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I don't know why, but I've acquired quite a few kits of combat jets in 1/144 scale, even though I am firmly anchored in 1/72. This is the first of three 1/144 entries for this GB. Officially, the kit has 52 parts, but if built with the undercarriage down, the doors have to be broken up, effectively giving a total of 59 parts. Of these, I am using 57. The kit provides a choice of Harpoons or Mavericks for the inboard wing pylons, and I will be using the former. A closer look at the impressive Cartograf decal sheet, designed by DACO. There are two different styles of "tiger stripe" rudder markings included for the USMC VMFA-224 "(Fighting) Bengals" option. The other subject is a USN aircraft from VFA-125. One thing I am not sure of is that the VFA-125 aircraft has the lower vis of the two types of insignia, i.e., decal 37 as opposed to decal 3. But it also has the much higher-vis all-black LERX decals (49 and 50), while the VMFA-224 aircraft has decided low-vis versions (decals 28 and 29). How small are some of the parts? Very small, using a 14ml Humbrol paint tin for scale. The ejection seats and control sticks. I started work on this kit a few days ago, and progress has been rapid. I'll update the thread tomorrow.

=== Prelude === ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 04:52hrs Zulu (21:52 local 17.08.19) Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport, Dallas-Forth Worth, Texas, USA "I think we'd better call it a day!..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 21:00hrs Zulu (13:00 local 17.08.19) Toncontin International Airport, Tegucigalpa Honduras After having spent a thoroughly exhausting, but enjoyable, 2 weeks in Honduras we were on our way back home. Incidentally, in those 2 weeks I had taken my first ever flight and I was looking forward to getting home with 7 flights under my belt. Now came the turn of flight 6, Tegucigalpa to Dallas-Forth Worth. Boarding went smoothly and the weather was remarkably pleasant! The voice from the captain came over the speakers, a storm was approaching... 22:10hrs Zulu (14:10 local 17.08.19 So much for the nice weather... We didn't end up taking off for another hour but my goodness what a flight. Rocked by turbulence, blinded by lightning, we made our way to Texas. 02:30hrs Zulu (19:30 local 17.08.19) Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport, We were 2 hours late for our British Airways flight back to Heathrow, and to make it worse border control was jam-packed. Despite running through a seemingly endless terminal to find our gate, it was clear we weren't going to make the flight. Defeated (and breathless), we found the nearest airline desk and managed to get accommodation for the night. Tomorrow we would be taking an American Airlines flight back to Heathrow. to be continued... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Across the pond in a Triple Seven" Hi everyone! I hope you're all well. I thought I'd try something a bit different for this build. Ever since last August, I've quite fancied having a go at a 1:144 Boeing 777 kit. And so, armed with Revell's 1:144 777-300ER kit, a can of paint and a set of aftermarket decals, I thought that the time was probably right to have a crack at it! Although we flew on a 777-223(ER), I will be sticking with the 777-300ER variant of the kit. I don't fancy trimming the fuselage nor wings, and it'll still be a Triple Seven. I also plan to open up the starboard cargo door/s as if it were sitting at DFW ready before flight- as such I won't be modelling dropped flaps/slats for this model. I'll aim to do 7 main installments- matching 7 points in the flight (with photos and a little bit of text) to 7 build updates (landing gear, engines, wings, fuselage/cargo doors, painting, decals, finishing touches). Who knows, I might be able to finish by the 1 year anniversary! But for now, thank you ever so much for dropping by. Best wishes, Sam

I have to admit to being a bit lazy with this one, I just wanted to make a simple build. Anyway, here she is.. and in comparison with the WW2 boat Sorry about the photography, I just can't seem to get it right. Cheers Deacon