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And now for something completely different, the big Meng Me 163 Komet. One option is a captured one, as flown by Captain Winkle Brown. There is debate about the undersurface colour, as this thread makes clear: But there is no firm conclusion! There is an excellent review here: So, the first post will be along soon, starting with the cockpit (where else) just as soon as I've transcribed all the painting colours to Humbrol!

Hi All, My next project will be Airfix' Blenheim Mk.IVF. Now I'd always assumed that this was an old tool re-box, but when I did a bit of research I found out that it was a new tool from 2014 (although I suppose that's getting on a bit now!) Here's the box art: Here's the sprues, in Airfix' usual light grey, softish plastic: All look to be nice and crisp with a decent level of detail. Here's the transparency sprue: Here's the decals, which look to be nicely in register: I decided to ignore the box schemes, particularly once I saw this one: Of note are the Bristol turret and the gas patch on the rear fuselage - also can't resist TSS, I'm afraid! A bit of research told me that 248 Sqn were based at RAF Dyce (now Aberdeen Airport) during 1941, carrying out maritime strike and convoy escort duties. In June 1941 they then transferred darn sarf to Norfolk, at which time they re-equipped with Beaufighters. I've decided to run this build concurrently with my N-3PB build, as both are TSS schemes, and I am lazy going to paint them at the same time! Anyway, on with the show, Thanks for looking, Roger

I've just bought a copy of the MENG 1/32 Komet, mainly because it was flown in RAF markings and will fit into my RAFWaffe build plan. The kit includes markings for ME 163, RAF serial VF 241, Builders CN 191060, as flown in England in 1946 and 1947. BUT... the kit calls for the underside to be in trainer yellow. There are many representations of the ME 163 in these, striking, colours, along with solid black green upper surfaces and fin, but not rudder. Some research brings this into question. Photos in Kenneth S West's book The Captured Luftwaffe show a clear difference in tone between the "P" in a circle marking, unquestionably in trainer yellow and the under side. Then I found more photos in ME 163 Part 2 by Ransom and Camenann that suggest the undersurface was a light blue colour. Their photos also show the dark fin and other bits on the fuselage overpainted, but another suggesting the upper surface was not a solid dark green, but a more usual two green splinter pattern. There is a colour profile showing all this. My understanding was that Luftwaffe A/C in RAF markings had yellow under surfaces early in the war, this was not maintained in later years. What are the Luftwaffe experts thoughts on this?

And so the Eurofighter is done, in the markings of Flt. Lt. Nicolson’s 249 Squadron Hawker Hurricane Mk.I GN-A (P3576) in which he was awarded the VC. But first, two 1/32 scale Typhoons: Intended to do much the same job the Eurofighter is somewhat bigger! The Typhoon is the very old Revell 1/32 scale kit. I think now I have to get the new Revell 1/32 scale Hurricane and finish as GN o A! On to the Eurofighter Typhoon, in detail. Brutal from the front, Elegant from the side.... A perfect Delta from above.... And from the underside.... Not the best kit in the world, the photos flatter my efforts, and mistakes. The build story is here:

Hi All, My fifth completion for the year is Special Hobby's Boston Mk.III, completed as Z2230 of 88 Sqn RAF, based at RAF Swanton Morley in July 1941. 88 Sqn were formed in July 1941 and were tasked with the operational evaluation of the Boston, after converting from Blenheims. There are a number of photos of Z2230 (photos for discussion only and will be removed on request): Tail only shot: Third in line: And one showing the code RH*D: You can see that there is a disparity in the roundel type between the first three photos and the last, and that there is a mix of older MSG and newer dark red squadron and aircraft codes between the aircraft. I've chosen to model Z2230 in the 'early' scheme of Type A1 roundel and MSG codes as in the last photo - I have therefore omitted the tail patch seen in the first photo, which looks to be a repair patch. I built this kit as an RCAF Mk.III Intruder last year, so I know there are foibles in the kit. Here's the WIP for this build if anybody is interested: I made a few 'improvements' to the kit: - Shimmed the fuselage by 1mm to correct the mismatch with the glazing - Added wingtip lights using clear sprue - Scratch built a Mk.IX bomb sight Anyway, enough waffle and on with the photos! And here's a couple of shots with the aforementioned RCAF Mk.III Intruder with its experimental DG/OG/Night colour scheme: I've very much enjoyed this build despite the challenges, and it's nice to have an 'early' RAF Boston in the collection! Thanks for looking, Roger

My next Beaufighter build is going to be a very early Night Fighter Beaufighter in Special Night RDM2. For this early airframe I suspect the RDM2 would have been applied over a gray primer, or as a repaint from TLS, rather than the later practice of applying a coat of ordinary night then RDM2 - not sure on this and would appreciate views on when the practice of undercoating with standard night began. This will be a factor when it comes to wear on the RDM2 topcoat, as in, what finish it will be wearing back to as it flakes off, and how much of the underlying coat it takes with it when it goes. I am interested in your preferences for, and views, about replicating RDM2. At this stage I am agnostic about the type of paint, beyond a preference for enamels, but very interested in how to replicate the very matt, very sooty, very black appearance of RDM2. I can get to normal Night easily, using the Colourcoats enamel, but RDM2 doesn’t appear to have a dedicated colour in any range. Once I am happy with the basic approach to depicting RDM2 I will work my way onto how best to weather it. Thoughts appreciated, as I am gathering my own thinking about how to go about it. Base paints, mixes, use of varnish top coats etc etc, I am interested in anything you have tried. For those interested I will be backdating the Tamiya 1/48 kit - its easier to get to a very early Beaufighter 1F from there, than from the Revell kit. Steve

Hi All, My next project will be Special Hobby's N-3PB. This aircraft was purchased off the drawing board (24 in total) by the Norwegian government in 1940, just before the fall of that country. On delivery these aircraft were operated from Iceland by 330 Sqn RAF, made up exclusively of exiled Norwegian aircrew. This squadron flew from 1941, performing maritime patrol and anti-submarine missions until they were replaced by the far more capable Sunderland. This will be my first floatplane build, although I have built a couple of seaplanes (namely the Sunderland and Walrus). Here's the box art: I believe this was a new tool kit in 2015, and the sprue shots show a nice level of detail: Floatage: And the small transparency sprue: Not sure if I have the testicular fortitude to separate those canopy elements! The decals look nicely in register, along with a small PE fret (I think those are the rudders): At this stage I'm planning to complete as this aircraft GS*G: Very evocative photos showing the operating conditions! I may have to do a bit of wear and tear on this airframe to reflect the harsh life. Anyway, off we jolly well trot! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My latest project in the 'Reasonably Priced Kits To Keep Dunny Busy On Gardening Leave' Series is Special Hobby's Douglas Boston Mk.III. Now once again, some of you may be feeling a rather eerie sense of deja vu as I built one of these last year as an RCAF Night Intruder, but this time we are going back to the Boston's original role with the RAF as a light bomber. So here's the box art: I shan't bother with the sprue shots as you've all seen them before (here's my Intruder WIP if you haven't and want to): Now I did find this extra sprue in the kit: On finding this I did briefly flirt with doing a Turbinlite version, but then settled back to my original plan of an 88 Sqn aircraft, based at RAF Swanton Morley in 1941. 88 Sqn were responsible for the operational conversion to this type after flying Blenheims - I am sure that the upgrade was welcome. I'm planning to model Z2230 - there are a number of nice photos of this airframe (photos for discussion only and will be removed on request): There's also a couple of nice colour images: And third in line: I've chosen this airframe for a couple of reasons. You can see that there was a mix of MSG and dark red codes as well as roundel types - in fact Z2230 appears to carry a 'hybrid' roundel which looks to have the overall proportions of a Type C roundel but with a smaller red portion, along with the earlier MSG codes. All adds a bit of interest. I have not yet been able to discern the aircraft code, but that shouldn't slow the build down too much - any info on this gratefully received. Compared to the Intruder version this does not carry the porcupine exhausts and has different cowlings, all of which are catered for in the kit. I shall also need to scratch build a bomb sight, as there is none provided in the kit. I shall also be shimming the fuselage to correct the glazing fit, but I am aware of that pitfall ahead of time! I have the loosest of personal connections to this build - I attended a cadet camp at Swanton Mortuary in the mid-eighties, and remember well the delights of wildest woolly Norfolk! Anyway, on with the build, Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My latest completion is Airfix lovely Beaufort, completed as a Mk.Ia, LR906 of No.2 Torpedo Training Unit, based at RAF Castle Kennedy, Scotland, in September 1943. I cannot find any photos of LR906, but here is a Beaufort in a similar scheme: Now I built a Mk.I late last year, but fancied something a little different. The Mk.Ia differs from the Mk.I in the turret (the Mk.Ia uses a Bristol-manufactured turret), addition of a DF loop on the fuselage - I believe they also used a different version of the Bristol Taurus engine. The kit contains components for the DF loop and turret, although they are not mentioned in the instructions. Here's the WIP if anybody is interested: Here's the photos! Here's a family shot with the aforementioned Mk.I: And just for scale here's one with another rather effective torpedo bomber: I've very much enjoyed this build, and I think the scheme rather suits the Beaufort. I've surely got a couple more in me - perhaps a Malta-based aircraft, and I'll have to do a DAP RAAF version! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My next build will be Airfix' lovely little Beaufort. Now some of you may have a rather alarming sense of deja vu, as I only completed one of these kits in November 2022 (itself a repeat build of an earlier failure), but fear not dear reader - this will be completed as a Mk.Ia!! I enjoyed the last build, and fancied a different scheme for this project. A bit of light browsing bought up this: I am planning to complete as the bottom left scheme, which is LR906 of No.2 Torpedo Training Unit, based at RAF Castle Kennedy, Scotland, in September 1943. I cannot find any photos of this aircraft, but the scheme appears repeatedly on various decal sheets. As you can see it is finished in white with EDSG upper surfaces, with DSG aircraft codes - until I hear different I shall go with this. I shan't bother with sprue shots as I've already built this kit - here's the WIP if anybody wishes to see it: Now if you look at the above schematics, you may note that the major difference between the MkI.a and the Mk.I is the turret (I think the Mk.Ia also used a later version of the Bristol Taurus). Now I dimly recalled that there had been some discussion on @Rabbit Leader's lovely build a couple of years back, and indeed a search through Dave's most entertaining WIP unearthed that the kit does contain the required turret components. Here's the thread: You will find the turret information on page 4 (thanks also to @AdrianMF for his significant contribution). Here is the clear sprue which shows the two turret types: You can see the glazing for the Mk.Ia Bristol turret bottom left, with the original Mk.I Daimler turret top right (I think that's the right way round?). Rather curiously, the sprues do not appear to contain the twin Brownings required for the Bristol turret, so some scratch-building may be required. The other interesting thing for this build will be the torpedo - my understanding is that training versions of the torpedo had a red or yellow nose, which will surely brighten up the scheme! Anyway, it should prove to be an interesting build! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My latest completion is Eduard's relatively new-tool Spitfire Mk.IIa, completed as P7840 of 340 (Free French) Sqn, based at RAF Turnhouse, Ayr in December 1941. P7840 was the thirteenth of seventeen Spitfires donated by the Belfast Evening Telegraph Spitfire Fund, and was titled 'Mountains o' Mourne'. Here's a couple of photos of the aircraft and the squadron (kindly provided by @Troy Smith - images for discussion only and will be removed on request). The scheme attracted me as it unusually has the aircraft in DFS with the earlier Rotol spinner and type A.1 roundels. In addition my Father-in-Law hails from Dromara which sits at the foot of the aforementioned mountains. 340 Sqn was formed in November 1941 as part of Le Groupe de Chasse IV/2 (Fighter Group 4-2) "Île-de-France", flying defensive patrols from Turnhouse until moving further south in 1942, at which point they re-equipped with Mk.Vbs. The scheme was therefore only applied to the aircraft for a relatively short time, and my light weathering of the model reflects this. Here's the WIP if anybody is interested: The model was completed mostly OOB (as it was Profipack that adds a few extras!), although with the national markings (mostly) with home-cut stencils. Like most Eduard kits the detail is superb, but with some unnecessarily fiddly elements - as an example the radiator assembly consists of 12 pieces including 2 PE radiator grills (a bit much for 1:48?). Anyway, on with the photos: Finally, a couple of group shots to show the evolution of the beast (from R-L Airfix Mk.Ia, Eduard Mk.IIa, Tamiya Mk.Vc, Airfix FR Mk.XIVe - all have their own WIPs and RFIs if anyone is interested, and still plenty of gaps to fill in the collection, although these have all been completed in the last year or so): I've very much enjoyed learning more about this interim mark of the Spitfire, and bringing this unusual scheme to life. Thanks for all who have added kind words and encouragement along the way - it has been much appreciated! Thanks for looking, Roger

Maybe of interest Happy modelling

Hi all, Well, it's been quite a busy year with work, which has meant another slow year at the bench. It's been quite difficult with lots of distractions to keep the modelling mojo flowing this year. I've recently started my Christmas holidays, and I've felt the need to do a quick and simple build, to get said mojo flowing again, and to kick off the new year on a good modelling foot. I recently asked my 85 year old father in law (who is still an avid modeller) what I should build. Being an ex-pat Brit, and a young lad when the Battle of Britain was raging over his home in London, he suggested a Hurricane ("the Spitfire is a beau'y and awl, but the 'urricane was the real work-'orse", he said). I had the 1/48 Airfix Mk 1 in my stash, and promptly dusted it off. It's the 'trop' boxing, but all of the parts for a standard Mk 1 is in the box. Somewhere along the line i'd also added an ultracast seat with moulded harnesses, and exhausts into the box. Now, I know very little about Hurricanes, which is perfect (as I won't get bogged down in details or accuracy related rabbit holes, as I often do). My deadline for completion is 16 January, when I start back at work. "The game is afoot"! So far, I have completed the interior. In keeping with the the simple theme of this build, I kept the cockpit essentially out of box, save the aforementioned seat. I did have to add belts to the top of the seat, to slot through the bulkhead behind the pilot. The Airfix interior is complex yet simple to build, and looks very nice (especially when compared to their earlier 1970s/80s rendition of the Mk1). I followed the Airfix instructions for the interior colours. Thankfully, most of the cockpit and interior is silver, with some RAF interior green to add colour. I decided to avoid the complexities of using the kit decal for the instrument panel; the panel is buried quite far inside the cockpit so not much will be seen. A simple dry brushing and picking out the dials with Future will suffice. Here's some pics so far: I also painted the wheels (one of my least favourite parts of any build, so best to get those out of the way early). The wheels and hubs are quite nice out of the box. I don't intend on showing off the gun bays (again, a complexity I don't need, so I'll likely trim the spars away, just in case they muck with the wing fit, which looks a little tricky. We'll see how we go with that when we get there. So far, so good! All feedback welcomed. I also welcome any tips from anyone who has built this kit before as to what I should keep an eye out for during construction. Cheers! BC

Avro Lancaster B Mk. I (Serial No. R5727), built in the UK and flown to Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, in August 1942 to serve as a pattern for the other Lancasters to be built in Canada. The fabrication drawings had been delivered in January, 1942. R5727 became the first of the type to conduct a transatlantic crossing. The first Canadian-built Lancaster was a Mk. X (Serial No. KB700), aka “The Ruhr Express” coming off the line a year after R5727 arrived in Canada.

Hello all, This is the first time I've posted a WIP to Britmodeller. I happen to have 3 copies of the 1/48 scale Revell Ventura kit, one being the early PV-1, the other two being the RAF Ventura II boxing. Originally, I wanted to build a South African Air Force Maritime patrol Ventura, but this soon mushroomed into the RAF Venturas, one of which would have a 4-gun Boulton – Paul turret. The desired outcome is one RAAF Ventura with a 4 -gun turret in the Temperate Land Scheme, a RAF special duties Ventura with Dark Earth / Light Stone / Night scheme, and a SAAF PV-1 in Dark Sea Grey / PR Blue or Sky paint, and Vokes filters. Differences between the versions: Type Operator Nose turret Engines Other Scheme PV-1 SAAF solid none Vokes Filters External racks DSG / Sky / PR Blue Ventura II RAAF glass 4-gun BP DE / DG /Sky grey Ventura II RAF glass 2-gun BP DE / LS / Night Project plan: Source new decal sheets (castle and springbok) for SAAF Ventura. Obtain an additional set of propellers to replace the incorrect ones in the PV-1 boxing. Swap PV-1 upper turret mount with one of the RAF Venturas, and blank this off for SAAF build. Convert the bomber versions to single pilot operation, add detail to the W/Op compartment on all three. Add details to the bomber version noses. Correct the engine nacelle fronts, add Vokes filters to the SAAF build nacelles. Install the Boulton – Paul turret in the PV-1 upper turret mount, add to the Aussie Ventura. Source an ADF football for the SAAF Ventura. Plunge mould some teardrop bubbles for the Bomber Venturas. First, an overview of the kit(s) Decals sourced from MAVdecal in South Africa. I don't necessarily adhere to the build process in the instructions. It's a man thing, so bear with me! I re-profiled the Nacelle fronts , just to see what they looked like! The one on the right has been re-worked.

On December 29, 2021, I contacted a friend and fellow model builder Jack Geratic in Ontario, Canada regarding my desire to build a Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina. From experience on previous projects, I knew that Jack was very good at research and knew his way around scale modeling better than I did. At the time we found there were only a few Monogram #5609 and Revell #04520 kits in 1/48 scale on eBay. The kits were introduced in 1995 and had been out of production for some time. Then Revell reintroduced the PBY kit in 2014 but as a PBY-5A which is the amphibious version (with landing gear), otherwise the aircraft was the same as a PBY-5. My thinking at the time was if we use an amphibious version which was readily available it would require major body work to cover the retractable landing gear on the side of the hull. What we found out later in reviews is that both Monogram and Revell kits had a design issue called 'tail bloat', the tail section was not to scale. It was 9.5mm (3/8-inch) too wide at the root of the vertical stabilizer which negatively affected its overall appearance. Jack located a detailed cross-section drawing of the actual aircraft and we found that Monogram had a flatter cross-section which we believe is what caused the tail bloat issue. However, there was a good solution, Belcher Bits in Canada offered a resin tail conversion kit that required removing the entire tail of the model. When you see the finished tail conversion below, I think you will agree it looks right. In my opinion the Belcher Bits solution was a lot of work, but Mike Belcher captured in resin the graceful elegance of the Catalina tail. And by the way the name Catalina was given to the Consolidated PBY by RAF, RCAF and RAAF crews because the early versions were manufactured in California. The name was adopted by Consolidated and used for the remaining production years. Harold Reference Photographs: Modification Phase: Completed Model:

Hallo During getting order in our apartment, my wife found pictures from her father. This photo is taken in May 1940 in Charleville in France. No more information. Maybe it is an idea for a model? Happy modelling

Dear fellow modellers. Here is my most recent creation. The rather excellent recently released Bristol BeaufortMk1 in 1:72 scale. Built OOB with a slight departure from the kit decals. This is a sort of 22 Squadron aircraft. I've done it without the torpedo fit but as a land based medium bomber. A What If of sorts. I did find a reference to 22 Squadron being in the North African desert from early 1942. With this in mind I elected to do it in RAF Desert colours. I liked this kit very much. I believe it's a very recent moulding? There is a ICM offering in 1:48 this might be one for me to buy in the near future too. I hope you like it posed on my desert diorama base, which I made for a previous 1:48 Hurricane Trop . Paints are AK with some MIG silvers where necessary. Sorry I didn't do a WIP for this one. Did most of the work between meetings at work ! Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I hand painted the underside Azure blue. The top cammo pattern was using my airbrush and I used the blue tack sausage method to deliniate the two colours. I used the painting guide from the kit instructions and lightly ma4ked with pencil the pattern. I'm quite astounded this has received some many likes so far. Thank You all so much. Since i took the pics i've tidied up the paint on the glazing bars on the cockpit. So i'm a bit happier with the end final result now Regards, Andy A few of the requisite 'Vintage' shots.. Underside - i do like the RAF Azure Blue.

RAF Beechcraft Texan T.1 cockpit interior color ? Light grey. Any FS or BS reference for this grey color? Best paint or color reference ? Thanks in advance. V.P.

Browsing through the serials of aircraft ordered by the RAF in 1935-45, I came across a strange item: 50 Lockheed 2B14s with serial numbers from P5571 to P5620. Of course, the number 14 next to the manufacturer's name is automatically associated with Super Electra and Hudson, but the only Hudsons in the block of numbers starting with P are a few months earlier series of 50 a/c from P5116 to P5165. Moreover this was not the first batch of Hudsons for the RAF, as this honour went to a block of 200 from N7205 to N7404. Would anyone be able to shed some light on what the UK-ordered Lockheed 2B14 was? Cheers Michael

Hi All, My latest completion is Tamiya's 1:48 Mosquito FB Mk.VI, which is oft shown on this site (unsurprisingly, because it's still a great kit despite getting a little long in the tooth). I have chosen to model this as HR405 of 143 Sqn RAF, which was part of the Banff Strike wing formed in late 1944, tasked with striking shipping and land targets along the Norwegian coast. It's a fascinating campaign during the latter part of the war of which I was blissfully ignorant before I read this book: Highly recommended if you get the chance. Now there are a number of commonly modelled Banff subjects, but HR405 was the sometime mount of 143 Sqn's CO, Wg Cdr (later Air Chief Marshall) Christopher Foxley-Norris DSO MiD. Whilst reading up on Foxley-Norris I discovered that he was born in Birkenhead, as was I! There are a number of photos of HR405, which were taken in January 1945 as part of a photoshoot for Illustrated magazine (images for discussion only and will be removed on request): The aircraft was also involved in many of the 143 Sqn sorties, and was mentioned itself in the book a couple of times. The aircraft survived the war and was later sold (to Turkey, I think?) There are a few things worthy of note from the photos: 1. The level of staining on the Sky undersurfaces, as well as the repair patches on the port stabiliser 2. The spinners, which I believe to be white rather than yellow as usually presented in schemes 3. The RP rails were of the earlier standard, rather than the duplex rails later developed by the Banff Strike Wing (these were only fitted to all aircraft in March 1945) 4. Most unusually, the distinct 'saddle' of lighter paint ahead of the tail, which I believe is to do with the overpainting of the invasion stripes Now my theory is that when the upper portions of the stripes were overpainted, no EDSG was available, so the next best thing was used - I chose the next best thing to be Dark Slate Grey. Then, when the lower portions of the stripes were painted out, fresh coats of Sky and the now available EDSG were applied to the relevant areas. This would explain why the EDSG portion is darker than the rest of the upper surfaces, which would have worn and faded. The 'DSG' portion corresponds well to the position of the stripes, so I think it's a viable proposition. I also applied the DSG treatment to the upper wings, which would have been overpainted at the same time as the upper fuselage. As you can see there is no discernible difference in tone to the Sky undersides, so I chose not to portray any difference in shade. Here's the WIP if anybody is interested: Now onto the pics: Here's a final B&W shot along with the original to test my theory: I reckon that's close enough for me! I've very much enjoyed this build, and I'm more than tempted to supplement it with a Dallachy Beaufighter and perhaps a Mustang too! Thanks for all who have followed along and provided encouragement and advice - it has been sincerely appreciated. Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My next project is Tamiya's lovely Mosquito. Now I have built this kit a couple of times in my pre-BM days, but this is my first build in a few years. I know therefore that it is a lovely kit to build. Although much modelled, here is the box art: Here's the sprue shots: I've got a few extras for this build: I've just finished re-reading this in preparation for the build: If you get a chance to read it, it is an excellent account of the actions of the Banff Strike wing. I am still debating which aircraft to model - the mount of the Wing's C/O, Group Captain Max Aitken DSO DFC is currently the favoured option. There's a few photos of this aircraft: And this one in B/W with half invasion stripes: Other elements of note are the red spinners, the group captain's pennant and the bare metal auxiliary fuel tanks. Now although I know that the aircraft serial number is HR366, I confess that I do not currently know the squadron code for 235 Sqn ('KK'?) or the aircraft code - I'm sure someone will have this information! None of this stops me from getting on with the build, so off we jolly we trot! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, With my other current WIP (1:32 Spitfire Mk.IXc) on hold pending some decals arriving *drums fingers*, I thought I'd get another project going. Although 1:48 is my normal stomping ground I couldn't resist straying into the gentleman's scale in order to build a Beaufort, which I've been lusting after it since its release. I've been unable to order this kit anywhere locally, so after seeing @tonyot and @Rabbit Leader's inspirational joint build (wonderful work gents), I could contain myself no longer and ordered one from the big H at exorbitant cost (including shipping of course). A few short weeks later this lovely little box landed at the portcullis of Dunny Towers: Beautiful box art showing the enormous danger that these brave crews flew into. Although there are many interesting schemes for the Beaufort (including some lovely Aussie versions!), the combination of DSG/EDSG over Night is an irresistible one, so I'm going to complete this as the lower scheme, L9866 of 217 Sqn, based at St Eval in Cornwall in Feb 1941. This aircraft was flown by Sgt John Rutherford (pilot), Sgt Thomas O'Byrne (navigator), Sgt William Browning (W/Op), and Sgt John Wood (AG). The crew were all lost in the 1st Feb attack on the German cruiser Admiral Hipper whilst she was moored in Brest Harbour - the aircraft was thought to have been shot down by a Bf109-E4 of II./JG77. Brave men indeed. I can't find any photos of L9866, but I have found some lovely colour pics of other 217 Sqn aircraft (both copyright World War Photos) Here's another one, showing that both TSS and TLS were applied to aircraft from the same unit: All these shots show some interesting details such as the EDSG spinners, aircraft ID letter on the glazing, as well as the general wear & tear on the airframe which I shall do my best to replicate. On to the kit! Here's the sprue shots: The detail looks lovely, and the mouldings are nice & crisp. I know that everybody has raved about how well this kit fits together, so I hope it will be a pleasure to build. Here's the decals, which look lovely, along with an obligatory set of Eduard masks - the build will otherwise be OOB. I'm looking forward to this one! Thanks for looking, Roger

Hi All, My latest completion is Airfix' lovely 1:72 Beaufort Mk.I. I originally started building this last year but binned it after a rather disastrous weathering incident. It niggled me to the extent that I purchased another kit and recently had another crack at the same scheme, albeit using masks cut on my new cutter, which has been a great learning experience. The aircraft I've chosen to model is L9866 of 217 Sqn, based at St Eval in Cornwall in Feb 1941. This aircraft was flown by Sgt John Rutherford (pilot), Sgt Thomas O'Byrne (navigator), Sgt William Browning (W/Op), and Sgt John Wood (AG). The crew were all lost in the 1st Feb attack on the German cruiser Admiral Hipper whilst she was moored in Brest Harbour - the aircraft was thought to have been shot down by a Bf109-E4 of II./JG77. Brave men indeed. I could not find any photos of L9866, but there are some nice colour photos of other 217 Sqn Beauforts (images for discussion only and will be removed on request): Some nice details in there, such as the absence of a chin turret, the EDSG spinners, and general wear on the airframe. Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: Anyway, here's the photos: Finally here's a couple of shots with my recently completed 'other' Bristol aircraft (different scale, obvs): Both beautiful kits and schemes! I've really enjoyed this build and am glad to have got it over the line. Thanks to all who have offered kind words and encouragement along the way - it has been much appreciated! Thanks for looking, Roger

On December 29, 2021, I contacted a friend and fellow model builder Jack Geratic in Ontario, Canada regarding my desire to build a Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina. From experience on previous projects, I knew that Jack was very good at research and knew his way around scale modeling better than I did. At the time we found there were only a few Monogram #5609 and Revell #04520 kits in 1/48 scale on eBay. The kits were introduced in 1996 and had been out of production for some time. The kit was reintroduced by Revell as late as 2014 but in PBY-5A format which is the amphibious version. My thinking was if I use an amphibious version which was readily available it would require major body work to cover the retractable landing gear on the side of the hull. What we found out later in reviews is the Monogram and Revell kits had a design issue called 'tail bloat', the tail section was not to scale. It was 9.5mm (3/8-inch) too wide at the point where the vertical stabilizer begins which negatively affected its overall appearance. However, there was a solution, Belcher Bits in Canada offered a resin tail conversion kit that required removing the entire tail section of the model. With hindsight, we should have gone with a PBY-5A. When you see the finished tail conversion below, I think you will agree it looks right. In my opinion the Belcher Bits solution was a lot of work, but Mike Belcher captured in resin the graceful elegance of the Catalina tail. And by the way the name Catalina was given to the Consolidated PBY by RAF, RCAF and RAAF crews because it was manufactured in California. The name was adopted by Consolidated and used for the remaining production years.