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Hi fellas, With a few models sitting waiting for the gloss coat to go off, I've cracked out the neat little Hasegawa F-4EJ Kai boxing of the Phantom in 1/72nd scale. The kit is the perfect starting point for an RAAF machine as all the parts except weapons are included in the box. The RAAF machines had unslated wings so no need for any mods or hacking of the kit. The final item will be an inflight display of A69-7205 carrying two sticks of three 500b bombs on TER's on the inboard stations. Missile stations will be empty but it will have a full compliment of gas bags as per this pic from add-serials (the aircraft in the foreground on the right is A69-7205). I've skipped the cockpit build for the moment and gone straight to the fuselage to get the bulk of the exterior done as there's nothing too adventurous going on externally. The blisters just aft of the intakes need to be removed. Before After The sharpie outline for the mounting post is marked here. It turns out I needed to move it forward a panel as it would foul the exhausts when they were inserted. The two blisters further behind the main gear towards the trailing edge have since been removed as Aussie Phantoms didn't have these. Perhaps the F-4 gurus can shed some light on what they were/are? A start on the cockpit. There's not much to it but once the crew are installed the decal instrument panels should be okay. The rear section of the nose gear door installed. No filler required here. I've started to busy up the sidewalls as they will be partly visible. I've no idea what the rear left hand sidewall of an F-4E looks like, but some gizmology will get me by. For whatever reason the right side is provided as an insert but no mention of it is made in the instructions. Some of the panel lines on the spine needed reinstating after being removed when cleaning up the seam. Some Pactra tape and an Olfa scriber put them back in their right place. Before. After. The circular access panels also needed some work. The first effort was made using a fluted punch but I wasn't happy with the result. Perhaps okay for a flat surface but not on a curved one. I reverted back to the old scribing template and needle for the rest. Progress so far after two evenings. The outer wings and fin cap have also been adde. You can see the hole where I had to move the mounting post position to. I've been doing some work on the ejection seats and drop tanks but once they're done I'll load up some pics of them. Anyway, that's it for the moment. I'll be back with another update tomorrow. Cheers, Mick

Friends, This is my latest completion. The venerable Hasegawa, MkVIII kit- typically just before Eduard bring out their new one. Quickboost seat, Eduard Brassin wheels and Superscale decals. Modelled as the machine of Pilot Officer Fred J. Inger, 457 Squadron RAAF, Labuan Island, July 1945. Thanks for looking, Alan.

Heyhey All, Hot off the bench is my Hasegawa Spitfire Mk.VIII. Representing a 79 Sqn Royal Australian Air Force aircraft operating out of Morotai, Indonesia in 1945. T'was a fun build although seemed to be more of a fight than I expected. The detailed moulding is wonderful, although i did find quite a few fitting issues and there's not a small amount of filler in there (especially where the lower wing meets the fuselage underside). I tore a couple of the decals too, but that was just me being careless. Paints are a mix of Testors for the main scheme, humbrol for cockpit interior (and sundries) and alclad for various metal bits. Arf! I hope you like it and sorry for the low quality pics. I really need to get a better camera. ~M~

Having been given inspiration by Noel with his excellent Spitfire VIII, here just for Australia Day a couple of foliage green RAAF machines. The first has been posted before, a LTD 1/48 CA-13 Boomerang .The markings are for an aircraft from No 4 Squadron RAAF based at Labuan, Borneo in 1945. The second was made back in 2005 from the 1/48 Tamiya Beaufighter TF-X kit, completed as a Beaufighter Mk 21 of 93 Squadron RAAF also at Labuan, Borneo in 1945 (markings sourced from Eagle Strike). Both brush painted with Tamiya Acrylics. Thanks for looking.

Gday All What a great GB for all us modellers of all things RAAF. I just had to join in and what better day to start than ANZAC day here in Australia where we remember all our dead from all conflicts past and ongoing that Australia has been involved in . Lest We Forget Onto my chosen kit. The Trumpeter 1/48 C-47A Dakota. Australia used C47B's not sure what the differences are yet, hopefully research will turn them up, anyway onto the required box and sprue shots and this last one shows the multi media parts included in the kit, those being rubber tyres, metal landing gear and some PE, also shown are the quick boost corrected rudder,some resin corrected cowlings and Voyager aerials I am awaiting some further Eduard sets from Hannants Regards Bruce

The first completed kit for 2014. The lovely Airfix P-51D finished in the markings of 76 Squadron RAAF, Japan, 1946. I was brave and filled the panel lines on the wings, and I think it came out pretty well. Finished in Tamiya TS-17 Gloss Aluminium from a rattle can, anti-glare panel in brush painted Italeri Acrylic Flat Olive Drab. Decals were a bonus in a boxing of the Academy P-51 I picked up awhile ago. Photos are taken from the "better side" as I had a few issues with the decals for the codes (broke apart as soon as I looked at them). Interesting comparing it with the Italeri P-51 I completed in the box supplied RNZAF markings over 10 years ago. Thanks for looking, and a Happy New Year to all! Simon

Hi This is a model from past times (2004), when the only one Auster was that from Airfix - Mk VI. I made a conversion to Mk III in RAAF markings - I followed the Sword 1/48 markings, so it is 16 or 17 AOP Flight RAAF, Pacific Area (New Guinea?) 1944-45. Marry Christmas (in my country we celebrate it today also) and regards Jerzy-Wojtek

Hi, I started to work on Dh 84 Dragon - a scratch conversion using some parts from DH89 (Airfix/Heller). It is a topic on WIP. I was thinking on markings of transport/communication machine, but now I am considering ambulance - A34-54. The problem is that I do not know, and I did not found any photos how the Dragons as ambulances were "furnitured" inside. Did they have any chairs remained for medical staff? How meny persons were trasported lying? Can anybody help me in this? Any photos or drawings available? Best regards Jerzy-Wojtek

Gday All, for what will probably be my final build for the year (if I dont finish that Dragon Opel Blitz on the bench) and the second half of my Boston double build I present my Italeri Boston finished as a strafer from 22 SQN RAAF Did you really think I was just going to do a RAF one Tony O Toole? Kit is the standard Italeri/AMT A-20B/C kit with redroo tropical cowlings and decals. The cowlings fit like a glove, msot impressive, unfortunately the decals were impervious to any and all setting solutions used and refused to sit down into the panel lines. I wish I had of masked the roundels, however I thought the redroo decals were spot on for clolour to match faded RAAF decals, and their decal instructions are second to none. This is one of thoswe builds that did not turn out as well as I thought it would, the boston is a nice kit but the landing gear and door attachment leave a lot to be desired and are literally the weakest parts of the kit. Macine gun barrels, (which need to be bent back up, I notice are from Vector for the 50's and Master Barrel for the .30's. If you have not used these two brands before, do so, they really add to the final look. Finished with Humbrol enamels and weathered using various shades of same. I tried the oil dot technique, the lesson I learnt here was do your panel line wash first!! Still undecided on the value of this technique. For those wondering what I am talking about, it involves dabbing tiny dots of various colours of oil paint all over the model, then scrubbing them into the paintwork to subtly alter the tones of the paintwork Anyway, on to the pics

Well I have decided to try and finish a couple of LS P-3C kits that have been lingering on the bench. They are at the mask and paint stage, I suppose that is why they stalled last time. Also some minor construction work to do. Pictures of their current state up shortly.

Gday All Completed this one for the recent Korean War GB that finished up last month, somewhat embarrassingly, my first completion for the year after a few false starts The kit used was the Trumpeter 1/48 C-47A, which, as far as I can tell, makes up onto a C-47B from the box, due to having the longer carb intakes I found it a very enjoyable build with good fit and excellent detail It is let down in the accuracy dept. by wrongly shaped cowls,metal rudder and a sit that sees it sitting too low to the ground, the cowls and rudder are fixed with Quickboost replacements, whilst I added spacers to the landing gear struts to give the model the correct nose up attitude as seen in photos of RAAF Daks The finish is airbrushed Xtraclour Aluminium as the RAAF's Daks were painted silver. All markings were painted on using masks prepared by Miracle Masks. If you have not used masks before I can highly recommend them. This was the first time I had used them, and had no problems, thanks in no small part To Mal Mayfield's thorough step by step instructions. The model represents A65-121 which saw service with 77 SQN supporting their Mustangs by flying ordnance and personnel from Japan during the war. A big thanks to Ryan and Peter from the Aussie Modeller forum who helped with photos of the actual machine Thanks for looking Bruce

Okay ladies and gents, the Easter break is over so it's time to get this show on the road. This is my entry for the Korean War Group Build and as the title says it will be the Tamiya 1/48 P-51D Mustang as flown by 77 Squadron RAAF during the initial stages of the war until the squadron re-equipped with Meteors. I am going to model the personal mount of the squadron CO, Wing Commander Lou Spence who was KIA during a raid on storage facilities at Angang-ni, north of Pusan in South Korea, which had been recently captured by Communist forces. Spence was leading four Mustangs in the attack armed with rockets and NAPALM when his aircraft failed to pull out of a steep dive at low altitude and was seen to crash into the centre of the town, exploding on impact. The best boxing of the Tamiya Mustang is definitely the Korean War F-51 one as this contains all the additional mustang parts that don't come with the other boxings, These include both standard and Dallas canopy, cHamilton Standard and Aeroproducts props, as well as all of the ordinance and drop tanks carried by the P-51. Now I admit I might have gone a little overboard on the Utracast resin accessories but in my defence I have been hoarding these for ages and this seems like a goon place to use them. Lastly we have the decals from Aussie Decals and unfortunately the aircraft I'm doing is the bottom one (A68-809) which is the most boring of the lot, oh well.

I started this model in "Hornet STGB" but failed to finish in time http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234941171-aussie-special-bug/ Three weeks are hopefully enough to get her finished. This is what I have at the moment:

Seeing as my Hellcat is on finals and the Javelin is in the paint shop I thought I would start another kit I have been itching to do, the Airfix 1/72 Mustang. I had previously picked up (very cheap) the Academy Mustang, which when I opened it up had a surprise of some extra RAAF markings. I decided on 76 Squadron SV-Z, A68-768 (incorrectly identified as A68-766 on the decal sheet) in Japan, circa 1946. With some help from the forums (see http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234927776-raaf-p-51d-question/?hl=simonl#entry1143403), I found that as a Dallas built P51-D: - a cuffed propeller was OK - general consensus was that the wings would have been filled The filling of the wings I must admit filled me with some trepidation, it seemed somewhat unnatural to be filling what looked like fine detail. Once I had filled the requisite panel lines using some images I found on the web as a guide, I must admit I wondered just what I done. I used Tamiya filler, thinned with some Tamiya thin cement and painted on with an old paintbrush. To take my mind off the mess I had made, I started on the seat and the cockpit, which went together pretty well. Very soon I was sticking the fuselage and wings together. I must admit after all I had heard of this new kit I was expecting less trouble than I got - maybe I was just a bit negative after the experience of the filling. Anyway, I got work with various grades of wet'n'dry and then primed the model with Tamiya Primer from a rattle can - and was pleasantly surprised by what appeared.

http://www.panoramio.com/user/7396952?comment_page=1&photo_page=1 9 Pages of RAN, RAAF, RAF, RN, RMAF. Something for everyone. I found the link on hyperscale.com. Enjoy Pete

This was my entry to the Hornet STGB; Revell 1:144 F/A-18D, backdated to a 'B and modified to represent the hornets of the RAAF, specifically A21-106 as shown here http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Hornet-A21-106/DN_3A21_106 The build stalled waiting for the retrowings resin cockpit. It'll be parked up covers over the intake and exhaust with the wings folded and the canopy open. I've the retrowings resin control surfaces along with the ozmods resin fuel tanks. The retrowings cockpit arrived a couple of weeks ago; my Tomcat for the USN GB is finished and the nights are drawing in so I thinks its time to dust this one off as the winter project.

The CAC Boomerang, a Detailed Guide Valiant Wings Airframe Album The CAC (Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation) Boomerang has the distinction of being the first combat aircraft designed and manufactured in Australia. Historically at the Start of WWII Australia relied on British manufactured Aircraft, and to a lesser degree some USAAF supplied aircraft. CAC examined the possibility of designing and manufacturing their own fighter, this was a fairly big challenge as only two aircraft were in production at the time locally, the Bristol Beaufort and the CAC Wirraway which was based on the North American Harvard. CAC recruited Fred David who had worked for Heinkel in pre war Germany as well as Mitsubishi & Aichi in Japan. Technically he was an interned enemy alien but this seems to have been overlooked due to his excellent technical knowledge. Authorisation to proceed was given in December 1941, and when presented to the Australian Government it was quickly accepted. Given the speed of manufacture no real prototypes were even produced. The first aircraft was flown in May 1942. The type went operational with the OTU in October 1942, and with the first operational squadron (no 84) in March 1943. This time frame may seem very quick but at this time there was a great threat of invasion looming from the Japanese, this must have given great impetus to all involved. Once the RAAF received faster types from the RAF & USAAF the Boomerang would go onto to become an excellent Army Co-operation aircraft, what we would now call ground attack. In all 250 aircraft were built. Written by Richard A. Franks, this book has been designed as a useful guide for all those modellers who have an interest in this fighter, aside from the modelleing information it provides a look at a period in the aviation history of Austrailia not widely mentioned. The clearly defined sections cover pretty much every aspect of the Boomerangs history. The sections include:- Chapters Technical Description -This is an extensive selection of images and diagrams, this section includes; Fuselage (Cockpit interior, canopy, Main & Aft fuselage, fuel, hydraulics, oil & oxygen systems. Undercarriage (Main, Tail Wheel & Brake system) Tail (Tailplanes, Vertical Fin & Rudder) Wings (Wings & Undercarriage Bays) Engine (Engine, Cowling, Exhaust & Propeller) Weapons & Drop Tanks (Armament, Ordnance & Sighting) Electrical Equipment (Radio & Misc Electrical) Misc (Access panels & Misc Equipment) Evolution - A full look at the evolution of the Boomerang. Camouflage and Markings - A comprensive look at this subject including colour profiles Survivors - A look at those aircraft still with us. The Alley Cat 1:32 Boomerang - a look at the the new 1:32 Kit from Alley Cat. Appendices Boomerang Kit List - All scales Boomerang Accessory List - All scales Boomerang Decal List - All scales Serial numbers - A list of ALL Boomerangs built Bibliography Conclusion There can be no doubt when reading this book that a lot of time and research has been done to provide such a detailed study of this aircraft, its design, building and use. Rarely for me have I read a title cover to cover instead of skimming through it like some reference books. Since researching for this review it has been brought to my attention that whilst Richard Hourigan is mentioned as a contributor, and actually provided a lot of information to the author, he wasnt able to proof read the final draft. Apparently there are a number of typos, factual errors and incorrect colour profiles, which have been pointed out by Mr Hourigan who actually owns a Boomerang, so should know what hes talking about. It has also been stated that the selection of photographs are excellent and most of the colour profiles are correct. Therefore, if you are interested in the Boomerang, Australian Aircraft History, Pacific Theatre Operations; or even just something different then I can happily recommend this book. Review sample courtesy of To purchase the Alley Cat Kit mentioned in book follow this link

1:72 Fujimi F/A-18A, Model Alliance decals for 20th anniversary of RAAF hornet service scheme, some Aires and Eduard stuff Let's get started!

Here's my entry the Revell 1:144 F/A-18D, backdated to a 'B and modified to represent the hornets of the RAAF, specifically A21-106 as shown here http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Hornet-A21-106/DN_3A21_106 Here the box shot, and the novascale decals. The decals are APLS prints which I've never had to deal with before. The RAAF roundels look really crisp but the blue flashes aren't all that great, but we'll see how we go. I've also the retrowings resin control surfaces and cockpit set along with the ozmods resin fuel tanks and bomb carriers on order. I think it'll be parked up covers over the intake and exhaust with the wings folded and the canopy open.

I have been working on this one for a while on and off. Got the bug again. I am using a Revell A330-300 kit and a Hamilton Hobbies conversion set along with a Southern Sky decal sheet to build a a RAAF KC-30A. I started by cutting up the fuselage to bring it down to -200 length. The Hamilton Hobbies set comes with replacement tail, though this is not the correct one for a RAAF (or QANTAS aircraft). So i cut a few mm form the top, did a bit of rescribing and built up the reinforcing fairings at the base of the tail. The Hamilton Hobbies set also comes with the tanker specific parts Though again the refueling hose reel units are not the correct shape and these will have to be modified down the track. After rescribing most of the lost detail from reassembling the fuselage I added the tail. The resin fin had a few pin holes that required attention.

Hi All, Here is a picture of eight 464 Squadron (Sqn), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Mosquito aircraft, there are also six Typhoons and one Spitfire in the picture plus a Lancaster from 9 Sqn Royal Air Force. Amongst other areas of interest is the fact that the censors have rather crudely visited their wrath upon this picture. Cheers, Daniel.

Gday All THought I might dive in at this late stage on a complete impulse after perusing my stash the other day, having been inspired by this GB. I have been neglecting my theme of RAAF a/c with recent builds, so thought "what the hell, lets have a go with the CA walrus, I mean, how hard can it be, what can possibly go wrong!!" Anyway, to start off, the obligatory box and contents shots I'm not a big one for WIP's as everyone gets to see your fails, but we'll see how we go. Stay tuned Bruce

Hi guys, This is what I was up to with my RAAF F-111 build. New IP as the kit is a decal only. Intake trunking Cut the pilots canopy open to show off the work inside. New throttles...actually the kit doesn't have any to replace. All dressed up and ready for the canopy. Will have these... ...hanging off these Main wheel well...the central ducting has been repainted black as the red is incorrect...thanks Pappy. Over wing seal from Tamiya tape. Verlinden boarding ladder Primed First round of colour went down over the weekend. Gunze Acrylics thinned with Mr Color Lacquer thinner....nice and smoooze! Touch ups have since been applied but I'm really happy with how the paint went down. Such a shame to have them gone. I'd always look skywards whenever the distant rumble of a TF-30 shook the landscape around Ippy. Hope you like her. Cheers Mick

Another model finished at the weekend after languishing almost complete for many months - just needed the pitot tube and a coat of matt varnish to finish. Photos not the best as I was in a bit of hurry this morning. I picked this kit up at the "Swap'n'Sell" at the WA Model Expo a few years ago for only a few dollars as I really like the pugnacious look of the Boomerang. It was, shall we say, a challenging build. As always finished with brush painted Tamiya acrylics. The markings are for an aircraft from No 4 Squadron RAAF based at Labuan, North Borneo in 1945. Thanks for looking.

Just finished this one over the weekend litterally for the ACTSMS Blitz Build. It is the old Hasegawa kit build more or less OOB. I only added the LEX fences. Decals are from a PD sheet. The kit decals were useless so I have to add a few more like slime lights, etc. I also found that the PD data stencils were all printed the light grey of the paint scheme so any placed on the lower fuselage disappeared into the paintwork. The scheme is for the 77SQN 50th Anniversary in 1992. Here are the finished pictures