19th 1939, while patrolling over the North Sea in bad weather. I have represented her in the Munich Crisis markings she wore at the time of the crash. RMS Empress of Britain escorted by three Supermarine Stranraers by Mike, on Flickr "FLYING ACCIDENTS With reference to the disappearance on August 19 of an aircraft of No.209 Squadron, the Air Ministry announces with regret that, as extensive searches have failed to find the aircraft and its occupants, it must now be accepted that the following personnel lost their lives on that date:- F/O (Acting Flt Lt) Frederick Ernest Royston King; F/O Arthur Frederick Barber; L./AC Donald Fulcher; A/C.1 David George Poeten Ash; A/C.1 Walter Joseph Jeckells; A/C.2 Leslie Samuel Freshwater." <a href="http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/208561" rel="noreferrer nofollow">aviation-safety.net/wikibase/208561</a> Like many basic Matchbox kits, there was room for extra detail to be added, especially to the empty hull interior, and the sparsely marked exteriors. I was very much aided by fellow Britmodellers builds in this respect. For those wanting to check the build thread out here is the link. And for those that just want to see some photos, scroll down now PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr

Hello everyone! Here is one of my first kits of the year, finished during this week. It's Airfix's 1:72 Brewster B-339E Buffalo Mk.I finished as AN185/TD-V of No 453 (RAAF) Sqn based at Sembawang, Singapore in December 1941. Back in around 1979, after I had built my first three kits which had been gifts, the next kit I bought, and which definitely set me down the path of this hobby, was the Airfix Buffalo, one from the first boxed issue. Fast forward to 2008, and I saw the kit reissued with the old boxart recovered and bought it to have another go eventually and recover it in my collection (the old one having long since been scrapped). When I was coming up to my 400th kit, I decided to finally build it. The parts were exactly the same albeit moulded in light blue rather than metallic grey and as before there were two options, a US F2A-2 and a British Buffalo Mk.I although this time in markings of an RAAF unit. My intention was to make a nostalgic OOB build with some minor improvements and finish it before the end of 2021 but it was not to be in any way! For starters, the box states it as an F2A-1 but it's not. The parts are clearly for an F2A-2... and only an F2A-2. Although some alternative parts are supplied, you can't really make a B-339E Buffalo Mk.I OOB. The two major missing items are a new tailcone and an uncuffed Hamilton Standard propeller. I really wanted the B-339E so that meant extra work was going to be needed. Added to that, the kit is overall dimensionally correct BUT short in the nose. I had read comments about the cowling being short but when comparing with SAMI plans from an issue of 2005, I found that the fuselage was also short in front of the wings by 2mm, just like the cowling. I decided to fix that too. This really deserved a WIP but with my self-imposed deadline, it wasn't possible. - I used Evergreen 2 x 1.5mm strip to extend the fuselage. The exhausts were carefully removed and relocated afterwards. - Adding 4mm to the nose meant that the engine had to move forwards too so I used parts from old cassette tape wheels (exactly 4mm thick) to act as new supports for the engine. - In the cockpit I added a roll bar and armoured headrest (not sure if all had this) as well as an instrument panel with the gunsight from scrap resin and plastic and stretched sprue. A lens was added from clear flash plastic. - A new tailcone was made from scrap resin. - I added the pilot as it was still a nostalgia build! I shortened his boots and thinned the legs as he was flying in shorts (no photos, sorry)! - To extend the cowling, I actually used parts from the cowling of my first Buffalo cut down to 2mm as they had the right shape. - I added the forward ring to the engine from stretched sprue. - I sanded away the cuffs from the propeller blades and reshaped them. - I filled the rear ends of the holes for the blades in the spinner with plastic strip. - I added the short radio mast on the tailfin. - I opened up holes and made the landing lights on the wing undersides (the B-339E had two). - I also opened up the holes for the wing guns and their shell ejection chutes. - A wing pitot was added from stretched sprue. Apart from adding the radio wires from thin fishing line, there were one or two more things I did but not really noticeable. Fit of parts wasn't bad overall except for the canopy which was terrible. I did my best but at some point decided not to push my luck. Because I had to clean up all of the seams, I ended up removing all the rivets, which weren't accurate anyway. I didn't rescribe any panel lines as you really can't seem them on the real thing. I dry-brushed a dark grey to simulate several of them later. The kit was fully painted and varnished by brush. The squadron code decals were far too dark so I replaced them with slightly larger ones from a Modeldecal sheet. I should have replaced the insignia too as the decals were awful, being somewhat translucent and not settling properly, not even with decal solutions. I ended up having to paint over the white, yellow and red and the surrounding areas where there was some silvering. The difference between the Sky of the band and spinner and the underside was deliberate since they were clearly lighter. There are a couple of things I missed but I am very pleased with the end result and the solutions I came up with to improve or correct the kit. It was fun! Thanks for looking and all comments are welcome. Miguel

Hello everyone, Here is my latest completion, the Airfix 1/72 DH4. This kit has its origins in 1967, making it some 54 years old. Despite its age, the kit is generally accurate in outline and dimensions, and is a great base for a detailing project. It does need some TLC, as the base kit has exaggerated wing ribs, incorrect engine cowling / louver details at the front end, and no cockpit to speak of. It also has a rudimentary “U” shaped set of struts, which slot into channels in the upper wing (leaving unsightly and inaccurate gaps). Hence, I filled in the strut channels, sanded down the flying surfaces, scratch built a new cockpit, corrected the engine louvers to more accurately represent a Rolls Royce Eagle powered variant, added new guns, and various other bits and pieces. I painted the model in the markings of A7422 of No 110 SQN, mid 1917. The markings are a combination of sprayed (for the SQN insignia and number), and decals (roundels, serials). Rigging is using Uschii elastic. Anyways, here are some pictures. I made up a base that paid homage to the old “Palitoy” boxings from the 1980s (this kit never saw a boxing during this time). Here’s some more ‘normal’ pictures: And some progress pictures (for more progress pictures and details of the build, see here https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=12349.0 ): And lastly, I couldn’t resist making up my own Palitoy boxtop (noting again that this kit was never released in this type of boxing): .... oh, and here’s my ‘dogfight double’; with the old Airfix Albatros from 1957 (for more on the Albatros, see here - https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235078105-tribute-to-a-simple-time/ ) This kit is actually quite a good one for its time. It builds easily, is generally accurate, and is a solid base for some additional detailing. Quite a fun project, and a tribute to a simpler time, all in all All comments and feedback welcome! Cheers, Brad

I would like to propose a group build: ‘A kit you built as a kid’ (let’s classify this as before the age of 18) (i don’t know if this has been done before - if it has please delete this post.) But that childhood build should be memoral for you, and hence accompanied with a story of why and when in your first post. The participant should track down the specific kit (which could be in later-guise for example a reboxing, or added parts / decals in a later re-issue but essentially the ‘same kit’.) One can build the kit to any standard (of course it does not need to echo the child-like technique or finish of the original build (but can do if you so wish). This can be aircraft, armour, maritime, space and sci-fi.... indeed anything. To offer an example and inspiration; mine was a period airfix hawk. after seeing the 1986 series ‘test pilot’ link here.. I ran down to the LHS and wanted to buy a hawk. I vividly remember spending my pocket money on the 1:72 airfix hawk, red gloss humbrol enamel, black gloss humbrol enamel, white gloss humbrol enamel, 1 paintbrush and and some squeezable plastic cement and within hours i proudly had a finger-print ridden glossy red-arrows hawk. That started my youth model-making. I think this could be a really fun group build and nostalgic experience peppered with interesting tales. List so far: 1 @Dansk Airfix hawk 1/72 HOST 34 @modelling minion tba CO-HOST 56 @Hewy Revell Space Shuttle & Matchbox Gnat CO-HOST 2 @Sturmovik Bf 109G-10 in 1:48 from Revell 3 @helios16v Monogram A-10 1/48 4 @vppelt68 tba 5 @Corsairfoxfouruncle phantom rf-4b 6 @Foxbat matchbox pz.kpfw / hurricane IIc 7 @Valkyriemultiple options 8 @Scargsy tamiya panther 9 @Caerbannog airfix u2 10 @Bonhoff multiple options 11 @uncletommy monogram ford tri-motor 12 @Arniec matchbox multiple options 13 @Nocoolname multiple options 14 @JosephLalor Jetstream c-10 15 @Panther II jet 16 @VMA131Marine airfix 1/72 chipmunk 17 @JOCKNEY b-17g airfix 1/72 18 @Fatboydim tba 19 @JohnT revell 1/72 20 @Mig Eater 1/48 revell b1-b 21 @zebra airfix comet / vc-10 / bae 1-11 22 @stevej60 revell seafire / airfix seaking 23 @exdraken Revell F-15 / F-117 24 @Paul J tba 25 @NorwegianWood tba 26 @Ventora3300 tba 27 @MarkSH Airfix 28 @MaxHeadroom Airfix JU-52 29 @JohnT Revell Me109e 30 @Dazzio Revell 1/72 Mil-24 Hind D tbc 31 @Erwin Matchbox Me 109 E 32 @Adam Poultney airfix red arrows hawk (and gnat) 33 @Harrywilliams hawk t2 35 @PhantomBigStu esci f8 / matchbox mystere 36 @Hockeyboy76 airfix 1/72 harrier in snow camouflage 37 @Ozzy airfix 1/72 pe2 38 @TonyW airfix sterling 39 @AdrianMF 1/48 Inpact/Life-Like Bulldog or an Airfix Hudson 40 @Jb65rams Tamiya's 1/35 Panzer Kampfwagen II 41 @Rafwaffe oldschool matchbox/hasegawa 42 @PeterB Airfix G50 and the Revell MC. 200 43 @MarkSH Airfix’s ‘Greif’ 44 @Adrian Hills matchbox boeing P12e or Land of the Giants ‘Spindrift’ 45 @klr one of a hundred candidates! 46 @Franz75 something matchbox 47 @Romeo Alpha Yankee airfix b-17 / airfix boston 48 @JohnT loads to choose from... 49 @Ted revell spad / fokker dr1, tamiya tiger, italeri elefant sp gun. If he can find them 50 @Jinxman 1/72 Airfix Bf 109G double build 51 @Beazer Revellogram P-61 52 @vppelt68 TBA 53 @TommyF TBA 54 @JMChladek Revell 1/72 F4U Corsair (probably) 55 @malpaso TBA 57 @moviedrone Revell USS Voyager 58 @wimbledon99 Tomcat 59 @Enzo Matrix Tunnocks Tea Cakes 60 @GREG DESTEC 1/32 Revell Hurricane 1 61 @bobster Matchbox Bristol Beaufighter & Airfix Martin Marauder 62 @Bonehammer TBC 63 @monsjmse Heller-Humbrol 1:72 Spitfire XVIE & more.. (can’t keep the list up to date...)

Hello All, Attached are some pictures of a nostalgia build I completed recently. It s vintage Monogram Avenger. I trimmed off all the working feature bumps and bits , split the bomb bay doors, drilled-out the exhaust, trimmed t, refined the pilots machine gun area, removed the turret gunner from the sat (one figure was enough to paint lol), reworked the torpedo a bit, replaced the kit wheels and tires with spare ones from a Accurate Miniatures Avenger and replaced as many rivets as I lost during sanding. Paint is Vallejo over a primer of Tamiya acrylic. Final matt is Vallejo. Markings depict a surviving Avenger to get back to Midway during the battle...the turret gunner was killed. They were scavenged from the TBD kit and my stash. I accomplished a couple of things with this build. Finally got an early Avenger in my collection, have a model with the wings folded and got this kit done as it has haunted me since the early 60's of the early efforts trying to get all the working features to work properly. Proving once again with age comes knowledge...the wings are permanently folded. LOL! Hope you enjoy the pictures. All the Best! Don

With thanks to tomthounaojam for inspiring me to break out my ancient Hasegawa A-4E Skyhawk kit (which I had first built as a college student in the early 1970s), and to tc2324 for his excellent "Sundown Launch" build, I present to you my VFA-203 "Blue Dolphins" A-4L in-flight action build. Thanks for viewing! (My WIP can be found here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235060938-nostalgia-build-172-hasegawa-a-4-skyhawk/ )

Hi all, Just got this one finished for the Matchbox GB here on the forum - those with an eye for general accuracy or rivets, please look away now! Talk about a trip down memory lane. While I never built this one as a kid, I remember their kits and great boxart and how they seemed to be in every newsagent and corner shop. Happy days. The full build thread is here but to recap: Kit: Matchbox PK-128 Build: OOB except for tarting up the pilots' seats: Paints: White from a rattle can, all others Revell Acrylic with a brush. Klear. Decals: From the kit! This aircraft XX915 was written off in a non-fatal crash in 1984. Taking off from Boscombe Down on a routine flight, No 1 engine failed and the pilot Sqn. Ldr. Tim Allen began to prepare for an emergency landing. During approach, No 2 engine ignited fuel leaking from the failed No 1 engine and the pilot ejected and landed nearby at Porton Down. The aircraft crashed onto open farm land 0.75 miles from there. You can read the full accident report here. Matchbox T2 Jaguar EPTS PK-128 (1) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Matchbox T2 Jaguar EPTS PK-128 (7) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Matchbox T2 Jaguar EPTS PK-128 (9) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Matchbox T2 Jaguar EPTS PK-128 (10) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr And along with my Revell Jag.. Matchbox T2 Jaguar EPTS PK-128 (13) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Matchbox T2 Jaguar EPTS PK-128 (14) by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr Thanks for looking and enjoy your modelling. Cheers, Dermot

I started this build a couple of weeks ago as part of a Nostalgia build on another forum. I thought I would share it here as I am new on BM. I wanted to build this kit as I remember this being one of the first kits I built as a kid. I wanted to keep this build as close to OOB as possible only using some aluminum tubing for the guns and pitot tube. I was pleased with the fit of the kit in general. I really only ran into issues with the decals. The smaller stencils fell apart when they hit the water. I managed to save one of the stencils and all of the larger decals. It was fun to build this kit OOB bringing back some fond memories of building it as a kid. Thanks for looking.