Search the Community

Hi All, My first completion for 2022 is Special Hobby's 1:48 Blackburn Skua. The model was completed as L2963 of 803 Sqn FAA, pilot Lt C H Filmer, TAG Midn T A Mckee DSC, flying from HMS Ark Royal. The aircraft was shot down during the raid on the Scharnhorst on 13th July 1940, and force landed near Trondheim with both crew being taken as PoWs. The aircraft was recovered by German forces, and several good photos of the aircraft therefore exist (copyright Michael Balss - images used for discussion only and will be removed on request). There are a couple of notable things about the scheme: - The non-standard centre to the fuselage roundels - The interesting personal marking by the cockpit, which shows an arm in naval uniform firing a Luger at a wasp with a human Hitler head (of course) - The propeller is finished with an aluminium front and black rear Here's the scheme as presented by SH: I have replicated the non-standard fuselage roundels, but chose to use standard 'B' type roundels on the wings instead of the 'A' type provided, as I felt these would be more appropriate(due to their small size I used 1:72 wing roundels from a Wildcat, which were the perfect size ). I also retained the black & white underside, although there had been an Admiralty order around this time to overpaint the underside in Sky (invoking Modeller Rule #1 - it's my model and I shall do as I wish!) The kit as presented has a couple of inaccuracies, some of which I chose to correct (some of which I learned about too late!). In no particular order: - The underside cavity for the bomb is the wrong shape - it should be rectangular, rather than the 'lozenge' shape presented. - This aircraft should only have a landing light on the port wing, rather than both (this was serial number dependent) As I had applied primer before I was aware of these inaccuracies, I chose to let them lie. I did however make a number of additions which hopefully have improved the end result: - Scratch built the rear bulkhead in the TAG position - Boxed in the landing lights and added lamps - Added wingtip formation lights using clear sprue - Scratch built the distinctive bomb release crutch using plastic rod - Drilled wingtip hand holds - Modified the main undercarriage legs to emulate the distinctive vertical stance - Added non-slip walkways to both wing roots - Changed the a/c code letter on the tail from black to blue, as was standard FAA practice at this time Here's the WIP if anyone is interested: I've thoroughly enjoyed learning about this unusual type, and the quality of the build has been helped immensely by several contributors, including @iang, @mick b, @Grey Beema, and @Heather Kay - thank you all very much for your advice and contribution. Anyway, enough waffle and on with the photos! Finally (and just to illustrate scale, you understand ), I took a couple of shots with FAA contemporaries the Fairey Swordfish and Vought Chesapeake (one of which was a lumbering old dog, and the other was a Swordfish 🤣): I've very much enjoyed building this most unusual of aircraft, and learning more about its significant contribution in the dark early days of the war. The desire to build a companion Blackburn Roc has significantly increased, as it would be rather rude not to! Thanks for looking, Roger

A-36/P-51/P-51A Control Surfaces Set (4434) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby For Acadmey / Acc Miniatures Kit This set allows all the wing control surfaces and the rudders to be positioned as the modeller wants. . All of the kit control surfaces will need to be cut off to use these. This set arrives in CMKs normal plastic/card box. The parts require minimal clean up from the casting blocks all on the edges that attach to the airframe, and all look to be top quality. This will add something extra to your kit Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Beaufighter Mk.VI/X/21 Main Wheels Late Wheel Disk/Smooth Tyre(7484) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set from CMK is suitable for the Airfix kit in 1:72, but would probably work equally as well for other kits. The set arrives in the usual yellow-themed CMK blister pack, with the instructions sandwiched between the resin parts and the header card. Inside are two resin parts on tow casting blocks, consisting of two wheels.. The wheels are all attached to their blocks on their contact patches, with additional wisps of resin supporting the wheel further and helping to reduce the likelihood of air bubbles within the moulds. These are easily removed with a razor saw and a swipe with a sanding stick that should leave all the smooth contact surface intact. They’re a much better detailed drop-in replacement for the kit parts from thereon in. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

ESK 2000B Gun Camera (7461) 1:72 3D Print by Special Hobby During WWII it was helpful to all combatants to be able to verify claimed kills in order to obtain accurate numbers on enemy attrition, which helped immensely with strategic planning. They were also used during training to help the novice pilots understand where they were going wrong, and could be strapped to airframes that otherwise couldn’t be used. The Germans used such devices, which could be mounted internally where there was space, or externally on smaller airframes. These sets depict the Zeiss ESK 2000B camera, which was mounted in an aerodynamic bullet fairing, and attached to the airframe by a mounting plate. Due to the limited space available only a small amount of film could be stored in a cartridge within the fairing, so the operation of the mechanism was synchronised with the pilot’s thumb on the trigger in an attempt to catch the action, which didn’t always work out 100% due to the erratic movements in dog-fighting - even in training. This arrives in the new Orange themed blister pack for the 3D Print range from Special Hobby, with a header card and instructions behind, completing the package. This is quite possibly the smallest item this reviewer has reviewed, however the details is pretty spot on. This is exactly the type of thing the new 3D printing excels at. You can find the location for many of the aircraft that used it with a quick Google, but CMK have included a drawing for the Bf.109E on the instructions for both sets, even down to the location where the control wire enters the wing at a nearby maintenance hatchway. Conclusion An unusual and interesting addition to any WWII German fighter that is incredibly well-detailed, and starts to add a back-story to your latest project. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Looking at the calendar I decided that there is room for one modestly easy-built kit. I found this one: It even includes options which doesn’t require yellow! I’ll do No. Yellow 2,5 or 6, all in colours like this (though maybe the printer was out of green?): It looks nicely detailed and the pieces seem to fit. You don’t have to read anything to know it was powered by a P&W 1830 because Special Hobby has provided a beautiful resin engine which is an unmistakenable Twin Wasp*: The pushrods are very fragile and I have replaced 3 so far. Kit contents also include fine resin wheels and exhaust pipes, and a PE fret for almost exclusively cockpit details. The IP is my favourite type: film-PE sandwich. I assembled the cockpit. Realising the other day that I can’t see zilch of all the effort spent on a multitude of cockpits with closed canopies, I’ve now become lazy. I’m skipping some PE parts, keeping them for spares, and built it all in one go before painting. Prior to buying this kit on a sale I hadn’t even heard of the plane, but I found this blog which has plenty useful info and photos: https://www.vlmyrsky.fi/uutiset.html?a100=135686 *) actually reading about it will tell you it’s not exactly a P&W, but the Swedish reverse-engineered pirated version built by what is now Volvo Aero.

Hi all I started the year on a yellow (and black) Ventura Target Tug and finish the year with another yellow Twin engined Aircraft, this time an FAA Avro Anson Mk1 ASV radar trainer. The kit used was the Special Hobby release if the Classic Airframes kit. This was a fun to research and I was lucky that a fellow BMer kindly sent me some Annie images which showed quite a lot, thank you. There were no images I could find anywhere of the inside layout and so it was imagined using another BMers @Acklington's build of an RAF radar trainer and the text on their build gave a very plausible layout so was used in mine. This has been a long but enjoyable journey and I would like to thank the BMers who have supported me with encouraging comments, you know who you are, your support has been wonderful and very much appreciated. Thank you @galgos for the replacement nose glazing after mine broke and @tonyot thanks fella for your help too. The link to the build is here if interested. Anyway enough talking from me, I will let the pictures do the talking . The Radar pod is from the Special Hobby Fairey Firefly Mk.V . Brush painted using Humbrol enamels. Sorry for the amount of piccies but I am quite proud of this one. Thanks for looking Chris

A-26 Invader Wing Intakes & Gunner’s Position (Q48398 & 4432 for ICM) 1:48 CMK by Special Hobby ICM brought out a much-needed new tooling in 1:48 of the A-26 Invader, a fast and light bomber that saw limited service at the end of WWII, but was so good that it continued flying in combat missions until Vietnam and beyond. We’ve seen plenty of upgrade sets for the kit already, but these two are interesting for a number of reasons. Arriving in the usual CMK clamshell boxes with green and yellow header cards and instructions within, they provide some excellent detail upgrades to your model. Wing Air Intakes (Q48398) This is one of their Quick & Easy sets, and contains just four parts in resin, namely two leading edge wing intakes, and two “buckets” to extend the radiator exhaust trunking beyond the small depression that is moulded into the underside of the kit wing. There is a little cutting of plastic of course, with the kit intakes removed at the nearest panel line to make way for the new resin parts. This is best done after the wing is joined to get the best fit and finish. That means that the exhaust trunking should be fitted into the lower wing earlier. The kit’s short prism-shaped trunks can be ground off from inside, so that it is flush with the inner wing surface, then the new part is glued over it after painting, and if you have studied the picture carefully, you will see that there is a depiction of the back of the radiator bath at the front of the trunk section. You can probably afford to paint that in a garish shiny silver to overcome the darkness in there, and together they will give your model extra visual interest, detail, and perceived depth within the wing that is well-worth the effort. Gunner’s Position (4432) This set is more complex and requires only a small amount of preparation within the fuselage halves to make space for the new resin parts to fit. There are twenty-three resin parts in total, the largest of which are additional detail skins for the fuselage interior, forward and aft bulkheads, and floor section with the remote-operation gun sight for the unmanned turrets that the Invader carried. The vertical control system is made from three parts and has a small seat placed in front of it on the floor, with a control panel behind it within reach of the gunner, including plenty of detail that is added before it is mated with the floor. The floor is slid in from the side between the two bulkheads before the fuselage is closed up, and can be seen later from the windows in the roof and on one side. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

I open a new dedicated thread as it's now confirmed by M. Riedel himself (link) that the future Special Hobby (SH) 1/72nd Mitsubishi Ki-21-I/-II "Sally" kits have nothing to do with the similar ICM projects (thread about ICM "Sallly" projects: link). First boxing - ref. SH 72401 - Mitsubishi Ki-21-I "Sally" Sources: https://www.specialhobby.net/2021/12/sh72401-ki-21-sally-172-model-v-priprave.html https://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=77712&start=7290#p2465754 3D renders V.P.

Focke Wulf Fw 189C/V6 "German Attack Plane" (SH72432) 1:72 Special Hobby The Fw 189 won the competition in to replace older reconnaissance type with the Luftwaffe beating the Ar 189 and Bv 141. The type went on to become the Luftwaffe's standard tactical recon platform. The aircraft features a central fuselage pod heavily glazed, with twin booms leading back to the tail, the front of which housed the engines. The Luftwaffe looked at expanding 189 production and called for a training version, attack version and a maritime version with floats. Only 2 prototype attack versions were built, and the single float version was never finished. Along with the prototype Fw 189B trainer two more B-0 aircraft were built, followed by 10 B-1 aircraft. As well as for training the aircraft were used in the Liaison role, though little is really known on this. The attack version featured a much smaller central pod which was armoured to protect the crew. Testing proved the view for the pilots was very bad, and the aircraft was underpowered. The Kit This is a rebox of the MPM kit with parts for the attack version and new decals. Construction starts with the small central pod. The basic seats for the pilot and gunner are added t the floor along withe control column and instrument panel. The floor is fitted into the rightside pod and the rear defensive machine gun added. The pod can then be closed up and the small cockpit glazing can now be added. Each of the twin booms can now be built up. There are front and rear bulkheads for the gear wells which support the gear well roof. At the front the engine face goes on, and to the left side resin intakes are added. Its now time to add the fuselage pod and the wings together. The lower wing is in three parts; a centre section and the two left/right wings. The upper wings are in left/right and attach to the fuselage pod, a hole will need cutting to accommodate the attack pod. A small clear resin gunsight is included which goes in front of the kit windscreen. The twin booms fit on to the underside with the centre section joining on one side and left/right sections on the other. The tail will also need putting in between the booms at the same time! This does look like it will need some time and patience to get everything aligned correctly. Once all of the main structure is assembled the landing gear needs making up and installing in each boom. The last things to do are to install the props and the tail wheel and s couple of small PE parts including an aerial. Markings The glossy decal sheet is printed in house and looks sharp and in register. There is only one decal option NA+WB. Conclusion It is good to see this released. The kit will take some fettling im pretty sure off, but once assembled it should look the part. Recommended. Review samples courtesy of

Hi all, I am extremely pleased to get this one rolled out of the paint shop today. Independence came to Gabon in 1960. The armed forces of the new nation were divided into several branches. Noteworthy is the Republican Guard which controls some of the flying units, including the Presidential Flight and the Air Force Training School, for example. Early examples of Presidential Guard flying machinery was the AD-4N Skyraider and AT-6 Harvard, among many others. Gabon's air force has used European hardware for decades. It is one of the few countries that acquired modern jet fighters at a relatively early stage. It received the Mirage 5 in the mid-1970s through a contract signed on the 9th October 1975. More French material in use were Alouette III, Gazelle and Puma helicopters and Fouga trainers (from Austria). Little then changed until the arrival of the F1AZs. These were/are operated from the two main Armée de l'air Gabonaise bases: Base aérienne 01 at Libreville and Base aérienne 02 at Franceville. These are current as far as I can ascertain. The background is that in 2006 it was reported that Gabon had purchased the surviving South African Mirage F1AZs (plus spares) for about R40M, The first two aircraft have arrived in Libreville, Gabon in August 2006. These were TR-KML/239 and TR-KMM/241. Aerosud of South Africa were contracted to restore the aircraft to airworthiness standards, as well as to provide an avionics upgrade. The first two aircraft were test flown at Hoedspruit. More were received through 2007, building up to a reported fleet of eight aircraft. These included TR-KMN/236, TR-KMO/244 and TR-KMP/217. My build represents TR-KMP/217. I had started it as my contribution to the recent French Fancy GB but it was a non-finisher. I therefore moved it to the WIP section. It was built using the Special Hobby F1AZ kit as a basis, with a very little aftermarket addition. Initially my plan was to use the LF decal set but I found that to be woefully lacking in accuracy. It also is not comprehensive enough to build an accurate model. I therefore drew them myself and had Arctic Decal print them for me. It adds a further model to my Gabon collection (AD-4N, AT-6D and Fouga Magister). What did I do or use? 1. Kit – Special Hobby Mirage F1AZ/CZ 1/72 (SH72435) 2. Decals – The Gabon-specific decals were home drawn and printed by Arctic Decals. The kit provided other details. 3. Aftermarket – Pavla MB Mk.4 Seat (as close as I could get) (S 72059) 4. Paint – The upper surfaces a Colourcoats US Tan (ACUS18) and Olive Drab BS381C-298 (ACRN35) . The lower surfaces are Colourcoats Medium Sea Grey (ACRN04). Around these I used a variety of Humbrol enamels for various details. 5. Weathering – Flory washes, including a mix of Light and Black to get a slightly darker grey for the movable areas. Tamiya Weathering powders were also used here and there. I hope you like her as much as I do.

At the risk of over stretching myself, and realising that I haven’t even attempted to start the Vanneau, I am declaring this second build as a further entry in this GB. It will be Special Hobby’s Mirage F.1AZ as operated by the Gabon Air Force. It will be a further member of my Gabonese collection. Aside from the Starfighter I reckon the F.1 was/is the best looking Cold War fighter ever! I have amassed a wealth of aftermarket, including the Decal set from LF which, it has to be said, isn’t great :(. I will be back to this very soon Martin

AH-1G Cobra "Early Tails over Nam" Special Hobby 1:32 Hi Tech (32082) Most modellers will instantly recognise the Bell AH-1 Cobra Attack Helicopter. The AH-1 was the first production Gunship or Attack Helicopter to see service. During the Vietnam war the US Army began to see the need for armed helicopter to escort its unarmed UH-1 Hueys into combat. In parallel to this Bell Helicopters had been investigating helicopter gunships as early as the late 1950s. In 1962 Bell displayed a mock up concept to the US Army. This Helicopter featured a 20mm gun pod, and a ball turret mounted grenade launcher. It was felt by the Army to be lightweight, under powered and not suitable. Following this the US Army launched and Advanced Aerial Fire Support System (AAFSS) competition. This competition gave rise to the Lockheed AH-56 Cheyenne heavy attack helicopter. However this proved to be to advanced for its time and was eventually cancelled in 1972 after 10 years of development (some things don't change!). Despite the AAFSS programme Bell stuck with its idea of a smaller, lighter gunship and invested its own money developing the AH-1. They used all of the proven components they could from the UH-1 platform, adding these to a newly designed fuselage. When The US Army therefore asked for pans for an interim gunship for Vietnam Bell was in a fortunate position to be able to offer the AH-1, or the Bell 209 as it was then called. Given the work Bell had already done the programme was completed in a relatively speed eight months and won the evaluation against the competition. In 1966 the US Army signed an initial contract for 110 aircraft. Some slight modifications were made to the production airframes. The heavy armoured glass canopy was replaced by Plexiglas with an improvement in performance. Wider rotor blades were fitted and the original retracting skids were replaced by simple fixed units. The G model was the initial 1966 production model gunship for the US Army, with one 1,400shp (1,000 kW) Avco Lycoming T53-13 turboshaft. Bell built over 1100 AH-1Gs between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras would go on to fly over a million operational hours in Vietnam, approximately 300 were lost to combat and accidents during the war. The U.S. Marine Corps would use AH-1G Cobra in Vietnam for a short period before acquiring twin-engined AH-1J Cobras. The AH-1 went on to serve the US Army until it was replaced by the AH-64 Apache. The last one leaving active service in 1999. The Kit This is the brand new kit from ICM, to which Special Hobby have added Resin, 3D printed parts, photo-etch; and decals. This provides the experienced modeller with an all round package. The quality of the moulding is first rate from ICM with fine engraved panel lines and nice rivet detail on the tail boom and tail. While this boxing is the the early G you can see from the sprues that other versions will be along as there is the opposite handed tail, different landing skids, an upturned exhaust, different winglets and TOW missiles on the weapons sprures. The kit arrives on 5 main sprues of grey plastic and a clear sprue. As well as the main helicopter and armaments, the kit also comes with the ground handling attachments for the skids, something often missing from kits. While there is good detail on the kit and the option to open up the engine and gearbox area, this area is not massively detailed and will open itself up for the super detailer if they want. Work starts conventionally in the cockpit. The two new resin sets are added along with the resin seat cushions and PE seatbelts. Tail controls are added to the floor ,and for the pilots station a cyclic and collective columns go from the new 3S printed parts. For the front seater the weapons control column is again from the new 3D printed parts. Side controllers are also fitted for the gunner. Instrument panels and coamings go in for both stations with instruments being provided on the new PE sheet. Now the cockpit is complete the visible parts of the engine/gear box and its compartment are built up. This is followed up by parts for the rotor controls. The tails are added onto the fuselage. Here there is quite a large part which overlaps to compete a good solid join. The tail rotor needs attaching to fuselage half before closing up if you want it to move. Note for decal option D2 the tail rotor is on the opposite side from the others and both sides are in the kit. The engine / gear box parts are fitted into the right fuselage followed by the cockpit and cockpit rear bulkhead parts. The fuselage can now be closed up with additional cockpit armour panels being fitted at each side. The front armor panels for the cockpit are provided in resin with the cut out part to be used if you are opening the front cockpit. At the rear of the engine housing the exhaust part goes in. At the front of the helo the nose goes on, being careful to choose the right parts for the decal option being modelled. Turning things over the large central fuselage insert goes on with additional parts at the nose. The chin turret is now fitted with either one or two miniguns depending on your decal option. New resin barrels are provided in the kit. A light goes behind the turret. The final exhaust ring goes on the back and the tip of the tail is added. Next up we concentrate on the stub wings. The two wings are built up and the weapons pylons are fitted. These are fitted to the fuselage along with the rear stabilisers towards the tail. The landing skids can then be fitted. Note option D2 has different skids, these again being included in the kit. Next up the large clear canopy parts go on. A sight is fitted to the front of the central glazing section again this is provided in resin for this kit. PE and resin parts are included also for the central canopy part. The front and rear large side canopy parts are fitted, these can be open or closed as need by the modeller. The access panels can be fitted to each side of the open engine/gear box area; again these can be open or closed as required. We now move to the main rotor. Each of the two blades are split upper/lower, and they are joined together. The central rotor head is made from two parts, these are upper and lower, these sandwich in the rotor blades. Once these are on the control arms to the swashplate are then added along with the central mounting shaft. The rotor this then mounted. To finish off armaments can be added to the pylons as needed. The kit provides Two M157 7 shot rocket pods, two M158 7 shot rocket pods, two M200 19 shot rocket pods; and two M18 minigun pods. If the modeller want to use them then two pairs of ground handling wheels can be made up and attached to the back of the skids, Towing bars then can be attached to the front of the skids. Two new pods are also provided in resin as are wheels for ground handling. Special Hobby Extra Parts For this Hi Tech boxing Special Hobby have provided PE, 3D printed, and resin parts for the Cobra. There are also a full set of tape masks for inside and outside of the canopy (These are not shown). The PE is mainly front & rear instrument panels plus a full set of belts for both seats on a colour nickel fret. The brass fret contains engine bay panel grills, internal parts and mounting plates for the rocket launchers. The 3D parts include the a fire extinguisher, cyclic & collective sticks for the pilot, and the weapons system controls for the front seat. The resin part are both Seats complete with new cushions and a mounting base for the front seat. Other parts for the cockpit include the tail rotor pedals, side plates for the centre console, and the front cockpit armour panels. Showing attention to detail they even include the part which is hinged with the front canopy if you wish to position this open. There are new barrels for the chin turret, new wheels for the ground handling trolley, and new M158 7 shot rocket pods. The last major items being a pair of flight helmets to display in the cockpit if wanted. The resin & photoetch are up to Special Hobby's usual excellent standards and the inclusion of 3D parts is most welcome with some excellent items that normal resin might not make. Decals The decal sheet is in house from ICM, the decals look thin, in register and have minimal carrier film. 4 Options are included are the same as from their 1/72 kit, these are; A. 68-15183 C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 20th Regiment Aerial Rocket Artillery, Phuoc Vinh, Vietnam 1971. B. 68-15049 C Battery, 2nd Battalion, 20th Regiment Aerial Rocket Artillery, Bu Dop, Vietnam 1970 (Cambodian Invasion Markings) C. 66-15259 Cobra New equipment Training Team, Vung Tau, Vietnam 1967 (USAF Style SA Camo) D1. 68-15189 "Wretched Mildred" D Troop, 3rd Bridge, 4th Cav, Chu Chi, Vietnam 1971 D.2 68-15189 "Wretched Mildred" 1972, after suffering damage the airframe was rebuilt with a new tailboom, this one with the tail rotor on the right side. Conclusion This is another great looking kit from Special Hobby, combining the great kit from ICM with a whole host of extra parts.. Very Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

DH.100 Vampire Mk.9 ’Tropicalised Fighter-bomber’ 1:72 Special Hobby (72455) The distinctive de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was designed to fulfil a wartime requirement for a small, lightweight jet fighter for the Royal Air Force. Although the prototype aircraft first flew in September 1943, the production aircraft arrived too late to see service in the Second World War. In spite of this, well over 3,000 were eventually produced and the aircraft enjoyed a relatively long service life by the standards of the day. Powered by a single De Havilland Goblin turbojet, the Vampire was capable of a maximum speed of 548 mph and had a service ceiling of over 40,000 ft. In common with many other RAF fighters of the day, armament was comprised of four 20mm cannon. The FB.9 was a tropicalised Goblin-3 powered F.5 fighter-bomber with air conditioning; 348 built, most by de Havilland, and some by Fairey Aviatyion. The Kit the top opening box are two sprues of grey plastic and a clear one. There are no resin or photo etched parts in the box though Special Hobby do offer s a PE set through their CMK line. It should be noted that not all of the parts need to be used to build the variants catered for in this edition. The kit looks excellent on the sprue, with lots of crisp, moulded detail and surface structures made up of fine, recessed lines and fasteners (although some of the detail on the underside of the fuselage looks a little heavy). The overall impression is closer to a modern, high pressure injection moulded kit than the older MPM/Special Hobby kits in my collection. Construction starts with the well-detailed cockpit. This area is made up of the floor, rear bulkhead and head rest, the pilot's seat, the control column and the instrument panel. The instrument panel features recessed detail and a decal is provided for the instrument dials themselves, while the gun sight is moulded from clear plastic. The inside of the fuselage halves benefit from some separately moulded sidewall details. Taken together, the overall impression is of a well detailed and suitably busy cockpit. Other internal detail includes the front and rear faces of the De Havilland Ghost turbojet engine. Special Hobby have elected for a bit of a smoke and mirrors effect here, splitting the front face of the engine into two parts so each can be seen through the intake trunking (part of which is cleverly moulded to the lower half of the fuselage pod. There is no separate tail pipe for the jet exhaust, with the pipe and protruding lip being moulded as part of the upper and lower fuselage halves. The nose cone is moulded separately to the rest of the fuselage, and it follows a panel line which should reduce the need to clean up the joint when finished. It will also enable you to fit the nose weight after the main structure of the model has been completed. Once the two halves of the fuselage pod have been joined together, attention turns to the wings and the horizontal stabiliser. The wings are simply moulded in upper and lower halves, with control surfaces moulded in place. Surface details are very nicely represented, although the trailing edges are a little on the thick side (nothing that can't be sorted relatively easily though). The shallow main landing gear bays are moulded as part of the lower wing but are pretty well detailed. The engine air intakes are separately moulded, complete with vanes. Nice as they are, they look quite inaccurate as the openings are too small. The plastic looks too thin to correct the flaw, so hopefully one of the aftermarket manufacturers will have a go an producing some resin replacements. The tail booms look pretty good and, as with the wings and horizontal stabiliser, the control surfaces are moulded in place. There are a couple of nice balance weights for the underside of the horizontal stabiliser though. With the airframe together, attention turns to the undercarriage. The undercarriage itself is quite nicely moulded without being overly complex. A choice of hubs are provided for the main landing gear wheels, so you'll need to choose the right pair for the version you want to build. Ordnance is catered for by the inclusion of a pair of drop tanks, and 60Lb rockets. . The canopy is nicely moulded and is split into two parts, so it can be finished in the open position if desired. Decals The in house decal sheet brings 5 options. These are; MK.9 - WR 266/b No. 607 Sqn RAuxAF, Ouston U< 1950s FB Mk.52 L158 No.1 Sqn Lebanese Air Force, Beirut, May 1954 Mk.9 WR 250, No.1 Sqn Royal Jordanian Air Force, Amman, Jordon, 1955 Mk.9 NZ5755, Yellow Hammers Aerobatic Team, No.75 Sqn RNZAF, Tauranga, New Zealand 1969 Mk.9 WR 120/U, No.213 Sqn RAF, Deversoir, Egypt 1954 Conclusion Overall this looks like a really appealing kit. The level of detail is very good indeed, and provided there are no surprises in terms of fit and finish, it should build up into a nice model, My only real gripe is the undersized engine air intakes, but hopefully these can be sorted with aftermarket parts. Overall recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi all, I am wrapping up my GB WIP here as I missed the finish deadline. To be honest, as you can see from the GB thread below, she is nearly done. I am held back a little by waiting time for paints and varnishes to dry etc. I was so nearly there! Despite that, and as (nearly) always I have enjoyed the build of a machine that will add to my Gabon and African collection. Right now she is sat, patiently, in her "Paint barn" while everything settles down. Back again soon. Martin

Hello all, Back in October I was asked to build the Vickers Vildebeest by a friend at my local Model Club for his friend whose father had flown the Vildebeest in Singapore pre-WWII. He asked me to do the 36 Squadron machine, in the silver dope finish. I was a little hesitant at first (well, for about a second or so) before I said that I would have a go. I have built a few limited run kits, including some by Special Hobby, and plenty of vacform biplanes in the past so what could go wrong? Anyway, after asking for advice in the Inter War aviation section here, and having had a fair degree of help from the BM massif during the build here... ... it is now finished. There are one or two errors in the build, and I had to contend with an apparently warped trailing edge to the upper wing, but I think the end result is very much a Vildebeest. I hope the recipient likes it! Here is the result: I primed the model with Tamiya Light Grey primer, used that as the 'Cerrux Grey' and then resprayed with Tamiya Aluminium, both straight from the cans, followed by a brush coat (or two) of Humbrol enamel matt varnish. The torpedo yellow was brush painted with ColourCoats Yellow, thinned with their Naphtha thinner. The transfers behaved brilliantly. Rigging between the wings was InfiniModels Fine Rigging Thread (70 denier, 0.091mm) and the aerial wires were AmmoMig Rigging Thread, 0.02mm. Thanks for looking, all the best, Ray

Hello all. Sometimes in this world, something happens which makes you feel very lucky and privileged indeed. Last Sunday, I was at an outing with my model club, when one of our members asked a colleague if he knew anyone who would like to build this - and produced the 1/72 Special Hobby Vickers Vildebeest MkIII. My colleague took one look at the box, and unerringly pointed in my direction, straight between my eyes! 'HIM!' he said. I had a look in the box, but I was already hooked! I had wanted to build one ever since I heard about the fact that Azur-Frrom had produced an injection-moulded one (I had toyed with the Contrail vacform idea but never got one). I first heard about it in a copy of SAMI from August 2011, and I still have the copy waiting for a re-read (which has now been done). Well, I had a natter with our club member (Paul) and found out that a friend of his wanted him to build it but it was not his speciality, so that is why he asked around. I hope to do a good job with this (Paul and his friend have said it is okay for me to do a WIP on here). This is the boxing I have been given: It contains a supply of nice injection moulded parts: And some photo-etch and resin: A good transfer sheet with an amended #13 transfer - the original was too big (a carry over from the Azur-Frrom issue): And this is the markings I have been asked to do: Paul's friend's father (if I remember correctly) flew these in Singapore in the silver finish. I am glad about that as my head still hurts after reading about three threads on camouflaged Vildebeests! I popped a request for help in the 'Interwar' section in this Aviation Forum, and have been given some guidance and also some images which will help me out, including the fact that it does not seem to be an overall silver, but has some areas of Cerrux Grey, ala silver-doped Swordfish. I am looking forward to this, but with a little trepidation as it is for such an important reason! More in a mo, Ray

No, not a RAF captured Emil, but a 1941 Royal Yugoslav Air Force Messerschmitt. I bought the Special Hobby "Simple Set" boxing plus their masks and I am also going to use some Eduard PE parts. I have the Lift Here decals (somewhere) to build a Me 109 (yes, they used Me instead of Bf) coded L-52 from the short "April war" 1941.

Here is my take on Special Hobby’s 1/72 SAAB J-21A built as part of the Nordic II Group Build. Out of the box with Moose Republic decals, finished with Tamiya XF-62 and Hataka Polish light blue-grey. and with its younger sibling the J-29: Thanks for looking. AW

After the 2020 newsletters (link), here's the first one from SH for 2021. Newsletter January 2021 https://www.specialhobby.info/2021/01/news-from-special-hobby-012021.html V.P.

Panhard 178/AMD-35 Update set & Wheels 1:35 CMK by Special Hobby (For ICM/Revell/Tamiya kits) Armament & Ammunition Update Set (3147) This set arrives in CMK’s usual yellow-themed clamshell box, and contains details for the weapons systems of the Armoured Car. There is ammunition stowage for the machine gun round magazines, and for the individual rounds for the main gun, Rounds are supplied for this. There are also empty racks for attaching inside if you dont want to fit the Ammunition drums. The last item in the set is a new front part for the kit machine gun. Wheels (3146) Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set arrives in CMK’s usual yellow-themed clamshell box, and contains 4 wheels each on its own casting block. Here CMK have been clever with the casting block being on the inside sidewall to avoid having to clean up marks on the tread. The wheels have a slight bulge on the bottom which actually looks realistic not the large sag you sometimes see. Review samples courtesy of

P-39 Aircobra Wheels (5143) 1:32 CMK by Special Hobby for Revell /Special Hobby / Kitty Hawk Kit Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set from CMK is suitable for their own kit, or the kits from Revell & Kitty Hawk, but would probably work equally as well for other kits. The set arrives in the usual yellow-themed CMK blister pack, with the instructions sandwiched between the resin parts and the header card. Inside are six resin parts on five casting blocks, consisting of two main wheels, two different nose wheels, plus main wheel hubs. There is also a small set of PE hubs for the nose wheel depending on the version being modelled. The wheels are all attached to their blocks on their contact patches, with additional wisps of resin supporting the wheel further and helping to reduce the likelihood of air bubbles within the moulds. These are easily removed with a razor saw and a swipe with a sanding stick that should leave all the smooth contact surface intact. They’re a much better detailed drop-in replacement for the kit parts from thereon in. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Junkers Ju 88A/C Wheels - Late type (7479) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby for Revell Kit Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set from CMK is suitable for the Revell kit in 1:72, but would probably work equally as well for other kits. The set arrives in the usual yellow-themed CMK blister pack, with the instructions sandwiched between the resin parts and the header card. Inside are three resin parts on three casting blocks, consisting of two main wheels, and a tail wheel. The wheels are all attached to their blocks on their contact patches, with additional wisps of resin supporting the wheel further and helping to reduce the likelihood of air bubbles within the moulds. These are easily removed with a razor saw and a swipe with a sanding stick that should leave all the smooth contact surface intact. They’re a much better detailed drop-in replacement for the kit parts from thereon in. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

SF-260 Italian Pilots (F72375) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby Quite often its great to have a figure, or couple of figures to add to a finished model on a base to bring it more to life. This set from CMK is for their new SF-360 kits, though it can be used for a variety of aircraft. The set arrives in the usual yellow-themed CMK blister pack, with the instructions sandwiched between the resin parts and the header card. Inside are the two figures. The casting is up to the usual high standards from CMK/Special Hobby with minimal clean up being needed. One of figures is wearing a parachute and the other holding a helmet. Conclusion Detail is excellent, and will add a great touch to any suitable model. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Beaufighter Mk.I/VI Main wheels Early/Smooth (7480) 1:72 CMK by Special Hobby Kit wheels are generally in two halves, which means you have the resultant joins to deal with, possible mould-slip issues on single part wheels, and sometimes less than stellar detail due to the moulding limitations of styrene injection technology, especially in the tread department. That's where replacement resin wheels come in, with their lack of seamline and superior detail making a compelling argument. They are also usually available at a reasonable price, and can be an easy introduction to aftermarket and resin handling, as they are usually a drop-in replacement. This set from CMK is suitable for the Airfix kit in 1:72, but would probably work equally as well for other kits. The set arrives in the usual yellow-themed CMK blister pack, with the instructions sandwiched between the resin parts and the header card. Inside are two resin parts on tow casting blocks, consisting of two wheels.. The wheels are all attached to their blocks on their contact patches, with additional wisps of resin supporting the wheel further and helping to reduce the likelihood of air bubbles within the moulds. These are easily removed with a razor saw and a swipe with a sanding stick that should leave all the smooth contact surface intact. They’re a much better detailed drop-in replacement for the kit parts from thereon in. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi All, Here is another bird completed this year. In fact I finished this one back in August but have not made a photosession until yesterday. So here it is - Fouga Magister in IDF demonstration team colours: Not much to say about the prototype as its history is pretty well-known. A training aircraft that flew with numerous air forces for many-many years as a basic trainer. In IDF though it made quite a career serving not only as a trainer but also as an attack aircraft and a demonstration team airplane and was further upgraded to Tzukit standard with updated avionics, engines, etc. The kit used is a newly released Special Hobby option. Overall a nice kit with impressive level of details in cockpit, undercarriage bays, full engine details are also provided. Fit is good but tight at times. Pay attention to cockpit as after closing the fuselage you may find out that the canopy is too narrow. Cockpit interior needs to be carefully trimmed to make sure it does not stretch fuselage sides. Also I would advise to start canopy attachment with front and rear sections, then install two-part middle section and finish with opening sections which you may trim as appropriate if they do not fit. More construction details are available at the WIP thread. Very minimal aftermarket sets were used - resin wheels from CMK (although kit wheels are not at all bad either), seat belts from spares and that is it. And I do not think I made any substantial improvements either as the kit looks very convincing out of the box. The kit I had was for exotic African Air Forces but my intention was always to make an Israeli machine, so an Isradecal set for Fouga Magisters was bought. That one unfortunately was a disappointment almost ruining the whole project... Large white decal stripes turned out extremely brittle. While I was able to deal with them on flat surfaces, on curved area around V-tails that broke apart and in fact did not fit the area well too. Particularly poor result is on port side where I had to overpaint cracks with white paint and still not super satisfied with outcome. Paints used are Hobby Colour blue H328 (FS15050) well diluted with white - I tried to be as close to the blue colour of Stars of David, obviously black, white and silver from Vallejo and lastly H318 tan for undercarriage interiors. I was matching this to the photoes of real French Magisters and that seemed to be the closest match. Final finish with Gloss Tamiya clear. Now there are couple more shots "with others". My full IDF collection firstly: And all the bright jet trainers secondly: Hope you like it Kind regards, Dennis