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First Beaufighter, picked up cheap from a vendor at SMW. Thought it would be an interesting build; I am trying to broaden my repertoire. Only Spitfires, Mosquitos and a Hurricane so far. adding some extras: Not installing the pilot and gunner as I'm adding some aftermarket details ... going to make a small diorama instead. I know I'll only need two crew... undecided which ones. Making a start: Cut away the control panel, quite detailed 3rd party to replace that. I'll get it smooth later... A quick prime. and I'll crack on with some interior green tomorrow.

Hallo The Flettner 282 Kolibri was one of the most successful German helicopters. In opposition to the FA 223 Drache it did not have structural or dynamic unsolved problems. It was a stable aircraft, easily to fly and even fast to learn to fly properly. It was produced too in small numbers. The limited production capacity was one issue and the jealousy of the Luftwaffe versus Marine was the second issue. So, just successful trials were flown during the war. After the war it was honey for the Allies. The aircraft, or helicopter by itself in this configuration is a stable platform. No need of a counter torque. The build, as the second of the early rotary aircraft from Germany. The next model I will build is the FA 223. The kit is quite well, and there are no issues to remark. Have a look around: happy modelling

The red gear was for GM or MW boost? Was the red gear a standard for this issue or just a maybe ? Thank you Happy modelling

Hallo The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 Bachstelze from Takom in scale 1/16 This is my first model in my rotary project. This project will show the helicopter development until present time. Which contains the German war designs, the post-war development in the west and east. Until today’s types from the world, including China. The kit is excellent designed. It is a real joy to work with such a kit. Precise and exact. Parts are really small and tiny, but the engineering behind shows a skill level. Takom today is unrivaled by all competitors. The original Bachstelze was a simple design of the new technology of rotary aircraft. Without engine, the rotor driven by the wind caused by the ship in motion. It is auto-gyro without engine, just driven by the drag of rotor blades. It served as an observation platform for ships. Submarines. About 200m altitude increased the sighting radius enormously. The aircraft was always towed. Operational use was not often, firstly it was overseen in importance, and produced in small number. Fighter aircraft had a higher priority in the second half of war. In case of emergency, the pilot could get down on deck with the aircraft fast, or to unhitch the rotor and land by parachute or to unlock the rope and land by his own. When the submarine was on an emergency dive, there was seldom time for taking the pilot onboard. The aircraft was stowed in a few containers onboard. It could be easily dismantled or again erected for a flight. The yellow handles all over shows you this. A perfect design. So have a look: Happy modelling

Hallo This is my A4 (V2) with trailer & truck & crane for loading. The topic of the rocket research in WW2 became personally to me. I had a teacher who was part of the research team around W. von Braun. During this time I got a glimpse about things going on there, at Peenemünde. Also about the institutions in Berlin, like the RLM and the situation what it was like. Of course also about the slave labor. It was quite shocking for us in young years. The A4 became also personally to me, since all over Austria companies built components for the A4 in mass production during the late time of war. Just 5 minutes from my present home in Vienna. The thinking about, what I would have done at this time accompanied me during the build. Since I was eyewitness of war, today my mood changed just for peace. Creativity for peace is better than creativity for weapon design. Decades changed my mind. The modelling military aircraft seems absurd, but it helped me to establish a peaceful mind, for all people of the world. A4 it was called during developement and afterward, V2 was an invented name from Goebbels. Back to the model: To get an idea what the handling was of this V2, or A4 as it was called internally, look at the manual called the A-4 Fibel! https://www.aggregat4.de/A4_Fibel.html This particular A4 (V2) represents a rocket for field tests, away from Peenemünde. The camouflage is exactly for this purpose. The truck was omnipresent during and after the war. I remember quite good from my child’s days. The trailer was a special design and is called Vidalwagen. The crane is the Fries crane, also omnipresent during and after the war. The reloading from the Vidalwagen after transport to the shooting area, to get loaded on a Meillerwagen, for launching the A4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meillerwagen https://www.v2rocket.com/start/makeup/design.html https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Vidalwagen https://www.alamy.de/stockfoto-ein-bild-von-einer-batterie-von-drei-deutschen-v2-raketen-bekannt-als-vergeltung-waffe-nr-2-wahrend-sie-zum-brennen-vorbereitet-wurden-1944-90821747.html?imageid=507328C4-49E8-4A55-9EE6-984B2EFB474B&p=75935&pn=1&searchId=b85a4c6390ac41c93d8da7fe161d4211&searchtype=0 The research and first shooting area: The modeling was quite straight forward. Takom kits are to my opinion excellent! Enjoy the pics: The crane in detail: Happy modelling

Hallo This thread will become a chronology about the FW 190 A-6 and A-8. Most kits from Eduard. The decals will be from Eagle Calls. Code letters from Fantasy Printshop. In summery there will be 4 aircraft A-8 and two A-6. https://www.1001hobbies.de/decals-fuer-flugzeuge/9093-eagle-cal-eag48022-decal-focke-wulf-fw-190a-8-rs-ii-jg4-sturm-4-.html https://www.1001hobbies.de/decals-fuer-flugzeuge/9085-eagle-cal-eag48007-decal-focke-wulf-fw-190a-sturmjager-pt-1-4-white-.html Aftermarket products I do have a lot. 2 boxes! One version will be a A-5 converted to a G-3. In US service! How accurate the conversion will become, I do not know yet. https://www.pinterest.at/pin/57561701470917414/ One will be a D-9 from Eduard and one Ta-152 from Zoukei Mura. All in scale 1/48. However, some basic questions for this build are solved. One was concerning the gear. The others of the Sturmstaffel are solved due to the book: https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=581894545&rlz=1C1SXXQ_deAT915AT915&hl=de&q=fw-190+sturmstaffel+1+book&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiy-Z6h-cCCAxWbhf0HHdJJBzMQ0pQJegQIDRAB&biw=1920&bih=931&dpr=1#imgrc=xN0-fmKlfiTnIM&imgdii=3363IQ7Cmdn-RM So far for today. The building will start at Christmas or in 2024 after New Year! Happy modelling

Hi, I have been trying to research what kit and where worn for ww2 British infantry. Im putting together a diorama of a Churchill crocodile assaulting a bunker near Normandy, I’ve made / adjusted various figures for bickers machine gun crew, Lewis gun and Bren gun crew and similar troops deploying and have found good info on these topics that have led me to a solution to how to pose and with what, however trying to find info that is definitive in an infantry radio man seems not to be so easy. I can’t find anything definitive on what was worn and where, so many conflicting info and photos. Original photos showing a massive radio on the back of soldiers, tech info showing small radios and museums stuff of Canadian small radios but nothing that says ‘follow this’ or ‘model this’….. help! Does anyone have a clear steer? Below is the link to some of the stuff I’ve found thus far, some tech info sheets, some museum photos and some real life photo of WW2. https://imgur.com/a/s7dOc0X

Just finished the 1/72 Bristol Buckingham, made by the Czech company Valom. This was a kit from a company I had never heard of, of a plane I had never heard of. On opening the box, I was happily surprised by the amount of pieces and (seeming) quality of the parts. There were a number of photo-etched pieces and the engines are cast in resin. I expected this to be a high quality build, and in many ways it was; however, there were definitely some issues with fit. The piece behind the pilots seat would not fit between both fuselage halves without considerable sanding; the propellers are attached to the spinners with extremely small contact points that I doubt will last for the long-term; the and worst of all, the wheels did not fit in between the forks of the landing gear arms out of the box, so I had to drill through the wheels, insert some spare sprue and try to glue them in place--they've already fallen off once and I again think this will need to be repaired any time I move the model. It's not the worst quality build I've made by a long shot, but there is definitely room for improvement. I painted this in AK Real Colors RAF Dark Green and Dark Earth on top with Duck Egg Blue underneath. It may have been more accurate to do the underside in Azure blue but I couldn't find a definitive answer, and I had an unopened bottle of DEB so thought I'd use it. I did a panel line wash with AK's Green and Brown panel liner on top and their White and Winter panel liner underneath (the first time I've used either of these products). The panel lines on this model weren't particularly deep, so much of the panel lining was washed away with white white spirits, but I instead did a light wash over the whole surface in straight strokes from front to back which I think has given a nice worn look. Overall, I'd certainly buy another Valom model, but it would depend on the price. I picked this one up from an antique store unopened for $20 and it was more than worth that price. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EDIT: The colours here are wrong. Red, golden yellow, red and white stripes are all completely wrong. Save yourself the heartache. See evidence and pix on page 2. Haven't been able to get back to models for months as I've been caught up in life issues. Today the wife encouraged me to get back at it and to not worry about finishing something else first. So, I decided to do something "simple" and not get hung up on details. I picked this kit up in Ottawa back in April/May because of the orange Japanese plane. Apparently this orange is way too red. A quick Google research while at a gaming shop in Ottawa back then suggested it should be more golden than red. I chose Game Air 76.007. Is it right? I dunno. I like it. https://acrylicosvallejo.com/en/product/hobby/game-air-en/gold-yellow-72707/ So I opened the kit today and was pleasantly surprised to learn there were two planes inside. The decals are simple so I may just paint the markings instead. I have some round vinyls that are the same diameter as the hinomaru. Only 8 steps but this is AZModel... so lots of fettling and no guides or pins anywhere. And lots of sprue connections that leave ugly blobs to clean off. Here I realized I was supposed to make the control stick myself. Time for sprue. Here I've got the seat and stick glued and I'm using my big flat sanding pad to prep the fuselage halves to fit together better.You can see the exhausts are just closed blobs. Yuck! Out of the box build? Maybe not entirely. Starter holes... Wing is all one piece. I filed the centre part a lot to improve the fit with the fuselage halves. Fuzzy but you can see the exhausts drilled out on each half. I used three bits... .4, .6, .7 Glued cockpit stuff in, and ready to airbrush for first time in months Here you can see the air intake on the top half. It comprises front and rear cowl pieces glued to the bump in the middle. Messy job for me. I tried sanding to fit the cowling pieces better against the fuselage but they were not cooperative and I somehow got worse gaps- probably because of the shape of the cowls and thickness of plastic. In the lower half you can see the cockpit with IP as well. I did an oil wash with white. I read some stuff saying aotake was not common and blue grey was a decent bet. Here, I've glued the fuselage halves. A bit messy. I was using slower tamiya extra thin. On the top, that's paint not a big crack. You can see the drilled exhausts and the side air intakes. Intakes will need some putty work. The wings are dry fitted. They took a lot of work to settle down and get the gap and step minimized. Same experience as my hurricane but I minimized damage this time 😛 You can see the horiz stabilizers will be butt joints. Whee, IP done in dark grey with white oil wash. You can see rear cowl on right has a big gap. How did that happen? Really not sure. I think the shape and thickness of the cowl was off and my sanding and filing didn't help. Sprue time for that. Dry fitted wings still.... Cute little fella. Tomorrow maybe I'll work on all the seams and putty. 😛 . There are bad gaps on the bottom where the wings meet the fuselage. This is AZModel, not me! Similar to my hurricane experience but I avoided making things worse this time. Sprue should fix it. Some kind of intake on port wing edge Here you can see how tiny the plane is in comparison to paint intended for it.

Hallo Here I started a new project. P-51 Blue Nose. Versions/ Pilot FS-FG Kennung Jahr Station camouflage ID stripes canopy exhaust mirror tail decal P-51 B 1042-106451 George Preddy FS 487 FG 352 HO o P Juni 1944 Bodney / GB natural metal finish with med blue nose full malcolm Hood shrouded yes alu ES 5 P-51 B-1542-106914Robert Powell FS 328 FG 352 PE o P Juni 1944 Bodney / GB natural metal finish with med blue nose full framed canopy shrouded yes alu ES 2 P-51 D-544-13321George Preddy FS 487 FG 352 HO o P Juni 1944 Bodney / GB natural metal finish with med blue nose full bubble canopy shrouded yes alu ID Streifen kit Eduard P-51 D-1544-14906 George Preddy FS 328 FG 352 PE o P Dezember 1944 Asch / Belgien natural metal finish with med blue nose half bubble canopy shrouded 2 black rot ES 2 The wings are done. Cockpit is right now in working progress. Happy modelling

Dearest Brits and modellers, Let me present the result of my leisure hours from mid 2021 until early 2023: HMS Rodney in 1/1200. For more details about the building proces please check https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235125214-hms-rodney-11200-the-progress/ For now, let the music play (some imperial pathos might be accurate at this occasion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2c5QHtgFxY) and the pictures speak (thanks to Felix Streuli for his great job presenting the model in the right light):

Hallo This is one of my 7 P-51. Yellow tail Mustang P-51C-10-NT 43-25101 52nd FG 5th FS piloted by A.F. Watkins. I used ASK decals. The a/c took part in the Slovak National Uprising SNP in September 1944. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/slovak-national-uprising-1944 This operation triggered finally many actions against civilians with horrible losses of lives. Operated according 52nd FG website at September 1944 from Madna in Italy. The build you can watch on my WIP. Enjoy the photos: Happy modelling

Dear fellow Britmodellers, here's my 1/72 Italeri M8 Greyhound, built with the addition of Brengun photo etch. Painted with Gunze/Mr. Hobby acrylics, weathered with artist oils and Tamiya pigments. The model represents a vehicle operating in France, 1944. Photographs by Wolfgang Rabel. The Italeri kit was originally released in 2004 and is still the only 72 scale injection-moulded model on the market. I upgraded the plastic parts with the Hauler/Brengun set (HLH72098), which contains both photo-etch and resin pieces. The kit decals seem to be slightly oversized, so I replaced the US star on the front with an aftermarket item from Peddinghaus. The antennas are from stretched sprue, the stowage items were included in the kit. Thank you for your interest.

Post me your basic questions here and we will chat about them!

Hallo Now after I had to make a break in my P-38 series due to a broken part, I switched to P-51. This project was fueled by the new Eduard kit. On the other hand I got a dual combo about Red Tails to my birthday. On the other hand I had the chance to realize my dream to build models which flew over my home during WW2. My home is in Carinthia (Austria) and in wartime we had bombing and strafing by P-38 and P-51. This is the area where British troops were stationed from 1945 to 1955 as occupation force. No other aircraft type is commented and told from locals. It is also told that during strafing it could be seen black pilots in the aircraft. This was taken as a tale, from a confused person, in meantime we know, this could have been real. So, by modelling I choose the Eduard kit. With Quintas, which I prefer to etched parts in the cockpit, specially the seatbelts! I also have the Brasin revi from Eduard. For all aircrafts. There will be checker tails, yellow tails and red tails. After my first steps I can conclude that the kit is good. There are some areas, which are not really well done. One part is the intake for the oil-cooler. The etched part needs a support to be glued properly. The landing flaps, are awful to glue into the wing. The instruction for this matter is weird. It shows, there may be something to sand, but no idea what it is meant. The rod for the airscrew is very short, so that assembly is a bit awkward. The color instruction is doubtful, some say it is well done. Doubtful if you rely on prime sources, well done if you rely on tales. In the instruction of the cockpit it tells of many detail, but nothing about the throttle quadrant. See the first steps. Inner wheel well door. Excelent pic to confuse ! Happy modelling

Diorama depicts a 1/72 Airfix Curtis Tomahawk 1b fighter straffing a Airfix Kubelwagen and Airfix Africa Korp. Flown by Pilot Officer Neville Duke of No. 12 Squadron based in Maddalena, Libya. I updated the prop to a "Prop Blur" and swapped out the ugly chop stick upright support for a perspex one. These changes are clear in the photos below.

Hallo This is my P-47 D Razorback from Tamiya in 1/48. Pilot of this aircraft was Bob Hartmann. Coded G9 o U in summer 1944 from 509th FS 405th FG. This kit build was a joy. Tamiya quality. All fits, all works, straight ahead. All proper and no issues at all to remark. Surface was sprayed with Gunze SM 201. Undercoat was C 002 in gloss black. Shaded with various GX colors from Gunze. All operational markings are sprayed. Insignia and individual codes are decals. So have a look: Happy modelling

Hallo This is my P-47 D Bubbletop from Tamiya in 1/48. Pilot Glenn Eagleston. A/C coded FT o L from 353rd FS 354th FG. This kit build was a joy. Out of a serie of 4 P-47 and on P-43. Tamiya quality. All fits, all works, straight ahead. All proper and no issues at all to remark. Surface was sprayed with Gunze SM 201. Undercoat was C 002 in gloss black. Shaded with various GX colors from Gunze. All operational markings are sprayed. Insignia and individual codes are decals. So have a look: Happy modelling

Hallo I am starting a serie of Thunderbolts. This are my Thunderbolts. C-Version from Dora Wing D- Version razorback from Tamiya as Kansas Tornado II D-Version bubble top from Tamiya as Miss Fire D-Version bubble top MiniArt as No Guts No Glory M-Version bubble top from Tamiya as Josephine My Flying Machine All five engines arte now rigged for the ignition wires. I used two resin engines for the Tamiya P-47D from Aires / Quickboost. Wiring was done with 0,3mm lead wire. The Thunderbolts of my wife will include alse a Lancer. Lancer Variant from Dora Wing D- Version razorback from Tamiya as JABO D-Version bubble top from Tamiya from Glenn Eagleston D-Version bubble top MiniArt from Gabreski M-Version bubble top from Tamiya from Leo Butiste Happy modelling

The P-38 in 1/48 scale will be my next project. For this I will use the Eduard kits https://www.eduard.com/Eduard/Plastic-kits/Limited-edition/Aircraft/1-48/Pacific-Lightnings-1-48.html https://www.eduard.com/Eduard/Plastic-kits/Limited-edition/Aircraft/1-48/P-38F-G-H-Early-Lightnings-1-48.html Together with this kits I use https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/ref/kag/book_kag_15033.shtml My intention is to build the P-38 P-38G, 42-2197, 80 FS/8 FG, 3, Dobodura, New Guinea, 1943/44, 'Nulli Secundus / X-Virgin' P-38L, 44-26176, 36 FS/8 FG, A, le Shima, 1945, 'Vagrant Virgin' I will start on Monday. Happy modelling

Hallo Now I finished my Kitty Hawk Aircobra P-39. This is in detail exactly this P-39Q-5-BE 1st AE, 30th GvIAP, 6th IAK flown by Filatov 1945. Original photos are here: https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/P-39/USSR/pages/42-20414-Bell-P-39Q-Airacobra-30GvIAP-180IAD-Silver-93-on-Belorussian-front-1945-02.html The built was amusing. My hopes were not high, I read about some flaws from the kit. Most of the bad hints are exaggerated. Actually there is just one major thing. I really had to smile about that, since I did not expect it. The late installation of the nose wheel. Here the main part is designed that way that it interferes fully with the drive shaft. I cut it. BTW, the weight was a little bit too less, so I used the nose wheel bay for this additional purpose. In summary the real astonishing flaws made Eduard with his interior set. The trim unit on the left bottom next the seat is fully not understood by Eduard! See pictures in the WIP! Like to buy some aftermarket items to make things worse. Since I never trust, I had just one astonishment more to my amusement! Since I pay and can not use the items, I have fun out of it! In my WIP you can read in detail, what was the subject. One remark to the kit: Decals and stenceling: I sprayed most. All markings as well the big red lines as wlkway limits. The red decals have an awful displacement of red and white! Not to use! I had to correct the 4 tiny ones I used! Have a look: Happy modelling

Hallo Now I build the Kitty Hawk Aircobra P-39. P-39Q-5-BE 1st AE, 30th GvIAP, 6th IAK flown by Filatov 1945 https://www.asisbiz.com/il2/P-39/USSR/pages/42-20414-Bell-P-39Q-Airacobra-30GvIAP-180IAD-Silver-93-on-Belorussian-front-1945-02.html My choice was to build a model with some weathering in opposition with my P-51 series. My astonishment was big, when I had to realize that is not at all so. The surfaces of the P-39 show no indication of corrosion like the F-4U or other aircraft. The special Bell green on all interior surfaces is perfect, which is approx. like a modern Russian tank green. The build of this model with Eduard etched parts is like a comic. I can just wonder and lough. Why? There are flaws like you can never exceed. The proven four-eye principle. It was just understood a little differently. The first 2 eyes make a mistake, the other two eyes remain closed. That's exactly the joke, it runs through the entire model from front to back and it really doesn't leave anything out. You might think it's a carnival model. So, I will stay in the humor mode, when talking about this WIP. I think it is much better so. With all my experience we can easily and healthy overcome all the flaws with humor. I have enough experience to cope with this. So, next time you will get photos. Plastic and etched parts. Northing sprayed yet. So far,…. Happy modelling

Recently I looked at how many unfinished models I have on my shelf. At first glance, there are a lot of them. But I made a disappointing conclusion that they are still not enough if I want to become the absolute champion in unfinished models. It turned out that this hard sport has a lot of competition, so I start a new model - Kübelwagen Type 82 from Tamiya. I hope that this will be another gem on my shelf with unfinished models Vytautas

I am building Swedish stuff and this is the current status: Tanks 136 - Strv m/37 Resin kit from Planet models 63 - Strv m/38 an IBG kit 87 - Strv m/39 an IBG kit 412 - Strv m/40L an IBG kit 450 - Strv m/40K an IBG kit 204 - Strv m/41 SI an UM conversion 041 - Strv m/41 SII an UM kit Armoured vehicles 808 - Pansarbil m/31 Resin kit from Kjell Svensson/Maestro Models 905 - Pansarbil m/39 Converted resin kit from Kjell Svensson/Maestro Models 917 - Pansarbil m/40 Resin kit from Kjell Svensson/Maestro Models 947 - Pansarbil m/41 Resin kit from Kjell Svensson/Maestro Models 16987 - Tgb m/42 VKP Converted resin kit from Kjell Svensson/Maestro Models Trucks Back row: Opel Blitz from Roden, Scania Vabis 325 a FIAT 621 from First to Fight conversion , Ford AA Military Wheels GAZ-42 conversion Front row two civilian truck pressed in to military service: Scania Vabis 324 a FIAT 621 from First to Fight conversion , Opel Blitz from MAC

Hallo P-51 44-13321 from J.M. Simmons 317th FS, 325th FG 15th AF Lesina Italy August 1944 This is my first Mustang P-51 in a long series. So you may be sure, the next ones will have a little less flaws or inaccuracies. There are some issues to obey, when you want to enjoy relaxed building sessions. To comfort you, I will call them ALL out for you, so that you may overcome all shortcomings in the design and instruction. Ok? Let’s start: The wheel bay is in tolerances in vertical dimension about 0,2mm too thick. You must grind it down, otherwise you destroy the leading edge of wing, when gluing! The inlet gate for the oil cooler has no support on the backside to glue on vertical direction, as it should be! The flaps are flexing, there is no support inside. The pins to glue them on the wing are too small. The gluing area is too small for such a big part! The tail gear, to position it correctly, the pin is missing. Assembling with one movement is not possible. Fiddling. The parts of the main gear strut and G68 and G67 have so tiny pins for correct orientation and holes, they slightly can be overseen. They are NOT shown on the instruction. Remark in instruction is missing. The main wheel hubs have in the center a horizontal pin and a pit. What for? This two match sometimes, sometimes not, from size and so the distance is too big and the wheel looks awful. The auxiliary fuel tanks are mold and designed to be divided on the lips or seam. In the middle of my tanks the seam is just a film. And breaks away. The top trophy is your landing light. Be careful to seperate the parts! A detail, in the D-5 version. The radio compartment does not show a D-5, it shows a D-20. This issue, is an eye catcher! The landing light bracket I could not install it. No way, since there are two pins, upper most edge, rear spar, not to catch! Must be done before gluing the wheel bay on the wing! The hood, there is nothing for showing properly an open hood, in the open position to get it fixed properly! Make a pin at the very rear of the hood! The rear spar in the hood from etched parts is a little to big! You will have troubles with fixing the hood! The landing flaps, a small gap like a black line shows up after being in position! Have to find a better solution. Installing the gun sight is quite tricky! Do not forget making a hole for the pitot! There is none in the kit, just in the instruction! If you want to see how I handled it, all in my WIP. Since this is my first Mustang in 1/48 now, from Eduard, I am sure, since I learned my lesson, the next one will be better. It is simple my intention to make models, which back in history were in Austrian airspace during the WW2. So enjoy the photos: Happy modelling