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My first post that is actually concurrent with the model being complete, but unfortunately not one I'm overly proud of. Here is Smer's 1/72 Amiot 143. It's apparently from 2006, but they must be old parts re-boxed. I believe I've done some of their kits before, but can't remember which ones. The make of this wasn't great; for one, there isn't a lot of detail, with the interior lacking anything at all. No cockpit, no instruments, nothing. The decals were also absolute garbage and I don't think I've sworn as much while making a model as I did at these while they disintegrated on being placed (this is why there is no 11 on one side of the tail; I originally tried putting '3's but both of these completely fell apart. Overall, I'm not entirely happy with this one. I tried a couple of different techniques that didn't quite work out. For one, I went over the clear parts in thin black sharpie for the details, thinking that it would look okay against the black of the rest of the plane; however, I think the difference in tone is a little glaring. Secondly, I'd always heard that using clearcoat on clear parts results in cloudiness, but I thought I'd see for myself--it does exactly this, so lesson learned. Thirdly, the aforementioned lack of interior detail made me not paint the interior at all, somehow not realizing that half of the fuselage was clear, so the interior is in plain view of being unpainted. It doesn't show in the pictures a ton, but it certainly does in person. The last issue was that the nozzle on my airbrush is simply too small for a model this size in one colour. It was very difficult to get a uniform spray over the large areas, and this resulted in patches that are darker or lighter than others. I don't think this could really be helped much by anything other than another larger-tipped airbrush. Again, this one was acquired for very cheap, so not a big loss and I'd rather these failed experiments happen on such an ugly plane anyways. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Amiot 143 was an interwar French multi-role plane. It was used as both a day and night bomber, reconnaissance and bomber escort. Production started in the late-20s/early-30s after a call for a multi-seat plane capable of night and day missions. However, not many were made and it was considered obsolete before the start of the Second World War. That being said, they were still used over Germany during night raids prior to the fall of France and suffered low losses.

Back when I was a teenager last century I build quite a few French WWII plane kits - mostly Heller but with a couple of Frog ones thrown in. About 15 years ago I decided to replace them as the construction and painting was not particularly good, so I bought a batch of SMER reboxings of the Heller kits which were pretty inexpensive - the various sales courses I had to attend when working always stressed that you should never actually say "cheap"!😄 For some reason I finished them all except for this. Amazingly it looks as if I may actually still have all the parts so I will have a shot at finishing it. Pete

I posted an RFI on 15th November, so was looking in the stash a day or two later, I saw this kit, the Smer Hi Tech F4U-1 Corsair, I was somehow drawn to it. A check of the plastic made me think hmm, another short run kit, bound to have fit issues. You can imagine my surprise when I'd put the wings, cockpit and fuselage together seemingly in a few days without any great drama? No major fit issues? What is this? Is this a Tamiya kit in disguise? Nope, it isn't. Scalemates has it reboxed from a 1976 Heller kit, which might explain the generally better fit all round. Funny thing is when I built the Smer Avia S-92 earlier this year, I seem to recall very few issues with it, and that too was a rebox of a Heller kit. There is a fit issue though. Someone at Heller/Smer was foolish enough (or in league with manufacturers of modelling putty) to make the cowling in 2 parts, that fit on a prong, is the only way I can describe it - though a picture makes clear. This did exercise my filling and sanding muscles, I can tell you! And not entirely successfully, I'm afraid. Apart from that, the tube of filler wasn't whipped out much, at all. A little bit around the wing fold joint, a little bit on the fuselage, but compared to some recent kits I've done, hardly any filler, really. Oh joy!! And so it was that this kit almost sees out this year on a positive note! I seemed to gallop along with it, no other great dramas or issues, the wings and fuselage went together fairly well - with a lot of dry fitting first, to make sure of alignment. Painting was a bit of a pain, my masking wasn't the best in one or two areas and I've had to do a fair bit of touching in, but that was me, not the kit. In truth, this is quite a simple kit, perhaps the best way for me to finish off this year, with the problems I had outside of modelling, and the number of kits which took ages to complete because they were frankly not very good. I am aware you could say a bad workman blames his tools, but I do think I hit a run of badly engineered short run kits - one of which I abandoned due to fit issues. This Smer Corsair is finished in an all NMF scheme, from VMF - 122 based on Peleliu in the Pacific, this scheme attracted me because the plane was named Sally, which is my daughter's name. Decals went down pretty well, too. Ummmm, almost! I had the dreaded "I'm going to curl up all around myself in a way impossible to straighten out" with the first decal that came out of the water - and which happened to be a squadron code. So instead of two, there is only one on the port side. All the others, including some vanishingly small stencils, went on pretty easily. Paints by Tamiya and Mr Color, a little bit of etch in the kit, seatbelts by eduard, some albion alloys tube for the pitot, Galleria satin varnish by Windsor & Newton and self cut canopy masking. Now for the elephant in the room. Some of you may have been thinking "hmmm, is there something wrong with the undercarriage? Well yes, there is; the wheels are in the wrong sides! In other words, the wheels should face outward, not inward. I looked at the kit quite closely to see if I could cut the u/c legs and put them the right way round, and you know, I thought I was going to do more damage than make anything look better. After all, I reasoned, my wife and daughter won't have a clue which way round the u/c legs ought to be, so I've left them as they are. Foolish perhaps, but pragmatic. I suspect this happened as I did the man thing of not looking at the instructions properly!! It will be a permanent reminder to me to "RTI"" All in all, the two Smer kits (this and the S-92) I picked up on impulse from Frome models at I think the 2019 Avon show have started and almost finished this year on a positive note indeed!`

Hi All, here is my recently completed Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk using the Smer 1/72 boxing. Built mainly OOB but a little scratch work in the cockpit was done by the adding of side consoles, a pilot and sawing the canopy open to display the innards. No issues during the build but having to add the central float and blending it in was going to cause issues when it came to fitting it to its sea base. Painted in the scheme for an aircraft from USS Iowa in 1945 using Coloutcoats enamel paints and finished off with the kit decals. Build log here: Thanks for looking. Stuart

It has been a little while since I've posted a build here, so I need to amend that. So here is the start of my next floatplane, a Curtiss SC-1 Seahawk in 1/72 by SMER (what a name). Building this as its a floatplane and now because I need to get this done (and others) for the Splash SIG at SMW 2024. Usual stuff. A tatty box, a pity that the P6 catapult isn't in the kit. Sprues. Instructions, decals and glazing. Can't remember building a SMER kit, so haven't a clue to its accuracy or quality. Stuart

AZmodel is to (re?)release a 1/72nd Hawker Hurricane Mk.IID kit - ref. AZ7594 Sources: https://www.facebook.com/208070375871052/photos/a.208144655863624.54782.208070375871052/1947006051977467/ https://www.azmodel.cz/produkt/hurricane-mk-iid/ V.P.

Late as ever to join a GB..... i got this kit many years ago as one of those, fit for spares type listings on evilBay, downside is someone had previously butchered the box and decals, upside is at just over a £1 a kit what was there to lose ! I think this may be the old Heller one, reboxed by Smer ? cheers Pat

First completion of the year, the Smer Me 262 as an Avia S-92 in Czech livery. Experienced modellers will notice many flaws, mostly mine - it sometimes feels that my litany of "it don't fit, honest guv" is a bit bad workman blaming his tools, (you may agree!) but like the other Smer kit I've made, a Morane Saulnier 406 in 1/72, ithis did have a couple of fit issues. My faults? Probably the stand out is the paint colour, which I suspect is a little more green than the grey green Smer advise should be, some painting issues, visible brushmarks and some sanding not sanded out, if you see what I mean. But .... the decals Smer provided are excellent, they glided onto gloss varnish, settled nicely and under a coat of Windsor & Newton galleria flat varnish- which is decidedly satin - the decals do not, to my eye, have any silvering at all. Here are some photos; There was some p/e supplied in the kit, very sparingly used by myself. Also, I was a bit unhappy with the somewhat ropey canopy masking,I#ve done much better in the past. Still, it looks like an Me 262, and I am one down, several more to go !! Thanks for looking.

This is the plane This is the kit, more to follow…

The goal of my Hawker Hurricanes around the world project is to model a Hawker Hurricane in the markings of each air force that did not use more-or-less standard UK markings. I would say the Indian Air Force is a bit of a grey zone, since the South East Asia Command markings were clearly also RAF markings, but I've gone ahead and modeled this IAF No. 1 Squadron Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc anyway. I've based this on the (in)famous "elephant" Hurricane which is so popular and shows up on an awful lot of Hawker Hurricanes decal sheets. I say "infamous" because it has been discussed how little evidence there is to support the scheme as usually illustrated, and so I have based my portrayal on photos and Arma profiles of other SEAC Hurricanes such that I feel I have a plausible scheme, albeit no photos to support it. Another aspect of my project is to try out different kits, and this one is the Smer kit, which is the Heller sprues plus a small (and mostly useless) PE fret. Actually the kit proved better than I expected when I first opened it, but I swapped out the UC doors and wheels for Airfix Mk I parts and added the bombs and bomb carriers from an Arma Mk IIb kit. The strangest thing about the Heller model is the lack of a starboard landing light, but I didn't bother adding that. She's painted with Tamiya XF-19 underside for the Medium Sea Grey and uppers are Mission Models' RAF Dark Earth and RAF Dark Green.

Hello guys, Here's my last completed build, the vintage Smer 1/48 Lim-6R, a polish licence build MiG-17, by PZL Mielec. The R is for this type having an additional camera bay under fuselage, for tactical recon missions. The kit was first released in 1977 and it's showing its age : heavy plastic, sparse details and trench-like panel lines that even Matchbox wouldn't blush from . I've been recycling a Tamiya MiG 15 cockpit tube and added a Quickboost resin seat, as well as the excellent brass guns and pitot from the Master range. Paints are various mixes out of Gunze acryl. Hope you'll like her and as usual, comments an critics are most welcome. the complete build article can be found on my blog : ---- Hangar 6

Hi comrades! This beast finished. The build was complicated. Everything possible to exchange with aftermarket parts was exchanged. Some additions were scratchbuit. More details on the build can be found here: Thanks for looking

This kit may now be the one that I've had for the longest time. It was bought in a batch of 15 kits which have now almost all been built. Many were built for the Heller GB but this one was left out as others were already building the same kit. Now is the time to open the box and see what I've got..... This is unusual for me as I almost always open the boxes to see what is inside straight after I've bought them. Based on my experience of the SMER kits I built for the Heller GB, the decals may explode when added to water. I don't fancy the chances of the scheme with the long tricoloure stripes. They have no chance in holding together!

Stencil Decals for Su-7 (D48089 for KP/Eduard) 1:48 Eduard Decals Eduard’s stencil range has been growing steadily of late, providing sharp, detailed stencilling for numerous types, some of which are lacking from the originating manufacturer’s box. The latter can come in handy for your average modeller, as sometimes the kit doesn’t include a complete set of stencils for expediency or whatever reason. Some folks, myself included, think that the inclusion of a full suite of stencils adds extra realism to a model, although there is of course the time element and the extra carrier film edges to hide. Eduard have been busy of late and have released this comprehensive set we have to review. It arrives in a clear foil re-sealable envelope with a card stiffener, a cover page with instructions, plus the decals with wax paper protecting the delicate printed surface. This set arrives on one sheet, and is patterned specific for the KP, Kopro, Směr or Eduard kits, which are all essentially from the same root tooling. Over the course of four profiles from overhead, underneath, and the sides, plus a page of tail, wing, wheel spat, and pylon profiles, the locations of all the many stencils are shown clearly on greyscale line drawings that use coloured arrows to differentiate from the background. There are also scrap diagrams detailing the placement of decals on the inside faces of the pylons for ultimate detail. Link to PDF of instructions. The decals are printed in-house by Eduard and have good register, sharpness and colour density, with a glossy carrier film printed close to the edges of the printed areas. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Here's the third Kittyhawk I built for the ANZAC GB currently running. This is the Smer kit with spare bits from Special Hobby kits (cockpit parts, exhausts and drop-tank). Not a great fitting kit but nowt a bit of modelling didn't solve. The canopy was far too narrow to fit, I scraped some plastic from the fuselage and the canopy but you would end up with a step in from the sides so just glued it on with tube cement and taped it down to stop it from springing off. Not my best effort, got fed up with it and I just wanted to get it done, so rushed at the end, but I think it looks a fair representation of a desert Kittyhawk. Vallejo ModelAir paint throughout, Klear Gloss and Vallejo Matt varnishes. Xtradecal markings. Comments and critique welcome. Davey.

I fancy having a go at this with an Italian beauty! I will be building the SMER 1/48 Macchi MC200 Saetta. There are two finishing options provided on the decal sheet. One is a machine in a green and sand "mottle" with grey undersides, the other in green uppersurface with grey underneath, captioned as "Greece 1942". I shall be following many (if not all) of the entries for this GB. Looking forward to Saturday when it'll be "Tally Ho, chaps/Horrido/Banzai/insert appropriate fighter jock slang here"!

I've thought long and hard about the Heller kits I've got in the stash and I've decided the lure is too strong to re-visit the bane of my childhood modelling- The Fieseler Storch. I've got the Smer boxing with "Super Decal " and "Hitech" PE which should only make it harder to do Obligatory box and sprue pics will follow when One Drive decides to load the previews allowing me to embed them here......

I wasn't going to do another build, then Models For Heroes volunteers and beneficiaries said about a Battle of British group build. Having seen the fantastic work from both @PeterB and @Heather Kay in regards to Italian airforce aircraft, I thought I'd have a go. I picked this kit up off an auction site and some decals/ transfers from Hannants, not built a Smër kit before and I've never seen a 1/40 kit either. No bells or whistles on this build, as it comes with a clear stand. I'm going to use the build to improve my airbrushing skills now I've got a bit of the aircraft bug. Hopefully the kits ok? As it didn't mention the mark of the kit in regards to the BoB. #BOB80

Here's my entry into this GB. Smer's 'Hi-Tech' Hawker Tempest which I believe is the old Heller/Airfix mould? Nothing Hi-Tech about it though, just etch for the radiator and instrument panel. Could had at least seat belts as well! Anyway, it's going to be OOB with no scratch-building or scribing of surfaces, just a gentle rub down of the raised areas. Since I bought an Xtradecal sheet to do a Butterworth Tempest II I'm going to go with a 56 Sqn subject, SN254/US*T, CO, Sqn leader M.P. Kilburn, Fassberg, late 1945. Details of the Squadron are here : http://www.historyofwar.org/air/units/RAF/56_wwII.html

Yet another WIP thread I know, but in all probability the Pup rebuild, DH4, Dalek and Bulldog will all be finished soon, just leaving the HP O/400 Stuka, Albatros, Junkers and the Snark. As part of our Irish Air Corp group build I''m going to try to build a reasonable model out of this. BTW if you experience a sense of Deja vue then it's because there is a prior build of this kit on Britmodeller and except for the colour scheme and some interpretive differences I will be pretty much copying it Well the good news is that the shape is pretty good, so no major work needed, the bad mews is that the kit dates back to the 50s and has engraved insignia, too many panel lines and very heavy rib detail. Out with the filler then (perfect plastic putty, which I got last week and am starting to love) fill wipe repeat, till the lines are gone.

I'm more of a plane builder, but every now and then I get a bit sidetracked with things that tick a box for me. And this old kit does just that! The car is from an era that is pure motor racing joy and beauty, with the TOP drivers and makers coming to the fore. Very sadly unrepresented by the kit manufacturers old and new. The kit has origins so old it is almost contemporary with the car. The floor pan has a big "SMER" stamp on the underside but as far as I know the original tooling is by Merit. There's many shortcomings with the kit, but I think it has the basics for a decent project, and at the price there's nothing to worry about! I did a search on here for a bit of insight into what can be done with it. Found a couple of WIP which ended very abruptly - one was just abandoned, and the other went "oh look, I've finished!" So I'm going to do one! It may not be a quick and coherent build, but it won't be abandoned. Obviously if you got BIG money to spend, you can have the pleasure of building the metal and multimedia Japanese mega kit, but frankly I want a real car for that sort of money! Thankfully there is plenty of pictures of this kit on the net, plus the real thing in various collections. I've made a bit of a start already and a few refinements in place, so I'll bring the thread up to speed fairly quickly. Here's the first mod I tried, converting the exhaust system to the 2 pipe configuration with lengths of Ali tube and the original manifold part. All good fun! More soon 😎

Smer kit, mostly OOB with a scratch interior.

Hi folks,I looked long and hard for another build and thought I'd let the old kit lunacy continue and see what I could do with the Smer 1/48 (really 1/50) Walrus,now I did one years ago and have to say it's not a bad kit for £6:99.A good platform for a bit of scratchbuilding cockpit wise and edging back into a larger scale too.Once the Kingfisher and Seahawk are done this and the other one I'm posting will be my "Dark Nights" project.

Hi folk's fourth and LAST(yes last) build is another shot in the dark,Smers release of Lord knows who's mold.I have looked at this kit a few times so now's the chance to build it. It looks half decent on a couple of sites once it arrives we'll see,£7 another cheapie.

Hi folk's fourth and last build will be this behemoth! Now what possesses anyone to replace an ancient failed Frog Swordfish with something that could be mistaken for a vacform it has so much flash is anybody's guess but I have,that said I reckon with a bit of scratchbuilding(I've applied to the local council for planning permission) a decent looking model could emerge,We'll see...............