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Hi all, and I'm pleased to say that I've finally finished a model - the 1/72 Seafire XV from the Sword kit. I made heavy weather of it unfortunately (well over two years from start to finish), and ran into a last-minute snag by applying Alclad Clear Cote as a near-final varnish, which then took four months to dry. Yesterday I reckoned it was dry enough to put something over the top, in this case Humbrol 135 satin enamel. It could do with being a bit more glossy to be honest, but I'm calling this one done now. I built the kit pretty much out of the box, although these Sword kits need a bit of fettling to get certain things to fit (e.g. canopy). After a false start on the paint-job, I settled on something a bit different, as I've always liked the look of SW847 in its (I think) black over sky with silver spinner. The real aircraft had been modified a bit, with guns, gunsight, catapult hooks and arrestor-wire guard for the tailwheel removed - all of which made this modeller's life easier. The whole sorry process is recorded in the WIP: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234998719-172-seafire-xv/. Any road up, here are some pics taken this afternoon: And here she is in the cabinet with her Mark III sister, also from the Sword kit but was somehow much easier to put together: Here are a couple of photos of the original: Thanks for looking, and comments very welcome as ever. In the meantime I'm not sure I can face another session with the Sword Mark XIV Spit. And conversion of a Sword Seafire XV to a Mark XII can definitely wait a while. Oh the horror...! Justin

Hi all After I finished my Italeri Westland Wessex HAS31B model I mulled over what kit to get out of the stash next - after a lot of deliberation I settled on the 1/48 scale Sword Fairey Gannet AEW3. I decided from the start I would have to model it with wings folded which meant I needed to scratch build the folded wing mechanism. I decided to tackle this first in case I was not able to recreate the folded area successfully - once I got that moving along, I would start on the fuselage interior but until then taped the fuselage halves together to concentrate on the wings. I have now got the basic details and alignment of the folded wings looking like it's all going to work out - I started working on this kit in early January this year so now have a bit of catching up to do writing this WIP. References as well as the following Warpaint book below were various walkaround sites with the one here on Britmodeller being very useful - others I referenced included http://nabe3saviation.web.fc2.com/waGanno1.html http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/luc_colin/aew3_walk_1.htm Not to forget Massimo's Ark Royal air wing including an AEW3 in 1/72 I started by separating the three wing sections & then made up some sketches to work out the locations of the various components - then I started shaping & cutting out the wing ribs the edges of the wing breaks were thinned down with an 8 inch second cut flat file followed by some emery paper/sanding sticks While I worked on the wings I also detailed the main wheel bays - the hydraulic lines were from household wire with the insulation stripped off - the loose ends were soldered together to help to stop them coming apart when installing them. The wheel bays were detailed by referring to the walkaround photos - the complex tangle of pipes & fittings were done with solder wire I initially tried to make the wingfold hinges from thin plastic strip but they broke very easily - I then found out that you can buy square brass wire & ordered from Amazon an assorted pack of 0.63mm,0.8mm,1.0mm,1.3mm thicknesses & used the 0.63 wire to solder up a bracket with some thicker brass channel for the top link. I made the outer wing panel brackets from a scrap etched sheet that had right angle sections - the mid wing panel is also supported by square wire drilled into the fuselage locating point & wing panel - this also will give the folded wings strength - when the wings are finally assembled, they will also have the long jury struts made from brass tube from the mid wing to the underneath of outer panel. The beginnings of the hydraulic ram & pushrod were made from Albion Alloys slide fit aluminium tube - the bend was made by filing a notch in the thin tube with a small triangular file before gently folding the rod - still working out how to complete it - there is a rather complex looking bracket mid-way along that I guesstimated the shape referring to photos - in fact the whole wing fold area has all been guesstimated as scale drawings seem hard to come by so it is an artistic impression at best. So that is where the folded wings are up to at this stage - the wing panels are dry fitted to see how it all is looking There have been a nice couple of Sword 1/48 AEW3 Gannets posted in RFI & mention was made that the main undercarriage legs were about 2mm short so I cut off the bottom of the leg, added a spacer & decided to scratch build a new part to attach the main wheels on as the axle stub looked very short & would possibly be a weak join. Ok then I think that has brought me up to date & will continue on slowly - I will fit out the interior & glue the fuselage together next, I think. thanks for looking Chris

Kia ora, my first entry will be this Sword P-40 kitset which I will finish as Wairarapa Wildcat, flown by the most successful Commonwealth fighter pilot against the Japanese, the New Zealander Geoff Fisken. Here’s what’s in the box: Weirdly there are three fuselage halves, one of them being for a short tailed P-40K. Sword also have a short tailed Kittyhawk boxing which must share this sprue. I wonder what they do with all the other halves that are clipped off? I’ll be using these decals from Ventura in NZ: Parts washed and ready to go. AW

Hello I have just finished my couple of 1/72 SWORD Vought RF-8A and RF-8G kits. As usual with this type of kits the surface is very nice but the joints are touchy. So I needed much time to complete them. Anyway I wanted them to be in my cupboard. The RF-8A scheme came from the box with this VFP-62 aircraft in November 1962 for photo reconnaissance missions above Cuba. The RF-8G scheme came from the 72-113 Wolfpak Decals sheet and is one of the VFP-206 aircraft in 1985. Patrick

Another model on the workshop this time it is a Fairey Gannet AEW.3 in 1:72 scale from the company ‘Sword’. In the box, in addition to the frames, we have resin parts, a sheet of film and a mask, that is the model with extras. The decal sheet includes markings for two machines, the model to be built will be in box camouflage with HMS ‘Ark Royal’.

I think this might be the next project to start. Not an easy kit to get hold of these days - managed to find it on ebay a couple of years back. Heard some comments in the past about some tricky parts fit? I've also bought aftermarket intakes / nozzles which seems to be this big issue with the Sword kit. It's going to have to be a rattle can paint finish too, so let's see how that works out!!! Will try to update some pics through the build.

Hi All, Publishing here the last of the models I completed in 2024. Now it is an RF-84F Thunderflash that I started to build under F-84 single-type group build but unlike T'Jet and T'Streak - this one I have not finished timely. Sword kits are definitely more demanding! Thunderflash has been attracting my attention for a long time. Quite an unusual aircraft with 'British' style air intakes not typical for American jets, long camera nose, huge tanks.... It did not have any significant career with USAF serving very briefly until arrival of supersonic RF-101C. However it made a long career with America's NATO allies. Greece made a record keeping these flying until 1990s. Italy was able to maintain its Thunderflashes flying with 3º Stormo Ricognitori for about 15 years from mid 50s till 1970 when they were replaced by RF-104G. The model of Thunderflash was not available as a modern 1/72 tool for quite long time until Sword created this new model I think back around 2018. I bought it back then but it's been sitting in my stash for a while until Special Hobby announced a superkit of Thunderstreak quite recently. Quick decision to grab T'Streak and finding a [surprisingly discontinued] Tamiya's T'Jet + an STGB in early 2024 - that all pushed the trio on the workbench. Of the three, the Sword kit was obviously the most 'engaging'. Besides fit issues it also opened some opportunities for addition of several missing elements. I added fairing on the tail with navigation lights, trim tabs on the flaps, navigation lamp on the spine, splitter plates in the intakes, missing elements on the front undercarriage gear, tail skid (borrowed from SH kit - I borrowed pitot tube and ejection seat from SH kit as well). As a cherry on cake top I recreated proper cameras in the nose section. More pictures are available in my WIP that initially was a part of the STGB forum. Some more pictures: I painted the Thunderflash into aluminum wraparound colour using a mix of Aluminum and Dull Aluminum Vallejo metallics for that. Italian Thunderflashes seem to have been going through repainting into aluminum paint over their life with exception of steel elements like exhaust ring or speed brakes. These very sharply stand out of the overall dull look on all the period photoes. Otherwise no panel effect is observable. Undercarriage bays were apparently repainted during service into aluminum so did not retain green chromate colours. Red, black, olive drab and light grey areas are all painted. Decals are a mix of Sword decals with exception of Italian roundels - I used those from the decal sheet with Italian roundels that I use for all my AMI builds to ensure consistent red and green colours. Also '44' in the airframe number was taken from a generic USAF numbers sheet because Sword erroneously provided 3-94 number for the machine with 52-7394 serial. It should be 3-44. And to wrap up the trio series - couple family shots of course! Hope you liked the show! Cheers, Dennis

Hi Everybody, First timer in Group Build. Not sure how successful I'll be with my building pace. Moreover I thought to enter with even three models of Jet, Streak and Flash! Nevertheless doubts aside and let the fun begin!

Here is Sword’s Grumman Avenger finished as XB446, an ECM6 of the Fleet Air Arm. The aircraft was delivered as an AS4 in 1953 and served with 820 NAS before being converted to an ECM6 in 1955. The box art and instructions say based at RAF Syerton in 1958 but I think this due to some available photos online of it at Syerton probably during an airshow. According to Sturtivant it was on the strength of 751 NAS and then 831 NAS first at Watton then Culdrose from 1957 to at least 1960, so I think these are more likely. She was numbered 383 when initially part of 831 NAS so my conclusion she is an 831 aircraft. Incidentally, after retirement she went to the FAA Museum at Yeovilton where she’s currently painted up incorrectly in WW2 Temperate Sea Scheme camouflage. Built out of the box apart from seat belts, and using a masking set, builds up pretty well with few challenges. Painted with Xtracrylix Gloss Sea Blue and a Liquitex satin varnish coat.

Can anyone who has built the Sword 1/48 AEW3 Gannet advise how much nose weight it needs to stop it being a tail sitter? thanks Chris

02547C92-4AFB-4F7A-B8A1-A832BB5937FF by Evan Bailly, on Flickr About a month ago a call went out from my local club for night fighter models. There was to be an upcoming themed display at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle that needed filling out. There was a (not so) short list of a wide variety of night fighters from around the world including some fairly esoteric subjects. The night fighter "CN" version of Reggiane's Re.2001 fighter was on the list. By chance, I had Sword's 1/72 scale Reggiane boxed set in my stash already and that boxed set included an Re.2001. 2_Re_2001_cn_2__MM_08075_aveva_i_cannoni_alari__uno_dei_pochissimi_eccolo_qua_alle_prove_di_tiro_a_Furbara by Evan Bailly, on Flickr The Reggiane Re.2001 was essentially the wonderful, but still flawed Re.2000 fighter with the Italian radial engine replaced by a German DB.601 Inline V12. This marriage was a successful one; Re.2001s operating out of Sicily proved more than a match for RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes, at least at low level. The Re.2001CN variant was optimized for night bomber interception over Italian cities. Flame dampers were added to the exhausts and a 20mm cannon in a gondola was strapped beneath each wing. 663523F0-0D3D-4E9D-8BE4-F6E5CEEE087B by Evan Bailly, on Flickr While the model included in Sword's boxed set is intended to be built as an earlier day-fighter version, it does include the necessary external parts to build both the CN and GV (fighter bomber) versions as well. My model was made largely out of the box. Eduard seatbelts fill out the cockpit and the wing-mounted cannon barrels were made out of brass tubing rather than the poor-quality plastic ones included on Sword's sprue. While the kit is definitely a short-run, it went together reasonably well, although I did resort to putty and sand paper for most of the major assembly work. F144D462-AAD3-4EF0-86D6-961BE78C674A by Evan Bailly, on Flickr Paint and finish were a base of AK Real Colors lacquers weathered with artists oils. To complete the ensemble I took a figure from an Orion WWII Italian Tank Crew set and painted him up in Regia Aeronautica blue. 505E0D07-9618-49FD-9288-8F4F81365D71 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr 9EFB9C55-5324-4F04-86F2-7D6924C5D039 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr EC1D8CCC-3593-4A1E-8190-335120B62133 by Evan Bailly, on Flickr

Paint: Xtracolor Sky, Xtracolor Extra Dark Sea Gray, Tamiya Red, Tamiya Black (few drops of white) Spinning Prop: K&S tubing Photoetch and Decals: Sword Antenna wires: EZ Line A Minicraft C-135A is taxiing the background for fun. WIP:

I have never been fond of the Spitfire with "bubble top" canopy so I am building one. Not a "shake and bake" kit. It need lot of dry fitting but building a Ventura kit at the same time make it easier to cope with. i robbed the kit of the guns so I replaced them with some from Airfix. So I think that I have it ready for paint.

I have a Sword kit of the Hawker/Ratheon 125 with the Anniversary markings that I will be building for the GB. Pictures to follow soon

I don't often do WIP threads, mostly because I'm quite slow at building but also never quite sure how the finished thing will turn out! Decided to take a chance and start one now. This'll be the third Sword twin-seat Harrier that I'll have built, and I've decided to do the raspberry ripple scheme of the DERA (later Qinetic) Active Control Technology airframe. I've always thought it looked spectacular, if a fiddly masking challenge in 1/72 scale. Then I saw @Navy Bird's stunning version, which decided me. The Sword kits can sometimes be a little frustrating but they end up as great-looking models, despite my best efforts to the contrary!! (Here are my T10 and T4 versions, so hopefully with some decent background photography at the end, the new one will look suitably tidy): So here we go. The kit comes with a little etch for the cockpit; extras already purchased are the mandatory dropped door intakes by Freightdog, a set of nozzles by Pavla (may or may not use these as they look a little small) and the fancy nose probe for the test aircraft. Decals will be the Combat Decals set, unfortunately not the Vingtor set with the Qinetiq markings, but I can at least do the older DERA version - plus there are at least two other options for other type builds I'm aiming for in future. First step, as with all end-opening kit boxes now, is to tape up the edges and ends, then hack the top open to create a top-opener. Doesn't have to be tidy but at least it's easier to get stuff in and out, and protect the build as it goes on: Thanks for reading so far, hopefully it won't turn into a 6-month thread!

Hi all. Here I present my recently completed Curtiss SO3C Seamew using the 1/72 Sword kit. The build was part of 'The Fleet's In! US Naval air 1910 to present' GB but details were conspiring against me and couldn't be completed within the deadline. The Seamew was finished for an airframe from USS Biloxi, 1944 and presented on a section of scratch built P6 catapult. A set of Legend figures were also fitted. Build log here: The US P6 catapult, scratch built using mainly plastic with metal filter mesh for the walkways. Thanks for looking. Stuart

Hi all. Here is my first contribution to this GB, a Curtiss SOC-3 Seamew using the Sword 1/72 kit. She will be built OOB with no frills although I will investigate if I can open the canopy. I would've like to display her as per the box art on a catapult but they are way too many pennies but... Anyways, the compulsory stuff. The box. The plastic sprues. Canopies, resin bits and decals. Instructions. There are a couple of build threads on BM that may be useful. I shall not be starting this just yet as I need to complete another GB build. Stuart

Joining you with this Sword 1/72 Harrier. Bought from PlasticPastimes in 2012. For which these Model Alliance decals have come my way from Jet Age.

Hi all Hot off the heels of the Martlet, may i present the Avenger/Tarpon 1. Built mainly OOB apart from the walkthrough between the Observer cockpit and TAG cockpit which was cut out and added, some seatbelts from my PE spares. A couple of aerials added too. Brush painted using Humbrol enamels as usual. For a limited run kit this went together very nicely. I would likd to thank everyone who offered support and encouragement along the way, always appreciated. Thanks for looking in. Chris

My seventh Harrier completed, this time the longest one - 1:72 Harrier T.4, aircraft XZ146, 4 Squadron RAF, RAF Gütersloh 1984. Sword kit, Master Pitot tube, Reskit Matra-155 rocket pods, Eduard RBFs, Revell AIM-9s and some scratch - rest is out of the box. Painted with Mr. Hobby C series. Thanks for watching!

Following @heloman1's T-33, another Shooting Star for my club display due in September. This time the Sword kit with Superscale decals for the Blue Angels support a/c. Cheers

F-94B Starfire F-94 was the first US all-weather jet interceptor and first US jet to be fitted with an afterburner. It was derived from the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star two seat trainer (which itself was based on the P-80 Shooting Star) by adding larger nose with guns/rockets/radar/fire control system (depending on the version) and a bigger engine. These two seater planes were held in high regards in the early 50's by having highly advanced electronics - to the extent that they were somewhat held back in the early stages of Korean war. US didn't want to risk losing the advanced electronics to the enemy so Starfires were mostly kept above friendly territory. The electronics weren't probably as hi-tech as US believed and later F-94 missions included night time B-29 escort duty, in which F-94 was succesfull (four shot down MiG's and no B-29 losses). Not a flashy plane by any means but served a very important part in the early stages of all weather interceptors and did it's part until more advanced planes such as F-89 Scorpions and F-102 Delta Daggers arrived, F-94B was an updated and more reliable F-94A with most of the problem areas sorted out. It had four .50 cals on the nose as the later F-94C had rockets. F-94B-5-LO, BuNo 51-5449, Capt. Ben Fithian, Lt. Samuel Lyons, 319 FIS, Suvon AB, South Korea 1952. In January 30 1953 scored the first night victory with F-94, shooting down (most likely) a La-9. Model Kit: Sword 1/72 F-94B Starfire (#72054) The kit was bit on the complicated side, some issues with the fuselage fit and so on. Landing gear and air brakes really fiddly and difficult to put together. But having said that, the kit comes with nice looking parts and a good sized PE fret to add details. There are several issues with my build but I'm still fairly happy with the overall look of the plane. Painted with Tamiya and Vallejo metallics, weathered with Ammo oilbrushers and panel liners. Built for the Baby Boomers GB, WIP here:

Here is my completed Sword 1/72 Vought RF-8A Crusader Crusader over Cuba boxing, what you get in the box is not a an RF-8A but a RF-8G so a bit of work is required to backdate the kit to the RF-8A mainly sanding the extra lumps and bumps on the kit I tried my best, but on checking references I have missed a couple but I know next time, the wheels as supplied in the kit are not correct for a RF-8A but there is no alternative to replace them with, I changed them for Reskit items anyway as i find them easier to paint. The instructions with the kit are confusing in places and the decals supplied do not match whats depicted on the box. So not perfect by any stretch but I present my Vought RF-8Aish. 1/72 Vought RF-8A Crusader by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr 1/72 Vought RF-8A Crusader by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr 1/72 Vought RF-8A Crusader by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr 1/72 Vought RF-8A Crusader by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr 1/72 Vought RF-8A Crusader by Phillip Wilmshurst, on Flickr

Although the Special Hobby kit is a better option, the Sword F84F is quite buildable. I 3D printed a correct ejection seat as the kit only includes the early seat. The incorrect wheels were replaced with some new ones I designed and printed as well. The build saga is here. If anyone has a 3D printer and wants the wheels, send me a PM with an email and I will send you the STL file.

All: I met with Milan, Sword's boss, at Moson at the end of April, who told me he is actively researching the Dominie T.1 and HS.125-400 for future projects. Don't throw away your Airfix Classics yet, though! I strongly encouraged him to proceed with both aircraft models, and he cautioned that it depended on the economic situation. I also suggested that he engineer the Dominie with a series of optional parts, including the ventral equipment bay, to allow modelers to build Series 1 or 3 business jets. Side Note: Sword's team was uniformly unenthusiastic about producing a 1/72 C-140 (Lockheed JetStar) due to its size.