Search the Community

RS Models is to release new tool 1/48th Jungmann kits. - ref. 48012 - Bücker Bü.131D Jungmann - ref. 48013 - Aero C.4/C.104 Source: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?id=100057269147722&story_fbid=1009164807669148 "New 1/48 Bücker 131 Jungmann & Aero C. 4/C. 104 . On sale soon - Coming soon." V.P.

RS Models (http://rsmodels.cz/en/Homepage/default) is to release in 2015 a new tool 1/72nd Caudron C.445 Goéland kit - ref.92171 - Caudron C.445 Goéland - Condor Legion - ref.92174 - Caudron C.445 Goéland - France 1940 - ref.92178 - Caudron C.445 Goéland - ? V.P.

RS Models is to reissue its 1/72nd Arado Ar-76 kit under ref. 92295 Source: https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/415/94014-arado-76-a-b-schulen - Arado 76 - CT+BC, A/B 3 - Chrudim, 1940 - Arado 76 - DB+UM, FFS AB/72 - Markersdorf, 1941 - Arado 76 - Wl+IMHA, Sch/FAR 24 - Olomouc-Holice, November 1939 V.P.

1/72nd Heinkel He-280 V2 & V3 by RS Models Source: http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2013/08/16/novinky-rs-models-na-srpen-2013/?lang=CS ref.92149 - Heinkel He-280 V3 Source: http://rsmodels.cz/cs/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely/1-72/92149/he-280-with-hes-engine ref.92150 - Heinkel He-280 V2 Source: http://rsmodels.cz/cs/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely/1-72/92150/he-280-with-jumo-004 V.P.

Source: http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2013/09/23/novinky-rs-models-na-rijen-2013/?lang=CS New RS Models 1/72nd Lockheed P-38D Lightning kit - ref.92155 https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/269/92155-p-38d-lightning V.P.

I reviewed this kit when it arrived, here, and pretty much started it straight after, here. That was toward the end of Feb, and I started my thread on March 14th, finishing it yesterday. Not fast, but then I'm not a rapid modeller anyway. I finished it though, which is great news, as I've not finished much lately to my embarrassment it's a great little kit, although it does have some foibles. The landing gear benefits from pinning, the exhaust needs thinning down, or replacing if you want to install it later, and the radar whiskers also need some fettling. i had to replace a few decals with those from my stash, but that was because I had a damaged one, and also tried to remove the carrier film too early. oops! It won't win any competitions, and mistakes were made, but I'm quite pleased with it. I never thought we'd have an injection moulded kit of this type though, and now we have. If the war had dragged on longer, it might well have flown, as the prototype the Allies recovered was almost structurally complete, although the engine was a dud. More almost, Luft'46 and paper projects in injection moulded styrene, please Again, thanks for watching. I might try and straighten up those antennae that I thought were straight, but I may also bottle it

Heinkel He.46C (92284) German WWII Reconnaissance Aircraft 1:72 RS Models The He.46 was a monoplane even though it gave the impression of a biplane on first glimpse, but strictly speaking, it was a parasol monoplane, as the wings were supported above the fuselage on struts, giving the crew an excellent view of the ground in front and behind without the wing interfering. It was ideally suited to this task as a result, although its initial configuration was as a biplane, however the lower wing was removed soon after its initial 1931 debut, a more powerful engine installed for additional speed, and a machine gun in the rear for self-defence. By 1936 all Luftwaffe reconnaissance wings were flying the He.46, and around 500 were built in total, the C being the first production variant that was also sold overseas, able to carry 200kg of camera equipment or the same weight in bombs, which were often used in night-time nuisance bombing operations. By the time WWII began in the west, the type had begun to be drawn down in favour of the Henschel Hs.126, which was substantially faster than its predecessor with a similar range, and an enclosed cockpit plus more modern construction method. By the time the Germans invaded France in 1940, the He.46 was being drawn down, but some were taken back into service in 1943 for use on the Eastern Front, although it doesn’t feature much in our histories. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from RS Models, the first of several boxings with different decals for a little variety. This boxing depicts the type in German service, and it arrives in an end-opening box with a painting of the type on the front, and the decal option profiles on the rear. Inside are two sprues in grey styrene in a re-sealable bag, another bag containing a small fret of Photo-Etch (PE) parts, a clear sprue for the windscreens, and a resin block with two cylindrical parts moulded into it. The decals are in another bag, although our example had a bag that was a little too short for the task, so wasn’t sealed, and the final bag contains a 3D printed rendition of the engine on a print-base, rounding out the package with the instruction sheet printed on a folded sheet of A4 in greyscale. Detail is good, especially the fabric-effect on the wings and fuselage, which shows the ribs pressing through the doped material, without being too pronounced. The 3D printed engine is also an improvement on the injection-moulded parts that are also present, and as it is exposed to the elements, this is a welcome addition. Construction begins with the cockpit, fitting rudder pedals, control column, seats and PE seatbelts, building the rear cockpit with a simple piece of armour at the front to protect the pilot, and adding a deck that nestles inside the rear fuselage cut-out, containing a hole for the turret ring. The turret assembly is detailed with PE parts that are added around the ring and gun, showing the PE assembled on the styrene parts in a scrap diagram to assist with placement, plus a set of seatbelts and ring-and-bead sights for the gunner. The two cockpits are inserted in the starboard fuselage, which has ribbing and detail moulded-in, and has a few detail parts plus the instrument panel inserted at the front. The gunner’s deck is mounted above the rear cockpit floor, then the fuselage can be closed, gluing an insert to the front, and a fairing to the open front of the fuselage. The gunner’s Scarff-ring and gun are installed at this point, remembering to fit the PE detail parts mentioned already. The detail of the Bramo engine is excellent, just needing liberating from the print base, and any pips removing from the rear, leaving the styrene alternative on the sprues, but using the two exhaust collectors that have resin extensions fitted to the rear to prevent the crew from asphyxiating. The two blade prop mounts on a peg at the front of the engine’s bell-housing, and a crew step from PE or styrene is glued into a groove between the two cockpits on the port side. The landing gear was fixed, and reminiscent of WWI gear, fixed to the underside of the fuselage on a complex W-frame, with two struts to the rear, and wheels mounted on each end of the axle. The tail has a two-part skid under the fin, with the elevators plugged into the sides, supported by V-struts underneath, and adding a generator prop on a short pylon to the lower starboard side of the fuselage, plus intakes under the engine cowling. Two Z-shaped cabane struts support the wing over the fuselage, with two large ladder struts extending from the sides of the fuselage to the undersides of the wing, which is made from a top and bottom half, plus three un-numbered pegs projecting from the upper surface (parts 38), and a bracket at the starboard wingtip. The pilot’s windscreen is glued to the front cockpit with some non-fogging glue, probably best done before mounting the wing, and the diagonal struts are further supported by two inverted V-struts, with a pitot and a tapered fairing under the port wing. Weapons can be used for some decal options, adding four small bombs on individual pylons, or triple racks of SD-2 bomblets on a palette that attaches flush to the underside of the fuselage. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, all wearing broadly the same green camouflage, save for the first option, which has white upper surfaces to the wings, fuselage and elevators. From the box you can build one of the following: The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion I can honestly say I’d never heard of this unusual aircraft, and it’s an interesting looking beast. Slightly swept wings to adjust the centre of gravity, and the parasol wing arrangement add some interest, and unusual aircraft appeal to this reviewer. RS Model kits aren’t shake-and-bake, so expect some work in removing seamlines etc., but the result will be an unusual model. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

RS Models is to release Heinkel He.46 kits. - ref. 92284 - Heinkel He.46C - ref. 92285 - Heinkel He.46eUn Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=95825&start=14325#p2569217 V.P.

Messerschmitt P.1101 ‘Nightfighter’ (48010) 1:48 RS Models As the war turned against Germany in 1943-4, the German Reichsluftfahrtministerium (RLM), or Ministry of Aviation in English, issued a specification for an Emergency Fighter Programme, which was to become the Volksjäger, or People’s Fighter programme, based upon the desire for the resulting aircraft to be easily piloted by a novice so that members of the public could be drafted in to fly them after only a short period of training. They had high hopes of darkening the sky with these aircraft and destroying the Allied bomber streams, although this was clearly over-optimistic, especially given the parlous state of German industry at the time, and the poor availability of advanced metals to make the engines that were to power them. Messerschmitt’s Dr. Woldemar Voigt created a basic design for the programme under the name P.1101 only a few days after the requirement was issued, which implies that work had already been underway on a similar project in anticipation. It was to be powered by the Heinkel HeS.001 engine, which was an advanced engine that was still under development, and would remain so for the rest of the war, partly due to the lack of metals that could stand up to the heat generated. The design progressed through various incarnations, considering alternate power sources, changing the variable geometry compound-swept wing to those of the Me.262’s outer panel, and considering then rejecting a V-tail, but keeping the extended fuselage and mounting a standard swept tail design instead. By the time the contest was decided, the Focke-Wulf Ta.183 design was selected, but the P.1101 was retained as a back-up on reduced funding, in part because considerable design work had already been carried out, and many of the problems encountered had been resolved. Its simplified, more practical form carried a single pair of Mk.108 30mm cannons in the sides of the cockpit in cramped compartments near the main gear, retaining the initial tricycle landing gear design with the nose gear in the front of the pointed nose where the intake trunking was sited. As the intended Heinkel engine was still non-operational at the time, a working Jumo 004B unit was installed for test flights. The Front was approaching the test site at Oberammergau, and on 29th April 1945, the American infantry that over-ran the base were surprised to find the partly-finished prototype tipped up onto its tail with missing panels and partly completed wings. Several photos were taken of soldiers and other service people posing next to the aircraft, which have provided some interesting references to researchers post-war. The airframe was eventually shipped to the US, where a look-alike was completed as the Bell X-5, taking the ground-adjustable wing-sweep and making it so that it could be adjusted on the fly, quite literally by the pilot. Bell had intended to create a low-cost fighter for NATO forces base on the design, but the unpleasant spin characteristics of the airframe led to cancellation of the project, which with hindsight would probably have ended the P.1101’s career with the Nazis too. The Kit This is a brand-new tooling from RS Models of this innovative design that almost flew during WWII, but has been consigned to the Luft’46 category, even though it continued development under the auspices of Bell after the war. Most Luft’46 or paper-projects are tooled in 1:72, which is a blow for 1:48 builders such as myself, but RS Models have made my year by tooling this in 1:48. The kit arrives in a modestly sized top-opening box with a dramatic painting of the Night Fighter on the front with its whisker-like antennae bristling from its nose, and there are another two boxing options available if you prefer, one of the captured prototype with a couple of alternative in-service decal options, and another boxing with in-service decal options and rockets under the wings. We have the Night Fighter variant to review, and that suits me just fine, as I have a thing about Night Fighters for no reason that I can explain. RS Models produce kits that are somewhere between mainstream and medium-run, so although detail is relatively good, there will be some ejector-pin marks to deal with, and areas that the detailers may wish to improve upon. That said, the exterior detail is excellent, with fine recessed panel lines, a good cockpit on which to base your efforts, plus a choice of additional fuel tanks, a pair of well-detailed Ruhrstahl X-4 air-to-air missiles, and a set of radar antennae whiskers. Inside the glossy top-opening box are two large sprues of grey styrene, a small sprue of clear parts, a fret of Photo-Etch (PE) brass, decal sheet, and combined instruction booklet and painting guide, printed in colour on glossy paper. Construction begins predictably with the cockpit, adding side consoles and a rear bulkhead to the floor, then installing the seat, rudder pedals on a cross-bar, and the control column atop a conical base. The instrument panel and electrical panel are applied to the starboard fuselage half, but first the intake trunking is made from the nose cone, with two-part trunk installed in the rear, and a blanking plate preventing a see-through look. The trunk has a couple of raised ejector-pin marks inside that you may wish to remove, or you could paint the interior your blackest black and ignore them. The intake is inserted into the front of the starboard fuselage half along with the nose gear bay, which also has an ejector-pin in the centre that will be seen, so choose your preferred method of cutting it back and smoothing it out before gluing it into the fuselage. The main gear bays also have ejector-pin marks in the centre, so while you have the tools out, you might as well deal with those too, which shouldn’t take long. Each bay is shown having the gear legs installed, with separate oleo-scissor links, and two retraction jacks that fit into recesses in the bays, adding a two-part wheel to the axle at the bottom of the leg. I’ll be trying to leave the gear legs off until after painting when I build this, as I’m a clumsy modeller. The cockpit is added to the starboard fuselage, as is the main gear bay, creating the exhaust from three parts, including a blanking plate that would have benefitted from a rear engine face engraved inside. A deflector plate fixes to the margin between the intake and rear fuselage, closing it up by joining the port side and its gear bay. The bay doors can be fitted to the top of the bay cut-out, but they’re better left off until after main painting. The wings are each made from two halves, and slot into the fuselage sides on tabs, taking care to align them correctly with zero dihedral. There is a choice of two tail styles, either fitting a flat-topped fin with T-tail on top, and sanding and filling the elevator root fairings on the sides of the fuselage, or fitting a traditional fin and slotting separate elevators into the root fairings mentioned earlier. I think I’m going to need two of these now! The canopy is provided as a single part, so if you’re very brave, you might consider cutting it, or just leave it as one part, fixing it in place with some non-fogging glue. There are two external fuel tanks that are built from halves, adding a short pylon and two sway-braces between them, and a pair of X-4 missiles in halves that have two fins moulded-in, and two more fitted into slots on the perpendicular sides, adding a tail cone at the rear, and the pylon between two fins. The fuel tanks are shown located on the inner wing, with the missiles on the outer position, although the instructions show them perpendicular to the trailing edges of the wing, which would have horrible aerodynamic qualities. Rotate them inboard a little match the line of flight for a more realistic appearance. The nose gear leg has its wheel moulded-in, and two retraction jacks added to the rear, plus a side-opening door and another to the front that is captive to the strut. With the model almost compete and main painting too for the sake of the delicate parts, the four radar antenna can be installed on the nose, each one made from a pair of H-whiskers on an L-shaped mount that are etched as one part, thickened at the base by another L-shaped layer, and with a strengthening web at the base that is folded over around the support, as shown in the scrap diagram. Only the webs will need bending along the pre-etched lines, so they will be easy for even the novice to build, as long as you are careful with alignment in three dimensions, so check it from multiple angles before the glue fully cures. Markings There are three decal options for this speculative Night fighter, as it didn’t see service during WWII in Nazi or Allied hands. From the box you can build one of the following: NJG.1, Luftwaffe, 1946 NJG.3, Luftwaffe, 1946 Captured Airframe under test in Great Britain, 1946 The decals are printed using a digital process and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. This means that the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion Luft’46 can be a polarising sub-genre, getting some modellers unreasonably angry for no apparent reason, but it also appeals to many for the technical merit of these prototypes and paper projects that could have made a difference to the outcome of the war if they had been created sooner, or in greater numbers. Thankfully they didn’t, but they’re still an interesting concept, and RS Models have done a good job of bringing this aircraft that almost was to 1:48 scale. Thanks guys! Can we have some more now please? Highly recommended. Nightfighter (48010) Day Fighter (48009) Captured Prototype (48011) Review sample courtesy of

Was announced in Czech REVI magazine. RS models is to release 1/48th Aero C-4/C-104 kits Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68170&sid=39c74a1936b20ae2afb43ca550633127&start=16905#p2638271 V.P.

Seen at the Spielwarenmesse Nürnberg 2014. RS Models is to release a 1/48th Kawasaki Ki.-61 II Kai/Hien kit - ref.48002 Source IPMS Germany: http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/Ausstellungen/Nuernberg2014/Bilder_VH/165.html V.P.

RS Models is to release a new variant from its 1/72nd Bš.322 kit (link) - ref. 94019 - Avia Bš.322.1 - limited edition Source: https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/424/94019-avia-bs-322-1 Box art Scheme: 1. Avia Bš.322.1, III. Národní let RČS a II. Národní soutěž v letecké akrobacii. Kbely 1937 V.P.

New RS Models kits will be 1/48th Messerschmitt P.1101: - ref. 48009 - Messerschmitt P.1101 - https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/421/48009-me-p-1101 - ref. 48010 - Messerschmitt P.1101 - Nightfighter - incl. antennas PE set - https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/422/48010-messerschmitt-me-p1101 Source: https://www.facebook.com/RSModels.cz/posts/pfbid0AhKZaQXMWPdudHyDA8wSnXrKbV4TdG6zV2P3suUvbr4npczbWYmkye7hEPPGViTMl Box art, schemes & decals 1. Messerschmitt P.1101 - 1./JG51, 1946 2. Messerschmitt P.1101 - 9./JG52, 1946 3. Messerschmitt P.1101 - Czechoslovakia, 1947 1. Messerschmitt P.1101 - NJG1, Luftwaffe, 1946 2. Messerschmitt P.1101 - NJG3, Luftwaffe, 1946 3. Messerschmitt P.1101 - testing aircraft, Great Britain, 1946 V.P.

Read in Modelforum.cz. There's a add in the CZ magazine REVI n°135 (http://www.revi.cz/cz/revi/135.html) about a future 1/48th Bristol Bulldog Mk.II/IIa kit by RS Models. Source: https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68170&start=15975#p2570827 Nothing yet in the RS Models homepage or Facebook. Wait and see. V.P.

This is my last model of 2023 - Avia Bk-534 by RS Models. When I was buying it at a store I was sure I'm getting Eduard kit. I don't know why I thought that, I think box art was similar. Anyway this is not Eduard quality kit. I wouldn't recommend it if you want nice relaxed build. Had issues with upper wing mount. I have old KP kit - even that one is better. First time using Mr. Hobby Aqueous paints and that was real pleasure to work with.

The Nakajima Ki-87 was another of the Japanese fighter designs that were intended to attack the B-29's flying over Japan, but never got off the ground (or indeed the drawing board) as Japan ran out of time, fuel, metal and pilots. It would have been a big aeroplane, with a 4 bladed propellor and a turbocharger on its radial engine, heavily armed, or at least proposed to be heavily armed - 2 20mm cannon in the wing roots, 2 30mm cannon outboard of the landing gear. Compared to the Ki-61 Tony and Ki-44 Tojo you can see how big this plane would have been. Here's the box lid - And the paint schemes provided. I decided to make mine in the captured scheme as shown, for a change from Hinomarus. Actually, this particular plane - a prototype - was almost certainly never captured in a flying condition, so it becomes another of RS models what ifs. It's a short run kit which has some fit issues - one of which I got so fed up sanding filling sanding etc I left it as it was, you can see where I tried to fill the gap with superglue. It also had parts on the sprues not mentioned in the instructions and parts mentioned in the instructions not present on the sprues! Weird, really weird. The box art shows the turbocharger casing in silver, but I forgot to do that, and left it in dark Iron. However, the majority of the kit fitted reasonably well, save the engine and cooling fan on the rear of the propellor which were very tight into the fuselage. The fan in particular needed reducing in width by cutting the fan blades back before it would fit. And the canopy didn't fit very well, sanding and shaving with a scalpel didn't help much, but enough to get it to sit in the right place. (Gaps filled with Glue n glaze) I used montex canopy masks which were not very good at all. I think my experience with them was enough to make sure I use Eduard, Peewit or dead design masks in future, which have all been excellent on other kits. Decals - went down pretty well, no complaints there, though they did take a while to slide off the backing paper. Painted with Mr Color and Tamiya paints, varnish matt galleria by Windsor & Newton A little Albion Alloys tube for the gun barrels and pitot, and a yahu instrument panet that you can't see. However, I know it's in there! Am I pleased with the model? Certainly pleased it's finished, a bit disappointed with the paint finish - I failed to thin the Mr Color Nakajima dark green paint and you can see that it was a bit thick on the kit via brush painting. Overall, I don't think this is a bad effort, certainly no major complaints about the kit, which is a refreshing change. Thanks for looking.

This started life as an over-ambitious second build in the recent Blitzbuild GB here and didn't make it, so here we are. It's a kit with lots of lovely details, but it is undeniably short run. However, as I work through it I am beginning to really like and appreciate its finer points. I spent a fair bit of time thinning the interior of the wing trailing edge halves to get a thin trailing edge, and ended up with this after putting on some filler: After a little bit of sanding it has ended up like this: Not exactly razor sharp, but certainly good enough for me!

Well, I was thinking my choice of kit for this Blitzbuild was looking a bit sensible so I've taken a leaf out of James's @81-er book and lined up a second candidate: If the first one goes swimmingly then this could be on the cards... I blame James... Regards, Adrian

RS Models is to release 1/48th Mansyū (Manshu) Ki-79 kits - ref. 48005 - Mansyū Ki-79a - http://rsmodels.cz/en/produkt/default/manshu-ki-79-a?katnum=48005&do=setLang - ref. 48006 - Mansyū Ki-79b - http://rsmodels.cz/en/produkt/default/manshu-ki-79-b?katnum=48006&do=setLang V.P.

RS Models is to release in May 2023 a 1/72nd Zlín Z-XIII kit - ref. 82283 Source: https://www.facebook.com/RSModels.cz/posts/pfbid0XmXSnWaMu19hEq3gyyJBF8FiW3qSu5LAWdQVUfJ9VbqeydtCc3sWVfP1YVXVB3sul V.P.

RS Models is to release a new the 1/72nd Bücker Bü-131 "Jungmann" kits . - ref. 92192 - Bücker Bü-131A "Jungmann" Source: http://rsmodels.cz/en/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely/1-72/92192/bucker-bu-131a - ref. 92193 - Bücker Bü-131D "Jungmann" Source: http://rsmodels.cz/en/modely-letadel/plastikove-modely/1-72/92193/bucker-bu-131-d V.P.

RS Models is to reissue its 1/72nd Ba.122 kit: - ref. 94018 - Avia Ba.122 - Zürich 1937 - František Novák Sources: https://www.rsmodels.cz/p/419/94018-avia-ba-122 https://www.facebook.com/RSModels.cz/posts/pfbid0HD1rJdUtV8xEiFnP9ee69Dmpsa3xHMgXs1b251Zxkc11dVSQBkZydSggf5BibpoYl V.P.

Slightly odd one here, This is something of a mule build of RS Models' Ki-87 prototype. The design really caught my eye, with pleasing lines and the turbo unceremoniously crammed in and sticking randomly out the side. The slender shape belies the size; this thing is about on par with a P-47 and looks ludicrously out of scale next to something like a Spitfire. The kit itself is nice; the detail parts are very basic, the frames and sprue gates are pretty messy and limited-runnish and the hand drawn instructions having a about the detail and precision to match the parts themselves. Still, I think RS have got the important stuff right; while I can't speak to the accuracy of the shape, the surface detail is fine (if a little simple) and canopy aside, the overall shape comes together quite nicely with a bit of care and cleanup. Overall quite enjoyable. The canopy needed a fair bit of reshaping, both inside the clear part and on the fuselage; and frankly still required rather more work than I ended up putting in. I hope you'll forgive a bit of drivel, I've been too lazy to document this stuff in a WIP. The build itself is rather rough I'm afraid. I used this really as a training model, trying out lots of things for the first time, and consequently didn't go to any great effort to get it perfect, nor to add detail. Really the plan was to learn to use metallics; mostly getting a good finish and then experimenting with ways to weather them, and break up that rather bland, sharp-edged look that you get once they're freshly applied. I wasn't particularly bothered about accuracy, really just playing with techniques that could just as easily go on sci-fi build or something. The various experiments were as follows: I had a first, rather lazy go at riveting the model (again in the hope of breaking up the metallics a bit). The work is pretty rough, nice to have the practice. Getting a good gloss layer for the metallics is always a work in progress. In this case I used black Mr finishing surfacer 1500, then sanded back with 1200-5000 grit to smooth the slightly rough plastic down (until speckly gray and black). Then glossed with Mr Color 002, polished a little, followed by Alclad Dark Aluminium and patches of stainless steel. I was pretty happy with the result. The good bit about this scheme, there was no need for any decals. The Antiglare, leading edges, Hinomarus and prop were masked, then got a protective Aquagloss; VMS chipping solution; Tamiya acrylic satined with X22. A bit of chipping and wearing, a bit of repairing, then all sealed again with aquagloss. I had a first go at shading panel edges and general dirt with Tamiya X19 smoke. This wasn't particularly successful, and since it comes out almost wet glossy, required those areas to be toned down again with VMS satin varnish, which affected the metal look somewhat. The overall look is a rather overblown attempt at shamelessly stealing this lovely brushed metal effect. I used very thinned brushed on Tamiya NATO black, but being Tamiya it's rather unforgiving and a lot of stripping and metallic repair work resulted. The brushed effect probably isn't very realistic, but (in the other model) I thought it looked really nice and added nice 'texture' to the metals. Mine turned out way over the top however, and the smaller scale probably didn't help. I'd try a more forgiving type of paint next time. I had a mess around using oils to highlight and shade panels in between rivets. It didn't work at all. In the end there's some finishing with tamiya powders, oil washes and other faffing around. Anyway sorry after all that spiel, this is what I ended up with: Anyway, fun experiment. Thanks for looking in. Andy

Following a short discussion on my Arma Yak-1b thread with @Bertie McBoatface about P-39s, my crazy thought processes sent me off down yet another rabbit hole. Utter lunacy. A P-39 intended for the US Navy, but only ever a prototype..... RS Models Bell XFL-1 Airabonita in 1/72 scale. Kit ordered. Am I completely crackers? Cheers, Mark

Following our Leader's plea for a little Arado floatplane, I somewhat foolishly put my hand up with the offer to build this, the RS Models offering of the Arado Ar-199 ("early version" - whatever that means!). Now, I know next-to-nothing about these little aeroplanes, and as I don't really intend to wipe the bloom off my cherished ignorance it'll be built largely OOB (although I don't expect I'll be able to resist adding to the interior detail ). Of the marking schemes provided I really prefer the box-top example, but unfortunately it operated off a fresh-water lake ergo, it'll have to be either of the others both of which appear to have had briny boots. It looks like Kora do a beaching trolley arrangement, so I may end up with one of those at some point. More when the plastic turns up! Cheers, Mark